#3042 weekend wrap-up

spring snow

It has been a quiet and relaxing weekend at my house. The photo above was taken on Thursday afternoon after a quick but fairly generous snow storm. It is said that April 16 is the average last day of snow for the season in SLC, which would be fine with me. We had a really dry winter, so any water helps. I'd be fine if the water coming from the sky isn't white, though.

Friday was clear, cool, and sunny. MT went for a hike then left for Pocatello. He is painting the outside of the new property, and he'll be back tomorrow afternoon. I decided to go see a movie because why not? I went to see You, Me, and Tuscany. It was exactly the eye and mind candy I needed. The people and the setting were pretty, the premise is a little sketchy about how the woman gets to Tuscany and the shenanigans involved, but it's total chick-lit-rom-com shenanigans. Along with popcorn and a soda, it was a nice way to spend a couple of hours.

T and I have spent the weekend watching the NBA playoffs. I don't really have a favorite team in the playoffs overall. The Utah Jazz are not in the playoffs. They were terrible this year and actually got in trouble for "tanking" - losing on purpose to try to get a higher lottery pick. Disgraceful. This is not the Jazz front office of old, and Larry Miller is probably turning over in his grave. I am a long-time Jazz fan and I could barely stand to watch the team play this year. Sad.

Yesterday I swapped out my winter clothes for my summer clothes. While I was at it, I culled the wardrobe, but truly, I still have a boatload of clothes, way more than I need or wear, especially now that I am not working. (Although, if I'm being honest, I usually wore the same few things all the time.) I have a dream of putting together a smaller capsule-type wardrobe, but I'm afraid (or something) of getting rid of too much and of keeping too much. I know I'm being ridiculous, and all I really have to do is remember the vast amount of clothing and stuff that came out of the house in Dixon to encourage me to purge my own clothing and stuff, but it seems to be much harder to do that to my own things. <<sigh>>

Let's see what's on the agenda for next week. The 22nd is Earth Day, and the 24th is Arbor Day. Friday the 24th, I've got a volunteer assignment at The Garden because they are having Arbor Day festivities. I haven't been able to do daytime assignments in the past, so I'm happy to be able to do this! It's supposed to be a nice day on Friday, too. I'll also go up on Tuesday to record blooms. The 23rd is World Book Day, which doesn't really mean anything special to me because every day is Book Day in my world.  

Time to sign off here to do some art. I read a lot today and took a little nap, so I didn't do the art I was planning to do earlier. Have a great week!
 

#3023 weekend wrap-up plus art gallery

 

my January wee calendar

Good afternoon! I hope you are having a delicious, relaxing weekend.

MT and T were here this weekend. They arrived on Thursday just in time for MT to go with me to the Red Butte Garden volunteer dinner and reception. It was a fun event. We sat by my friend Liz and her husband, and I saw my good friend Wendy B, along with many others. The best part for me was getting recognized for being a volunteer for 10 years!

10 years!!

I write about how much I enjoy volunteering at the Garden, and it's absolutely true. Red Butte Garden has been a sanctuary for me. It's a place I can go to clear my head and to be completely present. One of the "jobs" I have there, bloom recording, requires me to be focused and observant, and I relish the hours I get to spend noting what I see blooming. Last year, I had nearly 159 hours of volunteer time. I have no idea if that is average or below average; there were 572 volunteers last year, and the volunteer hours ranged from 30 to over 600. (The over 600 hour woman is there nearly every day!) My hours goal is always at least 101 hours, so I am fine with 159. Maybe I'll aim for 200 hours this year since I will have more time to give. We'll see. Anyway, I was glad MT was able to come with me to the reception this year.

MT also helped me solve the bird seed situation. He has lots of empty buckets from Lowes in the garage. We filled two of the buckets, then bought a lid (he just had one lid that was available), so now the birdies can have seeds again. I've filled the feeder a couple of times this weekend and it sure doesn't take long for the birds to empty it.

T was a total hero on Friday. He came with me to pick Stella up from the groomer. On the way out of the store, she got a little spooked and slipped right out of her collar in the middle of the road in the parking lot. She had a lot less hair around her neck than when we went in to the store that morning! T calmly scooped her up and carried her to the car. You might not think this is anything heroic, but it is, and I'll tell you why: Stella does NOT like to be picked up. We have had her for three years, and I have never picked her up. I've seen people do it; I think T even did one time before here at home, but in general, she doesn't allow the behavior. So for him to walk to her and calmly tell her it was okay and pick her up, man, that was awesome. He was amazing.  I'm so glad he came with me.

Other than that bit of excitement, we had a nice quiet weekend. Yesterday the three of us had lunch at Moochies. I cooked a couple of T's favorite dishes for dinner on Friday and Saturday - pasta on Friday and croquetas on Saturday. MT worked on a puzzle and the two of them watched some shows on TV. I read and puttered around.  The two of them left this morning, so here I am again, just me and the puppers.

I've got a couple of things coming up this week. On Tuesday, I will take Stella to the vet to have her vaccinations. I'll be sure to tighten her collar. On Thursday I am planning to go to my former office. I need to do some business at the credit union, plus they are having Dip Day and I was invited to come over for that festival. I even bought a dip to take with me, because you can't show up to a party empty-handed. I'm looking forward to seeing my friends, having a snack, hearing the gossip, and leaving.

