Monthly Archives: February 2017

Christmas in February

I finished painting my “Gingerbread Cookies” Wooden personalized ornament collection this afternoon!

 

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Cookie Plate 1 – “Angel,” “Bell with Clapper,” “Ornament,” “Fancy Snowflake,” and “Rounded Snowflake.”

 

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Cookie Plate 2 –  “Teddy Bear,” “Moose,” and “Christmas Cookie.”

 

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Cookie Plate 3 – “Butterfly,” “Rudolph,” “Starburst,” and “Small Christmas Tree.”

 

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Cookie Plate 4 – “Rounded Christmas Tree,” “Christmas Stocking,” “Snowman,” and “Birdhouse.”

 

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Cookie Plate 5 –  “Rounded Bell,” “Dove,” and “Mitten.”

Each of these is made of light weight wood, perfect to hang on your tree. The back is painted brown, like the front, with a white band across for personalization. You can have the name of the recipient and the year,  “to _____ from _____ and the year,” “_____’s First Christmas and the year,” etc. at no extra charge. The size of the ornaments ranges from approximately 2.5″ across to 5″ across.  You can order as many ornaments as you like. They can be made to look like the ones above or each one can be different. I’ll work with you to make these just the way you want them. As each one is painted by hand, please allow approximately 3 weeks for creation and delivery. If you would like to order several of the same ornament, please email me at linda@creativeartworks.cc to check quantity in stock, as more time may be needed if you need more than I have on hand.

You are the first to see these. They aren’t listed on Creative Artworks yet. I’ll have them up soon. “:0)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Filed under Holiday Gift Ideas, holidays

“Purple Lilac”

"Purple Lilac" - Paul Militaru Photography

“Purple Lilac” – Paul Militaru Photography

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Happy Sunday Morning!

Pinterest

Grin - Pinterest

Grin – Pinterest

I love Photoshop. I don’t know how to use it, but I appreciate the people who are clever enough to create photos like this.  (I tried to make out the watermark on this one, but can see only about half of it. )

It’s 61 degrees here and sunshine-y today. I have many things on my to-do list today. I’m thinking of doing the ‘have-to’s’ and then giving myself some time up in my art room today.

________

It’s now about two hours later than when I started this post.  We’ve now eaten breakfast, done basic chores, grocery shopped, and now have a spaghetti squash in the oven.  (I’m saving the seeds, hoping that I can plant some for the garden.)

I truly cannot believe it’s February. It’s still sunny, and now is 69 degrees F. We have the front and back doors open, plus the window open in the office, so we can bring the outside in.

Do something fun today!

 

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Friendship

Zen to Zany

Zen to Zany

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Filed under Favorite Quotes, Friendship

Speeding through the Day

"Gone with the wind fabulous" - Johnathan Cruz

“Gone with the wind fabulous” – Johnathan Cruz

This is the way my day has felt.

On the good side, I’ve gotten a lot of little fiddly things off my to-do-list, like giving our dog, Molly, a session with the defurminator so she will leave fewer big tufts of hair all over the place. (Abby, the cat, is next.)

I’ve cut up veggies to munch and to cook for next week. I’m cleaning out the fridges in preparation for making a grocery list for tomorrow. I’ve made puddings and other stuff, running the dishwasher twice so far today.

And so it goes, the little things that we need to do to make our lives go more smoothly.

It was a good day to do this stuff. It wasn’t supposed to rain but it did, giving me a good chance to do inside stuff. We opted not to go to town, freeing up more time. The only sad thing is that my energy has never been a good match for my to-do list.

My husband is out working busily in the shop while my energy reaches its ebb. I think I’ll have a cup of coffee and put my feet up to see if I get another surge of energy.

I hope you’re having a really nice day.

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Filed under Amazing Animals, Awe-Inspiring Photography, Challenges, Favorite Things

“Spin Flower”

"Spin Flower" - Paul Militaru Photography

“Spin Flower” – Paul Militaru Photography

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Riches and Roadrunners

Friends at Lunch - Pinterest

Friends at Lunch – Pinterest

I’m feeling rich today. It started with Lunch Bunch – a group of friends that my husband and I enjoy every Friday at the Pizza Barn in Greenwood, Arkansas. I don’t know how many years we’ve been doing this. The group started with just three of us – three ladies having lunch. The group has gotten larger, and then smaller over the years, but my husband became an official “Lunch Bunch Member “several years ago. It’s a great time to catch up on what has been going on. We give comfort when needed, and share laughs a lot.

