Category Archives: Thoughts on a ________

November 18, 2023 · 11:21 am

Birthday Saturday 11-18-2023

Gfycat

Happy Birthday to my husband. I’m delighted with his attitude. Yesterday he was “old and 79.” Today he’s “80 with cache’!”

He checked with me this morning first thing, to confirm I’m cooking ‘chicken chunks with onions, mushrooms, and soup over rice’ for his birthday dinner. I was planning to bake a pineapple upside down cake, as well, but he decided that was ‘too much sugar.’ (This from the man who denies he has Type II Diabetes – he just has a ‘sugar problem’)

_______________

I told you that I’m trying to give my Etsy site a face lift. This is proving to be a real character-building exercise. I’ve been working on a banner to go across the top, a new logo, and lots of other changes and – I hope – improvements, but I’ve been beating my head against a lot of obstacles so far.

I finally decided that I could at least do one thing reasonably quickly, and that was to lower my prices. People are at least thinking about buying presents for everyone on their list for Christmas, and I think prices are particularly important when the economy is so challenging. So all of my prices have been lowered – some really significantly – and I’m still offering free shipping to anyone living in the contiguous U.S.

I lowered my prices yesterday and woke up to a sale this morning. Maybe a coincidence, but it was really nice, nonetheless. I just got home from a trip to town to the post office to get it in the mail. :0)

Have a wonderful Saturday!

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November 17, 2023 · 9:29 am

Question-Challenge-Joy 11-17-2023

cutigers – @cutigs1 on X

Unwritten

The question of the day is whether our friends will be at Lunch Bunch in a little over an hour. Why don’t I call them, you ask? Both of them HAVE phones, but neither one answers. I leave a voice mail on one of them, but she says she doesn’t get it. The other doesn’t have any kind of messages set up on her phone, and doesn’t wear her hearing aids much of the time, anyway.

So – we’ll go and see if anyone is there, eat – or not eat – and then get some groceries on the way home. “The times – they are a’changin.'”

Dengarden

My challenge for the day is changing the wire holder on my weed whacker so I can continue neatening up around the house. I may have to break down and enlist my husband’s help, but I would RATHER prevail by myself.

Fox & Spice – Fall – Tumblr

My joy for the day is the truly beautiful fall weather we’ve been enjoying. Usually it’s in the 90s one day – then we have 3 days of fall – followed by snow, ice, and winter. It has been such a nice thing to almost take the beautiful afternoons for granted!

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November 16, 2023 · 10:30 am

Happy Thursday 11-16-2023

Lovethispic.com via Deborah Ann – Pinterest

I’ve decided to overhaul my Etsy site and my brain is scrambled. Some of the changes I would like to make are cosmetic (considering new name, banner, logo, etc.) Some changes I would like to make the Etsy site doesn’t allow.

I’m reading articles on describing my items. I have followed the Etsy forms on listing my stuff. When I go to ‘Etsy.com’ and type in a search term that I HOPE will make my stuff pop up, it doesn’t. I have NOW read articles that say I should be putting my key words into my title spot, rather than down where Etsy says to put them. I’m seeing in my research that a lot of the people on Etsy are doing this. I’ve decided that today the only thing I’m doing is lowering my prices and letting my head rest. :0)

The stress continues because I couldn’t change the thingie that holds the weed whacking line yesterday. I’ll tackle that problem again later. I THINK I’m smarter than the weed whacker, but the jury is still out….

The pest spraying people called and are coming between 3 and 5 this afternoon for the last spray of the year. I’m trying to get ready for them, clearing the floor areas as much as possible. It amazes me how MANY things are on our floors! I’ll just do what I can.

Before I do anything else, I’m putting the makings of beef stew into the crock pot for our dinner tonight.

I hope that you are having a fine day so far and that many things bring a smile to your face.

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November 15, 2023 · 10:09 am

Beautiful Fall Wednesday 11-15-2023

Gregorio Catarino – @gregcatarino1 on X

We’re having a glorious fall day here in Arkansas. It’s 54 degrees F. now, and it’s supposed to get to 73 this afternoon. The sun is shining, our dog is smiling and trying to climb up into my lap as I type. (She forgets that she weighs 97 pounds and thinks she’s a lap dog.) Things are good and I have absolutely no complaints. :0) The weather folks are saying cooler weather is coming, so I’ll enjoy today with even more awareness and appreciation.

Better Homes & Gardens

I’ve been flapping my mouth about weed whacking, but haven’t actually DONE more than flap. Laziness and other priorities have been sucking up my time and energy, but I’m going to force myself to get outside and start neatening up around the house – the first session this morning. I’m feeling especially guilty because my husband got out yesterday, mowed the grass in front of the garden, and then ran the gas out of the mower to store it for the winter. He also changed another of the 8 foot fluorescent light fixtures in the shop to the new LED bulb configuration. I feel like a slug. :0( I’ll try to make up for that today.

