I just drool when I see these. I want them ALL. – ALL. OF. THEM.
Decision
Filed under Attitude, Favorite Authors & Books, Favorite Quotes
Wildcraft Light Sculpture 3
Filed under glass etching, Stained Glass Art, Wildcraft Light Sculptures
Monday 9-9-2024
I love this little guy.
I did a LOT of weed-whacking yesterday. We had ‘weed-trees’ under the deck which were too much for the weed-eater, so I ended up pulling them up or cutting them off with a handheld cutter and THEN weed whacking. I’m going to try to finish the back yard today, plus weed the rock bed in the back that runs along the house. Then I’ll spray needed areas with Killzall.
I’m trying to get outside right after lunch each day the weather is cooperative. By then the vegetation has dried from the heavy morning dew we’re getting, but the current heat isn’t oppressive. GOOD situation for trying to get things under control outside.
We will gather trash and drive it down today, plus get our mail. I don’t know if we’ll do anything in town today or just do things another day.
I hope you are well and happy today.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Felted Wool
Filed under Felted Wool Art, Fiona Finlayson Art - Etsy
Sunday 9-8-2024
This is truly stunning. I can’t say enough about it.
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I had a fun day yesterday. Instead of going out and weed-whacking, as I “meant” to do – I played in my art room. I had a great time, only feeling a bit guilty about not starting my clean-up of the yard. I will TRY to get out there today, right after lunch. REALLY. :0)
Our weather is wonderful. Really fall-like. Our high is due to be 81 today! And the humidity is down. You can actually walk outside and breathe at the same time, not frying like an egg. Truly amazing.
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I’ve been considering getting new covers for Amber’s dog beds for quite a while now. I’ve been dragging my feet because we got new covers once before and spent a fortune on them. I decided to see what I could find.
I couldn’t find any covers offered for beds as large as we need them. About a week or so ago, I found a man on Etsy who does custom replacement covers using denim – exactly what I wanted. I still dragged my feet because I need THREE of them (Amber has a bed in the living room, another in the utility room, and a third, smaller one, in the office. ALL of them are looking thoroughly disreputable.
I reread the information provided on his site, read the reviews again, and finally bit the bullet and ordered today. When we get them, I’ll take pics for you and then let you know if they last a reasonable amount of time.
Monster Cat has sleeping places all over the house. She doesn’t, however, have one in the bathroom. I’m going to look for a cat bed to put in there, too.
I hope that you’re having an enjoyable day.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Learning to Live With Monster Cat
This is a nice mental picture of what it’s like to live with our new cat – “Monster Cat” (aka Jet).
She fits in well with us, as she may have mental/emotional challenges. One day she’s quiet and prefers to find places in the sun on the floor to sleep. Other times you cannot walk around without her attacking your leg, pouncing, with claws out and trying to bite. I’ll be reading in my chair and suddenly the cat flies past me, apparently after a catnip mouse, or attacking the empty box on the floor.
She has only actually hurt me once, and that was a long time ago. Usually the bites could be considered ‘love bites,’ I guess – very noticeable, but not breaking the skin. The claws are more problematic. Since she is a ‘house cat,’ rather than going outside as our last cat did, I’m thinking of trying to clip her toenails – one at a time – with great care.
Two days ago I found a roll of paper towels on the floor in the pantry. She had gotten the roll out of the opened package on the shelf, dragged it to the floor, and riddled it with claw holes and bite marks. It looks like a pretty serious fight was enjoyed. I’m not sure who won. I THINK we can still use the paper towels, just maybe not on the roll holder on the kitchen counter…
Sometimes she will allow a bit of petting. If she starts waving her arm, though, back off. She follows me around, jumping up to say “Hi,” then lying down by my feet in the recliner. She doesn’t want to sit in my lap. Just says a quick. “Hi,” and then moves to lie beside my leg.
When I pick her up to put her to bed at night, I kiss her head and cuddle her as I walk and she PURRS – the only time she does this.
I’ve learned that since she follows me, I can get her to go into her bathroom when needed by rattling her food container in there. She is suddenly right there. I can give her a few pieces of food and shut the door. HAH! She is seeing the pattern that we keep her and the dog separate for eating and then use the cat door cat door latch holder –
that props it open so she can go in and out readily while keeping Amber out when it’s safe for her to come out again.
I’m having an easier time working with Monster Cat, trying to train her a bit, than I am my husband, who I’ve been working with for over 55 years now. I had to yell at him yesterday because he was actively trying to get her to go outside while holding open the door! I think I finally got through to him, but he’s a stubborn former Marine Corps guy and he is quite recalcitrant about cooperating.
