We actually built a greenhouse on our property. I loved trying to make it work. Ours didn’t look like the dream one above, of course – it was more like a Quonset Hut –
We discovered, over several years of trials and errors, that it wouldn’t work for us unless we could supply heat and air conditioning for it. That was completely unaffordable, though we tried several ideas, and a storm finally brought it down. I’m glad we tried it, though.
Oh, I would love to have something like this! Isn’t it gorgeous? Can you see yourself with a drink in your hand, sitting at the table or lounging in a recliner, breathing in the nice weather with your feet up, visiting with a friend….
I just love this, and I’m one who hardly ever takes a bath! I prefer hot showers, letting the hot water beating on my back take away the cares of the day. If I were lucky enough to HAVE this tub, though, I would certainly come around to the idea of lazing in here, up to my chin with hot water and bubbles, laying back and saying, “AHHHHHHH!” On a practical note, though, it might be difficult to get OUT of this one without breaking your neck…
Things are definitely looking brighter here this morning. It’s 31 degrees F. now, but it may get into the low 50’s this afternoon! Woo HOOOO! :0)
We will try to get down our driveway this afternoon to get supplies. We’re due for a cold snap Saturday evening with uncertainty as to rain or snow, so we’re hopeful we can get what we need and get back up to the house.
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I’m still wood-burning the owl piece in my art room. The jury is still out on whether it will look like anything when it’s finished, but I’m having a really good time listening to music while I try the best I can.
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My efforts to lose my lard are marginal, at best. I’m redoubling my efforts to write down anything I eat or drink, staying within the guidelines I established on MyFitnessPal.com, and trying to keep my mouth firmly shut in-between meals, drinking more water, making my eyeballs slosh. I really enjoy smiling at my scales, rather than it laughing at me.
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Other than trying to replenish supplies today, I’m continuing my efforts to really go through everything in my closet. I use my usual excuses to avoid the whole thing, and then I get up there, do a session, and feel like I’m making progress. Each day is a fight, but the Productive Side is doing its best to prevail.
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I hope you have a day full of sunshine and hope.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
A complicated subject, to be sure. People say, “Age is just a number,” and that’s true. If you didn’t KNOW how old your were, what would you GUESS, based on how you feel?
My days vary. Sometimes I feel as I have ‘always’ felt – raring to go with lots of stuff on my to-do list, and usually choosing to do FUN stuff, rather than the SHOULD-DO’s, grudgingly doing the HAVE-TO’s. Other days I’m creaky, sounding like popcorn as I get up, sit down, or try to do my exercises for the day.
Age boils down to health and attitude. Working to get as healthy as you can, be it losing the lard, as I am, gradually; exercising and being conscious of keeping moving, also as I am, in an effort to keep it all in working order, as flexible as you can be, as strong, and as protected with good balance so you don’t fall on your head – are all things that lead to an attitude that allows you to make the most of each day.
If you THINK you’re old, you ARE. I joke about it, but inside, where it matters, I still feel young. I still dream of things I want to do and learn. I’m still trying new things. I take joy in diving into a favorite book or a new one. I’m transported back to where I was when I first heard a song, getting out of my chair to bop along to a favorite. I see pictures and photographs that I identify with, again making me feel as young as I would like to be.
I have things that give me joy – writing this blog and looking for more things to share with you, and spending time in my art room, trying a new technique, trying to learn a new skill, playing with colors and shapes…
So, first – try the best you are able on your health. Second, work on your attitude. Live the best life possible, stuffing as much love, joy, and laughter into it as you can in the time allowed.
This is another example of someone saying, “Create a mug,” and talented people running with the idea. So many different shapes, ideas, and designs on the same theme. Amazing.
Filed under Seasons, snow people
Today is one week since we were snowed in. I’m hopeful that we will get enough melting on our driveway to be able to get down (and back up) safely. It would be nice if we could replenish a few supplies before the forecasters are saying we might get MORE snow! Oh, NOOOOO! Arkansas is supposed to have MILD winters!
