I have issues but who doesn"t?

A nice video first, I hope it plays for you:

And a couple close up shots of the pretty basket:

I actually love how it turned out AND how it sounds but I may be biased.  But no, the chime is not my issue.  It's the cold today.  Maybe you think 50 is a lovely temperature but I have been so cold I have not been able to motivate myself to do anything at all.  I have been barely able to function at all.  I had plans for the day, plans involving the outdoors.  What is this high of 63 we are suppose to see today?  You honestly call that a high?  Seriously?  Okay, maybe in late January in Colorado that is a cause for celebration and shorts (like when I was young and had never lived in the tropics) but the last day of May should be warmer.

The skies to the south and east look promising, like the sun will come out of the clouds and shine its happy face on my own, but I have learned never to hold my breath about anything unpredictable,  fickle or unstable.  But it would be nice.  So today I am likely to pursue more indoor endeavors, I see the hardwood floors need mopped.  And I am all done with the fencing around the back deck and am seeing the ire in one unhappy little empress of evil, who is no doubt cursing me, for closing off her avenues of escape.  She looks pissed anyway.  She'll get over it.

I seem to have a better connection in the house this morning so that is a plus. Perhaps I will build another chime and listing it won't take as long.  Maybe I will get even luckier and call Forge Glass this afternoon and find they have put out all the new sea glass for me to come and collect as much as my heart (and pocketbook) can handle.  That would be a blessing.  Something wonderful to look forward to while it is still on sale, today is the last day.  I will just believe, for now, that the planets are lined up and I get at least that, which I really want, today.  Having very little glass and all of it very small, has put a damper on my chime making enthusiasm.  It also makes my hands hurt.  

Yesterday is kind of a blur but I did spend a great deal of time on the fencing issue, which for the moment seems resolved and tomorrow will permanently be so, since the guy is coming out to install the lattice all the way around.  If I think she is pissed now I probably haven't seen her at her worst. She has such a sweet face but I swear that when she is hanging out with Daisy that they are in cahoots about an escape plan, Molly being the mastermind behind such hijinks.  Great imagination or mostly logical?  Who can really say since we can't understand dog talk.

I did finally get the chime done, as you can see, and still had a crappy connection so I had to wait for some time to get it posted to my Etsy shop. I  posted a picture of the view looking down at the top of it to my facebook page and it got a great response, so that is something I would guess.  I'm never really sure since I just mostly share the stuff I am listing on Etsy, from the Etsy site and nobody bothers.  But put up something personal that doesn't mean squat and they are all over it.  I'd like to understand, I really would.  I'd also like to believe that they are, in fact, interested in my chimes (some are, don't get me wrong), but there is never any response to the Etsy posts except for my ever faithful daughter in law, my biggest champion.  Thank you Gennifer, for ALWAYS rooting me on, without fail.  Not that she reads this blog or will ever see it but who knows, maybe one day she will and she will appreciate the kudos.

I just took this:

I layed back on my bed, since I am sitting on it to write this, and took this, upside down, but still, this is what the sky looks like from my bedroom window today.  I was, in reality, looking for the sun, but it wasn't happening.  I may take a nap.  I was awake before 5:30 and out having my coffee, in the cold, well before 6 so I am kind of sleepy.  But the time goes too fast here and I have things to accomplish today so that isn't a very likely scenario.  Just a passing thought, like all the others that float through my head as they do.  Sometimes, though, they are quite profound and other times just hilarious.  Never a dull moment in my head :-)

It is now nearly 11 already, see what I mean?  I came and started this before 9:30 and POOF the time is gone.  Where it goes is a mystery but it is definitely gone.  And with that, until tomorrow...

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

Oh for the love of Pete

The only pictures I took yesterday:

It looked like sky waves

I believed it to be an eagle but my friend Stan says it looks more like a turkey vulture, I don't know but I got it and that was something.  When I left you yesterday it was my full intention to go build a pretty chime but that is NOT how it went down at all.  I had repaired the fence and let the dogs back out and as I sat down to get ready to build, out they came running again.  Dangit.  Not to be outdone my an evil little Bichon, I went back to reinforcing every place I thought she was escaping from.  I was wrong, of course, because at the first sound of a gunshot, here they were again.  OH FOR THE LOVE OF PETE!!!

