11-12-2018 Monday- 3:30pm

Late start again.  I finally made it through all those pictures Leah  sent before and the new ones from Halloween I got last night--whoohoo!  Lots of pics and videos today--so grab a cuppa and here we go!

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I love this picture of the boys waiting for the cupcakes to be done.

Mama made some really special Halloween cupcakes!

Ian helped scoop out pumpkin innards.

Blink was helping, too, I see--LOL!

Don't ask me what that wild one is in the middle.  No clue--LOL!
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I love the rotating colored lights they put inside of them.

The friendly skeleton greeted people on the steps.

Leah always puts out a turquoise pumpkin to let parents and kids know there are alternatives to candy at this house.

I LOVE the matching dragon outfits!!

A couple of very short videos.

What a haul between them!

Of course, Liam won't get much of it and the candy will be parceled out sparingly.

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What I did find in the old pics and videos--OMG!  This was back in July.  Ian did know what a pottery wheel was!  Even if he didn't remember the name of it.  He never said a word when we were talking about pottery wheels and watching youtube videos.  Did he forget?  I am going to show him this video next time he is over.

I have to ask Leah where they were and if he got to come back and get his bowl or they just used the clay for the next child's demo?
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Anyways, been cold.  It's 13 degrees right now as I am typing.  The birds are all flocked up--about 25-40 in a visit. 

The Girls are here several times a day now that it's been in the 20s for highs. 

We have had scattered light snow. 

Look at what I found one morning.  Somebody walked right up to my patio and then walked back to the sidewalk.  ??  How strange.  I hope they don't complain about me feeding the birds! 

Saturday was Gramma Day!  (Yes, I am probably the only person who has a summer and a winter shower curtain--LOL!)  

BTW--the bowl with the orange specks in it--those are actually from the paper punching we did for Mama's card.

Leah sends bento boxes for meals and snacks. 

Ian was fascinated by the mummy eyes. 

Insisted Gramma eat one with him.
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 We've had more snow since then.

I love a fresh blanket of sparkly snow!! 

Annie is loving all the Cat TV activity. 

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Well, yesterday I FINALLY got going on the Christmas card assembly line!  Cutting down all the white shimmer-sprayed card stock Ian and I sprayed a long time ago. 

I use washi tape to guide me for where to cut when I have to cut so many sheets. 

Saves a lot of time. 

Then I just move it to the next measurement spot. 

That piece of flowered washi I leave alone because that's our marker for cutting down card stock for card bases.

Anyways, I got them all cut!  Step one done.  Next is using the trees die to cut all of these white pieces and all the green plaid pieces that were already cut last winter.  Yup--been that kind of a year.
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The Girls are so glad to have some snow.  This afternoon they were digging spots to snuggle down into for a bit of protection against the wind while they warmed up in the sunshine as best they could.

I just love having them outside my window.  How lucky am I?
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Let's see...what else this week?  Oh, Katy (Caroline's supervisor) came by for a home visit on Friday afternoon.  The democrats took back the house.  It's Veterans Day here in the US today.  More mass shootings.  Wildfires raging in California.  I hope people are safe and hurt for those who are not.  May we find more love, kindness, and compassion.  Be what you want in the world, right?
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Love and hugs from Fargo.  :)
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"I have decided to stick to love.  
Hate is too great a burden to bear."
Martin Luther King Jr.

11-5-2018 Monday-5pm

Good almost evening?

Daylight Saving Time throws me off schedule but it shouldn't make me forget it was Monday--LOL!  I didn't remember until afternoon.  Then I went to go through pictures and realized (as I am waiting for Halloween pictures from Leah) that I had totally forgotten the 633 pictures and 58 videos she sent me--what?--a month or two ago?!  I can't even remember now.  Duh!  Well, I have to download each one to look at or watch...so talk about a rabbit hole!  Three hours later and I still have 330 pictures and 28 videos to go through.  

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They are mostly just for Gramma really and I get them all.  Like there will be maybe 6-12 pics or more of the same thing...well, you know how it is trying to get a good picture of one moving boy let alone two.  ;)  Basically a lot of sorting and entertainment for Gramma.  Since I still don't see any Halloween pics or videos I will go ahead and start this.  If they are there by the time I am at the end I will add them.  If not--next blog.  :)

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This is what Annie does if I am at the table too long.  She sits and stares at me until I go get her chair and roll it over next to me at the table...

...where she is snoring right now. 

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Anyways, update on the three trees.  

Naked.

Shall we say it has been windy.  LOL!

They did decline right to left again, though.

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We've had a few days with some sun.

A lot of cloudy days, too.

Some drizzle. 

I am a sky watcher, to be sure. 

On Tuesday I saw three of The Girls at dusk!  Was so excited to see them.  By Wednesday all eight were here and they've been coming ever since.  :)  This picture only shows seven as one was racing about...but I wanted to include it to show what is happening to my camera phone.  See the colored stripes along the top? 

Next picture of all eight was fine, but I am getting colored stripes lately more often than I am happy about, I tell you.   

