Friday-11:30am

A sure sign of spring.

Lawnmowers.

Our guys came on Monday again this year.  And the mowers for the apartment complex I see out my window came on Wednesday instead of Friday like last year.  Curious--our guys mow on our side of the sidewalk and their guys have always mowed on their side.  Maybe this is a new outfit?  I certainly don't pay enough attention to know if any of them are the same gentlemen.

They did have a maniac weed-whipper guy chopping the heck out of the edge of the grass all along the sidewalk on their side--dirt and grass flying...

 ...but they never mowed that stretch of grass?  LOL!  

Well, the dandelions love it.

I finally tried out my new breadmaker now that I can see to read the instructions--LOL!  These 2-lb loaves are huge!! 

I drug out these old Noodler's pens that frustrated the heck out of me years ago to the point I cleaned them and stashed them away.  Wanted to see why.   

I remembered.  

The blue and red ones are his first flex nibs, I believe, and because of these pens I thought I never wanted to try flex writing again.  When I'd try to press and release as I wrote--just blobs and ink still coming out too fast most of the time to even get thin lines.  

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But...lately I have been wanting to try to learn brush lettering--which is the same concept of thick and thin.  I'm having better luck with markers and brush pens.  ;)  These Noodler's pens will probably get cleaned and stashed away again.  Like I say--life is too short.

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Yesterday was a busy day.  I went to CCC (coffee, coloring, and conversation) here in the community room at 1:30pm.  I am bringing zendalas to work on every week and plan to for the foreseeable future.  Been such fun to play with these again!  I think I am close to done with this first one now this week.  I am really liking it in the black and white so not planning to color this one.  Will probably start a new one next week.  :)

Then I got back home just in time for the tow truck.  Leah, Ian, and her bother, Aaron, came over.  Since we had run a charger on the Paseo over night and it wouldn't even turn over we didn't know how they were going to get it out of the garage.  Aaron came with in case there was pushing or lifting help needed.

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The guy said he had some kind of super charger and he shocked the old girl to life long enough to back her out of the garage!  She stunk and her tires were very low, but he backed her out and hooked her up.  Ian was transfixed!!  I took a little video.  Our chatterbox was a bit stunned and contemplative.  ;)

After I saw the video...there is some cat supplies in the garage and I wondered if he could see Karma's cat toys?  I'll have to look when I'm out there next time.  But he was obviously thinking about Karma.

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They came in for a short while so Ian could play with his toys at Gramma's for a bit.  Ian has a toy garbage truck.  I told him to ask his daddy about the time we were living in Green Bay when his daddy was about 10 or 11 years old and a smoking garbage truck was trying to make it to the dump down the highway from us...but flames started shooting out the back so the garbageman quick dumped the entire burning load on the side of the road right in front of our house.  (We lived outside of town on a couple acres.)

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Flames were shooting up, smelly plastic soot was floating everywhere, hot cans were exploding and shooting way up over the treetops.  The grass in the ditch started on fire.  We were afraid for the trees lining the highway and even the roof of our house that was set back from the road because of the rocketing red hot cans shooting off in every direction.  

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Finally the fire truck arrived.  They parked, rolled out the huge hose, the fireman braced himself, told them to turn it on, and a small trickle of water came out the nozzle!  Despite the fear of the fire--hey!  That was hysterically funny!  So, they wound up the hose and took off to fill up with water.  They did make it back in time to drench the trees, the ditch, and that huge smelly pile of garbage.  They had to hang around for quite a while while they spread out trash and doused more flames that popped up.  Then the whole sopping mess had to be shoveled into another truck and hauled away.  

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Was quite exciting!  I can't imagine Dagan wouldn't remember that burning garbage truck event.  I told Ian to ask Daddy about it.  I'll have to ask Dagan, myself, if he remembers.  ;)  They might be back this weekend to work on moving things around in the garage.

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Anyways, they went home for dinner and then Leah came back later for craft night.  She surprised me with some paper she bought and a few rolls of washi tape, too!  (Already put the washi tapes away).  More Christmas and birthday card paper!!  Some other papers, too.  Sweet!  (This isn't all of them.)

We worked some more on the sewing project.  Leah's getting to the end of tracing the pad and liner patterns and now I could finally start cutting them out--tada!!  I do have to go slower than I used to because of the wonky eye, but that's fine.  I'll probably be sewing slower also.  Adaptation is a good thing.  :)

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We stack and pile after we're done each time.  Looks chaotic, but I now have a better idea of which piles go together so I can do some cutting while I watch TV at night, too.  Nice!   

This morning...

 I got a knock on the door...beautiful Mother's Day yellow-orange roses!! 

Gorgeous!

They're already opening up!

McFamily is so good to me.  They literally reaffirm my belief in humanity and God and hope for this world.  Have a wonderful weekend and for those of you celebrating Mother's Day--good memories or make some--LOL!  Keep in mind that families are or can be created with love.