So I went back and began my search for weak spots yet again, put up another section of fencing where I thought there was even the remotest possibility of escape, and satisfied I had out maneuvered the evil one, put them back out.  By then it was 3:30 and my hands, all cut and scraped, hurt, as well as my arms.  Plus I had used all my spare bits of wire, my parachute chord and part of the wire I was going to use on the chime.  But there were no more escapes for the remainder of the day.  When it came down to building it, I ran short of wire, getting only half of it completed.  Here is what I did get done thus far:

Once I was finished doing what I could on the chime (isn't it pretty?  :-) )  I decided to get the grill going to bar-b-q the chicken Bev had marinated for me for Sundays shindig.  I got it started, no problem, and went to fetch the meat from the fridge and put it on.  It was nearly 5 so I was ready for dinner.  I put it on, ran down to water my garden and watered Bev's flower beds and wine barrels, too and I could smell it.  Yummy.  But it was anything but yummy, the sight of what I discovered, was more like char-b-q but the damage was done so I flipped them over and turned the flames down (they didn't look that high but apparently they were very hot)  and let it go another 10 minutes while I got my plate ready with salad and potato salad and put what remained of them into smaller bowls.  I have to admit, even the charred part was pretty tasty and what wasn't charred was indeed very yummy.  

I hung out until almost 8 trying to figure out how to upload a video to a facebook group and finally gave up and went in to watch NCIS.  It was getting colder again anyway so it was a good reason to watch something I have missed for a couple seasons.  Bev got home about 5 minutes before it ended and asked if I was in bed.  I said no, just watching tv for another 5 minutes.  So, after it was over I met her down on the porch and visited for another hour before heading to bed.

I came out this morning, waking up around 5:30 and was sitting here with my coffee and I heard a yappy dog.  NOOOOOO.  I went to jump up to investigate and thinking it was way to early for Bev to be up and let them out, I calmed myself and checked email and played some solitaire until she came out at 6:40 with her coffee.  I asked if the dogs were out early and she said no, they were still in and she wasn't letting them out until she left for work so there was no possibility of escape and chase until she left.  I said "nice, then it is my issue" and part of me was disappointed that she thought my fence job wouldn't hold the evil one.  She knows her dog though and sure enough the first gunshot (I do not know what the neighbor is shooting at and it confounds me this early in the day) went off and I went zipping around the house to catch Molly, the evil empress, coming down the stairs.  I brought her around to the front and took her in (the deck gates are bound shut so she can't get them open) and then let the other 2 in, proud of Daisy for not following suit this time.

When I went back down to the back (Bev had asked me to check the lattice work below the deck to see what needs replaced since she is going to have lattice installed on the deck because she says "I ain't playin no more" and is bound and determined to solve the disappearing dog dilemma.  So I checked all the lattice work and my garden while I was there and bent down to pluck a weed and, like an addiction, I weeded half of the back yard before coming back to the porch.

Okay I left it hanging there in the last paragraph for the biggest chunk of the day because I couldn't keep a connection so I took off to get more wire and swivels.  Since the dogs were still in and would remain so until I fixed the fencing, I have been working on that and now it is after 2:30.  Holy smokes the time flies here, what is up with that?  And now, the fence firmly secured everywhere, I am going to finish my chime.  So until tomorrow...

Have a fantastic rest of your day, be well and all my love.

Not much to tell today

The newest chime video:

Truth be told (and that is what I do) there is not a lot to tell today.  Yes, I am still enjoying the nature and wildlife out here (I saw a raccoon, big fat one, on Sunday night and watched a Blue Jay get something from his stash in the rafters of the "game room" yesterday morning) but it isn't like I accomplished much yesterday.  Yes, I made a chime, which did my spirit good and I weeded and did some weed whacking but that really was the extent of my day.

I cut up my $2.22 watermelon and I still cannot pick them well, not all ripe and sweet but definitely juicy.  I figure the chunks I cut them into will make good smoothies though, so there is that.  It was more a putter and relax day and it was mildly refreshing to have some watermelon but disappointing that I really have never been able to choose the best ones.  Such is life.

I did take a picture or 8 of some birds but only one bird that I shot came out decent and I have yet to figure out how to get it off my drive to put it here since that is not a choice it gives me from this blog.  Google and I converse daily, maybe I should recommend it for the blogs.  It would just be nice to grab pictures from anywhere on your device and not just from a camera, web cam or your phone as options.  I now know how to get the pictures off my camera onto my tablet but getting them from the files on my tablet is another matter altogether.

I had gone up to my room about 8 last night to put some things away and get on my jammies, turned the tv on and before I could even get my jammies on I was asleep on top of the bed.  I stirred around 1:30 when the tv went off (into its sleep mode), sat up, turned the power off and went right back to dream land.  Of course, I did wake up early and was out with my coffee before 6 but if I go to work for this company I will be doing my solder test for, the job starts at 5 am so getting a head start on getting up earlier is not a bad thing.

As they say "be careful what you wish for" so I am wishing to win the lottery so I don't have to get up in the dark just yet unless I really want to.  I use to be to work by 5 in Honolulu and it was never an issue but my body clock is still adjusting here.  And I am sure it will again.  It helps when you look forward to going to work to do something you really enjoy doing.

