Tag Archives: playing in my art room

January 11, 2025 · 9:40 am

Saturday 1-11-2025

Today Show

18 degrees F. and 10+ inches of snow on the ground. I am having trouble appreciating this ‘winter wonderland.’ We are completely snowed in for the foreseeable future.

DepositPhotos

I’m worried my husband will get another email telling him that UPS left more packages at the bottom of our driveway, since I know he will insist on retrieving them. Since I don’t want to risk him or the truck, I will then go to Plan B – telling him I will take a trash bag and walk down, retrieving the mail and the packages and dragging the bag back up the hill. I am really hoping right now that the streets are bad enough that the delivery people will delay things…

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Yesterday I had a good inside day. I bounced between writing blog posts and doing my weights exercises, to spending time in my art room, to spending an hour continuing my clothes closet clean-out project, and back again. I also did some reading, listening to music, chair exercises, yoga stretches, and took time for a nap. A good day!

Here’s the latest tee I had to paint due to a stain that was darker and glared at me every time I looked at it. The stain is covered now and I’ll get a good amount of wear out of this tee now. :0)

I did this combination wood burned and painted cat yesterday, too. This photo doesn’t show that the kitty is really sparkly! I’ll list it for sale on Etsy today.

I also found some slim journals I had stashed in my art room and decided to paint two of them. I have the designs drawn and have started painting them.

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NPR

I feel so sorry for the people suffering and dying from the wildfires in California. I really cannot imagine losing everything you have like that, having been abandoned by your mortgage insurer, and probably losing the source of your employment as well, and trying to come back from that. Whole communities are gone, houses, schools, churches, shopping, everything. I don’t know how people can survive something like this.

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I hope you weather this day, facing whatever you are personally dealing with, bolstered by inner strength. May we help each other through these challenges the best way we can, and may things get better soon.

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December 26, 2024 · 9:55 am

Thursday 12-26-2024

AnimalFunFacts.net

I hope your celebration left you satisfied, maybe a bit too full, with a huge grin on your face.

I’m still feeling SO happy that our son and I enjoyed our conference call yesterday morning. Really the best gift I could have gotten. I love his face. I’m still having happiness bubble up that he has several projects going that he is finding fun and challenging, things are going well, and his part of the world is relatively safe.

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Ranger Rick

Outside it’s dark and gloomy here, with thunderstorms on the way this afternoon. If we can do it without drowning, we’ll drive down to get our mail and drag our trash can up. If not, we’ll hope for better weather tomorrow.

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Port Discovery Children’s Museum

I got started on my new wood-burning project yesterday – a cockatoo. This will be a real challenge, as the bird is mostly white. It will be really difficult to give the bird definition. The main color will be the background, and I’m trying to keep that simple this time. I got the outline of the bird wood-burned yesterday. I’ll start the shading today. I may have bitten off more than I can chew. FUN project!

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We had a challenging afternoon, since my husband was determined to get Netflix to stream on our TV. He had done all kinds of things before he asked for my help. We spent much of the time undoing what he had done. We canceled the account he set up on the computer and signed up for another from the TV. We finally got things to work and he watched a movie yesterday afternoon-into-the-evening. WHEW!

NOW I’m trying to get him to really understand that this account is for STREAMING a movie right then, not taping for later. This will require a real change in his habits. I set him up with a pad of paper and a pen so he can write down what he wants to see and then access each when he’s ready to watch. We’ll see how this goes…

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Enjoy your Thursday, safe and warm and dry, if possible. :0)

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December 24, 2024 · 11:31 am

Day of Playing

Alexander Grey-Pexels

Since we’re having a quiet celebration at home today and tomorrow, I’m looking forward to playing in my art room.

I’m working on a new piece – a wood-burned and painted kingfisher on a nice piece of wood.

I’m painting it now, using a combination of alcohol inks for the background and acrylics for the kingfisher.

I’m learning so much each time I try to wood burn a new piece. I am now dreaming about other projects I’d like to do, so I’m hoping I can arrange time up in my art room to try to get them out of my head and onto whatever material is required.

(Monster Cat helping me while I’m at the computer. )

My newest challenge up there is that Monster Cat – aka Jet – desperately would like to come in and wreak havoc. I shut the door firmly and she waits outside, no matter how long I’m up there, meowing plaintively. It hurts my heart to hear her, but she really is a maniac when she is curious – which is all the time – and would really cause problems. My wood burning stuff is hot, too, of course, and I don’t want her (or me) to get burned.

So I turn up my music and drown out her meows, losing myself in the joy of playing.

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December 23, 2024 · 8:54 am

Monday 12-23-2024

Freepik

I’m hoping to be able to visit with a couple of friends quickly this afternoon and take them the presents I made for them, hug their necks tightly, and catch up. I don’t leave my husband for long these days, as he thinks he’s 20 and may end up on the roof… :0)

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I’m having a really good time in my art room. I’m trying to do a wood-burned and painted picture of a kingfisher. I still have no real clue what I’m doing, but it’s fun to try the different tips on my wood burning tools, experiment with shading, and more. Fingers crossed it turns out okay.

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Big Stock

Yesterday I cut down the remnants of my elephant ear plants.

They did really well this year, but Mother Nature thumbed her nose at them and froze them where they stood. I spent quite a while cutting down the sad, frozen remains and carting them off. I have tried digging up and storing the bulbs in the garage over the winter, but that was a disaster. So I put styrofoam faucet covers we didn’t need over the bulbs, then put rocks on top of those. Finally, I stuffed as many leaves as I could get into the planter, hoping that will get the sweet plants to survive the winter and grow again in the spring. All appendages are crossed – including my eyes – that this works.