I don't think we've had a little art gallery for awhile, so here are some things that I've made recently.

This first painting is from October. It was inspired by a photo I saw on Instagram from a guy I follow (provencallife) who takes beautiful photos of his home in Provence. This is my interpretation of a photo he took:

Provencal Doorway

These next two pieces are from a prompt from Jill the Artist. She gave a list of adjectives and nouns and the prompt was to select one word from each list and do an artistic interpretation of the words. Both pieces were inspired by art I saw on Pinterest.

Unfinished Spark

Green Balloon

The next one was also inspired by something I saw on Pinterest. It's how I felt one morning when I was out walking the dogs during one of the very brief  and infrequent snow episodes we've had here in SLC this month.

In the Snow

This last one is from my still unfinished travel journal. I bought the pretty postcard in Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic and I really wanted to try to duplicate it, so here it is:

my take on Cesky Krumlov

That is all for today. Have a great week!

xo

#2958 Sunday funday and art gallery

My mom has a shirt that says "Sunday Funday" and  I think it is so cute! I might have to find one for myself. As I was driving home this afternoon, I thought, "Wow, this has been a fun Sunday. I might even call it a Sunday Funday." At least it was fun for me, so let me tell you about it.

Of course I started my day by playing with the dogs and taking care of my outside plants. I have really come to enjoy my morning routine. I hit up Starbucks and made my way to Red Butte Garden. It was quiet there today with not too many guests. The holiday weekend probably factored into that. 

After my shift, I went to Sticker Con! I just lucked into finding out about it. As I sat here on Friday night, I wondered if there would be a Sticker Con, so I GTS (Googled that shit) and learned that it was today from 1 - 4. Perfect! This is the second annual event, and it was bigger than last year. There were over 20 local artists who had booths set up to sell their art that had been made into stickers. Some of the artists also had other items like tote bags, prints, key chains, etc. There were gobs of other sticker lovers there - I am not alone ! I bought nine single stickers and a page of pumpkin item stickers. (I love fall and I love pumpkin sweets.) I could have bought more, but I had to remove myself from the scene. So cool!

My next stop was Lowes because I wanted to buy a plant. One of my outside plants did not survive. RIP Iceland poppy. Of course, I didn't get just one plant; I had to get two. I got a sweet little red coreopsis, and a lavender plant. I think I might be the only person in Utah and maybe the world who cannot grow lavender. I try every year, and every year, it shrivels up and dies. Maybe I should plant it in the ground? I always keep it in a pot. I'll keep you updated on her health. Right now she is acclimating to the deck with her new plant sisters. I do plan to go back to Lowes soon, maybe even tomorrow, because there are some beautiful guara plants and Russian sage. I have a Russian sage plant, but I feel like she needs a friend. And guara is just so pretty. I had one last summer, and I loved watching her sway in the summer breeze. 

Next, I picked up a couple of things at the grocery store. I filled some Kongs for the dogs - they love their Sunday Kongs. The menfolk are watching a movie, so I'm here at my desk painting and writing while the paint dries. 

So, yeah, maybe today hasn't been the best Sunday ever, but it was/is pretty fun for me. My next thing is to make some carne asada tacos and perhaps sit on the deck for a bit with a book and a beer. That is my idea of  a good time. 

I haven't posted art for a minute, so here are some things I've done over the past couple of months.

"Tomato Toad"

 The toad is from a Badonsky prompt. The instruction was to take two nouns that began with the first letter of your last name. 

collage bird

I really like collage. I think it's fun and cool. I made this for my mom using a little painting that I'd done for her but didn't like. Actually, I liked the painting, but I didn't like the paper it was on, so I cut it into bits and made a bird.

"Wanderlust"

This is for another Badonsky prompt, suitcase.  I've always liked old suitcases with travel stickers on them. I guess those were mostly trunks, right, but I made mine a suitcase. Those are stickers I had that I thought would be fun to use. 

"

"found poetry 1"

I am sort of obsessed with the idea of found poetry. I look at so many on Pinterest and I want to do it myself, so this is the first one I've done from a book. I tore a page out of a book (The Time Traveler's Wife, btw) and found some words that I thought went together in a sort of poetic way. I sent this one to my mom, too. I don't know if she keeps my creations, but she might.  I don't think she hangs them on her refrigerator, though. LOL

"5 Balloons"

This is from my "I saw it on Pintrest and wanted to try it" collection. Actually, I don't have a collection of art, just pins that I want to turn into art in my sketchbook. I thought this was fun. I liked layering the colors. 

Okay, that's all for now! Have a great week. Stay hydrated!

 

#2945 ordinary stuff

I haven't left the house today. Well, that's not entirely accurate; I took the dogs for a walk in the neighborhood this morning, but I haven't gotten in my car to go anywhere. I thought I might go to the grocery store, but I decided shopping could wait. Sometimes it is just nice to stay home.

Here's what I have done today: art. This morning and yesterday morning, I sat on the floor in my office with my new big sketchbook and I just doodled. Why was I on the floor? There was a big sun puddle there and it called to me. LOL  It felt good. I sat cross-legged and felt a little stretch in my hips. The dogs were excited that I was on their level. They were very interested in what I was doing, or maybe it was just my delicious cup of coffee they liked the smell of.  The sketches are nothing special, but it was fun to play around without looking at Pinterest. Practice stuff. 

