I’m sending hope and good wishes to Florida, hoping that Milton isn’t as bad as forecast. I’m hoping that the responders on the ground can act quickly to help people affected. The two people I know are not in the mandatory evacuation areas, so I’m hoping they’ll be safe.
We have lots of errands this morning, but should be home by lunch time.
The APRN who saw my husband and me at the doc’s office yesterday was pleased with my weight loss efforts. She wants me to drink a protein shake daily, start a new medication and return in three months. Hopefully this combo of losing more weight, the shakes, and the med will result in good improvement in January.
At lunch we discovered our TV channels weren’t coming up. The problem turned out to be a system-wide problem that the TV provider was having, rather than us, particularly. He didn’t know when it would be fixed, so we enjoyed a movie from our collection last night.
It seems impossible that this is a ‘drawing’ of a pet, doesn’t it?
It’s actually a bit cool here this morning at 57 degrees F. The sun is shining brightly and the high is supposed to be 82. Just a perfect day. We are so lucky.
Women’s Health
Shout-out to two friends in the path of Hurricane Milton – Marsha and Jeff. I have all appendages crossed that both come through the next few days well with very little, if any, damage. They are not in evacuation zones.
American Heart Association
My husband and I have routine doctor appointments today. Hopefully, we’ll be cleared to live our lives the best we can for the next 6 months before having to go back again. We are actually seeing an APRN (Advanced Practice Registered Nurse) today, rather than our regular primary doctor. Our sweet doctor broke her shoulder in a snow mobile accident on vacation with her husband. She had surgery, but it didn’t do the job. So now she has had to undergo a 2nd surgery. I really hope this time her pain goes away and that she gains full range of motion with physical therapy. I’ll get an update, I hope, at our appointment today.
I’m hoping that eventually my weight loss will result in good blood test numbers. If we get to wait 6 months before seeing our primary again, I can be much closer – if not AT – my goal weight. One can hope. At least there will be less of me. :0)
We are lucky to have a frozen meal company called, “Stu’s Clean Cookin'” in Greenwood. It is owned and run by veterans, a fact we like a lot. Not only is their food good, but I was able to get online and look through their offerings, each with a complete nutritional run-down on the meal. I was able to find several that were low sugar for my husband and several low carb for me. I showed the low sugar listings to my husband and he chose the ones he wanted. The store also offers $12.00 savings if you buy 12 meals, so we did that. We’ll each enjoy one of our choices this evening.
I’m hoping to finish two wood-burned pieces today. I’m also getting excited about hand-painting a package or two of stationery and/or note cards. It’s fun to be able to spend time in my art room, concentrating on colors, shapes and texture.
A beautiful morning here in Arkansas. We have doors open to the breezes and a/c off. Woo HOOOO!
Cleveland.com
We’ve had a lot of deer in the area lately. We were coming home from errands a couple of days ago and FOUR deer were suddenly crossing the road in front of us. My husband managed to slow down enough to miss all of them, including the baby, who was lagging behind and might have been hit. We’ve also seen them toward the bottom of our driveway. They are always crossing over the driveway, on the way somewhere else. :0)
The Courier-Journal
We were going to watch the Dallas Cowboys vs the Pittsburgh Steelers football game last night, but gave up because of the hugely long weather delay. I read this morning that they STARTED the game after a 90-minute delay. We’re not die-hard fans of anyone, so too much for us.
I will be super-aware of my husband today. He’s in a mood to do a bunch of stuff. I heard the driveway alarm and got up to see if anyone was there. When I came back, he was upset he couldn’t find me. He wanted me to check my phone for a code he needed from our investment brokers. I gave it to him and then asked why he didn’t have them send the code to HIS phone. He said he couldn’t remember how to do that.
NOW he was gathering some tools in the office. I asked him what he was planning to do. He said, ‘surge protector for electrical system.’ I asked him if this was a big deal – and he said, “kinda.” I asked him to get me if I could help. He left, mumbling. I’ll check on him in a bit. As so many of our days around here go…
I was a good girl yesterday, doing 4 of the ‘drumming’ videos with my 3-pound weights and then half an hour or so of yoga stretches. I’m really trying to work those in every day, but actual results vary…
These are the latest wood-burned and painted efforts from my art room, just listed on my Etsy site. I’m planning to play up there again today, with maybe starting a package of painted stationery.
We don’t have any other scheduled plans today, other than watching the KC Chiefs play tonight. They play right when we usually eat dinner, so I’ll fix something quick and easy.
Our weather is going to cool off starting overnight tonight. I’m happy to be finally embracing the look and feel of Fall.
I wish you a happy, productive, or restful day – one that brings a smile.
Ours should be quiet – always a good thing around here. We have no errands, other than driving down to get the mail at some point. Our weather is nice, and is supposed to be getting nicer on Monday, with cooler temperatures and no rain.
I had an extremely pleasant chat with our son yesterday. We use a site called, “Slack.” It’s wonderful that I can pretend he’s close, even though he’s across the world from us. It’s such a luxury to be able to leave pics and messages and know that he’ll see and respond very quickly. Yesterday we ‘typed’ to each other in real time, so we got to catch up on several things.