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Otherwise, things are good here. I’m having a lot of fun trying to wood burn an owl in my art room. There is a lot of detail and a lot of shading on this piece. I’m feeling quite challenged and am having fun trying to do the best I can on it.
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I’m NOW hoping that the ice maker tech will be able to get up our driveway by MONDAY now. In the meantime, the fridge we had in the garage died a cruel, quiet death, so we are dealing with that now. We bought a fridge years ago, powered by propane in the case of ‘world disruption,’ but has never been used. We fired it up last night and will see if it actually works. Fingers crossed.
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My closet is definitely shaping up now. I’ll put in another session today, trying to make sense of my jeans this time.
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With all my efforts to exercise and lose the lard, my scales laughed out loud at me this morning, showing me I gained a pound. ARRRGH! Trying to keep my mouth shut today – except for talking with you, of course!
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Have a fun day.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Indian Hills Signs – Vince, the Sign Guy
Filed under Funny Signs - Humor, Indian Hills Signs, punny
Filed under Seasons, snow people
These images and ideas for incredible paths come from Just Bright Ideas
I love all of them, but some would be a lot more workable for US than others. I would love to try to make one, but the most important part in all of them would be to keep weeds from growing up – a huge problem around here. Everything was woods here. We cleared off the top of the ridge line and built our house. We had to haul in truckloads of soil to create a small, more civilized ‘yard’ around the house because the hill is essentially rock. The rest of our land is still woods.
We had to blast with explosives for our septic tank, our basement, etc. The woods continually try to recapture the land from us and we spend a lot of time hacking things down.
Maybe I could make a path from our front porch out to the well house. Though I love the more colorful paths shown here, the best idea for US might be the concrete one with the imprints of leaves and other natural things. That would be SO. MUCH. FUN!
Filed under Decorating Ideas
Riekie – Stephanie Howard – Pinterest
The picture above, with the road much more steep and the cars gone, looks much like our driveway.
Day 6 of being snowed in. We have really gotten spoiled, being able to leave the house when we want, schedule our day pretty much as we want. Our noses are now definitely “out-of-joint” that we can’t get out or back up our driveway safely yet.
We were scheduled to have an appliance tech come look at – and hopefully FIX – the ice maker in our kitchen fridge. I called this morning and he doesn’t have 4-wheel-drive, or snow tires, and we needed both yesterday and barely made it back up to the house. So now we have rescheduled his visit for the 20th, hoping that by THEN we have our regular steep driveway back…
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I’ve started a new wood burned piece in my art room. I’m trying to do a close up of the face of an owl. It’s more complicated that my previous stuff, and I’m having a great time trying to get the tools to do what I would like.
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I AM making progress in my closet. It’s a laborious thing, trying each thing on and deciding if it’s 1) too small, 2) too big, or 3) doesn’t look reasonable for some other reason, and then what to do about it. I WILL keep going until I have things under control in there. I prefer to do almost anything else, though. :0(
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Hope you are having a sunshine-y, pretty day and that you enjoy every minute.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Seeing the creativity and sense of humor people show when building a snowman never fails to lift my spirits.
When we were dating a hundred years or so ago, my husband and I built snow people in my parents’ front yard. While I was rolling snow to create a head for mine, my husband was busily creating additions for both of them. I laughed my head off when our snow couple had suddenly sprouted anatomical parts… fortunately, my parents saw the humor.
Filed under Seasons, snow people
As much as I love my husband, from time to time I have to threaten him with calling our tractor guy on speed dial to ask him to dig a huge hole I can throw my husband in.
Today is a prime example. I’ve told you that we are snowed in. The schools are open, though there is limited bus service. Our long steep driveway on the north side of our property still looks like a ski slope.
All of a sudden this morning my husband put on his jacket and announced he was taking a walk. He refused to wear a hat, though it was on the shelf right above his jacket. He had on tennis shoes and we still have about 8 inches of snow on the ground. Out he went.
I went to check on him 5 minutes later and the truck was gone out of the garage! He had driven down to get the cable that was delivered to the bottom of the driveway yesterday.