My cell phone is an older one.  It makes me tap sometimes 4-5 times to switch screens.  So--FYI--I will be unable to take my easy shots with the cell phone if it gets worse.  I do have an old digital camera I can dig out and try to remember how to use and load into the laptop--LOL!  Been years since I've used it--but I still have it.  Backup.  ;)

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I was not feeling very well on Halloween so I couldn't make it over to McFamily's to hand out candy this year while they went around.  Leah said her brother Aaron could do the job so the whole family could go around trick or treating together.  Good!

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If there are no pictures right here...next week.  ;)

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I got a handmade Halloween card in the mail!   

This is what it said:

"Dear Gramma,

So, Mama drew the pumpkin and I drew the eyes, mouth, and the nose.  The mouth is a frowny face, and there's a bunch of food in it.  Oranges, pistachios, and drinking some water, and a fruit and nut bite."  

Mama added: Mister Ian drew his name for the first time below just for you!"

Over by the flower it says: "I asked Mama to draw a flower for you."  

I told Ian I will keep this forever and ever.  :) :)

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I also lost internet that night.  Didn't matter too much as I felt so crummy I was in bed at 8:30pm.  Luckily when I woke up at 3:30am it was back.

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I made some of my thick whatever's-in-the-freezer-and-pantry soup again.  

I did soak some beans overnight.  

Added assorted veggies, and pasta. 

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Caroline brought groceries on Friday.  I am getting a head start on trying to go healthier in 2019...again--LOL!  Been such a crummy year, healthwise, that it am going to try to lean more towards the vegan/WFPB again.  I've never been 100% vegetarian but I can lean into 90%.  I'll try leaning farther--LOL!  Any change to healthier eating is good for me, right?  

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Saturday was a Gramma Day.  A quiet one for Gramma was needed.  We did make a trip out to dumpster and garage for bird seed, but then settled in to eat lunch and after watched some YouTube videos.  Maru, My Self Reliance, looked at pictures of old phones and console TVs, watched a lady explaining in great detail how the new rotary phones worked (1954 self-dialing-whoohoo!), watched an old black and white Mickey Mouse Club episode (not as good as I remembered), and then watched Burn-E (a movie short related to Wall-E).  Forgot to take any pictures, of course.

I had a JetPens order come today!  Was so excited!  These VersaMagic ink pads were advertised to be able to be used in planners.  Everything I have tried--all my ink pads--bleed through the paper.  So I got a big stamp and tried them out on the testing page in my last bullet. 

They shadow, of course, but they did not bleed through!!  I am thrilled!  I have planner stamps that it turned out I never use because of the bleed-thru problem.  

I imagine it might be because these are chalk ink pads?  I don't believe I even own any chalk pads to compare these to.  Regardless--love them.  Might have to try another set of colors in the future, too.

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I was also soooo excited about these that I took them out right away...didn't bother to try to get them all back in the packaging to show you.  They will live with the rest of the brush pens in my pen cup top shelf on the IKEA cart.  :) :)  

One of my favorite brush pens to use is the hard (blue body) fudenosuke and it has come out in a set of colors!  I already played with them and they're great!

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I'm getting Christmas presents from Amazon so I can't show any of those...but I did get myself a new book to start off 2019.

Julia Cameron, who wrote The Artist's Way 25 years ago, has a new book out.  It's Never Too Late To Begin Again.  On the cover it says: An Artist's Way program for retirees and other creative souls and Discovering creativity and meaning at midlife and beyond.  

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By the time people retire they are usually a bit beyond midlife, but I get it.  This is her book for seniors.  Hey--she's 70 now, so it figures.  I've done The Artist's Way a couple of times over the years so now I will try this new 12 week program in 2019.  Goodness!  I don't usually do much planning ahead like this anymore--both diet and 12 week book course.  May the force be with me--LOL!  ;)

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 Okay, I don't see any new pictures from Halloween but I will show you a couple older ones that I enjoyed today while down that rabbit hole.  ;)

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I love this one of the boys in matching pjs on Mama and Daddy's bed.

And we rarely see Blink. 

Well, better late than never.  I made the Monday blog!  I'm now hungry for dinner and going to heat up a big bowl of that soup!  We may see some snowflakes tonight and tomorrow.  Probably not enough to accumulate much of anything, but it's definitely cold enough out there for flakes.  Hot soup sounds pretty good!

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 For those of you in the US--be sure to vote if you haven't already.  I voted by mail weeks ago.  I know I will be watching this election night like I would a presidential race.  Hoping there can be an end to this negativity and division.  Praying for compromise and kindness.  Thinking positive!  

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Have a really good week.  

Stay warm or cool as need be.  

See you next week!  :) 

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"Be a lamp or a lifeboat or a ladder.  Help someone's soul heal.  Walk out of your house like a shepherd."

Rumi

10-29-2018 Monday-6:45am

Good Morning!

This past week I had two really good days (head cold-wise) and then it was right back--LOL!  Not quite as bad, but enough to mess up my sleep half the week.  Besides that, though--there's some really good news!  Mom decided she didn't need to stay in Florida for the winter and she wanted to take the next apartment that opened up at Chandler Place.  And she got one!  She'll be moving in after Thanksgiving!!  