Freepik

I told you that I’m thinking of changing the name and look of my Etsy shop. You would be surprised how difficult it is to (1) think of a name that is no more than 20 characters – no punctuation allowed – that hasn’t been used on Etsy before. And then, if you finally figure one out, ideas for banners to go across the top of the site and a logo that shows the idea of the shop, catches the eye, etc. I may die of old age before all of that comes together.

SO – I’ll share a few more things with you here on the blog and then get outside. :0)

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November 14, 2023 · 8:55 am

Tuesday Thoughts 11-14-2023

NBC News

Faster than the movement of a glacier, but I have a small grin on my face this morning, with the poundage loss at 15.6. Onward to 20!

My husband has a haircut this morning. As we leave, we are hoping to see that the trash can has been emptied. We’ll get our mail, get the haircut, shop for groceries, then drag the trash can back up where it lives when we get back.

Other excitement for the day is continuing the weedwhacking, glassware project, and reworking my Etsy site.

I hope you have a very pleasant Tuesday.

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November 13, 2023 · 10:48 am

New Week, New Start

Freepik

I’ve decided that my Etsy site needs a total makeover. I’m going to do it a bit at a time, trying to learn as much as I can about WHAT I can do, HOW to do it, and then, once that is done, making new things to add to it. This will be a long term project, but I’m feeling excited just thinking about it. I’m hoping my friends will help me, allowing me to bounce ideas off of them to get their opinions. My good friend Marsha already pointed me to a YouTube video on the subject. I’ll look at that first. :0)

The People’s Therapist

It looks like we have a whole week of good weather here! I KNOW! Hard to believe. I’m not sure if Mother Nature is feeling bad about her extreme behavior lately or if this is a test – where she dangles the good weather in front of us and then snatches it away, like Lucy and Charlie Brown…

This is probably the last of the flowers for us this season. This is a twice-blooming iris, which USUALLY blooms for the second time in October. It reinforces my opinion that Mother Nature is really enjoying messing with us this year. I’ll surely ‘accept’ it any time we get a pretty bloom, though.

UPDATE – It’s been about 45 minutes since I was working on this post. My husband came in, wanting to gather the trash and take it down to the bottom of our driveway. On the way down the driveway we saw 3 MORE purple iris!

TangledTulip on Etsy –

My husband is feeling of two minds about his birthday which we’ll be celebrating Saturday, Nov. 18th. He’ll be 80. On one hand, he has never wanted to do anything “public” concerning a birthday (he once almost decked a nice man who was playing “Happy Birthday” on his accordion right next to his chair in a restaurant). On the other hand, he privately thought he would never live to see 30 – so 80 is quite an achievement, plus he thinks it has a certain amount of cache’ – where being 79 is simply, ‘old.’ I just asked him if I could take him to dinner or celebrate in some way. This was quickly squashed. He finally said he wants me to fix his favorite meal – chicken chunks and soup over rice. I’ll do that, plus see if there is a way to make another favorite – pineapple upside down cake – with as little sugar as possible – that will still taste good. I’ll research that.

Have a wonderful day!

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November 12, 2023 · 10:15 am

Sunday Sunshine 11-12-2023

Depositphotos

It’s supposed to get to 70 this afternoon. I’m hoping to get outside and neaten things up around the house with the weed whacker – sidewalk edges, planter edges, under the deck, etc. I find that if I make it a point to neaten things up for the winter, my disposition stays much nicer than my normal, “meaner than a snake” demeanor (according to my husband :0))

My glassware etching project is progressing. I’ve found that really short sessions work best for me. I’m enjoying the challenge of this. The jury is still out on whether the finished product will go to friends or into the trash. :0)

My good friend, Nora, bought an Advent Calendar from JacquieLawson.com for me. If you’ve never seen these, it’s an online calendar you enjoy day by day, personalizing as you go. They are truly wonderful and bring a lot of joy to the Christmas season.

I hope the weather is such where you are that you can enjoy some fresh air and sunshine, the beautiful fall season, some good exercise, and lots of fun.

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November 11, 2023 · 9:06 am

Fall Saturday 11-11-2023

Jessica Myers – @JMyers_Photos on X

Isn’t this gorgeous?

I was noticing on the way home yesterday that our trip from town was ‘pretty,’ with a good amount of fall color along the curvy road. The turn onto our road was almost picturesque and our driveway even looked homey to me.

It’s 39 right now, so a bit cool for working outside yet. I’m hoping to get some good time to work on neatening things up outside later today.

Veterans Day -Remembrance – Guardians of the National Cemetery

Sharla Derry, Greenwood AR

This is a nice picture taken by our City Clerk/Treasurer. It shows the outer circle of the memorial stones placed by families in Greenwood. It doesn’t show that there are now ‘spokes’ in the wheel going to the center, honoring more veterans. Memorial Park is FILLED with flags right now remembering the price so many people have paid to keep us free.

Yesterday we put up the decoration we made, the caterpillar from Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland on our mailbox. I like the actual tubing we used for the hookah pipe making a nice 3-D aspect we hadn’t tried before.

