manatee news

I'm SO excited!

Sal and I are featured in the Save The Manatee Club's October e-newsletter! Go here to see us!

We had such a fun time kayaking among the manatees on one of the SMC's "do-not-disturb" tours last December. If you'll be visiting Florida during the winter months, when the manatees gather at the springs (Dec thru Feb), I highly recommend this adventure. It's "natural Florida" at it's best!

Enjoy the weekend.....

another scrapbooking temptation

Anyone who knows my scrapbooking style knows that I love to create pages and projects with all things bling.....rhinestones, Stickles, Glimmer Mist, Dew Drops, Bazzill Bling cardstock, glitter. And now.....Shimmerz paints (love that name!). Uh-oh, another scrapbooking must-have!

I recently discovered them at a sb store and they're amazing! They are a paint with tons of shimmer and glimmer built right-in. You can completely transform anything using just these paints and a 10-cent paint brush. Get out your plain old white flowers, ribbon, chipboard, etc. and turn them into gorgeous and original creations! The palette of 35 colors is so yummy, check 'em out on the Shimmerz blog.

Bling it on!

Sal's Dad: Thursday AM update

Hello everyone.....

Better news today!

Pasquale is more responsive, was removed from the ventilator, and is now back only on an oxygen mask. His doctor is optimistic, saying that he will likely be out of the ICU after the weekend. He'll then begin some physical therapy sessions.

This is all good news!

anticipation...

"We can never know about the days to come
But we think about them anyway..."
--- Carly Simon's "Anticipation"

My excitement is building!

We leave on Saturday morning. Sal is whisking me off for a mystery getaway weekend (see my Sept 17 post). I still have absolutely no idea where he's taking me.....Where In The World?.....so I'm filled with anticipation. What fun! Sal hasn't told anyone where we're going, and has divulged only a few select details to me:

** I need to pack a sweater and my bathing suit (are those conflicting articles of clothing his attempt to throw me off?.....a climate conundrum, perhaps?), and something dressy to wear
** we won't need our passports (so I've at least narrowed it down to a domestic destination)
** Buddy & Aruba will be safe and well cared-for (I was concerned about where they'll be staying?); and
** we're on a strict schedule on Saturday! Apparently we've gotta be ??somewhere?? at a certain time to do ??something??

HMMM.....??? Sal has certainly got me guessing! Hopefully, wherever it is, I'll have a WiFi connection and can get on my blog to let you know where we are.....stay tuned! :-)

Sal's Dad: Tuesday PM update

Hello everyone.....

Unfortunately, Sal's Dad's recovery took a step backwards today. During a physical therapy session, his heartbeat became erratic and his breathing problematic. So, he's now back on a ventilator.

Otherwise, he is alert and stable.

Hope to have better news in the near future.

help a soldier and her Iraqi dog

Like so many animals around the world, the dogs in Iraq are given little chance at a good life. But many soldiers are trying to make a difference for them, despite the trouble that often ensues.....for instance, next month, a soldier wants to bring a rescued puppy home with her when she returns from Iraq, but the military will not allow it and they have confiscated the dog from her.

Please join the thousands of others who have signed a petition supporting Sargeant Beberg and her pup Ratchet. According to the SPCA International, which runs the Operation Baghdad Pups Program, this dog faces certain death if left behind. Their mottos are "No Buddy Gets Left Behind" and "From a War Zone To a Real Home".

Why can't we allow a dedicated soldier this joy, while saving an innocent life at the same time? I can't imagine how she's feeling.

Thanks for helping!

"The Secret Life of Bees" on the big screen

On Friday 10/17, The Secret Life of Bees movie will be released.

It's based on the novel by Sue Monk Kidd, which I read when I had a book group a few years ago. It was one of our favorites! Should make a great movie, I plan to see it.

Have a great week!

Sal's Dad: Sunday afternoon update

Hello everyone.....

Sal's Dad is stable today, and is awake and alert, after having some difficulty breathing this week. But he is breathing on his own now.....they removed the oxygen mask today! And a kidney specialist said that an ultrasound showed that his kidneys are functioning fine.

Unfortunately, a feeding tube will need to be inserted through his abdomen since it will be a little while yet before they can evaluate his swallowing ability. Hopefully, with some rehabilitation, the tube can be removed and Pasquale can resume normal eating.

We're wishing him all the best as he continues his recovery!

a lovely evening of Indian culture

Hi everyone, hope you're enjoying the weekend.....

On Saturday night, we went to a performance in West Palm Beach by Ravi Shankar and his daughter & protégé, Anoushka; both are classical Indian musicians. It was fabulous! Ravi has been dubbed "the Mozart of Indian music", and is a sitar guru. He is famous for writing the score of Gandhi.

Sal and I made an evening of it, starting with a delicious dinner at Punjab Indian Restaurant, in Boca Raton. We LOVE Indian food, it's so flavorful and is super vegetarian-friendly. What better way to kick off an evening of Indian music?

