Licking Wounds

Yesterday was my scheduled trip to the dental office for cleaning. I don't mind cleaning, but I hate going as know they are going to find some little tiny something somewhere that needs 'fixing'. I always brush and floss. I set out to floss my way to a cavity free report. I've flossed like there was no tomorrow. The hygienist gave me a praise report after I nudged her into the fact that I needed a bit of validation for all that flossing. Of course, the dentist has the final say on that matter. Sure enough, he just had to find a teeny tiny cavity on an upper very back tooth. I HATE that!!! So, now I have to go to the dentist for drilling and filling. I HATE that!!!

I came away deflated feeling like a flossing failure. I have an appointment scheduled. Bummer and such! I was in LOW spirits.

I decided to lick my proverbial wounds and head to a place of comfort and retreat: Hobby Lobby. I will admit that I hadn't much real spirit or interest, but I'd just look. Of course I realize that looking is a potential hazard in Hobby Lobby, but I just needed to go. I needed consolation after my dental experience.

I sure saved a lot of money at Hobby Lobby! Now that perked me up. Of course, I had to spend to save, but it works.... sort of. In the 80% off aisle, I found two metal sculptures to hang outside on my craft building. Tah Dah! I've been looking for something for a year, and here it was in the 80% off aisle.

Then I spied the wind chimes. Ah!! They were half price! I have some metal wind chimes that I've always loved. Unfortunately, they've been sitting on the bench in the craft house for a couple of years now. The strap holding them has weathered away and they need to be restrung. That is something that I haven't faced. Well, here were new ones in the half price aisle. Indeed, my day was looking up. Into the cart they went.

I wasn't quite finished with saving, either. I also found some flowers on half price so I'll have something spring looking to put on my front porch in a cute little wagon. With a coupon I'd tucked into my purse, I finished off the savings spree with a little stamp from the stamping aisle.

I was feeling much better now as had saved almost $60 and had some items I really needed. (I realize that is up for debate).

In this whole process, I also managed to help others find bargains. Two ladies were looking for some plaques to hang in their church. They had found some and were discussing which ones to get. I somehow got mixed into their conversation and reminded them that they needed to group in an odd number, so needed three. They assured me they were getting three. I kept looking at them and finally suggested that they might want to get frames when they are on sale and frame each plaque. Their eyes lit up and got really round. They were delighted with the idea of framing them. You see, I helped those ladies save money too.

My one real chuckle came in the fabric department. There I overheard a conversation between a mother and her small son. I'm guessing he might have been six or so. She was shopping, and he was looking at some of the fabric. She asked him if he liked any of the fabric. He held up the end of one of the prints and said he liked that one. She asked him what he would do with it, and he said, 'Put it on the ceiling.' I chuckled softly. Amazingly, she didn't. Rather, she replied, 'We'll think about that another day.' Sure they will!

I will admit that my visit to Hobby Lobby had taken some of the sting out of the fact that my dental disaster was occurring. I have that to face yet, but I do have some wonderful items at a great savings from one of my favorite stores.

Fright Night

Last night wasn't fun. I'm not sure I can find much humorous about it, but will save the one thought I can come up with for the last.

Mother called last night after dark saying that someone was beating on her window. She was frightened. I'd be frightened if someone was beating on my window... day or night. I was a bit frightened and thinking about what to do. She wondered if Son Right Back might be home. I guess she wanted me to call him and have him come right over.

I told her that she needed to hang up the phone and call the police... 'Just dial 911 right now and tell the police!' She did. It wasn't long before a patrol call was there with lights searching the neighborhood. Of course, they didn't find anyone. My bet is on one of the kids who has recently moved into the neighborhood and gotten into some previous trouble here. Unfortunately, supervision hasn't been the first priority of the parents. Of course, I really don't know that one of them was the culprit. I just know that it is sad that anyone would think that was fun.

I promised a humorous thought just to prove the point of the blog. So, Crafting Ida suggested that there may be footprints under the window. So.... my mental image of dressing like Sherlock and making a cast of any footprints has been lingering in my mind. Now, that's humorous.