I was gathering trash, telling him that we should leave it in the garage to put down for pickup next week. He refused that, too, saying we should go ahead and drive it down. He wouldn’t wait for me to get boots and a hat. I had regular shoes on, too. He was out in the garage.
We made it almost down to the road. He stopped for me to get out and drag the trash can down to the road. I inched my way down, the snow falling into my shoes immediately. I almost went down a couple of times, but finally turned the can on its side so I could inch it down using my grip on the can for balance. I made it to the road, we filled it up, got our mail and drove carefully down the street to turn around. We made it back up the driveway, but it was really scary a couple of times.
When we had both calmed down a bit, he admitted that he shouldn’t have driven down the driveway today. Once a hard-headed Marine, always one, no matter what the cost… GRRRRR!
I’m seriously considering having the hole in the back dug…
Filed under Challenges
As I travel in the net, looking for nice things to share with you, occasionally I stop – dead in my tracks – drooling. Not a pretty picture, I realize, but honest. I love stained glass, domed ceilings, luxurious bedrooms, plants, big, plush beds, and light – and this one has ALL of these! Talk about dreamworthy! I could fantasize for DAYS over this one… I wish I could have found more pics of this room so I could enjoy all the details.
I would be so much CLEANER if I had this gorgeous tub! Of course, my skin would shrivel up after staying in the bath too long, but those are DETAILS. Don’t interrupt my fantasizing! After drooling for a while, I DID go back and find that there IS a faucet for filling it with gloriously hot water. Just lean back, water to your chin, surrounded by warmth. AHHHHH! And it’s PRACTICAL – at least a little, with the stepping pad when you finally get out… :0)
The Greenwood Schools are open today, which tells me that the rest of the town is definitely thawing out now. We are having some melting too, except our driveway still looks like a ski slope. It’ll be the last to melt.
We’re supposed to gather trash and drive it down to the bottom of our long, steep driveway. I’m going to gather it, but just just try to convince my husband that we should leave it in the garage this time, putting it out for pickup NEXT week.
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Our dog, Amber, has been busily shedding hair all over the place. My husband is taking a nap now, having slept badly last night, so I’m waiting to vacuum until he awakes. There are small tufts of Amber hair moving around over the tiled areas, trying to grab our legs as we walk…. :0)
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The “clean-out-my-clothes-closet” project is going slowly, but steadily. I rearranged my tops by color, and all my painted tees together, so I can see what I have more easily. Today I’ll try to get rid of more stuff.
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I hope that your day is going well, that you are safe and smiling.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Indian Hills Signs – Vince, the Sign Guy
Filed under Funny Signs - Humor, Indian Hills Signs
I shared some wooden sculpture from Hares and Hollows a while back. I went back and discovered they also do some wonderful sculpture using cardboard!
Eric – Hares and Hollows – Etsy
Filed under Hares and Hollows Cardboard Sculpture, paper art
This is one of the mailbox decorations my husband and I have made over the years. We don’t have it down there now because we can’t GET down our driveway in one piece yet. Hopefully, one day soon…
Filed under snow people
I’m feeling a bit ‘bleery’ this morning, trying to wake up. A happy thing is that it’s 33 degrees now, and we might get some melting of the snow today. Today is Day 4 of being stuck up here on top of our ridge line. I THINK we’re still sane. :0)
My husband got an email yesterday from the people from whom he ordered the computer, saying the Motherboard wouldn’t be delivered until Tuesday. That seems to have calmed him down – and certainly, me, too! Hopefully, by then, we might be in a much better situation here.
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I painted the covers of two journals in my art room yesterday. The front and back covers are painted the same. The inside is blank manila paper. They are a nice size for throwing in your purse or backpack. I’ll list them on my Etsy site today.
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I’ve been enjoying our pets’ reactions to the snow. Our yellow lab, Amber, is reveling in running through the snow like a mad thing, smiling from ear to ear. She only stays out for 5 minutes, though, at the most, wanting to come in, be dried off, and rest in her bed.
