Category Archives: Family

February 23, 2020 · 11:34 am

Happy Fish?

Since I added a second filter and changed to glass beads instead of gravel, the aquarium has stayed cleaner longer. I read an article, though, on why the water would turn yellow.  There were things listed, such as decaying plants or fish, the use of driftwood, and other things like that, which don’t pertain to me. They did say I might be feeding the fish too much and suggested I scale back for several days and see if that had any effect.

 

There is a big range of how much food a PINCH is. Since the fish were all the same size when I got them, and you can see one of the goldfish is a lot larger than the other two, you can tell who is getting the majority of the food. I’m watching, trying for a much smaller pinch of fish flakes than I have been giving them. I wonder how one can tell how much is too little, good, or too much, though. The fish don’t say much…

Leave a comment

Filed under Family, Housekeeping - Maintenance

Tagged as ,

February 19, 2020 · 10:41 am

Not Alone

allgreatquotes.com

2 Comments

Filed under Family, Friendship, kindness

Tagged as , ,

February 18, 2020 · 9:37 am

Daffodils, Veggies and Fish – Oh, My!

Listal

Yesterday was a productive day for us.

Greenwood Collision called us in the morning, saying that the part we needed for the Vette had FINALLY arrived (it was ordered in November) – so we took both vehicles there to leave the Vette to be fixed (after my husband insisted we stop at the car wash to give it a bath before we left it with them.)

We then drove to Fort Smith to leave our tax stuff with our CPA, Mike Schluterman, at Lawrence, Schluterman & Schwartz LTD. They will call us when the returns are ready to sign and send. I LOVE it when we can dump the stuff on Mike and we can be sure all will be handled competently.

On the way back we stopped for groceries, gas, and a couple of other things. I fixed lunch when we got home. We got a text from our friends, saying they wouldn’t be able to bowl last night, so I decided that, since it was a GORGEOUS day, I wanted to go back to town and buy spinach and head lettuce plants.

I spent a happy couple of hours getting the weeds out and then planting the spinach and head lettuce. I spread things out more this time (though my hat stays off to Mel Bartholomew of Square Foot Gardening.  In MY garden, things tend to grow too closely together, cutting off oxygen and resulting in spoilage. So this year, I’m planting one plant in each square and will see what happens.  (I went out this morning to take pictures. When I was out walking Molly earlier, there was just a very quiet sprinkle from the sky. When I went out to take the pictures, it was a steady rain, so I was glad I took my umbrella.)

To the early spring garden, I will add sweet onion sets. Then I’ll watch those until it’s time to plant tomatoes and yellow squash, and whatever my husband would like me to try.

On the way back from taking pics of the garden, I got a couple of pictures of my daffodils, stubbornly blooming even though it will probably freeze twice this week. I can and will cover the plants in the garden, but I can’t cover the yard, so I hope they can ‘weather-the-weather.’

 

 

The last thing I did yesterday was clean the aquarium.  The fish seem happy and healthy, although they don’t say much.

Running the TWO filters has lengthened the amount of time before I need to change the water again. The new, stick-shaped aerator we’re using now makes ME happier, and the change to the glass beads instead of gravel is much nicer.

So there you have my yesterday. Today is an inside day. All will depend on when the rain stops, or if this is an all day thing.

I hope that YOU are staying warm and dry and happy.

 

6 Comments

Filed under Family, Gardening, Housekeeping - Maintenance, Seasons, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds, Thoughts on a ________

Tagged as , , , ,

February 15, 2020 · 12:33 pm

Thoughts on a Saturday 2-15-2020

The sun is ALMOST shining today and it’s warmer, so I’m a happy camper.

We just got back from running errands. We have two main things on our list today –

THING ONE – getting a replacement collar for the shock collar we use rarely with our 94+ pound yellow lab, Amber. The shock part is still working, but the collar is too short now. Once we get one we can use, we’ll start working with her again in the yard. We need to be able to take her to the vet, for example, without worrying about her pulling my husband or me down and making us face surf on the ground. Our biggest problem is that she minds well when we are by ourselves. She looks at us as if she has never seen us before and is totally deaf when we are out in public.

THING TWO – adjusting a door knob assembly so that the door to the guest room closes and stays closed, rather than opening with the nose of a dog or cat.

I told you that we don’t really celebrate any holidays like birthdays, Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, etc. My husband was raised without big celebrations and I don’t want him to feel obligated to get me something just because of the calendar.  When we find something we think the other will like, we get it and give it, regardless of the day.

I have also told you that I’m a very happy, spoiled lady who is treated better than I deserve 99% of the time. Two examples –

He bought me these earrings a couple of weeks ago. I just love them. They gave me some trouble trying to actually get them into my ears, though. The post is curved and didn’t want to go through the hole in my ear. I kept trying. I finally decided to wait until my earlobes were completely happy and THEN try them. I wore them yesterday!!!! My husband was a bit disappointed, saying they were ‘small,’ but they looked pretty. I tried to get a pic of them with me wearing them, but I wasn’t able to.

