Thoughts on a Sunday 1-26-2020

Caracal Cat – Jeff Jett – LinkedIn

I just love this photo. I don’t know who the photographer is, but it was posted by Jeff Jett on LinkedIn.

Our weather is more spring-like today, and I’m really grateful. I’m a wuss about ice and snow. I love to LOOK at snow, PLAY in it, and maybe even build snowmen, but I don’t like having to worry about whether I can safely get to an appointment or not.

On my CLEAN OUT – DECLUTTER – DONATE – THROW AWAY PROJECT – 

I’ve finished reorganizing the walk-in pantry

 

Finished cleaning out and reorganizing the shelves over my desk – actually FINDING my buried desk again

 

Cleaned out the aquarium again –

My goldfish make their water cloudy really fast, no matter what I do. I don’t know if goldfish are just dirtier than other fish or what. I’m thinking about scrubbing each of them with a toothbrush the next time I clean the aquarium….

I vacuumed the first floor tiled areas this morning (pantry, kitchen, dining area, utility room, and two half baths), so today’s project is finishing the clean up of the kitchen.

I have to tell you that the past few days have been good exercise,  with all the pulling, hauling, relocating, going up and down the ladder, etc.  It feels good to see things finally looking better organized for what we need now. It’s amazing to me how much what you are eating changes the tools and appliances you need, the ingredients to cook with, and storage needs.

I hope that you are having a satisfying Sunday, too.

 

All You Need

SayingImages.com

We had a nice morning, joining our good friends for Lunch Bunch – good friends, good food, fun conversation, and laughs. This is a quality of life thing, getting to share some time each Friday with long time friends who mean the world to me.

Our friend Kay asked if I had an Instant Pot. I DO, but it’s been sitting on the shelf because I’m intimidated by it. (My mom had a pressure cooker years ago. I still remember when it ‘blew up’ sending bits of STUFF all over the walls, ceiling, floor, etc. No one was hurt, but it’s like it was yesterday in my mind.) I’m trying to get over my trepidation. I found out Kay has one and uses hers all the time! I’m going to get out my paperwork, the book that came with it, and a recipe book I got very soon. I’ll choose a recipe, and Kay has encouraged me to call her with dumb questions about it, plus she’ll give me tips on things to DO – and things NOT to do – while using it!

After Lunch Bunch we ran errands and I put things away, I cut up strawberries for my husband, divided up some pulled pork into servings to go into the freezer for his future lunches, etc.

I’m on DAY TWO of the great ‘pantry-and-kitchen-clean-out-and-reorganization project.’ I did the heavy stuff yesterday. I’m creating a pile of donations in our foyer to to the Veterans Thrift Store. I filled a big leaf bag with ‘stuff’ that needed to be thrown out yesterday.

Today I’m trying to finish the project – working on our medicine storage area and some other little things, and then I’ll share a pic or two.

My husband could already tell I had been working in there. He looked around and said, “Where did you put all the STUFF?” :0)

I hope you’re having a great Friday, too.

 

Thoughts on a Tuesday 1-21-2020

Back to Nature

It’s cold (26 degrees F.), crisp, and sunny outside here in Greenwood, Arkansas. Since rain, freezing rain, sleet, and flying hair balls are forecast for tonight and tomorrow, my husband and I went to run errands and replenish supplies so that we can stay in.

I just received a package with some earrings I ordered from Jerri St. John at Paparazzi.   This is wonderful costume jewelry I really love.  Jerri is a wonderful person. She handles orders carefully and promptly, with great communication. I highly recommend her. I have never been disappointed in anything I have bought. Click on the link above to see all the wonderful things she offers! * If the above link doesn’t work for you for some reason, here is the URL  https://paparazziaccessories.com/shop/166aed0ca4f1ee59d370/#/

I got to play in my art room yesterday, finishing – or almost finishing – some things –

 

This is another in my ‘word’ wooden plaque series.

 

I painted another of my stained tee shirts – “up-cycling” it so I can continue to wear it. I think this one looks happy.

 

I finally decided to make some wooden earrings for ME.  I need to add the hardware.

 

 

I did this pair and the green pair below as an experiment. I need to drill holes in the middle-size and small disks so I can put the hardware in that will attach the pieces.

 

 

We enjoyed going bowling with our long-time good friends last night. When we started this, several years ago, we thought that bowling most Monday nights would result in better and better scores. NOT!  I’m am completely erratic. Either I bowl pretty well for me (160+) or don’t even break 100. Last night was one of my pathetic nights. It didn’t matter because we got to catch up with our friends and enjoyed ice cream from Braum’s afterward. YUM!

I am finally feeling good today – after 2 days of misery and 2 more days of feeling pretty weak, so I’m going to celebrate by getting back to my exercise. I’ll get on my elliptical trainer and then will do some good gentle yoga stretching. :0)

I hope that YOUR day is enjoyable, as well.

 

Thoughts on a Sunday 1-19-2020

Secretary Bird-New Animalbook-Steve Stehr-via Penny Yaffe Krakow

I’m delighted/relieved to report that I’m feeling GOOD this morning! Not sassy yet, but on my way. I have thrown out a lot of food, since I don’t know what caused my problem (all were things that “I” eat, and my husband doesn’t, such as cottage cheese, raw veggies, etc.) We will go to the grocery store soon to replenish our supplies and start with a clean slate again. WHEW!