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November 10, 2023 · 10:08 am

We Made it to Friday! 11-10-2023

I think the artist says, “Jodi Hills” – Pinterest

We’re having a really nice day here. It’s supposed to get to 67 this afternoon with lots of sun. Soooo nice after all the rain we got yesterday.

We leave for Lunch Bunch in about 20 minutes. It would be good if some of our friends are there.

I’m planning to work outside some this afternoon, plus work on my glassware project some, plus cook breakfast for dinner tonight.

A whole weekend of really nice, fall weather is forecast – all stretching out before us to do with it what we will. I wish you a happy, productive time. :0)

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November 9, 2023 · 9:55 am

Thursday Thoughts 11-9-2023

Kairn Savage – @SavageKairn on X

5News

We’re due for a LOT of rain today. (We’re beneath the yellow and orange blobs on the map above, just to the northeast of Poteau and to the southeast of Fort Smith.) My SIL in Charlotte and my good friend in The Villages have both asked me to send some rain their way, so I’m trying not to hog it all. We’ll take a bit and try to send the rest on.

When I was cooking the other day, I opened two cans of what I thought was cream of chicken/mushroom soup. It turned out it was cheddar cheese soup! I don’t even remember buying or having it, but now I have two opened cans. I searched and found a couple of recipes that sound good to try to use up the soup. I’ll try one of them tonight. I’m hoping to have some leftovers, and hoping I can get them in containers and in the freezer this time before Amber decides she should ‘clean up’ …

Depositphotos

I got lazy yesterday and didn’t start weed whacking in the garden. I get a reprieve on starting it today, since we’re having the rain (started about 2 minutes ago), so I’ll switch to inside projects for the day.

Women’s Health.org

Shout-out to Cathy! She went for a biopsy yesterday. They did a scan to pinpoint the area before doing the procedure, and the ‘spot’ had resolved itself. She didn’t need to have the biopsy. WOO HOOOOOOOO! This wonderful news couldn’t happen to a nicer person. :0)

I wish you a terrific Thursday.

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November 8, 2023 · 8:56 am

Exercise

Spice of Life – Deborah Ann – Pinterest

I had a rough night of sleep last night. I’m not sure why. I certainly did my share of exercise yesterday.

I’m happy to tell you that I finished the ‘weeding-and-covering-the-4-garden-planters’ project in my square foot garden. (We’ve decided to wait on trying to take down and rebuild the remaining two planters that finally fell apart due to the stress and strain of being outside in the sun/wind/rain/temperature differences. The angle iron supports are fine, but the wooden ‘boxes’ will have to be completely rebuilt.)

To be honest, I’m not sure I’ll replant the 4 boxes in the spring that I just weeded. I did the work to protect the boxes from further stress over the winter. I’ll make the final decision in the spring. I have three brick planters on the far side of the house that I could use instead, since the main things I plant are lettuce, spinach, and tomatoes.

The next project I’ll start today is ‘weed-whacking-the-whole-garden-area‘ – (inside the garden, in front of the garden outside the fence, and then the area beside the garden/behind the shop and the perimeter of the garden around the outside of the fence.) This whole area is really badly overgrown with high, dense, hard-to-cut weeds – a big job needing multiple sessions. I will try to get that started today.

The weather people are saying a strong cold front is coming through tonight, bringing cooler temperatures and a good amount of rain starting about noon tomorrow and lasting the rest of the day and then overnight. Just in case they’re correct, we’ll do our grocery shopping today and I’ll plan to work on my glassware project tomorrow afternoon.

I wish you a stellar day.

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November 7, 2023 · 9:37 am

Tuesday 11-7-2023

There is nothing to vote for or against in my county today, so I won’t be collecting and wearing a sticker such as the one above today. My SIL, who lives in Charlotte NC, is not only voting today, she is a poll worker for the first time! I applaud her motivation and energy to do this. I am always thankful to the volunteers who help with our elections here, and I always thank everyone who isn’t actively helping someone at the time I’m there. If you have an opportunity to vote today, I hope you take advantage of it.

Kelley Blue Book

Our 2006 Honda Ridgeline Truck looks mostly like this one, but we changed out the grill my husband didn’t like and ours is not nearly as shiny as this one after 17 years.

For the first time in that time, we put our mounted snow tires in the back of the truck and I drove it to the tire place in town to have THEM take the regular tires off, put the snow tires on, and air them up. It was two hours or so very well spent, in my opinion. We had trouble just heaving the tires into the back of the truck and rolling them from and to the place we store them in the shop. I’m really glad my husband honored his agreement to let the experts do the job this time.

I particularly noticed that the tire guy just picked up each tire and put it in the back of the truck like it was no big thing. I had to stop and tell him that I resented that a bit, but was grateful for his strength and expertise. We laughed together over it. The whole job was $32, so that was certainly a win/win as far as I’m concerned. Now we will be as able as possible to get down our driveway – and up again – if we have to – when it gets slippery this winter.

