David J. Salter, an artist on X, said, “This is what 6 years of practice looks like The same photo (one of mine) 4 separate drawings.”
I am in awe of his talent. If I drew the same image 100 times, I would be proud to be 1/4 as good as the FIRST drawing…
David J. Salter – @Davidjsalter on X
Filed under drawings
Freepik
5. Supermarket Law – As soon as you get in the smallest line, the cashier will have to call for help.
6. Variation Law -If you change lines (or traffic lanes), the one you were in will always move faster than the one you are in now.
Filed under Funny Signs - Humor
giphy.gif
Today I did 28 minutes at an incline of 12% at a speed of 3mph on the treadmill. Hooray!
At breakfast this morning, though, Brian brought up a great idea. I’ve told you that after my surgeries in February, I had a hearing loss that eventually required hearing aids. I also read that anesthesia for old ladies like me also has a possible side effect of balance issues.
Brian suggested that I slow the speed even more, NOT have any incline, and just rest my fingertips on the handle bars of the treadmill, rather than gripping them as I do. This would force my body – my legs, hips, back, and brain – to work together on balancing without having to grip anything. The bars would be right there if I needed them, but this practice might help resolve my problem. I’m going to try it!
This is a new toy Brian got for my husband at the nursing home.
It’s a squishy ball where the ‘bubbles’ come out through the mesh when you squeeze the ball. It’s super soft, very colorful, and mesmerizing.
The bubbles are different each time. It’s fun – much like popping the bubbles on bubble wrap, but doesn’t make any noise. We’re hoping he likes it. Brian, who knows me well, got TWO of them – one for Harvey and the other for ME! 😁
Other than visiting Harvey at the nursing home, it should be a quiet day. My laundry is out on the balcony drying – even though my phone weather app said it should be cloudy all day, the sun is shining brightly. I’m hoping that if my clothes aren’t dry by the time we leave to see my husband, they’ll be ready to bring in by the time we come home.
Have a wonderful day!
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
@gelena.bsky.social
“In nature everything is valuable, everything has its place. The rose, the daisy, the lark, the squirrel, each is different but beautiful. Each has its own expression. Each flower its’ own fragrance. Each bird its’ own song. So you too have your own unique melody.” ~Diane Dreher
@edithh72.bsky.social
“Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn now and again.“ ~ Will Smith
@rwlatstetter.bsky.social
“As far as our noblest hardwood forests are concerned, the animals, especially squirrels and jays, are our greatest and almost only benefactors. It is to them that we owe this gift. It is not in vain that the squirrels live in or about every forest tree, or hollow log, and every wall and heap of stones.” ~ Henry David Thoreau
Journaling Happiness – @alycearmstrong.bsky.social
“Let me tell you, if you have never seen an agitated squirrel you have seen very little, nor have you heard much, because the sound of an angry squirrel is not to be forgotten.” ~ Joe R. Lansdale
Filed under Amazing Animals, Favorite Quotes
Source: I Can Has Cheezeburger?
I did 25 minutes at 12% incline on the treadmill this morning! I used 5 minutes to get up to the 12% incline and then just walked the rest of the time. I think I will do the 12-3-30 method one day and the Japanese method the next to keep my body awake and working without hurting myself. 💪🏻
I will also TRY to do a better job of getting my yoga stretches in, as well as my exercises with water bottles, and my dancing to wonderful music. Since I’m a lazy woman, I think I will try for ONE of these things each day in addition to the treadmill and then try to incorporate more once I actually DO this – rather than just INTEND to do it.
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I’ve been working on my owls puzzle, and have to admit it’s still frustrating me, although I am DETERMINED to get it done eventually. I got the owl eyes in the middle recently, but they were running into pieces in place toward the top. When I looked super closely, I had to remove some pieces in the top owl to be reworked. 🤨
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Two sketches I painted recently. I really love trying to reproduce designs I find on the net the best I can and then paint them. I’m hoping to improve my ability to draw what I see. My progress is slow, but I have a blast trying and the time flies by so fast! 😄
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I’m very happy with my new hearing aids. I had one afternoon where I was overwhelmed by sounds all around me that I haven’t been hearing since my surgery in February, and then smooth sailing after that.
