SATURDAY SPECIAL + HOME AGAIN!

That's right!  I'm back from my whirlwind jaunt up north once again, and whew!!  I've been exhausted!  I took yesterday totally off from any physical exertion just to recooperate.  We took a more scenic route this time to stop in at Rustburg, VA, (suburb of Lynchburg) to check up on my DH's mom who is staying at his older sister's gorgeous 12-acre farm there.  His mom is 72, a widow of several years, and has had a difficult time over this past winter with some lower back surgery, a bout with pneumonia, and then a mild stroke.  It's difficult to be so far away during these times, all the while feeling like you should be there to help out more.  It's the "catch 22" of life, in general, for sure.  If all goes well with her rehab program she is doing now, we plan to bring her down to the beach to visit for a month this summer.  We enjoyed getting to see the farm for the first time and all the new animals, not to mention his relatives and two new babies!  I got some great photos!  We took this detour stop-in going up and coming back, so even though the visits were short, they were worthwhile.

At our northern-most destination, our hometown, it was great to see my parents and my brother once again as the town honored my Dad as having been a war veteran; and my brother flew in from Phoenix, AZ, to bestow the honor and be the keynote speaker at the ceremony since he is retired military also.  I got to see my bro in full military dress uniform even though I think the temperatures had to be in the 90's that day!  I felt for him!  His speech was wonderful and brought tears to my eyes as he recounted to those present all his memories of local veterans who had served and passed, belonging both to our community and to our own family.  My Dad got to ride in the town's closing parade on Memorial Day, and all these festivities were held during their local annual Dandelion Festival.  It was a good weekend!  We relaxed, visited, and ate well.  LOL!  My mom is doing so well, too!  She is so saucy!!  Here's a layout I've done already with a couple of the oodles of pics I shot:

The photo on the right is what remains of my immediate family.  We once were five but have been only four since 1969 when I lost my sister who was two years older than myself.  Losing a firstborn seems to be a repeating scary trend in my extended family on both sides.  My Mom is my inspiration to try to overcome and keep going through it all.  She is so "gritty" tough, and I say that with love. - The photo on the left shows my Dad and brother on stage in a decorated gazebo before the ceremony and speech.  By the way, I constructed this LO using "Afternoon Delight" by JW Digi Scraps and her "Mom For Ages" cluster frame.  Font at the top is "Phoenix" and font at the bottom is "Park Avenue".

Next up for your learning inspiration, I've totally enjoyed completing my 5th PhotoShop Friday lesson from Jessica Sprague.  I simply cannot rave about these mini lessons enough!!  The following two layouts will show you what I learned so easily in this "less than 30 minute" lesson, so look at them closely:

 

Above is my LO before the technique is applied . . .

 

See how the photo is now black and white all except for that popsicle?  Amazing, right?!!  You should treat yourself to these lessons, one each week for a buck!  Sign up at the website for a reminder email weekly so you don't miss "One Buck Wednesdays".  The cool tricks and time saving techniques Jessica teaches are totally awesome and easy!!  The template and all papers you see above are included in the download for the price!  That's a deal!!  Plus, your tutorial video is always available online at the website in your account for you to review anytime as often as you like, forever!! 

Alrighty then!  On to your "Saturday Special" FREEBIE!  I have my very own 5th template for you today!  Hope you can use and enjoy it.  I whipped up a quick LO with it using my BFF's new puppy which she just got this week!  Isn't he adorable?!!  She tells me he is a Danish Sheppard and that the breed is used for service dogs, extremely intelligent.  This little fella is only 11 weeks old. 

 

Again, I used "Christmas Card Stock" by JW Digi Scraps to whip this together of this pooch.  Can't tell I'm a fan of her's, huh?  Here's my template preview:

 

DOWNLOAD HERE

As always, I've included a psd file, tiff, and all pngs so hopefully lots of software users will be able to utilize my templates.  This is a 12x12 inch, 300 dpi.  Enjoy, and please let me know if you like my work by leaving me some love either here or at 4Shared.  It so helps to spur me on!  I read them all.

Thanks for tuning in again, and please do come back often!  I have oodles of goodies to share!  Until next time . . . . .

TOOTLES!