Wednesday, March 27, 2024

#2890 three things: a good day


Have you ever seen journal prompts or self-reflection questionnaires that ask you to picture your ideal day? When I see that question, my mind always jumps to a vacation day, but what about an ideal day in regular life? Well, I think I had such a day on Monday. Let me break it down.

1. Morning. Since I was working from home on Monday, I didn't have to get up at 5:00 am. I let myself sleep in until 5:30. The dogs and I went downstairs, I let them out, then I fed them. When they eat in the morning, I drink a glass of water. When they were done with all their activities, we went back upstairs. I took a nice shower and washed my hair, then went back downstairs to make coffee. I got new beans from bougee Harmon's. I like the ritual of  making a nice pot of coffee on  Monday morning, and if I have beans to grind, even better. While the coffee brewed, I put away the dishes in the drainer and from the dishwasher, so the kitchen was clean and clear. All of that happened before 7:00 am, at which time I logged on for work. I did a few things before work, but it all felt really calm and good.

2. Afternoon. Work was work, it was fine. After work, around 4:30 or so, I took the dogs outside to play. The big dogs play Find the Kibbles. I scatter about half a cup of kibbles in the grass, then Mac and Harley snuffle around and crunch on all the little kibbles. While they are using their snoots, Stella and I play frisbee. My smol gurl loves to play frisbee, and she's very good at running, jumping, and catching the disc. It's adorable. Stella could care less about the kibbles in the grass. Mac and Harley could care less about Stella's frisbee, so it all works out. I do about a hundred squats picking up that frisbee LOL. I have also started jumping rope. I'm not good at it, not at all, but it does elevate my heart rate. My max jumps so far have been 19, but the average is currently around 10. Don't judge. I'm nearly 58 years old and it's been decades since I've jumped rope. It's something different to do.

Another thing I did that afternoon was to look at the pots I have out on the deck. I realized that two of the plants are still living, coming out of winter sleep: the Russian sage and a mum. I got my little spade and clippers and did a bit of gardening. I have several pots out on the deck, and I spent a pleasant few minutes thinking about what I might plant in each of them. I really am delighted about the Russian sage. It smells so nice, and the bees love it. I'm pro-pollinator!

5. Evening. On Monday around lunchtime,  I put a couple of chicken breasts in the slow cooker along with a jar of Trader Joe's green salsa and let it hang out for about four hours. The chicken gets tender and takes on the flavor of the salsa. When we are ready, I shred the chicken and sizzle it up a bit in a saucepan, then we have tacos. It is simple and good. MT and I enjoyed a quiet dinner, then I cleaned up the kitchen and came back up to my office room to paint, draw, and write. When I was ready to for bed, I read for ten minutes or so, then dropped off into dreamland.

Here's what I painted:


It's a little birthday card for a friend at work!


It was a simple, stay-at-home day, and I was very content with it. 


Sunday, March 24, 2024

#2889 relaxing weekend


Why do weekends pass so quickly?! How can it be Sunday night already? <<SIGH>> 

On Thursday, I was attacked by a migraine headache. It started out as a wee, low-key pain in my head and very quickly morphed into a vise-grip, eye-watering, nausea-inducing, dizzying hellscape. I was at the office when it came on. There has been some remodeling and painting happening, and I find that the smell of paint is a trigger for me. (Not watercolor paint, though, thankfully!) I came home from work and climbed into bed, pulling the sheets up around my head to block out as much light as I could. I laid (layed, lie??) there for awhile practicing deep breathing, trying to relax myself. Eventually I fell asleep, and when I woke up, the headache and nausea were gone, but I was still a little dizzy and didn't feel totally like myself. That feeling lingered into Friday. That day, I worked at the office until noon, then came home to finish up the day. MT was meeting with our CPA to prepare the 2023 taxes, and I stay home so I can answer questions that might come along that I need to get on my home computer for. After work, I napped some more.

Saturday I felt pretty good. I really wanted to clean the house. It was in bad shape and needed a little care. I only got the main floor done, then I took a nap. When I got up, it was dark and rainy. It was soggy and gray all weekend, and I didn't venture far from home yesterday or today. It felt good to be home. 

