The vintage 1950-60s decorative metal platter that I told myself I don't need, is now hanging on my wall by the front door. I went back and bought it this week. The $2.50 plus tax, it is worth the smiles.
Don't Need What?
The vintage 1950-60s decorative metal platter that I told myself I don't need, is now hanging on my wall by the front door. I went back and bought it this week. The $2.50 plus tax, it is worth the smiles.
Day 208 of Week 30 July 2024
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| Summer On Lake Champlain |
As the days near the end of July, holding onto the Summer grows stronger. August may prove to have hot days with a hint of autumn blending into the night hours.
Please, let's not rush into fall foliage fever. Already I'm eyeing my comfy socks like they're the last cannoli on the shelf.
What else has been catching my attention? Cargo pants! The more pockets and zippers the more Me I feel. I've always fancied a rugged outdoors look. Sandals this year are another struggle between fashion favorite and arthritis.
About sandals. The first pair of sandals of un-named brand that I bought on sale lasted forever. I bought another pair in a different color. This 2nd season of wearing the 2nd pair, they are not holding up well. This has also happened in knit garments, and other brands. Quality varies.
About Blogging. The decision is to continue this blog on a weekly basis, one or two posts per week. The thought is that if I slow down posting when I'm in a slump, then I can post more when I've feeling better.
Have a Lovely Summer Weekend!
Read about rowboats
Bake a peach pie
Tell an umbrella a silly story
Draw a seagull
Sing to a houseplant
Write a poem about smiling
Change Can Be Difficult
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| Nail Polish Removal after using non-acetone remover |
Sally Hansen Hard As Nails 520 Walk the Plank, nail polish is a soft shimmery light coral. I love the color.
What I do not love is that the removal of that nail polish using the same old remover I've used for decades, doesn't work as it does on other brands!
Scrub and scrub, the polish just does not come off until it has set for a while or I scrape it off with a fingernail or edge of my metal tweezers. Note here, scrubbing with the nail remover exposes my skin to a harsh chemical. Also, wearing it doesn't mean it doesn't wear away. One dish washing will leave the tips bare of polish. When the bottle if finished, I won't buy it again.
I searched on line about the problem. Guess what I learned? Sally Hansen also sells a nail polish remover. To the brand's credit, the prices are very reasonable. Other brands are very expensive.
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| Town Beach Area Lake Champlain |
Another difficult issue to deal with is depression. I've been digging out of a slump for months. This blog shows it as my absences are more frequent, comments fewer, and posts less interesting.
I am considering another blog hiatus because things, when looking at the big picture, aren't the same as past slumps. Things I did to keep my spirits up, televison shows, blog reading, and such, have tanked. I rarely watch TV. The daily computer games I play continue with a get it over with attitude. I rarely watch Facebook reels. And, the sinker, watching YouTube videos has also lost its ability to help me relax. I'm concerned about the dip in what I usually manage to enjoy.
I'm giving it a week to decide. Meanwhile, I've been scouting out plein air paint and picnic locations. I have 3 so far on my list.
Adding, not far from downtown, the Town Beach in Ferrisburgh, Vermont is well kept. It is beautiful place to have a nice picnic.
The turn after Town Beach is Kingsland Bay State Park. That is another beautiful location with more acreage to explore for landscapes.
Vermont is a beautiful state. I'm hoping getting out and about as well as returning to painting will help ease up this depression episode I'm having.
How is your summer been?
A Small Diet Rebellion
Heat, rain, thunderstorms, high humidity week after week, I had it! I tossed away my diet to have a bologna sandwich with mustard on white bread. The cola beverage washed it down well.
Some days ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
Today, a fried bologna with cheese melted in the center sandwich!
I feel like such a rebel.
Ye Olde Kitchen Wall
Recently at a thrift shop I saw an item that brought me back to the 1960s, a brass colored pressed decorative metal plate depicting an assortment of fruits. The style plate is also made with other designs. I almost bought it. I managed a no by remembering how I parted with my copper colored salad molds years ago.
When I saw the coffee cup clock online, my eyes glazed over. It stayed in the box for a few months before I hung it up. I felt very guilty being so frivolous to buy the fun clock.
