Canadian Rockies Art

Tooth Ache and lots of NEWS

I’m tired and grumpy and in pain, but it does not matter because MY MOM is doing really well after her cancer surgery yesterday. Yay!!!

She had her major surgery yesterday because she had ovarian cancer. They did a hysterectomy to remove the two tumors that were on her ovaries, and they also removed 3 more tumors that they found on the right side (not sure at this point where these were attached), and they removed the layer of fat that covers up the organs in the abdomen, because cancer cells tend to want to hide in there... and all the rest is 'all clear'. She will need more chemo, but after that she should be in the clear.

She is one brave woman, my mom. 73 years old and what a trooper she is!

She is recovering well at the hospital, and she will be home in a few days, and I will be looking after her. Nurse Nat ready for action!

Meanwhile, I have a nasty toothache that started yesterday at the hospital when I ate a sandwich while mom was in the OR. I had made myself some food to take along, and the bread that I use has a mixture of seeds on the crust. Well, one of those little tiny seeds ended up making its way between two of my molars.

It wasn’t bad at first, and I tried rinsing it out at the hospital but I had no floss on me and no toothbrush, so I figured it would have to wait until I got home. Well, by the time I got home last night, needless to say that this little pesky seed had managed to get in deeper and started to aggravate the nerve on my one tooth. It got pretty bad last night.

I took some Tylenols and they knocked me out for awhile, but then they wore off, of course… so this morning I called my dentist and they have a short work-day on Saturdays and they were swamped with emergencies, so they could not fix that tooth for me today, it has to wait until Monday afternoon.

So I continued trying to get that seed out, and I’m not sure if I did it or not. I can still feel something in there, but the nerve is so upset now, I’m leaving it alone and we’ll see how tomorrow goes. I took more Tylenols and at least the pain isn’t shooting in my left eye anymore. And if I don’t talk, then it’s not too bad. So I’m hanging in there and being quiet (ok, mumbling and cussing under my breath LOL)

Will you look at this:

This is my new ‘mini Moo’ card design for my brand new line of ONE OF A KIND/LIMITED EDITION  “OPULENT” high end jewelry “NG Originals”.

Cute design huh? Look at my Studio and Shop below (and look at my Artfire Rapid Cart on the RIGHT SIDE column), you will see some of the pieces I have already listed and the banners I’ve made for each online venue.

I figured that while I’d be looking after mom and taking over the chores she was helping me with (she was a huge help, believe me), I will most likely not have time to do a lot of work in my studio, so this way, I can do some One of a Kind pieces while keeping her company in my parent’s living room in their suite in our house, as I can use my little toolbox to bring over what I need and make some wire wrapped jewelry (mainly). It will be nicer that way for her. She won’t be able to come up the stairs for a few weeks at least, so that way, I can keep her company and make some jewelry at the same time.

You will find these NG Originals designs in my NG Originals Artfire Studio as well as in my NG Originals Etsy Shop.

Enjoy the weekend!

Do you have PROPER Suction?

It’s Friday, I’m tired, and I’m super happy about SUCTION!!!

(No, I did not fall on my head…….)

We have a central vac system in our house. When we built our home several years ago, we though (ok, *I* thought) it would be a good idea to add a central vac system to our house at the lovely extra cost of $1,500 installed. It would surely work better than all the cheap-to-expensive vacuums we had owned and bought/replaced nearly every year  in the past, right?

Well, the central vac system that we have vents to the outside (I have allergies and asthma) and indeed, it is an AWESOME vacuum system and I had never seen such great suction from regular canister or upright vacuums before.

That sucker has such great suction, it nearly rips the carpets off the floors when you vacuum…

BUT…

Oh yes, there’s a BIG BUT here (and we’re not talking about my hips folks!), in order to use that mega suction machine, one has to carry around a 23 foot heavy hose around up and down 3 flights of stairs (to cover the basement to the top floor), and never mind trying to get it off the storage hooks and get it back on there. I HATE IT!!!

It’s super HEAVY and such a PITA like you would not believe.

Needless to say that when time came to vacuum the house every week, the sheer thought of carting around that super heavy and cumbersome 23 foot hose was a mega turn off and a mega chore and there’s some weeks where we just decided it was too much of a hassle to use it  :(

So, my dad (my parents live with us) figured he could just buy one of those “on sale” canister vacs with bags and that it would do the trick and be easier to handle than the central vac.

It turned out nearly as heavy and cumbersome as the central vac and it had me swearing at it so bad, my mom kept wanting to wash out my mouth with soap (eeew!). I hated that thing, and canister vacs just get in my way and I’m always pushing them around with my foot, etc, it’s just not practical.

Plus, the bags filled up and the vacuum would lose suction really quick. It just made a bunch of noise and refused to pick up more than half of what was on the floor. And it was not a cheap vacuum, it was over $200 plus the bags (which I hate!).

But finally, that nasty canister vac broke down (thank you Lord for answering my prayers!), and so we went back to the Central Vac system for awhile, but that long hose is real pain.

So mom and I managed, over the past couple of months to persuade my dad that we should invest in a DYSON vacuum…

You know, the one with the yellow ball and PROPER SUCTION that we see on the TV ads. It has rave reviews, it is pricey but that baby won’t lose suction for 5 years, guaranteed!

So, mom and I went to the store this morning and tried various Dyson vacuum cleaner models, and we ended up getting the lightweight DC24… it’s so light (half the weight of the other Dyson vacs) and WOW, the suction on that thing will close to rip up the carpets off the floor… but without being cumbersome to use! HOURRAY!!!

It was so easy (and may I say FUN!) to use it to vacuum, and wow, did it ever pick up a lot of stuff… Oh my gosh! The motor is very quiet for a vacuum cleaner, and the suction is awesome. The cup (this is a bagless vacuum) is super easy to empty out and put back on, it’s FANTABULOUS BABE!!!!

A lot of people look at the price and they go “Oh my gosh, this is one pricey vacuum”, but you know what? We’ve spent way more money than this in the past 8 years on various canister and upright vacuums (not counting the $1,500 we plunked down for our central vac), and if we had just bought the Dyson in the first place, we would have saved a few thousands.

If you are in the market to buy a new vacuum, or if you’re wondering about getting a central vac or not – BUY  A DYSON. You get Central Vac suction without the hassles and without the hefty price tag. Super easy to use, 5 year warranty, and I gotta say, for all the years of me dreading having to vacuum, today, for the first time EVER in my long life – I have actually ENJOYED vacuuming my house! Don’t be fooled by the small size of the DC24, that baby is powerful!

Alice in Wonderland Jewelry!

I think that we’re all pretty much in the same boat here: anxiously awaiting the release of the new Alice in Wonderland movie – I always enjoy Johnny Depp’s characters and from what I’ve seen so far with the previews, this movie is going to be really terrific!

I’ve always loved the story of Alice in Wonderland when I was a child, and it always triggered my imagination big time, so I started looking on Artfire to see what cool handmade items some artisans have made, inspired by this story, and I found some SUPER NEAT Alice in Wonderland Jewelry!

Here’s a few great creations that caught my eye:

 Alice – Queen of Hearts Necklace by Diane Ferguson on Artfire.

Alice in Wonderland Ruby Teacup Necklace by Swank on Artfire.

Pendant Queen of Hearts OFF WITH HER HEAD!

by LDPhotography on Artfire.

 

There’s some really neat Alice inspired work out there, check it out on Artfire!