They are rechargeable, so they go from my ears to the charger. They are comfortable – in fact, sometimes I forget I’m wearing them! I can hear Brian now whether I can see his lips or not, whether I’m facing him or not, even though he is VERY soft spoken. I miss a word or two now and then, but he doesn’t have to repeat virtually everything he says anymore.
I can hear the traffic now, but the background noises don’t drown out someone else’s speech. If there is any problem with unduly loud background noise, I can use my phone to either increase the volume or use a thing called ‘voice boost.’ I haven’t had to do much fine tuning with my phone, but it’s great that I can do this myself, rather than having to get an appointment with the place that sold us the hearing aids to get an adjustment.
HOOORAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Snoqualmie Falls – Richard A. McMillin – Shutterstock
Niagra Fallas – Tony Shi Photography – Getty Images
Pick – Uppath – Getty Images
Filed under Waterfall gifs
@TweetsofDogs on X
“I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me, they are the role model for being alive.” – Gilda Radner
@Tokyoon on X
“No one appreciates the very special genius of your conversation as the dog does.” – Christopher Morley
@BestinDogs on X
“No matter how little money and how few possessions you own, having a dog makes you rich.” – Louis Sabin
@puppieslover on X
“Be the person your dog thinks you are.” – C.J. Frick
@dachshund_heave on X
“The bond with a true dog is as lasting as the ties of this earth will ever be.” – Konrad Lorenz
Quotes – Ride the Sky Equine
Filed under Amazing Animals, Favorite Quotes
David J. Salter – @Davidjsalter on X
The critters we saw today weren’t nearly as ‘impressive’ or ‘regal’ as this beautiful tiger painting, but we enjoyed them thoroughly nonetheless.
We saw a frog that was HUGE sitting by a wall. We just stood and admired him, trying not to bother him. He was at LEAST 4 inches tall, if not more. He looked beige colored, but he was in the shadows, so it was hard to really tell.
We also saw a cat sleeping on the seat of a motorcycle in the parking garage. I spoke to him and he looked at me briefly, then stretched and got comfortable again. I’ve never seen a cat sleep on a motorcycle before. I don’t know whether it belonged to its owner or not, but the cats around the building seem to be strays that wander in and out. He was a pretty, gray striped cat.
Lastly, a rust brown dog with a collar was running down the heavily traveled street, barking occasionally, looking madly happy running after someone on a motorcycle. We have seen him before. He has a collar, so he has a home. This is apparently one of their ‘togetherness things.’ The dog negotiates the traffic really well, speaking of lots of experience. He certainly looks joyful as he runs.
We visited my husband at the nursing home again this morning to make sure he was continuing to improve from his pneumonia. He was resting comfortably and shook his head slightly when we asked him if he were hurting anywhere. He didn’t cough while we were there, but he wasn’t nearly as responsive as he was yesterday, so we just stayed a little while and then left.
I’ve been having fun painting a cats sketch I did recently. I’ll post it when it’s finished.
I’m trying to get closer to my goal of doing the 12-3-30 method of walking on the treadmill in the mornings. Today I used the first 10 minutes to go from 0-12% incline, then set the speed back to 3 kilometers per minute and walked for another 20 minutes. I’ll try to add another couple of minutes tomorrow, speeding up the incline gradations a bit. (The goal in this method is 12% incline at 3 kilometers per minute for 30 minutes.
It’s been raining off and on all day, so my laundry is on the drying rack inside. I have the fan turned to ‘medium’ and have it blowing on the clothes and towels, so I’m hoping things will dry by tonight, or at least overnight.
