ET go to the beach

Yesterday my friend Debbie and I went to the beach. It was the perfect day, not too hot and not a lot of people there. First, we walked on one beach to look for rocks that she could paint. As I was walking along I spotted one that reminded me of ET. I hope I'm not the only one who can see it.

I took lots of pictures while I was there so for the rest of the week I'll be taking you to the beach.

Grilling in the rain.

For dinner on Sunday I wanted a pork chop. The plan was to cook it on the grill. When it came time to start cooking it was raining. Now Wade always said you couldn't grill if it was raining. I told him of course you could. You just take an umbrella out. Nope, he said you can't grill if it's raining.

Well guess what? You can't really tell from this bad picture, but that's a pork chop on the grill, and it is raining.

I carried my dinner inside holding an umbrella over my head and looked up at the sky and said "You can too grill in the rain Wade."

A little bit of everything

My day off yesterday had a little bit of everything. It had being lazy and sipping coffee in front of the computer. It had grocery shopping. It had lawn mowing. It had cleaning out the shed. It had a little bit of craftiness. It had lounging on the couch watching tv. That was a lot to fit into one day off. I don't have pictures of anything but the craftiness.

I made some simple cards. I started by printing out some watercolor bouquets that were free files from Creative Fabrica. 

These were very easy cards to make but I loved the way they looked.

Drawing a blank

I haven't picked up my camera in forever which makes it difficult to come up with blog material. I also haven't done any craft projects.

We did have rain on Thursday. It was a most welcome thunderstorm. The sky got seriously dark, the thunder started and then the lights kept dimming. I thought for sure I was going to lose power. Friday it looked like there might be another one but it didn't happen

I stood out on the deck and snapped a couple pictures with the cell phone. This one facing into the sun

Who knows what I will do today. I'm planning on just playing it by ear.

No need for steps

So I told you yesterday that I sold the pool steps. What I haven't told you about is why I don't need them.
The pool is pretty old. We've had a problem the last couple years with the wall pushing in over the winter. Last summer we put a new liner in it and last winter the wall pushed in, the wind caught the liner and proceeded to rip it to shreds.
This is what the pool looks like right now

I really don't care much about the pool and don't want to be bothered with it. I've offered it free to anyone who comes and takes it down and hauls it away for scrap. I also have to have the shed torn down because the roof caved in on it last winter.
The neighbor across the street came over today and I guess he wants it. So that will take care of that

Sold to the lady with the cash

So yesterday I told you I had my daughter's future mother in law post some stuff for sale on Facebook. She uses the Albion area, garage sale site as well as one or two others but I don't know what those are. Grace said, "Now see, asking for some help works, right?" Well yes, it does when you ask the right person. Amy was the second person I asked and not only did she come over the same day I asked her but by the next day I had sold several items.

The first item sold was a glass milk bottle from a local dairy. Not sure if they are still in operation or not. That sold for $10,
Next, I sold a lighter for $2 and a pair of sunglasses for $5
The big sale of the day was the pool steps. She listed them at $150 or best offer and the woman offered $125. When she got here to look at them she asked if I would take less. Without hesitating, I said I didn't want to go lower than the 125. Without further hesitation, she pulled the cash out of her pocket and we carried them out to her truck.

Now to some people, this would be just a little extra spending money. Normally that's how I would have looked at it. Now I see this as finally being able to go to the grocery store. This experience has taught me to never ever take for granted the ability to walk into a store and buy a simple loaf of bread. I'm not complaining about my situation or expecting sympathy I'm just saying it really has been a humbling experience. It's certainly been a lesson is learning to appreciate everything a whole lot more.

No time

On Monday I had my daughter's future mother in law post some things on Facebook to sell for me. Tuesday I was busy with people wanting to buy stuff. I had no time to put a post together. Hopefully I'll have something for you tomorrow.

Back in the day

Yesterday I worked a bit on cleaning out the crawl space. I pulled out several boxes to go through. I found a photo album that gave me a little trip down memory lane.

