Category Archives: Thoughts on a ________

July 20, 2023 · 4:32 pm

Thoughts on Today 7-20-2023

LOOK WHAT I DID –

Earrings – Dangle/Wire – 1-3/4″ Purple, Turquoise and White Round 3D Light-Weight, Painted, Wooden – $13.95 with FREE SHIPPING to contiguous U.S. – Questions? Contact me at lindawlewis1@gmail.com – Want to purchase? HandmadeHavenByLinda – use the link.

WONDERFUL HAIR STYLIST –

It’s such a pleasure to deal with someone who –

  • Knows what he is doing
  • Listens
  • CARES
  • and is a friend

I have all that in Michael Remillard, owner/stylist of Tangles in Greenwood, 40 Town Square, 72936. 479-996-6366. My husband and I call him the miracle worker. My husband says Michael “heals” him. I’m delighted that I look as if “someone has a definite plan” when he finishes with me.

Vecteezy

TRYING TO GET MEDICINE FOR MY HUSBAND – and aftermath –

It looks like, after hours on the phone and jumping through hoops, plus a bit of begging, I have found a source for the medicine my husband needs, and have ordered and arranged payment for it. The next thing we’re waiting for is an invoice in my husband’s email. I’m more relieved than I can say. He NEEDS this medicine. Due to the donut hole in medical insurances, it has become totally unaffordable. My doctor’s office finally took pity on me, agreeing to provide a paper prescription. The pharmacy has accepted it and it looks like we’re in business with a price we can afford. WHEW!

AFTERMATH –

The surprising thing at the end of this was that our American Express card payment was declined. That’s the only card this place accepts. Yesterday I was too tired to deal with it, arranging for them to send us an invoice which I’ll pay with an e-check. Today I called American Express, getting the message ‘all is fine. Please try again.’ I did, and got the same decline. Tried to go to our account online, but when the site came up, we got a message saying the card had been canceled. I finally talked to a lady on chat who said it was due to inactivity. I ended up applying for a new card. Happily, I could do it online, was accepted, and two cards will be delivered on the 31st.

Steve Liptrot Photography – Getty Images

OUR MARRIAGE IN A NUTSHELL –

I hugged my husband before leaving to get my hair cut this morning. I said, “You mean everything to me. Take care of yourself.” He hugged me back, saying, “I would die without you – – Don’t die.” This man makes me angry, frustrated, melt with love, and laugh in the space of one exchange. (I’m still threatening to call our man with the backhoe to dig a hole in the back yard for him, but we are totally addicted to each other at this point.)

Hope your day has been a good one.

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July 20, 2023 · 9:21 am

Thursday 7-20-2023

WallingfordSign.com

Just a quick note before I leave for errands.

I’m going to get our mail and go for a haircut.

My husband went straight out to our shop this morning to get the main belt back on the mower so he can finish the yard. He says he only has about 5 minutes left before finishing. It’s going to be lethally hot again today, so I’m glad when he finishes, this is it for him outside today. We can hope the forecasters are correct that we’re supposed to get a bit of a break tonight or tomorrow.

I hope your day is a happy one. I’ll write more when I return.

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July 19, 2023 · 9:07 am

Wednesday 7-19-2023

LoveThisPic

Digital Mom Blog

SUMMER –

The heat index is forecast to be between 110-114 this afternoon. If anyone is taking a vote, I vote, “No, Thank you.” I’m going to TRY to get my husband to wait until around dinner time to mow, though he was out walking up and down our steep driveway yesterday while I programmed, trying to get our two driveway detectors to work the way they should. I’ve gotten better at grabbing and wetting a washcloth to put on the back of his neck and wipe his face while simultaneously pouring him a cold drink while getting him to his chair before he collapses. He promises to make better decisions, but he lies. While he’s mowing, I’ll check our tomatoes and hopefully spray to kill some weeds.

ERRANDS –

We leave in a bit to –

  • pick up our mail
  • get a haircut for my husband
  • pick up a paper prescription from our doctor at the clinic
  • grocery shop

ART ROOM –

Kiddipedia – Depositphotos

I’m determined to at least get up to my art room today, just to take some time to mess around, if not actually start something.

Enjoy your day.

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July 18, 2023 · 10:59 am

Tuesday Thoughts 7-18-2023

TRVST

CONVERSION TO LED PROJECT –

We have decided “positively” (:0) ) that we will call a hiatus in converting fluorescent fixtures with regular fluorescent tubes to LED tubes unless we HAVE to because of failing bulbs. The one exception to this is the 8 foot LED tubes my husband ordered to put in our shop. The remaining ones in the house are in much-less-used areas, so we can put a cap on this project soon.