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Freepik

One of the many things for which I am thankful this year is that I can write this blog, communicating with wonderful people, sharing things I hope you’ll like, hoping to make you snort, smirk, or smile from time to time. Thank you for reading, liking, commenting, and becoming friends.

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Make this a great day. If you’ve already celebrated, pat yourself on the head for a job well done. If you’re dashing around like a fiend desperately trying to cram in as much stuff as you can in the remaining time, BREATHE. The celebration is about enjoying those you love, remembering what is important, cherishing life and all you have.

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December 14, 2024 · 9:14 am

Saturday 12-14-2024

Freepik

It’s amazingly warm, dark, and rainy this morning. A quick blast from the past with “spring,” and a high around 60 this afternoon, rather than the cold, brisk mornings in the 20s with a high of 40 we’ve been having lately. The roller coaster ride is amazing and a bit difficult to keep up with. If the rain stops, I’ll try to work in the yard this afternoon.

I’m still feeling a bit groggy and fighting the pull to go back to bed and sleep the day away. :0)

The Organized Mama

I had a great time in my art room yesterday. I cleared the decks a bit, got some orders ready to mail, and then worked on my newest piece, a “parrot in a jungle” wood-burned and painted piece. It’s the most challenging thing I’ve tried yet with the wood burning, and I’m really having fun. I finished the wood-burning part of it last night and hope to start painting today. I still have no idea how it will turn out.

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Freepik

It was a full-circle moment yesterday. My husband is trying to write a computer program and is frustrated with it. I’m absolutely useless in this area, so I just tried to be supportive and stay out of the way with my mouth shut. :0) When he was grousing about it, I finally suggested that he chat with our son about it. (My husband started when our son was very little, teaching him about computers, programming, logic and stuff. Our son is now living across the world from us, happy as a clam, with clients in the U.S. for his computer acumen.)

I looked on our chat program, as I do every morning, to see if our son left any messages. There was a huge, long, back and forth with our son trying to help my husband with the program. Full circle. :0)

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My husband ordered some kind of smart bulb recently to add to our home security system. It arrived and my husband tried to install it. It is meant to partner with your phone, and phones are a challenge for my husband these days. After lots of flailing around, asking me to come help, lots of bad words, etc., he has decided to return the bulb. Of COURSE he doesn’t remember when he ordered it, has no email about it, no order number, no paperwork. I managed to find a return address for the company and a returns number to call, but I’ll have to wait until Monday to get the required RMA# – IF – they can figure out the order number from our address…

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We’re having leftovers tonight, but I found a low carb recipe for “Keto Cheeseburger Casserole” that sounds good. I’m planning to make it tomorrow night and will share the URL for it with you if it’s good. (My husband says my doing it this way is, “try it on the dog” behavior.) So be it. “Sit. Stay. Eat. WOOF!” :0)

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I hope that your weather is nicer than mine and that you’re able to get outside and enjoy the day.

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December 13, 2024 · 8:51 am

Friday 12-13-2024

Tenor

Our son is 46 today. I actually sent him my ‘birthday-song-written-out’

“Happy Birthday to you,

Haappy Birrrthday too yoou.

Haaaaapy Birrrrrrthdaaaaaay, Dearrrrr Briiiiiii-annnn,

Haaaappy Birrrrthdaaaay tooooo yooooou!”

and balloons last night on the chat program he set up for us, since there are 12 hours between us (13 when we’re doing Daylight Savings Time). He is finishing his birthday now.

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Awakened-Woman

This are quiet around here so far. Shhhhhh! My husband is still asleep. I woke early (for me) and went ahead and got up, so I’m on my second cup of coffee now with the morning chores finished.

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Lowe’s

This will be an uneventful day, I hope. We’ll do some errands and I have regular stuff to do, but I’m looking forward to spending time in my art room this afternoon. I’m working on a “parrot in a jungle” wood-burned and painted piece – hoping it will turn out all right and that I haven’t bitten off more than I can chew. I’m having a lot of fun working on it, and am wood-burning in my dreams! :0)

Make this day a wonderful day.

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December 10, 2024 · 8:22 am

Busy Tuesday 12-10-2024

Unsplash

I’m grinning this morning because I have a more-than-full day today, doing fun stuff.

I’ll be up in my art room in a minute, finishing up things I’ll add to my Etsy site, hoping people will find and buy things they like for the holidays. A happy time of year for me. :0)

I’m looking forward to steak sandwiches for dinner tonight. I’ve recently found Lewis Healthy Life Keto Sandwich Bread so I’m grinning like a nut because I can again enjoy real sandwiches instead of using zero carb tortillas! Zero net carbs per slice. I’ll use our slicer to cut the leftover broiled steak from last night so the sandwiches will be easy to eat. Can’t wait!

I’ll write more posts later, after I come back down from the art room. I hope YOUR day has some fun in it, too.

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December 5, 2024 · 10:20 am

Thursday 12-5-2024

Lana-Kristiansen-Brown-Bear_u-l-q1rgx3p0 – Pinterest

I hope you’re doing well this morning. It’s cold and a bit windy here today, making it feel a lot colder than the 38 degrees F. that is showing on the thermometer, particularly after the much warmer temperatures we’ve gotten used to lately. 60s yesterday, 44 for a high today. A good wake-up call that winter is coming.

I’m going to add wood-burned and hand-painted bookmarks to Etsy starting next year. This is a sample of one I’ve made for the site –

This one will be an offering for a ‘custom bookmark,’ with a name on one side and initials on the other, with decorations around them on front and back. I’m working on 3 more other designs now, and having SUCH a good time!