Today, I realize how much happiness it brings me. Surrounded by kitchen items I use, except for the vintage tin bread pan and cabbage shredder, a good sense of having a room decorated to my liking is important to me. The kitchen more than other rooms is the place where decor gives off home vibes, safety vibes, goodies in the fridge vibes.
Do you have a favorite kitchen wall? Any wall?
Caution: Politcal Post
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| Dead Creek Boat Launch 2017 |
Does 2017 fee like a long time ago?
The day in July 2017 that I took that photograph of the Dead Creek boat launch along Route 17 in Addison, Vermont, there was a Monarch butterfly fluttering around the area behind me. It was a gorgeous bright sunny day with no wind.
On the left behind me in the woods area, there was a wild type of apply tree with ripe fruits. It was a beautiful tree with white blossoms in the spring.
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| Wild Type of Apples 2017 |
After I posted about it here, when I returned, the tree looked like somebody had poured bleach on one side, half tree dead, other half living. I didn't see it blossom again. I think the last time I looked, the tree is dead. I stopped posting about trees after two more over the years that I posted about became damaged.
Nature changes the landscape more than humans do. Our long term damage, however, doesn't recover as well a Nature's own repairs.
The World feels like that poor tree, especially in America. On one front, nobody stirred up things to bring about chaos and violence. On the other hand, violence is supported and encouraged by a political figure who is now suffering from the sick actions of another.
And now I hear in the news report maybe it is time to stop the political violence.
The hypocrisy is nauseating.
Face it, the former president that lost the last election will win the presidential election this year. A man strongly supporting and encouraging violence, will be our next president.
It isn't a matter of you get what you paid for or even be careful what you wish for.
It is what we have supported to be the leadership and atmosphere in America, and the World.
There are at least 2 American women, Clinton and Obama, who can run for president of America and win.
I have no doubt about that.
As it is with the choices we have, Vote!
Do no harm.
Don't play the blame game.
Don't get sucked into conspiracy theories.
Canvas, Gesso & Thunder
I bought cheap pre-stretched canvases in a package from Michael's store. I removed that canvas, and added unprimed 10 ounce cotton duck. During the gesso/priming stage, I learned that my homemade gesso needs more water to flow well. Dry overnight between sanding prepares the canvas for paint. The more gesso, the smoother the surface. I prefer a roughish surface.
The smaller canvases (off frame) are gessoed over to reuse for plein air painting excursions. I need more bug spray for that to happen. Already 3 cans are at their last sputter.
For the outdoors painting sessions, I plan to use a plastic container that seals well. Spritzing water over the paint will keep them from drying out. The covered palettes I've bought, do not seal well enough to prevent acrylic paint from drying out. The problem is finding a sealed container flat and large enough to use as a palette. I may need to use two containers.
☈
About the thunderstorms: Around 9 PM EDT, there was a system that flashed regularly for well over an hour at a location south of Vergennes, Vermont. I can't imagine the horror that must have been for those people and animals that do not like thunder storms. Relentless lightening it was.
In the late afternoon, around 4:30 PM EDT, it was so dark outdoors the outside lights came on. It was a scary 9 PM light. I then began to take regular notice of the sky and weather warnings. The pattern of rage and calm was unsettling.
The rain at times was torrential, sideways sheet of rain almost a white out. There is a lot of flooding in Vermont, Update New York and New England areas where the storms passed through.
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On a side note, Blogger has made changes here in Blogspot. The Add photo has a different format. And, the editing page where you type in, is wonkier than usual. For example, on the Paragraph choices, selecting Normal seems to jump in an extra space. Instead of single space, it adds a double one. Ugh. Try to fix it, makes things worse. The photographs on this post, are all selected to be on the left, not centered.
Thoughts About Patience
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| Shy Sunflower |
This summer is very much into the season with heat, humidity, rain and thunderstorms taking the stage every week. There are times when the National Weather Service radar indicates rain in this area when none has fallen.
Spotty is the word to describe rain this year. It falls from rain clouds that aren't always over the location where I live. The waterfalls tell a different story. They will be running faster from rain farther south.
