11-26-2018 Monday-10:30am

Last Monday I worked on what we had for card bases so that when Leah dropped off more blue cardstock from JoAnne's later that day I was able to hand over all her cards, envelopes, and stickers for the envelopes--tada!

 I still had to put together another 30 cards this week to finish off my batch.  My goal was to have them done before Monday--today.

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On Tuesday another wheel broke on that same IKEA cart I use every day.  Did I get a lemon or what?! 

Leah said she will use her magic stuff she used on the last broken wheel to fix them all--hurray!

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Well, it was a good reason to wipe them both down and switch everything I had inside of them so that the broken one had the lighter stuff...

 ...and wasn't the one I want to wheel over to the table every morning.  Can you imagine the chaos if all those pens tipped over onto the floor!  (Which they almost did when the wheel broke.)

I took a wider shot to include Annie-girl.  :)

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 Annie's really become so relaxed around me 90% of the time.

Makes me very happy.  :)

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Lately I've been dealing with a flare up of my old rotor cuff injury from a dozen years ago.  Not sure what I did but I obviously lifted something I shouldn't have or twisted wrong or slept wrong or something.  So I had to wait a few days to work on my Christmas cards.

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Was only painful when I was reaching up a certain way or backwards.  So I didn't use the cutter to make the blue card bases until yesterday. 

But I have been very busy alternating with being very idle all week long--LOL!  Busy--rest--busy--rest.  Got a lot done and indulged in a Netflix movie marathon this week.  I really am a series watcher most of the time so I decided to change it up and watch movies and documentaries during my necessary body-break times.  

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I emptied the big kitty litter box, scrubbed it down and refilled it with the last of this brand of litter. (Going to go back to the old brand--they're all dusty no matter what they say and this one smells more.)  Went through my freezer for old stuff (mostly what was shoved into the door--LOL!).  Went through my pantry.  Hadn't been baking for so long that my big containers of all-purpose flour and bread flour had that old smell they get from sitting for...years?  Was washing containers and scrubbing things...started on my humidifiers which are soaking in white vinegar right now.  Got a lot done and am still going.

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Sounds like a lot--and it is more than I usually have been doing--but I would work on some project for a while and then take a movie break...over and over...all week.  Oh, and I also had rented movie DVDs from Netflix that arrived: Red Sparrow, Annihilation, and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

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  Years ago I had rented both the English and Swedish versions of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.  I saw the Swedish 6-part version of the trilogy is now on streaming!!  So I just had to rent the English version with Daniel Craig.  But I think the English version only covers the first book.  I look forward to re-watching the Swedish version--even if it will have to be slowly due to the subtitles and my wonky eye.  Will be worth it.  ;) 

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I do love dark mysteries--because I rarely watch anything twice.  Don't know what was the matter with me this week because another movie popped up on Netflix streaming that I watched a second time, too!  The Lovely Bones.  Yup--another darker movie.  

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Over the course of the week I watched Viceroy's House, Into The Forest, The Christmas Chronicles, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, The Land of Steady Habits, Room, and documentary called God Knows Where I Am.  I guess the advantage of doing more is that I need longer breaks--LOL! 

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Anyways, I totally miscalculated with the weight of the trash bags.  All the kitty litter and flour and frozen bags...I could barely lift two of the three into my cart.  (I know--probably shouldn't have done that in the first place.)  

There's no way I can lift them up over my head to get them in the dumpster--especially with the rotor cuff acting up.  So I had to text Dagan to see if he could stop by after work today to haul them out for me.

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Last night I did make my goal!  I finished putting the rest of my Christmas cards together--tada!

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So this week my two big goals are to get my bullet ready for December (hopefully January, too) and to get all the envelopes addressed for the Christmas cards (hopefully start getting them in the mail, but I pushed it so much this week that just getting the envelopes ready will be fine).  

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Meanwhile, the crusty humidifiers are waiting for me to do battle with them.  (Shouldn't wait so long to clean them.)  Annie is sleeping next to me in her chair by the table--much like the above photo--LOL!  I threw on a sweater and swept off the patio this morning and thought--"Man!  It's cold out here!"  Was 7 degrees.  (That's almost -14 C.)  No wonder.  Should at least have worn my gloves--LOL!  McFamily is home from their McGregor "Thankmas" gathering.  (They have Thanksgiving one day and Christmas the next because people are so spread out it's harder to get them all in one place.)  

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My mom was back up in Minnesota Friday and has her interview/assessment today to see how much help she needs.  Could be moving some things in this afternoon!!  :) :)  She arrived to a brand new recliner Blaine and Kathy got her that she said is comfortable.  Will be shopping for a new bedroom set.  A lot of change.  Sounded like it was hard to lock the door on her Florida home of about 35 years and know she'll never see it again.  Kind of overwhelming.  She should be settled in this week, though, thanks to Blaine and Kathy.  So grateful for them taking such good care of her.  A new start at 89.  :)

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Annie is snoring quite loudly.  I wonder if you can give a cat a head cold?  LOL!  There's a flock of sparrows on the patio.  Time to go check the mail.  This really has become like a weekly newsletter these days.  Until next week...virtual hugs!!  Life is good!  :) :)

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"Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy."