We did our errands and came home. I noticed this as we drove into the garage –

 

Purple Iris

Purple Iris

We have beautiful iris, some of which bloom twice each year, but I don’t remember any blooming in February before….

 

Daffodils

Daffodils

This bunch of daffodils was blooming in the back yard, close to the place where our land stops being a yard and begins being woods.

 

riches-roadrunner-factzoo-com

FactZoo.com

While I was taking pictures, a roadrunner came into sight. (I couldn’t act fast enough to capture a picture, but the one above gives you an idea.)  He would run a few steps, then stop, His tail would come up and his head would come up. He would hold the pose a few seconds and then put his head and tail down and run a few more steps. He did this wonderful dance all the way across my line of vision as I held my breath.

 

riches-spinachsprouts

The spinach seeds are sprouting! These are the seeds that I soaked in water for 30 minutes before planting. I don’t know if the sprouts will continue to grow, or if I’ll have something to plant, but I’m excited that I finally got some sprouts!

And finally – I’m feeling rich because I’m going for a massage today.

 

My wonderful massage therapist fell and broke her arm badly last year. She has had to have three surgeries since then. She faces a fourth surgery in the near future to hopefully get things finally back to normal with no pain. She is now giving one massage a day and I lucked into an appointment for this afternoon.  My body is already sighing in anticipation!!!

What a rich lady I am!

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Filed under Delightful Surprises, Encouragement

Can You See Me?

Kajomyot Krunkitsatien

Kajomyot Krunkitsatien

There Was An Owl

“There was an owl
who lived in an oak.
The more he heard,
the less he spoke;
the less he spoke,
the more he heard-
We all should be
like that wise old bird.” ~ Unknown

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Filed under Attitude, Encouragement

Spring is Coming!

Joep van Heenen via Akiva Huber

Joep van Rheenen via Akiva Huber

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Filed under Awe-Inspiring Photography, Mother Nature

Steps

Hugo - the Sneakerhead - Pinterest

Hugo – the Sneakerhead – Pinterest

My sister-in-law, Mary Lou, and I are trying to take care of ourselves. While I’m doing yoga, the elliptical trainer, and 5 lb. weight strength exercises; Mary Lou is walking at the “J”, walking her dogs, doing aerobic exercises in the pool at the “J”, and other things. She recently got a new FitBit type wristband that does everything but cook, giving her the number of steps she’s walked, her heart rate, blood pressure, calories, and probably where she left her keys. I’m very envious, both about her new fancy goodie – bringing lots of motivation, plus her efforts on walking. Her highest reading lately was 13,500!

I’ve done a lot (for me) today, working in the garden, then spreading Weed & Feed on the lawn, then fertilizer in the flower beds, then cooking and laundry, and my simplistic pedometer says, 2922 at the moment. UGH.  I still have puddings to make and dinner to figure out, plus laundry to put away, so I probably won’t get to my elliptical today.

Maybe tomorrow….

 

 

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Filed under Challenges, Changes, exercise

Official Start of Growing Season in Arkansas 2017

onions2

I just finished working in the garden for the moment. I planted the bunch of Sweet Georgia Onions we bought recently. Here you can see crop rotation, as it is in square foot gardening – You don’t plant the same plant side by side. It would actually be better if I didn’t plant them cat-i-corner to each other, too, so they’re less likely to spread disease or bugs. I keep track of where I’ve planted things so that I don’t plant them in the same squares NEXT time.

You can also see the irrigation system. We have a sprinkler mounted in the center of each box, attached to each other and then attached to the main hose. We have them hooked to an outside above the ground faucet on which we have a timer so that the plants are watered each night during the main season. It isn’t hooked up now, due to possible freeze, so I just watered by hand today.