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I'm so happy for her.  She will love it there.  There will be something going on every day of the week, which she'll love.  My mother is a social butterfly unlike her happily hermit daughter--LOL!  

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This weekend, though, I actually went to something here.  I know.  Don't fall over.  Besides the big resident meetings for the management takeover, I haven't been to anything since last November.

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Sunday was going to be a Gramma Day and they just so happened to have the first "Family Fun Day" here in the Community Room.  Dagan, Leah, and Liam were planning to come, too, but Leah had a birthday party to go to on Saturday and when she woke up Sunday she could hardly walk (sciatica).  I sure know how your health can change plans and how bad sciatica can be.  Poor Leah.  So Dagan dropped Ian off and Leah rested as much as possible all day long while Dagan tended to Liam.  I hope she feels better today.

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Ian and I had a little while before the Family Fun Day started at 2pm.  Ian was in the cat toy box picking out which toys to have out for Annie...and he came across Karma's old collars.  (Yes, I kept them.)  Next thing I know he was wearing her old leather collar--ROFL!

Looks snug but there was a good inch to spare--just like when Karma wore it--LOL!  So funny to think Ian's neck is the same size as Karma's was.

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I said he was so silly.  So when he wanted to try on Karma's summer collar he wanted me to take a silly picture.

Then he found the collar we ordered for Annie that she hated with a passion--never having had worn one her entire life.

These are the silly things we do.  ;)

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Then at 2pm we went down for the "party" for close to two hours.  I think this is our new activity coordinator (can't remember her name--and when I thought about it I suppose she could also maybe be the office manager).  Anyways--new lady.

Her oldest son (7) was fascinating to Ian.  Not only because he could work the paddle ball but his name was Liam!!

Liam has two younger brothers and you could tell he's a good brother by the way he was with Ian.

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Ian just watched him intently as he worked at that paddle ball.

When we came in we got settled in at an end corner of the kids' craft area tables.  There weren't a lot of people at first.

Football was on...

...but there were no kids for about half an hour.

We opened up one of the activity books and found this cat mask that Ian loved.

But when he found out he could decorate a cookie...forget it!  The cat mask had to wait.

The cookies were pre-made and there were tubes of colored icing and a variety of sprinkles to choose from.

The icing didn't come out easily, but Ian worked at it and didn't want any help.

I took this picture, but he did add a little more icing and some sprinkles.

By the time I thought of another picture of the final product most of it was in his stomach already--LOL!

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People started flocking in.  

More kids around the table.

At one point the room was packed!

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Ian also worked on one of these plastic jar kits you have to put together.  His had a haunted house with orange paper inside.  He added stickers all around the outside of the jar.  I think they glow in the dark.

He had a plate of snacks--bugles, chex mix, cheese, some kind of luncheon meat, and lemonade.  He didn't want raw veggies, he said.  

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People didn't stay long.  They were clearing out by about 3:30pm (supposed to be 2-5).  Ian and I had been working on all the tons of stickers in the activity book where he got the mask.  Nobody else has touched the other activity books...so I asked the new activity director lady if Ian could take the booklet with him he was working on.  She said yes.  Ian showed her his cat mask with great enthusiasm.  She sat down to chat with him for a while--saw that his mask needed some string--went to go find something--came back with ribbon--and cut and attached it so he could wear the mask home.  He wouldn't take it off till we went to watch the movie Ice Age...and then wore it home with Daddy, too.

The sweetest thing of all was when we were leaving he stopped, turned, waved to the whole room, said goodbye and "thank you for the visit".

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We watched half of Ice Age.  Then I made some goulash for dinner (one of the things he loves to eat at Gramma's).  While I made dinner he watched a Mighty Machines episode on YouTube.  We ate--he refused broccoli.  Watched the other half of Ice Age.  Daddy came to pick him up right as the credits were rolling.  We had totally forgotten about bringing the trash out, so Dagan offered to dump it on the way to the car and off they went.

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But then they came back a few minutes later.  Ian didn't think we had a proper goodbye.  He likes to run down to the end of the hallway by the little front door hall and we have to blow kisses and say "goodbye, I love you" many times and we hadn't done that with him going out the other door closer to the dumpster.  Plus he wanted to thank me for his Gramma Day and get more hugs.  :)

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Can't get much better than that.  

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So I hugged the cat-boy and we blew kisses and he was finally on his way home around 7pm.  

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And Gramma was falling asleep in her chair by 9pm--LOL!  I got up and went to bed before 10pm--woke up the last time at 3:15am and couldn't get back to sleep.  My hours have been all goofed up from the plugged head, anyways, but I have been up since then.

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  So it's an earlier than usual blog today.  Annie is confused and waiting for her canned food.  The birds need seed.  Oh--and, sadly, I haven't seen The Girls in about a week.  :(  I haven't done my morning journaling.  My entire morning routine is out of whack--LOL!  So, I am off to actually start my day.  Should be a good one.  Possibly including a nap.  ;)  Till next week.  Have a good one!!  :) :)

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"The more I wonder, the more I love."

Alice Walker