Julia Brodskaya
Julia Brodskaya – Birds
Julia Brodskaya – Flight
Julia Brodskaya – Hand
Yulia-Brodskaya-Lionfish with Man-Strictly paper
Monthly Archives: May 2020
Denial
PictureQuotes.com
I’m going to have to switch gears for the coming week, starting today – hopefully.
I’ve been working outside, whacking down weeds, cutting back trees, spraying weed killer and ant killer, etc., in an effort to keep Mother Nature from reclaiming the totally wild, wooded land we bought around 33 years ago now. (We built our home on top of this ridge line in 1987.) This is a full-time, never-ending job, and I have to say that we grow some really healthy, impressive weeds here. Some of them are taller than I am!
Last night, while my husband and I enjoyed a much-appreciated evening on the deck while grilling our dinner, we talked about the fact that the ‘weed trees’ were again encroaching on our view of the valley below. The slope of our land is impressive, too, and there are totally rocky places where it is treacherous to even think about walking. This is where the weed trees are. I am going to attempt to cut these down, a few at a time, over the coming weeks to try to reclaim our view.
This gives you an idea of what we can usually see.
That said, here is the 10 day forecast for our area –
Maybe I should be trying to built a raft or boat instead of thinking about weed whacking….
The end result of a forecast like this is I want to take a nap. I feel super lazy. I can’t even get excited about playing in my art room right now, though that could change once I’ve finished my coffee.
The only thing I PROMISE I will do today is make a ‘sausage-egg-and-cheese bake’ for our dinner tonight. This is a wonderful keto recipe from Suzanne Ryan of Simply Keto. My husband grinned and gave a happy thumbs up when I told him what I planned to make today. Actually, I’ll promise another thing – I will do at least 35 minutes of gentle yoga stretches today.
Otherwise, I’ll have to fight my natural inclination to stretch out in my chair in the living room under my snuggly throw and take cat naps (with at least one, if not two, actual cats!) today.
I hope you have a happy Sunday.
A Perfect Evening
Getty Images
We had a beautiful day today. In the hope we would ALSO have a beautiful evening, I thawed a steak we had kept just for an evening like this. I marinated it all day in the fridge, hoping that Mother Nature would be kind.
The weather could not have been more perfect! The sun went behind some clouds. We had a nice, cool breeze. It was quiet. We had our animals playing around us. My husband enjoyed a beer – a nice gift for him, and I had a cup of coffee sitting in one chair with my feet up on another, totally relaxed, drinking in the gorgeous evening.
We chatted, laughed, and had the best time. As the sky darkened, I plugged in the rope LED lights we have strung around the inside edge of the deck roof so it was festive.
The steaks and salad tasted really nice.
DOUBLY nice because we have rain in the forecast every day, starting tomorrow, through the END of next week.
A reminder to enjoy each day as it comes!
AHHHHH!
Filed under Family, Mother Nature
New Possibilty!
ViralWildlcom
I’m trying to do intermittent fasting and keto in order to lose my lard. The pandemic is my latest excuse for having trouble sticking to it. The biggest problem for me lately is that my husband is requesting dinners like spaghetti with meat sauce, or one of our favorite dishes – beef with mushroom soup, onions, and things over rice or other pasta.
Lately I’ve had trouble serving my spaghetti sauce over zoodles or spaghetti squash, or the soup and meat or chicken sauce over cauli-rice or whatever. I’ve really been missing PASTA.
My friend Marsha came to the rescue, telling me about a new non-carb pasta she found. The brand name is Banza, and they make all kinds of pasta – penne, shells, and rotini plus spaghetti. The pasta is made from chickpeas. It has a LOT fewer carbs. Not as few as I would prefer, since my goal is to eat 20 grams or less carbs per day, but a huge improvement over regular pasta. I can now splurge every once a awhile, solve my cravings, and hopefully stay on my eating plan.
I ordered six boxes – 2 each of Penne, Shells, and Rotini. I’ll let you know how my new discovery turns out.
123RF.com
Filed under Challenges, DIET!, getting the lard off
Raccoon # 4
National Geographic
We captured Raccoon #4 in our humane trap overnight.
We got our mail mid morning and drove out to the stream about 5 miles from the house to relocate him. I have a happy mental picture of him reuniting with Raccoons 1-3 and enjoying the rest of their lives together.
I’m amazed that he showed up since we had such horrendous weather last night. When my husband let him out, he just leaped happily into the stream and was gone in a flash.
I really wish we could all simply co-exist, sharing the bird seed we supply. We have learned the hard way, however, that raccoons don’t share. They want EVERY seed, and many times completely trash the feeders. We can’t afford to buy new feeders every other day, or buy more than a 40 pound bag of seed every week, so I’m just pleased that the humane trap we have captures them without harm and allows us to ‘relocate’ each one and give them another chance to be happy.
Filed under Amazing Animals
And the Rains Came!
Lunch Bunch was rained out yesterday. :0( It got really dark and rained heavily right when we would have been ordering and trying to eat at a picnic table in the parking lot of the restaurant. I was disappointed because I wanted to see my friends, plus take them some fresh lettuce from my garden.
