180 out...

there were two folding chairs that the maternal unit moved with her a couple of years ago. Covered in a printed plastic, the seats did not last long before splitting.  Luckily I have some experience in this AND I find it fun.

The first on had 80+ staples. The second one was over 100.

Cheap looking wood grain plastic cover, kind of looked like shelf paper!

Top was the old, bottom done in the new. Quite fun and less than an hour to complete.

Species identity disorder?

so I've joked for years about calling my kids 'dogs'.  It started with mis speaking and saying I had to get dog food. Well, apparently my youngest took it to heart. He's developing dog like attributes.

Uhhh see my belly?

Oh yes,  have your attention...

If you please, I would be ever so delighted to have you scratch my belly. It's soft and I'll roll on my back and wiggle adorably. You really can't resist. In fact, if you'd get that back scratcher thing and tickle me all over, I'd make that furgasm noise.

Please?

I shouldn't have done it.

I knew it would happen if I did it and the fact that I didn't plan it doesn't matter.

I was alone last evening. So no real dinner, no routine.
This is how I came to be available to watch "a million little things". I'm not sharing a secret when I say it's about the after effects of suicide.

I've never seriously considered suicide. I've been depressed but never so severely that I planned to off myself.
However, I'm dealing with schmucks at work on a daily basis and an elderly parent as well as yet undiagnosed issue with Blueman.
Then the show continued showing the little details in the lives of those people in that group of friends. I don't want to get involved. There will likely be more tears and drama and I just don't need that. I already spend enough time aware of my mortality.

I remember when I thought thirty or forty was old. Now... Old is like ninety.

I need to enjoy more about my days and get back to my quest for zen. Tears are a catharsis but I can't live in that realm.

Let's go find the beauty in the day!

Books. I love books.

so Blueman ordered a bunch of books the other day. I took pictures just because.

Not really my cup of tea, but interesting all the same.

Well yesterday another one came and I picked it up. Read about 80 pages before bed. Not my usual choice but it held my interest for sure.

He raises a good point about Christianity and Islam. And similarities between Christians and Muslims.

And when I want an easier read, I'm going to work on this one....and the five others that are patiently waiting.

Hope you get a chance to sit and read a spell.

Tuesday happenings...okay a rant

i picked up my iPad to decide if I have time to post and a commercial came on. No, not a political one though there are certainly enough of those. It was a commercial for cosmetic surgery. I've seen it before, even gone on the trek with their tag line "what would you change about your body if you could?"

Today it hit me wrong. This heavily made up older woman wants to erase wrinkles because they age her. No, your years of being alive age you.

Another one has three ounces of fat in her tummy that she wants removed. Really?

Yet another wants a boob job to 'balance' her out. She had a perfectly good figure.

I get if you have a big deformation that you might want help with it.  But why do we worry so much about looks? The woman who wanted boobs had hideous yellow fingernail polish. It was glaring in its shock of color. Just goes to show you that people's vision of beauty can be way different than mine.

Am I happy with my body? No. Is it my fault that I'm in the shape I am? Yup. I don't think I'll spend any money getting surgical help with my issues until I decide to do something myself.

So that's my rant. We're beautiful. Even if our beauty doesn't match.

My boys surely think so!

Monday...comes around every seventh day...

the weekend is over.
Some things were accomplished, some not.
Took another step kicking and whining into bettering my spiritual health.  It went well...or as well as I would allow.
Blueman had an episode and in the moment you just focus on what needs to be done. It's later when you start thinking about the what ifs.
I'm not sure if I'm refreshed and mentally prepared for the day/week. I have to be "on" and it's been years since I took that mindset instead of just being one of the 'afflicted'. It's a set of shoes that definitely need to be dusted off and used gently until I figure out if I even want to walk that path again.
So the search for zen, still ongoing.

Let's all look for the peace and love, baby!

Do I dare?

Do I dare to love myself this much?

