Happy September -There is a post to read now-my apologies

Hi Everyone!
For those of you who get emails, letting you know when I post...I'm not sure why you received an email yesterday.
I had written this blog post, but I hadn't published it....I wasn't done...but, for some reason, FeedBlitz / Feed Burner sent you an email that I had posted a draft copy.
I apologize, and I will inquire as to what the problem is.
Now, Here is the post I wrote yesterday!
Thanks for your patience.

Hi Everyone!
Some of you may wonder what happened, I haven 't posted for a long time.....others of you may know what was happening with us....We've been on a very long holiday this summer!  We left June 29, crossing the Canada/ USA border on June 29.......We knew we'd be back into Canada by August 20, (that's when our health insurance would run out, lol)....but, from June 29-August 20....we didn't know where we were going to go....We went with friends on a Seven Week Vacation, across the USA....
We hadn't really planned on where exactly we'd be going, but we did have some ideas in advance.....some destinations of our trip was changed....WE HAD planned to drive down through South Dakota, visiting Mount Rushmore, (I am the only one of our 'foursome' who hasn't seen that awesome sight)....then, we were going to continue south, through Colorado...(but the horrible fires changed our plans there!) we ended up heading down through Idaho and then Utah, and into Nevada instead. 
there was something amazing we noticed at the beginning of our vacation...When we crossed the USA /Canada Border, it was as if someone drew a line in the sand...One side (Canada) was green, with grass and water...the other side, USA...was horribly dry!  any grass that was there, was tinder dry, and there certainly was no extra water sitting in feilds or ditches !...and the temperatures, as we drove south, continued to get hotter and hotter...the grass, drier and drier!
Vacation Plans
  We knew we were going to stop at Waco, Texas, to see the Texas Ranger museum; We knew we were going to visit The Alamo, at San Antonio Texas....and we knew we were going to go visit Albuquerque, New Mexico....so we could see the 'old city'  (have you figured out that I'm a history nut yet??, lol).....I'm also a 'food nut'...I LOVE to eat, and I love to cook and Barbeque...I was looking forward to eating my way across the USA...my ultimate goal was to eat Gator, in Lousiana!  Heck, Not only did I get my Gator in Louisiana (Shreveport / Bossier city has some great restaurants)...BUT, we visited Graceland, and spent Saturday evening on Beale Street, enjoying the blues clubs...(I actually sat in BB King's club!!  I was so tickled!)...I had Gator Gumbo at one of the clubs/restaurants that is known to make award winning Gumbo...and, it was fantastic!  One of our friends, who doesn't try anything new had it as well, and, he loved it too!
Paper Crafting Shops on our travels
I had hoped to visit Paper Crafting and Rubber Stamping and Scrap-booking stores, across the country...and blog about it...telling about all the great new people I'd met, and items and techniques I had seen....but, there was a problem...
I found Joannes stores,....I found Micheals stores.....I found a few Hobby Lobby stores.....but, I was unable to find  ANY 'non-franchise' paper crafting stores......I had planned on using Google, and doing searches for stores in various areas, and cities that way.  ...But, Our internet connection wasn't reliable, (mostly non-existent), so I was unable to FIND any of the stores...let alone write about them, lol.....I obviously didn't plan that out sufficiently
With only getting online every week or so, I decided, that will have to do...I'll use that time to keep in touch with family....and, I'm going to spend my time sight-seeing....Moral of this story is....don't depend on the internet!  I'm glad I had done my research before we left on holidays, and had contacted various online state and city Visitor centers, and they had sent me maps, and all kinds of information on their state and city, and what's to see...so, I had an idea of what I wanted to see
CHA New Releases- I was left out of the excitement!
While we were in New Mexico, and Texas, I knew all the excitement at CHA was taking place....and, I couldn't 'keep in touch!....I couldn't see the new products, and my friends couldn't understand why I was sitting on top of our motorhome, trying to get a wi-fi signal so I could see what great new dies and inks were being introduced by Sizzix, Tim Holtz & Ranger!!  (I found out later that the Ranger Distress Stains now have lovely Metallic stains available...(They're actually shipping from the distributor now!  I've ordered some, and they're on their way now!!)

