I’m in the doldrums now because I finished R.G. Ryan’s latest Jake Moriarity series book, The 5th Doctor. I had a pretty stressful day yesterday, so I stayed up late to find out what happened to ‘my people.’
The problem is, I’m finished. Now I have to wait until another one comes out. I’m older than dirt, so I get a bit more impatient than I used to. No pressure, here, R.G…..
I love being able to immerse myself in Jake’s world. He’s always in a nail-biting, tightly-crafted problem in his job of ‘finding missing people.’ The thing I love the most, though, is the characters – and in particular, Jake and his best friend Aaron. Strong friendships like this are rare, and this one is stellar.
Jake is a fascinating character. He’s tough and tenacious. Dedicated to doing whatever needs to be done in order to find the person who is missing. He is fiercely loyal to a very small group of people. He is human, though, and that’s the best part, showing at various times throughout the series. He is the strongest kind of man, not afraid to cry. He’s very honest, showing emotion when it truly matters, to those he values. As I said, fascinating.
This book had a surprising ending that really touched me.
Start at the beginning of the series with Watercolor Dreams so you can enjoy watching the relationships evolve. I repeat my warning that this series can be addictive, and that you may, as I have, fall into withdrawal symptoms when the last word has been read. Luckily, since I have all of them, I can indulge myself and re-read them from time to time. :0)
Filed under Favorite Authors & Books
It’s the end of November – time for accountability as to my efforts to lose the lard and get stronger.
As of today, I’ve lost 44.6 pounds since my heaviest. I’ve lose 43.7 inches since my bulkiest.
Still trying to meet my interim goal. Maybe by next week. Then I can set another. :0)
Meanwhile, I’m strong in my new lifestyle of eating low carb and trying to exercise daily.
I’ll report again the end of December.
Filed under Challenges
Hahahahaha. I laughed out loud when I found this. This is so ME many mornings before my coffee.
My hair looks like a dandelion-gone-to-seed, so I’m off to see if Michael Remillard, the resident miracle worker at “Tangles,” can make it look as if ‘someone-had-a-plan’ by the time I leave. If you are in my area, call him for an appointment. You’ll be glad you did.
_____________
Yesterday my plans were blown to smithereens. I helped my husband finish putting together his birthday/Christmas present, a new welding table, in the shop. It took two of us to get it from its upside-down position on the floor to an upright one. We’re both sore this morning from our efforts to do that.
Sometimes I wonder if we could advertise for a live-in ‘do-everything-guy’ who could help us with heavy lifting, cut up tree limbs that fall in the driveway, change LED fluorescent light bulbs while up on a ladder, and the list is endless. Things we used to do separately or together easily and now are a real problem. Of course, if we could get one, it would be nice if he were eye candy, too… :0)
The rest of the day was either checking to see if my husband was okay and in one piece or helping him with whatever he was doing so he wouldn’t have any accidents. He was having an ‘I’m-still-in-my-20s’ type of day. I was still doing laundry at 10pm last night. I was exhausted.
___________
I’m determined to do my exercising and play in my art room today. I may have to tie my husband to his chair in order to do this, but… :0)
Have a wonderful Saturday.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
I have developed yet another Pet Peeve. I KNOW! But I can’t seem to help it.
I download huge numbers of free books from the Kindle Unlimited Book Store. I’m really grateful to get them there because I’m a voracious reader and I simply cannot afford to buy lots of books anymore, have no place to put paperbacks; though, sometimes, I try to stuff JUST ONE MORE into a bookshelf.
The upside is that they are free. The downside is that I end up deleting so many of them – some after reading only a few pages – because of the lack of editing. I have done a bit of writing, though I’ve never had anything published. I’m a bit offbeat about my punctuation, wanting to write as I talk, showing emphasis by commas, semicolons, bold text, parenthetical phrases, quotes, dashes, etc. It is almost like sprinkling seasonings into a dish while I’m cooking. Each of us has our own style, rules or no rules.
But I have very little patience with those who don’t proofread. Misspellings, poor grammar, wrong use of words, etc. becomes so distracting and annoying that I just don’t want to continue. The delete button is a very handy tool on my Kindle, but I would really prefer to be able to finish the book before I use it.