These days I pretty much dress for comfort but back in the day it was all about style. I would get myself all dolled up

Then I would saddle up and head out for a big night on the town or a day of shopping.

Chatty

Yesterday while I was at work I got a text message from my sister in law. I told her I was at work but would call her when I got home. Shortly after 1:00 pm I gave her a ring. I was on the phone until after 6:00 pm. We haven't talked like that in years. I couldn't believe we had been on the phone that long. Needless to say, after I got off the phone I didn't have much time left to get to the emails and blog reading.  I obviously didn't get around to doing much of a blog post either. It was really nice catching up with her again though. 

Miscellany

Life is really quite mundane. I do the same things over and over. I get up, I go to work, I come home, I clean, I eat, I sleep. Too bad there aren't some craft projects in that mix but unfortunately I just haven't had much of a desire to do them.

Saturday started out with a leisurely cup of coffee or two and sitting in front of my computer. For as long as I sat there you would have thought that all blogs had been read and all email had been answered. Nope. I don't quite know what I spent all that time on.

After some cleaning, Gibbs and I went out for a bit of a walk. Gibbs is aware of the fact that his leash clashes with his harness but being a guy he really doesn't care much about such things.

Passing by the funeral home, we had to check to see if there was a new rock. We weren't disappointed

The sign at the church told us what we need to accomplish.

Since I didn't want to neglect my duty to do good, I returned home and promptly rewarded Gibbs with a treat.

Just stuff

The best part about today is that it's my day off. I have no plans so I'll be playing it by ear. I may do some cleaning or I may lounge all day and read.

The best part about yesterday is that we finally got some rain.

A while back I posted a picture of a business card that I was working on. I read the wonderful suggestions that all of you gave me and I worked on it some more. This is what I have now. I did some playing around with the hue/saturation and thought it might be fun to do this exact same card but in a variety of colors.When I print them I might do that.

And that would be just about all I've got today. Hope everyone has a great Saturday.

Wicked indeed

I happened to say to one of the girls at work the other day "Forget about the cheese, I need some wine to go with my whine." So she asks me if I like peach wine and then says she has a bottle of wine at home that she'll bring me.

Yesterday she gets to work and said she forgot it but if I'll give her a ride home after work (which I normally do on Thursday any way) she'll give me the bottle of wine.

Fast forward to last evening. I was ready to settle in and though OOH, I'm going to have a glass of wine. I pull the bottle out of the fridge only to discover that it has a cork and I have no corkscrew.

The wicked winery label should have been my first clue.

Music to my ears

Tuesday after I got home from work I decided since I didn't have tv to watch I would get going on some more cleaning. Since Wednesday was garbage day it was a good time to fill another bag with junk. Then it was dinner for me and Gibbs.

Later in the evening I settled in on the couch with my tablet. For noise I popped a CD in the DVD player and listened to some music.  I can't tell you how many times I was up out of my seat dancing like a fool. Good thing I was alone because I can't dance worth a darn. Made no difference though because it was good for the soul. Wade always considered himself somewhat of a classic rock expert and as I was dancing and belting out the tunes I could hear him asking me if I knew who sang that.

Hanging on to memories

A while ago I had been talking to my daughter about wanting to really declutter my house. I said that I wanted to get rid of everything that I didn't either use, need or love. I told her that there were some things that didn't fall into any of those categories but for some reason I wasn't able to throw them away. I went into the other room and brought back an example of something I couldn't seem to part with.

I told here I still had these cups that were ugly as sin but because they were made by her and her brother I couldn't part with them. Turns out that she actually made both of them and told me to toss them. I offered them to her but she said that she didn't want them.

A week or so later she came over and looked at the window sill in my kitchen and there sat the two much stacked like they are above. She looked at them and said "You still haven't thrown those away?"

So there they sit, they are ugly as sin, she's given me permission to part with them and yet I still can't seem to throw them out.

