Tiny Cardmaker

Caroline is a Girl Scout Daisy.  The troop is losing it's leader to a move to Colorado.  There is an end of year party scheduled and my daughter, the assistant leader, asked each girl to make a card for Ms. Stephanie and her daughter, Kaitlynn who is also one of the Daisies.  So, I was charged with the job of helping Caroline create the cards.  This is best told in photos so here we go --

Love scrapbook squares

Half way there

Gotta have some bling

sparkley things are always good and using the heart punch was more fun than a barrel of monkeys!

bubble stickers are a nice touch on Kaitlynns's card

Dragonflies, flowers and jewels -- oh my

glitter dots are always nice

All finished up with a properly addressed envelope

So, that was an afternoon of fun after school.  I was all on board to help since I am keen to try my hand at card making myself (check out my Pintrest board on the subject) so it was good fun!  Mary, you would have been proud!

Lucy Has Arrived

As I promised, Lucy has arrived. Her proper name is Lucy Lemur.  She is sleek, smooth, sort of shiny and is mine, all mine.  I know the suspense is overwhelming so I won't keep you waiting any longer --

TA-DA!

No, Pom Pom, I am sorry -- not a kitten but I am so happy to have Lucy here as my other computer has a broken power cord slot and it just needed to be replaced as I am sure it would cost more to fix it than the computer cost to begin with. So, that is why I have been absent for several days because in order for the little computer to work I had to hold the power cord just the right way and I could only hold on to it for so long before my hand cramped and that was the end of my efforts.

So, from now on my compelling posts will be composed with Lucy's help here in my little corner of the world.

My little corner of the world is a home office armoire.  It is made to house a desktop computer with a CPU and such but it is working just fine for me.  My  husband decided to go back to a desk he used previously so I fell heir to this cabinet.  We were trying to move it out of the house altogether but it turned out to be such a bear to move that we just adjusted the furniture to accommodate it in the entry way.  So, it is now mine.

To the right you can see my planner with a bright colored paisley design on it.  It is proving to be very useful -- who know in my old age I would actually use a planner? Hmmm.

Behind it you will see a little terracotta pot with pencils in it.  When my father was undergoing radiation treatment there was another man doing the same and his wife would come with him.  She was a ceramicist and, knowing my dad was an artist, she made him this little little pot to hold paint brushes.  When my dad passed away and we were clearing out his apartment this was the one thing I was desperate to hold on to.  To be such a little thing, it means so much.

On the left you can see my purple prayer journal with my life plan in it.  I need to be a little more proactive with that.

In the back left there is a little lamp with a little story.  Once, in our very first house, we had an old chest of drawers that my husband got from his grandmother.  We painted it white and put it in our hallway. The hallway was dark so I wanted a lamp on it but since that was the pathway for my small children, I didn't want anything large or particularly breakable and I thought something whimsical would be fun.  So, I sent Hubs out of find "something" and he came back with one of those little blue, speckled enamel ware coffee pots and a lamp was born.  In order to make it a little heavier he filled it with gravel from one area of our yard.  The lamp has moved with us to two other houses and has been through several paint jobs.  This last look is black with an antiqued rusty finish peeking through -- my handiwork I might add.  It is still filled with Schmeltzer Lane, San Antonio, Texas gravel.  I will keep this little lamp forever.  The little white chest of drawers, however, was remade into a green bookcase discussed in a previous post from awhile ago.

On the back bulletin board you can see a letter from Caroline, a list of neighborhood residents, doctor appointment list, a couple of meaningful cartoons.  One of them is the last King Aroo newspaper panel which was published on April 17, 1987.  The artist is Jack Kent, a friend of my father.  Here is King Aroo --

I loved King Aroo.  The other is a panel of For Better or Worse and the subject matter is traveling for hours to see your daughter dance for two minutes -- something I can identify with completely.  There are also some special cards that make me smile when I see them.

So, that is Lucy, my new companion and a little tour of my little corner of the world.

Sad Day

Well, I thought the morning would be better.  Yesterday was sad.  The day before yesterday was sad.  I thought I would have put it all into perspective by this morning but not so. 

Having a bad day is one thing.  We all do it.  Sometimes they just come out of the blue.  You wake up and things are fine and then something happens and it is officially a bad day.  It doesn't even have to be something big. 

However, my cousin's daughter had to schedule her official bad day, and that is putting it so mildly it is almost insulting.  Today she gets to disconnect her husband's ventilator.  I have had to do this and it is the most gut wrenching thing that I have ever had to do.  My thoughts and prayers are with her and her family today.  Death is hard -- doing what she has to do is harder.


