Category Archives: Mother Nature

April 19, 2022 · 9:35 am

Sunny Tuesday!

Walt Whitman – Facebook

The sight of the sun yesterday and today is really bringing up my spirits. I usually enjoy rainy days, but lately it seems we’ve had more of our share. We’re due for storms tonight-into-tomorrow. :0)

Petr Vaclavek – Dubanci.cz

I bought 12 tomato plants yesterday afternoon and got them planted. I’ll take pics in awhile and share them with you. I’ll also check on my garden. My plan is to use each sunny day to clean out ONE planter in the yard. We have 14 of them, so this will take awhile. We’ll see how I do. We have errands to run first, so we’ll get some fresh air and sun while we’re out.

I was feeling a bit off yesterday, so only did the tomato planting and my yoga for exercise. I’ll try to do my full list today. I’m doing a month-long exercise plan by Mike of MoreLifeHealth.com and I’m eager to see what the new workout is for the week. I’m supposed to do this every other day during the week.

Unsplash

I’ve been cooking up a storm (for me) lately, trying to rely on meals I make, rather than only the Real Food and Stu’s Clean Cookin’ meals. They are too high in carbs for me right now. Two days ago I made a bunch of ‘Bacon-Wrapped Cheesy Chicken Breasts” by Suzanne Ryan of Simply Keto. Yesterday I made her “Keto Chili.” Tonight I’m making bacon-wrapped hamburger patties. I’m freezing the leftovers in individual serving (or one meal for two) packages so that I won’t need to spend a lot of time in the kitchen for awhile. This saves me work, plus decreases the temptation to eat something I shouldn’t.

Have a great day. I’ll check back with you when we’re back from errands and I have pics to share.

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April 16, 2022 · 9:25 am

Sharing the Purple

Will bloom soon

Deep purple is my favorite color. Whenever I see it, my soul reacts, with happiness welling up inside and spilling over. Spring is one time of the year where our yard reflects my love of the color.

These are to one side of the top of our driveway.
These are to the other side.
back yard planter

They are blooming almost all the way down one side of the driveway now. When they are finished, yellow ones take over.

I hope our wisteria hasn’t been beaten down by the hail.

You can see my heart is really full this time of year. There is much to do in the yard, and little time right now to do it between severe weather. Soon things will tame down (hopefully) and I can get our planters weeded and cleared out, tomato plants in, and buy some purple petunias for the deck. :0)

Stay warm and dry!

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April 16, 2022 · 9:14 am

And the Rain Comes Down…

Tenor

I checked the weather website yesterday evening right before dark to find that, not only were we supposed to get rain after sunset, but HAIL. I went out and clothes-pinned sheets over my veggie planter boxes to protect my sweet, young veggies as much as I could.

It DID storm overnight and we’re still under a ‘thunderstorm and hail’ forecast this morning. It’s raining and very dark outside now, though the thunder and lightning are so noticeable. It looks like the sheets won’t come off until at least lunch time. I hope the plants don’t get squashed by the weight of the wet sheets!

Here was what 3 of the 6 garden boxes looked like last night –

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April 13, 2022 · 9:58 am

Thoughts on a Wednesday 4-13-2022

Justin Burt-m.flickr.com

Any minute a guy, or guys, from a solar panel company will be here to talk with us about a ‘government solar panel program’ for our home. My husband signed us up for this. I researched it, and though it isn’t really a ‘scam,’ it’s quite misleading.

The solar panels are installed at no cost to the homeowner, but the homeowner doesn’t OWN the panels. You LEASE the panels. If you sell your house, the new owner has to agree to continue the lease. If they don’t, you have to pay to remove the panels and try to get someone else to take the lease, or you break the lease, costing you up to $20,000. You get no tax incentive break for installing the panels – that goes to the solar panel company. To maintain the warranty on the panels, you must have them inspected each year and cleaned twice a year – a cost of $450 a year. For many reasons, this is not a good thing for us.

I read this to my husband. He agrees it’s not for us, but still wants to talk to them. I will sit in just to make sure he doesn’t sign up for anything…

Tenor

It’s quite rainy today. Really gusty winds went all night and into this morning. Now the sky is getting quite dark. We have possibly severe weather. Fingers crossed we get through this day with no damage.

I hope that your Wednesday is safe, calm, and dry.

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April 12, 2022 · 1:41 pm

Trip Around the Yard Before the Storm

The rest of the pretty blooms on the tulip tree will probably be blown or rained off today and tomorrow, so I got a last pic.

The wisteria has done well this year. It is fuller and more lush every day. I don’t know how it will fare in the storm, but we’re lucky to have had this beauty for as long as we have this year.

The twice-blooming iris is really doing its thing now. All up and down one side of the driveway, too, and in several places in the yard. They will bloom again in October.