I got distracted for awhile, heard a dog yip, went to investigate (this is never a good sound) and the empress of evil, as Bev calls her, had escaped again and took Daisy with her.  So I went and got my licence and drove around looking for them when doing so on foot was fruitless.  I was just getting back when the neighbor was bringing them through the side yard saying they got out and I told her thanks, I was out looking for them.  Then I had to reinforce the fence that they tore down last night and Bev had fixed but they pulled it down again so now it isn't going anywhere.  When I fix something it stays fixed.  Not that she won't look for another spot that will drop her further down when she jumps but I'm pretty sure I will hear the injury that occurs should she do that so I know where to add more fence to.

Then I could not get an internet connection.  I am grateful we get one at all but it is spotty as all get out and makes it frustrating when trying to get anything done on my tablet.  And already it is now after 11 am.  This morning really flew by me but I was hunting for more fencing in the garage (found some) and getting my wire and tools out of my room before deciding to just wire the original fencing to immobility.

Now I think I will go get my stuff together and build a pretty new chime to relax myself.  So until tomorrow...

Have a great day, be well and all my love

Waxing philosophically with mild cursing involved and a lesson, too!

I took this yesterday morning:

Hopefully it will play for you here.  The sprinklers on and I sat mesmerized by the droplets that sparkled like diamonds.  Stare at the lawn, you'll see it, it is hypnotic.  Okay, maybe just for me but I am an Aquarius who is easily amused and entertained  and I was mesmerized by it for the longest time.  It was not an eventful day.  I had one of those days that I just couldn't seem to get my shit together and wake up.  I was sleepy all day and finally succumbed to a nap at 2PM, something I have not done in years.  At least a couple of years anyway.

I managed to help clean the kitchen after Bev's bar-b-q yesterday, which I did not attend since I was napping and trying to wake up and that never quite happened, and then some more weeding so I could feel like I accomplished SOMETHING for the day.  I think it was chime building withdrawal since it had been a couple of weeks since I had a day when I didn't create one.  I was feeling adrift.  And it being Memorial day weekend, I was remembering those who have gone on and missing them more than normal.

Then I woke up this morning and although I felt more myself, I was thinking about what held that connection to them for me.  So I checked my email, totally unrelated, mind you, just my train of thought jumping the track again, as it does, and my horoscope for the day said to follow my heart and stay out of my head.  Always sage advice for someone like me, who, when I try getting all analytical, I tend to go crazy and take people with me.  I have a brilliant little brain, for sure, but it leans to creativity and not analytics.  It is not pretty when I get analytical so I learned years ago not to mentally travel there.

That said, the heart is where love and passion lives, where I reside, because the heart is never wrong.  Just be sure it is the heart you are following and not the libido where people are concerned and everything will always turn out well.  When Abraham says we launch rockets of desire, he is not talking about the region of the physical body that lies a foot and a half below the heart.  It is a hearts desire, not the punani, as we say in Hawaii, that leads you where you are meant to go and to be.  And so I went on facebook this morning and wrote on my timeline "Love is the bridge that always and forever connects us" and that is just plain truth.

I do tend to love people wholeheartedly and have said since I was very young (oh man, I was born wise beyond my years if I do say so myself) that once I knew you I would forever love you and if I was your friend it was for life.  Whether you chose to have me as a friend was never in question since it didn't matter because I would always be there for you.  Have I had major disagreements with some of them?  Absolutely, but it never changed my love for them one iota.  

We all tend to love some people who are toxic to us and the best you can do is love them from afar and not have them in your inner circle. My son can tell you that much. There was a time when I told him to never contact me in any way, shape or form again and as harsh as that sounds it was tough love.  I could not tolerate his behavior or disrespect to me since that is totally unhealthy to tolerate.  It was over a year or longer before he did make contact and since he had become more self aware we have stayed in contact and I went to his wedding (not his first) and got to spend some time with him.  We are fine now but I had to distance myself at the time for my own well being.  I am one of the most zen people you could hope to meet and that is because I do not allow stress or toxicity into my domain.

You can't hang out with toxic people and not become somewhat toxic yourself.  That energy will get into you whether you desire it to or not.  Once you know who and what you are (it is LOVE folks) you stay there by self care and if that involves distancing yourself from negative people with their negative energies then so be it.  Like the saying goes you can't fly with the eagles if you are hanging with the turkeys or some such thing.  Same applies to the types of people you associate with.

That was part of my thing yesterday.  I am not antisocial but I will not bring a bad energy to a party of sorts so I did what I needed to do and took care of me and didn't worry about what they thought.  I don't care what others think of me, only what I think of me really matters.  It would never in reality happen, but they could think I am the lowest form of scum on earth (I'm not) and I would recognize my sovereignty and their thoughts would not affect me in any way whatsoever.  And it is so with every person out there, you are more than you think you are, worth more than you believe you are and more important than you may realize you are.  You are here because you are supposed to be here, now and you light up someones life.  TRUE.

It is suppose to be 83 today so I think I will go build a chime and be productive so until tomorrow...

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

Well, that was interesting.

