I love the color in this living room and the oversized pieces inviting comfort.
Kimpton Hotel Palomar
“Sunday snuggles in the living room.”
This design encourages conversation. I would sit beside my friends, drink in my hand, and enjoy catching up.
Paisley H
“A home is made of walls and beams; a living room is built with love and dreams.”
Isn’t this elegant? Over the top, but welcoming. I love the fireplace and the candles and lanterns resembling a fire pit. The combination of wood and stone and glass and views is a fantasy come true.
Scandi
“My happy place, wrapped in warm hues.”
This one is my personal favorite. SO cozy for reading, watching TV, eating popcorn, having kids and animals in your lap…
It’s a beautiful morning here in Chiang Mai. The sun is shining and it’s 71 degrees F. I have just thrown the windows open and am feeling kind of lazy like this sweet fox. 😀
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Otaki Mail
Since this is the last day of January here, it’s time for accountability on my efforts to lose my lard. To date I have lost 88 lbs and 81 inches. I’m 5’4″ and weigh 116 now. I want to lose 6 pounds and then hopefully go to maintenance on eating and concentrate on my exercising more.
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I did a lot of sketches at the cafe yesterday while we were waiting for Khun Nong to clean my place. I plan to do a lot of painting in my alcove today.
Besides my clean place, Khun Nong left this gorgeous display of flowers! I think I have the best housekeeper on the planet.
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As I type, the sweet birds are singing. I’m not quite sure why hearing the birds makes me so happy, but I can feel it as it starts in my stomach and just fills me up. 😊
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Make this a happy day. Take some time out of your busy day and do something fun – something that brings a smile to your face and joy to your heart.
I found this article in my travels today. Ukraine is not just a news story that touches us for a moment and then gets lost in our daily lives. People – real people – are suffering and working in the middle of a war. This touched me so much I had tears in my eyes. May these people be blessed and the fighting stop.
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“The heavy door to the staff lounge swings shut behind me, muting the familiar hospital sounds into a distant hum. I lean against it for a second, letting out a breath I feel like I’ve been holding for two hours. It’s done.
The boy is fourteen. His name is _____. He took a bad fall off his bike trying to avoid a pothole—a story as old as time, yet now forever tied to this specific pothole on a Kharkiv street. A displaced supracondylar fracture of the humerus. Nasty, but clean. In the OR, under the bright lights, it was just anatomy. A puzzle of bone fragments, vessels, and nerves that needed careful restoration. My hands moved with a practiced calm—reduction, temporary fixation, the precise placement of K-wires under the C-arm’s silent blue glow. Everything here, in this operating room, is fine. Controllable. Logical.
I pour a cup of lukewarm, strong tea from the ever-present pot. My body aches with the familiar fatigue of focused tension. Looking out the small window, the sky over Kyiv is a deep twilight blue. Peaceful. It’s a dissonant sight. My mind, still buzzing from the concentration of surgery, now fills with the other, louder reality.
I operated on a 14-year-old boy today. A simple childhood accident. But for a moment, when they wheeled him in, my heart clenched with a different, colder fear. It wasn’t the shape of the fracture that caused it; it was his age. Fourteen. The same age as the boy from Mariupol we treated last spring, brought in with a wound that was not from any bicycle. The age of the kids growing up too fast in basements, their childhoods measured in air raid sirens and the sound of distant impacts.
This is our duality now. We are orthopedic surgeons in Ukraine. We still treat the slipped discs, the arthritic knees, the sports injuries of ordinary life that stubbornly persist. We mend the simple fractures of boys being boys. But layered over that, like a persistent shadow, is the other medicine. The medicine of shrapnel, of blast injuries, of complex trauma from forces that have nothing to do with gravity or bad luck, and everything to do with war.
Today, I am grateful it was just a bike. Today, my skill was used to ensure _____ will have full function in his arm, to play, to write, to hug his mother without pain. A small, complete victory. In a few weeks, he’ll be complaining about physiotherapy, and I will scold him with a smile. A normal, beautiful thing.
I finish the tea, the bitterness sharp on my tongue. The pager on my hip is silent for now. I’ll go check on him in recovery soon, speak to his anxious parents with the confident, reassuring tone we’ve all mastered.
But first, I allow myself this minute of stillness by the window. I think of my colleagues in the East, in the cities closer to the front, where their ORs have no respite from that other kind of trauma. Their stamina is superhuman. We support them as we can, sending supplies, sharing complex case advice over secure chats.
Everything here, in this moment, is fine. The operation was a success. The city outside is quiet tonight. My hands, which just set a young bone straight, are steady.
