Ayn Rand – SayingImages.com
This doesn’t have to mean HUGE changes in your life. It can mean carving out a bit of time for yourself each day. Use it to do something you really enjoy, something that brings you pleasure, brings you peace, makes you smile. If you can’t DO something, you always have your mind and your heart. You can escape for a bit, if you need to – listen to music, read a book, sit in your chair with your eyes closed. Be sure to do something each and every day.
“Learn to value yourself, which means: Fight for your happiness.” ~ Ayn Rand
Filed under Attitude, empowerment, Encouragement, taking care of yourself
Lolly Daskal
I may not live long enough to list my stuff on Amazon Handmade.
This is really a character-building exercise.
I filled out a long, thorough application to list my work. I finally got an email that said I had been approved! In the email there is a box that says, “Register Now.” I clicked it, and was sent to a page that said I needed to upgrade my browser to be acceptable. I did that and restarted my computer. I again clicked on the box and was sent to the same screen.
I then hit an option that said, copy the link URL and put it into a different browser. The URL wasn’t recognized.
I then started reading, and noticed one frustrated account of a person finding that you were only allowed to hit the ‘Register Now’ button one time. So now I have replied to their email, telling them I have upgraded and asking them to send me another email.
We will see…
Filed under Challenges, Changes, character-building exercises
Finksburg, MD–July 9, 2013–“This is a fountain in the garden of artist Sherrill Cooper, who has made sculptures and decorations from found objects. Barbara Haddock Taylor/Baltimore Sun
Filed under Art From Found Things
Simon Brown, U.K.
Simon Brown, U.K.
Simon Brown, U.K.
Simon Brown, U.K.
Filed under Embroidery/Sewing Art, Felted Wool Art
goddesses-cartoon-Pinterest
The sun is shining! We have had so much rain, so many storms, flash flooding, etc., here lately that I had almost forgotten what it was like to enjoy happy sunshine! A welcome sight, indeed.
We will join our friends for Lunch Bunch in half an hour. One of my friends has been in the process of moving, so I’m eager to hear how it went and what she thinks of her new place. Our other friends are usually into an interesting project. It is always a great time for us to catch up with what has been going on, future plans, etc. We are lucky to have been doing this for over 17 years now, through years and years of things to celebrate and things to help each other through. Friendship is priceless.
I am filling up my leaf bags quickly now – one for donations and the other for trash. I’m hoping to fill at least two extra leaf bags of trash each week, and I will systematically go through, room by room, trying to gather things I am no longer using or can do without that someone else might need or enjoy.
We are supposed to get our first week’s delivery of BistroMD today. I’m looking forward to eating our first dinner tonight.
I am finding it difficult to get my work on Amazon Handmade so far. I have been accepted, but when I click on the ‘register’ button in the email they sent, they send me to a screen that says they don’t like the version of Chrome I’m using as a browser. They don’t provide a URL – just a clickable square – so I can’t use another browser. I will try to upgrade my Chrome again after lunch and keep my fingers crossed.
This will be a hopefully quiet day for us. We only have a couple of errands to run, and so will be home to receive our deliveries and try to get organized for the new eating plan.
I hope that this is a good day for you, too.
Filed under DIET!, Friendship, Thoughts on a ________
A.A. Milne – illustrated by E. H. Shepard
“Some people care too much – I think it’s called love.” ~ A. A. Milne
Filed under Favorite Authors & Books, Favorite Quotes
forwarded email
forwarded email
forwarded email
I have a Kindle Fire. I have been enjoying reading “The Rise of the Iliri” series by Auryn Hadley on it.
I really prefer holding a real book in my hands. My FAVORITE is a full-sized hard back book, but we converted to paperbacks years ago, due to space and cost.
I love the FEEL of books. I hold a treasure in my hands. I love to save my favorites to read again. (I realize that this is possible on my Kindle, but – to be honest – I don’t really trust it to not lose its mind, and I don’t like the idea of the cloud holding things I care about.
So, again, I guess I’m a dinosaur, treasuring an idea that is ‘going out of style.’
Getting rid of my collection will one day be someone else’s problem…
Filed under Reading is FUNdamental
Robert-Rauschenberg-Monogram.-Image-via-rauscenbergfoundations.org
Tin Man – Pinterest
Leo Sewell’s “Teddy Bear”, mixed media (photo courtesy of William Benton Museum of Art) via UConnToday
Filed under Art From Found Things
Bored Panda
Good Morning!
We MAY finally be getting a reprieve from the rain and some cooler temperatures soon! I couldn’t be more ready. The humidity is 98% right now, according to the local weather website. It’s like pea soup outside. We still have the doors open, getting what breezes we can. I’m ready for fall.