Every day is a challenge, with both the cat AND the husband. I’ll just keep on keepin’ on.
Filed under Amazing Animals, cats, Challenges, Family
Saturday 9-7-2024
We had a busy day yesterday.
We had another blowout on the irrigation system in the front yard. It was the same place it blew out before, right outside the well house. My husband fixed it again, using a bit different technique. I reprogrammed the two units (one for the front and a different style for the back and we tested both manually to make sure they were working and that nothing blew out.) Then we came back out twice later to monitor the actual watering, tweaking the flow in several planters.
I set my alarm to see if the generator actually turned on and did its test at 2pm. It DID, so we’re good on that. :0)
While I was out, I was shocked to see that Mother Nature had turned the ‘ripen’ switch on and I had a BUNCH of ripe tomatoes. I gathered a whole basket full. I’ll see if any more need to come in. It had been a while since I’ve been out there, so several of the tomatoes had gone bad. I’ll need to clean up the plants soon.
First, though, I will start a daily get-out-and-work-in-the-yard session now that it’s finally cooling off some. There is a LOT to do, but I’ll TRY to be smart about it and do a bit each day and not hurt myself. That project starts today.
I did two loads of laundry yesterday, folded things and took the basket upstairs. Today I’m washing sheets. My husband asked me to tell him when I’m ready to put clean sheets on the bed, so I’ll do that.
This is my new motivation to lose my lard. It was delivered recently. I like my tops to be loose, so I’ll need to lose a bit more before I can wear this. I absolutely LOVE it, so it’s a good motivation for me to keep my mouth shut. :0)
One of the nurses from our primary doc’s office called yesterday to tell me that our doc has to have a SECOND surgery for the shoulder she broke several months ago snowmobiling with her husband on vacation. The last time we saw her she had her arm in a sling and was going to physical therapy. This is a real bummer.
The nurse asked me if we would agree to see the nurse practitioner at our next scheduled appointment. Since this is a routine appointment, I readily agreed. I asked her to make sure that I was NOT scheduled for the one thyroid blood test that my insurance won’t cover. (I’m disputing that with the company now).
I asked her to tell our doc she’ll be in our thoughts and prayers and thanked the nurse for all the extra work she was having to do to reschedule everyone.
When we go, we’ll be going to the new facility they just moved into, so that will be interesting, too.
I hope today is a nice day for you.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Doggie Rich
This is our Amber. She is really too large for people our age. (97+ lbs. now). It’s amazing that in the house and around the yard, when we’re by ourselves, Amber minds amazingly well. She comes, sits, gets down, fetches toys, sits until we tell her it’s okay to eat her food, waits for us to say ‘okay’ before she goes out the door, goes to her ‘place,’ stays off the furniture, doesn’t jump up on us, and more. When someone is HERE, she acts like she is deaf, has never seen us before, and has never had ANY training of any kind. A definite work in progress. We were told that labs calm down when they get to be two years old. Amber didn’t get the memo. She’s going on 5 now.
This is Jasmine, my SIL’s dog. My SIL works hard to raise a well-mannered dog who minds well, gets along well with people and other dogs, etc. They enjoy long walks together daily, have play dates with others, wears a CUTE raincoat when needed – a sweet, fun dog.
Finally, this is Skye, my good friend’s brand new puppy, only brought home this week. She is 8 weeks old. She doesn’t do anything yet, but eat, poop, sleep, and look at cute as cute can be. She probably will be like Amber, as far as minding when others are there, but Skye will only be 7 pounds full-grown, where Amber is a bit over 97 lbs.
Three different dogs in different situations, all bringing joy to their families. How “doggie-rich” we are!
Filed under Amazing Animals, Family
Cattail Paintings
I love seeing what three talented people come up with when asked to paint ‘cattails.’ Such different styles and emphasis.
Filed under Watercolors I Love
Friday 9-6-2024
I think this is spectacular. I researched at the site above to try to find more pics of this ‘fence,’ but was unsuccessful. :0(
Our irrigation system had a blowout again, so we’ll try to repair it today. Then I’ll need to reprogram the units and then we’ll see if they work the way they should. We had a power outage (off and on over and over) recently, and that may have caused things to go wonky. If the system tried to come on and went off over and over, it may have over-taxed things.
I finished the dog and cat plaques yesterday and will try to get them listed on HandmadeHavenbyLinda on Etsy today. I started a new piece, as well, so I had a fun day yesterday.