Navien Tankless Hot Water Heater

My husband stayed at the house while I went to get the tires changed, waiting in case the people who might deliver the tankless hot water heater our plumber ordered for us came. They called right before I left, so I was able to leave a check for the unit. The tankless is expensive, but we’ve learned the hard way that it’s no fun to run out of hot water when you’re in desperate need of a nice hot shower after working. We spent more on the installation of the current heater than we did on the unit itself, with a lot of expensive rules about venting and the use exclusively of stainless steel on the pipes. We’ve had the current unit, a Rheem, since July of 2014, so it has lasted almost 10 years with only one problem for which we had to call our plumber.

123RF.com

Since the new unit is about $1,000 more than the previous one, I’m HOPING that the installation will cost a lot less.

Ildar Abulkhanov-Getty Images-istockphoto

Today I’m hoping to weed the last 2 planter boxes in my square foot garden and cover them with tarps for the winter.

I wish you a very nice Tuesday.

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November 3, 2023 · 10:13 am

It’s Friday 11-3-2023

Quora

We’re leaving for Lunch Bunch in about half an hour. I haven’t heard from anyone. That USED to mean that everyone was planning to be there. These days it doesn’t mean much. We just leave, get our mail, show up and see if anyone else is there. If they aren’t, we enjoy talking with the restaurant owner and our wonderful waitress and eat our lunch and leave. If someone else shows up, we enjoy lots of catching up and laughter.

I’m working on my glassware etching presents. I can only so really short sessions because arthritis in my thumbs makes its presence known after a few minutes. I’m trying to do several sessions each day I can.

Since I don’t know what I’m doing, I watched this video. It’s motivating and intimidating at the same time. I’m fascinated by what Lesley Pyke is able to do, and she makes it look so easy. She has a lot of expensive equipment to go with her expertise. This video shows you to what I’d like to aspire when I grow up. :0)

Meanwhile, I’m using the smaller dremel that my husband had in the shop. The pencil type engraver I bought just isn’t doing the job. I’m hoping that I can limp along with this one, doing the free-form designs I’d like between the stenciled designs I did on each glass with the chemical etching stuff. I’ve bought a set of diamond bits that I might be able to use. They should be here soon.

I’m having a good time, certainly more than challenged. The jury is still out on whether I’ll give them to my friends or pitch them.

If the weather is cooperative, I plan to get outside this afternoon and do something in the clean-up-the-yard project.

Have a safe, happy day. It’s Friday!

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November 2, 2023 · 8:49 am

Thursday 11-2-2023

Zeel

In about an hour I leave for my rescheduled massage. My body is telling me, “Yes, please. THANKS.” We had to reschedule because my massage therapist was exposed to Covid and I didn’t want to risk bringing it back to my husband.

I had to change the diamond bit in my dremel for my glassware project. I had trouble, so I asked my husband to help. We thought we had it in, but I found when I tried it, it wasn’t in securely. I brought it back down and we tried everything we could figure out to do, but it just wasn’t happening.

I started to try to look for another one on the net and my husband remembered that he thought he had one in the shop. He DID, so I THINK I’m back in business. I’ll try it this afternoon. :0)

The freezes for 4 days this week have pretty well taken care of the rest of the blooming roses, irises, and elephant ears now. :0( It’s supposed to start warming up tomorrow, so I’ll try to get outside and start the clean-up/clean-out, trying NOT to grind my teeth that Mother Nature decided to take these from us at least a month early.

NBC News

My husband woke me up at 4:30 this morning, talking. After I woke up enough, he was telling me he was answering MY question, which he said was, “Who has the power?” I never did figure out what the answer to that was, or why he thought I had asked him that, but threatened him within an inch of his life if he didn’t quit talking and go back to sleep. It took me a LONG time to finally drop off again.

I wish you an enjoyable day.

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October 31, 2023 · 10:21 am

Thoughts on Halloween 2023

BBC

It was 26 this morning here. It’s a balmy 40 degrees now and sunshine. It FEELS really cold. We have this “unseasonably cold” weather through Thursday, and then it will probably be “unseasonably warm” after that until Mother Nature can make up her mind which season she would like us to have. (The high is supposed to be 74 on Saturday, after killing off all our remaining flowers, elephant ears, etc. :0( I shouldn’t be griping. I know that people got snow recently, and THAT is surely unseasonable in the fall).

I’m still smiling from yesterday, when I was parked at the bottom of our drive, trying to roll the big trash can down to the road without falling on my rear. The lady who delivers our mail drove by and we waved. She went down to the next house, then turned around and came back to give me our mail, saying, “Just wanted to save you another trip.” (Isn’t that NICE?)

She then asked, “Who makes all the art?” When I told her my husband and I made the stuff together, she said, “I just love it when I can drive up your driveway. I notice something different every time I come. I just love it.”

When I got back up to the house, I told my husband. We love it when someone takes the time to say something, particularly when it’s out of the blue and could easily NOT be said, that they enjoy what we’ve done.

Can you see me grinning and walking about 3 inches up off the ground?

