Filed under Bright Ideas, Housekeeping - Maintenance, I'm a slob
Alexandra Lippert – The Doodle Lab – Etsy
This woman offers custom caricatures of your pets. I think they’re great.
I’m having a happy day so far.
We had to leave the house early without food or coffee to get blood work done for our routine doctor appointment on Wednesday. We did errands after that.
I think I told you about my husband being delighted about the county road people cleaning out our ditches. There were trucks at the bottom of our driveway as we left. I talked with one of the men, thanked him profusely for the good job the crew was doing. He said the ‘artist’ of the group was Darryl and that they might be here today and tomorrow to finish up.
We decided to get a gift card for a pizza for the men as a thank you, and got it while we were in town. I found Darryl when we got home and thanked him. Apparently the only time they hear from the public is when they are upset, so my thanking everyone was a real surprise and they seemed touched. I also gave Darryl the gift card. At first he refused, but I just stared at him until he took it. I’ll also write a letter to the department. I don’t know if they put the letters in the employee records or are just pleased, but I want to make sure they know what a good job they are doing.
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It didn’t snow or ice overnight, so we had no trouble getting around. We got our trash down to the bottom of the driveway and no one fell on their head or injured themselves. Now, hopefully, we can relax the rest of the day, though the weather forecast is warning of possible problems on Thursday now. UGH.
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My husband’s projects are beginning to wear me to a frazzle. First, lately, it was the porch camera light bulb. I finally officially gave up. I gave it at least twice as much time as my husband did and we finally decided we could do without it. Second, was the gadget for the TV. After two days of real challenge, frayed nerves, and more, we finally got it installed and working. NOW my husband is having trouble with a computer program called Family Tree Maker. We have used it for years, but suddenly it says it was shut down incorrectly and it won’t open. We were online with a tech all afternoon yesterday, trying to follow her directions. Nothing was solved. I don’t know if my husband will insist we tackle it again today or not. I am needed as the go-between to type, answer questions from either my husband or the tech, try to follow the directions, etc., so I can’t just escape, though it would be nice….
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I finished the etched vase I’ve been working on and just listed it on my Etsy site.
Our day has really flown by and I’m just now able to finish my first post of the day. I’d better get my computer hot! Have a great day!
When I found this photo, I teared up. What a glorious art station! It’s just beautiful, looks like it has SO many supplies all beautifully organized…
I still love it, but reality raised its ugly head and slammed me in the nose. This is a lovely fantasy, and I look at it longingly, but even if I could have this in one part of my art room, it wouldn’t look like this if I started to work at it.
Most of all, I’m a slob. And, to be able to do many of things I try to do, I would need to be able to flatten the drafting board part. And there aren’t any electrical sockets to plug in equipment, nor a place to set a container of water or tissues, or bottles of paint, or….
The list goes on and on, sadly. but it IS a beautiful fantasy, and I’ll keep the picture, just to remind myself how maybe real artists could use it…
Filed under Amazing Animals, Funny Signs - Humor
I think these are incredible photos. As I said before, I love to LOOK at snow scenes that make me appreciate the season and the work of Mother Nature, transforming our world into fantasy. Please, though, LOOKING is enough for me.
Filed under Awe-Inspiring Photography, Seasons
I’m feeling really stupid because, in order to start my blog posts in the morning, I really have to check and make sure I have the date correct. One would THINK that I could switch my brain to register January 5, 2025 easily, just moving on without even having to think about it. Not so much. Sigh.
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It’s warm here for January this morning (50 degrees F. right now) and a light rain is falling from very cloudy skies. The bad part is that a cold front is forecast to come through during the day, taking the temps down from here, and possibly bringing snow and ice. NOOOOO! We’re good to stay in today, but early tomorrow morning we need to go get blood work done for a routine doctor appointment Wednesday, and have a couple of other errands to do after. I hope we can get down our steep driveway, get our stuff done, and get back UP again. I really don’t enjoy having to worry about getting snowed or iced in and not being able to keep appointments.
