Tuesday-11:45am

Well, hello!!  Been two weeks since I last posted anything.

Just been recovering from the move.  More exhausted than I thought I'd be.

I am used to dealing more with the pain side of fibro and not the chronic fatigue side.  Feels like when I was trying to make it through college, managed to survive until summer vacation, and then collapsed for 4-6 weeks...barely functional.  But it was all soooo worth it and I am loving being on R&R/Collapse Mode my wonderful new home.  This too shall pass.  Just had to pop on to the blog to let everybody know Karma and I are okay--just recovering.  :)
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I never did show you a picture of Karma's former chair out on the patio.  She found this quite confusing for the first couple of days--LOL!

One dark and drizzly day I saw the grouse family wandering past searching earnestly for angle worms and bugs!  Went by too fast for me to get a picture, but it was so good to see them.

I googled grouse or prairie chickens and they will stick around all winter as I suspected.  But it said they try to find places with more cover for the winter.  The yard out here sure doesn't give them any cover so I may not see them too much longer.  We do have hawks and such about.

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Two weeks ago Wednesday Leah stopped by to play with the new gadget.  It's a MISTI stamping tool!  I got all the paraphernalia to go with it, too--and three extra (wicked strong) magnets.

Just looking at it doesn't explain much.

Leah played around with it while I kept an eye on Mr. Ian. 

Aside: I know!  I know!  I have been absolutely terrible about getting pictures of Ian for these past months since I started on this whole move.  Seemed like every time McFamily was here I was watching Ian while they were busy doing whatever to help me out...until we were finally finished a couple weeks ago.  Now my only excuse is just being tired and spacey.  Got to get back into the habit again.  I don't think Dagan and Leah have been remembering to take pictures much, either.  At least I haven't seen any pictures.  Got to get on the ball here.  He's changing so fast!
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 Leah and Ian stopped by for a quick visit last Thursday, too.  It is absolutely wonderful to just be able to hang out and visit again!!  :):)
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Anyways, anyone interested in card making can watch these videos that explain how the MISTI works.  Or if you are just plain curious you can take a peek.  ;)  You know Leah and I mass produce about 80 Christmas cards and I make up about 50 birthday cards...and that we are a bit on the OCD side, right?  Well, these videos will make it perfectly clear why we've been drooling over this contraption ever since we laid eyes on it!

We can stamp each card exactly the same and quickly.

And when something doesn't stamp well, you can re-stamp exactly right over the first print!  There are new techniques you can use with it, too.  Awesome!  Seems just made for us, right?  LOL!

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Oh, and the cheapie humidifier...

Yes--I did rig up something so I could use this new sputter-spatterer.

It's a blue plastic tray with an old pink towel folded on top.  Catches any splattering water quite nicely.  Hasn't been too bad so far.
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These last two weeks Karma and I have just been hanging out.  Karma has taken over my old baby recliner, for the most part...although I still use it because both chairs are comfortable for me--plus this one is closer to the patio door and I have terrible phone reception--LOL!  So Miss Karma gets booted out on occasion.

Just as we suspected, Karma absolutely LOVES to lie about here and there on the carpet on sunny mornings.

My McLap's battery is dying.  I don't even get a warning anymore before it goes black.  Then when I reboot McLap always thinks it is summer of 2000 and nothing whatsoever works until I manually change the date and time back to 2015.  Do you think McLap has Altzheimers?

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  Luckily my charger cord reaches all the way over to the kitchen table--whoohoo!  Because that's where I like to sit all morning while I do journaling, any blogging (like right now), catching up online, paperwork, and sometimes a little letter writing because I can spread out my stuff all over the table and even watch a few YouTube videos--LOL!

McLap's home the rest of the day is on the laptop table by my sweet new big brown chair. 

Oh!  Oh!  And YES!  Leah did find something for my tall bedroom and studio windows so that I can leave them cracked open all night if I wanted to.  Was tricky because they open from either side.  Can you see the three plastic pieces on the left hand pane?   