DRIVEWAY SENSOR PROJECT –

After fighting with our driveway sensors for another half hour in the rapidly increasing heat this morning, we have now designated this project one for the “FALL.” (We are trying to change the sound one of the two make so we can figure out if we have a vehicle in the driveway or just a deer – or our cat.) It’s too hot for my husband to walk down, stand in the heat, and then walk up over and over. We were using walkie talkies, but they weren’t working well, either. The gremlins are out in full force these days.

HANDMADE HAVEN BY LINDA ON ETSY –

Framed 7×5 Friend Sign – “The Song in Your Heart” – $14.99 with FREE SHIPPING in the contiguous U.S. Contact me at lindawlewis1@gmail.com with questions or go to the link here on my Etsy site.

Sleep Review

DREAMS –

I was dreaming of all kinds of things I would like to try in the art room. Maybe now that we’re not changing lights or working on the driveway detectors, I can get up to my art room for a bit today.

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July 17, 2023 · 9:59 am

“Monday, Monday”

“Green & White 3-Disc Light-Weight Hand-Painted Wooden Dangle Earrings with Bling” – $13.95 with FREE SHIPPING in the contiguous U.S. – contact me if you have questions at lindawlewis1@gmail.com or use the link to go to HandmadeHavenByLinda on Etsy.

Johnny McClung-Unsplash

Can you see my hair blowing as July whizzes past me? I feel the month has barely started, but it’s over half-way gone! How did THAT happen?

We have our typical exciting day planned – gathering trash and taking it down to the humongous trash can at the bottom of the driveway, then getting the mail and going for groceries. Be still, my heart. :0) We are still having to drive ‘the back way’ to get to town. My husband went to see what progress had been made on the new bridge being built between us and town. He said there was a large concrete pillar in the center of the hole and lots of rebar. It looks like they are doing a much more serious job this time – a total rebuild, rather than a repair.

Vintage Hardware & Lighting

Our “replace-fluorescent-tubes-with-LED-tubes” project throughout the house continues. We have gotten into a “convert-2-fixtures-a-day” mode lately. This leads to much less stressful days and gets the job done eventually. I still resent being forced to do this conversion, but they ‘allowed us’ some 35 years before they decided to change, so I guess we can’t really complain…

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July 16, 2023 · 10:06 am

Sunday 7-16-2023

Look What I Did –

Journal – “Doorway” 5-1/2″ x 7″ Spiral Bound Hand-Painted with 10 Manila “Pockets” to hold lots of goodies. Features a wooden cut-out on the front, making the front of the journal look like a doorway to something wonderful. – $17.99 with FREE SHIPPING to the contiguous U.S. Contact me at lindawlewis1@gmail.com if you have questions or use this link to go directly to the journal on HandmadeHavenByLinda

Weather –

This week is just going to get hotter and hotter with dangerous heat indices each day. We’re trying to do our outside stuff at the beginning or end of the day or in really short sessions with lots of rest and water in-between sessions.

Continuing Project –

Since the fluorescent tubes we’ve been using for the past 35 years or so will no longer be produced starting next month, we’ve been forced to upgrade (?) to LED tubes. This means doing away with the ballast transformers in each of our fixtures, rewiring the fixture, then adding the new LED tubes. Since I think there are only two rooms in the house where we don’t have fluorescents, this is quite a project – both in terms of expense and labor. We can’t afford to have someone else do it, so we’re doing it a bit at a time.

Yesterday we converted the two ceiling fixtures in our bedroom. Today we plan to do two in the main part of our master bath. We’ll just keep plodding until we’ve done them all, hoping we won’t have to do this again.

Have a great Sunday.

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July 14, 2023 · 8:16 am

Good Morning! 7-14-2023

LOL Cute Animals – tumblr_mujhbls6bs1stlkgho1_500

We had quite a storm overnight-into-this-morning, knocking out our power for a very short time. However, I’m reading that a lot of people in our county are still without power. It’s rainy and we’re under a flood watch now, and excessive heat warning later today. It sounds like we should fasten our seat belts.

We’re planning to go to Lunch Bunch later to meet our friends. It will be interesting to see if we 1) have any trouble with flooding on the roads, 2) the restaurant is open and has power, and 3) if our friends come. We’ll plan to hit the local grocery before coming home again. (I would try calling or texting our friends, except that neither one answers their phones or gets texts, so it’s like throwing a bottle in the ocean these days. Getting older is such a treat. :0)

I think I told you my husband decided to sneak out a cut down another tree beside the driveway this week. Each day he’s dragging more of it up to our burn pile. I’m not sure where the tree is. I’m just glad he hasn’t hurt himself trying to tackle this.

