remembering Mabel

One year ago today, my family lost a dear friend, Mabel. She lived across the street from us for 30 years and became like a grandma to me and Terry. Mabel and I considered each other "lifelong friends" since we met when I was only 5 years old......therefore, she knew me longer than anyone outside my family (33 years). We spent every Christmas together, and she attended all of my major life events......First Communion, Confirmation, high school graduation, my wedding. She was the first friend who I told about my new boyfriend, Sal.

Mabel was 97 when she passed away, and told me that she had a great life. She would spend the hot Florida summers in Michigan at her cottage on a lake. She loved the company of her dogs Duke, Lady, and Mami. She took dream trips to Ireland and Alaska. She was in fairly good health for most of her life.

We miss you, Mabel, and still think of you often!

the "miracle" vet

The Today Show recently aired an uplifting story about "a miracle vet". Dr. Wen, a veterinarian in Long Island, New York, has helped countless animals through alternative veterinary medicine, including herbs and acupuncture. These holistic treatments provide hope to animals who otherwise have not responded to conventional medicine. Thankfully, the cancerous tumor on Buddy's ear, removed a couple of years ago, has not spread and he's OK after surgery. Our angel !!!

But for those animals that do not respond to surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation for deadly diseases, it's nice to know that other options exist. Go here to read about the heartwarming miracles of Dr. Wen's practice and to watch a video clip.

it's Election Day here in Florida

Florida is holding its Presidential Primary election today. We're also voting on a proposed amendment that will hopefully bring some relief to our sky-high property taxes (although property insurance is also a culprit for the expense of living in paradise.....our insurance premium has outpaced our taxes now!). This is also the last Florida election for the touch-screen system, which came about after the unforgettable Gore-Bush voting debacle here.

But on to my reflections on this Election Day.....I'm always so glad to go and vote! I'm so thankful for the right, and I often reflect on how hard-won that right was for women. But not all women are as free and fortunate in this world......there is work yet to be done. Perfect example: Saudi Arabia, where women were just recently granted permission to stay in a hotel room alone, that is, without a male guardian and provided that the hotel submits her information to the local police. [insert cringe here]

That said, I'm off to the polls!

world's largest swimming pool

As a lover of swimming pools.....they're fun, they're beautiful.....I was intrigued to learn about the one that was recently named the world's largest. Here are its specs.....

.....it's in Chile

.....it's 3,323 feet long (that's 0.63 mile!)

.....it covers 20 acres

.....and perhaps most impressive is that it holds just over 66 million gallons of (salt) water! (for reference, our pool has a mere 10 thousand gallon capacity)

Also cool to note is that the pool uses technology that pulls in, filters, and recirculates water from the adjacent ocean.

Makes me want to take a dip but, oh yeah, it's January!

curiosity lamp

Pottery Barn holds free decorating classes now and then, and I attended one last week......it was to showcase all of their new spring stuff. Their new goodies sure are bright, colorful, and easy on the eyes. PB's "curiosity lamp", as they've dubbed it (love that name!), really caught my attention while I was there. I couldn't help but wonder just how great a scrapbook page or canvas would look in the built-in easel, light aglow over my latest project, displayed on a table in my scrapbook room......hmmm......I suddenly feel compelled to do my part to stimulate the economy (wink).

Time to go check who's winning the South Carolina Democratic primary......

magazine bowl --- way cool !

This is a really neat project that I found online.....a bowl made entirely of magazine pages!



All that's required: a glue gun and a magazine. You could even spray paint it a solid color, and it would have a unique texture. Click here to get complete project instructions.

red, white & FAU

Florida Atlantic University will host the next Republican Presidential primary debate on Thursday night, January 24. It's extra exciting for us because that's Sal's university! The Democrats are also scheduled to debate at FAU on Sunday, however, they probably will not because of their promise to snub Florida (they disagree with our state's too-early primary date). Anyway, take a look on TV for the debate being held at FAU right here in Boca Raton, Florida!

Whole Foods Market bags new idea

Whole Foods Market will be going green with its bagging options (refer to my posts dated January 13 and 15). Starting in April, on Earth Day appropriately, they'll no longer offer shoppers the option of disposable plastic bags. Customers will instead have several choices, including canvas bags, recycled paper bags, or they can bring their own bags. This will prevent an estimated 100 million plastic bags from entering the environment for the remainder of 2008 alone. How awesome is that??? See the complete USA Today article.

B-I-N-G-O !

Today I went to a "bingo crop" at my favorite local scrapbook store, Scrapbook Your Art Out.....yes, we played bingo while we scrapbooked! What a great combination, it was super fun......the store holds these bingo crops twice a month, so I'm really looking forward to going again soon.

honoring Dr. King

"....I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character...." ---- 1963

Read the full text of Dr. Martin Luther King's moving I Have A Dream speech.

tote-ally fun!