There are two about halfway up the window and one down lower.  The one right next to the side of the pane up in the middle of the window there is just a back-up second lock during the warmer weather that Leah put in because I am way too short to reach the top lock without a stool and so (Leah knows me too well) I've only been using the bottom lock till winter.  These windows are so tall that she didn't feel they were as secure with only one lock hooked because they do even tilt a little bit when you pull to open them with only the bottom locked.  When that back-up one half way up the window is locked--no movement.  :)

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These Burglabars are clear and can lay flat like this--or you flip the top half down to stop the window from sliding any farther.

Here the studio window is cracked open--safely.  If they pushed from the left-hand side the right hand side will just close and you can't open it any farther on the other side, either.  They're only cracked open about 3 inches when the braces are up.  Of course you can flatten them down and open the window all the way if you want to, too.

They aren't any guarantee somebody couldn't break in, but they would have to make a heck-of-a-racket to break those sturdy little braces if they did.  I would hear them coming, that's for sure.  LOL!  Leah's already purchased a patio door bar, too.  That will be installed one of these days, too.  I guess I'll be safer here on first floor, eh?  ;)

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Anyways, it's T Stands For Tuesday today over at Elizabeth's.  I hope to be able to make it around this week to visit the ladies and see what they're sipping on and what they're up to.  I am loving my new electric teapot and the pour over coffeemaker!  I may never go back to a regular electric coffeemaker.  :)

Well, it's almost Halloween.  Leah came by yesterday and I ran her out some black paint and brushes to the car so she can write on her spray-painted teal pumpkin.  Have you heard of the Teal Pumpkin Project?  I didn't know Leah and Dagan handed out alternative treats to candy and food last year, too.  What a great idea!!

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I could go over to McFamily's on Halloween and hand out candy or the Teal Pumpkin alternatives while they take Ian around this year...if I feel up to it.  Honestly.  Doubtful.  I am still having to work up to just cooking and laundry right now--LOL!  But I hope they take some pictures I can share with you.  :)  I doubt I will have many or any kids here, but you never know.  I will have candy just in case. 

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Well, that's it for today from a contented Zombie Woman.  Which reminds me, I did finish the latest season of The Walking Dead on Netflix this past week.  Truth.  Apparently Zombies move a lot more than I have been the last two weeks--LOL!  Getting better, though.  Hope to see you sooner than two weeks next time.  Have a safe, fun Halloween week!  :):)

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"We would give anything for what we have."

Tony Hoagland

Tuesday-10am

Okay--grab a cuppa!  Loads of pictures, but I doubt there will be that much chatting because I am still really shot...but oh so happily content.  As you know my family was arriving on Saturday and the new chair was arriving on Friday.  

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The transformation!  

New chair and little brown end table in place.  (Now you can see how small my "baby" recliner is next to a normal sized chair--LOL!) 

But before all that I was finishing up details...like hanging all the rulers in the studio under the light switches--perfect spot!

Handy dandy metal 3M hooks from Leah years ago. 

Another regular 3M hook to hold the hair dryer next to the art table. 

Found a perfect spot for our big craft turntable--on the taboret--tada!  Then it doesn't take up half of the new little black craft table. 

Dagan and Leah came over Friday night after the chair and end table were delivered.  The delivery guys had put the controls on the left hand side of the chair and the cord wasn't long enough to bring over to the right hand side--which made no sense because it was on the right hand side at the store?  Well, Leah checked and they had caught the cord when they installed the back of the chair.  

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So Dagan and Leah took it back off and we moved the cord to the right hand side and Leah took some pictures of the smushed cord.  [And I just realized when I found this picture that I haven't called Slumberland to inform them.  It works fine now but down the line it might effect my warranty, you know?  Told you I am spacey-tired--still lost in fibro fog.]

They rearranged the furniture for me so that now the red end tables are on the far ends of both chairs and the new brown end table is in-between them.

