August 26, 2024 Monday--5am

Good morning!

This week flew by, but not in the best way, I suppose.  Could have been better, but I can't complain. :)  

Monday I was extra achy all over and tired.  Slept 11 hours--goodness!  

Tuesday - woke up feeling the same.  Wondered if I was getting sick-sick.  Took my temp and it was normal.  (Didn't want to give anything to Kianna.)  Was so stiff and achy that it was the first time I didn't have the trash gathered for her and she had to do it for me.  That evening I had a video call with the boys to see how they liked the new school orientation night.  They liked the school, met their teachers, and would be riding the bus to school.  The bus stop was at the end of the block.  They seemed excited about going and less hesitant.

Wednesday - was running to the bathroom more often and began to wonder if it was another UTI?  By evening...I cancelled the follow-up video call about the first day of school, was running a lowish temp (100 to 100.6), and making more and more frequent trips to the bathroom.  Definitely felt like a UTI by then, so I started on the Oil of Oregano I took last time so as not to take antibiotics if I don't have to.  Three naps.

Thursday-Sunday continued taking lots of Oil of Oregano, in the bathroom a lot, aching all over, awake-asleep-awake-asleep.  If I am very tired when I am sick, I try to sleep as much as I can...keeping in mind that my body is the boss of me since 2004--lol!  No use fighting that fact. ;)  

Started feeling somewhat better (temp dropping) by later on Saturday...was hungry and ate something.  Temp finally broke on Sunday.  Definitely on the mend now.  Recovery period this week, I think.

Since I was sick, I didn't take many pictures because I didn't do anything extra.  Barely did anything necessary--lol!  No birthday card coloring for me.  Best laid plans--LOL!  That's okay.  Lots of time.  I got to watch amazing happiness and joy from the DNC...plus some Netflix, BritBox, Magellan, Peacock, and You Tube videos.  When I was awake there was plenty to keep my mind occupied. ;)  Was a very good week.

Leah sent me a few more pictures.  

The boys outside the house before first day of school.

Can you see the boys?

I do love this colorful sign in front of the new school.  Love the name, too--Meadowlark.

Liam showing his locker.  Oh, and yes, I don't think I have seen Liam in matching shoes maybe all summer--lol!  Just his thing lately.

Since I had to cancel the video call after first day of school, Leah also sent me a video of the boys telling me about the new thing in the lunchroom at the new school.  I never heard of this!  There's a big traffic light in the lunchroom.  When they go to lunch it is green...they can get their lunch and find their spot and chat away.  When the light turns yellow they have two minutes to quiet down but they can still talk.  When it turns red it is quiet time with no talking and just eating.  And it is working!  For everybody they said.  What a cool idea!  Has anyone else heard of anything like that?

I thought since I have the space today...and I was quite fascinated by the trolls at the park in Detroit Lakes.  I thought you might be, too.

Liam and Ian (front center) in front of the first troll I showed you last week.  But I didn't show you the other four trolls and the rabbit at the end. 

Troll 2.

Ian, Liam and their friends' boys in front of Troll 3.

The marker for Troll 4.  They did have markers for them.

Liam on a big rock in front of Troll 4.

McFamily under huge, tall Troll 5...

...and, lastly, in front of the yellow rabbit.

Pretty cool!  I wonder who thought to make these for people to wander the park to find?  They even had to cross a covered bridge over a creek.  Quite unique!  Here I had wished I had shown them all to you last week...well, now I have.  Silver lining from being sick.  TaDA! 

I watched parts of the DNC when I was awake...and some clips.  No matter who was speaking or what was going on you could feel the positivity surging through the screen.  I was already happier, as you know...but it made me feel...

Did anyone else love this song so much they tuned in to the 24 hour version--do you remember that?  LOL!  Does anyone else still feel a rush of happiness when they hear this?  Leah often puts it on for me when I get in her car--no lie!  Told you, I am a weird human.  But I think in a good way...I hope, anyways. lol!

