Singing in the Rain….

CBC

We seem to be in a “40 days and 40 nights” situation here with rain every day. Now it’s not a question of IF, but only of WHEN it will be heavier. Here’s what the local weather station showed this morning –

KFSM Fort Smith

Roller coaster, anyone?

I’m leaving in about 10 minutes to get the mail and get my hair cut. I look like a dandelion-gone-to-seed right now. Anything will be an improvement, but I’m lucky to have a stylist who understands that my hair is thin, fine, and won’t do anything on its own, and cuts it so that it looks like someone had a plan. It’ll be nice to look more civilized again.

Home Advisor

The pest control guy is coming to spray tomorrow afternoon, so I’ll be doing lots of vacuuming today and tomorrow so he doesn’t realize what a slob I am. Amber is doing a magnificent job of covering every space in the house with her hair. She and our cat have obviously agreed to have a contest to see who can leave the most hair on the floor, carpet, furniture, etc. I refuse to vacuum every day, but it embarrasses me if there are tufts of hair moving around when we walk.

Got to run now. I hope you have a fun day. :0)

It’s Thursday 9-15-2022

“crashing into the picture”- Brigitte Alcalay Marcon – bbc.com

Good morning!

I got a new used phone yesterday. We were able to install the updates plus transfer my information from the old to the new. This morning we’ll go to our phone place for a SIM card, whatever records they need, and I’ll get a new phone protector.

Not sure what the rest of the day will hold. My to-do list is running off the bottom of the page. Some will depend on the temperature today. Other things I just need to plow through. I’m hopeful I can get some things checked off.

I hope you have a happy day.

What!?!?!

Giphy

My friend Kay called yesterday to ask if we wanted to do Lunch Bunch today, instead of tomorrow, because we’re due for a ‘wintry mix’ tomorrow – WHAT!?!?!? We were happy to do Lunch Bunch anytime the group wants to, but I’m bummed by the idea of more snow and ice. I’m embracing spring. Our daffodils and tulip tree are blooming! Hopefully the bad weather will be over very soon and we can start making active plans for our garden and working in the yard.

Masterfile

Under the category of ‘too many changes for old people’ – our son told me yesterday that the conference call program we use to communicate, actually being able to see each other and talk in real time is going to start charging for their services. When I told my husband, he got upset, wanting to keep the program we’re using, even though there are several other options available. I talked to our son briefly this morning, telling him that we wanted to continue the program and that we wanted to pay for all of us to use it. He’s going to check it out and will get back to me.

A long time good friend called me yesterday to wish me a happy birthday. I haven’t heard from her in AGES. Life just gets in the way, doesn’t it. It was wonderful to catch up and I felt really ‘smile-y’ and
‘glow-y’ inside when we finished. It was really nice of her to think of me.

I hope you have a wonderful day.

Ahhhhhhh!

PoeticCases.com – Giphy

I’m leaving in about an hour to get my massage that was rescheduled due to the ice storm. To say I’m really looking forward to it is a huge understatement.

Even with my yoga practice yesterday afternoon, my body noticed the fact that my husband and I raked and hoed leaves packed along the driveway ditch, plus cleaned up a trash bag and contents that an animal had distributed in the ice cold water in the ditch at the bottom of the driveway. We got things handled, but my body is protesting.

Lynn Moody, my miraculous massage therapist, will find and work on all the areas I know about, plus probably find areas I didn’t know about before she finishes. She is really integral to my quality of life now.

I was a “GOOD GIRL” yesterday, entering the information from February on our tax spreadsheets, plus filing the receipts. Today I plan to start updating what we call our “Important” spreadsheet that lists information our son might need one day. I try to do this twice a year.

I hope that you’re having a nice Thursday.

Thoughts on a Thursday 2-24-2022

Texas A&M Today – Getty Images

It LOOKS like it snowed outside, but it’s SLEET. We’re lucky about that, since according to what I’ve read, sleet doesn’t accumulate on power lines. Today the forecast is for sleet, freezing rain, and rain. I really didn’t know the difference between ‘sleet’ and ‘freezing rain’, so I looked it up. ‘Freezing rain’ falls as rain and pretty much freezes on contact. ‘Sleet’ falls as already-frozen pellets of differing sizes. I guess the difference between ‘sleet’ and ‘hail’ is the size of the pellets. Not sure what the dividing line is between the two – WHEN ‘sleet’ becomes ‘hail.’ At any rate, it’s all white, all cold, and is a problem when it’s on the ground.

When my husband took Amber out last night, he remarked that he didn’t leave any footprints in the white stuff. It was solid and really slippery. UGH. It’s supposed to start warming up tomorrow.

“Squirrel Squeeze” – dailymail.co.uk – Hiroshi Takeda

We’re lucky we have a warm, dry house, power, food, and water.

123RF

Since I am powerless to do anything about most of what’s happening in the world, I am again basically hiding from it and trying to not drown in despair. I hate that there are power hungry tyrants in the world making innocent people suffer. I hate that so many decisions are based on people trying to get and maintain power and control others. If I had a magic wand, I would sure be waving it right now.

