Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

It's hard to believe it is Dec 24th already.  All of our Christmas preparations are completed despite some minor setbacks the past couple of weeks.   For starters  a 20 pound  ceramic pot fell out of the closet onto my head causing mild headaches, and mild whiplash for a week .  My neck is still sore sometimes.  Then 1/2 of the family got a nasty virus, and to top it off the Christmas tree fell over the other day smashing ornaments and  totally flattening my poinsettia plant  .  It's actually quite funny now lol.  

However, Christmas is all about the birth of Christ and not all the craziness that we put ourselves through !    I wish each of you a very Merry Christmas.  

Here is a new song I discovered, and love,  that sums up the reason for the season.  I hope you enjoy it too !


 

A Christmas Teddy

I can't believe it is December already !!  I am so unprepared for Christmas, but it will all come together I am sure.  I am trying not to stress over it.....trying lol.  For me I just want to spent time with family and friends.  I don't care about the gifts, it's not important to me.
In honor of  the season I am pleased to introduce my latest Christmas teddy named, Winter.  He will be on Ebay HERE until Monday , Dec. 5th.  I think he turned out rather handsome and hope you enjoy him too :)

Fergus available for adoption

I have been a busy bee and have an new mink bear to offer today.  His adoption will be by lottery method.  This means that if you are interested in buying him please email me your name before 3pm (atlantic time) tomorrow -Thursday, Nov. 17th.  At that time,  I will randomly select one name from the emails and that person can then adopt (buy) Fergus at the price shown in the listing HERE. 

Juggles - listed on Ebay

After a LONG break from Ebay, I have decided to list my newest bear, Juggles.  He is 7" made from recycled honey/gold and black mink.  He has a double jointed neck and magnetic paw .  He is listed HERE  until Oct 27th.

Also, meet Scotty.  He is a 7" mohair bear that I will he giving away to someone on my mailing list October 30th. Feel free to join my mailing list to be entered in the draw.

Acorn - a new bear for Autumn

 Please meet 6.25" Acorn made from recycled mink fur.  He comes with the leaves and little acorns I needle felted for him .   He is available on my website HERE .

Good News !

 I know some of you have been wondering how my appointment went at the Oncologist  & Endocrinologist .  I am thrilled to say that it was wonderful news.   My cancer was Stage 1 very low risk so no further treatment is needed at this time.  I will get more tests done in 6 months to see how things look then .  I just need to have my medication lowered as I am too hyperthyroid .  I am so thankful that the news was so positive.   The Edoncrinologist is sending me for tests for another issue he was curious about.  But, I think that will all work out ok.


I'm working a new bear and hope to have it available later this week . 

Thanks for all the prayers :)

Meet Arctica

My newest creation, 6.5" Arctica who found a home very quickly.  I have to admit I seriously considered keeping this bear.  He just tugs at my heart :)

Back to a routine

I love this time of year !  The weather is cool and I feel creative.  It is an exciting time of change and a bit of uncertainty for all of us.   My daughter started high school, and my son began college. My son turns 18 this Sunday,  I can't believe it !   I am waiting to meet the oncologist next week so I can get on with things. 

I function better when I can get into a routine, so as the kids headed off to school this week I headed to my sewing room . I have a new bear well underway and will likely have it ready in the next few days.  



 

Finally....meet Ty

He is 6.75" of recycled mink fur and looking for a new home :)  Learn all about adopting him HERE

A little delay

The bear I mentioned has been finished for a couple of days and I had hoped to list it by now.  However.......  my computer completely crashed Friday night .  It was bad this time.  The computer needed to be reformatted meaning NOTHING could be recovered . I lost everything from the past few months - since my last backup.  Again proscratination got the best of me.  To make it worse, the files I had backed up for my business can't be read.  So I am slowly reinstalling programs, rebuilding my mailing list, re-creating my hang tag designs etc.   Bear with me, I hope to have this sorted out in the next day or so.  Or, I may be shopping for a new computer :(  

Bear Therapy

I didn't realize how therapeutic making bears really is !  I have been working on one for the past couple of days and it just relaxes my mind so much.  It is the first bear I've made in almost 2 months.  Where did the time go !!  Watching the fur transform from an vintage coat into a cuddly , sweet faced bear is such a amazing thing.  I feel so lucky to have this job. 


Hopefully this little furry friend will be ready to look for a new home soon.  It  just needs an ear and some finishing touches .  