The trips to Dixon will be winding down after next month, I think. We will have three more days of estate sale action, then whatever is left will be donated or trashed.  The plan is to stay a total of five days, run the sales for shorter time spans, and use the extra time to load up dumpsters. The whole endeavor has been bittersweet. The most interesting thing about the process has been the reaction of people who come into the house. I can't overstate how much STUFF was in the house. Almost every single person who has come in has said something about needing to pare down their own possessions so their family doesn't have to do what we are doing. I kinda like to think of the house as an inspiration, like don't-let-this-happen-to-you inspiration.

What's coming up this week? I don't have that much going on just yet. Jill the Artist has a workshop on Thursday afternoon that I'd like to attend. It's at 4:00 my time, so hopefully I can leave the office a little early, but if not, Jill records her workshops so I can watch it later. I'd like to go to Trader Joe's this week. It's been awhile and I'm out of some staples like mac & cheese, rice, and tuna. Actually, I made a list today and it is big. Sunday is Easter. It isn't a big event at our house. If the weather is nice, I'd like to go for a quick bike ride. The forecast looks like it might be soggy all week, though. Oh yeah, and it's time for my seasonal clothing swap. Sweater weather is over! I'll keep a few lighter weight sweaters out for days like today, but the heavy sweaters get to go in storage for a few months. YAY!

To finish off the weekend, here is some art I made this week. Jill's prompt was to use black and white, and make something with color as the main thing. I'm not sure I really followed the instructions, but I had a lot of thoughts, so I made four things:


It was fun. I've been really into zen-type doodles lately, like the one in the lower right-hand corner. I'll pick a few to show you next time. I have them in a separate little sketch book. 

Okay, that's it! Have a good week. Be safe out there!

xoxo

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

#2888 three things: spring, taste buds, and happy birthday


 1. Happy Spring! The warmer temperatures and pleasant breezes are welcome in my life. I am delighted by the budding leaves at the tippy-top of my maple trees, the spring bulbs that are peaking out of the ground and showing their wee flowers, and even the extra few minutes of daylight in the evenings. I'm not a big fan of daylight savings time; in the summer, I don't enjoy going to bed when the sun is still in the sky at 9:30 pm, but right now it is fine because the sun goes down around 7:30 or so. 

We were in northern California over the weekend, and it was beautiful there. Trees and flowers were blooming all over the place, and temperatures in the low-to-mid 70s. It was glorious! There is a big magnolia tree in the front yard of the house, and it was an explosion of pink blossoms. 


2. Changing tastes. I read or heard somewhere that a person's tastes in food change every seven years or so. I totally believe this, although I'm less clear on the time frame. There are a couple of examples of this in my life: I didn't eat avocados until I was 50 or so, and now I can't get enough of them. Also, as recently as a year ago, I couldn't seem to go a day without a Diet Coke, and now I don't even like the taste of cola. Who would have thunk it? I think my tastes may be changing again, because right now, all I want to eat is salad and I have a deep yearning to eat roasted vegetables, which is completely out of character for me, an avowed carnivore. I see videos of Mediterranean diet recipes featuring a lot of roasted veg and I find myself thinking, "Damn, that looks good." I don't see myself turning vegan or vegetarian, but I think I'm going to have to explore some new recipes. (I think I just heard my mom fall over in shock.)

3. Happy birthday, T! Yesterday was my son's 26th birthday. He's having a bit of a rough time, struggling with some depression in general and birthday blues in particular. 26 is kind of a big deal, since the government says he can no longer be on my insurance. (He does have insurance that we got through the exchange.) I worry about him, though. He's in a rut, and doesn't seem to know how to get out of it, and it is sad for me to see him feeling sad. He may be a man(child), but he's still my boy.

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

#2887 three things - books

 


I sketched this pile of books back in November 2022 when I got back from Greece. You can see I drew them with a pencil, then went over it with a pen. I didn't do a great job with the eraser. Let's talk about books!

