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We’re having a cold, rainy day today, to be followed by a wintry mix tomorrow. We were spoiled by two days of absolutely gorgeous, sunny weather lately, so I guess this evens things out.
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Yesterday I finished taking my warm weather stuff out of my closet and putting it into our guest room closet. I had my cold weather stuff in a big tub that I stashed in my art room because we were trying to have a clear closet for the foreign student we hoped to host. My husband’s stroke changed our plans, the foreign student won the lottery on host families elsewhere – finding a perfect one for him. Yesterday I pulled the tub into our master bath where my closet is.
I was determined not to just pull things out and be done with it. I tried each thing on and then decided whether –
I finally got to the bottom of the tub. I took the clothes that needed the dryer, along with hangers, downstairs and began running loads with a few things at a time. I took a pad of paper, pen, and large leaf bag back upstairs, listing what I was donating and filling the bag. I brought both downstairs. Then I brought the stuff that was now wrinkle-free and on hangers back upstairs and hung them in my closet. Today I will document the donation and the next time the weather is cooperative, we’ll drive to Ft. Smith to the Veterans Thrift Store.
Today’s project, thanks to Mother Nature giving us a cold, rainy day, is scrubbing my kitchen. Things have been cleaned out in both our walk-in pantry and the kitchen, and today I’ll do the deep cleaning it has been needing. So far, I have the top-of-the-stove parts in the dishwasher.
We went bowling with our good friends last night. We got to catch up on what each of us had been doing – with good conversation and laughs. My husband beat me the first game, but I beat HIM the second. We ALL enjoyed going to Braum’s after for ice cream. My husband wore the new tee he bought – giving both of our friends a good laugh.
I hope that you are having a good Tuesday. ENJOY!
Wendy Ng via Heather Louise Vasey-LinkedIn
Alina Ciuciu – “There is no music without her”
Verulanium Park-Stephen McGuinness
Vladimir Volegov viaAna Loreta Baicu-LinkedIn
Filed under paintings I love
Vector Stock
This is an image of how I look and feel right now – I have melted into a puddle. Here’s why –
We just got home from running errands. We opened the mail at the dining area table as we usually do. My husband opened one of the packages. He had ordered another tee shirt. Usually the tees are gun-related or cartoon characters. (He has toned down buying the political ones that might get us attacked, and also the slightly pornographic ones…. )
Anyway, I expected another gun-related tee. He turned it around –
I hugged him, then hugged him again, thanking him for the nice surprise. He said, “It’s the truth.” That got him ANOTHER hug.
I then went to start gathering trash for the week. I came back into the dining area. He had changed into the tee.
I said, “You changed your shirt.”
And he replied,
“You changed my life.”
NOW you understand why my husband is a keeper (even though he drives me NUTS at times) and why my self portrait for the day is a melted puddle.
Filed under love, quality of life
I cleaned out the aquarium again this morning. I think it’s averaging once a week for three fish. That seems excessive to me. I got a new filter yesterday and have installed that today. I’m hoping that this will do the trick. I kept the old one, though, because I’m thinking I may use BOTH of them. I may also get a second aerator…
Anyway, my fish seem happy and healthy. The smallest one is having some equilibrium problems, but seems to be doing well, otherwise. I read that this might be due to the fact that I was sprinkling their fish food onto the surface of the water. I have now started putting the food into a cup of their tank water, then pouring the water into the tank.
I have spoken to them about the article I read that said that goldfish were ‘particularly prolific poopers.’ They didn’t say much about my observations, though.
So I’ve decided to quit griping (are you smiling in relief now?) and just clean the tank, trying to find ways to keep my ‘prolific poopers’ as happy and healthy as possible.
Filed under Family, Housekeeping - Maintenance
Psychology Today
Yesterday and today have been super-busy days. Good -and productive – but long and tiring.
Yesterday started with regular morning chores. Then we enjoyed our friends at Lunch Bunch. We ran some errands, came home, and then back out again 45 minutes later for doctor appointments. More errands, and then, as we started back home, the skies had suddenly cleared from our week-long dreary, rainy ones, so we packed up the back of the truck with our donations to the Disabled Veterans Thrift Store in Fort Smith, invited the dog to travel with us and headed out again.
