Peter Callesen via Lina D- Bored Panda
Peter Callesen via Lina D- Bored Panda
Peter Callesen via Lina D- Bored Panda
Peter Callesen via Lina D- Bored Panda
Stars
India TV
I earned my second star in a row today for two days of doing my old lady gentle yoga. I’ve been lax for a long time, and proved to myself, once again, that my BODY feels the difference over time.
Yesterday I woke up stiff and sore with my hips hurting after a restless night of trying to get comfortable – a definite wake up call. So while my husband was reading and watching TV, I spread out my mat, greeted Amber, our 95 pound yellow lab warmly, and got her to get on her bed so that I could start.
Though she continued to ‘ooze’ over, getting as close to me as I would allow, I continued to try to relax. I’m back at the point where it takes a minute or two of lying on my back quietly before everything finally relaxes and quits hurting! After I went through a whole lot of slow stretches – about 45 minutes worth – my body was finally relaxed and I felt good.
Today it was easier to grab the mat, stretch out, hug Amber, and get on with it. I’m breathing into the stretches and am already feeling a difference. It’s kind of pathetic that I have to KEEP realizing this over and over, but at least I’m back on the mat.
I give myself a gold star on my desk calendar for each day I do my practice. Since we’re staying at home a lot now, as soon as my body gets into the yoga routine again, I’ll add some elliptical trainer time in the garage…
Filed under exercise
Happy Veggies!
Science | How Stuff Works
Spinach
Sweet Red Onions
Head Lettuce
My veggies were smiling when I went out to take these pictures this morning. Everything seems to be doing very well now.
I told you how hard I was trying to get the irrigation system going for my garden a couple of days ago. If my husband and I couldn’t get it going, I was going to have to fill my watering can over and over to give them a drink. We FINALLY figured out why we weren’t getting water in the outside agricultural water faucet we have – a faucet control in the well house was turned off instead of on.
Now that it is running perfectly, and the timer is set for daily watering, we are getting rain every day from yesterday through Thursday of next week. A beautiful illustration of Finagle’s Law of Dynamic Negatives. (Finagle’s law of dynamic negatives (also known as Melody’s law, Sod’s Law or Finagle’s corollary to Murphy’s law) is usually rendered as “Anything that can go wrong, will—at the worst possible moment.”) We also have it to mean “the more you need it, the harder it is to fix” or “you will get it fixed when you no longer need it.”
My garden is such a joy. The boxes we built allow me to continue gardening with pleasure, not having to bend over double or get down on my hands and knees over and over. The fence keeps large critters out. The chicken wire around the bottom keeps small critters out. The Mel’s Mix in the boxes (peat moss, vermiculite, and as many different kinds of compost as you can find or make) allows plants to grow well and happily, not having to depend on the quality or quantity of our soil.
The cool weather crops, spinach and head lettuce, will hopefully do really well before it gets too hot here. The red onions will stay where they are until harvest, probably in October. When it gets a bit warmer, I’ll add yellow squash and radishes, if not some other things, to the garden.
I have two large brick planters on the other side of the house that we converted to be square foot planters. We devote both of them to tomato plants.
So far, I have smiling, happy veggies. Fingers crossed that this will continue.
Have a happy Saturday!
Filed under Gardening, Mother Nature, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds
Thoughts on a Friday 3-13-2020
Bored Panda
I’m happy to tell you that we finally got our irrigation system for the garden working just in time for the rain today. Hahahaahahaahah! :0)
We had a great time at Lunch Bunch. Everyone was there, so we had a lot of good conversation, good food, and laughs. Afterwards we went to Walmart and one other store for supplies. Apparently, toilet paper is the big item everyone thinks is necessary to weather the coronavirus here. There was NONE at Walmart or in the other grocery at which we stopped. It is scary, being in the high risk group as my husband and I are, but I’m not sure that toilet paper is the cure. I think the caution about being in crowds or lots of public spaces is smart, and so we will cut down on what seems reasonable. Here is Arkansas, schools and churches haven’t been affected yet. Hopefully, testing will be readily available soon.
