I hope this link works for you. It shows one type of entertainment for the whole family going on today, which is already Halloween.
I did this yesterday.
I regret that the world is such that Halloween can’t be the simple child-centered holiday it was back in the old days when I was young.
I loved planning ‘what I would be’ each Halloween, using things I found around the house. We never bought store costumes. We loved searching the house for things that would make up our ‘costumes,’ sometimes wheedling, sometimes begging to be allowed to use something that had to be returned in perfect shape after the celebration was over.
My friends and I, usually a group of about six girls, would then walk down the hill toward the neighborhood where houses were much closer together and people really got into the spirit of trick-or-treating. They left their porch lights on if you were welcome to knock at the door. Many of the yards and porches were decorated with wonderful stuff, cute or scary.
My favorite treats were little candy bars. I liked the milk chocolate ones best, being a chocoholic, but ANY candy bars were wonderful. I also loved to get cookies or chips.
When our bags were full, we limped home, tired but elated by our celebration and freedom. My parents made my brother and I dump our goodies on our beds, where they received a cursory parental inspection. Back in those days the main threat was a razor blade in an apple. Then we could choose one big thing or three little things to eat. The rest went back in the bag to be doled out by my mom at her discretion. Those were the days!
I wish you a Happy Halloween – either today or tomorrow – wherever you are. I hope you have a great celebration.
I would LOVE to have this for my dining area table!
“Even the simplest wicker basket can become priceless when it is loved and cared for through the generations of a family.” ~ Sister Parish
Matt Tommey – YouTube
A new basket is justified by its utility in personal or professional gifting, the convenience and value of a pre-packaged gift, or for retail use as a tool to encourage larger purchases and improve the customer experience. You might also justify buying a new basket to enhance the aesthetic of a space or for practical home organization needs. (I could go on, but you get the idea – there is always a reason to buy another basket.) 🤪
Musgrove Willow
Storage and Organization: Baskets are functional for various purposes, including storing clothes, furnishings, or other household items.
Aesthetic Enhancement: Baskets can be used to add artistic or decorative elements to a living space.
Cultural Significance: The creation and use of baskets have deep cultural and artistic traditions, and incorporating them into your home can be a way to connect with these practices.
Wabanaki Basket – Jessica Hamilton-Jones, Fine Artist
Personalization: You can customize gift baskets to suit the recipient’s tastes and preferences, making the gift more personal and meaningful than a standard store-bought item.
Presentation: A gift basket provides a special and memorable presentation that enhances the excitement of the unwrapping experience.
Versatility: Baskets can hold a wide variety of items, including food, cosmetics, or other goods, offering immense possibilities for a fantastic gift.
Convenience: Gift baskets can save time and offer a cost-effective way to give a meaningful gift.
These, of course, are works of art and well beyond my ability to actually buy them, though I’m drooling.
AND you begin to see why I banned myself from going into basket stores. I MAY be able to justify buying some for my NEW place, though….
These are the newest sketches/paintings from my art alcove.
Brian and I will go out for errands soon and then I’ll probably have the afternoon to myself. I plan to do a combination of watching a favorite movie (!) and starting some sketches.
My weather app says, “Rainy conditions will continue all day.” Right now the sun is shining, so I’m taking a chance and my drying rack is out on my balcony. It won’t be the end of the world if it all gets rained on while we’re out.
I felt better today, so I went to the gym and walked my mile NOT touching the handlebars, concentrating on not losing my balance. My ARMS got a bit tired, so I kept changing up whether I swung them down at my sides, up by my waist, or up higher with my fingers closed. Worked pretty well.
I spent much of yesterday afternoon taking in my two pairs of jeans and two pairs of cut-off-exercise jeans. I’m trying to make these last until I get to the weight I want to maintain. THEN I’ll splurge and buy a couple of pairs of jeans that fit well, encouraging me to maintain my weight. The exercise cut-offs don’t matter as long as they stay on. 🤣
Oddly enough, on my list of things I would like to get when we can get to it is a couple of sweatshirts – one to wear, if needed, and one to be in the wash while I use the other. We often go places where we need to wait a long time and they keep the a/c on “KILL.” I get chilled, then downright uncomfortable. I’m taking a suggestion from Brian, who carries a sweatshirt in his carrier for these situations. My light hoodie and jean jacket just aren’t enough.
I have been in Thailand about 2-1/2 months now. We have had a whirlwind of activity with my husband’s health, moving to my condo, changing out the furniture, figuring out all the details we needed to do every day in order to get our lives going here.
Now things are finally taming down. There are still a LOT of details to be handled, and we are doing these the best we can, but our day to day lives have begun to settle into a routine now, and I’m embracing that new life.
Our typical day now looks like this –
I get up at 5am to get ready to go to the gym with Brian and walk on the treadmill while he runs. We walk back, shower, and then share breakfast and discuss if there is anything we need to accomplish that day. Three times a week that includes half the day going to visit Harvey at the nursing home, making sure he is okay, comfortable, and as content as possible. Many other days, though, we don’t have anything that we can do from our list.