 

onions3

This is another view of the raised bed garden we finished in the fall. There are six 4′ x 4′ wooden boxes (two rows of three boxes each) mounted on metal support ‘tables.’ We use string to divide each wooden box of Mel’s Mix into 16 squares. I planted the sweet onions in 8 of the 16 squares in this box today.  I can’t describe what a pleasure it is to simply walk into the garden, putting the plants and the implements needed on top of a square, then planting things at chest height, not having to bend over double, till the soil, try to get all the weeds out for planting, then get down on hands and knees to plant, and then finally water.

We decided last year I was definitely too old to do all that anymore. We built the boxes and the supports, then stored them beside the shop under tarps until the spring garden was finished. I went ahead and planted the fall garden on the ground as usual and we installed the new raised bed boxes on the side of the garden that wasn’t being used. When the fall garden finished, we installed the last three boxes.

Today we strung the string on the three newest boxes. I need to mix and add more Mel’s Mix (1/3 peat moss, 1/3 vermiculite, and 1/3 equal parts of however many compost types you can find. – I used cotton burr, barnyard, and mushroom.) Then the whole garden will be ready to plant when the danger of frost has passed.  In the above picture, you can see the trash cans beside the shop where I keep the components of Mels Mix ready to put together.

Meanwhile, fingers are crossed for these sweet onions, even though our average last frost date is April 10th…

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Filed under Arkansas, Gardening, Greenwood, Mother Nature, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds

Hugs

hugs-thoughts-5

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February 16, 2017 · 11:14 am

Wonderful Rock Garden

Recipes from Heaven via Ann Gilstrap

Recipes from Heaven via Ann Gilstrap

I absolutely love this. I think that if ‘I’ were doing it, though, I would put down black plastic and maybe some shot-crete on that before building my design to keep weeds from growing up between the stones. It’s gorgeous, though, isn’t it?  Thanks so much for sharing it with me, Ann.

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“Red Leaves 1”

"Red Leaves 1" - Paul Militaru Photography

“Red Leaves 1” – Paul Militaru Photography

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Thursday Thoughts

Whatsapp Status 77

Whatsapp Status 77

It’s a beautiful, sunny morning here in Greenwood, Arkansas. We stayed up very late last night/this morning, binge watching part of the past season of “The Magicians.” The new season has started, but somehow we got lost and didn’t watch the whole season last time. We rented Discs 1 and 2 and got interested again. We watched 3 last night and are expecting 4 to be in the mailbox today. Once we get caught up we’ll try to pretend we’re normal again. :0)

It’s supposed to get to 66 today! I really find it hard to believe. It’s really too early for this. It has snowed many times on my birthday in March, so I’m expecting that the daffodils that are blooming profusely and the iris buds that are trying to bloom will be cut off by a blast from Mother Nature soon. My spirits are lifted looking that the beauty, though.

Today I’m contemplating two things: spreading “Weed & Feed” on the lawn and planting Georgia Sweet Onion sets in my raised bed square foot garden.  It’s not SUPPOSED to freeze in the 10-day forecast, so I’m hoping that if I hold my mouth right, all will be good on the onion sets.

 

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I now have 7 celery plants in soil on the window sill. Here are the youngest.

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These are the two middle plants.

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These are the oldest. I’m planting to move whatever is still alive to the garden around the 10th of March.

 

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I finally have a few spinach sprouts!  Who knows if they’ll live, get brothers and sisters, or what, but my fingers are crossed and hopes are high.

My efforts at Weed & Feed for the lawn are because we decided that our lawn was really terrible due to moles, voles, gophers, and whatever other burrowing animals are in the area. They seem to have sent out a memo, inviting all their friends and relatives. We were happy with our lawn care folks, but even they said that they didn’t really have anything that was effective against these tiny creatures. We’ve killed the grubs they feed on, but that didn’t seem to make much difference. Since our lawn is a mess and I can use the exercise, I’m just going to spread weed killer and fertilizer myself and hope for the best.  Picture me doing the ‘mole-stomping-dance’ all over the yard as I crank the weed & feed pellet distributor.

I’ll take pics when I get the onion sets planted.

I hope your day is productive and that you do something you truly enjoy.

 

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Filed under Arkansas, Gardening, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds

Just Listen

Rachel Naomi Remen via Lisa Bearnes Richey

Rachel Naomi Remen via Lisa Bearnes Richey

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“Mr. Natural” Mailbox Decoration

“Mr. Natural is a comic book character created and drawn by 1960s counterculture and underground comix artist Robert Crumb” ~ Wikipedia.

mrnatback

This is the back of the piece.

