I'm loving life, I'm on the road again, I'm busy making canvases...

I'm pretty much loving life right now. I think it's because I finally made a decision to make my move back to Wisconsin and I'm not just worrying about it any more. One more week at Northland Pioneer College and I'll be on the road again...that's been my theme song for the past year...on the road again, just can't wait to get on the road again...I don't sound much like Willie Nelson but that doesn't mean I can't try singing his song!


Tomorrow I'm headed back to Arizona to spend time with Aiden & his mom and Jon & Marina before I need to drive (maybe for my last time) up that mountain. Am I going to miss Arizona? Yes, I'm mostly going to miss the chance to spend time with my Arizona family whenever I want to. But maybe they will all come and visit me regularly. Am I going to miss my Heber-Overgaard friends? Yes, very much. I've been up on that mountain now for 14 years and made so many good friends. I met them at the snack stand for Little League (I was known as the candy lady), at the NPC Heber Center, teaching scrapbooking, selling Heritage Makers, and in the two neighborhoods that I lived in while I was in Heber. Am I going to miss working at NPC? Yes, that I will miss most of all. I've worked in Holbrook, Heber, Whiteriver, Snowflake and Show Low...I've taught in all those plaees plus Kayenta and St. John's. I've GED tested all over Navajo and Apache counties including the county jail and both Arizona State prisons. My best friends either work for NPC, have worked for NPC or attend(ed) NPC. I've probably spent more hours in the past 14 years at NPC than I have in my own house! And I've had some of the most caring, fantastic supervisors that God put on this earth. There are good people in Wisconsin too, and once they get to know the person that I am, I think I will begin to make new friends with people in organizations, with coworkers, with students and with neighbors. Another saying, or actually it's a song, that I have always liked is "Make new friends but keep the old...one is silver and the other is gold." Now what precious metal are the friends that a person had when they left Wisconsin, then made new friends in Arizona and now is back to the Wisconsin friends? I'm so confused....


I've been busy, busy, busy... I've designed 7 canvases this past week for clients. Ever since I told you I'd design a canvas for you so you could take advantage of the canvas sale I've had many requests. Thank you to everyone who trusted me in designing your family canvas or in one case, your phrase(s) canvases. I promise you, no one will be disappointed. Our canvases are high quality and they come stretched and mounted on a wooden frame...and if you like your canvas to have that finished framed look ready for your wall I've made some of them too.
Here's some samples of what they look like (I can't show the ones I just finished because they are a Christmas gift and I don't want to be the one who spoils someone's surprise)

These are how our canvases look when they are framed in the matte black wooden frames. High quality and just puts that finishing touch on the canvas. The ones below are how our canvases look without the black frame...not bad huh?

These two are a matching set, but the top one with my dad is the true color. I should have used the flash on the one with mom. I absolutely love the saying "The greatest gift I ever had came from God I call him dad." Years ago I cross-stitched this saying for my father for Father's Day, and now I've put it on a canvas for me. Wouldn't these make perfect Mother's and Father's Day gifts?