Filed under Funny Signs - Humor, Indian Hills Signs, Opinion, Pet Peeves, punny
Just wanted to show you bookmarks that make me drool. I would LOVE to be able to create images like this, but will have to content myself with making images that might make people smile or laugh, instead. I think these are incredible. Agni Prasada Burning on Etsy.
I love these mainly because the artist has shaped the wood of the bookmark to be part of the design – in this case, the dragonfly. And the cat tails also ‘spill over’ the rectangular basic shape of the bookmark, so you have a wonderful 3-D image as well as the art work. Just stunning.
Filed under When Wood Comes Alive, Wood-Burning Art
WHINE-MOAN SEGMENT – Even though I tried to be quite moderate in our food celebration of Thanksgiving, the scales scoffed at me this morning, starting my morning off with its smirk and my frown. I’m ready to whine and moan over a NEW interim weight loss goal, but the current one isn’t finished with me yet. It would be really NICE to have the new goal for the new month…
____________
WEATHER –
Our weather has changed pretty abruptly. It was 22 this morning! It’s a balmy 29 right now and the high is supposed to be 48 this afternoon. Right after lunch I will go out and unhook our hoses and screw the winter faucet caps on, making sure, also, the house vents are closed. This really snuck up on me this year. I’ll also check the house vents.
__________
ART –
I’m looking forward to spending time in my art room this afternoon. I’m working on an idea for Christmas presents for my friends, plus I’d like to start on some wood-burned and/or painted bookmarks to add to my Etsy site.
_________
HOSTILITY –
CROWDS- I think I’m a reasonably nice person – at least most of the time. Crowds, though, make me hostile. There is almost nothing that makes me hostile more than having to fight my way down aisles, squeeze through tiny spaces, crawl over things to get to what I would like to buy. Like today – officially “Black Friday” – I don’t want ANYTHING badly enough to get out today.
And on that happy note, I wish you a happy Friday. :0)
___________
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
“How we behave toward cats here below determines our status in heaven.” — Robert A. Heinlein
“You can not look at a sleeping cat and feel tense.” — Jane Pauley
“A cat purring on your lap is more healing than any drug in the world, as the vibrations you are receiving are of pure love and contentment.” — St. Francis of Assisi
Filed under Amazing Animals
I guess you would call me a voracious reader. I have always loved books, from the time I was a young kid, sitting on the floor, looking around the living room in my parents’ home. My dad was pouring over a book from the library on geology, his secret career wish (though he was a top advertising creator on the radio in Tulsa OK, winning awards.) My mom was working the Sunday New York Times Crossword Puzzle and CryptoQuote. She was actually able to FINISH both most weeks. My older brother was reading one of his treasured comic books. I couldn’t hold it in any longer and said plaintively, “I wish to HELL I could read!” Happily, my parents ignored my language. My mom motioned for me to join her in her chair and proceeded to start teaching me.
I have a group of favorite authors. My home is full of wonderful books, though I try to use my Kindle as much as possible because if I don’t, we’ll have to get a bigger house!
My newest favorite author is R. G. Ryan. He has created a series of books centering around Jake Moriarity, a ‘finder of people.’ I discovered Ryan on X, followed him, and tried the first book in the series, Watercolor Dreams. To say I loved it is a vast understatement. I was sucked into the world he created, really liked the people and wanted more.
His newest in the series is called, “The 5th Doctor”.
I went to Amazon and downloaded it late yesterday evening. When my husband wanted me to come to bed, I was saying, “Just let me finish this chapter!” I finally went up to bed around 2am. I’m still having a bit of trouble getting anything else done today because I’d like to get back into it.
I recommend the whole series of Jake Moriarity books. The characters are people you would want to know, and feel you DO know, with the relationships evolving from book to book. The plots are always interesting with plenty of heart-stopping action, but the thing that draws ME is R.G. Ryan’s sense of humor and humanity. The first makes me snort from time to time as I read and the second make me tear up.
I recommend you start with the first book in the series, Watercolor Dreams and enjoy them in order.
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if YOU’LL discover a new favorite author, too.
Filed under Favorite Authors & Books
I hope you’re up to your eyeballs in love today – knee-deep in family and friends sharing a beautiful time and delicious food.
