April Fool’s Day 2023

Hindustan Times

I’m feeling very lucky (NO foolin’) to have again dodged bad weather intact, as far as I know. So many people have been suffering lately and I can only hope things finally tame down and people can start to enjoy our brand new spring.

As soon as it gets a bit warmer here, I’m planning to head out to the garden. Because of the wonky weather and my general laziness, I kept delaying getting the garden boxes ready for planting. I’m hoping to see what plants are available in town on Monday.

My brain is starting to turn over some ideas to try in my art room. I’ll try to make some time to enjoy up there, too, this weekend.

At this time each year I remember a story my mom told me. My dad proposed to her in 1944. Having always had an irrepressible sense of humor, he wanted to get married on April Fool’s Day, thinking it would be a hoot. My mom, who appreciated MOST of his humor, made him delay the marriage until the 3rd of April, saying, “I’m not foolin'”

Women’s Health

A shout-out to Melissa – who was due to get SNOW last night. I’m trying to send a calm spring your way. :0)

I hope that you have a wonderful day today, safe and sound, warm and dry.

Bleary Thursday 3-30-2023

Unsplash – iStockphoto

I went to bed sleepy last night, but lay there with my eyes closed instead of actually falling asleep. Couldn’t turn my brain off. I wish I could tell you I was bothered with productive thoughts but….

I was still doing that, intermittently dozing, I guess, at around 3am, when my husband started talking. I sat up and leaned over so I could hear him. He was talking about “Pointy scissors poking him.” When I asked him if it was happening NOW and where he was hurting, he was quiet for a minute and then said “no,” and mumbled. I realized he was talking in his sleep.

I tried to sleep again, but couldn’t, so I ended up downstairs reading until around 4:30. I was just dozing off around 5am when he started talking to me again. I determined he didn’t have anything of note to say this time, either, and I have to tell you I said pretty harshly for him to be quiet.

The next thing I knew my alarm was going off. He was downstairs asleep in his chair with a towel on his head. I didn’t feel bad about making a lot of noise in the kitchen. He remembered talking to me, but didn’t remember what he said. He told me he had finally stopped reading about 2am and came up to bed. I don’t know when he got up and came downstairs this morning.

This is one of the many ‘perks’ we have discovered as we age. I have to leave for a haircut this morning in a few minutes, but Michael will be kind if I fall asleep while he’s trying to work a miracle on me. I look like a dandelion gone to seed right now.

iStockphoto

It’s a very good thing I don’t have a job now that requires an excess of alertness…

Discombobulated Wednesday 3-29-2023

AcidNow – Cheezburger

I’m feeling a bit “discombobulated” at the moment. I just wished a good friend, “Happy Passover” because my desk calendar was turned to the wrong page. Now that I have written and apologized for my stupidity, I’m wondering if I’ve already done anything ELSE wrong….

By the way, “discombobulated” may not be a real word, but it’s been used in my family ever since I can remember. (I just looked it up and it IS a real word – so is ‘cattywampus,’ if you’re wondering)

GrowaGoodLife.com

It’s forecast to get to 70 this afternoon here. It was too cool to be comfortable weeding yesterday, so my garden boxes remain untended. I’m hoping to rectify that today. I would love to have my garden started by the end of the weekend, assuming we aren’t blown off the Earth Friday with the forecast severe thunderstorms.

We don’t have errands today! I’m hoping to have several sessions outside during the afternoon when it warms up. I need to get the weeds out of my garden boxes plus repair some wire ‘separators’ that were broken during the last season. The irrigation system is already in good repair and just needs to be turned on and the timer installed.

I hope that wherever you are today that you are enjoying a beautiful, fun one.

Tuesday Thoughts 3-28-2023

Claudia Angle – Pinterest

It’s sunny today and is supposed to get to 61. I have an impressive list of things I would like to accomplish. Maybe I’ll actually DO some of them. :0)

First on the list is errand-type-stuff. We’re getting a haircut for my husband soon. We’ll get the mail and then put the hopefully-empty humongous trash can back at the pole, tethered to keep it from blowing away in the storms we’ve been having.

