Maybe if I live to be as old as Grandma Moses, I MIGHT be able to imitate some of the techniques and style I’m finding of other artists who do wood burning.
This is the work of Carrie, at HotPencelArt on Etsy. She really brings this to an art form, doesn’t she?
Karin de Haas – Funda Altincekic Aysel
If happiness could be bottled….. I’m totally in awe of Karin de Haas’ ability to lift my spirits. Her work simply exudes joy, and I can sure use a lot of that. :0)
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LINDA’S CRAFTINESS – 2″ hand-painted wooden earrings are so light weight you may forget you’re wearing them! $15.00 with Free Shipping. Use the link to see these and other dangle earrings at HandmadeHavenbyLinda on Etsy. Post/stud and clip-on categories, too!
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We’re heading to Walmart for groceries and will get our mail on the way back.
Happy day!
Indian Hills Signs – Vince, the Sign Guy
Filed under Funny Signs - Humor, Indian Hills Signs, punny
When you’re trying to build a habit, change your lifestyle, I think it’s really important to splurge every once in a while. Others will call it ‘cheating,’ or think you ought to feel guilty. I disagree. I think it’s not only understandable, I think it is necessary.
Mindset – you’ve done your research, your mind is filled with ‘shoulds’ and you’re trying your best to stay the course. Then, life gets in the way, you’re offered a chance to do something that day that causes you to detour from what you’re trying to build into a routine. You feel guilty. You’ve failed.
I’m saying that you should BUILD IN detours. You should take the detour as a chance to REALIZE that you’re making a choice, that’s it’s OKAY not to follow your perfect plans every day. That you actually NEED to see that you can detour and then go back to the routine the next meal, the next day – the NEXT. It doesn’t have to kill you. It doesn’t have to derail your efforts. You splurge – you enjoy every minute of it – and then you go back to the lifestyle you’ve carefully chosen.
It’s what you do 99% of the time that counts. Your mindset is strong. You’re changing your LIFESTYLE. You’re stronger because of the detours because you CHOOSE to resume the good habits you’re building.
Detour – example – yesterday I was really happy to find some KETO bread at the store. This enabled my husband and I to have hot dogs for dinner last night. I didn’t have to eat what amounts to a ‘wrap,’ using a 0-net-carb tortilla as my bun. I actually got to use a hot dog bun! First time in a year! Whoopee! It was wonderful. I enjoyed every bite, loading mine with mustard and onion.
Instead of just throwing my hands in the air and hoping I was finally going to meet my interim weight loss goal this morning, we splurged, eating some no-added-sugar vanilla ice cream and some fresh blueberries. I KNEW it was a no-no. I didn’t realize until AFTER I had eaten it that the dish of ice cream used up ALL of my carb limit for the day and then some – not counting what I ate the rest of the day. The whole day was blown.
In the past, I would have then gotten out some potato chips or something, thinking, the day is blown, I might as well enjoy it, wallowing in guilt as I stuffed my face. This time I enjoyed every bite, REALIZING I was splurging, and redoubling my mindset that I wouldn’t feel guilty, and that my new LIFESTYLE would resume without pause in the morning.
Splurging – cheating – falling off the wagon – whatever you want to call it is an important part of building a new habit or lifestyle. You are only accountable to yourself. You choose to renew your commitment, now even stronger because you allowed yourself to be a real person, and your lifestyle change becomes a bigger and bigger part of you.
For ME the changes are losing the lard and getting stronger with more regular exercise. I don’t have to be perfect. I CAN splurge from time to time. It’s wonderful to know that. It increases my motivation to try to do good things for myself.
Filed under Challenges, Changes, DIET!, empowerment, Encouragement, exercise, Habits
I think this sculpture is great. I want to TOUCH him to feel the texture of his fur.
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LINDA’S CRAFTINESS – I’m offering several different hand-painted Christmas card designs. Each is 5×7 on watercolor paper with envelopes. The inside of this one says, “Happiness and love throughout the year.” There is lots of room for a message if you care to write. Please allow one week for my painting and a bit more for delivery. Last order date is December 10th. Package of SIX cards for $19.99 with free delivery. See 5 designs for cards and other Christmas things at HandmadeHavenByLinda on Etsy.
