Tag Archives: Mother Nature

November 30, 2020 · 10:01 am

An Old Broad’s Exercise

I gave myself TWO gold stars on my desk calendar yesterday:

One for 35 minutes on my elliptical trainer in the garage; and another for the 30 minutes or so of old lady yoga stretches I did in the afternoon. :0)

Clipart Library

I am planning to do this again today – not making excuses or giving other things priority – a difficult thing for me.

Even though I KNOW that I actually feel better when I exercise – feeling more in control, a bit ‘virtuous,’ and actually looser – I fall into my bad habits over and over.

I’m hoping that the fact that I keep trying is a good thing overall.

I will get some added exercise today – we had a freeze overnight. I thought my plants had come through it, or it didn’t actually get to freezing, but just discovered I was wrong.

Before the freeze

My elephant ear plant leaves are hanging over, completely done in by Mother Nature. It’s really cold outside now – 29 degrees F. with a stiff wind, but I will go out and try to cut the leaves off and bring the bulbs into the garage for storage in peat moss and potting soil.

Maybe with the added work outside, I can give myself THREE stars today…

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November 29, 2020 · 9:43 am

Winter Approaches

DeMilked

Mother Nature is bringing winter closer in Arkansas in the coming days. I’m not ready.

I’ve really been enjoying the fall. I’m not a hot-weather person. I’m not really a cold-weather person, either. The temperature range at which I feel comfortable has lowered and then narrowed as I age.

Right now it’s around 42 degrees F. and very cloudy, wet, and raw outside. A good day to express thanks for a warm, dry house.

We got our irrigation system turned off, hoses unhooked and drained, vents closed, and outside faucets covered this past week. We’re supposed to have freezing temperatures each morning for at least the next 10 days, starting tomorrow morning.

We have had a wonderful season of veggie garden, flowers, and elephant ear plants, so I’m trying very hard to be thankful for that without being too greedy for more. I love to see things thriving and blooming all over the yard and in the garden, so it’s hard to see that come to an end.

I’m setting up in the garage to have a small place where I can try to get seeds started for my spring garden. If I’m successful, I can get an early start to good veggies for the spring!

I hope you are somewhere warm and dry this morning where you can dream of veggies and flowers in the future.

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November 25, 2020 · 10:21 am

Thoughts on a Wednesday 11/25/2020

So Feminine

Mother Nature played the Big Bad Wolf last night, huffing and puffing and trying to blow our house down, first with a tornado warning and then with a severe thunderstorm watch the remainder of the night, but we seem to have come through fine, with no damage we have seen so far.

The reason for the histrionics was a cold front, lowering our temperatures quite a bit. Right now it’s gray and 40 with a nippy wind, but it’s supposed to warm up to the mid 50’s this afternoon. It didn’t freeze hard last night, so we still have our plants.

This morning we will head to the exclusive emporium of Walmart in an effort to gather goodies for our lazy celebration tomorrow for the two of us. We will try to get a rotisserie chicken, potato salad, and baked beans. I hard-boiled some eggs this morning in preparation for making deviled eggs tomorrow. We’ll also get some raw veggies – because life goes on after Thanksgiving gorging – and we’re enjoying those with Ranch dip for a snack in the afternoons in our efforts to lose the lard.

My efforts to cull our books are going well. I have my shelves upstairs in my bedroom cleaned out now, down to the books I want to keep mainly. (The only other candidates for culling are my art books, and I’m not ready to let go of them yet.) The guest room shelves are no reorganized and neat. We are selling several books each day, so I’m happy with our efforts to get rid of things at the moment.

I’m not sure what I’ll tackle today yet. There are SO many areas crying out for attention it’s hard to choose, but I’ll tackle something. I will also choose a container to fill with a combination of peat moss and potting soil – ready to receive my elephant ear plant bulbs when the first freeze zaps the leaves. I will keep the bulbs in the garage, ready to put out in the planter again in the spring.

I hope that your Wednesday-before-Thanksgiving is a safe and happy one!

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November 24, 2020 · 3:17 pm

Last Hurrah?

Gif Abyss-Alph aCoders

The cold front seems to be coming through now. It’s cold and rainy – a GREAT time to have a warm, dry house.

When we got home from errands, we went back outside and shut down the irrigation system. This involves turning off a control, disconnecting a hose and rerouting a water system in the well house, and then disconnecting a main hose that runs across the front of the yard just off the civilized part we mow. We then gathered outside faucet covers and installed those all around the house, closing the vents. The forecast is calling for a light freeze overnight, so we’re just in time.

I then came back outside again and gathered what will probably be the last of the tomatoes.

We have had a really good run of tomatoes this year, despite a lot of weird weather. These are mostly cherry tomato size – perfect for salads and snacks.

This is probably the last of the roses and one twice-blooming iris I found.

And finally is my elephant ear plants. They are tall enough to almost cover the window in the garage. The research I did said that after the first freeze, I should cut the leaves off and store the bulbs in a combination of peat moss and potting soil in the garage until the spring. Fingers crossed that will work.

So, a last hurrah for a good year of growing. I lost my green house in a bad storm, but I will try to start seeds on the counter in my garage for the spring. I’ll need to clear things off a bit again, but I have a grow light set up, Mel’s Mix in a small trash cans, and my trays, so I should be in good shape to start up again, probably in February.