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October 28, 2023 · 9:19 am

Dark, Rainy Saturday 10-28-2023

blissfulstyle.tumblr.com

We got up early this morning, while it was still dark. Now it’s almost 9am Central time, and it’s STILL dark outside, plus rainy. The forecast is for “rolling downpours” all weekend. I think the weather people decided they were tired of the old forecasts and are coming up with new, “more attention-getting” descriptions.

Seward-Johnson

I’m going to try to use this rainy weekend as the opportunity to spend some serious time in my art room, trying to do enough to decide whether to continue with my glass etching idea for Christmas presents for my friends here or to scrap the project and decide on another. I have to admit I’m intimidated at this point, but I’ll try to concentrate on enjoying the attempt, rather than worrying about the outcome.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend ahead.

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October 27, 2023 · 9:29 am

Friday 10-27-2023

Halloween costume for a boy in a wheelchair – BoredPanda.com – Liucija Adomaite and Justinas Keturka – I think this is ingenious! :0)

Last week my husband and I were stood up at Lunch Bunch. No one called. No one wrote. No one came. We enjoy talking with David, the Pizza Barn owner/cook and our waitress, Mikey, so we still enjoyed our lunch. Still, it would be NICE if our friends let us know when they won’t be there. We’ll see what today brings. At LEAST a nice lunch…

We are right in the oblong bull’s eye for weather starting today. We’re just southeast of Fort Smith on this map in the orange blob. Lots of rain forecast, several cold fronts, 5 possible days of overnight freezes, etc. I’m still hoping we’ll get more ‘fall’ days before we officially start preparing for winter.

Yesterday I vacuumed up an entire dog’s worth of hair from our first floor carpet. I’ve used the ‘defurminator’ on Amber, but that doesn’t seem to make any difference on the amount of hair ending up on our carpet. She won’t allow me to actually vacuum her directly…

I’ll try to do a bit outside if the rain holds off this afternoon. Otherwise, I might actually make it up to my art room!

Enjoy your Friday.

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October 26, 2023 · 10:20 am

Rainy Thursday 10-26-2023

Maximillian R. – flickr.com

It’s dark, windy, and rainy here today, but not cold. It’s supposed to get up to 80 this afternoon! This looks like the last week we’ll have of the unseasonably warm weather. It may actually freeze here over the weekend, so I’ll get out and get last pictures of our elephant ears.

To give you an idea of size, the “leaf” in the middle lower row is above my head…

Gardening Know How

I need to get serious about starting to ‘put things away’ for the winter with final weeding, trimming, pruning, etc. I’ll cover my raised bed square foot garden planter boxes with tarps for the winter and unhook our watering system for it. I’m not absolutely sure I’ll have a garden out there this coming spring. I’ll make that decision later, but I’ll take care of what I have. We have two planters of the six that need to be rebuilt, but that still leaves four I could plant.

Rasulovs – Getty Images – iStockphoto

My body is having a pity party this morning because I was scheduled for a massage. My wonderful therapist Lynn Moody 479-629-7601 texted me, saying she had been exposed to Covid and wanting to know if I wanted to reschedule. After waffling for a bit, I decided I didn’t want to expose my husband to whatever I might bring home, so my massage is rescheduled to NEXT week. Even my BODY is having to undergo character-building exercises. :0(

My husband worked hard to change another of our fluorescent fixtures into ones that will accept the new LED tubes. This fixture was 8 feet long, out in the shop. It took him all afternoon to do it, because the gnomes that live with us decided to give him as much trouble as they could devise, but he got it done. I think he has two to go, but those can wait.

He complained of the bedroom being too warm the night before last, so I turned the a/c back on to cool things down before we went up. He took a nice shower and managed to sleep really well last night, catching up for several nights. He just came down, and it’s after 10am. :0)

Enjoy your day!

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October 25, 2023 · 9:07 am

Wednesday 10-25-2023

Water Works by Sumiyo – Etsy

Good morning! I hope this will be a great day for you.

We’re leaving in just a few minutes for a couple of errands and then plan to have a quiet day after. It rained overnight a bit again and is overcast this morning. The rain is flirting with us so far, rather than giving us the really soaking rain we would welcome, but chances are increasing each day.

Yesterday I thought would be quiet, but we ended up going ahead and shopping at two places for groceries, getting our mail, and then dragging our trash can back up to where it lives after it was EMPTIED by the trash people on the proper day for the first time in three weeks. Being ‘delighted’ that your trash can has been emptied seems like a new low, even for me, but it is what it is. :0) I almost called the nice lady to thank her, but figured she’s probably busy enough without me calling her to waste her time.

I also did a bit of pruning outside, paid our bills, balanced our checkbooks and did a bit of filing. Today I want to do the bookkeeping for September before it’s time for October…

Enjoy your day. I hope the weather is nice where you are and that you have the chance to get outside and enjoy it.

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October 24, 2023 · 9:23 am

Exercise

Deborah Ann – Pinterest

I was SURE I was going to impress my scales this morning with another pound down, but NOOOOOOOO. I held at 13 off. Bah. Humbug. Since I’m being a ‘good girl,’ exercising, drinking water, watching what I’m eating, etc., I’m hopeful that SOON I’ll see some more progress.