A few pictures from the Saturday market:

This sculpture is always there but I got a close up view

I want to find out who made it, since it reminds me of a lamp I saw in a shop.

These were along the fence, oddly, behind the portapottys, beautiful though

I must confess that I was not truly excited about going, curious, yes, excited, not so much but I actually did have a wonderful time there.  Granted, there were a lot of vegetable booths and a number of other local growers booths selling everything from eggs to coffee and there was one with handmade soaps, among others and I had a nice time. I spent awhile talking to the humane society folks and looking at pictures of the animals they currently have there as well as a local farmer who makes cheese curds (can you say yummy?!!!!) among others that had some pretty cool stuff.

Bev was going to a particular booth to pick something up and she lost me as soon as we got there when I stopped to take a picture of the grasshopper (I am guessing here but I think  it is a grasshopper) so I decided I would meander around until she called looking for me.  I got to the end of one row and looking to my left, on the next block, were the crafters and artisans so I went there to see what the local people are creating.  I wish I would have taken pictures of some of the booths, cool stuff, very creative, like minded people.  There was an older gentleman that uses the burl knots from trees to make these stunning carvings of woodland fairies.  Detail work, no doubt and I chatted with him for quite some time.

Heading back towards the other growers' side, I saw the humane society folks first and spent some time there and got a map to the place so I could volunteer when I have time.  There has never been a doubt about my love for animals and I like going just to cuddle with them and giving them attention.  I require a certain amount of pet love and shelter animals are so grateful for it.  I stopped and bought a cup of coffee, it was very good and was almost back to the entrance when Bev called to see where I was.  I said look left I am waving at you.  She had bought a couple of Adirondack chairs, locally crafted, and was going to go get the truck.  Ok then.

Since there had been a parade a couple blocks over while we were at the market, traffic was horrendous and roads were blocked off but we finally ended up at the other end of town going to Goodwill.  Her, not me, I sat in the truck and guarded the chairs.  You would think they would be safe in a small town like this but apparently not.  I had been with Rich and Bev when he was here, at Fred Meyer and I had bought my little garden plants, set them in front of the rear wheel of the truck and gone to sit down.  They were okay for a long time and then a van pulled in and blocked my view of them so I got up to look and they were gone.  REALLY?  Fred Meyer was good about it because the lady in the garden center knew it had been about a half hour since she had sold them to me and told me to get new ones.

Back to guarding the truck.  It wasn't so much that she wanted me to, although I think she was grateful I offered, it was more I had no discretionary income to venture in there and no real need of anything either.  Plus I was waiting for Danial to call, which he did and made my day (how sweet is it that your gay best friend makes your day?  They know all about you and love you anyway, much like I love people just for who they are) and the chairs were safe in the process.

Then she went to Fred Meyers and spent an hour in there, me in the truck, before going into town to a consignment store for clothes and shoes.  I went in with her and hung out eating a little bag of Lays (it was 2:30 and I was hungry) before we went home.  I thought we were done shopping for the day but later I would find out I was wrong.  I had a bite to eat and went out for a smoke after I helped her carry in all her purchases and was just sitting on the porch enjoying the stillness and I heard the neighbor shooting a gun a few times and wondered if Molly, the escape artist, would come running around the house in a tear.  It was quite before she did.

Now thinking that I would be working on putting up more fencing on the deck, I cuddled and calmed her until I took her in and was grabbing my compost stuff from the fridge to put in the composter.  It had been my intent to put the stuff in the composter then return to the porch to get the tin snips and go work on the fence but like all good intentions that pave the road to hell, that is not what happened.  Once I put the stuff in the composter I was already closer to the back yard than the front so I thought I would check my garden to see if it needed water first and before I made it that far I started weeding Bev's flower boxes.  That done, I went for the hose to water, which I did, but I kept going with the hose until everything back there was watered.  When I went to turn off the spigot, I was faced with weeds in the gravel that, for some inexplicable reason, I could not leave untouched.  So I weeded the greater part of the gravel before I finally headed up for the tin snips an hour later.

I did, indeed, get the fence done, was hungry again since it was after 5 and I had been working in the sun so I was having a bite to eat when Bev asked if I wanted to go to Big Lots with her.  Ok, sure, I will go scope it out.  That was a long journey.  Big Lots is next to the Dollar Tree which is next to Grocery Outlet and so suffice it to say we spent a while over there.  Then since she couldn't find what she went to Big Lots for in the first place, it was back to Fred Meyer.  Oh lord.  Nope, not there either so off to Ross.  Again, shopped out I had stayed in the truck at Freddys and again at Ross but it was cool because I caught this wondrous site:

I just love seeing the moon out on a sunny afternoon, the best of both worlds really.  Then, finally on the way home and going through town I got a clear shot of this mural:

I have tried numerous times to capture it without obstructions (signs, cars passing, light staying red long enough to get it) and it was a great shot.  We pulled into the driveway and while Bev was checking the mail I got the moon again:

A better foreground I think :-)  I helped carry stuff in again and hung out on the porch for a couple hours until I looked up and took this:

an ordinary picture of my porch view but at 9PM at night.  Still light, which is awesome, but confusing to my body clock.  It's like going to Alaska during the "midnight sun" part of the year when it never gets dark.  I decided since it was cold out again that a hot bath was in order.  SO I went up, filled the tub, threw in a eucalyptus and mint bath bomb and soaked until my feet were prunes and the water was cold.  So relaxing, tunes playing, listening to Regina Specter (I love her voice) and then it was time for jammies and bed.