These are the two tomato planters I’ve been weeding, then adding potting soil to in order to get them ready for tomato plants. I’m hoping to be able to plant Thursday, or into the weekend, assuming the storms have abated.

Finally, this is Amber, who never misses a chance to ‘go’ anywhere, whether it’s on foot or in the car. She was a bit disappointed that it was a walking trip this time, but was quite companionable, nonethelesss.

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April 12, 2022 · 12:05 pm

The Price of “No Snow”

5News

The price we’re paying for ‘no snow or ice’ is severe weather. Yesterday, thankfully, we missed tornadoes and really large hail along with heavy rain. We got some rain, but the bad stuff was JUST north of us.

Today we have a ‘few isolated thunderstorms this afternoon and evening with HEAVY rain coming tomorrow. Ironically, we have some guys scheduled to come to the house to talk about installation of solar panels tomorrow morning…

Depositphotos

My husband got an email saying there was a government program for installing free solar panels on our home. I started researching a few minutes ago and found “Simply put, you cannot get free solar panels from the government. These payment plans are actually solar leases or power purchase agreements (PPAs), and they’re a no-cost upfront option that gives ownership to the solar company or installer.” So, it looks like their visit here will be very short.

I just got home from my massage. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I’m a very happy camper right now. I’m going to fix us some lunch and then do some of my exercises: stretching video, 10 minutes on the elliptical trainer, weights video, yoga – stretched out during the rest of the day.

It can’t decide whether it wants to rain yet or not. When I was driving home, it was dark and looked like rain was imminent. Now it seems to be clearing up.

Lunchtime!

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March 30, 2022 · 11:45 am

Wet Wednesday

Giphy

The rain started early this morning. We avoided the possible severe weather, though, thank goodness. It’s still rainy, though we’re due for a break in the rain until ‘downpours’ this afternoon. An inside day, for sure.

Happily, I pushed myself yesterday, doing three sessions of weed whacking to clean up the edges from my husband’s good lawn mowing. We almost look like someone cares!

Since we have a cool front along with the cloudy, rainy weather, I’m cooking Keto Chili tonight from Suzanne Ryan’s Simply Keto recipe book. I feel I have a good start now on my renewed effort to lose the lard. My scales are noticing my efforts this week. :0) Today, since I can’t work in the yard, I’ll try to add some time on my elliptical trainer in the garage along with my afternoon yoga stretching session.

VectorStock

A good thing: my husband agreed to try using a cell phone again, mainly because he wants to be able to receive verification codes on HIS phone rather than mine. We went to AT&T yesterday, and the two nice people there got the new phone added. The guy showed my husband how to get rid of the stuff he doesn’t want on the phone, so now he’ll quit bothering me about the stuff on mine… PLUS, the lady helped me make it so I can again take pics with my phone and email them to my computer for use on the blog again. (I haven’t been able to make it work since I had to change my email address.) The final great thing was the guy suggested I call ‘611’ on my cell to ask them if they would waive the extra fees associated with adding another phone. I was to ask for the Loyalty Dept. I did and they DID give us a credit toward our next bill. Yea!

Another good thing: I spent a long time on the phone this morning, trying to get the status on some wire transfers we did lately. The nice lady was able to confirm one was ‘good,’ and is researching the other to find out what’s what. It’s good to find competent, polite help when you need it.

My husband is trying to make his new computer work. It’s together physically now, but he’s having trouble adding software. My contribution is to keep my mouth firmly shut. Some access to things we share aren’t working yet, so I’m modifying my activities until they do again.

Stay dry and warm wherever you are.

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March 23, 2022 · 10:26 am

Spirit Lifters

It’s cool here (45 degrees F. and a pretty good breeze), but I needed some spirit-lifting and took my camera outside to walk around and see what I could see.

tulip tree
tulip tree blossom closeup
just one of the groups of daffodils
Redbud starting to bloom
Forsythia starting to bloom
Wisteria buds
Harder to be down when Mother Nature is starting to put on her annual show! :0)

“Be like the flower, turn your face to the sun.” — Kahlil Gibran

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March 18, 2022 · 9:11 am

Ah – Rain!

Quora

It started raining last night and is still raining today.

I got my early spring garden planted, so I’m really happy about the rain, even if we drown going to Lunch Bunch today. :0)

Two days ago I got some leaf lettuce, spinach, broccoli, and cauliflower plants in my raised bed, square foot garden. Yesterday I planted to bunches of red onion sets. I don’t have the irrigation timer installed yet, so I was really glad to see we were expecting rain last night. The garden is started! I’ll probably plant some radish seeds, plus more lettuce (my husband likes me to try head lettuce) if we can find it, but basically, the early spring garden is in. (This photo shows three of the six planter boxes. I took it before I planted the onion sets.)

