Monthly Archives: March 2022
Wonderful Painted Glassware
Filed under painted glass
Confusion
It seems to me that our world is a mass of mixed signals and confusion. It’s hard to know what to think, what to feel, which way to jump.
I’m kind of like a deer frozen in the headlights, concentrating on one day at a time, trying to do what I can, when I can, one careful step at a time, with a lot of trying to escape thrown in, too, since there is so much happening that I can’t do anything about.
The only thing I can come up with is to try to personally stay as strong as I can, continuing to look for any ways to try to make things better wherever I can find.
I wish I were a fairy godmother, able to wave my wand, think good thoughts, and save the world.
Filed under Attitude, caring, Challenges, Changes, character-building exercises, coping mechanisms
Awe-Inspiring Photography
Filed under Awe-Inspiring Photography
Pebble Art
Filed under Stone/Pebble Art
Thoughts on a Mild Monday 3-7-2022
We came through the night – with threatened severe storms – just fine. The cold front came through and now it’s 31 degrees F. We have another chance at a ‘wintry mix’ Friday, but I’m really hoping the back of winter has been broken and that we’re moving on to spring. I’m also hopeful that Mother Nature receives the memo and acknowledges the official beginning of spring on the 20th, if not unofficially, before.
My spring garden of veggies is still only a bright spark in my mind. I’ve decided to wait out this week and see what happens Friday. I want to uncover at least some of my raised bed square foot planters and fill them with early spring plants of spinach, lettuce, and broccoli, if not more. (Ours looks much like those in this photo, except we built them up at my chest level, on metal table-like supports, so I don’t have to bend over double or get up and down from my knees.
I’m definitely starting to have ideas rattling around about playing in my art room. I’ve been finding artwork all over the net that is getting my juices flowing, particularly involving mixed media stuff.
Have a safe, happy beginning to your brand, spanking-new week.
YUM
I was doing pretty well on my efforts to ONLY eat the right things until early this morning.
At 1:30 a.m. my husband woke me up. When I asked him what he wanted, he said that I had awakened HIM. I tried to talk to him again, but he was already snoring.
I was pretty angry, so I came downstairs to read my way back to being able to try to sleep again. THAT started a whole ‘eat-everything-possible’ binge for which I make no excuses, and it was two hours before I could go back upstairs.
So today I’m trying to wipe the slate clean and eat what I SHOULD the rest of the day. (My husband is taking a nap in his chair in the living room as I type this.) GRRRRRRR….
Filed under DIET!
I’m Diggin’ It!
I’m itching to start working in the yard, cleaning up, and planting early spring veggie plants in our square foot garden. I just walked around the yard between sessions of rain and was so excited to see more daffodils blooming here and there.
Then, as I was getting ready to come in, I saw our tulip tree has a gazillion buds plus some that are showing color!
We’ll still get more freezes before we can officially say goodbye to winter, but it really brings up my spirits to see the plants bursting forth.
I’m keeping an eye on the 10-day forecasts to see when I can get serious about looking for early spring veggie plants. All I need to do is pull off the tarps and grab my trowel! (If you’ll pardon the expression…) :0)
CAN’T WAIT!
Filed under Gardening, Seasons, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds
“Found” Art
Filed under Art From Found Things
Amazing Ceramics
Have to Share 5 – Punny
20. I’m trying to organize a hide-and-seek tournament, but good players are really hard to find.
21. I got over my addiction to chocolate, marshmallows, and nuts. I won’t lie, it was a rocky road.
22. What do you say to comfort a friend who’s struggling with grammar? There, their, they’re.
23. I went to the toy store and asked the assistant where the Schwarzenegger dolls are and he replied, “Aisle B, back.”
24. What did the surgeon say to the patient who insisted on closing up their own incision?
Suture self.
25. I’ve started telling everyone about the benefits of eating dried grapes. It’s all about raisin awareness.
Filed under Funny Signs - Humor, punny
Thoughts on a Saturday 3-5-2022
I love the whole group of people who are creative enough to make these gifs. I admire the technical expertise, but even more the ideas of WHAT to create.
It’s a rainy weekend here – with sprinkles now, thunderstorms this afternoon, and 90% chance of what might be severe thunderstorms tomorrow. A good weekend to stay inside.
My husband has a very sweet side. Too many times this manifests itself in his bringing me things I’m trying to avoid – like a freshly popped bag of popcorn or pie and ice cream. Although he is well aware that I’m trying to lose the lard (even bragging about my doing yoga at Lunch Bunch yesterday) he doesn’t seem to connect that with his efforts to spoil me. While I love the fact that he’s trying to be good to me, we had another talk day before yesterday.