First thing this morning I cleaned out the aquarium. These two goldfish have the award for messing up their water faster than any other fish on the planet, I think. Even with the new, fancy, three-part filter, the water was terrible this morning. Thankfully, I can change things out in about half an hour now.
The water is now clean enough that when I take a picture of the aquarium, you can also see parts of the kitchen behind it, PLUS the reflection of the dining area window on the other side of the room. :0) I’m trying to teach them to say, “Thank You,” when they get into the sparkling clean tank, but no luck so far. I would even be happy if they did a cartwheel or something, or blew some bubbles at me. They only do THAT when I feed them. The thing I DON’T want them to do is roll over and play dead…
Today I will try to register for my Amazon Handmade account and see what happens. I am hopeful I can get lots of questions answered so I feel I know what I’m doing.
Amazon Handmade
I have started two leaf bags:
Leaf Bag # 1 is for things to donate to the Disabled Vets Thrift Store in Fort Smith.
Leaf Bag # 2 is for trash.
I received an email that we are supposed to receive our first week’s delivery of BistroMD meals tomorrow! We have both chosen the diabetic plan. My husband denies he has Type II diabetes (he says he has a sugar problem). He thinks only people who have to give themselves injections are ‘diabetics.’ Since we are both trying to stay away from any added sugar, we feel this is a good choice for us. I will let you know how it goes.
My ant stings/bites/welts are almost gone now. I have a couple of spots I still need to put anti-itch ointment on, but I’m back to normal, otherwise. If things dry out a bit, the revenge murdering of ants commences tomorrow…
PestWorld.org
Have a happy Thursday!
A.A. Milne, illustrated by E. H. Shepard
“Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.” ~ A.A. Milne
Filed under Favorite Quotes, Poohisms
Photo by Fajar Andriyant
I hope that you are having a good morning.
We have two more rainy days before things MAY try to dry out some. We were out doing errands in the rain most of the day yesterday, and may need to do that again today. Our weather has been really different this year. There was a pharmacist who came in while we were waiting. She had on wonderful bright red rain boots that came up almost to her knees. I WANT SOME! :0)
As soon as we start getting dry days, I will hose down my garden with EIGHT bug spray, hopefully murdering thousands of the ants who have made a home there. We live on approximately 8 acres, and I have NO idea why they decide to live in boxes that are several feet off the ground that get watered daily and bothered by me when I’m planting, watering, weeding, or harvesting. I still have their bites/stings from my partial onion harvest the other day, having to use allergy medicine and ointment to live through the welts, discomfort, and intense itching. There will be no mercy.
We should be getting our first week’s worth of BistroMD prepared meals this week. They suggest that you begin the program on a Monday so that you’re in sync with the next week’s delivery schedule, so we plan to do that.
I’m feeling the urge to get rid of things again. It may have been brought on by having to clean everything out of the greenhouse that was ruined by the recent storm, but I’m going with it. I will plan to gather at least a couple of extra leaf bags of trash each week. I will gather things to donate as I can. I’m getting more and more ruthless as I do these ‘sweeps,’ and that’s a very good thing. My husband and I are both savers, and we have lived in our home for over 30 years now, so this is an ongoing, HUGE job. I’m thinking that this time I will start in our bedroom…
Try to make this a beautiful day – whatever the weather.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Amazon Handmade
I received an email yesterday that I was accepted to list my stuff on Amazon Handmade!
I don’t have the first clue on what I am supposed to do to actually DO that, but I’m excited. I’ll read everything I can find and then try to get my work listed.
If I were a gazillionaire, I would hire someone to research possible places to list my stuff, help me find the right prices to each different type of thing I make, and handle all the business/taxes/paperwork involved.
Since I’m a one-person-band, things move a lot more slowly as I swim through the peanut butter of figuring things out, experimenting, and adjusting, over and over.
I truly love to create things that others will hopefully like. The highest compliment is when you find repeat customers who also tell others about what you do.
My research into Amazon Handmade starts today. I will let you know when I figure things out and can show you.
Filed under Uncategorized
Simon Brown, U.K.
Simon Brown, U.K.
Simon Brown, U.K.
Simon Brown, U.K.
Filed under Felted Wool Art
Public Art Ukraine by Sculp Lovers via Elena-LinkedIn
I’m in the middle of Book # 10 in the Rise of the Iliri series by Auryn Hadley.
I’m in awe of her talent. She has created a totally new future world populated by at least three different types of species, only one of which is human. The main character is Sal, the Kaisae of the Iliri.