We as women especially find it difficult to love ourselves. Likely because we are busy taking care of others, worrying about things outside our control and/or never got our share of positive reinforcement in our developing years.

I'm blessed with Blueman who thinks I'm something special even when I think I'm nothing special. I don't dare get too arrogant, though because the line of folks who'll knock me down to size gets longer every day.  But he's my biggest supporter and leads the charge on the I love my wife train.

On my quest for zen, maybe I'll skip by the love yourself store and scoop up a couple of handfuls of that stuff.

Then I'm gonna get some pizza!

Finger fun.

As promised ( to me) I worked on my toes a little and did some finger fun.

This time it's peacock feathers.

I wore a matching outfit and might have one or two that won't clash too badly.

I never use all the pieces I'm given. I keep threatening to use up the leftovers all at once. That would be ridiculously tacky! But hey, my new zen self would not worry at all!

The Halloween ones are available. Perhaps I need to do little ghosties next!

It's not a terroristic act... Really.

Yarn bombing....the action or activity of covering objects or structures in public places with decorative knitted or crotcheted material, as a form of street art.

Yesterday a friend gave me this...

Times 12

Yes, I believe there to be six two-packs of Christmas yarn in there.

She tells me she didn't like how it crocheted up, and offered it up. Then the conversation turned to yarn bombing. And then where to do said bombing. We joked that the fence outside of church would be fun, only I meant the back fence and she meant the front fence. 

So I agreed if she got permission for the front fence, then I'd be in charge of creating the detonators and another gal said she help set the charges! 

Now my mind is awash with options. I'm thinking of a four inch wide garland with maybe some tacky crocheted balls dangling from it. Interwoven between the thin metal fencing.

Or... Small squares tied on like quilt blocks....or a strand of circles....

Nothing better than yarn sliding through your fingers as you crochet your way through a project...

Or maybe plotting the project itself. 

Way zen!

Are you jelly of my roll?

saturday was national jelly roll day or some such thing.
I knew I couldn't make one that day so I appeased my inner quilter with purchasing one as my next easy peasy project.

I knew I wanted black and white. But the one I picked up first paled in comparison to this one.

The gray looks silvery and seems very satiny.

A quarter turn and it's still lovely.  No more pics of it until the unwinding and sewing starts. I sat at graph paper and plotted out a plan. Of course that's today's plan. Next month it may be different. As the month after that!

First, looking and plotting.

Second, opening and touching.

Third, we'll trim, cut, sew

Fourth, reevaluate!

Finally decide and finish!

That's the zen design way!

What I did on my afternoon off...

I left work ninety minutes after my usual lunchtime. I'd gone in an hour earlier than normal. I'd forgotten snacks. So all of this to say I was hangry when I left...I didn't want to wait for a dine in, sit down, wait for twenty minutes meals....

I should have just waited instead of going to my favorite park and eat place!

(The good news is that my little shout wipe got this out.)

BUT, I did also get laundry mostly done, I cuddled with a boy or two, enjoyed alone time because Blueman was out with an old friend and I got back to some Christmas ornaments.  

Having fun coming up with ideas on the fly. And by starting now, perhaps I'll actually finish by Christmas!

Cross stitching is not a fast task. You don't finish in five minutes. You can focus on little x's and before you know it, that stress bone you were chewing on has been discarded as you push needle to and fro...

Zen, anyone?

The quest for zen...or maybe The Quest for Zen!

I have become persona non grata at work. The enemy, the odd man out, the Benedict Arnold if you will.  Things have been sketchy for awhile but since I requested a process change that management approved, my coworkers are holding me as culpable to all the bad mojo in their lives.  It took me a couple of days to realize I'm not being spoken to. Now that seems junior high behavior to me, especially if you add in the whispering, silently pointing to screens in some elaborate silent language and over all deliberateness to their actual conversations. It's childish.

So, this next week will be devoted to zen. Calm. Chill.  I didn't start the war and you can't pull me in.
I'm going to search out the happy places. Find joy in the small things.

