Monday-11am

On one of our 90 degree days a mourning dove just sat in the water dish for about 15 minutes.  One of the few birds I have seen this week.

 Been quite the mystery here as to what happened to the birds and what is happening to my plants?  The marigolds in this planter began turning brown and dying a little over a week ago.  

And other than a few sparrows, one sickly looking grackle, and a couple of mourning doves--all the birds have disappeared.  No flocks at all.  I used to put out a couple big tin cups of seed once or twice a day.  Now I can put out less than half a cup and there will be seed left the following day.  ???

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At first I thought the hawk had been here because that will keep them away for a day or two, but this has been more like ten days now.  No bees, either.  The only thing I can think of is that when they pulled the weeds around the building that maybe they also used some kind of toxic weed killer.  If they happened to hit those marigolds on that corner that could explain why only one batch is turning brown.  

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But all the plants seemed stressed.  I'm losing marigolds almost a dozen a day.  The geraniums have almost quit blooming and even the huge coleus are a bit limper than they were.  It's been very hot, but I have been watering every day...and the heat used to bring the birds here in droves for an easy meal, a drink, and cooling bath.  ??

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Disconcerting.

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I miss them.

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Annie misses them.

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Anyways, I have been slowly plugging away in the studio. 

As most of you know, it gets worse before it gets better. 

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I had Ian here for Gramma Day on Friday.  We changed another big round light bulb in the bathroom and filled the hand soap container...after his two hour lunch.  (He was a dawdler to say the least.)  

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 After lunch and tasks we had to check in with Maru and Hanna on YouTube, of course, and then were watching a video on gelli printing.  Ian had a new camera and told me he wanted to take pictures of art...just art.  

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 While cleaning in the studio I had just run across a stack of gelli printing papers that Leah, Dagan, and I practice-played with years ago--oh, and some pages taken out of an old art journal.  I gave them to Ian and he laid them all out on the floor and took pictures of "art".

He took pictures and pictures and pictures...  

...until the battery died on his camera.

Now I can throw these away.  Not sure why I kept them in the first place--LOL!  Of course, we can clean off the brayers on them.  That may have been why.  ;)

I showed Ian my gelli plates and the brayers.  Told him if he doesn't dawdle next week (he also dawdled forever getting dressed and came later than usual--almost didn't get to come) and if he hurries to eat lunch before he comes over that we could play with gelli plates.  Gelli plates take a long time to set up, play with, and clean up afterwards.  So we'll see how it goes.  ;)  

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He's at that age...where they insist on doing things themselves but then take FOREVER to do them.  I remember Dagan making me want to pull my hair out--LOL!  I notice how, as a slow moving grandma, I have more patience than I did back then.  BUT--I don't have him every day--ROFL!!

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This month I have been good about working on brush lettering drills almost every day.  I really have a difficult time with the large brushes...like this practice sheet.

I keep working at learning this, too.  :)

Some of these practice drills are just fun!  Of course, I prefer the smaller brushwork.  Easier for me to control. 

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I've kept working little by little in the studio when my knee is cooperative.  That stack gathered right inside the door is all empty containers waiting for a home.  

This is what the tables look like right now. 

Sometimes you feel like you are just shuffling--LOL!

 

But I am making progress.  ;) 

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BUT--I had gotten afraid to walk about in there.  Almost fell too many times.  I tried to take a picture but it doesn't show how high up the mats are off the floor.

I had even tried flipping them over--to no avail.

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Here you can see--and my foot is not even touching the mat! 

Here on the other one--not even touching! 

I told Leah that the chair mats just won't go down and I was thinking of putting them outside on the patio so the 90 degree heat might flatten them.  She said Dagan could bring them out to the garage for me and weight them down.  He didn't make it this weekend.

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So, in order to work in there anymore, I finally drug them both out of there last night and propped them up against the bookcases in the living room behind my chair.  Can you see how warped they still are?! 

Despite weighting them down with boxes and books and the chair and table legs--they don't seem to have flattened at all from the day Dagan brought them over.

They are just stubbornly wavy.

