Day 32 of Week 5 February 2025

A cozy bird feeder station
up-cycling a licorice plant

Hello February!

Last night in northwestern Vermont (in my yard), we have about 3-4 inches of powder snow. The landscape is a pretty. It is a cold 17°F (-8°C). What’s funny is in January folks were posting February will probably be snowy. 

Old Man Winter being cheeky dumping snow on day one of the 2nd month of 2025.

Skiers rejoice!

Old ladies with shovels at the bird feeders…meh…it’s snow.

Have a Wintery Wonderful Weekend!

Bake lasagna with meat sauce

Browse online best shampoos

Read about penguins

Draw a colony of penguins

Research Viking holidays

Read the US Constitution

Have a nice hot toddie

Take a news break

With Sympathy

One Out of Many
E Pluribus Unum

Thirteen letters for 13 colonies joined as one to create the United States of America. 

Think about that, Americans united as one.

There are few among us, I believe, 

that do not have the capacity 

to feel compassion and empathy

for those who grieve, suffer, endure

physical and emotional pain.

A tragedy is not the time to 

grand stand on the stage of

blame, what should have been.

😥

My heart wraps around the people

who lost love ones 

on the Potomac River last night..

My prayers and sympathy 

are deep and sincere.

😢

🙏🏻

A Lovely Glow

Rosemary Flowers 
2025

 

Chromatic Aberration

The flower's lavender color glowing out into the air is magical.

Rosemary blooming

Winter Skies

New word - Dysania - Extreme Difficulty getting out of bed in the morning (sleepfoundation.org).

Woe is me what a struggle it has been to push through a haze of dysania! I had Zero (note capitalized) desire to get off the sofa for nearly 3 days. 

What put me there, I feel, is the negative impact on my mental health all those executive orders brings on.  

Light exposure to the news is a great help. I don’t mean to drag on about it. It is that I believe sharing might help others not feel so alone. I think I am not the only American suffering through this era if horrors. 

So yesterday and today I am Up! Yay! 🥳👏😎

The sun is shining brightly!

The first task I took up this morning is an oil pastel color sketch and an acrylic winter late afternoon sky. The color of pale yellow on the horizon, sometimes the entire sky, can be fascinating in how the gray clouds and blue sky blend. The sky in the photograph is a favorite.

Last night’s sunset was a vibrant pink. Indeed, it was a delight to see. Winter skies are a treasure of color and shapes.

Things To Do & Not Do

 

Ice Fishing* on Lake Champlain 2025
Upstate New York

Planning warmer weather adventures in the winter is a nice way to spruce up one’s mood on an overcast and cold day.

2025 Warm Weather Excursion List

Subject to change

Picnic often

See the ocean (where it is meant to be)

Visit art shows and galleries

Plein air paint

Shop local for a camp blouse

Design & sew a pair of hiking shorts

Wear a dress once a week

Ride a bicycle

Consider sky diving

Will Not Do List

Rock climb

Kayak

Run, jog, speed walk

Hang glide

Hike more than 2 miles

Ah, there it is, a simple and practical plan to enhance my warm weather enjoyment and decrease anxiety. 

* I am not ice fishing. 

What Happened?

Gmail Question

Background

Saved emails are going missing. I’ve read the Help information. I did delete a lot of emails months ago. I don’t recall deleting those needed for documentation purposes. Recent saved emails after that purge are also missing.

I use my cell phone and laptop.

Cell phone features in gmail are different than the laptop. Cell gmail sends deleted emails to the All Mail folder. You then have to select them again to put them in the Trash folder to delete them. 

The All Mail gmail folder will show emails in all folders.

I have not set any date limit to keep emails. 

Questions: 

Has anyone had their saved emails disappear?

Is there an easy way to save emails in another place not gmail?

Thank you

You Wouldn’t Know Unless I Told You

Champlain Memorial Lighthouse
1858
Crown Point, Upstate New York

 In the spirit of disclosure in blogging, I am in my pajamas on the sofa wrapped in my favorite plaid woven cotton throw as I type.

I have yet to ready for the day on this cold and sunny Saturday morning. I’m not ill or injured. I am, however, captured by the lure of leisure aka just don’t feel like getting up even for a coffee. What a rebel I be!

Yesterday’s news, not read entirely, upset me, stunned me, grieved me with such impact that I woke this AM feeling a sense of out from under that emotional weight. I made the decision last night that the actions of POTUS is damaging my mental health so much that I need to step back.