Distress Metallic Stain $5.99 each.


I have learned that if I can't be at CHA during their shows...I MUST have internet connection!  Gord didn't complain, but, I think he was tired of me walking around with my laptop, in various areas of the motorhome...or outside at the picnic table....or wherever I could be..trying to get WIFI.
Rumor has it, that a strange woman was seen at 3:00 am, at various empty camp sites...standing on the picnic table, with her laptop...She'd turn in circles....then, get down and go to the next empty site.... LOL  I wonder if she was trying to get WIFI....lol

.... There were some internet cafes, and Macdonalds ha WIFIi now, but, I didn't think that sitting in a new wonderful city, with so much to do...that anyone in our party wanted to spend time sitting in MacDonalds, LOL

Spellbinders is currently shipping their new CHA releases! 

 I'm pleased with the direction that Spellbinders has headed with their newest introductions.  One of the introductions is their new Card Creators...There are TWO Basic Mat Sets A & B that will cut all the sizes of mats you could want, to create various elements of your card.  They can be combined and used together, and you will have a narrower mat width.  As well as the basic mat sets, Spellbinders has introduced some great new fancy intricate/detailed dies..to cut detailed mats!  One of my favorites s Fancy Weave...Polka Dots is another one I like...These 'fancier' detailed mats can be combined with the Basic Mats A & B!  $33.95


 Fancy Weave Card CreatorS5-136 - A2 Size Cards-$33.95

Spellbinders has a great online Video page, at their site that you should check out! 
Visit www.spellbinderspaperarts.com    
Check out their online videos, and tutorials at: http://www.spellbinderspaperarts.com/HowTo.aspx    where you will find links to both videos and written instructions that can be printed!  I know you will enjoy! 
While you are there...Also Check out their newest Majestic Elements!
These are very intricately cut and embossed designs!  I'm really drooling over those. I can't wait til they arrive!


In the summer Tiiiiime...and the living is easy.....but it's sure HOT! 
We enjoyed our vacation...and, I found that even though I don't tolerate heat well, I did better than I thought I would! (I'm proud to say I did better than my friend, who kept on saying "Bring ON THE HEAT!!  I WANT SUMMER!   giggle....That story changed, a week into our travels
We didn't see a day time temperature lower than 105 degrees Fahrenheit the whole time we were gone.....Nights didn't cool off....One night, after being on vacation for over a month, we heard the weather report....and, we got 'all excited'....OMG....The announcer said it was going to cool down to 79 degrees Farenheit that evening!...We were all excited, finally, it's going to cool down.....then we started to giggle...that's NOT Cool!  I guess it all depends on your perspective, on what's cool...lol...It got hotter and hotter.....WE KNEW that was going to happen, lol...We were heading south, for crying out loud!  of course it's going to be hotter!

We must have looked sooo funny!-Should have taken a picture!

We're laughing now, but, to be honest, we weren't laughing at the time....
July 3, 2 pm in the afternoon, four days into our vacation, we pulled into Las Vegas, Nevada...We were staying at Prairie Oasis RV park (gorgeous!!)...When we arrived, it was 106 degrees F.  outside...and, hotter inside the motorhome...(we'd been driving across the desert all morning) 
  WE pulled into the RV park, plugged into power.....and, our air conditioners just blew hot air...YIKES! we couldn't get the back air conditioner to work...seriously!!!  It was blowing HOT air.....(Gord had heard a 'bang' coming from the air conditioner, the night before, and we were hoping a bird had taken a nose-dive and hit us.....(instead of the alternative...the air conditioner, which was 12 years old, just died)....the front Air Conditioner wasn't working either, but, at least the air coming out of it was a teeeny bit cooler than the air inside the Motorhome....

