the face in the window and other things...

the face in the window

This is the little face that greets us these days at all hours of the day and night. We call her Olivia (for Oliver the orphan who always asked for 'more please'). She is one of the feral cats that come by to eat, drink, or just rest in our yard. She is a tiny little thing and very skittish... but she seems to have a limitless appetite for one so small (and she will smack any other cat that comes by and tries to take her food).  We think that she may have a litter somewhere although we have never seen any kittens.

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Nothing else going on besides the current pandemic updates... which are a bit depressing, so won't go there today.

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I try to complete at least one specific chore each day (more on good days). Today I went through, cleaned up, and threw out all my old pottery pieces, old clay, and boxes that had accumulated in the corner of our front room. Since we had to clean out our lockers and shelves at the studio, everything had to come home that one day that they allowed us in a few weeks ago. And since we don't know when the studio may open again, it's best to get rid of all the excess junk. My poor little cheeky chickens that were sculpted during the early days of this pandemic may have to remain greenware for a while  (which - like Pinocchio - means they won't be able to become 'real' for a bit)

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And lastly, here's a glympse of my early birthday gift to myself:

Joanne's kitchen towels!

You can't see it... but the aqua almost matches the grout color between the blue tiles. 

Birthday Towels for me 
and
Peanut butter Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies for the boys!

It's a good day...

Wishing you could all drop by and share some cookies and tea (or coffee) with me, but I guess virtual tea/coffee will have to do. 

Hugs,

Rian

from dump cakes to face masks...

my peach pecan dump cake (for Debbie if you're reading)

Today is Tuesday... and this morning was the first time I've been in a grocery store since this whole mess started. We had to return something that we'd bought online - so we decided to go to Walmart at 6:30 am when they opened for the 'elderly' (and of course it was raining and thundering this morning). But I have to admit, there was no one there - maybe 10 customers (all elderly and masked) in the whole store - so it was pretty safe and easy.

And this is my new 'cough suppressant' drink that my friend in N.O. told me try 3 times a day.  I'm doing it. It's not at all bad... just hot water, lemon, and honey. We were Skyping yesterday and I kept coughing. Explained to her that I have had a 'radiation' cough since 2000 and that it had gotten a bit worse lately. She was a nurse in her younger years and recommended I try this. So I shall. 

And lastly, I will tell you a funny story... not funny ha ha, but funny to me...  along the lines of  'build it and they will come'. 

I've been sewing masks for family and friends for a while now. I'm not a great seamstress, but found a few patterns that I could do (and I have lots of quilting material). Anyway, we all have 3-4 masks each now and I continue to make them as I have a feeling  that we may need them for a while yet. 

Anyway, I had these 5 women's masks (there are different sizes in the cone shaped ones for women, children, and men).  So this morning I thought... perhaps one or 2 of my pottery friends would like one. So I sent out a message to the group. Within a few minutes all 5 had been taken and I now have an order for a few men's sizes for husbands.  Who would have thought? Anyway, it's fine. I like making them and it makes me feel like I'm doing 'something' to help. 

I'm going to close with a picture of a pale pink scarf I knitted a while back. I love the scarf (and the color), but had not 'blocked' it... so it continuously curled up when I wore it. I finally got around to blocking it... and it was a simple procedure. Don't know why I didn't try it sooner.

Guess that's it for today. Hope you all have a good week... and that in your area the numbers are going down. Here they continue to climb... 454 new cases in our county just yesterday and the 4th of July holiday coming up! 

(The 4th of July was always my birthday celebration as a child. My birthday is July 6th so mama always had a family picnic out by the lake on the 4th  for my birthday). This year both DH and I will hit the big 7- 5!  I have mixed feelings... great to reach this age, yes? But my dad died at 75, so bittersweet in some respects.

Take care, stay home, wear a mask, and be safe!

Hugs,

Rian

Father's day 2020

Happy Father's Day Dad!