Dang It

JuJu called last night for a little chat. We were having a nice warm heartfelt chat before she spoiled everything. The conversation went like this:

Juju: 'I read your blog yesterday.'
Me: 'Oh, good. I'm glad to know you read it.'
JuJu: 'So, did you do your walking tape?'

At this point, silence settled light a weight. It came back to me. The whole ugly promise I'd made in my blog.

Me: 'Uh..... I.... forgot all about the tape. Really. I really did. I completely forgot about that.'
JuJu: 'I see.'
Me: 'Well.... I did try to do the rest of it. I counted my points. Oh.... and I went to the post office and it was really cold..... so.... I shivered all the way there and back. Does shivering count as exercise?'

JuJu: 'Well, actually... I think shivering is constant moving, and that ought to be exercise.'

I just love how JuJu picked up on that and tried to help me salvage my commitment issue. I guess that is what friends do.

I really thought it was a good save and things were okay. Then I got up this morning and checked my mail and there was a forward from JuJu titled 'Exercise'

It was about how to exercise if you are over fifty. It's the one that tells you to start out with two five pound potato sacks, one in each hand. You are to extend your arms straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you can. You try to reach a full minute and then relax. Each day you are to hold this position a bit longer. After a couple of weeks, move to ten pound potato sacks. Then try fifty pound potato sacks....... then one hundred. Finally, when you feel comfortable with this, put a potato in each sack.

Dang it, JuJu!!

Just For Today

I might have titled this with any of the following:

• I Have Sinned
• Closet Shrinkage
• Just Fluffy
• Eat Today, Gain Tomorrow
• Who Cares?
• It's A Hard Knock Life
  

You are probably getting the picture by now. My clothes are a bit tight. I have no one to blame except myself. I'm sure I'm not alone in this, but that doesn't mean I like it. Misery may love company, but keeping the wrong company isn't good either. I've given my sweet visitors permission to leave.

Actually, I KNOW I'm not in this proverbial boat alone. Almost everyone I know has a similar fight going on. It just doesn't seem fair, but, as Grace would say, 'It is what it is.'

So, I'm making a decision for today.... just for today. I think I can do this today.

Today I will:

• Keep a record of what I eat and its Weight Watcher's points
• Carry a bottle of water around with me and sip often
• Work on something that keeps me out of the kitchen
• Put on a walking tape and do it.
• Pat myself on the back this evening and tell myself that I've done well.

Tomorrow I'm going to get up and say to myself, 'I think I can do this again, just for today'.

A Return to Winter

I heard it in the night. It was THE sound. I heard it plainly on the roof. Splat..splat...splat...splat. Rain fell in splats and plunks. I knew. Yes, I knew we were in for that lovely winter happening. What happens when plunking splatting water and below freezing temperatures combine? Yep, we have the 'i' word this morning... ice.

The world of Small Town and Nearby Cities has come to a grinding halt once again. Travel is risky. Going down your back porch steps is risky. The best plan for feeding the cat is to fill the bowl with cat food and just slip it out the back door... close to the door. The cat has a better chance of getting on the porch than I do. School is closed... not my worry anymore. However, school is closed. Anyone with sense is closed. They should stay that way... closed.

We have a saying in our state: 'If you don't like the weather, wait a minute and it will change.' We didn't get that saying for no reason. It's true... really. I plan on checking in about ten minutes to see if there is any improvement. Call me an optimist.

I suppose the realist in me knows that the optimist in me is overdoing it a bit. Ten minutes isn't going to make a difference. There will be no sunshine and rising temperatures in the next ten minutes. It's going to take a couple of days, but we are promised sixty something degree temperatures in a few days. I look forward to that.

In the meantime, I'm going to consider what adventure to have inside my house today. I have a healthy 'to do' list. Perhaps I'll dig that out and peruse it for awhile. Then I'll be able to say that I at least looked at it. The optimist in me says that I'll accomplish great things today. The realist says I'll just mess around: make some cards, read a book, make some soup... and pie (my wonderful pumpkin pie).