Dr. Axe – Shutterstock

I’ve been happily finding more evidence of more of the talent and creativity in the world. It’s truly wonderful to be able to type in a few words and be taken to more places than I have time to research, finding jaw-dropping things that people have created that I’ve never seen before. I’ve decided that almost ANYTHING can be made into art. Just put something out there. One person with vision will see it differently – will see the potential of it – and will create something breathtaking.

Yesterday I found some wonderful things I’ll be sharing with you during the coming days. I hope you’re able to stay safe, warm, dry, and smiling today.

Thoughts on a Thursday 2-10-2022

Petr Vaclavek – Dubanci.cz

Can you see me patting myself on the back? I also gave myself a gold star on my desk calendar. “Why?, ” you ask. I have gotten our tax stuff ready to take to our CPA in record time this year. All we are waiting for is our investment stuff. I can print it and then we’ll take our records and dump them on our very kind CPA who will magically churn out tax forms and send them to the government for us for another year. HOOOORRAAAAAAAY!

Tomorrow I’ll start new spreadsheets for 2022 on the computer and catch up on January. Since doing tax prep is one of my LEAST favorite things in the world, I am delighted that I have finally found a way to make it as painless as possible. My husband’s contribution to all this is to say, “Are we ready to take the stuff to Mike yet?”

It’s a truly stellar day today otherwise, too. Our temperatures are supposed to get to the 60’s today. It’s bright and sunny. The remaining snow MAY be gone from our driveway today. If not, SURELY tomorrow. (We’re due for a cold front Saturday and another possibly wintry event next Wednesday, so I’m hoping we’ll start with a clean slate driveway-wise.

I’m going to get our mail as soon as I finish this. I’m hoping to get a couple of things we ordered.

I’ll do my yoga this afternoon with a clear conscience that I’m almost up-to-date on the office stuff and have earned my salt for the day.

Clip Art Library

Thoughts on a Thursday 12-30-2021

Behance

It looks much like this beautiful photo outside our house this morning. We did our errands in the rain yesterday and cooler air is coming in today, changing us from summer to fall to winter in a matter of days. We may actually see some snow Saturday and Sunday.

My sweet friend Kay might finally be getting some help since her fall recently. She has a broken bone in her back and she may be covered for a procedure to fix it, finally getting some relief for her pain. This has been a frustrating situation, but hopefully is finally being resolved. We have all been doing what we can to help, but pain coupled with healthcare providers dropping the ball have thwarted our efforts at every turn. Fingers crossed.

You may be shocked to learn that I did NOT win the lottery last night. I only buy a ticket when the pot is over $400 million, and always enjoy at least an afternoon of hope, imagining all the nice things I would like to do if I ever DO win…. They announced the winning numbers, but didn’t say if they had sold the winning ticket to anyone.

This is a VERY nice day to ignore the ‘shoulds’ on my list and simply enjoy. I hope YOU are enjoying this kind of day, too.

Thoughts on a Beautiful Thursday 10-7-2021

Newslinq.com

It’s gorgeous this morning here in Arkansas. Most of the fog has already burned off, but I just snapped this pic –

When we first woke up, you couldn’t see we HAD a ridge line behind us. When we doing morning chores, it looked like someone had stretched rolls of wispy cotton between the hills in the valley. Cool, and simply gorgeous.

I walked around the yard briefly, enjoying the lushness surrounding me. I wanted to share how well the elephant ears are doing.

To give you an idea of their size, you can see a smaller leaf over a group of Impatiens in the center of the planter. That is at my eye level standing close to it.

I worked on the new mailbox decoration in the shop yesterday – Wonder Wart-Hog. I’m still laying in the basic color blocks on the first side. The piece is about 2-1/2 feet tall. I’m still feeling intimidated by all of the detail and difficult painting. My husband came in just before I broke for lunch and said, “You’ve made a lot of progress.” I hope I can do a good enough job on it that he is pleased.

Planting

sweetp-paulette.blogspot.com

Today is a pretty day here.

The postman delivered a big package that contained a replacement garage door seal this morning, so I guess much of our day will center around trying to get that installed. I am hopeful that this will be a matter of making sure one end is securely in the ‘track’ of the door and then we pull it to the other side. One can HOPE! :0)

I am going out each day to get something done in the yard. I’m pruning, pulling out spent plants, weeding, etc. There is a lot of it and it will take awhile. I also need to check on the area beside my square foot garden and behind the shop to see if the area I finally got weed whacked needs to have more KillzAll sprayed. The list of outside chores is long, but the fact that it will ONLY be 90 this afternoon and the humidity is not oppressive helps a LOT.

Thoughts on a Thursday 7-29-2021

twitter.com

Since I griped to you about not getting my long-awaited J.D. Robb book, (# 52 in the series that just came out in paperback,) I have received TWO. I’m watching my Amazon account now to see if they are charging me for both copies of the same book. Can’t make me happy – either not enough or too much of a good thing. :0)

We just came in from working in the shop very briefly this morning. I finished painting the latest yard critters to be refurbished, “Mama Snail & Baby.” I’ll take pics when we bring them out later today when the paint is dry.