Even though our weather is a bit cold, gray, and raw, we have NO snow or ice – another thing for which I’m grateful. :0)

I finished painting a tee shirt before I got sick.

 

I’m looking forward to getting up to my art room this afternoon. I have started earrings for myself and another wooden plaque.

Fingers are crossed that I’ll feel good enough by tomorrow to get back to my daily elliptical trainer and yoga practice.  Right now I’m feeling very happy with not having my food poisoning symptoms – but my body will be happier when I can be more active again.

123RF.com

I wish you a happy, healthy Sunday!

Thoughts on a Saturday 1-11-2020

Jeff Jett – LinkedIn

The severe weather came through last night, dropping our temperature from 70 degrees F. to 34 this morning. the storms and lightning were pretty impressive. (My husband was teed off because our weather guy broke into the programs he wanted to watch.) The day today is gray, raw, wet, cold. We MAY get sleet today, but so far, we are doing fine, have sustained no damage that I have found, and are warm, safe, and dry.  I hope the storms don’t cause a lot of damage as they now move to the east.

 

My daffodils are stupid. They have sprouted and will try to bloom, even though the prospect of sleet is imminent today with winter coming on its heels.

 

I baked recipe #6 for keto bread yesterday. I brought two slices in for my husband and I to try. My husband took one bite and didn’t say anything. In a few minutes he let our dog, Amber enjoy the remainder of the slice. (Tact is not his long suit.)  Happily, I found a group yesterday on Facebook – Amazing Daily Keto moderated by Angie Thomason that is all things keto. I was accepted into the group and already have a new bread recipe to try!  Hooray!

I’m getting my chores accomplished – mainly due to the yucky weather outside – and

source unknown

am hoping to spend at least part of the afternoon in my art room. I have some ideas rattling around that are becoming insistent that they be allowed to come out. I LOVE spending time up there! :0)

I hope that YOUR day is safe and enjoyable.

Thoughts on a Friday 1-10-2020

Soul Alchemy

I’m really sad about the loss of animal life in Australia. People are trying to save as many as possible, and I’m grateful for that. My heart goes out to the people who have lost so much.

We are getting ready to go to Lunch Bunch, our weekly lunch with long-time, treasured friends. It will be good to be out, especially because we are due for some severe weather later today – high wind, chance of tornadoes, strong wind, hail, heavy rain, and flying hair balls. It’s supposed to start at 2 and last throughout the night, changing to sleet tomorrow. I’m about to suggest dances and songs for Mother Nature – trying to get on her good side…

I had a nice online chat with our son in Thailand yesterday. I always feel so good after talking with him. The fact we can type back and forth whenever we would like makes me almost forget he’s half a world away. :0)

I’m trying a new keto bread recipe this afternoon. Fingers crossed!

Have a wonderful day, and stay safe.

 

Thoughts on a Thursday 1-9-2020

New Animalbook

We are getting rain. We had some last night, we’re having some today, severe weather possibly tomorrow, then maybe a wintry mix Saturday. I wish that Mother Nature could do this moisture over Australia…

Between storms, my husband and I drove to Ft. Smith this morning to leave our first donation of the year to the Veterans Thrift Town Store. I am really impressed with the people who run this place. The store is always clean, and the people who work there smiling and helpful. The people in the back who help us with our donation are always really nice. We now donate most everything we have there.  If you live in the area, their address is 3500 Jenny Lind Road, Suite B, Fort Smith, AR 72901.  Their phone number is (479) 783-7225. They are open Monday through Saturday, 9am to 6pm.

I am doing better with my keto eating plan efforts and my exercise.  I just took one of our favorites – an egg/sausage/cheese bake – by Suzanne Ryan – out of the oven for our dinner tonight. My husband actually requests this dinner. I serve it with a side veggie or a salad. Delicious. I’ve been doing lots of yoga lately to try to straighten out my back. It’s working. I’m almost back to normal now. A twinge, when I bend forward, like to pick something up off a table, but otherwise good. I’ll try to add my elliptical to the mix very soon.

I’m going to try another keto bread recipe probably tomorrow. The loaf I’m finishing is fine, but my husband doesn’t care for it. I would LIKE to find one that both of us enjoy. The search continues…. oh- I almost forgot to tell you! I’m on the hunt for Crepini Egg Thins with Cauliflower. Walmart usually carries them, but is out of stock at the moment. I’m planning to try using them as a wrap in place of sandwiches, since trying to eat things from rolled up lettuce isn’t really working for me.

It is dark outside, and it’s only 4:30! Looks like we’re in for another storm.

I hope you’re having a good day.

 

 

Hello!

Wild and Wonderful

I hope you’re having a wonderful Wednesday.

It’s nice and fall-like here, with sunshine. It’ll get to 60 today. I’m lovin’ it!

My back is almost completely healed now, so I’m very grateful.  I’ll continue to do the multiple sessions each day until the soreness is gone.

