Daily Notes- Tuesday, February 4th, the February Days are speeding past.........Snow yesterday- Ice today.

 We may or may not have had this image.  It's just the little dish I broke, glued back together and now like to look at.  Nice dots...you all might recall that 9 is my number.  Upside down 6.  8 is also represented.

I watched Will Trent last night...and had somehow gotten all the episodes of Will Trent via Prime in my hand basket so to speak.  I don't have Prime and I wasn't in the mood to shell out all the necessary $$$'s to purchase all those episodes....  I might have wanted them but...not like that.  So. that was my evening.

I finished reading the space ship book.  And now I am reading Lunar Love about competing Chinese matchmaking businesses....are baking and matchmaking the only subjects for Chinese authors???? I am recalling the other matchmaker who baked.....something about red threads....it ended well I think- her and the guy with the red scarf.  Lunar Love is going into the Return to the Library bag 40 pages in....

So, sidewalks etc are very slippery this morning. overnight freeze and ice... no idea what I will be reading or sewing today....but it will be something. 

Cross the street had a guy working on their two chimney's all day yesterday.... standing on the slippery snow coated roof shoving this shiny silver hose thing down the chimney- in a short sleeved tee shirt.   True Mainer.  It was cold yesterday.

My bunch of bananas have finally turned yellow so I can eat them.  I have one orange left.  I need to buy some other types of fruit on Friday Grocery Day.  Cherries???  Pink Grapefruit??

Birds are eating seeds from the feeders....very quiet dismal day. I wonder if I have Kraft Mac and Cheese in the Pantry???????  YES!!!!!!!!!!  Or SCORE as they say in Soccer. Okay, this is going to be a great day.

Daily Notes- Monday February 3rd. It snowed overnight....Again.

 Yesterday's Square.  A bit rumply as I haven't pressed it flat yet.   The second one is still just the inside square....I haven't decided on what colors to make the borders. I sewed while watching European Soccer. I got to see the Manchester game as they were losing and the pay to view channel sent it over to the regular channel. They lost...again.... Score was only 1 to 0 so not that terrible.  Two Soccer games and one Rugby.

I ran thru the channels and watched some Law and Order in high def in the evening.  Then a few other things. Nothing holding my attention and I find it difficult to read at night...even though my book is getting very interesting... they have gone down to the lava covered planet looking for something....and the narrator has let us in on a secret.....her ship is not damaged at all...she faked it.  But she hasn't found what she is looking for as yet.  Only 160 pages in this tiny sized book.

I took the sheets off the bed this morning...I will keep the top sheet and pillow cases but cut the bottom sheet up into pieces or just throw it away..  My husband's long toe nails ripped the bottom sheet up.......Not worth patching up... I have sheets to last me the remainder of my life....I like the plain white ones best anyway.  This set was a rose colored linen.  Any takers for two king cases and one flat king linen sheet. Coral Pink. Daughter?

I haven't switched over to the February calendar as yet- this one under the keyboard is loaded with things cut from the newspaper and pasted to the page.  So I need to tear this page off and start in on February. Absolutely nothing on this calendar about He Who Shall NOT BE NAMED

I went out the back door at 4 pm yesterday and the generator was going....Sunday check up day.  Not the roaring sound it will make when creating electricity but the little purring motor sound....20 minutes at 4pm every Sunday.  Sigh.

Sunday Pizza was wonderful as usual.  Well, I need socks....Son is out shoveling snow- THREE Mornings in a ROW.  I had hoped it was deep enough for the plow guy?????  Daughter will be shoveling at her house.   I will be putting on socks and making a bowl of hot oatmeal...no paper on Monday.

Oh, I will be taking this square down to the sewing room, spraying it with starch and ironing it flat.

Later but still Sunday. February 2nd. Cloudy and SIX Degrees in Maine.

 I need to start using the iPhone (it has no other purpose) to take pictures for the blog- pictures of snow?? I do have a camera that is new- still in the box- purchased for blog photos...then decided the iPhone was good enough when husband gave me his old one and updated.... that new one is sitting useless on a table in the living room- in case we need something off of it.  His iPad is also useless as the way to get in was his thumb print...and that isn't here anymore.   I think I might like the iPad to carry around in the house... But I might not- as I do love my brand new desk top.  My Son selected the new one to be as identical to the old one as possible....and it worked out.

I gathered scraps and began two more squares (could evolve into rectangles-some have).  One in the yellows and orange family with some green and purple ( reminding me to visit the scrap tubs in the sewing room for some purple)....The other is mostly red at this point with green.  I have added a few strip borders to the yellow one.....I am auditioning colors to go with the one with the red and very dark green center.

I watched English Soccer....12:30 on USA....then the last bit of the Manchester game- they are losing quite often so  Peacock must have shuffled the game over to USA (otherwise I don't get to see the Manchester games unless I purchase Peacock.......

Daughter went over to Comcast and stood in line.....long line of people wanting a less expensive line up. They have shot themselves in the foot over at Comcast, so to speak, with price hikes.  Peacock is in the same elaborate line-up with my Sports Talk Show.  Out of the 50 or 60 "new" channels...I was only interested in one.  So.. not upgrading.  I will remain with Basic. Farewell Boston Sports Talk.

I recorded the PBS program on Appliqué for Quilting....whoa... I was hoping to see some new stuff. but what they had on this program was....so disappointing.....I deleted the recording after watching.it. I learned nothing.   Pizza is ready......

It's February!!!!! Daily Notes for a Fresh New Month. Snowed AGAIN= enough that the plow guy came...Sun and 22 degrees

Dumpling Week.

I wouldn't mind it being Dumpling Month!!!!!!   I Love Potstickers.

I have to sew the waistband button back onto my 25 cent brown corduroy pants.  One size smaller than I was used to wearing.  Bravo!!!!  Twenty five cent pants are always needing mending.

PBS Cooking Shows fill my Saturday and then Premier Soccer.  A full schedule.  Also I have the last very sad pages of my Jane and Edward book.  True to the original- the "wife" is about to die in a California wild fire- sounds like what just happened in 2024  doesn't it... in other books she dies in a fire in the Attic. I have ordered the Jane book with the rock star.....Daughter has agreed to drive me to the local bookstore where I will ask the owner to order me a copy of the book...for my bookcase. 

Lidia (PBS) is cutting up a roasted chicken... and dividing pieces into three refrigerator storage containers. Now Grandma is singing.......my favorite part.

Sara's Weekend Meals (Greek) is now on.  I visited Greece on a Women's Club Trip and LOVED the food. And the two guys on our tour bus-  A Pair Of Docs.  Paradox.  They loved puns.  I also loved the coffee. In fact, now that I recall....I would love to visit again.

That's it- the Sun is shining the driveway is plowed....I am sending an email to our Banker to say- we need to donate this Jeep NOW!!!! Son wants it GONE.  He doesn't like driving it and I would NEVER drive it. We have three cars and have to rotate thru them each week so they all get driven- battery charges etc.

My meatball and spaghetti idea got a bad review by me....I tossed the meatballs into the garbage bag in the frozen cold garage.....So the purchased marinara and the pasta with cherry tomatoes and onion that I made- quite good.  Good enough.  Enough for lunch today.  And perhaps dinner.  Tomorrow we make pizza.   I'm really wanting those dumplings.........

 

Cloudy, Cold Morning here in Maine. 22 degrees on Friday the 31st of January.

 Another square.  I have to get back into hand sewing pieces together....but first need to find something to watch on TV during the daylight hours (when I sew) that is NOT NEWS..  The top edge was the edge that needed a second patched together border.... it looks okay (dips a bit in the center).  Does the darkness suggest my feelings?????  I believe- somewhere - there are more 3 inch center squares- aching for borders and a starring role.  I recall sewing more of these 3 inch 9 patches while watching Law and Order with my Dog.  Years Ago.