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November 23, 2020 · 1:40 pm

Thoughts on a Monday 11-23-2020

Prabuds – Indonesia

I just melted when I saw this wonderful photo. :0)

Mother Nature provide a lovely sight this morning – the brightest sunshine on a really dense fog in the valley behind the house! I really tried to get pictures of it to share with you, but I couldn’t. :0(

Our weather is really starting to cool off now. I put the electric blanket on our bed when I changed the sheets today. It’s NICE to be able to set it to high while getting ready for bed so it’s toasty warm when we get in.

We did our errands awhile ago – after having to drive out to our shop to air up a low tire on the truck – getting our order from REAL FOOD so we could finish stocking the freezer, mailing books we sold at the post office, stopping at a couple of other places for supplies. Then we fixed lunch when we got things put away and my husband is napping now.

The main thing remaining on my list, other than finishing the laundry, is cleaning out the aquarium.

I hope that you are having a wonderful Monday, and that you have a beautiful Thanksgiving, if I don’t see you again before then.

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November 22, 2020 · 9:32 am

Cool Rainy Sunday

http://gildadeiladri.tumblr.com/ – Gifer

It’s 44, bleak and rainy here this morning. A wonderful time to be inside and dry, with a cup of coffee, family, and lots of animals.

My lap has been like Grand Central Station, first with 95-pound-Amber wanting to get up in my office chair with me as I type, (we have hugged three or four times already today) then each of 2 cats – Abby and Smoke – and sometimes both at the same time!

Today’s project is to repurpose the shelves in the guest room. There are still a few books on the shelves and a stuffed closet (my off season clothes and extra bedding, etc. I’m going to try to make things more organized and accessible while doing some good cleaning.

I don’t have to cook today! I don’t MIND the actual cooking – it’s the ‘figuring-what-to-have-for-dinner’ problem always hanging over my head that gets to me. Since we have been getting lots of HEALTHY frozen meals from REAL FOOD and STU’S CLEAN COOKIN’ in Greenwood, I only cook on the weekends, simplifying my life considerably. Today we’ll have the 2nd half of the chicken fingers meals we enjoyed at Lunch Bunch Friday plus more of the sausage/egg/cheese bake I made yesterday.

Yesterday I vacuumed our first floor tiled areas (kitchen, pantry, two half-baths, dining area, and utility room) and I got an entire dog’s worth of hair along with the usual stuff. With our temperatures getting cooler, I am HOPING that the dog will decide that she NEEDS her hair to stay warm and quit tossing it on the floors with abandon.

I hope that YOUR Sunday has lots of sunshine and happiness. If not, stay safe, warm, and dry.

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November 21, 2020 · 2:50 pm

Thoughts on a Saturday 11-21-2020

My bedroom shelves

I now have 57 books to sell on Amazon, and the majority of ‘keepers’ are out of the guest room and onto these shelves. There is a bit of fine-tuning to do, both in these shelves AND in repurpasing the shelves in the guest room, but the big part of the work is done now.

I may decide to shed a FEW more books here, but there won’t be many. I am pretty much down to my ‘keep’ collection here now.

I’m going to rest a bit and then I’ll start cooking a sausage, egg, and cheese keto bake from Suzanne Ryan of Simply Keto for dinner.

We’re having a very cloudy day today. A cold front is coming through this afternoon, tonight, and tomorrow, bringing wind, rain, and cooler temperatures. We will probably have to turn off and drain our irrigation system before next weekend, when freezes are forecast.

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November 5, 2020 · 11:49 am

Hope

It’s hard to be down when flowers are blooming.

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October 25, 2020 · 8:57 am

Brrrr

Twitter

We will have cold, wet weather the next few days. It’s not raining right now, but it is REALLY overcast and gloomy. My initial reaction is to go back to bed – and if not that – at least spend all day in my recliner under a throw with a heat pad, making a nice warm nest with coffee beside me and a good book in my hand.

The change has been pretty sudden. We had the doors open enjoying bright sunshine with a nice breeze in the middle of the week. A 30 degree drop in temperatures has really changed things.

If the weather cooperates, I’ll see if we have any last tomatoes, maybe pull out the plants, get the irrigation control off the outside agricultural faucet, and talk to my husband about shutting down the irrigation system.

Mother Nature has my attention.

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September 24, 2020 · 10:42 am

I Love Fall

PicMix – Tenor

Such a glorious morning!

We have both doors open, encouraging an airing out of the house. My husband is taking a nap, covered with a blanket in his recliner. I had the happy thing of getting a bit TOO chilly while working at my computer, and so got up and turned the ceiling fan OFF!  It’s still too wet to work outside, so I’m still concentrating on INSIDE stuff today.

I’m having an easier time of my exercise time on my elliptical trainer. It’s in the garage, so the outside temperatures are a big factor for me. I don’t have to use the fan on the wall in front of the machine now. The little built-in one on the machine is enough. :0)  Coupled with my old lady yoga stretches, I feel I am getting a reasonable amount of exercise each day.

