Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Froggy Birthday



I'm so glad to be getting back into the swing of things! I joined a birthday card swap at SCS before the fire, so I figured I'd better get moving and not let the ladies down. Here's a card I made for Joanna, using punches.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Firefighters ~ Our Heroes



Here's the card I made to thank the firefighters who tried their best to save our home. Those guys (and gal) and truly heroes in our eyes...when I heard that our staircase was already destroyed when they arrived, and yet they tried to be sure no one was sleeping upstairs...when I heard they tried to rescue my photo albums...when they asked me what items were most valuable to me and tried (in vain) to locate them for me....when they apologized for not being able to save our home....when I heard they are volunteers who receive next to nothing in compensation for risking their lives for total strangers....I was (and still am) totally in awe.

Thanks to everyone who responded to my RAK request for the firefighters.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Guess where we are?

As though the fire weren't bad enough, we received notice from the campground we were at that they wanted us to move our trailer out by Nov. 30. Now bear in mind, the trailer we have there is a park model, with an add-a-room as big as the trailer itself....not designed to be moved! We consulted with an attorney, who threatened legal action against the campground, and we don't have to move the trailer, at least for now, but WE had to move, as the water was shut off and will remain so until the end of April. I still can't get over the total lack of compassion on the part of the owners....when I thought they were coming to offer their condolences, they were in fact telling us to get out!

So where are we now? Well, we spent the last two winters in Sarasota, FL, so I decided we may as well return, since a. we don't have anyplace else to go anyway, b. it is somewhat familiar to DH, for whom routine is so important after his injury, c. we no longer own any winter clothes and d. with email and fax we should be able to handle whatever issues arise just as easily as we could from anywhere else. So, with only a few days' notice, we arranged our things, packed what little we now own into our van along with DH, Kelton and Karma (our dog) and set out for the south. We'll be back mid to late April, if all goes according to plan.

A huge thank you to those people who have donated items to us, including stamping supplies ~ I have made my thank you card for the firefighters and will post it soon. I'm also sending cards to those who have sent me things ~ but I don't have everyone's snail mail address, so if you sent something without a return address, could you email me at keltonsmom@gmail.com? I really want to be able to thank everyone! In particular, I'm looking for an addy for Cristin Keller and Bernice Van Loenen.

Monday, October 8, 2007

RAK Request

A huge thank you to Deborah for suggesting this (see her comment under my last post).

I'd like to request that anyone who wishes to send a thank you card to our local fire department for fighting our fire do so. There were approximately 20 firefighters at our home, almost all of whom were volunteers. I'm in awe over how hard they tried to save our home...and it made me cry when some of them came over to me after and apologized for not being able to save anything. Those guys and gal were amazing.

If you want to personalize it, our name is Kostis and the fire was at 816 Smith Line of St. Clair Township.

Thank you cards can be sent to:

Beecher Fire Department
c/o Doug McGee
RR#5
Wallaceburg, ON
N8A 4L2
Canada

Thank you in advance everyone, and especially Deborah for the great idea! Deborah, if you are reading this, could you please send me your contact info? I don't know how to get in touch with you, and would like to!

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Ideas, Anyone? Blog Candy Offered

I haven't been able to stamp even a single card or make a single scrapbook page since the fire ~ partly because I lost most of my supplies, and partly because I haven't had the time or desire.

I do want to make a thank you card for the firefighters, though. Those guys were amazing. There were about 20 of them at our home that day, and they went into what was already an inferno when they arrived, searching our home to make sure no one was there. I can't say enough about them ~ having never seen them in action before, I had no idea the danger they subject themselves too. They are amazing men and women.

One of my alphabet sets is intact, so I wanted to make a card with the word "heroes" spelled out on it, and possibly an image on the front as well. Anyone have any ideas?

Since I'm not feeling very creative lately, I'd love links that I could go to to CASE a suitable thank you. Can you help? I'll offer some blog candy to the person who points me to the card I use. It can be yours or someone else's. The candy won't be much, since I lost a lot, but I promise I'll send something.

Thank You

A huge thank you to Michelle (see her comment on my previous post below). This wonderful lady, a stranger to me, sent me the most awesome care package in the mail. It contained household supplies, clothing (including her favourite pink suit, which I absolutely love), and some Usborne books for our son.

I must say, the Usborne books are wonderful. I had heard of them before, but never seen any. Our little guy, Kelton, is 3 but can already read very well, and the first thing he noticed was that there are internet links in the books. He's been reading the "encyclopedia of the human body" and going to the associated web pages. It is *such* a relief to have something to occupy him while we work on all the issues that need to be dealt with.

Michelle, you're an angel!