TODAY I opened a package in the mail to find these –

The picture doesn’t show how sparkly they are. They are called, “sidewinders” or something similar because you see the whole circle while they are in your ear, not just an outside edge. I will put them on and try to get a picture. Fingers crossed!

See what I mean about being happy and spoiled?

After several days of running like a nut, I’m fairly caught up today.

I am planning to –

  • Bake a loaf of keto bread
  • Get back into exercising – with my elliptical trainer in the garage plus a session of yoga later today.

I hope that YOUR Saturday is a fun one!

2 Comments

Filed under DIET!, exercise, Family, giving, Housekeeping - Maintenance, love, Thoughts on a ________

Tagged as , , , , , ,

February 9, 2020 · 11:47 am

Feisty Fish

If you’ve been following my adventures with trying to keep my aquarium clean, you know that I officially discovered that goldfish are known to be ‘prolific poopers.’ I only have three goldfish. They are in a 5-gallon tank. I don’t want to get a larger tank. I don’t want to ‘off’ any of the three fish, so I’m experimenting with things that might make it so I don’t have to completely clean out the tank every week.

I got a new filter, and that has helped. I got 2 or 3 more days out of that. Today I put the new one back in, but also put the OLD one in, too. I am hoping that the TWO filters, plus changing the filter inserts often, will do the trick.

When I put the fish in after everything was clean, they bunched up in the corner, wriggling their bodies and opening and closing their mouths, hoping I would feed them again.  I caved and gave them a couple of soaked flakes. They had no comment about having a clean tank…

 

Leave a comment

Filed under Family, Housekeeping - Maintenance

Tagged as ,

February 8, 2020 · 3:46 pm

A Beautiful Day, Except…

i.pinimg.com-originals

We are having a truly gorgeous day today – particularly for February. The sun is shining brightly and it’s 59 degrees outside!

Yesterday we not only saw the small herd of 6 deer beside the road on the way to town, but also saw a roadrunner when we got home.

Getty Images

This one above is not the one we saw, but the picture gives you an idea. He was up on our deck railing, eating the handful of seed we try to leave in the “bird” feeder we made from a shovel.

Shovel Bird Feeder

Shovel BirdFeeder and Friends on the Deck Railing

He seemed quite comfortable eating brunch as we watched. Two squirrels and a rabbit rounded out the wonderful display of nature.

Our doggies have LOVED the day, wearing us out with letting them out and back in again over and over. (They have to go out separately, since our lab, Amber, is jealous of our elderly cocker spaniel/schnauzer cross, Molly, and tries to hurt her.)  We are getting our exercise today playing “doggy doorman.”

Amber

 

Molly

I got the ingredients for keto chili in the crock pot early this morning – at my husband’s request – so we’ll enjoy having that ready to eat for dinner tonight. I also cut up a HUGE container of strawberries because my husband lives for his ‘cakes, ice cream, and strawberries’ each night.

This would be a perfect day except that it’s February, meaning I need to get our paperwork organized for our CPA to do our taxes. I have kept spreadsheets on the various deduction categories this year, and I have made myself enter the data each month, so I think it will be mostly a matter of checking things over, totaling everything, and printing the spreadsheets, then adding the appropriate backup for each thing.

Stock records to confirm as we wait for the company to send us the official records, filing, updating, and THEN opening the spreadsheets for the records for 2020 are also on the list.

If all this paperwork were done with a swish of my magic wand, I would be the happiest of women….

 

Leave a comment

Filed under Acting Like a Grownup, Family, Lewis Art, Lewis yard art, Mother Nature, Thoughts on a ________

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,

February 1, 2020 · 4:03 pm

“Prolific Poopers”

 

 

I cleaned out the aquarium again this morning. I think it’s averaging once a week for three fish. That seems excessive to me. I got a new filter yesterday and have installed that today. I’m hoping that this will do the trick. I kept the old one, though, because I’m thinking I may use BOTH of them. I may also get a second aerator…

Anyway, my fish seem happy and healthy. The smallest one is having some equilibrium problems, but seems to be doing well, otherwise. I read that this might be due to the fact that I was sprinkling their fish food onto the surface of the water. I have now started putting the food into a cup of their tank water, then pouring the water into the tank.

I have spoken to them about the article I read that said that goldfish were ‘particularly prolific poopers.’ They didn’t say much about my observations, though.

So I’ve decided to quit griping (are you smiling in relief now?) and just clean the tank,  trying to find ways to keep my ‘prolific poopers’ as happy and healthy as possible.

 

Leave a comment

Filed under Family, Housekeeping - Maintenance

Tagged as , , , ,

January 30, 2020 · 4:01 pm

My Husband’s Twisted Sense of Humor

I was sitting here, working at my computer, when my husband came up behind me, put his hands on my shoulders, leaned down and said, “Amber ate the turkey.”

This is my husband.

 

This is Amber

 

My heart dropped down to the floor. I started to get up and my husband said, “JUST KIDDING!”

The really amazing thing is that my husband is ALIVE and IN ONE PIECE – and so is the turkey breast, thank goodness.