Indian Hills Signs – Vince, the Sign Guy
Happily, I lost a bit more of my lard this morning. I’m now down 42.4 pounds from my heaviest. I’ve found a combination that is working for me, resulting in slow, steady loss. I’m getting used to not snacking (I was particularly bad after dinner) and am drinking a glass of water if my stomach thinks my throat has been cut. I still have to push myself to exercise, but I actually feel better if I do…
Play Street Museum
I’m playing almost daily in my art room and feeling much happier as a result. I can concentrate on my latest project, getting lost in trying to create something. That makes me sleep a bit better, so it’s a win/win.
Freepik
Getting old is the pits, but it helps when you stay busy, doing things that make you smile. I’m lucky to have lots of hobbies. Before I know it, another day has whizzed past my head. :0)
We are home now from blood tests, breakfast at The Dari, a quick stop at Harps for groceries, and a stop to pick up our mail.
We were impressed with the new Greenwood clinic – all bright and shiny, large, and spacious. There are TWO check-in places now, more doctors, more staff, more space. Of course, we parked the farthest from where we needed to go, but that’s just the way things go for us. :0)
I got the best blood test stick I’ve ever had. I praised the lady profusely, telling her AFTERWARD that I used to have nightmares before a blood test and that people had trouble taking my blood because of rolling veins, not being able to find a good vein, etc. The BAND she tied around my arm hurt more than the stick! Amazing. We were in and out quickly.
We had a delicious, though expensive, breakfast at The Dari afterward. I love being able to eat out AND stay on my low carb eating plan. My husband enjoys being able to have hashbrowns as a part of his breakfast, so both of us were sitting there and grinning throughout.
We’re home for the day now. The doors are open, letting in a nice breeze. It’s 75 now and we’re due for a high of 84. The humidity isn’t bad, so we MAY be able to get through the afternoon without a/c. NICE! My husband is taking a nap in his recliner and I’m catching up on computer stuff.
We’re having “fall” in the mornings and evenings and “summer” in the afternoons here. We open our front and back doors to catch terrific breezes in the mornings, close up and turn on the a/c in the afternoons, and then open up again in the evenings. Keeps us a bit busy, but I’m enjoying it.
This is my newest wood-burned and painted piece. I’ll list it on Etsy today. I’m really enjoying spending time in my art room almost every day or evening lately. All problems fade away for a while as I concentrate on what designs to try, what size wood to use, what tips to use on the wood burning tool to use, what colors to use, and more. I feel my happiness simply bubbling up.
LaSante Health Center
I’ll be late writing tomorrow. We are going for blood work at our new clinic first thing in the morning. After we have blood work, we enjoy a really nice breakfast at The Dari in Greenwood before coming home.
Unsplash
I learned a new thing from trying a new recipe for a tuna casserole last night. The one I tried was good, but seemed like a lot of work and a lot of mess to clean up. I DID learn, though, a way to tackle making casseroles that makes the carb count good and results in something that tastes good. I can substitute mushrooms, celery and onions for the pasta, and cream cheese for the canned creamed soups I used to use. Now I feel that I can experiment, using that knowledge as a base, then adding whatever poultry, meat or fish to it, plus maybe broccoli as an added goodie. :0)
Poshmark
I found a really old MP3 player last night. I was looking for something ELSE and felt like I had discovered a treasure when I found it. Happily, it still played, even though I hadn’t charged it in forever. I sat in my recliner while my husband watched some wretched excuse for a movie, in my own little world enjoying songs and artists I hadn’t heard for a long, long time. This morning I’m trying to find a cord and charger for it so I can give it more life. :0)
Getting older is sometimes the pits. Right now my husband is finding more and more things he has trouble doing, and he’s getting down about it.
Yesterday we went grocery shopping. When we got everything put away, he suddenly decided he wanted to change out our mailbox decoration. We went to the shop, chose something (I can’t remember which one now) and drove back down to the mailbox at the bottom of the driveway. The one we had on there was large and heavy. We put it in the truck, attached the new one to the mailbox pole and came back up to store the one we had taken down. My husband had trouble lifting it up to hang on the hanger for it. He finally got it, but then said, as we walked back to the house, that we were going to have to quit displaying the larger decorations.
I again suggested that we construct another ‘holder’ for the decorations, one on the shop floor with slots for the decorations that we could slide in and out, rather than try to hang them from hooks overhead. He isn’t ready to consider that.
Canadiancor.com
I’m trying to talk to him when he seems amenable, discussing ways I’M having to adapt how I do things because I’m not as strong as I used to be, or as agile, have as much stamina, etc., trying to help him accept that we have new limitations. Sometimes he seems to be listening and considering. Other times, he’s just as ornery as ever.
I hope it’s beautiful where you are and that you have a wonderful day.
I hope that October will be a good month for all of us. I’m happy that the summer ‘intense heat warnings’ seem to finally be gone for the year. Since I’m “mature” (synonym for ‘older-than-dirt’) and carrying more than enough weight for my height (which is shrinking) I FEEL even what is considered normal for the summer. So the warnings we’ve had much of the summer kill most of the joy I have about trying to work in the yard. I did all I could about trying to work in the cooler parts of the day, but even that and a sweat band and keeping sessions short wasn’t much help. I’m glad to put that behind us for a while. :0)
I finished several things in my art room yesterday. I’m listing two custom Christmas cards I’m offering for 2024 plus 4 small signs I wood-burned and accented with pastel paint. I’ve started a new larger piece now and am having great fun with the challenge.