After I hit publish I might find this image has already been on a post????  

The problems I find--using only three inch blocks as centers...finding fabric that plays well with the old stuff...old stuff I may no longer have?????  No longer can find?????  In the TUBS????

I finished Once Persuaded, Twice Shy and am now in the midst of Jane and Edward.- same author, Melodie Edwards.  This happens- that a book I had trouble reading before... now just seems to skip forward effortlessly.  Is it me?  Is it re-reading a book?  I ordered Jane from another library... Jane and the Rockstar.  Jane Eyre.  I might go looking for other books titled with the word Jane. Or other authors using Jane as a lead character.   Jane by Lindner...I need to buy this book.

When it arrives I will go to the local bookstore and ask the nice old man to order me a copy. He'll read the blurb and roll his eyes.....  Daughter will drive....and we will park nearby...Town is cold and the sidewalks slippery.   

Daughter purchased jelly filled shortbread cookies in Freeport...for me...the one I ate was so very delicious.  I will be investigating prepared meals at the grocery today....I do like the meatloaf one. I know I do not like the chicken one.  In another part of that part of the grocery store there might be a salmon one. Try New Things...???  I am buying a jar of spaghetti sauce today at the grocery and introducing my frozen meatballs to the sauce....then having it with the pasta I cooked.. Very happy about cooking something.

Well, boiling water can be construed as "cooking" because it involved the new stove....and not the microwave.  Induction glass top heats water so fast........magnets are magical.  I ma easily entertained.

Well, I will be looking for a tiny 9 patch to center and new cloth....Take Care. Stay Warm. Till Tomorrow.

Daily Notes for January 30th. Very cold last night, snow transformed into ice. Plane crash.

Another scrap square....shadow on the cloth- it's not this dark.

Well, it seems to have snowed again last night. Son is out there shoveling the thin layer up off the driveway.   Before it turned into a sheet of ice- but perhaps the surface under the snow is already ice. Twelve degrees here in Maine with bright sunshine.  My furnace is working to get us up to 64 degrees here in the house....I had it warmer for husband when he was alive..For me? I have wool sweaters and socks... Son has his second floor room much warmer.  I haven't been up there....Not supposed to do stairs.

I traveled to the four numeral channels on my tv lineup....HD.  And set several favorite shows to automatically record episodes.  This used to work and then it didn't......time will tell. Seems so unimportant as the families of 68 plus passengers on that plane have now lost people they love.

I am having a few back to back rough days.....I went to my room early and then got some duct tape to stop a draft from coming in the window next to the toilet....I seem to have gotten it from a breeze to just a light chill.  I slept well.  At least I have no memory of falling asleep- I just woke up realizing I had slept.

Son and I shouted at each other yesterday....I think we are too similar in wanting to have things our own way and to be in control.....it was bound to happen- it happened all the time when he was younger...he would get so ANGRY with me (at the ripe age of four).....and that is what is happening again...at 55 and 76.

That's about it...I was- momentarily yesterday ...quite proud of myself- I cooked a meal for myself and ate it. Washed the pots and pans and dishes..... That hasn't happened in awhile....I did get my days wrong on the Hydration Chart but I had had my water.... just not in the right block of the chart......I have had my morning water and made a large 10 ounce cup of tea... decaffeinated.... limited in the amount of sugar I added.  I will have an additional 8 ounces of water and then sit on the couch and read my BOOK.

I don't know why but my neck muscles are stiff and my right shoulder and arm ache ...tension..maybe? 

Daily Notes for Wednesday -January 29th. Snow overnight and 19 degrees- 89% humidity.

I imagine this is what it looked like overnight.... the street lights look like this. (they also shine in the bedroom windows which I don't like).  But perhaps that's the MOON.  Yes, the moon shines in my bedroom windows.....lighting up. the room..

I did manage to remember to have my meatloaf prepared dinner yesterday.....daughter sorted out all my pens and pencils (with my participation)......then she lifted the blue cloth container off the shelving and I looked for the cloth I wanted for a new blue square.   I didn't find exactly what I wanted.

In my LONG LIFE I have collected a large number of things- pens...pencils...brushes, paint ...paper...stuff.  And now I have to sort them and remind myself of WHY I have them.  Sometimes I recall and most times I don't...but it's nice to see the VAST collection of different kinds of art supplies......I must have been very excited about buying them....and truthfully.. looking at them again is exciting as well.

There might be a moment...hopefully....when that spark of wanting to make  ART happens again for me. Gramma Moses was in her 90's when she started painting....I have years and miles to go.......

I think I mentioned the cable tv listings....in order to get the sports talk show I have to invest in a list of many many channels that I have ZERO interest in...ZERO.  So....not happening.  I may have already written about this...so am repeating myself...I find that I do that quite often.  Repeat myself.

My desktop calendar will get it's picture taken tomorrow...It's filled with newspaper headlines and other stuff.  The Wild Seed Project sent me another email.....I had wanted to buy some seed packets from them and start the seeds in pots on the back deck like I did years ago.  It hasn't happened. 

Well, for once, I am actually hungry and need to take advantage of that and eat breakfast and read the paper.  We, as a Country, are going to Hell in a Hand Basket.  Again.  I guess we needed a second helping of incredibly stupid... the first helping wasn't enough..........

I started a new book... Once Persuaded, Twice Shy. Melodie Edwards.  A modern take on Persuasion. I really enjoyed this same author's retelling of Jane Eyre titled Jane and Edward.  In a Toronto high-rise office building.....I have a copy in my bookcase.   I don't think I actually read Persuasion as the type in the only book I could find was very very tiny....it's the same with another book I wanted to read....tiny type.

So..I can read the type in Once Persuaded and I shall read it today looking out over the snowy white landscape outside my windows.  And then I might pull Edward and Jane off the shelf and read that again. I finished The Royals Next Door...as always, I enjoyed every word. 

Daily Notes- Tuesday, January 28th. 3.8 magnitude earthquake yesterday. Daughter lives in Town and felt it. We did not.

 Well, if you read yesterday's comment on my post-- daughter described my "past use by date" soup vegetables.  The actual problem here is a TRUE LACK of INTEREST IN FOOD.

Oddly enough I filled the picture file with FOOD Images.  Cake.  Fruit.

Now, for most of my LIFE I have had a GREAT INTEREST in food....Eating is a way I had of solving problems. Making myself feel better... Comforting myself.... Perhaps what is happening NOW is I have no problems.....or none that cause me to want to EAT......which is all very very NEW to me.

I would need therapy to figure that one out....but really- husband was a problem. And not just in the last year...in ALL the years I spent with him......I think I am having difficulty letting go of something that isn't really a problem any more.... but that damage is done and will be with me.... as long as I allow it.

So...my new plan is not to allow him to mess with my Life anymore. Easier said than done.

It's snowing....Son says it's snowing a DAY EARLY.  Not in his Day Planner for today.

I got the garbage collected and it's out on the curb.....I have one more prepared meatloaf dinner for today's main meal....and I plan on having oatmeal for breakfast in a few minutes... Then if there are dishes, I will wash them....I did my laundry yesterday.... And I might make a new cloth strip square today.  Yellow.

Daily Notes from Monday, January 27th. No newspaper...Sunshine with 39 degrees here in Maine... Yes...39 degrees.

 I'll be spending some time today taking pictures of my scrap squares.   But I found this charming image  in the picture file...quite nice... for today.