We’re due for more possible severe weather Friday, so Lunch Bunch will be in jeopardy once again. We’ll have to watch closely to see if we can risk getting out or not. I was looking at our local news and weather website and found that Sebastian County here in Arkansas has received 7.41 inches of rain this month. (Average is 1.7 inches) WOW.

I spent a bit of time outside yesterday, but decided it was too cool to try to get the garden weeded. I’ll see how it feels this afternoon. I don’t mind it being a little cool, but when my fingers are cold and my nose is running, I figure it’s Mother Nature telling me to go back inside.

I hope you have an enjoyable day.

Delight on a Monday

I absolutely LOVE this photo and had to share it with you.

Yesterday I repaired or replaced the neon tape around the fencing of my square foot garden. I was going to get the planters weeded, but my husband decided to burn two piles of ‘stuff’ between the house and the shop that weren’t acceptable at the recycling center. We still have more to do here.

At my insistence, he hooked up the garden hose in case the fires got out of hand (I always insist, even though we’ve had over 7 inches of rain this month!) When he did that, the sprinklers on the garden boxes turned on and drenched the Mel’s Mix.

The mix in the boxes should be dry this afternoon and hopefully I can get the weeds out and get ready to plant.

This is tomato planter #1. As you can see, it needs weeding (and mowing and weed whacking around it), plus setting up of supports.

Tomato planter # 2 just needs a bit of weeding.

I have a quiet day planned – just gathering trash and putting it out for pickup, getting the mail, weeding the garden boxes and tomato planters, and depending on how long I’m outside, I’ll finish things up with a session of yoga stretching this afternoon.

Enjoy your Monday!

Saturday after All Day Rain

iStock

My husband drove down to get our mail yesterday afternoon during a break in the all night and all day rain we’ve just finished to find that the pipe that goes under the end of the driveway clogged. This caused a ‘lake’ to form on one side of the driveway, flowing out into the street.

We don’t have the equipment to clean out the pipe, so we’re hoping the county will be traveling the roads, making note of people who need help.

We’re about to do errands, getting groceries and stuff, but it sure was nice to have a warm, dry house on top of a ridge line with all the water we’ve gotten. I hope that our town has survived the deluge.

I’ll write more when we get back.

It’s Raining, It’s Pouring…

Giphy

It’s pouring here this morning. I looked at the forecast and it showed heavy rain steadily through 7pm this evening! Then we’re also under a Flash Flood Warning… Good day to live on top of a ridge line.

DIY Value Picture

With all of this I contacted everyone and told them we would stay up on our hill today rather than going to Lunch Bunch. I’ve had trouble with Kay and Linda not answering their phones. Kay is set up with voicemail, but she says she doesn’t get them, even though it shows delivered from my end. Linda isn’t set up for messages at all. It’s like throwing a bottle in the ocean or sending smoke signals, but I actually REACHED both of them this morning and got to talk to them a bit. So virtual hugs and we’ll all stay warm and dry where we are.

I haven’t decided how I’ll spend this wet day yet. Even Amber, who bursts from the house barking her head off each morning, yelling, “I’m here, world, and you’d better watch out!” was back in the garage wanting to come back in before I finished feeding Abby, our cat. :0)

I hope the weather is good wherever you are, or that at least you can avoid being out in it as much as possible.

It’s Still Morning?

Guiding Exceptional Parents – Deyan Georgiev – Fotolia

Our day got off to a confusing start. I came downstairs this morning to find my husband already wanting to go to the grocery store. He likes to eat what we call a ‘sugar ball,’ (since it’s bad for his diabetes) – an apple pie section from the local store. Since we’re monitoring his blood sugar carefully, I have given in to his eating something not on the list once a day. He’s good about most everything else, so this goes into the “life is too short to do without it” category.