I take another deep breath and square my shoulders. The fatigue is still there, but it’s a good fatigue. The kind that comes from fixing something that can be fixed. A small piece of the world, put right. In the morning, there will be more patients. Both kinds. We will be here for them all.”
“Make your home as comfortable and attractive as possible and then get on with living. There’s more to life than decorating.” —Albert Hadley
Haus-und-gartentrends.de
“All rooms ought to look as if they were lived in, and to have so to say, a friendly welcome ready for the incomer.” —William Morris
Houzz
“All architecture is shelter, all great architecture is the design of space that contains, cuddles, exalts, or stimulates the persons in that space.” —Philip Johnson
Houzz
“Where conversations flow and memories are made.” ~ Unknown
“Gnarly Birch” – Matt Oliver – “Among Trees” – Substack
This photo takes my breath away! What a life this tree has had…
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Thai Gestures: Learning the Thai language is coming very slowly for me. I AM learning essential phrases, such as,
“Hello – may you have a blessed day,” (pronounced “sawat dee Ka’ah)
“Thank you,” (pronounced “cawp coon ka’ah”) and
“I’m sorry.” (pronounced “caw toad ka’ah”)
I’m also learning essential Thai gestures – ones to make and ones to avoid at all costs –
When you say “hello,” you perform the “Wai” (pronounced “Why“). It’s the praying hands and bowing gesture. This is many times complicated because you’re carrying things, so doing it with one hand is okay – and be sure to smile! 🙏🏻
If you gesture “Come here” with the waving toward yourself gesture common in the States, you have just performed a major insult. You have called them an animal or treated them like an animal.
When you want to gesture “come here,” in Thailand, you make a crawling or digging gesture with your fingers, palm down toward the floor.
Got that? There will be a test later…
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4 GIFs.com
I had a massage this morning. I had some really sore muscles right around my waistline on my right side. They aren’t completely fixed now, but my massage therapist, Khun Weaw. did a wonderful job. I’m so lucky that I can tell her where I’m hurting, put myself in her hands, and know that she won’t hurt me. I can completely relax and let her perform her magic. Ahhhh! (And this is all with ‘pantomime,’ since I don’t speak Thai and she doesn’t speak English – PRICELESS!)
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Facebook – traffic in Chiang Mai
In a few minutes, Brian and I will go to our cafe to get out of Khun Nong’s way while she cleans my place. I will take my sketchbook, drawing supplies, my kindle and my sweatshirt. I will get an iced mocha. 😃
We’re lucky to have a place that encourages people to feel comfortable “whiling” away some time. I’m hoping I get my favorite spot by the front window so I can goggle at the amazing traffic that goes by. The last time I was there, an entire family (man, woman, two children, and their dog!) went by on a motorcyle…
I have vague memories of being bored when I was a child, but that’s the last time I ever had that feeling. When I was working full time, being a wife and mother, animal caretaker, and housekeeper, I didn’t have time to be bored. I was too busy trying to keep my head above water.
When I was semi-retired, I was trying to carve out time to spend in my art room, where I could learn new techniques, trying to make more things to list on my own website, Creative Artworks, for years, and then Etsy. During that time, I was also trying to get Square Foot Gardening to work, including building and maintaining a greenhouse, learning to mix up soil alternative, keeping the plants fed, weeded and watered, etc., then harvesting our ‘crop.’ I was also taking over more and more of the yardwork, plus taking over things my husband had formerly done, such as programming the automatic watering systems in the well house.
With our full retirement and move to Thailand, I can honestly say that I never have enough time and energy to accomplish what I would like to do on a given day. I’m NEVER bored.
I move from one fun thing or chore to another, trying to vary sedentary stuff with movement, and purely joyful stuff with more challenging things. I try to keep a good mix and just keep going until I’m out of time or energy, call it a day, and then start again where I left off the next day.
I guess curiosity is at the base of not being bored. I love playing on the c0mputer, trying to find out answers to my questions or find things I want to share. I was planning to paint one of my sketches today, but I’m also needing to put in some time super stretching to get rid of some painful muscles in my back. I only have about an hour to do both, plus get my dry things gathered off my balcony. And my poor puzzle awaits – neglected.
Being enthusiastic about being in a country new to me, with customs to learn, finding out what’s happening each month and deciding which to try to participate in, trying to learn phrases in a new language, and more is a full time activity by itself.
I hope y0u never lose your curiosity and enthusiasm for the life you have. There is only so much time to try to cram joy into your life. You need to be conscientious about it or the day will pass and you won’t be able to savor one thing that made you smile.