I hope the hot garage will help.  I have a whole bunch of bins out there to really weight them down better.

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So, that is how this past week has gone.  Kind of strange in some areas, fun in some, and painful in others.  Accomplishments have been/are being made.  Rest has been had.  Letters have been written.  Shows have been watched.  Since there are no birds to speak of, Annie has been playing more with her favorite toy.  So, for those of you who liked her last video...here she is with more energy.  Proof she can actually sit up to play.  (She still prefers being prone, though--LOL!)  

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The new bookcase from Office Max is due to be delivered today.  I am hoping they don't leave it in the entryway like the last furniture I bought from them when I lived in West Winds.  I even sent an email to them because there was no place to leave a delivery note...so time will tell.  

Fingers crossed!  

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The hazy smoke from the California fires seems to be moving past us.  Supposed to be 92 again today.  I hope the birds and the bees come back.  Meanwhile--life is good.  

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Have a truly fun week!  :) :)

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"Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face."

Victor Hugo

Monday-12:30pm

Good afternoon!

Another Monday is here and it's August already.

Dagan came with the chair mats.  They're so curled--especially one of them--that I have just had to be patient and have them weighted down.  Might have to get out the hair dryer--LOL!  Might have to remove the striped rug I love...but, in the end, they are going to work great, I think!!  

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Wednesday night the smoke alarm started chirping at 11:30.  Why do they always go off at night?  I had a pack of four 9-volts but they were dated to expire on Dec 2018.  These haven't been changed since I moved in, I don't think.  Those soon-to-expire batteries were all I had so away I went up and down stools to change the one in the hall and the one in the bedroom.  They took forever to stop chirping, but finally there was silence...whew!  I figured I'd be good for a few weeks till I could order some new batteries.
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9am the very next morning it started chirping again in the hallway!  Not much juice at all left in these.  I switched out another one for some silence in here.  Then I contacted Leah to ask her to bring me over two 9-volts with some juice in them.  That afternoon she dropped two off that said they were good till 2021!!  Was up and down stools again (my knee was not happy but I was).  Whew!
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Later that night--10pm--chirping again!  Freaked me out!  How could they be chirping with new batteries.  Got a hold of Leah...she finally asked me if there was another smoke alarm in the studio?  Duh!  Yes!!  How dumb did I feel--LOL!  So Dagan brought over another one and a spare--even put it in for me.  Sweet silence ever since.
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Annie hates those alarms.  One chirping beep and she bolted off my chair and ran into the bedroom to hide under the bed...every time.  They are really loud.  Dagan said he could hear it down the hallway.
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Anyways, finally done with smoke alarms on Thursday night.  Friday I had an extra long Gramma Day again because Leah, her sister Michal, and brother Aaron left really early to drive down to Minneapolis to her sister Ariel's to go through some things of her mother's that her widowed husband had.  Long story but they drove down and back the same day.
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Ian arrived before Caroline came with my groceries.  He loves to carry things into the pantry for me.  We had lunch, he changed into his swimming suit, we were out doing the patio (Ian got doused!), dried him off, he changed back into his clothes, and then we had to take a break for Gramma's knee's sake--LOL! 
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We watched some new Maru and Hanna videos and then a little Sesame Street.  Walked down to pay rent and check mail.  Cleaned Bubbles bowl.  Ate dinner.  He played with bristle blocks and matchbox cars.  Got ready for bed--pajamas, put toys away, and packed up all his stuff so we were ready when Daddy was coming to pick him up.  Had a great day!
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Annie is always glad to come out of hiding when company leaves.  
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I caught her playing with her favorite toy the next morning.  She was about as tired as I was--LOL!   

Can that really count as cat exercise?  LOL!
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We had two gorgeous cooler, albeit damp, days last week.  Then it got right back up there in the 80s again.

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Saturday was Johnson Family Visit day!  
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Kathy (my brother Blaine's other half)...

...Blaine (retiring from 3M September 1st!)...

...and my mom drove up to see us from Minneapolis.