And then, there is Bruce.  Bruce isn't doing well.  The radiation treatment helped but the chemo has not.  The tumor has grown and spread.  They have been looking for another clinical trial but he doesn't fit the criteria.  Apparently most clinical trials require that the patient has at least 16 weeks to live and they meet certain physical ability standards.  He does neither.  Hospice has been called in and the hope is that they can just take him home to wait out the next 4 to 5 weeks that he is on this earth.

There are just no words for the overwhelming sadness.

Lucy

In a few days there will be an addition to our home.  Lucy.  I can't reveal more as I don't know much about her but I will introduce you when she gets here. 

I am looking forward to her being here.

More later.

Oh Dear -- I Have Nothing to Talk About

Well, what a day -- I have nothing to blog about.  I have working on my life plan as laid out in my Simple Living Challenge posts but I have had a couple of off days.  That is normal and the goal is not to stress or just give up but get back on track and keep moving forward.  I had a great aunt named Willie who, when learning to drive couldn't back up and her mantra became "just keep going forward" and that is what I am trying to do.

I am learning a lot about things with this challenge -- mostly that I need to get up earlier and get a few things done before the day actually starts.  I get up before Hubs and I like to do the Bible study then when it is really quiet.  I can concentrate better.  I have been doing my exercises stretched out across the day which, in one way is good, but in another it seems like all I am doing is exercising! So, I need to tweak my schedule a bit and possibly just do an exercise time.  However, I think by stretching it out I have kept myself from getting sore.

I did get up and go grocery shopping -- a proper grocery shopping -- yesterday in anticipation of the horrific storms that we were predicted for last night.  I bought enough to keep us going for a week and.....the thunderstorm lasted for about 30 minutes with little fanfare.  I find it useless to watch the local weather anymore -- they are all drama queens and most times they are wrong.  Anyway, yesterday when I got home I put pork chops in the crock pot to be ready when we got home from picking up Bean and tonight I think I am going to make some taco meat.  Or maybe just make a hamburger when I get home.  I have options!

Hubs and I are involved in the Sunday School program at our church so we have been helping to build things for that.  It is great fun.  I am also thinking of something to do as a service project for me.  I am not hugely talented and I am a bit of an introvert so I am not going to go out and make waves in the world.  However, I do quilt and I was thinking that making baby quilts for charity would be good.  Our church has an alliance with the Fort Worth Pregnancy Center and I was thinking that they might appreciate some homemade quilts for their clients.  I make simple, utilitarian quilts that are meant to be snuggled and washed an dragged around and I have enough fabric to probably go around the world and I can't think of a better use to put it to.  Anyway, that is what I have been thinking about the last couple of days.

I am reading a book called "Bright Young Things".  It is the story of Letty and Cordelia in 1920's New York.  It is a fun book and it going quickly.  I have been working toward reading down the queue on my Nook.  I have resisted the urge to put anything new on it until I read some of what I have.  In fact, I have been doing a good job of not buying new books at all recently.  I think that is because all the bookstores that were near me have closed down so I have farther to go to get to one.  I have read that B&N is going to re-open some stores although they are going to a smaller footprint.  I just wish we had some independent stores left -- they are supposed to open one downtown but I haven't heard much about it.

Well, anyway, as I said, I really have nothing to blog about so I guess I will quit this rambling and go do something.  Guess I could put the meat on to cook -- crock pot taco meat is really good.

Simple Living Challenge

This has been the second week of my participation in Simple Living Challenge hosted by Jenn at adailyrhythym.com.

My went progressed at such --

The Word -- still reading each day -- have decided to alternate Old Testament and New Testament so I am half way through Matthew.  I gave up using the Nook -- it is too difficult because my Nook seems to be touchy and is giving me problems -- so back to The Book I go.  I am finding this reading to be very relaxing.  I don't know if that is an appropriate thing to say or not but it is.

Exercise -- Ok, I am doing pretty well in this department.  I have ridden my exercise bike 150 minutes - that is 30 minutes a day for five days.  It hasn't been that regular though because I missed three days instead of two and then rode more minutes twice -- I am up to 45 minutes per day.  The reason I missed a couple of days was because of doctor's appointments and such and some time dealing with my mother in law.  My goal is 30 minutes per day which is 210 minutes a week.  Since I have upped my minutes at each go I might actually surpass that but I have been advised by my doctor to take a day off -- and he is right.  I am still doing my pilates throughout the day.  It is mindless and painless if you take the few minutes you are waiting for laundry to finish or water to boil and throw in a few moves.  It adds up if you keep a talley.  And......drumroll please .... it is a stretch but I have moved up to 50 sit-ups at a time. I have done that once a day but am thinking of dividing it into two because it is straining my hips.

