Category Archives: Thoughts on a ________

Monday 8-19-2024

shoutask_shop

It stormed again overnight and we lost power for a bit. I didn’t realize it until later, when I woke up and saw the bedside clock flashing. I thought it was a bit past the time I usually wake, so jumped up to get dressed. When I got in the bathroom, though, it looked really dark outside. I checked my watch that was with my clothes and it was just a bit past 4am. SIGH. I tried to go back to bed, but was awake every hour and couldn’t make my watch light up. (When you hit anything other than the light button, the readings go wonky and I was in no shape to work on that. )

I checked with Lynn, my sweet massage therapist and friend. They got a generator, but have public power now. So the worst seems to be over for now. It’s rainy now, but the rain is supposed to stop this afternoon. Then we’ll gather and take down our trash and see if we have mail. That’s it for outside today, unless we have to spend time picking up clusters of leaves and branches and stuff on the driveway. I really hope we can mainly ignore it.

I got a good start on a new wood-burned piece yesterday. I had a great time, but I really need to start cleaning up my art room, one area at a time. It looks like a bomb went off up there. I have my little area on the drafting table where I’m working – the one area of ‘calm’ in a disaster area. Maybe I can get started on THAT a bit while I’m up there…

I hope that things are good where you are today.

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Sunday 8-18-2024

crochettiky.com

Shout-out to Lynn, my magnificent massage therapist and her family who lost power during the last, sudden storm we had a couple of nights ago and are still without power. She said they may have to go until Monday or more without power, due to downed power lines and POLES close to her house. Her husband had gone to borrow a generator so that they could plug in their fridge plus maybe a couple of fans. With all the watches and warnings we are under during the summer, we didn’t even hear about the possibility of rain this time.

*Speaking of power, we just lost OURS for a few seconds. Just suddenly, while I was typing, everything shut down. It came back on, thankfully, and we don’t hear our generator running, so it seems to be public power. Wonder if this is caused by all the work probably being done to restore power to so many good folks.

__________

This is the story of my weight this week. I’m finally half a pound away from being 35 pounds down. Do you think I might make it this time? Fingers crossed.
sent to me by my good friend, Cathy.

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I’m still avoiding looking at our driveway. It’s my extremely adult reaction to the possibility we might be in for a big clean up after the storm. The Amazon delivery guy remarked on the stuff in our driveway when he came up yesterday. I’m excusing the fact I haven’t checked it out because he said he didn’t have any trouble getting up the driveway. Fingers crossed about the driveway, too.

Things are quiet around here so far this morning. My husband is thinking he’ll mow if the ground dries up enough during the day. I’m thinking I may get up to my art room today.

I hope you are safe and dry. May power be restored to those waiting.

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Not Fit for Man Nor Beast

Actual temperature forecast to be 101 this afternoon with a heat index of 110 to 115. Too hot for old folks to be outside, for sure. We are letting Amber out over and over. She goes outside, takes one look, and barks to come back inside. I guess as long as she has several chances to do what she needs to out there, all will be well.

There is just too much heat and not enough water to do justice to my tomato plants. The main plants have some green tomatoes, but also dead parts of the plants and the tomatoes are not ripening. I’m beginning to think I’ll have to pull them out for the season, but my husband doesn’t want me to pull the plug yet. As you can see in the pic above, my tomato sucker plants aren’t doing well, either. I have ONE plant that seems to be okay, so there is still hope.

Today’s cleaning and organizing project is the table beside my recliner. I’m embarrassed to show it to you, but you already KNOW I’m a slob and the worse housekeeper EVER.

Between my cramming it with more and more ‘stuff,’ and Monster Cat walking all over it trying to sample my drinks and chew cords, it’s a mess. I’m going to see if I can relocate at least half of what is currently on there. Wish me luck?

I also found a recipe for keto fried chicken. We haven’t had fried chicken in at LEAST 3 or 4 years, so I’m excited to try this one. It uses avocado oil and the coating is almond flour, so I’m hopeful it’ll be good. The recipe is from Arman Liew of The Big Man’s World. Fingers crossed.

Oh, an update on my excitement regarding low carb ice cream – after further research, opinions seem to differ on what constitutes ‘low carb.’ The one I had found, “Breyer’s Carb Smart” actually has 16 carbs per serving plus has 4 grams of sugar. Since my limit on carbs for the day is 20 or under, this won’t be included in my diet for the foreseeable future. Oh, well. When I reach my goal – if I still have teeth – I’ll splurge and try some. :0)

I’ve been dreaming of a new wood-burned and painted piece that I’ll try to get started today. It’s funny, though, to be ‘tired,’ from painting all night. My sleeping self couldn’t decide whether to use alcohol inks or paint it with acrylics –

Enjoy this wonderful day.

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Losin’ It

DepositPhotos

Yesterday my husband went with me for my haircut, since he wanted to get a large banana shake. We got to the salon, only to find out my haircut is supposed to be TODAY. I’m losing it.

I always use the appointment card to write it down on my desk calendar, enter it on my computer calendar, and add it to my kitchen wipe-off calendar. All were in agreement, and all were wrong. :0(

I asked Michael if he would give me a call if he happened to find my brain lying around anywhere. It’s not as sharp as it might have been in the past, but it’s better than nothing.

So – my search for Breyer’s Smart Carb Ice Cream at the local grocery was a bust, as well. They carried the brand, but not the Carb Smart. I’ll check at Walmart the next time we go there.

We will leave in a bit to try again on the haircut and banana shake. Hopefully, we’ll have better luck today.