Signs of spring continues to appear. My daffodils are starting to fade, but my tulip tree is happy.
A beef roast is in the crock pot, so all I have to do for dinner is make a salad.
Every time Microsoft updates Windows 10, it causes me a problem. This time, it was two things –
Thing One – my access to Bill Pay on our bank account. We could get to the rest of the things on the account, but not that. I ended up accessing Bill Pay via FoxFire browser, the only one I could find that would allow it to show up.
Thing Two – My Cronometer website. This is a nice website where I can track what I’m eating, particularly in regard to my keto macros. It wouldn’t show up at all on Chrome anymore. I finally got it to show up on FireFox, too. I feel I’m back home with my safety net. I find the biggest problem is trying to eat enough fat. I’m now adding heavy cream to my coffee, and hopefully that will make the difference.
I found a funny sign I would like to add to the ones people see as they come up our long, steep driveway.
We have one like this –
source unknown
and this –
LoveThisPic
and this
source unknown
and I want to add to our collection with this one –
sadanduseless
Filed under Friendship, Funny Signs - Humor, Health Alert
I Love Trying to Grow Things
Gorilla Love – Unknown – via Penny Yaffe Krakow
Head Lettuce
Red onions
Head Lettuce and Red Onions
Spinach
I have a funny problem. I was just out weeding and cleaning up the plants a bit. We have had a lot of rain lately, but most of it is going around us, rather than watering the garden. I decided to hook up our irrigation system, uncovering things for the first time this season. My control for the watering needed a battery, so I came back inside to get one.
When I went back outside, it was raining! Hahahahahaha!
Now that I’m writing this post, it has stopped.
Mother Nature is playing with me and laughing.
Filed under Gardening, Mother Nature, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds
New Batch of Earrings
I had fun doing a whole new style with the hand-painted wooden earrings. These are layered, with two or three wooden pieces attached to each other. They are still quite light weight. I even forget when I have them on!
Each is a one-of-a-kind design.
If you would like to take a closer look, they are listed in my Etsy shop.
Filed under playing in my art room
Last Picture of Winter
Photo via Robert Bennett – LinkedIn
Filed under Awe-Inspiring Photography, R.J. Bennett, Seasons
Thoughts on a Wednesday 3-11-2020
“Dandelion Wishes” -Dick van Dujin Photography via Penny Yaffe Krakow
About 20 minutes ago the sky was really dark, even though it was about 9:30 a.m. It looked like we were in for quite a storm. Now it’s gray and sprinkling, but it looks like the ‘storm’ blew past us. Whew!
Things are pretty much back to normal again after my glorious marathon birthday celebration, although my husband surprised me after errands yesterday by taking me to The Dari to share a seafood platter for lunch! I’m am TOTALLY spoiled at this point, have a big head – since my family and friends made me feel so special – and have become insufferable. I have a bathroom to scrub upstairs today, so that should bring me down to Earth a bit. :0)
Seriously – (and I’m going to show my advanced age now) – I have felt like the winner on the old “Queen for a Day” cheesy TV program from a hundred years or so ago where some woman was showered with wonderful things from friends, family, and the show, making her, her family, and ME cry. I just searched and found an actual show from 1963 on YouTube
So now I’m concentrating on getting back to my normal, happy self after a tear-worthy celebration that I’m still alive, kicking, and still hard to live with.
As fears concerning the coronavirus rise, I want to share some facts from the CDC website that are helping ME keep things in perspective so far – As of today, March 11th, there are 1016 confirmed cases and 31 deaths in the United States. The numbers will continue to rise, adding to the tension. ALSO, though, according to the CDC website, so far in 2020, there have been 34,000+ cases and 20,000+ deaths from the REGULAR STRAIN OF THE FLU.
