Monthly Archives: September 2025

September 19, 2025 · 8:47 pm

Towel & Bucket Day

Esbobeldijk – Dreamstime.com

This is a towel and bucket day here. We skipped the gym this morning because it was raining REALLY hard. I’ve been wringing out towels into my bucket all morning so far. Hopefully, this will become a more gentle rain that won’t pelt into my windows, causing leaks. Update – later – the SUN has come out now, but I’ll still keep my laundry drying rack inside. Dark clouds are looming.

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Otherwise, things are good here. I’m about to have breakfast with Brian and then plan to enjoy the day, moving from one fun thing to another – assuming the rain calms down enough. 🙂

Besides having a sparkling clean place, this is what greeted me when I came home. My wonderful housekeeper left these gorgeous flowers for me! When Brian received a text from my thanks to her, he read it to me. It said, “It is good ‘Mom liked the flowers.” What a sweet lady. I LOVE it that she calls me ‘mom’!

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When I was in the cafe yesterday killing time, I enjoyed watching the traffic outside the window. I’m in awe of the motorcyclists! Brian says they have all been riding on, or driving motorcycles for years and have lots of experience.

The riding gear varies all over the block. Some wear helmets, others don’t. Almost all wear long-sleeved shirts, jackets, or hoodies. Some wear health masks.

I saw a father, his child, his wife, and another child on ONE motorcycle yesterday. I saw a mother with her toddler in front of her on one. Lots of people are carrying things, too. I’ve seen people with big boxes between the driver and the passenger. Bags of food and drink hang off to either side. Backpacks are full. Some actually carry pipe for repairing plumbing, pictures in frames, animals, and more.

The sheer number of motorcycles boggles my mind. For every car – and there are three lanes of traffic going each way – there are a dozen or more motorcycles zipping around and between vehicles. There are few stop lights and no cross walks. I wouldn’t call it ‘aggression,’ but more ‘quiet insistence’ that vehicles will ease into traffic or change lanes. It is utterly amazing.

I hope that you have a fun-filled day.

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September 19, 2025 · 12:54 am

I Love Foxes

Fox Portrait by Megan Elizabeth – Artist – @MeganArtUK

“Many foxes grow gray but few grow good.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

@caroline_binnie.bsky.social

“Once upon a time there were three little foxes
Who didn’t wear stockings, and they didn’t wear sockses,
But they all had handkerchiefs to blow their noses,
And they kept their handkerchiefs in cardboard boxes.” ~ A. A. Milne

Brid O’Neill – @neillbrid.bsky.social

“Everything is made out of Magic, leaves and trees, flowers and birds, badgers and foxes and squirrels and people. So it must be all around us. In this garden-in all the places.” ~ Frances Hodgson Burnett

Remy Michaels – @remyscameraeye.bsky.social

“A fox is a wolf who sends flowers.” – Ruth Brown

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September 19, 2025 · 12:14 am

My Favorite Book?

Best Book Monkey

One of the things I miss about our former home in Arkansas is my book collection. We had bookshelves in every room and all of them were overflowing. That didn’t keep us from buying more or downloading more onto our Kindles…

We brought our Kindles to Thailand, and Brian pronounced them ‘ancient,’ as soon as we were settled. After my husband’s stroke and eventual placement in a nursing home, Brian bought him a new, simplified Kindle without all the bells and whistles that we thought he could operate. That turned out not to be the case, so we brought it home for me to use.

It’s very straight-forward and I like it a lot. Brian transferred the books I had on the old one to the new one. This is faster, easier to read, lighter weight. I stopped paying for the Unlimited plan, since I was paying more for that monthly than I would if I bought the books outright. I’m not reading as much because I simply run out of time. I can still find some free books to try, when I don’t know the author and am not interested in showing my support yet.

I put it in my carrier when we go to the cafe to get out of my housekeeper’s way on Friday afternoons. I switch between reading and sketching, and the time passes quickly.

Right now I’m enjoying the latest book in the “In Death” series by J.D. Robb/Nora Roberts. It’s called, “Framed in Death,” and I’m thoroughly enjoying it. (This is book # 61 in the series. #62 will be available in February.)

I learned to read when I was 5 because I had the wonderful example of my parents and older brother reading all around me. I’ve been a voracious reader ever since – except for while I was pursuing my Master’s Degree as a Reading Specialist. THAT is a program designed to kill anyone’s love of reading! It took me two years after getting my degree to be able to pick up a book to read for pleasure without tensing up and feeling I would be ‘tested’ on all the details of the book when I finished.