___________

Heat index is supposed to be 113 for our area. I’m beginning to feel as if I’m a frog in a big pot of water. Needless to say, I won’t be dancing around the yard much today.

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This is my latest wood burning effort, listed on HandmadeHavenbyLinda on Etsy.

Shout-out to Cathy, who is having a medical test today. May the test be smooth and the results good, Sweet Lady.

Make this a good day.

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Wednesday 8-14-2024

Jan Bryan-Hunt – Leanin-Tree

My husband is feeling antsy this morning, so he’ll go with me to my haircut and a couple of errands this morning.

I’ll check my tomato plants when we get home, get ‘Bacon-wrapped Cheesy Chicken’ by Suzanne Ryan of Simply Keto ready to put in the oven for our dinner tonight, and then work on the painting part of my latest wood burned sign.

I had a really nice chat with our son online yesterday. He’s excited about several difficult projects he and his friend are working on lately, any one of which could make them a lot of money – something that’s always handy. He’s enjoying life and feeling good, so I couldn’t ask for more.

Monster Cat actually walked up my front and curled up on my shoulder in the recliner to sleep for a few minutes last night – another first.

Our wonderful bug spray guy sprayed for everything excluding snakes and elephants yesterday. I told him about our sudden gnat population and he pulled a spray can out of his truck just for that. He explained it as a kind of ‘sticky spray’ (as far as the gnats are concerned.) The gnats are attracted, but can’t leave. Sounds great to me. I forgot to ask him about walruses… :0)

I’m trying to tackle at least one area daily that I’ve been ignoring and clean it thoroughly. Yesterday it was vacuuming a grate we installed low in the wall in the living room. We put in a fan years ago between the two rooms that pulls warm air out of the office and blows it into the living room, increasing good air flow. The grate gets full of dust, dirt, and dog hair, but it’s in the corner, kind of hidden from view unless you actually GO into the corner. Yesterday I finally gave it the attention it’s due and took care of it. While I had the handheld vacuum with brush attachment out, I also cleaned the one on the wall high up in the kitchen.

I wish you a Wonderful Wednesday, full of alliteration and joy.

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Tuesday 8-13-2024

Ruth Josephson-Pinterest

Everything in me melts when I look at the image above. I’m not sure who the artist is, but I thank Ruth Josephson for putting it on Pinterest.

The rain is gone for the foreseeable future, replaced by ‘Intense Heat Warnings’ again. (Heat index of 108 today.) We’ll probably be living under those the rest of the summer. I’ll try to do yard work in the mornings and encourage my husband to do the mowing as late in the evening as possible. I’m thankful for our good air conditioning!

This afternoon the wonderful bug spray man comes to spray for every kind of bug possible, plus the dreaded centipedes and scorpions that have found their way into the house in the past. I don’t think the spray covers snakes (we found the shed skin of one in the well house), though I’ve asked him to spray for EVERYTHING, including elephants, inside and out.

This time we have lots of annoying gnats. I found a stuff at Walmart yesterday that is supposed to kill them ‘on contact,’ but it’s difficult-to-impossible to spray them when they’re trying to climb into my coffee cup without getting the spray into my coffee… I’m cleaning extra well, starting in the kitchen and working my way out, removing things from counters and then spraying the ‘stuff’ on the counters and wiping them down carefully. The spray says it’s safe around children and pets, so I’m hoping that’s true.

Yesterday was the first day of school. My husband decided he wanted to go grocery shopping when the rain stopped yesterday afternoon. We almost got stuck trying to get to town, with lots and lots of “Mommy Traffic” at the two schools on the road between us and town, backed way up from the closer school to us all the way to the end of the road and around the corner on the larger highway, waiting to turn in. I suggested we take the long way around on the way home, but of course my husband scoffed.

We DID get stuck a couple of years ago with stock still traffic in both directions. I was afraid we would end up in the slammer with my husband throwing a fit and threatening to simply run INTO the car in front of us and try to push the whole line ahead so he could reach the road where we could bypass the problem. I wrote a letter to the school, pointing out the problem, emphasizing emergency vehicles wouldn’t have been able to get through, either. The schools decided to change the start and end time on one of the schools, allowing an easing of the problem. We still avoid the area at those times, since my husband is such a nut. Thankfully, by the time we had replenished our groceries and were on the way home, the traffic was manageable.

I’m almost finished with the wood burning part of a new sign. I’ll try to get that done today so I can start the painting part.

Enjoy your Tuesday.

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“Rinse, Repeat”

Himanshu Choudhary-Unsplash.com

I’m tired today. The day before yesterday I spent two full hours weeding in the flower planters in the hot sun. I did two sessions, resting in-between, but it was more than this old lady can handle with grace. I woke up really stiff and sore yesterday.

I took Tylenol, then finished the weeding, then did a session of old lady yoga stretches in the afternoon, and finished that off with a hot shower before bed last night.

Though I’m better this morning, a “Rinse-repeat” session today of the yoga and hot shower should get me back to normal.

The sky is almost black now with a pretty good rain. This is supposed to last essentially all day – until 5 pm, so no outside work, which is why I was pushing so hard to get the weeding finished the last two days.

My husband just came downstairs, having caught up on some of the sleep he’s been missing lately. We’ll enjoy being in a nice dry house, looking out at all the rain from time to time, having a quiet day.

Vacuuming and art room time are in my future this afternoon.

I hope that you’re safe from whatever weather is surrounding you today, enjoying a nice Sunday.

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Saturday 8-10-2024

Dale Zearfaus-Pinterest

I wished I looked HALF as cute in my sweat band as this little girl does with her hair band.

