“Dancers”
“Head”
“Monkeys 1”
“Monkeys 2”
“Monkeys 3”
“Monkeys 4”
Saturday after All Day Rain
My husband drove down to get our mail yesterday afternoon during a break in the all night and all day rain we’ve just finished to find that the pipe that goes under the end of the driveway clogged. This caused a ‘lake’ to form on one side of the driveway, flowing out into the street.
We don’t have the equipment to clean out the pipe, so we’re hoping the county will be traveling the roads, making note of people who need help.
We’re about to do errands, getting groceries and stuff, but it sure was nice to have a warm, dry house on top of a ridge line with all the water we’ve gotten. I hope that our town has survived the deluge.
I’ll write more when we get back.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Eating Lead?
Wall Here
I’m not throwing in the towel, but my weight loss efforts seem to be a joke lately. Lunch and dinner remain as usual, but ‘somehow’ I’m eating pretzels in the afternoon and ice cream with chocolate syrup before bed.
I have no one to blame but myself. I had a birthday recently (a wonderfully happy one, even though the numbers are beginning to get pretty impressive) and I have been on this binge ever since.
I’m still doing my yoga practice most afternoons, but I was planning to be active outside, getting my veggie garden set up, and the weather has not been cooperative yet.
Those are my excuses and they’re pretty weak, but they’re the only ones I have right now.
Each day I’m trying to say that “today will be different. “ Hahahahahahah
I’m going to continue to tell myself this and ONE DAY I’ll believe it and hopefully begin to make some improvement. Until then, my scales will be snarky.
It’s Raining, It’s Pouring…
Giphy
It’s pouring here this morning. I looked at the forecast and it showed heavy rain steadily through 7pm this evening! Then we’re also under a Flash Flood Warning… Good day to live on top of a ridge line.
DIY Value Picture
With all of this I contacted everyone and told them we would stay up on our hill today rather than going to Lunch Bunch. I’ve had trouble with Kay and Linda not answering their phones. Kay is set up with voicemail, but she says she doesn’t get them, even though it shows delivered from my end. Linda isn’t set up for messages at all. It’s like throwing a bottle in the ocean or sending smoke signals, but I actually REACHED both of them this morning and got to talk to them a bit. So virtual hugs and we’ll all stay warm and dry where we are.
I haven’t decided how I’ll spend this wet day yet. Even Amber, who bursts from the house barking her head off each morning, yelling, “I’m here, world, and you’d better watch out!” was back in the garage wanting to come back in before I finished feeding Abby, our cat. :0)
I hope the weather is good wherever you are, or that at least you can avoid being out in it as much as possible.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Adoption
Eccopartners
Yesterday my husband and I took a large trash can full of metal leftovers to our local Greenwood Recycling center. We had only been there once before, so we weren’t sure what they accepted or what there hours were.
Ecchopartners 2
Two big, muscular young men came out and not only directed us to the large bin where we should put our metal, but actually came with us, lifting the large can we had so laboriously put in the back of the truck and putting it on the ground. We had some trash, since my husband had been cleaning out the shop and dumped other trashcans into this one, but they accepted about 2/3 of the can and then helped us get it back securely in the truck.
I offered to adopt one of the guys. He had a shirt on, and called me, “Ma’am,” but he laughed long and hard about my offer, saying I had made his day. NICE of me, wasn’t it. :0)
Filed under kindness
More Beth Cavener Stichter
Filed under Beth Cavener Stichter, sculpture
Ahhhhhhhh!
Mountain View Animal Hospital
I’m just back from my massage. I feel limp as a noodle. I’ll drink lots of water with lunch and probably take a nap after.
I told Lynn that it was hurting to lift anything with my right arm – on my inner arm just above my elbow. I don’t know what muscles are involved, but I think it’s my biceps. She zeroed in on that and found a pretty decent-sized knot that she kneaded, trying to get it to release. It was definitely a case of ‘it-feels-so-good-when-she-stops’ :0). She also recommended a cream she has found that helps her and her family. It’s called Penetrex Pain Relief Therapy – Inflammation Formula. I’ll google it and order it online as soon as I finish this.
I’m so lucky that I can get a massage once a month. It is really good for my health. I would probably be curled into a ball if it weren’t for Lynn.
If you’re in the Greenwood/Fort Smith area, her name is Lynn Moody, and her phone number for an appointment is 479-629-7601.
Filed under taking care of yourself
Anticipation
American Kennel Club
I’m leaving to get my monthly massage this morning, and boy – am I ready!
I’ll tell Lynn, my magnificent massage therapist, about a couple of places that could use some particular attention, but she’ll find several others I wasn’t even aware of.
