Stress, so early in the year

Are other people experiencing stress too? I do wonder. Last week I received an email with a UPS tracker number listed and a winzip file. I downloaded it to print off and suffered a total lockup of my PC! It was a scam and contained a virus so people out there BEWARE! but the good news is that PC World cleaned up my PC, put in a new antivirus software and made the whole thing mega fast again. They did it all in a day which was most excellent of them. However, being without my PC for 4 days was very stressful.

On another note, a very nice thing about Monday was that the refuse collectors were out and about and not only did they empty the green wheelybin but came back a few hours later for the black one. I hadn't put this one out and dashed to the door so I didn't miss them, and the young lad waved his arm, dashed up the drive and took the bin to the wagon to empty it and then put it back up the drive...I can't thank him enough.

Well, as I had no PC I got to work on some journals. The dragon fly one is for the Mixed Media Monday challenge...Wings. The dragon flies are made with a top layer of painted fine lutrador, then a stamped and painted cotton layer, then green felt and lastly a dryer sheet so it moved nicely under the needle. Then I free motioned variagated thread around all the outlines before cutting each fly out. I made these up a while ago as an experiment but had no idea what to do with them.

I made up the journal with stone coloured suede and couched the dragon flies over it.

The inside is a piece of japanese kimono silk that complemented the outside.

I also made a black velvet journal with gold panels which I have done before. This journal looked so good I had to make another to match. I revampted another gold tissue paper one too, adding that bobble wool that's the latest fashion wool to knit around the edge and redoing the inside papers in a more modern twist.

There was a second good thing from yesterday, I looked in at "The Works" shop in town and found all I needed at half price in the sale. The 3rd good thing (my luck just managed to make it!) was that when I did finally get my PC going I had my online bills for gas and electric to view. Both services showed that I had overpaid by quite a bit and they owed me money and I was able to cut my monthly payments down. I went to bed feeling really good about 2010.