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ART ROOM –
I spent a bit of time in my art room yesterday, mainly trying to figure out where I am and what I want to do. These days that isn’t an easy thing to do because I just get started and then life gets in the way. I’m in the middle of a wood-burned sign right now and I have ideas for key chains and earrings. Yesterday I basically sat at my drafting table, listening to some nice music, relaxing. Hopefully, I can be more productive today.
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Yesterday I managed two sessions of exercises with weights while I was on the computer. (I do some things, then stop and exercise, then sit back down and continue.) I walked out to our shop a couple of times, enjoying our beautiful fall day, and managed a yoga session in the afternoon. I also counted cleaning (scrubbing the bathroom and then our stove) as exercise, so yesterday was a pretty good day.
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I’m hoping for a quiet, calm day today. I wish one for YOU, too, with some fun thrown in. :0)
Indian Hills Signs – Vince, the Sign Guy
Filed under Funny Signs - Humor, Indian Hills Signs, punny
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LINDA’S CRAFTINESS – 19 x 12 x 1/4 heavy straw mat for a one-of-a-kind, hand-painted “Southwest Turtle.” Ready to hang. $42.99 with Free Shipping. There are 3 others in this series. Contact me at lindawlewis1@gmail.com if you’re interested in more details about the collection.
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LAZY LOW-CARB FINDS – I’m really happy to have found 4 things to share with you!
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We’re having a quiet day so far today, and I’m hoping to make it up to my art room today. Enjoy your Wednesday.
One of my long-time, worst character flaws is my inability to be quiet when something strikes me as funny. I honestly don’t know where this came from, and I have real trouble controlling it even now, when I’m older than dirt.
When it is absolutely the most inappropriate time to giggle, snort, chortle, smirk, I do it. I have tried all kinds of things to control it. If someone catches my eye, though, I’m gone. I simply have to get up and leave.
When I was a child my mom would sit on me hard about it, but the more angry she got, and the more inappropriate my laughing was, the harder I did – to the point I was almost sick. My stomach hurt. Tears ran down my face. I knew I was really in trouble and I was sure I would be a problem for days with my mom, but I honestly couldn’t control it. If someone else was there with me, stopping was simply impossible. I would stop. We would look at each other and one of us would cave, erupting into laughter again, causing the other to fall apart, too.
I’m not as blatant about it as I used to be. I avoid any situation that I can where the problem might occur, but I FEEL it, way down deep inside, trying to make its way up and out…
Don’t look at me! Don’t laugh. PLEASE!!!!!!!!!
Filed under Laughing Is Essential
When I grow up, I would love to be able to create anything like these. The detail, and the shading and light on these is mind-blowing to me. I am awe-struck.
Filed under When Wood Comes Alive, Wood-Burning Art
We’re due for a perfect fall day here in Arkansas. It’s 49 right now, the high is supposed to be 69 this afternoon, and the sun is smiling. Just beautiful!
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LINDA’S CRAFTINESS- One-of-a-kind, hand-painted child’s apron. Size is 2-6 years. The apron is 19″ long and 12.5″ wide, not including neck loop or ties. Fun addition for the holidays, making kids feel festive as they help with the food. $14.99 with Free Shipping. Click on this link to see details on this and other aprons on HandmadeHavenbyLinda on Etsy.
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LEWIS MAILBOX DECORATIONS –
When we were going to drive our trash down yesterday, I suggested we change the mailbox decoration. I also had my gloves and hand pruners in the truck so I could cut down some baby mimosa ‘trees’ and some other tall weeds at the bottom of the driveway to neaten up a bit.
I’m trying to convince my husband that we should create a different method for storing the mailbox decorations in the shop. Right now each is on a hook suspended from a bar that runs overhead. This has worked well for years, but now it’s much harder for my husband to stand on a ladder and get the decorations down and back up again. So far, he won’t consider any changes, so I’m now trying to choose decorations that are smaller and lighter to make things easier for him.
