Indian Hills Signs – Vince, the Sign Guy
Filed under Funny Signs - Humor, Indian Hills Signs
Pinterest – Unknown
Filed under Gorgeous Gourds
Filed under paintings I love
Lowest prices of the year on my Etsy Site, plus FREE SHIPPING on everything you purchase. This is my gift to you, trying to make up for the awful time so many of us have had trying to pay for everything due to inflation.
Sample –
3-3/4″ x 5-3/4″ x 3/8″ hand-painted mini or pocket notebook. The outside cover is linen type off-white with nice texture. The inside has 100 blank pages for your thoughts, dreams, lists, reminders, memories. $5.00 with Free Shipping – see this and other designs on HandmadeHavenbyLinda on Etsy.
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Mother Nature is ushering cooler temperatures tonight, more fall-with-hints-of-winter temperatures in the coming week. We have pretty much finished our get-ready-for-winter list around the house and yard, but I’ll check it again carefully as the weather cools off more and more.
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I have ideas rattling around in my head right now about wood-burned designs on earrings and the bookmark blanks I may receive Thursday. I was wood-burning in my sleep most of the night, though I don’t have anything to show for it but bloodshot eyes this morning. :0) I love it, though, when my brain and heart are fully engaged in new ideas.
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Enjoy your Tuesday.
Filed under When Wood Comes Alive, wood carving
Barb Gregoire – Tree Hug Vases – Veniceclayartists.com
My husband is grudgingly 81 today. I sang to him this morning and he lived through it. ’80’ had panache. ’81’ not so good. He didn’t sleep well last night, so he’s taking a nap in his chair now. He doesn’t want any celebrations, cake, any special dinner –
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We’re due for possibly severe storms this afternoon. Then, as far as I can see, no more rain for the next 10 days. Like Mother Nature is turning on and off a faucet up there. All we have to do today outside is to get our mail and drive our trash down. Good day to have a nice, warm home. :0)
I spent quite a while yesterday lowering the prices on my Etsy site. I’m hoping that people will find things that delight them or things they want to give to others. Sample –
This is one of five made-to-order Christmas card designs I’m offering. Inside of this one says, “May you glow with joy. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!” Room for you to sign and write a note. Last day to order is December 10th. $14.00 for package of 6 cards and envelopes. Free Shipping. Here is a link to the Christmas Category on HandmadeHavenbyLinda on Etsy.
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I ordered some wooden bookmark blanks yesterday. I’m looking forward to having fun doing wood-burned designs on them. :0)
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I hope that your weather is good for today, or that you have a nice warm spot to shelter from whatever else comes your way.
Filed under HandmadeHavenByLinda on Etsy, Thoughts on a ________
I don’t usually share this kind of thing, but I am completely blown away by Ava’s talent. Her personality is very appealing. She wants to be a singer, but hasn’t believed she was good enough to put herself out there, so she sings while she grooms the dogs at her day job. Her mother is a wonderful supporter, and I hope that Ava makes it big. Please take the time when you can to enjoy her unique style and journey in The Voice.
Filed under music
“Owls remind us that wisdom comes from observing in silence.” — Unknown
“With wise eyes, the owl sees what others cannot.” — Unknown
“An owl’s gaze penetrates the darkness, revealing hidden truths.” — Unknown
“In the eyes of an owl, we find the depth of wisdom.” — Unknown
Filed under Amazing Animals
SPECIAL DAY –
My husband is having a birthday tomorrow. He doesn’t want to TALK about it, DO anything about it, or even THINK about it. Last year he was hyped because turning “80” had panache. 81 is simply old. I think you can FEEL him frowning. I’ll just try to make his day as pleasant as possible and let it go at that.
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LINDA’S CRAFTINESS –
One-of-a-kind set of 4 hand-wood-burned & hand-painted wood slice Christmas ornaments. I will personalize each with the year and a name on the back of each to create a cherished keepsake at no extra charge. 3.25″ in diameter and the slices are about 1/2″ thick. natural beige hanging ties are attached. Only one set available. $44.99 with Free Shipping at HandmadeHavenbyLinda on Etsy. Use the link to see this and other Christmas decorations.
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BUILDING HABITS WITH INTENTION – My idea of exercising with my 3-pound weights in-between blog posts, or other activities on the computer is working well. I stop often, doing a good set of exercises right beside my computer with the weights, then put them down on the counter and get back to my computer. I did this 5 times yesterday, getting in a good amount of exercise during the day.
