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.  

****

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.  :)

****

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. 

****

Anyways, update on the three trees.  

Naked.

Shall we say it has been windy.  LOL!

They did decline right to left again, though.

****

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.  ;)

****

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!

****

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

****

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.  :) :)

**** 

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.

****

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. 

****

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?  

****

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.

**** 

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!

 ****

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.  

****

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!  ;)

****

 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.  ;)

****

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!

****

 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!  

****

Have a really good week.  

Stay warm or cool as need be.  

See you next week!  :) 

****

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

Rumi