So, despite me being sick this past week--what a happy, joyful week it was.  Ahhh! 

Sunday--I also discovered that not only does Allie miss seeing the birds on the patio...but she misses hearing them.  I've played CatTV for her, but with the volume practically off.  She was very restless (probably bored with me being in my chair all week--which is quite funny because of how freaked out she was with my getting out of it this last January).  She wanted me to open the blinds and preferably the patio door.  She was crying and racing behind the blinds and around the apartment--acting like a crazy person.  I put on CatTV but also turned up the volume...and within 15-20 minutes...

I realized that I also miss the sounds of the birds chatting away all day--probably as much as she did.  (I know there's a squirrel on the screen but it was all filmed right by a lake and there must have been woods nearby because you hear a ton of birds, bugs, and kids off in the distance for the whole 10 hours on this one!)

I promised her I will play both of us some CatTV--with the volume up--several times a week.  I had thought she mostly missed seeing them so close up, you know...watching them.  But with as often as she slept by the patio door, I guess she missed the chatter and sound of them, too.  Put her right to sleep.  This will be a good habit to get into for when we move and she we can't see that much from the window wells.  

Anyways, as I am feeling better and better, maybe now this week I will be able to get something extra done--lol!  If I am able, you know I will show you. :) :)  Till next week, my friends.  Have one happy, happy week. 

August 19, 2024 Monday--5am

Good morning!  Good morning!

Been the best week!  Deep diving into my personal whys is always so freeing!  So then why do I put it off till I am overwhelmed?  Probably because I don't think there IS a serious problem until something happens I cannot ignore--LOL!  Regardless...the deep dive has lifted the angst, impatience, illogical emotions and all the rest.  Took a few days of pondering it all and feeling that negativity float away.  Ahhhh!  Life is good!  

Funny how adept we are at burying what we don't want to deal with.  We can tuck it away so we're not tripping over it--lol!  At least I can say I have gotten better at facing my dark side over the decades.  Never be rid of it, but examining it thoroughly makes it easier to live with...and somehow makes it much smaller and weaker--lol!  ;)  Well, in my opinion anyways.

We had some cooler days for a little bit the beginning of the week.

Much appreciated by Allie and myself.

I went over on Tuesday to finish up the fake Lego bouquet!  Leah said she had a blue vase I could borrow, but she had forgotten to take it down.  Said it was up high in her pantry so we could just use one of her bigger glasses.

Ian and I looked for it but only saw something smaller that looked blue...so we used a big glass.

They turned out better than I expected!  The 900+ pieces went faster than we thought, too.  Will sure be some bright color for the new apartment.  There will be a lot of browns and blacks so I plan to have pops of color.  Wait till you see my rugs! ;)

My sleep was off this past week.  Trying out some mouth tapes at night.  They work and the adhesive doesn't even bother me--but I seem to be sleeping less.  I wouldn't want to try to wear one when I have a cold and stuffed up nose--lol!  Anyways, early in the week I fell asleep for a three hour nap--awk!  And that threw me off worse as far as sleeping goes.  But I am back to more regular hours and getting okay sleep.  

Spent the week doing the usual--laundry, cooking, baking, cleaning.  So nice to be able to do all of that again...even if it's often with baby steps. ;)  I picked out which birthday cards fronts I want to color (had two pre-stamped sets) and decided on markers because these stamps were embossed.  Picked out all the brightest colors of my Tombow markers, but that's as far as I have gotten.  

You can probably tell which company made this stamp--ROFL!  Not going to be quick to color, but you know how I love the wild colored cats by Laurel Burch.  Couldn't resist!

Caught Allie half sunbathing...using the metal bar of the folding table as a pillow. 

Looks uncomfortable, but cats and dogs can sleep in weird ways and positions, that's for sure.

Leah got the blue vase down when she got home and sent me pictures.  Was not the little one Ian and I had seen---at all!

