August 10, 2019 · 9:52 am

Delightful Experience

Poets & Quants

My husband and I signed up to be a host family for a 16-year-old young man from Italy this school year. We have been planning for this for some time now and August 6th the students were to arrive.

Due to a health problem in the family, we were forced to contact the coordinator and opt out. We were really disappointed, but really didn’t want our problem to ruin the year for our young man. Happily, the lady was able to find another family.  We had been texting for some time. When I got the go-ahead, I contacted him and explained our situation, being able to assure him that his plans wouldn’t be changed, other than the host family. He told me he would let me know when he got here.

I figured that when he arrived, he would be swept up into lots of activity and that we would probably not hear from him. I then received a text from him, saying he would like to meet us! We arranged that he and his family would meet my husband and me at a local restaurant yesterday.

The meeting could not have been better. It was was wonderful to be able to hug him and enjoy talking with him and seeing him smile.  I felt like I fell into a hole because I had to look up at him. :0)  He is a really nice looking, friendly young man.

His host family is a delight. Young, energetic, already into school activities because they have two boys, 17 and 13, on football teams at the school, plus a lovely 4 or 5-year-old daughter. Our young man met another boy on the plane who lives in a different part of Italy. He is with another family here, close by!  The three boys will have a blast this year. They are traveling to St. Louis today – after football pics at the school – to catch a Cardinals game.  As you can tell, this is a WONDERFUL situation.

They will let us know the soccer schedule so that we can watch him play. We are making plans for a cookout at our place, and dinner at their place – with our young man cooking! – in the future.

What could have been a sad situation is now a joyful one.

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August 10, 2019 · 9:27 am

Please Be Safe

digitalmediatecs.com

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August 10, 2019 · 9:24 am

Slow Learner

2 STAR art

I’m a slow learner.

Under the ‘better-late-than-never’ category, I have FINALLY learned that if I do one or two things on the ‘to-do’ list, then go up to my art room or work out in the garden for a bit, returning to do something else on the list, I’m a much happier camper.

It used to be that giving myself permission to do something fun was at the bottom of the list. I don’t know how or why that happened, but I realized no one gave me points for getting 5 things done on the list, rather than 3, and I ended up tired and feeling the days were passing me by. I tried to work harder and faster, thinking if I could finish the list, THEN I could happily play. The thing was, I NEVER get to the end of the to-do list. It continues to grow.

NOW I build something happy into my day – almost EVERY day.  It might be just taking a few minutes to read. It might be playing with our dogs or cats, It might be having a chat with our goldfish (although they aren’t much for deep conversations.) It might be a longer play time of working in our veggie garden or our flower planters. If I have an idea rattling around in my brain for a new art project, I might spend some time on that.

I look at this NOW as a gift not only to myself but to others with whom I come in contact. My happiness seems to show, and I can pass it on to others.

If YOU are not doing this, consider giving it a try.

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August 10, 2019 · 9:01 am

Happy Saturday

Aww Station via Marianna Bellantoni

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August 8, 2019 · 11:13 am

Stress Reduction

safetysign.com

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August 8, 2019 · 11:05 am

Quilt That Will Knock Your Socks Off

Sandi Strenkowski – Quilt Along With Pat

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August 8, 2019 · 10:03 am

Our Beautiful World

T.L. – LinkedIn

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August 7, 2019 · 4:54 pm

Ant Assassin!

I’ve just spent half an hour or so assassinating fire ants after donning my cape, goggles, gloves, and mixing 2 gallons of EIGHT bug killer in my sprayer.

These are the odious fire ants that are the bane of my existence for the past couple of years. I never really thought about them before until I happened upon them in one of my garden boxes (about 3 feet up in the air) and they swarmed all over me. biting/stinging me and causing my poor body to turn bright pink, swell up, ache, and itch all at the same time for about three days before starting to subside.

I have since looked up information, thinking that, before I set out to murder something, I should at least know if they do anything good for the environment.