I got a good amount done outside yesterday, spending two hours outside weeding. I’ll try to finish it up today, and may add some weed whacking. We have a good chance for rain tomorrow, so I’d like to get things under control today.

I’ve started a new wood-burning piece, but didn’t get to work on it yesterday, due to all the yard work. Maybe I can get up there today.

Both Monster Cat (aka Jet) and Amber are having a super-active morning for some reason. I got up first and Amber barked the minute I started to come downstairs. She barked from time to time as I fixed her food, then let her out, then back in. I jumped a foot each time she suddenly barked, as this is not her usual behavior inside. (She does bark when we let her out, kind of announcing to the world at large, “HERE. I. AM!”) She has since calmed down, but not before waking my husband up.

Monster Cat has been dashing around. This is extremely noticeable to me as I attached a loud bell to her collar which makes a lot of noise. My husband can’t hear it, but I sure can, and it helps me locate her when I need to put her in the bathroom and to bed at night. She is acting like she has found a secret source of catnip and has been not only sampling, but diving in. She finally jumped up on the counter next to my computer and is now resting in her bread basket.

Things seem to be calm for the moment now. Amber is out. The cat is in and resting. My husband is taking a nap in his recliner. I’m at the computer for a few minutes before heading outside to the planters. Ahhhhhh! Can you hear the quiet?

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Friday 8-9-2024

I’m going to do as much weeding as I can this morning. Temperatures are down a bit today, so it’s a good morning to be outside. I particularly want to get the trio of planters running between our front yard and the top of our driveway under control.

We have a CHANCE for rain tomorrow, Sunday and Monday, so it’s added incentive to try to have some good sessions outside today.

I had a happy surprise when we went for my husband’s haircut yesterday. I had wood-burned a plaque for our hairdresser, Michael (“MICHAEL’S MIRACLES”), and gave it to him recently. When we entered the salon, it was hung just to the left of the entrance, where you stand when he’s giving you your next appointment. To say I was thrilled is a vast understatement. :0)

I’ve started a new piece in my art room.

Heidi Stone-Pinterest

I’m becoming a ‘tough old bird.’ Our insurance company denied part of a claim on blood tests I needed for my lack of thyroid. I played the game of talk to the company, then the biller, over and over. I finally paid the bill, notified my doctor, then filed an appeal with the insurance company. Hopefully, I won’t croak due to old age before the ‘decision,’ but I refuse to simply give up without a fight.

Have a wonderful Friday and weekend!

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Thursday 8-8-2024

Artist: Thierry Gall via Brenda Simon – Pinterest

I really love the creativity shown here, plus the expertise putting it together. I think it’s wonderful.

Our ‘excitement’ for the day is a trip to get our mail and my husband’s haircut appointment. Be still, my beating heart. :0)

On the to-do list today is monitoring our irrigation system. I had my alarm set yesterday, but then went up to my art room. I didn’t think about it until yesterday evening, right before dark. SO – I have the alarm set NOW for the hair appointment, and when we get back I’ll set it AGAIN to go out and see what’s going on with the watering at 3pm.

The reason I messed up on monitoring the watering system was I was upstairs in my art room making this wood-burned piece that I listed on my Etsy site, HandmadeHavenByLinda yesterday afternoon.

I’ve gotten lax on doing my yoga stretches lately, too, so that’s on the list today as a priority, too.

I hope that your day is a good one.

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Wednesday 8-7-2024

Jane Haworth-thequiltshow.com

This is a quilt! The talent and creativity of people on this planet completely blows my mind. I just LOVE this.

In my more ‘real’ world, I started a new wood-burned sign yesterday. The more wood burning I do, the more excited about it I get. I’m getting a bit better, with a bit better technique, better understanding of what I can do with the various tips, and I’m feeling a bit more free to ‘play’ even more. It’s a real quality of life thing for me when I find a new avenue that makes ideas simply spurt out of me. I’m having SUCH a good time!

This is my weight chart over the past week. Talk about a roller coaster! I did splurge when I got aggravated at my husband and was making turkey sandwiches at 9 pm for a very delayed dinner one night. I ate real bread, so that caused a spike. The other spikes were water retention, I think. Hopefully, the latest DOWNWARD line will continue. I really want there to be less of me.

My big chore for the day is going out at 3pm to monitor the irrigation units. I switched things recently to have each one run for 15 minutes, making sure they came on as scheduled. I just checked things, though, and everything is drying up. I’ll go out today and see what’s happening. Maybe we have another blowout somewhere.

Fly View Productions-Tinybeans

I can’t believe school will start again August 12th here. We’ll have to start paying more attention to when we go for errands so that we don’t get stuck behind what my husband calls the “Mommy traffic.” It was so bad at one point where ambulances, fire trucks, and police would have found it impossible to get through in case of emergencies. I wrote the schools and they decided to change the start and end times of one of the two schools between us and town, freeing up the traffic a bit. We still avoid getting out during those times if we can, though.

Enjoy your hump day.

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Tuesday 8-6-2024

Jonas Grinevicius-boredpanda.com

My husband asked ME to program the new tach he installed on the riding mower last night. (He wanted to be able to control the RPM on the engine and keep track of the hours of run time for the mower so we can perform maintenance at the right times.)

The fact that he STARTED installing the tach 20 minutes before we usually eat dinner didn’t seem to occur to him as a possible problem. I finally got the tach programmed and THEN he wanted ME to back the new mower into the shop. I told him I didn’t feel comfortable and would rather learn earlier in the day and going forward, rather than backward. He insisted, so I did the best I could.