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I’m frustrated because the days are whizzing past my head and I struggle to get in HALF of what I would like to do. Either the time is too short, we have other priorities, or my energy poops out at the wrong time.
I’m trying to find a balance between chores, exercising, and doing something fun each day. That rarely happens, but it IS an ongoing goal. So far, doing exercises with my 3-pound weights between things I’m doing on the computer is working out well. I do several sessions each morning in between blog posts, email, research, etc. My afternoon yoga session gets lost in the shuffle a lot, so I’m trying to get into the habit of doing that after lunch and a rest. Hit and miss so far.
I’m enjoying making some new things for us to eat. My husband isn’t picky – saying I always cook good things – unless I try to serve him many veggies we should be eating. Then we get into problems. We’re compromising in a lot of areas. Last night we had shrimp chef salad that was good. Tonight I’m trying a new recipe for a ground beef casserole that is low carb. I’m substituting broccoli for the green beans called for. Hopefully, this recipe will be a keeper. If it is, I’ll give you a link to it. :0)
No big plans for the day, unless another tree has fallen on us. Enjoy yours.
Filed under DIET!, exercise, HandmadeHavenByLinda on Etsy, Thoughts on a ________
Indian Hills Signs – Vince, the Sign Guy
Filed under Funny Signs - Humor, Indian Hills Signs, punny
Filed under Jim Eppler Bronzes, metal art, sculpture
I love this. I think it’s breathtaking.
Yesterday we spent much of the afternoon with a chainsaw. My husband had gone down to get the mail, since I received an email saying that a package had been put in the mailbox on Saturday. He took a long time, so I went out to check on him. I found his truck, our dog, Amber, in the back, parked outside the shop. He was putting the chainsaw and a long extension cord in the back. I got our gloves and we went down the driveway again.
A big tree about 6 feet back from one side of the driveway had broken off and its big branches were across the driveway. Happily, the electrical outlet and cord we ran years ago and put in a protective box toward the bottom of the driveway was working, or else we wouldn’t have been able to take care of this ourselves. It took us an hour or so for my husband to chainsaw parts off, and I hauled the parts across the road and rolled them into the ditch. We’ll watch and see if we need to do more, but hopefully, that’s it for a while.
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LINDA’S CRAFTINESS – 11 x 14 original painting on hardboard canvas. Mixed media. Colorful 3-D painting you can FEEL that will brighten up a room or make a nice gift. $17.95 and Free Shipping. See this and other wall decor at this link HandmadeHavenbyLinda on Etsy.
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I’m hoping that today will be a quiet day for us. We’ll gather our trash and drive it to the bottom of the driveway soon. I put my gloves and my hand pruner in the truck yesterday so I can take a few minutes to cut down baby mimosa ‘trees’ and other big weeds right at the bottom of the driveway around our mailbox and on the other side, around where we put the trash can for emptying tomorrow. That’ll be it for errands today.
I’m hoping to get back to my ‘new normal’ 3-pound weight exercises several times during the day, after spending time at the computer, plus my yoga stretches. I also want to get up to my art room, since the tree squashed any other plans yesterday.
I wish you a nice, quiet, happy day.
“The holiday is meant to honor those who have died in the country’s service and thank those who have served. Originally known as Armistice Day, it was proclaimed in 1919 by President Woodrow Wilson and became a legal federal holiday in 1938.”
My husband served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1961-1965. He was on ships offshore in all the hot spots around the world during that time – most notably the Cuban Missile Crisis – but thankfully never had to face combat. He is funny about it, though. If he wears his vest that has Marine Corps patches on it, and people thank him for his service, he is embarrassed. He doesn’t think he deserves the thanks because he never actually ‘fought’ like ‘real veterans’ did. I heartily disagree, but he won’t hear me on this.