They came to my place first and we caught up over the kitchen table for quite a while.  Then we headed over to McFamily's.  They hadn't met Ian...who is just starting to take happy steps between Mama and Daddy.
I should have taken more pics and videos, as usual.  But at least I have these.  :)  
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Leah made salmon fillets with fresh pesto and dill along with rice and broccoli--delicious!  We had such a nice visit!  We gabbed till close to midnight, I think.  Look forward to seeing them every year.  Mom will be 90 in February.  Here I thought she was 88--LOL!
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Since then--been basically on rest and recovery.  Didn't sleep much Saturday night, but made up for it last night and slept 12 1/2 hours!  Limping happily about.  Will probably be in more decent shape again by tomorrow...or Wednesday.  ;)  Meanwhile--I'm watching Whitechapel on Amazon Prime.  I'll probably be able to start cleaning and organizing in the studio later this week.  Got three letters this weekend!  And I'm ordering a bookcase for Ian and Liam's stuff here.  Life is good and am feeling quite blessed. 
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Have a fabulous week!!  :) :)
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"Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.  Just keep going.  No feeling is final."
Rainer Maria Rilke

Monday-noon

Good Day!  

At this very moment not really morning or afternoon--LOL!  

Hello!  Hello!

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Had clouds that drew me out to take a view from left...

 ...to right.

The two kinds of coleus have taken over half the planter boxes this year.  Also from left...

...(see the purple flowers on the front ones)...

...to right. 

They are kind of like my own little hedge--LOL!

The ones in the front planters have been flowering for a long time.  I have not wanted to trim them back because the bees love them!  Those big bumblebees must come from some distance to find my coleus so I do not want to deny the bees.  :)  Makes me happy to see them here...even if I am scared of bees (and wasps).  

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I made some soup last Tuesday--with pasta.

More the consistency of a stew really.  The temperature dropped into the 70s and it felt so cool that I was back to making soup--LOL! 

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We had our Goldmark "Meet and Greet" meeting on Wednesday at 9am.  (More the time this night owl might  normally be waking up or still be sawing logs.)  There were at least half a dozen smiling Goldmark people here.  They put out huge boxes of assorted rolls and doughnuts on each table with wads of paper napkins.  They came around with pre-made coffee in containers I've never seen before--kind of like milk cartons--and disposable coffee cups.  (I have my own red thermal cup and am trying to avoid sweets so I didn't partake.)  

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They handed out these sheets.

We did get the new office phone number in the letter we were mailed, but you'd think they might have included the number on here--LOL!  We've gone from a full time office manager to the office being open three half-days.  That was all the information we got at that time.  They said that as the meeting progressed and they heard our questions they would send around information accordingly.  After an hour meeting full of questions...we got this outside our doors:

ROFL!!  Basically the names of the people we have to ask for when we call our one office phone number--and where to either drop or mail rent checks.  LOL!

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We are supposed to get a new activity director but they had no information on that at all yet.  They were all very nice and sympathetically listening to all the questions and concerns of the residents.  One lady said towards the end of the meeting that she has rented with Goldmark before and "they are wonderful"!  First person I've heard to say anything nice about them, so that was hopeful.  

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On another positive note!  At the meeting several people complained about the weeds and thistles growing in the rock beds around the apartment and two men came around last week and pulled up weeds!  Now I don't know if they were from federal housing or from Goldmark because Goldmark isn't supposed to take over until the first of August but I had thistles and a three mystery weeds that were almost 2 feet high and now they are gone!  Looks much better out there--whoever is responsible.

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Think positive, right?

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   Friday was a super busy day for me.  I had Ian for Gramma Day all afternoon.  Tickles me that he is still excited by trips to the dumpster and to the garage for more bird seed.  He pushed the cart there and back--filled the bird seed container so carefully he didn't spill a seed--and also filled a smaller planter with dirt for growing some more cat grass.  We took a break (Gramma's knee) and watched some Maru and Hanna...and then some of my own videos from YouTube--of Ian, Liam, Karma, my old apartment, and this one empty when we were first looking at it.  Ian found them interesting and a little disturbing, I think--that he didn't remember Karma or my old apartment--or that he was a baby and toddler and didn't remember that. 