I’m going to try now to spend a bit of time each day cutting stuff down outside. Our lawn is staying under good control, both with the grass and the trimming around it. Our flower planters seem to be holding their own, not sprouting a bunch of weeds yet, so I can turn my attention to the fact that since we live in the woods, nature is always trying to ‘return to normal.’ That means the land trying to regrow, fill in, and grow over the top of us, returning the land to what it was before we ‘landed’ and built 37 years ago. I’ll take the big pruning shears out and just do what I can for a short time each day and see what good I can do.
I think I told you that the innards of one of our toilets gave up the ghost recently. We ordered a replacement kit, but my husband said he just wasn’t strong enough to install it in the Kohler toilet we have. (They have a really weird set of innards and require that one part be pressed into the side of the tank and then turned 45 degrees.) I called our plumber. His partner came yesterday. HE had trouble with it, too, and he’s young and strong and experienced. He got it installed, though, and so the toilet is good now. We agreed that the person who designed the innards should be shot. :0)
Good morning! We’re into a ‘throw-the-doors-open-and-enjoy-the-breezes’ time each morning and closing up and turning on the a/c around lunch time. I’ll take it.
I had fun in the art room yesterday. I’m hoping to get up there again today, but house stuff is taking priority – exciting stuff like laundry, changing the sheets, gathering trash, cleaning, etc. Though, I vacuumed the first floor tiles yesterday and there were ALREADY three tufts of Amber hair wafting around this morning. Makes me wonder why I bother at ALL. That dog should be absolutely bald.
Update to the first paragraph – I was writing this blog post and my husband is across the office from me, working on a computer program. We both jumped about 3 feet straight up into the air when Amber started fierce barking at the front screen door. She obviously smelled something and her hair was standing straight up on her back. I made her go to her place on her bed in the living room, but it took both of us a while before our hearts beat normally again and we were able to concentrate.
All was good until BARK! BARK! BARK! BARK! BARK!!!! – giving our hearts another big jolt. I have now closed the front door after making Amber get back in her place. Hopefully, this will be the end of it… I’m wondering – do jolts like this count as cardio exercise?
These are the newest wood-burned and hand-painted ornaments. All can be personalized with a first name and the year on the back. Some are one layer, others are two layers. All are one-of-a-kind. Available on HandmadeHavenByLinda on Etsy.
I’m also working on two custom Christmas cards and two wood-burned signs. I just love being able to spend time in my art room lately. My husband’s efforts lately have been working on a computer program, rather than death-defying projects, so I’m very, very grateful.
He slept in this morning. When I tried to make coffee, the pot didn’t do anything. I checked it over a couple of times, but it just wasn’t doing anything. I finally searched and found an old Mr. Coffee in the pantry and ran it, so we didn’t have to do without today. When he got up, he checked the coffee system and declared it dead, so I don’t feel stupid, just disappointed in the newer pot.
It’s a gorgeous day here today. I feel guilty because so many people have been devastated by Helene, flooded and without power and more, while all I have to grouse about is a non-working coffee pot. Donation seems such a small thing to do, but I’m doing what I can to help.
My husband got antsy last night and decided that we should do our grocery shopping and miss the Sunday crowds. It was about dinner time, so it was kind of an odd time to be going out to do errands. The weather was lovely, though, and we enjoyed taking Amber with us in the truck and opening the windows to the wonderful breeze.
We watched the Alabama vs Georgia football game last night. We gave up when Alabama was ahead 24-0. It turns out we gave up too soon. Georgia came to life, tied the game, and Alabama scored once more at the last minute to pull out a win. Sorry we missed a really good game.
I gained weight-retained water – swallowed a bowling ball – or SOMETHING overnight, so my weight is up a pound this morning. I’m just gritting my teeth and will keep on keepin’ on, working toward my interim weight loss goal. My ‘maturity’ is making this a real character-building exercise, aided and abetted by my husband, who has been crunching on potato chips lately. If there were fairness in the world, just the fact that I resisted that temptation should allow me to finally reach this goal. It will really feel good when I reach this one and can officially set the next one.
TC Drumming for Seniors
I’m really enjoying this exercise. There is a whole list of short videos with these ladies and others drumming and exercising to music. Since I don’t have an exercise ball, the tub, or drumsticks, I’m just keeping up with them as best I can holding 3 pound weights. Yesterday I did the warm up plus 4 more videos, giving myself a pretty good workout. I also did my yoga stretching later in the day.
Teachstone
I played in my art room yesterday afternoon and some more in the evening, finishing several individual Christmas ornaments, working on a custom Christmas card for 2024 to offer in sets of 6, and started two more signs. It feels good to escape and play.
While back my husband and I changed out most of the transformers in our fluorescent light fixtures, being forced to change to the new LED lightbulbs. We finally got that done, leaving only a few much-less used fixtures and the leftover old-style bulbs. One group of those was over our entertainment center. My husband changed those out while I was having my massage Thursday morning. Since it involved balancing on a ladder, I was relieved he was still in one piece when I got home. The other one that needed new bulbs was in my closet. The light has been super dim for months now, but I just didn’t want him trying to change out the bulbs, since he kept getting so frustrated and tired, holding his arms up in the air and fighting to get the bulbs in and working. Yesterday the two of us tackled that and got the new old-style bulbs in without too much hassle. The last ones lasted over 30 years, so I think that problem is ‘fixed’ now. :0)
I’m relieved that my friends and relatives made it through Helene just fine. I feel so sorry for the loss of life, the devastation, and the aftermath of the storm.
