Filed under 3-D Paintings, ceramics
Each time the Mega Millions/Power Ball lottery gets to an astronomical amount, we buy $10 worth of tickets. That $10 buys hopes and dreams until the drawing, when they are again dashed. Until the next time. Someone in New Jersey won the 1.1 billion dollar prize – the one that could/should have been ours. :0(
Yesterday there was no hot water when I washed my hair in the kitchen sink as I do each morning. I waited and waited with the water running, then gave up and quickly washed it in the cold, cold water. I told my husband about the problem, but he basically blew me off, asking me if I had run the water. Pffffft! Later on I brought it up again, asking what I was supposed to look for in the basement where our instant hot water heater lives. He told me I should run the water longer. (Urge to kill.) Finally, mid afternoon I asked him again to look at the problem. He basically went down to the basement to make me quit bothering him, finding that there was, indeed, a problem. (Go figure)
It turned out that the battery backup thingie he had put between the main power and the hot water system had failed. When that happened. It turned off the hot water system. When we removed the backup and plugged the system into the main power, everything turned on.
We decided, after a discussion, that since our power almost never went off, and was already backed up by the generator, we didn’t need the backup thingie. We made a note of what humongous battery it needs and stored it.
My husband FINALLY had the good grace to apologize for blowing me off, suggesting I was ‘forgetting’ to run the water…
Ground was broken around the 1st of this month for the Greenwood Bypass. In the image above, the solid line is the current road and the dotted line is the bypass to be constructed. Two bridges are due to be totally reconstructed, as well as the road. It’s due to be finished – in two phases – by 2026, or so they estimate.
We use the solid road now. It looks like a war zone on both sides of the road now, with downed, broken, and piled up trees, what looks like a rerouting of a creek (yes!) and it’s not clear yet if they’ll finish the dotted part before they close access to the road we use to get to town. This is supposed to relieve congestion through town by people who would prefer to just bypass the square and go on to Ft. Smith or wherever else they would like to go. What worries me is that they’ll cut off access to the east side of Greenwood, where we are. Time will tell.
My veggie garden came through the freeze yesterday just fine and I didn’t have to cover things last night. I checked this morning and all looks good.
Things got busy yesterday due to the hot water issue and time got away from me. I had to hurry to get my yoga practice in before dinner and didn’t get up to my art room. I’m hoping to change that today.
I hope you have a great day.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Food Artist SANA – article by Hidreley – BoredPanda.com
Filed under playing with your food?
Dorky Dogs – Liucija Adomaite – BoredPanda.com
Yesterday I made some keto chicken fingers, using canned chicken, from a recipe from In the Kitchen with Matt. It was quick, easy, and only 2 carbs per serving. My husband wasn’t thrilled, but I thought it would be great as a snack. We each ate 2. I made 12, so I have 8 left – enough to have 2 each day as my snack. YUM.
Tonight I’m going to make this casserole, except that I’ll be using leftover pork tenderloin instead of the chicken. I’m hopeful it will be good.
It froze here overnight. Thankfully, I had covered my new veggie plants with king-sized sheets to try to protect them. They seem to have come through okay, though it’s hard to tell when they are first uncovered. I had a jacket on and STILL froze to death taking the clothespins and sheets off. I’m washing the sheets now to either have them ready for the next time or fold them to store.
I keep meaning to get up to my art room, but the days are whizzing past my head faster than I can actually get up there. Maybe today. I have an idea I’d like to start.
Make this a great day.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Filed under Donna van Hooser Mosaics, mosaic
Wow! It’s COLD here in Arkansas this morning! My computer says it’s 34 right now, and the sun is shining brightly, but we have some wind, and my computer says it FEELS like it’s 25. That is QUITE a big change from what we’ve enjoyed lately. I froze to death getting some pictures while checking my new veggie garden plants to see if they were still with us.
I felt encouraged to see this azalea plant with one bloom and the buds in the middle of this cold snap. It’s supposed to get to 56 this afternoon. Somehow that just isn’t very encouraging right now. I would really like to continue my weed whacking, even if it’s just a little bit each day, but this is just too cold now.
Today is a quiet day for us. No errands. My husband may decide to get the mail later, and we’ll check to see if our trash can has been emptied, but that’s it. I like it.
I found a thing on Pinterest about making Keto ‘chicken fingers’ from canned chicken, an egg, and some cheddar cheese. I may try that this afternoon. We’re going to finish up the hot dogs this evening. (My husband gets regular hot dogs and some kind of chips. I’m having hot dogs with Mission 0 carbs Tortillas.) When we did this recently, he said mine looked, “Rude.” I just smiled – happy that I can enjoy almost-normal hot dogs without guilt. :0)
Will try to make it up to my art room today, to at least mess around, if not actively work on something rattling around in my brain.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
via Anthony Sider – @BudgetDude on X
I just love the minds of these people. I would just look at the statues and either like them or not. The thought of interacting with them creatively to make others smile just wouldn’t occur to me.