I’m not sure about what else we’ll try to do today. I’m enjoying having the front and back doors open to the breeze!

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July 13, 2023 · 9:26 am

Thursday Thoughts 7-13-2023

facebook.com-youtube.com-Liana Ribeiro

It’s 82 degrees and I THINK has just finished raining here this morning.

My husband did some mowing right before dark. He didn’t finish, but maybe he can do more this evening, if things will dry out. I finished the second flower planter weeding. I don’t know if I can do more today or not.

Before

After – though beaten down a bit by the rain overnight and this morning.

The rainy-ness of the day MAY mean that my husband won’t sneak out a work on cutting down a tree in the “Dangerous Heat Alert” for today, as he did yesterday…

He may decide to substitute that for LED tube installation in our bedroom. I can’t say I’m looking forward to that, but as my mom used to say, “Everything is relative.” This means more to me every day. :0)

Have a fun Thursday.

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July 11, 2023 · 9:11 am

Tuesday 7-11-2023

5News

Colorful blobs are on the way, according to 5News. My source on my computer says the rain is supposed to stop around 10:30 this morning. I have the doors open for a nice breeze this morning.

I was, of course, planning to weed this morning. I’ll bet Mother Nature is hiding somewhere, laughing at me trying to ‘plan’ my days.

Reactual

My husband just got up, wanting to put in more LED bulbs in our fluorescent fixtures. We compromised that we’ll do some more this afternoon.

Mini Notebook – Pocket Notebook – “Live, Laugh, Love” – The inside has 100 blank pages for your thoughts, dreams, lists, reminders, memories. $14.99 with FREE SHIPPING to the contiguous U.S.

Contact me at lindawlewis1@gmail.com for more information or go to HandmadeHavenByLinda on Etsy.

I hope you have a nice Tuesday.

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July 10, 2023 · 9:40 am

Monday, July 10, 2023

Devon-Pinterest

I would LOVE to have a mural like this in my home. At least I can enjoy it here with you…

It is NOT raining this morning and the sun is actually out. Of course, NOW the weather folks are warning of intense heat again. :0(

We’ll get our chores out of the way soon with gathering trash and driving it down for pickup tomorrow, getting our mails, and replenishing groceries. The rest of the day is free.

The Arkansas Democrat

We took a walk around the yard last night to get a bit of exercise and fresh air. Everything needs to be weeded. The combination of daily rains and then sun has made the weeds explode with health. EVERYTHING needs my attention. It makes me tired to even LOOK at it.

Veronika’s Kitchen

Yesterday I did one of our grilling recipes, but INSIDE, since our weather has been so unpredictable. I fixed kielbasa, onions, potatoes, broccoli and tomatoes as a kind of stir fry. It was a nice change and we enjoyed it.

If the stars align, I’m thinking of getting up to my art room for at least a short time today to get things going on the Christmas presents I want to make for my friends this year. I’m planning to try to etch some drinking glasses, personalizing each one. We’ll see how things go.

Have a wonderful Monday. Make this the start of a happy, calm, productive week. Take care!

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July 9, 2023 · 9:51 am

Sunday 7-9-2023

Tenor.gif

It’s dark and rainy is supposed to be this way until around 4pm. My husband is happy because he doesn’t have to mow today. :0)

We don’t have any plans today. I’m going to try to cook some kielbasa and veggies for dinner tonight. We usually do this meal on the grill, but the weather hasn’t been cooperative. We’ll see how it does inside.

Otherwise, I’m hoping for a quiet, calm day. Yesterday was challenging. My husband was trying to do something with his computer and phone and was really frustrated, not able to tell me what he was trying to accomplish. I worked with him on and off all day, finally giving up, totally stressed out. Some days are like that, and thankfully, we don’t have them often.

I hope that you are having a nice Sunday.

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July 8, 2023 · 10:09 am

Rainy Saturday 7-8-2023

Chainsaw Art – Unknown Artist – Pinterest

The sky is dark, the doors are open to the breeze, a quiet rain is falling. The washer is running, my husband, dog, and cat are sleeping. A ‘lulling’ kind of day, encouraging laziness.

Freepik

Yesterday Lunch Bunch was a bust. No one was there to meet us, plus the restaurant had a closed sign on it, saying they would be closed from the 5th-10th. My only gripe is a lack of good communication. We skip breakfast on Lunch Bunch days because Kay wants to eat so early, so we ended up running our errands and returning home, THEN fixing a late lunch. No problem, just a bit of aggravation.