I’m continuing to gather things for the first declutter donation.

AND I’m hoping to sneak up to my art room this afternoon.

Have a wonderful day, everyone.

 

Thoughts on a Tuesday 1-7-2020

Varya and Weiss – Andy Seliverstoff

 

Today is a beautiful day in Greenwood, Arkansas. It’s 43 degrees and sunny. It’s supposed to get up to 57 this afternoon. Hard to believe it’s January. I’m lovin’ it!

fityourself.club

I’m delighted to report that my back is ALMOST back to normal this morning. I hurt myself three days ago, trying to put a big tub of Christmas stuff under our stairs. I had asked my husband for help. He said the tub would not GO under the stairs. I told him I knew it would because it was under there when I took the tub out in order to decorate. He continued to scoff, so I got angry and tried to PROVE to him it would go under there by doing it myself. STUPID MOVE. My anger resulted in 3 days of really bad back pain.  I have spent those days taking Tylenol, then switching to Ibuprofen, using Arnica gel on my back, using the heat pad most of the day and night, and doing multiple sessions of very careful yoga stretching. This morning I am MUCH better. Not 100% yet, but MUCH improved. My husband told me to punch him in the mouth – rather than hurting myself – the next time I get mad at him. :0)

 

YouTube

I wracked up a lot of gold stars with all the yoga sessions the past three days, but the best thing is that I learned how I can help myself feel better through my practice. I was mainly thinking of it as a good way to loosen myself up, increase my flexibility, etc., but now I know it’s therapeutic and can help me get through an injury or insult to my poor back.

I had started gathering things to donate to the Veterans Thrift Store in Fort Smith before I hurt myself. So far, we have filled a long box with glasses that were cluttering up our cabinets and the pantry. The work was put on hold while I tried to recover from my stupidity, but I will GINGERLY continue with that today. I’m concentrating on the kitchen, pantry, and dining area (since they are all connected)  first. Hopefully, we can take our first donation by the end of this week.

I hope that you are feeling sassy today and enjoying nice weather.

 

Thoughts on A Saturday – 1-4-2020

Beautiful World

I told you yesterday that I learned a good, long-time friend of mine had died. Since then, I have heard from MANY friends locally and online, giving me kind words of consolation. I’m a very, very lucky person to know so many wonderful people. Thank you. It means a lot.

I spent time with MORE friends at Lunch Bunch yesterday. As usual, we shared what had happened since the last Friday, our plans, plus stories, hugs, and lots of laughter.  The daughter of one of my friends joined us from Fort Smith, so it was an especially nice gathering. We have been meeting every Friday for over 17 years now. There is no way to express how wonderful it is to have shared our lives, Friday by Friday, through good times and bad. Priceless.

This morning has been a character-building exercise for me. Our animals are conspiring to drive me crazy, one incident at a time. I can almost hear them laughing as they watch me mutter and handle the next thing, over and over. One example –

‘someone’ – whose name is probably Amber, our 94-pound yellow lab – apparently ‘nosed’ the small pile of firewood we had on the hearth, causing everything to tumble down onto the carpet, spreading debris everywhere. I started picking up pieces, then used a brush and dustpan, then a whisk broom, and finally the vacuum, to finally get the area cleaned up and back together again.  “Someone” else – probably named Molly (our elderly cocker spaniel/schnauzer cross) and Abby, one of our cats – caused me to also vacuum the hallway, two half-baths, the dining area, the kitchen, the pantry, and the utility room because of tufts of animal hair playing in the breezes. (The fact that I JUST vacuumed all that YESTERDAY makes me think they are smuggling in some other animal to shed an ‘entire animal’ each and every day…)

I’m having lots of fun in my art room.

Yesterday I finished these –

 

I’m hoping to play in my art room more today, unless the animals come up with yet another mess for me to clean up.

I hope that you are having a wonderful day, too, full of the love of friends, family, and pets.

 

 

 

 

 

Happy New Year 2020

We had a quiet evening last night. We ate some keto chili, and I celebrated by eating some no-sugar-added ice cream to end the old year happily.  Being old folks, we went to sleep right before midnight, so we don’t know if our backyard neighbors down in the valley shot off fireworks or not.

I found a wonderful way to celebrate each month of 2020.  Out of the goodness of my heart :0)  I bought an Australian Firefighters calendar. This is a fundraiser for them, and being SUCH a good person, I wanted to help. I’m going to share the photo each month, so that YOU can benefit from my donation, too.

 

And here we welcome January with Ben and Nullah. I hope you share my enthusiasm for the new month. You’re welcome! :0)

 

This is my newest group of note cards created with Unicorn Spit Stain/Glaze and grey webbing spray. I’m calling it, “Branching Out.”

I hope this is a wonderful day for you – the first day of what will be a great year for you.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Thoughts on a Monday 12-30-2019

Neal Cooper – http://www.cnpsafaris.com via R J Bennett – LinkedIn

It’s hard to believe 2019 is almost behind us. For our family, it was a mixed year of good and bad. My husband had a stroke, our son spent 3 months here with us helping us get to the new normal, and my husband is almost completely recovered now. We lost old friends and gained some new ones. But most of all, I’m grateful for what we have now. I’m intent on wringing every drop of joy I can out of each day.