0.media.collegehumor.cvcdn.com

The rest of the week is supposed to be rainy here. We can use it. It started overnight, with light rain when my husband took Amber out for her last outing of the day. It’s not actually raining now, but is very overcast. I’ll take whatever we can get.

Since it’s rainy today, I’m going to try to get my office under control – paying bills, bookkeeping, filing, etc. (I know – ‘Be still, my heart.’ :0) )

Maybe I’ll get up to my art room.

I hope that YOU are having a fine day – calm if you need it, fun if you don’t.

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October 22, 2023 · 11:41 am

This and That on Sunday 10-22-2023

“When I offer to wash your back in the shower, all you have to say is ‘yes’ or ‘no’.   Not all this “Who are you and how did you  get in here?” nonsense.”

Rod Craig – @rodcraigartist on X

I’m really glad I can get on the Internet and find photos and paintings to show how glorious the fall can be. Here, where I am in Arkansas, a lot of the leaves have already fallen off the trees, giving up due to lack of rain and previously scorching temperatures. I can vicariously soak up the beautiful colors and FEELINGS, so I’m not complaining.

“accueil” (welcome) – annelaure-peres.com

I’ve featured this amazing artist on the blog before, but it truly amazes me that instead of simply doing beautiful sculptures of children, she tells a story, makes you react emotionally with just a glance. I just can’t say enough about her.

Angie Wallace Fine Art

I just found this recently and intend to research this artist more and share her work with you. I expect the grass and flowers to move in the breeze or the doggies to move their heads. Just amazing.

And finally this morning, I guess I’ll never really grow up. I’m drawn to handmade dolls of all kinds. I don’t actually BUY them because I don’t have granddaughters, but I WANT to –

life-tumblr.com

I wish you a happy Sunday, filled with laughter and love.

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October 21, 2023 · 11:08 am

Saturday 10-21-2023

Efraïm Rodríguez Cobos – http://www.efraimrodriguez.net

I love this sculpture. I don’t know what it is about it that makes me want to put a hand on his head or squeeze his shoulder. Just love it.

I just finished a video chat with our son, who lives across the world from us. Before he left several years ago, he set up a secure chat program that he trusts and also a video program where we can see each other while we visit. Between the two, the only thing missing is his truly magnificent hugs. I feel so happy inside right now after getting to see his face – and his smiles. He is doing what he wants to do, living where he is comfortable, happy, and as safe as is possible in our world today. That’s all we can ask.

Open Door Yoga

My renewal of efforts to do my old lady yoga stretches each day are bearing fruit (hold your raspberries, please). :0) I had overdone doing yard work and my back was yelling at me. After coddling myself for several days, I started trying my yoga stretches again. I’m still pretty stiff, but it’s taking me less time to relax and start “breathing-into-the-stretches” each day. I’m adding something new to my stretches, too, so I’m hopeful I’ll be back where I was soon.

It is warmer than usual these days, here. It’s nice and cool at night, and we’ve turned off the a/c, but it’s supposed to get to 87 this afternoon – quite unusual for October here. Since the humidity is down, all we’re doing to be comfortable is opening the doors and using the ceiling fans. I could use a whole bunch of this nice weather! I’m going to try to do a short session of yard work today.

I hope you enjoy your Saturday and are doing something fun.

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October 20, 2023 · 9:36 am

Friends on Fridays 10-20-2023

Marina Blue Studio

Shout-out to Cathy, who is feeling stronger, resting better, and eating better following her radiation and chemo and is getting a chance to catch her breath while the docs decide what they think she should do next. I’m trying to send smiles, strength, and good weather her way so that she can soak them up.

Shout-out to Carla, who has built a race car with her son and is racing last night and tonight. Fingers crossed they do well.

Pinterest

We leave in about an hour to meet our friends (hopefully) for Lunch Bunch, to enjoy a good meal at The Pizza Barn, share news and laughs, and set ourselves up for a nice weekend.

I’m pleased to be able to report that our trash was picked up! This may not seem like an ‘event’ to YOU, but since they’ve missed us two weeks in a row and I had to call, wait on hold for 5 minutes or so, and arrange a work order for pickup, it seems like at least an old-fashioned ‘annoyance’ to me. The lady I talked to was nice, noticed that this was the 2nd time I had had to call, and said she would see if she could figure out what the problem was. Hope springs!

Last call for you to order either of these child-sized Halloween aprons in time for Halloween. One-of-a-kind, hand-painted child’s apron. Size is 2-6 years. The apron is 19″ long and 12.5″ wide, not including neck loop or ties. $19.99 with FREE SHIPPING to the contiguous U.S. HandmadeHavenbyLinda on Etsy

I hope that you are having a really nice morning and that your day will be calm and pleasant.