My talented, caring massage therapist, Lynn Moody 479-629-7501, found all my sore and stiff parts and healed me, at least for the rest of the day. Ahhhhhh! After Lynn made me feel loose as a goose and happy, I went to visit my dear friend, Linda, who lives at the retirement place where Lynn’s business is now.
(Kay on the left and Linda on the right at Linda’s retirement center.)
Linda has been a long-time friend here in Arkansas. I really believe she is one of the sweetest people I’ve ever known. Her memory is mainly in the moment now. She recognized me, but didn’t remember that SHE was due for a massage at 1pm. Thankfully, Lynn comes and gets her so that she doesn’t miss out. She said she hasn’t seen or heard from Kay and Bud, our other Lunch Bunch core people, either. I saw our Lunch Bunch waitress at Walmart recently, and she said that she didn’t think Kay recognized her the last time they were in the restaurant. It’s sad when times change, but I’m thankful to have so many wonderful memories.
I dragged the trash can up to its spot and got the mail when I came home, then fixed lunch. When my belly was full and I was comfortable in my chair, I stretched out and enjoyed a long nap. I cooked dinner, but that was really the only other thing I did. I’m a GOOD sloth.
Today my husband and I will try to get the fluorescent bulbs in my closet changed out. The ones I have have been dim for quite awhile, so it will be good if we can do this.
Otherwise, I’ll do my exercises like a good girl today – the ‘fit sticks’ videos (warm up plus at least two more) today plus my yoga. My eating plan and exercise are finally yielding good results. I’m less than a pound away from an interim goal now. Maybe I’ll reach it tomorrow.
Fun At Home With Kids
I plan to spend time in my art room today. I have some things almost finished and a couple of things ready to start. :0)
We may get gusty winds and some rain this afternoon and evening. So far, my friend in Florida is safe, and my SIL outside of Charlotte in North Carolina, are safe from Hurricane Helene. I’ll be keeping up with news from this today.
I have a massage this morning. I’m really looking forward to Lynn Moody’s healing hands, finding and easing all of my sore or stiff parts. I’ll also try to visit with my friend, Linda, while I’m at the retirement place. My husband forgot to get the trash can when he drove down to get the mail yesterday, so I’ll do that when I get home.
Yesterday I did the ‘Fit Sticks’ warm-up video plus two more in the series. Each series of exercises features a small group of women using drum sticks on elevated exercise balls, moving to the beat of a nice song. Since I don’t have an exercise ball, I just moved with them, doing basically the same moves, holding 3-pound weights. By the end of the third video, I was tired and didn’t want to overdo, so stopped. I plan to do them again today. It was fun. I followed that up with my yoga, so the weights and the stretching seems like a good combination.
lolagain.org
I’m seeing good results (for me) on the scales lately, getting closer to my interim goal. I’m hopeful I’m on the right track for this to continue.
I finished this set of 4 wooden painted Christmas ornaments yesterday.
This is the back, waiting for personalization before I spray them for protection.
I’m having a lot of fun in my art room, working on various things. It’s good to have some time to myself, doing something fun and challenging.
We bombed out on putting a new innards kit in the toilet tank yesterday. My husband isn’t strong enough to get the new part ‘stuffed’ into the inner front of the tank. I’ve called our plumber, asking him to put us on his list for whenever he can work us in.
Our project for this afternoon is changing out some fluorescents over the entertainment center in the living room today.
People in the path of Hurricane Helene are in my thoughts today. I hope everyone comes through this safely.
Good morning! It rained overnight here. It’s still wet, cool (63 degrees F.), and quite foggy right now. I’m really enjoying the change.
Mii Creative
I’m happy to be enjoying lots of time in my art room. The ornaments I’m working on require lots of steps with drying time in-between, so I dash up there, do the next step, then come down again to do something else until things are ready for me again. I’m going up and down several times a day – a good thing for my ‘moving more’ goal. :0)
I should have ornaments to show you soon, and the ideas for more wood-burned and/or painted earrings are flying around in my head, as well as some ideas for another wood-burned sign. It’s so much fun!
City of the Colony TX – Cardio Drumming Warm-Up
My SIL told me about a class she attends at the retirement community where she lives now. She suggested I look up, “Cardio Drumming – TC Seniors” to give me an idea of what her class was doing. I was intrigued, and decided that I would try to follow along with the first video, but using my weights instead of the drumsticks the ladies are using. It’s all a part of looking for fun ways to move more and should be fun – at least once – as long as they don’t get too rambunctious…
We’ll go down and get our mail and see if our trash can is full of water from the rain. We need to drag it back up to its spot beside the driveway. No other errands I know of. We may get the Kohler toilet innards delivered today. If so, we’ll tackle putting the new kit in today.
It turned out yesterday that we did NOT have a new innards kit for the cat’s bathroom toilet that was running intermittently. We spent a long time getting it out, then made a trip to ACE Hardware. They only had the standard innards kit, so we came home empty-handed.
My husband was able to order the Kohler kits we needed on the net. I had him order TWO of them, since the other first floor toilet is the same brand, so we will have a kit on hand if the other toilet goes on strike. We already have the standard kits for upstairs, if needed.
I had a good time in my art room yesterday. I’m wood-burning and painting wood slices for Christmas ornaments, plus making layered wood ornaments, 4-ornament sets, etc. I have an idea for a custom Christmas card design and more wood-burned earrings. Needless to say, my dreams are full of rambling ideas!
