HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR
N. Dennis 2001 for the year 2002

Well, here it is 2013 already! How time has flown!  Had a bit of good news. I found out that I can get my insulin, should I need it, from my doctor if I can't afford to pay for it. That is a welcome relief since lately I haven't been able to pay for it. I do try to save up for it but something always comes up and I have to use what little money I make on Ebay  for food. The doctor gave me his two vials of insulin which should last me a little while. It will at least give me time to save up for my next one.

NJD 2007/12

I've been kicking around some ideas for my greeting card line. I finally put one together featuring my sunflower design. I figure it could be used for a get well card, birthday card, thank you card or left blank for a personal message. I've used it with various colors for a background. Give people a variety. Not everyone wants a card with just one color. Perhaps offer it also in a pack of 6 with each card a different color. At least the cards that are blank inside. What is unique about MY line of cards is that they'll come with matching magnet. That way if one loses the card they always have the magnet to (hopefully) remind them of the person who sent them the card. The nice thing is I can alter the cards both exterior and interior to suit an individual. I just need a venue in order to sell them. I'm not sure if I want to go with Ebay as it is really difficult to sell any of my art work on the auction site. Having stated that, however, recently my paper doll sets have been selling, which I'm thrilled about.

The novel I'm reading at the moment is entitled THE PRESENT by Johanna Lindsey. Another one of the books in her Malory saga. I absolutely adore the Malory family and you might call this a prequel as it deals with the Grandparents of the four Malory brothers. These being, from oldest to youngest; Jason, Edward, James and Anthony. They did have a sister but she died. Lindsey really brings this family to life. You can't help but love the two youngest brothers and their constant bickering and sometimes it gets so heated that they end up fighting each other. Though you'd think Anthony would want to avoid coming up against James' fists since he's the bigger and more powerful of the two. Lindsey is one of my favorite authors who I've been reading since the mid 70's. I have all of her earlier novels and it's now just a matter of waiting until she comes out with another one. I've never read The Present so it is totally new to me. I only recently was able to obtain ever single one of her books to date.

Katy Keene No. 21

I've been doing more scanning of my Katy Keene comics. My collection is quite extensive, although I am missing several issues of not only the other Archie comics she appeared in but some of her own as well.. Coming by them is extremely hard, and at a reasonable price is rare. The most I've ever paid for a Katy Keene was $125.00 and that was a number one Pinup-up Parade which was, thankfully, in really nice condition and complete. Often they are missing pin-ups and the paper doll pages. I have a few of the comics I need to replace do to the fact they aren't complete. They are missing the paper dolls. My ultimate goal is to scan the entire comic from cover to cover. While it isn't to big of a task with the smaller issues, when it comes to the Annuals and the Parades we're talking at least 80 pages or so. I actually have a few of the smaller issues scanned from cover to cover minus the advertisements within the issues. I intend to share those issues from front to back here on my blog.

Katy Keene No 2 1951

I rather enjoy going through my collection. Half the time I forget what I have and what paper dolls are in them. I've seen some of the very paper dolls I have interspersed over the web but no information on which comic they came out of. It helps to know which comic so that those who do have the issues will know whether or not their issue is complete. I know a lot of paper doll collectors prefer just to have the paper doll sheet, while I, on the other hand, like to have the complete comic it came from. Example: The paper doll on the right came from Katy Keene No 2, 1951. No month was written in this issue, just the year. My ultimate goal with these books is to gather all the paper dolls together and combine their clothes with matching dolls. I just think it would be fun and as I don't have a job at the present time and not likely to get one any time soon (not for want of looking and applying believe me), why not.

I couldn't find a newspaper paper doll for a specific date so I'm sharing one from my Lucy Eleanor Leary collection. I don't have as many of hers as I would like to have. I'm always on the lookout for one of her paper dolls. Her and Charlotte Ware. Another artist that is hard, and often, expensive to come by. I did, however, have one for the "New Year" so decided to share that one. I had to can it in two sections then piece it together. So it is actually quite a good size. You may want to reduce it somewhat so you can fit it on a regular size piece of paper.  In the future, I may break it up so that each outfit is on a regular size piece of paper and easier to print out.

Well, that will be it for now. I know the month if half over but as the saying goes: Better late than never. Hope whoever is reading this had a wonderful holiday. My hope is that 2013 will be better for my husband and myself. I would state that it couldn't get any worse, but I've been proved wrong on that account time and again.

Katy Keene Holiday Fun No 7

Til next time.....

                                                            ALOHA

Stray part 3 :)

I've decided to name the stray cat Kitty. I know, I know, not very original but she seems to respond to that name and when I call her she comes running up the drive from where ever she's spent the day. I absolutely love her face!! She's such a beauty. I would have called her patches due to the patchwork of color on her face but it just didn't seem to suit her. Kitty or perhaps Miss Kitty after the character in Gunsmoke. :) You may have noticed that I did alter the photo from last night a bit...I darkened it a little and blackened in her pupils, which were washed out from the flash.

