Frost, Sleet & a Bit of Snow


Last night the ambient temperature dipped. 
In the morning, there was a thin layer of frost to clean off the car windows before I left for the out and about errands, get windshield wipers and a vehicle inspection. Nearer noon, I had to prepare for an hour's drive to pick up a lovely desk chair found on Craigslist.
Side note...windshield wipers are expensive!

Yesterday and last night I had to relax as well as be careful what I ate. I need to make sure nothing is going to give me issues with cramps and such because that triggers an anxiety attack. Anxiety will trigger cramps. I also don't wear any cologne or turn on the car radio lest they also trigger an anxiety surge. I don't take anti anxiety medication if I am driving. I suffer through it. That is why I prepare so carefully days before.

On the road home, I feel good. Rest a short while before leaving again, check the map again,  pack up and off I go. The weather forecast is a possible wintery mix. It was sleeting lightly when I got in the car.

The scenery is outstanding, open fields, cattle, cows, rolls of hay, bare branches, green grasses, old houses, newer houses. I'm happy and amazed how much of Vermont is undeveloped. About 20 minutes into the ride, the sleet stops. Clear skies, good dry road. And more road. Near Orwell, asphalt is being put down on the northbound lane. There were 2 stop stations when I went through. Made it a little late, but got the chair and head back home. Fair Haven is a cute town.

On the trip back, the asphalt area is one stop, and mere minutes waiting.  

Why did it feel like such a long drive there, and a really short drive home?
I have no clue.

As I enter Addison, Vermont, I see a huge cloud over and below Snake Mountain like a white fluffy blanket. It was gorgeous. No photographs because there was no safe turn off.

I stop at the grocery store to get something for dinner.  I get out of the car and it is light snowing. Salmon or beef? I got both. I can make stew tomorrow. Looking for tarter sauce because I like dill with fish, I found none. Instead I got dill relish.


It is nearly 4 PM EDT. I'm exhausted.

How was your day?

Well, Now That Halloween Is Over...

 


As it goes via the Retail world in America,
herded from one holiday to another,
we are officially in the retail Christmas Season!

Happy Holidays!


A Week Versatile, Hello November


This week is black bean chili time, the first bowl of the cold weather season. 
Adding broth and more vegetables (spinach, zucchini) to the chili, then it will become chili soup. 



The spot of green in the photo catches my attention. 

This will be a picture for a composite to paint from. 

Learning how to paint open water is a dream of mine.



 Welcome November!

November is the month my poetry heart loves most, moody, mysterious, windy and a cold that rushes right through the soul.

I will not be posting an audio version of my reciting Poe's poem, "The Raven." I did a couple tries, and trust me, they are horrible, and deleted. I just couldn't get Vincent Price out of my mind. He does the best Poe voice ever. Instead, I will post a reading from a myth or something I write based on a true story.

On the 2nd holiday vibe Monday, I almost forgot I'm going with that attitude. I had such a lazy time of it last week, there is catch up to do. I'm feeling better, (shots done for the year), depression lifting enough for me to sneak out from under it, and allergies no longer bringing me sinus discomfort. This week has a versatile agenda on the home front. Being busy will be a change from October's quietness.

How is the view of your November?


P.S. In the good news slot, I think I've found a good bar stool for my easel area. I like to stand when I paint. A stool gives me a place to rest and think. Chairs are too low.

P.P.S
Tip: Using Google Voice, you can call yourself to find your cell phone.

Day 301 of Week 43 in October 2023


Another Vermont field in Autumn.

Scrolling through pictures, the date or where the image is captured is no longer with the details


Snow Geese. I didn't go to the Dead Creek Wildlife Area to see the geese. This season I've not been to the ususal places I visit yearly.


The foliage around town is about the stage of  the maple. There is something about the golden leaves and dark branches that feels classy. At this lower elevation, there is a foliage vibe of a comfy knit throw around my shoulders that I don't sense when I'm in the mountains at peak foliage. Maybe being close to home is what generates that atmosphere of warmth.


I've been up into the wee hours watching videos. That means rising later in the morning for a shorter day. My YouTube watching days are settling like a pond with an old log surfacing enough for turtles to sun themselves. I know why the latest surge of depression. The goal is to push through it by putting aside daydreams, and working on the reality at hand. The canvas in the other room.

Sun Shining on the Floor Is Not Good For Fallen Gray Hair

 Disclaimer...I am attempting to be humorous about aging.


Any day now I will not be surprised to read about a study that seeing gray hair on the floor when the sunsines through the window means you have a ten percent chance of passing away early in the morning. 

It feels like every time I am happy with something or notice something about the stages of aging I am going through, there's a blankety-blank blank study that indicates it  may cause a stroke, heart attack or takes ten years off my life. It is getting so the older I become, the less likely all that will matter. I may not have ten years to deduct. 

I need my greasy crisp food! I can't go without a crunch for long. Celery and carrots don't count. I want the flavor of grease and spices in my food sometimes. And another thing, fruit sorbet will never replace coffee ice cream! 