Now...It's JULY 3rd....My job was to find someone who could help install new air conditioners on July 4th...(in whose dreams is THAT going to happen?)
I was on the telephone with various Air Conditioning businesses, I was begging....(I was thinking of offering our first born...they didn't want him..... lol

My little dog Isaac, (isn't that terrible that they have to wear fur coats all the time?!) was suffering from the heat....He's 16 years old!...too old for that kind of heat in the first place....then, add no working Air conditioners to the situation!

We had our Jobs....Gord and our friends went shopping for an air conditioner of some sort, ..ANY SORT!  (I believe the last words out of my mouth were, something to the effect of "AND DON'T Come BACK WITHOUT SOMETHING! and I don't care what!!"
 My job was to get on the telephone, find ANYONE who would come out July Fourth and help us.....get some working air conditioners...installed!!

It would take more than an air conditioner to make me feel better after three hours of trying to convince someone they WANTED to work....I wasn't having good results!

Between 2-3 hours later, Gord did come back to the camp site with an LG 'portable' house air conditioner he purchased from Home Depot, in Las Vegas....!  It was a wonderful sight to see!
He had been to several stores in Las Vegas, trying to find a small Portable AC...it took him quite a while!

Since I was back at the camp site, for three hours, with no air conditioning, trying to convince people they wanted to work on their 'Fun Holiday Number ONE'.....And the temperature was rising, and rising...(along with my blood pressure, I'm sure, lol) Gord decided something other than just an air conditioner was necessary...to put his 'wifey' in better spirits.....
He stopped at Wal-mart to purchase ice...and decided to bring me back something he figured I could use...A Bottle of Spiced Rum and a case of Diet Root Beer!  And ICE!    (very smart move...I wasn't in the best of spirits when he got back....But, Seeing the air conditioner, and the drinks put me in a much better mood!
He and our friends got the Air Conditioner set up, vented out the motor-home window.....I wish I'd have taken pictures.....Gord had stuffing of some sort, around the venting hose (wide plastic pleated venting)...(looked hilarious!...including the duct Tape on the windows...
...But, I wasn't done yet!  The sun was beating in the windows, and getting hotter and hotter. (Our huge windshield was facing West...with not even a baby palm tree to shade it......So, time to get busy....

Operation Kool-down...Step TWO:


I'm a COSTCO member, and huge fan...My friends had been teasing me, before I left for holidays, I had purchased the huge box of  Reynolds Extra Strength, WIDE Barbeque Aluminum Foil.....  I also had purchased a HUGE box of the narrower Tin Foil, that's not as wide, nor as heavy....You never know when you are going to need Tin Foil!  It's good for all kinds of things...good in emergencies....
WELL....At about 5:00 pm, on July 3rd...the west sun was beating into our windshield of our Class A motor-home, in Las Vegas.....It was horrendously hot!  (no other words can describe that)....I Pulled out the box of Aluminum foil..and Masking Tape (I also had some painters tape in my Card Making/paper crafting 'box of tricks'...I started covering windows....I'm sure, that, the sun, reflecting the Western Sunset, off the tin Foil covered Windows...(in 107 degrees heat)....must have blinded (and sun-burned) everyone within a mile! LOL.....)  We covered up the windows......We covered up the Sky-lights....We were desperate!....Masking tape, painters tape....and Tin Foil!  We were a 'blinding light' in the middle of the Nevada Desert!  Can you imagine, all the lights in Las Vegas....shining onto our tin foil clad motor-home....We must have looked like something out of Chevy Chase's Vacation movies!  either that, or 'hill-billy style space-ship'.....clad in Tin Foil!  It was hilarious! 
We can laugh now....
When that whole 'scenario' was over, and I ripped down the tin foil.....(double layers, too)...I folded the foil up, put it under the bed, just in case I was going to need to put it up again.  (we did go to Camping World and buy the metallic, quilted material, and hook and loop tape),...for the sky lights, etc.....
You have no idea of how MUCH tin foil I had....For the next seven weeks...I barbequed, I used tin foil liners...tin foil to cover food...etc......each time, I'd go into the bedroom, lift up the bed....cut off as much as I need, LOL....By the time we pulled into Canada, I had just used the last piece of tin foil....