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Then we went out and picked/cut dead heads, jet sprayed the patio, and watered the plants.  By the time we were done Ian's pants and sandals were soaked--LOL!  So Daddy had to bring along dry shorts and underwear when he picked us up.  Yes--"us".  I went over for dinner (Chinese!) and to spend some time with everybody.  Liam is taking those first unsteady steps between Mama and Daddy--giggling and laughing all the way.  I read Ian his bedtime story downstairs this time (knee).  Then after the kids were in bed Leah gave me a ride home and came in till 10:30pm.  We didn't actually do any crafts but she helped me with some One Drive issues and we just had time to gab.

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Wonderful day!

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Of course, Saturday was rest and recovery...but yesterday I did laundry, got the bullet ready for August, cleared off both the tables in the studio, and was blasted again by the jets flying overheard from the Fargo Air Show.  Annie hid under the bed. 

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McFamily was at the Air Show on Sunday.  I had a brief downpour of rain and hail here.  They had rain but no hail at the show.  I don't know how to get pictures off Google+ and on to the blog, but Leah did send me some picks and quick videos of the Air Show.  Maybe next time, but don't hold your breath.  We've been having sharing issues with One Drive, too.  I still haven't seen Ian's birthday video from here at my place--LOL!  We'll figure it out--maybe.  ;)

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Those of you who have been with me for a while know that I rearranged the two tables in the studio a while back.  It helped some--for sewing--but for some reason (mostly because it is cramped in there) it has never been a very usable room.  Those tables end up being a catch all because of that.  We've never even gone back and really tried to organize the bookcases, etc, since I moved in.  Chaos.  I have a difficult time finding items I'm looking for sometimes--especially now that my memory isn't what it used to be dealing with about 15 years of fibro fog--LOL!

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Before pictures. 

 

Tables piled with stuff. 

Even switching the larger table to under the window--well, it was better, but there's still not a lot of room to move around in there.  Awkward.

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AN ASIDE:.

While I was taking the before pictures I watched this car drive in and turn around by driving right on the grass!  Not just a U-turn but they pulled way up on to the grass and then backed up--on the grass--a couple of times to turn around and face the other way.  

He's special, I guess.

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The guy then backed his red car out of their/his garage.  (Surprised he didn't back that out on the lawn, too.)  

They were awfully cuddly for a married couple, to be honest.  Maybe he was showing off for the girlfriend?  By driving all over the lawn?!  Was she impressed?  She didn't appear bothered by the behavior?  Who knows--but I had camera in hand and there you go.  I am still shocked by some things people do for no reason.

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Anyways, back at the ranch...

I cleared off the tables.

(Not sure I'll ever find half that stuff again that got shoved into any empty spots I could find until I reorganize in there--LOL!) 

Then I turned the smaller table as per Leah's brilliant suggestion.

Yes!  I think this might work the best!

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THE PLAN:

Dagan and Leah ordered some furniture from Ikea and I asked them to order me a couple more chair mats for the studio, too.  Thinking that if the chairs could move around easier maybe it wouldn't feel so cramped, right?  And that idea has progressed to hopefully butting up the two mats and having one table on one end and the other table on the other end.  Maybe be able to roll back and forth between them?  One of the chairs broke a while back, as you may recall, so there's only one in there right now, anyways.

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Dagan is supposed to bring over the chair mats and help me get them down under the tables after work today.  I am excited!  I have needed to find a way to be able to do more.  This has not exactly been a productive year so far with being sick so long, the bad flare that doesn't want to let go, and now the darn knee--LOL!  So I wanted to be able to set things up in there so that I can leave everything out that I'm working on.  That way I can do my "baby steps" and work on projects a little at a time.  Whoohoo!!  I am hopeful that this will make that room finally more usable and less just a storage area. 