2 Comments

Filed under Family, Funny Signs - Humor

Tagged as ,

January 29, 2020 · 3:08 pm

Thoughts on a Wednesday 1-29-2020

Animals Collection

Even though it’s gray, 44 degrees, raw and rainy here today in Arkansas, I’m having a nice day, and have many things for which to be thankful.

Yesterday I opened our mail to find a pair of earrings my husband had found and ordered for me!

I just love them. It doesn’t show here, but the stones are kind of sparkly!  The design of them is giving me a bit of  a problem, though. They have a curved piece on the front that goes through the hole in your ear, and then you close the back onto the end to hold it in place. I’m having trouble getting the curved part through my ear. I’m continuing to try different techniques, but so far, no luck. :0(  I’ll keep working at it because I really want to wear them!

I’m working on a new wooden plaque in my art room. I think it’s going to turn out well, and I’m having fun working on it.

Since it’s still raining, we’re having to delay our trip to Ft. Smith to take our donation to the Veterans Thrift Store. Hopefully, we can do that tomorrow. I’m already finding more things I would like to donate, but the back of our truck will be full with what we have already.

Early this morning I put ingredients for Keto Chili into the crock pot, so we’ll have a nice comfort food type dinner this evening.

Today I’ve decided that my next clean out project will be my clothes closet. I need to move warm weather stuff out and move cold weather stuff in. I want to take my time, though, and get rid of a bunch of for each ‘season.’ Happily, some of my clothes are simply too large now, thanks to my efforts on eating Keto and exercising.

So it’s back to work now, after taking a short break. I hope that YOUR Wednesday is treating you right.

 

 

 

Leave a comment

Filed under Delightful Surprises, DIET!, exercise, Family, Housekeeping - Maintenance, Mother Nature, Organizing/DeCluttering, Thoughts on a ________

Tagged as , , ,

January 27, 2020 · 1:45 pm

Fish Poop

I have had to change the water in my aquarium more often lately. I was casting about for a reason why and decided to actually see if I could find information on the net that might help.

I found a nice article which mentions that goldfish poop in the water. Now THERE’S a news bulletin!  It would seem to me that ALL fish poop in their aquariums…. But, it did go on to say that goldfish poop a LOT in comparison to other fish.

The article suggested that one should start with a 75 to 100 gallon tank. When I finished laughing, I read on.  Apparently, the rule of thumb is 20 gallons for each goldfish.  (I have three goldfish. Even if I “offed” two of them, my tank would STILL not be considered adequate. I was really trying to get some information that I could USE so I continued.

The article said, “Goldfish can generate copious amounts of waste.” (An understatement.) What I finally got is that I should change the filter cartridge OFTEN, like at least once a week). The cartridges say they should be changed once a month.)  So this is one thing I can do differently.

They also suggested that I use Pea Gravel, rather than sand or finer gravels, as the fish can more easily avoid ingesting it when slurping bits of food from the tank floor. (This means my change to the glass beads was a good thought!)

Finally, there was a nugget of a thing I had no idea about – they said if you are feeding goldfish flaky food, you should pre-soak the food! I’ve never heard of this. It says when the food flakes sit on top of the water, it causes the fish to gulp. This can upset their swim bladder and equilibrium, causing them to float upside down.

They said to fill a cup with some water from the tank and swirl the fakes around. Then dump the whole cup into the tank.

This is probably more than you ever wanted to know about goldfish. I have some good suggestions to make mine happier.

 

 

 

 

4 Comments

Filed under Family, learning new things

Tagged as ,

January 26, 2020 · 11:51 am

Thoughts on a Sunday 1-26-2020

Caracal Cat – Jeff Jett – LinkedIn

I just love this photo. I don’t know who the photographer is, but it was posted by Jeff Jett on LinkedIn.

Our weather is more spring-like today, and I’m really grateful. I’m a wuss about ice and snow. I love to LOOK at snow, PLAY in it, and maybe even build snowmen, but I don’t like having to worry about whether I can safely get to an appointment or not.

On my CLEAN OUT – DECLUTTER – DONATE – THROW AWAY PROJECT – 

I’ve finished reorganizing the walk-in pantry

 

Finished cleaning out and reorganizing the shelves over my desk – actually FINDING my buried desk again

 

Cleaned out the aquarium again –

My goldfish make their water cloudy really fast, no matter what I do. I don’t know if goldfish are just dirtier than other fish or what. I’m thinking about scrubbing each of them with a toothbrush the next time I clean the aquarium….

I vacuumed the first floor tiled areas this morning (pantry, kitchen, dining area, utility room, and two half baths), so today’s project is finishing the clean up of the kitchen.

I have to tell you that the past few days have been good exercise,  with all the pulling, hauling, relocating, going up and down the ladder, etc.  It feels good to see things finally looking better organized for what we need now. It’s amazing to me how much what you are eating changes the tools and appliances you need, the ingredients to cook with, and storage needs.

I hope that you are having a satisfying Sunday, too.