I hope you’re having a fun day.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Filed under Uncategorized
If you expect an apology from me on this, you’re out of luck. 😂🤣
Source: R. G. Ryan – @RGRyan777 0n X
Filed under Funny Signs - Humor, punny
TeMata Peak, Havelock North, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand – Jos Buurmans – @josbuurmans.bsky.social
TeMata Peak, Havelock North, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand – Jos Buurmans – @josbuurmans.bsky.social
I think these are gorgeous. I would love to see more. I’ll look and see if I can do a follow up on these at another time. Beautiful place – wonderful photography!
Filed under Awe-Inspiring Photography
@DavidJSalter on X. – isn’t this a wonderful drawing?
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My husband Harvey was transported by ambulance to the Intensive Care Unit at Bangkok Hospital in Chiang Mai two days ago for fever, cough, pneumonia and low blood oxygen. Thankfully, they were able to get him on antibiotics for the pneumonia, and clearing that up will take care of the fever, cough, and low blood oxygen. He was released to go back to the nursing home last night.
We went to see him in the hospital the two days, and then in the nursing home this morning, so we could see for ourselves that he is better. He was more alert. He wasn’t talking much, but he was nodding at the things we were telling him, explaining what had happened to him, reassuring him that the antibiotics would make him feel better, plus filling him in on news about the family, etc.
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I got the results of my labwork from the doctor via email yesterday. When I first saw her in May, the BIG concern was my sky high blood pressure – into the stroke zone. They took my blood pressure so many times I lost count, and she put me on a strong combination medicine to try to bring my pressure down as quickly as possible. She told me I needed to lose weight, exercise, and was also bit concerned about some of the numbers on my lab work.
When I went in follow up this week, she was SO pleased with my weight loss, blood pressure under good control, and my lab work, she said I didn’t need to come back in follow up for six months! The only suggestion she had for me was to drink more water. THAT I can handle! 😛
My goals between now and my follow up are –
All in all, though my husband’s adventures for the week were pretty scary, the results on both of us are good, and for that I am very thankful.
Filed under Health Alert
Dr. Jamie Hardy
Harvey is on his way back to the nursing home after being taken by ambulance yesterday to the intensive care unit in the hospital for pneumonia and low blood oxygen.
We went to see him yesterday and couldn’t be sure he knew we were there. Today he knew us, but didn’t communicate. His caregiver from the nursing home was there today when we arrived. There was a nasal tube and I.V.s everywhere. He did open his eyes. The bottom line is that we okayed another medicine and are paying yet another huge bill for hospital services. They did put him on antibiotics for the pneumonia.
I was upset because it seemed to me that they were criticizing us for not going for everything they wanted us to do. Brian said I was overreacting, but I guess I’m sensitive when we know Harvey better than anyone and know how he would react to many of their suggestions.
The good news is he will be back at the nursing home this evening with his full time caregiver and familiar surroundings. We will wait to see what happens as far as our next visit.
My stress level is through the roof, but I’m glad that the pneumonia seems to be solvable and that he didn’t seem to be in pain.
Filed under Family
Calm
Very soon we’ll be leaving to see my new doctor in follow-up. 3 months ago we went for an initial visit, and my blood pressure was so high she prescribed blood pressure meds on the spot. Any other issues could wait. We went back in a month and things were better. She suggested I lose weight and exercise. (Surprise😜)
It is now 2 months later. I’ve been going to the gym daily with our son, walking a mile on the treadmill and then tweaking my workout in various ways that are supposed to be more effective. I’ve lost 8.55 kilos, or 18.85 pounds since we saw her last. She will be doing bloodwork, but I will have to wait a day or two for the results. I’m hoping we’ll see some improvement there.
I’ll have the afternoon to myself once we get back from that. My friend Marsha wanted to know if my art has improved. I’ve been trying to learn to draw better and then painting the sketches. I don’t know if I’ve improved or not, but I’m having a really good time trying. Here are some of the latest –
I charged my new hearing aids overnight with no problem and got them in this morning. Everything is still really loud, including my own voice. Thankfully, Brian installed an app on my phone that will allow me to adjust the sound, boost voices, and more. I’ll tweak it today, continuing to adapt my BRAIN to being able to hear things like light switches, napkins being crushed, water being sprayed, etc. 😃. It’s WONDERFUL to be able to hear again. I’m SO grateful to be trying to adapt to such a great thing!