AP News – Lake Effect Snow in NY

I’m super glad we aren’t dealing with this. I can’t imagine this much snow, much less having to dig my way out. My heart goes out to the people who are in the middle of this.

I hope the weather where you are is good and that you’re able to make this a great day.

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December 2, 2024 · 9:36 am

Monday 12-2-2024

Karin de Haas – Funda Altincekic Aysel

I just love this lady’s artwork. She makes me smile from the inside out.

Season Watch – University of Minnesota

Our driveway detector went off this morning while I was sitting at the computer. It only made one sound, an indication of an animal, rather than a vehicle coming up. I grabbed my binoculars on the way to see. A white-tailed deer stood regally toward the bottom of the driveway. (Only one that I could see.) We looked at each other for a minute and then she crossed the driveway and jumped into the wooded area to that side. What a beautiful sight!

Raising Children Network

I’m having a lot of fun spending time in my art room lately, either making things to list on my Etsy site, filling orders from there, or – most recently – making some Christmas presents for my good friends. I lose track of time up there, totally engrossed in the project at hand. I listen to some of my favorite music while I work, grinning happily. Unless life gets in the way today, I’m planning to enjoy time up there this afternoon.

The only things getting us outside today is gathering our trash and driving it down for pickup tomorrow, plus getting our mail. If you’ve been reading my blog, you know our driveway is long and steep (650+feet). We had it worked on recently, both with tractor work and gravel, plus a wonderful guy who cut back trees on either side for us, so it’s about as nice as it gets. I also got some ankle boots with better soles, so I get a bit more traction when I’m trying to drag the humongous trash can from where it lives to where the truck comes to empty it, and then back again the next day. I still have to really concentrate not to slip and fall on my head, but these boots help.

Jet – aka “Monster Cat”

The weather is really changing here the past week or so. We’ve gone from fall to a definite taste of winter. I THINK we’ve done all we can to get ready, but the forecasts are showing that we’ll not only hit freezing, but get down to single digits overnight soon. Then we’ll need to drip water in two of our bathrooms to keep pipes from freezing. (One of those is the cat’s bathroom downstairs. I’m still trying to figure out how to rearrange things in there to leave the cabinet door open under the sink – with an automatic heater in there- and leave water dripping in the sink with the cat in there. We haven’t gone through a winter with her yet, so this may be interesting.)

I hope December is starting off well for you. Things are calm here, and that’s a wonderful thing. Have a fun day.

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November 25, 2024 · 8:35 am

Monday 11-25-2024

Animal Emergency and Referral Center of Minnesota

I’m going for my monthly massage this morning. My body is creaking a “thank you.” My massage therapist (the best one on the planet) is Lynn Moody. If you’re lucky enough to be in our area, you can reach her at 479-629-7601 to arrange an appointment. She will find sore places you didn’t even know you had and fix them, plus handle the ones you tell her need special attention. Ahhhhhhhhh!

I’ll do other errands while I’m out. My husband and I will gather trash after we eat lunch and drive it down to the bottom of the driveway.

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Tanglewood Moms

I’m looking forward to working on a couple of orders from my Etsy shop this afternoon. It brightens my whole day to be creating something that a nice person has ordered. I simply can’t keep the grin off my face!

Please remember that the last date to order custom hand-painted Christmas cards for this year is December 10th. They can be personalized. A package of 6 is $14.00 with Free Shipping. See the designs using this link on HandmadeHavenbyLinda on Etsy.

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I tried the recipe for “Creamy Slow Cooker Chicken with Bacon and Cheese” (low carb and keto) by Kasey Trenum two nights ago. It was really good. My husband pronounced it “Yummy!” and already wants me to make more. We’ll put this recipe on our “keeper” list and I’ll include it in our rotation. I did this recipe with 3 chicken breasts and we had enough for some leftovers. I’ll use 4 next time. Here is a link to the recipe plus Kasey Trenum’s website.

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HDRcreme

It’s 60 this morning and quite cloudy. I can’t find any of my weather sources saying we’ll get rain, but it sure looks like it. It’s 8:30 and is quite dark. What they DO say is that we’ll have a series of cold fronts coming through today. We’re at our high for the day and it should be in the 40s with gusty winds by this afternoon with freezing temperatures overnight. BRRR!

I hope the weather is manageable where you are and that your day has lots of fun in it!

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November 22, 2024 · 9:11 am

Friday 11-22-2024

Meet “Jasmine.” As you can see, she’s ready for a walk in the rain. I’m biased, but I think she’s one of the cutest dogs on the planet. Her family is my sister-in-law and brother-in-law. I’m not sure, but does that make ME her ‘aunt-in-law?”

Synergetic Play Therapy

I had a great time in my art room yesterday. My waking (and sleeping) hours are a-buzz with ideas rattling around. Right now my focus is in trying to create some wood-burned and painted wooden bookmarks. I’m going to list some on my Etsy site when I finish the first batch HandmadeHavenbyLinda . Quick reminder than everything on my site is on sale with the lowest prices of the year until the end of the year, plus, as always, Free Shipping. I hope you can find things for people on your holiday list. Here’s a sample –

1.25″ Purple, Turquoise and White hand-painted, one-of-a-kind 3D rounded disk earrings. French hooks and marshmallow cushion backs. Swingy, flirty, and fun, you’ll love wearing these. They are comfortable and light weight. $10.00.

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The jury is still out on this new social network. So far, I AM finding some wonderful photographers and some interesting people. I would like to find some artists, as well. I’m looking for wonderful things to share with you in the near future.

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We don’t have any outside errands we need to do today, so I can concentrate on writing to you (stopping to do exercise sessions with my weights between blog posts), spending time in my art room, doing my session of yoga stretches this afternoon, and spending time with my husband here, there and everywhere in-between. He completely melted me into a puddle yesterday by hugging me extra tightly and saying, “I’m so glad you’re with me.” Sigh. What can I tell you. He’s a keeper.