 

mrnatfront

And the front.

Mr. Natural was a “white-bearded, diminutive sage-cum-charlatan, ranging from charming, free-wheeling early ’70s stories to the disturbing, controversial stories of the 90s”. He’s one of my husband’s favorite characters due to his controversial nature, fitting my husband’s sense of humor to a “T.”

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Filed under Lewis Art, Lewis Mailbox Decorations

Sign of Spring!

purpleiris

If you look carefully, you can see TWO iris spears with deep purple iris buds! Whoopeeeeeee!

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Filed under Arkansas, Gardening

Grandmothers

Nino Chakvetadze via Zen to Zany

Nino Chakvetadze via Zen to Zany

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Free

David Clinton via David McCunellon

David Clinton via David McCunellon

Hahahahahahahahah! :0)

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Low-Carb Blueberry Muffins?

Laura in the Kitchen Wild - Wikia

Laura in the Kitchen Wild – Wikia

I’m trying a new recipe this afternoon for Low Carb Blueberry Muffins. They are in the oven now. I’ll give you a report if they’re good.

My husband went to get the mail, coming back with, “It’s yucky out there!” The rain is wonderful, we agree, but the cool temperatures and wind make it seem pretty raw. We’re thankful for a warm, dry house today.

UPDATE:

The muffins weren’t great, but they were better than NO blueberry muffins. Since we haven’t eaten any in more than a year, they tasted pretty good. Will keep looking for another low carb recipe, though. That said, my husband just asked for a second helping…

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Filed under Cooking/Recipes/Low Carb Lifestyle

Hooray! It’s Raining!

Heflin - Open Image Studio

Heflin – Open Image Studio

It’s 43 degrees, gray, and raining. Just beautiful!

We have been flirting with getting rain for several weeks now. It always bypassed us, and we need rain badly. Today I woke up to lots of wonderful rain!

The dogs were not as appreciative as I shooed them out the door to take care of business. I’ve done that several times today, since they stay out approximately 30 seconds and then start barking to get back in. :0)

I took my umbrella and walked around it in a bit. Our yard is really soaked – something it really needed.

When this dries up a bit – maybe tomorrow or the next day – I’ll spread the “Weed and Feed” granules we got from Yeagers. I’ll also spread more grass seed, as the moles, voles, and other ‘oles’ have tunneled all over the place dislodging our nice grass and making a mess.

I hope the weather in your part of the world is to your liking today.

I wish I had some cute boots like the little girl in the pictures….

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Filed under Acting Like a Grownup, Childlike Fun, Mother Nature

“Seriously Simple Chicken Chili” Recipe

To Simply Inspire

To Simply Inspire

I didn’t have a photo to go with Dana Carpender’s “Seriously Simply Chicken Chili” recipe, but the one above is representative.

If you’re trying to eat low-carb, I highly recommend at LEAST two recipe books by Dana Carpender :  200 Low-Carb Slow Cooker Recipes and 300 15-Minute Low-Carb Recipes. You can find other nice ones, but between these two books, you have a wealth of healthy meals, either from the slow cooker or quick meals. She uses basic ingredients and simple techniques that have my husband wanting more – a rare thing with healthy eating!

We’ve eaten her “Seriously Simple Chicken Chili’ from the Slow Cooker book several times before, but I failed to pass this recipe on to you.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 16 oz jar prepared salsa
  • 1 tablespoon Chili Powder*
  • 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon concentrate*
  • 3 oz shredded Monterey Jack cheese
  • 6 tablespoons light sour cream

 

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Put chicken in your slow cooker
  2. In a bowl, stir together the salsa, chili powder and bouillon, making sure the bouillon’s dissolved. Pour the mixture over the chicken. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 7 to 8 hours.
  3. When the time’s up, shred the chicken with a fork. Serve topped with the cheese and sour cream.

 

YIELD:

6 servings, each with: 263 calories, 9 grams fats, 39 grams protein, 6 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams dietary fiber, 4 grams usable carbs.

