“School” – Nino Chakvetadze
“Spring” – Nino Chakvetadze
Filed under drawings, Nino Chakvetadze
“The Flight of the Swan”-Coderch and Malavia-Jessica Stewart – MyModernMet.com
“Tissue of Time” -Coderch and Malavia-Jessica Stewart – MyModernMet.com
Filed under sculpture
“Caught Red-Pawed” – Audrius P. – Bored Panda
Tonight we eat the last meal from BistroMD. This program was not a good match for us, and we are happy to be able to move on. Sad to say, I didn’t lose any weight over the past week – just held my own. (I didn’t get any taller, either.
If I grew about 5 inches, I would be in MUCH better shape. I have a massage next week and will encourage my wonderful therapist to redouble her efforts to pull on my head, legs, and arms enough that my problem might eventually go away. :0) (One can dream….)
We are looking forward to a week off. We have ordered some hand-prepared frozen meals from Real Food in Greenwood. We will pick up our order Monday. Some of our Lunch Bunch friends say their food is delicious! In the future, we will do a combination of keto meals and meals from Real Food – if we like it – concentrating on portion control, good choices, and exercise. Fingers crossed.
Filed under DIET!, exercise, Healthy Eating, quality of life, taking care of yourself
GrowingBolder.com
GrowingBolder.com
GrowingBolder.com
Filed under aging, Attitude, empowerment, Encouragement, quality of life, taking care of yourself
One Green Planet
I’ve been upstairs in our master bathroom most of the afternoon. I have filled half a leaf bag with things I’m throwing away. I have things I can donate to others. I have gone through ONE of the floor-to-ceiling shelves, pulling everything out and going through, deciding what needs to be done. I have cleaned the shelves and put things back. I have taken things downstairs to be thrown away. A bag of things is by my office chair to be added to the donation list. Other things have been moved elsewhere.
My husband won’t be able to tell I’ve been upstairs or done anything. It will probably take me through the weekend to finish going through the second set of floor-to-ceiling shelves, medicine cabinet, and then clean the bathroom. THEN my husband will mainly notice that our counter top looks neater and that the rugs have been vacuumed.
I’m lucky that he DOESN’T notice a lot of things. Lots of people would go crazy with all the STUFF we have, or the fact that I’m such a lousy housekeeper.
Having him finally notice a difference when I’ve been cleaning for several days is good enough. :0)
GrowingBolder.com
GrowingBolder.com
GrowingBolder.com
Filed under aging, Encouragement, quality of life
“Singin’ in the Rain” – Pinterest
It’s very cloudy, 73 degrees F., and raining quietly here. We have our doors open so that we can ENJOY every minute of the rain and cooler temperatures!
I was unable to find any lettuce plants, so I won’t be planting in the brick planter near the house for the fall. :0( We still have a few tomatoes, so I’ll just enjoy whatever we can harvest from that and the ‘nook’ planter as long as they are producing. Yesterday I got caught up pruning rose bushes, and then overgrown stuff from more planters, so I didn’t get out to murder the fire ants in the main garden. That will have to wait another day.
I DID get up and play a bit in my art room yesterday! (I converted a bedroom to be my art room.) It’s been forever, since other priorities have eaten up our days, so it was really nice to spend some time up there.
Thomas Merton – Healing with Art via Cathy Ruggiero
I decided I would make some bookmarks to sell at Rags & Roses, the wonderful local shop in Greenwood where I share a booth with my good friend, Carla.
I played with my Unicorn Spit paint that my sister-in-law, MaryLou, sent to me as a nice, ‘just-because’ gift I guess about a year ago now. I have SO enjoyed experimenting with what I can do with it, and have barely scratched the surface. I also used some rubber stamps. I let things dry overnight and will go up and spray the sealer on them next. When that is dry, I’ll do the finishing touches to make them into bookmarks! I love choosing the ribbons, strings, beads, and stuff to add to them. :0)
“Caught Red-Pawed” – Audrius P. – Bored Panda
We have about a day and a half’s worth of BistroMD meals to finish. My husband and I got online last night and ordered some meals from the new local place in Greenwood called Real Food. We can pick up our order Monday afternoon. In the meantime, my husband has asked me to make “Keto Chili,” Saturday, one of our favorite recipes from Suzanne Ryan, Simply Keto.