EmojiTerra

My husband states he used up all his patience in the Marines – patience for standing in lines, dealing with paperwork, people….. Now we’re dealing with the fact that MY fount of patience with HIS lack of patience is hitting really low levels.

The latest example is dealing with Humana. We’ve tried to insulate ourselves every way possible, but occasionally, they do need to communicate with us. It really gripes my husband that they send him an email, and then make him jump through a bunch of ID hoops before he can find out what they need to know. He’s been ignoring them lately. He yelled at his computer a couple of days ago because they wanted him to sign in again, and then give his birthdate. He figures they KNOW all this stuff. They contacted HIM. He left in a huff and today asked me if I could find out what they want. I’m still trying to get through to them…

Tenor.gif

On the nice side, we have a nice, gentle rain, no flying hairballs, a nice breeze, and no scary things to deal with today. We’ll take that. :0)

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July 7, 2023 · 9:02 am

We Made it To Friday

DigitalSpy.gif

I hope you’re having a good Friday. We have a mixed bag of good and bad today –

GOOD – Lunch Bunch and the chance to catch up with our friends. We have air conditioning to protect us from the heat, but –

BAD – our hot water ‘quick fix’ by our plumber has lived its life and died. He has a new tankless water heater ordered for us, and I’ll call him to see where we are on that.

BAD – my husband and I both had trouble sleeping last night. We were downstairs reading until about 3am.

GOOD – my husband is catching a few extras z’s now before Lunch Bunch and we can take a nap later if we need one.

I hope there is a lot more good than bad in YOUR day today.

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July 6, 2023 · 10:05 am

Thursday Thoughts 7-6-23

Giphy

WEATHER

It’s 77 degrees F., dark and rainy here right now. We have the doors open to welcome the cool breezes. We’re not supposed to be threatened by flying hair balls, so we can simply relax and enjoy the rain. AHHHHHH :0)

______________

LOOK WHAT I DID!

Painted Container with Lid – Hand-Painted, One of a Kind – Glass – “Stained Glass” – $41.99 with FREE SHIPPING in the contiguous U.S. – lindawlewis1@gmail.com for more information. HandmadeHavenByLinda on Etsy.

____________

ART ROOM

Pixabay

I’m starting to dream about the Christmas presents I want to make for my friends this year. I’m thinking of etching some glassware with initials plus some other decorative stencils with some free-form dremel additions in-between. I have no idea, really, how to do this, but I’m having a great time in my dreams… :0)

_________________

Yesterday’s harvest

My main spring garden was a complete bust this year due to the wonky weather. The spinach turned yellow and the lettuce started bolting way too soon. I’ll get that cleared out in time. Meanwhile, the tomatoes are doing well.

I hope you’re enjoying your Thursday.

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July 2, 2023 · 10:33 am

Before the Project Starts

Antony Sider-@BudgetDude on Twitter

TAKING CHARGE

I decided, after writing my first post today, that I would change things up. My husband is taking a nap, so I decided –

  • The weeding will definitely wait until tomorrow
  • That I would use the time he is sleeping to my advantage
  • I hate to cook when I’m tired and stressed, so I have just finished getting the ingredients for a beef stew in the crock pot. It will be ready when we are tonight with no more work on my part :0)
  • I did a lot of my daily computer stuff, so I’m not now feeling stressed that things are waiting on me.
  • I have cleared things off my beside-the-computer-table so I won’t have to clear work debris off them, plus my husband can actually put a foot on the table if needed to balance while he’s working without messing any of my things up. I also cleaned off my desk for the same reason, clearing breakables out of the way.

I may be losing the day for my own projects, but I’m feeling a bit more in charge of what we WILL be doing, my part in it, and have made the rest of the day more pleasant for both of us.

_________________

LOOK WHAT I DID!

2″ Hand-painted, light-weight, one-of-a-kind orange multi-color teardrop-shaped wooden dangle earrings. Painted plain orange on the back. Get ready for someone to remark about them or ask where they can get a pair. Answer: they can’t! These are only for YOU. They will need to come look for a different pair. French ear wire with soft marshmallow cushion backs. $13.95 with FREE SHIPPING in the contiguous U.S.

Erica commented on pair she purchased – “Earrings are so lightweight and super cute. They went perfectly with blue outfit for work and really enhanced the look. I got compliments on them too!”

Link to these on Etsy – If you prefer to buy these or other products directly from me, please contact me directly at lindawlewis1@gmail.com and we’ll discuss details.

_____________________

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July 2, 2023 · 9:08 am

Aggravation

Pixy.org

I was planning to try to get the brick ‘niche’ planter weeded today. It will take several sessions, particularly in the heat.