I am reading the Royals Upstairs by Karina Halle....I've waited years for this particular book.  It follows up the Royals Next Door which I loved.... and have on my bookshelf.  There were some personal upheavals in the author's life that made getting this one written challenging.  In the first book, James was the secondary bodyguard in Vancouver and rarely had any dialog.  Just long silent staring with sunglasses.  Same in this book.  Norway and a different bodyguard situation.

Son and I made pizza and we watched football and then I put on my wool bed socks and rolled myself into my Down Comforter and fell asleep.  In the middle of the night I also rolled myself out of the four poster onto the floor....but I didn't.   Not something I want to do twice.....the first roll onto the floor years ago was enough.

The newspaper had an interesting soup made with a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.  The grocery chickens tend to be salty.....I try hard to limit really salty things.... so I might just make a vegetable soup....minus salt and chicken.  I have been saying I was going to make soup....for months...and Son has been discarding unused soup ingredients as they dry up and wilt in the Crisper Drawer.

Well, today is the day... S..O...U...P!!!!!   I plan to use the recipe I got from one of the bloggers I enjoy reading. (Dee in the Boston area). It's called Pantry Soup because everything is in the pantry....or the vegetable bin in the fridge. Potatoes, Carrots, Celery, Onion, Cabbage, rinsed can of white beans...  perhaps some canned diced tomatoes.  (never mind the soup- all the vegetables are no longer in the vegetable drawer- daughter or son threw them away......) I have one onion....and some potatoes. Period.

I am very very disappointed....very.  I have a can of soup but generally the canned soup is way too salty...

Daily Notes from the North Pole (Maine) 17 degrees...Single digits overnight. Sunshine. Snow on the ground.

This image feels "warm" in a very chilly Maine house.  Yes, it's 17 degrees outside... no sunshine. I am assuming the recent oil delivery was based on the forecast.  Top up the tanks.

One and a half hours and son and I will discover if the NEW Generator will go on for the five minute regular Sunday TEST......and on Tuesday Morning Rick is driving down to my house to see what's what with the Generator.  Rick said the test is set from somewhere between 10am and noon on Sunday. Every Sunday.  It's 9:30.  I got up early so I would hear it IF it actually happens.  My Lunch Buddy says when hers goes off it is seriously annoying.

Me?  How am I?  Not good.  I am tired but can't sleep. And then sleep too much.  I want to read but can't stay focused.  Things I want to watch are not in my cable line up..... British soccer is usually on Peacock... something I have to buy......But there is some Soccer at 10 am????   I am usually not awake at 10 am.

I'm COLD.  I'm OLD.  I'm BORED.  I couldn't LIFT the plastic container of blue fabric off the shelf. Just could not lift the weight of it. (my back was sending me warning flags and flashing lights) ..so I had to make do with a few scraps in the scrap box by my couch and sew a new wider border to a square.  So now I can also say I am WEAK.  

The SUN has broken thru and the Sunporch is SUNNY.  Freezing cold but sunny.  So bright it's hurting my eyes.  Good ( I hope) Football games today..... Buffalo and Kansas City.  Both Freezing Cold Weather Teams.  At 3 pm Washington and Philly.   Sunday Pizza.  My jar of dark chocolate candy is full.  

I need a fresh cup of hot sweet tea......then my couch and my down lap blanket and the TV clicker.  And the Generator to run its test.....I seriously doubt that will happen... seriously...doubt.

But if it Does go on for 5 minutes...I'll come back with an update.... 
 

Daily Notes- Saturday the 25th of January. Sunshine, snow covered grass and 19 degrees

 You get an old vase today- it was in the feed....

I'm having Shredded Wheat this morning for breakfast at. 11am.  I stayed up late to watch episode two of Leonardo.   It was worth it.

I really have very little to watch...even though I have acres of channels (mostly sports- as my husband chose what we got-years ago). Daughter is going to stop by Comcast and see what else is being offered. Perhaps they now- 20 or 30 years later have the Old Woman channels??????

I actually deleted quite a bit from the 3 digit selection years ago.... possibly an error on my self in Future Years.

We got an Oil Delivery yesterday.....it's so COLD here that I guess they wanted to be proactive.  We were somewhere around a half or a bit less.  Now...full.

Prior to Leonardo, I sewed two borders on one of the rectangular scrap pieces....now it's square.... It wasn't easy.  I had to unsew while unhearing  someone say he was getting rid of FEMA.  Lots of people who voted for the red faced gas bag...have been grateful for FEMA over the last 20 years....we'll see what the blowback is on this new "order".  I am thinking it was directed at the California Fire situation. All those rich "educated" Democrats who refuse to vote for him..  My breakfast is ready- and the morning paper...

Stay warm  today- where ever you are....who ever you are.....

Daily Notes- Friday, January 24th. Cold with Sunshine.....15 degrees

 Vase of Flowers by Sally Nullmeyer.

I found images for you all yesterday...because half the fun of visiting my Daily Notes is seeing the ART. I could easily SEE this painting in felt appliqué.

A Federal Judge blocked Trump's order ending birthright citizenship.

One step backward by "guess who" and then one brave step forward by a judge. Think of all the people coming thru under the Statue of Liberty in the late 1800's.....my grandparents and possibly yours... okay enough emotion and tears....(me)- a second generation American.

I have a very sketchy idea for meals going forward.  I enjoy the grocery store prepared Meatloaf Dinner. I also enjoyed the mixed greens salad but that seems too COLD for 15 degrees.  So perhaps two meatloaf and then...don't know what.  Soup is always nice but prepared soup is always too salty..

I have been saying I was going to make soup for months and months.....and I haven't.  If there is anything I need to WORK ON, it's following thru.....I don't know what it is: but I am just not functioning as I used to.  I mean....I used to enjoy chopping vegetables and stirring the soup...then eating it.

That's it.....I don't feel JOY when doing ANYTHING.  I have to look it up...see if that is an actual symptom of depression....I have a real strong feeling that it is....and with me- from past experience...forcing me to do things isn't a good plan....sigh...so I am going to have to encourage myself to make a tiny effort each day--to be normal.  Just one tiny effort.  I''ll start with once a week.

Today I am answering the phone....and the robocallers are trying to get me to say "yes" and record that yes...."Can you hear me?"  "Are you there??"  I say nothing- I just hang up.....

Oh for your enjoyment Ten MORE Things People Refuse to Throw Away.   

1. Cast Iron Rusty Pans.  2. Moth Eaten Wool Sweaters. 3. Quilts (OMG yes) 4. Vases from gift flowers 5. The very last tablespoon of whatever is in the container. 6. Glass Jars- 7. Broken Chairs. 8. Good Recipes. 9. Bread Twist Ties 10. Cookie Gift Tins.   So WHAT to do have trouble throwing AWAY???????  

I have three Slow Cookers so I would say...trouble getting rid of them.  Oh, I HAD three....daughter made me choose ONE to keep.  Goodwill got the others.   I would also add books......yes. Books.

Daily Notes on Tuesday, January 23rd

 Bookmarks.... I made them myself....added black to make them POP.

Sorry that I didn't post this morning....things going on here...bills to pay, phone calls, baking corn muffins etc etc.  I am Not used to so many activities on one day.  But two days in a row-whoo ..serious overload.

Well, The Man Who Shall Not Be Named has been busy.  Undermining Freedom, Truth, Respect and Responsibility. 

Daughter baked us both Corn Muffins... Mine came out a bit lopsided.  Still delicious.

Daughter was way up on a ladder cleaning the fan in the cathedral ceiling over the dining room table.