Brian is trying to do more work, since expenses of taking in both of his parents – particularly the hospital/nursing home surprise – is a bit hard to handle. So, if we don’t have anything scheduled, he goes off to work and we then share dinner.
This means he is free to concentrate on doing well for his clients, and I am free to do whatever I would like to do with my day.
Today I spent quite a bit of time in my art alcove.
I love spending time here. I thought I would grieve at having given up all my carefully collected art stuff, but I’m concentrating on trying to learn how to draw what I see better. I keep these in the big fat sketchbook you see here. I have regular pencils, colored pencils, and watercolors. I am choosing pictures I like from the net, particularly YouTube and Pinterest, and trying to reproduce them the best way I can. I’m having SUCH a good time trying. I don’t feel pressured to produce anything for sale. (Thank goodness!) I can simply enjoy the process of trying to draw and paint something for the sheer joy of it, wiling away the hours with a grin on my face. I’m also making small paintings for my housekeeper each week, thanking her for her work, and for my new ‘grandson’ who loves dinosaurs.
I’m always in the middle of a good book, too. The current one is another Nora Roberts book. I can’t believe I’ve missed any because she is probably my favorite author right now, but I’m delighted to dive into anything she has written.
I am trying to balance my walking on the treadmill in the morning with yoga stretches in the afternoon or evening. I’ve been doing these stretches for a long time, but they are especially useful in times when I develop mysterious old lady problems, like the grabbing pain in my back last week, that need to be carefully stretched out to heal.
I, of course, spend time on the blog. If I’m not actively writing a post, I’m researching things to find to share with you. There are so many talented people in our world, and I’m delighted to be able to share their work with you.
I also take time to stare at my jigsaw puzzle. It’s a really good thing that I’m not feeling any pressure to get it done. I find that I’m much slower than I used to be. This “owls” puzzle is difficult, and I may die of old age before it’s finished. That’s okay, too, because I love taking a few minutes here and there to see if I can make some progress.
Last night Brian downloaded Family Tree Maker software for me. We had it for years in the states. Now I have my data attached to it again, and I can spend lots of time seeing old photos, remembering things about relatives, learning new things about people related to us, but I didn’t actually know. I find it fascinating.
In the middle of the afternoon, if I don’t contact him first, Brian texts me, asking if I’m okay and if I want him to order a coffee for me. Imagine that! Today I got a cold chocolate mocha coffee that was delivered to the condo building table downstairs. Brian texted me the order number, and I went downstairs, retrieved it, came back to my place and slurped it. What a difficut life I have!🤪
We share dinner, talk awhile, and then hit the hay because 5am the next morning comes quickly.
And that’s our new routine. I’m studying some Thai language tapes, trying to learn some very basic phrases. I will be able to learn more quickly, I hope, when we see the last hearing aid people and I get some hearing aids. (Trying to reproduce a sound when you can’t hear it accurately isn’t quite a waste of time, but close to it.)
More plans in the works as we get more details settled.
I’ve already talked about some interesting differences between living in the United States and Thailand, but some more come to mind –
When you buy a set of sheets for your bed, you may be surprised to find that a ‘set’ of sheets includes a bottom fitted sheet and two pillow cases.
I told you that we replaced the worn out bed in my condo. We bought a set of sheets and a duvet while we were at the store. When the bed arrived, the company had sent a free entire bed set with it, including a bottom fitted sheet, two pillow cases, and extra set of pillow cases for cigar-shaped pillows, and a puffy duvet.
No one expects a top sheet here. Even if you have air conditioning, the climate here is such – and the culture is such, apparently – that everyone prefers the fitted bottom sheet and a light or heavier duvet. After trying the light duvet we bought and the heavier duvet they gave us, I have to say I LIKE only having only the one sheet, and I prefer the lighter duvet.
When you go to buy dishware, it is almost impossible to find a ‘set of 4 dishware set’ for example. If you would like a set of dishware that has 4 larger plates, 4 smaller plates, 4 bowls, and 4 coffee cups or mugs, that’s what you buy – individually. (We ended up buying 2 of each.) They do sell silverware in a ‘package’ of one fork and one spoon,’ though. You buy how many sets you would like and then buy the knives and any glassware individually, as well.
I think it’s the European manner of eating where you have a utensil in each hand as you eat. They do that here. I had never tried that before and felt quite awkward at first, but I’m learning now. They put down both knife and fork to pick up a spoon, and then reverse.
I believe I have already talked about water being very important here. Brian made it clear right away that you use bottled water for anything to do with eating, drinking, or cooking. The sun is so strong that it seems you can feel the sun burning your head as you wait to cross a street. Everyone carries a bottle of water with them in a carrier of some kind so they always have some. Umbrellas to protect both men and woman from the sun are routinely used by walkers. Dehydration can be a life threatening event even in the city, and can sneak up on you, particularly if you haven’t lived in the country long. I have humongous water jugs on my counter to transfer to smaller containers that are easier to manage.