One of the things I tried to do when I ran my own reading clinic for several years in Tulsa was to get my students to realize what joy they would find when they unlocked the key to reading well. Once we figured out the skills they were missing and what kinds of things interested them, we used their interests to fill in the blanks and they were on their way, grinning. It’s amazing how hard a boy will work on phonics, figuring out how to chop up a long word into a word he could pronounce and use, when it’s tied to reading a comic book starring one of his favorite characters. Some of our girls enjoyed reading about clothes available in teen magazines. Everyone seemed to get a kick out of reading cartoons of any kind.

I consider reading one of the many gifts we humans have in life. We can learn things we need or want to know. We can follow directions to make things we can use or can give as gifts to others. We can dive into a world filled with intriguing characters who live in a world totally different than ours, making our problems fade away for a while.

Thankfully, there are ways to enjoy reading without spending a lot of money or needing a lot of space to store books. I love the idea I saw about people building library boxes on poles in their neighborhoods, putting books inside they thought others might like. These are completely free. The idea spreads, others bring books to share. Everyone wins. 😁

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September 18, 2025 · 11:40 pm

Cat Memes

BoredPanda.com

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September 18, 2025 · 5:05 am

Perspective Changes Everything

This is truly amazing. Thanks to Enezator on X.

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September 18, 2025 · 4:46 am

Thoughts on Thursday 8-18-2025

Carol

“Celebrating my life for everything that it is” includes being grateful that I can visit my husband, hug and kiss him, tell him I’m glad to see him, and be happy that he’s not hurting, even though he wasn’t cooperating with the nurse on taking his medicines and made little sense when we visited today.

It also includes the fact that on the way home from the visit, we went to an arts and crafts store called, “Chunya Art & Craft” where everything in the store was handmade by the owner/artist.

I bought two things: a handmade notebook and a tablecloth.

The photo doesn’t do the notebook justice. The painting on the front is very subtle, but shows an elephant with a beautiful cloth on his back walking in dense jungle of green, blue and purple. The rope that ties the pages together is done in an intricate, lacy pattern that allows you to open the book, lay it flat. I thinks it’s wonderful.

The tablecloth is batik. The card that came with it says, “Each piece of Batik painting has a unique feel as a result of endless combinations of the dye coloring., wax effects, the fabric typs, and most importantly the story-telling of love and joy we want to pass on. Hope you love our Batik!” – Nisa C. Tanakorn.

I think it’s a work of art. I LOVE the way it brightens up the whole end of the room.

The owner/artist of the shop could not have been nicer to us. She answered questions and was honestly thrilled I was so happy with my purchases. I can’t recommend her shop more highly. I left a review with pictures on Google Maps that I hope will send more appreciative customers her way.

I’m getting my place ready for my housekeeper to come tomorrow. I’ve changed the sheets, will change out the towels and empty the trash, trying not to leave a mess (other than my puzzle table, where there is only so much I can do to neaten it up.)

I’ve been sketching, working on the puzzle a bit, and reading, since I haven’t been able to get to my computer until now because it was in the middle of doing an upgrade. It turned out that it didn’t work the way it should and Brian said he would try to get it to work again later.

This has been a good day. We’ll share some dinner soon and then I’ll enjoy listening to music on YouTube. I like it that I can use the remote on my TV to request music by people I like or want to hear for the first time, just relaxing with my headphones so I don’t bother anyone. 😁

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September 17, 2025 · 9:22 pm

Need a Smile ? – 2

Sent to me by my friend, Marsha.

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September 17, 2025 · 9:15 pm

Mug Messages

These were part of a collection created on Pinterest by Color Me Mine Portland and Jennifer Wanda.

I just love these! I want them ALL!!!! 😜🤪

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September 17, 2025 · 12:08 am

Need a Smile?

Sent to me by my friend, Marsha. 😂

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September 17, 2025 · 12:00 am

One of my Favorite Birds

InShOt

“Owl,” said Rabbit shortly, “you and I have brains. The others have fluff. If there is any thinking to be done in this Forest–and when I say thinking I mean thinking–you and I must do it.”
― A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner

Lucy Williams – Pinterest

“Through the darkness, the call of the owl invites us to reflect, to meditate, in that suspended moment where time seems to stop.”
― David Passarelli, Mountain poems: Musings on stone, forest, and snow

Mark D. Alexander – @mad7500.bsky.social

“An owl is the wisest of all birds because the more it sees the less it talks.”
– Christie Watson

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September 16, 2025 · 11:31 pm

Thoughts on a Wednesday, 8-17-2025

This is my new jigsaw puzzle. I’ve been working on it about a week. I only have the outside edge and some various small groupings done. I just love this picture. I would like to GO here, sit by the water and simply soak up the ‘calm.’