If you’ve read my blog for a while, you know that our son lives across the world from us. He chose his location very carefully and is very happy. He left us a message on the chat program this morning –
He said, “Happy Thanksgiving, guys. I’m very thankful for all the love and energy and patience and support you have given me and still give me.” It just doesn’t get nicer than that. :0)
We’re having a quiet celebration here, just my husband and me. I’ll cook a turkey breast. Otherwise we’ve pared things down to our favorites – the ones we look forward to all year – cranberry jelly and deviled eggs. We’ll have salad, too.
It’s the coolest day we’ve had in quite a while. The low was 29 and the high will only be 49. With the wind, it will seem quite chilly. BRRRRR!
I’m thankful for so many things –
So, a very Happy Thanksgiving.
“What we’re really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets. I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving?” —Erma Bombeck
Filed under holidays
I really want to meet Vince. His mind is so impressive.
I have always loved mimes. Marcel Marceau was a master. I could have watched him for hours.
Filed under Favorite People, Funny Signs - Humor, Indian Hills Signs, video
“Cats have it all – admiration, an endless sleep, and company only when they want it.” – Rod McKuen
“Cats can work out mathematically the exact place to sit that will cause most inconvenience.” – Pam Brown
“Cats are inquisitive, but hate to admit it.” – Mason Cooley
Filed under drawings
This is so true for ME – since ideas for art projects rattle around in my head – waking or sleeping. Sometimes I wake up exhausted from having “painted” or “wood-burned” in my dreams all night. :0) Right now it’s ideas for trying to wood burn and paint wooden bookmarks. Makes it a bit hard to concentrate sometimes, but it’s definitely entertaining.
Speaking of entertaining, Monster Cat has been particularly active lately. The photo shows Monster Cat (aka Jet) sprawled out on the shelf top beside my computer chair. She’s on there now as I type, but she’s in a ball sleeping. Shhh!
Her favorite toy (other than the big empty box in the middle of our living room floor she jumps in and out of) is what I call a “pompom ball.”
Imagine small poms like this fashioned into a ball. That’s the closest mental pic I can give. She carries the ball around in her mouth like this –
She plays ‘soccer’ with it first, batting it around over the tiles or carpet, and then picks it up and carries it like a trophy. I throw it for her and she LEAPS to get it – but won’t lower herself to actually bring it back, like our dog, Amber, does. She’s above plebian activities like that.
_______________
I know you’re thinking about Thanksgiving right now, and I hope you’re surrounded by friends and family, now and into next week, but I hope when this holiday has passed, you’ll consider going to my Etsy site to see if anything looks good for Christmas gifts. Lowest prices of the year right now and as always, I handle the shipping charges.
_____________
We’ll shop for groceries and get our mail today. That’s it for errands for us until after the Thanksgiving holiday. I’m hoping to spend time in my art room this afternoon, as ideas for Christmas presents for my friends are making their presence known.
Enjoy your day!
Filed under When Wood Comes Alive
This art takes you into a whole different world. I just love it.
_________
Good morning! I hope you’re feeling sassy today. It’s 28 outside right now and we’re due for a 59 degree F. high for the day. We’re definitely turning the corner to the winter season now. I’m trying to get warm weather stuff OUT of my closet and cool weather things IN. It’s going slowly.
__________
I had a wonderful massage yesterday. I tried to see my friend Linda, who lives at the retirement place where I get my monthly massage, only to find out she was in the hospital with a blood clot! I contacted her daughter when I got home. The ER was its usual frustrating self, making them wait hours while Linda was in pain, finally doing some tests, giving her a blood thinner, and telling her to follow up with her family physician, which she’ll do today. Her daughter kept her from Friday, when this happened, until yesterday afternoon, when she took her back to the retirement place. The staff there is great, and will keep a close eye on her.
__________
LINDA’S CRAFTINESS – 2.5″ long dangle earrings with French ear wires and marshmallow cushion backs. These are very light weight. Use this LINK to see this pair and other dangle earrings. Stud/post and Clip-ons available, too. $10.00 a pair with Free Shipping at HandmadeHavenbyLinda on Etsy.