I did go FORWARD, though, and then managed to figure out how to do the zero turn feature, so I was then able to drive it VERY jerkily into the shop.

Fixing turkey sandwiches for dinner at 9pm was super annoying.

SO – I’ll show you the present I ordered for him weeks ago. It got lost in the mail, so the person made us a second one and I received it yesterday –

It is now sitting on his radio on the shelf above his computer in the office.

Mother Nature really has her nose out of joint lately, doesn’t she – with earthquakes (I was reading they had had 5 in one week!) in California; DEBBY in Florida and now up the coast, bringing wind and torrential rain; and OUR weather which is forecast to be 102 today with a heat index of 108. Maybe we should all get together and see if we can ‘talk her down’ or arrange for some kind of calming meds –

I’m really grateful that I can complain from the comfort of a dry, air-conditioned house, totally spoiled as I sit and type at my computer. What a lucky person I am!

A quiet day is hoped-for today. I wish you the same. :0)

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Monday 8-5-2024

community.qvc.com

Our sweet dog, Amber, is shaking her ears this morning. We dosed her with the ear cleaner and then the medicine to be squirted way down in her ear and we’ll see what happens. I plan to dose her once each day and then, if that doesn’t stop the problem, we’ll face trying to get her in and out of the vet’s office without incident.

I put a turkey breast into the oven with the timer set for 90 minutes when we left yesterday to get groceries. The timer was beeping when I came back in the house. I don’t know how long it had been beeping, but the turkey breast seemed to be fine. I’ll slice a bunch of it today and we’ll enjoy turkey sandwiches for dinner tonight.

I got a notice in my email that a sign I ordered for my husband is due to be delivered today. It’s a funny one that I hope will make him laugh. If we get it, I’ll take a pic and share it with you.

Hope your Monday is a good one.

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Sunday 8-4-2024

ruchnye-zveri.livejournal.com

Good Sunday morning!

It’s a pretty morning here in west central Arkansas today. It’s 84 degrees F. right now, and the heat index is NOT supposed to be ‘lethal’ today. HOORAY!

I’m getting a grocery list together and we didn’t get our mail yesterday, so we might go out in a few.

My husband came upstairs with our dog, Amber, and our cat, Jet, this morning to check on me, since I slept in this morning for the first time in what seems like forever and it scared him. He thought he might find that I had passed during the night. This is the first time for him, though I have experienced this scare several times over the past year.

I’m not sure what to DO about this. I asked him if he wanted me to start setting an alarm, but he said, ‘no.’ I’ve already hugged him about the scare. I’ve stressed over the past year or so that things that used to be easier are not anymore, and that with good communication, TOGETHER we can handle new fears we have and tackle difficult or confusing stuff.

Since I am still my normal, old, perverse self, I’ve done my normal stuff this morning and even mollified AMBER when she insisted that I check out the driveway detector going off over and over. I didn’t see anything when we went out, and suspect we have a family of deer playing around down at the bottom of the driveway. My husband is trying to take a mid morning nap, so I just checked one more time and have unplugged one of the detectors for awhile so he can get some rest.

I have an idea for a new wood-burned sign rattling around in my head, so I’ll try to get up to my art room this afternoon to get started on it.

Have a wonderful Sunday.

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“Dog-Mower” Alarm Clock

Tina Ann-facebook.com-Pinterest

I usually wake up around 7:15. This morning I was awakened by the double sounds of our dog, Amber, barking and the lawnmower at 6:15. Even though I’ve been awake for a while now, I’m feeling a bit grumpy and tired. My husband will take a mid-morning nap soon, if not already, in his chair in the living room.

He gets up before I do many mornings, does some morning chores and then waits for me to come down. Amber was still barking to come in. I checked on my husband, finding him out mowing again. He came in when I was just finishing up the rest of the morning chores, plus getting a crock pot of chili started for our dinner this evening.

He had finished mowing some areas he hasn’t been able to mow with the old mower. He said he hasn’t had to put the mower in reverse yet. He simply turns the ‘arms’ of the mower and it spins in place (zero-turn) and he continues on. He is enjoying his new toy. I’m glad, AND I’m most happy that he was finished before it’s due to get hot today, even though I’m feeling a bit sleep-deprived.

Last night he spent quite a while online trying to find supplies for the mower, such as oil and air filters, spark plugs, a cover for the mower, the two belts needed, etc. He had a list of what he’d found and then asked me to help him with the ordering. We used his list, then looked for less expensive places to purchase them. We saved about $200 by doing this. We got everything ordered so we’ll have what we need.

The first thing will be an oil change after the first 8 hours of mowing. Oh, he ordered some kind of gadget that keeps a running total of how long the engine has run, so we can perform the maintenance required at certain times.

We have a master log spreadsheet we’ve kept for years, documenting things we want to be able to refer to, such as “when did we buy the new mower?”. We gathered the model and serial numbers and logged them.

I’ll either do more weeding this morning or I’ll weed whack. I’m not sure which yet.

Enjoy your day!

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Friday 8-2-2024

Chrissy Teeter-Pinterest

Good morning!

We had a ‘cold front’ come through overnight, giving us an overcast sky, and a temperature of 100 this afternoon, with a heat index of only 106. RELIEF! :0)

We’re supposed to have the new riding lawn mower delivered. I finally got a text this morning that the delivery window is 9am-1pm today. (We’re delivery #4). Fingers, toes, and eyes crossed that the delivery truck can get up our driveway.

I had fun in my art room yesterday, making another wood-burned sign

No ripe tomatoes this morning; one tomato sucker plant doing well, two others are still alive at this point.