In the middle of the square in Greenwood, Arkansas is Memorial Park. It’s the center of many happy events during the year. One of the most impressive, however, is Veterans Day, where U.S. Flags are placed by the memorial ‘stones’ placed by families of veterans in our town. I wanted to get one for my husband, but again – he won’t hear of it. You can’t really see them in this photo, but there are half-size statues of service men from the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Marines standing guard around the clock tower in the middle of the park.
There will be a parade today.
To people who have served or are serving now – THANK YOU for your service. THANK YOU for being willing to put everything on the line for our country and its people. THANK YOU for the sacrifice of your family. We honor you today – and every day.
Filed under holidays
Indian Hills Signs – Vince, the Sign Guy
Filed under Funny Signs - Humor, Indian Hills Signs, punny
Filed under 3-D art on Mugs, ceramics, Clay Art, Lightinthebox.com
Filed under bronze sculpture, Jim Eppler Bronzes, sculpture
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LINDA’S CRAFTINESS – Lightweight teardrop-shaped, hand-wood-burned dangle earrings are great when you want to go casual or more dressed up. 2″ long. One of a kind. $15.00 with free shipping. See this pair and other dangle earrings at HandmadeHavenbyLinda on Etsy HERE.
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I tried a new way of exercising yesterday that seemed good for me. I work on the computer for a few minutes – read email, write a blog post, or something similar, then do a group of exercises with my 3-pound weights. Then back to the computer, repeating over and over until I’ve done everything I usually do. Yesterday that made for about 6 short sessions with the weights, which my shoulders and arms told me was a good amount. Later in the afternoon I did my regular yoga stretches.
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Today will hopefully be a quiet day for us. My husband is still sleeping, meaning he’s having a good night of rest after several days of fitful rest followed by several naps in his chair during the day. I hope he feels good when he comes downstairs. I think the increase in my exercising is helping ME with mine.
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Have a wonderful Sunday.
We are living in very difficult times. The people in the United States are deeply divided about the path our country should take in the future. We’ve just been through a really tense election, as we were in 2020. AGAIN, half the country is feeling disenfranchised, angry, and scared.
It is really important that we try to tone down the rhetoric. Free speech is one of our basic rights and should be defended at all costs. Violence and destruction should not have any part in that. Restraint is needed on both sides.
Soul searching and trying to find common ground is more important than ever. We all want our country to be strong and its people able to prosper. We all want everyone treated with respect and dignity.
In the coming days we need to be mindful. We need to appreciate the fact that we all hold strong beliefs and that feelings are raw on both sides at the moment. Try to understand, try to give everyone the benefit of any doubt, try to come together in our efforts to make the world a better place.
Filed under Challenges
My hair is blowing as this month blows past. I can’t believe it’s already the 9th! It seems like November just started yesterday. Hold on to your hat!
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LINDA’S CRAFTINESS – I’m having a clearance sale on all totes on HandmadeHavenbyLinda with 40% off the original prices. The link takes you to the main totes section, but they are also in the “Christmas” section. Priced at $11.00 with free shipping. When they’re gone, they’re gone, so please take advantage now while they last.
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Spiralizer
This is the type of spiralizer I have. There are fancier ones, but this one works just fine for me. I got some zucchini yesterday and processed it to make ‘zoodles’ – an alternative for spaghetti and other pastas. My husband won’t eat zucchini, but this works wonderfully when I make spaghetti sauce for us. (I make regular spaghetti for him and I use the zoodles.) I bagged the zucchini in individual meal portions and froze them yesterday. Today I’ll process cauliflower, making ‘cauli-rice.’
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I have all kinds of fun ideas for wood-burned designs on key chain fobs and earrings. I’m trying to clear the decks so I can start spending time in my art room playing. I’m starting to dream about shapes, designs, and the actual wood-burning, so I would like to get up there soon.
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Now that the rain has stopped, I’m looking forward to putting on my jacket (it’s 58 degrees F. outside now) and walking around our yard. I will probably find many things that are calling for my attention when I do, so I’ll take a survey of them first, and then go back out again later. NICE!
Have a great Saturday!
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
As we get older, we are FINALLY learning how important it is to read the labels on the things we eat and drink. I’m trying to stay low-carb and watch my sodium. My husband is a Type II Diabetic and must watch his sugar (or, more accurately, I’M watching his sugar.)
