Fun Ahead!

Lowe’s

I’ve told you that I’m trying to learn how to do wood-burning, or pyrography. It’s difficult, to say the least, because you can’t hold the tool down close enough to the tip to allow you to feel in control, plus each tip does certain things best, and it takes a LOT of experimenting and practice to be able to choose the right one and use it effectively.

I have a tool now, and tips, and a holder, and safety stuff. I’ve been experimenting, and sometimes get excited about the results and many more times hit stumbling blocks. Example: I’ve learned how to transfer a design – should I choose to do something NOT freehand – but had a really hard time trying to do lettering around it. Needless to say, I have a LOT of practicing to do.

I got a fun package in the mail today – I ordered some different sizes and shapes of wood so that I have something to do the pyrography ON when I can –

I now also have a couple of different wood stains now, plus varnish.

SO – the only thing holding me back is

• courage
• practice
• ideas
• practice
• time
• practice
• energy
• practice
• learning – videos
• PRACTICE

Wikipedia

Ronnie Gould Ceramics

Ronnie Gould Ceramics

I Love David Zinn’s Mind

He sees a couple of gum spots on the sidewalk.

I LOVE the way his mind works. That he has the talent to share his thoughts with us is a true gift for us. :0)

Reprieve

Whew! It’s supposed to get above freezing this afternoon, so we’ll hopefully be able to get down our driveway to pick up two days worth of mail and scoot to the local grocery store for goodies before we get snowed in again.

The forecast is for snow starting tomorrow about noon and continuing through Tuesday morning accompanied by bitter cold temperatures for Arkansas throughout the week. The weather people sound really sure this time. With our driveway, we may be snowed in throughout all of next week. We’ll see.

I don’t mind being ‘snowed in’ so much as no one being able to get up here if we need help. The UPS and Fedex people leave our packages at the bottom of our driveway when it’s CLEAR. Emergency vehicles of any kind wouldn’t have a chance.

I have two people who have kindly offered to sign the petition I started to do away with the rest of this winter and move straight into spring. The petition is here, waiting for more signatures. I don’t know how many we would need in order for something to HAPPEN, but I’m ready. :0)

In the meantime, stay safe, dry, and warm.

Whine and Cheese

Our snow this morning turned out to be no big deal. Even with the temperature at 26, the breezy winds are causing the snow to break up.

The thing is, the streets are getting colder each day and it’s more likely that the NEXT snow WILL be a problem. Our steep driveway is a problem no matter what. We’ll watch and see how things go this weekend. We may be able to get out tomorrow and get some last-minute goodies that will make our enforced ‘housedom’ more bearable.

We don’t have any appointments until Tuesday, but that’s AFTER we’re supposed to get more snow Sunday and Monday, in particular.

I’m serving ‘whine’ with cheese in case anyone is having a pity party… :0)

A Dog is a Dog For All That

Nicky Litchfield

“Everything I know, I learned from dogs.” ~ Nora Roberts – The Search

Nicky Litchfield

“Dogs do speak, but only to those who know how to listen.”– Orhan Pamuk (author, My Name Is Red)

Nicky Litchfield

“Dogs’ lives are too short. Their only fault, really.” – Agnes Sligh Turnbull (author, The Wedding Bargain)

Nicky Litchfield

“Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.” – Roger Caras (photographer and writer)

Peter Hogarth

“Some of my best leading men have been dogs and horses.” – Elizabeth Taylor (actress)

Pinterest

“The better I get to know men, the more I find myself loving dogs.” – Charles De Gaulle

Thanks to AKC Staff (American Kennel Club) for these quotes.

Ooooh!

Down East Magazine

We’re having what is considered by many (myself included) to be ‘uncivilized’ weather here in Arkansas today – and until further notice.

It’s 24 degrees F. right now. I don’t know what the low was this morning, and it MAY get above freezing today. In fact, we’re supposed to get snow Sunday and Monday, with lows down to -2 one day next week, and only breaking above freezing for highs starting Wednesday or so.

We’re snowed in right now. I had to call my friends and tell them we weren’t coming to Lunch Bunch. Thankfully, we were all in agreement about the insanity of risking falling on our heads. Hopefully, we can meet NEXT Friday. David, the owner of The Pizza Barn where we meet, opens early just for my friend Kay. I called him to let him know we wouldn’t meet today. He said he was glad we weren’t going to risk it.

We’ll stay home in our cozy home, dripping water nightly in the hope that our pipes don’t freeze, and wait this out. I’m more than ready for spring.