I’m rounding this out with my yoga stretches, even though Monster Cat has decided that I’m teasing her by getting down on the floor on the mat. She crawls under the end of the mat, then leaps out and attacks my foot, then dashes under the mat again. Yesterday I brought my foot down on top of her, letting her know that I didn’t appreciate her efforts while I was trying to relax.
She retaliated later by jumping into the empty cardboard box we usually keep for her in the middle of the floor. (I put it up on the sofa when I’m doing my yoga.) She played around in it and then attempted to jump out of it and pulled the whole box down with her to the floor – on top of my head and outstretched arms. My husband died laughing, but did retrieve the box and move it to the foyer, enticing her to follow him so I could finish my stretching.
When the weather is cooperative, I take at least a couple of walks during the day, out to the shop and around the yard, sometimes with pruning shears in my hand. This combination of weights, yoga, and walking is making me feel as if I’m doing a good thing for this old body.
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PLAYING IN MY ART ROOM –
Yesterday I added the wooden key chains I’ve made to my Etsy site. I created a new section called, “Small Unique Gifts” to list them and other small gifty things in the future. There are custom orders, such as the name designs above, and I’m offering to put a large initial, initials, or a name on the back at no extra charge. $10.00 with Free Shipping.
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I hope you’re doing fun things today. Enjoy every minute.
The only problem I can see with these mugs is that they are SO exquisite that I would fear anyone actually USING them, putting them in danger for being harmed. My mouth simply waters when I see things like this. Meticulous work and detail.
Awwww. I want to hug her and help make her world right again.
LINDA’S CRAFTINESS – 8.5″wide, 4″ tall, 3.75″deep, with a circumference of 24″. The one-of-a-kind, hand-painted box is a nice size to store photos, mementos, souvenirs and more. $15.00 with Free Shipping. See all of these at HandmadeHavenbyLinda on Etsy.
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I’ve been having a good time trying to make some key chains in my art room lately. I got some blank wooden shapes and have been doing some wood burning and painting. I finished several yesterday and will try to get them listed on my Etsy site today. :0)
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I’m 4/10ths of a pound away from my interim weight loss goal. I’ve been here before – several times – and ‘SOMETHING’ always happens to snafu actually REACHING and passing this next goal. I’m really hoping today will be different. I have made the lifestyle change, deciding to eat low-carb, but reaching interim goals of there being less of me increases my motivation to keep being a ‘good girl.’ Maybe tomorrow I can pat myself on the head and set a new goal. :0)
Lesson on Reading and Absorbing – One of the big things I’ve learned, now than I’m older than dirt, is how important it is to read carefully. (This is ironic, in that I have a Master’s Degree as a “Reading Specialist,” and yet I never learned to read labels on food and really read and compare nutrition on recipes.)
I’ve been missing Shake-n-Bake, a coating mix I had used for years – and my husband and I really love – to bake pork chops. I gave it up because it has 7 carbs per serving, and I was having trouble working that in to my day’s allotment. I basically gave up pork chops because of this.
I found a low-carb recipe for pork chops that emulates Shake-n-Bake! I was really excited and planned to try it tonight. Something told me to compare carb counts of the Shake-n-Bake and the new recipe. The new recipe was 9.7 carbs! SO – the former reading teacher learns AGAIN that reading carefully is important. I can still enjoy the delicious Shake-n-Bake if I work carefully on MyFitnessPal.com to make sure I stay under my limit for the day! DUH! Pork Chops tonight!!!
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I wish you a happy Saturday filled with fun.
Maybe if I live to be as old as Grandma Moses, I MIGHT be able to imitate some of the techniques and style I’m finding of other artists who do wood burning.
This is the work of Carrie, at HotPencelArt on Etsy. She really brings this to an art form, doesn’t she?
Karin de Haas – Funda Altincekic Aysel
If happiness could be bottled….. I’m totally in awe of Karin de Haas’ ability to lift my spirits. Her work simply exudes joy, and I can sure use a lot of that. :0)
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LINDA’S CRAFTINESS – 2″ hand-painted wooden earrings are so light weight you may forget you’re wearing them! $15.00 with Free Shipping. Use the link to see these and other dangle earrings at HandmadeHavenbyLinda on Etsy. Post/stud and clip-on categories, too!
