Need I Say More?

Kids were able to come home after all.

Arrived 10:30 last night

Need I say more?

but of course.....

Happy Thanksgiving!

Whizzing By

No, not Howie whizzing...

LIFE

I am in great need of comfort food tonight 
so I whipped up this and will add some eggs,
and a cup of HOT HOT Coffee

I'm sure all of you post 50, remember sitting somewhere

with your elders and listening to their talk

of the time flying by and the poor condition 

of the youth of the times.

Maybe it was the front porch of a grandparents'

home or around the dining table as the "women folk" cleared

the table after a Holiday meal.

BUT it does fly by as we age.

but WHY?
Why does change speed up?
Are we racing to the inevitable finish line?

My summers pre teen went on forever.

There was camp, vacations and long,

 long summer days and nights of playing hide and seek

and playgrounds and tree climbing.

Graduation of DD was 18 months ago.

I started the blog right before she left right?

(6 + years ago!?)

DS just changed jobs in LA.

Didn't he just move there?

(Nearly 3 years ago!?)

Now 21 years after moving into this home

with a 3 and an 8 year old,

I am overhauling the exterior so it will be 

unrecognizable to some.

Just the removal of the big tree

has caused some to whizz on by in error.

All the vintage stuff scattered

on the front porch and around the yard

has been removed or reduced.

Thanks to pal Sue who "shopped" here yesterday

I know it found a good home.

Change is sometimes good, change is sometimes sad

change is sometimes rapid.

The only certainty IS change.

21 years ago when my husband and I bought

this home we felt that we now owned a mansion.

We walked through the newly framed structure

giddy with excitement and promise.
We had doubled our square footage for
 the same monthly payment. 

My world was certain and true and wonderful.

Those 21 years then whizzed by.

Wheelbarrows full of wonderful memories, 

buckets full of sad days,

and a gallon or two of despair,

have whizzed me right back to my front porch 

in the blink of an eye...
where I sit looking at the house as it is right now
and realizing that after Monday
it will be changed forever.

"It's just the way it changes 
like the shoreline and the sea
but let's not talk of love or chains
and things we can't untie
your eyes are soft with sorrow
Hey that's no way
to say goodbye."
 Leonard Cohen

Make it a good week chickadees

Z

Getting Your Feet Wet

So I shut off the downstairs lights, lock up and head in here to the den to check mail and Howie knows it's bedtime and follows me in but I feel like I've neglected him for days and I have... so busy at work, so I call him over to my chair.. he puts his front paws on my leg and I start talking sweet talk to him, and ruffling his ears and he pees on my bare foot.

                                         

oh Howie

Eisenhower (Howie)                                                                                                                Justice                                                                                                                           

Red Rage

Please explain to me how we can send something

like this 310 million miles, MILLION< I SAID
MILLION miles into space, ten bleepin' years ago,

and yesterday have it get to a pre-determined comet, 

hover there while they are both moving,

 and then drop for 7 hours down onto the comet,

 and attach itself

and start sending data back to earth,

as the comet makes it's way to it's destiny of

burning up in the sun.

AND

we cannot end, or even reduce hunger,

stop wars,

reduce global warming,

or even listen to what 95% of all scientists now

agree is FACT about climate change,

throw all slimy lobbyists out of Washington,

get the Kardashians and their kind off the tube,

agree that great health care is a given, not a privilege,

really-really educate our/all kids well,

or pass a damn bill in our government?

If I started a list with all the bleepin' things

we could and should be doing, 

I would still be typing said list 10 years

from now and very little will have changed, 

and I would have imploded with my red rage.

Let's put all the ignorant, selfish, hateful, self serving people

on the next one going up and let them fry their ass

as they ride their special comet toward the sun.

Giddyup!

so.... it's been a while since I had a rant-

don't mess with my ranting self,

I am savoring my anger..

while at the same time

marveling, no... awe struck that human beings

 are brilliant enough to do such a thing.

10 years!

1/2 the time it takes to launch a child

into happy productive adulthood.

WOW!