It was cold out when I came down at 6:30 this morning, thought the sun is out and it is suppose to be 83 today.  One can only hope.  I am adding two more pictures, these are specifically for my Granddaughter Sis, with whom it is a secret code, but saw the first one at the Dollar Tree and the second at the Grocery Outlet and she was on my mind, I believe that seeing them, I was on hers, too.  Here you go Sis:

^ a flyswatter

^ A garden decoration

Time to do something productive physically but until tomorrow...

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

Good Morning World

The newest chime video:

I may not have time today to build a new one so you may be spared a video first thing in the morning :-D  But, even with the cold and errands yesterday I did manage to create that one.  My high school colors.  I was already thinking about it when Bev asked me what my plans were for the chopper (which had been sitting on the little table on the porch for a few days) and I asked what her thoughts were.  She said she thought with the silver that bright colors like reds and blacks would look good.  Simpatico.

After she left for work, I worked on yesterdays blog then meditated for about an hour and my only plans that involved the indoors were to do laundry and make some potato salad, for which a shopping excursion would be required.  Sure, she had mayo, I had now discovered, but nothing else with which I needed.  Like potatoes.  No biggie, I had 30.00 and figured it wouldn't break the bank.  And since I was freezing outside and weeding and fencing were not happening with the temps and the rain, it would mean indoor adventures for the day.  Well, maybe.  Definitely no weeding or fence building.

I went in to start my laundry and sorting through my laundry basket I realized I had a pair of socks that I had not safety pinned together in there.  I do that with all my socks, safety pin each pair together so they stay together. I don't trust washers not to send one of a pair off to the netherworld.  Then I wondered if I was the only person on earth to do that.  On the ship people asked me about it and I asked if they ever came up a sock short after doing laundry.  Every one said yes of course and I said now I don't.  I thought it was wise.  It has been.

Went down to the laundry room where I found Mickey:

^ This is what he does whenever I pet him, flops down and outstretched 

(these were taken later) the huge cat, still in bed.  His bed is on top of the dryer, I guess he likes it in there, quiet, cozy and undisturbed. At least until I got there. I had not planned to wear fur for the day but once he saw me the love fest was on and I was wearing black so indeed I wore fur for the day.  He must weight about 23 pounds I think and he is tall and long so it is hard to tell from the pictures just how immense he is.  But he is HUGE.  well fed, too.

So I got the first load in and took off for the store.  On the way I pulled over and had a chat with Google (I do that ok?) and asked which was cheaper Winco foods or Fred Meyer and she said Winco so that is where I went.  Having never been in there, but passing it many times, I was in awe the minute I stepped through the door.  My new favorite store.  I know people up here swear by and are very loyal to Fred Meyer because of the gas points but the prices they charge, to me anyway, don't seem to equal savings in a real way.  I suppose if you are at the pump and put 30 gallons in your vehicle on a double points day the savings can be good but for the average fill up, for what you spend in the store, not so much.

ANYWAY, once in Winco, within 10 feet of entering, I found mustard (which was on my short little list)  and said OH HAPPY DAYS as I looked at the prices. Better than Sam's club even, for me that is wonderful since there is no Sam's club within a 100 miles, and proceeded forward into the produce section for my potatoes and onions. And what do I spy but a bin full of watermelons? Watermelons at 16 cents a pound is what I spied.  Not on the list but doing some quick calculations in my head I figure I can squeeze a watermelon right onto the list. Yes I got one:

12.36 pounds, though it felt much heavier to carry, I double bagged that baby so I could have handles.  A mere $2.22 (let that sink in) and the 3 pounds of bananas behind it for $1.45 so I was happy to  have fresh fruit to take home.  It's good for digestion and at my age that is very important.  Plus it just tastes wonderful.  After buying what I needed and a few things I did not NEED so much as desire since the prices were so low, I checked out and left my $30.00 but was so pleased with my purchases I even took a picture in the parking lot before putting it all in the truck:

Only people in Hawaii will truly appreciate the significance of 4 packages of groceries for $30.00 since I was lucky to get out with one package there for the same price.  I sat there for a few moments, basking in the glow of a wonderful shopping experience, in the parking lot, just taking in the view.  And this is what I was viewing:

Perhaps not the most glorious sunshiny day but beautiful all the same.  With Hillary Stagg playing on the CD in the deck and this amazing view it was almost hard to drive away.  Almost. But I did in fact drive away and headed home to put my groceries away. Then, so pleased with that excursion, I sat down and made the chime. I felt productive for the day. Finished my laundry, check, went grocery shopping, check, made a chime, check.  But then I was so cold I decided to go in and make my potato salad.  That completed, I took my nice little plate of dinner (red beans and rice, mmm) out to eat and the gardener was here.  I watched him as I ate, had a smoke and went back in, it was just too cold out for me.