Monster Cat (aka Jet) is feeling her oats lately. She is trying to chew on cords, jumps up and tries to ‘snag’ my jeans if I’m walking, or my arm if I’m in my chair. I’m keeping my spray water bottles as handy as possible to discourage this.

I hope you’re doing well and are able to stay comfortable.

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Some of This – A Little of That

“Funny Signs” – BoredPanda.com – Migle Miliute and Ilona Baliunaite

Our son sent this via our chat program recently. A beautiful double rainbow!

Dr Seuss-Practicing Normal-Pinterest

I downloaded “Here Be Darkness” by R. G. Ryan to my Kindle a couple of days ago. It’s a new Jake Moriarity series novel and I can’t wait to dive into it. I’m trying to decide if I want to re-read the other 6 in the series first.

I just finished Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis” by J.D. Vance. I found it down to earth, honest, and real. He is proud of his culture in the “Rust Belt” (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wisconsin) while being very straightforward about its strengths and weaknesses. I knew a bit, but now feel I understand better the challenges and feelings of the people who feel unseen and forgotten.

Brenda Wilson-Heaton-Pinterest

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Happy August 2024

Poster My Wall

In Arkansas we’re welcoming August today with a heat index this afternoon of 112. GACK! Happily, I had a productive morning outside yesterday, reprogramming our irrigation units to each run 15 minutes. We monitored the watering yesterday afternoon and all went well.

I didn’t find any ripe tomatoes, but 2 of my tomato suckers plants are still alive, so I’m a bit hopeful now. I started on one end of the house and got 5 flower planters weeded before I got too hot. They were in the shade and the ‘excessive heat warning’ didn’t start until noon. Still, with the outside work, I came in wringing wet. I showered and washed my hair for the second time yesterday before lunch. :0)

My husband took our dog, Amber, to fill up the gas cans in preparation for the new mower to be delivered some time tomorrow. We have four, so we each grabbed two from the back of the truck to take out to the shop.

I haven’t decided if I’ll work outside again this morning or take the day off. Even with working out there in the coolest part of the day – in the shade – it took me a long time to get back to a normal temperature.

The Organized Mama

I’m going to try to get up to my art room today. I’m starting to ‘wood burn’ in my dreams now, a sure sign I need to get up there and get the new piece started.

Stay cool and enjoy your day.

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Progress Report – as of July 2024

Pinterest

In the interest of transparency and my promise to be accountable for my efforts to lose the lard, here is my report as of the end of July 2024 –

Poundage Gone (from my heaviest) – 34 pounds

Girth Gone (from my widest) – 36.5 inches

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I’m hoping to lose the last pound for my interim goal of 35 off today. If not, I’m still going in the right direction, albeit VERY slowly after a roller coaster of scale readings depending, I think, on how I hold my MOUTH when I step on the scales. I’m being “good” most days, staying under my calorie limit and under my carbs-for-the-day limit. MOST days I’m under my salt limit, though sometimes that sneaks up on me, or I cave at the last minute and have a late night snack of some almonds.

We’re back under ‘excessive heat warnings’ daily now, so, unless I get outside first thing, it’s simply too hot for me to spend much time working in the yard. Today I’m PLANNING to change the time on the watering units and get a bit of weeding done. I also PLAN to check my tomatoes and sucker plants. (I say, “PLAN” because often – even when I’m heading out the door – my husband snafus my intentions and then the cooler part of the day is gone.

He told me yesterday that he feels like a kid waiting for Christmas, waiting for the new mower to be delivered. I got a text from them yesterday, confirming our address and that Friday was still a good day for delivery. There wasn’t a real person attached to the text, though. It said I would get another one Friday morning, telling us morning or afternoon. I’m hoping a person is attached to that one, so that I can warn them about the steep graveled driveway and tell them that having us come down and putting the mower in the back of our truck and leaving US to get it out again is not acceptable, since we’re OLD. Fingers crossed this all works out well.

I hope that you are able to stay cool and comfortable today.

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Tuesday Thoughts 7-30-2024

Vecteezy

July JUST started, right? How can it possibly be almost over? I’m truly shocked that August will start Thursday.

We’re back to the more normal “no-rain-and-excessive-heat-warnings” weather here. I’m going to start trying to get outside first thing in the morning to try to get my flower planters under control. The weeds have really enjoyed my negligence and are running rampant. I’m also going to change the duration on the irrigation units from 10 minutes to 15 today, trying to keep all the good plants from croaking in the heat.

I found a ‘table lamp’ I really liked the other day and ordered it for myself, as another thing to sooth myself when my nerves are feeling offended. It came yesterday and I love it. It’s a cut glass-looking cylinder, but it’s battery-powered, changing colors in several different patterns from which you can choose. I have it to the right of my computer screens so I catch it from the corner of my eye as I’m working.

This is the riding mower that is supposed to be delivered, fully assembled, Friday. The distinctive turning arms in the picture show that it’s a zero turn mower, meaning that it will turn on a dime, ensuring good control. It has a nice 22 HP V-Twin Kohler Engine. My husband takes good care of his equipment, so this should outlast both of us. (I had a nightmare recently after he told me that he had adjusted the seat on the old mower so that he could ‘jump off’ (he’s 80) if the thing started to turn over, so I’m super-relieved that we can get him a brand new mower.

Walmart

This image is very similar to the sink we have in our kitchen, though this faucet is a bit fancier. I read an article in The Daily Meal about using wadded up aluminum foil to clean and polish it. I had never heard that before and was eager to try it. I do so much cleaning of veggies and my hands after working in the yard, etc. that my sink is a real challenge to try to keep free of actual SOIL, and I only ‘polish’ it every 35 years or so….