It was still cloudy, and we have the windows in the back halfway down when Amber travels with us. I also have to crack my window because the air buffets my ears, making them uncomfortable. The result was I felt thoroughly chilled by the time we got home. I got a cup of hot coffee, turned on my heat pad, and snuggled under my throw in my recliner in the living room until I felt warm again.
By this time it was 7 pm, time to feed animals and humans. We finally packed it up for the day at midnight.
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Today, too, has been a whirlwind of activity. So far today we have run errands, I’m running the third load of laundry, I fixed bacon-wrapped chicken – ready to put in the oven later, I baked two spaghetti squashes and then put them into individual servings in the freezer, cleaned out our aquarium, vacuumed the first floor tiles…. My list is long, but I’m making progress. I’m having a cup of coffee and writing these posts, and then I’ll get back to work again.
I feel good when I’ve accomplished things on my list, but I’ll give myself permission to play in my art room again soon…
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
I ordered an Australian Firefighters Calendar for 2020 in a win/win celebration of the new year. It was a way to support the firefighters – although I had no idea that Mother Nature would deal such a terrible blow to the country. Apparently they create a calendar each year showing truly magnificent looking men and cute animals so that they can raise needed funds and so that people like me can enjoy welcoming each new month. :0)
To review our handsome year so far –
This is the cover of the calendar, with Nathan and George. This alone would be worth the price of the calendar, as far as I’m concerned, but there is more!
All through January I have been enjoying looking at Ben and Nullah. (I now have to admit that I missed the tip for handling burns here….)
And today we celebrate the month of February with Tuva and Milo. (there is the URL for the place to go to order a calendar for yourself for this – and/or NEXT year….
The older I get, the more quickly time passes. We barely start a new year and the months start flying past me, making my hair blow.
Thankfully, I’m not dead yet, and these gorgeous men give me another wonderful reason to enjoy each day.
Happy February, everyone!
Filed under aging, giving, quality of life, Wonderful Projects
We put up our Valentine’s Day mailbox decoration yesterday on the way to do our other errands.
This cupid is about 2-1/2 feet tall by almost 3 feet wide. It is made of heavy sheet metal, cut out by my husband using our CNC set up. We found the design on the net. He uses a program to convert the picture we have found to what is called “G-Code” a language the computer can understand. We save this on a thumb drive and take it out to the shop. We put the thumb drive into the computer and decide speed of cutting and a few other things. After set up, we start the program which guides the torch to cut the design out of an 8 foot x 4 foot sheet of metal.
Once the design is cut out, we add the piece that will attach the design to the mailbox, welding it on. We use an overhead projector and a transparency we have made to mark the salient points of the design onto the metal – both sides.
I then paint both side of the metal and the attachment piece with paint made for outside. When the painting is finished, I spray the piece with polyurethane spray to protect the piece as much as possible from sun, wind, and rain.
We change our decoration twice a month.
If you look carefully in the background of this picture, you can see our 100 pound robot made from scrap metal who welcomes people who want to come up our driveway. You can also see two metals owls – each about 2-1/2 feet tall, perched on top of poles that hold a gate we can close.
We really enjoy making decorations and yard ‘critters’ together.
My husband is trying to find a good design now for “Wonder Warthog.”
Filed under holidays, Lewis Art, Lewis Mailbox Decorations, Lewis projects, Lewis yard art
I was sitting here, working at my computer, when my husband came up behind me, put his hands on my shoulders, leaned down and said, “Amber ate the turkey.”
This is my husband.
This is Amber
My heart dropped down to the floor. I started to get up and my husband said, “JUST KIDDING!”
The really amazing thing is that my husband is ALIVE and IN ONE PIECE – and so is the turkey breast, thank goodness.
Filed under Family, Funny Signs - Humor
2 STAR art
I finished a small plaque last night –
It’s 8 inches tall x 6 inches wide and solid wood. This is another item painted with the Unicorn Spit Glaze/Stain that my sister-in-law sent me awhile back. I have truly had a blast experimenting with this. I’ll list this on ArtFire
I used the ‘spit’ to paint these wooden earrings for myself. I haven’t taken the time to put the hardware on them yet. I also have two pairs that require me to drill holes in them. It’s been rainy, so that’s on hold until the weather is being more cooperative.