Peace -- Again, the tv is staying off for the most part and, when it is on in the evening, we are watching something with intent.  We ditched cable several months ago and now watch network tv with added viewing pleasure supplied by a Roku.  We subscribe to Acorn (the best!) and Netflix so there is always something to watch and I have taken to watching movies that I have missed as we no longer go to movie theaters (bummer).  No longer is the tv running just for the sake of using electricity.  I feel like this goal has been nailed -- we enjoy the quiet.


Food -- I have been tweaking my eating plan after starting the books "Thin Within" and "Intuitive Eating".   I haven't read very far in either book but I get it.  My plan for the last week has been -- eat three times a day, nothing in between, try for nothing after dinner, be mindful of sugar and eat slowly so that you recognize when you are full.  The idea of learning to recognize when you are hungry and when you are full requires you paying attention.  I have been following the suggestion of eating sitting down (I never ate standing up, anyway) and paying close attention to that fine moment -- that thin line -- between being satisfied and stuffed.  Eating this way frees you to eat whatever you want where ever you are.  I have been practicing this and it seems to work.  I haven't lost any weight, I don't think.  I look different though and I was reminded at he dr. yesterday that muscle weighs more than fat so as I am building muscle the numbers may not change as readily but they will as I go on.  I just know I have less throat  and one less chin.

Domestic issues -- still struggling here.  Kitchen clean, things are staying tidied but as far as really cleaning -- yeah - fuggidaboutit.  But, at least things are tidy.  That is one goal reached.  Maybe subconsciously I am trying to conquer that little challenge before I move on.  At any rate, I am still working on this.

Grocery shopping -- ok, still not going to the grocery store.  So, I bought a handy little check list thing for my planner.

It isn't elaborate or detailed or anything but it will give me an idea of something to eat.  It is laminated and wipes clean with a damp cloth.  There is space on the back for a grocery list.  We are still eating out a lot but that is ok -- I can still use this for that as well -- it will help decide what we are going to have when.  I can already tell you -- Wednesday is Mexican food (because we are all trained at a young age in the Texas public school system that Wednesday is Mexican food day in the school cafeteria) and Friday is going to be hamburger night -- whether it is hamburgers at home or at our favorite Chapp's.  One night will have to be fish -- that should really be Friday in keeping with religious beliefs -- but I have to find a night for Hubs to have his shrimp.  So hamburgers may be Monday night.  We will see.

So, that was my week living my simple living challenge.  I am taking this very seriously as I need direction in my life in some areas.  I thought that with retirement I could just throw caution to the wind and live wild and free but wild and free doesn't make for a clean house and a healthy body so here I am, in my dotage, relying on a planner and writing goals.  It is ok, though, I feel accomplished, stronger physically and more focused so even if I am not meeting my goals 100% I am trying and that is half the battle.

Have a great week!

Main St. Arts Festival, Fort Worth, TX

This is the weekend of the Main St. Arts Festival here in Fort Worth. Our daughter, son in law and Bean were going to go for a while after Bean's golf lesson so we decided to tag along.  A childhood friend of mine was going to be there with his daughter's booth so I thought I would look him up.  As luck would have it, I missed him.  My fault because he sent me his phone number and I went off and left it at home.  I did gift him with this vintage photo of us in my yard on Lee Hall Street.  I believe it was about 1959.

I did have presence of mind to take my camera with me so I thought I would share some photos of the evening.  Apparently the crowds were lighter last night, probably due to threatening weather, but it was a very good time.  I should have shopped but I didn't.  They had lovely glass items and pottery that really caught my eye and some black and white sketches.  If it wasn't pouring rain and my ankles didn't hurt so much I would venture back down there and buy one of the sketches.  The glassware and pottery was completely out of my price range.

Anyway, here is a glimpse of our evening and some architectural interest shots.  I tried to do the Don Mangus thing of doing street shots but seriously, the street wasn't that interesting.

Beenalina

Our starting point

crowds

random shot

Daughter -- I lost her in the crowd -- it was like "Where's Waldo"

Iconic Trail Drive mural

One of my favorite old buildings

The Geico Gecko and Beanie

The kiddos spot

The real reason we were there -- Sand Art!

A little more sand art

and still more -- it is a family affair

deciding on which bottle to use

taking it all in

trying to be artistic but it is just wonky -- it was just beginning to get dark

Tarrant County Courthouse

Courthouse

Courthouse

Free!

Panther sculpture -- in addition to being called "Cowtown' we are also called "Panther City"-- I think it has to do with a panther sighting back in the day

Fort Worth street

On a pillar outside the restaurant

Old tile work

Looking up!

Ornate

Evening lights shining

More evening -- the trees all have fairy lights in them and sparkle year round

Again

Entrance to the kids area

We then had dinner at Cantina Laredo -- yummy chicken and lime cilantro salad -- it was so large I couldn't eat it all!