Inflatable Human

https://twitter.com/i/status/1745443219796890108

Sydney Lee Custom Art

Sydney Lee – Unique Lee Art – Custom Dog and Cat Sculpture

Stained Glass – Vishma Maharaj

Vishma Maharaj – Connie Witherell – Pinterest

Vishma Maharaj – Pinterest

Vishma Maharaj – Pinterest

Thursday 1-11-2024

Hakan Kapucu – @1hakankapucu On X

Isn’t he beautiful?

We’re having a quiet day today. I’m hoping to spend time in my art room, playing with my wood burning stuff. I bought two light wood stains and some varnish yesterday in preparation for trying more tips and techniques. Because I have a stubborn streak, I’m sticking to doing things by hand, rather than the laser art I’m seeing on Etsy. There are people offering all kinds of really nice stuff – personalized photos in wood for example – but I’ve always been drawn to things that are handmade, one at a time, each one different.

We’re having a beautiful morning and a really nice day so far. I say, “so far” because the weather folks are telling us all this beauty will end this evening. We’re in for everything, including flying hairballs, starting tonight into tomorrow, with pipe-bursting temperatures following possible severe weather…. Oh, GREAT.

Before I allow myself to play in my art room, my ‘have-to’s are bill paying and checkbook balancing, plus filing and clearing off my desk. Hopefully, I can get that done this morning. Exciting plans, huh. :0)

I wish you a really nice day, and the hope that the weather people’s scary predictions will prove untrue, and that we can just relax.

New on Etsy

I made some cards awhile back that I just listed on HandmadeHavenByLinda I’m selling the cards in sets of 6 cards with envelopes. Each card is different, each with a different quote and design. They are blank on the inside, so you can use them for any occasion, or just to reach out.

I call them my “Strong Women” series, meant to encourage women to be their best selves, withstanding whatever life has to offer with as much grace as possible. Being strong is difficult, so I wanted to create something you can send whenever they are dealing with something difficult and you want to show them you care, and you’re THERE.

I’ve used some fancy papers I found, layering them into a design. I’ve hand written the quotes, then stamped, “Strong Women” on the front of the cards. I’ve used some stencils, as well and pastel paint as an accent.

This shows one of the three sets of cards I have just listed. The 6 cards and envelopes are $19.99 with free shipping and handling. These are nice for you to have on hand to send, or they would make a nice gift.

For Cats’ Sake!

Nicky Litchfield

“But there was a kitten on my pillow, and it was purring in my face and vibrating gently with every purr, and, very soon, I slept.” ~ Neil Gaiman

Nicky Litchfield

“I have felt cats rubbing their faces against mine and touching my cheek with claws carefully sheathed. These things, to me, are expressions of love.” ~ James Herriot

Nicky Litchfield

“As anyone who has ever been around a cat for any length of time well knows cats have enormous patience with the limitations of the human kind.” ~ Cleveland Amory

Niki Firmin – @NikiFirmin on X

“Never try to outstubborn a cat.” ~ Robert A. Heinlein

Our Cat, Abby

“One reason that cats are happier than people is that they have no newspapers.” ~ Gwendolyn Brooks

Perfect Winter

David Sandhum Photography

When we’re snow-packed here, this nice photograph by David Sandum Photography gives you an idea of our driveway AFTER we clean it up from all the branches, limbs, and sometimes, entire trees that fall into it during a winter storm. It is never plowed this nicely, though.

I never thought I would covet things like snow plows or big cutting equipment and the powered cage thingie that some people who work on power lines stand in while working.

Failing that, a nice driveway service of guys who would come and clear things FOR us would really be nice, if I won the lottery…

I really like the LOOK of winter, LOVE the feeling of being inside my own, personal snow globe with huge, fluffy snowflakes falling lushly all around me. I love snow men, snow animals, snow creations of all kinds. I really enjoy watching people ski and snow board, and would enjoy riding in a ski lift basket.

A nice fantasy is a personal chauffeur in a brawny vehicle who LOVED driving in the snow and ice, who could get me wherever I needed to go with no worry of whether I would get there in one piece or not.

Top that off with comfort food, a heating pad in my chair with my throw over me, hot chocolate or coffee on my warmer beside me, a fire in the fireplace, music, a good book, and you have my idea of the perfect winter season.

What did I leave out? :0)

Good Girl!

Country Living Magazine

My hygienist patted me on the head yesterday! I’ve always cornered the market on building tartar. It used to be that the hygienist had to use the ‘water torture’ gun to try to power wash the stuff off, followed by the use of all her tools that break it off, pry it off, scrape it off, etc.

On my previous appointment, I had been using tartar control toothpaste and I had switched to a Sonicare toothbrush. That made it so that the pressure washer wasn’t needed, but it was still a laborious process to get me to a reasonable state.