 

MY NOTES:

  • I cut up the chicken before I put it in the crock pot. THEN, I use two forks to shred the chicken a bit before serving.
  • I use 1 TEASPOON chili powder because my husband and I don’t like spicy or hot.
  • I use 1 TABLESPOON chicken bouillon concentrate because we love it.
  • I haven’t done it, but it seems like this would freeze well. One of these times, I’ll double the recipe and freeze half for another time.

ENJOY!  Thank you, Dana Carpender!

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When Wood Comes Alive – Take 12

wood-woodpalletart-youtubebykip

Wood Pallet Art – YouTube – KIP

 

 

wood-youtube-carvedjewelrybox

Carved Jewelry Box – YouTube

 

 

wood-woodplankart-pinterest

Wood Plank Art – Pinterest

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Happy Valentine’s Day!

Deposit Photos

Deposit Photos

L is for ‘laughter’ we had along the way.
O is for ‘optimism’ you gave me every day.
V is for ‘value’ of being my best friend.
E is for ‘eternity,’ a love that has no end.”

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When Wood Comes Alive – Take 11

wood-sunset-1000ideasaboutartonwood

“Sunset” – 1000+ Ideas about Art on Wood

 

 

wood-woodburningpatterns-1000ideasaboutwoodburningart

Wood-burning Patterns – 1000+ Ideas about Wood-burning in Art

 

 

wood-woodburning-pinterest

Wood-burning, Pinterest

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Filed under Creativity, When Wood Comes Alive

“Ducks”

"Ducks" - Paul Militaru Photography

“Ducks” – Paul Militaru Photography

I wish this gorgeous photo had sound. I can ALMOST hear the ducks…

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Filed under Amazing Animals, Paul Militaru Photography

Barefoot

Zen to Zany via Cathy Ruggiero

Anita Opper – Zen to Zany via Cathy Ruggiero

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Folding Myself into a Paper Airplane – Help for my Back

Buzger

Buzger

I told you that I recently did ‘something mysterious ‘ and messed up my back. It took almost a full week of heat pad, Ibuprofen and a pain patch to get it to ease up. Yesterday I finished the job by doing my own group of yoga poses to stretch my back in all directions, slowly and carefully.

Once again, I’m grateful that I found “Gentle Yoga” by SixtyandMe.  It’s almost as if events in my life are now categorized as “Before” or “After” I started practicing yoga. Since I’m definitely getting “long in the tooth,” I’m so happy I found some DVDs expressly created for folks like me, who have never tried yoga before. They know that the people trying to follow the practice might have health issues, might be sore from surgeries, are probably stiff, and are probably worried that they won’t be able to do it at all.  (My biggest problem when I started – and remains – getting up off the floor! I’m working on it. )

Cat Kabira eases you into each pose, giving you several alternatives, stressing that if you’re trying to do the pose, you’re getting the benefits. She stresses there is no perfect yoga pose, that you’re trying to listen to your own body, breathe into the poses, and provide what your body needs to get stronger, more flexible, and feel better.

I’m the poster girl for ‘couch potato.’  I really don’t ‘enjoy’ exercising. I don’t have a group of cute outfits and live to go to the gym. But I’ve finally created a good regimen for me for right now, including yoga Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; elliptical trainer Tuesday and Thursday, upper body strength exercises on Saturday, and lower body exercises on Sunday. By the end of each week I feel I’m doing a good job of moving more. I’m not bored with my regimen and I’m feeling a difference. I feel a bit looser when I walk. I feel muscles working now that I didn’t know I had.

So, I still don’t know what I did to cause my back to hurt. I sure don’t want to do whatever it was again. But if I do, I’ll try to ease into some careful stretching sooner with my yoga. I’m beginning to consider it not only good exercise, but a lifesaver.

 

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When Wood Comes Alive – Take 10

wood-bloom-1000ideasaboutartonwood

“Bloom” – 1000+ Ideas about Art on Wood

 

 

wood-pinterest

Wood – Pinterest

 

 

wood-cncmilledmaple-1000ideasaboutwoodsculpture

CNC Milled Maple – 1000 + Ideas About Wood Sculpture

 

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Filed under Creativity, When Wood Comes Alive

“Swimming in Troubled Waters”

"Swimming in Troubled Waters" - Paul Militaru Photography

“Swimming in Troubled Waters” – Paul Militaru Photography

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