 

2 Comments

Filed under Family, Housekeeping - Maintenance, Organizing/DeCluttering, Thoughts on a ________

Tagged as , ,

January 17, 2020 · 5:47 pm

Feisty Fish

The one thing I’ve done in the past two days was this morning, when I got the fish tank cleaned out.  The last glass beads I got worked better, but the color was too dark, so I got an assortment of blue, green, clear, and used some of the red.

 

The fish didn’t say anything, but they’ve been exploring the tank. One interesting difference is when they’re looking for any missed food on the bottom, the beads they’re disturbing TAP on the bottom of the tank, making an interesting clicking sound.

 

So, no one said anything except my husband, who pronounced the change ‘good.’ I feel better because I hate it when the water gets cloudy.

Leave a comment

Filed under Family, Housekeeping - Maintenance

Tagged as , , , ,

January 12, 2020 · 11:23 am

My Fish are Beaded

I cleaned out our aquarium a few days ago, only to have the water cloud up and turn yucky almost immediately. :0(

I decided that when I cleaned it out again yesterday, I would make a big change.  I took all the new white gravel out and replaced it with the glass ‘beads’ I had in the pantry for silk flower arrangements. I figured that they would have almost no residue to cloud up the water and the fish might like them!

 

I put black beads along the bottom and some red beads on top. The fish didn’t say anything when I put them in their newly decorated aquarium. They just gathered in the corner, wiggling and opening and closing their mouths. I went ahead and gave them some food, even though it wasn’t their usual time, to make up for any discomfort they experienced while waiting for me to fix their home.  The water seems to be staying nice and clear so far. My husband came in and REALLY liked the new look, so at least he and I are happy… :0)

 

 

Leave a comment

Filed under Family, Housekeeping - Maintenance

Tagged as , ,

January 10, 2020 · 10:12 am

Thoughts on a Friday 1-10-2020

Soul Alchemy

I’m really sad about the loss of animal life in Australia. People are trying to save as many as possible, and I’m grateful for that. My heart goes out to the people who have lost so much.

We are getting ready to go to Lunch Bunch, our weekly lunch with long-time, treasured friends. It will be good to be out, especially because we are due for some severe weather later today – high wind, chance of tornadoes, strong wind, hail, heavy rain, and flying hair balls. It’s supposed to start at 2 and last throughout the night, changing to sleet tomorrow. I’m about to suggest dances and songs for Mother Nature – trying to get on her good side…

I had a nice online chat with our son in Thailand yesterday. I always feel so good after talking with him. The fact we can type back and forth whenever we would like makes me almost forget he’s half a world away. :0)

I’m trying a new keto bread recipe this afternoon. Fingers crossed!

Have a wonderful day, and stay safe.

 

3 Comments

Filed under Family, Friendship, Mother Nature, Thoughts on a ________

Tagged as , , , , , ,

January 4, 2020 · 12:36 pm

Thoughts on A Saturday – 1-4-2020

Beautiful World

I told you yesterday that I learned a good, long-time friend of mine had died. Since then, I have heard from MANY friends locally and online, giving me kind words of consolation. I’m a very, very lucky person to know so many wonderful people. Thank you. It means a lot.

I spent time with MORE friends at Lunch Bunch yesterday. As usual, we shared what had happened since the last Friday, our plans, plus stories, hugs, and lots of laughter.  The daughter of one of my friends joined us from Fort Smith, so it was an especially nice gathering. We have been meeting every Friday for over 17 years now. There is no way to express how wonderful it is to have shared our lives, Friday by Friday, through good times and bad. Priceless.

This morning has been a character-building exercise for me. Our animals are conspiring to drive me crazy, one incident at a time. I can almost hear them laughing as they watch me mutter and handle the next thing, over and over. One example –

‘someone’ – whose name is probably Amber, our 94-pound yellow lab – apparently ‘nosed’ the small pile of firewood we had on the hearth, causing everything to tumble down onto the carpet, spreading debris everywhere. I started picking up pieces, then used a brush and dustpan, then a whisk broom, and finally the vacuum, to finally get the area cleaned up and back together again.  “Someone” else – probably named Molly (our elderly cocker spaniel/schnauzer cross) and Abby, one of our cats – caused me to also vacuum the hallway, two half-baths, the dining area, the kitchen, the pantry, and the utility room because of tufts of animal hair playing in the breezes. (The fact that I JUST vacuumed all that YESTERDAY makes me think they are smuggling in some other animal to shed an ‘entire animal’ each and every day…)

I’m having lots of fun in my art room.

Yesterday I finished these –

 

I’m hoping to play in my art room more today, unless the animals come up with yet another mess for me to clean up.

I hope that you are having a wonderful day, too, full of the love of friends, family, and pets.

 

 

 

 

 

5 Comments

Filed under Family, Friendship, playing in my art room, Thoughts on a ________

Tagged as , , ,

December 27, 2019 · 9:45 am

Thoughts on a Friday 12-27-2019

Photographer Unknown via Penny Yaffe Krakow

I’m especially happy today.

