It’s 30 degrees F. right now, but the forecast is for 51 this afternoon with sunshine. WOO HOOOOO! I like it.
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Our truck bed is all packed. I put the donation bags for the Veterans Thrift Store in the back yesterday and added the trash bags this morning that we’re taking down as we leave. I will call the thrift store in about half an hour to make sure they’re open and accepting donations today so we don’t get any bad surprises. We go for our semi-annual teeth cleaning after the donation.
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I’m a wuss about going to the dentist. I still have bad dreams the night before. I probably would be toothless by now if it weren’t for a promise I made to my husband years ago. He loved to ride his motorcycle then, but kept riding it without his helmet. It wasn’t against the law, but it really worried me. He finally said he would promise to always wear his helmet if I would go with him to the dentist every six months. He no longer rides his motorcycle, so doesn’t have to honor his promise, but my promise is still active.
My mom died of oral cancer several years ago. My wonderful dental hygienist checks me for oral cancer first thing so that I can relax a bit more during the rest of the exam and cleaning.
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The work on getting my new computer setup continues with slow, but steady progress. I think we have most of the hardest things done now. One more big thing that I know of, and then it’s a matter of transferring data. I’m taking my time on this, trying to be SURE all is good and tested on the new computer before we make the changeover.
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I haven’t been up to my art room in a couple of days. I started a raccoon, but he remains on my drafting table, waiting for attention.
I hope that your day is filled with sunshine and hope.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
“Epic Fails” – BoredPanda.com – Greta Jaruseviciute, Jonas Zvillus and Rokas Laurinavicius
Filed under Funny Signs - Humor, You Only Had ONE Job To Do
Filed under drawings
Happy Sunday morning! We are happily back to normal winter weather here in Arkansas, and I couldn’t be more grateful. It’s supposed to get to 51 here today. We may get some rain, but nothing that will freeze. HOORAY! :0)
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I’m a bit closer to my current interim weight loss goal this morning. I found a snack that I can eat without guilt – Tillamook Country Smoker Zero Sugar Original Smoked Sausages. 0 grams carbohydrates. 0 sugar. Gluten Free. It’s a bit high in sodium, but I’m not worried about it. I’ll try it today.
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We are making slow progress on my new computer. The hardware is all in. The computer is working. Windows 11 is installed. The computer now recognizes that it is connected to the Internet. My husband is trying to get things set up and is duplicating a few basic things from my current computer to the new one. It is making him fight for every inch, but he is determined to get it all set up. I keep trying to get him to actually enjoy the project, since we aren’t in a hurry, but he has always tackled stuff like this as if his life depended on it. It’s just in his DNA. I’m trying to give him space, not make TOO many stupid suggestions, and celebrate the wins with him.
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Tomorrow morning is when we have a LOT of stuff to do. I’m going to put our Veterans Thrift Store donation (twelve 13-gallon bags of clothes, shoes, etc.) into the back of the truck this evening. Tomorrow we’ll gather our trash and drive it down to the bottom of the driveway as we go. I’ll drag the trash can down to the road, fill it up, then check for mail before we go.
We’ll drive to Ft. Smith and leave our donation, then drive across town to our dental cleaning appointments. Then we come home for a late lunch.
I’m delighted that my husband is being cooperative about needing to take the truck, rather than drive the Corvette, a thing he usually insists on when we go to Ft. Smith. We may get to the dentist without my having my hair scared off by his driving. :0)
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I am trying to learn how to make special ‘pins’ to display on Pinterest to promote things from my Etsy shop. It’s complicated, and so I get overwhelmed pretty quickly, but I think it’s definitely worth learning to do. I’m trying to figure out how to do it a bit at a time, get the software I need to do the pins, resize my pictures to meet the standards, and then follow the directions. If I can get ONE pin done successfully, then I will be able to create more from time to time, hopefully increasing the traffic to my Etsy shop.
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I wrote a post last week about wonderful fairy flowerpot decorations that Walmart offered. After a comment from one of my wonderful readers, I went online and actually ordered two of them. Happily, I’ll get one the first week in Feb, and the second one the following week. I’m so excited to receive them!
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I hope you make this a fabulous Sunday.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Indian Hills Signs – Vince, the Sign Guy
Filed under Funny Signs - Humor, Indian Hills Signs, punny
“I would like to paint as the bird sings.” – Claude Monet
“Painting from nature is not copying the object: it is realizing one’s sensations” – Paul Cezanne
“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” – Edgar Degas
“All colors are the friends of their neighbors and the lovers of their opposites.” – Marc Chagall
“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for.” – Georgia O’Keeffe
Filed under Watercolors I Love
I’ve always loved area rugs, loving the way they can tie a room together, add color, and more; but THESE simply blew my mind. I guess it’s like anything else. You ask someone to ‘design a rug,’ and talented people will knock your head off with their vision and creativity. These rugs become the focal point of wherever they are. I think they’re magnificent.