Well so much for that

I'm having a hard time staying positive when it feels like everything just keeps going down hill. Yesterday I went to the Spectrum store so that I could take a copy of Wade's death certificate and get the account changed into my name. That pretty much went as planned. I asked about changing what I have to save some money and he talked about some options. He said I was paid up until the 20th so I said I would leave it as is for now and get back to him.

Later I decided I just can't afford the cable any more and I would take it down to just the internet. I can't be completely shut off. So I called and told them what I wanted to do. Of course she kept giving me other options that would be less than what the current bill is. I kept responding that I could NOT afford that. Finally she got the message that I didn't want anything more than JUST the internet. Later I went in and turned on the tv thinking I had a few more days since I was paid up till the 20th. WRONG. They shut the cable off right then and there.

I have until the end of the month to get my vehicle inspected. I'm afraid to take it because with the way my luck is going they'll tell me it won't pass without new tires or something else. I will mostl likely just lose it right then and there.

OK, I'm done whining for the day (at least on the blog). As a reward for listening to me, you get Gibbs. He looks kind of sad. I wonder if he's worried about whether or not I plan to cut back on milk bones.

Here's a close up

And a closeup in black and white.

Just thinkin'

Yesterday was a hot one and after I got home from work I spent a lot of time laying on the couch in front of the tv. It was quite late when I got around to finally putting this post together. With little energy and even less ideas, I scrolled through the archives. A beach picture jumped out at me and said "pick me"

I was thinking how funny it is that in the first couple weeks after Wade passed away, I had more visitors here than I've probably had in the past year. Of course after the first couple weeks all those people are gone and it's back to normal. Or is it? While I appreciated all those visits, what I appreciate more are the very few who continue to check up on me.  I also appreciate all of you who come here every day to visit.

not much

After all I did on Friday I woke up Saturday a little stiff and sore. Time for a day of chilling out and relaxing.
I went to a small craft show and then browsed the local thrift shop in the morning. After that I worked on a few projects but mostly laid around doing nothing.
Gibbs wasn't real thrilled with my lack of energy. He had other plans

Yes I did play ball with him but not as much as he wanted. Here he is showing me how unhappy he was about that.

Who was that mad woman

I don't know what got into me yesterday but I was like a whole different me.

After working all day I came home and started doing some cleaning. I did my laundry and then started working on a bit of decluttering. If that wasn't enough at 6:00 pm I went out and mowed the lawn. I came in and got a shower, watched a bit of tv and at 9:00 I was still wide awake. Not quite sure where all this energy came from but I'll take it while I can get it.  I wonder what I'll get done today.

I've got sunshine and sparkles rolled up in one.

I believe it's time to introduce you to a young lady I just recently met. As a matter of fact, I got to meet her the day that Wade passed away.

I would like you to meet Presley Johnson, my first granddaughter.

She was born in January and for reasons I won't go into here did not get to see her until just last month. She definitely has her daddy's eyes and the sweetest little smile you ever did see. There's no denying she is sunshine and sparkles all rolled up into one.

no sparkles

No whining  today but no sparkles either. I wasn't even sure what to post today. I begged and pleaded with Gibbs to hold still for a picture. Mostly he rolled over on his back and tried to hide but I did get just one that was good enough.

I didn't even attempt to fix it since that would have required going upstairs to the computer.

running on empty.

Yes, I am running on empty in more ways than one. Blog material is one way. I have nothing but the ramblings of a crazy old woman and some old pictures dug out of the files

Wish I had some of these right now but my cupboard is running empty of anything sweet.

One month of bills played since I've had to be all adult like and take care of it myself. Now my checking account  is running on empty too. Could be a part time job may be in my near future. It's better than the option of giving up eating.

Since this is starting to sound too whiney I think this is a good place to end this post. I'll try for sunshine and sparkles tomorrow

Monday morning walk

Gibbs and I headed out before things started to heat up and took a little walk. I had my cell phone with me as usual, and took several pictures. The problem with trying to take a picture while holding on to a leash attached to a dog who wants to keep on moving is that you get a lot of blurry pictures. I did manage to get a few that weren't too bad.

