A video and some ther stuff :-)

As promised on facebook:

Oddly I did 3 videos, all longer than the next and it chose this one, without my intro, to choose from, no idea where it all went, but knowing me as I do, I will fuss with it until I can find the longest one and post it, with my face, if it will let me.  If not, then I suppose it was not meant to be. 

Moving along,  I got domestic, really domestic, and went in, did all the floors, including vacuuming the large rug on my little porch, I went nuts with the Kirby, I did.  And while I was there, and it needed it, I cleaned the fireplace, above and beyond, certainly, and moved upstairs to start my rubbish gathering (it goes out tonight so I start on the top floor) and since I was there and still in my jammies, started getting dressed but got distracted and cleaned my bathroom (it is a dust factory, I do not understand how) before finally getting clothes on and heading down to grab all the rest of the rubbish.

Then I emptied the litterbox, fed and watered the cat, went out to do all of the same for the dogs and took all the rubbish out to the big bin.  While I was out there, I watered the entire back gardens and plunked a couple of my spaghetti squash seeds in my garden area, hoping to see  them sprout.  Walked around to the front to water stuff the sprinklers don't catch and, finished with chores, I sat down and finished the above chime.

Just before I went into town I spray painted it black and left it to dry while I was out.  My normal swing by Goodwill to sign in on my application and headed from there to Home Depot for more wire.  My running around accomplished now, I was starving and wet home to reheat my squash from Sunday nights' leftovers.  Bev got home around 6ish and I chatted with her awhile before looking up stuff on Google.  I am a curious soul, okay?  So I think of something and I Google it.

It was a rather quiet evening, not that it isn't normally, but usually I am working on a chime until it gets dark but last night I just wasn't feeling the need, since I had already finished one for the day, so I ended up just messaging with a friend until it was bedtime.

Got up this morning and went down to make me a coffee and apparently to wipe the counter and sweep and mop part of the floor since, wait, let me back up...I went down to make my coffee, which is a wonderful cappuccino mix I shipped from Hawaii, not knowing if I would be able to find it here and then remembered that I needed a new one, which was in my closet.  So I traipsed back upstairs, less than a minute after coming down to get one.  Instead of shipping more boxes, due to the size of the containers, I had double bagged it in big ziplock bags. and when I pulled the inner bag out of the outer bag, not realizing it was not zipped all the way any more, I dumped it all over.  Another "crap" moment, laughed at myself yet again, and was going for the broom when Bev came out for her coffee.  I warned her and she said something like "oh great, ants"and I said I was cleaning it up.  Which I did and then mopped so it wouldn't be tracked around (any residue) or sticky.

Not exactly the way I love to start a day but you get what you get and work with it. My mess cleaned up, I headed out to the porch to find it wasn't freezing so that was a plus in my book, it was 51 degrees.  I can remember days in Colorado in winter where 51 was a temperature for short sleeves and celebration.  Honey, you're not in Colorado any more, nor nearly as young, but you keep thinking how warm that is in comparison to temps some people live with. Yes, that was me talking to myself.

I will go into the DMV today to renew the registration for my brother, for his RV, check in with Goodwill as I do, and yes, make a chime.  That is my plan anyway and I understand that when we make plans God laughs and laughs so I will see what the day brings, given how it started, I would think that it could be the lowest point in my day and I will hope for the best.  Who knows?  It could end well beyond my wildest imagination and I have a pretty wild imagination.

I talk about my chimes and Etsy shop all of the time and I never think to add the link, so here are the links to my page, you may have to copy/paste since I am  not sure it will hyperlink it for you:

Etsy, (the most recent listing but everything is there and you can navigate from it):

https://www.etsy.com/listing/602050718/wooden-fork-blown-glass-windchime?ref=shop_home_active_1

If I hurry and finish this I can get it posted so my friend Dee can read it when she gets up, she loves my blog :-)  And I love her, so when I can, I try to post so she can read it first thing in the morning, I'm good like that.  And since it is early and nothing else has yet occurred this morning, this is no problem.

Have a great day, be well and all my love.