“Caught Red-Pawed” – Audrius P. – Bored Panda

I can’t express how excited (and relieved) I am to have found the frozen meals at REAL FOOD in Greenwood. (We put our pre-order in on Wednesday afternoons and then pick the order up the following Monday.) We are building our eating day around the frozen meal as the main meal of the day, eating very lightly the rest of the day. Both of us are continuing to lose weight. I’m am still cooking keto on the weekends. We won’t break any records on fast weight loss, but the scales have quit cringing so much when we get on. I’m also encouraged to have finally re-lost most of the weight I gained during the pandemic, now ready to break new ground in my losing-the-lard efforts. 40 pounds off is a nice, round number. My next goal is 45.  I am hopeful that when I measure at the end of the month, my tape measure will be happier, too.

I was dreaming last night of a new group of products to make in my art room. I love quotes, and am really inspired by some, laugh at others – so I’m going to do some paintings on small hard canvas boards, using Unicorn Spit paint, watercolors, acrylics, melted crayons, etc. and then letter good quotes that people might like on them. The ideas are rattling around, so it’ll be fun to get to my art room and see what happens.

I’m still working on cleaning out and getting rid of things – donating the things that others can use, pitching other things, cleaning and reorganizing the rest. I haven’t decided on my project for the day, but I’m leaning toward our master bedroom bath.

Our son lives in Thailand. He said he had been getting some rain lately. Then he sent us a video that he took outside his yard –

The URL is https://youtu.be/cJmdO50_A64 if the video above doesn’t play for you.

I hope that you are safe and well wherever you are today.

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August 31, 2020 · 12:02 pm

Thoughts on a Monday – 8-31-2020

Good Housekeeping

After I cleaned up the kitchen last night, my husband came in, wanting to talk about our continuing efforts to lose weight. He had noticed that I was in the kitchen a long time yesterday and strongly urged me to consider signing up with another prepared meals plan. We got online and found BistroMD. Their food looked good, and the website was well-designed, so we signed up.

I thought we could use my email address on both accounts, with different passwords, since my husband is terrible about telling me about emails he receives. That assumption was not the case, and the customer service portion of the site wasn’t available late last night. We got confirmation of our orders, showing they had seen my efforts to sign up for another account and included that with the order for my husband.

I called them this morning. Customer Service there is wonderful. The agent is changing the email address associated with the order for my husband, and then is creating an account using my email address for me. She will send me an email as soon as it is done so that I can sign in and change some of the choices for our first week. I’m VERY impressed with the food choices, the website, and customer service so far. This is a week-to-week thing. We can cancel at any time. I’m hopeful that this will be a great help to us in our efforts to get the lard off.  :0)

I started harvesting onions late yesterday afternoon. As I pulled up an onion, ants spewed up out of the hole left by the onion, charging mainly up my left arm. I brushed as many of them off as I could, but some of them bit/stung me. I have now taken my Benedryl allergy pills 3 times and spread ointment all over the welts, particularly on my left arm. I am puffed up in several areas and my skin is warm, but no exciting reactions. Just really annoying. :0(

We got a lot of lightning, thunder, and rain overnight. No damage, though, thank goodness. We need to go to Fort Smith this afternoon, so I’m hoping we don’t run into street flooding.

Have a happy day everyone.

 

 

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August 29, 2020 · 10:44 am

Thoughts on a Saturday 8-29-2020

forwarded email

My heart goes out to the people suffering from Mother Nature’s fury. So many good people are hurting, with physical and emotional damage on top of the pandemic concerns.  We just need to concentrate on helping each other the best way we can.

We are getting to the bottom of our South Beach diet boxes. I am DIYing more and more as we run out of things, gradually making my way to the point where we will be on our own once again. The two month reboot for our keto efforts has been good in many ways

  • a blunt reminder of what a ‘serving’ is – and is not
  • a more subtle reminder that we don’t need to walk around hungry. There are good choices for snacks mid morning, mid afternoon, and before bed that remind us that each meal is NOT our last. I’m stocking cut up fresh veggies, cheese sticks, hard-boiled eggs, nuts, etc.
  • a reminder that eating right is only part of the equation to being healthy. I’m am still trying to do a 35 minute session of my elliptical trainer in the mornings (though I just do it until my body complains too much and then I stop, regardless of the time – at LEAST doing 15 minutes. Lately, I have been substituting heavy yard work (cleaning up after the storm) and cleaning out our ruined greenhouse (hauling things out and taking them to the garage and/or the shop). I am then doing a good session (35 minutes +) of yoga daily. These stretches are gauged for Seniors, so are NOT trying to get you to fold yourself into a paper airplane. They are designed to help you gain flexibility, core strength, and relaxation.

Unsplash

(I have ALWAYS been somewhat stiff and inflexible. I was in an exercise class in college. We did an exercise where we were lying on our stomachs. We were then told to lift our arms and legs simultaneously up as far as we could get them, and then move them down again, over and over. I did the ‘up’ just fine. The ‘down,’ not so much. I went up, something ‘caught’ in my back, not allowing me to bring my parts down again. I was yelling in pain. They finally got two big guys to lift me up over their heads, like the prow on a ship, and carry me to the infirmary. When they finally got me fixed, I had a waiver for that exercise. Being long-in-the-tooth only exacerbates my normal stiffness, so it’s more important than ever)

  • I am gearing up to cook all the time again. I will miss the stuff the South Beach Diet people sell in tiny bowls – ‘cheeseburger soup,’ and ‘a white beans something-or-other.’ Both were delicious. We ordered a few more packages of pancake mix, because my husband really likes those, to let us down gradually. In the meantime, I will look for ingredients so I can make low carb pancakes from time to time from scratch. We also like the shakes, but won’t order more.
  • At this point, I have lost 40 pounds and 43+ inches. I will do everything I can NOT to regain any of this back, and will keep trying to lose more. I would like to lose another 30 lbs to get into a good, solid, healthy BMI range for my height. (I’ve tried getting taller, but that doesn’t seem to be in the cards.)