When I’m home again, I’ll be wonderfully loose and relaxed. I’ll drink a bunch of water, probably nap this afternoon, and my therapy will be complete.
Ahhhhhhhhhh! Lucky lady.
Filed under taking care of yourself
The Amazing Art of Laura Dalla Vecchia
This artist embroiders on real leaves with twigs attached, as well.
Laura Dalla Vecchia – boredpanda.com – Hidreley
It’s Still Morning?
Our day got off to a confusing start. I came downstairs this morning to find my husband already wanting to go to the grocery store. He likes to eat what we call a ‘sugar ball,’ (since it’s bad for his diabetes) – an apple pie section from the local store. Since we’re monitoring his blood sugar carefully, I have given in to his eating something not on the list once a day. He’s good about most everything else, so this goes into the “life is too short to do without it” category.
So, I grabbed my phone and the grocery list and we left before I even had my day-starting cup of coffee. We put mail in our box at the bottom of the driveway as we left. Happily, it had been picked up by the time we got back! My husband walked the huge trash can back where we tether it to a pole, but for some reason decided that we didn’t need to tie it to the pole today. I disagreed, since we’ve learned the hard way that even our 200+ pound robot we built who stands at the side of the driveway is blown over by gusty winds, and so I went up and tethered it before we drove back up. (It’s amazing that we have lasted so long – we disagree on a LOT – we don’t even use the same salt – but we’ll celebrate our 54th wedding anniversary in June)
We got things put away and I finally sat down at my computer to enjoy some coffee and it was already mid-morning.
Since I got my computer table and desk cleaned off – bills paid, filing done, etc. – I patted myself on the head and listened to some music before deciding what I’ll do for the rest of the day.
I hope you’re having a great Wednesday, too.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Lisa Richey Art
I had the pleasure of having Lisa Richey’s handmade paper posters on my website, Creative Artworks, years ago. She not only creates frame-able posters with nice art and hand lettering that are great for you or to give as gifts, she actually makes the paper by hand from dryer lint!
She is a beautiful soul, as well. Instead of letting Multiple Sclerosis dominate her life, she is one of the most positive people I have ever met, simply exuding happiness.
She gives 90% of her income to various charities that she loves. I’m grateful to know her.
She has an Etsy shop where she sells her posters. I hope you’ll take a look.
Filed under paper art
“Whine with Cheese”
Quotespedia.org
It seems to me that we are becoming a nation of whiners. (I think that a friend, Lisa Richey, came up with my title for this post, making a handmade paper poster years ago with this phrase.)
I can only listen to the news for a short time these days, with the concentration on victim-hood, claims of ‘distortion of the facts’ and things done for ‘political purposes’ from BOTH sides of what passes for Congress nowadays. I check several sources for my news now, and sometimes STILL am not sure what actually happened when I finish.
I choose to try to look toward the light, rather than become mired in the muck. I admit that is probably an ostrich-with-my-head-in-the-sand or Pollyanna-ish, but I want to concentrate on what is right, good, and inspiring – and happily, it’s going on all around us. :0)
There are people who are doing good things – quiet things – things where some kindness changes another person’s day. There are people creating art, seeing things differently than the rest of us, making something breathtaking out of what might be ordinary materials. There are others practicing singing, dancing, or athletics, so when they get their chance, they are ready to give it their all, bringing us to joy or tears when they share it.
Joel Osteen said it succinctly – “If you cannot be positive, then at least be quiet.”
Filed under Attitude, Favorite Quotes
Thoughts on A Rainy Tuesday 3-21-2023
Quora
It’s gloomy and wet outside, and the rain is supposed to continue all day. Makes me want to cover up my head until tomorrow.
I was hoping to prep my garden for spring planting this week. There is still a chance, since it’s supposed to warm up tomorrow, but Thursday and Friday are both supposed to be rainy with thunderstorms, so I may just have to wait until next week to play in the dirt.
I’m starting to get some ideas rattling around in my head about what to try in my art room next. If I can get a few things done this morning, maybe I can spend some time up there today. Just puttering around up there usually brings my spirits up. :0)
My poor husband has been having trouble sleeping lately. He has his days and nights confused. He was downstairs twice this morning, unable to sleep, reading for an hour or so each time. He’ll spend much of the day napping. He refuses to exercise, and he almost never will take a walk around the yard with me. It really doesn’t make any difference, as long as he rests, but I think it would be healthier if he had more of a regular regimen. With the rain today, we’ll probably BOTH be napping this afternoon…
First ‘to-do’ of the morning – clean off my computer-side table and my desk, paying bills, filing, etc. Let ‘er rip!