According to extension.org, “Beneficial Effects of Fire Ants. Collectively, ants are beneficial insects in our environment. Their nest-building activities reduce soil compaction and help aerate the soil. Many ant species, such as imported fire ants, are omnivorous (they eat just about anything).”

I’m sorry, but the fact that also eat ME make aerating the soil a very low priority for me, particularly since we don’t need that around here.

 

I read a nice article by a lady who suggests that you pour a teakettle of boiling water down the hole of the mound and that will take care of the problem. That may very well be true, but I don’t think she is trying to treat a garden of veggie plants who would be upset at having boiling water poured on them or almost 8 acres of ridge line rocky soil. The EIGHT spray works well. The fact that the co-op guy in town recommended it highly, after me telling him I was planning to spray it on things I hoped to later feed to myself and my family, and that I didn’t want our pets hurt, went a long way to convince me.

There is Ant-Man from Marvel Comics and the super hero movie genre, but I don’t think he is murdering ants. I’ll just have to fill that gap.

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August 7, 2019 · 10:39 am

Good News for the Future!

Beingsalem Via Mara Spirig – LinkedIn

We just had people from Arkansas Valley Electric Co-op come to the door, saying they needed to measure our poles for the coming installation of a new fiber optic line. He went on to say that in the future, the company will be offering a bundle for people out in the sticks like we are, including Internet, TV, and Phone!  He said it would be a year or year and a half, but came back to bring me a brochure.

There is hope for much faster, more reliable service in the future – if we can live long enough!  HOORAY!

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August 7, 2019 · 10:17 am

The Photography of Paul Militaru

“A Beauty” – Paul Militaru Photography

 

 

“A Small Paradise” – Paul Militaru Photography

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August 7, 2019 · 10:12 am

Pet Portraits by Masters

NikiFirmin-“Qannik” (Snowflake)

 

Gary Wing- “Twiglet”

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August 7, 2019 · 10:06 am

“No Good Deed Goes Unpunished”

Gardeners Path

This quote by Clare Booth Luce is said fairly often around here.  So many things that should be good things seem to backfire or cause us harm.

The latest was yesterday when I was working in our square foot garden.

I’ve been feeling guilty because I haven’t been taking care of things out there as well as I would like to, so I made a special effort to put in some time, pruning dead leaves off our zucchini plants. I lifted one last plant up to get to some dead stuff and was suddenly covered with fire ants.

I rapidly brushed them off my arm, pulling off my weeding gloves and getting away from the source as quickly as possible, but ONE got me.

I rushed inside, took two Benedryl tablets, washed the bite and slathered Benedryl ointment on it. It still swelled up, but not as badly as I have in the past. I DO learn from mistakes….

Priority on today’s list is murdering fire ants. I don’t care if they perform some wonderful service to us. I want them gone. I will mix up some EIGHT spray and hose down the whole garden area, plus any ant hills I find, plus our tomato planters today.  The EIGHT is really good at killing bugs, but is safe to spray on veggies and other plants and won’t harm our pets. I can’t say enough about this product.

 

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August 6, 2019 · 10:18 am

Reminder

Inna Kashkovar

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August 6, 2019 · 9:27 am

Sly as a Fox

 

 

Jeff Jett – LinkedIn

“A fox is a wolf who sends flowers.” ~ Ruth Brown

 

Jeff Jett – LinkedIn

“The fox changes his fur but not his habits.” ~ Anonymous

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August 6, 2019 · 9:19 am

Please

Inspirational Quotes and Short Funny Stuff

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August 6, 2019 · 9:15 am

Did You Know?

Bob Bennett – LinkedIn

  • Many owl species have asymmetrical ears. When located at different heights on the owl’s head, their ears are able to pinpoint the location of sounds in multiple dimensions. Ready, aim, strike.
  • The eyes of an owl are not true “eyeballs.” Their tube-shaped eyes are completely immobile, providing binocular vision which fully focuses on their prey and boosts depth perception.
  • Owls can rotate their necks 270 degrees. A blood-pooling system collects blood to power their brains and eyes when neck movement cuts off circulation.
  • A group of owls is called a parliament. This originates from C.S. Lewis’ description of a meeting of owls in The Chronicles of Narnia.
  • Not all owls hoot! Barn Owls make hissing sounds, the Eastern Screech-Owl whinnies like a horse, and Saw-whet Owls sound like, well, an old whetstone sharpening a saw. Hence the name.