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Yosemite Falls – chaolik – Getty Images – iStockphotos
“Where the water falls, peace rises.” ~ Unknown
Shoshone Falls – Terryfic3D – Getty Images
“In the stillness of the waterfall, find your tranquility.” ~ Unknown
Multnomah Falls – rybarmarekk – Shutterstock
“The peaceful flow of water heals the soul.” ~ Unknown
Filed under Waterfall gifs
Vince, the Sign Guy – Indian Hills
Filed under Funny Signs - Humor, Indian Hills Signs
I discovered the art of Kate Avery on X recently and wanted to share it with you. I just love her use of color, choice of subject, and the whole look and feel of her work. You can find her on X at @tagsalegirl
Kate Avery – @tagsalegirl on X
Kate Avery – @tagsalegirl on X
Filed under Acrylic Paintings I Love
Freepik
As I type this, I am wearing my new hearing aids! I lost a significant amount of my hearing when I underwent surgery twice (temporary and then permanent) when they installed my pacemaker last February after my heart stopped. I could hear, but everything was super muffled, like someone had wrapped my head in a bubble. I particularly had trouble hearing Harvey and Brian, the two most important people in my life. (They both speak softly and weren’t about to change.) They had to repeat almost everything they said, even when they got my attention first and I was looking at them plus trying to read their lips.
Now I’m in the process of trying to adapt to everything, including my own voice, being so LOUD! These hearing aids discriminate between voices and background noise, like traffic. There is a phone app that Brian has already installed for me that allows me to control a bunch of things from my phone, rather than trying to push a button on the back of the hearing aid, or having to go to the hearing aid place – after getting an appointment – for the lady to adjust things for me.
They use rechargeable batteries, so I just put them in the charger overnight and they’re good for the whole next day, plus.
Right now I’m feeling overwhelmed. For example, I didn’t know my keyboard on this computer makes noise as you tap the keys! I’ll have to learn not to be distracted by that.
My plan for right now is to put them in after I shower and dress after we’re back from the gym and then take them out after dinner when I’m back at my place for the night. I think my poor brain will adapt more quickly, and I’ll get a routine going on recharging, cleaning, taking them in and out, etc. Later I may change to just wearing them when I’m out.
On one hand, it’s a relief to be able to hear again, whether I’m looking at the person or not. This will add to my safety when I venture out for walks, too, as I’ll be more aware of traffic around me. On the other hand, it’s a bit stressful to be newly aware of all the NOISE around me when I’m used to everything being muffled.
I’m an extremely lucky lady. We don’t have insurance to cover these, and we had to pay up front, and a lot of people have to wait a lot longer or just have to do without. I am SO, SO thankful.
Filed under quality of life
“Teeny Sword Fights” – Deb Maluk – @debmaluk.bsky.social
“Tiny but full of life: that’s a hummingbird for you.” — Unknown
“Teeny Sword Fights” – Deb Maluk – @debmaluk.bsky.social
“Tiny but mighty: the essence of a hummingbird.” — Unknown
Filed under Awe-Inspiring Photography
My friend Cathy sent me this, knowing how much I love owls. I have to admit I was a bit skeptical, so I looked up ‘size of snowy owls’ and saw a lot of really huge ones! I think this is amazing, so wanted to share it with you. 😊
Filed under Videos
Patrick of Blue Sky Social posted this beautiful montage of a hummingbird. I was completely blown away by his talent and wanted to share these with you.
Patrick – @watchinthesky.bsky.social
Patrick – @watchinthesky.bsky.social
Patrick – @watchinthesky.bsky.social
Patrick – @watchinthesky.bsky.social
Filed under Awe-Inspiring Photography
“Torrential Downpour” – Vincent Chen – Medium
The “Rainy Season” is really living up to its name here lately.
My umbrella is open, drying on the floor by my door, from when we were out.