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October 19, 2023 · 10:01 am

Better than Yesterday

taolife.com

As of this morning, I’m down 13.2 pounds. No parades, bands playing, confetti, or celebration, just a small smile that my efforts are paying off a bit.

shutterstock_News Medical

Both my dog and cat – but not my husband – came in to see what was going on with me just now. I’ve spent the last 20 minutes or so sneezing, over and over, saying some bad words – to be honest – as I sneeze AGAIN and have to blow my hose AGAIN. To my knowledge, I’m not allergic to anything. So what’s the DEAL? I just researched a bit, and the culprits may be tree pollen, grass, mold, and ragweed. Since we live on top of a ridge line surrounded by all of these, I don’t see a quick solution – although, since I started griping about my sneezing, it has stopped – just as suddenly as it started… (Almost sounds like something out of the old Twilight Zone TV series…)

I’ve been finding a lot of wonderful things to share with you from “X” (the former Twitter) lately. I’m finding artists, photographers, and funny and/or lovely people to follow. Some people consider ‘social media’ time-wasters. I’m only on X, and I am finding it a wonderful source of interesting people. Of course, each time I’m on, I find some of the opposite, too, so it’s a constant process of following, or UN-following people in order to find the ones who bring me joy. I’m enjoying it. :0)

Have a great Thursday!

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October 18, 2023 · 8:48 am

It’s Wednesday 10-18-2023

“Ruddy Turnstone” – Brian – @balail on X

Good morning! We’re having a quiet, cool morning so far. 49 degrees F. and sunny. I’m grinning because we’re having the first real fall we’ve had here since I can remember. I’m enjoying every minute.

Pixabay

In the ‘annoyances’ category – they missed us on trash pickup again yesterday – the second week in a row. The lady I called said they had been using temps lately and that she would see if she could figure out what the problem was. She created another work order for us, and hopefully the trash will be gone today.

chipwrecks

I’m making a small amount of progress on losing the lard. I’m down 11-1/2 pounds now and hoping the trend will continue. My daily yoga practice is showing improvement, as well. One day at a time.

“Intentions vs Actuality” – several things are ‘on my list,’ but haven’t actually been accomplished lately. I have no excuse, other than sloth. I’ve been enjoying reading, napping, listening to music, and more, instead of checking another thing off the list. Only the ‘have-to’s’ are getting attention.

I wish us both a productive Wednesday. :0)

123RF

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October 17, 2023 · 9:33 am

Happy Tuesday 10-17-2023

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Good morning. It’s sunny at 44 degrees F. here this morning. Hard to believe. We will still probably have some warm weather before winter. The tradition around here is getting ready for winter and then having some really summer-like weather for another month or so. (An example is that one year I was still harvesting ripe tomatoes in January.) So we put the electric blanket on the bed and are still ready with shorts to wear. :0)

I’m hopeful that our trash will have been picked up when we go for groceries later today. Last week I had to call for a special work order for pick up when they bypassed us. Hopefully we’re on their list today, as we should be.

We don’t have any plans today, other than replenishing supplies. I’m not sure if I’ll try to get some yard work done, play in my art room, bake the biscuits I was going to make yesterday, or all three. It’s nice to be able to CHOOSE. (One of the only good things about being older than dirt.)

Fall, Halloween, and Christmas aprons are still available on my Etsy site. One-of-a-kind, hand-painted child’s apron. Size is 2-6 years. The apron is 19″ long and 12.5″ wide, not including neck loop or ties. Wash by hand and lay flat to dry. Can be ironed on the wrong side. $19.99 with FREE SHIPPING to the contiguous U.S. HandmadeHavenbyLinda on Etsy

I hope that your day is good.

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October 16, 2023 · 10:25 am

Monday, Monday… 10-16-2023

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It’s a cool start to our day here. Sunny and 52 F right now. The high is supposed to be 68. Sure is a change from trying to get outside before it gets too hot…

We don’t have any plans today, other than gathering trash and driving it down to set up the trash can for pick up tomorrow and getting our mail. I enjoy days where we’re not pushed to do anything. The day unfolds and I can simply enjoy it.

Yesterday I did laundry all day long. We got our bed converted from warm weather to cold weather coverings, changing from velour to electric blanket and changing to a different comforter. We like the ability to warm up the bed before we get in, then turning off the heat or turning it to low for the rest of the night, covered by a light, snuggly comforter rather than a heavy one. We didn’t use the heat last night, but the heavier blanket allowed us to sleep better.

Today I’m going to make the ‘no-knead’ biscuits and some spaghetti – both requests from my husband. Since he was good about helping with the bed and the laundry yesterday, I’ll make both for him today.

Make your day a great one.

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October 15, 2023 · 10:02 am

Sunday 10-15-2023

5 News Viewer

I went out to see the partial eclipse yesterday, but only saw lots of clouds. I finally came in, disappointed. Later, I found some images on 5 News of what others saw, so I’m posting this to give you an idea.

Greenwood Arkansas Art Guild Show – October 14, 2023

Yesterday afternoon I spent some time at the show. I saw one good, long-time friend, visited with a couple of others I knew, and met a good number of new people. Lots of talent in one room, and I was pleased to be able to see what others have created.