Filed under Lewis Art, playing in my art room
Niki Firmin – Rosie
Niki Firmin – Barney
Niki Firmin – Bowie
Niki Firmin – Chuck
Niki Firmin – Eddie and Ginger
Niki Firmin – Lily
Niki Firmin – – Oliver and Lily
Filed under drawings, Niki Firmin - Pet Portraits
Michael Schneidhofer via Penny Yaffe Krakow
Filed under Favorite People, Funny Signs - Humor
Kelly Armitage – LinkedIn
Kelly Armitage – LinkedIn
Kelly Armitage – LinkedIn
Kelly Armitage – LinkedIn
Filed under drawings, Kelly Armitage
Animals Collection
Even though it’s gray, 44 degrees, raw and rainy here today in Arkansas, I’m having a nice day, and have many things for which to be thankful.
Yesterday I opened our mail to find a pair of earrings my husband had found and ordered for me!
I just love them. It doesn’t show here, but the stones are kind of sparkly! The design of them is giving me a bit of a problem, though. They have a curved piece on the front that goes through the hole in your ear, and then you close the back onto the end to hold it in place. I’m having trouble getting the curved part through my ear. I’m continuing to try different techniques, but so far, no luck. :0( I’ll keep working at it because I really want to wear them!
I’m working on a new wooden plaque in my art room. I think it’s going to turn out well, and I’m having fun working on it.
Since it’s still raining, we’re having to delay our trip to Ft. Smith to take our donation to the Veterans Thrift Store. Hopefully, we can do that tomorrow. I’m already finding more things I would like to donate, but the back of our truck will be full with what we have already.
Early this morning I put ingredients for Keto Chili into the crock pot, so we’ll have a nice comfort food type dinner this evening.
Today I’ve decided that my next clean out project will be my clothes closet. I need to move warm weather stuff out and move cold weather stuff in. I want to take my time, though, and get rid of a bunch of for each ‘season.’ Happily, some of my clothes are simply too large now, thanks to my efforts on eating Keto and exercising.
So it’s back to work now, after taking a short break. I hope that YOUR Wednesday is treating you right.
Filed under drawings, Suzanne Starr Art
MSP Alliance
I received a phone call this morning from our dentist. Him – directly. I immediately thought something was wrong. He has never called before.
He asked if our son were still in China. I told him he now lives in Thailand. He was calling because he was concerned about the coronavirus and our son’s safety. I’m still shocked that first, he would remember our son lived out of the country; and second, that he took the time to call.
Since Thailand is the number 1 travel destination for the Chinese when they celebrate New Year’s – and that celebration will last until February 8th – it is definitely a concern. Our son is smart, though, and we have talked about it.
I have always been grateful that we found Wes Moore, our dentist. My husband has had dental problems all his life, and a really good dentist he can trust is a priority. We have gone to him for years.
The fact that he thinks of us as PEOPLE, remembers details about our family, and took the time to CALL us, I find truly amazing.
If you are in Fort Smith, or the surrounding area, Wes Moore is the best. His contact details are
Dr. Wes Moore, DDS – 2913 S 74th St, Fort Smith, AR 72903 – (479) 484-5050.
You won’t find a better dentist – or a better human being – anywhere.
I’ve been working on the first area of my great ‘Decluttering Project 2020’ for about a week and a half now. Today I finally finished. :0)
I went completely through our walk-in pantry, deciding what I was using and what I wasn’t, putting some utensils and supplies in the donation pile by the front door, throwing out other things, and cleaning and reorganizing the rest.
I next tackled the shelves above my desk in the kitchen (a combination medicines and first aid supply area), plus the desk itself, which had disappeared under a pile of STUFF.
Then I spent a couple of days going through my cabinets in the kitchen. This is the part I finished today.
I have two nice pull-out drawers in each cabinet, but this gives you an idea.
I am lucky to have a wonderful kitchen. I feel happy that I have it better under control now and am taking better care of it.
I processed our donation to the Disabled Veterans Thrift Store today, so we’ll take it to Ft. Smith tomorrow.
Filed under Housekeeping - Maintenance, Organizing/DeCluttering
I have had to change the water in my aquarium more often lately. I was casting about for a reason why and decided to actually see if I could find information on the net that might help.
I found a nice article which mentions that goldfish poop in the water. Now THERE’S a news bulletin! It would seem to me that ALL fish poop in their aquariums…. But, it did go on to say that goldfish poop a LOT in comparison to other fish.