The cautions to prevent infections for both are the same. People 60 and over, particularly those with underlying health conditions, should avoid large crowds as much as possible. We should all wash our hands and try not to touch our faces. (Not touching my face is apparently a HUGE one for me. I never realized how MUCH I scratch my face, pull on my nose, rub my eyes, etc. I saw a picture of a man wearing one of the huge plastic collars they put on animals that keep them from licking a wound, suggesting that might be a good thing to use. :0) I may actually have to DO that – or wear mittens.
What I’m saying doesn’t ally all the fear, but hopefully it brings some perspective. Hopefully the FDA won’t throw up all the roadblocks they normally do, causing horrible delays in getting a possible vaccine to the public. Maybe there will be a waiver one can sign in order to get the possible protection. One can hope. If you are in the risk group, as my husband and I are, pay attention and be smart.
I’ll share some pics I took of the garden with you as soon as the battery on my camera charges up again. I am on the ‘sealing stage’ on a new design of wooden earrings. I’ll share some pics of those, too, if possible, later today.
Have a wonderful Wednesday!
Spring Day
Twisted Copper Creations
The sun is trying to come out, but it’s mostly smothered by lots and lots of gray clouds. The temperature is 49 and it’s NOT raining, so I’m declaring it’s a nice day. My husband and I are getting ready to leave for errands, and I’ll try to get pics of my garden to share with you when we get back.
Things are getting back to normal around here after my lovely multi-day birthday celebration. I’m on the verge of having a big head and becoming insufferable, so it’s a good thing that I have a chores list as long as my arm today. :0)
I’ve told you before that our son lives and works in Thailand. He is looking now to change from renting an apartment in town to finding a house in the country. He wants to be able to create music loudly without bothering anyone. Trying to play with earphones on all the time wears on your soul, so I’m hoping he finds a good place soon. He would like to find one by the end of April. Fingers crossed.
I hope that YOU are having a good day, too.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
The Birthday Marathon Continues
US News Money – US News & World Report
Our day started with our semi-annual dental cleaning. Not really the way I would CHOOSE to spend the morning of my actual birthday, but it’s important and was right down the road from Red Lobster, where we enjoyed my birthday lunch together today. The good news is – no oral cancer (my mom died of this) and no cavities or problems. The surprising news – the bill I thought was fully paid for my husband’s implant in November and crown in February was NOT paid in full – only the first part. So today was much more expensive than we thought it would be. It’s paid now, so that is behind us.
Driving out of the parking lot proved to be quite hair-raising. My husband almost pulled out in front of a car that was almost right upon us. We both managed to avoid the problem, but it really got our attention. WHEW!
Lunch at Red Lobster was glorious. We both enjoyed the special biscuits they’re famous for. I had lobster tail and broccoli. My husband had fish and chips. He had an apple crisp with ice cream for dessert. I had chocolate ‘wave’ cake.
“When I grow up I want to be an old woman.” — Michelle Shocked
“Wisdom is the reward for surviving our own stupidity.” — Brian Rathbone
I brought home a biscuit plus most of the cake to enjoy later. I DO enjoy a birthday marathon…
“It is lovely to meet an old person whose face is deeply lined, a face that has been deeply inhabited, to look in the eyes and find light there.” — John O-Donohue
We had left the house at 10:00. We didn’t get home until almost 3:00. We were both pooped, so I texted our good friends that we weren’t going to go bowling tonight. I sat down with a cup of coffee in my chair in the living room. The next thing I knew, it was 5:00.
6IEE
“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.”~ Sophia Loren
We will eat some dinner in a few minutes, but I have had a truly wonderful celebration of another year added to my tally.
“As long as I am breathing, in my eyes, I am just beginning.” — Criss Jami
Filed under aging, Cause for Celebration, Pampering, quality of life
Fun Day
Professor’s House
I’ve had two sessions up in my art room this afternoon making some new designs in earrings. They are all drying now, but I’ve had a great time getting paint all over me and everything else, experimenting with some new techniques. I hope to show them to you tomorrow.
I’ve also spent some time outside. It has been a gorgeous, sunshine-y day here. It’s still 62 degrees now. I went out to the garden to check my sweet veggies plants.
The weather website for us is predicting 100% chance of rain tomorrow, so these guys will get a nice drink.
