Substack
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Latest painted sketches
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We visited my husband this morning. It was challenging, in that there was very little of my husband “there” today. He acknowledged us, but had nothing to say that made any sense at all. I think we brightened his day a bit, and he wasn’t upset or hurting.
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Fit & Well
I went to the cafe this afternoon. It rained twice while I was there, and still looks like it could rain again. I came home between rain showers. I’ve just finished a good session of yoga stretches. Ahhhh!
I never realized before how much I clench my jaw. When I’m doing my yoga stretches, I have to consciously remind myself, “Relax your jaw. Relax your face.” It’s amazing how much that helps. I spent about 45 minutes today and feel good now.
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I checked on my puzzle that we ordered from Amazon this morning. It showed, “Unavailable. Not sure when or if it will come back in stock.” Brian is going to check to see if he has received any notices about the order or if we lucked out and got the last one or something. If we didn’t, I’ll need to start over on finding a new puzzle. 🧩 ☹️
I went ahead and took apart the “Cats on the Beach” puzzle this afternoon. I bagged it up carefully, included the reference picture, and put it in the original box for donation. I left it in the donation area before I left for the cafe. My puzzle area looks really empty right now. I’m looking at that as a character building exercise.
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I haven’t practice my guitar yet today. I’ll spend some good time on that this evening after dinner. I found diagrams of the chords needed to play the two songs I want to be able to sing one day again. I’ll start practicing all of these at least once a day until I’m able to go from one chord to another without having to check the diagram or fight with the fingers of my hand to stretch them into the proper position without messing up the sound. I AM making a slight bit of progess – not so that anyone but ME can tell, but it’s there. 🎸
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I’m going to look for a video that shows the steps in growing rice. I’m working on a sketch now that shows some people in the rice field outside Harvey’s window at the nursing home. I want to know more about the process and hopefully can do at least one reasonable sketch of how the process is done here. 🌾
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I love trees, and this picture of the trees hugging was beautiful.
Your painted sketches were so pretty. I look forward to seeing your sketches, as they are always so pretty and interesting.
I have been watching videos of Dr. Lee Warren, a brain surgeon, and he said whatever you focus on, you get better at, so focus on what you want and not what you don’t want. You are focused on getting better at playing the guitar, so I am sure you will constantly improve. Keep up the good work. (Donna)
Gives a whole different meaning to “tree hugger,” doesn’t it? :0). I’m glad you liked the sketches. I’m going to try practicing the chords I need in the two songs I want to play, and hope that will keep me focused and allow my poor fingertips to last longer. I WILL do this – just not sure how long it will take!!! Thanks for the encouragement, Donna.
Ah, progress not perfection, Linda! Glad you are feeling for the relaxation in your jaw and face during yoga, and observing your progress on the guitar! The rice growing process sounds like a great idea to learn about! And your sketches are super cute today!
Thanks for your note, Sheila.
p.s. speaking of guitar, you may enjoy my songwriting friend in Wales’ blog:
https://graysummerstwo.com/2026/05/26/therapy-session-strum-guitar-always-works/
thanks. I’ll take a look.