I’ll stop talking your ear off now and just wish you a happy, fulfilled day, with lots of fun thrown in.

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November 14, 2024 · 8:50 am

Thursday 11-14-2024

s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com

I think this sculpture is great. I want to TOUCH him to feel the texture of his fur.

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LINDA’S CRAFTINESS – I’m offering several different hand-painted Christmas card designs. Each is 5×7 on watercolor paper with envelopes. The inside of this one says, “Happiness and love throughout the year.” There is lots of room for a message if you care to write. Please allow one week for my painting and a bit more for delivery. Last order date is December 10th. Package of SIX cards for $19.99 with free delivery. See 5 designs for cards and other Christmas things at HandmadeHavenByLinda on Etsy.

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Generation Mindful

ART ROOM –

I spent a bit of time in my art room yesterday, mainly trying to figure out where I am and what I want to do. These days that isn’t an easy thing to do because I just get started and then life gets in the way. I’m in the middle of a wood-burned sign right now and I have ideas for key chains and earrings. Yesterday I basically sat at my drafting table, listening to some nice music, relaxing. Hopefully, I can be more productive today.

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Women’s Health

Yesterday I managed two sessions of exercises with weights while I was on the computer. (I do some things, then stop and exercise, then sit back down and continue.) I walked out to our shop a couple of times, enjoying our beautiful fall day, and managed a yoga session in the afternoon. I also counted cleaning (scrubbing the bathroom and then our stove) as exercise, so yesterday was a pretty good day.

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I’m hoping for a quiet, calm day today. I wish one for YOU, too, with some fun thrown in. :0)

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November 8, 2024 · 8:59 am

Friday 11-8-2024

Angela Mia De la Vega-tuttartpitturasculturapoesiamusic

This sculpture grabs my heart. Just exquisite.

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LINDA’S CRAFTINESS –

One of a kind handmade greeting/note card using real feathers. “Be a flamingo in a flock of pigeons.” Savannah Larsen. Blank inside. 5″ x 7″. “Birds of a Feather” Series by Linda Lewis. $3.50 with Free Shipping. Browse through unique cards and packages on HandmadeHavenbyLinda on Etsy using this LINK.

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Freepik

I’m feeling a bit shell-shocked after receiving and paying our insurance bills this morning. All usually go up from year to year, but this aggregate of all the insurances I have to pay at once took my breath away. I’m grateful that we’re able to pay them, but WOW.

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Seasame Workshop

I’m gathering ideas for making some earrings and key chains – some wood-burned, some wood-burned and painted, and some just painted. Ideas are starting to rattle around in my head. It’s fun. :0) We’re going to head to Walmart and our local grocery to replenish supplies today because we’re supposed to have another cold front and rain overnight-into-tomorrow, but I’m hoping to spend a good amount of time in my art room, playing.

Make this Friday a good one.

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October 15, 2024 · 10:20 am

Tuesday 10-15-2024

Ayse Cakan-Pinterest

Good morning! I’m having a slow start getting to my blog this morning. I had a note on the chat program from our son, asking me to open a PDF file. It’s from the IRS, saying he owes them money. Since our son lives across the world from us, I wrote the check, signed the form and will mail everything later today or tomorrow. Our son pays us back right away, so it isn’t a big problem.

I started a new account on Facebook two days ago because I wanted to read a new blog there. Someone hacked my account years ago and Facebook wouldn’t help me, so I closed my account. I started looking at things there, joined a few local groups, tried to find some of my old friends, commented on a few posts, etc.

I received a notice in my email later from Facebook saying my account was suspended because I hadn’t followed their rules. They didn’t point to anything, so I have no clue. I appealed the decision, saying if they would let me know what I had done, I would make every effort not to repeat it. I haven’t heard anything since, and I’m still suspended, so you MAY be reading the words of a ‘terrorist,’ though, from what I’ve read elsewhere, Facebook allows THAT…

Montgomery Child Care Association

We don’t have anything scheduled today. I’m hoping that things will be quiet around here. I’m working on a couple of signs in my art room, have ideas for two more, and am getting supplies gathered to try to paint some new stationery and/or note cards.

Freepik

I’ve been trying to walk more, to add to my weights videos and my yoga stretching. I ordered a competitor of the Fitbit watch. I don’t need the brand name and all I really want is for it to track my steps so that I can keep track and try to increase it each time. I should get it Thursday, I think.

Source Unknown

I’m on a bit of a plateau on my efforts to lose the lard since I started the protein shakes. I’m tweaking what I’m eating otherwise. I’ve read that eating too much protein can knock you out of ketosis, but I’ll keep doing this until my body has a chance to settle. It’s important that I increase the protein, so the tweaking and increasing movement will continue, hoping for the best.

The weather here has gotten so much cooler in the mornings and nights that not only have we turned off the a/c, but we wait to open the doors until closer to lunch time. What a welcome difference! Monster Cat is a bit ticked because she likes going out on the back porch. In the early evenings there are some bunnies running around and she fantasizes about catching them and eating them. Amber enjoys lying on the tiles right in the doorway to catch the nice breezes.

Our terrific tree guy wasn’t able to take the stray pup who has been visiting us. I didn’t see the pup yesterday, though, so I’m hopeful he’s moved on.

Hope your Tuesday is a fun one.

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October 13, 2024 · 9:23 am

Sunday 10-13-2024

Carol Larson-Pinterest

Today is supposed to be the last day of unusual heat for October. We’re due for a cold front tonight with much cooler temps tomorrow. HOOORAAAAY!