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Life is good!!  :) :)

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"Family isn't always blood.  It's the people in your life who want you in theirs.  The ones who accept you for who you are.  The ones who would do anything to see you smile, and who love you no matter what."

-unknown

P.S.  I have no idea why the font is weird in portions of this post.  Tried to fix it and couldn't.  Doesn't show until I post.  So, you can thank Blogger for the variety.  ;) ;)

Saturday-5:45pm

Good afternoon!

Putter...putter...putter.

I kept working on the pantry. 

Wiping everything down. 

Reorganizing.  

(Leaving lots of space on this side for cat food and supplies for Annie when she comes.) 

 I finally got my bench emptied off--LOL!  First time since I moved in.  

And I finished the pantry!!  All organized!!  Caroline brought my groceries for May on Wednesday, too.  I can find everything easily now.  A big project off my to-do list.  :) 

The top shelf from left to right: breakfast stuff, rices & grains, flours.  Middle shelf: oils & sauces, boxed & canned goods.  Bottom shelf: pastas, canned tomatoes, dried beans & lentils.  About time I got this all organized.  Only been living here a year and eight months--ROFL!  :)

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Finally out of bird seed, but they do get their fresh water every morning.  I was going to take a picture of the two doves who visit every day splashing away--but they caught of glimpse of me and poof!   

Those doves really do like bathing.

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Tuesday Leah came for craft night but we spent the entire night planning my patio--LOL!  (We both figured we would end up doing that because it is such fun for both of us.)  I had to make a final decision on the best planter boxes I could afford:

 They're terra cotta colored plastic from Amazon--and already arrived!

With the wild wind up here we will get some cheap rocks to line the bottoms before we add the soil--to try to hold them down.  So we still need to buy rocks and potting soil this month.  Then I'll get plants in June.  Leah was showing me different plants online to see what I liked.  (Leah used to work in a nursery in town for quite a while and that is where we will go plant shopping).  Oh, this is so exciting!!

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In fact, this morning I took my flat cart out to the garage to haul in the expanding hose & big plastic pot Leah gave me to hide it in (you may recall I sneak and use the faucet on the side of the building next to my patio as of last summer), my container of potting soil (an old kitty litter container with the handle), and the planter I used once in a while to grow Karma her cat grass (but it's too big-too much grass at one time for any one cat) that I plan to use to re-pot the two ivys I was gifted at the two cataract surgeries.  Whew!  That was one long convoluted sentence--LOL!    

We had a bit of a strange storm on Wednesday afternoon.  It thundered a few times, then poured rain that only lasted a few minutes.  At my place we had pea-sized hail bouncing off the grass--but only for about a minute.

Then-poof!  The whole event was over with in like five minutes or so.  Just a little bit of drama to the day. 

A little while later (after Ian's nap--who said he heard the thunder from his room) Leah and Ian came and took me over to the eye doctor's to pick up my new regular glasses.  (They gave Ian a bouncy ball with an eyeball on it and he was thrilled!)   

I took many selfies to try to avoid the glare off the glasses...but it never worked...and I got tired of smiling and trying--LOL! 

Did not get the non-glare coating this time.  Would have cost me $110.00 at Dr. Dye's, so I passed (but I think it might have helped at the computer).  Anyways, wire rims.  A bit darker than what I used to have and larger lenses to help with the trifocals.  I'm getting used to them.  Not sure why it was so much easier to adapt to the sunglasses in the same prescription?  Larger lenses?  They said to give it a couple weeks.

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Saw a lone goose again.  Same one?  Might be. 

I opened the screen and slowly stepped out to get these goose pictures.  The two doves sure gave me the eye from the rock bed--but they didn't fly off.  Too tired from all that bathing?  LOL!  Or did they think they were camouflaged in the rocks? (Which they were at first--so I kindly did not give them eye contact.)

The goose was nibbling on something in the grass... 

...or eating the grass itself?  I noticed that the grackles were following the goose around this time, too.  They seemed quite fascinated by this huge bird. 

Thursday was the first time I was able to go to CCC ("coffee, coloring, and conversation") in the afternoon down at the community room and actually bring something to work on.  I decided that I wanted to get back to working on the zendalas.  This is the one I started.

I didn't think to take a before picture of the template, but I'll try and remember with the next one.

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I figure I will work on zendalas on CCC days--doodling on them and then coloring them.  I had left a bunch of extra templates and drawing pens with Bev a couple months ago.  And I spent a while online yesterday to see if you could still get the free templates--yes.  I printed off a bunch of them from another place, too...so I have more templates and can give some away if people are interested.  I got the web address for the tangle patterns, too, and located my binder from years ago.  So, I'm all set for next week.  :)  Oh, and I printed off the web addresses to hand out to anyone who might want them also.