After getting the new covid booster shot the other day, today is the first time I can use my right arm without discomfort. Last night I was feeling poorly. Today I feel fine. I don't know what happened. Sleep maybe?

I should be at the canvas painting today. Sorry it is taking me so long to get really started on the fall series. This is Friday. For me it feels like Tuesday.

Have a Crunchy Comfy Weekend!

Sing anything you feel like singing
Cook apple pancakes
Draw a map of your ideal town
Tell a brick a funny story
Make a fun mask
Mark up a tee shirt with weather symbols
Consider going to church
Pray for Peace

Blogging Changes


How well we communicate with each other is always important. In this wider global cyber space, words can become scrambled in cultural differences. What can't be tossed around, at least shouldn't be, is respect for each other. As blog land groups coalesce into a tribe of like minded people, the experience can be weird to explain to non-bloggers how you can feel friendship with a person you have never met face to face. I believe people miss out on a good part of planet Earth society by not reading blogs authored by regular people living sort of regular lives. 

Regular lives. Thinking back to my early computer days. Downloading terrified me. I didn't grasp photo sizes and computer memory. Happily one day I decide to download a photograph of a nebula. My system froze because the size of the photograph was essentially bigger than my computer's memory storage. I mean the photo was huge. 

A few years later, I began blogging. I decided early on that I only need to learn enough to do what I want to do, type, send, copy, paste, read email, send email, stuff like that. The journey has been interesting. Now I'm dealing with voice recognition applications. I do not use Siri. I tried it a couple of times. Not diggin' it. If hear my system talk to me, then I shut it off. 

However, I am now experimenting with my computer's recording feature. 

The first audio blog post is back in the Draft folder. I had a surge of shyness. 

What do you think of recording your blog posts?


Audio of this blog post
 

P,S,
Day 2 of covid booster shot, not feelimg so great. Iced injection site as arm is really tender. I tend to be wimpish when feeling yucky. Craving Hagen Das coffee ice cream. :)

The Why Photograph

A Squished Pinecone*

Do you feel sorry for everything that shows trace vulnerability? 
Think berry picking. Passing up or tossing the ones that are damaged in some way. Do you think about how a person can relate to not being the perfect one on the branch? 

What's this all about? Well, it is like this. On a slow autumn afternoon, as I lightly recover enough energy to accomplish more than I have been, I look once again to old pictures for a get-a-better-attitude boost (shove actually). There has been a lot of thinking going on here.

I posted a poem born out of this mood of mine on my poetry blog, Coffee Frappes & Seashells, A Pervading. The line that sticks with me is...flitters like a dry leaf, clinging to a dead tree.Those words describe how I feel. The mood is the result of pressing myself to figure out how to turn old habits towards the horizons in life that I face, (largely facing the sunset.)
Take a simple thing like a squished pinecone on the driveway to analyze why I stop to take a photograph. Why blares in my brain. Am I just an eccentric artist? I could be. After all, I am a septuagenarian. That comes with a ten year free to be anomalous me license. 

Over thinking can be entertaining.

How are your autumn afternoons going?


*Taken circa 2004

Holiday Gift Ideas

Unhitching the pumpkin vibe, and attaching pinecones to your October mind set is a good idea because the starting line for the holidays is behind us. I will post a few gift idea lists now and then.

Like the signs posted as you enter a town. 
Adorable attached to a gift basket. Love these!

Macaroon Glass Ornaments package of 4
Have a Francophile on your gift list?

Marachino Red Cafe Retro Butter Bell Crock
Put a splash of red on the table.

Knitted Mug Design Made to Order
Classy mug with knit designs on a 4-6 week turn around. Order early

24 inch Sleigh Shovel at Home Depot
I also see using the shovel to haul in a grocery bag.

Vermont Shepherd (Verano) 1/8 Wheel Wedge
Made in Vermont from 100% sheep's milk. 
Think of a summer field gracing your winter cheese board

Speedball Block Printing Starter Kit
Encourage creativity and fun


A New Pumpkin, Monday & Biscuits


The new profile pumpkin is larger with a tilt in a richer orange hue. The previous  pumpkin is centered more. The background is darkest teal. It took a few changes to soften the background color. It still shows as black. 

I learned that when you from the start, type your text in the HTML view, the position of the text will be tricky to position. Start typing the post in the Compose view for easier text placement.

My first Monday with the end of a long weekend vibe, starts out well. I got up and dressed without whining about it. As the first meal of the day, brunch is prefered because it combines two meal times, and gives me a chance to unfold. Funny, since a kid, getting up in the morning has felt to me like unfolding a popup greeting card. Anyway, no errands are planned in honor of the faux holiday Monday spirit.

Achievement. What will I do when my week really begins? Right away I know I will be painting, (probably today). Puttering, laundry, writing, and a small goal. Biscuits. I've wanted to learn how to make good biscuits for years. It is such a simple recipe. Yet, each try has been blah. I'll give it another go, and post how it goes on Friday.

What are Your goals this week? Small or large.