Anyhow, I decided to try it. It said to ball up about a foot of aluminum foil, hold it under running water and then use the foil as if it were a sponge or scrubber. It’s not the friction, it’s the chemical reaction of the water and the foil that apparently does the cleaning and polishing. The article suggested I use one ball to clean the sinks and then use a fresh one to polish them.

IT WORKED. I’m still amazed. Even my husband, who walks around oblivious, in a daze much of the time, not noticing things for months, NOTICED and MENTIONED it. So, if you’d like, it’s fun thing to do that will actually do a great job. Imagine that. ME – giving YOU a cleaning tip. hahhhahahahahaha :0)

Enjoy your Tuesday, trying to absorb the fact that July is almost gone.

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It’s Monday 7-29-2024

needle felting-Moo Mucca-Pinterest

We’ve had a busy day and a half.

Last night my husband came in from mowing, saying the steering was broken on the riding mower. We found that Sears could send a repairman today, so we made an appointment. When my husband got online to look for repair parts for the mower, we found our age-old problem (if you’ll pardon the expression) that the mower was now SO OLD that NO repair parts or compatible parts were available. I then called Sears back and cancelled the service call for today.

Sears isn’t good about communicating with its employees, so a really nice guy showed up a little after 7 this morning. I told him we had cancelled the appt and apologized for wasting his time and gas. He stayed to chat about my husband’s Vette, and then asked if he could see the mower. I made sure we wouldn’t be charged for a service call and the three of us went out to the shop. He agreed that though the mower was a really good one, it would take someone who would machine the parts needed, and would cost a lot of time and effort. He said HE was too old to tackle it, and he’s 20 years or so younger than we are.

We had researched riding mowers on the net, and went early today to three places in Greenwood who might have something close to what we wanted. We ended up ordering online from a company who will deliver the mower to us FREE Friday, assembled and ready to go. We had to pay more than we wanted, but we should be well set up for the rest of our mowing lives when we get it.

He told me he felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. I made sure he knows AGAIN how much he means to me, and that he shouldn’t HAVE to feel obligated to keep taking things apart and making them work anymore, particularly when no parts are available and the project would probably take the rest of the summer or longer. We can bite the financial bullet and DO this.

So, it’s 11:00 here now and we’ve been to three places in town, come back, gathered trash, and driven it down to the bottom of the driveway, gotten our mail, taken a non-service call, ordered the mower, and all before lunch.

Guess who will probably take a nap after lunch…

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Sunday 7-28-2024

Maria Rosa Bertoli-Pinterest

I love this drawing – and I’m NOT fond of mice.

We missed the hoped-for rain yesterday, and then next 10 days are supposed to be a ‘return-to-the-heat’ and dry. UGH.

Yesterday I checked for ripe tomatoes, but found none. I did find and replant some tomato suckers, though. As you can see here, only ONE of the suckers is doing really well. The rest are just hanging on. I’ll keep trying, though. I keep reminding myself that these are all ‘free’ tomato plants, and if just a couple do well, our chance for ripe tomatoes in an extended season increases.

The experiment of planting the elephant ear bulbs has been really interesting. I planted one large bulb in each of three brick planters. One planter in front of the garage has been a good place for several years. I planted the second bulb in a tall, shaded planter to one side of our front porch, hoping it would really spread out and take over the area. The third I planted in a planter at one end of the front yard, in a shaded, fairly protected place.

This is where I’ve planted elephant ears for several years. Usually I have three bulbs in this planter, but the ones I bought are huge, so I decided to see what one bulb in the middle would do. It seems to be happy here and very healthy.

The bulb in the planter to the side of the front porch is doing well, too, although the plant is not nearly as large as the other.

This is the bulb in the protected, shaded planter at one end of the front yard. It has struggled, but is finally gaining a foot hold. The plant is still very small.

Time got away from me yesterday, but I’ll try to get upstairs to my art room today and get started on a new wood burned sign. I’m really enjoying trying to do this. My dreams are full of what I’d like to do in the future, and all I’m learning daily, as far as techniques, what each of the different tips does, and more. Really FUN. :0)

I hope your Sunday is bright, shiny, and full of pleasure.

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Saturday 7-27-2024

Nora – Pinterest

These are too cute to EAT. I love the creativity some people show with food. Maybe if I find someone who will make things like this for ME, I can lose all the weight I would like because EVERYTHING is simply TOO CUTE TO EAT. :0)

I’m an emotional eater – of course, ANY excuse will do. Yesterday it was because my husband yelled at me – after asking for my help – when I was insisting that he wasn’t giving Microsoft what it was demanding in order to sign in. I left the room, and then proceeded to eat our dinner hot dogs with actual BUNS instead of the Mission tortillas that have no carbs, PLUS I ate potato chips, sabotaging my lose-the-lard efforts for the day.

I’m patting myself on the head a bit this morning that I DID vacuum all the tiled areas on our first floor yesterday – pantry, kitchen, utility room, dining area, walkway to the living room, and two half baths. Today I’ll do the carpeted areas on the first floor, plus our bedroom and master bath upstairs. I’m amazed that Amber isn’t completely bald after vacuuming up the equivalent of at least one dog yesterday.

We had the nicest short rain yesterday afternoon and have a chance for a repeat today. I hope we get it because it looks like we have quite the dry spell after that, with the temperatures soaring again. In a few minutes, I’ll check our tomato plants, fertilize, and see if I can replant any suckers.

I hope that you are able to make today a really nice one.