Otherwise, the ruined greenhouse is now empty.  My husband and I have agreed that we will let the shell sit until things get cooler. (Today’s forecast is 98 degrees F. with a heat index of 112) Today I will concentrate on getting my seed-starting area in the garage workable, with things either stored out of the way or taken out to the shop, and things I need easily accessible.  My husband fixed one of my lights over the counter. I found, and hooked up, my grow light, so I have a start.

I hope that you have a happy Saturday.

 

 

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August 28, 2020 · 10:11 am

Raccoon # 13 !

The City

We just got back from relocating raccoon # 13 of the spring/summer season this year. This one was so large, he almost completely filled the humane cage!  We are getting tired of having to deal with this. I think our highest count in all the years we have lived here (over 30) is about 4. We are ready to be finished with this for the year.

We will leave for Lunch Bunch soon. We lucked out so far on Tropical Storm Laura. It went to the east of us. We got some rain, but nothing severe. We are still due for more rain, but we feel very, very lucky.  The sun is shining and we will turn on the a/c when we return.

We are narrowing down our trouble with low water pressure – which then causes trouble with our hot-water-on-demand system – which means not enough water pressure or hot water for our shower.  We now have a new water pressure tank in the well house.  We now have a new shower head. My husband thinks the problem is the valve in the shower. Our plumber, Travis Hawkins, will be here later today to see if he can fix things for us. HOORAY!

I’m not sure what my project for the day will be yet.

My heart goes out to the people still in jeopardy from the wildfires in California and the people who sustained damage, or will sustain damage, from Laura.

Try to be strong and stay safe.

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August 26, 2020 · 9:43 am

Laura?

Tricolor Heron_Green Cay Wetlands_Scott Helfrich_The Natl Wildlife Federation Blog

I’m not sure if we’re JUST getting rain today, or this is the first of Laura’s impact on Arkansas, but it looks like night outside right now. Rain is imminent, so I’ve scrapped my plans – at least for the moment – on doing another session of clean out in the greenhouse.  The forecast is for HEAVY rain, gusty winds from today through Friday. UGH.

My husband got our yard mowed again, for the first time since the last storm made it look like a sudden, violent fall, with branches and leaves all over the yard. It took me three days to get that cleaned up enough so that there was a chance he could mow once it dried out some. I hope that Mother Nature is not looking at this as a great chance to do it to us again –

Happily, my sister-in-law is enjoying her time at Topsail Beach this week! She shared two beautiful photos she took of the sunrise this morning –

 

I’m hoping she’ll kiss a sandpiper for me.

 

I’m not sure what I’ll do today, since it looks like my plans will be rained out.

Our wonderful plumber installed a new water pressure tank in the well house for us yesterday. There is a clear difference in our water pressure, plus lots of hot water on demand EXCEPT in our shower upstairs. My husband suspects we have a bad valve. I have no head for things like this, so that doesn’t mean much to me. I got all soaped up last night and then had to rinse off in COLD water. We had good pressure and hot water in the lavatories up there, but NOT in our shower. I’ll check the guest room shower today to see if there is hot water there. We have a new shower head on the way. One way or another, we will be able to take wonderful hot showers for granted SOME day…

I may scoot outside and see if I can get my greenhouse session in before the rain starts…

I hope that you are staying safe from wildfires and storms where you are today.

 

 

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August 11, 2020 · 9:29 am

Thoughts on a Tuesday 8-11-2020

Soul Alchemy

We were very lucky not to be affected by the derecho storm that hit yesterday. So many good people are dealing with damage from the hurricane and now the derecho. I hope that you came through both well, too. We have the possibility of strong, gusty winds and hail with storms this afternoon and evening. Hopefully, they will just be the ‘normal’ summer variety. Mother Nature seems to be in a snit – and on top of the pandemic problems and troubles in some of our big cities. It seems we are having more than our share of character-building exercises lately. May we give each other strength.

Today is one of our DIY dinners for the week on the South Beach eating plan. I got some stew beef in the crock pot this morning. I will serve this with a bit of rice for my husband and spiralized squash for me.

We have several errands, plus appointments this afternoon. By the time we finish those and my exercises (elliptical and yoga), the day is almost gone before it starts. I will check for ripe tomatoes (fingers crossed) this morning and will try to get up to my art room this afternoon to at least start my newest earring blanks with my new design ideas. (Fingers crossed on THAT, too.)

I hope that you are feeling strong, healthy, and full of enthusiasm for this day.

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August 4, 2020 · 10:04 am

Choose-Day

Unique Teaching Resources

The weather is beautiful here today. Right now it’s sunny and 66 degrees F. Just couldn’t be more perfect. We’re enjoying low humidity today, as well. I will make sure I spend some good time outside. We have doors open and ceiling fans on. It’s SMILING weather!

I will leave in about an hour to take the trash down to the bottom of the driveway, get our mail, and go to Rags & Roses Collective, the wonderful local Greenwood shop where I share a booth, Blasing Bright, with my friend Carla. I will change out some stuff, pay our rent, and visit a minute with the owner, Joanna Brandt.