But, now you know where we were!...and why you didn't hear from me for a while
We saw so many great places, met so many great people!  (we even went to Graceland!! Gord's dream!!)...We even managed to stop at Joplin, Missouri.....where it was so terribly hot...and the poor residents  are STILL suffering from the tornadoes that went through there last year!...They are still living in Government provided emergency 'shelters/homes'....  People are living in campgrounds....with the workers who are trying to repair their homes...The temperatures were terribly hot...but, the people  were friendly and welcoming...even when things were going wrong for them...they were smiling!
The people we met throughout our trip made our vacation wonderful!
Right from Joplin Missouri, and Wichita Kansas, to Shreveport Louisiana....our holiday was made 'the best' by the people we met....
We had such a wonderful time, even when things go wrong....people make it better)....
Much more had happened during our trip....some great things, some, not so great, but, all in all, We went on a seven week vacation, with friends....and we're still friends....no one died...we saw so much that we'd have never seen, and met people that make this world a better place.....

I can't wait til we get a chance to go back to visit again...(Next time, we'll do a 'shorter' drive....Gord 'did the 'math', and we drove 10, 098 km in the motor-home.  While we were camping,....we put 2,700 km on our little Toyota Matrix, that we pulled behind the motor-home,

We saw so much...The Grand Canyon, Carlsbad Caverns (If you EVER get the chance to go there, YOU MUST see the Carslbad Caverns!!  Words just can't describe them.  I've been in Caverns before....but, after seeing these!  I've never seen anything like them before!   The walking tour we took lasted over 2 hours...and we didn't see all the caverns!  The lighting and the work put into making those caverns such a phenomenal place...!  Definitely a 'must see'....
They have kennels you can rent there, indoors, for your pets!  We knew Isaac was safe and sound...Either Gord OR I weren't going to go to the Caverns,   One of us would have stayed back with the dog...It's not safe to leave animals alone in the heat!....But, we found, during our trip, that MOST of the government operated tourist sites, such as Sandia Peak, in New Mexico, and Carlsbad Caverns....offer safe places to keep your pets while you visit!  That's such a relief! 
We went to Graceland, San Antonio River walk, and, the Alamo....all the way to Jackson Hole Wyoming,  (My heart still yearns to be back in Louisiana)
You know....there is so much here, in North America, to see...even though we saw so much..There is so much more to see!....
I guess we need to 'stop' and smell the roses.
I just wanted you to know where we were, and why you haven't heard anything from us for a while...
Now, CHA Summer show is over....the new products are starting to arrive!...and, so many wonderful new stamps, dies, embossing folders and products..waiting for us to play!!
.....it's time to celebrate September...and get ready for all those great Christmas cards, projects and Layouts! 
I've got the Distress Seasonal ink pads, and inkers in stock.  I do have the Fall Inkers, but, I'm waiting for Ranger to announce the 'shipping date' for the Fall Seasonal Distress Ink pads! They were sold out.  I'll let you know when I hear more about the shipping date.
Memory Box Dies have released new Cutting dies and rubber stamps! 
They can be seen in my online catalog at:  http://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a273/integritydesigns/Cutting%20Dies%20-MemoryBox%20dies%20and%20Stamps/

I was having some problems with my online catalog, but, Photobucket has managed to straighten things out...So, I can get the new great 'toys' online....
Please visit Integrity Designs Rubber Stamps online catalog at:  http://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a273/integritydesigns/
You can email me with your order...
If you have difficulty finding an item, are looking for a particular product, feel free to email me.
Don't forget, We are located in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada...and, you are welcome to come and shop in person, when you are in the area!


Please, if you have any questions, or would like to order, please email me at: (address in Left Side-bar) integritydes at telus dot net....

I wrote this yesterday to my blog, but didn't publish it.  I'm not sure why you received an email saying I'd posted...because I hadn't published the post.  I'll be contacting Blogger/ Feed Burner to see what the problem is.