My husband recommended the series, thinking I might enjoy it. He was kind of surprised that I LOVED it, and have been reading book after book ever since. I think there are only 11 in this series, so I will soon be having withdrawal symptoms.
Thankfully, Hadley is quite a prolific author, and I will try another of her series.
If you enjoy super-strong women characters and are open to totally different culture norms, you might consider trying this series.
Filed under Favorite Authors & Books
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
Cheyne and Eva help us welcome September 2020. This photo is in the Australian Firefighters 2020 fund-raising calendar. (Actually, I have no clue if any of these gorgeous men are firefighters, but they are nice eye-candy, aren’t they? And the animals are so sweet, as well. You can order the 2021 calendar starting October 7th, using the link above, if you are interested.
Quora
Our area is now under a Flash Flood Warning due to all the rain we’ve had – and are still getting – through tomorrow. Thankfully, we live on top of a ridge line. Today that is a good thing. Not so much in lightning storms or tornadoes. :0) We are hoping the rain will stop this afternoon. We went down to take 7 leaf bags of trash from the clean- out of the ruined greenhouse to the bottom of our driveway for pickup this morning when the rain let up a bit. As we were emptying out the truck, the rain came down hard again. We finished putting the bags out and the mailman came by. We were so wet by the time we got back up to the house, we had to change our clothes! It still is almost dark as night outside.
I will do my elliptical trainer and my yoga today, plus regular household chores, and hope we can get out and get our errands done this afternoon. We have the doors open, enjoying the cool breeze and the sound of the rain. A great day for an afternoon nap, too!
Have a pleasant, soothing day.
Filed under exercise, Mother Nature, Thoughts on a ________
Good Housekeeping
After I cleaned up the kitchen last night, my husband came in, wanting to talk about our continuing efforts to lose weight. He had noticed that I was in the kitchen a long time yesterday and strongly urged me to consider signing up with another prepared meals plan. We got online and found BistroMD. Their food looked good, and the website was well-designed, so we signed up.
I thought we could use my email address on both accounts, with different passwords, since my husband is terrible about telling me about emails he receives. That assumption was not the case, and the customer service portion of the site wasn’t available late last night. We got confirmation of our orders, showing they had seen my efforts to sign up for another account and included that with the order for my husband.
I called them this morning. Customer Service there is wonderful. The agent is changing the email address associated with the order for my husband, and then is creating an account using my email address for me. She will send me an email as soon as it is done so that I can sign in and change some of the choices for our first week. I’m VERY impressed with the food choices, the website, and customer service so far. This is a week-to-week thing. We can cancel at any time. I’m hopeful that this will be a great help to us in our efforts to get the lard off. :0)
I started harvesting onions late yesterday afternoon. As I pulled up an onion, ants spewed up out of the hole left by the onion, charging mainly up my left arm. I brushed as many of them off as I could, but some of them bit/stung me. I have now taken my Benedryl allergy pills 3 times and spread ointment all over the welts, particularly on my left arm. I am puffed up in several areas and my skin is warm, but no exciting reactions. Just really annoying. :0(
We got a lot of lightning, thunder, and rain overnight. No damage, though, thank goodness. We need to go to Fort Smith this afternoon, so I’m hoping we don’t run into street flooding.
Have a happy day everyone.
A.A. Milne – illustration by E.H. Shepard
“You can’t stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.”
Filed under Favorite Authors & Books, Favorite Quotes, Poohisms
Freepik
Stress (forwarded by my sister-in-law)
Management for Women!
A young lady confidently walked around the room while leading and explaining stress management to an audience with a raised glass of water. Everyone knew she was going to ask the ultimate question, ‘half empty or half full?’ She fooled them all. “How heavy is this glass of water?” she inquired with a smile. Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.
She replied , “The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you’ll have to call an ambulance. In each case it’s the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.” She continued, “and that’s the way it is with stress. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won’t be able to carry on.”
“As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we’re refreshed, we can carry on with the burden – holding stress longer and better each time practiced. So, as early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don’t carry them through the evening and into the night.
1 * Accept the fact that some days you’re the pigeon and some days you’re the statue!
2 * Always keep your words soft and sweet just in case you have to eat them.
3 * Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.
4 * Drive carefully… It’s not only cars that can be recalled by their Maker.
5 * If you can’t be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
6 * If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
7 * It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.
8 * Never buy a car you can’t push.
9 * Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won’t have a leg to stand on.
10 * Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance.
11 * Since it’s the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.
12 * The second mouse gets the cheese.
13 * When everything’s coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane.