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And in case any of you are interested:

www.thebrightowl.blogspot.com 

for free zendala templates

(she quit doing her weekly zendala dare but there are still over 100 free templates)

www.amarylliscreations.com 

for free zendala templates

(When I was doing these a few years ago this lady only had six templates online--now she has 52 of them!)

www.tanglepatterns.com 

for free zentangle patterns

(All kinds of tangle patterns and how-tos from simple to complex--if you run out of doodling ideas there are a ton there!)

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The other thing I did was finally tend to the stack of old artwork that has been piled on my printer for months--LOL!  I wanted to print off some for cards--and I finally got that done, too. 

Checking things off the list.

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This print was actually from an art class project in college.  We were supposed to make a simple repeating pattern like they use on fabrics.  (Actually from pictures of wildflowers I found online.) 

Let's see...

Oh, I also finished what I needed to do in the bullet.  Whew!  Now this is one disturbingly fat and lopsided bullet journal! 

But it's because I have to use avery stickers and washi tape... 

...to cover up this stupid "Datum/Date:" on the top of every single page! 

"Have to?", you ask.

Well, if things like that bother you (drives my OCD side crazy)...yes, you do have to cover them up.  My experiment with using their squared grid...DONE.  I am going back to the dot grid--which doesn't have that date thing on top of every page.  (BTW-Leuchtturm's lined journals also have that date on every page.)  I ought to be able to see better now to use the dot grid easier than before the cataract surgeries.  Not being able to write a straight line using the dot grid was one reason I bought a squared grid.  ;) 

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Anyways, that is why this one is so fat and goofy looking.  Avery stickers and washi tape on almost every page.  Never again--LOL!  ;)  I'll be starting another bullet (my third) come October.  Dotted--hurray!

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So, things are moving along.  Items are getting checked off my lists.  Plans are being made.  I get quite a bit done for a day or two and then am useless for a day or two.  The usual--LOL!  Weather has been crazy warm!  Was 82 yesterday!  Beginning of May??!!  (We usually don't plant up here till Memorial Day.)  

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Enjoy your change of seasons.  I know many of you are heading into fall.  Have a fabulous week!!  

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"When life feels too big to handle, go outside.  Everything looks smaller when you're standing under the sky."

L. R. Knost

Sunday-11:15am

Woke up to snow on Wednesday!

I do have pictures to show you from Tuesday, but this was the surprise of the week--LOL! 

Was almost a white out for a while there. 

The birds were looking for food and my container was empty so I made a trip to the garage for the last of the bird seed. 

You can see the bin against the wall and the last of the seed there in the container on the trunk of the dead Paseo. 

We need to tow away the Paseo and move all this ValleyCon suite furniture in the middle of the floor over to the left hand side of the garage...and organize all the shelves and various stuff. 

 I need to make room on the shelves for the storage tubs I want to move out here from the apartment.  That's one of the big projects I want done before Annie comes.

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You can see it was drifting more on the other side of the garages.  That's my building at the end of the garage tunnel--LOL!  My apartment is on the backside across from that bottom apartment on the left corner.

My garage is at the far end of this garage line.  The wall of garages off to the left are for the next apartment complex.  Yes--there are a lot of apartment complexes where I live. 

It continued to snow and drift all day long.

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 Meanwhile, I've been slowly working on the pantry.

Cleaning off each bottle, can, or box... 

...and reorgainzing. 

I still have a ways to go.  This is the other bigger project I want done before Annie comes.  Then we can haul all the cat stuff back in from the garage.  :)

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 Oh, Iggy sent me a link to the instruction booklet for the serger!!  Whoohoo!!  So once we get done with the Annie preparations and the current sewing project...then I can work at trying to tackle the serger.  I do have several other sewing projects I want to do this year and Leah has a couple, too.

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This last week Leah was exhausted on Monday night again.  (I was, too, from working in the pantry.)  Leah asked if we could switch up our craft nights to Tuesdays for the foreseeable future, which was fine with me.  Mondays are her errand days and after running around shopping all day she is pretty beat to come over for crafts.  So we're going to try for Tuesday nights.

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She wanted a break from tracing the sewing patterns and suggested we tackle another project--yes!  And it was one I could help with some even though I couldn't see that well.  :)

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We worked till after midnight making samples and labels for all our embossing powders!

Most of them are in small jars, but we have some larger amounts of our most commonly used powders.  Those were transferred from old containers that were hard to open (and easy to spill) to our new containers with side clips.  And there is now a small plastic spoon clipped inside the cover of each of the bigger containers, too!  We have labels and round samples on both white and black paper on the tops...   

...and on one side of the containers. 

We actually finished them all!  Checked that off the nearly endless to-do list.  :)

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The snow started to melt by the next afternoon.  I fed the confused birds that had just flown up from the south--all day--for two days they ate and ate and I'd put out some more--LOL!  