The boys finally made it over to Home Depot for the kids' craft day.

Little white boards!  You never know what they will be making over there. :)

They also were at Detroit Lakes, Minnesota with friends and their kids.  Do you see what is over Dagan's shoulder?

They were at a park where there were five huge trolls to find and then a golden rabbit made of trash.  She said the trolls were the best.  They do look pretty cool!

Leah came over Friday night to make Liam's birthday invitations.  You may recall how the colors (except for blue) quit working on my printer.  Well, it took half a dozen head-cleanings but Leah got it to work!  TaDa!  AND--she cut my hair for me, dumped the standing water out of the petunia pot on the patio (who knew we'd get that much rain), and even cleaned a minor explosion in my microwave for me (my knees swell sometimes so I don't like to use the stool when they are so stiff and hurt).  

I have really missed spending time with her!  Now that she is working and I am not needing to go to the doctors/clinic/hospital every time we turned around...well, I've hardly seen her this year for more than a couple minutes at a time.  Or Dagan, either, really...mostly just trips in the car for a mile each way with him--lol!  Really glad I have had some time with the boys recently!

The drywallers were there last week and filled the holes.  The electricians were there, but still missed a couple things.  Leah's trying to set up the cabinet people to come back now.  Things are moving along.  Plumbers need to be lined up, too, now.

Since the color was working on my printer...and Leah even suggested I re-print the pictures I wanted to use for the ICAD drawing practice, but I didn't think I should do that all again...well, on Saturday I decided to just print a couple to make sure the color was working...and then a few more...and...well, I printed most of them again.  Changed my mind and skipped a few...made some of them smaller that had gone off the page.  Even went ahead and re-printed the black and white ones.  You may remember everything was just blue and not a crisp blue--lol!  Now I have a stack of black & whites and a stack of colored pics...like I wanted in the first place!  Whoohoo!    

So, the learning to draw game is on again!  I am so glad I attempted the ICADs.  I knew I would never keep up with them for 61 days--dream on--but I found I loved having the smaller pieces of watercolor paper or drawing paper that I could tape down and carry around to play with.  Learning to draw on a small scale is less intimidating (but still very much intimidating to me).  So this is just something I plan to keep on doing--quite randomly, of course...but something challenging and fun for me.  Could just draw with pencil and ink or pick one I can draw and then color...using different mediums for the coloring.  Having the printer mess up took the wind out of my sails...but now I feel a breeze wafting in. ;)

Allie and I had such a nice, calm week.  I am now excited about the move again, too!  Leah and I have been talking light switches and bathroom mirrors.  

Oh, and Leah found these kits at Costco and CashWise with chicken or beef with sauces.  Delicious!  But expensive.  So I found various Keto sauces on Amazon and ordered up a variety to try.  Just add to the chicken or beef and voila!  Lots cheaper.  Two sample sets came one day...

...and the other brand came the next day.  Already tried a barbeque chicken and it was sooo good!  I am over the moon!  :)

 While I type away...Allie sleeps in her little chair next to me.

Well, first project I need to get done--hopefully this week--is the set of birthday cards.  Then I'll be all set for this year with the annual mass-produced cards.  After that--I can practice drawing or play in my art journal or make a smaller set of cards for my pen pals or do whatever strikes my creative fancy!  All I need is spoons--lol!  More spoons, please. ;)

[For some of you new folks--here's an explanation of spoon theory.  It will come up again in conversation--lol!]   

I am feeling so happy and good and at peace again--I wish I could just send you some of this right through the screen.  There!  I hope you could feel that...and have a wonderful week.  *love and hugs from Fargo*

 

August 12, 2024 Monday--5am

Good morning!