So, I grabbed my phone and the grocery list and we left before I even had my day-starting cup of coffee. We put mail in our box at the bottom of the driveway as we left. Happily, it had been picked up by the time we got back! My husband walked the huge trash can back where we tether it to a pole, but for some reason decided that we didn’t need to tie it to the pole today. I disagreed, since we’ve learned the hard way that even our 200+ pound robot we built who stands at the side of the driveway is blown over by gusty winds, and so I went up and tethered it before we drove back up. (It’s amazing that we have lasted so long – we disagree on a LOT – we don’t even use the same salt – but we’ll celebrate our 54th wedding anniversary in June)

We got things put away and I finally sat down at my computer to enjoy some coffee and it was already mid-morning.

Since I got my computer table and desk cleaned off – bills paid, filing done, etc. – I patted myself on the head and listened to some music before deciding what I’ll do for the rest of the day.

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

Thoughts on A Rainy Tuesday 3-21-2023

Quora

It’s gloomy and wet outside, and the rain is supposed to continue all day. Makes me want to cover up my head until tomorrow.

I was hoping to prep my garden for spring planting this week. There is still a chance, since it’s supposed to warm up tomorrow, but Thursday and Friday are both supposed to be rainy with thunderstorms, so I may just have to wait until next week to play in the dirt.

I’m starting to get some ideas rattling around in my head about what to try in my art room next. If I can get a few things done this morning, maybe I can spend some time up there today. Just puttering around up there usually brings my spirits up. :0)

My poor husband has been having trouble sleeping lately. He has his days and nights confused. He was downstairs twice this morning, unable to sleep, reading for an hour or so each time. He’ll spend much of the day napping. He refuses to exercise, and he almost never will take a walk around the yard with me. It really doesn’t make any difference, as long as he rests, but I think it would be healthier if he had more of a regular regimen. With the rain today, we’ll probably BOTH be napping this afternoon…

First ‘to-do’ of the morning – clean off my computer-side table and my desk, paying bills, filing, etc. Let ‘er rip!

COLD Saturday 3-18-2023

Twitter

I’m HOPING that we’re experiencing the last of winter here. As I type, it’s 33 degrees F. It IS sunny, but you are definitely in danger of freezing your parts if you stay outside long.

I did notice, however, that once we get through the weekend, things are looking up. I MAY be able to get my garden planters prepped at the beginning of next week and actually get some spring veggies in by the middle. I can’t wait!

Meanwhile, I have on a heavy sweatshirt. After lunch, I plan to turn on the heating pad I keep in my recliner, cover up with my snuggly throw, and zone out, happily safe and warm, hoping my sweet perennial blooms make it through this last gasp of winter.

We’re having a quiet weekend so far. The most activity we’ve seen is our dog, Amber, getting all her toys – except for a squeaky rubber chicken – out of her toy basket and strewing them all over the living room floor, bringing each one to us, acting like she wants us to throw the toy for her, but actually just wanting to TEASE us, preferring tug of war and then running off with the toy in a victory prance. (She cheats, leaning back with her whole body lending strength. 95 pounds of ‘strength’ will win every time.)

Today’s “project” will be to find my kitchen desk. I know where it’s SUPPOSED to be, but it got buried quite awhile ago and hasn’t been seen since.

I hope you enjoy today.

Smile!

I was thinking I would try to get veggies planted in my raised-bed square foot garden boxes this week. After looking at my weather sources, it looks like I should wait. There are several freezes this week and I’m not ready to have to cover the boxes with tarps nightly. PLUS, tomorrow we’re due for everything including flying hair balls, particularly in the evening, so I’ll look at things again sometime next week.

Mattingly Chiropractic

A Charley-Horse last night renewed my focus on drinking more water and maybe longer yoga sessions. It hurt so badly that my husband woke up and helped me knead it until I could relax again. Muscle gel on my calves this morning will hopefully get rid of residual soreness. I’ll also do more careful stretching, have half a banana at lunch and eat some spinach this evening.