I’m truly delighted that I was finally able to find a place that the elephant ear plants my friend, Laufrain, gave me back in September last year would be happy. I wintered them over on the floor in our dining area by the window, and then put them out on the front porch when it was warm enough in the spring. They were very UNhappy there and almost croaked! I decided to TRY them in the planter we rebuilt along the front of the house, thinking they would get more sun, but would be more protected from wind here. As you can see, they are smiling! (As you can also see, I will spray the ‘greenery’ in the rocks with KillsALL weed killer on the next dry day we have…)
Today I will work on the bookmarks. I’m not sure what area of the house I will attack on my decluttering project, but I’m leaning toward the shelves in our bathroom. We have a set over the toilet, and two floor-to-ceiling sets in the main part of the bathroom.
Amazon Handmade
I will also see if I can make any progress registering my shop on Amazon Handmade. We are still fighting over whether my Google Chrome is ‘acceptable’ or not at this point. I have upgraded to the newest version. My husband checked my computer and confirmed that. I’m still getting the screen that says I need to upgrade my browser to meet their requirements. ARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!
I hope you have a glorious Thursday.
Filed under Landscapes I Like
GrowingBolder.com
GrowingBolder.com
GrowingBolder.com
Filed under aging, Cause for Celebration, Encouragement, quality of life
“Caught Red-Pawed” – Audrius P. – Bored Panda
Today is the cutoff for making changes to our next week’s delivery from BistroMD. Until yesterday, my husband’s page still wasn’t showing that I had written and asked them to remove snacks from what I thought would be the final week’s order.
When I went to the websites for each of us this morning, each said at the top, “No deliveries are scheduled.” I’m HOPING that means that our memberships are – in fact – cancelled and that we don’t have to pay for and receive another week’s worth, but it isn’t clear. At the beginning, the paperwork said we would have to get ANOTHER week when we cancelled. I’ve been on hold, and have given a call-back number several times, but haven’t been able to reach anyone yet. All my appendages are crossed that we are finished with this company and can move on after we eat a few more meals from the first week’s order.
In the meantime, we checked out the new Real Food place in Greenwood yesterday. It was so clean it squeaked! There was a choice of four different prepared-by-hand frozen meals in the freezer, and all sounded good. The lady explained to us that now that they have an actual ‘store,’ they will move away from weekly pre-orders and will expand the offerings in the store as they can. This would be very convenient for us. I will need to check out the nutrition labels more carefully, but we could at least have some meals in the freezer for the times I go on strike and don’t have the energy to cook in the future.
I am ready to go back to our keto plan IF we are finished with the Bistro group. I think we have a day and a half’s worth of meals left from the first week, and then we can switch.
GREAT NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!! A customer service person from Bistro called me back just now. He confirmed that since it says “no deliveries are scheduled.” on each of our pages, that I cancelled the plans in time that we DON’T have to pay for or receive another week’s worth of food. HOORAAAAAAAAAY! :0)
Now I will look at the Real Food website and see if they have choices listed for pre-orders for next week listed.
Filed under DIET!, Healthy Eating
“Caught Red-Pawed” – Audrius P. – Bored Panda
I am feeling like this cat – wanting to steal food.
I have told you that the BistroMD food is not for us. We are basically meat and potatoes type people, plebeians, who don’t like a lot of spices. We don’t like spicy hot food, and we are limited in our appreciation for fancy. We have cancelled the plan, but we have to eat our way through this first week, plus ANOTHER week yet to be delivered, before we can move on. This is a character-building exercise for us, since we are finding a lot of things we would rather not eat again – like eggplant.
Last night I had “Roasted Corn and Scallop Chowder” with some broccoli on the side. My husband had “Turkey Breast with Gravy, Carrots, and Cauliflower.” We both had “Jerk Spiced Chicken with Mango Chutney” for lunch. Each meal is a new adventure and we are glad we will be leaving this train soon. The saddest part is that, though we are following the plan religiously, and I am exercising, neither of us has lost any weight. We were hoping that we would lose a couple of pounds each week, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Filed under DIET!
Reader’s Digest
We have several errands this morning, and more this afternoon, so I might not get ANYTHING else done today.