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My first project is to set up the sewing machine for some quick clothing repairs. But after that to set everything up to work on our Christmas cards!!  :) :)  We want to make more than one set of Christmas cards.  I need some more sets of Birthday cards.  I am completely out of bookcards.  I have a box of scrap cards all organized and ready to construct.  There are saved cards from other people to recycle.  I need lots of plain cards, thank you cards...so many cards.  

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  Wish me luck!  :) :)

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The mowers are here.  They come on Mondays.  Annie is sleeping in the chair next to me at the kitchen table.  It's in the 80s, the AC is humming, fans are blowing the cool air down the hallway & into my bedroom, mourning doves are walking about on the patio now that the mower went around the side of the building, thinking about lunch and hobbling down to check my mail.  May it be a great week!!  :):)

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"At some point in life, the world's beauty becomes enough."

Toni Morrison

Monday-11am

Good morning, Sunrise!

Something I rarely see--LOL!  Had a bad night--I think it was Monday night, actually.  I woke up about 3am coughing and couldn't stop for 20-30 minutes.  Then after that I'd cough when I tried to lay down--all day long--but I didn't cough much if I was sitting up.  It miraculously disappeared so that I was able to go to bed about 9pm on Tuesday night and, after 2 hours of sleep the night before, crashed for almost 14 hours!  Have had stuffed sinuses and a headache since then, but that is letting up some now.

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Plus that right knee (I did something to that I woke up with on the 8th) has been so painful that it had been messing with my sleep a lot, too.  However I twisted it caused pain up the back of my knee, limping, and swelling--some days worse than others.  Let's just say it was one of those weeks...two weeks, actually--LOL!  A lot of quiet time with Annie and the TV! 

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  When I woke up on Thursday there was a note under my door about a meeting down in the community room at 1:30 that very afternoon.  Said it was important and all activities were cancelled.  So, of course, I hobbled down to find out what this emergency meeting was all about.  Went early so I knew I could get a chair.  (The last resident meeting we had was a couple of years ago and there were so many people that some had to stand.) 

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The activity director, Pam, was somber and silent.  Not her usual self.  But she was making coffee and putting out cookies.  People wondered what was going on?  We were told we were waiting for a lady from the main federal housing office downtown--so you knew it was serious.  Nazar showed up late, of course, looking the same as usual.  But when the two maintenance men even showed up...well, I thought maybe the place had been sold.  Something big was happening.

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Finally the entire staff and the lady from federal housing were gathered on the one end of the room by the kitchen--next to the table where I was sitting.  Two strange men wandered in on the opposite side of the room.  The stage was set.

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 The lady we were waiting for started the meeting by telling us that the entire management staff was leaving at the end of the month.  Everyone was in shock as they said their goodbyes one by one.  Pam cried several times.  Even the lady from federal housing teared up talking about how much they care about the residents and how they had put in to continue managing but were rejected by the investors (sounded like their contract was up the end of July and they didn't give them an answer till the end of June).  The seniors were all concerned about them not having a job (did notice no one was overly concerned about Nazar not having a job--LOL!) and were assured that they were all being moved to other federal housing facilities.  (Nazar is going to an all wheel-chair high rise--poor people.) 

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But the worse was yet to come.  They turned the meeting over to the two strangers.  One never spoke and just leaned against the wall the whole time.  The spokesman for the incoming management company said that nothing was going to change...many times.  But when people had questions, he spoke like a politician and left the majority of the answers up to interpretation, or not completely answered.  Often it was that he wasn't positive and time will tell type of answer.  But our leases remain the same for right now (glad I just signed a new lease July 1st--so I am good for a whole year) and the rules won't change unless we sign new leases--which, of course, they will probably have us doing when our current leases are up.  People were getting very nervous and some of them were getting obviously scared and panicky (we have people in their 80s and 90s here).

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The federal housing lady advanced aggressively part way down the room and was pointedly asking him if he was going to tell them who they were.  She seemed ready for a fight and out to defend us--which was even more confusing.  She had to ask him twice.  

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He looked a little shamed by her and reluctantly the confession came out of his mouth.

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"Goldmark."