I also took a nap and it was luxurious.

Tonight after I feed the dogs, I am going to change the sheets on my bed. I'm going to take a nice hot shower (it's kind of chilly and windy here today.) I'm going to make some popcorn and watch a movie on the big-ass TV. Then I'm going to take a melatonin and go to bed. (I'll need the melatonin because of the luxurious nap.)

What's going on next week? Well, taxes are due, so I'll get all of that finalized. I have a few things to do for our family business that I can get taken care of on Monday. I will be back to the regular office schedule of Monday and Wednesday at home and the other three days in the office. The remodel is complete, and we have moved into our cubicles. I need to go through all the stuff I brought home from the office and figure out what to take back. There's not much a lot of space, so I'll keep it simple. I think that by Friday I will know my concert assignments for Red Butte Garden this summer. The concert line-up was announced on Tuesday. I am required to work at least six shows; I'm hoping and planning on nine or ten. About three a month is my sweet spot. 

In the wake of this rather ordinary post, I'll leave you with this...

I was daydreaming of Rome earlier in the week. My thoughts often float off to places I have been, and lately it has been Rome I've thought about. I was thinking about the last day Lizzie and I were in Rome wandering around (with a plan!) and seeing so many things. I'd mentioned that I really wanted to go to Capitoline Hill and see the piazza that Michelangelo designed, Piazza del Campidoglio. It is in the area near the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and the Vittoriano. Lizzie's superb map reading skills got us to the hill and to the square. There are three buildings lining the piazza. There is a pretty view of the city. There's a large statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Lizzie and I didn't go into any of the buildings; we just walked around the piazza and soaked it in. We were there at the end of our afternoon outing, the last major site we wanted to see before going back to the hotel for a little break. I was so happy and thankful that we took the time to go there. Here are a couple of photos:

it was one of the few sunny days we had in Rome

statue of Marcus Aurelius with the Palazzo Senatorio behind it

I don't think I will ever tire of Rome. I can't really imagine going to Italy and not going to Rome. There are still so many things I want to see there. I won't be going back this year, but I will go back.

Have a great week!

#2938 art gallery

Happy Superbowl Sunday to those who celebrate! T and I will be watching the game when it starts in about 90 minutes or so. We'll probably tune in a little early to watch a bit of pre-game stuff. I am rooting for the Chiefs to win because I like that team and the coach, and I think it would be cool to see a bit of history today: no team in the history of the NFL has won the Superbowl three times in a row, and the Kansas City Chiefs could do it today. Most people I've listened to at work are hoping the Eagles win. I hope it is a good game. 

It's been a quiet week at my house. MT didn't come home this weekend, and I didn't really go anywhere, other than the office, or do anything interesting. I've been doing a little art here and there and writing in my journal, which is always interesting for me. My journal is getting zazzed up these days with stickers and doodles and sometimes even photos printed on my Sprocket. The Sprocket might be one of my favorite toys I got myself last year. 

That reminds me, I haven't showed you any art for a bit, so here are four things I did in the past few weeks:

Flower Power

This piece was from a prompt by Jill Badonsky. I drew the elephant upside down based on a model Jill provided, then I flipped it right side up to paint and add the lines. In the photo that Jill gave us, the elephant was wearing a headband with a flower, and that was when I decided to use some of the (many) stickers I have to zazz it up. I know it's a bit much, and I like it.

I Can Paint Myself Flowers

This one is from another Badonsky prompt to do an abstract floral. I had a great time painting this! It is so fun to dab paint on the page and see what happens. 

Florence Duomo at Sunset

This painting was also inspired by Ms. Badonsky who prompted us to do whatever your Muse tells you. I've been neglecting playing around in my Italy travel journal, so I pulled up a photo of one of my favorite memories and made a rough sketch of the Duomo in Florence. No, the cathedral is not yellow, but it looked yellow-ish in the sunset light. Those blue things back there are the mountains. It's not fantastic - I'm still learning and practicing, after all. 

Garden(ing) Snake

Last one! Also a Badonsky prompt to celebrate the Year of the Snake. Most of my snake experiences have happened at Red Butte Garden, so I thought it would be fun to draw a whimsical garden snake. I drew her upside down, and looking at it, her eyes are supposed to be closed, so I might have made them the wrong way up, but whatever. Also not really sure what's going on in the left corner there. Maybe I was painting some sky? 

Let's move on...

Starting on Wednesday the 12th, I'm doing fun things. That night I'm going to a play at Pioneer Theater Company that I'll tell you more about after the show. Friday is Valentine's Day and MT will be coming home for the weekend. I've got a couple of things planned for Saturday and Sunday, too. The week after will be most excellent because I get to go hang out with Mama and Lizzie for a few days!

Well, it time to make some chicken enchiladas and get ready to watch the game. Have a great week!

xo

#2936 weekend wrap-up

And here it is, Sunday night at 9:30 already. The weekends whoosh by, it seems.  Here's a peek at my days.