I have TWO mouth-watering art techniques I want to try as soon as the refurbishing project slows down: “Acrylic Pour” and “Impasto Painting.” I’m enjoying myself immensely watching YouTube demonstrations, trying to learn what I can before throwing caution to the winds and trying it. I would like to find some wrap around canvases first, so that they wouldn’t have to be framed to be enjoyed.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=acrylic+pour+with+silicone+oil

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=impasto+painting+technique

My husband is hoping that our grass will get ‘brown and crunchy’ due to the high heat and lack of rain. I hate to tell him that we MAY get a cool front and some rain Sunday…. maybe the weather people are being too optimistic.

Have a wonderful Thursday!

Yet Another Rainy Day

Giphy

Yet another rainy day.

I just got back from my massage. I really didn’t care that today is rainy because I always feel SO much better after my wonderful massage therapist, Lynn Moody, 479-629-7601, finishes with me. Ahhhhhhh!

My main exercise since the 17th has been a series of squeegeeing, mopping, then toweling the porch floor each time the rain stops. The wind makes the rain come in and then the water sits there. I’m trying to lessen the damage as much as I can by taking care of the water as soon as possible between deluges and storms. We’re supposed to have two more days of this, and then MAYBE a 3-day-respite before the rains come back. I don’t remember our having quite this much rain before.

I will also try to harvest some lettuce if the rain will allow. We’ve been enjoying a combination of head lettuce, spinach, and buttercrunch lettuce from our garden with our dinners. :0)

I have on my to-do list today a return to my afternoon yoga practice. I’ve been so busy the last few weeks it got lost in the shuffle and my body is noticing. Hopefully, I can get in a nice session of stretching to finish off the good Lynn did with my massage this morning.

Also on the list is playing in my art room. I’ve been watching some demonstrations of acrylic pour art, plus another technique you can do with pieces of the pours that are left over. I’m a bit intimidated, to be honest, but my mouth waters as I watch what the artists are doing.

I’m trying SOME of the techniques, easing into this slowly. I’ve started a piece with my Unicorn Spit paint. I just put a coat of varnish on what I did yesterday. When that dries, I plan to paint some flowers, and then use the crackle paint on the background. Finally, I will use some metallic paint to highlight the cracks. Fingers crossed that it turns out SOMETHING like what my brain is picturing. :0) It’s such FUN to play with the colors!

Thoughts on a Thursday 3-11-2021

unknown

Some of my body parts are ripening more than others today.

Prevention.com

I had a glorious massage this morning. My massage therapist had surgery early in November, and it was last month before she was able to give massages. The ice and snow made us reschedule, so this morning was my first massage in a LONG time. She told me she didn’t remember me ever being so tight and knotted up, and I’ve been going to her for several years. I knew I had been under some pressure, but as she worked on me, I could feel it. One place in particular, I almost came up off the table. I felt SO much better after she finished.

I came home, fixed us lunch, and then spread out under my throw in my recliner. I slept for 3 hours! I guess this is the first time in awhile I’ve felt really relaxed. I feel almost as if I could simply slither to the floor out of my chair right now. :0)

My husband and I had our first COVID vaccine shot last Monday morning. They are doing a mass injection effort in Fort Smith through Health Depot, one of our local pharmacies. I happened to call at the right time and was able to get an appointment for 11:00 on Monday. We used the GPS to find the church where the injections were being given. I had no idea what to expect, how long we would be there, etc.

What we found was a delight. We went into the church, filled out a two page form and were immediately told to go to one of several stations in another room. I sat down, got my shot, and was asked to go sit in some chairs and wait for them to bring my IDs and a card. We waited maybe 5 minutes. A man came, gave everything back to us, explained that we had an appointment to get the 2nd injection on March 29th at the same time and place. And that was it. We were there maybe 10 minutes total. The shot didn’t even hurt!

For the next couple of days, our arms were sore, but that was it. I feel so lucky to be able to get this protection and that we lucked into a place that was so well organized. We are in the high risk group as far as dying from the virus, so my mind is resting more easily now, too.

Right before I took my nap today, my husband had propped the back door open. Soon after we started eating our lunch, a sound came that was music to my ears – the generator turned on for its weekly test! We now listen each week to make sure it’s working. This probably won’t last forever, but it’s so comforting to know that we have backup power if we need it. AND I don’t take for granted the fact that we had water throughout the ice and snow storms where so many good people around us had pipes that burst or no local water at all. Things are starting to get back to normal now, but it’s another thing for which to be very thankful.

I hope that good things are happening for you, too.

Thoughts on a Thursday 2-25-2021

forwarded from a friend

I want to adopt this dog. NOW. I simply melted into a puddle when I saw his little face.

If you’ve been following the blog, you know our generator suddenly wasn’t working. Yesterday we found a man in Ft Smith who could look at the starter motor to see if he could fix it. It turned out he couldn’t, but he had a new one for us. I was asleep when he called, and my husband insisted he would go and pick it up.

I was worried by the time he returned. He said he ran over something on the way home that flattened a tire. He was able to limp to a tire store and buy a used tired to get home. So now we have bought a new starter motor for the generator and ordered two new tires for the Vette. Oh, joy.

