Where does the time go as you get older?

Where does the time go as you get older, why does it go so fast? I get up each day with all good intentions and a very long list of things to do, but I always run out of time. When I was a child the days went on forever, waiting for Birthdays and Christmas seemed like eternity. Now blink and we are celebrating another one!
Yesterday for example I promised myself that I would finish the designs that I had started, make a start on the new ones, sort out the back bedroom, finish the ironing and make a couple of birthday cards. Somehow while designing I forgot about all the other jobs that needed doing and before I knew it, bedtime had arrived and I was shattered, so decided to have an early night and fresh start in the moring after a good nights sleep.
Sleep...what sleep? I lay awake most of the night tossing and turning as Arthur was a complete and utter pain. Sorry...Arthur is my constant companion these days...and nights. His real name is osteoarthritis. I have tried divorcing him, coaxed and cajoled him with pills, potions and ointments but he is a persistant blighter and keeps moving more and more of himself into my life. As a result my poor hubby Keith ends up doing most of the things I no longer can. Bless him he is a treasure, he cooks and cleans and does all the things I can not.
So we got up early and Keith made a lovely cup of tea, well it is a bucket of tea really...big mugs and refills too...breakfast, pop a few pills and then plan the day. On second thoughts, not going to bother with the list today, I will just see what the day brings....yes I know...night and it will be here before i know it so I had better make a start on some more designs.

P.S. Just thought I would show you a beautiful card that Joan Murffit made yesterday using one of my design sheets. The dog is called Oscar and he belongs to Joan's daughter. To see the sheet Joan used, click here http://www.craftsuprint.com/card-making/shaker-cards/animals/oscar-rhodesian-ridgeback-puppy-dog-frame-card-sentiments.cfm

Katy Leads The Way In Neighbourhood Watch

Sorry that we were not able to be with you yesterday, but 'Katy' has kept a look out and is always very busy, (when she is not asleep) helping our local bobbies (in the background) and keeping her eyes open for villians and the big  'Black Bully Boy' cat from up the road. She likes the car to be parked just so, then she can see over the wall and observe passers by without getting too close. Not exactly keeping a low profile, but then, neither are the bobbies on the beat, which is good! It is also just a small leap from the car onto the porch roof and that puts her at an even better advantage for keeping out of harms way where big 'Black Bully Boy' is conserned and when all else fails she shoots up the oak trees and stays there until he gives up and goes home!
Meanwhile I am keeping very busy with some new designs for craft sheets and I will keep you posted with the details as soon as they are published. Got to go, cup of tea needs to be reheated in the microwave...again!

Katy...The Cat Burglar!

Yesterday I introduced you to Katy our cat. Today I thought you might like to know how she came into our lives. It was a Tuesday a year last August on a very hot night. All the upstairs windows were open in the hope of a cooling breeze and we were by 4am fast asleep. At first I thought I was dreaming as our previous cat called Poppy used to wake me by patting my face and nudging me, but then as wakefulness crept up on me I remembered that we no longer had our lovely Poppy as she had gone to join all the other cats who bask where the sun always shines and no cats go hungry.
I opened my eyes and there with her face about an inch from mine, purring and nudging me was this sweet little tortoishell and white kitty cat. She was lying on my chest lengthwise and staring at me. Still not entirely sure if I was dreaming, I said 'Hello, where did you come from?' My husband, turned over, opened his eyes and he put out his hand and stroked her. She made no attempt to get off me or run away, just lay there purring. We knew that the only way she could have got in was through the bathroom window, but that in itself was one heck of a leap. First she would have had to jump on the conservatory window, then jump roughly eight feet onto a very narrow window ledge to hop through the window.
We could see that she was well fed, but her coat was quite harsh, more like cats that live outside, she was only a youngster, around ten months or so at a guess and very small boned. We decided to open the back door and see where she went....nowhere, she was not for going anywher. She asked for food but we said 'No, off you go, back home'. Over the next three days we would put her out and she would be gone half an hour at the most before she came back in. It was too hot to close all the doors and windows so she just kept coming back. On the Friday we decided to take her to our nearest vets to see if she was chipped and sure enough she was and her name was 'Wittle Kitty'.
It turned out she lived just a few doors away up the road so the veterinary nurse arranged for her owner to come and collect her from us, which she did about 6pm with the promise that she would keep her in for a few days.

At around 11pm that night as I was just dropping off to sleep something furry landed on my chest, I opened my eyes and there she was staring, patting and purring.

3D Easel Card Vase of Flowers - Iris

Flowers for Mum... Another great card for Mother's Day, this one was also made by Suzi Cooper and WOW it looks so real. To make it Suzi used http://www.craftsuprint.com/card-making/3d-keepsakes/vases/vase-of-iris-flowers-3d-decoupage-easel-card.cfm

Elaine Sheldrake The Arts And Crafts Lady: Cardmaking Downloads for Mother's Day

Elaine Sheldrake The Arts And Crafts Lady: Cardmaking Downloads for Mother's Day: "Just to wet your appetites and to give you a few ideas for making cards or scrapbook pages for Mothering Sunday I will post a selection of c..."

Cardmaking Downloads for Mother's Day

Just to wet your appetites and to give you a few ideas for making cards or scrapbook pages for Mothering Sunday I will post a selection of cards that have been made using some of my designs.
The first is a 3D Easel card and looks absolutely beautiful and very lifelike.

A great card for Mother's Day, this one was made by Suzi Cooper and WOW it looks fabulous. To make it Suzi used http://www.craftsuprint.com/card-making/3d-keepsakes/vases/jug-of-poppy-flowers-3d-decoupage-easel-card.cfm

Elaine Sheldrake The Arts And Crafts Lady: The Ups and Downs of the life of a Designer and a ...

Elaine Sheldrake The Arts And Crafts Lady: The Ups and Downs of the life of a Designer and a ...: "Today is a good day...the sun is shining...the birds are singing and Katy the cat is catching up on sleep. She who rules the house has ..."

The Ups and Downs of the life of a Designer and a cat called Katy!

Today is a good day...the sun is shining...the birds are singing and Katy the cat is catching up on sleep. She who rules the house has been up all night...again...chasing off any other cat who dares to set foot in our garden. The only problem with that is there are windows and doors between her and the outside world as she is not allowed out after dark. This does not deter Katy one bit. Her answer is to throw herself at the windows and bang on them. Sending any ornaments, vases of flowers and bric-a-brac to an early grave in the recycling bins!

 Bless her, she looks so angelic lying here in the hammock she has made from the roof blinds in the conservatory!