I woke up on Friday feeling awful. My stomach was cramping, my head was stuffy, all my joints ached, and I was kind of miserable overall. There has been a bug going around the office that has given folks similar symptoms, so I decided to stay home and try to sleep it off. I slept until about 1:30 in the afternoon, then I laid on the couch wrapped in a blanket for a couple more hours. I drank peppermint tea and ate toast to soothe my tummy and warm myself up. I took T to work, and lucky for me, he got off work early that night. More sleeping ensued.

Saturday morning I slept in until about 10:00, then I had to get up and get moving because I had a volunteer meeting at the Garden at 1:00. Yes, I know it seems like that is plenty of time to get ready, and it is, but I was moving pretty slowly. The day was cold, windy, gray, and there were snow flurries, so it was pretty yucky. The meeting was interesting, then I braved the weather to take a quick stroll around the place. I was dressed warmly enough that my core wasn't cold, but my face was, of course.

brrr

The waterfall was extra interesting. It is frozen, but water is still flowing behind the ice. The pond is frozen, too, except down by the little falls, though the creek on the other side is also frozen over.

Nature is amazing. 

Unsurprisingly, I basically had the Garden to myself. I did see four people out when I started, but that was the only time I saw them. It was cold! I'm thankful for heated seats in my car! After the walk, I ran a few errands, then came home for the rest of the day. I wrapped myself in my favorite snuggly quilt and watched a movie, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. I read the book many years ago and really liked it. The movie was sweet, too. I cried. 

I planned to stay home all day today, but then I realized I didn't have milk. I have to have milk in my coffee. Today the weather was still cold, but the sky was blue and there wasn't any wind and it was a pretty nice day. I took the dogs for their walk and played frisbee with Stella, bought some milk, had a late breakfast, then did my bookkeeping. After that, I swept and swiffered, as I must do each week to keep some kind of dominance over the dirt and dog hair. I potted a couple of plants I've been rooting (I hope they do okay. I'm not very good at potting.) Then I flopped down on the couch and watched football. The outcomes were predictable, and that's okay with me. 

I didn't do any art today :( Maybe I'll scribble a quick doodle to make myself smile. 

Let's see...what's coming up this last week of January? Not much, to be honest. I'm looking forward to creating my zine and wee calendar. MT will be home for the weekend. On Thursday at the office, we are planning to have a big clean-out day as we prepare for remodeling the admin department. I didn't think I'd ever see that happen. It will be office-y cubicles, but it will be shiny and new. I don't know what the time frame is, but we will be ready for it. 

Have a good week!

xo

#2930 queen of detritus

I like to think of myself as an organized person. I think I'm pretty good at staying organized at work. I keep my desk tidy and my filing is in good shape. It's all digital, and I know where to find things. My work desk at home is also tidy. I don't keep a lot of detritus in my work spaces. My personal desk, though, that's another story. 

My personal desk is overflowing with little bits of stuff: stickers, lots and lots of pens (two separate pen holders that are full), loose little photos lying about that I always want to use in something, sketchbooks, paints, paint brushes...I seem to feel the need to have all of these things within reach. Wouldn't it be better, I asked myself today, if there wasn't so much detritus on the desk? Wouldn't it be nicer if all the things had a space to live, then I could pluck them from their space when I'm ready to use them? 

I spent a little time gathering all the bits, finding a home for them and leaving empty space to write, paint, or do the bookkeeping. I took down a framed poster of Angel's Landing trail in Zions Park that I have never liked because it makes me feel anxious, and I replaced it with a beautiful framed poster of the Picasso painting, "El Abrazo."  My goal is to fill my office with art and make the space cozy and pretty. It's a work in progress, but at least there is progress. 

MT left for Pocatello on Friday. The house is so quiet when he's gone. It's not that he is noisy, but he bustles around and talks a lot. LOL Maybe that's why I think it's so quiet! I spent yesterday cleaning up downstairs. T helped me take down the Christmas decorations. I left the snowmen because those are wintery, not necessarily Christmas-y. We also removed the coffee table from the front room. Harley and Mac chewed off the corners years ago, and I covered it with a towel, but it has bugged me, so now it's in the basement until we decide what to do with it. There might be an enterprising DIY furniture fixer-upper who might see it at a thrift store and do something cool to give it another life. For me, I'm glad to have the open space in the front room.

my front room

I don't have much coming up this week. Work has slowed down, as it does in the winter, so that's nice. I might go to a hockey game on Friday, and on Sunday I'll go to an Edgar Allan Poe Speakeasy. MT was meant to come with me, but I don't know if he'll make it back. Maybe T will come with me. The temperatures are supposed to be colder next week, but we don't have any snow in the forecast yet. 

Oh yeah...no-spend January is now low-spend January. T and I ordered a pizza yesterday :D 

Have a great week!

xo

#2905 low energy day and art show

Yesterday, Saturday, I had what can only be described as a low energy day. I was up early to feed the dogs, but I was not ready to be awake, so we all went back to bed when they were done with their morning activities for some hurkle durkle time. I looked at my phone for a little while before I fell back to sleep. Fortunately, MT woke me up when he left around 10. I say fortunately because I wanted to participate in a Zoom call with Jill the Artist at 11:00. It was quite fun. There were about 10 of us on the call, and the theme was "summer." We recalled summer memories, favorite summer foods, etc. and doodled what we heard. I liked hearing the stories and drawing stuff. Even as I look at my scribbles now, I am smiling.