I’m patting myself on the head just a bit this morning because I’m more caught up on ‘have-to’s’ than usual. All I need to do today is balance my checkbooks and finish some filing. SOMETIMES I’m not completely lazy…

Have a wonderful Wednesday.

Thoughts on a Tuesday 3-14-2023

swan-naked raku-kierstincrowley.tumblr.com – I’m unsure of the spelling of Kierstin (Kiersten?) and I am unable to find the source again, but I think this piece is wonderful.

We will leave soon. My husband has a haircut, and then we’ll drive to Ft. Smith to sign our tax forms. Whenever we go to there, he wants to drive the Vette. His driving, while probably more competent than mine, has always scared my hair off – since in any given situation – he puts on the gas when I would put on the brakes. Now we’re “mature” (read older-than-dirt) and you can add another layer of tension to my trip.

If we get back in one piece, I’ll write more later.

Feeling Lazy Sunday

Cuteness.com

“I didn’t get old on purpose, it just happened. If you’re lucky, it could happen to you.” ~ Andy Rooney

I’m feeling old this morning, mainly because I couldn’t care less about who wins the Academy Awards tonight. I’ve only seen one of the movies up for best movie of the year. I guess that alone shows the world has gone on without me. The thing is, it doesn’t bother me. :0)

I read that the ‘gift bag’ each person who attends the awards tonight is worth around $123,000. I guess it’s cynical to think about what could be done in the world if each recipient said, “Please send money equivalent to the gifts to people in the United States who really need it right now.” The cost of the show and the clothes, etc. could be sent, too, and just the list of the winners published.

Thoughts on a Cloudy Saturday 3-11-2023

Oscar Ivan Esquivel Arteaga – Unsplash

The forecast here is for showers this morning and storms this evening – cloudy in-between.

freixenet.com

As I sit here, happily typing on my computer, warm, dry, with coffee beside me, I DO realize how fortunate I am to be able to quietly gripe that my weather isn’t ‘pretty’ today.

2Unstoppable

My friend Marsha and I are happily encouraging each other to get off our duffs and exercise, each putting another star on our individual calendars. Marsha bought a pedaler she can use inside and is also trying to walk to the post office when the weather permits. She is encouraging me to at least do my session of yoga each afternoon, if not also to try an exercise video, do some time on my elliptical trainer in the garage, or get out and work in the yard. It’s nice to be able to compare notes with a good friend, knowing that we’ll each be stronger, more flexible, and healthier together.

The Mercury News

I heard there was yet another bill in Congress to do away with Daylight Savings Time. I couldn’t be more in favor of this. It is my understanding that we started this in order to “help the farmers. ” I think farmers and ranchers are strong, independent people who don’t need everyone to change their clocks . They get up when they feel they need to in order to do what needs to be done each day. If I’m wrong, I would really appreciate it if someone would set me straight so that I can stop resenting it twice a year.

I hope your Saturday is a happy one.

Not Old

I’ve had a really nice birthday celebration, and am now ready to put thoughts of how old I am away for another year. Most of the time I don’t even think of it. The main thing is annoyance if I have trouble getting out of my recliner. :0)

We have Lunch Bunch today. I’m hoping we have a full contingent. I haven’t heard from anyone, and usually that means that everyone is planning to come. It will be good to see some much-loved faces, laugh, and share a meal.

There is not much going on here today otherwise. We have some errands to run after Lunch Bunch, but then a quiet day after with lots of sunshine.

I’m going to try to pay attention as we do our errands to see if the places in town are starting to stock spring plants. I’m itching to get our garden started, though it’s a bit early.

Have a wonderful Friday.

Wednesday 3-8-2023

bbc.com

I hope you’re feeling happy and energized this morning. The rain washed our area clean overnight and it’s overcast now. More rain tonight and all day tomorrow, but it’s NOT raining now, NOT snowing now, NOT icing now, and there are NOT any flying hairballs, so absolutely no complaints. :0)

I’m feeling very lucky that we are retired and not having to report to work someplace on a regular basis. Neither of us sleeps ‘regularly,’ as we used to. We catch cat naps to try to get enough rest, simply falling asleep in our chairs, even when we’re trying not to. My husband’s sleep cycle is really wonky lately. He was up this morning at around 3 and was reading, waiting for me to get up. I went to get more coffee awhile ago and he was asleep in his chair with his tablet in his lap. Later he gave in and put his towel over his eyes, his chair stretched out.