_____________
My husband ordered a roll-around table for a MIG welder, plus another welding table that has a lot of flexibility for his other welding projects. Both have come recently. I’ve been helping him, being a good “go-fer,” “holder,” second pair of hands, reader of manuals, etc. He finished putting the MIG welder table together a couple of days ago, after we put in about a million screws, give or take a few. I went out to see it yesterday, in all its glory, ready for his next MIG project.
Yesterday we received the fancier welding table. It is HEAVY! We got the dolly from our shop in order to get it from the garage where the delivery guy left it out to the shop. It took both of us to get the box onto the dolly. We rolled it across the yard and out to the shop, having some real trouble getting the wheels to go up and over the ‘lip’ of the shop doorway. We just left it there yesterday because my husband’s legs are hurting from his efforts the other day. I have encouraged him to go slowly trying to put it together. and I’ll make myself available to help. He’s like a kid at Christmas. The two tables are a combination Birthday/Christmas present.
_______________
I had fun in my art room part of yesterday afternoon and evening. Wrapping things up on a couple of orders, grinning like a nut while I work. :0)
_________________
Have a wonderful Tuesday!
Sent to me by my friend, Marsha.
I love things made from scrap metal. My husband and I have built critters displayed all around our yard. Due to insurance and liability worries, we have trouble visiting scrap yards anymore to find parts, and so our creating of ‘critters’ has mostly been curtailed.
Filed under Art From Found Things, metal art
“Hop into my heart, Little Bunny.” ~ unknown
“Life is better with a bunny by your side.”
When I was growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, we had two pet rabbits. One was named, “Peter (Rabbit),” and the other “Welsh (Rabbit)” (a play on Welsh Rarebit.) We lived in a ranch style home with cork tiles as our floor covering, so that was perfect for kids chasing rabbits and dogs, always a part of our family. I have such fond memories of snuggling with these two large rabbits. I absolutely loved the way their noses twitched.
I’m going for my monthly massage this morning. My body is creaking a “thank you.” My massage therapist (the best one on the planet) is Lynn Moody. If you’re lucky enough to be in our area, you can reach her at 479-629-7601 to arrange an appointment. She will find sore places you didn’t even know you had and fix them, plus handle the ones you tell her need special attention. Ahhhhhhhhh!
I’ll do other errands while I’m out. My husband and I will gather trash after we eat lunch and drive it down to the bottom of the driveway.
_____________
I’m looking forward to working on a couple of orders from my Etsy shop this afternoon. It brightens my whole day to be creating something that a nice person has ordered. I simply can’t keep the grin off my face!
Please remember that the last date to order custom hand-painted Christmas cards for this year is December 10th. They can be personalized. A package of 6 is $14.00 with Free Shipping. See the designs using this link on HandmadeHavenbyLinda on Etsy.
__________________
I tried the recipe for “Creamy Slow Cooker Chicken with Bacon and Cheese” (low carb and keto) by Kasey Trenum two nights ago. It was really good. My husband pronounced it “Yummy!” and already wants me to make more. We’ll put this recipe on our “keeper” list and I’ll include it in our rotation. I did this recipe with 3 chicken breasts and we had enough for some leftovers. I’ll use 4 next time. Here is a link to the recipe plus Kasey Trenum’s website.
________________
It’s 60 this morning and quite cloudy. I can’t find any of my weather sources saying we’ll get rain, but it sure looks like it. It’s 8:30 and is quite dark. What they DO say is that we’ll have a series of cold fronts coming through today. We’re at our high for the day and it should be in the 40s with gusty winds by this afternoon with freezing temperatures overnight. BRRR!
I hope the weather is manageable where you are and that your day has lots of fun in it!
Christoph Fischer is an award-winning photographer who offers photo tours and an awe-inspiring portfolio of his work. His book, The Art of Nature Photography – Using Visual Thinking for a Powerful Expression of Your Vision – can be purchased. All of this is through his website, Beauty Surrounds You.
Besides being talented, Christoph is a really nice person. If you read my blog, you know I joined BlueSky just a few days ago. I was immediately blown away by postings of his work, and we’re following each other there now. If you join BlueSky, his ID there is @cgfischerphoto.bsky.social. He gave me permission to post some of his work.
I hope you’ll visit his website, buy his book. Fair warning: looking at his portfolio can be like going down a rabbit hole. It’s addictive and you may lose a lot of time there. Happily, your ‘trip’ will be joyous. :0)
Carrie L. of Hot Pencel Art on Etsy, says she has been doing pyrography (wood burning) for 20 years. She offers custom pet portraits like these above, plus other things in her shop.