After the call, I took a nap.

MT came home and brought some burgers from 5 Guys. It was good; I was really hungry.

After I ate, I took a nap.

Low energy day.

In the evening, I sat out on the deck, drank a cold beer, and read. Stella insisted on some frisbee tosses, so I did that, too, and scattered kibbles for the big dogs to sniff for. I enjoyed that hour or so. 

At night I did art. I made my wee calendar for July, and I also made the zine for July. 

stylized fireworks

Dog Days zine!

I started on the bottom with the dogs, and they are all pretty small, getting progressively bigger as you go to the top because I was getting tired of drawing dogs LOL. I kinda wish I'd done it a little differently, but mostly I really like it. 

So yeah, resting my mind and body on Saturday was just what I needed. I didn't leave the house at all that day, and it suited me just fine, thank you very much. I felt fine, physically, like I don't have a cold or anything like that, but I was just straight up tired.

ART GALLERY TIME!

Here are some of my little art projects from June. I don't think I've shown these here, but if I have, thanks for having another look. 

First up, a couple of thank you cards I made for two co-workers who gave me gifts for my birthday:

thanks for the Dutch Bros gift card!

thanks for the beautiful paints!

These next offerings are all Jill Badonsky prompts:

Jill provided a bunch of words and our assignment was to combine a couple and come up with something.  I had some scrapbook paper that I cut freehand stars from, and put them in a vase, filling in some spaces with glitter pen stars that I drew. 

Vase of Stars

The prompt was alphabet soup, so I created my own brand and used an existing brand as my inspiration. I used Snapseed to give the painting a mood and a frame.

Sandy's Alphabet Soup

The prompt was giraffes. I painted the background colors first, then drew the three giraffes and added the spots. The giraffe on the left is my favorite.

Trio

Jill showed us a cartoon-type pic and encouraged us to use the shape of the face, then fill it in with exaggeration.. Similar to the giraffe painting, I painted the background colors first, then added my features. I used Snapseed to get the frame. 

 

Self portrait

The prompt was furniture, fruit, and ocean. 

Wish I Was Here

Can you believe 2024 is officially half-way done?  I think these next few months are going to fly by, too. 

Until next time...

xo

 

#2900 slow down

 

I saw this sweet graphic on Facebook yesterday morning, and I decided to adopt the saying as my mantra this long Memorial Day weekend. My work days will be full from now until October when I go on vacation, and my volunteer calendar has plenty of days marked on it as well. I purposely made few plans for this weekend so I wouldn't feel bad if things didn't get done. 

We had an early-out day at work on Friday. I left around 3:00 probably, and headed up to the Garden to record blooms. The sky was gray and ominous, and it was a bit windy, but it was nice to be outside. Friday was MT's birthday, so we dropped T off at work and went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse. MT wanted a steak, and that is the place he chose. We got there around 8pm, and waited for 30 minutes or so for a table. The place was packed, and it took awhile to get our food. MT ordered a medium rare rib-eye which came disguised as a rare T-bone. I couldn't even look at his plate. It did not look good to me. I had the country fried steak, and it was fine. There's a reason we only go to Texas Roadhouse every few years or so. The rolls are very good, and the rest is meh.

Yesterday I didn't do much at all. I slept in until 9:30. Showered, had coffee, read. Puttered around with my planner and my journal. Drew some little doodles to entertain myself. MT and I went to bougie Harmons to get salad from the salad bar. We joked about our $80 salads because of course we left the store with more than salad, even though we said we were ONLY going to get salad. After lunch, I had a two hour nap, then stayed in bed to pet the dogs. MT and T went to see the movie Furiosa, and I binged Bridgerton, Season 3, part 1 (episodes 1 - 4.) That was fun!

Today I did my regularly scheduled docent shift at Red Butte, then I met MT for lunch at Hog Wallow Pub. It was a nice day, so we sat on the patio to enjoy a burger and a beer. Then I came home and took a two hour nap. I don't seem to be able to nap in increments less than two hours! When I got up, I finished reading a book, and now here I am, writing. I just made a little painting, too. 

Have I walked 30 minutes every day? Um, no. Have I planted to little plants I bought a week ago? Nope. Have I planted the starts I've been nurturing for weeks? That's a big no, also. Poor little plants. Maybe tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, MT and I are planning to go on a nature walk. He bought me trekking poles for an early birthday gift, and we want to try them out. We were talking about going for a drive to eastern Utah, but I think there will be a lot of traffic coming back into the valley, so we're putting that plan on hold for now. There is a trail we found on the All Trails app that looks interesting and is rated EASY.  That will give me something to write about on Wednesday! 

That's all for today!

#2898 weekend wrap-up

Thinking back over it, I've had a pretty chill and restful weekend. Did I check many/any things off my to-do list? No.  Am I upset about it? Not at all. I'm okay with what I did do, and I'm really okay with being okay.

On Friday after work I went to the Garden to record blooms. The plants are really starting to show off now. The lilacs are blooming, as are the peonies and the wisteria. Alliums are popping up everywhere. Pollen count is high, and there are bees buzzing around all over the place. The horse chestnut trees are blooming and the hummingbirds are feeling very territorial about it. There are bunnies and squirrels and quails all over the place. 