Meanwhile, we hired a wonderful tree guy who worked in the heat all day yesterday and will do it again today, trying to cut back trees or branches that look like they’ll dump into our driveway at the next severe weather or the coming snow and ice storms this winter.

We’ve maintained this ourselves for the almost 37 years we’ve been here, but we’re both too long in the tooth for chain-sawing and hauling branches to the side and dumping them off the edge of the driveway anymore.

He’s actually climbing the trees, lopping out the parts of them that cut off sunlight to the driveway, so we’ll have better melting of snow and ice.

He’s also going to clear out a bunch of the weed trees that are impeding our view across the back yard. He said that if he doesn’t finish today, he’ll be here after he finishes his regular work tomorrow. He is a really nice guy and takes what he’s doing seriously. We’re lucky to have found him. (As usual, the guy we found before him doesn’t have a working phone anymore.)

I finished these in the last couple of days and listed them in my Etsy shop.

I’ve started a couple more. My husband has been calmer and has been working on computer stuff, rather than what could be dangerous projects, so I’ve had more time to relax and play in my art room. It’s really great and I THINK that, plus music and reading are keeping me sane. :0)

I’ve tweaked my program for my health by

  • increasing my protein (I’m drinking a Premier Chocolate Protein Shake daily, plus eating some cottage cheese during the day),
  • taking the new med that is supposed to protect my kidney function, plus
  • continuing to increase drinking water daily and
  • losing more weight, plus
  • doing my weights videos and yoga stretching.

I’m having to really tweak my eating and drinking log on MyFitnessPal.com. I’ve decided to ignore the protein part of my macro since my doctor wants me to increase it, but I’m trying to watch everything else. I dropped some things I’ve been eating, substituted things, and moved other things around, but I was able to come up with a good combination for today. I love this website and would be lost without it.

I hope you’re doing well and having a fun weekend.

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October 8, 2024 · 9:55 am

Tuesday 10-8-2024

Angie Wallace Fine Art – @AngieWFineArt on X

It seems impossible that this is a ‘drawing’ of a pet, doesn’t it?

It’s actually a bit cool here this morning at 57 degrees F. The sun is shining brightly and the high is supposed to be 82. Just a perfect day. We are so lucky.

Women’s Health

Shout-out to two friends in the path of Hurricane Milton – Marsha and Jeff. I have all appendages crossed that both come through the next few days well with very little, if any, damage. They are not in evacuation zones.

American Heart Association

My husband and I have routine doctor appointments today. Hopefully, we’ll be cleared to live our lives the best we can for the next 6 months before having to go back again. We are actually seeing an APRN (Advanced Practice Registered Nurse) today, rather than our regular primary doctor. Our sweet doctor broke her shoulder in a snow mobile accident on vacation with her husband. She had surgery, but it didn’t do the job. So now she has had to undergo a 2nd surgery. I really hope this time her pain goes away and that she gains full range of motion with physical therapy. I’ll get an update, I hope, at our appointment today.

I’m hoping that eventually my weight loss will result in good blood test numbers. If we get to wait 6 months before seeing our primary again, I can be much closer – if not AT – my goal weight. One can hope. At least there will be less of me. :0)

We are lucky to have a frozen meal company called, “Stu’s Clean Cookin'” in Greenwood. It is owned and run by veterans, a fact we like a lot. Not only is their food good, but I was able to get online and look through their offerings, each with a complete nutritional run-down on the meal. I was able to find several that were low sugar for my husband and several low carb for me. I showed the low sugar listings to my husband and he chose the ones he wanted. The store also offers $12.00 savings if you buy 12 meals, so we did that. We’ll each enjoy one of our choices this evening.

I’m hoping to finish two wood-burned pieces today. I’m also getting excited about hand-painting a package or two of stationery and/or note cards. It’s fun to be able to spend time in my art room, concentrating on colors, shapes and texture.

I hope your day is a good one.

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October 6, 2024 · 9:03 am

Sunday 10-6-2024

Sarah Eden Portraits – @EdenPortraits on X

I was a good girl yesterday, doing 4 of the ‘drumming’ videos with my 3-pound weights and then half an hour or so of yoga stretches. I’m really trying to work those in every day, but actual results vary…

These are the latest wood-burned and painted efforts from my art room, just listed on my Etsy site. I’m planning to play up there again today, with maybe starting a package of painted stationery.

We don’t have any other scheduled plans today, other than watching the KC Chiefs play tonight. They play right when we usually eat dinner, so I’ll fix something quick and easy.

Our weather is going to cool off starting overnight tonight. I’m happy to be finally embracing the look and feel of Fall.

I wish you a happy, productive, or restful day – one that brings a smile.

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October 1, 2024 · 10:01 am

Tuesday 10-1-2024

Facebook

I hope that October will be a good month for all of us. I’m happy that the summer ‘intense heat warnings’ seem to finally be gone for the year. Since I’m “mature” (synonym for ‘older-than-dirt’) and carrying more than enough weight for my height (which is shrinking) I FEEL even what is considered normal for the summer. So the warnings we’ve had much of the summer kill most of the joy I have about trying to work in the yard. I did all I could about trying to work in the cooler parts of the day, but even that and a sweat band and keeping sessions short wasn’t much help. I’m glad to put that behind us for a while. :0)

I finished several things in my art room yesterday. I’m listing two custom Christmas cards I’m offering for 2024 plus 4 small signs I wood-burned and accented with pastel paint. I’ve started a new larger piece now and am having great fun with the challenge.