The last of the seed actually went out yesterday.  Now I plan to have the patio back to myself for the summer!  I'll feed them again come fall, though.  If it snows again they're out of luck from my patio--hehe!

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Went to pick up my new red prescription sunglasses on Thursday!!   

The world may be dark right now, but I can see close up again!!  Whoohoo!  My other regular glasses should maybe come in this week.  Better to see clear distortion than blurry distortion--LOL!  ;)

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Oh, I looked up online what they said I have in my right eye--epiretinal membrane--and it is called seven other names that I found easily.  Preretinal membrane, macular pucker, cellophane maculopathy, retina wrinkle, surface wrinkling retinopathy, premacular fibrosis, and internal limiting membrane disease.  Mine was apparently closer to the back of my eye before the surgery (like it apparently is most likely to be) and has come farther away after.  

Kind of like this:

Which is why I've had issues seeing since the surgery and I will just live a distorted life--LOL!  But--seems like being able to see closer gives me less jumpy-bendy-warpy-distortion .  Far away pictures are good--words are a little more difficult.  But when I get in to that mid-bifocal range there's a lot of print dancing...which seems to be a bit less as I can now get in to that closer-trifocal range.  Hallelujah!!  I am sooooo grateful!  Hey!  I was used to having to get nose close up to see sometimes before cataract surgery so my brain understands that just fine.  ;)  

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Now that I can see better I have been catching up with some detail end-of-the-month work.  Worked on my bullet journal.  (BTW--was I EVER glad I had set it up from January through April before I ever knew about the cataract surgeries!)  Now I set up the skeletal framework from May through September...and filled in May so that's all set to go.   

I need to think of something else to use besides Avery labels--LOL!  They were fun, but this bullet has gotten so fat!!  I left about 10-12 pages at the end for lists, but that will fill this one up.  Come October I'll be starting a new one.

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Also been working on the usual monthly tasks--grocery list and still need to finish balancing of the checkbook and bills.  Who would have thought I'd be looking forward to doing such mundane things--but just so delighted to be able to read and see close up again!  Even if I have to tilt my head this way and that.  (Some days seem "clearer" than others.)  I am just plain grateful...and I can always close one eye.  ;)

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This Canadian goose seemed to be lost.  They rarely travel alone.  It walked over to the sidewalk and waddled all the way down the pathway.  So funny. 

Yesterday Dagan and Ian stopped by for a visit.  Dagan helped me change the bed skirt on my bed...and Ian wanted to help.  When my sheets and towels were done Ian wanted to help me with those, too.  Absolutely reminded me of when Dagan was little.  They are so excited to be helpful...for a while there, anyways--ROFL!  I loved it!    

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Yes--I forgot to take pictures.  I get so wrapped up in the visit that taking pictures goes out of my head.  Ian comes chattering his way in the door and all else is lost for Gramma--hehe!

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So that is how the week went up here.  It's sunny and 54 degrees right now.  I need to get back to working on the checkbook and organizing the pantry.  

Have a great week!!  :) :)

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"Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense regardless of how it turns out."

Vaclav Havel

Sunday-4:45pm

Good Afternoon!

Yesterday it was almost 70 degrees and today it's 44--LOL!  Spring in the North Country.

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  The birds were happily bathing in the water dish yesterday.

The two mourning doves seem to love a good bath.  Even just sat in the water for a while. 

This big box came late on Friday but I waited to open it till McFamily arrived yesterday. 

My mom had called and asked me if I wanted her serger sewing machine.  Whoohoo!!  She sent it all the way up from Florida.  

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Hope you can see it there with all the piles on the black table in the studio. 

She didn't have the instruction booklet and I have no experience with sergers (also called overlock machines) so will be doing searches online for information.  Be so cool if I can figure out how to use this!!  Leah is excited, too.  They can enclose and cut off the excess fabric in a seam all at the same time--like most clothes are done at factories.  Will be an interesting challenge, eh?

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Ian came with his new "First Bike" that has no pedals.  Teaching him balance when he sits on it.  He does really well.

We took a trip down the walking path to the big cottonwood tree to give it a hug.  (I love the lime green helmet!)  Ian gave the tree a hug and told me the tree said "thank you".  Gramma had to turn off the video so she could give the tree a hug, too.  Ian decided that we also needed to give the tree a kiss.  So we did.  Perfect for Earth Day, eh?

Ian was very interested in seeing his shadow.  He got to bring home a piece of the bark that had fallen off the tree and a bit of small branch.  Tokens of tree hugging.

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I hope everybody had a happy Earth Day!  :) :)

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"Today, more than ever before, life must be characterized by a sense  of Universal responsibility, not only nation to nation and human to human, but also human to other forms of life."

The Dalai Lama