Another busy day

I wanted to post this yesterday but hadn't taken pictures with my phone:

Weirdly, Etsy won't take pictures from my phone (like here) but it wants it from a camera (which it won't let me do here) so I always take pictures with my 35MM for there and forget about the phone pics for here.  I barely remember what I did first thing in the morning, blogged, had coffee, oiled all my scissors (it needed to be done and I was there, they were there, the oil was there) and got ready to go out for a bit, hoping the weather would warm up.  I do remember the cold and how sluggish it made me.

Took off for Walmart to get more swivels for more chimes and glue for my magnets (they make lovely little thank you gifts, with the blown glass rounds I have gotten) that I make and hit Goodwill to sign in saying I had been there to check on my application, I could so work there, maybe I said that already but it is still true.  Found the tea light holder I needed for the above chime, bought some tea lights and meandered home.  Where I proceeded to build this:

And as promised the sound video from the first chime above:

Then I went back and started a new chime before I had to go out and do the poop patrol and 3 dogs can poop a lot.  Having never had 3 at one time, I just didn't realize.  Whoa.  Then I played with them, filled their water bowl and went back to the porch and worked on the chime a little more, trying to pace myself ya know.  I will finish it and post it to Etsy today.  Puttered around the front flower garden and watered some things the sprinkler apparently doesn't hit and while watering some gerraniums, I look down and I have a lizard on each foot.  Lizards on my shoes, that is a first for me.  Made me think of my niece Amber and how she would freak out if she even saw them, let alone had them climb on her shoes.  I had to laugh.  I love you Rini, but you are still a girlie girl and need to spend more time with nature.  It's not at all freaky, but rather beautiful.

Turns out the squash was very tasty and I enjoyed it.  I puttered around the rest of the evening, thinking about Danial, who texted he would come visit in September on his vacation, which thrills me no end.  Good friends are the best thing in life.  That and mint chip ice cream.  Ok, and Belgian waffles.  In reality there is so much to be thankful for and I love it all but there are some things that just top the list. 

If this seems to make less sense than usual, I do apologize, but I went to bed late, got up early and I am not really awake yet.  I was going to try to get this done early and posted for my friend Dee, and yet my thoughts are not yet coherent.  Perhaps I will go ahead and post it and add another post later.  I have a lot to do today before Bev gets home.  You know, domestic stuff like the floors, which are not dirty but I haven't swept in about 5 days.  It stays clean because I am seldom indoors, only passing through to get coffee, food, or go to the bathroom.  But I will do it anyway.  Plus I have my chime stuff all spread out on the little table and wicker love seat on the porch which is not looking very tidy at the moment.  And I am sure there is more on my to do list that has yet to surface in the fog that is my brain of a morning.  SO for now, I shall leave you until later.

Oh, there is this, the little tea light chime at night :-) :

Be well and all my love.

What a great day, this is going to be a long read

Let's start with murals and shop signs (because they amused me)

I didn't stop to ask, mmmk?

This one made me think of Gennifer, my DIL, I don't know why, it just did.

That is not truly how I started the day, mind you, it was just the order of pictures and there are many bears so I began with this, for the organization of the pictures, which were taken in a totally different order, just whatever I happened to be walking by.  And these are totally random, but the sight made me laugh:

I was waiting to cross the street and thought this truck was parked, it looked like the dog was driving, just looking straight ahead.  When I got to the other side of the truck, there were actually 2 Pittys sitting there, one behind the wheel and one in the passenger seat,  The "driver" dog kinda reminded me of the dog from Spanky and the  gangs Little Rascals.  I told you I am easily entertained.

Plus lots of bears, I'll save my favorite for last as I took many pictures of it, the body of the big bear had sayings or quotes written all over the jacket (on the body of him) and I took shots of those (many but not all) too.

So let us begin:

I know I posted one of a panda before but I wasn't sure it was this one with his tongue hanging out.  All of these were smaller bears.  I was just walking around, block after block, looking for the antique show, which is tomorrow anyway, so I just decided to enjoy my time in the sun and capture the flavor of this wonderful town.

The larger bears, there are a few blue ones throughout town and when you get up close, they are very unique and quite lovely.

This is a closeup of his body:

Who was the lady with all the fruit hats? Carmen Santiago?  Carmen Miranda? 

I will try to get a better closer shot of this one soon.

And now, being an artist I suppose it is no wonder I loved this one the most.  I must have spent a good 30 minutes on this one alone:

Overall view

It is hard to see but the painting is a replica of the small posing bear, I studied it for quite a while, the details, I was in awe.

