Friday-8am

Karma's new batch of cat grass is coming up in the sunny morning! :)

Okay--here's the sliding racks that Leah screwed down for me under the kitchen sink. I love them! So easy to reach everything. Wish I had gotten them years ago. These were the reason I had the empty big lazy susan--and came up with the idea of using it for crafts.
It is not easy to get a picture of Karma's two "da bird"'s without her head in there--hehe! They have interchangeable toys you can clip on to the end of the string.
The one on the left is the original. The one on the right--they started to make the rod in two pieces that kind of screw together. Easier to ship, obviously. They both work great! I had to move quickly and keep telling Karma "no!" before she bit the strings in two! She's quick!
Also difficult to get a picture of the stash from Sportsman's--feathers, bobbins, thread, threaders, and--in the box--a little clamp they use for tying flies. We are going to make a series of little feathery blobs that can be exchanged on the end of the "da bird" toy string. :)
Too sore to do much yesterday. All day the only thing I accomplished was to put the Chinese paints into my porcelain palette.
Some of the colors had separated and I stirred them up with toothpicks. Seemed fine. :)
They are a little different shades than the western paints--can tell that right off. I'll see how they handle compared to the western watercolors.

I have two large porcelain palettes that I have been saving. (I love porcelain palettes!!! Have several tiny ones.) Got them on sale back when they first came out with these large ones! I have known that the round one (has more wells--shaped like my plastic one) I have always planned to use with a set of Daniel Smith watercolors--one day when I have the money to buy the bigger set I want--hehe! It will happen. Maybe this winter? :):) This rectangular one--have always figured I would switch up now and then. So why wait?

It's like saving the good stuff, you know? Like never using the good dishes or having big candles you never light or plastic on your furniture--hehe! I have my set of Holbein paints I first bought and put in the plastic palette I purchased to bring to my watercolor class and that palette is what I have used from the beginning. Until just recently when I started making the Altoid palettes--small--so I could experiment with some other brands. But I had never touched the big, heavy porcelain palettes. TaDa!! About time!! :):)

Anyways, I forgot to tell you that I called Caroline and told her the laptop was ready for her. She came over that night and picked it up--brought me a stack of paperback books to read, too. She handed me a Bed, Bath & Beyond gift certificate! We were standing by the door--I was in my robe--sore to stand--not thinking clearly--so I stuck it under a magnet on my blackboard and didn't look at it. I thought she had given me a $10-20 dollar thank you gift.

Well, I didn't remember to look at it until yesterday. $50.00!! That is just too much! I was going to just give it to her for free in the first place. I can't take that! I will give it back to her when she comes next week. What if she has trouble with it or it dies right away? I'd feel awful! She already brings over DVDs and books for me to borrow. She may feel funny because I am a client--but I would give it away to somebody else. I always try to find somebody who can really use something I don't need any more.

Speaking of--Leah emailed me some information on this website where people find and give away things for free. I haven't been up to sitting and watching videos on the computer yet, but I will watch it and let you know what it is all about. Supposed to be going national, I believe. Great idea!!

We had a frost and freeze warning last night. Only 35 degrees right now. Low 60s expected today. Talk about feeling like winter is bearing down on us! Sometimes when it gets this cold this fast and this early--the leaves don't even have a chance to finish turning--kind of freeze green. I hope that is not the case this year. I love the colors of the fall leaves--even if I can't see much from my apartment and around town. Growing up in Minneapolis, Minnesota it is a common practice for people to make the autumn drive up to Duluth--to the "north shore"--to look at the leaves in all their glory!! So every fall--even if I never get to see anything but the few scrawny trees in the parking lots and along the boulevard--I always have that picture in my mind's eye. And it is breathtaking! :):)