1. The Empyrean series by Rebecca Yarros. MT and I listened to the first book in the series, Fourth Wing, during our January trip to northern California. It isn't my typical fare; this book is a romantasy full of violence and action, and some spicy scenes, too. It takes place in a war college and our heroes and heroines are all dragon riders. The war college itself is a brutal place for the cadets - they go there when they are 20 years old. The world building and the story telling are very good and we were immediately engaged in the story of Violet and her pals. I was able to get the second book, Iron Flame,  on audio in late February (MT got it right away and finished it quickly.) I'm about 95% through it; I expect to finish it tomorrow. The story and characters have captured my imagination, and I especially like the reader. She's good. I'm pretty sure there will be a third book; I hope the author doesn't make us wait too long for it!

2. I like it when the author joins the discussion. I have been reading with #EkpesBookClub for six years now, and it's always good. We are currently reading Loyalty, our fourth book by Lisa Scottoline. The fun thing about this author is that she joins in on our weekly discussion when we read her books.  There is another author who joins our conversations,  and it's freaking cool when they do it. With Lisa (fun fact: we follow each other on Twitter/X, so she's my "friend") joins us, she gives a little background into what she was thinking about when writing a particular scene, and she talks about the research she does before writing a book. Loyalty takes place in Sicily; another book we read, Eternal, takes place in Rome during WWII and the research she did for each book was extensive and fascinating.  

3. OMG my friend wrote a book! No, not Lisa Scottoline, but a person I actually know in real life, my BFF LA! She wrote a book called Guardian from My Dreams. She self-published and it is available from Amazon. I have the ebook, and I think you can buy a paperback version of it, too. I just started reading it yesterday. It is a sci-fi romantasy book. I think it is going to be a sweet story. I am so happy for her and proud, too. Telling a story and putting it out for the world to see is ballsy and pretty awesome. 

Sunday, March 10, 2024

#2886 about the dermatologist, the Oscars, and tax prep

On Friday afternoon, I had an appointment with my dermatologist. It's been six months since I had that basal cell cut out of my chest, so he wanted to have a follow up appointment to make sure it was healing well, and to look at any other things I was concerned about.

The chest scar is kinda gnarly. It is in an awkward spot, and it's pretty fleshy there, so the stitches were a little uneven. Griffin the Dermatologist recommended that I get some scar gel to use on it. I bought Scar Away silicone scar gel at Target, and I will use it faithfully in hopes of lessening the scar. 

While I was there, I had him look at my hands. There are some spots there, particularly one spot on my right pointer finger, that didn't seem right. He agreed that the spots I pointed out were not right; he called them pre-cancerous cells. Using liquid nitrogen, he "burned" the spots. The burning was unpleasant but brief. The worst thing about it is the blisters. I have five blisters on my left hand, including an ugly-looking blood blister, and three blisters on my right had, including that particular spot on my pointer finger. It is on the front side of the finger, and it seems to always brush up against things. On Friday night, I covered most of the blisters with band-aids because they were so tender. Even brushing up against the sheets was uncomfortable. They are okay now, although ugly. 

Griffin said my arms, face, and scalp looked good, and a little mole-like thing I have on my chest is just a new freckle and it's fine too. As a pale redhead, I am relieved. I do have another follow up with Griffin in six months, so I hope everything goes okay with that, then I can just have yearly exams with him. 

Today MT and I spent time preparing for our tax appointment on the 22nd. Since we'll be in Dixon next weekend, we wanted to get most of the information gathered this weekend. I have a an appointment with our CPA tomorrow for my aunt and uncle's taxes. I have gathered up everything I have received  for them. I have their IDs, and all the Trust documents, so we'll see what happens. 

What else? It is Oscar night. I used to make sure I watched every movie nominated for Best Picture. It was a lot easier when there were just five nominees. This year there are ten nominees, and I have seen one of them: Barbie. I've never even heard of most of the nominated films. I suppose I'm just interested in other stuff nowadays. I do like to go to the movie theater, if there is something I really want to see. I saw Barbie in the theater. Mostly I like to have popcorn there. It's so expensive to go to the movies anymore, and most movies come to streaming platforms pretty quickly. I think there are a few of the Best Picture nominees currently available to stream, but I wasn't interested enough to  watch them. Oh well. It's weird to say that I might not even watch the Oscars broadcast.