The upside of this whole frozen world forced homebound situation is that nothing is expected of me. I don't have to go anywhere. I can stay home. I can be happy doing my own thing. Take it or leave it for a day.... I believe I'll take it.

Just Plain Doings

I finally had no excuse to resist housecleaning. Company was coming and the deed must be done. I am proud to say that, when the guests arrived, my home was virtually free of dust, and the carpet was sucked free of droppings. Yea for me!

Some wise someone once said that it was best to clean house AFTER the guests leave. I must state that no one, absolutely, NO one bothered to mention how clean and sparkling my home was at their arrival. Of course, I'm sure their homes are ALWAYS clean and sparkling, so they should expect the same from mine. Either that, or they just have manners. If they mentioned how nice my house looked, that might imply that at times it doesn't look that nice.

Now, I will say right out front that I'm really not a slob. I do keep my house picked up. It is just that dust sometimes gets ahead of me. I'd rather craft then dust. Silly me. I'm sure dust reforms to remind me that I have constant things in my life.

The purpose of company was to craft. Crafting Ida arrived and we got busy making cards and learning more about our intended addictions. I'd put all the leaves in the dining room table to provide ample elbow room for all. Of course, I did that ahead of time, but somehow wondered as I was pushing and shoving and trying to get things to line up if it wasn't more of a two woman job. My pride wouldn't let me wait until the guest arrived to start putting the leaves in the table.

We got right to our work. We had little clippings, which we later cleaned up by scooping them into our hands and carrying them to the kitchen waste basket. I was proud of all of us. We are a tidy bunch. After everyone left, I got down on my hands and knees to inspect the carpet. I just wanted to prove to myself that we were neat. I laughed as I picked up a few tiny paper scraps. I thought of the sage advice quoted earlier.... the one about waiting until after the guests leave to clean.

We really did have fun together. That's one of our purposes. We craft and just enjoy each other's company. I've been busy earlier putting our first project from yesterday on the crafting blog. I've more to do later on that.

Learning new techniques means I have to head to Hobby Lobby to purchase a thing or two. The up side of that is that I still have in my possession part of a gift certificate from Christmas. Now, that's what I call a bright spot or thought for the day.... a free pass to my favorite place.
Tah-Dah!

The Haircut

Eating the Post-Trauma Treat







With all the responsibilities of pet care, sometimes you just have to take matters into your own hands. I-Needa is Gigi's loving person. I-Needa takes really good care of her little pooch person, and that means lots of trips to the vet to get things done. The thing about hair is that it grows. Groomers can make the dogs look really cute, but the hair still grows. I-Needa decided to take matters into her own hands, and with scissors and a brush attacked the problem. She said Gigi took to it really well. I love the fact that, in this digital camera age, I can get pictures of all major events almost immediately.

This reminds me of times I use to take Denie, my shelter dog of thirteen years, out on the back porch and give her a haircut. I let it go natural for years, but grew tired of all the long blond hair in the house and decided I'd just try cutting it myself. I tried a groomer one time, but Denie didn't take to that well, and there was really trauma. So, I decided to just try scissors and patience. I remember being surprised at how patiently Denie stood for me while I snipped away at her hair. She really didn't seem to care. That started another thing that we did together. I don't know if I ever got much better at giving the cuts, but they seemed to turn out okay and we had minimal stress involved.

I just had to share my cute grandpuppy photo. I'm a dog person with a soft heart for them. They are such special loyal loving beings.

Grace's Gourd Art

What are you doing, Grace?
'Oh, just doodling.'







I went to Grace's house yesterday armed with my camera. I've been wanting to take some pictures of her wonderful art. Although not prepared for professional photography, I did it anyway as just had to share.

When I call Grace on the phone, the conversations usually starts with, 'Hey, what are you doing?' A good percentage of the time, Grace responds with, 'Oh, just doodling.' Over the past few years, Grace has doodled a lot.

I sat down with her yesterday and decided to ask some questions so I could quote her here. I asked how on earth she started doodling.

She reflected a bit, then said, 'Well, after I moved into the apartment, I probably spent three months just staring out the window. When I'd get home, I just sat and stared out the window. I didn't turn on the TV or radio, or my music. I just sat and stared out the window.'