We are having a quiet day so far, for which I am thankful. Yesterday brought a couple of ‘episodes’ where my husband was unable to speak, but he seems to be fine today. He is calm and seems to be upbeat. We will do the best we can each day, thankful to HAVE another one.

My exercise efforts are going well. I am feeling better – a bit more energetic – and looser. I am earning two stars on my desk calendar daily, one for my elliptical trainer in the garage and the other for yoga stretches and abdominal exercises.

I will see how our garden is doing later and check if we have ripe tomatoes to gather.

I’m not sure what my project for the day will be yet.

I hope that YOUR Tuesday is a nice CHOOSE-DAY. :0)

 

 

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August 2, 2020 · 9:59 am

Hahahahahahahahah!

Source Unknown

Hahahahahahhaha! I love this. :0)

Today is a nice day.

I just finished chatting with our son, who lives in Thailand. He is such a good communicator it’s almost possible to forget how far away he is. The last time he came home, the trip took 24 hours, with the flights and layovers. :0(  We talk almost every day, chatting about this and that, and it adds so much quality to my life. I’m very lucky to be so close to him in all ways except geographically.

It’s cool enough that we still have the doors open, front and back, creating a nice breeze. We will have to close up soon, but I love to air the house out!

Today’s project is gathering more things to donate to Veteran’s Thrift Town in Fort Smith tomorrow.  I’m hopeful that we can make several more donations as I try to go through the house with an eye to getting rid of stuff again.

I hope you have a wonderful, relaxing Sunday.

 

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July 30, 2020 · 10:01 am

Raccoon # 8

Live Science

We caught raccoon #8 of the season last night. We have just come back from relocating him where he will hopefully find the rest of the “gaze” of raccoons we have driven to their new home out farther in the country. Even though Amber barked at him obnoxiously, he didn’t lose his cool.  It looked like rain was coming soon, so we relocated the raccoon before having breakfast or doing anything other than feed animals.

Now we’ve had breakfast and I’m enjoying a cup of coffee as I type this.

We have doors open so far this morning, enjoying a nice breeze through the house. We are due for storms today, with a bigger chance this evening. I will get out, check the garden, and see if we have more ripe tomatoes to bring in soon.  Of course, now that we are home for the rest of the day, the sun has come out. :0)

I am doing well on my efforts to exercise this week so far. I have done my elliptical trainer in the garage, plus my half hour or so of yoga stretches and abdominal exercises every day. This is a 6-gold-star week so far! I will try to earn 2 more today.

The wonderful person from Tri-Hill Pest Control in Fort Smith is due here at 12:30 today. 1308 Zero St, Fort Smith, AR 72901. (479) 782-2847. He is a super nice man – PLUS since he has come and treated the house quarterly, we haven’t had a bug or pest problem. (Other than my husband.) This is a wonderful company.

Today’s project will be my kitchen desk. We use this, and the shelves above it, to have medicines and first aid stuff on hand, too, so it’s a busy area. I will try to get this area cleaned out and reorganized today.

Have a wonderful Thursday!

 

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July 27, 2020 · 11:33 am

Muggy Monday

Attack of the Cute

My husband and I did a few errands this morning and then I got on my elliptical trainer for the first time in umpteen months. My trainer lives in the garage and it’s really hot out there. I managed 15 minutes this morning – better than nothing. I’ll try it again on Wednesday and see if I can do 20. I will, of course, do my 35+ minutes of yoga stretching and abdominal exercises this afternoon. (I gave myself a star for the elliptical and will earn another with the yoga this afternoon.) :0)

One of our errands this morning was refilling our sweet Molly’s prescriptions for antibiotics and pain/inflammation relief medicines. I’ve told you she has malignant cancer. It’s in one side of her jaw. She has quite a sizable, firm lump there that is growing. The vet and I talked frankly. Molly was 15 in February. We decided to try to keep her as comfortable as possible, giving her as many happy dog days as we can in the time she has left. She is still able to eat and drink, and enjoys demanding to go out, and then come in again – for a treat. I’m making sure we have PLENTY of the two treats she loves, and am VERY freely dispensing them. She has been with us since she was a small puppy. We are cherishing each day.

My husband is grinning because our grass is at the PERFECT stage, according to him – brown and crunchy! He wishes it would stay that way the rest of the summer. We are due for some rain this week, though, so he’ll have to enjoy it while he can. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday forecasts show a good chance of rain, plus a little bit of relief from the humidity.

I made Suzanne Ryan’s (Simply Keto) recipe for keto chili yesterday, and we ate a bowl last night. My husband sighed with pleasure. We will enjoy a bowl for the second DIY dinner, plus one of the DIY lunches this week.

I haven’t decided what my next clean up project will be. I’ll look around and decide priorities, planning on taking a donation to the Disabled Vets in Fort Smith by the end of NEXT week.

I hope that YOU are having a good day today.