In about an hour, we’ll leave 4 leaf bags of trash at the bottom of our driveway for pickup. (I made my goal of finding 2 extra bags of things that SHOULD have been thrown away a long time ago. I’m hoping to continue this each week.) We will also get our mail.
We have been experiencing serial failures of our fluorescent light fixtures this year. We have changed out the ballast transformers on many of them. Now we are replacing the switches that control them. We will pick up those at Yeagers. We will stop at our co-op to see if they have lettuce plants. (I’m hoping to pull out the spent tomato plants in the long brick planter by the house and put in lettuce plants.) Then we will stop and check the new Real Food store on the way home, hoping to find some frozen meals to buy and try.) Later, we’ll go back for my husband’s hair cut and a quick trip to the clinic for a shot for him.
I got lazy yesterday and didn’t do anything outside. This afternoon I’m planning to mix up EIGHT bug killer and will hose down my raised bed, square foot garden planters before I even THINK about trying to harvest the rest of our onions. I am finally healed up from the attack of the fire ants that I discovered living among my onions, so I’m ready to wage war. If I’m successful on getting the lettuce plants, I’ll take some pics for you.
I finally got an email from Amazon Handmade, confirming that I have been accepted to list my work there, and giving me some directions on how to get to a place I can register. When I have a calm space of time, I’ll try to follow them. Fingers crossed!
I hope you had an enjoyable Labor Day and that you make today a great day, too.
A. A. Milne. Illustration by E. H. Shepard
“Rivers know this – There is no hurry. We shall get there someday.” ~ A. A. Milne
Filed under Favorite Authors & Books, Favorite Quotes
Nino Chakvetadze-Cupboard
Nino Chakvetadze-Hide and Seek
Filed under drawings, Nino Chakvetadze
Bored Panda
Bored Panda
These are both definitely too cute to actually EAT. I’m amazed at the creativity in the world.
Filed under playing with your food?
LoveThisPic
“Labor Day 2020 will occur on Monday, September 7. Labor Day pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers and is traditionally observed on the first Monday in September. It was created by the labor movement in the late 19th century and became a federal holiday in 1894.” ~ http://www.history.com
In 1918, my dad was born on Labor Day, September 6th that year. He always said he thought it was ‘appropriate.’ :0)
This Labor Day is a bit sad because so many good people are still out of work due to the pandemic. In addition, we have people who have lost homes, businesses, and jobs due to Mother Nature and the hurricanes and flooding. Hopefully, all this will improve soon. It seems we have already started, though more rapidly would, of course, be better.
We continue to eat our way through our BistroMD eating plan. Last night we both ate a chicken, rice and cheddar casserole with broccoli. It was the best thing we’ve had so far, but neither of us was impressed. We have to accept an order for next week, but we have cancelled the program.
Our yard is looking pretty good now! (for us). My husband got the grass mowed a couple of days ago. The day before yesterday I weed whacked what he couldn’t mow, and yesterday I used the leaf blower to clean up. One would actually think we might be civilized around here! Today I will mix up 2 gallons of EIGHT bug killer and hose down the garden before I try to harvest the rest of the onions. I’ll also spray the trio of brick planters between our driveway area and our yard in preparation for weeding and pruning things there. I do NOT want to get stung/bitten by ants again!
I’m also thinking of checking the co-op in town to see if they have lettuce plants. If they do, I’ll take the tomato plants down in the planter close to the house and plant lettuce there. One year we were lucky, having fresh lettuce into early February!
I will call to find out if the new place in Greenwood called Real Food is open today. I interested in seeing the place, plus possible getting a couple of frozen dinners to try.
I hope that you make this a happy day.
Ronit Baras
I finished the 11th book in “The Rise of the Iliri” series by Auryn Hadley last night.
My main reaction is sadness that it is, indeed, the end of the series. There won’t be any more in this story. I was totally caught up in the world Auryn created, plus the unique characters and their interactions. I love the fact that the main character was a super strong female. Her world was SO different from mine it was a good escape. I’m a go-along to get-along type basically, trying to not upset anyone. The main character, Sal, was the complete opposite, challenging everyone and everything in order to make the world a better place. She was a shining example to everyone around her, bringing out their strengths, as well. Great story.