I love this. I wish I could do this during my yoga stretches. This lady looks like she could fold herself into a paper airplane and fly herself across the room. I do ‘old lady yoga stretches’ concentrating on stretching everything I have very slowly, relaxing and breathing into the stretches. Even with that, yesterday I must have overdone SOMETHING because I’m having to dose myself with Tylenol today. That said, I managed my mile walk on the treadmill at the gym this morning, and I’m hoping to do some extra QUIET stretches today, trying to undo whatever I did…
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Sensory Joy
Yesterday I received the weighted blanket I ordered. It is about the size of a throw and just perfect for my needs. I restored my purple throw that Brian bought me a while back to my living area couch. It was like the blanket we loved on the luxury long flight on the way from the states to Thailand. I had exclaimed about it, and suddenly one showed up – and it was purple! Brian is definitely a keeper! 🤗
Anyway, “The Cool Season” in Thailand is definitely chilly in the mornings and at night, with a low of 50. There is no heat in Thailand, and I’m used to being able to set a thermostat for about 68, or have the luxury of a fire in the fireplace, an electric blanket, etc. So I’m wearing snuggly long pants to the gym and a jeans jacket, a hoodie over my shirt in my place, and was moving the throw back and forth from the living area to my bed and back again.
I’ve never had a weighted blanket, but it sounded really good. It arrived yesterday and I immediately put it on the bed and tried it for the first time last night. The best way I can describe it is that it’s like being hugged. Heavy, warm, and snuggly. I slept super well last night. 🥰
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We visited my husband at the nursing home this morning. It broke my heart because he really wanted to come home with us. He has no concept of the fact that it takes 3 experienced caretakers to get him in or out of the wheelchair or the fact that we have hired 24 hour care to meet all of his needs. He doesn’t grasp the fact that our places aren’t set up to accommodate wheelchairs, special beds, any place for 24 hour care to live, bathing facilities, ambulances for transportation… Anyway, barring a miracle, him coming ‘home’ just won’t happen. He WAS comfortable, wasn’t hurting anywhere, was glad to see us, and was going to try to eat whatever the caretakers brought for him today. Fingers crossed.🤞
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As I type, the windows are open and I have a fan moving the air around even more. It’s sunny and 84 degrees now – simply beautiful. Brian says the season where the air quality is poor due to the farmers burning the crop residues in their fields is approaching, but I’ll enjoy this every day I can. I just LOVE it!
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I’m going to start painting the last sketch in my sketchbook this afternoon, unless I run out of time. I find it so relaxing to concentrate on colors and techniques, putting all other concerns out of my head for a while. :0)
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I hope that you are warm and safe wherever you are right now, and that Mother Nature decides to give you a break.
“Embrace the glorious mess that you are, for therein lies your unique joy.”
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My mother-in-law was the perfect role model for being happy. When she and my father-in-law were riding with us to their new home at the Assisted Living Center in Tulsa, I asked her how she felt about the move.
She said, “I love it.” Surprised, I asked her how she felt that when she hadn’t really seen it thoroughly, met anyone…. She answered, “I’m going to love it. I’m going to make my room my own. I’m going to make friends. I’m going to love the food, the activities – everything!”
My mother would have described it by saying, “Attitude is all.”
You don’t ‘find’ happiness, Other people can’t provide it for you. You can’t strive for it, search for it, yearn for it. IT COMES FROM INSIDE YOU.
Some of unhappiest people have a lot of money, houses, cars, THINGS surrounding them and they still aren’t ‘happy. Others ask others to provide it for them – they get married, have kids, get a good job, and they aren’t ‘happy.’
Happiness is a conscious decision to be happy. That probably sounds dumb, but I believe it’s true. It’s all in how how you look at yourself, your situation, your life.
To be happy, start by accepting yourself. Yeah, you might need to lose some weight, maybe you wish your nose was shorter or had a cute upturn. Maybe your clothes would fit better if you were thinner and taller. Maybe…
Accept yourself and your uniqueness, perceived flaws, wishes, and all. You are YOU. You have a unique place in the world. You have people who like you, maybe even love you. If you really want to change something, you have the ability to do that. Concentrate on the people around you who give you joy. Happiness is being kind to the people you care about first, letting them know how much they mean to you, how much you appreciate them and are glad you are that they are in your life.
Happiness is recognizing all you have and being grateful. Be happy with less. Simplify. Realize how rich you are with what you have now. Give away things you don’t really need, haven’t used in ages, don’t really mean something to you. Take the time to think about all the things you have, the fact that you have something to eat, a place to sleep, maybe even a person or pet to cuddle with.