These are my two newest sketches/paintings.

Today I’m going to do a good, longer session of yoga stretches than I normally do. I feel kind of ‘compressed’ for some reason, so this will help bring me back to normal. I haven’t decided if I’ll do my water-bottle-weights exercises or simply dance to some bouncy music yet in addition.

We’re having a beautiful day here, full of bright sunshine, with thunderstorms hopefully holding off until around 5pm if my phone app is correct. That would be lovely.

I watched one of my all time favorite movies yesterday afternoon – “Patch Adams.” I hadn’t seen it in years. I love Robin Williams and am still sad he’s gone. It’s the sadder parts of movies he’s been in that really get to me. It seems he had such a giant heart.

I hope you, also, have several things that you can do to regroup and relax. Things that bring a big smile to your face and fills your heart with hope.

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September 15, 2025 · 11:32 pm

Talented Photographers

Alina Hagen – @alinagrafik.bsky.social

@wynterrayven.bsky.social

Meandering M – @pathwaymoments.bsky.social

@universalgratitude.bsky.social

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September 15, 2025 · 11:17 pm

Hope

Phyllis Harris – @phyllisharris on x

Website Etsy Site

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“hope” – a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.

“Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.”
–Emily Dickinson

Yesterday was a sad day for me, having to face reality that my husband could stop breathing at any time and relay the decision to honor his wishes that he not be resuscitated if he stops breathing again at the nursing home.

I did some thinking when we got home and decided that I can do one of two things:

Accept “reality” and mope around, concentrating on ME and what I’m going to lose, losing the joy – OR accept ‘reality’ – keeping hope alive, concentrating on the positive.

  1. “Hope. It’s like a drop of honey, a field of tulips blooming in the springtime. It’s a fresh rain, a whispered promise, a cloudless sky, the perfect punctuation mark at the end of a sentence. And it’s the only thing in the world keeping me afloat.”
    –Tahereh Mafi

I’ve been given a second chance at life. None of us comes out of it alive. We don’t even know where, when, or how it will end. Harvey and Brian came very close to losing ME in February. Only the fact that I was in the hospital for the flu and low blood oxygen saved me.

Harvey and I fell in love when I was 14 and he was 17. We dated for 9 years while he was in the Marine Corps and I was going to various schools. We married in 1969, had two beautiful children, and have spent over 56 years together as a family.

Now he is in a nursing home. I still see him 3 times a week, hoping that he will still recognize us, be happy to see us, and may be able to communicate a bit before we have to leave. He is on a new medicine that MAY help his mood and alertness. We won’t know if it’s effective for a while.

  1. “I have come to accept the feeling of not knowing where I am going. And I have trained myself to love it. Because it is only when we are suspended in mid-air with no landing in sight, that we force our wings to unravel and alas begin our flight. And as we fly, we still may not know where we are going to. But the miracle is in the unfolding of the wings. You may not know where you’re going, but you know that so long as you spread your wings, the winds will carry you.”
    –C. Joybell C.

I can’t live without hope. It’s ironic that with the orders I had to give the nursing home yesterday, there is the chance that “I” will die before he does! It’s all a beautiful crap shoot – full of opportunity, sights and sounds, wonderful people, things to learn, things to enjoy.

“Hope is sweet-minded and sweet-eyed. It draws pictures; it weaves fancies; it fills the future with delight.”
–Henry Ward Beecher

As Phyllis Harris showed us in her beautiful drawing, “hope” is fragile, should be cherished and shared freely.

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September 15, 2025 · 9:59 pm

Between Rains

I rescued my recently hung laundry because a rain came just after I finished that and before I sat down at my computer. I dragged my rack inside and put a sheet under it to keep any drips from the floor.

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As I sat at the computer, a small black bird was trying his very best to land on my window sill. I have a very narrow sill, so he couldn’t sit there. He tried over and over, the feathers on his head lifting in the wind so it looked like he had a crest. I tried to look up what kind of bird he was, but couldn’t find him among the common small black birds in Chiang Mai.