Tomorrow I'm going to work on my outside beauteousness (not a word but in the world if zen, words just happen, or so I'd like to believe).  Fingers and toes are up!
Today it's communing with my ladies of the fiber arts.

Step one -know your allies and support system. When Blueman was unavailable I forgot I had another friend or three to help me!

Sometimes you have to back yourself into a safe place and consider your next move.

Then step out boldly while others admire your tenacity. Or maybe while others just aren't bothered by you. Whatever!

Happy Zen hunting to you!

No time to post

So just take a moment and enjoy gratuitous pictures of beautiful roses.

Because who doesn't love a beautiful flower?

A more verbose person might wax on about how we as humans are like these flowers. Only open and vulnerable under the right circumstances. The rest of the time we might remain folded and shielded...but this isn't about that. It's a pretty pic of God's creation.

Enjoy!

Photography for dummies

I could say the receptionist was pushing me but really she was just there patiently waiting.

I could say it was a new phone but really I've had this phone for four years.

I could say it was an oddly shaped subject but really, I've taken pictures of my fingers, cars, bushes and cats.

I have no excuse why I couldn't get a good all in one picture.

Got the balloon in....

Got the edible arrangement in and only a cheesy grin from the balloon.

My customer sent us an edible arrangement today! Quite cool! I did share with the office. It was the right thing to do even though I considered hoarding it all to myself!

When asked why we were so blessed I responded, "they just like me!"

It's not entirely untrue!

what I do for fun..a short recycling pictorial

Bread sacks make excellent litter bags. 

This is probably coo on for most folks. So I gather up all of Bluemans plastic bags...

 

Fold them nicely and pitch those with holes...

And they go into the haven of saved sacks with their brethren.

If we don't use them I do actually recycle them. 

And that's what I do for fun, what about you?

Oh those crafts part two

Some of this went on...

Then some of this went on....

And more of this finally

And puff just turned his back, ahem tail on the whole thing!

Unexpected funnies

My coworker asked me where I went for lunch so I thought I'd show her my cup, expecting the name to be listed. She frowns, looks at me and says, "it looks like a butt."
I then frowned and looked at the cup from her angle. Sure enough there was no lettering and she was right. It did look like a tush.

Kinda does look like a bottom if you didn't know it came from Wendy's 

What an unexpected funny! 

I'd call this a finger fail.

Strictly to help a coworker with her new little business, I bought some finger polish strip things.

The first ones I tried were fun. Fairly easy to put on. Cute.
Then came a set I chose. Glitter dipped. I don't like them.

 

They looked okay. But the glitter is pieces and not just paint so it is rough and not smooth like the first type I'd had. I am going to try and keep them on for the full week but it will be tough.

But they looked awfully pretty while sewing!

Form versus function!

oh those darn crafts part one

Before my long weekend, I had a list of some projects I wanted to complete. I wanted to go through my closet and ditch some clothes. That is halfway done. I have to do pants today and I HATE trying on clothes. I did remove a box from the craft room closet and donate three skeins of yarn to my favorite crocheter (maternal unit). The craft room, pic below, got straightened and sorted.

I was determined to donate these two containers of yarn but alas...I couldn't relax my grip yet. I did part with others not pictured so part of that goal was realized.

And, the most horrible thing happened. After two days of errands and working diligently on my goals, I did the unthinkable.  I may have started a new project. Arrrrgggg! Say it ain't so!

What's on your WIP list?

My boys.

so I'd been gone an hour getting groceries. I came back and was home for a couple of hours while the maternal unit did her laundry. When I sat down, this is what happened!

They like me, they really like me!

My way of trying to get Blueman to put his toys away by piling the drill bits on top of his gun stuff backfired. Griffin decided he like the fabric and curled up there to sleep. Arg! Foiled again!

While sewing, I looked over and saw two hind paws popping out from underneath the curtain on the window seat. Winkadoo was catching some sun and relaxed himself off the edge!

Happy Labor Day! Hope yours was as relaxing!