Me: 'Well, why did you sit and stare out the window?'

Grace: 'I think I just needed to rest. I was tired from all the stress and things in my life. I guess I just needed to rest from everything. So, I just sat on my bed and stared out the window.

(I have to tell you that Grace did have something nice to look at out her window. She wasn't just staring at a wall.)

Me: 'Okay, so how did that bring you to doodling?' (At this point, Grace just eyed me and waved her hand around in the air as if she were writing or painting.)

Grace: 'I don't know. I guess I've just always felt that I needed to pick up a pencil or pen and do something with it. I like to write. Then one day I picked up a pen and a sketch pad and started doodling. I just kept doing it. I did that for a long time. I just kept doodling on paper.'

(Yes, Grace's walls are full of her doodle art. It's mostly black and white with some color. It's really great too.)

Me: 'So, what happened next to get you to move beyond the sketch pad?'
Grace: 'One day someone gave me a gourd. I just looked at it and looked at it. I decided I would just try out my art on that too.'
















Now I have to tell you that Grace just kept on doodling. She has doodled on gourds and boxes. I sometimes laugh and say that being around Grace means you should not sit still long. You might become doodle art, as Grace is always looking for new canvas.

Grace didn't see what I did in her art for a long time. I kept telling her that it was good and that she should share it. I told her that I really think there is a market for her work. It is great, it is detailed, and it is truly art. After nagging her a bit (actually a lot), she finally took a few pieces to a designer in town. The designer LOVED it and has been selling it in her shop. She has clients in larger nearby cities and has sold a number of pieces. They, too, see what it took Grace awhile to see. Her art has value, not only for her, but for others.

The nice thing is that Grace is just having fun. She loves creating her art for art's sake alone. It's always nice to sell a piece. I think it is a kind of validation of her talent. I'm blessed to have a piece or two of her art. I just beg for mine, and so far that seems to work. Well, friendship has its perks.

I had a hard time trying to decide about posting Grace's art here or on CJ's Crafting fun. I think I'm going to add a few pictures there as well. You might want to check that out as well. I'm heading there to upload more pics. Feel free to run over there as well. CJ's Crafting fun

A Visitor

Flat Aaron has arrived at my house. He is Flat Stanley's relative. FYI: Flat Stanley is a wonderful little learning project for students. The student creates a paper person, then mails the person around the country. The idea is to learn about geography, history, culture, etc.

The fourth grade student who is Aaron's parent lives in Kansas. I-Needa is a friend of his Mother. Flat Aaron visited with I-Needa and had his picture taken doing some fun things. Now it is my turn to show Flat Aaron my town. I'll be taking pictures with him and collecting a few tokens of the area to send back to the real Aaron at his school.

Flat Aaron arrived on Wednesday. I snapped his picture as he was climbing out of his mailer. He said it was really tiring to be tussled around in the mailer, so he decided to just rest up on Wednesday, and we would go adventuring on Thursday. We had plans. Well, you know the best laid plans of mice and men can change. Thursday seemed to bring all kinds of interruptions, so Flat Aaron took another day off and spent the day reading.

The winter weather has come back and it is too too cold for Flat Aaron and me to get out and have fun today. We are going to visit and sip hot chocolate. As soon as the weather permits, Flat Aaron and I are going to go have some fun. I'll be sure to post pictures when we go on our adventure.

Important Discovery

My brilliant child I-Needa has made a discovery. I do believe the girl takes after her mother... me. She has a knack of being insightful in most situations. I just didn't realize how really brilliant she is until she let me in on her secret. She has made an important discovery. It's one that could change our whole way of thinking and possibly even history. Its ramifications could extend far into the medical field and into our personal lives on an everyday level.

I-Needa offers no real extended documentation of her findings. She has had no long term testing of her discovery in light of its new status. However..... and here is the big news.... really big news... Are you just dying to know yet? Okay.... here it comes.... you will see that it will change your thinking.

I-Needa's discovery is a new vitamin. Really... It has not been reported previously, but it is there. Vitamin S is now in our lives. 'What?' you say. 'What the heck if Vitamin S?' Well, its our new name for.... are you ready?...... sugar. Tah Dah!!