We worked on the starter motor most of the remaining afternoon until dark. He was able to get the motor in and running, but will have to tweak it today. He said he had to loosen something to get the motor out that apparently controls the speed of the motor. He will see if he can get that into the proper position today. I hoping this goes smoothly and solves our problem. He really had to work hard yesterday.

I am also hoping for a quiet day so I can get back to exercising. Both my husband and I have been either doing errands quickly, putting out ‘fires’, or working on the generator the past few days, so all routines and idea of a ‘regular’ schedule have been out the window. Instead hot showers, heat pads, muscle gel and Tylenol have kept us afloat.

My mantra is “things will get better.”

Back in the Saddle

“I’m back in the saddle again
Out where a friend is a friend
Where the longhorn cattle feed
On the lowly gypsum weed
Back in the saddle again” ~ sung by Gene Autry

PictureQuotes.com

I earned 2 stars yesterday for exercise, so I’m feeling ‘back in the saddle again of daily exercise :0) When I finish getting some blog posts up, I’ll head for the garage and my elliptical trainer. I’m hoping that both the scales and my tape measure will show some progress by the end of the month. One can hope!

Speaking of that, I’m really trying to find good things lately in an effort to not be buried in gloom. My husband was doing a bit of the ‘whine and cheese’ bit last night, and I gave him a pep talk about concentrating on the GOOD in our lives, rather than the bad. He saw my point, particularly when I was able to give him several examples that were personal to us. I really think this is important for our sanity and general health.

One hopeful thing is that we might be able to get the COVID vaccine eventually. I read a thing online saying that people 70+ could start getting it Jan. 18th at one pharmacy locally. I called, discovering that they weren’t taking names to add to their list right now, since the list was several hundred people long. She suggested that I call back the 1st of Feb. to see if they had opened the list again. The fact that we MIGHT be able to be added to a list in the next month or so is good news.

Yesterday I took a bunch of new products to the shop where I share a booth with a good friend. I rearranged everything and am hopeful that someone will take a look, like what they see, and take something home with them. :0)

I hope that you are having a good Thursday.

Stay safe and well.

Ahhhhh!

American Kennel Club

I’m leaving shortly to have a massage. Ahhhhh!

My wonderful massage therapist will be having surgery very soon, though, and the recovery time is pretty long, so this massage will need to last me until February or so. My wish is that the surgery goes smoothly and that she heals thoroughly, feeling good again.

I was going to call to arrange to have our fall checkup on our geothermal system, plus our quarterly bug spraying, but both companies called ME to schedule! We had the geothermal check yesterday and are good to go now through the winter into the spring. Not only is our guy super competent about how our system works, but he crawls up into the attic to change out one of the filters for us – saving my husband and me the chore – AND our dog, Amber, is in love with him. She wags her tail so hard the whole time he is here that she sleeps soundly after he leaves. He always stops to talk to her and give her a lot of love before he leaves.

Our fish are swimming around in a sparkling clean tank again. They thanked me in their way, for the nice digs.

Our weather has warmed up again, so we’re able to open doors in the afternoon, airing out the house. :0) I’m hoping to be able to do some work outside this afternoon.

I hope that you are having a great day, too!

A Smile for October

Australian Firefighters Fund-Raising Calender – Cameron and Biscuit

Ah. A happy start to a new month. I’m assuming that “Biscuit” is the dog, but I’ll say “Hi,” to the man, whatever his name is, with a huge smile.

We have a bunch of errands this morning. I’ll write more when we return.

Have a great first day of October. I hope this is a good month for all of us.

Thoughts on a Thursday – 9-3-2020

Bored Panda

Good Morning!

We MAY finally be getting a reprieve from the rain and some cooler temperatures soon! I couldn’t be more ready. The humidity is 98% right now, according to the local weather website. It’s like pea soup outside. We still have the doors open, getting what breezes we can. I’m ready for fall.

First thing this morning I cleaned out the aquarium. These two goldfish have the award for messing up their water faster than any other fish on the planet, I think. Even with the new, fancy, three-part filter, the water was terrible this morning. Thankfully, I can change things out in about half an hour now.

The water is now clean enough that when I take a picture of the aquarium, you can also see parts of the kitchen behind it, PLUS the reflection of the dining area window on the other side of the room. :0)  I’m trying to teach them to say, “Thank You,” when they get into the sparkling clean tank, but no luck so far. I would even be happy if they did a cartwheel or something, or blew some bubbles at me. They only do THAT when I feed them. The thing I DON’T want them to do is roll over and play dead…

 

 

Today I will try to register for my Amazon Handmade account and see what happens. I am hopeful I can get lots of questions answered so I feel I know what I’m doing.

Amazon Handmade

I have started two leaf bags:

Leaf Bag # 1 is for things to donate to the Disabled Vets Thrift Store in Fort Smith.

Leaf Bag # 2 is for trash.

 

I received an email that we are supposed to receive our first week’s delivery of BistroMD meals tomorrow! We have both chosen the diabetic plan. My husband denies he has Type II diabetes (he says he has a sugar problem). He thinks only people who have to give themselves injections are ‘diabetics.’ Since we are both trying to stay away from any added sugar, we feel this is a good choice for us.  I will let you know how it goes.