 

I don’t know if you read my post on baking some keto bread yesterday. I added an addendum later, describing our 94 lb yellow lab, Amber, helping herself to the entire remaining loaf when we were lax about shutting the baby gate between the living room and the kitchen/dining area. She greeted me with a smile and a burp. I am planning to try another keto bread recipe today…

I’m delighted to report that SOME nice someone visited my newest Etsy shop, EyecatchingEarrings yesterday and favorited my shop. The same or a different visitor is now an ‘admirer.’ :0)

We are having a quiet day today – other than a guy who came up in a truck to tell us he and some other people would be wandering around working on electrical poles today. No appointments. No errands. Ahhhhhh!

 

 

I’m looking forward to playing in my art room today.

I hope that YOU are having a wonderful day, too.

Thoughts on a Saturday 12-28-2019

We just changed the decoration on our mailbox from Santa to Happy New Year.

We love Calvin & Hobbes by Bill Watterson, so we have made two mailbox decorations to honor his great work and sense of humor.  This one appeals to us because we have never been the nostalgic “Auld Lang Syne’ types at New Years.  At our age, we just got used to writing ‘2019’ on our checks and now we have to think again before writing… :0)

I just finished adding my hand painted wooden earrings to my new Etsy shop – EyecatchingEarrings. I can’t decide if I need to work on a banner to go across the top of the page or not. If you have the time to take a look, I would appreciate your opinion.

As we came in from getting the mail and putting up the new mailbox decoration, I was appalled to see dog hair balls on the floor that were blowing in the breeze we made as we walked by. This tells me two things:

THING ONE – I need to get up off my duff and VACUUM, and

THING TWO – I need to defurminate Molly again.

I absolutely will do thing one and will TRY to do thing two.

I hope that your Saturday is a good one!

 

 

Thoughts on a Friday 12-27-2019

Photographer Unknown via Penny Yaffe Krakow

I’m especially happy today.

I’m excited about sharing a booth in a local shop with one of my best friends. It’s fun to see what sells, to plan what I want to add to the shop, to make new things for it. The owner of the shop is Joanna Brandt, and the shop’s name is Rags & Roses Collective. She has divided the shop into booths so that lots of people in the area have a chance to show and sell their wares. Our booth is called, “Blasing Bright.”  I have a group of new things to put in our booth today. The shop will be open today until 5:00, I think. Then Joanna will take a well-deserved vacation and will reopen Jan. 6th.

My family is doing well.

We will go to Lunch Bunch soon, joining our good friends for conversation and laughs.  It’s good to be able to share the good times (and help each other with the bad) as we watch one year turn into another.

My new shop – EyecatchingEarrings on Etsy – is coming together. I’m hoping to have it fully up and running by the end of the weekend, though the shop is open for business now. :0)

I hope you had a happy Christmas and that 2020 will be a wonderful year for you.

 

Thoughts on a Tuesday – 12-24-2019

RJ Bennett-LinkedIn

We did errands first thing this morning and are now in for the rest of the day.

We are having a good, quiet Christmas this year. For the past few days, we’ve been delivering presents and visiting with good, long-time friends. It has been really good to catch up, hug a few necks, talk and laugh together. We’re really rich in friends.

Though our son won’t be home from Thailand, we had a super conference call day before yesterday. We chatted about this and that, and most of all, I got to see his FACE. I truly love his face, and trying to make him smile or laugh. When he was home helping us with my husband’s stroke, he took particular care in filling up my hugs bucket to the brim and over-flowing.

Besides going up to continue cleaning my art room – and then, possibly starting some new projects I have rattling around in my head, I gave myself ANOTHER Christmas present. Recently at the exclusive emporium of WalMart, I found a light pink pullover hooded sweatshirt. It was SUPER soft and a really nice weight, so I bought it. One of the wonderful things was that – for the first time in a LOOOOOONG time – I bought it out of the regular women’s clothing department, rather than in my usual special department for ‘ladies-of-more-generous-size.’  I wore it, loved it, and decided I wanted a couple more.

You guessed it – there WEREN’T any more when I went back. I tried to order more online. I thought I had found them, but when they arrived, they were fleece. Heavier than I want for in the house wear. Today, when we stopped there, I FOUND them again!  I bought two more. Merry Christmas to me!

Even though our house is nice and warm, I get psychologically chilled sometimes while watching TV. I get a throw to burrow under in my chair. With the sweatshirts, though, I’m much less apt to feel chilled. :0)

I am ready to cook our small Christmas dinner tomorrow. We’ll have enough turkey breast for the celebratory meal, plus – our favorite – sliced turkey for turkey sandwiches for a couple of days.

Today has been quite enjoyable for another reason – I’ve been on Facebook and LinkedIn, two of my favorite websites, and have connected with a lot of folks. Today has been filled with good wishes, nice posts, and good conversations.

Happy Christmas Eve –  and Merry Christmas tomorrow. Happy 2nd day (I think) of Hanukkah to more of my good friends. I hope that you are surrounded with love. If not, I’ll be thinking of you and trying to send hugs your way.