Happiness is learning to adjust to what is happening around you, whether at your job, in your family, or in the world. If what is happening is making you upset, angry, scared – really think about whether you can do anything about it. If you can, make concrete plans to do one thing at a time to improve the situation, If there is nothing you can really do about it, accept it for what it is, then try to ignore it, if possible, distract yourself by filling your life with things that give you pleasure, make you smile.
Happiness is accepting that you, things around you, aren’t perfect and never will be. They don’t have to be in order for you to decide to be happy. Accepting what is true, being grateful for what you have, consciously deciding how to change things you can and work around things you can’t, all point to ‘deciding to be happy,’ and building an attitude of positivity.
It doesn’t change overnight. It’s a constant series of conscious, positive actions that result in your feeling better, smiling more, enjoying life more.
We are all ‘glorious messes.’ Isn’t that wonderful?
“Splish splash, I was taking a bath. Long about a Saturday night, yeah. A rub dub, just relaxing in the tub. Thinking everything was alright.” ~ Bobby Darrin
It’s “Dream Time” again – this time with bathrooms that make my mouth water.
This is the way I look after my weight loss, except I’m not this cute. I have no clue what it would do to me to spend all day and all night in one of these glorious bathrooms…
Beautiful Boxes
A world of calming green. A hot tub ready for you to ease into, leaving all your cares behind, luxuriating in the hot, fragrant water, looking out the window sometimes at the beautiful greenery. Ahhhhhh!
G – Pinterest
I LOVE the artistry of the flowers on the mosaic tub and floor! The huge windows bring the outside in. The rocks on the wall and floor make you feel a part of nature as you enjoy adding more hot water to the tub from time to time…
Kathy Linsay – Pinterest
This is a fantasy-come-true for me. The combination of the wood and stone, plus fireplace in the bath (!) and beautiful window with a stream outside? An inside lagoon, candles, plants, lanterns… I WANT THIS!
Outfit Store
I love the tall shower you can stand under, pretending you’re standing in the rain. The tiled cubbyholes are wonderful. The fact that the lavatory is part of the whole design. A place to sit while you dry off, plants everywhere…
I wouldn’t get anything done if I had any of these bathrooms in my home. My water bill would be astronomical, my whole body would be a wrinkly prune – but what a way to go!!!! If you’re going to dream – dream big!
“Sunset Color Burst” – @Dreamcatcher01.bsky.social
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It’s a beautiful day here in Chiang Mai, Thailand today. It’s now Wednesday, Jan. 28th, 10:25 a.m. The sun is shining brightly. Though it was chilly this morning, it’s supposed to get to 85 this afternoon. I’m TRYING to send warm to all the people in the deep freeze in the U.S. melting the snow and ice so they can get back to their normal lives. Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to throwing open my windows and enjoying a warm, wonderful breeze through my place this afternoon.
If we were “home” in Arkansas, we would have put up this mailbox decoration. We had such fun using our CNC set-up in the shop to cut the designs out of 4×8 sheet metal on the special table we made. We could capture an image from our computer, my husband would apply a program that changed the image to computer coded instructions, and then we would take the thumb drive to the shop, plug it into the computer there, and the ‘system’ would guide the torch to cut out the design.
In this case, there were two pieces. We welded the head to the body of the snow person with rod. We then welded the design to the mounting bracket we needed to attach the design to the mailbox pole. I painted the piece on both sides with weather resistant paint and then we would spray the whole thing with polyurethane for as much protection from the elements as possible.
We had SUCH fun deciding what we would make, then ‘discussing’ details of mounting, painting, colors, etc. It would make our day when someone would start to drive by as we were getting our mail or changing the decoration and they would stop, telling us how much they enjoyed the changing designs and would drive past just to see if there were a new one up. 😁
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My day will be a happy one. I enjoy writing posts to you that I hope will make you smile or add joy to your life in some way. I love finding talented artists, writers, photographers, and more and sharing their fine work with you. It makes my day when you take the time to like or comment on what you see here.
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When I finish writing my posts, I am planning to tackle my jigsaw puzzle. I haven’t been making much progress on it at all lately. I’m starting to DREAM about working on it, so I know I need to spend some time so I can feel I’m making progress.
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I’m starting this book on my Kindle today. I stayed up late finishing the last one in the series. If you haven’t tried the Jake Moriarity series by R.G. Ryan, you’re missing a real treat.
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I painted this sketch yesterday.
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Here’s hoping you are somewhere where you can stay warm and have a joy-filled day.