I’m going to try now to spend a bit of time each day cutting stuff down outside. Our lawn is staying under good control, both with the grass and the trimming around it. Our flower planters seem to be holding their own, not sprouting a bunch of weeds yet, so I can turn my attention to the fact that since we live in the woods, nature is always trying to ‘return to normal.’ That means the land trying to regrow, fill in, and grow over the top of us, returning the land to what it was before we ‘landed’ and built 37 years ago. I’ll take the big pruning shears out and just do what I can for a short time each day and see what good I can do.

I think I told you that the innards of one of our toilets gave up the ghost recently. We ordered a replacement kit, but my husband said he just wasn’t strong enough to install it in the Kohler toilet we have. (They have a really weird set of innards and require that one part be pressed into the side of the tank and then turned 45 degrees.) I called our plumber. His partner came yesterday. HE had trouble with it, too, and he’s young and strong and experienced. He got it installed, though, and so the toilet is good now. We agreed that the person who designed the innards should be shot. :0)

I wish you a fun day and a great October.

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September 28, 2024 · 8:52 am

Saturday 9-28-2024

dog-piesio-Tenor

I gained weight-retained water – swallowed a bowling ball – or SOMETHING overnight, so my weight is up a pound this morning. I’m just gritting my teeth and will keep on keepin’ on, working toward my interim weight loss goal. My ‘maturity’ is making this a real character-building exercise, aided and abetted by my husband, who has been crunching on potato chips lately. If there were fairness in the world, just the fact that I resisted that temptation should allow me to finally reach this goal. It will really feel good when I reach this one and can officially set the next one.

TC Drumming for Seniors

I’m really enjoying this exercise. There is a whole list of short videos with these ladies and others drumming and exercising to music. Since I don’t have an exercise ball, the tub, or drumsticks, I’m just keeping up with them as best I can holding 3 pound weights. Yesterday I did the warm up plus 4 more videos, giving myself a pretty good workout. I also did my yoga stretching later in the day.

Teachstone

I played in my art room yesterday afternoon and some more in the evening, finishing several individual Christmas ornaments, working on a custom Christmas card for 2024 to offer in sets of 6, and started two more signs. It feels good to escape and play.

While back my husband and I changed out most of the transformers in our fluorescent light fixtures, being forced to change to the new LED lightbulbs. We finally got that done, leaving only a few much-less used fixtures and the leftover old-style bulbs. One group of those was over our entertainment center. My husband changed those out while I was having my massage Thursday morning. Since it involved balancing on a ladder, I was relieved he was still in one piece when I got home. The other one that needed new bulbs was in my closet. The light has been super dim for months now, but I just didn’t want him trying to change out the bulbs, since he kept getting so frustrated and tired, holding his arms up in the air and fighting to get the bulbs in and working. Yesterday the two of us tackled that and got the new old-style bulbs in without too much hassle. The last ones lasted over 30 years, so I think that problem is ‘fixed’ now. :0)

I’m relieved that my friends and relatives made it through Helene just fine. I feel so sorry for the loss of life, the devastation, and the aftermath of the storm.

I hope you enjoy your Saturday.

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September 8, 2024 · 10:52 am

Sunday 9-8-2024

ShopWorldFly-Etsy

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.

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August 20, 2024 · 9:46 am

Tuesday 8-20-2024

vintage-vicki thomas cat holding a fish

It was cooler yesterday, but seemed really hot when my husband and I drove the trash down the driveway yesterday. We had to stop SEVERAL times so I could get out and gather and/or drag branches that had fallen into the driveway from the storm and throw them off to the side of the driveway. The trash can had blown over and was partially filled with water. I managed to drain it and then drag it down to the bottom of the driveway. We put our trash in for pickup today. We got our mail and then it took the two of us to straighten our robot.

The robot is about 200 pounds and stands, welcoming people, toward the bottom of our driveway. We had winds blow him down once several years ago and practically killed ourselves trying to get him up on the driveway again. So we wrapped a big chain around his neck, securing one end to a pole behind him and the other end to our driveway gate in front of him so that he can only LEAN now. The storms were enough to make him lean, and my husband pulled on him while I found rocks to shove under his right foot to steady him.

That said, what we dealt with was nothing compared to what a lot of people in Arkansas suffered. There were a LOT of power outages, power lines and power poles down, trees down, roads had to be closed, flooding, etc. And this was from a storm I didn’t even know about when we went to bed. Another rain followed that one the next night, causing more outages and damage.

I THINK all is okay now. I don’t mind a good storm, but I wish Mother Nature wasn’t quite so dramatic, causing good people to have problems.

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I had a good time in my art room yesterday afternoon. I’m working on a wood-burning piece, trying different techniques and having a blast learning. I even put away a few things while I was up there, but you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. The only time it looks reasonable up there is when nothing has happened, nothing is in progress, and nothing is planned.

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My husband mowed yesterday – telling me happily how much easier it is to mow now with the new mower – and I used the leaf blower to clean off our front and back sidewalks and driveway pad. Even though it was cooler yesterday, I was wringing wet when I came in. I’m ready for fall.

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Have a wonderful Tuesday.

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July 9, 2024 · 9:37 am

Tuesday 7-9-2024

luvesmesomemugs.etsy.com

The rain seems to be tapering off. We never got the ‘heavy rains’ predicted, and we were under a flood watch. I don’t know if we’ll get out today or not. It’s comfortable in here and we’re lazy. :0)

I had a surprising thing happen last night. It was time for our cat, Jet, to go to bed, so I got up from my chair. She was across the room from me, playing with something in the corner. She noticed me get up. I bent over and patted my shins. She started to come toward me. We both continued and she ended up standing right in front of me. I calmly picked her up – trying not to look surprised – and started to leave the living room. My husband gave me a thumbs up – clearly impressed. :0)

Burn Savvy

I had a great time playing in my art room yesterday. I closed myself in and ignored Jet meowing plaintively on the other side of the door as I sat down to experiment with my new wood burning kit. I’m currently trying to learn what the new tips do. I’m delighted that they heat up so quickly. I can change them while they are hot, carefully placing them in the metal tin they came in to cool off. I spread the rest of them out on my drafting table so I can keep track of which ones I want to try. I’m working on a small piece and a larger, plaque-type piece at the moment, but mostly experimenting. I’ve found a few good videos on using this new type of wood burning kit. It’s SO. MUCH. FUN. to be able to learn something new. I feel a whole new world of possibilities is opening up.