 

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July 25, 2020 · 9:43 am

Thoughts on a Saturday July 25, 2020

New Animalbook

  • It’s frustrating when your child is across the world from you and hurting. Thankfully, we chatted today, and our son is doing much better after a doctor’s appointment. There is 12 hours difference between us, but we got to chat a bit before he headed for bed. I am relieved.
  • I’m also relieved that my husband is doing much better after a stroke-type episode while we were at Lunch Bunch. He is also doing MUCH better this morning.
  • Our Lunch Bunch friends are all healthy and happy. It’s wonderful to have good, understanding, caring friends.
  • Our sweet dog, Molly, who has cancer, managed to eat half her breakfast this morning. She is resting comfortably now in her bed just behind me as I type.
  • All is calm and quiet so far today – and for that I am truly grateful.
  • Our lawn is turning brown and crunchy – my husband’s favorite – and our irrigation system is working to keep our veggies and flowers alive.
  • Since it’s very hot, we are thankful for good air conditioning and the ability to stay indoors today. We will get the mail, but that’s it, I think.
  • I’m working on updating important information spreadsheets today. If I finish that, I’ll work on bookkeeping.
  • I will get my 6th gold star for the week for doing my daily yoga practice.
  • I have lost 5 lbs.

I hope that your Saturday is a good one. Take care and stay safe.

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July 19, 2020 · 9:55 am

Quiet, Hot Sunday

Oddetorium

We are truly into summer now, with heat indices in the 105-110 range, and hotter forecast. We are very grateful for good air conditioning and ceiling fans. One of the many perks of aging is that my personal comfort range on temperatures is becoming narrower.

I will get outside in a minute, mix up a container of KillzAll Weed Killer, and spray it around the garden area. That, and seeing if we have any ripe tomatoes will be it for being outside today.

My friends, Kay and Bud from Lunch Bunch have been making me feel like a slug lately. They are systematically going through a bunch of their stuff in their home and packing it up to get rid of it. I should be doing that, but the ‘lazies’ have me in their clutches right now, and it’s all I can do to do the bit of yard work I need to, plus exercise. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

Next on my personal list of things ‘when I get motivated,’ is to use the power washer. If I can get started, it’s addictive. This year I will try to start with out outside chairs. I also need to do the deck, sidewalks, front porch, and driveway pad. I’m not sure if I can clean up our stained brick in our planters or not, but I’ll give that a try, as well. Hopefully, I will get the urge soon. :0)

I hope that you have a healthy, happy Sunday.

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July 12, 2020 · 9:28 am

Good Morning

sayingimages.com

My husband is out mowing now – even though it’s too wet – because the rain has been such that there is NEVER a good time to do the job. It will have to be enough. Since the heat index today will be in the area of 110 degrees F., I’m glad he is out there getting the job over with now. (The weather people says it will get REALLY hot this coming week!) Right now, though, it is still cool enough to have the doors open and the ceiling fans on.

My zucchini and yellow crookneck squash plants are still looking healthy, but no actual veggies growing yet. The celery I planted is still alive and I have two more celery bottoms in water in the house. The onions continue to look good. I’ll go out later to see if we have more ripe tomatoes.

I worked on painting a new design of wooden earrings yesterday in my art room. I’ll post pics later.

I am hoping for a quiet day today.

I hope that YOUR Sunday is a nice one, too.

 

 

 

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July 7, 2020 · 3:02 pm

“It’s Raining, It’s Pouring…”

Wallpaperhi

“Listen to the rhythm of the falling rain
Telling me just what a fool I’ve been
I wish that it would go and let me cry in vain
And let me be alone again
The only girl I care about has gone away
Looking for a brand new start
But little does she know that when she left that day
Along with her she took my heart
Rain please tell me now does that seem fair
For her to steal my heart away when she don’t care?
I can’t love another when my hearts somewhere far away
The only girl I care about has gone away
Looking for a brand new start
But little does she know that when she left that day
Along with her she took my heart
Rain won’t you tell her that I love her so
Please ask the sun to set her heart aglow
Rain in her heart and let the love we knew start to grow
Listen to the rhythm of the falling rain
Telling me just what a fool I’ve been
I wish that it would go and let me cry in vain
And let me be alone again
Oh, listen to the falling rain
Pitter patter, pitter patter
Oh, oh, oh, listen to the falling rain
Pitter patter, pitter patter”
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: John C. Gummoe
Sung by The Cascades

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June 29, 2020 · 10:30 am

Thoughts on a Monday 6-29-2020

Storyteller Travel

I LOVE the look of humor and character on Shoebill Storks.

We are having a super humid day today. It’s like pea soup outside. The humidity is 92% right now. UGH. That said, at least the sun is not a killer, so I’ve just come in from pruning our roses bushes and cutting things back a bit.  We have a super good chance of rain today. It is cloudy and looks like it could rain any time now.

We are waiting for our plumber to come.  We have a tankless water heater that gives us lots and lots of hot water. We haven’t had to worry about running out for years. Until lately.  You have to have full water pressure to get the hot water, and it takes a bit of time for that to happen. We get it when we first step into the shower upstairs, then halfway through our shower, we get cold water, like we used to have when the tank emptied. My husband thinks we may have to get a new water pressure tank for the well house. Hopefully, we can get what we need to get our wonderful hot showers again soon. Fingers crossed.

I hope that you have a good day.

 

 

 

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June 28, 2020 · 4:36 pm

Persistence Pays – I HOPE

Gardening Know How

My friend Laufrain gave me TWO elephant ear plants last fall. I babied them through the winter in our dining area, since that was a place they would get good sun. I decided to put them on our front porch this spring because they would be out of the worst of the wind we have from time to time, and wouldn’t be in the direct sun on the north side of our house. They did fine there until it got hot.