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It’s Friday – 7-26-2024

PsychoBitch – John – Pinterest

We’re having nice weather. It’s only 77 degrees F. right now. We may get a bit of rain this evening. NICE.

I’m planning to get outside to see if we have any ripe tomatoes. We have passed going into withdrawal due to the lack of ripe tomatoes now, but I keep hoping some of the many green ones we have will ripen. This has been a weird tomato season for us for sure. I’ll check to see if I can find any suckers to snip and replant. So far, my luck on getting the suckers to take root and grow isn’t stellar. I’m still hopeful something I do will result in at least ONE sucker extending our season.

Yesterday’s errands went really well. I hit the post office first, mailing the thingie certified. It’s been awhile since I had to do this, and wow – have prices skyrocketed! It cost me over $11.00.

Then I saw that our hairdresser was in his salon, so I stopped to give him the plaque I made for him. He hugged me and seemed to be very happy with it. Finally, we went to the vet to get Amber’s rabies vaccination. I went in and handled the payment and the paperwork. The lady at the counter remembered my husband being pulled down in the parking lot by Amber the last time we were there. Two ladies met me in the parking lot. One held Amber’s collar while the other gave Amber the injection. Amber didn’t even realize she had been given a shot! She was totally into trying to lick each of the girls. It was quick and easy. Amber is protected now for another year. I’m SO grateful to have a vet who will help us with our changing needs.

Jet (aka Monster Cat) gave us quite a show yesterday, playing on her tower. She is fascinated by the balls hanging on it that swing at the least provocation. She was reaching out – grabbing a string with a paw, and trying to hold the ball close to her chest. She tried jumping down on one, THEN hanging from the underside of a higher level to reach the ball, THEN considering jumping into the book shelf beside the tower to try to reach it from a different angle. She’s quite relentless when in the mood, and it’s really fun to watch her.

I hope you have a wonderful day that makes you smile.

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Thursday Thoughts 7-25-2024

Aileen Jelibean-Pinterest

I called the vet’s office first thing this morning to ask if they could give Amber (our 95 pound yellow lab) her rabies shot IN THE CAR. The last time we took her, my husband was pulled down in the parking lot when she got excited, and I DON’T want a repeat of that. Happily, they said that would not be a problem. I’m planning to sneak out in a few minutes when my husband is usually taking a mid morning nap, take her for the shot and do some other quick errands before heading home again. Fingers crossed. (HATE to sneak around, but trying to avoid possible problems is becoming one of my art forms.)

I’m hoping to start a new wood-burned piece today. I finished a plaque for our hairdresser, and one of my stops this morning will be to take it to him.

My tomatoes are still not ripening. I’ll try fertilizing them today and see if that helps. Three of my sucker plants are still alive and I’ll try to add to them today. It would be great if I can manage to prolong our ‘ripe tomatoes’ season. :0)

We THINK the irrigation systems, front and back, are now working with no blowouts and correct programming of the units. The addition of the tach to the generator finishes up getting it working, too. Hopefully, it will run its Friday-at-2pm-automatic-test tomorrow.

Hoping for a quiet, pleasant day and evening. I wish YOU the same.

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Wednesday 7-24-2024

Paul Bunton-Pinterest

I’m again trying to distract myself from the completely nuts world we live in, filling my days with pleasurable things, since my magic wand is on the fritz and isn’t working, no matter how hard I wave.

I had a truly wonderful massage yesterday from Lynn Moody, my massage therapist who listens to what I KNOW is bothering me, works on those, PLUS finds the spots I didn’t know about, and works on those, as well. I could truly fall asleep on the table when she finishes, thoroughly relaxed and loose. She laughs when I say, “Good night,” before getting up and getting dressed.

After I had paid for my visit and had a new appointment scheduled, I gave her a small ‘thank you’ for what she means to me – this plaque I made. She seemed to like it.

I was going to try to get up to my art room to start a new piece yesterday, but two things got in the way – THING ONE – I was on the phone trying to get the replacement credit cards that I was supposed to have received in 5 business days, but didn’t, and THING TWO – my husband wanted me to come out in the yard and help him deal with getting the new tach he put on the generator set and working.

I was pleased that my husband asked for help. He had gotten dizzy trying to work bent over, realized it before he had a more serious problem, and came and got me. I was able to get the tach set and tested, and I praised him for not trying to ignore the problem he was having, wish it away, work through it doggedly, or any of the other things he has done in the past.

Today we’re going to replenish our grocery supplies and get the mail. I THINK that’s all on our list for the day.

I fixed Suzanne Ryan’s “Bacon-Wrapped Cheesy Chicken” recipe from her Simply Keto recipe book last night. The last time I tried it I used Ranch dressing and didn’t have fresh mushrooms. This time I did have the mushrooms and switched to using honey mustard instead of the Ranch. My husband pronounced it ‘delicious’ and we have enough for one more meal from the leftovers. :0) Tonight is spaghetti, where I’ll fix spaghetti for him to have with his sauce while I have zoodles (zucchini noodles.)

I’ve told you that Jet (aka Monster Cat) likes to play in an empty open box, sneaking around it to attach a catnip mouse, and jumping in and out of the box. My husband added another box to the mix to see her reaction. I didn’t think she would get in, but she jumped into the top of the inner box, rooted around, and then exploded out again in dramatic fashion. I went to get the camera, but she was already out by the time I got back. :0(

Make this a wonderful day.

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Tuesday 7-23-2024

Ruiu Marjorie-Pinterest
Daily Paws

My massage therapist texted me that she needed to change my massage day and time, so – happily – I’m going this morning! Between my massage this morning and my yoga stretches this afternoon, I should be a happy camper!

