Basic Bear Boot Camp

Here's my finished bear from the EbearZ University online class. Everyone taking the class used the same traditional teddy bear pattern provided in the class. It will be interesting to see how different everyone bear turns out.

Online Bear Class

The past few weeks I've been busy with an online class with EbearZ Univeristy.  Basic Bear Boot Camp is a new class and offered for free...can't beat that price. Class was taught by Nancy Tillberg of Kran-Bearys. You can read all about it at EbearZU blog. I've been making bears for several years but Nancy has  some really great methods and techniques and I learned much easier ways to do some things. I especially enjoyed the videos provided with the written lesson.

If you haven't been by EbearZUniversity in a while, stop by and take a look. She's added many new classes and some new teachers, too.

Finished my bear today and will try to get pictures this week.

My Apologies...

My apologies to my followers and everyone who has visited my blog over the last several months. For some personal reasons, I was unable to maintain my blog. That's about to change. I'm back! I hope you'll still  want to visit my blog in the future.

I've recently completed  two bears and have two more cut out waiting to be put together. I have signed on for the Be My Valentine online show on February 12, 2011. Kind of strange to have things on my calendar that far in the future, but I'm ready to think about those bears, too.

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing you all a safe and Happy Thanksgiving Holiday!

We are looking forward to spending the holiday with my sister in the

Central Valley, along with nieces, grandnieces, great-grand nieces

and nephews, our daughter and dear friends.

Long Overdue Reunion Update

Thanks to everyone who wrote me a note of interest about my reunion. I suffered a little post-reunion depression when I got home and realized how much I miss my hometown friends. It was like the years hadn't passed at all.

Judi, me, Patty, Toni

It was an outside event at a ranch belonging to a school friend, though not in our class. Even though it was miserably hot that evening, everyone said it was the most fun they've had and a reunion, and I thought so, too.

Friday evening after we arrived at the hotel, Judi and I opened a bottle of wine and invited some classmates staying in the hotel to our room for just catching up. She thought my hair style was doing nothing for me and she brought out the scissors and I told her to have at it. I didn't see what she was doing until she finished but I loved it...thought it made me look younger.

Unfortunately, I went off and left my camera in the room so I've had to depend on others sharing their photos.

And just for fun, the four of us at the last reunion I attended, 1994, the 30-year.
Darlene, Toni, Linda, me

And, to show you what I looked like before Judi cut my hair...what do you think?

And I'm already looking forward to the next one in 2014.

Big Weekend Ahead

Marlys - Kindergarten

I am so excited! I am attending my 45th-year high school reunion; the 30-year was the last one I was able to attend and I can't wait to see everyone. Facebook has brought me together with old school friends and I have so enjoyed connecting with everyone again after so long.

Judi - 4th Grade

Judi and I go all the way back to kindergarten. We live on opposite ends of the state so we decided it would be more fun to leave the guys home and be each other's date for the reunion. We're bringing yearbooks, school journals and more. I'm bringing the wine and she's bringing the glasses and we plan to have a terrific time.

It's a small world...

Evening is when I look through some of my favorite blogs. Invariably, something always catches my attention and leads me to another blog, and so on and so forth. Last night, while visiting Barely Sane...Blog of a Bear Nut, Sandi's tutorial for making felt gingerbread people caught my attention. Visit Sandi's tutorial to see how to turn this cut-out into a cute little Gingerbread Man.

A comment left by Dawn of Cottage State of Mind caught my eye. She promised

photos of the treasures in her attic. Who can resist a chance to take a peek into another person's treasures? Certainly, not me. If you love collecting things "just because," then take a look at Dawn's post, Playing in the Attic.

But that's not the best part. Reading Dawn's profile, I found she grew up in the Central San Joaquin Valley of California. So did I! Well, it's a big Valley, so finding someone who grew up there isn't such a big deal. But this is: the internet connects me with Sandi in Australia, and Sandi connects me with someone from my own back yard. I love the friendships I've found through blogs and bears and the creative spirit. Amazing!