I’m looking forward to seeing my friends for Lunch Bunch today. It’s a big moment of ‘normal’ in a chaotic, scary world, and I treasure it, and my friends. We’ll probably stop at Real Food on the way home to see if we can find some goodies to bring home.

Since working outside isn’t in the cards today, I’ll concentrate on cleaning some of the inside. Most of what I vacuum up is dog hair. You would think Amber would be completely bald by now.

I hope that you can stay safe, warm and dry today.

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March 11, 2022 · 11:09 am

Weather Resentment Syndrome

I’m in a whine-and-cheese frame of mind this morning as I watch our weather deteriorate. I’ve been so happy seeing signs of spring, shoots coming up through the debris of the winter, daffodils blooming, our tulip tree full of buds and starting to bloom. All this comes to an end now – at least for awhile – as the temperatures fall and LITTLE BITTY white pellets start to fall.

I was just outside for several minutes, taking pics and realizing that the white stuff the weather people predicted has begun. I had to really concentrate, holding my head very still to SEE it. I FELT it falling on me, though. The wind has picked up and the temperature is really BRISK out there!

I really love our tulip tree. It’s quite fragile, though, and so you have to keep an eye out for the buds and then blooms because they don’t last long in the best of weather. They really lift my spirits, though, for however long I can enjoy them.

Usually it doesn’t snow here after my birthday (March 9), so I’m fully into ‘weather resentment syndrome’ considering this a personal insult to my embrace of spring.

Hopefully, this will be a really quick last gasp of winter that will melt quickly and won’t kill everything. All appendages are crossed.

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March 7, 2022 · 10:08 am

Thoughts on a Mild Monday 3-7-2022

QuotesGram

We came through the night – with threatened severe storms – just fine. The cold front came through and now it’s 31 degrees F. We have another chance at a ‘wintry mix’ Friday, but I’m really hoping the back of winter has been broken and that we’re moving on to spring. I’m also hopeful that Mother Nature receives the memo and acknowledges the official beginning of spring on the 20th, if not unofficially, before.

My spring garden of veggies is still only a bright spark in my mind. I’ve decided to wait out this week and see what happens Friday. I want to uncover at least some of my raised bed square foot planters and fill them with early spring plants of spinach, lettuce, and broccoli, if not more. (Ours looks much like those in this photo, except we built them up at my chest level, on metal table-like supports, so I don’t have to bend over double or get up and down from my knees.

Meanwhile, our daffodils are determined to put on bold, happy faces no matter what our weather is doing. I’ll gather some more to bring in the house today.
Free Arts

I’m definitely starting to have ideas rattling around about playing in my art room. I’ve been finding artwork all over the net that is getting my juices flowing, particularly involving mixed media stuff.

Have a safe, happy beginning to your brand, spanking-new week.

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February 22, 2022 · 9:10 am

Thoughts on a Wet Tuesday

iStock

The rains started last night with a lot of thunder and lightning. They continue today. I’m not griping TOO loudly, though, as this is much better than what we’ll have starting tomorrow – ICE. Ugh.

We’ll leave in about half an hour to run errands, keeping appointments and picking up supplies for the coming winter storm.

I’m very happy we have a warm, dry home to ‘weather’ the storm in. I have to admit I’m more than ready for spring to arrive, though. Yesterday we saw veggie plants for sale at the local hardware store. Just too soon to plant, as far as I’m concerned. I don’t want to have to cover the plants every night from now to mid March – though I really felt drawn to the plants…

Stay warm and safe.

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February 21, 2022 · 4:46 pm

AND Flying Hairballs!

BoredPanda.com

Mother Nature is trying to give us a lesson in humility, and not taking her for granted in the next few days.

This morning, while the weather was nice, we went to Ft. Smith to leave our tax stuff with our wonderful CPA. While we were there, we were able to swing by and see my good friend Nora, who is office manager at an insurance agency. I hugged her neck quickly, then again, because we don’t get to see each other often.

Tonight Mother Nature is serving us some possibly severe weather. Tonight-into-tomorrow, heavy rain and thunderstorms, some possibly dangerous. Heavy rain tomorrow, and then ice and snow Wednesday and Thursday. Great week, huh!

We will do errands tomorrow and pick up supplies in case we’re stranded up on our hill again. I rescheduled my massage that would have been Thursday, so that won’t be a worry anymore.

Yesterday I gathered a few more blooming daffodils for us to enjoy inside. They were lying on the ground, but still pretty. My favorite is the one that dares to be different in the center of the pic. I wish I could bring them ALL in. Hopefully, there will be more after the freeze, ice, and snow of Wednesday and Thursday.

Stay safe and warm!