The evening was pretty tame, just puttering about, washed the sea glass I had collected my last day in Hawaii, just prepping it for a chime.  Caught the tail end of Hawaii 5-0 which was a bit of a bummer since I forget that everything starts later here than in Hawaii and if I start work soon I am apt to never see another program for the duration anyway.

I went out a few minutes ago and checked in on my little garden and was pleased with the progress, given the cold cloudy day yesterday, that is has made.  The bigger tomato has little flowers on it, the cucumbers have grown tendrils, the lame tomato is looking healthy and taking off finally AND, joy of joys, one of my spaghetti squash seeds is taking off, too!  Happy Chrissy.  I think it is a squash plant so I came back to the porch to have another conversation with Google and seeing the pictures I now know it is a squash  and not a weed. :-)  Speaking of conversations with Google, you should try it sometimes.  Always educational and sometimes just funny.  One day, I merely said to it "I love you Google" and it came back and said here is a video related to that. It was a short little video of an animated cat who yawned and made a noise.  Cute.

I have to get up and about since we are going downtown to Saturday market and Bev is having a bar-b-q tomorrow, so with company coming, a major house cleaning (though it is already spotless) is no doubt going to be under way today.  Different kind of OCD is what I suppose, lol. But until tomorrow...

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

Skinny arms and squirrels

My newest chime video:

I do like to start with something pretty to look at and there you have the video. The title had nothing to do with the video or any pictures I will sahre, no, it was more of a reminder to myself yesterday of things I wanted to remember to share with you.  But I liked the title so I kept it, it's interesting, draw you in material, yes?  Not that I have anything truly fascinating to impart today but still..

Yesterday was a late day on the blog and so I didn't get into the skinny arm thing because, frankly, it had slipped my mind at the time.  So I was getting ready for said interview and before I put on my blouse I was standing in front of the bathroom mirror, arms down to my sides and realized I had skinny arms.  Scary skinny.  And they looked really long to me for some reason.  Long, skinny arms on a vertically challenged person just looks wrong.  Of course I laughed at myself and my thoughts but it was still there in the back of my mind for a while.  I have never been, nor am I ever likely to be, what you could come close to calling buff, but a little muscle tone would improve my perception of my skinny arms.  Oh well.  Not today.

I spent a great part of the afternoon and early evening weeding and watering the front gardens and I was doing the one on the west side of the yard (not that this means anything to you but it is for my reflection years from now when I will thank myself for that clarification) and bent over I happened to catch movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head to look and not 2 feet away was a squirrel, stopped and looked at me until I said "well hellow Rocky" and he took off like a rocket.  Few of you will get the Rocky reference but those of you old enough to remember Bullwinkle will understand. It amused me and I carried on, giggling to myself because that is how I roll.  I find most of life amusing, I can't help it.  And I put together the abovechime.

When Bev got home we chatted for awhile and then went to the hot tub.  The sky was incredible.  I was looking at how pale red it was and there waas a big bright rainbow.  The color spread out more and it was so beautiful to see.  When I got out and was putting on a robe she said it was raining and being wet already I gcouldn't tell.  It was just starting in reality.  And it rained all night and is still raining off and on, the skies are cloudy and it's cooler this morning.  My to do list for the day has shrunk since most of it involved the great outdoors and I am not likely to weed or put up more fencing in the wet weather.  Nope, not me.

Not that it will help you but this picture is where I was weeding when Rocky stopped, near Barb:

Barb

So named because the tail is barbed wire. Bev thought it was cute.  Okay, I agree it is kind of clever.  One of the charming yard art sculptures (or whatever you call them) she has throughout her gardens.

Man oh man it is chilly out here this morning.  Kind of like a crawl back under the covers chilly.  Or make chicken and dumplings chilly.  Because  in Hawaii that is what I would do on days like today.  Comfort food.  Besides, who doesn't love a good dumpling?  Except Bev.  I have a really tasty crock pot recipe for it, too, so it makes it easier and you get to smell it for a spell until you are ready to eat.

I believe I have now acquired brain feeze from the cold.  I got nothing else.  The brain is not engaged, train of thought is not leaving the station, going nowhere for awhile.  Think I will go work on a new chime and ponder life's mysteries and maybe come up with something for tomorrow to discuss.  So until tomorrow..

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

Posting late today, had somewhere to be.

First, how does my garden grow?