Now, go forth and fetch some Vitamin S. It can be found in cookies, cakes, pies, cinnamon rolls, and other sweet and wonderful foods. Just put that notion of S= Shouldn't away. Remember, you should have some Vitamin S each day. Don't you love it? Go, I-Needa, go!

Hail and Fun Mail

I must confess right off the bat that there is no hail. There is sleet and a very wet street, but it doesn't rhyme with mail. It's another one of those winter days: cold, wet, cold, almost icy. Definitely, I'm staying inside and rejoicing in retirement.

Fun mail: That part is true. I was checking e-mail today and saw that a comment had been left on my crafting blog. I'm always amazed when someone leaves a comment and I don't know how they came across it. I have a picture there of a card titled 'A Little Bit of Happiness.' I mentioned in the directions that I'd used quilling strips. I can remember being in Hobby Lobby one day just looking at things to buy that might be useful in card making. I saw a container with long narrow paper strips. I wondered what they were, so read the information. It said they were quilling strips. I can't honestly say I knew exactly what that was. I looked it up when I got home and found they are wrapped to make flowers, etc.

The lady who left the comment today directed me to her own site saying that there are lots of things that can be done with the strips. I headed over there and was amazed at all the beautiful things she has created. I know for sure that I'm going to have to leave that alone for now. I'd have something else to spend my money on, and I'm doing well enough in that department with out adding another addiction.

I find it a fun feeling when someone visits and leaves a message. It does make me wonder how they got to my little corner of the world. The Internet is an interesting place.

I did post a link to the quilling site on my crafting blog, but will repeat it here. I think it is worth a visit over to see. Just beware... you might become addicted yourself.

Head on over to Whimsiquills.
Scroll down and click on gallery pictures to see some lovely artwork.

Dinner and a Movie

Last night the three musketeers gathered for dinner and a movie. It is something we do. Grace, JuJu, and I sometimes seem to be a trio headed for ‘Golden Girl’ status. We’re not sure what to call ourselves, but we stick together like glue at times and sometimes just call ourselves the Three Musketeers.

Dinner and a movie is a nice friendly little get-together type thing. It usually involves a glass of wine. We are glad that science is showing that we should have one for our health. We are all about our health. Or at least we SAY we are about our health. Anyway, we have our wine... for our health. Well, we’d probably have it anyway.

Grace had brought along a casserole... one that was full of healthy things... weight watcher style. I’m not sure whose turn it was to cook, but Grace brought along a casserole. We loaded our plates and headed for the living room to get the movie going. We could multi-task, eating and watching at the same time.

We are all rather pansies about this winter cold dark thing. None of us like it. After all, it gets dark early, and it’s cold. No one really likes to get out in the cold and go anywhere. We started the movie early thinking that it wouldn’t be so cold and dark when time to leave. I was home, so I didn’t have to worry about that last night.

Having found nothing much entertaining on TV since the writers strike, I’ve leaned more and more on Netflix. Grace got me into that months ago, and I’ve loved it. I’ve also watched a ton of movies that I’ve never seen before. They seem to have an unlimited supply, and they deliver them right to my door. Convenience and selection: I like that.

I’d selected something a bit different for the evening, I thought. It was a period piece taken from a Jane Austen book. Persuasion.... set in 1814 England.

The three of us settled in, ready to be entertained. It was a bit of a disappointment. We’ve noticed lately that in some movies characters don’t tend to ‘speak up’ and we have to turn the volume up higher. We’ve also noticed that actors don’t always enunciate. Now, both of those things are a bother. We also decided that our minds must not track as well as none of us could get the characters straight or had much of an idea about the point of the movie. We may have to spend more time on the AARP website sharpening our brains with their games. We may also need to sign up for hearing aids. Perhaps we just need a different movie.

We listened intently. I noticed we did a lot of eye shifting, trying to see if someone else seemed to be 'getting it'. We often had to ask for help with ‘What did they say?’. Usually, no one knew. We muddled through it and tried to find a few nice things to say about it. We just didn’t want to give up our evening entertainment and admit that we weren’t all that entertained. Alas, one hour and forty-four minutes later, we discussed the plot a bit. In the end, we decided it had taken a long time to arrive at a point, if there was a point.