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Role Reversal
Pixabay.com
Wow. Are we in trouble in the Lewis household.
I’ve told you before that my husband, computer analyst and general figure-everything-out-and-fix-it-person, had a couple of strokes in the past couple of years. This has resulted in some interesting situations.
I’m the original use-it-but-don’t-understand-how-it-works person. I’m fine as long as something works. When it is throwing a fit, spewing water, smoking, or is simply on strike, I have no patience. My eyes glaze over and what few brain cells I had leave.
The touching/interesting situation this morning was that my husband came into the office and told me that he had moved the laundry load from the washer to the dryer and had loaded the washer again, but couldn’t get it to start.
“Touching ” because I really appreciate his recent efforts to pitch in and help me do things around the house. “Interesting” because I have shown him how to start the washer 5 or 6 times now and he really has trouble grasping it. Add “grateful” because he isn’t angry about it, just quietly came and asked for help. Add “melting” because he’s my favorite man in the world and I’m still trying to adjust to our role reversal.
I showed him, talking him through it, having him push the buttons as we decided which ones to push, and had him wait with me as the machine changed from ‘add garment’ to the ‘lock’ icon which shows you’re in business.
I then hugged him and thanked him for his help.
This is the same man who gave up on trying to explain “quantum computing” to me after we heard a news item on TV last night…
Filed under Challenges, love
Spring Sprung!
ThePicMix
HOOOOORAAAAAY! It’s officially spring!
My heart is happy to finally welcome spring. My thermometer says 29, though, so it’ll be a few more days before I can do anything outside to mark the occasion.
I hope that the weather is improving where you are, too, and that you have exciting plans for the season that starts today.
Quotespedia.org
Filed under Seasons
Tell Them
The Mind Journal
I’m finally learning to TELL PEOPLE when they do or say something that touches me. I don’t know why it’s taken me so long; but instead of dwelling on that I’m just trying to not miss a chance to say something that just might make someone’s day, might brighten their spirit a bit, might bring a smile to their face.
As this quote says, it only takes a minute and it might mean a lot.
Just do it.
Shane Dimmick Wildlife Art 2
“Peter Sees the Light”
“Rabbit Repose”
“Snow Daze”
“Sunshine on my Shoulder”
“Touch of Gray”
“Turning Gray”
Filed under animal paintings, Shane Dimmick Wildlife Art
Still COLD!
ClassroomClipart.com
It has now warmed up to 27 degrees F. here. The sun is shining, but that isn’t helping much. The forecast says, “A cold final day of winter before a spring warm up.”
I really hope the weather folks are right because I’ve had my fill of cold and am itching to play in the dirt of my garden. I’m planning to prep the garden and get some things planted next week, unless the forecast changes.
Right now I have weed barrier cloth cut to size in each of our six 4′ x 4′ wooden planters. The cloth has been held down by bricks, hoping to keep the weed growth to a minimum this year. I’ll take pics when I start prepping the boxes so you can see if it worked or not.
This is an old pic, showing when we used string to mark the planting ‘squares.’ Now I use wire because it is much more sturdy. You can see the irrigation system. We strung pieces of hose together between sprinklers in the center of each box, attached to a piece of wood that runs between 3 boxes in a row. There are two rows of planters. We have the whole thing on a timer so things are watered daily automatically.
We built the boxes in the shop, then hauled them out to the garden area. We welded angle iron together to make the supports for the boxes. We put them at my chest level so that I don’t have to bend over double or get down on my hands and knees to plant, weed, or harvest. My body really appreciates that.
The six planter boxes are surrounded by fencing to keep the deer out. We also put chicken wire around the bottom to keep rabbits and other critters out. We have a ‘door’ to close off the area. I put neon tape around the perimeter of the fence to give a heads up to the deer so they don’t run into it.
Since we live on top of a ridge line, we have no soil. Everything up here that isn’t rock was trucked in – some to be able to have a ‘yard’ around the house. All else is rock and woods.
We fill the planter boxes with “Mel’s Mix” (Mel Bartholomew’s Square Foot Garden) – a combination of peat moss, Vermiculite, and as many different kinds of compost as we can find or create. I use mushroom, barnyard, and cotton, plus we try to make our own.
I can’t wait to get started this year!
Filed under Gardening, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds
Bright Idea
Funny Minion Quotes
I’m really looking forward to spring for SO many reasons.
One is that I’ll be more active, working outside to get my veggie garden going, flowers tended, things pruned, and more.
Hopefully, I’ll be able to STOP STUFFING MY FACE then, too. I have been truly awful lately and just can’t seem to beat the munchies.