The big "C"

I saw my surgeon yesterday and it turns out my lump contained papillary thyroid cancer.  It is a strange feeling when you hear those words.  I know my eyes glazed over and I felt like I was in a dream like state for a minute.  But deep down I really believe I knew it was cancer.  The surgeon assured me I will be fine and it is the best kind of thyroid cancer to have ie; the most curable. 

After a lot of thought , I can honestly say  I am not worried.  Sure, I felt a little overwhelmed in the car on the way home , no one wants to hear they have cancer.   But my mind has been flooded with the positive things God has done through all of this. He really is so merciful !!  He knows where this journey is taking me and I just need to trust him even when I don't like it or understand why.   Life happens, it's not fair and even sucks sometimes but choosing to learn from it is going to be my outlook.  I just feel bad for family and friends that are concerned about me.

The best news is that the primary treatment for this cancer is surgery...... well I've already had it done !  And, the cancer was contained so likely it's all out of my body now.   I may need a radioactive iodine treatment in 2 months when I meet with the oncologist.  But, chemo isn't required for this type of cancer thankfully.  Fortunately, I will have 10 years of follow up scans regardless.

For now  I look forward to many more years of bear making.   I am itching to get back at it.  Onward and upward :)

Recovering

I was happy to come home yesterday from the hospital.  I am healing well , but still feeling a little lightheaded and sore.  My neck is quite bruised and swollen, but looks much better than I anticipated  It will take a while for my thyroid hormone replacement to get sorted out too.  Mornings aren't so great , but in  the afternoons I feel better.  Just need to wait a few weeks for the lab results, but the surgeon sounded postive.

I can't wait to start working on bears again. Hopefully soon :)

Surgery

For those of you that have been wondering, I finally got a call this week with a surgery date after waiting 11 months.  Yikes, that was a long time and a good lesson in patience.   On Monday I will begin my 2 nights, all expenses paid, room service stay at the luxurious hotel known as the "hospital".  In the meantime, I am getting lots of meals made ahead so I don't have to cook for awhile, and my family won't starve.  Yeah, I know they would be fine, it's just the mom in me that thinks I need to plan ahead.   It is such a busy time with school winding up, exams , proms and grad for both my kids.  It looks like the timing will work out so I can at least attend their graduations, and for that I am thankful.  And, they can be here to help me out if needed. 

Unfortunately, the partially sewn bears will have to wait awhile longer to be born.

Prayers are appreciated for a successful surgery, quick recovery and a good lab report .

HERE COMES THE SUN- it really does exist !!!!!

What more is there to say....the sun decided to shine the past couple of days.  And, it was really warm . Yay !  It is such a welcome sight after so many weeks of rain.  Ahhh....how nice to just sit in the lawn chair and soak up the vitamin D, or putter in the garden. 

 It also gets me inspired , so I went to work yesterday and cut out 3 mink bears.  I'm loooking forward to bringing them to life over the next week or so.  I also feel the urge to make something new- maybe from  mohair and maybe a whole new design.  Who knows.  Time will tell.

I won , I won :)

Look what I won last week just for being at my computer at the right time !!! I am soooooo excited, and amazed at this perfect bunny !!!!!! I've admired Janice's work for a long time , and had the privilege of meeting her last summer in Arizona. Check out her creations at http://www.boohbears.com/

 This little "Love" bunny arrived just in time to celebrate my 21st wedding anniversary today.

 I feel so blessed to be the owner of this beautiful piece of art !!  Isn't she precious :)

 

Timothy, my newest bear

Hi Everyone,

Here is my newest bear who is looking for a good home :)  Timothy is a wee 6.5" cun made from recycled mink fur.  He can be adopted from my website HERE

Delayed

Sorry, the bunny I planned to list will be delayed indefinitely .

Checking In

I'm a bit behind with my blog, I guess it tends to get shoved to the bottom of the priority list sometimes.  But, I am still here, and working away for now.  I'm still waiting for that surgery that I mentioned last year.  I've been told it will likely happen in May, but have no definite date yet.  Some days the waiting drives me insane.  I've been waiting 9 months already .

However, last week  I  got my income tax done (woohoo), was sick with some virus this week , entered a photography contest for fun, and almost finished my last bunny of the season (I think) .  It should be available in the next couple of days.

Hope all is well with you :)

New creations now available

Please meet Bonnie bunny and Paddy bear now available for immediate adoption  HERE 

New creations in the works

February break is over and the kids went back to school this week.  It seemed like a very long 2 weeks, and we didn't get to see any more of the games.  The kids had their own plans.