A closeup of his face and on his painters jacket you can see the writing, those are coming up, not all, but a few.

Pretty awesome, yeah?  I walked all the way around him and read all the quotes, and then again to see every angle and view of him, the painting and the posing cub.  I found it to be my favorite so far, although I really like the little guy in the bathtub with his rubber ducky, too.

While meandering about town, I stopped in at a vintage store and walked around, so much to take in, a great shop really and ended up chatting with the owner for awhile as well.  Actually, before that, I had found the mission thrift store where I picked up a vintage metal lamp shade (can you see windchimes?  I did) and had come out of there to cross the street when I saw the dog driving.  Yeah, I know he isn't really driving but work with me here people.

Then I went to Staples, in search of magnets, found none, a few doors down to Joanna's fabrics, found them, over to the other end of the shopping center to Goodwill to see about my application (I could so work there!  It''s a really nice, big, bright and clean store) before heading over to home depot for more wire.  After that I headed home since it was late afternoon by then and I was famished.  Grabbed a quick bite and then built this little beauty:

Ok, so I didn't do the poop patrol or plant the potatoes but I was happy with the end result and the potatoes and poop are still there waiting for me.  I had accomplished a lot and that in itself felt beyond satisfying.  Then I started downloading all the pictures on here so it would take me less time this morning and by then I was sitting in the dark, catching a chill since it was 10:30 PM, past my bed time.  But I was so absorbed it took me that long to notice it was dark or that I was chilly.  So off to bed.

And now for something completely different, mostly because of a dream I had last night (or it could have been early this morning, I can never tell when exactly I had dreams, only that I had them, unless they wake me up laughing, out loud) and I wondered, upon waking if I had ever mentioned or discussed ghosts, or spirits, if you will.  Mostly because my thought upon waking was that memories are like ghosts, no longer happening but they remain with us.  Like spirits of those who have passed.

Secondly because as a child I could see, hear and talk to them but in the 50's and sixties and beyond you were never to talk about it or you would end up in a rubber room.  To say it was frowned upon is an understatement.  Now with James Prague and Theresa Caputo making it real for people, not so much.  Many times mine were people coming to say goodbye or to tell me of things to come, many premonitions, which in my late teens I turned off because there was no one to talk to about any of it.  It was a great burden to carry for a young adult.  In retrospect I wish I had not shut it down, though I can still sense spirits and what they wish to convey to me.

We had some on the ship even.  Along with deaths and fires but the people who died while I was working aboard were not the spirits who visited me.  There was one in the Officers Laundrette who liked to open the dryer doors and when I finally said ok, you can have it open, it would then go to the main entry door (these doors are heavy and it took all my body weight against them for me to open them, they are fire proof) and turn the knob on it.  It only took a day or two before I was walking in there to clean and upon entering I would announce "ok my little spirit friend are you ready to play?".  Because I meant it no harm, nor it me, and I would talk to it while I worked.  I did get strange looks (at first) when people walked in and it appeared as if I was talking to myself but it didn't take long for them to realize I think out loud all the time anyway and then I would converse with them.  My laundry ghost was not the only one in residence but it was the one I encountered most.

The dream that brought this about, from last night, was my buddy Danial, who I have been missing terribly, and I turned and there he was, happy tears in his eyes and I grabbed and hugged him for a bit, saying how I really needed that, to see and hug him.  Who's to say that his spirit did not visit mine last night?  I have always believed that when we rest our spirit, our essence, goes out to play, doesn't just stay there in our body and do nothing while we rest.  I have experienced it before, when I woke up but felt something missing in me, when my spirit wasn't quite back in my body.  Call me a fruitcake if you want, but I know what I know and have  learned it from living this many decades.  Otherwise how do you explain dreams?  You wake up with a memory of them and yet you know you were sleeping and it never happened (in this lifetime or dimension) but it is as real to you as your memories of your past.

Well, I think that will be it for today's post, I have kept you here reading long enough but like the sun rising and setting I will be back tomorrow with the next one, you can count on it.

Be well and all my love.

More bears, because I could.