Yesterday when we came back from running errands, we noticed our spring-like our yard looked. The daffodils are blooming their heads off all around the yard – some in the ground and others dotted around in planters. Then we have redbuds in bloom, the tulip tree, the forsythia, etc. Makes for a really nice ‘welcome home.’

I hope you enjoy your day today.

Tuesday 3-7-2023

PopSugar

Hi.

Today is beautiful. Lots of sun and warm temperatures. It’s already 60 degrees. Can you believe it?

We’ll go see if our trash can has been emptied soon, get our mail, scoot to get some groceries, and then tie the trash can back up to the pole beside the driveway when we get back. That’s it for errands today. I’m hoping we can get the mailbox decoration changed.

My husband took the new/used computer out to the shop yesterday, thinking he had it working. It’s acting wonky, though, so he is back at it today.

A day to be outside, drinking in all the sunshine. Enjoy your Tuesday.

It’s Monday 3-6-2023

Step Into The Garden – Lisa Weedn

Today is supposed to be an absolutely beautiful day, sunny with a high of about 80 this afternoon. I’m ignoring the fact that Tues – Thursday will be really rainy, with our area to receive about 3 inches of rain. I’ll make a point of walking around outside today, looking at my pretty perennial plants that are turning their faces to the sun, drinking in the weather, oblivious to what is to come.

It’s too early yet to uncover my square foot garden (earlier photo above). I’m really pleased that our idea to put weed barrier, cut to size, into the planting boxes, seems to have worked well. The carefully placed bricks held the barriers in place, and hopefully, I’ll just need to uncover the Mel’s Mix in the boxes, hook up the irrigation hoses, and be ready to plant! :0)

Yesterday my husband asked me for help on his computer. He wasn’t receiving a code and was completely frustrated. It turned out that he was looking for it in his email when he should have been looking at his phone. I had to start over in order to fix it, then showed him where to look next time. Later I helped him again when he couldn’t access his email. Then, later, when we were watching 60 Minutes, he tried to explain ‘quantum computing’ to me, but couldn’t dumb it down enough for me to understand. Hahahahahaahah.

Have a happy day.

Saturday Morning 3-4-2023

Email from my friend, Marsha ( I think the credit is netdesigner.ch)

I had a good day yesterday.

At Lunch Bunch, my good friend Linda and her daughter, Patty were there, and had decided to celebrate my birthday a week early! Needless to say, I was delighted to feel so special. Linda hasn’t been feeling well, so it was particularly wonderful to catch up with her and hug her neck. I have such great friends.

This is one of my birthday presents. The earrings are made of pop cans! I just love them. :0)

It was cold and rainy, with a pretty stiff wind, so we didn’t put up the mailbox decoration yesterday. We’re hoping to do that soon, probably the next time we go to town, since the weather looks really nice the next few days. This is what we’ll put up for March –

When it warms up a bit, I’m planning to take a walk around the yard, looking for more signs of spring. Such an exciting time of the year when ‘magic’ happens and plants sprout and bloom on their own.

Have a beautiful Saturday.

Thursday 3-2-2023

5News

As you can see, red and yellow blobs are coming for us today. Right now it’s just cloudy. We’re hoping that the used computer we’re expecting to be delivered will come BEFORE the blobs arrive.

Our pest spraying guy is supposed to be here around 11:00 this morning. Finding what was Tri-Hill Pest Control and is now West Termite, Pest & Lawn (with the same wonderful man coming to the house) was one of the best things we’ve done. I was stung/bitten (?) by a scorpion in our bed several years ago and still have nightmares about it from time to time. These people spray for everything – including elephants – at my request with stuff that is very deadly for bugs but safe for Amber and Abby. I feel quite lucky we’re so well taken care of.