I’m excited about sharing a booth in a local shop with one of my best friends. It’s fun to see what sells, to plan what I want to add to the shop, to make new things for it. The owner of the shop is Joanna Brandt, and the shop’s name is Rags & Roses Collective. She has divided the shop into booths so that lots of people in the area have a chance to show and sell their wares. Our booth is called, “Blasing Bright.”  I have a group of new things to put in our booth today. The shop will be open today until 5:00, I think. Then Joanna will take a well-deserved vacation and will reopen Jan. 6th.

My family is doing well.

We will go to Lunch Bunch soon, joining our good friends for conversation and laughs.  It’s good to be able to share the good times (and help each other with the bad) as we watch one year turn into another.

My new shop – EyecatchingEarrings on Etsy – is coming together. I’m hoping to have it fully up and running by the end of the weekend, though the shop is open for business now. :0)

I hope you had a happy Christmas and that 2020 will be a wonderful year for you.

 

4 Comments

Filed under Family, Friendship, Thoughts on a ________

Tagged as , , , ,

December 24, 2019 · 2:36 pm

Thoughts on a Tuesday – 12-24-2019

RJ Bennett-LinkedIn

We did errands first thing this morning and are now in for the rest of the day.

We are having a good, quiet Christmas this year. For the past few days, we’ve been delivering presents and visiting with good, long-time friends. It has been really good to catch up, hug a few necks, talk and laugh together. We’re really rich in friends.

Though our son won’t be home from Thailand, we had a super conference call day before yesterday. We chatted about this and that, and most of all, I got to see his FACE. I truly love his face, and trying to make him smile or laugh. When he was home helping us with my husband’s stroke, he took particular care in filling up my hugs bucket to the brim and over-flowing.

Besides going up to continue cleaning my art room – and then, possibly starting some new projects I have rattling around in my head, I gave myself ANOTHER Christmas present. Recently at the exclusive emporium of WalMart, I found a light pink pullover hooded sweatshirt. It was SUPER soft and a really nice weight, so I bought it. One of the wonderful things was that – for the first time in a LOOOOOONG time – I bought it out of the regular women’s clothing department, rather than in my usual special department for ‘ladies-of-more-generous-size.’  I wore it, loved it, and decided I wanted a couple more.

You guessed it – there WEREN’T any more when I went back. I tried to order more online. I thought I had found them, but when they arrived, they were fleece. Heavier than I want for in the house wear. Today, when we stopped there, I FOUND them again!  I bought two more. Merry Christmas to me!

Even though our house is nice and warm, I get psychologically chilled sometimes while watching TV. I get a throw to burrow under in my chair. With the sweatshirts, though, I’m much less apt to feel chilled. :0)

I am ready to cook our small Christmas dinner tomorrow. We’ll have enough turkey breast for the celebratory meal, plus – our favorite – sliced turkey for turkey sandwiches for a couple of days.

Today has been quite enjoyable for another reason – I’ve been on Facebook and LinkedIn, two of my favorite websites, and have connected with a lot of folks. Today has been filled with good wishes, nice posts, and good conversations.

Happy Christmas Eve –  and Merry Christmas tomorrow. Happy 2nd day (I think) of Hanukkah to more of my good friends. I hope that you are surrounded with love. If not, I’ll be thinking of you and trying to send hugs your way.

3 Comments

Filed under Family, Friendship, holidays, Thoughts on a ________

Tagged as , , , , , ,

December 23, 2019 · 2:57 pm

Nice Christmas

We are enjoying a quiet Christmas this year. We have spent the last few days taking presents to good friends and visiting and that has been wonderful.  We only have one remaining, but our friend is out of town now, so we’ll catch up with her when she returns.

 

I have a teeny tiny CUTE turkey breast I’ll cook for us on Christmas Day.  We’ll also have deviled eggs, dressing, and cranberry sauce.

I’m grateful that we are both healthy enough to enjoy this holiday together.

Merry Christmas!

 

2 Comments

Filed under Family, Friendship, holidays

Tagged as , , , ,

December 14, 2019 · 4:59 pm

Disgusted

I told you earlier this week that my husband and I cleaned out our aquarium, actually taking the gravel out and rinsing it thoroughly before returning it to the tank, putting in fresh water, clean decorations, new filters, etc. The aquarium looked a LOT better, though the fish didn’t rave about it.

Imagine my outrage when we got up this morning to find a tank with water SO cloudy you could hardly see the occupants!

 

I had ordered new gravel, thinking that the next time I cleaned out the tank I would change it. I didn’t realize it would have to be almost immediately.

So –

I cleaned out the tank again today, removing the old gravel. I rinsed the new gravel, added the treated water, put in fresh clean decorations, another new filter, etc. And now the tank is again clean, though the fish just looked teed off to be forced to wait in a small bowl of water while I toiled.

I have heard that gold fish aren’t very clean fish. I’m beginning to really believe it now. The largest gold fish is now about 4 inches long. He’s too large to be caught easily – or fit into – the net I use.