Yesterday I finished two wood-burned pieces. One is a gift for our hair dresser and the other a sign I listed on Etsy

I’m having a great time in my art room. I learn more each time I work on another piece, and I’m enjoying the challenge. I’m brimming with ideas, so that makes me greet each day with anticipation. Hopefully, I’ll get another piece started today.

I hope you find something fun or satisfying to do today.

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Thoughts on a Rainy Monday

Tail & Fur

I THINK this morning’s rain is finished now, but it’s still pretty dark and wet outside. We’ll wait a bit and then gather trash to drive to the bottom of the driveway, getting our mail and then coming back up. Thankfully, we don’t have any pressing errands to do today – at least none about which I am aware.

Bianca Peters – Pinterest

I saw this little guy yesterday and just LOVE the way the light is shining through his ears and happy face.

We just grabbed the opportunity to get our trash down to the bottom of the driveway and get our mail. A wonderful new down-the-road neighbor family from Norway was taking their daily walk on the road that goes in front of our house. We waved to them and chatted for a second before we drove to the opposite end of the street, turned around, and drove back up. It still looks like we could get more rain, but it’s cool enough right now that we turned off the a/c and opened the front and back doors to enjoy a nice breeze and air out the house.

My two wood-burning pieces are coming along. I’m learning so much every time I’m up there practicing. It’s fun to be learning and trying to make things at the same time. Monster Cat sits right outside my art room door waiting for me to come out. :0)

This is my weight chart for this past week. I’m encouraged by the downward trend, and this is motivating me to continue my efforts. I’m closer to my interim goal each day now. Down 33.4 pounds and 34.1 inches so far.

Jean Thompson – Pinterest

Have a fun day.

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Rainy Sunday 7-21-2024

Tail & Fur

It’s quite dark and rainy outside right now, even though it’s after 9am. It’s welcome, though, because we can really use the rain. I can almost hear everything outside saying, “Ahhhhhhhhhhh.” My husband is sleeping in this morning – a really perfect morning for it.

We monitored our irrigation system yesterday afternoon, and had to spend over an hour trying to fix a blowout in the main pipe coming from the well house. I insisted we take a break, since we were both literally dripping from the humidity, and then we finished the job. We’ll monitor things again today to see if our ‘fix’ holds and my reprogramming of the irrigation unit for the front yard was correct and works as it’s supposed to.

Because of this, I didn’t get up to my art room yesterday. I’m having a really good time working on two new pieces of wood-burning. I’m improving, although it’s hard to judge because finding hand-done wood-burning designs now is difficult. Most of the ones on Etsy are machine-guided, like we do when we cut out a new mailbox decoration using a computer for the cut out on the sheet metal. Of course, they look really wonderful, but I’m trying to do ONE one-of-a-kind piece at a time, even though the art form has already left me in the dust. :0)

Make this a wonderful day.

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Thing of Beauty 7-19-2024

This may not look like much to YOU, but to ME it’s a “thing-of-beauty” and “a-joy-forever.” This corner of my foyer is empty for the first time in almost a year. This is the corner behind the front door to our house that is the storage place for donations to go to Veteran’s Thrift Store and our local public library.

Until yesterday, it was filled with two large paper grocery sacks of books plus three large trash bags of clothes. On Thursday we donated the clothes in Fort Smith while we were there for our teeth cleanings. Yesterday while my husband had a haircut, I took the sacks of books to the library for donation for their next community sale.

I also took some paperwork for the nice lady at my lawyer’s office to fax for me. She was really nice and didn’t even charge me – a nice surprise.

It will be really nice for a while, at least, not to have to move 5 sacks/bags in order to vacuum. HOORAY!

Today I’m hoping to start two more wood-burning pieces in my art room. I have an idea for a present for a good friend, plus another idea for a gift sign. I’m having such a good time learning what I can do with the different tips. I’m challenged now – rather than intimidated – so I can thoroughly enjoy myself. :0)

No errands today, so hopefully a quiet one. Ahhhhhhh!

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Thursday 7-18-2024

It’s only 77 outside right now. Ahhhhhh! It won’t last long, but I’m hoping that if I mention it, Mother Nature will be happy enough to allow it stay for a bit longer than she might have planned.

Yesterday was our semi-annual teeth cleaning. I really hate it, even though our dentist and our hygienist are both really nice people. Years ago, my husband wouldn’t wear a helmet when he was riding his motorcycle. I kept talking to him about it and he kept refusing. Finally, one day he said, “Okay. I’ll wear a helmet if you’ll come with me to the dentist for regular care.” I agreed and now I’m stuck, even though the motorcycle is a thing long past now.

I’ve always been afraid of the dentist, even though I had never had a cavity until one last year. I did have braces for a couple of years – painful and annoying – and then my teeth went back to their original places even though I wore a retainer. My mom died of oral cancer, and so I hold my breath that I’ll get that, too, even though I quit smoking some 45 years ago. Adding insult to injury, my husband insists we use the Corvette to make the trip to Fort Smith. He scares my hair off, putting on the gas when I would put on the brakes in any given situation. My stomach is in a knot by the time we get there.

We have made it alive through another trip now and don’t have to go for another 6 months. We did leave a donation for the Veteran’s Thrift Store while in Fort Smith.

I have a pretty impressive to-do list for today, some of which I’ll actually have to get accomplished – like putting clean sheets on our bed. I’m getting really skilled at pushing other things on the list aside for another time, though, to the point that I might see if there is a competition around for an award…

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