I’m not saying we didn’t have a good time. Getting together with friends is always our good time. I think perhaps Jane Austen’s English items will be allowed to pass and we will stick with more proven movies. All in all, I think it wasn’t us... but them. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Have Been Absent

I realize that I've been bad... and absent. However, sometimes life comes along, and one just has to live it. Somehow Monday has skipped to a Friday, and I'm not sure where I've been. I hope I'm not the only one who has experienced this sort of phenomenon.

I seem to have been meeting obligations this week. There's nothing humorous about that, just doings. Perhaps I should whine just a bit and say that one can, indeed, get overextended. It just takes a few added items on the calendar and 'poof' one is too busy. It happens.

I have plans today. Crafting Ida came yesterday bearing all those goodies we ordered from Stampin Up. Now I have stamps to mount and a great amount of playing to be done. I need to craft. It is a need. Really. I was a little taken aback when I saw the great mountain of 'stuff' that I got from Stampin Up. In my defense, much of it was free stuff, if there is such a thing as free. This is a special month of specials with Stampin Up, so I really did get some free items.

The fun now begins as I get to use all these new stamps and such. I'm going to go get with the program and enjoy today. I need to write, but I need to play.

Crafters' Insanity

I'm afraid this crafting addiction is spreading. There has been as much hoopla waiting for February 1st and opening phone lines for Stampin Up Sale-A-Bration orders as for the Super Bowl.

For days, our little card crafting group perused the catalog. I hope I wasn't the only one who made out my order a bazillion times. It almost took over my life. My brain was strained, and I kept wondering what the heck I was doing. It finally dawned on me that I was in throwback mode to those teaching years. I was doing it again. It is a take on that whole system of being given a tiny amount of money and needing to get as much for it as possible. Yes, I was doing it again.

Crafting Ida was no help. She is worse than I am about that. She, too, came from an elementary education background. We are alike in that respect. Therefore, one simply cannot help the other. We are really good at confession to each other and knowing the other will be quick to validate our moments of insanity and spending. Good ole Ida.

The orders have now been made, and we are in waiting mode. We (all of us) CAN'T WAIT for mail to arrive and have our new schtuff in our hands. We have plans, we have ideas... we just need our stuff.

Being so focused on this ordering business, it has been hard to go on with life in any other way. It's difficult to find humor when one can't get one's nose out of the book to look around. I guess the humor will just have to be in the craziness of the doings we've been involved in lately. I carefully use the pronoun 'we' as don't want to be identified in this by myself. I am NOT alone. I have a whole group of crazy people who are like kids in a candy shop. We are crazed individuals wanting our toys. It's a bit like Christmas for kids who are waiting for their presents. We are in waiting mode. I hope it gives us time to breathe and reflect on something other than our plans and catalogs. One thing is for sure: We will do this again.

February Decor

I-Needa was in a decorating mood not long ago and fixed this cute Valentine's Day decoration for her kitchen table. I think it is sweet and cute, so had to share.

The Joys of Snow

Those icy winds brought with it a ton of snow. We were dumped upon by the snow cloud. Fortunately, we weren't in the 12 inch band, but we still had snow for most of the day. Then it warmed above freezing, and some of it melted. The street even became passable before the end of the day.

I was looking out the window in my living room and caught sight of the neighbor's grandson happily working on snow people. I thought it was so cute. I didn't want to disturb him, so grabbed the camera and just took a picture of his snow people through my window. It isn't bad considering there is screen between the window and the scene. I just had to share.

I remember being in college years ago and having a girl in our dorm who was from Florida. She had never seen snow... ever. It was such a treat when we had a good snow. We grabbed her and headed outside to play in the snow. We made snow people, had a good snowball fight, and also left our marks with snow angels. It was such a joy to watch someone who had never experienced snow. It left us all seeing it with fresh eyes. I thought about that as I watched this cute little boy busy making his snow people.