I had a very happy thing happen yesterday. I received a birthday card from a dear friend who lives in Virginia. She used to be on my Creative Artworks website and is so talented that it wouldn’t surprise me if she crocheted a bus. It was great to hear from her. I’ll reach out to her today.

I discovered this morning that folding our laundry upstairs on our made bed is a time-saving and easier way to handle the task than using my fold-down table in the laundry room or asking my husband to help me and then hauling the full basket up the stairs. Especially easier was folding the sheets and the comforter I had washed. It has only taken me about 36 years to figure this out….

Happy Thursday!

Sunday 2-26-2023

4GIFS.com – Giphy

It’s cloudy here today with possibly severe storms including gusty winds predicted around midnight tonight. I hope we get through it all right.

I can’t tell you how happy I am that I figured out what was going on with my images saving and accessing, and that my husband is now waiting for a used computer to replace the one we were using in the shop. Things are calm around here now – a priceless thing. :0)

Unknown

I’m planning to spend some time in my art room this afternoon. I’m playing with things, experimenting with some new techniques and materials. I’m having a lot of fun.

We don’t have any big plans today, so we can take our time with things that we enjoy. My husband even found a frozen ribs dinner he wants to try tonight, so all we have to do is nuke a few things and eat.

I hope that you’re having a fun day, too.

Cloudy Saturday 2-25-2023

Twitter

Gradually I’m figuring out some things on my computer. My husband seems to have given up. He’s calm, so I’ve decided to be really happy about that and do what I can on my own.

Yesterday I figured out how to get the pics I have in alphabetical order so I don’t have to scroll and scroll again through everything in order to find one image. Hooray!

Yesterday afternoon I finally found the images I’ve been trying to save recently. This morning I figured out how to change things so they will hopefully go in the place they’re supposed to go, rather than in ‘downloads,’ where they have been going.

I had given up trying to write blog posts. It was just too frustrating. This morning I’ll try to write another post after this one and see what happens. :0)

Just in case I have to give up again, I hope your Saturday is a nice one.

It’s Friday!

GlenEllen-SculptureSite

It’s gray and gloomy-looking outside today, but it’s NOT snowing/sleeting here and our driveway is clear, so few complaints. We also have Lunch Bunch this morning, so it’ll be fun to catch up with friends later.

I’m having trouble saving new images to, and getting images from, the place I store stuff for the blog, so I’m a bit frazzled. My husband will try to fix it today when we get back from Lunch Bunch and errands.

I hope things are good with you today.

Nice Thursday

My husband is working on all of our computers, trying to get them to “see” each other, share files, etc. This is causing daily changes to my computer and is quite a challenge for me, since I’m am almost a technophobe.

Today the type on this page is humongous, rather than the almost-too-small-to-work-with type I’ve been working with. I have no clue how to change it. Also, the way I find and save and use images here is completely different. When I ask my husband about it, he says he hasn’t done anything to change those.

So the sweet gif I found of a cat massaging a dog’s head that I wanted to use for this post to talk about the massage I’m getting this morning is saved somewhere not to be found. I thought maybe it was because it was a gif rather than a jpg extension, so tried to save a jpg. That didn’t work, either. My images aren’t all showing in the list and aren’t in alphabetical order, so trying to use anything is a real challenge.

He will be working on my computer again today, so I’m hoping things will eventually straighten out. I may also end up bald from tearing my hair out…

Rainy Wednesday

Ranger Rick

It’s quite rainy here this morning with possibly severe weather with gusty winds forecast for much of the day. We will stay in where it’s nice and dry.

My husband is still working on our computers. He finally gave up on the rebuild of the computer that lives in our shop, finding a used one he could order. This will hopefully arrive soon. Meanwhile, he’s working on the networking between his computer and mine in the office, and is having a hard time with it. He has been working with the techs at Microsoft, and I’ve been typing for him because he gets frustrated with typing since his strokes. I’ll be glad when we can get our problems fixed and we can go back to what passes for normal around here.