My dad was born in London in 1907. His family moved to the U.S. in 1920 where he grew up, met mom, married, raised his family, and passed away in 1982 at 75.  He was a good man, a wonderful husband, and a loving father... and I still miss him dearly.

my life through posters...

I can live with this... 

and this!

And I fully intend to continue to do this, but many days the following poster is more accurate:

I have finished reading all the 'real' books I have... and just finished the last new one I had on Kindle.  Hmm...mm, I may have to re-read some of my old favorites now. 

(BTW, if anyone needs a book to read, you might try my "Time After Time' by D'Arcy Regan Hart on Kindle  - also available in paperback on Amazon.  And I appreciate all of you that have read it as I've gotten quite a few hits lately! Thanks again!)

Have also started 'sorting' my online pictures into albums. This could take quite a while. Procrastinating when it comes to cleaning out and putting away all my pottery equipment and heaven help us, cleaning out the garage... 

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. We may actually get some rain (needed here) tonight or tomorrow.  As always, thanks for reading. Please stay home and stay safe! 

Hugs,
Rian

it's come to this...

Watching the number of cases going up daily in our area, I decided that if we were going to have to 'shelter at home' for the next 6 months or so (and it looks like we may), then I need to plan what we'd like to accomplish during this time.  

And if the second wave of this virus is worse - as some say it may be (and with the memorial weekend, 4th of July, businesses opening up, and the protest marchers, how can it not be?) then perhaps we need to make even more 'in depth plans'.

I'm really 'not afraid' - but IMO, it is the time to be cautious. I know that this is a new virus and we are learning more about it each day - but I tend to be 'science minded' and for me it's also common sense to wear a mask and physically distance for as long as possible. 

If others don't want to do this, then so be it.  We each have to follow our own instincts. 

As to what these new initiated plans may be, I haven't gotten that far yet. But I'm open to any ideas. Some things are obvious and these involve finishing projects and de-cluttering around the house. But perhaps even talking about what needs to be done if one of us (or both) should fall victim to the the virus. These are discussions we've put off... but probably should be addressed at some point.

A few other posters I saw and thought fit:

Perhaps the new normal is here to stay and we need to stop thinking in terms of  'when this is over'.  If it does leave us, we have no way to know if and when it will return, so accepting these new strange goings on seems to be the way to go.

THEN if for some miracle, it disappears never to return (a naive thought IMO but hey...), we can only rejoice and be thankful!

Sorry, I hope this post wasn't too morbid. I just think perhaps it's time to get real.

(Need I write here that these are only the opinions of one person and anyone disagreeing needs to know that I'm fine with the "agree to disagree" philosophy.)  

Hope all of you have a good weekend... get outside (if it's not too hot)... and try not to be depressed with the situation. Remember that ol' song, "Make just one someone happy... and you will be happy too!"  


Hugs,
Rian

a little kindness...

 

 I didn't have a subject that I wanted to write about today, but I was recently looking at some of our backyard feral pics and decided that perhaps I'd share them with you (some you may have seen before).

These are the ones who frequent our back yard. Most come in from the creek through what we call the 'rabbit hole'... 

Then there are those who jump the back fence (coyotes and bobcats)....  these although less welcome due to their aggressive nature, still show up on occasion.

This one was pictured and video taped this past week. 

He's a pretty handsome specimen.

And then of course I couldn't close without a picture of our Ghost:

... and miracle of miracles, in this one she doesn't have that really mad expression (like below).

Hope all of you have a wonderful rest of the week! 

Hugs,

Rian

Oh, I forgot... here's a pic of the banana nut bread I made Sunday:

great recipe from King Arthur cookbook!

2020 streaming graduations, achy bones, and finding joy...

Grand daughter's streaming graduation June 2020

Got to watch our grand daughter's high school graduation in the hill country Friday evening! Knew we wouldn't be able to attend, but didn't realize that they would stream the graduation. It was great to be able to see what was going on without actually being there. 