Next week, the eleventh week of the year, I am looking forward to getting the taxes for the estate done, getting a new windshield, book club discussion, and, of course, going to Dixon again. I am looking forward to being in Dixon because I will get to see both Lizzie and Mama! I am hopeful that we will have a good turnout for the estate sale. I'd much rather sell stuff than donate it or throw it away. 

It's feeling like spring here in SLC this weekend. The temperature right now is around 60 degrees F, but the breeze is cool. I have a couple of windows open to let in the fresh air and release some of the winter staleness. It has been a mild winter, and although spring is just a few days away, I'm pretty sure we will get at least one more snow. It seems there is always an early spring snow right around Easter. It feels nice to know that the season is changing. The maple trees in my back yard already have little leaf buds popping out. I can see the green coming on the globe willow trees around the neighborhood. I want to get up to Red Butte Garden to walk around, but haven't done it yet this year, which is unusual. I normally get up there once a month, even in winter. Well, the month isn't over, so I still have a chance in March. 

I don't have any new art to share, so instead, here is a pic of MT that I took today. He found my sparkly devil headband and wore it around. He'd probably be mortified that I posted this pic, but it's just us, so why not? It's pretty cute:


Have a great week!

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

#2885 I am an artiste (teehee)



Happy Wednesday! Tonight I'd like to share some of the little art projects I have done in the past month. It makes me feel happy to express my creativity in these wee doodles and watercolor pieces.

This first pic is a collage of some little doodles that I sketched in my work notebook. Typically, I'll have a couple of minutes when a report is generating, or if I'm waiting for an online meeting to start. I'll open Pinterest and sketch whatever pops up that catches my eye. The doodle of the child with the dog and the little person in the lower right corner are based on art by Jane Massey. Her illustrations are so cute!

These next five pieces are watercolors that were in response to prompts by Jill the Artist.

In this first painting, the prompt was that it was raining, but not rain. I decided it was raining chocolate chip cookies, and similar to how dust-bowl folks set out rain barrels to catch water, I set out a giant cookie jar to catch cookies. I wanted to make the sky sort of cotton candy-ish colors. This was fun, and I didn't even have to go to Pinterest to get an idea about what I wanted.


The prompt for this one was "floating."  I had a few different ideas, then I referred to Pinterest and saw similar art, and fell for this idea. I thought it would be fun to do and it was! I like the colors of the water and the brave little paper boat with a wee orange flag. I also like the stars. The white pen is quite fun to use!


Jill's prompt for this next one was to choose an object from a cartoon movie and do it however seems fun. I immediately thought of Aladdin's lamp, and dutifully hummed Friend Like Me while drawing and painting. I was hoping for kind of a cubism look; I don't know if that's what I achieved, but I like the way it looks and I had a blast doing it!


The next prompt was a still life. MT and I were in Winnemucca, NV having dinner at a Mexican restaurant near the hotel. I had a beer, chips, salsa, and beans while waiting for the entrĂ©e, and I thought it would make a fun still life. To add to the fun factor, I drew it all with my left hand, though I painted it with my right hand. No, I didn't draw and paint it right there at the dinner table. I took a photo, then used it to do the drawing back in the room. 


The prompt for the next painting was Hershey's kiss. I thought it would be fun to kinda model Picasso's dove carrying a kiss instead of an olive branch. I drew this with my right hand, but in a technique Jill calls "partial blind." Basically, you just look at whatever you are drawing from and only rarely glance at the page. I like my chonky little dove! I'm also a big fan of just smearing some paint on the page for interest and movement.



A couple more...

I wanted to make a co-worker a birthday card with a plant on it, but I couldn't really figure out exactly what I wanted to do. I get my mind going, I pulled out my sketchbook, divided the page in four spaces with some washi tape, and started having fun. The plant on the top left I sketched first, then painted. The rest of them were just straight paint. The one in the bottom right started with flicks of paint. I wet my brush and started pulling it through the paint to make petals. I'm still working on technique and learning what I like. I actually think the flowers in the pink pot were done the same way. It's just fun!