I have never been able to afford much in the way of beautiful room designs or fancy stuff to furnish them, but due to my active imagination, I can enjoy picturing myself in fantasy rooms I find on the net. I hope you enjoy dreaming, too…
Color Harmony Palettes
We don’t have to worry about “money”. We don’t have to consider “practicality”. We can just relax and enjoy the idea of living in these rooms…
I love the emphasis on plants in the actual plants, the green of the pillows, and the art behind the bed. I love the wood and the texture of the rug under the bed. The color scheme is quite restful.
Freepik
Wow. And wow, again! Talk about a view! What a luxurious place this is! Hopefully, they don’t have any neighbors close by… :o). My word for this is PLUSH. I want to crawl into that bed and enjoy the beauty of nature.
Treza Karg
This room really is on my wave length, really speaking to me on so many levels. The design of the windows really showcases the beautiful woods outside. Again I love the plants and the rock wall and fireplace are to die for!
“They say people wear their hearts on their sleeve. I say most people wear their hearts on their faces. But it takes a connoisseur to see it. I am that connoisseur.” ― Alma Brooke, Four of a Kind
“I don’t want people to fall in love with my smile, my face or my body. I am waiting for somebody to love the mess I can be and fall in love with my emotional scars.” ― Karon Waddell
“Our mouth speaks sometimes but our face speaks all the time!” ― Mehmet Murat ildan
“The face is a picture of the mind with the eyes as its interpreter.” ― Marcus Tullius Cicero
I love faces with character, wrinkles-lines-creases that show habitual expressions when dealing with life. I can appreciate a pretty or a handsome face, but I prefer those that look lived-in, showing there is depth of experience, living and feeling. I find myself wanting to touch these faces, seeing what the reaction would be. (They might deck me for being rude, not knowing I would be doing it out of intense respect and awe of the beauty that shines out at me.)
I found all of these wonderful images on Pinterest. There was no attribution given for me to share with you. Sorry.
We just got back from meeting my husband, his nurse, and his main doctor at the hospital for a routine visit. The doctor was happy that Harvey was alert and seemed happier. We talked about the possibility of removing the nasal feeding tube. His nurse said that, though he was able to eat and drink without choking, he wasn’t eating enough. We asked Harvey was HE wanted to do, since this isn’t about US. He said the tube wasn’t bothering him a lot, so we decided to leave it in for now. I encouraged him to eat small bowls of whatever the rest of the people at the nursing home were being served and he agreed to try. I also talked to the nurse, asking her to keep the amount small at first, so he wasn’t overwhelmed. We’ll see how it goes.
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This is the latest painted sketch.
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Kinship-Pexels-Rodnae-Productions
I’m planning to do an extra long session with the exercises with the water bottles for my arms today, along with some other extraneous exercises, to make up for the fact that we opted out of going to the gym this morning so as to be able to eat breakfast and get to the hospital on time. I’ll also make a point of climbing up the stairs to my place at least once.
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I hope that those of you in the path of the winter storm still have power, and are staying dry and warm. I’m thinking of you
“Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.” ~ Will Rogers
“Yesterday” can be a source of beautiful memories of cherished people in your life, wonderful experiences, and joy. It can also be the source of feelings that limit you in your life today.
We hold onto yesterday as an excuse for why we haven’t accomplished something, pointing to failures, harsh criticism from others, humiliation, self-doubt and more. We cram hurt feelings way down deep inside that squash our self-esteem, make us shy away from opening ourselves to love, trust, and putting ourselves out there once again to try something new.
I think we all have a bucketload of these yesterdays that we need to shed in order to live our present lives to the fullest. I’m suggesting that we all dig deep, look at these things, realizing that yesterday cannot be changed. We can build a stronger, fuller happier TODAY by letting all of that go.
This really speaks to me now. My life has changed completely since last February when I died twice in the hospital and was given a second chance via surgeons and a pacemaker when my heart stopped. I had never had heart problems before, but would have been gone if I hadn’t heeded the strong recommendation that I head for the ER after I saw my clinic doctor.
Our son flew 24 hours from Thailand to take care of my husband and me when we were suddenly too ill to take care of each other. We had to face some harsh realities in Arkansas, where we had lived for almost 40 years. We couldn’t take care of our home, 8 acres, and our pets anymore. We made the decision to get rid of everything in the States and move to Thailand to be close to our son. We would retire, rebuild our health, shed the responsibilities we had been shouldering, and concentrate on enjoying life. Leaving 40 years worth of my art and our ‘stuff’ was one of the hardest things we’ve ever done. Re-homing our pets was the hardest, but we found the perfect homes for our dog and cat, and so could leave knowing they would be loved and well taken care of.