I have now spoken to the fish, telling them that I don’t want to be in the position of a full tank clean out every week – or – in this case – TWICE in one week. I have told them that they need to clean up their act or be labeled ‘BAD TENANTS.’ (Assuming they care…)

Leave a comment

Filed under Family, Housekeeping - Maintenance

Tagged as , ,

December 14, 2019 · 10:42 am

Thoughts on a Saturday – 12-14-2019

Dog Lovers Club

We’re having a nice, though gray, fall day here in Arkansas. I found a new sweatshirt/hoodie combination in a pale pink and am wearing it for the first time today. I got it from the exclusive emporium of Walmart, and am pleased to report that I didn’t have to get it in a “wide-load” size!  It’s light weight and cozy feeling. This is really welcome since I’ve been sitting under my throw in the living room while watching TV lately, even though our heat works fine. It may be a psychological thing. Anyhow, I’m thinking of buying ANOTHER one!

I told you that I am experimenting on making light weight wooden earrings for people who do NOT have pierced ears. I found some glue and clip-on findings, both without nickel to avoid problems with allergies.

This is the only finished pair so far. The wood is just large enough for the clip-on. I’m also going to try a larger disk and then drill a hole in the bottom of it and append a smaller disk from it, making a dangle. I’ll show you a pic of that when I have one finished. I’m thinking of starting another Etsy shop just for earrings – pierced and clip-on. I’m also checking out opening a shop on Amazon.

Yesterday one of my long time good friends called to tell me one of her dogs had died. Another good friend lost a cat recently. Having been there, and knowing that losing a treasured pet member of the family is one of the worst hurts there is, my heart goes out to to both of them. I also know there is nothing I can do but show I care.  I wish I could do more.

I’m not sure what else the day holds, other than the what-I’m-hoping-will-be-the-usual exercise with my elliptical trainer and yoga stretches and working in my art room.

I hope your Saturday is fun.

 

6 Comments

Filed under Family, Friendship, playing in my art room, Thoughts on a ________

Tagged as , , ,

December 13, 2019 · 10:07 am

Thoughts on a Friday 12-13-2019

Peter Haygarth – Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2019

We have lots of errands, so I’m not sure what else I will do today.
Whatever your plans are, I hope you have a fabulous day.

2 Comments

Filed under exercise, Family, Thoughts on a ________

Tagged as , ,

December 9, 2019 · 11:41 am

Stubborn

My husband has been after me for a long time, probably several months, to ‘dump’ the gravel in the bottom of the aquarium when I clean the tank. I have a nice aquarium vacuum that works really nicely, so I’ve been putting him off. I didn’t want any problems with a leaking tank. I also had visions of his dropping the tank mid procedure, and our having to rush out and buy another while the fish waited impatiently in the small bowl of water.  I admit I’m really stubborn about accepting his suggestions many times.

Dumped the gravel into the largest colander I have. My husband rinsed it in the sink, using our spray attachment, while I cleaned the glass inside and out. We carefully put the gravel back, then added the treated water, then the decorations, lights, filters, oxygen thingie, and finally, the fish.

For awhile, the water didn’t look any better than it does when I clean it the regular way. But then things settled down.

And though I cleaned up water everywhere and keep finding small pieces of gravel, I have to admit my husband was right. It DOES look better, and DID make a difference, and the tank and water ARE cleaner than they were.

 

As usual, the fish aren’t saying anything much. They are happily swimming around, bunching up in the corner every time I pass the tank, dreaming about feeding time.

My husband DID admit it was a lot of work – even though the only part he participated in was the gravel cleaning. He said I should order more gravel so that we can ‘start with a clean batch’ next time.

2 Comments

Filed under Family, Housekeeping - Maintenance, I'm a slob

Tagged as ,

December 6, 2019 · 12:41 pm

Clean Digs

 

Goldfish are not the most affectionate pets. In fact, they don’t say much at all – happy or sad. The best thing MINE do is they bunch up in the corner, wriggle their bodies and open and close their mouths at me. They don’t do it until they see I have stopped at the aquarium and MIGHT be considering giving them food. This lovely interaction happens twice a day. I speak to them, but they don’t answer.

Because my priorities were elsewhere lately, I’ve been lax in cleaning their tank. I kept noticing that their water was cloudy when I passed, but just didn’t take the time to DO anything about it.

Cleaning is quite laborious, having to take the sweet fish out, empty out all the water while vacuuming, taking all the decorations out, changing the filter, scrubbing everything that will go back in, then filling up the tank with pre-treated water, getting filters and bubblers going again, putting fresh decorations in, and finally adding the fish back.  Then I wash everything that was in the tank, fill up the water jugs and treat the water for next time, plus clean up. I consider the task well worth the effort because – hey – they wriggle at me…

They don’t say anything when their tank is clean. They don’t seem to take any particular interest in having different decorations to swim past. Maybe they check the things out more carefully when I’m not there gawking at them. I like to think they wriggle at the clean tank and different decorations, saying, “Hey, she isn’t so bad after all!”