First thing this morning I got a beef roast in the crock pot. We’ll have some of that with a side salad for dinner. I hope I’m not being annoying by reporting my weight loss efforts. I’m finally having some steady success, so I want to shout it from the rooftops. Being old, having to push myself to exercise, and having a horse’s appetite, all work against me most of the time. I lost another pound though, this morning, so I’m down 33 pounds. I’m not great at keeping my mouth shut – talking, writing, or eating – so my progress lately is encouraging. My current goal is 35, so the goal now seems doable.

Pixabay

My tomato plants don’t look nearly as great as the image above, but I’m hoping I’ll find some ripe tomatoes when I go out later today. It has been simply too hot for the tomatoes to do well lately. I’m hoping that the rain we have received and the lower temperatures for at least a couple of days will help our green tomatoes ripen. My sucker plants are still on our dining table. I will plan to try to plant them in the garden planter around the middle of this month. Fingers crossed.

I hope that you are safe and cool today.

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April 5, 2024 · 10:30 am

Woodburning Progress

Lowes

I’m finally making a bit of progress on my efforts to do woodburning in my art room. I’m working on a couple of things at the moment – a little owl on a small piece of wood and a larger wooden plaque.

It’s fun, but I’m still a bit intimidated by the whole process. I found that the special gloves I ordered that were stretchy and pretty comfortable – with only the first two fingers and thumb covered – didn’t really do the job. After only a very few minutes, I was feeling the heat and had to stop. I finally got some pretty used-up leather gloves that I had in the shop and cut them up in the same manner as the stretchy ones. They are more cumbersome, but they seem to protect my fingers and hand better. I’ll continue to use those.

Learning to use the various tips in the kit will take a long time. I’m only using two basic ones so far – one for outlining and lettering and the other for shading. I’m moving very slowly because I have little clue what I’m doing.

There are lots of people online doing woodburning via lasers and computers. They are doing some really nice things, but it’s a question of buying or writing computer programs that guide the lasers. My husband and I have done things like this in our shop, with metal, using computer-guided CNC equipment. It’s fun, but I don’t consider it very creative or real art. We do our mailbox decorations like this. I would rather try to do the woodburning myself, creating things manually.

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January 30, 2024 · 9:14 am

Beautiful Tuesday

Viacheslav Lakobchuk – 123RF.com

Today our weather is absolutely gorgeous. I’m about to go do several errands, and it will be a delight to be outside. It’s 44 right now, and the forecast is for 65 this afternoon. The sun is shining. GORGEOUS!!!!

My husband and I are learning to function on very little sleep at night. We’re lucky to be able to catch cat naps during the day, so things are improving there, as well.

So far, my husband has not tried to do things he shouldn’t, so I’m beginning to think I MIGHT be able to spend some time in my art room this week. I’m going to see if I can find another good video on techniques for wood burning to get the juices flowing. :0)

I hope things are going well for you today.

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October 12, 2023 · 8:56 am

Thursday 10-12-2023

The Epoch Times – artist unknown

istockphoto-Anastasiya Belevich-GettyImages

I’m driving myself to the ‘rescue mission,’ my wonderful hair stylist, Michael Remillard of Tangles, in Greenwood AR this morning. If you’re in the area, his phone number is 479-357-9305 and his salon is on the east end of the square in Greenwood. He is truly a miracle worker, rescuing me from looking like a ‘dandelion-gone-to-seed’ and transforming me to look like ‘someone-has-a-plan,’ – no easy feat. :0)

Mount_Magazine_State_Park

We’re having the first real ‘fall’ that I can remember. Usually here in Arkansas, we have the heat of summer followed by about 3 days of rain and ‘fall front,’ and then it’s COLD, like the flicking of a light switch. This year our weather has been really pleasant – so pleasant my husband and I have remarked on it several times. I’m really soaking it up, enjoying every minute.

“Creating with a kid” – Alisa Burke

This afternoon, after I’m home from my haircut, I’m hoping to spend time in my art room. It’s been several days, and I’m itching to make some progress up there.

I hope you have a stellar Thursday.

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October 5, 2023 · 9:46 am

Thursday 10-5-2023

Crocheted By Ana – Etsy UK

This little girl and her costume simply melted me into a puddle.

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TIME for Kids

It rained here, but not until last night. The forecasts, depending on which ones you chose, said the rain would begin at 8am yesterday morning, or noon, or after sunset. The after-sunset group won the forecast battle, but the thunderstorms they were talking about didn’t materialize here. The temperature decreased and we got some civilized rain with a few rumblings. NICE. It’s 69 here now, and is due to get to 81 this afternoon. This is a nice relief after all the super-hot-for-September-and-October weather we’ve been having. We’ve been breaking records daily and I’m glad to stop.

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@Britton65Sam on X – hahahahahahahaahah

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iStock-TanglewoodMoms

I’m going to try to get up to my art room today to see what havoc I can wreak. I finally have a day where it’s too wet to work outside and I just finished vacuuming the first floor tiles, so maybe I can play a bit. :0)

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I hope you have a fun Thursday.