The article suggested that one should start with a 75 to 100 gallon tank. When I finished laughing, I read on. Apparently, the rule of thumb is 20 gallons for each goldfish. (I have three goldfish. Even if I “offed” two of them, my tank would STILL not be considered adequate. I was really trying to get some information that I could USE so I continued.
The article said, “Goldfish can generate copious amounts of waste.” (An understatement.) What I finally got is that I should change the filter cartridge OFTEN, like at least once a week). The cartridges say they should be changed once a month.) So this is one thing I can do differently.
They also suggested that I use Pea Gravel, rather than sand or finer gravels, as the fish can more easily avoid ingesting it when slurping bits of food from the tank floor. (This means my change to the glass beads was a good thought!)
Finally, there was a nugget of a thing I had no idea about – they said if you are feeding goldfish flaky food, you should pre-soak the food! I’ve never heard of this. It says when the food flakes sit on top of the water, it causes the fish to gulp. This can upset their swim bladder and equilibrium, causing them to float upside down.
They said to fill a cup with some water from the tank and swirl the fakes around. Then dump the whole cup into the tank.
This is probably more than you ever wanted to know about goldfish. I have some good suggestions to make mine happier.
Filed under Family, learning new things
Caracal Cat – Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
I just love this photo. I don’t know who the photographer is, but it was posted by Jeff Jett on LinkedIn.
Our weather is more spring-like today, and I’m really grateful. I’m a wuss about ice and snow. I love to LOOK at snow, PLAY in it, and maybe even build snowmen, but I don’t like having to worry about whether I can safely get to an appointment or not.
On my CLEAN OUT – DECLUTTER – DONATE – THROW AWAY PROJECT –
I’ve finished reorganizing the walk-in pantry
Finished cleaning out and reorganizing the shelves over my desk – actually FINDING my buried desk again
Cleaned out the aquarium again –
My goldfish make their water cloudy really fast, no matter what I do. I don’t know if goldfish are just dirtier than other fish or what. I’m thinking about scrubbing each of them with a toothbrush the next time I clean the aquarium….
I vacuumed the first floor tiled areas this morning (pantry, kitchen, dining area, utility room, and two half baths), so today’s project is finishing the clean up of the kitchen.
I have to tell you that the past few days have been good exercise, with all the pulling, hauling, relocating, going up and down the ladder, etc. It feels good to see things finally looking better organized for what we need now. It’s amazing to me how much what you are eating changes the tools and appliances you need, the ingredients to cook with, and storage needs.
I hope that you are having a satisfying Sunday, too.
BEFORE
NOW
Filed under Housekeeping - Maintenance, Organizing/DeCluttering
So far today I cut up raw veggies and put them in containers in the fridge for lunches and snacks and cleaned out the aquarium. (I’ll show you pics in a few minutes.) THIS is today’s main project.
We use the shelves above my kitchen desk as a combination medicine cabinet for downstairs and a first aid station. We would like to be able to find meds quickly, since patience is not our long suit if we’re in pain, for example, or having something else for which we would like quick relief.
It has gotten to the point that if we try to take something off the shelf, something ELSE might come with it!
You can also see in the picture below that my desk has ‘disappeared.’
I will try to fix this today.
Kanno Hisao
Kanno Hisao
Kanno Hisao
Filed under Awe-Inspiring Photography, Kanno Hisao
SayingImages.com
We had a nice morning, joining our good friends for Lunch Bunch – good friends, good food, fun conversation, and laughs. This is a quality of life thing, getting to share some time each Friday with long time friends who mean the world to me.
Our friend Kay asked if I had an Instant Pot. I DO, but it’s been sitting on the shelf because I’m intimidated by it. (My mom had a pressure cooker years ago. I still remember when it ‘blew up’ sending bits of STUFF all over the walls, ceiling, floor, etc. No one was hurt, but it’s like it was yesterday in my mind.) I’m trying to get over my trepidation. I found out Kay has one and uses hers all the time! I’m going to get out my paperwork, the book that came with it, and a recipe book I got very soon. I’ll choose a recipe, and Kay has encouraged me to call her with dumb questions about it, plus she’ll give me tips on things to DO – and things NOT to do – while using it!