Yesterday I sopped up water from my center window leaking. Today I noticed wet footprints on the rug under my dining table next to the window. I now have used a bath towel to sop up water that leaked down the wall and under the rug. I have a fan pointed directly toward the area with the floor cleaned up the best I can and the bottom of the rug drying. I also had some leakage in my art alcove.
We will have to wait until November, when the rainy season is over, to get the windows resealed. At another time, when we have saved up enough money, we will look into getting the floor repaired. The most damage was done when the previous tenants had my place. I’m just trying to keep things at the level they are now, rather than allowing them to get worse.
“Joke” – eatingthaifood – Mark Wiens
We had a really nice breakfast. I told you about this dish before, but we hadn’t eaten it since the first time, so I had to have Brian remind me what it’s called. “Joke,” or rice porridge, is kind of like a breakfast stew here. Rice porridge is the base, but then whatever you have handy goes into the pot. We had sliced sausage in ours this morning. Brian says it usually has a bunch of ginger in it, sometimes making it ‘too spicy or hot’ for a lot of people (including me.) Today it was nicely flavored. I loved it – and only drank my water as a drink – not a lifesaver. 😃
I found another article about using my treadmill workout more efficiently. I’ve already told you about the Japanese Walking Method which I’ve been doing, consisting of 3 minutes ‘slow’ walking followed by 3 minutes ‘fast’ walking for 30 minutes. (except I do 2 slow and 3 fast so that I have a couple of minutes to cool down at the end of my workout.)
Yesterday I read about the 12-3-30 Method which consists of walking 30 minutes at a speed of 3mph at a 12% incline. (Since I’m old and WORKING on getting more fit, I did a modified version of that.) I did my Japanese method for the first 15 minutes, increasing the incline 1% at 5 minute intervals. The second 15 minutes I set the speed at 4mph and just kept bumping up the incline 1% each 5 minutes. I ended up at 6% incline before I started my cool down.) We’ll see if I’m stiff and sore tomorrow. 😜
Chuckles – Pinterest
I finally broke through my plateau on losing my lard. This morning my BMI chart is smiling at me getting well into the healthy range. (I have been in the morbidly obese, then obese range for about 5 years now.) My BMI is 22 now.
I have lost 73 pounds since my heaviest now. (Almost 19 pounds since my initial doctor visit here.) I’m hoping she will see that I’m serious about trying to take care of myself, lose the lard, and get in better shape.
I hope that your day is a good one, giving you a big smile at least once.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
This was sent to me by my good friend, Cathy, who knows me very well. She got me with this, and I love it. 😃
I thought Arkansas weather was changeable and challenging to deal with, but I now think that Chiang Mai, Thailand could teach a master class. My phone app said it would be rainy all day long, and it HAS rained twice today so far, but strong sunshine came out afterward each time.
I am determined to try to get my laundry dry. I pulled in the drying rack that lives on my tiny balcony, setting up to hang things inside over a large sheet I keep for this purpose. When I got things washed, the sun had come out, so I moved the rack back onto the balcony.
Since the sun was really shining brightly, my place was heating up, so I pulled the shades down again to allow it to cool off and the a/c not to be strained. Then it got cloudy again, to the point I had to turn on my lights inside, so I went around and pulled the shades up again.
I’ve done all this three times with the shades and twice with the laundry. This may be a good addition to my gym workout! I will just have to stay alert and keep checking things while my things HOPEFULLY get dry…
I have some fun stuff set up to do today, since we don’t have to go out.
I did several sketches yesterday and will start painting them. I’m making good progress on my owl puzzle – finally – and will see what good I can do on it. I’m in the middle of a good book by Nora Roberts.
My day will fly and I will keep grinning – even if I can’t get my laundry dry today!
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
@debmaluk.bsky.social
“A lot of guys like to go to the beach and bring a crowd, but not me. I like to be alone and out there with a couple of pelicans.” – Robert Englund
@debmaluk.bsky.social
“Be a peliCAN, not a peliCAN’T.”– Unknown
@debmaluk.bsky.social
“A wonderful bird is the pelican His bill will hold more than his belican. He can take in his beak Food enough for a week, But I’m damned if I see how the helican.” – Dixon Lanier Merritt
Thanks to Deb Maluk for allowing me to share her beautiful photos.