My husband is on a tear to replace our regular fluorescent tubes with LED tubes. This requires us to bypass – or, better, REMOVE – the current ballast transformers in each of our fixtures, rewire, put things back together, THEN put in the LED tubes. He is quite good at this stuff, but is a challenge to work with, to say the least. I’ve had plenty of practice helping him over the years but it is still a character-building exercise to be his helper. The character-building part of this grows exponentially as we age.

One thing is that he knows everything – much better than the experts. The experts say, turn the power off and/or turn off the fuse before doing this. The experts say, make sure the ladder’s stabilizing bars between the legs of the ladder are horizontal for stability. My husband not only ignores these instructions, but scoffs. It certainly increases the stress level of his ‘helper,’ and he scoffs at that, as well, saying I’m ‘over-reacting.’

So, he wants to replace the tubes in our office today. We have two 4-tube fixtures and one 2-tube fixture. Yesterday we had one 4-tube fixture and we spent the entire morning on it. (The kitchen is now fully converted and the light in there is amazing, I have to say, but at this particularly moment, I’m not sure it’s worth it.)

There is no way I can do several sessions out in the hot PLUS help my husband with the lights, so I will hope that we can finish with this project today and that I will be ‘free’ to weed tomorrow. I may, or may not, be able to get back to my computer today. I hope that your Sunday is a good one.

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July 1, 2023 · 8:55 am

Question

I would like your opinion on something, please. My friend, Marsha, suggested that I show more of what I’m listing for sale on HandmadeHavenbyLinda, my Etsy site, on this blog on a regular basis. I would really like to know what you think. Would you rather I didn’t do that? Would you find it irritating?

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June 30, 2023 · 12:45 pm

Heat Indices

5News

The local TV station says heat index ‘up to 108’ in my area. My computer heat thingie says “110”. (You say tomaaato and I say tomahhhto…. ) At least we’re agreed that it’s TOOOOOOOOO HOT!

Kay and Bud were at Lunch Bunch. We went to the local grocery afterwards to get some stuff. Even with the truck A/C on, we were hot. By the time we unloaded the truck, we were both wilting. We got a cold drink when we finished putting things away.

Needless to say, I’m NOT working outside now. I’ll check to see how things feel at around 5 this afternoon (though the heat warning is active until 9pm), plus whether the planter I want to weed is in the direct sun or not, and then decide. We don’t have anything scheduled tomorrow, so maybe I’ll just wait until tomorrow morning.

___________

I would like your opinion on something, please. My friend, Marsha, suggested that I show more of what I’m listing for sale on HandmadeHavenbyLinda, my Etsy site, on this blog on a regular basis. I would really like to know what you think. Would you rather I didn’t do that? Would you find it irritating?

______________

Guess what! In the category of ‘adding insult to injury‘, the Dyson people said on their website that they are no longer making the battery-powered vacuum I have and are not offering parts for it. We got a battery that was supposed to be compatible with it a couple of weeks ago. It won’t charge and make the vacuum usable, so we went to the Dyson site. NOW we’ve ordered another one that is supposed to be compatible that has more power. If that doesn’t work, we’ll either have to buy another vacuum or I’ll just use my regular vacuum.

Please try to stay cool and hydrated.

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June 28, 2023 · 9:15 am

Ugh

Digital Mom Blog

Today and tomorrow Arkansas is under ‘excessive heat warnings.’ This is serious business, as you can die from heat exhaustion or dehydration before you realize you’re anything but ‘really uncomfortable.’

Yesterday we had quite a storm after we got home from errands. Rain had spit on our windshield, but that was all while we were out. Once we got home, though, the sky turned dark, the wind came up – whipping the branches of our trees around – followed by thunder and lightning, and finally pretty heavy rain for half an hour or so.

Bonnie Plants

I’m planning to do some weeding in the middle planter of the planter trio today. I’ll do very short sessions, rest, and drink lots of water, then repeat. I would like to get that middle planter under control today.

We have no other errands, so I can concentrate on inside stuff otherwise today.

The Artful Parent

I got an idea of what I want to make for my friends for Christmas this year. I think I have everything I need already, so it’s just a question of starting one and seeing how it goes. I’ve been dreaming about it, so I’ll get up to the art room soon.

Have a good Wednesday!

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June 27, 2023 · 9:09 am

Tuesday 6-27-2023

Send by my friend, Carol.

_________________

Yesterday I waited until 5pm and THEN went out to do some weeding in the planter trio that runs end-to-end between our front yard grass and our driveway. The three planters are totally overrun.