On the surface is the danger zone when reading the news. One should read more, vet the issue, read other sources before making decisions. Strange as it sounds, there are actions that on the surface aren’t as negative as headlines lead us to feel. Old information, sure, but this worth repeating.

If only there was a lighthouse to warn us when it is as bad as it sounds. 

Thank all y’all for visiting

Time for me to ready for the day.

Home fries are calling me.

The Last Weekend of January 2025

This drawing was found in a sketchbook stored in the storage hassock. It makes me smile. Smiles are much needed in these days of woe. 

I was writing a series based on my notes watching squirrels in the yard when the drawing was made. The theme of the collection has a philosophical vibe. Methinks I will take up the project again. 

Have a Weekend of Fun Discoveries!

    Dance in the sunshine

Bake a squash

Read the Magna Carta 1215

Draw a sleigh

Call an old friend

Browse porch designs online

Have a hot chocolate outdoors

Pray for World Peace

Day 23 of Week 4 January 2025

Lake Champlain January 2025

Four tries using a cell phone it took in order for Blogger to post the photo above with the caption in the font I selected. Should life be easier?

Why not. Let us all put a good smile on the path to a smoothie life for ourselves and the World. 

🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎

Before we go there, let’s explore reality. In the news, for example, what captures your attention most? A reverend asking for mercy for people? Convicted criminals going free? Decent people losing their jobs? Videos of a violent assault where police are beaten 

is called by many as a peaceful protest? 

That’s the reality the voters 

brought to America on

20 January 2025.

🇺🇸 

Not their fault. I believe they honestly did not grasp the true depth of that reality. Dwelling on finding blame or ridiculing others, I feel, is a waste of good energy. 

There is too much being broken than fixed in America. 

Please don’t be discouraged.

Embrace Hope & Prayer!

🙏🏻

How did 3 weeks of January 2025 go by so fast?

 

The weeks slipping by so fast this year has to stop. A leisurely pace allows more gratitude to be recorded. And this year, I want to fill my thankfulness stash to the fullest. If the days spin with more warp than saunter, at my old age, I might lose my balance. 

On a slow note, the tear (made by fabric caught by the lever door handle) of my puffer coat has been repaired with liquid sew for fabric by LoctiteⓇ. Lever door handles may be easier for feeble hands to use, but they are more dangerous for me than they are a help. The biggest danger is when the lever door handle catches inside a sleeve, pulls my arm back and/or throws me off balance. Thus far, I've been lucky to not have a bad injury. Too bad about my coat.

In the weather forecast for this area snow is on the way. The sky looks like it wants to take a nap, smooth gray and white has replaced the sunshine. 

I splurged and bought the economy package of stew meat. Three days of beef stew has been nice. However, I'm ready for any meal without beef! Black bean chili is on today's dinner menu.

My new hair cut at the beauty parlor this year keeps on giving. I continue to be thrilled by how easy it is to style and care for. A feather bob is the way to go. I cut my own bangs though. Last night I hit the pothole of bang's potholes by cutting them too short. For a while they will take on the wind-swept look. 

How is your January going?

Ye Olde Photo Library Dilemma

White Pine & snow

 Ah, t'was nearly a mid-day dreary that pulled me up from the sofa, dragging and ragged in thoughts of what to do first. Lately, using the laptop doesn't enthuse me. There is no reason I've discovered for it because I haven't been trying to figure it out.

After puttering a short while, I start lunch as the laptop's music sounds. Here I am. I begin with changing the header photograph, (a task on my mind for a while). White Pine trees have been a favorite all my life for their perfume, needles to weave, and windy music. 

An idea arises to create a white pine tree library of photographs. Google time.

I can organize on my own. The issue is indexing to aid the search for the right picture. I don't know how to do that. Thus, a photo library program is a good solution for me. The way I organize pictures now is a mess. Even with my handwritten logbook, finding the photograph I want is not easy.

Digital Camera World, The best photo organizing software of 2025

From that article I chose Google Photos. Google Photos will not download on my systems. I can, however, download the program to my smart TV. 

Given I prefer a small security circle, having my photos on my television is not going to happen. There are too many things that can go wrong.

More software exploring is needed.

Do you use a photo library program?

Any recommendations will be appreciated.