So yesterday, before my train of thought jumped tracks  and steamed on like nobody's business, I was talking about detesting jobs and though I have had few of them, then the train derailed and as entertaining as that might have been, my point was leading to the conclusion of a means to an end.  Like the waitressing, which I did not detest, it was not my calling, it was in itself a means to an end (that I just happened to be very good at).  I was married with children (God rest my dear Scotty's soul) and needed an income to help with the high cost of living in California.  Truth be told, I went there first, with my child and HAD to make a living, Scott followed me a few months later and proposed, we got married and I was already working.  But that is beside the point. The point was I needed to make a living to feed, clothe and house the munchkin and I worked jobs I didn't love to make it.  A means to an end.

Not what I was called to do.  But it, too, served it's purpose.  When Scott was gone and Travis had moved on I got into electro-mechanical assembly and I rather loved that and am still quite good at it and would love to be doing it today as well as my writing and chime making, but I am not today and it still wasn't what my purpose is,  just another happy means to an end.  I love learning new things and when I was in college I said if it paid, I would always be in college as a career choice.  But you do not get paid to be a student for life, no, you have to pay to do it, that simply does not work for me.

I also mentioned my steel trap mind before the TBI (traumatic brain injury) and after, as well as now, I'm lucky if I remember what day it is when I wake up.  No, it's not as bad as the film 50 first dates, but like the film it has a happy ending.  I process things differently now and I do forget midstream in thought of where I was heading with it.  Just part of my charm really.

Now, back to the bears and other things.  I had a job interview at the Lodge in housekeeping (yeah, I know...) and all the bears except the last one were there, the real (stuffed) one was inside and so I got pictures because I was way early.  I wasn't positive how to get there so I didn't want to be late.  Plus I am just as apt to get distracted on the way by a yard sale sign.  Afterword I went into town, hunting for a piece of driftwood for a custom order and took these of a couple more murals:

I will likely go downtown and wonder around today and take lots of pictures as there is a big antiques sale on one of the streets.  I'm not looking for antiques in particular but it will be a good day to just meander around and see lots of things.  Much like the song by One Republic "I Lived", the chorus being,  "I did it all, I did it all, I owned every second that this world could give,, saw so many places and things that I did, with every broken bone, I swear I lived".  That would be the song I want for my memorial, should there ever be one.  Words to live by.  Ok, that and Greenday's "Good Riddance", also a favorite of mine.  But I digress yet again..

So when I got home from my little adventure last night I had some dinner and created this cute little chime:

It was after 9 when I finally went in and caught the rest of the Hawaii 5-0 season finale, which I haven't watched in a LONG time, but now that I am not there, I love to see my scenery.  Which is why I watched it to begin with.  Weird, I just got this sense of deja vu, like I have written this before.  Maybe I have. I was there on the beach for the first premier when the show started and watched it every week, they used my apartment building once and I watched them film at the building behind us as well.  I used to laugh because they would close down streets, snarling traffic and say to myself "I'm not lost", thinking of the show "Lost" that also use to film on the island.  Watching them shoot is really kind of boring after the first couple of takes, it's a lot of repetition.

I woke early this morning (5:35) but rolled over and slept until 6:45 before I finally got up.  I slept in :-)  And looking at the date, I realized that tomorrow would be my mothers' 82 birthday, were she still with us.  Oddly, with the childhood I had, let us just say she was not very kind to me, only me, but now that she is gone I really miss her.  The devil you know is probably better than the one you don't.  Not saying she was a devil but she definitely showed me some evil intent.  On the flip side, as an adult, I could always call her and ask for one of my favorite recipes of hers.  She used (among other things) a Good Housekeeping cookbook, likely from the 50's and everything she ever made from it, she made a notation on it, the date and if it was good or not.  Yes, she was OCD but that part of it was a gold mine.

I went way off the rails there, didn't I?  Well, it was something that passed through my head and me with no filters, poured right on out onto the keyboard, normally it trips over my lips, yet another endearing thing about me.  I had a boss a few years ago, who when asked what (by higher ups) his impression was of me and how effective I was in my position.  He said "you never have to wonder where you stand with her and she is always ahead of the curve on doing her job".  I took it as high praise.  :-D

I need to go do some more laundry and unload the dishwasher (yeah, it's mundane but it needs doing and I am effective like that) so I will venture off for the day now so until tomorrow...

Be well and all my love