I saw yet another sign of spring today –
Our tulip tree is starting to bloom!
This has pretty much been the perfect day. I hope that you have had a wonderful day, too.
Filed under playing in my art room, quality of life, Seasons
Wonderful Marathon Birthday Celebration
Cartoons by Ron Leishman
When you are my age, the more celebration the better. (I will be 73 on Monday, March 9th.)
My friends at Lunch Bunch made me feel really special yesterday and I’m still grinning.
When we walked into the Pizza Barn, this was one of the things on the table –
I put them in the center of our dining table so that my husband and I can enjoy them together. The first thing he said at breakfast this morning was, “These are lovely.”
Spring-Scented candle and holder. I wish you could smell this!
Ceramic OWL candle or tealight holder. This has a peach and mango candle. Delicious!
Kitchen towels with attitude!
And beautiful birthday cards.
TWO pieces of chocolate sheet cake with chocolate frosting.
My lunch was free.
Conversation, laughter, and hugs from long-time friends. (we have been meeting every Friday for Lunch Bunch for almost 19 years now – a true gift.)
My husband and I indulged in hot dogs with BUNS and Fritos last night for dinner – I haven’t had those – or the cake – in over a year now.
And Monday my husband is taking me for a lobster tail lunch at Red Lobster – a celebration of another year of life, PLUS having over 1400 subscribers to my blog now.
“I’ve enjoyed every age I’ve been and each has had its own individual merit. Every laugh line, every scar, is a badge I wear to show I’ve been present, the inner rings of my personal tree trunk that I display proudly for all to see. Nowadays, I don’t want a “perfect” face and body; I want to wear the life I’ve lived.” — Pat Benatar
Thoughts on a Thursday 3-5-2020
Judge Lynn Toler via TinyBuddha.com via Desiree Angelique Hackett
I’m having trouble getting much done today.
My husband came into our office this morning and told me he was going to watch “Joker” – and asked if I wanted to see it. I changed my plans and we watched it. When it was over, I felt exhausted. It is a really powerful movie. I can certainly see why Joaquin Phoenix won the Oscar for Best Actor. He created an unforgettable character. I won’t say I ‘enjoyed’ the movie. The character was too strong and there was too much violence for me. I’m glad we saw it.
There are three actors in particular that my husband and I discussed once we finished the movie. We consider them absolutely superlative actors. I’m speaking of Philip Seymour Hoffman, Daniel Day-Lewis and Joaquin Phoenix. I would also include some others, but their names don’t come to mind right now. We are in awe of their talent, but many times won’t watch their performances because we don’t like their choices of films or characters. I hope my explanation makes sense.
After the movie, it was time for lunch. Then we got caught up in the news with the important breaking news events.
I have just now finished listing my newest earrings on ArtFire and Etsy, and the day is almost gone for regular working purposes. I want to thank those who reached out and gave me their feedback on the new layered earrings. I have more ideas swirling around in my brain now that won’t quit until I can make time to get up to my art room again.
When I took Molly out this morning, I thought we had a turtle in the front yard – one of those with a shell like a metal helmet. As we got closer, the ‘helmet’ moved. I saw it was a large field rat. UGH. I steered Molly away from the area to do her business while our ‘Hunter Cat Smoke’ decided a delightful game of ‘Cat & Mouse’ would be fun. I just hope she leaves him and his parts out in the woods, rather than bringing assorted parts to the welcome mat in our garage.
I hope that YOU have all YOUR ducks in a row today. If not, we’ll just punt…
Filed under Book - Movie - TV Reviews, Family, Thoughts on a ________
Light-Weight Layered Painted Wooden Earrings
I made these today. I would very much appreciate your feedback. Would you wear these? Suggestions?
Thanks.
Filed under Uncategorized
Beautiful Drawings
Kelly Armitage Commissioned Pet Portraits
Gary Wing Commissioned Pet Portraits
Filed under drawings, Gary Wing, Kelly Armitage
Creating Instead of Cleaning
Chanse Hart via Bethany Kerr
I’ve been having fun this afternoon playing in my art room.