THIS time I had changed back to my previous toothpaste and changed to a different Sonicare toothbrush when my previous one died. Lots of flossing. No power washer, little work with tools. She spent more time polishing my teeth than the whole rest of the session, saying, “Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it! No signs of oral cancer (my mom died of that). Whew.

To cap everything off, the weather people were wrong. They had predicted snow showers. We only got a few flurries, having no trouble – other than my husband’s aggressive driving – getting there and getting back. I’m delighted the bad stuff didn’t find us. HOOORAAAAY!

Snow People Community 15

Frenchie-WeHeartIt-OMGlifestyle.com

Holding-On-OMGlifestyle.com

Playground-OMGlifestyle.com

Diane Storman-Pinterest

Brrr!

USA Today

Isn’t this child the cutest thing? I melted when I found this picture.

It’s 32 here with snow showers forecast by the locals through 6pm this evening. There is frost on the ground, but the concrete and our driveway are clear at the moment.

We’ll be leaving in a bit to drive to Ft. Smith for our semi-annual dental cleaning. This is already a thing I dread, not even THINKING about the snow showers. Right now I’m TRYING not to freak out that my husband might insist on driving the Vette (rather than the truck with the snow tires.) I’ve stressed that the locals say the next wave of weather is supposed to happen while we are in Ft. Smith, maybe causing a bit of trouble for our way home, and then getting back up our driveway. Fingers crossed he’ll be reasonable.

It’s been a long time since I needed to worry about winter shoes. I have several pairs of boots, but they are mainly decorative, rather than for seriously cold or wet weather. I got a pair out this morning, put them on, and then started making our bed. I found a chunk of black ‘stuff’ on the carpet. Then I noticed my left boot seemed to be ‘sticking’ to the carpet as I moved. It turned out the whole sole of the left boot was crumbling! I’ve never had that happen before. There was nothing to do but throw out the boots and grab a second pair. I’m thankful I HAD a second pair! My husband insisted I also have a pair of Herman Survivors, and they are still in my closet. They weigh a TON, and make my ankles and legs hurt when I wear them. It would need to be so cold outside that no one in their right mind would GO out in order for me to wear them. The ones I have on are mainly ‘hiking’ boots, I guess, but they’re much lighter weight and have rubber soles for the wet. Even if we have to walk up the steep driveway (650+ feet) when we get home, I should be fine. I have a warm coat, hat, and gloves, as well.

I wish I looked HALF as cute in my gear as the child at the top of this post. :0)

Priceless Pets

Angie Wallace Fine Art – @AngieWithLove on X

“Until one has loved an animal a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” ~ Anatole France

 Megan Elizabeth Art – @MeganArtUK on X

“Animals are such agreeable friends – they ask no questions; they pass no criticisms.” ~ George Eliot

“Megan” – Paul Miller – @Paulmillerart On X

“There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats.” ~ Albert Schweitzer

Sarah Eden Portraits – @EdenPortraits on X

“The smallest feline is a masterpiece.” ~ Leonardo da Vinci

I Prevailed

Izzy Park – blue_jean – unsplash.com

It would seem that refilling a prescription should be a simple thing. You order, you pay, you receive –

Except when your provider decides to quadruple (that’s right) the price of your prescription. You look on the net for other providers. They’re as bad, or worse. No generics, either.

I finally found a source outside the country. I’ve used them before and was delighted to find that their price is 1/4 of ours. Then my doc said they don’t provide paper prescriptions anymore. When I explained my problem – detail – she relented. We picked it up, sent an image to the outside pharmacy, as well as all but our first grade report card, paid, and then also mailed the prescription. We received it just fine. End of story? NO…

The next time they were out. So was everyone else. A generic was offered. HOOORAAAAAY!!!!!! I ordered, paid, and we waited. We got the box, but instead of 100 tablets, we got 10.

I went on chat and told them about my problem. The department that handled problems would call me last Thursday – or Friday – or…. of COURSE they called when we were out this morning.

I called. They were too busy. I called back. A nice lady is now expediting a replacement of the order for which we have already paid. We should have it in a little over two weeks – keeping all appendages crossed.

It would be NICE – when your husband’s life depends on a prescription – if it didn’t cause you to have to hock the dog in order to pay for it and jump through countless hoops in order to get it. Just NICE.

Rainy Monday 1-8-2024

mariateresadebracamonte.wordpress.com

We got our morning stuff done (gathering and putting trash at the bottom of the driveway for pick up tomorrow, getting mail, replenishing groceries in CASE the weather folks are right about snow tomorrow) are back home now with things put away. We got drenched several times. It seemed to ME that Mother Nature was laughing her head off at us, in that every time we got out of the car, the rain “turned on” – coming down in a whoosh – and then stopped when we were inside, over and over. Anyhow, her reason for the giggles is over now. We’re in for the rest of the day now.