I don't have much to say...difficult to find anything to watch on TV....will have to visit Comcast and get those info sheets on what each package has to offer me.....program wise.  The Sport package was NOT my choice but I fear there isn't all that much to choose from....I doubt they have the 78 year old woman package....and really---I am not the 78 year old granny they would have in mind......just saying. Might ask daughter to drive past- it's close and ask for all the available choices (sheet of paper)...I'll study them.

So the TV is off, we discussed  our way thru the making of the muffins .. Gender identification and nouns and pronouns.... I also got a lovely bouquet of  flowers..... with some pussy willows.....if they sprout roots I am going to try and keep them going until Spring here in Maine and plant them over the septic tank outlet- warm dirt.  See if they grow. Secret to root sprouting is fresh water every few days... no fertilizer.

The Generater Company got my check and my note....and will be out Tuesday to check on the whole thing...  When asked if the generator had done the Sunday (weekly check for 5 minutes..I said I didn't hear it.  My Lunch Buddy said the five minutes are loud and annoying- can't miss it.  I sit 20 feet from the thing... should be able to hear it.  On a Sunday.  So...grateful I wrote the note and grateful he is coming to make sure things are okay.  I can hear ALL the generators in the neighborhood when we have an outage so hearing the one next to my sunporch should be noticeable......sad face.

Daily Notes- Just back from lunch at 3 o'clock.

 Well, it's bitter cold here in Maine but too cold to snow.  Seven Degrees.

Lunch was at the Tuscan Bistro.  I had the Eggplant Parm sandwich with spinach leaves. Potato chips. Red wine....I got a piece of chocolate cake to take home....gigantic.   Daughter was still vacuuming the family room (the ceiling).  So I asked her to do the wood floor in my bedroom- there was dust under the bed...

I washed a cashmere sweater in the sink with Dawn,.....it had white something or other spots on it... I am hoping the Dawn removed whatever it was.  Possibly food I dropped on myself that got moldy.... I'd like to have a third sweater to wear around the house and places I go where I do NOT remove my coat.

Daughter and I just had some of the chocolate cake I got at lunch.. very deep and dark. Now I need some water.   Some of my 8 ounces every 3 hours.  Daughter admired one of the last of the hand sewn square with borders...she said it looked "artistic".........I know what additions she was referring to (without asking) and I might just add some of "the same" to the others. It was the only item on that one that is NOT on the others.

I am thinking about starting a new book titled "Some Like It Cold".  Which is right on for the weather.

That it for now- 

Well, here we are on the First Tuesday....January 21st... 4 degrees here in Maine...with Abundant Sunshine.

 The MAGA men looking down into the front of this woman's shirt.......  I thought that was her hair or a weird hat- but it's a mike covering her face.. and yes...that is her bra....

So this image and one of the First Lady in that HAT.......is all I could participate in yesterday, I watched nothing...I heard nothing and my intention is to continue this way for four years.

It's VERY COLD here in Maine..... but the SUN is shining....I think it's MINUS FOUR outside.

My book is  Remember Me by Kinsella.  I have read it before.  A woman has a car accident and can't remember anything about her LIFE....   I also watched repeat episodes of High Potential and Tracker.

I cut this out of the paper "I think forest while HE is pre-occupied by HIS tree"

That about sums up the politics of the new administration.  The original was "she" and "her".

No newspaper this morning....so I grabbed a few unfinished Suduko puzzles to agonize over... Recycling and Trash has been picked up...by the huge truck.  I found a floor board just warped enough to catch my toe and encourage me to fall and hit my head....it's now covered in heavy duty clear duct tape.

My former across the street neighbor entertained family over the holidays and got COVID and a very bad Respiratory Infection... Multiple Urgent Care visits etc....the Texas family  traveled by plane- also known as a COVID  Transport System....... she is my age or a bit older. but not as "healthy" as I am (joking)... only ONE reason I would ever get on a plane- Suicide.  I have problems breathing in the safety of MY house.  Onward.....my book, my unfinished puzzles and finally, hand sewn squares.  

Tomorrow a long awaited Lunch Buddy Lunch....in a new venue...

Daily notes from Snow Covered Maine....Monday, January 20th. 26 degrees

 Apples.  Postcards from Provence.

Well...the football yesterday...the first game set me back and I watched the first few plays of the Baltimore game in Buffalo and then turned off the tv and read my book.

A Fun book by Sophie Kinsella (I've Got Your Number) about a cell phone mix up.  It ends well.  I might cruise the book list and order a few more of hers.... I read Remember Me and Twenties Girl a few years ago.  I do have new ones in a stack on top of the bookcase....ones I bought but not sure I will like them...

Son has shoveled the porch and the walkway...the Plow Guy we have under contract has not come past as yet....in 2024.  The once I did see his truck and plow drive past...we had already shoveled the drive. He usually comes after midnight.  After the snow stops falling.  But he did not last night.

There was another one of those white flashes last night (like the blinding one when they did the "test" for the new generator.)...and then out on the porch flashes of blue light. Very very strange.  That's when I picked up my book and started reading...and switched off the tv.  

I started my morning with a nice hot shower...shampooed and conditioned my hair...but I believe I forgot to comb it.  I just finger combed it a bit.....it's so short it really has no where else to go but where it is.

Nothing New to report.  I need to return to hand sewing my squares....but, you see, I listened to the Sports Talk while doing that...and. now.....no Sports Talk and no Sewing.  I haven't found ANYTHING on the tv to watch to replace the Sports Talk....Long Term Habits are almost impossible to break....Like watching Law and Order with Riley's head on my slippered foot.  For Years.  I have removed myself from News TV.  I will not watch anything regarding the transition in Washington.  I have gone cold turkey on MSNBC.

And now the Football is over.  I have never been a Super Bowl Fan.  Well, I need to eat something for breakfast.   There is No Monday Paper.  There are a great many small birds battling it out over the feeders on the porch.  Like old people at a all you can eat buffet.

Daily Notes- Sunday January 19th..... Sunshine and 40 degrees here in Maine.....6 inches of snow today???????

 Red.  It could actually be my favorite color.  Looks good with old woman white hair.

Football yesterday...I stopped watching the Kansas City game after a few players (on the opposing team) were injured-.   Then watched the second game... Washington and Detroit.  Again, a few injured players. Detroit was a favorite of mine until they had to play Washington...then I switched. 

I watched while recording other things on the TiVo.....more football today.   There is also the possibility of Soccer.  Rams and Philly at 2pm and Baltimore and Buffalo at 6pm.  At Buffalo which will definitely get snow today..

It's 40 degrees and sunny here in Maine in January. That's usually the weather in April or May....but daughter just called to say we are expecting 6 inches of snow today.  Enough for the Plow Guy to come by for the very FIRST time this Winter..... The grass is green and the bed by the front porch is filled with water....like a pond.  I saw the weather map on tv and in the paper this morning....Snow inland.  We are on the Coast.  I'll inform you tomorrow with the Actual Snow Results.

I sorted thru two plastic bags worth of torn magazine pages....ART for the desktop calendar.

No Suduko puzzle in the Sunday paper...I checked twice.  Not that I am ANY good at finishing them....I might switch over to the Jumble...I helped my husband with the Jumble words when he couldn't figure  them out.  I also had him use the tile holder and the letter tiles from an old Scrabble game to figure out the scrambled letters.  He never tried the Suduko.  He was terrible with numbers.

Okay....I have had my morning 8 ounces of water and am finishing my cup of very weak breakfast tea... I will go back to using two tea bags in the large cup.  Light brown water is not "tasty".  I might just write it down as a second water on the chart.  Lukewarm tea water.  I miss the Columbian Instant Coffee but doctor said no to caffeine ....so no more tasty dark Columbian Coffee.  Bad for my questionable heart. Makes it run too fast. Which seems fine as the doctor said my heart was actually running too slow.