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February 12, 2022 · 9:55 am

Thoughts on a Saturday 2-12-2022

Giulia-flickr.com

Ooh! It’s pretty cold here in Arkansas today. It’s 24 degrees F. with a wind chill making it FEEL like 13. BRRRR! The sun is shining, though, and this is a one-day thing. Warmer tomorrow. :0)

iStock

I’m doing really well with my getting our tax stuff organized in the office efforts. I’m waiting for our investment stuff to be available for download and print. Then we can bag everything up for taxes and dump it on our wonderful CPA.

I made new spreadsheets for 2022 and will enter January’s information into them today. Then file that stuff, having decided to refine my filing system for less sorting at the end of the year. I’ll make the extra folders today, plus reconciling checkbooks.

Once that is done, the next step will be to find my desk again. The poor thing is buried alive with STUFF. You can see there is ‘something’ in that part of the room, but it’s not clear it’s a desk. LOTS of things to put away from lots of projects…

iStock

I’ve figured out a NICE way to tackle this stuff. I listen to music, write blog posts, then tackle whatever the project is. Work for awhile, get to a good stopping point, take a break and listen and type again. This way I get something good accomplished with some good enjoyment keeping my energy up.

Insider

2022 will be a good year for me to get serious about getting rid of more stuff. Seriously. I hit some roadblocks in 2021 on this, with our library not accepting used books and our wonderful Veterans Thrift Town not accepting donations. I will call both first to see if that has changed and then plan accordingly. If they are not accepting donations, I’ll have to find other organizations to get things to people who might be able to use them. Maybe our churches.

I hope you’re having a happy Saturday, too.

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February 11, 2022 · 12:13 pm

Lovely Surprise

giftsforthemasses.tumblr.com-giphy

I was as happy as this sweet dog today at Lunch Bunch. When I started to open the door to the restaurant, my friend KAY opened the door! (she is the one who fell and broke a bone in her back about 2 months ago now, and has been on quite a ride trying to fix the problem and find a way forward.)

Her husband is watching her like a hawk, making sure she doesn’t lift anything and is doing all of the housework for her, as well. He’s a real keeper. She is very grateful, and yet was understandably glad to be out of the house and with friends. She ordered a couple of individual pizzas to take home so they could eat together.

It was such a celebration to be able to babble at each other, catching up, giving hugs, laughing, etc. My husband was on his best behavior, only becoming ‘deaf’ when Kay was telling us all her husband was doing to help clean the house. :0)

Aside from a truly enjoyable Lunch Bunch, the weather couldn’t be nicer. Sunny and supposed to get almost to 70 this afternoon. What a treat!

I’m making a note to get outside and walk around our yard this afternoon. We’re getting a cold front tomorrow, dropping our temperatures up to 25 degrees (high of 39 tomorrow), with possible winter storm on Wednesday.

I’m still grinning at my friends finally being able to get together. I’m rich in friends.

Enjoy your Friday!

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February 7, 2022 · 10:05 am

Monday 2-7-2022

Animal Humane Society

I am feeling like this sweet dog right now, trying to ‘gird my loins’ for the adventure my husband insists we’re having today, going to the grocery and doing other errands. Our driveway is 650 feet long, STEEP, with gravel, on the north side of our property. Much of the ice, sleet, and snow is gone, except for on our front porch and walk (north side of the house) and our driveway. The top of the driveway looks fine, but not so much half way down.

I’m not worried about getting down. We have snow tires and we’ll get down, one way or another. The street in front of the house is probably fine (except for heavily treed patches where the sun can’t reach.) My worry is getting back UP the driveway when the truck has a bunch of groceries.

To his credit, my husband wanted to go to town two days ago. He didn’t because I went ballistic, reminding him that the reason we planned ahead, stocking up on supplies, was so that we wouldn’t HAVE to negotiate our driveway until it was safe. He thinks I’m a ‘wuss,’ and that we’ll be perfectly safe.

If he’s wrong, we’ll have to abandon our truck in our driveway and then haul the groceries up the steep driveway, making several trips up and back down on foot to get things inside.

I really hope he’s right this time.

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February 6, 2022 · 9:42 am

Thoughts on a Sunday 2-6-2022

flickr.com

We’re having a heat wave – sunny and 32 degrees F. right now! It’s supposed to get to the low 40s this afternoon. We’ll check again this afternoon, but I think our driveway will still look like something used in the Olympics. I’m really hoping my husband doesn’t insist we risk life and limb by trying to go to town anyway, when we have all we need.

Our cat, Abby, should be boasting to all her cat friends how ‘well-trained’ her people are. The driveway detector just went off. Since my husband is trying to take a nap, I leaped up to see what had caused the alarm. I opened the garage door and the cat calmly strolled inside. She didn’t seem impressed that I had acted so quickly, obviously assuming that this is her due… I was chatting with our son online when the alarm went off. He was amazed first that she set off the alarm, and second, that we jumped up to let her in. :0)

boredpanda.com

I am TRYING not to make what we’re eating the focus of our days. Since we’re stuck up here on our ridge line, there is still snow and ice on the ground and it’s COLD (even with the heat wave), I’m doing a lot of listening to music, reading, and watching TV – all sedentary things. Food then becomes ‘entertainment’ more than sustenance – a very bad thing.