Before he was finished, another black bird came and they started fighting mid-air, like hummingbirds do. And then – I couldn’t believe it – a THIRD joined the fight. There was squawking, wings flapping, beaks open – all right outside my right corner window. Since none of them could get any traction on my sill, they finally left to fight elsewhere – or go have a drink… 😋

And NOW, of course, the rains have stopped for the moment, and the sun is out. There are thunderstorms forecast for right now, according to the app on my phone, so I’ll at least wait a while before dragging the drying rack back out…

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These are the latest sketches/paintings I’ve done in my little alcove.

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My phone alarm just went off, reminding me that I need to go get my duvet from the laundry. I can’t do this by myself, as it’s too large, so I’m glad I can get help from time to time.

Have a joy-filled day. 🤗

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September 15, 2025 · 3:08 am

Not Okay

Ruth Irving

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We went to visit my husband today.

One of the managers stopped us as we went into the nursing home, telling us that Harvey quit breathing during the night. He started again, but she wanted to know what we wanted them to do if it happens again. My husband and I have agreed that when our time comes we don’t want to be resuscitated, no heroic stuff, just let us go. Telling them that today, though, really upset me. Deciding what you want or don’t want in THEORY is very different than doing it for real.

My reasons for not wanting to say it, though, are very selfish. I simply don’t want to face it. I don’t want him to go. See all the “I’s” in these statements? When I force myself to think of HIM and what HE wants, the decision is much more straightforward.

He made little sense today, talking about atomic bombs on funeral pyres, but at one short point he DID say to Brian, “If someone tries to bully you or make fun of you, you tell them you have a dad who loves you, and to pound sand.” He also said, “One of the best things of my life is to have you call me Dad.”

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September 14, 2025 · 1:53 am

The Wonderful Art of Phyllis Harris

These drawings are by Phyllis Harris. I can’t say enough about her work. Her picture book, CLAUDE, is officially available for pre-order at these links:

BOOKSHOP. AMAZON. B&N

You can find her on X here.

Phyllis Harris. – @PhyllisHarris

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September 14, 2025 · 1:35 am

Zandra’s Incredible Photography

These photos are all the work of Zandra.Bluesky 420 buddy – @zandra-b.bsky.social

I just love her work. I absolutely love the first photo. This bird has attitude, and I grinned when I saw him.

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September 14, 2025 · 1:24 am

Thoughts on Sunday, 8-14-2025

I’m going to see if I can draw and paint this, just for giggles. I took the owls puzzle apart this morning. It is now neatly in a gallon baggie with the picture. I’m going to put it in the area where – if you want it – you can take it. Brian ordered the glass print of the finished puzzle today! 🥳

I started the new puzzle this morning. Impressive, isn’t it? 🤣

This is the new puzzle image. I just love the calmness and fantasy of this. And, it has water, of course, one of my favorite things, plus purple!

Brian took a break from working and came to see how I was. We went for chocolate – always a wonderful thing – and we’ll meet later to share some dinner.

I made some more thank you cards for my housekeeper yesterday.

Meanwhile, I’m writing posts for the blog and then I’m going to paint some of my latest sketches.

I have to tell you that I really love my life lately. I can move from one fun thing to another, spending my day grinning from ear to ear, whether working a puzzle, reading on my Kindle, working in my art alcove, listening to music, watching a movie, writing blog posts, playing on the computer, taking a short walk, taking a nap, and more. I’m totally spoiled and loving every minute of it.

We go to visit my husband at the nursing home tomorrow morning. The last time he wasn’t hurting, had no complaints, and made sense much of the time. He’s still playing with the squeeze ball. We brought him the book he said he wanted, but we don’t think he’ll read it. At least he knows we love him and want to do whatever we can to make him happier and more comfortable. Hopefully tomorrow’s visit will be a good one.

I hope that you are finding joy in your life. Life is too short to be taken up only with have-to’s. Really work to set aside some time for YOU. Tell the people you love how much they mean to you as many times as they will let you. 🤗

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September 13, 2025 · 1:05 am

Joyful Panda Video

Thank you to Enezator on X for posting this. I wanted to share it with you

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September 13, 2025 · 12:48 am

In Case You Needed This Today

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September 13, 2025 · 12:43 am

Beautiful Birds

@gettoknownature.bsky.social

“I would like to paint the way a bird sings.” – Claude Monet

@glengrambo.bsky.social

“Birds are the eyes of Heaven.”― Suzy Kassem

Remy Michaels – @remyscameraeye.bsky.social

“Like a bird whistles freely in perfect tune,
I also allow my Soul to Sing its Song”― Rhys Blanco