The first thing I did the other day when I was weed whacking was take the loppers and hack back the total overgrowth of our forsythia and wisteria in the planter that is farthest from the house. Only then could I get close enough to the planter to weed whack.

Yesterday I started on the OTHER end and attacked the Bermuda grass that had taken over that planter. I spent half an hour, got the planter nicely cleaned out and started cleaning up and getting ready to go in. (The sun was fading a bit at that hour and I wasn’t in the direct sunlight, but the heat index was high and I had promised myself to do a short session.) My husband came out with the dog to check on me as I was gathering things to come in.

To say he was amazed at the planter is an understatement. :0) He used the word, “Miracle” several times. :0)

I’ll try to do the same on the middle planter this afternoon.

Our day should be a quiet one today. We’ll go mid morning to get our mail, pick up a few groceries at the local store, and drag our trash can back up where it lives higher up on the driveway.

I wish you a happy, productive, safe Tuesday.

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June 26, 2023 · 11:44 am

Monday 6-26-2023

Mark Gray Photography

This man’s photography continues to amaze me.

_______________

We are home from our errands – our trash gathered and left in the humongous container from the trash company. My husband did NOT skid on the gravel today. :0) We got our mail and then drove to town to mail the memory box I sold. Even though it is ONLY 88 right now with a high of ONLY 96 this afternoon, I am grateful for good air conditioning. I have found that as I age, my ‘comfortable’ temperature range narrows considerably.

I will fix lunch soon and then will probably take a nap. (Isn’t my life exciting? – ACTUALLY, one of the best things about being older than dirt is that I can just pretend I’m from Mexico. When I visited there about a hundred years or so ago, everyone took a nap in the afternoon and then started their work day up again, stopping for the day about 9pm. I thought it was civilized then, and I really like it now. :0)

All About Gardening

After my nap I’m planning to do a couple of sessions of yard work. There are MANY things to do. We have the lawn and weed whacking mostly under control now. The weeds and Bermuda grass are trying to take over several flower planters, so I’m going to see if I can do some good out there today.

Hoping for a calm, quiet day and evening. I wish you the same.

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June 25, 2023 · 10:03 am

Thoughts on Sunday 6-25-2023

NickMackmanSculpture.co.uk

While I was sitting at the computer, trying to wake up, even before I had gotten a cup of coffee, an order showed up in my email from my Etsy site, HandmadeHavenByLinda.

I sold one of my hand-painted memory boxes. This one is called, “Woodland.”

What a nice way to start the day! I’ll box it up carefully today and put it in the mail to its new home tomorrow. :0)

http://www.parsons-health.org.uk

We’re under an ‘intense heat warning’ already, and it lasts until 9pm tonight. I need to weed whack, so I’ll do really short sessions, with lots of rest and water in-between, and see if I can get it done.

Adobe

We really enjoyed our first cook out of the season last night. We had our LED colorful rope of lights on, making the deck festive. We didn’t start the fire until about 7:30 because of the heat. My husband enjoyed a beer while he cooked. We ate around 9pm. We shared one of the steaks and each had a small baked potato. It has been about a year since we splurged like this and we savored each bite. We’ll share the leftover 2nd steak this evening with steamed veggies. YUM. :0)

I wish you a calm, NICE Sunday.

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June 23, 2023 · 1:09 pm

FUN Celebration

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The whole gang was there – the birthday girl, Linda; Patty; Bud; Kay; my husband; and me; PLUS our favorite waitress, Mikey; PLUS the owner of the Pizza Barn, David.

Linda liked her presents, we all ate well, and then enjoyed sharing some chocolate cake Kay had made. Linda felt special (as she is EVERY day) but maybe more demonstratively today.

She will continue her birthday celebration at her retirement place, plus with the rest of her family, who is gathering for a big celebration in July, so she will have quite the marathon. :0)

Bud and I compared notes on the gremlins that had infested both of our houses this year. I think it was a draw if we were having a contest. We commiserated, and agreed to help each other try to get rid of them.

After Lunch Bunch, we went to replenish our grocery supplies and then filled 4 gas cans we were carrying in the back of the truck to use with the mower. Since we had rain recently and then relentless sun, my husband was understandably grousing that he’ll have to mow again. I need to get out with him to try to catch up with the weed whacking.

I hope that your weather isn’t frying you like an egg or blowing you to smithereens. Hopefully, we can all simply relax and enjoy a nice weekend.

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June 22, 2023 · 2:33 pm

Ahhhhh!

sandsculpture-neon.org.gr

You can see how relaxed and comfortable I am since my wonderful massage with Lynn Moody 479-629-7601 this morning. She is a true miracle worker as a massage therapist PLUS allowed me to fully relax – somethings I am able to do less and less these days. I also consider her a friend.