I will move between working at the computer, reading, playing in my art room, and cleaning things today.

I hope that your day is a fun one.

Tuesday 2-21-2023

Cheezburger

We picked up our truck yesterday around 2pm. It was a delight driving it home because there was NO noise when I put on the brakes. NONE. :0) We had to have the rotors replaced on the front, but they said the back ones were fine. We have new brake pads all around. A new lease on life!

Today will be a quiet one with nothing we HAVE to do, other than pull the emptied trash can back up where we can tether it to the pole. We are due for thunderstorms tomorrow and don’t want the can to blow away. My husband scoffed at me when I mentioned that, but then had to admit we’ve learned the hard way about gusty winds here. Our 200+ pound robot has been blown off the side of the driveway and it about killed us to get him back up where he belonged. We now have a chain around his neck, tying him to poles front and back so he jut LEANS when the wind hits him just right. Straightening him up is enough of a job.

Women’s Health

A shout-out this morning to my dear friend Marsha. She has started walking each day and is ordering a pedal-type exercise thingie to use every day in order to build up her muscles and make her stronger. I know how hard it is to make the decision to move more and not let aging take your quality of life. Harder still to actually DO it every day. Walking and pedaling for her – yoga, elliptical and weights for me. We’ll encourage each other to keep it up. GOOOOO, MARSHA!

I’m trying to deep clean something each day. I’ve just finished the kitchen now, and today I’ll scrub the two half-baths on the first floor. I’ll try to contain my excitement. :0)

I hope your Tuesday is a really nice one.

Monday 2-20-2023

caprisculptures.tumblr.com

In about an hour we leave to

• Drive our trash down to the bottom of the driveway
• Take our truck to have new brake pads installed
• Drive to Ft. Smith to take our tax stuff to our CPA

I’m not looking forward to the trip to Ft. Smith because I’ll ride with my husband in his Vette. I am a defensive driver. As always, this is a direct opposite of my husband, who puts on the gas when I would put on the brake in any given situation. Add to this the fact that his patience was used up years ago in the Marine Corp and you have the reason I’m dreading the trip.

I’ll write again later if we have lived through it.

It’s Sunday 2-19-2023

Ala Hamdon – 500px Blog

Happy Sunday!

It’s beautiful here in Arkansas today – 50 already and sunny, with a high of 67 forecast. I’ll take it and enjoy every minute!

This has been a productive week for me.

• I lost 4 pounds this week, although no celebratory balloons yet. This is the loss of pounds I had GAINED over the past two months or so, so until I get into new territory, I’m just quietly pleased I’ve finally come up with an eating plan that seems to be working – at least so far.
• I finished getting our tax stuff together. I’ll call first thing tomorrow to make sure they are open (President’s Day) before we make the trip to Ft. Smith, but we plan to leave it with our tax guy.
• I’ve been spending time in my art room, working on a couple of projects and having a good time.
• I’ve been cleaning some things in the house.

Also, in the “Big Relief” category –

• My husband has ordered a used PC already assembled, that we hope we can use in the shop. After pricing the parts needed to rebuild one of the computers we had, we found out it was cheaper to do it this way. Hooray!
• My husband suggested that we could have someone else change out the brake pads in the truck, rather than our trying to do this ourselves. Our appointment is tomorrow at 10:00. Hooray!

I hope today is a good one for you, too.

Saturday Morning 2-18-2023

Elephant News

I’ve lost almost 3-1/2 pounds this week. I have found that the ‘big test’ on whether I’m actually hungry or not is when I will eat raw carrots. I like carrots just fine, but I NEVER crave them. The fact that the scales are noticing my efforts is encouraging. So far this week each morning I weigh a bit less. I know this won’t happen every morning, but it’s nice to know it MIGHT. ONE DAY AT A TIME…

I don’t know how long my husband was on Microsoft Chat, but he was still going when I went to bed at 1am this morning. I’m trying to keep Amber quiet so he can get some good rest. The computer rebuild is ongoing. I’m not sure what the status is at this point.