Daily Notes- Saturday, January 18th. 38 degrees and very Dismal.Not a speck of Sunshine.

 So here it is Saturday.  I circled a few items in the TV schedule.  Tracker is back on regular TV- I am guessing the interval over on Paramount Plus wasn't a success. High Potential has two back to back episodes also. 9pm and 10pm.  An entertaining evening- ZERO NEWS.

That image furthest to the left reminds me of the Black Hole episode on NOVA this past week. Sucking in planets.  FOX TV reminds me of Black Holes also.  

The programs on World (PBS) are really very interesting....not All of them but some of them. There was one "artist" walking around her Town with a roll of toilet paper....making a toilet paper web of sorts.  Even attaching it to parked cars and people walking past her.  It was all caught on camera by whomever she had doing that from a rooftop.  Even when she explained it....it didn't make sense.

I am on day four of the Hydration Project.  The skin on my hands looks less wrinkled. And...to be truthful here...I feel LESS confused.....light headed... and I am actually interested in eating.....I had a very nice salad yesterday and later a cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese.....today I have vegetable sushi.......I also have a second meatloaf and mashed potato dinner. Tomorrow is Pizza. An improved interest in food.

I also dug thru the paperwork drawer and found my previous doctor visit info sheet....from when I lost ALL that weight (40 pounds)....considering I was wearing Summer clothing at that visit and corduroy pants, heavy winter shoes and a sweater on this current visit---the 2.22 pound difference leads me to believe I neither gained nor lost any weight between appointments.  I will file that in the interesting things that happen to me folder....I was pleased to learn I hadn't gained ANY of the weight BACK.

So...that's me...I have no other news....I did not stitch cloth yesterday or the previous day.  I also haven't done a very good job reading my books.....I did NOT return to my previous activity- staring at the ceiling so that's one for the Win Column. 

I really miss the Sports Talk Show- Now that it's gone- there is a vast amount of empty space in my DAY. I may have to upgrade my cable contract....sigh.  Just to get that ONE program.

Daily Notes for Friday, January 17th. Cold. Sunshine. Brownish Green Lawn. Slight remaining snow.

Well, no notes on who painted this but perhaps the Circle Artist.  Colors seem similar.  Kandinsky.

Well, no Lunch Buddy Lunch as my friend's husband has the second half a "procedure" at the doctor's office today.  She sounded very very sad.  Worn down.

I watched PBS and a long show on Black Holes.  We DO NOT STAND A CHANCE of surviving a Black Hole.  It will suck our Sun and all the planets including Earth into itself and that's IT.  The End.  And Black Holes are right now sucking some objects, Suns etc. into their vortex.   Wow, that program on PBS was so depressing.  But I drank my final glass of water and then went to bed.

What else could I do????

I cut my painted circles into bookmarks.  I finished reading The Burnout.  Kinsella.  I might look in the K section of the Library today for another of her books....but that's it.  Reading has become less Joy and more Work.  I need to find something to do that brings me Joy and Happiness.  Let me know in the comments if there is something you do that fills that space......

Well, Library and Grocery-----time to go.

 

Daily Notes- Thursday, January 16th. Sunshine, 21 degrees, both Propane Tanks are full. Son is very happy.

 These circles covered entire walls from floor to ceiling.  Even the floor has circles.

So My painted circles got "muddy" meaning they are not as bright and clean as I wanted them so I will try again. I over worked them.   Too many layers of circles.

My Hydration Chart is on the wall.  Yesterday I had 8 ounces of water every three hours ... My cups of tea count as replacing the water.  Oddly enough....I did NOT spend the day peeing.  My daughter says that is because I was dehydrated and my CELLS were sucking up the water.....I wasn't running to the bathroom either.  My cells must have been bone dry?????

My skin is less wrinkly. Still wrinkled but less......

I watched a recorded Rattatouie (spelling is not correct) yesterday... a recorded Disney movie about a little rat who knows how to cook.  I loved it.  Then I started in on my book- The Burnout.

Daughter emptied All the lower kitchen cabinets.....I had to look and  give an opinion on the ODDS of me actually using any of the items she showed me all afternoon.  I mean- cupcake pans.  The blender. The Vita Mix.   A Thermos I used to take to work.    Two Rice Cookers. (what was I thinking???). Two Crock pots -one small and one large.  Etc etc.  I said a definite yes to the Vita Mix as it makes great ice cream. And hot soup. Not at the same time.

The pointlessness of doing this when I haven't COOKED (much) in several years...husband only ate Chicken Soup (homemade) and grilled cheese sandwiches (also homemade).  If I live to be 88..(ten years) I might make rice.  I might use a slow cooker.  I might drive the car.  I might let them put pink dye on the tips of my Pixie Haircut.

Hell might also Freeze Over.  But I will be well HYDRATED.  I was positive all the water I am drinking would make me pee my pants all day....it didn't.  My hands are not as wrinkled......who knew????? Also NOT DIZZY.  Well, learn something new each day........  8 ounces of water six times a day.

Daily Notes from Maine- Sunshine and 23 degrees. Grass is now a very yellowy green.

 Circles (my favorite shape) Vassily Kandinsky  1866 to 1944

I have a postcard with the painted circles on it.....and none of the circles I got off an art source are the same.....so he must have painted them frequently.  This is also an easy art project for small children. They can paint their own circles..... I painted MY OWN circles yesterday before going to my doctor visit.

I might paint a few more today.

In sad and troubling news.....my Sports Talk Show has been removed from my available cable stations... if I "upgrade" my cable selection, I can get this show back.  When I called Comcast...the first thing on the recorded message was  "if you are calling about the missing sports show....."  I'll let the fire burn down to embers before calling anyone.....again. 

I might have to downgrade to watching Law and Order.  I practically memorized all the plots back when  Riley and I watched....or I can sign up for Netflix or Prime and see what they have to offer me... The Sports Talk Show was often very very funny....I will miss those guys... I think it's still on the radio. Daughter gave me that as an alternative.  Radio.

I am having to hydrate with water 6 times a day- 8 ounces.  I am not a big liquid drinker so I have to have a chart and make marks etc.......as soon as I finish my tea I will have had 20 ounces so far today. Then I will have my banana.  

I was just thinking about changing from strips and squares to circles of cloth.....maybe just the centers of the blocks to begin with??????  I have books to read.....and circles to paint....and water to drink....I'll let Comcast slide for a week or more.....let the angry dust settle.  Read a book.

Sunshine and 30 degrees- still some white on the green grass here in Maine.

 A small fabric piece I found in the old storage picture file.  From long ago.  My bead board walls.

I will soon be taking pictures of the squares I am stitching (for you)...adding borders on borders until they look "done".  Not sure what they will BE.  As none of the pieces play well with the others. Sort of like Congress.

Jack Smith says if Trump's Judge had allowed it- Trump would have been found guilty. Judge Cannon. One of the Republican appointees.  If I was Jack Smith I would appeal to the Supreme Court- they have ruled against Trump lately...might be fed up with his "shenanigans".......a word used often in rom com books lately.  I was making a mark on an index card for awhile when I saw the word in my books... I managed to misplace the card.

My hair is looking "odd" today.   It was cut even shorter and she used the razor blade...so it's "different". I am having a bit of trouble getting it to go where I want it to go.  I did spray it with the magic spray after getting it wet and drying it with a towel.  Swirling.  It doesn't matter- old women are invisible to the naked eye.