I’m working on a suggestion regarding earring designs from my friend/sister-in-law, and have 3 pairs in the works. I’m also having fun painting a gourd. I can only do a little bit at a time, waiting for things to dry in-between steps, but it’s really good to spend time up there again.
I went up there today with the idea I would clean things up a bit and ended up with paint all over me and new, fun projects instead…. :0)
Filed under Lewis Art, playing in my art room
Think Spring
Carol Auclair Daly
Isn’t this wonderful? I don’t know who actually sewed this, but I WANT IT!
I’ve been feeling a bit down this morning for no good reason. I took a walk around the yard and immediately felt my spirits lifting.
This afternoon, my husband walked with me while I took Amber out to the garden and around the yard, training her to walk with the no-pull leash/collar combination, and even HE was remarking how lush our daffodils look right now!
If YOU’RE feeling down, come visit!
Funny
Clive Staples Lewis from RaiseYourMind.com
Filed under aging, Attitude, Changes, Good Thoughts
I Love the LOOK of Winter 8
Kanno Hisao
Leonid Afremov- “Winter Walk” via Roger Ach
Melody Rowlette Miracle via Penny Yaffe Krakow
Stefano Ronchi via Digital Photo Academy
Filed under Seasons
Enough for Today
Joanna Brandt
We got our Internet upgrade via CenturyLink – speed up from 6 bps to 41 – a significant difference. My husband worked with the tech to get the new double lines run outside and then the new modem installed and tested while I made sure that our dogs stayed out of the way – and away from each other. I’ll let you know what I think after I get a chance to test it some.
The other big thing for the day was scrubbing our master bathroom. This consists of a double lavatory with counter top, a whirlpool tub, a walk-in shower, toilet, floors and rugs. It took me a couple of hours, but things are significantly better in there now. My husband will see it when we go up to bed tonight…
He took Amber to Yeagers and got some weed killer for the lawn. Right now it looks like we need to mow, but all is weeds that have spurted up. We’re hoping that the weed killer he just spread will do the same good it did last year. We’ll both sleep well tonight after our various forms of exercise today.
Even though it’s too early to say this, as far as I’m concerned my work is done today.
Cindy Basnett Thurman
Thoughts on a Monday 3-2-2020
Via J. Robert Bennett – LinkedIn
So far, today is a waiting day.
We are supposed to receive a call from the techs at CenturyLink today (between 9 and 5) before they come to the house to install equipment that will give us faster Internet. Since we live in the sticks and have to be grateful for whatever we can get, we are hopeful that this might be a good bridge between what we have now and the fiber optic service that is supposed to be offered sometime at the end of this year or the beginning of next. I don’t know anything about technology, but my husband will ask several pertinent questions before we allow them to begin. Our son has described our Internet as ‘swimming through peanut butter,’ so fingers are crossed that we are actually able to get better service.
123RF.com
Our weather is fabulous today – sunshine-y and a high of 64 this afternoon! I’m going to go out and visit my veggie plants and encourage them to do well. We have a lot of weeds in our yard now, making it look like we ought to be mowing. We tried a bag of weed killer granules last year that seemed to make a big difference, so we’ll get more this year as soon as we can leave the house and spread it as soon as possible.
I’m sad to tell you that I lost my smallest goldfish a couple of days ago. He had an equilibrium problem, and would often float, looking like he was gone, then ‘come back to life’ when I tapped on the glass and start swimming again. This time he didn’t. So now there are two – one goldfish that has increased in size from about one inch long when I bought him to about 4 inches long now, and the other is a white goldfish with a spot on his ‘head.’ I cleaned out their tank again a couple of days ago, when the smaller goldfish died. So far, they seem happy with the clean tank with different decorations. Fingers crossed all is good for them.
My big ‘plan’ for the day is to clean our master bath today. It was on my list for yesterday, but my time and energy were snafued. I’m going to see what I can do on it as soon as I finish writing to you.
