New products, family news, and freebie

Hope everyone had a nice July 4 holiday? I know some had big plans with family and friends. Our grandson, Tyler, and his family went to TN on vacation. My LV friend, Stacey, was preparing for a big family get together. My husband was beginning a vacation that was not so relaxing for him.

(thanks to cheyOkota fro lovely divider here) We've had some pretty bad thunderstorms of late with heavy downpours, lightening strikes and hail. I wasn't able to get much done on computer but at least we didn't lose power like some people did. We even had small tornadoes touch down in Virginia Beach with lots of damage and some serious injuries. And here in Norfolk, one touched down at the cemetery where my mother is buried. It toppled and broke headstones, tore down some trees and did other damage. Fortunately, my parent's marker is a flat one of polished granite that is level to ground. However, it has a bronze vase for flowers and when Dad went to check for damage, he found the vase had been pulled up and was a few feet away - with flowers still in it!

During John's "vacation" he did some painting of house trim and arranged for BIL to come over and repair the damaged wood around garage door frame. He also got his Chrysler ready to turn over to Tyler. We had it waiting for him at his house when they got back today. It's in good shape for an older car and should serve Tyler well for some years. He also cooked two nice meals to which he invited my father and Miss June. Dad is a very picky eater so usually won't agree to come for a meal. He'd rather go to a fast food place and get a hamburger or BLT! So I made him and I BLTs the night John made chicken cacciatre. I don't like it because of the texture of the chicken in the sauce but John was pleased to have June enjoy it with him. Tonight it was homemade barbeque with purchased coleslaw, rolls, and potato salad. We did have homemade deviled eggs though and Dad surprised us by eating well. Sent them home with a bag of leftovers so they won't have to eat out a night or two.

One more bit of family news. We are getting a new addition to our household. Our niece, Rachel, will be taking us up on the offer to live here while she goes to college at Old Dominion University. It will be easier on her than driving back and forth to Suffolk every day. Raci is a delight and I'm looking forward to having her here. She's coming by in the morning so we can start working on making my spare room livable. Right now both closets are stuffed with various craft supplies and things we didn't have any other place to store. I will finally be forced to deal with sorting, organizing and deciding what to give away or throw away to make room for her clothes and whatever else she is bringing. I expect to be quite tired over next couple weeks lol.

I did finish up a few items for my Color Stash collection.

These were added to store tonight. You can find them here: http://digistyledesigns.com/shop/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=85 While I was in purple mode, I made a free CU paper for you:

You will find it here: http://www.4shared.com/zip/GsL3bN3Mba/ss4cu_CS_Purple_freepaper.html? Expecting more severe thunderstorms over next few days so if you don't see me on line, that will be why. Hugs!