I found the Kandinsky (1866-1944). Square with Concentric Circles 1913 postcard that I used as a stepping off point to make my own circles....I cut a long rectangle and that's been my bookmark for quite some time...when it gets lost- I panic.  I think, AFTER the doctor, I will get out paints and make some more circles in different color families.....just in case.  Emergency Back-Up Bookmarks.

I love having a Backup Plan and having an ART Project is making me very happy right now...I am so very happy to have reconnected with Kandinsky.  I might go looking for images for the Daily Posts. 

Now I need Breakfast.....so I have good blood pressure for the many tubes of blood the nurses remove from my body........

Monday, January 13th- Daily Notes from Maine. Sunshine and 30 degrees

 This image came in the emails this morning.......I might try...yet again to make waffles.  I do love them. These were made with a sour dough batter.

I have just gotten off the phone with the Oil and Propane People.  Son puts me in charge of phone calls. I was on hold for quite awhile..... the very nice woman who answered the phone said _ 3 to 5 days for delivery.  A system check and then they would fill the propane tanks.  No auto delivery as the company has no way of knowing how often your generator goes on (how often your power goes out)........makes sense.  Last Winter it went off ALL the time.  Time will tell if this was a good investment... obviously it has great resale value if we sell the house.  When we sell the house.

I stayed awake watching the Washington Tampa Bay Game as long as I could and then went to bed. Washington won by 3 points.. (I found out a few minutes ago)....sigh. Now, I have always liked Tampa Bay but right now...I like the new Washington quarterback more.  

I also called my primary doctor regarding "are you showing up for your appointment????"  phone calls. I was on the land line the first call and there is no button number one to push for yes... just a rotary dial.. the only kind of phone to use in a complete power failure. Also everyone on the street has a rotary phone for emergencies....so I called first thing this morning and left a message and the automated guy called again.....I pressed one.  Success.

I believe there is an additional phone with buttons that we can now put in the bedroom- since the generator will keep the lights on........I just need to find it.  I unhooked it because we kept knocking it off the bench it was on when we got up from the table...the dining room table.  

Going for my once a year visit to my doctor who has NEVER made eye contact or examined me. He sits and looks at his screen and types the entire visit.. The nurses weigh me, check my blood pressure etc and then send me downstairs for blood letting and shots.........then I go home.  A complete waste of time but my medical insurance provider needs one annual appointment.  Last time I had lost 40 pounds and everyone was so excited (not the doctor).....I might have lost a few MORE pounds in the past year....we'll see. I have never seen results from any of the blood tests.  I was told they are in my "portal" for viewing. I am never visiting my "portal".......send me paper.

The furnace is running quite a bit.....my coffee needs a warm up....oatmeal was great....no Monday newspaper so I tried working on a few unfinished Suduko puzzles.... not productive.  Well, that's it for today....doctor tomorrow.  With daughter driving.  The Kitchen Supply Store is right around the corner but..I don't cook....so no need to visit.  I even make my Grilled Cheese Sandwiches in the Toaster Oven now.  The two times a year I make one.  Time for my Daily Navel Orange....have a nice day!!!!!

Daily Notes for January 12th, Sunshine here, snow (very light and dry) overnight. 27 degrees

 Very Proper Pear.  Postcard from Provence.

Well, here I am.  Showered.  Breakfasted.  Finished with the Sunday Newspaper. My one cup of coffee at my side.  Not a clue what I will do until it's time for football.

I have a few headlines to paste onto the desktop calendar.  Dumpster Fires for 2024 and 2025.  One is an actual dumpster and the other is a Tesla. The Bros.

I have started and not finished two library books....not a great outcome.  I got to page 10 in one and just agreed with myself that it wasn't worth reading any further.  How do they get published????? I don't think I made it to page 10 in the second one.

Then I watched the Chargers football game....whoa.  I am guessing the fires back home had something to do with that loss. Had to have had........

We'll be having Pizza later and I have the games we will watch on a small slip of paper.....I was hoping for some early day Soccer but no.   I had difficulty yesterday finding anything watchable on tv.  Even PBS let me down.  Well, today's books (so far) is Kinsella's the Burnout.  I've read it before. But, I do love the old grump on the beach.  And the crappy old hotel and the weirdo's running it.  If I ever do manage to runaway from home --I'd like to end up at a hotel like this with an old grump on the beach solving a mysterious crime.  Her first choice was becoming a Nun.,,,,laughing...

Have a wonderful day.....The Sun is shining here in Maine- and the snow- what little we got- is melting....

Daily Notes- Saturday, January 11th. Cloudy with a chance of snow- about one inch. 27 degrees

 I had to stop typing and walk down to my bedroom for a scarf to wrap around my neck. The furnace is running and the house is as warm as I have set it to be.....my Son has his room upstairs "nice and toasty" my daughter reports.....I don't go up the stairs....Son would then worry about me doing that and falling etc.

I try my best to limit his worrying.  As I did smack my head pretty hard on the street our first Winter, And he was very very upset- there was blood and broken eye glasses etc.

So, I try and minimize any chances for injury or accidents.

The Sudoko was pitiful this morning. I filled in five squares. Sigh.

I was hoping for some British Soccer today...no luck.   I think my PBS is still Fund Raising...so no cooking shows.  I actually haven't a clue what they do with the money as we get the same old stuff over and over and over again.... In years past, during the Holidays, we got to see repeats of the British Baking Show....Gosh, I loved watching that..... I am guessing it is NOW on a streaming service... Streaming is something I don't have.......and, really, I haven't a CLUE what Streaming IS,

Not a Clue.

Well, I have a book to finish reading... I tried last night but my eyes wanted to go to sleep.  So I did.  And now, no British Soccer.  

And I do not watch the news....but I did break that rule to check up on the California fire.  Once or twice.  To lose everything......but NOT your family, neighbors or friends....I think I could eventually make peace with that.  My mended red sweater......I think I need to take its picture.....so I could remember it if something horrible happens.  Take pictures of what you couldn't bear to loose. And tuck the pictures in the safety deposit box at the bank.  Or tuck those items themselves in the box.

I do think people died...we just don't know that they did yet........

Charmingly Witty Daily Notes- Friday, January 10th. Sunshine and 33 degrees

 Tipsy Pear.  Via Postcards from Provence.

Fewer books today.  I need to return to ordering online and then pick up on Friday.  Wandering in the stacks -the odds of finding a book I will like- are on a level with winning the lottery.

Trump is now and forever a Convicted Felon- The Supremes didn't help him out of the mess.  Trump thought he had the Court in his pocket. So did I.  Hell of a Surprise.

Watching the coast of California burn.  Not what I ever wanted to happen to anyone. To lose everything.

Our  Whole House Generator has been installed....we (son) was without power for four hours....daughter and I went out for lunch, Goodwill, and the bookstore.  I did not buy a book. I did buy daughter a boxed kit...to build "Sam's Bookstore".  I do not know how she will keep the pieces away from her two very nosy cats.  ( I did buy a book at Goodwill- one I already had at home). 60 cents with discount.

We bought very little at the grocery store today.  I have ham and cheese for roll ups.  Daughter has been having some when she is here during lunchtime so I got extra.  Son says I never buy anything to eat....but I seem to be eating all the time.  Breakfast oatmeal, banana,  Son's leftover wheat bread and peanut butter, orange, flour tortilla and Ham and Swiss cheese, dark chocolates, bagel and cream cheese,  coffee and tea.  It's a lot.  I also COULD make a box of Kraft Mac and Cheese.  Or make some white rice- if I have frozen peas in the freezer.  I add sweet soy sauce.