I found another rock at the funeral home.  The last one I found was gone.

The rest of the day was rather lazy. I did some reading, worked on a few jars but didn't make a ton of progress. Gibbs napped and barked at birds who dared to land in his yard.

I've been busy

It's been a busy few days. Friday night after work I spent a little time working on project declutter. I managed to fill one garbage bag. Saturday morning I started out early with grocery shopping, then laundry and bill paying. Late morning my daughters future mother in law came over to give Gibbs a hair cut. Since she was willing to bring her clippers over and do it for free I was happy to accept her offer. He was looking very bad. Sunday was work then came home to do some work on cleaning out the shed.
Even Gibbs was too busy chowing down to sit for a proper picture. All I've got is this grainy fuzzy picture of him eating.

Not sure what I'll do today. I think I'll just play it by ear.

Orange you glad

Orange you glad you stopped by today to see my pictures of the orange day lilies?

I took a bunch of pictures of these the other day after it had rained. Lucky for you I narrowed it down to my two favorites. The first one is my most favorite of all the pictures I took. I did adjust the levels on it and sharpened it just a bit.

The other two

Today you get the other 2 dutch door fold cards

Two today and two tomorrow

I mentioned yesterday that I finished up 4 cards that I had started. They're all the same style just different papers and sentiments on the fronts.
I'll show you two today and two tomorrow that way I get two posts for the price of one.

These are more of the dutch door fold cards

The day after

It was great having the extra day off yesterday but today (the day after the holiday) I wish I could have a do over. Not that I wasted the entire day but I want another day off.

Yesterday was actuallly quite productive. I went for a walk, I mowed the lawn before the heat got too unbearable and I finished off 4 cards that I started several days ago.

Today I just have pictures from my walk.

I know they're only weeds but they were pretty and they called my name as I walked by.

I was almost back home and walking past the funeral home when I spotted this rock sitting on the ledge of their huge raised flower bed. I left it there for someone else to enjoy and only took with me the image.

Happy Independence Day

Today we commemorate the signing of the declaration of independence on July 4, 1776. The day will be filled with parades, picnics and fireworks.

Those who won our independence believed liberty to be the secret of happiness and courage to be the secret of liberty. ~Louis D. Brandeis

(image from snappygoat.com)

You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism. ~Erma Bombeck

(image from snappygoat.com)

All we have of freedom, all we use or know —
This our fathers bought for us long and long ago.
~Rudyard Kipling, The Old Issue, 1899

Another one bites the dust

Another Monday comes and goes and yet again I made no progress. I make a list of things I intend to accomplish and the first item on the list sends me crashing into a brick wall that drains the life out of me. That sounds way more dramatic than what actually happened but again I failed to make any forward progress.

The frustration even keeps me from accomplishing things that I need to do in the house as well as things I want to do in the craft room.

I did however waste several hours reworking the logo that I want to put on the backs of my cards. I also worked on a business card.

This is what I came up with for the logs. Not perfect but I kind of like it.

The card is still a work in progress

I blocked out m phone number because I really didn't want to advertise it here on the blog.  I considered adding pictures of some of the things I've made but I'm not crazy about how that looks. I do think the one above is lacking something though

Enough already

Last week my neighbors had a bunch of stuff sitting out by the curb. I watched this girl stuff a few things in her vehicle. She had to keep rearranging things to fit them in because she already had all kinds of junk in there. A few hours later I see her back again. It looked like she took some of the junk out of her vehicle but there was still way too much already in there. I watched her stuff in a tv, a table, 4 chairs and possibly something else.

Hey chica, you forgot one.

too hot to handle

Saturday was just way too hot. At one point I saw 94 with a real feel of 104. The only AC in the house is a small window unit that Wade bought for the man cave. Needless to say Gibbs and I spent the majority of the day in the cave. It was too hot to sit in my computer room to do a post so my tablet had to handle the job. All I have for pictures is what is in the archives.

 I guess I shouldn't complain about the weather because it won't be long before it looks like this again