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There was a roar of shock and outrage--a roar!  From a room full of seniors--myself included.  I was surprised that everyone there had the same low opinion as I did of Goldmark.  Obviously they are very well known up here...as the absolute worst company to rent from.  They are absolutely for profit and known for high rents, never putting money back into the buildings, never giving back deposits, constantly raising rents, treating people like crap, and never being able to get in touch with them.

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Both Dagan and Leah had rented from them years ago.  I remember one apartment Dagan was living in that was so filthy I couldn't stand to visit there and he could hardly stand to sleep there.  It had flat, stained, shag carpeting with bare spots--dirty walls--just awful!  I knew Goldmark was well known among the college student community but even all these seniors knew about them, too.    

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You may remember I came up here to go to college.  So I heard all about how Goldmark only cared if someone signed the original lease and they got their rent--which was high.  But usually several people lived in any given apartment so they could split the high rent.  I even heard that apartments were sometimes handed on to friends because Goldmark never cleaned the apartments anyways and never returned deposits...so why give them more deposit money was the attitude of the students.  Understandable, but not smart for the person who originally signed the lease years ago.

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Anyways, there was such an uproar in the room--people shouting in dismay, people saying they were moving, some trying to ask questions.  The old staff settled things down enough so he could answer questions.  But, like I said, he answered them like a slippery politician.  He did say that they have a 15 year contract with the investors and they had to agree to keep it low-income to get the contract.  We will still deal with annual reviews from federal housing.  

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But federal rules can change...also, the investors could say the rents should be higher.  Federal housing will only help with a specific portion of the rent...beyond that, we would have to pay the difference.  They could make it so we can't afford to live here even if they don't kick us out.  Who knows?

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There were a lot of vagaries and confusion and partial answers.  Supposed to be another resident meeting soon to meet the new management team.  People milled about in the hallways afterwards...many saying they were moving.  The big question on everyone's mind was why would a for profit horrible company like Goldmark even want to manage a low income complex?

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Time will tell.  

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Myself--I'm not going anywhere.  Unless they make it so I can't afford to live here I already know what it is like to watch a building crumble around me.  And if we stay a senior building, at least there won't be kids smashing, tearing, and breaking things and pulling the fire alarm every few months.  I love my apartment and I don't plan to go anywhere.  I just know now odds are even worse that anything will get repaired.  With Nazar they weren't good in the first place.  My kitchen linoleum has never been repaired.  So--not much different, right?  I plan to wait and see what happens and hold my ground.  ;)

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Anyways, despite my head cold and painful knee, Ian and I still wanted to have a Gramma Day.  So Ian came over on Saturday with his lunch and snacks.  He knew we would spend the day mostly watching some shows.  We settled in together on my chair after lunch and watched a dolphin spy pod documentary (fake sea critters with cameras in them).  Ian wanted to watch Cars 3 again and we were watching more Maru and Hanna youtube videos (one of his latest favorites) when Daddy came to pick him up.  I appreciated a long afternoon of Ian cuddling.  Had a really nice day.  :)

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During the night Saturday night my knee was so painful.  I had been doing stretches the whole two weeks--but nothing had changed and it seemed to be getting worse, if anything.  Waking me up again--awk!  Laying there feeling defeated I did a fed-up-with-this, straighter-than-straight, if-it-kills-me, super-duper angry stretch and I felt a pop in the back of my knee.  And no more sharp pain!  My knee has been really tender, sore, and touchy--no surprise after something being stretched out of place for two weeks--so I am being really careful with it and hoping whatever it was will heal up. 

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Before I forget something else--LOL!  Last week I forgot to make a comment on my blog post for a long time so that I could answer your comments by email.  So if you didn't hear back from me you can go back to last week's post because I answered them online.  Today I have a big note in front of my face to remember to make a comment--LOL!  Sorry about that.  Old dog and all.  ;)  I wish Blogger would fix that issue.

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Oh, and I did look it up and Annie came a year ago end of June!  She's been here over a year already.    

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Talk about not wanting to walk around to even take pictures...

...all I have are some pictures of the birds... 