2 weeks after we moved here, my husband fell and had a stroke. He is now in a nursing home, completely disabled with a damaged brain. Unless we have a miracle, he won’t be able to leave the nursing home. Thankfully, we have found a truly wonderful place with caring people. We visit my husband 3 times a week now, rather than sharing the retirement we planned.
I am in a new country, living by myself for the first time in my life, trying to learn some Thai phrases, learn about the money, learn the customs here, learn how to get the basics done, grateful that our son is here to help both of us.
I am learning to embrace TODAY. Yesterday is full of some wonderful memories, but NOW is what is important. What used to be doesn’t apply. I have some wonderful opportunities to shape a life that makes me smile all day long, moving from one fun activity to the next, learning new things every day, rebuilding my health.
I am concentrating on living my life to the fullest, making each day count, concentrating on what is WONDERFUL about my life now, grateful for all I have.
Yesterday is gone. I don’t make ‘plans’ anymore, embracing NOW. I am feeling stronger for it, concentrating on being the best person I can be TODAY.
This photo is gorgeous, isn’t it? I would love if one day I could try to paint something that resembled it.
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CBS News
Today has been a quiet, nice day for me. I have my windows open again, enjoying a nice breeze. I’ve been checking on my friends to find out how they are weathering the winter storm so far. I’ve reached a bunch, and so far, they are fine, but I haven’t reached everyone, and the weather is still causing havoc.
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Deposit Photos – Kiddipedia
I’ve started a painting. Hopefully, I can finish it soon and can share it with you. I’ve been grinning the whole time I’ve been painting! 😁
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My turtle puzzle is super challenging. This is definitely the hardest puzzle I have ever tried to work. I may die of old age before this one is finished….
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Pinterest
I will do a session of yoga as soon as I finish writing blog posts. On my yoga days, I’m also doing an exercise where I’m standing up straight, reach up for the ceiling as high as possible, then bend over and try to touch my toes – doing it several times slowly, putting as much stretch into it as I can. I’m also doing mini sit-ups, with legs straight and then with legs bent, plus trying to hold a plank position. My plank is pathetic. It hurts my TOES to get into this position. I tried wearing my slippers, and that helped a bit, but not enough to really try to concentrate on my core. Today I’ll try wearing my tennis shoes and see if that changes my focus…
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123RF
Tomorrow we’re leaving early to meet my husband and his nurse at the hospital for his routine blood work and exam with his main doctor there. We want them to okay removal of my husband’s nasal feeding tube, since he is now able to eat and drink without choking or aspirating anything into his lungs. We want him to be able to eat and drink normally when he’s hungry or thirsty, not to be force-fed nutrition. Fingers crossed that we are all in agreement tomorrow. 🤞
I have always been fascinated with faces. I think they tell a lot about a person, showing what kind of life they have had, how they have met the challenges they’ve faced. I want to share a few of the wonderful faces full of character I’ve found lately.
I want to meet this man. He looks like he can see the humor in a situation. I would love to hear his stories and laugh with him.
This woman’s eyes light up when she smiles, even though she is covering it up with her hand, almost as if she feels guilty. She looks like a really sweet woman. I want to give her a hug.
Isn’t this lady a treasure? I love her hat, as well as her kind eyes and happy smile.
I want to laugh, even though I have no clue what this man is laughing at! He has style in the slant of his hat. His face shows such character.
I found all of these photos on Pinterest. There was no attribution on any of these. Sorry.
“In order to see birds, it is necessary to become part of the silence.” Robert Lynd
JohnMcGowan-@jmc.bsky.social
“If only the bird with the loveliest song sang, the forest would be a lonely place.” ~ John James Audubon
Remy Michaels-@remyscameraeye.bsky.social
“Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a singing bird will come.” Chinese Proverb
Mike Saunders-@hardwaterhacker.bsky.social
“may my heart always be open to little birds who are the secret to living”~ e. e. cummings
Internet Dady
“Everyone likes birds. What wild creature is more accessible to our eyes and ears, as close to us and everyone in the world, as universal as a bird?”~ David Attenborough
chasingmoments-substack
“Birds sing after a storm, why shouldn’t people feel as free to delight in whatever sunlight remains to them?” ~ Rose Kennedy
I’m trying to check on my friends and relatives as quickly as I can today to find out how they are doing in the awful weather that is sweeping across the U.S.