When I got home, I went up to my room to practice with Duolingo, then figured I'd sleep for a bit until it was time to pick T up from work. Fortunately, MT came upstairs to see what I was doing (sleeping soundly!) and he told me he'd pick T up, so I crawled under the covers and went to bed for real.

The dogs let me sleep in until around 7am on Saturday. I had a slow morning puttering around the house, then I went out to do some work in the yard (very rare for me.) After, I showered then did some work on my planner. For the past jillion years, Lizzie and I have been giving each other planners for our birthdays. Last year, she said she didn't want to get a planner because she was going to fashion her own. Since I'm a copy-cat, I decided I'd do that as well. I am doing the same layout as my Papier planners that I have been using for the past few years. It's kinda cool, and also kinda not, I think. A few times I found myself wondering what the hell I was doing when this same thing could be purchased and it would be ready to go. I'm committed to it now, though, so I'll try it for a year. I did like the repetition of making the pages. It' was meditative.

Today I went to Red Butte Garden for my Sunday morning docent shift. It was a gorgeous day: blue skies, mild temperature in the low 70s, and bright sunshine. The Garden was hopping. There were so many people visiting today! Both of the trams were full and busy all day long. I had to tell some folks that it would be an hour before they would have a chance at a ride - they were lining up for the complimentary tours. In the end, I counted 52 people who got tours today. (I downloaded a counter app to keep track.) I talked to people from Rhode Island, Alaska, Florida and the Bay area. I pointed people in the direction of the wisteria, the natural area trails, and the Children's Garden. I took photos of families (at their request.) I told folks where they could find some snacks or a place for lunch. I smiled and I smiled and I smiled. It was exhausting.

For a person like me, an introvert, it takes a ton of energy and willpower to engage with people like I do at Red Butte Garden. Before my docent shift, I usually stop for coffee at Starbucks, I listen to calming music, and take my time getting there by driving up 800 South through the neighborhoods instead of taking the freeway. In other words, I gather my chi. After the shift, I am mentally and emotionally tired. Usually I go straight home, but today I stopped at Trader Joe's because I was out of many staples. The store was packed with people. The check out line went all the way down the chip aisle. It was madness. When I got home, I had to nap to recover. 

After my nap, I came downstairs and turned on the TV. The Padres were playing the Braves on ESPN, so I plopped myself down on the couch to watch a few innings. I wound up watching the whole game. At some point I told myself to get up and do something, but my body refused to cooperate, so I gave in and just let myself watch TV. After the baseball game, I turned over to the NBA playoffs to watch the end of Game 7 between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Denver Nuggets. The Timberwolves won, and I like that outcome. Oh yeah, and the Padres beat up on the Braves, and I liked that, too. 

So now here I am, at my desk. I just made some spectacularly wonky art. It's just really not very good, and that's totally okay. I may show it to you at some point, but today is not that day. I'm feeling protective of it and of my feelings about it. 

What am I looking forward to in the week ahead? I taking Tuesday off from work because MT is having a medical procedure that requires someone to give him a ride because he will be heavily sedated. Friday is MT's birthday. I'm pretty sure we will go out for dinner at a place of his choosing. In the meantime, there will be all the usual stuff: work, bloom recording, cooking, cleaning up, reading, language practice, art, plants, dogs, etc. 

I'll leave you tonight with a couple of photos. I took this first photo at Red Butte Garden on Friday evening at the arbor between the Fragrance Garden and the Medicinal Garden. I wish it was a scratch and sniff photo! This scent of the wisteria and the lilacs was so sweet and intoxicating! I just wanted to sit on that bench and soak up those amazing smells.

Then there's this next pic. Yesterday I was at Lowes looking at plants. I heard an incessant chirping very near me. I looked all around, and I finally noticed a little movement in the plants right next to the ones I was buying. I focused in to see a wee sparrow perched in a plant, chirping for all he was worth. I don't know if he was stuck or if he really wanted to be there, but he was there the whole time I was looking around. Maybe he'd found his happy place.

Have a great week!

#2896 there was SOMETHING going on

On Friday night I was mindlessly scrolling through Facebook after I watched a movie. I saw a post from a local group I am in that posed the question about where a person could see the Northern Lights that night. I thought it was a joke, and I went to bed around midnight without giving it another thought.

On Saturday morning, I was mindlessly scrolling through Facebook and saw lots of pics from local people who had seen the northern lights out by the Great Salt Lake, not ten minutes from my house! I was annoyed with myself for not making an effort to find out if the phenomenon was really happening in my own night sky. After a little research, I learned that there was a chance of seeing the Aurora Borealis on Saturday night, so MT and I agreed to head out to the west desert to check it out.

The problematic part was that the northern lights were not visible to the naked eye. You could only see them through the night mode and long exposure through the camera. Okay, I can do that. The other problem was that there were cloudy skies to the north. You can tell there is something going on, but you might not guess it was a geomagnetic storm.

You can click on the photos to enlarge, if you like. Normal photo (night mode, regular exposure)

Night mode, long exposure:

This was the first time I've ever had really clear shots of stars:

Overall, it was kind of a bust. It was cool, but not what I thought I'd see. We ended up getting home just after 2am, and I didn't get to sleep until nearly 3. I'm pretty tuckered out today.