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September 19, 2023 · 9:36 am

Tuesday 9-19-2023

Amigurumi Rat-cottontailandwhiskers.com

I’m going to check out more of this company’s stuff and I’ll share it with you. I’m not big on ‘rats,’ but this one made my heart melt.

Today is the wonderful day that we’re going to drive over the new bridge on the ‘old’ shorter way to town. I’ll try to stop and get some pictures to share with you. I think we only get to enjoy this for a couple of months because the paper said they were starting the bypass in November, and the route we take to town goes through the main intersection they will be tearing up.

Play Kettering

I finally got time in my art room yesterday. I started doing some etching on the glassware I’m trying to do for my friends, plus I started two new signs. I plan to do more up there today.

I’ll see if there is a quick project I can do outside, too. Starting this evening, we’re supposed to have a rainy week, so it looks like time outside will be limited.

I hope that you are able to make this a good day.

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September 11, 2023 · 9:45 am

Other Thoughts on Monday 9-11-2023

Phyllis Harris

I love Phyllis Harris’ work. She has several books and coloring books on Amazon. :0)

STUPID MOVE OF THE DAY –

I won this contest hands down (pun intended) yesterday. I needed to open a box of baking soda in order to pour it into an over-center container I use. I was using the scissors to open the top more and ‘suddenly’ the handles of the scissors snapped shut, pinching my hand just below my thumb. It happened really fast, hurt like crazy, and had me bleeding all over the place. Thankfully, I was in the kitchen where it could be wiped up, band-aids found, etc. I only have a little bruise today. It isn’t even very sore. The intense feeling of stupidity remains.

My outdoor to-do list for today is 4 planters around our garage pad. (There are two small ones and two regular-sized brick ones. ) If I can get them done, I’ll post pics later.

Nursery World

If I finish those, I’ll try to get to my art room this afternoon. I’m still practicing with the pen type engraver. It’s a good thing I have a lot of practice time. The jury is still out on whether I can actually do well enough to create the Christmas presents of etched glass I’m envisioning. I’m also having a great time producing some signs with sayings I like.

Attitude Sign – 6×8 Hand-Painted Sign on Hardboard – “Attitude” – $14.99 with FREE SHIPPING to the contiguous U.S. HandmadeHavenByLinda on Etsy

Enjoy your day!

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September 7, 2023 · 11:27 am

Thursday 9-7-2023

The Dalbo Dog-@Dalbodog on X

This picture makes me smile EVERY. TIME. I. SEE. IT. :0)

NEW THING –

6X6 Hand-Painted Affirmation/Encouragement Sign

$12.99 with FREE SHIPPING to the contiguous U.S.

HandmadeHavenByLinda on Etsy

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I spent some time yesterday playing with my new engraver. It seems very sensitive to me. As a beginner, I’m finding it challenging to press down on the pen hard enough to make a solid line, but not TOO hard so it stops. Seems a bit hair trigger to me, reacting to my bumbling. I’m glad I have time and scrap glass on which to practice until my technique improves.

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We have a quiet day today – a very welcome thing. I hope that things are good with you in your day today, too.

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September 6, 2023 · 9:45 am

Thoughts on a Wednesday 9-6-2023

Michael Tamoszus Art

I find it difficult to talk about this piece. It’s hard to believe it’s made of WOOD. It’s even harder to think about it being done with a chainsaw! Let’s just be happy that Michael Tamoszus created it. I am sitting here looking at the details over and over. I’m beyond impressed.

Mom.com

I had fun in my art room yesterday. I finished three pieces that I’ll add to my Etsy site today, plus I started experimenting with the new engraver I received that I’m hoping I can use on the glassware presents I’m making for my friends this year for Christmas.

Paul Felix – Pixels

So far, I’m glad I have a lot of extra jars on which I can practice. The engraving pen requires a super-light touch. If you push too hard, it simply stops. I’ll keep practicing until I hopefully get a good ‘feel’ for the pressure needed to control the etching. It would take years – if not forever – to get ‘good.’ I’m just hoping to get passable so I can create something I hope my friends will enjoy.

Jim Wheaton

Today would have been my dad’s 104th birthday. He was born on Labor Day in 1919. I’m honored to have shared part of his life. He gave me two great gifts –

  • he told my class he was proud of me when I was getting my Master’s Degree as a Reading Specialist from the University of Tulsa. He was my guest speaker on my project of teaching kids to intelligently look at advertisements. (My dad was a ‘personality’ in Tulsa from his radio advertising, in which he used humor to sell the products he represented.) The radio people still play his commercials from time to time because he was so unique. This was the first and only time he said this and it meant a lot to me.
  • He taught me to stand back and try to see the humor in any given situation. This has long been one of my survival skills, allowing me to see things from a different perspective, diffuse explosive situations, and more. Plus, I just am able to enjoy every day more when I can laugh at myself.

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September 4, 2023 · 11:25 am

Parade of Etchers

This is an etcher that belongs to my husband. He’s had it in the shop for years. He doesn’t use it much anymore, so he gave it to me. It’s a good tool, but it’s too bulky and heavy for my old hands to handle for the glassware I’m trying to etch.

I got this new one. It’s much lighter, but it only has grinding attachments, rather than etching ones, so I chose wrong when I ordered.

My brother-in-law suggested that I use the search term ‘engraver’ rather than etcher. I ordered this one, and it arrived yesterday. You use it like a pencil. It’s cordless, and hopefully good for my needs. My friend Marsha suggested that I use a jar to practice on, and I’ll do that. I’ll try it later today and let you know how it goes. :0)

A bit of yard work and some vacuuming first, though.

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