Thoughts on a Sunday 12-22-2019

istockphoto

And we have water pressure!

After two days of non-stop work, we enjoyed nice hot showers with reasonable pressure last night! We had two big blowouts twice when we were doing a last ‘tightening up’ to stop a couple of drips, so we declared victory the third time and left the drips going. We would like to increase the pressure a bit more, but will wait to do it until we have the leaks stopped. I have called our plumber, who has agreed to come out after Christmas ( We told him this was not an emergency.)  We are hoping it will be a quick job for him and a final fix for us. Meanwhile, we’ll monitor things in the well house for any big problems.  Ahhhhhh!

Today will be a happy day for us. We’ll go grocery shopping and stop off at a friend’s house to check on them and take a present or two. Later this afternoon, I’ll do it again with another friend. :0)

Otherwise, we will do a lot of resting.

I hope your day is great, too.

Thoughts on a Friday – 12-20-2019

Kanno Hisao

Yesterday I had a wonderful massage, exchanging gifts with my massage therapist and friend, Lynn. It was special for a THIRD reason – she had a CD of Christmas music playing.

I have discovered that I have a HUGE pet peeve – jazzed up (screwed up) Christmas music. I want people to just play or sing it the way it was written. I guess that’s limiting for the artists, but it’s my opinion they should be singing for the listeners, not for their own amusement or amazement. The really beautiful thing was that the CD she played was a series of instrumentals, with different instruments used for different verses of the songs, but played straightforwardly, purely, BEAUTIFULLY.

Lynn and I shared that one of our gifts to each other was that we were singing along MENTALLY, rather than aloud. :0)

I enjoyed every minute of the massage – as I always do – but this time was truly special with the absolutely lovely traditional Christmas music. I felt joy in my heart along with the easing in soreness. Those are true gifts.

Thoughts on a Wednesday 12-18-2019

Kanno Hisao

The gray, rainy days have finally stopped, giving way to sunshine! It really lifts my spirits.

I earned two gold stars yesterday – one for doing 35 minutes on my elliptical trainer and the other for doing about half an hour or so of my yoga stretches. I put the gold stars on my desk calendar as a motivation to get off my rear and actually DO the exercises, rather than simply thinking about them or talking about them. Will try for another 2 stars today.

This afternoon my husband has an appointment with our primary doctor – the first since he suffered the stroke and we saw everyone trying to do whatever was reasonable to keep him from having another. I’ll be interested to hear what she thinks about how he’s doing, if he needs to change any medicines, and what she thinks the prognosis is for the future.  From my perspective, seeing him every day, he’s almost completely back to normal now. He gets his words garbled every once in a while, and I type for him if he wants me to.

All is good as we prepare for a quiet Christmas. We will actually celebrate with our various friends between tomorrow and Christmas at different times, leaving only the meal Christmas Day. I’ll make another turkey for us. We’re together. We’re doing fine. That’s all the gift we need.

I hope that you are having a wonderful, sunshine-y day.

 

 

 

 

Thoughts on a Sunday 12-15-2019

Kanno Hisao

It’s 42 degrees F. today – gray, wet and downright depressing outside.

When we left, we stopped at our mailbox to change our decoration.

We were really cold, trying to loosen nuts and change out cold metal decorations in the wind, but I’m glad Santa is up now, maybe waving at folks as they pass our driveway.

We got our groceries for the week. When we got home, I spent the next hour prepping food. My husband saw I had a lot to do, so HE browned the roast to go in the crock pot for tonight. I think that’s the first time in the 50-1/2 years we have been married that he has done that. I tried not to act shocked, and thanked him when he finished, giving him a big hug. :0)

While he was browning the roast, I cut up strawberries for his desserts, plus carrots, radishes, and celery to go with cherry tomatoes as part of my lunches. Now, all is finished and I’m relaxing with a cup of coffee.

I finished painting and spraying the two sizes of discs for the experiment on clip-on earrings. If I get them together today, I’ll post pics and you can tell me what you think.

I made a big push yesterday and am almost finished getting Christmas presents ready. I’m giving all handmade this year, and the Lunch Bunch group is exchanging gifts this coming Friday.

I finally found the large tub of Christmas decorations I’ve been looking for for a couple of WEEKS now. The tub was in the storage space under our stairs. I have the decorations about 2/3 finished now, and am definitely starting to get into the spirit. My husband was able to dictate (while I typed)  a Christmas letter to go into the cards of friends and family we don’t see all the time. I may get to the Christmas cards, too.

Definitely a day to enjoy being warm and dry here. I hope that wherever you are, you are able to enjoy the day.

Thoughts on a Saturday – 12-14-2019

Dog Lovers Club

We’re having a nice, though gray, fall day here in Arkansas. I found a new sweatshirt/hoodie combination in a pale pink and am wearing it for the first time today. I got it from the exclusive emporium of Walmart, and am pleased to report that I didn’t have to get it in a “wide-load” size!  It’s light weight and cozy feeling. This is really welcome since I’ve been sitting under my throw in the living room while watching TV lately, even though our heat works fine. It may be a psychological thing. Anyhow, I’m thinking of buying ANOTHER one!