Jet, aka Monster Cat, WANTS to be outside, but her mean Mama says she is an inside cat. She sits on the window sill in the dining area where she can look out onto our deck. She watched the snow fall past the window in great amazement last Thursday, and is reacting now to birds flying around, trying to grab some seed from the feeders.
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I’m making slow progress on my “clean-out-my-clothes-closet” project. I’m planning to do a session up there today – I’m bouncing between blog posts, exercises, art room, and closet cleaning throughout the day, trying to maintain what might be left of my sanity. :0)
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I think I told you that the ice maker on our fridge stopped working. I made an appt for a tech to come, but then my husband started making unreasonable demands that the tech have everything that might possibly be needed to fix the problem with him when he came. I canceled the appt. My husband finally admitted defeat and the tech is scheduled to come Thursday – assuming he can get up the driveway by then. We’ve been using ice trays and putting them in the freezer of the pantry fridge. We are then transferring the cubes to a plastic bag and putting them in the bottom of the kitchen fridge. That’s a workable solution and I’m delighted. We may have to reschedule the tech, buy a new ice maker, and/or decide to keep going as we are after the tech finally comes and goes.
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My sister-in-law and I email every day to keep up with, and support each other, since we’re each married to a “Lewis man.” We were talking this morning about feeling guilty even talking about things in our lives when so many people across our country are in such dire straights. I think each of us can care deeply, will do whatever we can to help, and have our hearts reaching out to all of them, but we need to keep going, each in our own way, to maintain sanity.
I hope that each of you is well today.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
I’m continuing the tour of our ‘critters’ than my husband and I have made from scrap metal and strewn all over our acreage. The tour started at the road that runs in front of our place, at the bottom of the driveway. If you would like, you can read that first post HERE.
I continued the tour with Lewis Driveway Tour 2.
Today we’re moving around the yard.
The ‘sunflower’ sits on the back edge of our property before it starts sloping steeply down the hill behind our house. This is quite sturdy and is taller than I am.
This is a ‘shovel bird’ who is mounted on the railing of our back deck. He holds birdseed for any visitors.
The “dog with bone” stands close to our ‘watermelon’ propane tank. His head is moveable. I like that because I can turn him so he is looking at you as you drive up to the top of the driveway. :0)
The ‘dragonfly’ is part of a whole group of critters we affixed to the brick at the garage end of our house.
These ’emus’ stand to the right side of the driveway at the top. I love to put colorful flowers in the pots they hold.
The “farmer robot” stands to the right of the garage door, welcoming you to our home.
I call this one a “Patchwork Popadoo Bird”. This photo was taken in our shop, but he now hangs on one part of an old ham radio tower in the yard.
We’ll continue our trip around the yard when I do Driveway Tour # 4. I hope you like our weird critters. :0)
Filed under Lewis Art, Lewis projects, Lewis yard art
I finally got out and snapped some pics as I was letting Amber out. It’s a balmy 28 degrees now and quite sunny after ‘freezing fog’ warnings this morning.
This is a pretty snow. I really don’t like it when we’re snowed in, though. The main thing is worrying that someone will NEED to come up here in order to help us and they won’t be able to get up our driveway. OR that we NEED to go down, again because of emergency, and we can’t.
You can see Amber out sniffing around, trying to ascertain what’s happened since she was outside last. She only stays out about 5 minutes, taking care of business and wanting to come in where it’s warm and dry.
This is our deck, and the snow is melting here. That’s the only real place I can find any melting yet, though the temperature is forecast to go above freezing today. Fingers crossed.
I’ve decided to try to cheer myself up a bit over the next few (I HOPE!) snowed-in days by finding snow men and snow people creative people have made, and I’ll share them with you.
If you’re in a cold, snowy area today, stay warm and dry!
Filed under Seasons
18 degrees F. and 10+ inches of snow on the ground. I am having trouble appreciating this ‘winter wonderland.’ We are completely snowed in for the foreseeable future.