 

Jeff Jett – LinkedIn

*Fun Facts about Owls” ~ Audubon.org

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August 6, 2019 · 8:54 am

Tuesday Beauty

Adam Baker – Tuolumne Meadows, California.-via Daniela Capdepoj MD-PhD-LinkedIn

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August 5, 2019 · 9:49 am

Beautiful

Inna Kashkovar – LinkedIn

 

Chat Desh Photography via Mara Spirig – LinkedIn

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August 5, 2019 · 9:27 am

Escape

Unknown Artist via Elena (Livia) D. – LinkedIn

I received my paperback copy of Nora Roberts’ “Connections in Death” – the latest in her “In Death” Series. I ordered it months ago and then tried to put it out of my mind instead of waiting, crossing off days, like a kid waiting for Christmas. Finally, I have it in my hands!

I’m re-reading the other 47 books in the series, thoroughly enjoying the escape of living in the gritty, absorbing world of Eve Dallas, a homicide detective in New York City in 2058 and beyond. I admire her strength, determination, absolute dedication to her job. I love the people in her world and how she reacts to them. I can dive in and lose myself and my worries for awhile, caught up in her latest case and situation.

Right now I’m on #10 – “Witness in Death.” When I finish the first 47 books, I’ll give myself permission to enjoy the latest.

I spent many, many years not really being able to make time for reading for pleasure. I was earning my teaching degree, then teaching full-time and taking night classes and summer school for my Master’s. It was YEARS before I could actually sit down, become absorbed in a book, relaxing – reading for the joy of it – finally realizing I wouldn’t be TESTED on it later.  Now it’s one of my greatest pleasures. I’m grateful I found Nora Roberts years ago. Her books have reminded me of how beautiful life can be, full of humor, love, and interesting, good people. The In Death series is another part of that, with strong, sometimes wacky characters, who each have lovable flaws that bring you closer.

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August 5, 2019 · 9:00 am

Monday Morning

“Innocent Sounds” – Alina Ciuciu

I love Alina’s painting for several reasons –

The subject, colors, and texture speak to me.

My reaction to the painting was to melt into a puddle. It is so SWEET.

It also speaks of the many sides of friendship.  On any given subject, in any given situation, some will share a similar thing that happened to them; some feel the need to give advice; some will comfort; some will listen; some will simply be there with you for support. I value each and every one.

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August 4, 2019 · 2:00 pm

Oh, Yeah?

Dose of Funny

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August 4, 2019 · 1:56 pm

Happy Sunday

Jeff Jett – LinkedIn

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August 3, 2019 · 12:42 pm

Pet Peeve

Madeleine Jacobs

One of my pet peeves is products that don’t work the way they promise. I know, I am old enough to KNOW better – I just can’t quit HOPING that one day, one of the products will actually work.

I just used Clean Shower. It says you spray everything down, then walk away. I did that. Twice. The dirt and soap scum was still there. Today I will take good old Comet, scrub the shower down, and do the same for our tub, toilet, basins, countertop, etc.

I’m the ultimate lazy person. I LOVE the idea of some way to get out of scrubbing.  To this end – the ‘Eternal Optimist’ searched the net for shower cleaners today and ordered the top two products on the ‘BEST list – supposedly from customer reviews.