I told you that I am experimenting on making light weight wooden earrings for people who do NOT have pierced ears. I found some glue and clip-on findings, both without nickel to avoid problems with allergies.

This is the only finished pair so far. The wood is just large enough for the clip-on. I’m also going to try a larger disk and then drill a hole in the bottom of it and append a smaller disk from it, making a dangle. I’ll show you a pic of that when I have one finished. I’m thinking of starting another Etsy shop just for earrings – pierced and clip-on. I’m also checking out opening a shop on Amazon.

Yesterday one of my long time good friends called to tell me one of her dogs had died. Another good friend lost a cat recently. Having been there, and knowing that losing a treasured pet member of the family is one of the worst hurts there is, my heart goes out to to both of them. I also know there is nothing I can do but show I care.  I wish I could do more.

I’m not sure what else the day holds, other than the what-I’m-hoping-will-be-the-usual exercise with my elliptical trainer and yoga stretches and working in my art room.

I hope your Saturday is fun.

 

Thoughts on a Friday 12-13-2019

Peter Haygarth – Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2019

Happy birthday to you. Haapy birrrthday to you. Haaaaaaapy birrrrrrrthdaaaaay, dear Briiiiiiii – annnn, Haaaaaaapy birrrrrrrthdaaaaay, toooooooo yoooooou! Happy, happy day celebrating YOU, Bri.

Our son is 41 today.  There is a 13 hour time difference between our locations, so I wrote to him last night. He had forgotten!  I told him he was TOO SPECIAL for anyone, including HIM – to forget his birthday.

We will leave for Lunch Bunch in a bit. Our group was talking about this recently, and we discovered we have been sharing lunch every Friday possible for over 17 years now! Each week we catch up with what has happened, and what is GOING to happen. A lot of laughter, hugs, and tears are shared. It’s a special bond, and a treasured part of our lives.

I am delighted to report that I am FINALLY doing my elliptical trainer (35 minutes) and my yoga stretches (30+ minutes) each day again.  I’m really having to push myself, but I’m doing it. Hopefully, I can make it a habit again. :0)

We have lots of errands, so I’m not sure what else I will do today.

Whatever your plans are, I hope you have a fabulous day.

Thoughts on a Thursday 12/12/2019

Penny Yaffe Krakow-shoebill stork love-photographer unknown

A good, busy day so far.

We took my husband to get a blood test to be read at his doctor appointment next week. Any time either of us has to do this, we ‘celebrate’ by eating breakfast at our favorite place, The Dari, in Greenwood. We got our mail on the way home and I started laundry. We’re on the 3rd load now. We changed sheets on the bed, will fold the laundry later.

I went back to town to get a pair of earrings from the local shop and include them in an order from a good friend from Spain. We discovered that for some unknown reason, it is significantly more expensive to send something from the U.S. to Spain than it costs the other direction. The people at the post office couldn’t give me a reason why. It is still the cheapest way we can send something as small as a package of earrings.

Today I will make a batch of egg/sausage/cheese bake, a recipe from Suzanne Ryan of Simply Keto. This has become one of our favorite recipes.  Last time I added broccoli. My husband wasn’t as happy with that, but said mushrooms and spinach would be fine.)

I’m in the middle of a grand experiment, trying to make wooden earrings for people who do NOT have pierced ears. I got the small round disks painted on both sides, and today I’ll try to glue the clip-on findings to the backs of the earrings. Then I’ll wear a pair – though I HATE clip-ons – to see if they hold together. I’m also painting yet another tee I stained (sigh), plus working on a set of note cards.

I’m about halfway through my to-do list for the day now, so I’m taking a break to have a cup of coffee and write this blog post.

Our weather is super nice, so I MAY get out and neaten up the yard a bit this afternoon. Yoga and my elliptical trainer are on tap for this afternoon, too.

I hope that you are having a fun, satisfying day.

Thoughts on a Saturday 12-7-2019

Beautiful World

Today has been a ‘fruit-basket-upset’ so far.

My husband reminded me that it was past time for me to check for operating system updates on my computer. I had to close down everything and start a download. It took FOREVER. THEN – it had to APPLY the updates to my computer.

While it worked, I cut up strawberries for my husband, got chili into the crock pot, vacuumed the first floor tiles, defurminated (a tool that thins her hair) the dog, took down Thanksgiving decorations, cleaned the kitchen….

Now, it’s afternoon and I haven’t had my coffee or started working at the computer!

I have to share that I sold a couple of hand-painted glass Christmas ornaments and a package of friendship greeting cards at the local shop in Greenwood yesterday!

I don’t know which two sold, but it makes me happy that someone liked them. :0)

We got to talk briefly with our son in Thailand this morning.  We tried to use the conference call program, but my computer was using up all our band width, downloading the system updates, so we’ll have to try that another time. He was doing well, and that’s the main thing.

Now that it’s afternoon, and I have JUST finished my morning cup of coffee, I’ll go fix our lunch and then try to get going on the computer again.

I hope that YOUR day is going well.