Well, my right hand bed is doing super good, my tomato and cucumbers, on the other bed, not as well, but I baby it anyway.  I started here because it is the last picture I took a few minutes ago.  But let me back it up a notch. Yesterday, it's sort of a blur, but I will do my best to fill you in  now.  The day started early, as usual, and I traipsed down to the porch to have my coffee and turned on the tablet to see I sold a chime.  That is wonderful! So, in my head anyway, I am planning a trip to the post office after getting said chime properly packaged and Bev came out for her coffee and said I should call the company back that had called her for my interview. I said I would when they opened at 8, which I did and had an interview set up for 9 this morning.  Since it wasn't pressing time for me to get out and about, I did my blog entry and while doing so I sold another chime.  YAY!!! Go me.

Now I am thinking I need to package another to go out and that is a good thing but I should just go ahead and package all of them and get it done so I can just zip to the post office if I need to.  So around 10, when I was finished lolly gagging about, I went up to do just that.  It took me a while but I got 9 of the 11 done before I realized it was after noon. Time to get dressed and get a move on. I stopped at the post office first, got them both mailed, then off to wally world to pick up my prescription. Popped in to Goodwill to sign in on my app (it never hurts to keep your options open when you are looking for work) and decided to stop at Forge Glass and see what was happening there.

They didn't have any new glass and Steve said that the guy who does the tumbling will be back next Tuesday.  Bummer, another week at least without more glass.  So he took me back and showed me what would be tumbled and I nearly choked, I was so excited I couldn't catch my breath and started coughing.  Embarrassing, yes, but he was kind and gave me some water (always looking out for me that man) and said it might be ready before the end of the week (there is a sale this month, which helps with the pricing for me) and left elated at the thought.  I will snag it all, I swear! LOL.

Came home and had either a late lunch or early dinner, since it was after 4 already, and after eating I started weeding the front gardens.  Boy was it toasty out there.  Plus, I had a death grip on the weeds I had pulled in my left hand while I pulled with my right and by the time I finished the first bed, my left hand felt like I had been making chimes all day without ceasing.  It was cramping bad.  SO I sat and relaxed the rest of the evening.  Of course, for some reason, I thought it was Thursday and went in to watch Grey's Anatomy and what do I see but survivor?  WTH?  Oh, dorkus, it is Wednesday.  Laughing at myself, yet again, I went back out to the porch until I was ready to go to sleep. I let the dogs in and played with them and then the cat, before heading up to bed.

Woke up at 6 and had my coffee but then I had to get ready for the interview so I had no time to blog this morning.  But it went very well although it sounded like a lot of hours, not a problem really, however it will affect my blogging at first.  Not that I won't still blog every day, only be posting in the evenings since they start at 5 am and work until 5 PM many days.  They are short of solderers so that just means a nicer bankroll for awhile.  No worries.  I will get a call on Tuesday to go in for a solder test, which I am amazing at, so hopefully by the middle of next week I could be earning a real income.  Icing on the cake.

I stopped when I left there, just across the street to take these:

The close up of the spider web in the upper right corner of the display:

A closeup of the bear and rat and food, cute!

The name of the bear, isn't that adorable?

Then when I got home I started pulling weeds for a few minutes before going to check on my garden, which I showed you and while I was there, the"kids" watched:

In order, left to right, are Tony, Molly and Daisy with Tony talking to me, he loves me.  Actually, of the 3, he is my favorite.  And I don't particularly care for small dogs.

Oh, because I had the chance to get these again, without a cracked screen (this is the one I was trying to get when I dropped and cracked it) on my way to the interview:

I just love these murals. I always enjoy spotting a new one I have yet to see as well as the bears.  It is a beautiful, sunny day and I should start weeding some more, so until tomorrow...

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

Busy day but great.

New chime alert:

I am very pleased with this one and I can honestly say that it took most of the day to finish.  Not that it took longer than any other chime but the way it got finished.  I took off this morning to check in on my app at Goodwill, as has become my custom, and over to wally world to get more swivels and pick  up my meds. Got the swivels but the pharmacy attempt was futile.  Then I had to go to DMV for my brother and when I walked in and around to see the cashier or customer service person or whatever they call themselves at DMV and she hollers out "Number 111" and so I start looking for the number giver thing and she directed me in the right direction.  I pull the number and walk back around to her and say "that"s me!, Awesome number by the way".  She agreed and I explained why I was there, but since I didn't have the renewal paper she gave me a paper for him to fill out, sign and mail.  Headed home and I was hungry so I ate lunch, first time in 3 weeks.  I get so absorbed in things it doesn't occur to me to have another meal during the day until dinner when I am starving.