Filed under Decorating Ideas
I hope you’re feeling great this morning. I started to turn over in the bed and then looked at the clock, startled to find it was already time to get up. I’m trying to wake up fully now with my coffee beside me.
My husband finished putting the computer hardware together yesterday and Windows 11 is installed. We’ve run into a snag in that the computer isn’t recognizing it is connected to our Internet. I’m emphasizing that we are NOT in a hurry and for my husband not to feel that he’s in the middle of a “death struggle” trying to get it to work. He reminded me he’s ALWAYS been like that…
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I finished this in my art room last night and will list it on HandmadeHavenbyLinda this morning under “Hand Wood-Burned Gifts.” I also started a raccoon. :0)
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The “closet/bureau/guest-room-closet clean-out” project is finished! I ended up filling twelve 13-gallon bags full of clothes and shoes that we’ll donate to the Veterans Thrift Shop Monday morning. I feel good that (1) I will pass on a lot of things someone else might be able to wear and enjoy, (2) that I found so many things that are now too large for me to wear! :0), and (3) that, although I really hate to try on clothes, particularly when they turn out to be STILL too small (these were limited to the next size down in jeans), I got the project done, doing a session each day, not giving up until I finished – a character-building exercise for sure.
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I hate this time of year because I’m the one who gets us ready to take our tax stuff to our CPA for processing. I used to really stress out. Now it’s just a big annoyance. I converted to spreadsheets that I keep on my computer. I make myself process our tax stuff at the end of each month now, so that I can finish up the spreadsheets quickly at the end of the year and gather the supporting documents.
Our CPA sends us an organizing booklet each January. I groan when I see it, because it still means a lot of hassle required. I’ll get started on the booklet today. Sigh. :0/
I hope you don’t have to go to work today and that you make this an enjoyable day, with at least a smile or two.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
The quote is by Helen Hayes. I’m trying to live by her words.
I’ve been doing my exercise regimen for a reasonably long time now. At the end of the month, I’ll measure to see if I’ve made any progress in the ‘losing-my-lard’ project.
I AM feeling looser and stronger than I did. When I’m writing my blog posts to you each morning, I stop after each one to do a series of exercises with 3-pound weights. I write another post, and do another series until I’ve finished the 4 posts I write every day. This results in a reasonable number of repetitions on trying to strengthen my arms.
I then do chair exercises that are supposed to be targeting my abdomen or core. There are four exercises. When I do two of them, I can really feel it. The other two involve my arms, and I’m not strong enough yet to do them, but I hope to work up to them.
The only other exercise I do daily is my yoga stretches in the afternoon. I do a half hour to 45 minutes, doing a series of big stretches. I don’t do a lot of ‘poses,’ like people who really do yoga well do. I just do stretches on my mat, breathing into the stretches and concentrating on relaxing.
I’ll be reporting to you at the end of the month. Keep moving!
Filed under exercise
“When the world wearies and society fails to satisfy, there is always the garden.” – Minnie Aumonier
“Garden as though you will live forever.” – William Kent
“The garden is a love song, a duet between a human being and Mother Nature.” — Jeff Cox
JustBrightIdeas.com
Filed under Decorating Ideas
I was shocked, when I found these, that they come from Walmart! We go there all the time, and I would be lost without them, but I’ve never seen anything like this at OUR Walmart. I simply LOVE them!
I’m feeling good this morning. I was pooped last night and so went to bed early. I feel much more rested today.
I will finish gathering things today for the Veterans Thrift Town donation Monday. It feels good that my gently used stuff might be of use to someone else. I have lots of bags, and I have to admit that PART of the push to finish this project right now is that our teeth cleaning appointments are in Fort Smith Monday. My husband always wants to drive his ‘Vette when we make the trip to Ft. Smith. (He has always driven it too fast for my comfort, but now he really scares my hair off. In any given situation, when I would put on the brakes, he hits the gas.) Since I have so many bags to donate, they won’t all fit in the ‘Vette, so we’ll need to take the truck. :0) I know, it’s a bit devious…
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I’m having a good time in my art room. I’m working on a bear with a heart for Valentine’s Day, and am thinking about a raccoon after that. The working hard in my closet/bureau/guest room closet and following that with playing in my art room has been a nice combination for me.
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We are supposed to get the hard drive for my new computer today. That means my husband will be finishing up installing the hardware today, and will likely start the installation of Windows 11 on it. Hopefully, that will go well. Fingers crossed.
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I hope that today is a good one for you, full of love and fun.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
I can’t say enough about the colors, the techniques, the subjects of these paintings. When I found them, I felt joy.