Leave a comment

Filed under Family

Tagged as , ,

November 29, 2019 · 10:27 am

Thoughts on a Friday 11-29-2019

LoveThisPic

My two friends came over last night to help us celebrate Thanksgiving.

Due to my not paying enough attention, I noticed a label on the cute little turkey breast I was about to cook saying, “Cajun Style.” My husband and I are real wusses when it comes to hot and spicy, so this seemed like a huge problem. My husband went out to get another regular turkey breast while I rubbed off the ‘Cajun’ stuff as much as possible We defrosted the regular one when he returned and cooked both at the same time. I labeled each one carefully so that we could all try the Cajun as well as the regular. We all pronounced the Cajun good! There was a small ‘bite’ after you swallowed, but it was a NICE bite, if that makes sense.  My husband and I are looking forward to lots of turkey sandwiches!

We enjoyed our feast. It was great catching up. We had a lot of good conversation, hugs, and laughter. It had been a long time since I saw Nora, one of my good friends. We agreed to do better in the future. Life is too short and we love each other. My other friend is Carla, with whom I share the booth in the local shop in town. She reminded me that Christmas Honors is coming up, and so we’ll go together on Dec. 4th.

“Christmas Honors” is a  tradition honoring our veterans. People come together to volunteer to attach red bows to wreaths to put on each veteran’s grave in the Veterans Cemetery in Fort Smith.

This will be my third year to do this. There are around 18,000 wreaths on which we will attach red bows. So many people in our area have served our country, and it’s good to be able to do something to honor them.  There is a huge group of people who gather to do this. Lots of laughter and camaraderie as we work.

As I was typing this, I heard a noise coming from the dining area I couldn’t identify. I discovered Amber, our 94-pound yellow lab, licking the aluminum pie plate from last night. I looked at my husband. He had the grace to look a bit guilty. There had been two pieces of pie left last night, and both were now in my husband’s tummy….

I’m looking forward to spending time in my art room today. I’m still enjoying playing with the Unicorn Spit Stain/Glaze. I bought some more colors on the net recently and look forward to expanding my play. :0)

I hope that you are enjoying your Friday.

 

2 Comments

Filed under Family, Friendship, holidays, Thoughts on a ________, Volunteering

Tagged as , , , , , ,

Image

Just In Case You Need This Today

Leave a comment

November 28, 2019 · 11:46 am
November 28, 2019 · 9:42 am

Happy Thanksgiving 2019

Element Natural Healing Arts

 

I ran the bulldozer around through the first floor yesterday, so things are looking about as good as they get around here. :0)  I’ll start cooking in a bit, but one of my friends is bringing green bean casserole, and the other is bringing apple pie, so a lot of the work is done. I’m cooking a small turkey breast, stuffing, and making deviled eggs. Wine, coffee, great conversation, hugs, lots of laughter. And for THIS, I am truly thankful.

I visited with our son via our chat program this morning. (He is in Thailand.) We exchanged virtual hugs. He is doing well and is happy. That’s all I really need to know. The details are ‘gravy.’

The only thing NOT fine is our weather. It started raining last night. We’re supposed to have ‘cold, steady rain’ all day today – and through SATURDAY. It’s a good thing I live on top of a ridge line…

“May your stuffing be tasty. May your turkey be plump. May your potatoes and gravy have nary a lump. May your yams be delicious, and your pies take the prize, and may Thanksgiving dinner stay off your thighs.”

_________

I am thankful for YOU, who take the time to read my blog. I look forward to talking with you each day and sharing the things I find with you.

Have a happy day!

 

 

8 Comments

Filed under Family, Friendship, holidays

Tagged as , ,

November 27, 2019 · 10:10 am

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

iStock

In about 20 minutes, we are going to Lunch Bunch!  This week we’re doing it today, rather than Friday. The Pizza Barn will be open Friday, but not until 3pm, and no salad/pizza/banana pudding bar. 3:00 p.m. is almost dinner time for one of my friends, so we’ll enjoy seeing everyone today.

When we get home, the push will start to get ready for Thanksgiving. It all starts with running the bulldozer…

I’ve told you before that housekeeping is really low on my list of priority activities. When we’re having people over for dinner, I try to get serious about making this place clean enough for others to be comfortable. Dog hair is rampant right now, so I’ve been vacuuming every other day. This is NOT enough for when others come to visit. I’ll scrub bathrooms, vacuum, and do general cleanup of the first floor so that I can concentrate on last minute cleaning and cooking tomorrow.

I hope that you are not having to start with a bulldozer at your home today, and that you have a happy celebration tomorrow.

4 Comments

Filed under Family, Friendship, holidays, Housekeeping - Maintenance, I'm a slob

Tagged as , , ,

November 26, 2019 · 10:24 am

Bowling and Bonuses

amazon.com

We went bowling last night with our good friends, the Taylors, last night.

It doesn’t matter how well (or how badly) we bowl. We do it for the fun of it, the good exercise, the chance to catch up with our good friends, AND a trip to Braum’s afterwards for a scoop of ice cream.