If the weather people are right – (I know, but I still have hope) – things will all come together. I’ll eat less, move more, feel stronger with more energy…
Filed under Bright Ideas
Fabulous Friends
DIY Value Picture
Yesterday we enjoyed our Friday Lunch Bunch. Amazingly, we were all there for the first time in awhile.
I hugged Linda, Kay, and Patty, patted Bud and my husband on their shoulders, feeling very grateful to see everyone. It’s a bit sad that having everyone there is happening less and less due to health issues and other commitments.
We had SUCH a good time. Good food, as always, at the Pizza Barn in Greenwood at ‘our’ table. I was the only one in our group wearing green. I had on a green tee I hand-painted flowers on years ago and my multi-shamrock earrings. Mikey, our wonderful waitress, easily outdid me with some really glittery dangling green earrings and a TATTOO of a shamrock we didn’t know she had on her ankle. :0)
We enjoyed catching up. Kay’s husband, Bud, told us about a friend he has who is a welder and apparently has a machine where he can insert a card and the torch cuts out intricate pictures from sheet metal. We compared notes, since with our CNC set up, my husband has to convert the picture we find on the net to G-Code that the computer can understand, and then take the thumb drive out to the shop and put it into the computer out there. Then the torch cuts out the design according to the code. My husband then welds angle iron that will attach our design to our mailbox with bolts. I then paint the design on both sides. Bud’s friend obviously has the next step up from our set-up. He said he would bring us a sample of one of the cards sometime. I’m interested to see it.
Since it’s hard for us to get our designs off the hooks in the shop, we are changing our designs less now. What we actually have up right now is this –
I’m so lucky to have friends like Linda, Kay, and now Linda’s daughter, Patty. The three of us have been meeting for Lunch Bunch now for over 25 years, sharing life, laughs, and tears. I love being able to see their faces and hug their necks.
Filed under Friendship
COLD Saturday 3-18-2023
I’m HOPING that we’re experiencing the last of winter here. As I type, it’s 33 degrees F. It IS sunny, but you are definitely in danger of freezing your parts if you stay outside long.
I did notice, however, that once we get through the weekend, things are looking up. I MAY be able to get my garden planters prepped at the beginning of next week and actually get some spring veggies in by the middle. I can’t wait!
Meanwhile, I have on a heavy sweatshirt. After lunch, I plan to turn on the heating pad I keep in my recliner, cover up with my snuggly throw, and zone out, happily safe and warm, hoping my sweet perennial blooms make it through this last gasp of winter.
We’re having a quiet weekend so far. The most activity we’ve seen is our dog, Amber, getting all her toys – except for a squeaky rubber chicken – out of her toy basket and strewing them all over the living room floor, bringing each one to us, acting like she wants us to throw the toy for her, but actually just wanting to TEASE us, preferring tug of war and then running off with the toy in a victory prance. (She cheats, leaning back with her whole body lending strength. 95 pounds of ‘strength’ will win every time.)
Today’s “project” will be to find my kitchen desk. I know where it’s SUPPOSED to be, but it got buried quite awhile ago and hasn’t been seen since.
I hope you enjoy today.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Shared Humanity
Simon & Schuster
I write this blog to share the beauty and talent I find all around me in an effort to combat all the bad stuff that can sit on your soul and make you forget.
Two things have shown me lately that we have a shared humanity that fills you up when you least expect it – when we react as one, regardless of our backgrounds, uniting us.
One was when Chris Stapleton sang the National Anthem at the Super Bowl. Usually, I’m not very impressed. Singers tend to use the opportunity as a place to show how impressive their voices are, rather than to share the message of the song. We tuned in late and missed it, but I’ve listened to it on YouTube and then have been watching reactions to it from all over the world. People are uniformly blown completely away by his performance and in many cases, moved to tears.
The second was when I listened to Iam Tongi singing “Monsters” by James Blunt as his audition on American Idol. He had Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie in tears at the audition. The reactions on YouTube have all been the same. I looked up James Blunt and the song, thinking I should hear the original by the person who wrote it – and was in tears, with a lump in my throat. And in every reaction, every man, young or old, has reacted the same.
A third was a performance of “Creep” written by Radiohead, sung by Brian Justin Crum on America’s Got Talent. He was bullied as a child for being overweight and then gay. He channels his emotions into this performance, making you almost shake with what he has suffered and yet inspired by his stunning, powerful voice. Reactions again – regardless of background – uniformly feeling empathy for the boy and jubilant for the man.
It seems that, even in the middle of division, harsh opinions, disgust, and fear, we can come together with our shared values, our shared humanity. It’s a beautiful thing when differences drop away and we react with our hearts.
Filed under caring, Cause for Celebration
creativeartworksblog 