Later in the afternoon, things got serious. It rained and hailed, we had gusty winds, harder rain, lightning, thunder, and flying hairballs. The weather alert went nuts, saying we were under a tornado warning and to take shelter now! (Of course, my husband just scoffed and ignored the whole thing.) I finally sat down in my chair, thinking if we were going to get hit, I wanted to be with him. Luckily, the bad weather passed, after raining a lot of the night.
I haven’t found any damage so far. I will go out to the garden later and see what’s what out there. We are having a lovely day so far today. We are planning to try to cook outside this evening in celebration, for we are due for more heavy rain tomorrow and Monday.
I hope that YOU are safe and well, and that Mother Nature will treat you well today and the rest of the holiday weekend.
Filed under Uncategorized
Calvin Nicholls Paper Sculpture 2
Calvin Nicholls
Calvin Nicholls – “Freddy”
Calvin Nicholls – Wolf and Hawk
Filed under paper art
Flourishing Fish
My husband and I cleaned out the aquarium this morning, putting in a new decoration after taking everything out, cleaning, replacing the filter, putting in freshly treated water, etc. I didn’t actually scrub the fish, themselves, but I have a feeling they would not look kindly on that.
I got the new decoration at the exclusive emporium of Walmart. The fish seem to like it. They immediately checked it out, swimming around and around it, hoping it was edible.
I don’t really know much about fish, but I have never had any fish grow like these two have. Each was about an inch-and-a-half at most when I bought them. The whiter looking gold fish is about 3 inches long now, or twice as large as it was. The gold fish is at least 4 inches long now, maybe more. I had to get a larger mesh fish scooper because the gold fish would no longer fit in the smaller one.
I have talked to them about the possibility of them learning a trick or two, but so far, all they express interest in is feeding time…
Filed under Family, Housekeeping - Maintenance
Paper Art – Quilling
Stacy-Bettencourt-Quilled Phoenix-QuantumArtistic.com
Tamsyn-Gutierrez-Frida Kahlo Portrait-Strictly Paper
Tomris-Acar-Strictly Paper
Webdesigner Depot
Mother Nature Makes Harvesting a Challenge
First thing this morning I went out to harvest some lettuce so I could take it to Lunch Bunch and share some with Linda, Kay, and the two waitresses at The Pizza Barn, Susan and Mikey. I knew we had rain forecast for today, but it looked like it might hold off until we could share lunch at the picnic table in the parking lot before it started.
I brought the lettuce in and dumped it all into the sink. 45 minutes later, I had several small heads of lettuce and a lot of extra lettuce leaves ready to put in bags.
About an hour ago, Kay called, telling me the forecast now said we would get at least two waves of storms – each possibly severe – with hail. We agreed to call off Lunch Bunch for today. :0(
I let Amber into the truck and we went down the driveway to get the mail. Just as we pulled into the garage after getting it, the rain started. We haven’t had hail yet, but it’s obvious we are in for the day now. The sky is dark, almost like night. The garage door is shut to protect our vehicles.
Now we appreciate being able to stay inside a warm, dry house and hope that we JUST get rain today.
Puns for the Educated Mind – 1
Andrea Piacquadio
My friend, Marsha, sent me puns this morning. I’m still grinning –
1. The fattest knight at King Arthur’s round table was Sir Cumference.
He acquired his size from too much pi.
2. I thought I saw an eye – doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.
3. She was only a whiskey – maker, but he loved her still.
4. A rubber – band pistol was confiscated from an algebra class, because it was a weapon of math disruption.
5. No matter how much you push the envelope, it’ll still be stationery.
6. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering
7. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.
Filed under Funny Signs - Humor, punny
In the Middle of All This –
Slice of Life
we remember there is beauty all around us, if we just take the time to look and appreciate. Fill your soul.
Filed under Cause for Celebration, Mother Nature
The Art of Gary Wing
Gary Wing
If you would like to see more, go to this link – Gary Wing Illustration
Paper Art 4 – Calvin Nicholls
Calvin Nicholls – A Bracelet of Art
Calvin Nicholls – Follett Library Resources International Branding
Calvin Nicholls – Frog
Calvin Nicholls – Nuthatch
Calvin Nicholls – Splash Dance – Atlantic Salmon
Filed under paper art
Chatting With Our Son
I have told you that our son lives and works in Thailand. He LOVES living there. He was in an apartment in Chiang Mai, but decided he wanted to live out away from town, where he could have more privacy, plus create and play music without bothering anyone. He has recently rented a house about 13 miles outside of town.
He is happily settling in, ordering things and having things delivered – although deliveries are a bit of a challenge because the street he lives on has no name. Luckily, there is a unique place that was converted to a coffee shop down the road, so he can give that as a reference point.
Yesterday he sent this picture –
He took the picture through the screen on one of his windows. Impressive!
I tell the bug people who come to my home to spray quarterly to spray for everything – including elephants – since we live in the woods. I’m not sure there is a spray that would deter something like this…
Filed under Family
Thoughts on a Wednesday 5-20-2020
source unknown
I have found this to be good advice – smiles are contagious, and they make you AND the recipient feel better.