It’s cloudy and 67 right now, a beautiful change we are embracing with front and back doors open, enjoying a quiet breeze through the house.
I lost pound #37! I’m beginning to believe that my interim goal of 40 is within reach.
I’m planning to cook a new low-carb chicken recipe this evening. If it turns out well, I’ll tell you about it and give you a URL to the recipe.
It’s dark and rainy-looking outside with a high of 79 forecast. We’ll be dodging rain as we try to put the trash out at the bottom of our driveway later and get our mail. I’m greeting this with joy. I’ve had more than my fill of summer. Our doors are open and we’re enjoying a cool breeze running through the house. :0)
Our character-building activity for the day is changing out the innards of the cat’s bathroom toilet, which is running intermittently. My husband says we already have the kit for that, so I’m hoping it will be an easy change-out.
Sesame Workshop
I had a great time yesterday working in my art room on wooden Christmas ornaments. Some are two layers glued together. Others are wood slices. I should be able to finish up the painting on most of them today.
Women’s HealthExercises – Stomach – YouTube.comThe Indian Express
I’m trying to space out my weights video, stomach exercises video, and yoga practice so that I can get them all in before I’m pooped for the day. It’s an ongoing challenge, but one that is worth doing. So far I’ve been able to do one of the videos and the yoga, but I really would like to get all three in. Maybe today.
May this be the beginning of a great week for all of us.
We’re due for another ‘intense heat advisory’ today before we finally have a cold front overnight and tomorrow hopefully breaking the back of the summer. I’ve BEEN ready for fall, so I’m delighted to welcome it with open arms. Happy Fall!!!
Raised Good
I have several wood-burned Christmas ornaments ready to paint. I started on it a bit last night and look forward to playing in my art room today.
I had HOPED that any delivery people would interrupt my exercise efforts, but no luck. We received the dog bed covers I ordered from SlimDogBed on Etsy! I was able to strip off and get ready to throw away the completely worn out covers and replace them with nice, new, colorful, sturdy denim ones.
This is the smaller one in the office.One of the two larger ones – this one in the living room.And the other larger one in the utility room
Amber is all fixed up now, if Monster Cat will allow her to use them. :0)
We’re also looking forward to this evening, watching the Kansas City Chiefs vs the Atlanta Falcons game. We’ll enjoy hot dogs while we watch. (My husband will have regular hot dog buns. I’ll have Mission Net Zero Carb tortillas instead of the buns – and he’ll have potato chips while I have cut up ripe tomatoes from our garden.)
I’m more than ready for Monday’s reprieve from the slam-you-in-the-face hot weather we’re still having. Mother Nature is laughing and thumbing her nose at the calendar saying that tomorrow is the first official day of Autumn, and around here, she wins. When I let Amber in yesterday afternoon, the heat took my breath away!
I received the mug I ordered yesterday from the CaDoKoShop on Etsy. I know it shows my age, and a lot of people aren’t old enough to even recognize the card catalogue or know its purpose, but I love it. I’m using it now as I type. :0)
Today I have a haircut. Usually I go by myself, but my husband wants to go today. We’ll get our mail as we go out, and then we’ll hit the Harps (local grocery store) after Michael is finished trying to make me look civilized. That’s it for errands for the day.
At home, I’m doing laundry, paying bills, and figuring out dinner after we fix lunch. I MAY get the 3-D gold paint I ordered, plus the new dog beds today. :0)
The wood slices I got for my wood-burned Christmas ornaments are a challenge. The much-less-processed wood acts differently than the wood I’ve been using. Some of the tips essentially don’t work at all with the slices. I’m having fun figuring out new techniques and choosing tips.
With the official first day of fall this Sunday, we in Arkansas are again under an “Intense Heat Alert” for 106 from noon until 8pm tonight. It does look like this might be the last gasp of the really hot stuff, though. A “cold front” is due Monday. One can hope.
Clean PNG
I was a good girl yesterday, doing my exercise with weights video early. I then started the new standing stomach exercises video and was a little over halfway through, huffing and puffing a bit, when the driveway detector went off. It was a Fedex delivery. I thanked the guy profusely for giving me a valid interruption from my exercising. He laughed. I never did get back to the video, but I DID do my yoga stretches later.
Current Library
I just saw a piece from our local news that the work on the new Scott-Sebastian County Public Library has begun. The current one is in a building built in 1965 and is nestled in the middle of the main part of Greenwood. Since the library is meant to also serve other counties besides our South Sebastian County, they are building a new, twice-as-large building at the intersection of Highway 71 South and Highway 10 (the main thoroughfare through Greenwood.) The new building is supposed to be finished in mid 2025.
New Library to be built
With the library being ‘moved,’ in the near future and our medical clinic having already been closed and a new one built, my husband and I are feeling a bit shell-shocked.
Medical Clinic – Old – Now Closed
Both new buildings are all the way across town from us (the new facilities are on the far West side of Greenwood and we’re on the far East side). These won’t be as convenient for us personally, but it’s exciting that both will be larger and better for the communities they serve. We will see the new medical clinic when we go for blood work for our routine doctor appointment around the first of next month.
Medical Clinic – New – Just Opened This MonthPBS
I’m pleased to tell you that even though I look like a dandelion-gone-to-seed right now, I will be “healed” tomorrow by Michael – the Miracle Worker – at Tangles Hair Studio in Greenwood. When he finishes with me I will again look like someone had a plan, for which I am truly grateful.