My ant stings/bites/welts are almost gone now. I have a couple of spots I still need to put anti-itch ointment on, but I’m back to normal, otherwise. If things dry out a bit, the revenge murdering of ants commences tomorrow…

PestWorld.org

Have a happy Thursday!

 

Raccoon # 8

Live Science

We caught raccoon #8 of the season last night. We have just come back from relocating him where he will hopefully find the rest of the “gaze” of raccoons we have driven to their new home out farther in the country. Even though Amber barked at him obnoxiously, he didn’t lose his cool.  It looked like rain was coming soon, so we relocated the raccoon before having breakfast or doing anything other than feed animals.

Now we’ve had breakfast and I’m enjoying a cup of coffee as I type this.

We have doors open so far this morning, enjoying a nice breeze through the house. We are due for storms today, with a bigger chance this evening. I will get out, check the garden, and see if we have more ripe tomatoes to bring in soon.  Of course, now that we are home for the rest of the day, the sun has come out. :0)

I am doing well on my efforts to exercise this week so far. I have done my elliptical trainer in the garage, plus my half hour or so of yoga stretches and abdominal exercises every day. This is a 6-gold-star week so far! I will try to earn 2 more today.

The wonderful person from Tri-Hill Pest Control in Fort Smith is due here at 12:30 today. 1308 Zero St, Fort Smith, AR 72901. (479) 782-2847. He is a super nice man – PLUS since he has come and treated the house quarterly, we haven’t had a bug or pest problem. (Other than my husband.) This is a wonderful company.

Today’s project will be my kitchen desk. We use this, and the shelves above it, to have medicines and first aid stuff on hand, too, so it’s a busy area. I will try to get this area cleaned out and reorganized today.

Have a wonderful Thursday!

 

Thoughts on a Thursday – June 11, 2020

Photo via J. Robert Bennett

Isn’t this a wonderful photograph? I don’t know who the photographer is, but Robert Bennett devotes a lot of his time to protecting wildlife and posts the wonderful photos he finds.

Depositphotos

We have had a busy morning. We caught Raccoon # 5 in our humane trap overnight, so we drove out to the spot where we relocate raccoons and he leaped into the small stream with great energy. (My husband put the trap in the middle of the deck floor, but this one apparently moved it so much trying to get out that he got close enough to our grill to trash the cover.  We will just live with the trashed cover until next year, since the damage is at the bottom of it. ) We are HOPING that this is the last of the family and that we are now free of the sweet, but destructive critters now – at least until next year…

While we were out, we went to the clinic to get the lab work needed for our doctor appointment Monday. Of COURSE, they didn’t have authorization for MY lab work when we went in, even though they called to confirm the appointment for Monday. I have a GIFT for having my paperwork, authorizations, etc. lost, or the statistics that should apply to me, NOT…. I have hoped that I would finally get old enough to outgrow this ‘gift” …

We are finally out of the intense rain we have been having. The weather is gorgeous right now. Sunny, nice temperatures, and low humidity. We have our doors open and are really enjoy airing out the house and enjoying the breeze.

I plan to spray another container of weed killer today, plus do some weed whacking. All the rain followed by sunshine has caused a huge spurt of growth that we are trying to keep under at least reasonable control. My husband just finished mowing the yard a couple of days ago and it already needs to be mowed again.

First, lunch!

Have a wonderful day!!!!

 

 

Thoughts on a Thursday 4-9-2020

David Zinn Art via Penny Yaffe Krakow

Even though I want to bite him in the leg at times, I’m thankful this morning that my husband and I are riding the pandemic out together. Even though I am trying to reach out to the others who mean a lot to me via text, email and phone, REAL HUGS are hugely important to me. So I hug my husband; hug my dogs, Amber and Molly; hug my cats, Smoke and Abby, every day. I don’t hug my 2 gold fish, but we smile at each other.  :0)

I’m even grateful that I work my head off each day, trying to tackle a different part of my house to heal. I’m a slob, and I hate housekeeping, but there is a sense of accomplishment when an area that was a mess gradually becomes an area we can enjoy spending time again.  (We’re looking forward to having our lunch on the screened in back porch today!)

Today’s project is two-fold: 1) weed whacking the areas my husband can’t reach with the mower. We have gone from looking like no one had lived here for several months – with 8-inch-or-so high weeds, to an area that is starting to look not only like someone lives here now, but also like someone cares. My husband was really steamed that he had to mow in March – an affront to fairness in his mind – but he has now mowed twice since then, wanting to feel happy about the yard again.   So I will use the hand-held weed whacker to clean up the edges, the area under the deck, etc. where he can’t reach, and then clean everything up with the leaf blower. 2) The other part of today’s project will be buying and planting tomato plants! (Yeagers Hardware is open and they have plants today.) I will visit my veggie garden and see how things are going.  (Pics later.)

I am hopeful we will get past this awful time and once again we will feel free to HUG our friends without putting them in jeopardy.

I hope you have someone to hug, physically or virtually, today.

Thoughts on a Thursday 3-26-2020

http://www.JimHunt.us

Since it finally quit raining for a bit here, we are scrambling to get our yard under what passes for control around here.