HandmadeHavenbyLinda on Etsy

I listed the 7 pairs of wood-burned wooden earrings I made recently on Etsy yesterday. Some are just wood burned. Others are also painted. I’m going to play in my art room this afternoon (I think) and see what else I can come up with. I’m enjoying trying to get the feel of the tool, learning what the different tips can do, and experimenting with creating designs.

Right now I’m fighting on the phone about a messed-up order. Hope your day is now going better than mine. :0)

I’m Still Grinning

Having fun. pic.twitter.com/b73iB2JDTQ

— Noble Ron (@perry_ron) January 6, 2024

Nicky Litchfield Art 4

Nicky Litchfield

Figuring It Out!

Red Bubble

I want you to know that I’m not as dumb as I look! I figured out TWO things recently that I’ve been TRYING to do it seems like forever –

THING ONE – I used to add captions and credits to pictures on my blog with no problem. Then – the people who get paid to keep the website up to date, make it easy to navigate, and on the cutting edge, came in and ‘improved’ WordPress (this host) and disappeared my ability to caption or credit the way I used to. I tried and tried, and finally gave up, just putting the credit on the next line as close to the picture as I could. Suddenly, in the middle of nothing, I right-clicked ON a picture instead of elsewhere, and a box for caption and credit popped up! Yureka!!!!! I am newly ‘en-franchised’ now. :0)

THING TWO – I told you that I have been working to improve my Etsy site. I have fought with making and installing a banner across the top, have made and installed a new logo, and have mostly finished describing my products in a different way that SEEMS to be slowly increasing my “traffic” (visits to the site).

I’ve been unhappy with the names of my product sections for a long time. I have also been upset that I couldn’t reorganize the categories in a different order on the page. I fought and fought this morning, after having added two of my new wood-burned earrings to the site, trying to change the name of the earring section and also to figure out a way to have the three types of earrings I offer to be listed as sections one after the other to the left of the page, instead of having people have to scroll down to SEE I make stud and clip earrings, as well as dangles. I FINALLY found a place that allowed me to change the names of the sections and reorder them! HOORAAAAAAY! :0)

I’m not as dumb as I look, nor am I dead yet!!!!!!!! There is still life in the old girl!

Now that I’ve done that, I need to take a gazillion pics after putting the hardware on the rest of the earrings I wood-burned and add them to the site. I hope to be able to finish that today.

It feels so GOOOOOD to have finally made some progress.

Pixabay

Thoughts on a Sunday 1-7-2024

I wood-burned these earrings yesterday. I’m adding the hardware and adding them to HandmadeHavenByLinda on Etsy today. Then I’m going to watch another video and put my efforts in another direction. From looking at the Etsy site, it looks like most people are doing laser wood-burning, rather than anything by hand. Maybe I should be getting a “message” from this…. :0)

It’s supposed to be an amazing day, weather-wise. 57 degrees for a high this afternoon. Woo HOOOO! I LOVE IT! I’m hoping we JUST get rain tomorrow and Tuesday, when we’re due at the dentist. Fingers remain crossed.

I hope you enjoy your day today.

Ceramics That Make You Smile

Rudkin Studio-Venice Clay Artists

Sharon Sheinbart-Venice Clay Artists

Sharon Sheinbart-Venice Clay Artists

“Tufted Puffins” (no artist listed) -Venice Clay Artists

Glorious Sight

. ☀️
. 〰️〰️touchdown! 💦〰️〰️
.

pic.twitter.com/IFhCztxxWb

— Urbanartist (@Urbanartist2) January 6, 2024

What a Difference!

“What a difference a day made, twenty four little hours
Brought the sun and the flowers where there use to be rain” (and snow!) ~ song by Jamie Cullum

skiresort.info

We are no longer snowed in! The temperature came up to the low 40s by mid afternoon and turned our ski slope back into our regular steep driveway. Hooraaaaaaay! The next bad weather is forecast for Monday (heavy rain) and then Tuesday morning (when we’re supposed to be driving to Ft. Smith for our dental cleaning appointment) “snow showers will move in for Tuesday. Current accumulation estimates are between 1 to 2 inches of snow by Tuesday evening…..” I hope we can get to the dentist and back up to the house before it gives us a problem.