The top was “Rain-X Shower Door Cleaner.” Since we have used Rain-X on our car windshield, I am hopeful that it MIGHT perform as described –

  • Provides an extreme, dH22:L23deep clean on shower doors leaving behind a sparkling shine
  • Specially formulated to clean soap scum and hard water stains on shower glass
  • An ideal cleaning prep for Rain-X Shower Door Water Repellent
  • For glass surfaces only

The other product I ordered was “Method Daily Shower Spray Cleaner, Eucalyptus Mint”

  • Contains (1) 28 ounce bottle of shower cleaning spray
  • Naturally derived daily shower cleaner
  • Use daily. No scrubbing required
  • Non toxic, plant based powergreen technology dissolves and prevents soap scum
  • Cleaning spray works on showers, tile, fixtures, glass tubs
Since it’s rainy today, I have switched to my inside to-do list – including laundry, stripping beds and changing sheets, scrubbing our master bathroom, dusting and vacuuming up there.
I am HOPING that once I have things clean, I can use the two new products arriving soon to KEEP them that way – without all the scrubbing!

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August 3, 2019 · 11:34 am

Warning

African Road Sign – IvaCheung.com

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August 3, 2019 · 10:51 am

Post for Irene

These are the two owls I was talking about in my post about Fritz the Cat as our current mailbox decoration. Each is about 2-1/2 feet tall and about 18 inches wide.  We put them on top of posts on either side of the driveway toward the bottom, where we have a bar we can use to close the driveway.

 

This is the picture I SHOULD have posted, where you can see one of the owls and just a hint of the one on the other post.

I hope you’ve been having a wonderful day, Sweet Irene!

 

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August 3, 2019 · 10:36 am

Be

The Age of Enlightenment via Janet Melendez – LinkedIn

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August 3, 2019 · 10:28 am

Our Beautiful World

Thomas Moran via Elena (Livia) D – LinkedIn

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August 2, 2019 · 3:04 pm

Garden Progress

I’ve been working on our garden, trying to get it cleaned up after I had to neglect it for about a week.  My husband came out there with me today – a rare and delightful thing – and we did a good amount to prune and clean up. I have another session to do out there, but it will wait.

 

There is always more to do in the garden, but we improved things a lot today.  I pulled up my radishes a couple of days ago, the last time I was out there. For some reason, they didn’t make successfully this time. I was disappointed, because I got spoiled with a really super crop with the last batch I planted in the spring, having enough to give to my friends and having lots for me to enjoy.  I’ll concentrate on trying not to be greedy. I’ll plant another group soon.

The zucchini plants are still looking healthy, although I’m having to read everything I can get my hands on to figure out what I’m doing.

We have lots of these small cantaloupes!  I didn’t know they start out green, but we made sure each one is now sitting in a plastic bowl to keep it out of the dirt, as I read they like. Fingers crossed that they actually grow into something delicious to eat!

 

Red onions.

Our weather has been really different this year. Our tomato plants are looking pretty sad right now. I have no clue whether we’ll get more or not. We’ve had such a good crop this year. I hope I can extend the season some.  I took bags of ripe tomatoes to our friends at Lunch Bunch this morning, and then another bag to our hairdresser on the way home. I love it when we can share the wealth!

Obvious Fun

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August 2, 2019 · 12:50 pm

“Fritz the Cat” Mailbox Decoration

Fritz the Cat is a comic strip created by Robert Crumb. Set in a “supercity” of anthropomorphic animals, the strip focused on Fritz, a feline con artist who frequently went on wild adventures that sometimes involved sexual escapades. Crumb began drawing this character in homemade comic books when he was a child. ~ Wikipedia.

This is one of my husband’s favorite comic strips and characters.  This decoration will stay up until the middle of August.

We cut the outline out of sheet metal using our CNC machine. My husband did the computer coding that makes it so the computer can ‘see’ the design we’re trying to make and can guide the torch. This was a difficult one for me because it was mainly just bare sheet metal with the mailbox mounting on it. I did a lot of work with our overhead projector marking the metal so I could then try to paint the design on both sides of the piece. We sprayed the finished piece with polyurethane to protect the paint as much as possible.

You can also see our ‘welcome’ robot and one of the two owls on either side of our driveway.

It’s easy to see that you are passing a weird place as you drive by. :0)

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Image

Notice

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August 2, 2019 · 9:54 am
August 2, 2019 · 9:46 am

Friday “Awwwww!”

Jeff Jett – LinkedIn

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