I've had my eye on this Palazzo tote bag for a while and could resist no longer. Crate & Barrel.....one of my favorite stores ever!....has these great patent tote bags, and I chose the black one with white handles. It was a tough decision, but that one has a fabulous lime green nylon lining --- such a pretty contrast to the b&w! Best of all, they are made only of faux materials, PVC and nylon. How nice to find something so stylish without a trace of leather.

I'm not usually one to buy totes, but this one was also irresistible to me in a store window recently:

The fabric is just stunning, a combination of hibiscus flowers, leopard print and paisley swirls. It's called "Jungle Biscus", for obvious reasons, and I love that name! Fun stuff!

Bead For Life

NBC News aired a feature story some months ago about Bead For Life, and I'd love to share it. BFL is an organization that helps women from Uganda support themselves through their craft of jewelry making. The beads are made of colorful, recycled paper and they're beautiful! The paper beads are meticulously fashioned into necklaces and bracelets, all by hand. Take a look, read the inpirational stories of these women, learn how to purchase their jewelry, and watch the NBC News clip.

it's Girl Scout cookie time!

So much for our New Year's resolutions to cut back on eating cookies. The Girl Scouts have their delectable boxes of calories available again! But, hey, who can resist a Thin Mint or a Caramel deLite that supports such a great organization for girls?

And ask your local troop about their "Cookies for the Military" program that will let you purchase cookies for troops serving overseas. Last year, troops here in the Palm Beach area sent 11,000 boxes!

Search by zip code to find a Girl Scout troop near you.

bad chemistry

Oops! The postal service has messed up. According to an Associated Press report, the new American Scientists series of postage stamps, set for release on March 6, contains a scientific error. One of the four stamps, featuring celebrated biochemist Gerty Cori, has an error in the chemical structure that's pictured with her.

The postal service plans to issue the stamp anyway. Sorry, Dr. Cori.

newsprint bins

I'm in the process of organizing my scrapbook studio, although Sal would argue that [insert chuckle here], and with good timing saw the coolest storage item featured on The Today Show....newsprint bins!.....from The Container Store. I love stuff like this! Talk about the ultimate in recycling, they're made from woven, recycled newspaper.

As a follow-up to my earlier post about canvas grocery bags (Jan 13), a recent Associated Press article said that China will soon ban free plastic grocery bags. Like much of Europe, they'll begin charging customers extra for them to discourage their use. When Sal and I went to a grocery in Ireland last summer, we found that they do indeed charge a fee if you want a plastic bag. The USA is catching on to the fact that we can't keep burning or burying plastic bags forever.

my blog's first 24 hours

Wow, what incredible enthusiasm many of you have expressed for my blog, thanks so much! It has been tons of fun to launch it and I really appreciate all the feedback and knowing that you'll be sharing it with me.

I've had several inquiries about the photo on my blog's banner......yes, I did take it. As we were flying to Italy last fall, I looked out the window and noticed that the blue of the sea seemed to blend with the blue of the sky, it was beautiful. Only the puffy, white clouds created some demarcation between the two blue masses. I included the airplane's wing in the shot for perspective.

Again, thanks everyone! See you online!

kayaking with manatees!

On Christmas Eve, Sal and I went on a Save The Manatee Club sponsored eco-tour.....a "do-not-disturb" kayaking tour among the manatees in the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge. Our guide was a biologist, and it was an unforgettable experience! Although capturing photos of the manatees was difficult (they came and went so quickly, I didn't want to get the camera wet, etc. etc.), it was fabulous to be among them and so up-close. It was a peaceful day of enjoying the natural Florida......

canvas grocery bags

Wow, what a mountain of plastic grocery bags Sal and I accumulate! So, in an effort to prevent that wasteful nonsense, we bought some canvas grocery bags.....how wonderful they are!

Publix has them for just $1 each and we keep them in the car, so no matter when we go to the store we have them.....and no more plastic bags! Recycling the plastics ones is OK, but not using them is even better......love the canvas concept!

fabric scrapbooks

I'm really getting into fabric scrapbooks......so inspired by the ones Donna Downey has designed. I love the idea of "hybrid" scrapbooks, too........layers of pretty fabrics and paper, together.

Not that I don't have enough projects to get started on.....LOL

Welcome to my blog!

Hello and thanks for stopping by! I've been wanting to start a blog for months....and finally have. I hope that it'll be a fun and easy way for me to stay in touch with friends and family, and to answer the question ......Where in the World?.....is Susan, that I get asked so often (not that I mind!).

For those who are interested, I also plan to share photos of my current scrapbooking projects.

I look forward to this new journey of blogging and hope you'll join me now and then!