Cat Yoga – Medium

I did my yoga stretching for the 2nd day. I didn’t do much better, but I’m determined to do the best I can. Yesterday both Amber (97 lb. yellow lab) and Abby, (? lb. stripy cat much like the one above) tried to HELP me with my practice, either by outright stomping on me or trying to nuzzle me. I think my laughter relaxed me almost as much as the stretches. :0)

Today I’m doing lots of laundry. Along with changing the sheets on our bed, I’m exchanging our velour blanket for our electric one, at my husband’s request, plus will change comforters – getting into cool to cold weather mode.

6″ x 4″ inspirational life saying sign – “Collect Beautiful Moments.” $13.99 with FREE SHIPPING to the contiguous U.S. HandmadeHavenByLinda on Etsy

It’s cloudy and 58 degrees here now. Good night for chili.

Enjoy your day!

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October 14, 2023 · 10:15 am

Saturday 10-14-2023

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This is probably a yummy cupcake, but if I had it, I would simply try to keep it. It’s just too cute to eat. HEY! Maybe THIS is the key to my losing weight! If all my food is ‘too cute’ to eat, I’ll quit stuffing my face!!!! :0)

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I’m hoping that we will at least be able to see a partial annular solar eclipse here in Arkansas today. I got some special eclipse glasses quite awhile back when the eclipse in 2024 was being discussed and they were giving the glasses away in several places on the square in Greenwood, so we have those ready. We’re not in a direct line, but I hope we can enjoy at least the idea of it around noon our time.

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I’m looking forward to attending this afternoon. I used to be a member, and am hoping to see some good friends as well as impressive art work.

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Tenor

I finally made myself get down on my yoga mat yesterday afternoon. I hadn’t done anything since I strained my back weeding recently. Wow. Could I feel a difference! In what I consider a short time, I lost a lot of ground. It took me at LEAST a minute or so to relax enough to quit hurting just trying to lie flat on the floor. I did several slow stretches, having to quickly stop some due to cramping.

SO – I will redouble my efforts to drink more water, since dehydration can be the cause of muscle cramping, and I’ll get my body down on the mat again this afternoon to do as much careful stretching and relaxation as possible.

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Enjoy your Saturday.

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October 13, 2023 · 9:11 am

Happy Rainy Friday 1-13-2023

Anna Om – Getty Images – istockphoto

A cold front is coming through this morning, bringing some light rain and cooler temperatures for several days. We have Lunch Bunch this morning, but we’ll probably come straight home after, rather than running errands in the rain.

Grasshopper Gardens

We carry some loppers and gloves in the truck so that we can tackle things hanging down or out in the driveway more easily. Yesterday I went down to put a notice in the mailbox and used the loppers to start clearing some tall weeds at the bottom of the driveway on both sides. When I finished a short session, I drove back up and added some hand held clippers to the truck so I can continue from time to time.

Julia Roberts

I wish that all of you could enjoy the expertise of my wonderful stylist, Michael Remillard. Yesterday he listened to my concerns, tried to comply, and I was very pleased, as usual. I did tell him, that although he listens to me and tries to do what I ask, he has ignored my MAIN request for YEARS now – to make me look like Julia Roberts. If he REALLY valued me as a customer, you would THINK he would at least TRY to do this SMALL request… :0)

When I’m resting between ‘have-to’s’ or ‘shoulds,’ I’m re-reading all of J.D.Robb’s (Nora Roberts’) In Death Series before diving into my newest paperback, #56 Encore in Death, and before receiving the latest to come out in paperback at the end of December, Payback in Death, which I’ve ordered. It’ll be another 6 months to a year before her newest, Random in Death #58 comes out in paperback. (Hardback out in January 2024.) Right now I’m re-enjoying #23, Born in Death.

I hope that you are enjoying a great Friday with an enjoyable weekend to come.

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October 12, 2023 · 8:56 am

Thursday 10-12-2023

The Epoch Times – artist unknown

istockphoto-Anastasiya Belevich-GettyImages

I’m driving myself to the ‘rescue mission,’ my wonderful hair stylist, Michael Remillard of Tangles, in Greenwood AR this morning. If you’re in the area, his phone number is 479-357-9305 and his salon is on the east end of the square in Greenwood. He is truly a miracle worker, rescuing me from looking like a ‘dandelion-gone-to-seed’ and transforming me to look like ‘someone-has-a-plan,’ – no easy feat. :0)

Mount_Magazine_State_Park

We’re having the first real ‘fall’ that I can remember. Usually here in Arkansas, we have the heat of summer followed by about 3 days of rain and ‘fall front,’ and then it’s COLD, like the flicking of a light switch. This year our weather has been really pleasant – so pleasant my husband and I have remarked on it several times. I’m really soaking it up, enjoying every minute.

“Creating with a kid” – Alisa Burke

This afternoon, after I’m home from my haircut, I’m hoping to spend time in my art room. It’s been several days, and I’m itching to make some progress up there.

I hope you have a stellar Thursday.

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