We’re supposed to get to 56 degrees this afternoon. The sun is up there, shining its heart out. A happy-looking day.

My other half requested I make spaghetti today, so I have things together to make that happen later.

A calm, quiet day, I’m hoping.

Hooray – It’s Friday 2-17-2023

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Today is Lunch Bunch. I haven’t heard from anyone that they AREN’T coming, so I’m going, hoping to catch up with everyone. These days it’s almost like throwing a bottle in the ocean trying to reach my friends. I can leave a message on Kay’s phone, but Kay says it doesn’t show up. She also says it doesn’t ring, but hasn’t gotten a replacement phone yet. So, unless she answers, I’m not at all confident I can reach her. Linda’s phone message system hasn’t been set up. If she doesn’t answer, I can’t leave a message. Her daughter Patty says she often doesn’t hear the phone because she isn’t wearing her hearing aids. Getting older is SUCH a reminder to keep your sense of humor.

One good thing, my friend Nora has quit her full time job and is writing a children’s book with the idea of self-publishing via the Kindle app. She is a talented artist (pastels), so I don’t wonder that she’ll write well, too. I’m hoping to be able to recommend her book to you one day. In the meantime, I’m hoping she’ll start joining us at Lunch Bunch. She can’t come today, but I’ll text and remind her that this is a standing invitation. :0)

I had a really nice thing happen yesterday. I was getting the mail and a truck went by. We waved, then he stopped and backed up. He told me he loved the mailbox decorations and made it a point to drive by and see what we had up, even though he lives down the road in the other direction. He asked if we used a CNC setup to make them, so he knows his tools. I confirmed that and told him he made my day and that I would tell my husband. He said he’s a handyman! I asked if he had a card and he gave me one. I will keep this with the idea of getting his help in the future. I’ll let you know how he does.

We’re due for nicer and nicer weather the rest of the week. It’s really terrific to see the sunshine and have afternoon temperatures at 50 today and even warmer the rest of the week.

Have a fabulous Friday.

Cold, Rainy Thursday 2-16-2023

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I’m about to leave to get a haircut. I look like a dandelion gone to seed. Tuesday Michael, our wonderful hair stylist, got my husband looking all spiffy, with hair, mustache, and beard all trimmed with expertise. I’m hoping he can work a miracle and get me to look as if someone-has-a-plan. :0) My hair is thin, fine, and does absolutely nothing good on its own. Michael has a way of cutting it so that all I have to do is wash it and blow it dry.

I’ll hit the grocery store before coming home, get our mail, and then we can stay inside our warm, dry house the rest of the day. We had quite a storm overnight, but I haven’t seen any damage yet. The biggest thing is that Mother Nature can’t figure out which season we’re having. One day is like spring. Yesterday the high was in the 60s. The cold front came in overnight with the storm and the high will be 41 today. It’s gloomy looking now, with enough wind that the cold blows right through you. I really hurried to feed the cat in the garage this morning.

My husband has now decided to merge the parts of two computers, get a new motherboard, and hope that the rebuild will work so he has a computer in the shop again. Working with him in the office when he’s working on a computer is more challenging that I would like, so I’ll give him the space we will both need.

An example – I’m trying to finish this post before leaving, concentrating on it. Suddenly, there is something in front of my face. It’s my husband, waving a package of AAA batteries, saying, get some of these while you’re out. We discussed the interruption. He said “I could have yelled, “Hey, YOU! Get some batteries!” I told him quietly that if he did that, he wouldn’t be around to NEED the batteries… I’ll be really happy when the computer rebuild is over.

I wish you a warm, dry day wherever you are today. I’m looking forward to cuddling with my cat under my throw after lunch. Amber might join us, too, but it’s a bit difficult to make enough room for me, Abby, and a 95 pound yellow lab…