To this end, I’m embracing products we find that make our lives easier. I’m trying to find substitutes that are healthier as we go.
“Sugar-Free” –
The G. Hughes Smokehouse Sugar-Free BBQ Sauce was a huge find for us. I got two more bottles while we were out today, and discovered that the company also makes sugar-free teriaki sauce, sugar-free stir-fry sauce, and sugar-free honey mustard. I bought all three today to add to our pantry. As we were checking out, the lady at the register told me they also offer Sugar-free Ketchup, so that’s on the list for next time. I also found their website and will go back and see if I’m missing other wonderful things.
Other products we’ve found are Sugar-Free Maple Syrup. My husband is using this in his morning coffee, instead of the two spoonfuls of sugar he has always used. ZERO soft drinks are so much better than the full sugar pop he has always insisted on.
“No Sugar Added” – This is another beautiful phrase, because it allows me to substitute more things my husband has been missing. They are not sugar-free, and you have to read the labels carefully, but there are more and more good products out there. A recent example for us is Marketside No Sugar Added Blueberry Streusel Muffins. These contain 2 grams of sugar per muffin. (The apple fritters my husband was insisting upon were 22 grams per fritter.) I breathed a sigh of relief on the way home from the store today when he told me he had thrown out the last of the fritters today. We bought two containers of the no sugar added muffins today, but I was really trying to keep my lips zipped as much as possible, encouraging, rather than condemning. HOOOORAAAAAAY!
“Low Carb” – this is very important to me. I’m almost to an interim weight loss goal and I’m checking everything I eat and drink, listing all I plan to eat on MyFitnessPal.com before I start the day. You have to be super careful here, though, too. “Low carb” seems to be a relative term. I’ve picked up several things labeled that way, and then read that they’re much too high in carbs for what I’m doing. I also have to really pay attention to the sodium content, as I have blood pressure and water retention considerations.
One place we are really happy with is Stu’s Clean Cookin’. They have a website that lists everything they offer, giving full information on the nutrition content of each frozen meal. They also divide their offerings into categories to make finding things easier, such as low carb. I can go online, read through the offerings, making a list for me, another for my husband before we go to their store. We have our order ready so shopping is quick and easy.
(We made a mistake the last time we were in there. We grabbed some BBQ’d ribs in a big foil package. They were easy to heat up and delicious, but the BBQ sauce obviously wasn’t for us, as our blood sugar numbers were up the next morning. OUR fault, not theirs.)
We’re learning as we go – even though being older than dirt, one would THINK we would have learned before now. We’re tweaking things, learning about new products and new ways to cook things that are healthier and healthier. It feels good that we’re not TOO old to learn how to be as healthy as we can be.
Filed under DIET!
Filed under 3-D art on Mugs, ceramics, Clay Art, drawings
This sculpture grabs my heart. Just exquisite.
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LINDA’S CRAFTINESS –
One of a kind handmade greeting/note card using real feathers. “Be a flamingo in a flock of pigeons.” Savannah Larsen. Blank inside. 5″ x 7″. “Birds of a Feather” Series by Linda Lewis. $3.50 with Free Shipping. Browse through unique cards and packages on HandmadeHavenbyLinda on Etsy using this LINK.
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I’m feeling a bit shell-shocked after receiving and paying our insurance bills this morning. All usually go up from year to year, but this aggregate of all the insurances I have to pay at once took my breath away. I’m grateful that we’re able to pay them, but WOW.
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I’m gathering ideas for making some earrings and key chains – some wood-burned, some wood-burned and painted, and some just painted. Ideas are starting to rattle around in my head. It’s fun. :0) We’re going to head to Walmart and our local grocery to replenish supplies today because we’re supposed to have another cold front and rain overnight-into-tomorrow, but I’m hoping to spend a good amount of time in my art room, playing.
Make this Friday a good one.
Filed under Funny Signs - Humor, Housekeeping - Maintenance, I'm a slob
creativeartworksblog 