Filed under Amazing Animals, Awe-Inspiring Photography
Carla made me crack up with this new picture of Jet, who is ‘helping’ her organize trash bags….
The day got away from me. We were away almost the whole day. I am just now back to my place and settling down for the night. It’s Friday, August 15th at 6:45 PM.
I will try to write tomorrow, but I wanted you to know I was thinking about you and hoping you are doing well.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
These funny errors happen verbally, too. I remember my parents having a party at the house, inviting people from radio and TV in the city. Someone brought up the subject of “bloopers” on news, weather, and sports. The example given of someone’s favorite blooper was when the weather man was predicting winter weather and said, “And we’ll have ‘fleezing dizzle’ tonight.” One guy grimaced and said, “Oh, no! That was ME…”
Filed under You Only Had ONE Job To Do
Tina Ann
I had a good walk at the gym this morning. I’m gradually speeding up my ‘slow’ and ‘fast’ speeds (2 minutes and 3 minutes respectively) so that I’m adding a small bit of distance to my 30 minute walk. So far the changes have resulted in my walking almost 1.5 miles each morning, up from 1 mile. 😛
I’m using part of today to get ready for my cleaning lady to come tomorrow. I’m changing the sheets on my bed, gathering trash, gathering towels for wash and putting out clean ones. My laundry is on the balcony drying.
I am enjoying having a cleaning lady for the first time in my life SO MUCH! I am neater here than I was in the states. Much of it has to do with not having so much STUFF. Another part is having so much less space to put stuff IN. Part of it is living alone. Even with being neater, though, it is wonderful to have someone scrub things from top to bottom, dust EVERYTHING, and she even lines things up – MUCH neater than I do – so that things are perfect when she leaves. She even puts up with my puzzle pieces now filling the table. (I’m also using my step stool to handle the bagged single pieces I have left.)
I hope that you are enjoying your day (or evening) and finding lots of things that bring you joy.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
@mitu222.bsky.social
“Love is the flower you’ve got to let grow.” ~ John Lennon
@linda2.bsky.social
“Happiness is to hold flowers in both hands.” – Japanese Proverb
@raringtogrow.bsky.social
“Bloom where you are planted.” – Proverb
Filed under Favorite Things
“Sing It” – Dana Sredojevic – Pexels
I was planning on having a quiet day today. Brian needed to work and we didn’t have anything on our calendar that we needed to do.
Then Brian texted me, asking if I wanted to get my nails done. Well, YEAH! 👍
We went to a place we had visited two months ago, a place named, “K Perfect.” Brian had popped for the full luxury spa treatment for me then, where they did everything except cook dinner for me. I absolutely loved it, but told him that the next time I went, I “just” wanted the already pampering mani-pedi without all the bells and whistles.
Even their ‘regular’ service is wonderful. Since I’m old (😁) they met me at the door while I was leaving my shoes outside and slipping into their slippers. They made sure I got into the chair without falling on my head and two nice young women proceeded to tend to me (one on my feet and the other on my hands.) I pointed out that I had horizontal ‘splits’ on both of my thumbs that might need special attention. They handled these like the pros they are.
Wikimedia Commons
Brian keeps trying to get me to choose ‘cian’ gel polish, but manicures and pedicures are such a new thing for me I went with a more conservative color. Maybe next time.
An hour later they were finished. One of the ladies helped me out of the chair after going outside and getting my shoes and bringing them to me! She helped me to the door, then outside onto the porch, then down the two tall steps to the street. Talk about feeling special!
I can’t say enough about this place. I have left a review on Google Maps that will hopefully get others to try them, too. This will be one of my regular places to try to maintain my illusion of being a ‘civilized’ person. 😛
Brian and I went to have some chocolate after, capping off my beautiful morning. What a nice surprise!
Filed under Pampering
creativeartworksblog 