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A happy thing happened yesterday! My husband drove down to get the mail and came up exclaiming, “The road department cleaned out the ditches on both sides of the driveway!” HOOORAAAAAY! I saw equipment in the area last month, and I called to see if they still cleaned out ditches. The nice lady said she would put in a work order, but nothing happened, and each time it rained, our ditches overflowed onto the road. To have it cleaned out and draining again is such a wonderful gift! While we’re out tomorrow, we’ll get a gift card from one of the pizza places and mail it to the road department as a small thank you.
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I’m having fun trying to etch the glass vase in my art room. I finished the basic free form floral design yesterday and will fix up edges and see if I can add more definition to the etching today. :0)
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I hope that your weather is either good or that you’re able to negotiate whatever Mother Nature is dishing out in the coming days. Stay safe.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
This was sent to me by my friend, Cathy, and it is SO true of me.
I have books everywhere in our home – beside my living room recliner, in the kitchen for when I’m waiting for the stove timer to go off, beside my bed when I’m caught up and can’t let it go, in my art room where I need reference photos or notes I made from a YouTube how-to video, etc.
I love to hold a real book in my hand. I use a Kindle, as well, but it really lacks the FEEL of a book. I love it that I can learn so much from books. I love it that some make me laugh – or cry. I love being able to escape from worries or stress by diving into someone else’s world for awhile.
Books are a necessity in my world.
Filed under Reading is FUNdamental
I spend some time on X and Blue Sky each day, mostly posting my blog posts and trying to promote my Etsy website. I’m kind of amazed by the ‘look’ of people on each of these sites.
I think they must strive to show themselves to be a certain kind of person, choosing things to post, showing their beliefs (or what they THINK they should be believing.) I find it difficult to find REAL people who I have any interest in wanting to know better. I’m turned off by the strident ones who are pushing an agenda and wouldn’t listen to a different point of view if their lives depended on it.
Others are obviously trolls, trying to use these as ‘dating apps,’ trying to portray themselves as the perfect male or female. It’s funny how you read the same descriptions over and over. Obviously, they think these work. Maybe they do….
Anyway, being older than dirt allows me to ignore all that stuff, concentrate on what I find good about the sites (the talented photographers, artists, and writers, mainly) and to show people who I am – and take the consequences if they like what I post or not.
Being yourself is a complicated idea. When you’re young, you want to fit in so badly that you’ll fold yourself into a paper airplane and sail across the room, wearing the ‘in’ thing, saying the ‘in’ things as you fly, hoping that people will like the image you’re projecting.
Then you want to be ‘cool,’ again avoiding any idea of being ‘different’ and therefore, somehow, LESS than others. Stuffing down who you are to try to be the person who again fits in, is attractive, etc.
I’m glad I’m me now. If you like ‘me,’ I’m happy. If you don’t, that’s okay, too. The ‘world’s’ opinion doesn’t matter to me anymore. Of COURSE I would really enjoy being liked, or for someone to like something about me, or what I do, etc., but I’m not devastated if I am found to be LESS anymore. I am happy in my own skin. I’m trying to be the best person I can be. I try to enjoy every minute I have, hopefully doing as much of what I would like to do as possible. I don’t want to waste a minute. It’s all good.
Filed under Attitude, empowerment, Encouragement
I love to LOOK at snow. I think it’s absolutely beautiful. I like to make snow people or snow animals, make snow angels, have snowball fights.
Ever since we built our home here in Greenwood AR on top of a ridge line with a steep 650′ driveway on the north side of our property, my enthusiasm for winter – driving in it, getting up and down our driveway in one piece, and getting snowed or iced in up here, having to chainsaw our way down the driveway when we are older than dirt – has waned.
I am finding some wonderful photos of the beauty of the season though, from the photographers on X and Blue Sky. I wanted to share them with you.
These are SO good they almost make me forget I really don’t enjoy winter anymore!
Filed under Awe-Inspiring Photography
I just love the artwork on this journal. The ‘light’ brings it from ‘good artwork’ to ‘wonderful!’ in my eyes. :0)
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I got to spend a bit of time in my art room yesterday, working on etching a glass vase I started a long time ago. I had done the outline of a floral design on the vase, but then got intimidated, so I put it aside while I concentrated on Christmas things. When I finally cleared off my drafting table,
I found the vase again and decided I would try to overcome my feelings of inadequacy and give it another shot. I actually had fun working on it yesterday. I have NO clue whether it will turn out anything like what I hoped for, but I have shed my ego and have just jumped into it, having fun and hoping for the best. I’m hoping to spend more time on it today.