Filed under fun with statues
This is me after my wonderful massage this morning. Lynn is a master at finding all the sore spots and getting rid of them. By the time she is finished, I am completely loose and would stay right there on the table and sleep, if she would let me.
My husband wanted me to stop and get him a “bowl” on the way home for lunch, since it was cold and rainy. (A “mashed potato bowl” is mashed potatoes, corn, and chunks of chicken tenders with cheese on top. The ultimate delicious comfort food from the deli in our local groceries. I used to get their ‘mac and cheese bowl’ but the carbs are too high. Now I get either 2 chicken tenders or two pieces of fish and I then have one for each of two lunches.)
I just finished getting Suzanne Ryan‘s “Keto Chili” – Simply Keto – into the crock pot so it will be ready for dinner tonight. I had a different dinner planned, but the cold rain got ME in a comfort food frame of mind, too.
While the hamburger meat and sausage was browning, I divided and bagged up chicken, hamburger meat, stew meat, and some pork chops for the freezer.
We gathered up our trash and will dash out between rain showers to get it down to the bottom our driveway and the trash can down where it should be for pickup tomorrow. I’ve already drowned 3 times today – once for the massage and then the grocery store/deli, and finally the mailbox this morning. Another drowning won’t bother me much. :0) I’m hoping that my veggie plants are soaking this up, saying, “Ahhhhhhh1” like I was this morning.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
I’m leaving for a much-needed massage. I’ll write more when I come home, happy and limp as a noodle, from Lynn Moody‘s Healing Hands. 479-629-7601. Ahhhhhhhhh!
Filed under taking care of yourself
Filed under Funny Signs - Humor, You Only Had ONE Job To Do
Sana is a Japanese food artist who shows us a specialty featuring Snoopy characters. If these wouldn’t get kids to eat the right foods, nothing will!
Article by Hidreley on BoredPanda.com
Filed under playing with your food?
I did a good job weed whacking yesterday, plus changing the used-up cord thingie for a new one to use today, but I seem to have overdone. I was really stiff and sore when I finished, so I went ahead and did my yoga VERY slowly and carefully. That made me feel a bit better, except when I tried to get out of my chair…
I’m hoping I loosen up more as the day progresses. I would LIKE to finish the main weed whacking today (although this is essentially a never-ending project once the season starts) – this afternoon is supposed to be 67 degrees and a bit overcast. We’re supposed to get gusty winds starting about 6pm and lasting overnight with rain forecast for all day tomorrow. So I’m going to TRY to finish the front yard today (plus the small spot I couldn’t do yesterday in the back when I ran out of cord.)
Another good thing besides the extra exercise and fresh air I’m getting with the yard work is that another pound bit the dust yesterday. :0) Since I have more than several to spare, I would love to donate to the cause of people needing to gain weight on a regular basis.
This is my recent chart from MyFitnessPal. It is motivating to ME and keeps my eye on the ball to weigh in and record my weight each morning, good or bad. I have seen a pattern on logging my food, water, and exercise each day – when it says ‘You’re not eating enough,’ I tend to lose a bit of weight. When it says, “If things were based on today, you would weigh ___ in 5 weeks” I don’t lose anything. So, what I’m doing that seems to be working lately is watching my carb count like a hawk, trying to keep it to 20 for the day. I’m going to keep doing this and see what happens. I lost pound #23 yesterday.
We’re going to fill up gas cans today to use with the mower. My husband has now declared that the “Official Mowing Season for 2024” begins on April Fool’s Day. I’m trying to weed whack – keeping the riding mower in mind – so he can mow as easily as possible.
I hope that your Sunday is an enjoyable one.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
I ALMOST finished weed whacking the back yard – the three planters, the end of the house around all the geothermal stuff, under the porch, under the deck, along the sidewalk in the back and one side of the driveway pad before I ran out of cord – or it wouldn’t ‘bump’ anymore and give me more line.
Since I was thoroughly pooped by that time – the end of the third session out there today – I gave up, gathered up and put away the extension cord, pulled the back of the truck down as a place to work, managed to find a replacement cord thingie in case I needed it. I was too tired to actually try to change the cord thingie, so I came in.
I ordered six more cord thingies from Amazon, since the one I brought in was the last one I had. I rested, and drank more water (my eyes are floating) and I think I actually dropped off for a bit in my recliner.
I ‘roused’ a few minutes ago and went out to look at the weed whacker. I didn’t want to forget and have my husband try to shut the garage door later tonight and have the door run into the extended back of the truck.
I pulled out the old cord holder, with a lot of effort, and saw that indeed, I was out of cord. I got out the new one, threaded the cord through the hole, figured out how to put the new one on, including using the part of the old one you’re supposed to keep (:0) ) to hold the new one.
I DID IT! It snapped into place and the cord is extended through the hole, ready to be used again. I put a strip of duct tape around one part of the ‘rod’ of the weed whacker so I can now tell at a glance which one the ‘good one’ is.
HOOORAAAAAY!