Today I decided I would relocate them, planting them in one of the brick planters we rebuilt. I laboriously dug a hole and just was getting the first one into the planter when all of a sudden we had a HARD rain. By the time I made it into the garage, I was dripping. I toweled off, got a cup of coffee, and decided I would catch up on email. Like a faucet had been turned off, the rain stopped as suddenly as it started.

I have just come in from planting the second plant. I fertilized and gave them a bit of water. Tonight at 7:30 the irrigation system will water them for 10 minutes. Time will tell if they are happy in the new location. Fingers crossed.  Pictures later.

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June 23, 2020 · 9:32 am

Thoughts on a Tuesday – June 23, 2020

Our forecast is ‘Downpours this morning and scattered thunderstorms this afternoon. Chance of rain 100%”

 

Jimmy Nyakora via Scene and Heard – Match Box Quotes

Other than the downpours and thunderstorms, I’m hoping for a quiet rain. I have no big projects for the day. I wanted to finish weeding my veggie garden, but it looks like that won’t be in the cards today. My husband planned to mow the lawn, but that probably won’t be happening, either. All that will be waiting for us when Mother Nature decides to cooperate.

Our DirecTV system has a nice feature where you can pause a program and it will record it for you until you want to resume watching later. This causes a ‘buffer’ to form, where you can then fast-forward through commercials. We are totally addicted to this feature.

My husband and I have a running ‘discussion’ about why the feature doesn’t always work the way he thinks it should. It will hold about 40 minutes on pause, and then it starts playing. (Hopefully, we have it muted, or else it sounds like the TV is possessed, coming on by itself and talking erupting in the living room while we are in our home office.) Either way, the buffer is filled up and the TV plays. Sometimes the buffer is retained and sometimes not. We cannot see a pattern.

It REALLY irks my husband. He is careful to set it up at night so that we have a full buffer in the morning and he is able to zip through commercials to his heart’s content.  When, for some unknown reason, gremlins have done their work and the buffer is ‘gone,’ he gets frustrated and angry. Our ‘discussions’ haven’t solved the problem. He refuses to call DirecTV to try to get an answer. And so, the ‘discussions’ continue…

We MAY have another raccoon. This would be #6 this season.

Getty Images

The sweet things won’t share, or we wouldn’t have a problem. They eat EVERY seed in EVERY feeder, and many time trash the feeder in their efforts to chow down. My husband will set our humane trap tonight and we’ll see if we capture another member of this year’s family to relocate with the others.

Foundation Pest Control

I mentioned that it MIGHT be the squirrel family we have this year. Yesterday I saw THREE squirrels at once being quite active and athletic on the feeders. That’s the first time I have seen three at one time. One was sitting in the shovel bird feeder, eating the seeds we leave there every day. A second was at the main bird feeder, hanging from his back legs as he avidly ate as much as possible using both hands to grab seeds. A third was in the gallon-sized clear bottle that sits on another feeder in our window. He was all the way inside the bottle, filling his cheeks.

Mourning Doves-Shutterstock.com

We usually have a pair of doves who sit on one of the electrical lines that cross the back of our yard. I haven’t seen them lately. I hope they are okay.

I hope that you are having a really nice day.

 

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June 20, 2020 · 9:12 am

Thoughts on a Saturday – June 20, 2020

Citizens State Bank

“A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken.” — James Dent

The sun was out earlier here, but now it’s overcast. We have an 80% chance of storms today – the first day of summer. All people and animals are good today, and we’re hoping for a quiet weekend.

I pre-ordered the latest paperback “In Death” series book by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts) awhile back. It comes out in July.  To celebrate this, I’m enjoying my dive into the world of Eve Dallas, Lieutenant in the NYPSD in the year 2058+.  I’m picking up details I missed the first time, as well as just enjoying inhabiting her world – so different from mine. I’m re-reading book # 23 right now (out of 50) and will be ready to add the newest book to my collection when it arrives. (I’ve also pre-ordered the paperback of #51 which will be out at the end of December.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are due for a rainy weekend. I’ve been working hard in the yard, trying to keep the weeds at bay. I see evidence that the ‘wild’ would simply take back the land we have enjoyed for over 30 years now if I lost my determination to win the war. The civilized part of our yard looks pretty good now. My next focus will be on weeding my veggie garden and my flower planters around the yard. I’ll enjoy it if I get a bit of a break from the work this weekend.

I heated up the leftover spaghetti with meat sauce I made this week for dinner last night. I used the spaghetti made from chickpeas (brand name Banza) that has half the carbs of regular pasta. It’s still a splurge, but I sure enjoyed it. I made garlic toast for my husband with hot dog buns, and used the keto bread I made for mine.)  My husband said, “This was delicious. Thank you!” :0)  We will have leftover pork chops tonight with a side salad.

Animal Wellness Magazine

I will continue the longer, slower sessions of gentle yoga I started yesterday. I’m concentrating on relaxing – harder to do these days – and S_T_R_E_T_C_H_I_N _G everything I have slowly and thoroughly. I’m feeling better because of it.

I hope your first day of summer is a nice one, too. ENJOY.

 

 

 

 

 

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May 30, 2020 · 11:30 am

Thoughts on a Saturday 5-30-2020

“Zeus – Whose Eyes Contain Galaxies” – Micaela Rakos-Journalist via Penny Yaffe Krakow

I can’t say enough about this photo. I get lost in his eyes.