#2893 plants and clothes

It is late on Sunday night - 11:00 pm - about an hour past my bedtime. The thing is that I took a long nap late in the afternoon. I did the same thing yesterday. The naps were glorious and restful, but I realize the timing wasn't very good. Oh well. 

The weather here in Salt Lake City was beautiful this weekend. Very spring-y. The leaves on both the maple trees in my yard are coming out nicely. The little honey locust is also budding. It looks more like a bush, but I'm hoping it will get taller. I have two bridal veil spirea plants that are doing well. I bought four, - or was it six? - but only two remain. Those two plants are doing well, though. I'll post pics when they bloom. 

It's not quite time to plant here. Usually Mother's Day is planting time, or when the snow is melted from the Oquirrh mountains. As usual, I have thoughts about planting around my yard, but I'm not sure how ambitious I'll be about actually doing it. It's a wish list thing. I will definitely have plants on the deck. I'd really like to find a plant stand. I might go to some thrift stores and see what I can find. Maybe there will be something at the Dixon house that I can repurpose.

Today I finally got around to trading out my cold weather clothes for my warm weather clothes. I think the coldest days are behind us, for the most part. I still have some lightweight sweaters that I keep handy because it gets a little cold in the work office sometimes. One of the parts of swapping out the clothes is culling the wardrobe. I filled a couple of large garbage bags with clothing that I'll donate tomorrow. The thing is that I still have a boatload of clothes, way more than I need, to be honest. 

I was thinking about the trip I took to Barcelona and Paris last year. I was going to be away for two weeks, but I didn't want to take a ginormous suitcase, so I was thoughtful about what clothing I took. I wanted to be able to mix and match a lot, and follow the 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 packing formula. I was happy with what I wore there. It got me thinking: isn't it curious that I would pay so much attention to my vacation 'fits, but not put the same thought into my everyday wear, especially what I wear to work at the office?  Even going out running errands, I do not present myself well. I'm not talking about a frock and heels, but I can probably do better than joggers and a t-shirt, even just going to the grocer store. How do I want to present myself? I don't need to be fancy, but the goal is to look "put together." 

This is not new self-talk. I go through this thought process a few times a year, usually when I'm swapping out my seasonal clothes or when I'm packing for vacation. I've decided to challenge myself to go back through my clothes and do the mixing and matching thing. In my mind, I see myself picking out some colors that I like and want to build around, and going from there. It won't happen next weekend, but probably the weekend after. It makes me nervous, and a little excited. 

I have so many scarves. I divided them up between heavier and lighter fabrics and put some away for winter. Scarves aren't really a thing here so much anymore, but I really like them. I could be the scarf lady. You know who wears scarves nicely? The Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten.

But I digress. 

I'll keep you updated on my progress, both with plants and clothing. 

That's all for tonight. I gotta get to bed. That dumb alarm is going to ring way earlier than I will want to get up as it is.

xo

#2892 a trip and a trip

On Friday I worked through my lunch hour and left the office an hour early. Instead of going home, I headed north to Pocatello to surprise my BFF LA at her book signing event. It is definitely spring in the Rockies; I had ALL the weather types you can imagine. It was lightly raining when I left SLC. The rain picked up a bit as I got to the Ogden area, then turned into chunky rain at Brigham City, and snow toward Tremonton, along with a pretty dense fog. As I-15 curled north into Idaho, the weather turned back into chunky rain at Plymouth, where I stopped for a restroom break, and I thought for sure it would be awful going over Malad pass. Thankfully as I passed the state line, the weather cleared up and although the road was wet, the precipitation was done as I went over the mountain pass. The sun was shining, and the clouds parted just enough to show some hints of blue. As I got closer to Inkom, it got windy and the weather kicked in again with light snow, but it dissipated when I got to Pocatello. What a drive!

MT left for Pocatello earlier in the day. We took separate cars because on Saturday, he and his mom headed east for Columbia, Missouri to see the total eclipse, to check out the property we have there, and to hook on a trailer of his brother's. MT and I met up and went to the bookstore where LA had her signing. She was excited to see us, and for a bonus, her sister Jen was there, too. I hadn't seen Jen in years, like 13 years! The three of us, Jen, LA, and I, used to hang out together all the time. It was fun to chat with her while LA pedaled her book and signed copies of it.

Afterward. LA and her husband Rob met MT and I at Mama Inez, a local Mexican restaurant, for a late dinner. It was just like old times, sitting there eating cheese crisps and telling stories. At the end, we got to giggling so hard that LA was wiping her eyes and my face hurt from smiling so hard. It felt good to reconnect while still feeling like we had just seen each other a few days ago. It's such an easy friendship, and the longest friendship I have ever had. We've known them for 36 years! 

I drove home on Saturday morning after buying some PowerBall tickets (no lottery in Utah.) The PowerBall jackpot is like $1.3 billion. I can't tell you the last time I bought a PowerBall ticket, but my friendly co-worker, Marta, gave me some cash and asked me to buy some for her, so I got some for myself as well. I didn't win anything. I don't think Marta did either. Oh well.