Tomorrow is soon enough to start the front…
I spent over an hour with the 3 sessions outside. It’s almost 6pm here and I’ll start dinner soon. Will I do yoga?
Y-E-S. Right now, before I change my mind.
Filed under empowerment, Encouragement, Gardening
I’m not this young (by a LONG shot) and don’t look this good, but I’m making progress with the weed-whacking this afternoon. It’s now 63 degrees and sunny. The stuff I’m whacking is still pretty wet, but it’s coming down.
I’ve finished the 3 veggie planters on the east side of the house and am taking a ‘back break’ and drinking some water before going out again. I want to at least finish under the porch, under the deck, and along the back sidewalk before I call it a day today.
This weed whacker is working fine. Everything is compatible. I told my husband I was going to mark this one with some tape, and that I wanted to do away with any others we have, as they don’t do near as good a job as this one does. Right now, it seems that he is in agreement. He is still holding on to his announcement he was not going to mow in March. I really can’t blame him. He spends a lot of time on our riding mower during the mowing season. Usually this begins sometime in April. This year is weird, but he’s trying to ignore it. :0)
Oh, I almost forgot! When I went out to weed whack this afternoon, look at what I found!
(Please, just look at the IRIS, not all the weeds in and around the planter….)
Going to rest a bit more, drink more water, then head out for the next session.
Filed under Gardening, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds
I don’t usually like ‘decals’ of any sort. The ones I’ve found seem cheaply made, are difficult to use, and don’t last. I had to eat my words, though, when I found an image on Pinterest this morning that had me drooling before I found out the image wasn’t actually stained glass, but a decal.
I went to the Etsy site, Wender Aspire, and looked through the first page of their decals for sale. I looked at the comments and people were happy with their purchases. I thought they were amazing, and so share some of them with you here.
You can choose from several sizes size for your decal. I can’t personally vouch for the company or any details, but I think the artwork is stunning.
Peter Hogarth – Pastel Pet Portraits
His style is so distinctive and beautiful. I want to PET and cuddle these animals. He makes their personalities jump off the page. The image above takes you to his shop on Etsy.
Filed under animal paintings, Pastels, Peter Hogarth - Artist
I think the skill in this lovely watercolor is amazing. I like it as much for what is NOT there as what IS. This is done by a master, with soft edges, suggestions, beautiful color, and more. Love it!
It’s supposed to get to 68 this afternoon, so I’m putting weed whacking on my list. I’ll try to check the equipment BEFORE I get out there so that I don’t use up my limited energy uselessly, as I did a day or so ago.
My scales said 22 pounds down as of this morning. My current goal is 25 pounds down (my goals are in 5-pound increments) so it’s within sight. I’m HOPING that my measuring tape will show some improvement at the end of the month, as well. One day at a time.
My husband said it looked like I was making some progress in my yoga practice yesterday. When I asked him why he said that, he said I was moving ‘more smoothly’ and it looked like I was stretching farther. He asked what I was doing when I was kneeling on the mat –
I put this image here to show you where I am TRYING to go in this position. When I started, I couldn’t even get on my knees with my feet out straight behind me without getting leg and feet cramps. Now I am ‘flirting’ with being upright and ‘feeling’ my butt very close to my feet…
I keep reminding myself that Cat Kabira, whose DVDs I use, says that stretching TOWARD your goal and breathing into it is doing as much for your body as actually being able to ‘sit’ on your feet with your body comfortable, for example. The stretching and breathing and relaxing are the whole point and they will help you be stronger and more flexible, with better balance.
I hope today is a good one for you.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
We are just back from Lunch Bunch and a quick stop at the grocery store.
The ladies weren’t at the restaurant yet when we arrived, so we just drove past and jumped into the grocery store and out again, going back to the restaurant. They were there.
This was truly one of the best Lunch Bunches I remember. My long time friend, Linda, is a widow now. She and her husband had two boys and two girls. Both of her daughters were with her today. They are both truly lovely people. One lives in Greenwood and the other lives in Nashville. The one from Nashville said her husband had retired and that she planned to start coming to see the family here every 6 weeks.
We had good food and fun conversation with lots of laughs. These two ladies are very busy. Both are very young looking grandmothers. One has 6 and the other has 4. They are both very active in their grandchildren’s lives. It was fun to hear what they’re trying to keep up with on a daily basis.
I was a ‘good girl’ asking for chicken tenders and eating 1/4 to 1/3 of them, and bringing the rest home with me for tomorrow and the next day at lunch, whereas before I would eat them all at the restaurant. (Can you see me patting myself on the head?) :0)
It was good that we hit the grocery on the way to lunch because it rained lightly on us the whole way home. It’s a good day to stay warm and dry inside.
Best of all, we shared good hugs when we first got there and before we left – healing for the soul to be sure. Friendship is priceless.
Filed under Friendship
“Photographer, toy designer, and illustrator, based in South Kingstown, RI. The seeds for Becorns were planted when I worked for Lego, designing warrior action figures for their Bionicle line.”
Filed under acorn art, David M. Bird "Becorns"
creativeartworksblog 