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We’re having a dreary-looking day here, but the temperature hasn’t dropped yet. It looks like the really cold weather is coming to us soon, and I’ll need to remember to open a few cabinets and drip water overnight in the next few nights. Did I tell you that I much prefer warmer weather?
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My scales had to swallow a LITTLE bit of snark this morning. I will be happy if I can meet my interim goal of 50 pounds off in the near future. This morning I’m down 46.6.
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My husband is trying to add a gadget to our TV. After trying and failing to get it to work, he dumped the project on ME – his technically-challenged spouse. It was a challenging afternoon, but I got a couple of the issues solved by unplugging the new gadget. :0) He was talking about plugging it in again, though, today…..
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I wish you a wonderful day. I hope you do something fun today!
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Filed under Michele Clamp Art, Watercolors I Love
Cat Memes – BoredPanda.com – Rokas Laurinavicius and Leva Pediulyte
Filed under Amazing Animals
I don’t know if Mary Lou created this or pinned it on Pinterest because she loved it, too. Either way, I just loved it when I found it. Such gorgeous layers and 3-D-ness!
We’re going to shop for supplies after lunch today because the possibility of wintry precipitation is in the forecast. We live on top of a ridge line outside of town, up a 650′ plus steep driveway, so we take forecasts of possible ice and snow really seriously.
One year, I think it was 2000 or 2001, we had a really bad ice storm. Public water wasn’t available. Public power wasn’t, either. Our son was home then. We were stuck up here for 14 days. We could hear the loud cracking of our trees losing branches. It sounded like guns were being shot. We had MANY branches and whole trees that fell into the driveway from both sides, blocking us from getting out.
We have well water, so we were able to switch to that. We had a Chinese diesel generator in the well house. That was good and was enough for us to have some light, but no heat. We have a wood burning fireplace. We have propane for our stove.
Shortly after the storm, the generator blew its gasket. In order to keep it from overheating, my husband and son filled a large trash can with snow and dumped it on top of the generator every half hour.
It took us three days to chainsaw our way down the driveway to the road that runs in front of our house.
Ever since, we take prep for winter seriously. We now have a generator wired into the house. We stock up on food and water getting what is reasonable to keep us as comfortable as possible if we get iced in. Do you see why winter is not my favorite season? :0)
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I never got up to my art room yesterday. I ended up finishing tax spreadsheets for the year. Hopefully, I’ll get some time this afternoon after we shop to try some glass etching. I’m trying to do my own floral design by hand with a Dremel.
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I hope that January is starting well for you and that 2025 is a terrific year for you and your family.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Indian Hills Signs – Vince, the Sign Guy
Filed under Funny Signs - Humor, Indian Hills Signs, punny, Word Play
Filed under Amazing Animals, Funny Signs - Humor
The sun is shining and it’s almost 9am here, but I’m still fighting the ‘sleepies.’ My coffee is helping, but I may need toothpicks to keep my eyes open. It’s just now getting to 32 degrees F. so my instinct is to go find someplace really warm, cover up my head, snuggle down and go back to sleep.
I’m leaving in just under half an hour to get my hair cut. My wonderful stylist, Michael Remillard of Tangles in Greenwood, understands that my hair is thin and fine and won’t do anything except stick up and look funny on it’s own – making me look like a dandelion gone to seed at the moment. He knows to cut my hair so that I can simply stick my head in the kitchen sink in the morning, wash it, and blow it dry and be fixed for the day, mostly looking as if ‘someone had a plan.’
Yesterday I finally spent time in my art room, starting with a bulldozer, trying to clean off my drafting table. It’s now ready for the next project, which at the moment is to work on a glass vase I started awhile back that has been waiting for me. I’m trying to etch some designs in it by hand. We have a glass blaster in our shop, and I’ve used it in the past to blast the glass after I mask the parts I want to stay clear, but this is more satisfying. I was dreaming about it last night, so maybe I can finish it this time.
Otherwise, we have a quiet day here, hopefully.