 

Thoughts on a Monday – Dec. 2, 2019

We woke up to super low water pressure this morning.  Since we live up on top of a ridge line (the water meter is 650+ feet down the hill to the north of the house) we have a booster pump and motor in the well house. This also controls the flow to the irrigation system.  My husband finally decided that the pump and/or the motor had failed. It took us a long time to get it unhooked and off the wall (getting soaked in the process.) I found the name of a guy in Fort Smith and called him, confirming that he would look at what we have and see if he can fix it.  My husband fixed things so we have water in the house, even though the pressure is down. We drove to Fort Smith, left the stuff with the man, and now we wait. Hopefully, he will be able to fix it. If not, he will call with prices for replacement pump and/or motor.

We ate at our favorite restaurant on the way home, The Dari in Greenwood. We had a hamburger steak and veggies. YUM! It made up for not eating anything until about 2 pm today, plus having to deal with difficult things first thing in the morning.

I am now trying to decide the way forward on listing my artwork for sale. Right now I have things listed on ArtFire and two shops on Etsy.  Every time I mention ArtFire, no one has heard of it. I’m wondering about opening more shops on Etsy and dropping ArtFire.  I’ll consider pros and cons and then make a decision after the holidays.

It’s mid afternoon and I have done anything yet – with the exception of helping with the water pump and motor.

I’m going to have a cup of coffee and see if I can regroup.

Hope YOUR day is going better than ours!

 

 

 

Thoughts on a Saturday 11-30-2019

Gianni Cino – Sussan Photography – via Penny Yaffe Krakow

I think this is the most wonderful photo of a giraffe I’ve ever seen. I could look at it all day.

It stormed early this morning, with lots of thunder, waking us up. Usually we don’t even know it rained, so this was a more serious storm than usual. No damage that we’ve found so far, and it is finally clearing off – after three straight raw, cold, rainy days. HOORAAAAAY!

I have a keto chili in the crock pot now, ready for us to enjoy tonight, from my Simply Keto book by Suzanne Ryan.  If I manage to get to my goal weight, it will be largely thanks to Suzanne and her delicious recipes that I can enjoy eating on my diet with food that my husband truly enjoys.

via Jennifer Ann Mitchell Carroll

I have almost 45 lbs off and about the same in inches at this point. I’m MUCH better than I was in the past and I feel healthier and more energetic. I look back with relief that I have finally taken the health of my husband and myself seriously, trying to get us – and keep us – as healthy as possible as we age.  I AM taking good steps with our diet and my exercise.

My “PLAN” today is to do my 35 minutes on my elliptical trainer, plus my half hour or so of yoga practice, PLUS not eat anything I’m not supposed to eat – things I have not done in the last few days. As my good friend, Marsha, says, though – “No promises – even between me and me.” 

I WILL get up to my art room this morning as soon as I finish babbling at you and finishing my coffee. The new colors of Unicorn Spit I ordered came yesterday. I have some earrings, a tote, and a journal cover started. (Did I mention I really LOVE to play with this stuff?)

Happy Saturday!

 

Thoughts on a Friday 11-29-2019

LoveThisPic

My two friends came over last night to help us celebrate Thanksgiving.

Due to my not paying enough attention, I noticed a label on the cute little turkey breast I was about to cook saying, “Cajun Style.” My husband and I are real wusses when it comes to hot and spicy, so this seemed like a huge problem. My husband went out to get another regular turkey breast while I rubbed off the ‘Cajun’ stuff as much as possible We defrosted the regular one when he returned and cooked both at the same time. I labeled each one carefully so that we could all try the Cajun as well as the regular. We all pronounced the Cajun good! There was a small ‘bite’ after you swallowed, but it was a NICE bite, if that makes sense.  My husband and I are looking forward to lots of turkey sandwiches!

We enjoyed our feast. It was great catching up. We had a lot of good conversation, hugs, and laughter. It had been a long time since I saw Nora, one of my good friends. We agreed to do better in the future. Life is too short and we love each other. My other friend is Carla, with whom I share the booth in the local shop in town. She reminded me that Christmas Honors is coming up, and so we’ll go together on Dec. 4th.

“Christmas Honors” is a  tradition honoring our veterans. People come together to volunteer to attach red bows to wreaths to put on each veteran’s grave in the Veterans Cemetery in Fort Smith.

This will be my third year to do this. There are around 18,000 wreaths on which we will attach red bows. So many people in our area have served our country, and it’s good to be able to do something to honor them.  There is a huge group of people who gather to do this. Lots of laughter and camaraderie as we work.

As I was typing this, I heard a noise coming from the dining area I couldn’t identify. I discovered Amber, our 94-pound yellow lab, licking the aluminum pie plate from last night. I looked at my husband. He had the grace to look a bit guilty. There had been two pieces of pie left last night, and both were now in my husband’s tummy….

I’m looking forward to spending time in my art room today. I’m still enjoying playing with the Unicorn Spit Stain/Glaze. I bought some more colors on the net recently and look forward to expanding my play. :0)

I hope that you are enjoying your Friday.

 

Thoughts on a Saturday 11-23-2019

Jeff Jett

I love this picture. I want to pet this dog and hug him.

I have finished up some new things using the Unicorn Spit Stain/Glaze and wanted to show them to you.