A much better week!  Sometimes I just need to do serious work on myself.  :)  

On Tuesday I went over to watch the boys while Dagan and Leah went to see the new Deadpool/Wolverine movie.  I brought with the fake Lego bouquet to put together.  Liam wasn't that interested and was playing some game with cats in it--lol!  Ian and I worked on the flowers and got through the first instruction booklet.  Made eight flowers, if I remember correctly.  It was 8pm by the time we finished those.  So we found a safe place to store them and I'm going back tomorrow afternoon so we can finish them.  Saved taking pictures till we're done. ;)  Read the boys a silly book and they were to bed a little after nine.  Was a very nice night!

Before they went to bed they wanted me to see the lights were working downstairs!  They ran down to turn them all before I got down there.  Wow!  Love it!  There are dimmers on the living room lights, too.

This is going to be the long narrow storage room that is under the entryway.  (Somehow this photo was the only one Blogger decided needed to be left aligned and I can't change its mind--lol!)

This is where the litter boxes will be--under the stairs.  I will certainly be able to see to scoop--lol!  (Blogger also stubbornly centered this line...who knows how it will look when I actually publish this--lol!)

Living room.  Not sure which workmen all that is from in the middle of the room.

Standing inside my front door looking toward the bathroom and studio.  White dust everywhere from the drywallers.

Kitchenette.  Leah's still trying to get the drywallers back to seal off that hole above where the frig will go.  The electricians moved the light over above the bathroom door there.  There are some other places the electricians need to come back to fix, and the drywallers, and the floor people.

The studio doesn't need any extra fixing, I don't think. 

The bathroom.  Ian said the light fixture doesn't have any lightbulbs in it yet.  I like it!

Liam looking at the current mess in the shower.

Where the washer and dryer will go under the stairs in the maintenance room.

Wow!  Really a huge difference when you have light!  

The cabinet people can't come back until the drywallers seal off that hole over the frig and a couple other holes they made they shouldn't have.  Plumbers will be back, too.  Also the trim and door guy will be coming--and the carpet needs to be laid down the stairs.  So many contractors to deal with.  But it is coming along.

I think some people got the impression I was upset with Dagan and Leah.  I was talking about myself.  Me.  My own issues with dealing with the wait.  That was what was causing my meltdown.  Nothing really logical.  Everything is going about as well as it can be.  I love them all.  I know their weaknesses and they know mine.  None of us are perfect, for sure.  But I can hardly wait to be there.  They wish I was already there, too.  It will work out.  I'm not even the one who is dealing with all the contractors and such.  I'm just waiting in my place full of bins and boxes.  So, I know I have no logical reason to complain.  I have everything I need.  We have no deadlines.  Contractors mess up or don't respond sometimes.  Poor Leah gets most of the headaches.  Just so much to deal with.   

Anyways, I'm sure it was probably confusing to those of you who don't know me well.  Like most of us would assume (including myself), I thought my stress was due to it taking so long.  But it wasn't.  Not really.  It was due much, much more to me--who I am and living in chaos for so long.  Not having control--of my home, of the move, of my stuff--lol!  When you grow up feeling alone, like you have no control over your life, no emotional support, and way too much responsibility way too early...as soon as I got my own room when I was around 9 or 10...well, I had complete and total control over my very organized room.  It was my sanctuary...my safe place.  No one was allowed to enter without my consent--not my brother, sister, or my parents...and they well knew what it meant to me.  I don't get angry often, but people know when not to cross a line with me--lol!  Plus, I also knew where every little thing belonged in my room (think Adrian Monk) so that I would know if anyone had been in there or had gone through a drawer or moved anything at all.  [Note: I do know someone had been in there a couple times over the years...quite carefully...likely a sibling.  I just kept a close watch and bought a lockable file box for my journals.  Then no one came back that I know of--lol!]