14 * Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
15 * Some mistakes are too much fun to make only once.
16 * We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.
17 * A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
18 * Have an awesome day and know that someone has thought about you today.
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY
19 * Save the earth. It’s the only planet with chocolate!
Today someone asked me if I liked you. I laughed and said, “Ha! That’s funny! I absolutely LOVE that woman! She’s funny, caring, crazy as heck, sweet, beautiful, she’s reading this e-mail right now and I love her!”
Send this to ladies you love! Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor each morning the devil says “Oh crap, she’s up!”
—Eleanor T. Cicerchi
Filed under When Wood Comes Alive
I’ve spent a couple of weeks now cleaning up storm damage, so it’s REALLY nice to find something that is thriving in our yard – my elephant ear plants that my friend, Laufrain gave me last fall! I wintered them over in our dining area, then put them in pots on the front porch. They weren’t happy there and almost croaked. I transplanted them into this rebuilt brick planter in front of the house and they seem to like it here just fine!!!
Filed under Friendship, Gardening
Spoon University
We are now down to the dregs in our South Beach boxes.
We ordered pancake mixes a la carte to tide my husband over, but those are super-expensive. I fixed two packages for our breakfast this morning, realizing we are on a count-down until my husband starts to balk. Happily, I researched low carb pancake mix on the net and found CarbQuik, a low carb baking mix! It’s inexpensive, and can be used for things other than pancakes sometime in the future. I have it on our grocery list now.
I Can Has Cheezeburger? – DailySquee.com
This morning I made the SB pancakes, I made tunafish salad for lunch, and I have the makings for keto chili in the slow cooker for dinner. I feel like ‘Food Central’ right now, so I will get serious about making plans for the next week so I don’t face the serious culture shock of feeling I’m in the kitchen all day prepping, cooking, or cleaning up. I have my Simply Keto recipe book by Suzanne Ryan, and I will make my calendar and figure out a game plan so I spend as little time in the kitchen as possible in the coming week, yet try new recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
I am grateful that the possibly severe weather from last night’s forecast once again bypassed us. We had a lot of lightning, but no damage that we have seen so far. Whew!
My next big project will be shutting down our raised bed square foot garden for the season. I turned off the automatic water system yesterday. I will harvest the onions, spreading them out on a trailer bed thingie so they can dry out, hopefully being good for storing in my net bags in the pantry. I will take pics to share. Part of the shutting down will be clearing the remains of the plants, intense weeding, then making Mel’s Mix and filling up each of the six 4′ x 4′ wooden boxes that are my planters. When that is done, I’ll cover each of the planters with a tarp to hold down weed production until I’m ready to start planting again. All this will take several days. Once this is done, I’ll continue my efforts to arrange things for seed sprouting on my garage counter.
I hope you’re having a happy Sunday.
APKPure.ai
ChristopherDavidWhite.com
metal on wood-Plow and Hearth
Nancy Tuttle
Filed under When Wood Comes Alive
Thanks, ML, for allowing us to share your vacation. I especially loved the sandpipers.
Filed under vicarious enjoyment
forwarded email
My heart goes out to the people suffering from Mother Nature’s fury. So many good people are hurting, with physical and emotional damage on top of the pandemic concerns. We just need to concentrate on helping each other the best way we can.
We are getting to the bottom of our South Beach diet boxes. I am DIYing more and more as we run out of things, gradually making my way to the point where we will be on our own once again. The two month reboot for our keto efforts has been good in many ways
Unsplash
(I have ALWAYS been somewhat stiff and inflexible. I was in an exercise class in college. We did an exercise where we were lying on our stomachs. We were then told to lift our arms and legs simultaneously up as far as we could get them, and then move them down again, over and over. I did the ‘up’ just fine. The ‘down,’ not so much. I went up, something ‘caught’ in my back, not allowing me to bring my parts down again. I was yelling in pain. They finally got two big guys to lift me up over their heads, like the prow on a ship, and carry me to the infirmary. When they finally got me fixed, I had a waiver for that exercise. Being long-in-the-tooth only exacerbates my normal stiffness, so it’s more important than ever)
Otherwise, the ruined greenhouse is now empty. My husband and I have agreed that we will let the shell sit until things get cooler. (Today’s forecast is 98 degrees F. with a heat index of 112) Today I will concentrate on getting my seed-starting area in the garage workable, with things either stored out of the way or taken out to the shop, and things I need easily accessible. My husband fixed one of my lights over the counter. I found, and hooked up, my grow light, so I have a start.
I hope that you have a happy Saturday.
creativeartworksblog 