I’m making promises to myself to MOVE more once Mother Nature gives us a break.

I hope that you are having a happy Sunday.

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February 4, 2022 · 10:28 am

Snow, Sleet, Ice and Flying Hairballs

Giphy

Our snow has finally stopped, I think. We only have about 3 inches or so of snow and sleet with solid ice underneath. Needless to say, we’ll be staying in until further notice.

To the left of the firewood in this photo is the top of our driveway! What looks like snow here is mainly granular sleet. Even though the sun is shining, our thermometers are only showing 20 degrees, so not much melting happening. What DOES melt will refreeze overnight, so it’ll be some time before we can venture out.

My husband insisted we buy a frozen apple pie the last time we were out. He wanted me to bake it yesterday, so I did. He pronounced it, “Delicious!” and ate two pieces (that I know of) yesterday. It wouldn’t surprise me if he finishes it off today. It’s a very good thing I’m not a baker. Neither of us would be able to get through a doorway if I were. :0)

Our dog, Amber (a large yellow lab) has decided she loves the white stuff on the ground. She slipped and slid around at first, but the last time I saw her, she was running at full speed smiling. I’ll insist she come in and warm up in a few minutes.

Obviously, we aren’t meeting for Lunch Bunch today. I’ll call my friends in a bit to make sure they are all right.

We still have power, and have plenty of food and water, so we’ll enjoy being safe, warm and dry today.

I hope you are, too.

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February 3, 2022 · 11:05 am

World of White

Pinterest

That’s quite an exaggeration, but Arkansas is not known for getting a lot of snow. We DID get .25″ of ice overnight plus about an inch of snow so far over the ice. .25″ is enough to cause significant damage to power lines, tree branches, etc. We still have power so far. We haven’t been out to the driveway to see if we’ll need to hack our way down to the street. We have evergreens along both sides of the driveway that tend to get heavy and hang down, cutting off passage. We’ll see the next time we try to get out, but it won’t be today!

The white stuff is almost completely ICE.
Ice-covered branches

It’s 13 degrees, F. here with a wind chill of -2. A GREAT day to stay inside. I let Amber out this morning. She skidded on the ice on the driveway pad, did her business and came back really quickly. I shut the garage door again to keep the cold wind out of the house as much as possible. We dripped water overnight from the utility room bathroom sink, and from the sink on my husband’s end of the lavatory area in our our master bath. No problems there, thank goodness.

We’re due to get another 3-5 inches of snow today, but it WILL get above freezing tomorrow, so hopefully things will start to thaw.

Cute Stuff.co

After I let Amber back in, I was carrying our frozen dinner in and found Amber with her head in our flip top trash can in the pantry. (This pic gives you an idea) I yelled at her. Her head came up abruptly, with the red flip top stuck on her head! She started to thrash around the pantry, causing havoc. I got her stopped, got he trash lid off her head, and I HIT her with our frozen dinner. It didn’t hurt her, but she seems to have gotten the message that she wasn’t supposed to help herself to whatever was in the trash. (Our dinner seems to have come through fine, too.) This is probably pet abuse, but when you’re dealing with a hard head like Amber, sterner measures must be taken. It took me almost half an hour to gather the trash she had strewn, plus pick up the things she knocked off the pantry shelves as she thrashed around with the trash lid. And all this was right before she KNEW I would feed her!

I’m doing lots of laundry today. I’ll change our sheets soon, too. There is no end to the excitement around here! Actually, I’m toying with the idea of trying to get started on something in my art room this afternoon. That IS exciting to me. I haven’t been up there in quite a while, so it would be fun to play a bit. I’ll think about it. :0)

I hope you are safe, warm, and dry where you are and that you have fun with your day.

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January 30, 2022 · 9:48 am

Thoughts on a Sunday 1-30-2022

rachelnewling.com

I love this drawing.

Good morning!

I’m grateful that we are enjoying sunshine and 40 degrees right now. Just beautiful for this time of year. I’m ‘enjoying-it-double’ because we’re due for a winter storm mid week…

We’ll put up our Snow-Goon mailbox decoration today.

We love Bill Watterson and his Calvin & Hobbes series. “A Snow Goon is a hostile, living snowman. They appeared in a single story arc from 12/31 1990 to 1/19 1991.” We don’t THINK ours is hostile, but you never know…

We’ll get our mail and make a run for supplies to prepare for the mid week coming storm. We never know this time of year when we will be stuck at the top of our driveway. We might be able to get down (one way or another) but we have to wait until our snow tires are able to get us BACK UP our driveway before we venture out. We try to stay stocked up so we have all we need if we get an unwelcome surprise.