Here is the card that I gave my friend. I painted first, but it seemed kinda flat and lifeless, so I set it aside to maybe cut up for a different project in the future. Then I was writing or reading, and I kept glancing over at the little card. What if I took my pen and sort of zazzed it up a bit? I did that, then set it aside again. I kept looking at it, and I thought that I would be happy if someone gave me that card. I drew the box around it and called it good. 


I say this all the time...I am always surprised and delighted by how much pleasure and joy I get from making these little paintings and doodles. Similar to my journals and planners, the painting and drawing makes me happy now, and isn't it a blessing to find something that makes one feel fulfilled  and creative? I am so thankful to Lizzie for suggesting the trip to Greece for the creativity retreat with Jill, and to Jill herself for the fun prompts. Her Underground group is amazing in their support and kind words. 

xoxo


 

Sunday, March 3, 2024

#2884 last week's trip to Dixon



I have been inconsistent about writing here. I miss doing it, but things get busy and something's gotta give, and it is often this space. Rest assured, my energy and attention is channeled into other creative endeavors. I have been writing a lot in my journal, and it is giving me a lot of joy. Adding little doodles, stickers, photos, and quotes in the journal has lit me up and given me a new layer of love for my favorite book. 

Side note: as I've been going through my family estate in Dixon, it has caused me to ponder my own stuff at home. Although no where near the levels of "stuff" that exist in Dixon, we have accumulated a lot of things in the 20 plus years we have lived in this house. I have at least a dozen journals and planners that I love and look through occasionally. I wonder about what will be done with them when I am gone. Will T look through them and think they are all a waste of time? Lizzie told me that I need to specify what I'd like done with them when I'm gone. I'm pondering that thought. In the meantime, the journals and planners give me such joy right now, and isn't that what life is about, finding joy right now?

The last time I wrote here was 18 February. I'm not going back to recount everything that has happened, but I want to share a few photos of last weekend's trip to Dixon. It was probably the best trip there as far as progress and hope that I've had. Plus, we managed to squeeze in some fun, too. The weather was fantastic, also. Some photos:

This ussie was taken at a rest stop on the west side of Donner Pass. We love the tall pine trees there. It smells so fresh and it is a good place to take a little break. The bathrooms are nice too.


We are getting to see all of the seasons in Northern California. In January, these almond trees were bare. In February, the trees are blooming. The scent in the air is sweet. We saw beekeepers delivering hives to the orchards, and when I hopped out of the truck to take a photo, I could hear the pollinators happily buzzing around. 


We had peacocks at the house in Dixon last weekend! I saw three of them. They live next door at Tommie's house, but they apparently roam around. It's the first time I've seen them out our place. Probably they feel free to roam there since there aren't any cats around anymore, maybe.  They are beautiful birds that make a gods-awful noise.



I mentioned that we managed to squeeze some fun into the weekend. These ussies were taken on Saturday night in celebration of the success of our impromptu estate sale. This first pic is taken at The Pip, a gorgeous little wine bar in downtown Dixon. I wish we ventured in there before this visit! It is so cute and cozy. The owner seems like a lovely person, too. MT and I had a couple of glasses of wine, Lizzie had a glass of bubbly, and we shared a delicious appetizer of baked whipped feta. It was so good. I'm looking forward to going back there next month. (You can see I have a wine blush to my cheeks.)


Our favorite place to eat in Dixon is Dawson's. It is also in downtown Dixon, right across the street from The Pip. We go there for dinner every time we are in town. The food is good, the atmosphere is relaxed, and the staff is friendly. The server who photobombed this pic is fun and cheerful. She told us she remembered us from a previous visit and poured each of us a glass of wine on the house. I kind of adore Dixon, especially that night, when I was feeling all the good feelings. (heehee)


I was going to post some art pics that I've done, but I think I'll save that one for Wednesday. There are several  I'd like to show you. Here is a little preview. It's a card I made for the birthday of one of my favorite co-workers.

I like the simple graphic style. It's based on a mid-century modern poster I saw on Pinterest, and I wanted to give it my own spin. I did it with my watercolor markers. I especially like the shadowing on the stem of the glass. I say this all the time, but I cannot believe how much joy and pleasure I get out of drawing and painting. 

...making a note in my planner right now to post art pics on Wednesday!

xoxo