Trying to learn the skill, I’m in awe of her talent. She is a master. I don’t think practicing for 20 years will get ME anywhere near there…
Filed under Funny Signs - Humor, Indian Hills Signs, punny
This is our dog, Amber. As I was working at the computer this morning, trying to wake up, she came up beside me, threw my arm up with her nose a couple of times and then, when she had gotten my attention, brought her ‘football’ over. Usually, she only wants to play ‘tug-o-war,’ wanting to rush back and forth, as if she wants to play ‘fetch,’ but not wanting to let me HAVE it to throw it for her.
Today she looked at me with the ball in her mouth and then said, “PAH!” and dropped the ball on the floor at my feet. We actually played ‘fetch’ for a couple of rounds before she again was more interested in showing it was HER ball. She smiled at me the whole time – grinning around the ball and her eyes lighting up. :0)
________________
LINDA’S CRAFTINESS – Hand-painted, one-of-a-kind, 5.5 x 7 spiral-bound journal with lined pages and some pockets for mementos, pictures, lists, reminders and more. $7.00 with Free Shipping. See this and others here on HandmadeHavenbyLinda on Etsy.
______________
Yesterday I had what I call a perfect day. My husband and I went to replenish grocery supplies and did a couple of other errands, and then we were in for the rest of the day.
I wrote my posts for the blog and then headed up to my art room to paint. I spent about 3 hours or so, having a wonderful time. I should be able to finish the painting today and start letting things dry. Then I’ll flatten them and should be able to mail them mid next week. So I spent the whole day grinning, doing what I love to do most. :0)
_______________
Our weather continues to be a roller coaster as we near the winter. Today we have super warm weather, with highs in the low 70s and a blustery afternoon with some watches about wind gusts. Overnight into tomorrow, we have a cold front, bringing freezing temperatures in the morning and highs down to the 40s by the end of the week. Wearing layers just doesn’t seem to be enough…
______________
I’m HOPING that my exercising is the reason for my plateau on my efforts to lose the lard. (I’ve been told that muscles weigh more than lard and HOPE I’m building some.) I’ve been aiming for the same interim goal for a long time now. I’m just a ‘bit’ away from it, but it’s flirting with me, just out of reach.
I’ve been doing exercises with weights between blog posts, averaging 3 sessions in the morning and then doing a half hour of yoga stretches in the afternoon. I’m trying to walk as much as I can work in, weather permitting, daily. And so I sit on this precipice…. UGH.
___________
I have a happy day ahead, and I hope you do, too!
Filed under HandmadeHavenByLinda on Etsy, Thoughts on a ________
Hahahahahahah! I love puns. My dad was quite a punster. He was also sarcastic. He was so much fun. He taught me the importance of being able to stand back sometimes, try to see the humor in any given situation, and to be able to laugh at myself. I do that a LOT these days. :0)
He would say something and wait. He was waiting to see if I ‘got’ the pun or not. It took me awhile, and I still do better seeing one in writing than hearing one, but I truly admire the wit and humor involved.
His sarcasm was a bit more difficult to deal with. He would look at me and say, “pretty skirt.” That meant he thought my skirt was too short, too tight, too SOMETHING and that he thought I should change. I still have a bit of trouble accepting a compliment, even though I’m now older than dirt, because I’m unconsciously looking for the criticism behind it.
Sigh. Snort, Smirk, Groan, Smile, Laugh. I do them ALL when I see the Indian Hills Signs. I would really love to meet Vince. He would be a challenge to talk with. I would imagine he has a very busy mind.
Plagiarizing is theft, pure and simple. So is showing art work without attribution, implying it’s your own work. Both are odious. It shows so much about the plagiarizer or thief. I guess it’s done because of lack of confidence in a person’s own ability or worth. It’s the lazy way, the fast way, like people are now using AI to write things for them.
It’s much better to write drivel and have people scoff or create artwork that has people holding their nose than to act as if YOU are the person behind the ideas, words, or art.
Filed under Funny Signs - Humor, Indian Hills Signs, punny, Word Play
creativeartworksblog 