Pinterest

I did my yoga stretches like a good girl yesterday, put the third star on my calendar for the week, and felt some of the positions were getting a bit easier. I keep reminding myself that Cat Kabira, the wonderful lady in Gentle Yoga DVD series, said that stretching TOWARD the position and breathing into it were as beneficial for us as actually touching the floor when we tried to touch our toes, or…. I actually felt I was making some progress yesterday!

Alamy

SMALL RANT/PET PEEVE – I was trying to come up with Cat’s name on the previous paragraph and my mind was producing a blank, so I tried to look it up. I found “Yoga for the Elderly” or something similar and immediately bristled. I don’t CARE if that DVD is the best thing on the planet. I wouldn’t buy it because of its name. GRRRRR! Same thing as a local clothes store here called “Heifer Boutique.” I’ve probably lost my sense of humor, but even if all the clothes in there fit me like a glove and made me look like Julia Roberts, I wouldn’t go in there. I don’t WANT to buy clothes from a place of that name! END OF RANT.

Lowe’s

I’m going to try to wood burn some wooden earrings in my art room today. I still don’t have a clue what I’m doing, but I’m ready to see if I can make something I like. Wish me luck?

Women’s Health

Shout-out – Michael Remillard, our treasured hair stylist ( 479-357-9305) who is celebrating a birthday today.

Have a wonderful Saturday, everybody.

Sue Hewson Art

Sue Hewson Artist – @srh_sue on X

A Bit Less of Me

Fam Veld-istock photo-Getty Images

As of today there is almost 19 pounds less of me. (18.8) I’m hoping I can get to 20 off soon, as that will motivate me to put less in my mouth and move more. :0)

I was under the weather yesterday, so didn’t do my yoga. Happily, that doesn’t happen often, so I should be on track for a good bunch of stretches this afternoon. I’m also doing laundry, vacuuming, cooking, and general cleaning up, so that may help, too.

I’m using MyFitnessPal.com again, as well, trying to be accountable for all ‘going in’ so I can tweak things, if needed. My husband is happy with our eating plan, so that is very helpful.

Onward and downward!

Noooooo! Snoooooooow!

We don’t have a large accumulation of snow, but you can’t see where our driveway begins or ends and we’re snowed in. It’s 35 and quite windy. I called, texted, and sent carrier pigeons to let our Lunch Buddies know we couldn’t get there today.

O’Connor Dental Care

The thing I’m most worried about now is our dental appointments Tuesday. They emailed my husband and texted me yesterday, and we both confirmed we were planning to be there Tuesday. Now this. With the forecast for more snow showers, I’m not sure what to do. The dentist charges $150 if you don’t cancel 3 days before. They don’t work today, Sat, or Sun. I have texted them about the problem and we’ll just have to see what happens. We can’t afford to pay for services NOT rendered, but I realize the dentist suffers losses when his patients don’t show up or give him a chance to schedule someone else in our place. Did I tell you I’m not fond of winter?

I just finished getting the makings of beef stew in the crock pot for tonight. We are safe and warm on top of our ridge line, so I have no complaints. Nothing excited planned for the day. Our local schools are open, so the streets must be reasonable, although we can’t get down to the street in front of the house. Maybe it will warm up, or rain will take the snow away….

123RF.com

Laundry, wood-burning, reading, listening to music – NICE day.

I hope YOU have a good one, too.

Stay safe and warm!

Thursday 1-4-2024

Loyal-Virginia Greaves-Textile Painting

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It’s wonderful to see my husband excited about getting set up to do something different. He has ordered two kinds of wire for the new MIG welder – one to be used with gas, and the other with electric. We’re going to get CO2 for it at the welding supply place today. He’s watching YouTube videos and dreaming. :0)

__________

He is also encouraging MY efforts on my new wood burning tool. I’m experimenting with a large piece of scrap wood, trying to use the different nibs, figuring out what to do with them. Jannie at BurnSavvy.com is helping give me confidence to keep experimenting. Here is my latest effort –

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Yesterday was Day Two of doing my old lady yoga stretches. As I expected, it was harder than Day One, dealing with a combination of the mess I am now PLUS my body yelling about the stretches the day before. I went ahead and did the best I could, expecting that TODAY may be a bit easier.

My husband still lives, even after coming in while I was doing my yoga. I was sitting on my mat, legs together stretched out in front of me. I was bent over as far as I could reach, stretching my back deeply, reaching for my toes. My husband asked, “When do you start stretching?” GRRRRRRR! :0(

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I was encouraged by some stats on my blog this morning. I got curious to see how the traffic to my blog had changed since I started it. In 2019 I had 56,306 visitors to CreativeArtworksBlog. In 2023 I had 437,808. That’s really nice. :0)

I hope your day is a very pleasant one.