Thomas Merton

11-19-2018 Monday-9:45am

Good Morning!

I worked all day on Thursday die cutting the three-tree die for the Christmas cards.  We're doing a two sets at once (opposite inlays).  The Vagabond on the cabinet there got a real workout as we make about 90-100 a set.

First I cut out all the white shimmer-sprayed card stock fronts.

We always seem to come up with these simple ideas that are quite time consuming--LOL! 

As I was cutting away we had another little snow storm blast through.

I moved in the laptop to watch a fun series I don't have to pay close attention to (Death in Paradise on Netflix).  Of course, my trusty red thermal coffee mug had to make an appearance, too.  ;) 

Once I finished off the white trees I started on the green plaid ones. 

I got nearly finished, but my body began protesting rather emphatically. 

I do love watching it snow.  Doesn't matter if it is the gently dancing flakes or the violent whipping ones.  

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It had been so windy it doesn't look like we had much but we did get a few inches that drifted up here and there.  The Girls were very glad to have me tossing out seed in the morning. 

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On Friday while Ian was in pre-school Leah, Liam, and her bother, Aaron, descended upon my place for some work on projects!!  Aaron was on Liam patrol.  (Gramma's place is filled with things he can't touch--LOL!)  Dagan has half days on Friday--he came with the tall ladder and Leah's drill.

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Remember the used Dyson Leah picked up for me from a friend who was selling hers?  Well, Leah installed a wall holder for me!!  

You can see we still needed an extension cord to run underneath the bottom shelf over to the outlet, but Leah said she'd bring one when she dropped Ian off for Gramma Day the next day (Sat).

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While she was doing that, Dagan shoveled off my patio and took the chairs and small tables to the garage since they become basically poop receptacles all winter, anyways--plus they make it harder to sweep or shovel the patio.  

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Dagan also brought in more bird seed for me.  He had to fill the big bird seed bin in the garage.  A discussion ensued about moving that bird seed bin into my pantry.  I do have room.  Bought an identical one for kitty litter that's in there right now.  

Could easily make room for it and it would save a lot of running back and forth to the garage.  My main concern was the dust, but they assured me there's a way to dump the bag upside down and slowly pull it up so there won't be a dust cloud.  I get dust from the kitty litter, in the first place.  So--next time the bin needs refilling...going to move it inside.  Dagan can use my cart to bring in the 40# bag.  Will be so much more convenient!  One of those things that you wonder why you didn't think of it before, you know?

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Then Dagan and Leah tackled hanging the bird feeder!

Yes, the bird feeder is back up for the winter... 

...and I hope nobody complains.  :)

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They all scooted off--time to pick up Ian from pre-school.  So wonderful to have all those things done!!  Thanks never seems enough.  

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 Annie has a fresh batch of cat grass.

Always a high spot in her life.  ;)

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On Saturday Leah brought Ian over after his swimming lesson.  She had a temporary extension cord--way longer than we needed--LOL!  But I can use my Dyson.  :) :) 

She uses the wonderful 3M wire holder clips.  Those things sure come in handy!

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And then!  Leah said she could stay for a while and show me the idea she had for revamping a set of the Christmas cards we made a few years ago that we weren't happy with because of ink pad bleed through.  Simple.  I loved it!  AND--she stayed and did all the trimming down of the old cards...

...and she cut down the blue card stock we had available and folded them to make card bases.  We'll just tape the trimmed down fronts and the insides on to the blue bases.  Done.  We have both not been feeling the greatest and she thought this would be much easier for this year.  Absolutely will!  Then can take our time with the two sets of tree cards--whoohoo! 

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To also make it even faster to put them together I'm going to use an actual tape runner instead of our usual rolls of double-sided tape.  Well, that's what we made those card sets up ahead a time for--in case we were having a bad year.  [I know.  I know.  If we weren't so fussy those were already done--LOL!  But we'll like them a lot better now.]

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Anyways, Leah left and then Ian and I had a very quiet afternoon watching TV.  (Gramma was shot!)

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We did find it amusing that The Girls and the sparrows preferred digging in the grass to search out the seed that had been shoveled off the patio by Dagan the day before rather than the easy meal on the patio--ROFL! 

They were so much fun to watch digging with their feet and beaks--snow flying. 

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Ian had a bento snack box.  Hard to get pictures when we spend time sitting together in my big chair, but I tried to get a few.  

Eating apple slices. 