My husband used the riding mower a couple of days ago to cut the grass (mostly weeds) for the first time this season. We had spread weed killer earlier, but this spring has been a perfect one for all the weeds that have ever been in our yard, encouraging them to burst forth as never before. Some of the weeds were over a foot high! It took my husband twice as long as usual to mow, but he got it done, leaving huge amounts of cut grass everywhere. The next day he used the push-around weed whacker to get big places he couldn’t reach with the mower.

That left it to me to wield the hand-held weed whacker to get what is left, trim and edge the sidewalks, around the planters, under the deck, etc.. This spring has also encouraged the weeds to come up in the rocks we have around the house. Usually we can simply spray weed killer on them, but this year they are so prolific we actually have to pull what is there first. I did the front yard yesterday. My body is complaining pretty loudly today, but I’m going to try to get the back yard done today.

laughtard

When I finish, I’ll schedule a half hour to 45 minutes of gentle yoga stretching to get these old muscles stretched out again. I’ll schedule the elliptical trainer for days when I’m not doing so much in the yard.

I’m finding it difficult during this time to stick with my keto eating plan. I love the basics of it, but find I’m craving comfort type food during this stay-at-home time. I realize it’s probably just another excuse, but I ate some Blue Bunny New Freedom No-Sugar-Added Ice Cream with my husband last night.  It’s better for my husband, but it’s bad for me, as far as carbs go. It also has maltitol, which we should both be avoiding. “Being good” is difficult. Being good when my husband keeps bringing things I need to avoid into the house makes it more challenging. Being good during a pandemic is an even larger challenge.

Today I found a Low Carb Yellow Squash Casserole that sounds yummy. I’ll make that to serve with our leftover hamburger patties for our dinner tonight.  I will also make a loaf of bread from a favorite keto recipe so I can have some tonight.

It’s funny what each of us considers something that is ‘necessary’ to do in times when you are encouraged to stay home and avoid unnecessary contact with other humans. Apparently washing his car at the local car wash is a necessary thing for my husband, since he has just left to do it. I’m not even sure it’s open, though it is designed to be a place where no humans are needed. We will see if he comes back with a clean car or not.  Mostly, he has complied with staying home, so I’m trying not to fuss at him TOO much…

I am grateful that we are still healthy; have a warm, dry home; have food and water; and have Internet, books, TV, music, DVDs, art, pets, AND to-do lists to get us through this crisis. May we come out the other side as soon as possible and get people back to work.

Stay safe.

 

 

 

Nuts!

Nature Valley via Penny Yaffe Krakow

Cancelling appointments and not-strictly-necessary errands, social distancing, plus worry for economic repercussions from the coronavirus have me feeling stressed and a bit nuts. I find myself feeling overwhelmed, but having trouble actually sitting down and finishing tasks. I get started, then I think of something that might be more important. I switch to that, and think of something else. I definitely need a button I can push that allows my body – and particularly my brain – to ‘reboot.’ I feel like the sweet dog in the photo who has gathered all the sticks, but now isn’t sure what to DO with them…

One positive thing I’m doing is gathering another donation for the Veterans Thrift Town in Fort Smith, AR.  We have been donating to them for years now. Every time we go with a donation, they are very friendly and helpful. Someone helps me get the bags and stuff out of the vehicle and happily give a receipt. The store is clean and well organized. I am happy we found this good group.

Another positive thing today is that we drove to Ft. Smith first thing this morning to sign our tax returns. I always breathe a sigh of relief that it is over for another year. We dashed into Walmart on the way back and are now in for the day.

I’m adding to my online shops. I’m making sure my shops are up to date. I’m thinking of starting a new one in the next few days. People are staying home more due to the coronavirus and might do more online shopping as a result. Right now I have –

Hand-painted wooden earrings

Hand-painted tote bags

Hand-painted note cards and stationery

and ArtFire – with everything else I make.

I’m thinking that I will start a new Etsy shop with my hand-painted glassware.

Meanwhile, I start to the kitchen to get a refill on my coffee and notice a ball of white hair on the tiled floor next to the back door. I also notice that the cat has pulled my hair-washing towel down on the floor. I pick that up and hang it on the chair back again. I put the cup down, go get my cordless vacuum, and end up vacuuming not only that area, but two half-baths, the dining area, the kitchen, the utility room, and the walk-in pantry.

As I walk back from hanging up the vacuum, I stop, pick up the hair washing towel and hang it back up on the chair  and put the lunch dishes in the dishwasher. Then get out pork chops to thaw for dinner and pick up the hair washing towel again. At this point, I put the cat out, get my coffee, and come back to the computer…

I hope that YOUR day is more productive than mine. I MEAN well, but the results of my activities so far are less than desired…

Thoughts on a Thursday 3-5-2020

Judge Lynn Toler via TinyBuddha.com  via Desiree Angelique Hackett

I’m having trouble getting much done today.

My husband came into our office this morning and told me he was going to watch “Joker” – and asked if I wanted to see it. I changed my plans and we watched it.  When it was over, I felt exhausted. It is a really powerful movie. I can certainly see why Joaquin Phoenix won the Oscar for Best Actor. He created an unforgettable character.  I won’t say I ‘enjoyed’ the movie. The character was too strong and there was too much violence for me. I’m glad we saw it.