No particular plans for today. I can play on the computer and play in my art room, shielded from the obscenely hot day, happy in my own little world. Ahhhh! I hope you enjoy YOUR day, too.
Yesterday started out with errands. I took my Kindle so that I could read while I waited for my husband to get his hair cut. When I opened it, it said I didn’t have connection to the Internet. I tried several things, but no dice. Finally, I gave up.
When we got home and put things away, it was already time for lunch. We ate and then we attacked my Kindle again. I looked for help on the net, but unless I could get a network and enter my password, the ‘help’ was none.
Finally, we sat side by side, comparing settings. His ‘admin’ was ‘on.’ Mine was locked. When I unlocked it, it wanted the password to my network. I put in the one my husband had found and I was back in business.
I’m in a constant fight with technical stuff lately. It makes me want to just shut most of it off and just sleep in my recliner. I know. Great, positive reaction to what is probably a character-building exercise. :0)
The good part of the day was I tried a new recipe from a new person I found on the net. Her name is Kasey Tenum and the recipe was “Keto Monterey Chicken.” My husband and I agreed that the flavor was really good, but that it was a bit hard to eat. The next time I try it, I’ll follow the directions more closely. I’ll slice the chicken breasts to make four thin breasts. I’ll cut the bacon up into bite-sized bits. I’ll try to pile up the ingredients ON the breasts so that we have four meal-sized servings, rather than ingredients kind of stuck together in the skillet. This recipe is definitely a keeper. I’ll start researching some of her other recipes, too. Here is her website.
I was a slug yesterday. Today I plan to try the video with the standing stomach exercises, since my legs aren’t screaming. I’ll also do a weights video from Mike, my Australian senior exercise expert. I’ll finish it off with my regular yoga stretching session.
Since we don’t have to go anywhere today, I should also have time to get up to my art room. I’m working on two sets of 4 Christmas ornaments, and then an ornament from a wood slice.
I’ll have to wait on most of my blog posts because we need to leave to run errands soon.
Monster Cat has taken up residence this morning on the table beside my computer to ‘help’ me write blog posts. She was driving me nuts a second ago rummaging around the feet of my chair. That’s a problem because my chair is on wheels and I really don’t want to run over her little feet. I stopped and very carefully moved the chair – to find one of her little catnip mice. I threw it in the middle of the room and she immediately ran and pounced on it. With her ‘help,’ I MIGHT get THIS post finished before we need to leave.
My second ‘helper’ is Amber. She is trying to guilt me into letting her out again. She’s in a barky frame of mind this morning, though, so I feel it’s rude to let her bother the neighbors. I let her out first thing in the morning while I’m taking care of Monster Cat. She comes in with great enthusiasm, hoping to get a treat. VERY SOON after that, when I’ve finished the morning chores and am at the computer, she comes and sits beside my chair, trying to get me to let her out again. That has already happened this morning, and yet she is doing it again. She only stays out 5 seconds or so, then barks to get back in. I don’t know what her deal is, other than maybe laughing that I’m pretty well trained, for a human.
Yesterday I TRIED to do the video with the stomach exercises. The backs of my legs were so sore, though, I simply couldn’t do it. I gave up, took some Tylenol, and went on to do my yoga stretches (with Monster Cat on the back porch). I’m still sore this morning, but I’ll try to do at least SOME of each of the exercises today and see how it goes. If I can do HALF as many reps as I’m supposed to be doing, that’s more than I HAVE been doing and should be good.
I’ll play in the art room, plus I’m planning to try a chicken recipe for our dinner tonight. I have the recipe, which is low-carb, and then another recipe by the same author for low-carb BBQ sauce. I’ll let you know if these are good.
I FINISHED weeding the flower planters, so that’s the end of the most important work in the yard. We are looking pretty good (for us) and working outside can go on the back burner of priorities for a bit.
I tried to do a new YouTube video yesterday of exercises to flatten your tummy. I moved right along with her most of the time, though balance was an issue at times. All these were standing exercises, but lots of turning, moving of legs, bending up and down, etc. Each exercise was repeated for 60 seconds. I guess we probably did 30 reps during that time. I made it through a little over half of the video and had to quit, out of breath and thoroughly pooped. The cute little person ran away and left me in the dust. I’ll try to do better today.
When I went to practice my yoga stretches for the first time in a while, things went well for about 60 seconds. Then Monster Cat decided she wanted to ‘help’ me with the moves. She pounced on my stomach, bit my toes, rolled on my legs, walked under me when she could, laid down on my face, tried to curl up on my neck…. you get the picture. For today’s practice, I’ll put her in her bathroom until I’m finished.
In my art room, I’m working on two different sets of 4 Christmas ornaments with layered elements, and also on one ornament that is a wood slice. It’s fun trying different techniques. I love spending time up there, learning new things.
This is the latest wood-burning effort listed on Etsy. I’m now turning to Christmas Ornaments. I realize it seems really early to be thinking of this, but these take time and I don’t want to feel rushed. :0)
Our dog, Amber, exhibited a new trick today. We have taught her to bark when she wants us to let her out. This morning she came to me while I was here at the computer, got my attention, sat down, and looked at me. When I asked if she wanted me to let her out, she “barked,” but with NO SOUND! It’s as if she 1) knows I really don’t like it when she startles me with barking, and 2) knew my husband was taking a morning nap in the living room next door. Either way, I was really impressed. I petted and praised her profusely and let her out.