Filed under Watercolors I Love
“Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.” — Henry David Thoreau
“We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” — Native American Proverb
“Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.” — Khalil Gibran
“There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature—the assurance that dawn comes after night and spring after winter.” — Rachel Carson
Filed under Awe-Inspiring Photography
Our weather is getting back to ‘normal winter’ for us now, and I’m really happy. We had to drip water last night, and will probably need to keep doing that, but we don’t have to drip it ALL DAY now. Our water bill will probably be breathtaking. :0( I hope you’re safe and warm wherever you are today.
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I will finish my “closet/bureau/guest-room-closet” clean-out project today. One thing just led to another as I made my way through my long-neglected closet. Monday we will take the bags of clothes to the Veteran’s Thrift Store when we make the trip to Ft. Smith for our teeth cleaning appointments.
I’m getting more ruthless as I go. I kept a lot of things for a long time because they were large enough to go over my girth. Now that I’m being more successful in losing my lard – albeit very slowly – I can look more to whether I actually LIKE something. This is a huge change, resulting in a really good-sized donation for other weight-challenged folks like me. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to find so many things that are TOO BIG! :0)
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This is my latest wood-burned piece. I used pastels for the colors. I like the long oval shape of the wood with the natural edges. I listed it on Etsy last night in my HandmadeHavenbyLinda shop. Next, I’m doing a bear with a heart for Valentine’s Day. :0)
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We are waiting for the hard drive for my new computer to be delivered. I have told my husband that I am not in a hurry on this. I want to be sure that all the hardware is compatible, that the Windows 11 operating system doesn’t have any big problems, that the software I use all the time is actually functioning on the new computer, and all my data has been transferred correctly before we make the official switch. He is more antsy than I am, but I’m concentrating on it being a fun project for him, rather than causing any stress.
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I wish you a stellar day today.
feet-in-the-air-snowman – Lynette Walczak- FuntimesGuide.com
I’m now starting a petition for this to be the end of winter and that spring should start tomorrow. As much as I love finding clever snow people and animals, I would like to move on to much better weather. Are you with me?
Filed under Seasons, snow people
I would love to create something similar to these on our land, somewhere around the house, but it’s so rocky here, we would never be able to get an area smooth enough to even start. Another beautiful dream, but I sure love to see what others are doing.
Filed under Decorating Ideas
I hope we have more skilled people in our world than people who do jobs like this. These make me smile because I don’t really have to DEAL with them…
Filed under Funny Signs - Humor, You Only Had ONE Job To Do
I’m still smiling after looking at this. Karin is really on my wave-length, filling me with happiness, making it rise up and spill over.
I finally got up to my art room yesterday and worked on my wood-burned squirrel. He’s coming along, but he’s difficult for me. I’m TRYING to give a suggestion of hair or fur. I’m not sure if it will be successful or not at this point, but I’m having a good time.
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I was going to make chili last night, but my husband requested I make beef stew, so I got the makings into the crock pot early. It turned out well, and was great comfort good for our really cold weather. It’s 19 degrees F. this morning, and the high is supposed to go above freezing this afternoon – the first time in several days. HOOORAAAAAY! Our driveway is clear, so we’re free to come and go now, but it’s really been frigid. Maybe if we all sign a petition, we can get spring early this year.
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My ‘clean-out-my-clothes-closet’ project expanded into an also ‘clean-out-my-bureau’ project. I finished the bureau yesterday and can see the light at the end of the tunnel on the closet clean-out finally. I think one or two days more and it’ll be under control.
This project was brought on by a real problem I was having finding things that fit. My closet was jammed with several different sizes, due to my fatness (and then some success in losing the lard) and I had just stuffed a few new things in as bought, rather than trying to make any sense of things. I was pulling out something that was still too small, something that was suddenly too large, or things that just looked bad before finding something reasonable for the day. Enough was finally enough, no matter how much I hated going through things, trying things on, etc., and finally gathered the motivation to GET THE JOB DONE. Being able to see the end of the project finally feels good.
My husband and I have our semi-annual teeth cleaning in Fort Smith Monday, and we will also take all the bags I have collected to the Veterans Thrift Shop and donate them. (This also gives me extra motivation to get up there and finish the job before Monday so the donation will be ready.)
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I had to apologize to my sister-in-law this morning because the cold wave that started here several days ago got to North Carolina and dumped snow and ice and frigid temperatures on her. She has to walk her sweet dog in it, and both came home from the morning walk cold, with snow, ice, and the salt people had put down to prevent slips and falls all over their feet. Since we’re finally getting above freezing this afternoon, hopefully I can soon send her melting and warmer temperatures!