I came home, fixed lunch, and then fell asleep in my recliner. My husband put my throw over me at some point and I awoke feeling really good. Ahhhh!

While I was gone, he took our bed apart enough to be able to find the model # on the air pump for our bed and looked it up on the net. He found one! We looked at it together and ordered it. It’ll be here July 1st. When it comes, we’ll take the bed completely apart, replace the air pump, find and repair any leaks in the mattress, then put things back together. HOORAY!

We don’t have anything else on the schedule today, so we can relax and do what we want.

I just realized that yesterday was the first official day of summer. We’re due for high 90’s or 100 degrees this weekend with a heat index of around 110. That’s what I call ‘making an entrance!’

I hope you’re having a wonderful Thursday.

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June 21, 2023 · 10:55 am

Wednesday 6-21-2023

Smiling Kids Pediatric Dentistry

My husband did a great job of getting us TO the dentist yesterday. We both got a good cleaning and good report. I did tell the receptionist that the NEXT time I call her, wanting her to arrange an appointment for the GeoThermal tech to come check our system, I would appreciate it if she were more cooperative. We had a good laugh. On the way home, my husband didn’t like the traffic and scared my hair off with the drive home. We are still alive, but I let him know that life was too short to have to endure that.

He increased my thinking about digging a hole in the back yard for him when he started talking to me in the middle of the night. He was mumbling too much for me to understand him. I was finally fully awake, only to find he said that I was ‘a cute fuzzy.’ I am definitely not at my best in the middle of the night awakened suddenly and forced to function. He quickly went back to sleep. I came downstairs and read for a while and then went back up to catch what sleep I could. He did remember talking to me and gave me a hug this morning.

We had a really good conference call with our son today. My husband has trouble communicating, and so does it less and less. Our son was asking if he would talk to him on the conference call thingie today. We got it set up and I got my husband to come over to my computer. The volume was too low for him, and I figured out how to increase that so that they could talk one-on-one, something they haven’t done for a while. It was good to see them smiling at each other. When they finished, our son and I talked. It was great to catch up and laugh together. He is safe and happy, so all is right in my world.

Even though I failed in my attempt to get the dental receptionist to make an appt for the geothermal guy to come, I DID call the correct number after that and he’s coming out this afternoon. It gives me confidence that someone who is knowledgeable about the system checks things over twice a year. He also changes out the filters in the basement and the attic so we don’t have to – a wonderful thing.

Have a wonderful Wednesday.

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June 19, 2023 · 10:25 am

Juneteenth 2023

Audacy

“Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. Deriving its name from combining June and nineteenth, it is celebrated on the anniversary of the order by Major General Gordon Granger proclaiming freedom for enslaved people in Texas on June 19, 1865.” ~ Wikipedia

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My husband is alive, even though he woke me from a deep sleep at 0-dark-thirty this morning wanting me to remove a tick from the back of his knee. The light blinded me so it was hard to focus. When I did, the tick was so small I thought it was just some dirt. I could hardly feel it. I tried to remove it with my fingers, but finally found some forceps in the bathroom with which I was finally able to remove the tick. As I was wondering why we needed to do this in the middle of the night rather than the morning, my husband started to snore. Soon after I tried to get back to sleep, the alarm went off. AND, as I type this, guess who is taking a nap in his recliner in the living room….

The only thing on our schedule this morning is gathering trash and driving it down to the bottom of the driveway. We spent some time cutting branches in the driveway yesterday and will probably do another session today. It doesn’t take long for us to poop out doing this, but little by little, we ARE making a difference.

I am also planning to work outside, weed whacking, harvesting and cleaning up the veggie garden, and fertilizing my tomatoes. I’ll have to be careful, though, because it is supposed to be 95 today with a strong sun.

Just when I think I’m doing reasonably well today, I call the dentist’s office trying to schedule a check on our GeoThermal system. (Their phone number was just above the GeoThermal number on my desk calendar.) Embarrassing!

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June 18, 2023 · 10:00 am

More

Morteza Mirzai-Flickr

We had quite a storm overnight with LOTS of loud thunder and lightning. a lot of people in Ft. Smith and the surrounding River Valley don’t have power this morning. We were lucky, with no damage that we know of. We have another storm due around noon, and then I think we’re clear.

My good husband mowed the grass right before dinner last night so it looks like someone cares around here. I need to catch up with the weed whacking when things dry out.