Evolution Of A Wiser and Happier Broad

Took a mini road trip to St George, Utah

yesterday with two gal pals.

Gone are the days of long or even several day long

 road trips and a frenzy of buying.

 I happily returned home with this meager selection,

and with memories of 

a delicious lunch and happy conversations
on the road...

As I continue to evolve into the 

woman I wish to be,

I know I need to be wise with whom
 and what I include in my world, 

if I hope to stay true to my goals.

Those of you who have kindly hung around here over

the years know that I have been "internally" downsizing,

even though right now 
I am unable to "externally" downsize

(actually move out of this too large abode)

This means I now have more empty drawers, 

empty closets and my under the bed spaces

are no longer crammed with stuff

and the garage has empty boxes and bins.

All of this makes me soooo happy.

I still have stuff,

don't misunderstand...
I still buy a few selected things,
after much, much, nauseatingly much consideration, 
with apologies to anyone who has to witness me
 giving items "a ride in my cart".

Accumulation however is not desired,

and I am committed to always have FAR

more going out than coming in, until
I only possess what I need, use and adore.

I am not there yet, primarily because to do 
that now would leave me in a house with
many totally empty rooms.
Unless I purchase gym equipment for an entire room,
 roller skates for another, do wall to wall yoga mats
for a third and maybe a hot dog stand for the fourth,
that seems kinda silly.
So I do what I can as I can..
Evolve 

About 12 large boxes and 3 huge bins

of holiday decor left

this house since summertime,

so 1 small box of a perfect hue of wee

reproduction Shiny Brite ornaments came in.
The rest of my road trip stash
 will go into the studio,
to be used in projects, for myself,
 my friends, and the booth.

If I can keep this kind of balance going,

a much wiser and happier gal I'll be.

****
local friends

Ronda and I worked in the booth
 a couple hours today.
We have loads more going up each week,
with the goal being to have 
completed stocking for Christmas by 
"Doodlebug" on December 6th. 

Ronda has the loveliest stocking shaped
wine holders for hostess gifts,
 and gorgeous Holiday themed table runners,
in a variety of fabrics.
 Her last series sold out quickly, so
don't wait too long.
And for your Vintage Loving friends,
her "Vintage" embroidered
caps and tees are best sellers 
and she has them in my favorite color
grey.

Have a great week chickadees

Every time a bell rings....

....Christmas must be near

Starting to fill up the booth.

Doing a major Holiday overhaul soon.

Lovin' me some simple felted trees

I had to make a set of three to keep for me

Obsessed

Today I am giving you a gift..

(you're welcome)

of obsession

I want all of you to be obsessed about 

expanding your brain...

Reading and watching something a mite more

interesting and beneficial than

perhaps your usual fare.

Twisted Sifter

I have become obsessed with this site

and start each day with a visit and a cup of Joe

I may see the most incredible animals from the Amazon,

 proof of horrible climate change or

the effects of gravity.

Each morning I excitedly click on my 

mailbox from them and I am transported

to the world and it's wonders.

Yes, there are some silly links

 but there should be humor in

your day as well and you decide what brain food

you need at the moment.

They send me an "amuse bouche"

of ideas and photos to select from and I am off

the charts, placing new ideas and photos into

my aging brain,

sparking synapsis to function and question

and expand.

I signed up for daily email,

and most days that is enough,

but when I have time to wander,

 I select from the vast archives

and explore.

Feed your brain, your soul, your sense of wonder.

There is always time to return to a friend's photo of

their latest meal on FB, or the latest 

wood pallet DIY on Pinterest,

or the latest celebrity pushing their "latest" 

on the tube.

My daily dose of Brain Food is completed

 before my coffee gets cold...

another obsession...java

Now go feed your frontal, temporal

and parietal lobes

*******

To local gals:

Ronda and I have been working on Holiday

stuff and will be up at Goat Feathers soon,

and in all the coming weeks,

filling up with 

HO-HO-HO

Stop on in to see us...

Halloween and Hummingbird

Kids at party last night

*****

and another video you must see

Hummingbird