So far, the talk seems to have helped. Yesterday he brought me half an apple as a mid afternoon snack, and a very small scoop of no sugar added ice cream for dessert at dinner. This is MUCH better. I told him how much I appreciate his help and that what we had yesterday was perfect. I got a bit of something special, but not enough to thwart my efforts to lose the lard. This change, plus my daily yoga, will hopefully get the scales and measuring tape to stop outright laughing or smirking at me.
Stay safe, dry, and warm!
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Happy Friday Continued
Lunch Bunch was Kay, her husband, Bud, Linda, my husband and me today. It was good to catch up after all of us having various challenges – plus being iced in – causing us to miss lunch together for three weeks to a month now. I’m getting to know Kay’s husband better. He is a long time expert on using heavy equipment. He and my husband compare notes on engines, but I like it best when we just have general conversation. I laughed myself silly – with tears coming down my face and having to hold my arms around my middle – when Kay was talking about a heat pad with a built-in vibrator that Bud got to help her manage her back pain since her fall. He started to laugh and got a roguish look in his eye. He suddenly said, with his eyes twinkling, that Kay was ‘too old for a vibrator.’ He then blushed as he continued to laugh and my heart melted at his feet. He’s definitely a keeper. SO cute.
On the way to Lunch Bunch, we changed out our mailbox decoration. We put up our Tazmanian Devil.
We took the Snow Goon decoration back out to the shop and hung him up on his hook.
Filed under Friendship, Lewis Mailbox Decorations
More Beautiful Painted Glassware
Filed under painted glass
Fun Friday
I’m in awe of people who create ‘felted’ animals. SO much patience and talent involved. This elephant melts me into a puddle.
This is a happy Friday.
First, the weather, which has been so challenging lately, is truly beautiful. Our high temperature is supposed to the in the 70’s today with lots of sunshine! We JUST celebrating the last of the ice on our driveway. It’s still in the ditches along the north sides of the road to town, but it’s finally gone otherwise. I happily waved, ‘bye-bye’ to it. :0)
I immediately wanted to go get some plants, but will need to be careful to watch for freezes in the next couple of weeks if I do find plants to put in my square foot garden.
We have Lunch Bunch today. If all goes to plan, all of us except one will be there today for the first time in about 3 weeks or so. It’ll be great to catch up with our friends.
After, maybe we’ll check to see if there are early spring plants available. I’m particularly looking for lettuce, spinach, and broccoli. We’ll see.
I am actually caught up with all the pesky bookkeeping/taxes/filing etc that I truly hate. Yesterday I updated an ‘important’ spreadsheet for our son that lists information he would need in case both my husband and I croak. I was able to send him the link to it via our chat program. AND my desk is still clear!
Have a fun Friday!
Have to Share 4 – Punny
16. When I told my contractor I didn’t want carpeted steps, they gave me a blank stare.
17. Bono and The Edge walk into a Dublin bar and the bartender says, “Oh no, not U2 again.”
18. Prison is just one word to you, but for some people, it’s a whole sentence.
19. Scientists got together to study the effects of alcohol on a person’s walk, and the result was staggering
20. I’m trying to organize a hide-and-seek tournament, but good players are really hard to find.
Filed under Funny Signs - Humor, punny, Word Play
Reading Richness
“To read is to fly: it is to soar to a point of vantage which gives a view over wide terrains of history, human variety, ideas, shared experience and the fruits of many inquiries.” A. C. Craying
“The things I want to know are in books; my best friend is the man who’ll get me a book I ain’t read.” ~ Abraham Lincoln
“To read a writer is for me not merely to get an idea of what he says, but to go off with him and travel in his company.” ~ Andre Gide
“Reading a book is like re-writing it for yourself. You bring to a novel, anything you read, all your experience of the world. You bring your history and you read it in your own terms.” ~ Angela Carter
“He that loves a book will never want a faithful friend, a wholesome counselor, a cheerful companion, an effectual comforter. By study, by reading, by thinking, one may innocently divert and pleasantly entertain himself, as in all weathers, as in all fortunes.” ~ Barrow
Filed under Reading is FUNdamental, sculpture
Lewis vs Raccoons – Round 1
Each year we have to defend the food for the birds because we have families of raccoons living ‘somewhere’ around our property. We hoped that we could simply all share the birdseed, but this has never been the case, even when we’ve put out extra, expressly for the raccoons, off the deck.
They come onto the deck, eat EVERY SINGLE SEED plus trash the feeders many times. This combination is expensive for us and frustrating, because we’re TRYING to provide seeds for the birds, plus occasional squirrels.
“Raccoons vs Lewis” season is starting early this year. We’ve noticed the feeder being empty each morning for the last three mornings. Yesterday my husband put out the humane trap and baited it.