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We’re heading to Walmart for groceries and will get our mail on the way back.
Happy day!
Indian Hills Signs – Vince, the Sign Guy
Filed under Funny Signs - Humor, Indian Hills Signs, punny
When you’re trying to build a habit, change your lifestyle, I think it’s really important to splurge every once in a while. Others will call it ‘cheating,’ or think you ought to feel guilty. I disagree. I think it’s not only understandable, I think it is necessary.
Mindset – you’ve done your research, your mind is filled with ‘shoulds’ and you’re trying your best to stay the course. Then, life gets in the way, you’re offered a chance to do something that day that causes you to detour from what you’re trying to build into a routine. You feel guilty. You’ve failed.
I’m saying that you should BUILD IN detours. You should take the detour as a chance to REALIZE that you’re making a choice, that’s it’s OKAY not to follow your perfect plans every day. That you actually NEED to see that you can detour and then go back to the routine the next meal, the next day – the NEXT. It doesn’t have to kill you. It doesn’t have to derail your efforts. You splurge – you enjoy every minute of it – and then you go back to the lifestyle you’ve carefully chosen.
It’s what you do 99% of the time that counts. Your mindset is strong. You’re changing your LIFESTYLE. You’re stronger because of the detours because you CHOOSE to resume the good habits you’re building.
Detour – example – yesterday I was really happy to find some KETO bread at the store. This enabled my husband and I to have hot dogs for dinner last night. I didn’t have to eat what amounts to a ‘wrap,’ using a 0-net-carb tortilla as my bun. I actually got to use a hot dog bun! First time in a year! Whoopee! It was wonderful. I enjoyed every bite, loading mine with mustard and onion.
Instead of just throwing my hands in the air and hoping I was finally going to meet my interim weight loss goal this morning, we splurged, eating some no-added-sugar vanilla ice cream and some fresh blueberries. I KNEW it was a no-no. I didn’t realize until AFTER I had eaten it that the dish of ice cream used up ALL of my carb limit for the day and then some – not counting what I ate the rest of the day. The whole day was blown.
In the past, I would have then gotten out some potato chips or something, thinking, the day is blown, I might as well enjoy it, wallowing in guilt as I stuffed my face. This time I enjoyed every bite, REALIZING I was splurging, and redoubling my mindset that I wouldn’t feel guilty, and that my new LIFESTYLE would resume without pause in the morning.
Splurging – cheating – falling off the wagon – whatever you want to call it is an important part of building a new habit or lifestyle. You are only accountable to yourself. You choose to renew your commitment, now even stronger because you allowed yourself to be a real person, and your lifestyle change becomes a bigger and bigger part of you.
For ME the changes are losing the lard and getting stronger with more regular exercise. I don’t have to be perfect. I CAN splurge from time to time. It’s wonderful to know that. It increases my motivation to try to do good things for myself.
Filed under Challenges, Changes, DIET!, empowerment, Encouragement, exercise, Habits
I think this sculpture is great. I want to TOUCH him to feel the texture of his fur.
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LINDA’S CRAFTINESS – I’m offering several different hand-painted Christmas card designs. Each is 5×7 on watercolor paper with envelopes. The inside of this one says, “Happiness and love throughout the year.” There is lots of room for a message if you care to write. Please allow one week for my painting and a bit more for delivery. Last order date is December 10th. Package of SIX cards for $19.99 with free delivery. See 5 designs for cards and other Christmas things at HandmadeHavenByLinda on Etsy.
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ART ROOM –
I spent a bit of time in my art room yesterday, mainly trying to figure out where I am and what I want to do. These days that isn’t an easy thing to do because I just get started and then life gets in the way. I’m in the middle of a wood-burned sign right now and I have ideas for key chains and earrings. Yesterday I basically sat at my drafting table, listening to some nice music, relaxing. Hopefully, I can be more productive today.
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Yesterday I managed two sessions of exercises with weights while I was on the computer. (I do some things, then stop and exercise, then sit back down and continue.) I walked out to our shop a couple of times, enjoying our beautiful fall day, and managed a yoga session in the afternoon. I also counted cleaning (scrubbing the bathroom and then our stove) as exercise, so yesterday was a pretty good day.