In the meantime, my husband suggested I read the “Honor Harrington” books by David Weber next. Another strong female character. I started the first book in the series last night.
I hope that YOU have the luxury of diving into the beloved books of a favorite author, or finding new, exciting ones that take your breath away.
Filed under Favorite Authors & Books, Hobbies, Reading is FUNdamental
“Caught Red-Pawed” – Audrius P. – Bored Panda
We have cancelled our BistroMD meal plan. We have to accept one more week’s delivery, but then that’s it.
We tried dinner the first night and then lunch and dinner yesterday – plus my husband had two snacks. He said – after tasting the dinner last night – “Three strikes and they’re out.” We will try to eat our way through the rest of this week’s fares plus next week’s, but this plan is not for us. A sample of our conversation: “What is this veggie?” “I think it’s apple.” “I think it’s squash.” Whatever it is, it’s pretty awful.”
Our new plan (after we try to finish the food we have, AND yet to be delivered), is for me to go back to cooking keto. We will also check out a new place called REAL FOOD that opened up recently in Greenwood. At Lunch Bunch the daughter of one of my friends mentioned the place, saying that their frozen dinners, made fresh each week, were really good, and were good for you. That may give us a nice change from all the cooking from time to time. I will also make a point of cooking so that we have leftovers, so I won’t be spending all my time in the kitchen and cleaning up.
I’m disappointed, but the dinner was so unappetizing last night that I threw mine out, opting for some deli meat, a hard-boiled egg, and a string cheese stick.
There are a few more options we may try, but I’m STARTING to learn that being lazy and trying to avoid cooking might not be the best option long term. We used the South Beach as a kind of ‘reboot’ on our keto efforts. When my husband saw how much time I was in the kitchen, prepping, cooking, and then cleaning up when we had finished the two months of South Beach, he suggested that we try another plan and I – lazy person that I am – caved.
I will concentrate on cooking enough of each keto recipe we love so that we have leftovers for another dinner and maybe a lunch. I will also research how well each one freezes in individual portions.
Filed under DIET!
Simon Brown, U.K. via Laura Staugaitis, Colossal
Simon Brown, U.K. via Laura Staugaitis, Colossal
Simon Brown, U.K. via Laura Staugaitis, Colossal
Simon Brown, U.K. via Laura Staugaitis, Colossal
Filed under Felted Wool Art
Caught Red-Pawed – Audrius P. – Bored Panda
Our BistroMD first week’s food was delivered yesterday afternoon. The package warned of dry ice, but it was all melted. The food seemed to be good and cold, though.
One thing that is different from the other plans we have tried is that they want you to take out the food for the next day, transferring it from the freezer to the fridge to thaw slowly. I do that with meat, chicken, and fish, anyway, but this is the first time we have done it with frozen dinners.
Our first meal was dinner last night. My husband had “Beef Stroganoff” and I had “Broccoli Cheddar Stuffed Chicken.” These are both from the Diabetic Menu, since we are both trying to avoid any added sugar.
We both thought our dinners were OKAY, and certainly better than the South Beach frozen stuff. (We both had really LIKED the “White Bean Chicken Chili” and “Cheeseburger Soup” in tiny bowls from South Beach for lunch and dinner, though, so we don’t want to rush to judgment. We may still be in withdrawal from finishing those.) This is more nutritious than what we have been eating lately, with the veggies being included in the meal, rather than depending on the customer to add good choices as a side. The Beef Stroganoff included mushrooms, and broccoli, with linguini. The Broccoli Cheddar Stuffed Chicken included carrots and a barley salad with spinach, red onions, and slivered almonds.
A drawback, as far as I am concerned, is that they did not have a keto eating plan choice. Since my husband has Type II diabetes, though, and my goal is to simply lose the lard in the most healthy way I can, this is certainly worth a try. It looks like they are arranging the day’s food to be around 1000-1200 calories. I am hopeful these good people can help us lose the lard and eat healthy.
I was able to do my yoga stretching yesterday for the first day since I got bitten/stung by the ants last week, and I’m planning to do that, plus a good amount of yard work today as my exercise.
Filed under DIET!, exercise, Healthy Eating, quality of life, taking care of yourself
creativeartworksblog 