I tried to get several photos of her but she kept moving. LOL  The only time I could get a good photo was when she was eating and when she was lying down but her pretty face was facing away from me. She's also a talkative cat. I think the whole neighborhood can tell when she's at our door. She loves the attention and I have to say I do enjoy sitting outside on the car port just enjoying her company and I think she enjoys just having someone keep her company. She spends part of her day chillin' out behind out trash cans. We need to see if we can get her to go into the backyard. Not only can she chill out on our porch but there are also bushes she can hide behind if she chooses to. I'd so much like to bring her inside out of the heat but she seems to be doing okay. 

What really has me concerned and wishing we'd never started feeding her, is if we have to move in a couple of months. Our lease is up in November and should the new owner chose NOT to renew our lease we will have no choice but to move and I can't help but wonder what will happen to Kitty if she comes by when we leave and there is no one here to feed her or love her. 

I'm not really sure why she adopted us. We did resist at first the urge to feed her though we did put water down outside for her due to the heat. My husband, who knows me fairly well when it comes to cats, KNEW that it wouldn't be to long before I began to feed her. It's what happened with Drooler and Chance. Eventually I ended up letting them into the house. But back then I had a job and it wasn't to much of a hardship to add another cat to the family. But now finances being what they are it's just not feasible to take in another cat. I'm trying SO hard NOT to give into the urge to bring her in and introduce her to the other felines. We simply don't have the money to spare and yet I can so easily see her as a member of the family. And then there is the anxiety of what will happen to her if we have to move. Logically I KNOW she'll probably be okay. I'm sure someone in the neighborhood is probably feeding her as well since she does disappear during the day and at night and must be going some place and hanging out. 

Still no closer to getting the money needed to get Sweetie Pie's teeth done. On a positive note, however, the cyst on her neck is reducing day by day and I'm so hoping it will eventually close. At least that will be one less worry. 

Recently I was at a nearby Saver's with a friend and found a My Little Pony to sell on Ebay.  I had the toy on the table when Sweetie Pie started rubbing against it. I;m not quite sure why, unless it had a scent on it that she particularly liked. I just thought it was cute they way she "loved" it. It might be fun if someone could suggest some captions for the photos. Either contact me via E-mail at Kleiaa@aol.com, or leave a comment and I'll edit this page to include the best captions.

The book I'm reading at the moment is another Harlequin Romance by Penny Jordan. Entitled: Woman to Wed? the book is part of a three book series about three women who touch a bridal bouquet and the subsequent relationships that develop after they've done so. This one is the first in the series and involves the Step Mother to the Bride. So far it's not to bad, it's keeping me interested and intrigued. Lately I've been in a Penny Jordan frame of mind. I tend to go through phases when I'm reading books...earlier it was Barbara Cartland and now it's Penny Jordan. 

I started reading Harlequins when I was around 14 or 15 and have never really stopped reading them, even though I'm married now they still appeal to me. Although some people may think they are rather lame I like the story lines and I can often times relate to the heroine in the books. I also loved the covers. The art work that went into creating them always drew me. Sometimes the art work was more interesting than the story inside and I'd always try to figure out what part of the book the cover was representing. Now they take photos of the couples and put them in different backgrounds but back in the day it was good old illustrations. 

http://mostlypaperdolls.blogspot.com/

Today we again have another Boots paper doll. This one is from August 20th, 1950. The one I have is very blurred but I was fortunate to find the same doll on a website called Mostly paper dolls. She has so many Boots on her site that I was in 7th heaven looking at all of them. My favorite of Boots' two outfits has to be the purple ensemble.

Went to the blood doctor today. Dr. Gabir.  He wants me to start testing my blood four times a day...twice in the morning and twice at night. He also stated that he might have to up my dose of insulin. At the moment I'm on 15 units. I was extremely worried. Having diabetes, at least for me, is scary stuff. He told me not to panic, which, I'm ashamed to say, I do do. He looked into my eyes and said they were fine. The one thing I fear above all else is loosing my eyesight. As an artist I need to see to draw. I'm not sure what causes my eyes to blur after awhile, unless it's staring at this computer screen WAAAYYYY to much. Another thing that scares me is ending up on dialysis. I may not be able to conquer it but I want to at least control it so that I can live a healthy life. After all...I still want to return to Hawaii and what fun would it be if I had to visit Queens Hospital to have my blood cleaned when I could be enjoying the sun and sand of the islands.

I was relieved to find out that my husbands insurance, which is Aetna, will pay for part of my testing supplies. They don't tell you when they want you to test (often) the cost of the supplies. Fortunately I have a meter already, I just was out of the strips. Although you're not supposed to reuse the lancets, I do to save on cost. After all I'm the only one who uses them AND I swipe them with an alcohol swab before sticking myself with it. I'm considering reusing my needles as well since I'm the only one using them. I need to cut costs where ever I can. It was $10 for a count of 100. They do last me awhile but if I run out and don't have the funds to get another box...reuse is an option until I can afford it. I see Dr. Gabir again on the 17th of September. Another up side to today's doctor visit is that I didn't have to pay for my visit.

Well that is all for today...I haven't forgotten about the Boots in the yellow and blue stripped dress. I just haven't finished her today and will post her tomorrow.

Until next time....ALOHA