I’ve already told you about removing your shoes when you enter any private home or many businesses. Most businesses will have a sign, and then a rack of slipper-type slide-on shoes. You leave your shoes there, transfer to the slippers, do whatever business you need inside, and then reverse the process leaving. I mentioned that I was quietly amazed that shoes are always still there waiting for you when you come out again. It’s the same with motorcycles, helmets, and even packages hanging from the handlebars. It would be unthought of for someone to bother someone else’s property. I asked about theft in Chiang Mai. Brian told me it happens, but usually it’s by foreigners…
I love my new tote bag. It’s spacious, will carry a lot, and has rummaging around room.
There is one problem for me, however. Everything goes to the bottom of the bag, so I rummage, and rummage, taking a lot of time before finding tukwhat I was looking for.
We have come up with a couple of good ideas that will make this a terrific bag for me. (A carry bag is essential here. You have to carry whatever you buy, whether you’re walking, catching a tuk tuk, calling a Grab, riding a motorcyle or whatever, unless you want to pay for delivery.) Everyone carries a bag, both men and women, young and old.
Brian came up with ordering a clip to attach my keys easily to one of the straps. I need the very best access to these, both for using the building elevators as well as getting into my condo.
Then we thought of trying to find a smaller bag that we could attach INSIDE the big tote, putting more important things, or often needed items in the smaller zippered bag.
We stopped at a wonderful small shop on the way home from my hearing aid appointment. We found just what we needed. I’m going to go back to the shop because they had many wonderful, colorful things, like a handmade decorative jacket I was drooling over. 😁
When we found the zippered bag, Brian insisted we get 2 of them, one for each side of the tote. Now I should be able to find things more easily and they should be secure in the zippered inner bags, with heavier things at the bottom. And when we get the clip Brian ordered, it will be PERFECT!
I gave the shop a good review on Google, hoping to send more business their way, and I plan to go back to the shop soon.
Today the IKEA guys came and dealt with power tools and 46 gazillion pieces to assemble my chest of drawers.
The drawers not only have side rollers on each drawer, but one in the center of each. The piece is heavy, sturdy – though they did warn us not to have something really heavy in the top drawer and then have all four drawers open at the same time. DUH.
I used my new step stool yesterday to empty the high cabinets in my condo, taking a lot of what I found to the trash and the recycling area.
I spent most of today bagging up my husband’s things, carefully sorting, putting things in bags, labeling the bags carefully, and then storing them in two of the high cabinets I cleaned out in the living room. We will be able to find things needed at the nursing home quickly and easily now, plus it gives me more space to spread out a bit.
This freed up my closet area which I rearranged so I can find my stuff easily without a lot of standing on my head now. I then arranged things in my new chest of drawers.
I pooped myself out with all of this and ended up ‘resting’ for a few minutes, which actually turned out to be an hour’s NAP!
The changes continue, with my old people-swallowing sofa leaving this Friday between 2 and 3pm. This may collide with my wonderful housekeeper, Kuhn Nong; so we’ll be here, ready for the movers before 2, hoping they come and go before 2:30, when Nong is due to start. We will warn her if they haven’t shown up before she arrives.
I will be without a sofa until June 5th – 6 days where my living area will look extremely empty, and I will be moving around, trying to find another comfortable place to sit. 😃. I’ll send pics as soon as the new sofa arrives. This will be the last big change in the condo.
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.
I’m trying to rehydrate after another session trying to get the center section of our entertainment center clean.
I freaked out when we moved one end of our 48 inch TV out to try to set up to install the YouTubeTV and finally admitted defeat. The sight was appalling to say the least.
There are at least a gazillion wires running all over the entertainment center. If I could REACH to clean behind the TV, I would be afraid the process of cleaning and vacuuming would unhook something or mess it up. (This morning while I was cleaning I barely touched the clock and it turned off.) There are no words to describe how much dog hair had accumulated, as well as the dust that blows through up here on top of our ridge line.
I’ve been working since I finished my post to you this morning. I’ve rested for 10 minutes in between sessions, except for a longer one when we ate lunch; but, otherwise, I’ve been moving things and cleaning under and behind, first with the whisk broom, then the vacuum, and finally Swiffer Dust & Shine spray and cloths. I just finished vacuuming the carpeted areas on the first floor (our office, the foyer, and the living room) and will do one more session to vacuum the tiled areas ( two half baths, the dining area, the kitchen, the pantry and the utility room.)
I’ve logged 2511 steps so far today, even though MOST of what I’ve been doing involves being up on a ladder, stretching as far as I can to get to the very back of the shelf, moving stuff from one side to the other, etc, as I clean, and then getting down on hands and knees for the three bottom shelves of the center section of the entertainment center. The center covers the whole wall of the living room. I only tackled the center section today. The other two sections will have to wait until another day.
The work has involved ALL my muscles, made me strain to get up and down the ladder, made me almost laugh as I strained to get down on my hands and knees and then up again – followed by vacuuming the whole first floor -a good, thorough workout for this old lady. I will try to do at least a short yoga stretches session this afternoon to try to stretch out and relax as much as possible.
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