Right now it’s so pretty it’s hard to believe we might get snowed in. The sun is shining brightly and it’s already 40 degrees F.! It’s supposed to get into the 50’s today. I’ll take it. :0)

Although my energy level is still not what it should be, I’m feeling ‘fit as a fiddle, otherwise.’ It’s great to be back in the land of the living. I’m keeping fingers crossed that my husband and I won’t pass this back and forth again.

Other than changing the mailbox decoration, getting our mail, and shopping for supplies, I’ll finish the vacuuming of the house so the bug spray guy who is scheduled for tomorrow won’t be appalled. Even this time of year it’s hard to keep up with our dog and cat shedding all over the place.

I hope that you’re safe, dry, and smiling today.

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January 25, 2022 · 9:37 am

Thoughts on a Tuesday 1-25-2022

Bright Side

I’m a bit ticked off by January this year.

I spent the first half of it worrying that my time here was up. As soon as I got the news that I would be here to annoy people for hopefully a good while longer, my husband got sick, and then graciously gave it to me. I’m enough better to be ticked off now, so maybe I’ll feel fine again soon. Today my plans are to make myself into a human sandwich in my recliner – heat pad under me, throw over me, and me comfy and cozy in the middle. My husband will do the errands this morning. He leaves in about 10 minutes, actually. We’ll see how he does. :0)

Our weather has been gorgeous the past few days. I wish I could have gotten out and enjoyed it. Tomorrow evening cold weather is supposed to come back, but hopefully it will just tease us a bit, rather than dumping on us. (Susy, I hope you’re digging out now.)

I had a nice chat with our son this morning. He is buying an apartment and will hopefully get all the details handled by the end of next week. I’m excited for him. He sounds happy and excited – just the way we love for him to be. :0)

Happy Tuesday!

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January 17, 2022 · 9:33 am

New Week

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We had an almost perfect snow Saturday. It didn’t mess up our sidewalks, garage pad, or the streets. It’s pretty in our yard and when my husband went to get our mail yesterday, he said it wasn’t hard to get down our steep driveway, or – more important – get back up again. Since the sun is shining and it’s supposed to get to 50 today, I declare it an almost perfect snow. I’m just hopeful we won’t get more with the forecast cold front this coming Wednesday. I’m really looking forward to my massage scheduled for Thursday…

We enjoyed the beef stew I made last night, along with some garlic bread. We have enough left for three more meals for us when we want it. Our dog, Amber, declared it delicious when she licked the crock pot bowl before it went into the dishwasher. We’ll probably get out later today and replenish supplies, just in case we’re snowed in Wednesday.

The sloth bug took over yesterday, so I thoroughly enjoyed listening to music, reading, and napping yesterday, instead of doing the productive things on my list. They are still there looking at me today, so when we finish shopping and get things put away, so maybe I’ll do better today. :0)

It’s Martin Luther King Day today. I’m hopeful people will think today – and every day – about the good things he said.

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January 16, 2022 · 9:34 am

World of White

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Isn’t this an amazing .gif? I don’t know how these are created, but I’m in awe of the talent and creativity of these smart people.

Our snow has stopped now. We only got about 3 inches, but when you have a 650+ foot STEEP driveway, it’s enough to keep us inside. (At least I HOPE. My husband sometimes considers the snow and danger for us a challenge to prove we CAN get down and up our driveway again.) I don’t know yet if the evergreens along the driveway are drooping down into it, cutting off passage. It’s 24 degrees F., but is supposed to get above freezing this afternoon. Maybe the driveway will start melting. Our driveway pad is clear, and the streets may be clear, but the world is white and pristine as far as we can see right now.

I was a good girl yesterday, balancing checkbooks, paying bills, finishing the bookkeeping for December, filing, and getting the makings of beef stew ready to go into the crock pot for today. I’m PLANNING to clean off my desk and then clean up the kitchen, unless I’m overtaken by the great sloth that flourishes inside me. :0)

I hope you are having a safe and happy Sunday.

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January 15, 2022 · 9:33 am

Dressed in White

Earth Porm

Our forecast for today was “rain changing to snow this afternoon.” They were right, except for the timing. It’s 25 degrees F. and snowing right now! It’s very light, but if you look, you can see the snow falling, dancing in the sudden gusts at times. The weather forecast has now changed from ‘a dusting of snow’ to 1-3 inches accumulation today. My husband and I are very happy we can stay home. :0)

Jon Kabat Zinn – Quotesmuse.com

My exam went well yesterday. We were on the road to the hospital by 6:30 am and I was home around noon. I slept a lot of the afternoon. I will know the results by mid next week, I think.

nytimes.com

I’ll make a beef stew this weekend. I’m grateful for a warm, dry home, good food, husband and animals close to love, surrounded by music, books, and maybe art to enjoy. I’m a very spoiled woman.