I think it was 2020 when we were iced and snowed in on top of our ridge line in Arkansas. We stood on our front porch, listening as the branches of trees snapped off, sounding like gun shots. Our trees never did recover.
We lost public power and public water for 14 days that year. We had a Chinese diesel-powered generator in the well house that blew a gasket during the storm, causing my husband and son to go out every half hour and cool it down with water to keep it going and from melting down completely. We had a well, so we switched to that when we lost the public water.
It took us 3 days with a chainsaw to saw and haul our way down our 650+ STEEP driveway when the rest of the area had been able to return to normal. (The driveway was on the north side of the property, so it was the last thing to thaw.)
From the weather maps, it looks like we may be having a repeat of that awful storm all the way across the U.S. It will take people quite a while to get back to normal even after the storm has passed. I’m hoping that power is restored as quickly as possible and that people have stocked up on what they needed to weather this.
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Anti-tension Squeeze Ball – We got one of these to encourage my husband to gain strength in his fingers and fists. (We got one for me, too, just for giggles. ) He was kind of intrigued for a while, was able to squeeze it a bit with his right hand, but not at all with his left. (I kept my ball on my computer table, just picking it up and giving it a quick squeeze or two when my fingers give me twinges or lock up after typing too long at a time..)
The balls that come out when you squeeze are small gel-filled balls that come out in quite satisfying colorful displays.
I have just added to my exercises for today because my quick squeeze today resulted in a complete ERUPTION of the ball, sending small gel-filled balls all over the computer table, my keyboard, the floor under the table, all the way to my front windows, and some even under the couch! WHAT A MESS!
I’ve checked a couple of times now, finding a ball or two hiding from me. I THINK I have them all picked up now and discarded…😳
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It’s 82 degrees F. right now. (I know. I’m hanging my head in a bit of shame telling you this when so many of you are in the deep freeze) but I’m having a throw-open-the-windows-afternoon to celebrate my finally being warm enough to shed my hoodie in my too-chilly place. I really never realized how spoiled I was to be able to set the thermostat in our home to a comfortable level, and then lower it a few degrees in the winter to save on the electric bill. We also had a wood burning fireplace that we usually burned just for the creature comfort aspect, rather than really needing the extra heat. We had a nice hearth you could sit on to warm your back…
I’m trying to adapt to the fact that there is no heat in Thailand. They simply endure being chilly for “The Cool Season” (Nov. 1st-Feb 15th or so – 50 degrees F. for a low and low 80’s for highs), concentrating on spending money on a/c for the 3/4 of the year when it’s hot, hotter, and hottest. I’m constantly wearing a sweatshirt, my hoodie, or a jean jacket, and then covering up with a throw while sitting on the couch. My nose and fingers stay cold. I have finally had my son order a “weighted blanket” for my bed. I had put the throw on the bed because wearing pajamas, socks, and sometimes my robe under the duvet were needed. That left me in the living room under a towel. 🥶. When I get the new blanket, I’ll put that on the bed and bring the throw back into the living room. It’s hard to imagine being too cold in Thailand. Brian is telling me it won’t be long before I’ll be griping because I’m too hot – Right now, that sounds really good…
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Stay safe and warm the next few days. You will be in my thoughts and prayers. ❤️
“Dolphins are sunflowers of the water. They adore the Sun, they love the ocean and are kind to the land. They remind us to stay playful, keep our inner child safe and stand by loved ones.” – Reena Doss
Jaime Tanna – Energy Therapy’s Substack
“Dolphin can lead us to an understanding of how to live in harmony with the twin needs of individuality and cooperation. Dolphin carries balance, peace, joy, compassion, love, and power.” – Loren Cruden
“Steve is trying his best to not eat cake. Will he succeed? Unlikely.” ~ “In Otter News” – Substack
I know JUST how he feels…. :0)
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Tenor
Laughing is Great Exercise –
Brian and I were at the chocolate place after visiting Harvey at the nursing home. When we finish our drinks, Brian got out his sugar-free gum packs, and we each took one out of each of two different flavor packs. (He says chewing this after eating sugar of any kind gets rid of it in your mouth. )
He gave me a pack after taking a piece of gum. I saw I was getting the last piece in the pack. In the past I have put the two pieces together and fooled him into putting the package back in his carrier. (a running joke)
I started to do that, but he caught me. I just put the two pieces of the package on the table tray. He frowned at me, picked up the pieces, put them together and put the package back on the tray. I then got what turned out to be the last piece in the 2nd package. I just looked at him ‘defiantly’ and put the two pieces of the package on the tray.