This morning we had evidence that a raccoon had 1) emptied the feeder, 2) gotten into the trap, and 3) eaten the bait, broken the cup holding the bait, and then tore out the back of the trap to get out!
So now we’re definitely fighting a wily, strong, and smart raccoon!
My husband took the trap out to the shop this morning, reinforced the back of the trap after repairing it, then brought it into the office so I could help him get the new cup screwed in securely. It is now baited and set again.
Round 1: Raccoons 1 Lewises 0.
We’ll see what happens in Round 2.
Filed under Amazing Animals, Challenges, Changes
Ahhhhhhh!
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.
Filed under taking care of yourself, Thoughts on a ________
Have to Share 3 – Punny
11. I once worked at a cheap pizza shop to get by. I kneaded the dough.
12. My friends and I have named our band ‘Duvet’. It’s a cover band.
13. I lost my girlfriend’s audiobook, and now I’ll never hear the end of it.
14. Why is ‘dark’ spelled with a k and not c? Because you can’t see in the dark.
15. Why is it unwise to share your secrets with a clock? Well, time will tell.
Filed under Funny Signs - Humor, punny
Exercise – CleanUp
We just returned from doing errands. Almost all the ice is gone now from our driveway – just a few patches remaining.
The trash HAD been picked up, thank goodness, so we concentrated on using a hoe and a rake to pull as much of the trash out of the ice-water-filled ditch as we could. That’s really good exercise for two old people, with a lot of pulling, bending, picking up, and then dragging the HEAVY trash bag to the back of the truck.
When we returned, we drove slowly up the driveway, stopping to try to clear three patches of packed leaves that were impeding the flow of run off water on one side of the driveway. In the past, we’ve learned the hard way that if we don’t keep the water flowing, it flows OVER the driveway, washing gravel with it and causing deep crevices. So THAT was another good bit of exercise for us. We think we have things clear enough now.
I ordered and just received a new dog food to try. It’s freeze dried. The name is Dr. Marty’s Nature’s Blend. I looked on a website called, DogFoodAdvisor that rates dog food, finding that the Pure Balance grain-free that we’re feeding Amber now rates at 4.5, and the new food rates at 5. So both are good, with no recalls. The reason I’m trying Dr. Marty’s is that it is advertised to “support your dog’s youthful energy, easy digestion, healthy teeth and skin, mobility, and healthy lifespan. Each batch is made from premium meats, veggies, fruit and seeds — and contains zero artificial preservatives, additives, fillers, or synthetic ingredients.” You can test trial it by sprinkling some over your dog’s regular food, both to ease any change of food problem and to see if you can tell a difference. I like that idea, too. I’ll let you know what we think when we finish the small bag of food I bought.
It’s Wednesday!
I had a good day yesterday, celebrating the end of February. So far, only my own name is on the petition I started to get rid of the month – and the weather that comes with it – for good.
My husband and I were able to get down the driveway (ice still on the bottom third of it) and back up again after errands. It was wonderful to be able to get out, though having to ‘hole up’ in our home isn’t that much of a problem. :0)
In about an hour we’ll head out again. I’ll have my fingers crossed that our trash is gone when we get to the bottom of the driveway. I’m taking a rake, a hoe, and a trash bag in the truck to pull up as much trash as possible from the cold water and ice still in the ditch to the side of the driveway where an animal left it when he (or she) decided what was inside smelled yummy. If the trash is still there, I’ll need to call the company and find out what the problem is and what I should do about it.
I have promised myself that, if I finish February’s bookkeeping records today, I’ll give myself permission to play awhile in my art room this afternoon. I haven’t been up there in some time and I miss it.
Have a wonderful Wednesday!
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Feelings vs Reality
I was brought back to reality when we were at the bottom of the driveway (safely, even after having to drive over the ice on the last third of the driveway!) and I was taking the trash bags out of the back of the truck and putting them to one side of the driveway for pickup.
The trash people didn’t pick up the trash last week. I’m not sure what the state of the road was in front of our house, but it wouldn’t be surprising if they couldn’t do the pickup due to the ice storm. Anyway, I noticed we were a bag short from what I put out. I found the bag on its side in the ice and water-filled ditch beside our driveway. An animal had gotten in it, torn it open and had a big time.
When I was younger, I would have just balanced on the edge of the ditch, reached over and pulled what I could out of the water, rebagged it, and would have been done with it.
Reality struck when I TRIED to balance on the edge of the ditch and had trouble. Sanity kicked in, deciding that a spill into the ditch filled with cold water and ice wasn’t worth it.
So, this old lady will put a trash bag and rake or hoe in the back of the truck and I’ll tackle the problem the next time we go down the hill…
HOPEFULLY the trash guys will get the double load of trash now waiting for them.
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