You might laugh or think it’s pathetic to have watched me try to type “2025” this morning. Enjoy your day. :0)
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
My friend Marsha sent this to me this morning, saying her brother had sent it to her, and I smirked, snorted, and laughed all the way through it. I HAD to share –
As 2024 is gone:
I want to say thank you Facebook friends, for your educational posts over the past year. When it comes to common sense, I’m beginning to wonder if anyone has any. I am totally messed up now and have little chance of recovery. Because of y’all, I have to drink 3 glasses of wine. Yes
before noon.
1- I can no longer open a bathroom door without using a paper towel.
2-Nor let the waitress put lemon slices in my Ice Tea without worrying about the bacteria on the lemon peel.
3- I can’t sit down on a hotel bedspread because I can only imagine what has happened to it since it was last washed.
4- I can’t eat a little snack that sends me on a guilt trip because I can only imagine how many gallons of trans fats I have consumed over the year.
5- I must send my special thanks for the post about rat *hit in the glue on envelopes because I now have to use a wet sponge with every Christmas card envelope that needs sealing.
6- I have to scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason.
7- I find it difficult to use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like *hit pot.
8-Because of your concern, I no longer drink Coca-Cola because it can remove toilet stains.
9- Thanks to you I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I tag seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.
I0- I no longer buy fuel without taking someone along to watch the car, so a serial killer doesn’t crawl in my back seat when I’m filling up.
11- I no longer use Cling Wrap in the microwave because it causes seven different types of cancer.
12- Thanks for letting me know I can’t boil a cup of water in the microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face, disfiguring me No more hot chocolate for me.
13- I no longer go to the cinema because when I sit down I’m invaded by bed bugs.
14- I no longer go to stores because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.
15- I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a huge phone bill with calls to Russia and Ukraine. As for a certain political party, I’m not sure which one will be using and investigating my number. I heard it on Facebook So I know it’s true.
16- If you don’t post this to your wall for 7 days and tag at least 7 people in the next 7 minutes, next year Santa Claus ain’t going to leave you a thing. I know because I saw it on Facebook So it’s got to be true.
P. S. I now keep my toothbrush and false teeth in the living room, because I was told that the air carries germs up to 5 feet from the toilet.
Y’all Have A Good Day Now! 
And An Awesome New Year!!!
Filed under Blog Repost - Wonderful Posts, Funny Signs - Humor
“My Wish for you in 2025:
May peace break into your house and may thieves come to steal your debts.
May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet of $100 bills.
May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may laughter assault your lips!
May your clothes smell of success like smoking tires.
May happiness slap you across the face and may your tears be that of joy.
May the problems you had forget your home address! In simple words …….
May 2025 be the best year of your life!!!”
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“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re Doing Something.” ~ Neil Gaiman, British author
Filed under Challenges
Cat Memes – BoredPanda.com – Rokas Laurinavicius and Leva Peciulyte
Filed under Amazing Animals, Funny Signs - Humor
I have some things I’ve found that haven’t fit in my posts lately, but I think they’re wonderful and wanted to share them with you –
I have more, but I’ll share them at another time. I hope you enjoyed seeing these.
Filed under Favorite Things
I used to make all the ‘normal’ resolutions – losing weight, exercising, being a better person, keeping my house clean, etc. etc. ad nauseum.
Since I’m older than dirt, I have changed the idea of resolutions for myself. I don’t know if it’s an ‘improvement’ or not, but it works for me.
My new resolutions –
Do you make New Year’s resolutions?
Filed under Challenges, Changes
I hope that 2025 is a fabulous year for you, full of all the good things there are.
We had a quiet celebration here. I was hoping our backyard neighbors might shoot off some fireworks, but it was too cold, even for them this year. I’m glad they stayed warm.
My to-do list is long today, but I’m still yawning and drinking coffee, trying to fully wake up. Our weather is definitely turning toward winter now, with freezing almost every morning and the ‘highs’ gradually getting lower each week. I really wish I could just LOOK at pretty snow pictures, photos of creative snow people and animals folks have made, watch videos of snowball fights, snow angels, and more – rather than to. actually. be. IN. it.
My aim for the day is to clean off my drafting table in my art room in preparation for whatever comes next as a project. I almost need a bulldozer right now, but hope I can make good progress if I can just get up there.
I’m on strike as far as cooking today. We’ll have our regular low carb lunch and hot dogs for dinner. YEA!