That said, I just had words with my husband. He was in our home office, working at the computer, so I decided I would use the opportunity to vacuum the 1st floor carpeting. Suddenly, he and Amber, our 95-pound yellow lab,
were in the living room with me. They decided to go out on the back porch, but we had the door open, creating a nice breeze. I was vacuuming and suddenly was hit with 95 pounds of dog flying into me, trying to go after the ball my husband threw for her. I scowled at him, and he grinned sheepishly at me, after helping me up. The SECOND time the dog came flying past me, getting tangled in the cord, I put her out on the porch and shut the door. I finished vacuuming and put the dog bed back down in the living room. I opened the back door to allow husband and dog back into the house. The next thing I knew, the dog was flying for the ball into the front of the living room into her bed, sliding about three feet with the slobbery ball and bed. I then told my husband in no uncertain terms that I had vacuumed in the living room in order not to bother him in the office, and that consideration seemed to be only going one way this morning. He agreed, grinned again, hugged me, and sat down to read in his chair. (It is now time to look at the picture and suggestion above again.)
National Geographic
We trapped Raccoon # 3 of the season overnight and so took a trip to relocate him first thing this morning. I have a nice mental picture of him finding the two others we have relocated so far this season and having a happy reunion far enough away that they won’t return to our home. My husband cleaned out the humane trap, had to replace the plastic bowl we use to hold the bait because the raccoon trashed it, and refilled our bird feeders. We have no idea how large the current raccoon family is. We’ll see if we get all the bird seed cleaned out tonight.
We have had two absolutely perfect weather days,
Clipart Library
and I can’t sing high enough praises. I like rain, but it starts to be depressing when you get day after day of cool, gray, rainy weather. I am smiling at the sunshine, trying to encourage Mother Nature to provide more of this. Since it’s supposed to be nice today, I’m planning to do some weed whacking in the area behind the shop and beside the veggie garden, where my husband can’t use the riding mower. When I get that all cut down, I’ll also spray some weed killer right around the big trash barrels that hold the ingredients of Mel’s Mix for the garden, plus around the propane tank that serves the shop. I’ll take some pics when things are presentable.
I hope that you are safe and well, having a happy day.
Name Cards
I made these name cards to add to my work in the local shop, Rags & Roses Collective, in Greenwood. I’m hoping that people will enjoy them as something to put in a basket of goodies for a baby shower, include with a gift to a child, decoration for a child’s room or door, or….
I made 10 cards of boys’ names and 10 cards of girls names. I’ll also include a sign that encourages people to preorder a card for me to make, giving me a name they don’t find in the ones I’ve made so far.
Filed under Uncategorized
Old Friends
Reading Books via Stephanie Youmans Wilson
I have just pre-ordered the paperback versions of #50 and #51 of Nora Roberts’ “In Death” series. (#50 will be out in July and #51 at the end of December.)
The day before yesterday I settled down with #1 in the series, “Naked in Death” and thoroughly enjoyed the re-read. It was like seeing old friends after a long absence, even though “I” have changed a LOT since I first discovered the series. The characters remain fascinating to me, and the interaction and dialogue just as intriguing as the first time.
I have the ‘luxury’ in my ongoing maturity of forgetting many of the details of a book, so I can read them again with as much enjoyment, or more, than the first time, absorbing more details.
Roberts creates characters that are real. They all have their flaws and quirks and I find them endearing. I admire the main character, Eve Dallas, because she overcomes inner fears and doubts to do what she feels is right. She has quite high standards and won’t give an inch to achieve her goals. Quite a woman. My heart breaks for her, reading of her early life, and I find her endearing and believable.
I feel lucky to have found Nora Roberts as an author. She has given me countless hours of pleasure and a richness I wouldn’t have had, otherwise. I’ll enjoy living in Eve Dallas’ world through the first 49 books, and then welcome #50 in July.
Filed under Favorite Authors & Books
Thoughts on a Monday 5-18-2020
Marabou Stork-photographer unknown via Penny Yaffe Krakow
If I come back to the world as something else one day, I either want to be this Marabou stork (above) or a shoebill stork (below.)
San Diego Zoo Animals and Plants
I love both of these birds. They are ugly – and they look like they have a sense of humor – like they’ll say something to make you laugh any minute. A great combination!
The sun is finally shining here!!!! We have had an entire week of rain, storms, gusty winds, gray days. It was SO nice to have to put on my sunglasses when we ran a couple of errands earlier today!
I fixed a big salad this morning. I will offer to share it with my husband, but he has some things he really likes, instead. I will eat part for lunch and the rest as part of my dinner. It’s wonderful to be able to use spinach and lettuce from our own garden in it! :0)
My husband is going to try to mow the yard later today, if it will dry up more. We are actually watching the grass grow now that the sun has come out.
I’m going to play in my art room this afternoon, trying to finish up a new idea I had.
Have a fun day!
Paul Militaru Photography
“Silk Water” – Paul Militaru Photography
“White Magnolia Petals” – Paul Militaru Photography
See more of Paul’s photography.
creativeartworksblog 