Adam – @mylifeoutside.bsky.social

“The birds fly uncaged, triumphant in spirit, sensing the boundless freedom.”
― Jayita Bhattacharjee

Debbie O’Riley Pics – @debbieo.bsky.social

“I want to tell the worldthere is a bird in every part of your body.”
― Sneha Subramanian Kanta

@jon5cents.bsky.social

“With winged companions
by my side,
I will stretch.
I will soar.
I will fly.”
― Jenny Noble Anderson,

Maureen the Mallard – @aintright.bsky.social

“Birds will give you a window, if you allow them. They will show you secrets from another world– fresh vision that, though it is avian, can accompany you home and alter your life. They will do this for you even if you don’t know their names– though such knowing is a thoughtful gesture. They will do this for you if you watch them.”― Lyanda Lynn Haupt

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September 13, 2025 · 12:15 am

Drawings I Love

@Aleena206498 on X

Pinterest – No attribution

Maria Rose – @fuzia on X

Megan Elizabeth – Artist – @MeganArtUK on X

Sue Hewson Artist – @sjhr_sue on X

I’m in awe of the talent of these artists. I just love their work. I’m proud to live on the same planet! 🙂

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September 10, 2025 · 10:57 pm

Grins 2

Sent to me by my friend, Marsha.

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September 10, 2025 · 10:51 pm

More Sonia Lera Preston Art

@Sonia_L_Preston. Sonia Lera Preston on X

I love the colors, the feel, and the texture of her work. She left a message on X quite a while back that she was going to be working on a website, but I looked yesterday and couldn’t find one. Her work is also listed on some other social sites if you’re interested in trying to find her work.

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September 10, 2025 · 10:44 pm

This ‘n That – 8-11-2025

These are the newest sketches/paintings from my art alcove.

Brian and I will go out for errands soon and then I’ll probably have the afternoon to myself. I plan to do a combination of watching a favorite movie (!) and starting some sketches.

My weather app says, “Rainy conditions will continue all day.” Right now the sun is shining, so I’m taking a chance and my drying rack is out on my balcony. It won’t be the end of the world if it all gets rained on while we’re out.

I felt better today, so I went to the gym and walked my mile NOT touching the handlebars, concentrating on not losing my balance. My ARMS got a bit tired, so I kept changing up whether I swung them down at my sides, up by my waist, or up higher with my fingers closed. Worked pretty well.

I spent much of yesterday afternoon taking in my two pairs of jeans and two pairs of cut-off-exercise jeans. I’m trying to make these last until I get to the weight I want to maintain. THEN I’ll splurge and buy a couple of pairs of jeans that fit well, encouraging me to maintain my weight. The exercise cut-offs don’t matter as long as they stay on. 🤣

Oddly enough, on my list of things I would like to get when we can get to it is a couple of sweatshirts – one to wear, if needed, and one to be in the wash while I use the other. We often go places where we need to wait a long time and they keep the a/c on “KILL.” I get chilled, then downright uncomfortable. I’m taking a suggestion from Brian, who carries a sweatshirt in his carrier for these situations. My light hoodie and jean jacket just aren’t enough.

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September 10, 2025 · 9:37 pm

More Pampering

One of my all-time favorite movies is “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” with Audrey Hepburn. I had a collection of favorites on several shelves at our home in Arkansas, but they had to be left there when we moved to Thailand.

Brian subscribed to Netflix for me here so I could watch movies, but this one wasn’t available, as was the case with several others. He figured out a way to download some of my favorites, convert them to the proper format, and then move them to the “computer” section on my TV!

Now I’m busy making lists of my favorite actors and actresses, finding their films and seeing if Netflix offers them. If it does, I’m putting them in my ‘watch list.’ If not, I give them to Brian.

So far, I’ve been so busy, I haven’t taken time to watch a movie. With some of my favorites available now, I’m looking forward to spending an afternoon diving into one of them!

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September 10, 2025 · 1:11 am

Thoughts on 8-102025

Tina Ann

I just love Tina Ann’s artwork and sense of fun. I just can’t find enough of her work to satisfy me. 😃

My day has been a bit of a mixed bag. It started out with my feeling woozy with low blood pressure and opting out of my gym workout, to be closely followed by POURING rain and some leakage of my windows, necessitating towels and my bucket. I did my laundry and set up to have it dry on the rack inside. I then rested.