That needed to be hooked up, too.  Do you see the cords coming out of it there on top? 

Well, there's a flap so that all my charger cords can be plugged in under there (cell phone, tablet, Kindle).  So cool!!  (Not sure why the photo came out sideways--you'll have to tilt your head.)

Karma has taken over my little chair for the most part.  But I now have two comfortable chairs for the first time--whoohoo!

Karma loves that she has more room to lounge between my legs on the footrest of the new normal sized chair, too.  And there are no gaping holes in this footrest for her (or Ian) to fall through, either. 

Also on Friday the Amazon order came.  I have something new to show everybody over at Elizabeth's for the T-Stands For Tuesday group!  TaDa!!  A new little electric tea pot for water and a Bodum pour over pot--big enough that I can make a couple of my big mugs at a time.  (Which usually does me for the day and I just reheat in the microwave.)  I got to make Mom some pour over coffee when she was here on Saturday.  :)

The Bodum came with a metal filter, but I still have to use a paper one inside of that mesh one to keep out the sludge--LOL! 

I got a little shoe mat for the entryway... 

...and a very, very cheap humidifier--that Leah said they have and I had best put something under it because water will splatter everywhere and drip right off that table--and to only run it when I am keeping an eye on it because the automatic shut-off is a joke.   

I haven't used it yet.  Been still too tired and sore to deal with hunting around for water catching stuff--LOL!  But I will try it out soon because it is so dry I am already getting a tiny bit of bloody noses and I have not yet even turned on my heat once.

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Turned out Saturday afternoon before the Johnson Clan arrived Leah was putting up the last two pictures for me.  My first mixed media wall art (rainbow colors) was hung right outside the studio...

...and the poinsettia from the watercolor class I took at the Plains Art Museum a dozen or more years ago went in the hallway. 

Do you sense a love of color even then?  LOL!

Well, the family arrived and spacey me totally forgot to take pictures.  But so did everyone else!  Renee and Kathy brought me a few mementoes they saved from when they were emptying out Mom and Dad's Minnesota trailer (that my folks were selling before the accident).  A NordicWare cookie press!!  I had one just like this and when Dagan was little we made spritz cookie every year with it.  Sweet!  Now I can maybe make some with Ian, eh?

And there was this old yellow-taped box...

...of tartlet pans in six shapes.  I seem to remember Mom just pressing a plain dough into these and we ate them like cookies.  No filling or anything--but they were crusty, buttery good.

I forgot to ask what this actually was that Mom knitted.  I didn't take it out of the box till later on.  Had thought it was a throw, but it is long and narrow.  But not narrow enough to be a winter scarf--and it's heavy and thick.  ??  I'm sure they'll tell me.

For now, I just draped it over the curio cabinet in the bedroom. 

The other item was a book.

Shakespeare Complete. 

Believe it or not, Mom used to sit me on the tall stool in the kitchen when I was around 8 or 9 years old, read me Shakespeare, and then quiz me--LOL!  She'd read a passage and then ask me what I thought it meant...or ask me what I thought this or that word meant?  Then she'd explain.  Sometimes I had a pretty good gist of what was going on, I guess, because she'd be so pleased if I got it right (or close?). 

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Renee remembered me telling her that story and brought me the book.  Mom stood here in my kitchen and remembered reading Shakespeare to me...but didn't remember quizzing me on it--LOL!  I had to laugh because she was probably a natural teacher.  (I have noticed that I am with Ian--and I was with Dagan, too.)  She must have been because I passed all the tests to enter first grade at a parochial school when I was five (had to be six to be admitted to public school) and I had never been to kindergarten or gone to any schooling or kid's groups.  Funny how even when you are older you discover traits where you are like your mother.  ;)

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Anyways, we were here at my place for a couple hours and then caravanned over to McFamily's (road construction--had to go a back, round-about way).  Renee's boyfriend, Joe, is allergic to cats.  He did okay at my place, but I had shut Karma in the bedroom, the place is brand new, and Caroline was just here to vacuum.  Dagan and Leah have two cats--but they have a gorgeous deck and patio so we could all sit outside together on the deck.  And it was suddenly and inexplicably in the low 80s on Saturday and Sunday (40 degrees when I started this blog)--so it was a beautifully perfect day!  Hardly any wind, either, until evening (which progressed into the previous two days of severe wind warnings).