There are three actors in particular that my husband and I discussed once we finished the movie. We consider them absolutely superlative actors. I’m speaking of Philip Seymour Hoffman, Daniel Day-Lewis and Joaquin Phoenix. I would also include some others, but their names don’t come to mind right now. We are in awe of their talent, but many times won’t watch their performances because we don’t like their choices of films or characters.  I hope my explanation makes sense.

After the movie, it was time for lunch. Then we got caught up in the news with the important breaking news events.

I have just now finished listing my newest earrings on ArtFire and Etsy, and the day is almost gone for regular working purposes.  I want to thank those who reached out and gave me their feedback on the new layered earrings. I have more ideas swirling around in my brain now that won’t quit until I can make time to get up to my art room again.

When I took Molly out this morning, I thought we had a turtle in the front yard – one of those with a shell like a metal helmet. As we got closer, the ‘helmet’ moved. I saw it was a large field rat. UGH. I steered Molly away from the area to do her business while our ‘Hunter Cat Smoke’ decided a delightful game of ‘Cat & Mouse’ would be fun. I just hope she leaves him and his parts out in the woods, rather than bringing assorted parts to the welcome mat in our garage.

I hope that YOU have all YOUR ducks in a row today. If not, we’ll just punt…

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.

 

 

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 Thursday 11-7-2019

Beautiful World

I have to admit I’m still very disappointed to have learned that the wonderful order – and payment – for 40 plaques turned out to be a fraud. I’m grateful that our only loss was the joy of such a wonderful order and the chance to fulfill it. We were very lucky.  I’m disappointed to have met someone who tried to hurt us. I always believe that people are good – until they show me they aren’t.

I’m very grateful to my husband, who – although believing the order was a scam from the first – offered to help me make plaques when I returned from the bank – before I told him that it was confirmed to be a scam. He’s definitely a keeper.

Since wonderful things can happen any time, my good friend Carla called yesterday to check on my husband and me – AND to make me an offer! She is renting a booth in one of our local shops and wanted to know if I wanted to bring some of my work to sell!  She also offered me the chance to go in 50/50 with her!  I’m thrilled. My husband and I are planning to visit the shop today and then I’ll call Carla back. They have a website, so I checked it out and found some really nice pictures and stellar reviews from people. I’m thinking that I will at least go 50/50 with her until the holidays are over, giving me a good chance to see if my work will sell or not. Isn’t life – and the friendship of dear people – amazing?!?

I finished listing my flat wooden Christmas ornaments on ArtFire. I’ll do another post to show you some of the ornaments. :0)

It’s raining again today, but it doesn’t seem like we received the downpours the weather people were forecasting.

Since my ego was smashed yesterday with the confirmation of the scam, I didn’t exercise at ALL, actually getting under my throw in my recliner and taking a nap. We went to get fried rice for dinner – a definite no-no for both of us, but SO delicious – AND I ate some ice cream before bed. Needless to say, my back and the scales were both letting me have it loudly this morning, so I will get back on the horse and be good again now that the pity party is finished. :0)

I hope that YOUR day today is full of good things, too.

 

Thoughts on a Thursday 10-24-2019

Alma Maghakyan – LinkedIn – Imgend.com

I’m in awe of people who can create .gifs like this.  You can almost HEAR the rain!

I just came back from having a glorious massage by my therapist, Lynn Moody. She is so kind and caring, as well as a master at finding all the tight, sore spots, knots, etc. and making them go away. AHHHH! If you’re in the  Fort Smith/Greenwood/Hackett & surrounding area, call for an appointment. Her number is 479-629-7601. You’ll never stop thanking yourself.

I’m working on another wooden plaque using the Unicorn Spit stain/glaze. I think I’ll have it finished by the end of the day. I’ll take a pic to post here.

I will never be an exercise ‘enthusiast.’ I don’t look forward to it, and still have to be determined to make these sessions priorities on my daily to-do list. But I have to admit that I’m still shocked that my BODY told me it missed my exercise sessions on Monday, when our dogs got into a fight and my day was spent trying to tend to our smaller, elderly dog, Molly, instead of anything else. (She is stronger each day, is eating and drinking and able to go outside with me. Whew!) My BODY complained about my lack of exercise! I felt sore, stiff, and creaky Tuesday morning, and MUCH better after I did my NOW usual time of 35 minutes on the elliptical and 35 or so minutes of stretching yoga. So my attitude has changed from “SHOULD” to “NEED.” This is a sea change for me, and I’m pleased to recognize it.  So today is gloriously physical with massage, elliptical trainer, and yoga.

I’m looking for a good beef stew that fits my keto-macros needs and will be accepted by my husband, who truly loves traditional beef stew I’ve always made, full of potatoes, carrots, etc. I tried one recently while our son was still home. My husband ate one bowl, said, “hmmph” and wasn’t interested in eating more of it. Our son and I ate the rest, thinking it was really pretty good, but until I find one my HUSBAND determines is YUMMY, the hunt continues. I’ll get more serious about the hunt right away because our temperatures are dropping around here, and my husband is looking for comfort food.