Have a wonderful day. I hope that you’re off for the day from work and that you find fun ways to spend your day. Happy 2025!
Filed under holidays, Thoughts on a ________
“For a good life: Work like a dog. Eat like a horse. Think like a fox. And play like a rabbit.” – George Allen
“Never trust a fox. Looks like a dog, behaves like a cat.”
– Erin Hunter
“A fox is a wolf who sends flowers.”
– Ruth Brown
Filed under Amazing Animals
If only I looked this criminally cute when I relaxed! The best I can do is burrow down into my recliner, my heat pad under me and my throw above me, making kind of a ‘Linda Sandwich.’ I try to do this a couple of times a week – a rare, but much appreciated pleasure!
In typical Arkansas fashion, we went from spring yesterday to winter this morning. The skies are really cloudy and grim-looking. The temperature isn’t that bad, but there is a strong wind that blows right through you. I had my coat, but I should have worn a cap and gloves. It feels COLD!!! Very thankful today for a warm, dry house.
I’m going to make one of our favorite recipes from Suzanne Ryan’s book, “Simply Keto,” called, “Sausage, Egg & Cheese Breakfast Bake”. We like it for dinner, and I throw in a veggie, like broccoli or spinach. It’s a nice comfort food for a cold night.
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I’m feeling really slothful this afternoon. I have a lot of things I could, or should, be doing, but I’m ignoring them, at least for now. It’s New Year’s Eve. I’m hoping to see fireworks in the valley behind our house tonight, ringing in a brand new year with bright colors, noise and happy displays, and hope.
Happy New Year’s Eve!
Filed under holidays, Thoughts on a ________
Happy New Year’s Eve! Whether you have wonderful plans for a big party, a ball drop, fireworks, or will have a quiet celebration at home like us, I wish you a happy day of anticipation of a bright new year. The end of a year should bring shedding of old ‘baggage,’ a lightening of your load, a filling of your spirit. Enjoy remembering the good things about 2024 today, then wish it well and welcome 2025.
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Accountability – If you’ve been reading my blog, you know I’m trying to lose my lard and get stronger and more flexible. I promised to report to you – as a way of trying to keep my goal active and hopefully reachable one day. As of today, I have lost 46 pounds and there are 48 fewer inches of me. I’m yo-yo-ing around in a 3-pound range these past few days, but I’m inching toward my interim goal and hope to meet it soon. The scales still smirk at me most days, but I will win.
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I told you my nice husband got us two rectangular stainless steel containers with glass lids recently. I always try to cook for more than one meal and we store the leftovers in individual portion containers in the freezer. These are large enough to hold TWO portions of the leftovers, so when I cooked recently, I put double portions into the two containers, snapped on the lids, and put them in the freezer. Yesterday I took one out and put it in the regular fridge. Last night I took the lid off, put the container in the microwave with a paper towel over it, closed the door, and held my breath. The food heated up just fine. No explosions or damage to the container or the microwave! I did use my hot pads to remove the container from the microwave. Last night the lid and the container went into the dishwasher. Sparkling clean and ready to use this morning! This is a really nice thing – to be able to use it so it saves us effort and time. I really didn’t believe what they advertised could be true, but I was wrong.
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This is my latest wood burned and hand-painted piece from the art room. I’m delighted to tell you he has been adopted! He will be mailed to his new home today. I couldn’t be happier. It was joyful to make him, and he will live on their front porch, hopefully bring good luck to his new owners for many many years. :0)
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We are running errands on this, the last day of 2024. When we get home, I’ll write more posts for the blog and may even get up to my art room this afternoon.
I wish you a happy day, full of fun, family, and celebration!
My mom used to say, “It’s better to do any reasonable quickly than to reach hesitantly for the ideal.” This was a more lofty manner of trying to get me off my duff and moving, instead of telling me to do just that.
I’ve finally learned that jumping into something I’m interested in is a good thing for me, whether it’s trying to change – or build – a habit, trying to improve myself, trying to learn a new style of art, or whatever. Whatever the subject is, the biggest hurdle is getting started. I can always adjust later.
I really don’t want to become a flat squirrel…
Filed under Challenges, Changes, character-building exercises
creativeartworksblog 