After Lunch Bunch we ran errands and I put things away, I cut up strawberries for my husband, divided up some pulled pork into servings to go into the freezer for his future lunches, etc.
I’m on DAY TWO of the great ‘pantry-and-kitchen-clean-out-and-reorganization project.’ I did the heavy stuff yesterday. I’m creating a pile of donations in our foyer to to the Veterans Thrift Store. I filled a big leaf bag with ‘stuff’ that needed to be thrown out yesterday.
Today I’m trying to finish the project – working on our medicine storage area and some other little things, and then I’ll share a pic or two.
My husband could already tell I had been working in there. He looked around and said, “Where did you put all the STUFF?” :0)
I hope you’re having a great Friday, too.
123RF.com
This obviously isn’t my pantry, but it shows my feelings right now. I’m a bit overwhelmed, even though I AM making some progress (I think.)
Two years ago, more or less, I cleaned out our walk-in pantry and felt very virtuous. I’m both a bit of a hoarder and a slob, so getting the whole area cleaned out felt great. Then two years of essentially stuffing things wherever I could find a spot ensued. ( Did I mention I’m a slob?)
SO – We have been eating keto for awhile now. Both of us are very happy with the food we can eat, and I’m adding to our ‘go-to’ GOOD recipes all the time. That said, I’ve been noticing that I’m having to dig deeply to get to the things or appliances I want, and this is dumb. What I use all the time should be easily accessible.
So today I’ve started cleaning out the pantry, either giving away or storing what we aren’t using, throwing away what we’re not eating, and re-organizing the rest. So far, I’ve spent an hour and a half, basically making a mess in there. This will improve the more time I spend in there, so I’m concentrating on not feeling overwhelmed and running away.
I am officially taking a break now and we’ll have lunch, and then I’ll do another hitch. This will probably take a couple of days. I’ll take pics when the job is finally done.
I hope I’m not the ONLY person who needs to clean stuff out….
PxHere
First real taste of winter here overnight and this morning. I had to be really careful taking one of our dogs out this morning. The lip and steps of the front porch, plus the concrete pad down below were pretty icy. I had to be really careful not to fall on my head. It’s 33 degrees F. now, and we’re to have a high of 37. The precipitation has changed from freezing rain/sleet to just really cold rain now, so hopefully the ice will melt. I’m a bit worried about the re-freeze tonight, but will wait and see.
Center of the American Experiment
Happily, we have all we need and don’t have to get out, except for taking dogs out.
I hope that YOUR weather is either good, or you can get somewhere warm and dry OUT of it.
Filed under Mother Nature, Seasons
Back to Nature
It’s cold (26 degrees F.), crisp, and sunny outside here in Greenwood, Arkansas. Since rain, freezing rain, sleet, and flying hair balls are forecast for tonight and tomorrow, my husband and I went to run errands and replenish supplies so that we can stay in.
I just received a package with some earrings I ordered from Jerri St. John at Paparazzi. This is wonderful costume jewelry I really love. Jerri is a wonderful person. She handles orders carefully and promptly, with great communication. I highly recommend her. I have never been disappointed in anything I have bought. Click on the link above to see all the wonderful things she offers! * If the above link doesn’t work for you for some reason, here is the URL https://paparazziaccessories.com/shop/166aed0ca4f1ee59d370/#/
I got to play in my art room yesterday, finishing – or almost finishing – some things –
This is another in my ‘word’ wooden plaque series.
I painted another of my stained tee shirts – “up-cycling” it so I can continue to wear it. I think this one looks happy.
I finally decided to make some wooden earrings for ME. I need to add the hardware.
I did this pair and the green pair below as an experiment. I need to drill holes in the middle-size and small disks so I can put the hardware in that will attach the pieces.
We enjoyed going bowling with our long-time good friends last night. When we started this, several years ago, we thought that bowling most Monday nights would result in better and better scores. NOT! I’m am completely erratic. Either I bowl pretty well for me (160+) or don’t even break 100. Last night was one of my pathetic nights. It didn’t matter because we got to catch up with our friends and enjoyed ice cream from Braum’s afterward. YUM!
I am finally feeling good today – after 2 days of misery and 2 more days of feeling pretty weak, so I’m going to celebrate by getting back to my exercise. I’ll get on my elliptical trainer and then will do some good gentle yoga stretching. :0)
I hope that YOUR day is enjoyable, as well.
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