Now I’m feeling fine, my blood pressure is almost perfect on half of my BP pill, and the sun came out, causing me to move my drying rack out onto the balcony. I’ll watch closely to see if the weather changes….

Brian and I are at work on getting an image of the finished owl puzzle printed on glass by a company called FractureMe.com who made the wonderful image of my dad’s painting Brian got me as a housewarming present for my new place.

My idea is to do this for each of the puzzles I finish and put the glass images on the shelf in my living area with the painting my dad did as the centerpiece of the display. I love the idea of my vision growing and making a special statement. I took a pic of the owl puzzle earlier and sent it to Brian. He said it sucked (not in those words) and will take a better image for this project when he comes to my place later.

I’m going to concentrate on doing some sketches this afternoon. While I was typing this, though, I was distracted by birds singing their hearts out outside my window. I hadn’t heard them before and now CAN – because of my new hearing aids! What a delight!!!!!

(By the way. although each of us is different, if you’re in the market for help with your hearing, the brand I settled on is Oticon Intent 3. I love them because they are so comfortable I forget I’m wearing them. (an example of this is that I started to put my headphones on the other night to listen to YouTube on top of my hearing aids!) They have rechargeable batteries, so I take them off and put them in the charger until I want them again. There is a phone app so I can adjust them to suit conditions, making them louder or softer or using the ‘voice boost’ feature – when I’m needing to quiet the background noises. End of commercial. 😂

I hope that you’re having a wonderful day or evening, depending on where you are and that you’re finding beautiful things to enjoy.

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September 10, 2025 · 12:35 am

Art of Sonia Lera Preston


“Fans of Paper Blooms”

“Sparks and Mists”

“Paper Phoenix”

Sonia Lera Preston – @Sonia_L_Preston on X

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September 9, 2025 · 11:38 pm

Puzzle Pervert

I’ve decided I am a puzzle pervert, in that I just love the way the finished puzzle feels lying on the table now. I keep finding myself at the table, just pressing my hands down to FEEL the pieces. I know – will you still accept me even though I’m weird? 🤭

Brian was mentioning that he thought that Khun Nong, my wonderful housekeeper, would get a kick out of seeing the finished puzzle on the table Friday. I hope she does!

I was talking to him about wanting to preserve the puzzle somehow. He came up with what I think is a wonderful idea.

This is a technique where experts save your image into glass. This is a personality painting that my dad did of me when I was about 6 or so and I had at our home in Arkansas. When Brian saw I was sad to leave it, he took a picture of it and had this done. It now sits on my shelf in my living area and I feel like my dad is here with me.

He is suggesting we do the same thing with the finished puzzle image. This way I can display it on the shelf, hopefully along with others! I’ll take a picture of it if we actually get this accomplished🙂.

My next puzzle has been ordered and is on the way. My owls will remain on the table until I get the next one. Even if the new puzzle comes today, I will leave the owls for Khun Nong to see.

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September 9, 2025 · 2:17 am

Grins

Sent by my friend, Marsha.

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September 9, 2025 · 2:09 am

I DID IT!!!!!!

I did it! I FINALLY finished the owls jigsaw puzzle yesterday! To the last piece, it was quite a challenge. I had to shift whole parts of the puzzle to the left, move the bottom down, remove part of the left side to get it right, but things finally came together. I’ve never had such a difficult puzzle where pieces looked like they fit, but they didn’t. ARRRRGH!

I showed Brian when we returned from visiting my husband at the nursing home. He looked it over carefully, compared it to the picture I have on the wall, and declared, “I guess I believe it.” He said he didn’t think I would finish it. I think that started the ball rolling on my determination to do it. 😃

Brian declared that the owl above is glaring at me because it took me so long to finish the puzzle.

This guy Brian thought was merely staring at me.

The ones on the right were chattering about me in amazement that this was so difficult for me.

My housekeeper, Khun Nong, showed an interest in the puzzle last Friday. I told Brian I would keep the puzzle on the table at least until she got to see the finished piece. I will also keep it until I get the new puzzle that Brian ordered me today!

I LOVE, love, LOVE being able to leave my puzzle out right in the living area of my place not worrying about it being in anyone’s way, causing any problems, making demands on how quickly it comes together. It used to drive my husband nuts when I would have one out, even in my art studio upstairs, so I just stopped trying to do them for quite a while. I’m SO enjoying playing with them now.

I rediscovered how good a puzzle FEELS when the pieces are together. I’m now enjoying stopping each time I pass it and running my hands over it, or just placing my hands on top of it and enjoying how it feels. 🤗

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