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We were all so busy visiting that nobody remembered to take pictures until it had gotten dark and Leah had built a fire in the fire pit and we had all moved down to the patio!  No lie!  In my more severe fibro fog and with enough back pain that I had to go inside for a while and rest in their recliner--well, I totally forgot both my camera and my cell phone at my place.  Duh!  But Leah took some pictures when we were settled in around the fire.  (Renee took a couple, too, that she put on facebook.)  

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These are Leah's.

Blaine & Kathy (brother and SIL) and Dagan holding Ian.

Dagan & Ian, Renee (sister) and her boyfriend, Joe. 

Renee, Joe, Mom, and Me. 

Then right before everybody left Leah got some pictures in their entryway.  Here's the posed one--LOL!  Mom, me, Blaine, Kathy, Dagan, Renee, and Joe. 

Mom and I chatting on the bench. 

(She told me earlier she knitted that sweater she's wearing, BTW.) 

Mom and I watching... 

...all four of them on their cell phones figuring out how to navigate all the road construction to get back to the motel--LOL! 

You know we only have two seasons up here, don't you?  Winter and Road Construction.

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Oh, and I got permission from Melissa (Ryan's wife) to swipe this off of her facebook.  Melissa posted a picture of Mom and Ryan dancing!  (Ryan is Blaine's youngest son.)

I saw it because she tagged me and some others for the photo so I got an email.  Truth--I'm really lost on facebook, but I always get emails if anyone comments when I post my blogs on there so I do know that, at least--LOL!  I had a couple people ask me to post my blog on there, so I figured out how to do that, anyways.  :)  Just so you know--I am on facebook, but I am not "on" facebook--LOL!

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Whew!  Was such a week!  Mom's having checkups with doctors, etc, now this week to make sure everything's okay for her to fly back to Florida on the 18th to be living on her own down there again.  She's still weaker than she was and can be a little shaky walking--especially when tired--and has to take stairs really slowly (so do I).  But she's doing really well under the circumstances and one can't blame her for wanting to go home and be independent.

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The wind picked up Saturday night...

...and we had wind advisory warnings out Sunday and Monday. 

Karma watched some bits of trash and tumbleweeds dancing around in circles in the green grass outside the window for two days.  We had some rain, too.  Pretty wild Cat TV.  But this morning we are back to light winds and sunshine.

The new craft gadget has not arrived yet.  USPS 2-day shipping that was supposed to be here Saturday--LOL!  In fact, I just checked online and it says it was delivered in the postal locker today...so I shall have to hobble down there when I am done chatting with you.  ;)

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But--YES, I am finally all moved in!  

DONE!  DONE!  DONE!

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I have been doing nothing else (except daily living stuff) for over five months (as you all well know) so I keep thinking I have forgotten something or there is something else yet to unpack.  There are a couple things Leah will still install--but nothing that needs to be done right away.  We are ALL on R&R, I tell you!  :):)

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The family visit was great.  I am breaking in my fabulous new chair.  I've been catching up with the new TV shows I can watch online (Chromecast is awesome!) and when I am done with those I have been saving the latest season of The Walking Dead for a gory Netflix marathon--ROFL!  I couldn't even focus to write a letter for days and am way behind on emails, too.  I will recover and catch up with everyone...and get into the new studio...eventually.  Zombie-women move slowly, you know.  ;)  But this zombie-woman smiles...and laughs!  :):)

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I am off to check the mail.

Have a fantastic week!

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Laughing is the shortest distance between two people.

Victor Borge