We set the triptic (sp?) on the truck when we left to go to town yesterday, measuring how far it was from our driveway to the place we usually turn on Hwy 10 to finish the trip to town. It’s 5.3 miles to get there, going the back way. There’s another back way, where we go down back behind our house and out to HWY 71 South and then back to Greenwood, but that’s even farther. It’s not a huge deal – just a couple of extra miles in the wrong direction – an annoyance until the new bridge is built and open.

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June 16, 2023 · 9:04 am

Severe Weather

Ozark Radio News

Weather across the U.S. may be severe today, so we need to keep a close eye out. I think I read that 50 million people are under threat of severe storms, gusty winds, hail, etc. today.

Unless things turn bad quickly, we’re planning to go ahead to Lunch Bunch this morning and then to pick up a prescription and groceries before coming home. Of course, this is all subject to change if we see flying hairballs.

If we’re lucky enough to have this bad stuff bypass us, I plan to check my tomato plants and harvest the rest of my heads of lettuce this afternoon.

Hopefully, we’ll all come through this threat intact and safe.

Be careful.

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June 15, 2023 · 9:38 am

Thursday 6-15-2023

SitStay

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We’re leaving in a minute to get my hair cut. My husband is going with me today because we have to go the back way to get to town due to the bridge between us and town being demolished. My husband, being a non-trusting soul, went to see for himself that the bridge was really gone yesterday. He said there is just a big hole where the bridge used to be with a backhoe down in the bottom of the hole. We have no clue how long it will take to build the new one.

I know I can get to town just fine. I just don’t remember where the street comes out onto Hwy 10. I don’t think there is even a street sign to look for, so I’ll watch for landmarks as we come back home. After that, I’ll be good to go. I could use my GPS, but it doesn’t know where Greenwood’s post office is,(it’s been there for 10 years or so) and will routinely try to steer people into Greenwood Lake because of old OLD O-L-D information. (The lake has been where it is since we built our home 37 years ago.) Our town is obviously not a high priority for the folks who update the information for these things….

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June 13, 2023 · 10:13 am

Whew!

Patricia McConnell

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We’re just back inside from working in our driveway. Each time we don’t have a lot to do, we spend a bit of time in the driveway cutting back the branches that are encroaching on the driveway, forming a ‘tunnel’ now in some places. I jump up and grab a branch and bring it down with me, holding it down as far as I can while my husband lops it off as high as he can reach. I then haul it down the driveway some to a clearer spot on the ‘yard-downward-side’ and try to throw it off the driveway as far as I can. It doesn’t take long for us to call it a day, but we can see the progress we’re making.

Today was a bit harder because there were lots of briars attached to the branches. We did as much as we could with the loppers. My husband, thoroughly pooped at this point, went to sit in the truck while I did a bit more with my hand-held cutters. I cleared off the driveway a bit more of the stuff he had cut. Then we drove the rest of the way down, put our now-empty trash can back where it lives, got our mail, then drove down the road to the church to turn around.

Seton

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The road in front of the church had ‘road closed’ signs in both lanes, so I guess the bridge demo is going full steam today. We’ll have to go the back way to get to town until further notice.

Another day with no hot water. I’ll tell you it’s quite refreshing to ‘wash’ with a cold wet washcloth and then wash my hair in the sink with ice cold water. It’s a good cure for being sleepy. :0)

Our plumber called yesterday with a technical question about our tankless water heater system. My husband had to go down to the basement in order to answer it. Our plumber is going to come and ‘flush’ our system, hoping to get it working for us again. He’s trying to get here today or tomorrow.

We haven’t heard anything from the mattress lady on the warranty for the air pump on our bed.

And so it goes.

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June 12, 2023 · 9:19 am

It’s Monday 6-12-2023

Ryan Franco – Unsplash

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I’m disappointed. There was an unbelievable video on Pinterest yesterday showing a gazillion hummingbirds swarming several feeders. I laughed aloud watching them. I copied the URL so I could share it with you today, but no matter what I did, the URL wouldn’t embed. I finally gave up. I wish I could have made it work. I’m sorry. :0(

Today is the day the people are demolishing the bridge between us and town. We need to call in a prescription and go get it today, so we’ll go the back way for the first time. It’s been awhile, so I’ll pay close attention to the turn-off on the way home. I don’t think there is even a street sign there. I’ll try to find a landmark. Meanwhile, I’ll try to reach someone at City Hall to see if I can find out a ballpark estimate of how long it will take to build the new bridge.

We’re due for some rain today (yeah, I know. JUST what we need). We’ll get our errands done and then batten down the hatches for the rest of the day.

Peggy J. Hughes – FineArtAmerica.com – art; Anthony J. D’Angelo, quote.

Hoping for a quiet day here, and one for you, too. :0)

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