Yes, when I say I have an OCD side...I do.  I have loosened up a little bit over the years, but to this day...no one messes with my stuff.  We weren't allowed in my folks' bedroom.  My grandparents were that way about their bedrooms (yes, they each had their own--both sets) and we weren't allowed to touch any of their things, either.  So I grew up learning a high respect for other people's things and their spaces, you know.  We grew up being taught not to touch anything in any store when we were shopping with Mom.  And we had to be quiet and respectful of adults...all that stuff.  Especially on my dad's side.  Children were to be seen and not heard.  Actually it was preferrable if we were also not even seen--ROFL!

I don't think I have even talked about any of this on the blog before.  Well, now it will make more sense as to how this was all my own personal meltdown.  Imagine Monk living with his home torn apart--ROFL!  I think of Monk because a part of me quite understood where he was coming from in a lot of ways--LOL!  Loved that show.

Anyways, now that I have dug down for the core reasons that I was unreasonably upset...I am feeling much better.  I have learned something about myself that runs deeper than I had thought.  Know thyself, eh?  Always makes life easier.  Even when some things are difficult to face.  I dearly love McFamily.  I am grateful that they love me, too, and put up with me. :)

Meanwhile, Keanna came on Thursday instead of Tuesday.  We've had a cooler weather spell that has been just delightful!!  Have been able to open the place up...which makes Miss Allie very happy, too.

  

Although, I spent some time in the studio and she got bored laying on the floor in there.  (No chair, or room for one, next to the table in there.)  She dozed out in the living room in her chair.

I just wanted to do something mindless.  So I worked on swatching all the new palettes!  Gave me an idea of how the various brands will work...even if I did use the student grade paper in that art journal I made. ;)

Faber-Castell--some were pretty weak on the pigment side, but okay colors.

Amazon Basics.  Really dried all cracked and were hard to reconstitute, but quite a variety of colors.

Paul Rubens "Opera" set.  Colors had no labels.  They were easily wet and dark--almost like gouache!

Arteza.  Also pretty easily reconstituted and deep colors.

Chromatek.  Wet well and had quite a variety of rich colors.  

Any of the above sets would be easy to color stamps with that could look similar to using markers, I think.  Nice bright colors.  The first two sets were a bit watery or weak on pigments, though they would probably work okay.  Not as vivid.

Then--lastly--QOR.  Two small sets--High Chroma set and Earth set.

QOR set of 24.

I have to say that the QOR sets by Golden did feel quite different using them.  They look different on the page, too.  Much more like the artist quality watercolors I'm familiar with.  Hard to explain the difference.  I kind of thought they might--hence trying more sets--lol!  (I had already bought the small sets quite a while ago before I ordered the rest of these.)  But then, I have not played with any of them to see how they blend or work in real practice, you know.  Will be fun to find out. :) :)  The ones I liked the least were the first two, but I will play with them, too.  Swatching is one thing...

So, there you have it.  Now you know.  I am probably an even weirder human than you thought I was--lol!  Anybody would likely be impatient with a wait much longer than expected, but most people wouldn't have an internal meltdown, I don't think.  I'm like half-Adrian Monk, though.  In fact, I just watched three seasons of Professor T on Masterpiece Prime...another guy I can relate to.  Not as bad as he is, either--thank goodness.  But I do have my OCD side, that's for sure.  Truth.  I do go around after my cleaners leave and put everything exactly back where it belongs--lol!  Always have.

I am a great believer in the deep dives...in knowing what makes you tick.  Highly recommend it.  Makes life easier during the rough spots.  Sometimes you even discover that the really rough part was all inside of you in the first place.  I was sweating the small stuff, as they say.  Deep dives always give me a new perspective.  I am so grateful that Dagan and Leah still love me and want me to live with them.  Grateful for Allie sleeping next to me.  And even grateful that when I AM unhappy that I have always been one to eventually dig to find out why and what I can do about it.  Feels awful.  I prefer to be content and optimistic and happy.  Very grateful for that side of me, too.  :)

Till next week, my dear friends.  Bless you for just being there.  We all need somebody to just listen and hear us sometimes.  Thank you!!  Thank you so much!!  :)