It was a wonderful evening, a lot of walking and good exercise, beautiful artwork and, if it wasn't raining I would go back but.....next year!

A Simple Living Challenge

As I said last week, I am following Jenn at A Daily Rhythm adailyrhythm.com as she begins a simple living challenge of her own devise.  The goal of her plan is to designate areas of her life that she wishes to improve on or develop.  I had been thinking along the same lines so I decided to join her in her journey.  Her plan is to post every Saturday about her progress and I am following suit so here I am with my progress of the last week.

I chose to concentrate on six main concerns of mine in order of importance to me:  spirituality, exercise, peace, food, domestic issues, and grocery shopping.  My least favorite thing in the whole world is grocery shopping so you can see where it ended up on my list of importance.  LOL!

So, here is how my week went --

The Word -- this is the most important goal to me and I managed to meet it each day although it wasn't always first thing in the morning.  Most days it was as I sat in the pick up line at Bean's school.  I have started with Genesis and put a NIV study Bible on my Nook which makes the toting around a lot easier.  The reading is slow because I am trying not to just skim over the difficult names and such, I am really trying to stay focused.  However, I am on Chapter 34 so progress is being made.

Exercise -- ok, my goal was 30 minutes a day on my exercise bike and I have accomplished that 5 out of the seven days.  With that said, I am also incorporating some pilates that I used to do in college and I am finding myself doing some of that while I am waiting for the tea water to boil or the washer to stop.  It is doing wonders for the achy knees, btw -- I wish I had started this a long time ago.

Peace -- the tv has been off the entire week until noon when we watch the news and a soap opera.  Then it goes off again until late evening and I notice it has been coming on later and later.  We only watch two shows regularly and we seem to be liking the quiet.  So, I would say I have accomplished that goal. Plus, I have gotten really tired of the politics.

Food -- ok, I bought the two books that Jenn recommended -- "Thin Within" and "Intuitive Eating".  I think I have read them both in the past but need to read them again.  I haven't started yet but will probably get to that today.  As far as my eating went -- well -- improvement needs to be made.  I did ok for the most part being mindful of what I was eating and when I was eating.  I didn't snack a whole lot but there was some.  However, it wasn't mindless, it was intentional.  The thing I can't get past is sugar and that is what I desperately need to conquer.  So, this upcoming week I am going to do a better job of being cognisant of the sugar intake.  I really don't want to go back to food journaling but I will if I have to, just to get my head around things.

Domestic Issues -- ok, now things start to slide a bit.  I am behind on the laundry but catching up this morning.  I haven't done a lick of housework except to try to keep the kitchen clean and I have been doing a reasonable job of that.  My excuse?  Well, MIL was admitted to the hospital on Monday and then immediately released to a rehab and we have been doing a lot of running back and forth for that.  And, I had a doctor appointment as well.  Not a really good reason, I get it, but these things did mess up the flow of my day.

Grocery shopping -- I haven't done a good grocery shopping all week.  We have stopped for a few things along the way which was good -- we have a new Spouts just up the street and I love it -- so small, organic and great meat.  We eat out a lot which is bad but when we get home in the evening neither one of us really want to cook and we don't like the same foods so there you go.  I did cook my easy, simple steak dinner again and Hubs liked it.  I had put some potatoes to bake in the crock pot and then sauteed some asparagus as the steaks grilled on the stove.  I have been watching a lot of Jacques Pepin and love the way he makes cooking look so effortless.  I wish I could cook like him or....just hire him.  Ha!

So, that was my week of simple living.  I am going to continue on this path next week and try to get my head around the cooking a bit more.  I have a few simple meals up my sleeve (hint: tonight will probably be omelets or grilled cheese sandwiches).

Oh, yes, I almost forgot.  I ordered an Erin Condren planner -- having been sucked in by my daughter and cousin -- but I really do need to write things down.  I thought when we retired life would be one big, carefree, white fluffy cloud sort of floating existence. Boy, was I wrong.  You better have your wits well honed because before you know it here comes health issues, medicare, social security, supplementals, phone calls, notes scribbled on discarded envelopes -- yes, in other words -- something I like to call ElderChaos.  So, I decided to purchase the much recommended planner in an effort to keep all this retirement delight in some sort of order.  My husband usually handles this but lately they have been wanting to talk to me since most of the calls are about me and besides, he is the worst about the note taking so here I go -- acquainting myself with the geriatric equivalent of a college planner.  Yay!

Anyway, I thought I would share photos -- I didn't take any of the inside but let me assure you - it is roomy with lots of space to write and I am thinking it would be useful for meal planning as well if I actually resort to REALLY meal planning. I know it will be useful for keeping track of my exercise.

Even the box is pretty

classy

voila!

So, that was my Simple Living Challenge for this week.  Hopefully I will have more progress next week.