We could see her clearly both in the overhead picture where they showed the graduates alphabetically and then when she was called up to receive her diploma. Daughter and son-in-law who were in the stadium said that we could probably see better than they could... (plus it was HOT in the stadium). We sat and watched it in A/C comfort from our sofa 5 hours away. I was impressed with the streaming!

I do wish they had worn masks.... but they didn't. However, they did TRY to do social distancing. 

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When I awoke this morning, it was one of those 'Oh God, I'm old' moments... where you feel tired and achy and not exactly refreshed and alert. But up I got and made myself a cup of peppermint tea. Ghost was sitting there in the kitchen hoping to get a drop of cream... so of course I indulged her (being the only cat now she is so spoiled - but then they all were).

Then I walked through to the front room. Sun was shining through the window and makes such a soft glow on my little flock of  Cheeky Chickens sitting on the shelf... the new ones waiting to get fired but the how and when to be determined since the campus is still closed. Our pottery group zoomed last week - about 6 of us anyway (first time zooming for me). It was nice to see all those faces again.

Turned on the TV and set the channel to the Sunday news.... more reviewing of all our troubles (past and present) and I thought, 'no, I can't listen to any more of that... not now, maybe later'. 

Turned off the TV and wandered into the kitchen. Have some bananas that are getting ripe... and some walnuts. Maybe I'll make some banana bread today.  

Don't know about you, but there are times when I need to feel 'normal' (new normal, old normal, any kind of normal).  A hair cut might help, but even though the places are open again, I'm not ready to re-enter that scene.

With racial unrest, protests, the pandemic, and now hurricane season starting... if we don't find time to step back and find time to assimilate and readjust, it's possible we could lose our 'joie de vie'.

So, hopefully you will find a way to keep your joy of life through these strange days. We are all different and must find our own paths...  and maybe our postings will help another in some small way. (I found these posters on Pinterest - an interesting site. if you've never checked it out, you might enjoy it.) 

Thanks for coming by. Wish I could offer you tea or coffee... but then, I can't even do that for family and friends these days.

Hugs,

Rian

updates... virus, riots, DH, funny pets and funny kids

Dallas county update for June 2, 2020

Just saw this on the news this morning. Our numbers (Dallas county) are back up to 200+ new Covid 19 cases daily... but no deaths (that's something).

And of course the protesting is on the news constantly now also. This is OK. People have a right to protest! And there's certainly a reason to protest. However, I do draw the line at looting and damaging property.  IMO it negates the power of the protest. But of course it's the few, not the majority that cause the problem - and it's a shame as these few could possibly ruin the good that could be accomplished. 

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Also DH went to see the Oncologist yesterday. It was his first visit after his radiation treatments. I asked him to be sure and ask the doctor if he thought it would be safe now for us to get together with family (kids and grandkids). 

I see others doing this and even saw pictures on Facebook of some of our family in New Orleans getting together with their grandkids. 
I really don't mind the "sheltering at home" so much... but do miss being around the kids. However, I do realize the risk and know that it may be too soon. 

Anyway, the doctor said he would recommend waiting another month... and see how things go.  

It's all seems so strange... but we will do what we have to do.

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And our daughter sent me this video of their cat trying to get their old dog to play...

It's pretty funny. Gizmo (the cat) is young and extremely playful and Willow (the dog) is old and very patient.

Also my grand daughter who is 7 was texting me this weekend. She has 8 fish... and was telling me what kind they were.... and sending pics on the phone. DH was concerned because she said that she had Tetra in the same tank with some others and he was afraid that the Tetra would eat the others. 

So I texted her "what do you call a Tetra?"  meaning that I needed to see a picture of what she called a Tetra. Well, she was quiet for a while (I guess thinking about what I'd asked). Then she texted me: 

(DH and I got a good laugh out of that)

grand daughter

Thanks for sharing my world... such as it is. Now I will start reading your blogs and step into yours! 

Have a good week. Stay home and stay safe...

Hugs,

Rian