Not ALL of that in the same day but pretty much...eating....a variety of things......but not an actual sit down at the table meal.  I did have an Applebees Bacon Burger with Fries yesterday.... sigh.... my digestive track wasn't very happy about that meal. I won't go back.  I did watch a woman drink her lunch.....three tall glasses of beer and then she packed up the food she never touched and ordered a fourth beer.  I hope her lunch companion was driving.  We also saw a very heavy old guy in Bermuda Shorts.....wind chill here in Maine yesterday was "freeze your face off....."  And the Generator Guys were out there working.

Daily Notes on a very cold cloudy Maine Morning.

 House Generator is being installed today-  We will be without electricity for  FOUR hours.... I had to stop typing to go answer the door.   So a short post.  Generator is on the pad and the Electrical Guy is under the house rolling around in the crawl space.  At least it's warm (warmer) down there.

Very cold here today.....very. Just a dusting of tiny beads of snow on the ground.

I have the heat running a bit warmer and I am leaving around 12 noon to get my haircut.  I was invited for a Lunch Buddy Lunch but I had already changed the appointment once....twice would be unacceptable.

I have stopped watching MSNBC or any news outlet.....before the election and since. I do read the morning newspaper.  That's about all I can take and mostly I read until I get upset and then stop....... I recall being in my teens when Richard Nixon was elected.....and I wondered THEN what was wrong with grown up people voting for him... Tricky Dick. And now we have SOMETHING so much worse.

People so damn afraid of "other" different people that they elect someone so unfit to even own a dog.

Well, that's it for me...I won't type anything else for the remainder of the four years. On this topic. What is done is done we just need to stay alive until it's over,

As to Will Trent.  When I mentioned my thoughts to daughter she got on Social Media (what is that???) and found out that lots of people are wondering how he got SO TALL all of a sudden.  And muscular.  The options were that the studio sent him to the gym to lift weights and perhaps he is wearing some sort of lifts or additions to his legs to make him taller.  And he had to exercise to get his walking to look normal.

Any opinions?????

Daily Notes for Wednesday, January 8th. Sunshine and (brownish) green grass here in Maine. 22 degrees

 Postcard from Provence.

I collected all the items necessary for sweater mending....my red sweater has a very large worn to bare threads hole just above the heavily mended elbow section...that's to be expected with an ancient sweater... the mending creates too much weight and the threads separate. I have searched the internet for a new sweater... but in the comments on the site where I did find a nice cashmere sweater (new) was one that said the sweater smelled funny....and that person was returning it. Another said the wool was so thin you can see thru it.  So mending......... LLBean had a nice black cashmere a few years ago...very very thin, very expensive.  Not interested in a see thru sweater.  I could have bought TWO and lined one with the other. I might still consider that......could last me the rest of my life. Worth the very HIGH cost.  Came only in black.  I like black.  I love red.

I still have sweater scraps to use to make patches and still have tiny balls of left over sock yarn from Paula in Denver to stitch with...I'll get on it today......it's a very very large hole.

I got one of those "sad voiced" grandma calls on the land line just as I got out of bed this morning...I said I can't hear you and hung up- he called back asked why I couldn't hear him......I stayed silent waiting for the I need money and I'm in jail part... didn't happen so I hung up. Again.  Then I brushed my teeth and washed my face and noticed yet again that the sink water refused to drain.   sigh.  Great start to a day.

AAA finally.....I had to become the primary as husband is no longer here to do that. I started the process prior to Christmas.....card arrived yesterday or the day before.  I am the primary.  One who doesn't drive as yet.  But I could....any time now....well, not during the Winter......not a great time to restart my driving.... See how I do that?   Push things off into the "future".  My Son drives us to the grocery/library on Friday in my car.  I look out the passenger window.  I will finally admit to actually having zero enthusiasm for anything.  Not even my dark chocolates.

The comments on the scrap cloth small squares and rectangles are not positive..... Son says nothing and Daughter says "I don't get it".  I re-sorted the scraps by color yet again......how they get mixed up is beyond me. I really am having trouble when I get to the fourth row of strips....finding cloth compatible to the others is nearly impossible....well, IS impossible...says my daughter-  She cleared out and arranged the shelving unit across from the sink.....we got rid of a box full of things.  I washed a few glass things that were very dusty.  A thin glass teapot.....never used.  But still lovely.

Daily Notes- Tuesday January 7th. Very Cold here in Maine but grass is still green. 25 degrees

 Here in Maine we don't get ALL the varieties of this jam jelly line.  I like the Strawberry Rhubarb. My Son loves the Cherry.  Husband was a fan of Fig.  A friend of mine- Gerry loved the Four Fruit.  I would ask a friend in New York to send me four jars and then give them to Gerry. His wife told me she had never seen him so happy.....He died that same year.  His wife had a Brunch for him- with an empty place at one end of the long table.  I sat next to "Gerry" and drank his Blood Mary and my own.  When my friend noticed his empty glass......it is possible to cry and laugh at the same time... yes....then she ordered him another.  I finished that one as well.  

I kept and washed all the empty jelly/jam jars and husband sorted out his screws, washers, bolts, nails etc into the jars and made shelving custom for the height and width of the jars.....an entire wall.  My Dad would have been envious. I never got around to counting how many jars are actually on that wall.

Watched Will Trent three episodes back to back..  Will is now tall and muscular like the book Will Trent.  Same actor.  He is also driving a vintage Porsche.  Just like the book.  Silver not black.  Had a conversation with his girlfriend Angie- towered over her...last season they were the same height. What comes to mind is AI....In any case, I will NOW watch....the secondary female is also driving the correct car and is diabetic... Yellow with black stripes.  Like the car in the book that Will had to bend himself into- the front trunk with a long rifle....... People- the books are amazing......

Now...all we need is Will Trent to meet the female doctor in the morgue of that huge Atlanta hospital. And Angie surrendering to heroin and the streets again.........

Monday January 6th. Still Sunshine and Green Grass here in Maine. Temps in the teens........

 I chose this as a reference to "blue skies".

Watched so many football games yesterday.....but the last one- The Detroit Lions Game.  

First time I have watched them play....all I can say is WOW.  Not since Brady and the Patriots back in the Olden Days have I seen anything like that.......the image of the defeated quarterback sitting on the ground- no team mates coming to help him up.........says everything about that game. That Team.

I was glad I stayed up and watched....and then the news that the Patriots had FIRED their coach.  Too little too late.  The Sports Show today should be amazing... the "fans" at the Patriots Stadium were wearing brown grocery bags over their heads.  One of my dark chocolate candy wrappers said "don't let the hard days win".   Yesterday was hard day for MANY teams.

My breakfast oatmeal was perfect .......I pushed the 3 button and not the 2 on the new microwave.....3 is so much better.  

I started yesterday with Liverpool and Arsenal.  Then several other football games.  Tampa Bay. anyway...I got thru most of the games and ended with Detroit.  Then I when to bed.  Slept very well.

Now I intend to watch my Sports Talk Show to find out the gritty details of the Coach Getting Fired. Also winning yesterday's game knocked us out of first place in the draft.....Can't Win for Losing.

Sunday, January 5th. 24 degrees cloudy here in Maine. Grass is still green.

 Two Pears.  Postcards from Provence.

I have bananas and oranges.  No pears.  I should get different fruits ...I do like pears.

I finished my book after turning off the Bengals game (before they got to half time).   I have more to watch today.  Yesterday I watched European Soccer and then football.

I need to put on socks and get my oatmeal into the microwave......Read the newspaper.  Bills are finally showing up after all the Holiday Mail and no mail days.  So they have to be paid.  We are having Football Pizza- several toppings.  Always delicious.