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I’m hoping for a quiet, calm day today. I wish one for YOU, too, with some fun thrown in. :0)
Indian Hills Signs – Vince, the Sign Guy
Filed under Funny Signs - Humor, Indian Hills Signs, punny
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LINDA’S CRAFTINESS – 19 x 12 x 1/4 heavy straw mat for a one-of-a-kind, hand-painted “Southwest Turtle.” Ready to hang. $42.99 with Free Shipping. There are 3 others in this series. Contact me at lindawlewis1@gmail.com if you’re interested in more details about the collection.
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LAZY LOW-CARB FINDS – I’m really happy to have found 4 things to share with you!
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We’re having a quiet day so far today, and I’m hoping to make it up to my art room today. Enjoy your Wednesday.
One of my long-time, worst character flaws is my inability to be quiet when something strikes me as funny. I honestly don’t know where this came from, and I have real trouble controlling it even now, when I’m older than dirt.
When it is absolutely the most inappropriate time to giggle, snort, chortle, smirk, I do it. I have tried all kinds of things to control it. If someone catches my eye, though, I’m gone. I simply have to get up and leave.
When I was a child my mom would sit on me hard about it, but the more angry she got, and the more inappropriate my laughing was, the harder I did – to the point I was almost sick. My stomach hurt. Tears ran down my face. I knew I was really in trouble and I was sure I would be a problem for days with my mom, but I honestly couldn’t control it. If someone else was there with me, stopping was simply impossible. I would stop. We would look at each other and one of us would cave, erupting into laughter again, causing the other to fall apart, too.
I’m not as blatant about it as I used to be. I avoid any situation that I can where the problem might occur, but I FEEL it, way down deep inside, trying to make its way up and out…
Don’t look at me! Don’t laugh. PLEASE!!!!!!!!!
Filed under Laughing Is Essential
When I grow up, I would love to be able to create anything like these. The detail, and the shading and light on these is mind-blowing to me. I am awe-struck.
Filed under When Wood Comes Alive, Wood-Burning Art
We’re due for a perfect fall day here in Arkansas. It’s 49 right now, the high is supposed to be 69 this afternoon, and the sun is smiling. Just beautiful!
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LINDA’S CRAFTINESS- One-of-a-kind, hand-painted child’s apron. Size is 2-6 years. The apron is 19″ long and 12.5″ wide, not including neck loop or ties. Fun addition for the holidays, making kids feel festive as they help with the food. $14.99 with Free Shipping. Click on this link to see details on this and other aprons on HandmadeHavenbyLinda on Etsy.
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LEWIS MAILBOX DECORATIONS –
When we were going to drive our trash down yesterday, I suggested we change the mailbox decoration. I also had my gloves and hand pruners in the truck so I could cut down some baby mimosa ‘trees’ and some other tall weeds at the bottom of the driveway to neaten up a bit.
I’m trying to convince my husband that we should create a different method for storing the mailbox decorations in the shop. Right now each is on a hook suspended from a bar that runs overhead. This has worked well for years, but now it’s much harder for my husband to stand on a ladder and get the decorations down and back up again. So far, he won’t consider any changes, so I’m now trying to choose decorations that are smaller and lighter to make things easier for him.
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I’m frustrated because the days are whizzing past my head and I struggle to get in HALF of what I would like to do. Either the time is too short, we have other priorities, or my energy poops out at the wrong time.
I’m trying to find a balance between chores, exercising, and doing something fun each day. That rarely happens, but it IS an ongoing goal. So far, doing exercises with my 3-pound weights between things I’m doing on the computer is working out well. I do several sessions each morning in between blog posts, email, research, etc. My afternoon yoga session gets lost in the shuffle a lot, so I’m trying to get into the habit of doing that after lunch and a rest. Hit and miss so far.
I’m enjoying making some new things for us to eat. My husband isn’t picky – saying I always cook good things – unless I try to serve him many veggies we should be eating. Then we get into problems. We’re compromising in a lot of areas. Last night we had shrimp chef salad that was good. Tonight I’m trying a new recipe for a ground beef casserole that is low carb. I’m substituting broccoli for the green beans called for. Hopefully, this recipe will be a keeper. If it is, I’ll give you a link to it. :0)
No big plans for the day, unless another tree has fallen on us. Enjoy yours.
Filed under DIET!, exercise, HandmadeHavenByLinda on Etsy, Thoughts on a ________
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