...checking out the colander I decided to try again to keep the patio cleaner. 

Doesn't really work because there's just as much poop everywhere--LOL!  But I was hoping it might curtail some of the sprouting of bird seed in the grass and the rocks around my patio.  I was out there one day pulling the weeds (till my knee hurt too much) and got half a trash bag full!  And I still have more to pull.  You can see that fatter "grass" out there in the yard.  Yup--bird seed sprouting.  It's not crab grass--pulls right out.

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Well, that's about it from here this week.  When we have the next resident meeting I'll let you know what I find out...and how my knee is doing.  The head cold is already better.  I hope you all had a painless week and this will be a better one for those of us who didn't--lol!

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Till next week, my friends.  :) :)

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"We don't know what life will bring, so it is what we bring to life that matters."

Patricia Campbell Carlson

Monday-2pm

Good afternoon!

Pink sunset clouds were so pretty.

Was a quiet week.  Yesterday was the only day I could stand to leave the place open all day.  Even if it was a bit damp, was a nice break to have some fresh air.  Annie loved it, of course.  She spent half the day scaring the birds away on a real power trip--LOL!

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I ordered something really silly--a set of Jinhao shark pens on Amazon.

Yes, they have a shark's head for a cap. 

They come as regular nib or hooded nib fountain pens.  I got the hooded nibs.  They came with a converter, no ink--but I have tons of inks.   

A few were hard to get started, but once I got them going they have all been working well.  They were $12.74 for seven pens!  Really inexpensive.  What a hoot!  Wait till Ian sees shark pens--LOL!

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Speaking of--no Gramma Day this week because Ian was starting to get a cold/cough so passed till next week.  Leah did come over on Wednesday night, though.  She made a card she needed and helped me with some techie questions I had.  And we discussed the fact that I need more room for Ian and Liam's stuff--LOL!  

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Ian's shelf in my little Ikea cart is packed to the top--and we raised it up, too--LOL!

 So I am thinking of some kind of extra shelves that can go on top of the cube set in the corner of the living room.  I think Leah picked this one up at Target.  I can always store the push toy in the pantry or hallway. 

But those cube shelves are not wide enough to hold the set of colorful satchels I bought a long time ago that I have stored on top of one of the bookcases in the hallway. 

 So, time to search around for the perfect shelves.  ;)

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My tiny little icon stamps arrived from Australia.  I love them!  I went with grey for the health stickers: eyedoctor, dentist, doctor.  (Six inch red ruler is for size comparison.) 

But I went with colors for the rest: Blogger icon, sewing machine, cards, calligraphy nib, paint pallet, and exercise.  She really had a lot of icons to pick from you don't always see!

Got one sheet called the study mix because it had a lot of paper and pen stuff on it.  

You could pick matte finish or shiny and tiny or mini on many of them.  I love the smallest ones for my calendar so they don't take up as much space and I'm a matte girl.  These were from PeacefulmindDesign.etsy.com if anyone is interested.  I haven't done a link for so long I hope this worked.  Anyways, I obviously liked them because I don't often "promote"--LOL!  They were only $1.99 to $2.10 per sheet which is really good if you have ever bought icon stamps.  She mailed them out quickly and they took two weeks to get here.  Worth the wait!

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So--short and sweet today.  I haven't been up to much this past week.  Knee and hip have been bothering me--could be the damp weather?  Who knows?  So--since it's harder to walk around a lot I've done some binge watching: Proof on Acorn TV, Low Winter Sun which Netflix will drop in August, Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee on Netflix, and now I am re-watching season one of West World on HBONow before I watch season two (yup--liked it that much, strange as it is--or maybe because it is so strange--lol!).

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For me this is brief, eh?  :) :)

Stay cool or warm as the case may be. 

Until next week... 

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"Who is it that can make muddy water clear?  No one.  But left to stand, it will gradually clear of itself."

Loa Tzu

Kind of sounds like a different version of this sentiment I've heard all my life..."It will all come out in the wash".  

Another one that has come to mind a lot lately..."Give 'em enough rope..."