I’m worried my husband will get another email telling him that UPS left more packages at the bottom of our driveway, since I know he will insist on retrieving them. Since I don’t want to risk him or the truck, I will then go to Plan B – telling him I will take a trash bag and walk down, retrieving the mail and the packages and dragging the bag back up the hill. I am really hoping right now that the streets are bad enough that the delivery people will delay things…
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Yesterday I had a good inside day. I bounced between writing blog posts and doing my weights exercises, to spending time in my art room, to spending an hour continuing my clothes closet clean-out project, and back again. I also did some reading, listening to music, chair exercises, yoga stretches, and took time for a nap. A good day!
Here’s the latest tee I had to paint due to a stain that was darker and glared at me every time I looked at it. The stain is covered now and I’ll get a good amount of wear out of this tee now. :0)
I did this combination wood burned and painted cat yesterday, too. This photo doesn’t show that the kitty is really sparkly! I’ll list it for sale on Etsy today.
I also found some slim journals I had stashed in my art room and decided to paint two of them. I have the designs drawn and have started painting them.
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I feel so sorry for the people suffering and dying from the wildfires in California. I really cannot imagine losing everything you have like that, having been abandoned by your mortgage insurer, and probably losing the source of your employment as well, and trying to come back from that. Whole communities are gone, houses, schools, churches, shopping, everything. I don’t know how people can survive something like this.
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I hope you weather this day, facing whatever you are personally dealing with, bolstered by inner strength. May we help each other through these challenges the best way we can, and may things get better soon.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Filed under Amazing Animals
Filed under ceramics, Clay Art, Pots by de Perrot
Writing to you on my blog is one of my greatest joys. If I’m not writing a post to you, much of the day I’m trying to find wonderful things to share. I love the communication, the feedback, and the friends I make through doing this. Thank you very much for reading my posts, telling me you like things (or wish I would stop doing others) and staying with me. You are truly one of my blessings.
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We are well and truly snowed in now. It started around 11a.m. yesterday and is still snowing. This picture is of our deck, which is covered with a roof. We have about 6 inches on the ground now with more due before it stops. Adding insult to injury, the temps aren’t going to help much, merely making some liquid on top that will melt a bit, then refreeze over the coming days.
Of COURSE my husband got an email yesterday, just after the snow started, saying part of the computer equipment he had ordered had been ‘delivered,’ (meaning left at the bottom of the driveway) and he INSISTED we go down and get it. We managed to get one large heavy box and two smaller ones into the back of the truck and were able to get back up the driveway to our house, but it was a close thing. I think if we had tried it a half hour later, we wouldn’t have been able to get back up. We agreed (I THINK) that we won’t go down the driveway for anything else until things are much safer. (I didn’t have to remind him that his insistence last year before it was ‘safe’ resulted in his broken collarbone and 10 weeks of recovery.)
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I did a first session of cleaning out my closet yesterday. I lasted a reasonable amount of time – for me, with my lack of patience for trying on clothes – and made some progress, bringing down a pretty large stack of things to be included in our next donation to the Veterans Thrift Store in Fort Smith. I’ll do another session today.
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In my work in my closet, I found another tee that had a stain that didn’t come out in the laundry, so I’m painting it. I’ll share the results when it’s finished. It’s funny how my sad behavior of spilling food on plain tees results in fun painting sessions. :0)
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I hope that you’re well this morning and that your day is filled with light and laughter.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Amber is 95+ pounds of exuberant yellow lab. She is still shedding all over the place like it’s the middle of summer.
She cavorts around in the cold, absolutely loving it, but wanting to come in and warm up shortly after going out. She has trained me and my husband to let her in and out at her will. We are a bit reluctant to get up out of our chairs at times, but she’s reasonably patient with our efforts.
With the snow coming down now won’t deter her from wanting to go in and out. I have to meet her at the door with a large towel to wipe her down and clean her sweet paws before allowing her to come in – unless she bowls me over first… :0) I now have a towel at the front door and another on the door to our garage.
I guess I should put this in the category of ‘trying-to-move-more,’ because I certainly get my exercise on days like this.
Filed under Amazing Animals
creativeartworksblog 