I wish you a happy, healthy Thursday.

 

Thoughts on a Thursday 10-17-2019

We Love Earth

 

We got an early start to the day with a doctor appointment for my husband followed by a glorious, large keto breakfast (for me) with the addition of hash browns and toast and jelly for my husband at The Dari in Greenwood. We did errands on the way home, so we’re in for the day now.

I re-lost some poundage and am again ready to get into new territory on the scales – hopefully tomorrow. To date I’ve lost 43 pounds and 45 inches.

I’m on DAY 45 of daily yoga practice

Why Kol

and DAY 30 on the getting-serious-about-keto-macros eating plan.

The fact that my husband and son are saying, “YUMMY!” about our dinners (THANK YOU, Suzanne Ryan of Simply Keto), I’m finding it easier to make the substitutions desired while we all eat together. For example, I have roast beef and salad while they have corn or other more high carb veggie with the meal. Or they have rice while I have either zucchini noodles (Zoodles) or yellow Squash noodles (Yoodles) or Cauli-rice under a sauce of chicken chunks, onions, mushrooms, and cream of chicken/mushroom soup. (I have my substitutions ready to pop into the microwave from individual portion bags in the freezer.)

I love the Cronometer.com website. I have entered my macro (5% carbs, 25% protein, 70% fat) into their program. I can ‘play’ with what I’m going to eat for the day. If I find that I’m planning to eat something that will trash my efforts for the day, I can delete that and plug something else in BEFORE I mess up.

I finished my first experiment with Unicorn Spit Stain/Glaze.  I have to say I had a BLAST playing with it and can’t wait to start another piece.

 

I finally harvested our onions from the garden. I still need to clean them up a bit more, and then I’ll put them in a large, stretchy, mesh bag and hang it in the pantry.

 

I hope that you are having a wonderful Thursday, too. :0)

 

 

Thoughts on a Thursday 9-26-2019

Animals | HowStuffWorks

We’re having a quiet, soft rain this morning. I can HEAR the flowers, grass, and trees saying, “Ahhhhhh”

Centre of Excellence

I am leaving for a massage as soon as I finish this post!  I’m REALLLLY looking forward to it. Lynn Moody, my massage therapist, is a true miracle worker.

Since it’s raining, I’ll concentrate on inside stuff today, plus my elliptical trainer and yoga.

I’ve been showing you gorgeous melted crayon art lately. I ordered two melting tools recently, and I’ve been watching YouTube demonstrations on different techniques. I’m like a kid at Christmas, waiting to be able to play with them in my art room!

I hope that YOUR day is relaxing and fun.

Thoughts on a Thursday 9-10-2019

Jeff Jett – LinkedIn

My husband and son were out checking the irrigation system at about 7 pm last night (all is well) and saw 5 hummingbirds at one time! That’s the most we’ve seen at once this whole summer.  A sight like that makes everything right.

I told you yesterday that I was really trying to get serious about eating Keto and losing more of my lard. Thanks to my friend, Robin, I’ve signed up at a new website called CarbManager.com  I signed up for their Basic service, but they have a premium service, as well that I may consider in the future. My big thing on not switching was that I couldn’t find a carb tracker that would accept recipes from other places and let you log them in for the day without having to list each ingredient separately. This one did fine with Suzanne Ryan’s “Sausage, Egg and Cheese Bake” from her book Simply Keto easily. They have a good section that walks you through their website, explaining how to do things. The website on my computer links up with the app on my phone now, so that’s really handy, as well. Yesterday I ate 18 grams of carbs. They did NOT give me a message saying I wasn’t eating enough, so I was happy about that, too!

I found a wonderful artist who makes baskets that will make you drool. I’ll be sharing them with you in a bit.

Today I’ll make time for my yoga practice this afternoon (Day # 17) and I plan to play in my art room!

I hope that YOUR Thursday is full of cute squirrel photos, hummingbirds, and fun.

 

 

Thoughts on a Thursday 9-5-2019

 

• Try as you might, the cat jumps out of the planter just before you take the picture.

THIS is that cat – Smoke.

 

• I’m watching the agonizing ‘progress” of Hurricane Dorian as it makes it way up the East coast wreaking havoc. I’m hoping it will continue moving to the east, causing as little damage as possible.
• I did DAY 2 of renewed yoga practice yesterday, and will do Day 3 today.
• I played in my art room yesterday, continuing the painting of yet another stained tee of mine. It seems to be coming back to life slowly. :0)
• I am learning more about the after effects of my husband’s stroke. (“As with anxiety, anger is both a physical and psychological response. … After a stroke you might find you experience anger much more frequently, have less control over your outbursts and/or get angry over things that would not normally cause you to feel that way.” – the things I’ve read say that this may be a temporary change in personality.  Our son and I are dealing with this. It doesn’t happen often, and fingers are crossed this will pass.)
• I am thankful that I get to spend time with my two favorite men on the planet, and that we are sharing good conversations, laughs, and hugs.

May your Thursday be full of things that fill your heart and make you smile.