This is blurry--but I loved that his eye was clear.  He was showing me how he could eat two slices at once. 

We watched a couple episodes of Mighty Machines.  

One was in the train yard.  

The other one was in an airport.  

I find them very interesting, myself.

I love that when Ian coughs he knows to cough into his elbow--and then tells me that is how you're supposed to do it.

Mama came to pick him up.  We discovered that Daddy had forgotten his Fargo hat the day before...so Ian wanted to wear it home.  He has his own hat underneath.  Been so cold!  It's 6 degrees and windy as I am writing this ( -14 C).

Time for hugs and the "bye-bye, I love you"s. 

Since I've been wanting to eat healthier come 2019 I've been using up things like box mixes I've had around that I got on sale a few months ago.  Sent home some brownies and spice cake with Mama.  Was another great day!

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Sadly--just a few days of being busy and a couple days of having company and I bottom out.  Slept 7 hours, up 2 hours, slept another 4 hours.  Happy.  Just crashed.  Was a total rest and recovery, noodle day yesterday--but feeling a bit more human today.

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 I watched the rest of season two of This Is Us (rented DVDs from Netflix) and found out how Jack died.  Finished reading Fear by Woodward.  Caught up on letters.  Have been making plans for 2019.  But today--going to be taping those cards together.  Well, at least some of them.  ;)

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To those in US--happy Thanksgiving.  

To everybody--have a delightful week!  

Until next Monday.  :) :)

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Every blade of grass has its angel that bends over it and whispers, "Grow, grow".

The Talmud 

11-12-2018 Monday- 3:30pm

Late start again.  I finally made it through all those pictures Leah  sent before and the new ones from Halloween I got last night--whoohoo!  Lots of pics and videos today--so grab a cuppa and here we go!

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I love this picture of the boys waiting for the cupcakes to be done.

Mama made some really special Halloween cupcakes!

Ian helped scoop out pumpkin innards.

Blink was helping, too, I see--LOL!

Don't ask me what that wild one is in the middle.  No clue--LOL!
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I love the rotating colored lights they put inside of them.

The friendly skeleton greeted people on the steps.

Leah always puts out a turquoise pumpkin to let parents and kids know there are alternatives to candy at this house.

I LOVE the matching dragon outfits!!

A couple of very short videos.

What a haul between them!

Of course, Liam won't get much of it and the candy will be parceled out sparingly.

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What I did find in the old pics and videos--OMG!  This was back in July.  Ian did know what a pottery wheel was!  Even if he didn't remember the name of it.  He never said a word when we were talking about pottery wheels and watching youtube videos.  Did he forget?  I am going to show him this video next time he is over.

I have to ask Leah where they were and if he got to come back and get his bowl or they just used the clay for the next child's demo?
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Anyways, been cold.  It's 13 degrees right now as I am typing.  The birds are all flocked up--about 25-40 in a visit. 

The Girls are here several times a day now that it's been in the 20s for highs. 

We have had scattered light snow. 

Look at what I found one morning.  Somebody walked right up to my patio and then walked back to the sidewalk.  ??  How strange.  I hope they don't complain about me feeding the birds! 

Saturday was Gramma Day!  (Yes, I am probably the only person who has a summer and a winter shower curtain--LOL!)  

BTW--the bowl with the orange specks in it--those are actually from the paper punching we did for Mama's card.

Leah sends bento boxes for meals and snacks. 

Ian was fascinated by the mummy eyes. 

Insisted Gramma eat one with him.
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 We've had more snow since then.

I love a fresh blanket of sparkly snow!! 

Annie is loving all the Cat TV activity. 

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Well, yesterday I FINALLY got going on the Christmas card assembly line!  Cutting down all the white shimmer-sprayed card stock Ian and I sprayed a long time ago. 

I use washi tape to guide me for where to cut when I have to cut so many sheets. 

Saves a lot of time. 

Then I just move it to the next measurement spot. 

That piece of flowered washi I leave alone because that's our marker for cutting down card stock for card bases.

Anyways, I got them all cut!  Step one done.  Next is using the trees die to cut all of these white pieces and all the green plaid pieces that were already cut last winter.  Yup--been that kind of a year.
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The Girls are so glad to have some snow.  This afternoon they were digging spots to snuggle down into for a bit of protection against the wind while they warmed up in the sunshine as best they could.

I just love having them outside my window.  How lucky am I?
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Let's see...what else this week?  Oh, Katy (Caroline's supervisor) came by for a home visit on Friday afternoon.  The democrats took back the house.  It's Veterans Day here in the US today.  More mass shootings.  Wildfires raging in California.  I hope people are safe and hurt for those who are not.  May we find more love, kindness, and compassion.  Be what you want in the world, right?
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Love and hugs from Fargo.  :)
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"I have decided to stick to love.  
Hate is too great a burden to bear."
Martin Luther King Jr.