We had great seats in the Mezzanine, in one of those "little boxes" off to the side of the stage, with only us and another couple sitting in it. We've never sat in that section of an auditorium before, usually we sit on the Orchestra (floor) level, but we gave it a try and liked it! It was a unique vantage point, looking down onto the performers.

Listening to the sitars (pictured left) was so pleasant, mesmerizing. I felt as if I was transported to India! The sitar has a unique sound, hard to describe.....perhaps a cross between a classical guitar and a steel guitar? Ravi & Anoushka were accompanied by a musician playing the tabla (a pair of small Indian drums, shown below), and the percussion sound added an unexpected richness to the performance.

And a shout-out to my family in Philadelphia --- I saw that Ravi & Anoushka will be performing in Philly soon, on October 19, if you're interested. Check out their Tour Dates webpage for tickets & more info. If you go, please let me know what you think of it!

scrapbooking eye candy

I've been meaning to post pics of this scrapbooking project for weeks. I plan to post more scrapbooking projects as I finish them. (Celita - I love your idea of a girls' crafting day.....the next time Sal and I are in Italy, we'll plan on it, OK?!)

Anyway, this summer I was enrolled in a workshop with Tim Holtz, a celebrity among us scrappers! He was here in SoFla, teaching for a weekend at a scrapbook store. The class was called "Paradise Found", and instead of traditional scrapbook pages, we made a canvas.....we scrapbooked "off the page", if you will. It's so pretty, and as the name implies, it has a tropical, beachy theme. (The big empty space is where the photo goes, I just haven't added one yet.):

We made "sand" to create a border along the bottom. It's a mixture of glue, some colorant, and ultra-thick embossing medium. It came out so realistic, it has the color and texture of real sand! Here's a close-up of the "sand" detail:

And calling all scrappers! Do you know about Dew Drops? I discovered them at my local sb store the other day. They are tiny (1/4" diameter) acrylic pieces that come in a rainbow of

colors, and have one flat side for easy gluing. Most of the colors are transparent, but a few are opaque. (the "flame" variety is shown at right) They can be used as flower centers, water droplets (the blue ones really do look "wet"!), or anywhere that you'd use, say, rhinestones but don't want that much sparkle. So. Much. Fun.

And I've never been one to do any Halloween scrapping; after all, I don't have kids, so I would have no reason to make pages about costumes, trick-or-treating, etc. But when I saw this ghost-shaped mini-album, I just about flipped because cute ghosts are a favorite of mine! It's so stinkin' cute, I had to find a way to use it! So it got me thinking. Why not make an album about my own childhood Halloweens?.....my costumes, my trick-or-treating memories. Fun!

And check out this new collection by Creative Imaginations called Tidepools. Oh my gosh, the colors and artistry of this collection blew me away! A luscious combination of teals, blues and greens...unlike any color combo I have seen in tropical papers and embellishments before. As it is, I love anything tropical, but this collection has a color twist that I can't resist. And the coordinating album.....yummy! Here's a sample of the papers and goodies from the Tidepools collection (won't some Dew Drops be perfect with these?):

And just look at this 12" x 12" album!

brewing up some votes

So how do you take your coffee? Black? or Red? or Blue? That depends how you'll be voting. 7-Eleven has a fun way to "vote" for your candidate of choice in their "7-Election" promotion. When you stop in for coffee, choose either an Obama or a McCain cup, and your "vote" will be cast. They're tallying the national results here, state-by-state, updated weekly. So far, it seems that 7-Eleven coffee drinkers prefer Obama by a W ---- I ---- D ---- E margin! Who says these partisan coffee cups aren't a good, albeit unscientific, prediction? Check this out:
* In the 2000 7-Election, Bush's coffee cup outsold Gore's cup by only one percentage point.
* In 2004, the 7-Election results tracked identically with published national election results: 51% for W, and 49% for Kerry.

Hmmm. Perhaps we should hold the next presidential debate at a 7-11 store? {sarcasm}

And speaking of voting, be sure to check out the poll on my blog's sidebar. If you haven't already, please stop by and place your vote (and yes, it's confidential....I've been asked if I can see who cast which vote, and nope I can't! It's just a widget that I programmed in through my blogging software.) From the 30 votes cast thus far, the results interestingly mirror those of the national polls.....a dead heat! It's gonna be a fun election night!

Sal's Dad: Wednesday PM update

Hello everyone.....

Sal's Dad is doing OK today. When I spoke to Angela tonight, he had just come back from another MRI. The doctors are also carefully monitoring his lung function and are trying to keep the fluid build-up to a minimum.

Sal and I are in touch with Angela and the family several times a day. Please check back for periodic updates.

i've been tagged!

My cousin-in-law in Italy, Celita, has kindly included me in a fun get-to-know-you-better tag. So, here are 5 random things about me:

(1) When I was young, I wanted to be an airline pilot (apparently my love of travel started early on!).....Where In The World?.....but I decided that being away from my home/family/routine that much (especially for work) just wasn't my thing.

(2) One of my pet peeves is standing in a shower that doesn't drain well. Ick! Can I get some Drano in here please?