For some reason I never seem to be creative with others in the house.  However, I have been busy this week and got 3 critters cut out .  One is a wee bunny which is almost completed, and I am working on 2  bears.  I'm  not sure if I will make them all available at the same time or one at a time......I'm still deciding :)  I'm also debating how many bunnies to make.  I've had many people ask for more mink bunnies than my usual 1/year so they may just multiply this year lol.

I'll keep you updated !

Canada Games have begun

Today was the first day of the Canada Games.  I'm not really into sports much, but hubby and I decided to venture across the harbor to see what was happening.   I'm glad we did, it was such a nice day and the fresh air was great.  We arrived in time to watch the men's 500m speed skating competition.  They used the new outdoor oval that was built just for the games.

 Nova Scotia athletes

Quebec & Saskatchewan

 

  Saskatchewan - funky outfit

 

 British Columbia

It was fun watching these young men race at fast speeds around the oval .  I enjoyed all the various colored outfits too.  Some of them looked like alien suits lol.

Kendall is available for adoption.

Please meet 7" Kendall, made from recycled mink fur.  He is available for immediate adoption on my website HERE:  

ADOPTION PENDING

Cupid available now

Please meet 7" Cupid, made from recycled mink fur.  He is available now on my website .  Thanks for taking a peek :)

Cupid is now RESERVED for a collector.

Zachary- looking for a home

Please meet 7" Zachary made from recycled mink fur.  He is available for immediate adoption here.   (SOLD)

Back In Business

I am happy to say that my computer is relatively fixed ,enough to use anyway. It still has some hiccups, but we'll work on those. 

I also have one bear almost completed.  It just needs ears attached and shading done.  Hopefully it will be listed on my website Thursday or Friday.  The second bear I'm working on has lost an arm.  I don't think I have enough mink in that color to make a new one so I am praying it will appear soon !!!   Who knows where it went.  I'm baffled.

I've been watching the live den cam of Lily and Hope and the new bear cubs HERE.  That can be addictive so I am trying to be disciplined.    I'm also taking a photography class online and need to catch up on 2 assignments.  It's busy here in the den .


 

A lesson about procrastination !

I  learned a hard lesson Tuesday, and have come to completely detest computers !  Unfortunately,my computer crashed and I'm sure I aged 20 years.   It looked like I had lost the last 5 years of photos, business files , my mailing list ,  emails, everything .  Yes I know , I know I should have backed everything up; some of it was .  I had great plans to do that for the past few months but procrastination got the best of me !

Somehow my awesome husband worked his magic and repaired the hard drive enough to recover my files.  I quickly learned  how to use that external drive I got as a gift in October ! The computer started but we've had to revert to the old way of transferring data by typing out DOS commands.  Nothing will copy or paste, I can receive but not send emails, programs are all messed up......the poor computer is old and confused.  Just like me lol.  I think we have saved the important stuff.  If you are awaiting an email from me, I will get to it eventually-sorry.

We are hoping to start from scratch and wipe out the hard drive and start over.  If that fails and it is too damaged I guess I'll have to get a new computer.  That wasn't on our list of things to buy this year. For now I'll use this borrowed laptop.

I have a another funeral I want to attend tomorrow then I really hope the year settles down so I can focus on bearmaking .  I do have 2 cut out and stitched.  So that is a good start I guess.

I hope you are having a good week :)  Oh, and go backup your computer.....RIGHT NOW !


 

First Bear of 2011

Please meet my first bear of the new year ! He is a cute little 6.75" mink cub whose name can be chosen by his new mom or dad.  He is available by lottery method until Friday , Jan 14 @ 10am Atlantic Time.  You can learn all about him and how to adopt on my WEBSITE

2011 Already !

It's hard to believe it is already the 5th of January.  I hope it has been a good year for everyone so far. 

The kids went  back to school yesterday, hubby is at work and I am excited to get back into a routine and start making bears.  I had great plans to sew all week,  but alas that has changed lol.   I  volunteered to help serve food at a funeral today , and have  another funeral I hope to attend tomorrow.  Not a great way for these families to start the new year :(

I am hoping this year will be a good year health wise for me and my family.  I am still waiting for surgery which was supposed to be in Dec. or Jan, but has been delayed until May at least.  I'll worry about that when the times comes :)  

I'll can't wait to see what my first bear of 2011 will look like.  Stay tuned for it's debut ... maybe next week.