When I got home, T and I went to get some pizza. After we ordered, we walked to the nearby Barnes and Noble. I took a spill when I missed a step up while looking at a window display, and sprawled out on the concrete after landing on my left knee. I was embarrassed and also in a bit of pain. I took some Tylenol when I got home and cursed my clumsiness and stupidity. Today I've been resting, sleeping a lot. It's how my body deals with repairing itself. I almost didn't tell this story because I know my mama is probably freaking out right about now, but it happened, so there it is. I'm sore and tender, but I'll likely be okay. My knee is a bit swollen where it hit the ground, and it might bruise, but I think it's all right overall. It's metal, so I got that going for me.

MT has had an eventful drive east. I-80 was closed through Nebraska due to high winds and heavy snow, so they re-routed through Denver and into Kansas. In Kansas, there was a haz-mat spill on the freeway, so they were re-routed again onto a highway where they got a little lost and couldn't find a way to get back to the freeway. I really hope they have clear skies for the eclipse tomorrow!

Gallery time!

I only have one bit of art to share tonight. I made this little card for LA:

Here are a couple of photos I took. I had my first volunteer gig of the season on Thursday when I went up to record blooms in the Children's Garden. There aren't a lot of blooms just yet, but this hellebore caught my eye because it is just so pretty!

Here is a pic of T at the pizza shop.

He looks thrilled, doesn't he? LOL

Until next time...take care, and watch out for stupid steps that will trip you and make you feel like an idiot.

  

#2891 I stayed home plus the Sunday gallery

I got off work early on Friday afternoon in honor of Easter weekend. I went to Costco to stock up on ground beef and chicken breast - staples at our house - then I picked up a drink at Dutch Bros, took the glass items to the recycling container at the park, and went home. I didn't leave the house again the whole weekend. I consider it a personal victory. 

On Saturday morning I woke up at 6:00 to feed the dogs and let them out. I wasn't quite ready to get up yet, so we went back upstairs to hurkle durkle. 

Not that 6:00 is long after it's time to get up on a Saturday, but I was up, and I went back to bed. I thought I'd read, but instead I played with my phone for an hour, then I fell asleep for a few more hours. I woke up at 10:00! I was feeling so tired and it felt good to sleep. Needless to say, I had a really slow morning. It was lovely. I showered, had a leisurely cup of coffee, read, then wandered up to my office to watch the creativity workshop on You Tube that I missed on Thursday, and caught up with my favorite influencer, Shannon, over in France to see what she is doing. She has started a weekly vlog about her day-to-day life in Brittany. It's pretty interesting. This week, she is in the Loire Valley touring some chateaux. I'm a goner for sure. I love chateaux. 

Today I managed to stay awake when the dogs woke me up at 6 AM for their breakfast. Mostly I've been here in my office. I spend a lot of time in here anymore. I am slowly but surely making it a Sandy-cave. I was doing one of my most favorite things today: reflecting on the past month in my journal. Did you know that my journal is my favorite book? Of course, I'm the only one who sees it, but it's full of stickers and doodles and words and miscellaneous decorations. For many years I used someone else's template for monthly reflection, then I decided to make my own and I enjoy the process. I also did a couple of art projects today, finished a book, did some laundry, changed the sheets, and did my bookkeeping. You know what I didn't do? Leave the house. I went to the backyard with the dogs, but I didn't get in my car. I wasn't sad about it.

It was a bit rainy this weekend, and a little chilly. March came in like a lion, but is leaving like a lamb. Tomorrow I get to turn all the calendar pages, and you know how much I love that activity!

It's time for the Sunday art gallery. Last week I told you I'd been messing around with zentangle doodles and threatened to show you some. There's no explanation on these; I follow a few doodlers on IG and when I see something they do that I like, I try to do it too. I'm still learning and experimenting, and I enjoy this form of art. It helps me let go and loosen up a little. Also, it is very meditative. I guess that's why it's called a zentangle.

Maybe you've already seen these, I don't remember if I showed them to you or not. I did these for myself a week or so ago. It had been awhile since I painted anything, and I missed it, so I picked out a few little things that had caught my eye and gave them a try:

This one happened during that creativity workshop that I watched the recording of yesterday. Jill the Artist was leading us through making collages. She wanted us to find a head and make a character. I had a couple of birthday cards I'd made that I didn't really like. I keep the stuff I don't much like because sometimes you can repurpose it, and that's what I did here. I made myself a little spring chicken wearing a flowerpot skirt.

Finally, you probably know that I have a couple of little things that I do every month, a zine and a calendar. The zine is a specially folded paper that creates a little book, or zine, and I use one page per week to make notes about what's happened, what books I've read, and what I've listened to or watched on TV. I decorate a the cover with some art. Here's my April zine cover:

Oh yes, Jill taught me about zines, too. I have quite a collection now. One thing I'd like to do in April is get a little box just for the zines I've made. It's fun to pull out a random zine once in awhile. I started doing them when I went to Greece in 2022, one for each day we were there. I made one each month in 2023 and so far in 2024 as well. I also made one for each day we were on our trip to France and Spain last year. I get a lot of joy out of these silly little things. It's kinda like my journal, just more portable.

Here is the wee calendar for April. I crack myself up calling it a "wee" calendar because I put it on the shelf in my bathroom. hahahaha

That's all for tonight! Take care of yourselves, and don't be an April fool!

xo