BONUS # 1 – Last night was especially fun. There was a good-looking young man with 4 kids of varying ages bowling next to us. The children looked to be Asian and were great-looking children. The two boys looked to be in their teens. The girls were younger. As we bowled, I couldn’t help but melt into a puddle at the youngest girl. She had a gorgeous smile that appeared often. I clapped when she got a spare and she lit up like a Christmas tree. She would smile at me when I managed to throw a good ball, too. The man had taught the kids bowling etiquette, so it was a pleasure to be next to them.

After awhile, the man came over to us and said that he wanted us to know that his kids were impressed with our bowling. This was a shock because we really weren’t doing that well, although we had gotten a few strikes, and – more notably – picked up a few difficult spares.  He said the kids were always on their phones. He had taken them to the Grand Canyon, and couldn’t get them to even look out the window at the wonderful sight because they were glued to their devices. But they were impressed with us!

We told him that his kids – two of the four – and his niece and nephew – were beautiful children and we were impressed at how well behaved they were.  They were here for Thanksgiving, and he had taken them bowling to get them out of the house.  :0)  A total pleasure to bowl next to them and talk with them.

BONUS # 2 –  After a joyful trip to Braum’s for ice cream, we took our friends back to their home. They said they had something for us. They went inside and came back out with TWO gorgeous elephant ear plants for us to take home!

Elephant Ear 1

Elephant Ear 2

Laufrain told us to put them in the garage to winter over, but we elected to try to keep them alive in our dining area and then – if successful – we’ll put them on our front porch in the spring so they’ll be protected from too much wind.

2 Comments

Filed under Delightful Surprises, Family, Friendship

Tagged as , , ,

November 23, 2019 · 10:22 am

Thoughts on a Saturday 11-23-2019

Jeff Jett

I love this picture. I want to pet this dog and hug him.

I have finished up some new things using the Unicorn Spit Stain/Glaze and wanted to show them to you.

The Greenwood Arkansas Holiday Open House is tomorrow afternoon from 1 – 5. I’m volunteering to help in Rags & Roses, 100 North Main, the shop where I am sharing a booth with my good friend, Carla, doing whatever I can to make it go as smoothly as possible.  I’m looking forward to meeting people.  There will be food, Santa photos, a musician playing the guitar/fiddle/mandolin, door prizes, and lots of wonderful stuff to consider buying for the holidays. FUN!

I am now looking forward to Thanksgiving. I have asked a dear friend to eat with us.  My husband will be delighted to hear that she is bringing apple pie!  All thoughts of diet are thrown to the winds. We will gleefully chow down, filling our bellies with delicious stuff and enjoying catching up with my good friend I haven’t seen in far too long. :0)

I hope that you are doing something fun today, relaxing, and looking forward to the week ahead.

5 Comments

Filed under Family, Friendship, holidays, Thoughts on a ________

Tagged as , , , , , ,

November 20, 2019 · 10:07 am

Thoughts on a Wednesday 11-20-2019

Jeff Jett – LinkedIn

 

We are having a beautiful, sunny fall day here in Greenwood, Arkansas.

My husband is happy because he gets a new crown on his implant at the dentist’s today. This has been a more drawn out, serious process this time due to his being on blood thinners after his stroke, but this afternoon he finishes it.  :0)

I finished painting and putting the hardware on the new earrings.

 

 

I will carefully solder the ring on each earring today and then they are ready to list on my ArtFire page. When I get the display things I ordered, I’ll also take an assortment to the new booth in the local shop in Greenwood.

I have many lame excuses for not doing my elliptical trainer and yoga every day. Yesterday I did yoga. Today I PLAN to get back into both.

I hope you are having a wonderful day!

 

 

Leave a comment

Filed under exercise, Family

Tagged as , , ,

November 19, 2019 · 10:08 am

Well…

 

I’m not a baker – or even a cook, for that matter. We manage, but it’s really not one of my favorite things. Yesterday morning I got the pineapple upside-down cake together and into the oven for my husband’s mini-birthday-celebration. When the timer went off, it needed more time. I kept checking to see if the toothpick came out clean, and it didn’t. I finally went ahead and took it out, let it cool, and dumped it (carefully) into the receiving platter. It was a complete disaster.

We went to the store and bought fresh yellow cake mix – plus a pineapple cake mix my husband chose – plus more pineapple, and came home and started again. My husband insisted we use the pineapple cake mix, even though it didn’t list pineapple (it said it had juice in the mix). The cake turned out fine, and THEN my husband decided he wanted to put pineapple and cherries on the top. So – since he was the birthday boy – we did just that.

He ate some soon after. He said it didn’t taste like pineapple upside-down cake. Imagine that! I told him that the way I usually did it was to put the sliced pineapple in the bottom of the pan over a mixture of brown sugar and melted butter, cherries in each center, and then pour the mixed cake mix on top before baking. I didn’t push it because what I ‘usually’ did had turned out a dismal failure this time.

ANYWAY – the birthday boy had a second piece of the cake last night and plans to eat more today.

At least he knows I love him…

4 Comments

Filed under Challenges, Family

Tagged as ,