That's about it...I'm hungry and my ankles are cold- I need my socks,  Everything is JUST fine here..No worries.....the last scrap square is very very MODERN and will not play well with the others.....Laughing. That should be my motto for all things Joanne.....does not play well with others...I believe that was actually written in the comments on my kindergarten report cards.  So I am staying TRUE to myself. 

Daily Correspondence. Saturday, January 4th.

My sewing room.  Formerly the office/sewing room.

The new shelving daughter and I selected and she put together.....she also sorted everything I owned (fabric). (scissors) (sewing machine) into bins (we had emptied of unused clothing from the Attic) and has that all safely available to me.  The art on the floor is no longer on the floor. It's on the walls.

Tubs contain one color family each.  So if I need blue- it's in the labeled BLUE tub. Who knew it was that easy??????  One tub is titled SCRAPS and that is the tub I go searching in for my little sewing project. Found an incredibly great blue strip yesterday....perfect. I'll sew it to the blue square/rectangle.  Sometimes the additions make a rectangle a square and sometimes the opposite.  There are no rules.

In some respects this is stifling to an ART PERSON- as I "think" I know what color I want but as I shuffle thru a box of many colors...I change my mind....wanting blue and only seeing blue.....not sure this is going to work long term...but right now- working on the squares becoming rectangles becoming squares again Project.......an abundance of unsorted scraps in all sorts of colors...is working very very well.  I can only use what's on the ottoman.  I can't say for sure- but I might be the only person who admires them. And it's iffy even for me.  I can't ever see sewing them all into ONE Object.  Horrible images....

I'll have one or two sort of far enough along to photograph for you....by Monday.  Today and tomorrow  there is Soccer and Some Football... I sew while watching. I am also reading. Sew, Read, Watch. Repeat.

My book for yesterday and into today is The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion.  Don Tillman has decided to find a wife.  He has a list of what he does NOT want.  Rosie is ALL of those things........ I actually wanted to stay up late last night to continue reading......that hasn't been true of a book in quite a long time. Don is helping Rosie find her biological father (he is a Genetic's Professor)......she is helping him open himself up to new and different things.  They surprise each other and delight people they come in contact with.

I did not stay up-- I went to bed and slept very very well.  It's now time to begin watching European Soccer and later American Football.  There is Sunshine but it was in the low 20's overnight.  No snow on the ground...rather odd seeing green grass in January. In Maine...but Maine has been different in the past few years...and this year... way MORE different.

Sears came out to check on repairs for daughter's 30 year old fridge.  The guy said that model usually only has three things that can go wrong....her thing was number one....guy is ordering the defrost part.  Sears also repaired the 30 year old washing machine- one single part for that also.  When my newer appliances stop working- I have to buy a new appliance as there is NO REPAIR- no single part just many many parts.....too many to replace..  

Daughter has lovely neighbors who let her come and go to get milk for her cereal from their fridge.  She moved her perishables to their house. Driving here for breakfast cereal milk was NOT the best idea.

And it's also very cold outside so things can stay out in the garage if need be and freeze solid. If she had any of that....but she hadn't gone grocery shopping so it all worked out just fine.  I have the exact same fridge on my back porch.....The BOX STORE LOANER FRIDGE from years ago....I am STILL waiting for Lowes to come pick it up.......(laughing).......Lowes.  Wow.  I remind them every so often...

 

Daily notes on a Sunny Friday , January 3rd.36 degrees,

 I love this image from Postcards From Provence.  

We have just returned from Library and Grocery.  I needed the heavy coat but inside the Library it got too heavy and too warm...I had to give up on looking for books.....I got four.  I had some left unread from last week.  I also have my packed bookcase.  I woke up too early and fell back to sleep...too much sleep makes me tired....Oddly enough.

I bought a few bananas.  No oranges.  Cinnamon  Raisin  Bagels.  Coffee Cream. Flour Tortillas for my Ham and Swiss roll ups.  I was interested in buying pickles but son said we had them in the fridge--he was correct. We had half a jar of pickles.  He bought chips and I did not. 

I worked on my Random Scrap Strips added to squares or rectangles (hand sewing)......a few that looked miserable now look improved.  With an "edgy" attitude (a sad pun).  Nothing matches...so IF I ever had enough MASS...the sewn together things would be very very strange.  SOME have bypassed "potholder" in size.....moving toward "placemat"...  The thing is-- they are too nice looking (in my opinion only) to be used. To be gotten dirty with spaghetti sauce smears etc.  I gift them and see them in homes- still unused.....brand new.

Two out of the many were enlarged with wider strips yesterday while watching tv.  Some of the really small ones got strips as well. Strips that still feel a bit uncomfortable....so I will let them rest... see if they need to be removed.  The pile of strips and sewn pieces is one foot by 2 feet wide and high.  A Tangled Mess.  I realized yesterday that I can "free" sew a very very straight line......Virgo in all things.

So, TV (now that football is ending- what will I watch????), I've seen all of CSI-NY,  Law and Order, and have started watching documentaries on PBS WORLD.  They usually take up two hours of my day and four if there is a second episode and 6 hours if there is a third in the series. I have the feeling of being in college listening to lectures on subjects I know nothing about. But now...I am paying attention as I have years and years of experience and I know stuff now.....but am still confused. 10 to the nth power.

Daily Notes for Thursday, January 2nd 2025. Sunshine here in Maine- 40 degrees.

 Postcards from Provence- Today we have a nice plump Pear.  I always have admired the work of Realistic Painters....it's actually very very detailed work.....

I worked on changing over to my new desk top calendar yesterday (to celebrate the holiday)....Added two images to the top left corner... Also including my two January Appointments.  Haircut and Doctor. and then I had to stop as I didn't have anything else .....

My coffee has gotten cold- be right back as I need it to be warmer. I have also gotten behind on my banana a day project....Potassium.  I need the coffee to take my pills... Vitamin and tiny statin.  I am actually feeling much better than I did in the Fall.  I don't know why but...fine with me.

I know I am feeling better because I spend more time being BORED than I had been previously. Actively being bored....Looking for things to do....a good sign.

Nothing I see around me is making me less bored.  I watched the sister PBS channel- WORLD yesterday..three episodes of what I think is Physics.  Things to the tenth power.  Colliders....very interesting things like black holes, experiments to create Life in a dish, a mechanical doll that has conversations with people- artificial intelligence.  And my favorite part- that our DNA is made with star dust from distant stars.  Check out WORLD on your cable network.....

So...today.   I finished reading I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue.  Not an easy read but I made it to the end with a break for WORLD.  I started One-Star Romance by Laura Hankin......page 34 and might not go any further.  It's at times like this that I wonder how a book got published.

I have quite a few others on the book shelf...so...

Happy New Year-- Welcome to January First 2025.

Took awhile but finally got the typing over here to the left.... image from Postcards from Provence yet again.   The Pom's are supposed to be lucky somehow...bountiful.  I'd love to share a Bountiful Year with all of you.  So we'll be having lots of these images this first week or 2025..

40 degrees with 99% humidity and rain.  Here in Maine.  Global Warming....very obvious in Maine. My front garden beds are full of water.  I haven't read the newspaper as yet or eaten my breakfast...it was getting late and I know some of you worry when I post late.

I think we will be taking my little tree down and putting the ornaments away.....I will miss it. I liked the sparkle of the tiny white lights.

I haven't had my breakfast as yet....late again.....but will be eating soon as I have little to REPORT here. Furnace is running,  Lights are on.  Son has walked past and wished me a Happy New Year.  The computer finished that sentence with Happy Birthday.   This new iMac likes to do that. Finish my sentences. It even has words in light print up ahead of my typing.  Rushes ahead of me to get the words on the screen.  I make sure I never finish my sentence with words the computer chose.

We'll see who is more intelligent.