The Greenwood Arkansas Holiday Open House is tomorrow afternoon from 1 – 5. I’m volunteering to help in Rags & Roses, 100 North Main, the shop where I am sharing a booth with my good friend, Carla, doing whatever I can to make it go as smoothly as possible.  I’m looking forward to meeting people.  There will be food, Santa photos, a musician playing the guitar/fiddle/mandolin, door prizes, and lots of wonderful stuff to consider buying for the holidays. FUN!

I am now looking forward to Thanksgiving. I have asked a dear friend to eat with us.  My husband will be delighted to hear that she is bringing apple pie!  All thoughts of diet are thrown to the winds. We will gleefully chow down, filling our bellies with delicious stuff and enjoying catching up with my good friend I haven’t seen in far too long. :0)

I hope that you are doing something fun today, relaxing, and looking forward to the week ahead.

Thoughts on a Thursday 11-21-2019

Getty Images

I started my day with a glorious massage. I was still having problems from all the leaf mulching I did, even with pain gel and yoga, so it was especially appreciated today. My massage therapist, Lynn Moody, 479-629-7601, truly has a gift for finding sore spots and making them give in to her healing hands.

We’re having a Holiday Open House at Rags & Roses, the local shop where I’m sharing a booth with my friend, Carla.  The Open House is this coming Sunday from 1-5. The address is 100 North Main. There will be food, door prizes, photos with Santa, a musician who plays guitar, fiddle, and mandolin, plus all the nice things people are selling in the booths. I went today to make a contribution to the door prizes. Tomorrow I’m taking an assortment of the new wooden earrings I’ve made recently. They are for sale on ArtFire, too. If you would like to look at them, here they are – ArtFire.

We just had lunch and I’m about to head up to my art room to play. I’m planning to paint another journal, more note cards, a tote, and start more earrings – all with my Unicorn Spit Stain/Glaze. I love that stuff!

It’s getting dark outside, looking like it’s about to pour. We’re supposed to get a lot of rain between now and the end of the day Friday, so it’s a great time to be inside.

Hope you are staying warm and dry, and that you have something to do that makes you smile.

 

Thoughts on a Monday 11-18-2019

Penny Yaffe Krakow – pic by Mary Madeline Botz

I finished the mulching yesterday and got things cleaned up. My poor body is really protesting, so I’ll take it easy for a couple of days before doing anything more out there. It’s amazing to me that I can get a bit tired by the end of several sessions, but don’t actual ‘feel’ it until that evening or the next morning. I plan to do my elliptical trainer and a session of yoga today, to help stretch things out.

I sang to my husband this morning – hence the cute picture of the doggie above. (I wasn’t nearly as cute, and my husband looked pained that I was singing. My husband, who is still being a curmudgeon about becoming a year older, grinned from ear to ear when he saw what I was doing this morning. The pineapple upside-down cake is in the oven as I type. Hopefully, I can make him smile several times today.

I’m waiting to hear from our friends on whether we are going bowling tonight and then for ice cream or not.

Since I was so ‘good’ working in the yard the past two days, I’m going to reward myself with time in my art room this afternoon.

Birthday – Bowling – Art Room – Pineapple Upside-Down Cake – Not bad for a Monday!

 

 

Thoughts on a Sunday 11-17-2019

Cindy Basnett Thurman

I finished raking and making mulch for 7 brick planters yesterday. My body is saying, “You thought you were 20, didn’t you. Haahahahaahahah.”  I’m hoping that we won’t get the predicted rain and that the temperature gets close to the 58 predicted so that – armed with my leaf blower, leaf mulcher, yellow plastic leaf-scooping ‘hands’, and a trash bag –  I can finish the other 5 planters this afternoon.

 

Unsplash

Tomorrow is my husband’s birthday. I want to do something special for him, but he ‘doesn’t want to talk about it.’ He says he is ‘too old to celebrate birthdays.’ I think I’ll surprise him with a pineapple upside down cake (one of his favorites) and see if I can make him grin…

I hope that YOUR Sunday is a nice one, too!

 

Thoughts on a Saturday 11-16-2019

Jeff Jett

I think one of the most important paths to happiness is REALIZING all you have. Today my main feeling is thankfulness.

I have a beef roast in the crock pot for tonight. I have a cup of coffee. Molly is resting comfortably at my feet as I type.

 

My husband is almost completely recovered from his stroke. (He still gets words garbled occasionally, but we smile at each other when that happens. He has to really work to use his keyboard on his computer. He still has bursts of anger, saying hurtful things, but the episodes are father apart. I’m avoiding triggers I know about, and talking to him calmly about the ones that do happen, making it clear that I don’t deserve it. Things are improving.

Our son is happy in Thailand. We are talking to him on the chat program almost daily, so it’s ALMOST like he is still here with us.  If a person figures out to send HUGS through a chat program, he or she will be a gazillionaire. :0)

Our weather is good, with a nice, sunny day. I’m hopeful it will warm up enough this afternoon that I can get outside. I want to rake and shred leaves, putting the mulch in our flower planters.

I have ideas rattling around in my brain on what I would like to do next in my art room. I’m even DREAMING about them! SO many fun things to play with!