Such an exciting day – MAYBE faster Internet – MAYBE a clean bathroom upstairs – and MAYBE bowling with friends tonight.
I hope that YOUR Monday is a fun one.
Rich in Daffodils
Today was spring-like, but grim and gray. When I walked around in the yard though, after we got home from errands, I couldn’t help but grab my camera and try to capture the richness of our yard right now.
There is still the hole in the middle of the yard where we had to dig up a large part of it to find the leaking water pipe. I told you we managed to roll the rock over the edge of the world, but the hole remains. It now has some dark potting soil, but it’s still an eyesore and will be until we are confident the mower won’t sink down into the hole, and the grass once again covers the area. Even with that, the daffodils take my breath away.
Each year I did up some of the bulbs and plant them in another spot. I’ve done this for several years now, so clumps of daffodils are blooming all over the front yard and we now have a couple of clumps in the back. (The one above is “Debbye” in full bloom now.)
Big happy daffodils in several different shades of yellow and styles, all living together. Long stalks heavy greenery, bringing up my spirits.
These are beside the well house. We have dug them up twice, thinking we got them all, and yet they continue to bloom year after year.
Filed under Gardening, Mother Nature, quality of life, Seasons
Happy March 2020!
I have to tell you that, since I bought a calendar that is supposed to help support the firefighters in Australia, my year has been considerably brighter. Of course, I made the donation out of the goodness of my heart – NOT because there are gorgeous guys with puppies looking out at me each month…. :0)
2020 is shaping up to be a beautiful year. Let’s review –
This is Nathan and George – They were on the cover of the calendar. I keep trying to read the words across his gorgeous chest – Nathan’s, not George’s…..
January was Ben and Nullah.
February has been Tuva and Milo.
And today we start March 2020 with Lloyd and Ollie.
My husband has remarked a couple of times about these men. I continue to point out that buying the calendar helped the firefighters. He KNOWS I love dogs, and the gorgeous guys are just an extra…..
Happy March!
*If you want your own calendar, this year or next year, the URL is http://www.australianfirefigherscalendar.com
Filed under giving
Thoughts on a Saturday 2-29-2020
alamy
Happy Leap Year – February 29th, 2020!
We have had a busy day so far.
We figured out a way to move the big rock that we dug up when the water pipe in our front yard sprung a leak.
It doesn’t look very impressive here, but the rock is about 18 inches long and HEAVY. We managed to turn it sideways, working with a shovel and moving it about an inch at a time. Then we worked together to heave it over, and over, and over until we finally got to the edge of the yard. It went down the slope into the trees. We then got a bag of potting soil to work on filling the hole. We’ll see where we are after the next rain.
I went through my jewelry today. I LOVE jewelry, particularly earrings, but followed closely by necklaces. I have WAY too much for any one woman, so I decided to get fairly ruthless, putting anything I hadn’t worn in the past year into baggies for each jewelry type to donate to the Disabled Veterans Thrift Store. I STILL have too much jewelry for any one woman, but I made significant progress. I went through my closet quickly, too, finding some purses, scarves and belts to add to the donation. I have just finished listing everything and getting the bags ready to take for donation next Tuesday.
We’re going Tuesday because on Monday (between 9 and 5) we are supposed to be getting significantly faster Internet service provided by CenturyLink. We have them now, but the service they were advertising on a flyer recently really got our attention. We live in the sticks and have to be content with the best of whatever is available. Our son – who has one of the greatest senses of humor on the planet – goes into a whole ‘schtick’ mocking our service each time he comes home. I laugh until my stomach hurts. Fingers – and all other appendages – are crossed that the new service actually IS significantly faster than what we have now.
Also on Tuesday, thanks to YOU – I am getting a lobster tail lunch at Red Lobster after we make the donation – because my subscriber list hit 1400 officially today. I’m thrilled and I thank those of you who signed up. :0)
My to-do list is long today, but I am making progress. I hope that your day is happy and productive, too.
Filed under Delightful Surprises, giving, Thoughts on a ________
creativeartworksblog 