“Monster Cat,” on the other hand, is continuing to feel more and more at home, living up to her aka name, showing more and more “personality” by the day. She is demanding a lot more of my attention, insisting I pet her while I’m working on the computer. She accomplishes this by walking over my keyboard – causing havoc on the screen – and back again. I pet her, of course. Too many times this results in a bite, something I’m trying really hard to discourage.
Yesterday she was on a tear. My husband and I agreed that whatever we paid for her tower in the living room was well worth it. I’ve been putting her same three catnip mice on the top level. She now runs up the side of the tower, grabs a mouse and comes back down, batting the thing across the floor, rolling and biting it, pouncing over and over, etc. She LOVES the balls that are hung in two places on the tower, batting them ferociously or hanging on them. She falls off the tower regularly, bounding back up immediately and grabbing the ball again. She’s to the point she makes us laugh out loud watching her antics.
She is becoming quite bold, walking right up to Amber and playing with her tail, batting at her paws, everything except outright pouncing on her. Amber is being amazingly patient, since she could whack her with a paw or bite her in half easily. I watch them carefully, sometimes letting a bit of it go on for a minute or two, or rescuing one or the other as the situation seems to merit.
Today I’m planning to try to finish the weeding of the flower planters. We’ll also gather the trash and drive it down. I’ll get the makings of chili in the crock pot and vacuum the tiled areas on the first floor.
I’ll do a session of yoga, and I’m going to try to keep up with a new video with a cute little woman who is doing standing exercises that are supposed to help me get rid of my tummy. These two, plus my yard work, should be a good amount of exercise for the day. I’m hoping that this will help get pound #37 off.
I hope this is the beginning of a fun week for you.
I’m having a really good time and learning every day – a really fun combination.
Kansas City Community Gardens
I’m going to try to finish the weeding of our flower planters today. It’s nice this morning, so I’ll try to get outside as soon as I finish here. :0)
Low Carb Chili by KetoKarma.com – Suzanne Ryan, Simply Keto
I’ll get the makings of this in the crock pot today for our dinner tonight.
I’ll make a new system disk and then back up my data on the computer, play in my art room, read more of a book I’m enjoying, and that will be most of my Sunday.
I LOVE the movement, color and texture – “3D-ness” in this painting. Just wonderful.
Bonnie Plants
This weekend I’ll try to finish weeding the flower planters around the house. I really got overheated yesterday while working on the trio of flower planters that run between the front yard and our driveway area. I’m still trying to ‘recover,’ (being an old broad), so will try to be more aware of how hot and tired I’m getting.
TRUArt
I’m drilling holes in one wood-burned piece, and doing holes and hooks in another. I’m painting a third, so I’m in hog-heaven playing in my art room. My husband came up to visit yesterday. He sat down in a chair (the first ‘miracle’ was that there was a free, empty chair for him to SIT in), and we talked as he looked around. He said he could really tell a difference – could see my efforts to reorganize and clean things up. :0)
Even though I got really hot outside weeding yesterday, INside it was quite comfortable. We had the doors open, so a nice breeze was going through the house. Plus, we had the ceiling fans on, encouraging air movement. We’re doing the same today. It’s a real quality of life issue and I love enjoying the luxury of it.
As a part of our exciting weekend, I’m going to balance checkbooks today. Try to contain your enthusiasm. I did my online spreadsheet bookkeeping for August yesterday and got things filed, so that is caught up. My goal of doing –
‘something’ in the yard daily
‘something’ on cleaning inside daily
‘something’ on paperwork, rather than letting it pile up
‘something’ on exercising daily (either yardwork, yoga, or both)
‘something’ in my art room to give me joy
‘something’ positive to provide time to read in-between tasks
‘something’ to show my husband, our son, and our animals how much they mean to me
is working well these days. I’m feeling less overwhelmed, even if I don’t finish everything on my list. I’m keeping priorities first and my tension is lessening. I’m feeling more CALM.
Oh, bonus! I almost forgot to tell you. I’ve been enjoying almost daily chats with our son, who lives across the world from us. We are always communicating, but lately it’s been extra-nice. He is newly an honorary uncle for a second time, with his friends having given birth to a daughter. Their son is around 2, so our son is thoroughly enjoying watching the family grow, the kids learn, and being enveloped in the love. I’m really happy for him.
Can you see me grinning from ear to ear about the weather today? It’s 72 and slightly cloudy – a perfect condition for working outside. Since I got snafued from starting to weed our flower planters yesterday due to rain, I’ll plan on getting out there today.
The planters need work, but they’re not nearly as bad as they were the last time I zeroed in on them, so I’m hoping they won’t take a whole lot of time and effort.
Version 1.0.0
The above pic shows you what I have, except that I have a less-expensive version with only one ‘pen.’
I’m going to drill holes in a couple of wood-burning pieces, attaching hooks to one of them, finishing them up today. I’ll take pics to show you when that is done. I’ll plan on listing them on Etsy later. I’ve started a new piece, too.
I feel like a kid at Christmas, playing with my new wood-burning tool. I definitely feel as if I have won the lottery with this newest set. It’s light-weight, easier to use, heats up quickly, so I don’t have to wait each time I want to change a tip. The tips fit securely and are easy to change. I’m learning some of what I can do with each tip.