I hope you’re having a happy Saturday. Stay safe and warm!

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January 3, 2022 · 9:34 am

Thoughts on a Monday 1-3-2022

Tanja Brandt-reddit.com

I’m feeling a bit frazzled this morning – not sure why.

Our son left us a URL to a video featuring Peter Green. He was playing a really soulful guitar and singing, “Fool No More.” I don’t remember ever hearing him before. I think he’s amazing.

Our day is pretty today – lots of sunshine and plenty of cold temperatures. It’s 24 right now. I haven’t switched gears to having winter yet. When we’re home and relaxing in our recliners, I’ve turned on my heat pad to warm my bones. :0) We have several errands to run, and a pretty day to run them in.

We have no evidence yet of more raccoons, but I don’t think we have EVER had just one…

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On my list of ‘things-to-do” today is exercise. I will do my yoga stretches this afternoon and see if I can actually build a habit this time.

Have a nice Monday.

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January 2, 2022 · 11:02 am

Thoughts on a Sunday 1-2-2022

Unknown

Good morning! I hope 2022 will be a great year for you!

Although my husband scoffs, the weather people were absolutely right about what the weather would do yesterday. Temperatures fell all during the day and it was 17 degrees F. this morning. We didn’t get any snow flurries yet, but I don’t think you’ll hear any complaints. It is COLD and gray outside, with some stiff breezes.

I got the ingredients for beef stew into the crock pot first thing this morning, so we’ll have a nice comfort meal this evening. I also got a comfort gift – having a chat with our son. He’s in Thailand and has almost forgotten how cold it can get in Arkansas. He considers wearing a hoodie and shoes other than sandals “cold” there. :0) He fondly remembered my fixing beef stew in the crock pot while he was growing up. Although crock pots aren’t big in Thailand, he’s thinking about trying to order one online so he can fix his own stew. It was a wonderful way to start the morning, talking with him before he goes to sleep. (He’s 13 hours ahead of us this time of year.)

This is a great day to have a warm, dry home. My heart goes out to the people in Colorado who are now suffering through such awful devastation of hurricane force winds driving wildfire. I hope help comes soon.

I’ve become a slug. I’m not exercising as I should. I’m trying to “get back on the horse” exercising three times per week and see if I can actually keep that going. It is said that you can build a habit in three weeks. I guess it takes longer for me. I’m not really kicking myself, having learned that that isn’t productive, but I HAVE written it on my calendar, and hoping to check it off. Fingers crossed and trying to build determination. I’ve also gotten back into cronometer.com an online program for tracking your food, drink, and exercise. Things CREEP in insidiously. You THINK you’re only fudging a bit, and one bit is added here and then there, and…. OUCH. As my friend Maria encouraged me to do, I’m breaking my goal into “doable chunks ” and I plan to reward myself with stars, time to play in my art room, etc. to encourage success.

I hope you have a warm, quiet Sunday, doing something that brings a big smile to your face.

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December 30, 2021 · 9:24 am

Thoughts on a Thursday 12-30-2021

Behance

It looks much like this beautiful photo outside our house this morning. We did our errands in the rain yesterday and cooler air is coming in today, changing us from summer to fall to winter in a matter of days. We may actually see some snow Saturday and Sunday.

My sweet friend Kay might finally be getting some help since her fall recently. She has a broken bone in her back and she may be covered for a procedure to fix it, finally getting some relief for her pain. This has been a frustrating situation, but hopefully is finally being resolved. We have all been doing what we can to help, but pain coupled with healthcare providers dropping the ball have thwarted our efforts at every turn. Fingers crossed.

You may be shocked to learn that I did NOT win the lottery last night. I only buy a ticket when the pot is over $400 million, and always enjoy at least an afternoon of hope, imagining all the nice things I would like to do if I ever DO win…. They announced the winning numbers, but didn’t say if they had sold the winning ticket to anyone.

This is a VERY nice day to ignore the ‘shoulds’ on my list and simply enjoy. I hope YOU are enjoying this kind of day, too.

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December 29, 2021 · 9:31 am

Roller Coaster?

Animal Skin and Allergy Clinic

We’ve been having record warm weather lately, with lots of sunshine and summery temperatures. It was 78 degrees F. A few days ago.

BeChewy

Now we’re enjoying fall-like weather, with sunshine and rain, cooler temperatures, lots of gusty winds, and leaves everywhere.

BabaMail

The forecast is for continued rain followed by cooler temperatures and a distinct chance of SNOW Sunday!