Have a wonderful Wednesday.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Filed under Seasons, snow people
I follow Floridiana on Blue Sky. She makes me envious of where she lives and works, but also of her artistry in photography. I look forward to her posts.
I can almost HEAR the wave! And such beautiful color contrast between the water and the sky.
A celebration of Mother Nature at her best.
Floridiana – @deepgreens.bsky.social
Filed under Awe-Inspiring Photography
Filed under Kindrie Grove Studios, metal art, sculpture
People are notoriously sloppy regarding details on and off the job. Some people on BoredPanda.com have collected another group of examples of the mistakes, sloppiness, and downright DUMB things people have done. They only had ONE job….
It would be ‘interesting’ to try to fill out this form if YOU are the person listed…
Did we miss World War 3 – 10?
Using this screwdriver might be difficult…
I love this one. A proofreader might have been able to save them a lot of grief and embarrassment that the maze was finished almost before it got started.
I’m amazed this personalizing company stayed in business this long.
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“Epic Fails” – BoredPanda.com – Greta Jaruseviciute, Jonas Zvillus and Rokas Laurinavicius
Filed under Funny Signs - Humor, You Only Had ONE Job To Do
I felt good, sharing a virtual hug with the sweet girl and her dog, and wanted to share it with you.
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My computer said it was 7 degrees F. this morning. The thermometer in the window said 10. I will be super glad when this frigid air moves on and we get back to what is normal for our beautiful state. We are staying warm and no pipes frozen. This is supposed to start getting more normal Thursday. Stay warm and dry, everyone!
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I didn’t get much done yesterday, so I’ll try to make up for that some today. I’m going to get the makings of Keto Chili in the crock pot soon, so we can enjoy that this evening. I’m planning to do a session in my closet, and hopefully get up to my art room this afternoon.
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MAKE this a good day. :0)
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Free Spirited – Pinterest
Here is a quote I live by – “Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.” ~ Marcus Aurelius.
I really think, in spite of much of what happens in life, you can choose to see the good, can choose to see the humor in situation, can choose to see things in the most positive light.
You can also choose to surround yourself with people who bring you joy. Choosing to find common ground, cherishing what you love about each person, rather than focusing on disagreement areas can calm your mind and spirit.
Choosing to spend time each day doing things you love brings an automatic smile to your face and happiness to your heart. We need to make the time, even if it’s just a little bit each day, to find joy.
“May your day begin and end with a smile.”
Filed under Attitude, Cause for Celebration, Challenges, Changes
“Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.” — Langston Hughes
“Every bird, every tree, every flower reminds me what a blessing and privilege it is just to be alive.” — Marty Rubin
“A bird does not sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.” — Maya Angelou
“Wherever there are birds, there is hope.” ― Mehmet Murat Ildan
“A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because her trust is not on the branch but on her own wings.” — Anonymous
Filed under Awe-Inspiring Photography
I would love to curl up here, with my coffee and a book, and while away the afternoon….
With my fantasies, I definitely would be the cleanest person on the planet. This shower is wonderful, with places built into the wall for soap, shampoo, etc. The only thing I might add is a ‘lip’ between the shower area and the rest of the bathroom so the water would stay where it’s supposed to be. Fantasies abound here, though, for me…
The only problem with all of this staggering beauty is that I would have trouble getting anything done if I actually lived with any of this. So beautiful!
I want to be this lady when I grow up. If she doesn’t win THIS time, maybe NEXT time…
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I just had to tell my husband that the CPU he was hoping would be delivered today probably wouldn’t be, due to this being Inauguration Day and Martin Luther King Day. He was NOT a happy camper.
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My daily sessions in my closet are definitely starting to show. (We are ignoring the fact that the closet has needed to be cleaned out now for several years now.) We are just concentrating on the fact that it’s getting better daily. Yesterday I started cleaning out my cubbyhole shelves, and that spilled over into one of my bureau drawers. It’s all resulting in a good, strong clean-out with a hefty donation to the Veterans Thrift Store the next time we go to Fort Smith.
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I deep-scrubbed our stove top yesterday, running all the parts on top through the dishwasher while I concentrated on the rest of the top. My husband was in the Marine Corps, and came away with several rather unfortunate phrases he uses to this day. One of them is the highest compliment Marines can pay to a job of cleaning. He looked at the stove top when it was all back together and pronounced it, “Shining like a diamond in a goat’s ass.” (If you’ll pardon the expression.)
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Due to all the work in the kitchen and the closet, I didn’t make it up to my art room to continue wood burning on the squirrel. Hopefully, I can make time for that today.
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Shout out to Sheila – a recipient of the snow we had recently. I have apologized to her about this inadvertent ‘gift.’ I also apologize to any other recipients.
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Enjoy your day today.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
creativeartworksblog 