Friday, March 20, 2009

7 Days to go...

I cant believe there is only 7 days left until the retreat! It has snuck up on me again, however, I have been busily preparing class kits and ordering goodies. The front entrance to our new house (which is quite large) is littered with boxes and boxes of stock which I am sorting, pricing and repacking into kits. It is great fun...just like Christmas when boxes arrive. They are even delivered to my front door now! Hows that?

I'm loving town life by the way. Yeah, I know there are draw backs but at the moment I am loving the close proximity to everything. Sometimes it takes me an hour to walk to school and back (which is a five minute walk each way) because I stop to chat to people along the way. I will reveal another reason why moving to Hyden made so much sense. My Aunt and Uncle who are our very good friends and mentors share a common interest in our farming enterprise. We were discussing their involvement in farming and my Auntie expressed that the reason why she could never live on a farm was because although she likes her own company and personal space, she also loves people and to be around them. She hit the nail on the head. This is how I have felt for the last 7 years and have not been able to put it into words (in such a short way!). It really feels like home here too, to Matt, the kids and myself.

I should have done this a while ago but I have sneak peaks to show you of the classes we will be doing at the retreat. If you are not attending and would like a kit you are most welcome to enquire at scrappinoutback@bigpond.com for availability and prices.
Lis Cassey's classes...

...one of Gayle Smith's classes

I'll show more when I can locate them! Numbers are looking good. We will have about 40 of us girls all together including some of our BIG personalities that keep us wetting our pants with their funny stories. I'm looking forward to some laughs and great memories with my good friends. I hope to find time to scrap too as I haven't done anything for so long.

Also on a personal note..my brother Dean has started chemo...again...and is feeling the effects as they are hitting him with a pretty hard dose. It has to be done unfortunately. Life can be cruel, that is why we need faith, our family and our friends so much...and never to take life for granted. I am really stopping to count my blessings at the moment rather than focusing on the c__p in life. Food for thought.

Thanks for looking. Be back soon!

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Sorry...

It seems as though I keep repeating myself - always saying sorry for not blogging often enough...and i truly am sorry, but this time its for a very good reason. On February 27th - my 10th wedding anniversary - I lost my Auntie Pat who has been fighting cancer for almost 16 years. Despite the length of the fight I was stunned. And there were other private problems to deal with at the same time...just to add to the mix. Then on Friday the 6th of March we discovered that my brother, Dean, who had a bone marrow transplant in September 2008 has relapsed and the leukaemia is back. Now begins the journey to fighting back, but before that processing all that has happened. I was doing quite well but it has all caught up on me in the last day or 2.
The good news is that the retreat is going ahead and I have committed girls supporting me who are willing to help make it happen. So i shall be back with more news soon - hopefully good, and some more information regarding the retreat. Thank you for your patience. Love, Karen.