January 27, 2025 Monday--5am

Good morning!

Can you tell we had 60 below windchill the beginning of the week--lol!

Super cold for a few days.

There was even a partridge food fight between this covey of eight and another covey of five that visit the Critter Cafe--lol!  

Lots of chasing back and forth across the snow.  That's why some of the residents here call them the roadrunners--lol!

Well, between anti-diarrhea pills and fasting I made it to the lab on Tuesday and the CT scans on Friday!  TaDa!!  Now I have the oncologist this week on Friday afternoon...but then the rescheduled dentist checkup on Monday after that.  Apparently will be a lot more fasting in my future--lol!  Oh, and Keanna comes to clean on Tuesday.  Life seems to have picked up the pace recently--lol! ;)

I made it into the studio to test out the old watercolor journal I had made all those years ago.  Notice I brought in my laptop to watch Agatha Christie episodes--ROFL!

I wanted to try the transparent flower petals.  Didn't use her book.  Just played around from memory of her videos I have watched.

Didn't try anything besides the petals...no darker edging on them or anything because nothing was working very well for me.

I don't know if it was more from the buckly, absorbent paper or more from my total inexperience with the technique.  Didn't matter to me.  I was having fun and learning.  But this paper was buckling so that it made the water puddle in places you didn't want it to and then was drying out quickly where you didn't want it to.  Regardless, I do love the transparent look and want to keep testing the other better watercolor paper and journals next.  Left it all set up and ready to go.  You will see a lot of blue flowers--lol!  I plan to use the same paint and brush so I can compare papers fairly.  (That is a true challenge for such a lover of variety, I tell you.)

Made and prepped foods for two days.  Not easy to accomplish when you are fasting--lol!  Especially the beef soup in the crock pot smelling soooo good all day long!  ;)

McFamily had to come over here for our Christmas.  The boys opening their Mad Libs books.  Liam wasn't interested until he realized how it worked and found out he could pick (hysterically funny to a 7-year old) words like poo, pee, butt, fart, poopy, pooping, peeing, and farting.  Then he enjoyed them tremendously!  

But he still goes right to Gramma's frig magnets.

They are his favorite things to play with at Gramma's.

I think Ian quite enjoyed the crazy, silly stories, too.

It was a lot of fun!  They brought Allie and my Christmas stockings with, too.  Gramma got some bags of her favorite Twin Cities coffees, an Amazon gift card, and some new-to-me Keto goodies--like fake pop tarts and a cinnamon roll!  And we shared a bunch of sugar-free, handmade chocolates from a shop Leah found that were really delicious!  Allie even got a couple of new toys (she loved) and some cat treats (shown no interest in--strange cat is she--won't eat canned cat food or any people food, either).  Anyways, it was a nice--if late--Christmas. :)  

Oh, and don't worry--their cat, Blink, will gladly eat the treats--lol! ;)

We're supposed to be in the 30s through Thursday so a lot of the snow will be gone again.  I thought I lived in Fargo?  Such strange weather.  From -60 wind chills to snow melting away.  Remember when I showed you snowbanks from the plows that were as high as the peaks of the garages out there?  Been a while.

Leah's back and shoulders have been bad.  She's been at the chiropractor every week I think for a bit.  Says she's feeling a bit better.  Otherwise, the rest of the family is doing well.  Even I am doing a bit better.  Hey!  Made it to appointments this week!  Even got into the studio--whoohoo!  Hope to be playing in there some more this week!  Life is good!   

Till next week, my dear friends!  May you have a week filled with giggles and doing things you love!  :)