The weather is delicious here. It’s much less humid and a cold front is due to come through this morning, bringing cooler and less humid weather. That will be SO welcome!
Enjoy your day.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Watercolor Tales
I found a wonderful shop on Etsy called, “Watercolor Tales.” The artist is Laura Winslow and I simply love her watercolors. Her compositions really speak to me and I love the texture she creates.
Laura Winslow – Watercolor Tales on Etsy
Thursday 9-5-2024
I love everything about this painting. I’m going to go to Pine Tree Art on Etsy and see what else they have to offer.
I have the second load of laundry in the washer now and vacuumed the first floor tiled areas this morning (pantry, kitchen, dining area, utility room, back foyer to living room and two half baths), since dog hair was in clumps and was sailing around the floor as you walked by, lifting by the air conditioning.
I’m planning to spend time in the art room this afternoon, trying to finish my ‘cat’ and ‘dog’ wood-burned plaques. All that remains is varnishing both sides of each plaque and then gluing the pegs in.
I’m going to have to ask my husband to see what I’m doing wrong on our TV. I’m trying to add NBC to our custom list of channels so that I can then record the Kansas City Chiefs vs the Baltimore Ravens football game today. We’ll have some lunch soon and I’ll see if we can figure out what I’m missing then. I hate technology sometimes.
Our weather is wonderful right now. I may go out and do some weed whacking after lunch.
I hope you have an enjoyable day.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Jury Duty
I’m trying to ‘unplug’ and not worry about my husband presenting for jury duty this morning. In Arkansas, you’re on the panel for 6 months, unless you are excused for some reason.
I was called years ago and was ‘invited to leave’ because I said I would follow the judge’s instructions “if they made sense to me,” and when asked, told the guy I didn’t have faith in the judicial system anymore. I guess they marked off my name in big, black magic marker or something, never to be called again. That’s fine with me.
My husband WANTS to serve. He would answer the same as I did if he told the truth. He has no compunction to do that, since he WANTS to get on a jury so that he can vote the way he wants regardless of instructions, to hang the jury or whatever is necessary to get someone off or to put them in jail, as HE deems just.
He is hard of hearing, rigid of opinion, extremely confident that he knows more than anyone. He will be 81 in November and has several health problems, none of which he will admit. He won’t ask to be excused. I just hope he doesn’t embarrass himself in any way. He’s a mess, but he’s my guy and I kind of like him.
One of the things he’ll have until he is no longer with us is a strong sense of who he is. He washed the Vette in the driveway yesterday because it was dusty and had cat paw prints going across the hood and over the top. Since our new cat stays inside, the culprit is ANOTHER, strange cat, who has come through the cat door in the garage. When he came in, he told me he threw up in the yard he got so tired washing the car. He refuses to stop work until the job is finished no matter how I encourage him to work in ‘sessions,’ as I do, resting and re-hydrating in-between. The important thing to him was that his Vette was clean and shiny for his trip to the court house this morning. It’s part of his image.
Since they keep the court house like a freezer, I made sure he wore jeans, a long-sleeved shirt, socks, and tennis shoes, rather than the tee, shorts, and sandals he usually wears. I also suggested he wear his leather vest. We gathered his glasses, his phone to keep in the car, made sure he WASN’T carrying the two pocket knives he usually has, and that he had his admittance ticket. He also decided to take his Kindle. He’ll probably start reading and won’t hear anyone call on him.
This is something I can’t control, so I’m really trying to simply let whatever happens happen, hoping he doesn’t embarrass himself in any way. I’m doing my normal stuff, but staying ‘available’ if he needs me. It’s kind of like sending your child to the first day of school…
UPDATE – he’s home. He didn’t ask to be excused. He says they will call him on my phone if they want him to appear. He said if we have a doc’s appt, or other appt, we can simply call and be excused for the day. As he sat down at the computer, he said, “I’m old and I walk funny.” I’m not sure what brought that on. I did mention that when “I” get up, I limp for several steps before my joints loosen up and I can walk more normally. He’s not getting old all by himself!
Filed under Challenges
Wednesday 9-4-2024
I just LOVE the light and shadows in this piece.
I told you yesterday that I find a lot of the things I share here on Pinterest. It finally occurred to me that it might help the visibility of my stuff on Etsy if I could point to some of it from Pinterest. (A lot of the things I find to share have a blue oblong ‘Visit Site’ button.)