(3) The tallest building that I ever designed foundations for was 55 stories. I'm a licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.) in 2 states, Florida and Indiana. My specialty is Geotechnical Engineering, and I design and oversee the construction of foundations for various structures, mostly bridges and high-rise buildings.

(4) I daydream about buying a beach house. Oh, and decorating it too! Either an elegant Hawaiian Asian decor or a seaside/beachy theme, depending where it's located. Oh, to have the beach for a backyard. Ahhh....

(5) I've had a huge rock & mineral collection for most of my life (I love geology!). When I was a kid, I started a "rock club" with neighborhood friends (I was "President"). And I even started my own rock and mineral "magazine", and tried to sell "lifetime subscriptions" to my family. What a scam artist I was! {tee hee}

So now I'll tag my Creative Escape pal, Shannon, in Arizona. Have fun!

Sal's Dad: Tuesday PM update

Hello everyone.....

I wish I had better news to report here tonight. Sal's Dad had fluid building up in his lungs; they were able to remove fluids from his passageways, but hopefully medications will take care of the lung fluids. His heartbeat is a bit irregular, so he remains in the ICU so that his breathing and heart can be monitored. But Pasquale is alert and responsive.

I hope to have good news to post tomorrow.....

animal news

It's October.....Adopt-A-Shelter Dog Month! If you're considering a dog as a new companion, please won't you adopt from a shelter rather than purchasing from a breeder or a pet store? Shelter dogs are more in need than ever, with many now being abandoned there because of foreclosures and economic reasons. Please, rescue a dog from death row.

In other animal news.....a true "march of the penguins"!.....hundreds of stranded penguins were recently rescued in Brazil, and were rehabilitated and then returned home via an Air Force jet! Here's the amazing story of what the rescue team from the International Fund for Animal Welfare did for those lucky penguins.

celebrating 2 milestone birthdays today!

We're celebrating 2 milestone birthdays today! :-)

Our niece, Sarah, is turning 5 years old! She lives in Gulfport, Florida. Have a fun day, sweetie!

And Sal's Dad is turning 75 today! (So, yes Sarah, his granddaughter, was born on his 70th birthday.) Unfortunately, Pasquale is still in the hospital on his special day, but we're thinking of him and wish him a happy birthday and a speedy recovery!

Sal's Dad: Sunday AM update

Hello everyone.....

I have good news to share today.....Sal's Dad was taken off the ventilator on Saturday and is breathing on his own, with just the assistance of an oxygen mask. And this morning, he is awake, alert, responding to conversation, and is in good spirits.

Sal and I are heading back home today, but I'll keep everyone posted here with updates on Pasquale's condition as we get news. Monday is his 75th birthday, too.

Have a great week.

Sal's Dad: Friday evening update

Hello everyone.....

Pasquale is in stable condition today; he's still in the ICU, but seems to be resting comfortably. The neurologist said that it's possible that he may be taken off the ventilator on Saturday, terrific!

He's surrounded by lots of family now. His brother Sam and sisters Lidia and Michelle flew in from Philadelphia today. They spent some time with him, singing Italian songs. Pasquale responded by squeezing Michelle's hand. Such a positive sign!

Tonight we're all gathered for a family spaghetti dinner at Sal's parents' house. Despite the sad circumstances, Sal's really enjoying the time with all his family, celebrating life.

Sal's Dad: Thursday afternoon update

Hi everyone.....sorry for the delay in posting today, I had technical difficulties with my blog site.

When Sal and I left the hospital late on Wednesday night, Pasquale seemed to be improving, recovering.....he was singing Italian songs with Sal's Mom, and seemed to be interested in the baseball game that was playing on the TV. The speech pathologist had determined that he could begin swallowing pureed foods.

The hospital called early this morning to tell us that he was worsening, it was a scare. He is now sedated, and on a ventilator in the ICU. The results of another CT brain scan indicate no additional damage from the stroke, which is great news! Apparently his lung function was compromised due to low blood sugar, which they're stabilizing now. They expect him to continue recovering.

All of his 5 children are with him, and are here to support their Mom.....Patricia, Sal, Paul (who arrived from Philadelphia this morning), Mark and Deborah.

I will post updates frequently, as we get news. Nicely, I have my laptop and the hospital has WiFi, so I can blog right from the hospital instead of waiting until we leave late in the evening. Please keep checking back.....I hope to have good news soon.

Sal's Dad: Wednesday afternoon update

Hi everyone.....

Sal's Dad was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit so that they can get his blood pressure under control. Other than that, the recovery from the stroke continues, and the doctor said it will be slow. Unfortunately, it appears that only limited rehabilitation will be possible because, since Pasquale also suffers from Alzheimer's, his cognitive function is compromised. But he seems in better spirits today, smiling at times, and a bit more alert.

Please check back here later on for any updates, I'll post as often as possible. Thanks to everyone for your well-wishes.

P.S. ~ Paul, we all look forward to seeing you here tomorrow!