Mother Nature is smiling as us – giving us a perfect day today! The sun is shining and it is 72 degrees F. right now. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!

I will go out soon and see what’s what in my garden.  My friends at Lunch Bunch, plus the 2 waitresses at The Pizza Barn, were pleased with the lettuce I gave them yesterday. We may already be at the end of the early spring garden, though. The lettuce and spinach are starting to bolt, signaling the end. (Lettuce and other greens are cool weather crops. When the warm temperatures come, lettuce moves from leaf production to flower and seed production. Very often the flavor of lettuce changes and it becomes bitter.)  I’m going to salvage what I can and pull out the rest of the plants.

Bolting Lettuce – Gardening Know How

I’m still dancing around, 3 inches off the ground, because I sold a vase on my SassyGlassByLinda shop on Etsy.  (I sold the daisies one in the middle.)

My customer should get her vase Monday. I’m enjoying nice mental pictures of her unwrapping it. It’s the highest compliment there is when someone likes what you do enough to want it for their own, or buy it to give it to someone who means a lot to them. :0)

It was GOOD to see our friends at Lunch Bunch yesterday. We have been having lunch every Friday for over 17 years now – only interrupted by the Pandemic. The Pizza Barn put out some picnic tables with benches and umbrellas in their parking lot so that they can offer not only carry-out, but also the ability for people to eat outside until the restrictions are fully lifted and we can eat inside again. It is priceless to be able to actually share a meal in person with people you care about, catch up on what has been happening, eat and laugh together once again. (Next time I’ll try to get pics so I can share them with you.)

I am hoping that the space launch will happen today. I have watched, glued to my seat, each time we attempt a launch. I still remember watching the grainy, incredible pictures of our astronauts actually walking around on the moon. (That happened in 1969 – the year my husband and I married.)  I’m hoping the weather in Florida will be cooperative today, giving us the chance to send our astronauts to the space station ourselves, rather then having to rely on others.

I hope that you have a beautiful Saturday, too.

 

 

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May 29, 2020 · 10:02 am

Round Yellow Thing

123RF.com

I almost didn’t recognize it when I walked Molly first thing this morning. It was roundish, yellowish, and shiny, lighting up the whole sky! I didn’t need my umbrella for the first time in what seems like forever, and didn’t sink into the grass as we walked around the yard. I’m more than delighted that it looks like we’ll have a gorgeous day today.

As part of our celebration, we’ll meet our friends for Lunch Bunch! We are now eating at a picnic table in the parking lot of The Pizza Barn. They are offering curbside service and outside eating until the restrictions on restaurants are totally lifted here in Arkansas. (It’s a small place and not designed for social distancing.) I am planning to take lettuce from our garden to our friends, plus our two wonderful waitresses.

I’ll be glad to take the lettuce because it looks like my early spring garden is ending. My lettuce and spinach are starting to bolt.  :0(  I’ll probably harvest the rest of what there is left this week, with the exception of the sweet red onions. I’ll look locally to see if anyone has veggie plants.

I can’t tell you how much it lifts my spirits to see the sun shining!!!!!

 

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May 27, 2020 · 4:24 pm

More Rain!

Tammy Ames via PictureQuotes.com

It looks like we have today and tomorrow with lots of rain, and then it settles down for a bit!

I have built a whole routine out of taking our dog, Molly out, first thing in the morning and last thing at night before bed (other times during the day she goes out to play, sniff, and do dogly things on her own without supervision or time limits) – with the rain that has been with us for weeks now. My umbrella hangs on one hook with her leash. My jacket hangs on another hook. We have the routine down pat.

Now that we do, the weather will probably tip over into summer and the rains will be few and far between.

It amazes me that it can be sunny and warm enough we talk about turning on the air conditioner, and then a bit later raining like it has saved it up for MONTHS, pouring down with hail, lightning, gusty winds, and flying hairballs.

I’m sad that the weather forced the scrubbing of the space launch today, but we’ll be at the TV on Saturday at 3:22, fingers crossed.

Stay dry.

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May 26, 2020 · 11:13 am

Trying to Lose the Lard

PictureQuotes.com

Actually, I’m feeling encouraged that I am back on track since yesterday.  I am planning what I will eat using MyFitnessPal.com, trying to get as close as possible to my macro percentages again today.

We came through another tornado warning last night with no damage that I have seen so far. I’m am truly thankful. This is one of the days that we are thankful we live on top of a hill because flash flooding is forecast. I will be glad when this mini-monsoon season we’ve been having is over.

To celebrate that, I’m planning to get on my elliptical trainer in the garage after lunch and do at LEAST 15 minutes. I’m hoping that I will be able to do my ‘regular’ 35 minutes;  but since I’ve been a slug lately, I don’t want to push it too hard. I also plan to do at least 30 minutes of my “Gentle Yoga” stretches before the afternoon is over.

I am again planning to bake a loaf of keto bread, plus a Twice-Baked Cauliflower Casserole” by Suzanne Ryan. My husband isn’t fond of cauliflower, but I’ll just serve him quietly and see what he says.  We will have a hamburger patty and a salad, so he should have plenty to enjoy even if he isn’t fond of the casserole. We’ll see.

It feels good to have a plan and feel in better control. Fingers crossed.

 

 

 

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