I’m going to see if I can find a video on YouTube that shows these and see what the people-who-know-what-they’re-doing do. I’m thinking about more earrings in a totally different style and Christmas ornaments now…
My husband is hoping that mowing season is over, even with the new mower, and I can’t blame him. He did finally get a cover for the new mower yesterday. He ordered it so long ago he had forgotten about it! I’ll be interested – quietly – to see what he’ll do before he drains the mower for the season. If he washes it, I’ll know he’s as proud of it as he is the Vette. :0)
It’s dark, rainy, and 69 degrees here. I love it. It’s such a welcome change after all the super-hot weather we had for so long. We have the front and back doors open to the fresh air. It’ll keep me from starting to weed the flower planters – at least this morning – but I’m sure not complaining. :0)
I mixed up two 2-gallon containers of Killzall yesterday afternoon and sprayed the rock beds, around the planters, under the deck stairs and deck, on the sidewalk edges, around the driveway pad, the front porch pad, etc., so that job is done, unless weeds start springing up again.
We sold our old mower yesterday! A retired couple drove from Webbers Falls, Oklahoma (about 1-1/2 hours from us) in a truck with a really nice trailer attached. The man backed their rig close to the shop door. We have some ramps, and the guys used them so that my husband could then drive the mower up into the trailer. The man had a tie-down he put on the back and we gave him a short length of chain with a closure the man could use on the front of the mower so it wouldn’t roll forward and back on the trailer bed on the way back home.
I was super-impressed at the backing job the man did, plus the great job my husband did of driving the mower up the ramps. They were super nice people and we had an enjoyable visit with them. It was good that they have the mower they can either repair or use for parts, and we’re happy it is gone and out of the way in the shop.
This is the latest wood-burned piece. I listed it on my Etsy site yesterday and started two more pieces. I’m having a great time and feeling more confident about what the various burning tips will do. I’m learning!
Monster Cat and I are developing a good communication now. She is food-driven (hey! so am I!) and so tries to lead me to her bathroom when she wants more food. She is more attuned to the routine around here, so this is coming to center around times when she needs to be in there when our dog is eating. I’m giving her just enough food each time to get her to come in, and she seems happy to come – or lead me – to the goal. Hooray!
Mary Novaria
As of 3 days ago, there is 36 pounds less of me. I’m a bit frustrated that the scales haven’t changed in three days, but the other part of me is grateful that it hasn’t gone up again. I’ve been watching what I eat like a hawk and have been working hard in the yard, so maybe I’ll see the scales move down again soon. That would be encouraging.
I guess that 9-11 was the first time I realized how vulnerable we are, and with the way things are going in the world now, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone tries it again. I’m trying to concentrate on only worrying about things I CAN control these days, trying to live each day to the fullest, wringing out every drop of joy from each one, so I will remember, honor the good people who died, their families, the responders, and then try to move on.
My husband put a listing on CraigsList for our old mower, which is only valuable for salvage. We have a couple coming this morning to look at it. Hopefully, we can check this one off our list today.
Yesterday I gathered the last of the tomatoes and then spent much of the rest of the day cleaning out the tomato planters. I had to cut the plants since they were so large and curled around the supports. I filled our large trash can overfull three times before I had everything out. I then cleaned up.
Today I’ll mix up a 2-gallon container of Killzall and spray it around the planters, along the edges of the sidewalks, under the deck, in the rock bed, etc. I’m hoping that we’re reaching the end of the mowing and weed whacking season.
I just hit some weird combination on my computer and my control pages for WordPress went wonky with the font size going to almost zero. I’m touch typing now, even with my glasses on, trying to edit this post I was writing when I did whatever I did. So far, I’m not able to make the dashboard get things back to usable, so I’ll finish this and then try to fight with it. If you don’t hear from me for the rest of the day, this is why.
I’m struggling to wake up fully this morning. I feel tired and blurry.
Yesterday I had a productive day outside. I finished weed whacking the yard, front and back, weeded the rock bed in the back, then used the leaf blower to blow the debris off the back and front sidewalks, the front porch, and the driveway pad. My husband mowed, so we look pretty civilized – for us. :0)
Today I plan to gather the last of the tomatoes and then pull the plants for the season. My tomato sucker plant got pretty large and actually produced some blossoms, but with the lowering of temperatures, it won’t produce fruit, so it goes, as well. Good experiment. I also plan to mix up a two-gallon container of Killzall and spray the areas that need it. The weather people are saying we have today with lower temperatures and lower humidity before a warm-up, so I’ll try to take advantage of that.
In the art room, I painted the finished wood-burned piece with a coat of varnish for protection. I’ll bring it down sometime today, take pics, and see if I can get it listed on my Etsy site. I also worked on another piece, making a good bit of progress. A third is outlined.
I fell in love with these, bought them, and received them yesterday. I’ve never seen any like them before and look forward to wearing them.
I did a LOT of weed-whacking yesterday. We had ‘weed-trees’ under the deck which were too much for the weed-eater, so I ended up pulling them up or cutting them off with a handheld cutter and THEN weed whacking. I’m going to try to finish the back yard today, plus weed the rock bed in the back that runs along the house. Then I’ll spray needed areas with Killzall.
I’m trying to get outside right after lunch each day the weather is cooperative. By then the vegetation has dried from the heavy morning dew we’re getting, but the current heat isn’t oppressive. GOOD situation for trying to get things under control outside.
We will gather trash and drive it down today, plus get our mail. I don’t know if we’ll do anything in town today or just do things another day.
creativeartworksblog 