Debra of nanasworldweb, wrote me on Sunday, telling me she FOUND something of mine on Pinterest, clicked on it and the link took her straight to my Etsy site! I’m now trying to send pics of some of my stuff to Pinterest, hoping they’ll show them at least randomly. THANK YOU, Debra. :0)
I also found a ‘search’ box at the top of the home page on Pinterest that has taken me years to notice (aren’t you amazed at how quick on the uptake I am?) You can use it to zero in on pictures on a lot of subjects. Be careful, though, it’s addictive.
I’m going to try to finish my dog and cat wood burned plaques today. I’ll post pics when they are finished.
Have a pleasant Wednesday.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Johanna Beil Sculpture 2
I love how REAL these look. They look like GOOD people who have lived full lives. I love the attention to their clothes, the different ‘texture’ of the faces, the sweaters, suits, etc. I’m in awe of this lady’s talent.
Filed under Johanna Beil, sculpture
And the Day Goes On
Cat Humor – I’ve discovered our cat has quite a sense of humor. Today she decided it was funny to try to scare me, pouncing on my leg whenever she could hide and saw I was going to pass her. She pounced several times while I was trying to get our chicken breasts ready to put in the oven for our dinner tonight. Thank goodness I’m wearing jeans, or the skin on my legs would be in ribbons. I squirted her with a big bottle of water to try to discourage her, but it only is a short-term deterrent now. She is now tired, and is trying to ‘woo’ me into a good mood again, curling up in the bread basket I keep for her beside my computer. Am I awful for enjoying her more when she’s sleepy?
Medicine Frustration – I spent a long time before lunch trying to arrange for my vet to mail a prescription to Chewy.com for our dog, Amber. The heart worm chew pills are pretty expensive and I found that I could save about $13 with the transaction. There would be even more of a difference usually, since the vet was having a sale now which still didn’t make them competitive. I completed the order, then called my vet’s office to ask them to mail the prescription. They told me “they didn’t do that.” SO. I had to cancel the order and am back at Square One. I guess I’m now forced to buy the pills from our vet, since all the pet places now require a prescription from your vet. Wasted time and frustration.
Wood-Burning Pieces – My husband and I just came in from our shop. We took my two plaques and one of the pegs out there so that he could drill shallow holes for me in each of the plaques. He has fancy measuring equipment, finding the peg had a width of 304 thousandths and actually had a drill bit close to that. He drilled two shallow holes in each of the plaques for me. I’ll go up to my art room in a bit and continue working on the designs. When I finish, I can put some glue in the holes and shove the pegs down securely into them. :0)
September Accountability – To date, I’ve lost 35.4 pounds and there is/are (can’t decide which is grammatically correct) 32.2 inches less of me. It’s a start.
I hope your day is going well.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Tuesday 9-3-2024
I finally finished adding extra pics to my item listings on Etsy. Quite a laborious job, but it could increase my visibility, so I’m game.
I’m now focused on trying to get my stuff to show up on Pinterest. It’s where I find a lot of the beautiful things I share here. When they pick up a picture from you, they provide a “Visit Site” button you can press to be taken to the item and then you can also click on the name of the site to be taken to see ALL of their work. This would increase my visibility a lot, so I’ll work on that.
I did find that some of my stuff is already showing up there. I’m not sure how that works, but I’ll research it. I also discovered a “search box” at the top that has probably been there the whole time – the YEARS I’ve been enjoying the site – but never used before. DUH.
All this work has eaten up my time and energy, so I haven’t worked on my latest wood-burned pieces much. I need to drill a ‘bowl-shaped’ spot in two places for the pegs on these plaques I’m making for pets’ leashes, etc. I JUST figured out that I can go ahead and DO that – but NOT add the glue and the pegs until all the wood-burning, painting, and varnishing are finished. ANOTHER DUH!
I had to really make a lot of notes to myself about the trash people adjusting their schedule for pickup this week due to the Labor Day holiday. It shouldn’t be a big thing, but routine around here is the main thing that keeps us on track, so when something changes, it throws us off. My husband was running around, thinking we had messed up not gathering trash yesterday as usual. I had told him about the change, but he had forgotten or didn’t listen to me in the first place. :0) Anyway, we just gathered our stuff and drove it to the bottom of our driveway for pickup tomorrow. A note -it will go up so we won’t forget to check on the trash tomorrow and drag the can back up to where it lives.
A shout-out to my friend Nora who just brought home an 8-week-old Maltese puppy to be a new part of her family. She is over the moon, having had to wait a long time to find one, and then wait for her to be old enough to bring home. Welcome to your new family, Skye!
Have a happy day.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
creativeartworksblog 