The look on his face was priceless and I started to laugh. He frowned even more and I laughed harder. I finally pressed my hands to my stomach – I was laughing so hard my stomach and cheeks were hurting! The server lady I like so much there was laughing, too, just watching and listening to us.
I woke up in the middle of the night laughing. I was still smiling when I joined Brian for the gym and then breakfast. I brought it up – he frowned and started me off again. What a joy it is to completely lose it like that!!
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This is the latest painted sketch.
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Cinderblock – Metro News
Making Progress –
Today while I was walking on the treadmill, I actually FELT my stomach muscles working! That may not sound like much, but when you are obese like I was, it’s kind of like your abdomen is a whole different entity from the rest of your body, not moving in relation to the exercise you’re doing – if that makes any sense. Anyway, I could really feel a difference this morning! I felt ‘looser’ and was able to actually hold my stomach in a bit, feeling the muscles move as I walked. Hooray!
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Pexels
I just looked at the U.S. National Weather map for tomorrow and it looks pretty awful for much of the country, with sleet, ice, snow, and super low temperatures through Monday. I hope you get stocked up today so you can just stay where you are until this passes. I hope your power stays on and that you have water. I’m trying to send warm in your direction. You’ll be in my thoughts. Take care.
This is one of the most wonderful photos I have ever seen. I just love it.
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BC – SPCA
I had my massage this morning so I’m feeling wonderfully loose and comfortable right now. Ahhhh!
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Yesterday right at 4pm it got very quiet outside. This is really unusual because there is always a lot of activity on the street. I got up to see what was happening – or not. There were lots and lots of policemen on foot, stopping the traffic and even the pedestrian traffic on the road. Everything was at a complete standstill. The road was empty!
Suddenly, a police car came speeding down the street, lights flashing. It was followed by at LEAST 20 more, one after the other. Then a white van passed, followed by three more. When they were out of sight, the policemen on the street motioned that activity could resume. Immediately, the street was full in both directions with cars, buses, tuk-tuks, motorcycles, motor bikes, scooters, bicycles and people walking as if nothing had occurred. A truck came by with a man who was grabbing cones and putting them in the back of the truck. Another came out in the opposite direction.
I tried to find out what had happened, who was in the motorcade, but Google showed nothing scheduled for that time, and the general explanation was that it was probably a governmental official.
Certainly was dramatic! 😳
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We’re going to the cafe soon to get out of Khun Nong’s way while she cleans my place. I will bring my sketchbook and supplies, my Kindle, my earbuds, and my sweatshirt, because sometimes they keep the temperature in there like a freezer…
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I’ve read that a LOT of the U.S. will get really nasty weather starting tomorrow and lasting through Monday or so. UGH. My former home, Arkansas, has declared an emergency, as well as several other states. I hope you can all stay safe and warm. ‘Hole in’ if you can, getting all you need before it hits, and then staying home. I hope your power stays on and that you ‘weather’ this storm well.
“Be Yourself. Everyone else is already taken. “ Oscar Wilde
Tracy Chrest – Substack
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We went to visit my husband, Harvey, at the nursing home this morning. The visit was good and bad. It was bad because he was mostly unresponsive and we had to play “20 Questions” to try to tell us what he wanted, and then, when I told him I loved him toward the end of the visit, he said, “Well, you would HAVE to, to put up with a half-dead, f_ _ ked up man.” My heart just shredded. It was good because as my son, Brian, and I were waiting for the Grab to come pick us up, the nurses had gotten together and gotten Harvey into a wheelchair, wheeling him on on the porch to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. We visited a bit more and he actually said the sunshine felt good.
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Okinja ELC
I’m going to rest a bit now. I feel exhausted by the nursing home trip. But then I plan to try to paint at least one of my sketches this afternoon.
“I enjoy watching playful river otters in the pond behind my house. They are always on the move, dipping and diving in the water.” – Suzanne Tate
“These little fur balls are very good swimmers and can stay underwater for three to four minutes at a time. Otters are very much like you boys and girls, because they spend most of their time playing.” – Michael R. Greyson
“The otter is a great wanderer, who not only traverses long stretches of coast and follows streams and rivers to their source, but crosses hills and even mountains to reach its fishing-grounds.” – J. C. Tregarthen
“Sea otter fur ranges from brown to almost black with guard that be silver, light brown, or black. As a sea otter ages, their hands and necks will lighten until almost white.” – Jack Dickerson
“Otters seem to make slides for fun. They will often slide down a muddy bank into the water, climb out, and do the whole thing again.” – Michael Leach
These wonderful photos are provided by “In Otter News” on Substack
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