Then I started the chime.  But first I took my new drill bit out to the garage (where the drill is) to predrill my holes and that done I thought I would look for the tin snips as I said I would put up the rabbit fence around the big back deck where the dogs are.  Molly keeps trying (and sometimes successfully) to escape when she hears loud noises.  Rich bought the fencing before he left but I didn't know where the cutters were.  I really should have taken before and after photos.  After looks like this:

Why, yes, I am OCD, lol.  Before, it was one big clusterf*ck and you had to dig through everything on the work bench to find anything.  I started at one end and worked my way to the other, organizing and putting all the like things together, there were a short ton of nails and screws and bolts and such and now they are all together and the little boxes with trays are together and nice and neat.  SO I finally make it to the other end and finally discover the cutters and tin snips before rearranging the whole works to my liking (this cracks me up, I think now, with everything in plain sight, they won't find a thing they are looking for) before heading back to the house.  then, having arrived back at the house, I realize I don't have the tin snips and it was the whole reason I went out there an hour before.  Back to the garage, laughing at myself the whole time.

I went in the house to get the roll of fencing, which had been on the sofa yesterday and now i cannot find that.  I gave up and went back to work on my chime.  I got about halfway through it when the pool man showed up to open the pool for the summer.  So, curious because the cover had a ton of water sitting in it and wondering how they would deal with that, I followed them back to watch.  Basically he took a hose, submerged it until it filled and threw it over the side and it was draining.  Much like I use to drain my big fish tanks.  Chatted with him until the wasps stared buzzing me and went back to the chime.  I finally finished about 5 pm and decided to start dinner before attempting the fencing.  Bev had swung in for a few minutes and told me where she had put it.  

I went in and started my asparagus to steam and went out to do my task.  Can I just say it was very warm out?  The sun was shining and felt wonderful at first until I started working on it and then the sweat poured.  I completed half of it around 5:30  and went in to eat.  Walking into the house that asparagus smelled amazing.. I got it plated and could not find any Mayo in the fridge.  Every salad dressing known to man, unopened jars of Alfredo sauce and even ketchup but no mayo?  Who lives without mayo in their house?  How is that even possible?  For me it is unthinkable.  So I did the next best thing and sprinkled Feta cheese on it, took a taste and was pleasantly surprised at how tasty it was.  I knew I had the Feta on it but I went to the pantry anyway since I cannot seem to conceive of a house without mayo.  And what do I find? 2 big jars on the shelf.  Go figure.  By then I already had a big glob of cottage cheese on my plate so I thought that would be enough.  But good to know about the mayo.

After I ate, I took pictures with my phone and 35MM cameras of my new chimes and tried to go live on facebook.  3 times and it kept saying to rotate my screen (this was on my tablet) and when I did, my face was upside down so I deleted them and never posted them.  Tried one more time, ignoring the rotate screen message and though I had to hold my tablet all the way out at arms length to my right, looking at the stars t to center my face, I went live for a few minutes.  That, too was pointless since I couldn't get a good view of the chimes, which was the whole pointless anyway.  But it was fun and made me laugh and I got to talk to the people who watched live an I loved that.

Then I set out to do the other half of the fence.  Didn't take long and I was back on the porch.  Bev was there on a phone call and when she finished I asked if she would show me what I could pull from the front gardens because I wasn't sure what she planted and what was weeds but she is always out there weeding and she showed me so I said I would work on that today for her.  A new project.

I sat on the porch, chatting with Bev until around10:15 when she said she was heading to the hot tub and asked if I wanted to join her but since I could feel it was bedtime I declined and headed up.  Laying there in the dark, looking at the stars out the window at the head of my bed, listening to the cow that for all appearances is telling me goodnight, I was at one with the world, truly and deeply again, smile on my face and joy in my heart.

Got up early this morning because my left hand was throbbing and keeping me from going back to sleep,I got my coffee and went out t the porch as I do and Bev surfaced early.  She said she had gotten a call from the company I had first applied to and had wanted so badly and they wanted to set up an interview but they were asking for Carolyn.  I said that was my legal name even though no one really knew or remembered that.  She thought it was a wrong number and wondered how they got her number.  I had used it as an alternate number since I am not always near my phone.  I know it's a mobile phone but that does NOT mean it stays with me all of the time, I'm a fossil like that, not tethered to a darn phone for Pete's sake.  SO I will call them this morning and see what is up.

She went in to get ready for work and I sat here listening to the wild turkeys gobble, the cows mooing for breakfast (I'm guessing) and then a couple of train whistles, the birds singing and was and am totally at peace.  It is 58 degrees and sunny and is looking like another beautiful day here.  I sold a chime this morning so I need to get that ready for shipping (Thank you Dee!)  and besides the weeding and possible interview today, I believe I will just get all the boxes ready for shipment and skip the chime building for today since my hand is still cramping.  But fear not, my little friends, there will be more, many more, maybe just not today.  I am thinking of running a sale through the end of the week though and may go set that in motion.

I took these the other day, forgot to post them:

Well, it is almost 8 AM so I should get up and around I suppose and get this up for my friend Dee :-)

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