Leave it to Arkansas to provide three seasons in one week. I have my seat belt fastened and will try to enjoy the ride.

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December 27, 2021 · 9:39 am

Thoughts on a Monday 12-27-2021

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My newest paperback in the J.D. Robb/Nora Roberts “In Death” series is on its way to me today! I’m re-reading the previous books so I’ll have them all fresh in my mind before I dive into the newest one, “Forgotten in Death.”

justforbooks.tumblr.com

Each of these books stands alone, and I’m really impressed by how little repetition there is from one book to another. I enjoy revisiting the crimes, but my favorite part of this series is the building up of friendships, the sharing of their lives and their interaction with each other. And especially the wonderful relationship of the main character, Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her love, Roarke.

My husband and I will change our mailbox decoration today to our celebration of another Happy New Year.

I’m finding it hard to believe that December is almost gone. AND 2021. May 2022 be a wonderful year for all of us.

Our weather is still absolutely amazing for December here in Arkansas. I noticed that we had the first day of winter on the 21st. Sometimes we have already had some snow by now. Our grass is green again. My husband refuses to mow in December and I can’t blame him. I’m still trying to get my body moving to get our planters in reasonable shape before we have a cold weather snap and it’s too cold to get out there. I’m TRYING to get one planter done each day, but so far, my INTENTIONS are speaking much louder than my actions.

I visited my friend Kay again yesterday. She is still in pain from her recent fall. She did find a rib support that seems to be helping her. I hate seeing her hurting. We all feel helpless to do anything but show we care.

Enjoy the last week in December!

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December 17, 2021 · 3:42 pm

I’m Not Old…

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Things happen – and more changes in a second than you can believe. Since I’m becoming an heirloom, more happens to the people I love, too.

My friend’s MRI is Monday, where they see how much damage she had from her recent fall. (Nothing broken, thank goodness.) A family member went from the ER to the hospital last night due to trouble breathing. She’s not in pain, thank goodness, but having trouble breathing is scary. My own next test/procedure is the middle of next month. A lot will depend on the results. Another friend texted me to tell me that she and her mom wouldn’t be at Lunch Bunch today. (she was going to a funeral and her mom wasn’t comfortable driving in the rain.) I’ll see what they think of having our Christmas gift exchange next THURSDAY. Fingers crossed.

We repaired a CB Radio antenna wire that the hugely gusty winds we had had snapped off. It runs between our well house and the main house and was hanging down in the yard. So, of COURSE my husband grabbed our tall ladder and wanted to climb to the top of the well house to try to fix it. I helped the best I could, running to the house to get parts, tools, and scrambling up and down the ladder to hand them to him. We got it repaired and back up again. No injuries.

This was topped off by our dog, Amber, coming back covered in ‘that-that-is-not-to-be-named,” and we had to finish off the afternoon by giving her a cold bath in the back yard, something that really got our attention.

Christmas cards feel like hugs. We’ve started hearing from friends and relatives we wish we could see more often. We sent out ours last week, and hope they feel OUR hugs, as well.

I’ll be really glad when Mother Nature decides which season we’re having. We MAY get another 3 inches of rain between now and tomorrow morning. Severe weather chances are low, though, and I’m really grateful for that.

I’m trying to immerse myself in my book and in listening to YouTube videos to keep any bad thoughts in the back part of my mind, happy that we are snug-as-a-bug-in-a-rug here. :0)

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December 15, 2021 · 10:00 am

And Speaking of Gates…

diabetes.co.uk

Our weather is yo-yo-ing, not sure whether we’re still in the fall or at the beginning of winter. Storms are due this evening into tomorrow, with record high temperatures here today and a cold front coming though. Mother Nature is really in a snit lately. We will hopefully have a quiet day with a very wet evening. Right now it’s really beautiful outside. I’ll try to get out to play today.

One of my dear friends from Lunch Bunch fell last week. Our medical community is giving her the run-around on giving her some real help. She needs an MRI to find the extent of the damage, but it isn’t scheduled until NEXT Monday. Meanwhile, she’s in pain and can’t keep pain medicine down. Her husband took her to Ft. Smith yesterday to see if they could get some help. I will call her later to find out if they were successful. I want to FIX her, help her to quit hurting, help her to feel sassy again.

CFQ.com

I’m now waiting to schedule another health test. My ‘adult’ side peaks her head out, mainly during the day. At night, I’m at the inner child’s mercy. I came down in the middle of the night and read for about an hour to chase away scary and dark thoughts. Happily, during the daytime, I’m MUCH better able to find joy.

I had a nice chat with our son this morning, who lives and works in Thailand. We are so lucky to be so close to him, even though we’re physically across the world from each other. We can talk about anything, help each other handle what life gives us, encourage each other, even giving virtual hugs.

I hope that you’re having a good Wednesday.

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