Not always matching is a part of life that feels more a bother than a process to enjoy.
On the home front, I'm not anxious to make the leap to a new laptop as yet. My patience with tech things is low. The old laptop has quirks. And now the old camera is joining in. I use the photo editing program, Irfanview. For a reason I don't know, photos will be so large they don't fit the computer screen. I have to decrease the size, and then Lock Zoom in the View section.. Add that to the text is always light gray instead of black, and all I want to do is turn the computer off and read a book. The camera's zoom feature has decided close enough is the new rule. It is one Ugh! after another. It is no wonder my patience is thin nowadays.
What about patience? Other emotional conditions don't change, but that one seems to be eroding with me. How do I smooth that developing rough edge? I step away from whatever bothers me. There are many projects for me to select instead of sacrificing a good mood to not having things match up to my expectations.
The walks I planned for this summer are on hold. My feet feel like bricks some days. The arthritis in my toe has taken to sharp unexpected pains. Having meals al fresco, however, is not on hold. I regularly have a meal outdoors sitting on the deck. Yesterday in the heat, I pushed myself to finish the gardening I wanted to do by taking numerous breaks in the air conditioned indoors.
How is your summer going?
The Deck Garden
The faux buoys need to be sealed where the string
goes into the bottle cap in order to keep out the rain.
Painting a rock to blend in with the garden decor
can add a bit of brightness.
Please note,
I'm still having issues with leaving comments on other blogs.
The Lake, Aches, Sofa & the Firefly
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| Lake Champlain in July |
Last Sunday was a perfect day for being out and about to enjoy the sunshine. Despite the wind, it was a lovely afternoon.
My fribromyalgia is acting up. There are days when I'm thinking time to use my cane. The problem is, I'll probably leave it somewhere. Moving around more, (week 2 of back to the exercise bike), will help decrease the aches and pain.
Gardening, laundry, and puttering still make up most of my days. I finally tried Murphy's Oil Soap on the floors. It is an improvement over a pine cleaner.
The sofa recovering is progressing. I went to Joann's Fabric store recently. I was overwhelmed at the size of the place. They took over the store space that closed next door. I didn't look around much as I'm keen on shopping for what I need, check out and leave. I was so intent on leaving, I bought the wrong kind of batting. I want the fluffy polyester. Instead, I have the thin cotton blend. Oh well.
On the interesting events front:
lights out, I see streaks of green light about 3 or 4 inches long going across the dark towards the top of a storage cabinet. Once it stops, I see the blinking green light of a firefly.
Sad story somewhat. The lone firefly circles the smoke detector...with the little green light. Then the lone firefly goes over to land on the cabinet. I figure, it got its way in, then it can find its way out. Besides, I like the company.
I haven't seen it since.
The Perfume of Or
A change of seasons can cause thoughts to resurface in daydreams of travel, a new vehicle, or going on the trail of a scrumptious new recipe. When the perfume of the good conjunction or fills your air, a wonderful feeling of being rejuvenated can be the result.
Regular readers may remember how I like to change things up, go on the path of creating a new blog name, searching for a new template or a website host. Over the years I have managed to have better control over my compulsive energy surges. Months have gone by when I haven't had a new idea session. I use to have one every week. Where my mind has been is probably riding a seahorse cloud on a sunny afternoon.
For no particular reason, I find myself returning to the direction of creative writing. Every summer I write a story filled with characters that are the friends I don't have. Rarely, however, are those stories finished because I dislike endings, especially that of summer.
Today I find myself on Wix.com, a highly rated website host. What an ordeal that was for this easily annoyed with lack of easy website features person. However, if one is to embrace feeling rejuvenated, then not falling into the old ways makes life easier. Despite my aggravation, I found a way to stay the course, calm down, fix the simple parts, and log out of Wix.com until another day.
A few years ago I was very keen on a new blog. It wasn't the right time or else my enthusiasm tanked. Times change. Not a replacement for this blog, the old blog idea is recycled into, (same name) Telling Road, a creative writing blog about the telling of my journey with writing.
The first post on Telling Road is planned for
Moon Day, 20 July 2024.
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| Telling Road Banner Photo |
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