Daily Notes on Thursday. October 8th- 48 degrees and Sunshine here in Maine.

Well. as it is almost "All the Time" around  here- I have plenty of the fabrics I don't want to use right now and very little other than scraps of the fabric I actually do what to use..Right NOW.. 

I made one small square and wanted a few more- well, that isn't going to happen...so I watched Law and Order.  I wanted NINE... that's my happy number....I can make ONE more.  Two is not a great artistic number.  Three could work.  If I could make three by sewing tiny scraps together.  The real thing isn't this dark.  (I don't have any lights turned on as yet)

1.  Stopped looking in the storage boxes, stopped reading, stopped paying attention to Law and Order and just felt like kicking something really hard for a long time.  I have enough of the shortest supplied fabric to make one more square.... a few other others are enough fabric to make the nine I would have liked.  

2.   My own solution is to take the square apart and use another fabric that I have in abundance. Or have the other eight with a  different fabric... second from the center.  This was NOT a problem when I was making each square different from all the others.  Not a problem until I want NINE of them. And NINE could still be a number I can't manage......THREE might be what I end up with.

In better news.... this book is on its way from the Big A...via my neighbor's account.  She tucked it into her shopping basket.  So Life goes on....

I also emptied a few things out of the fridge....and discovered enough bread for a toasted cheese sandwich...with pickles..... (possibly two) and possibly some additional vintage episodes of Law and Order later today.  I wanted to comfort myself with potato chips...but thank goodness there were zero chips in the house.

October 8th..Dark, Wet with Rain.

 I have a bunch of chair images so we might be having those for a few days.  Or not.  For a while I was cutting out images of chairs....I can't recall why...but I like chairs.... I do recall- I was using the images to draw the chairs in my art notebook freehand....and then I stopped.  Easy enough to return to doing the drawings.  And I can put THOSE here....  I think I would have liked owning the chair in the image here. Midcentury modern-ish.

1.  It's very dark in here....very wet outside.  I got up from the desk to turn on MORE lights.

2.  My neighbor has ordered the book daughter and I were searching for- from Amazon-- as they are having their usual "big sale" and she was filling her basket.  Six dollars less than the price on the book jacket.  I was tempted to also ask for Mont Blanc pen refills but do not know which ones I need. Book will arrive by end of the week.

3.  None of the Lunch Offers have been followed up on.... I was starting to want Sweet Potato Fries....

4.  TV- Other than British Soccer games in the RAIN-- has been dismal.  I watched a few things but got seriously depressed by all of it.  Even Finding Your Roots.

5.  I used the heating pad to ease up the tight neck and shoulder muscles...right side.....I believe it's tension.  Even right now the neck and right shoulder feel stiff.

6.  I sorted thru a few storage tubs of fabric to make some additional squares...the ONE I made during the Soccer Match was exceptionally GREAT and now I want all the others to look that good. I even turned on the iron and pressed a few scraps of fabric.  I should have had that here instead of the chair...tomorrow for sure. and perhaps a second one....I also got into a huge bag of cloth I had dyed and black cloth I bleached to a spotty white and black....some grey.... I sorted during Law and Order...  

7.  I could just make three more that look like that really GREAT square and sew them together... I doubt I have enough of any of the fabrics to make it into a 36 or 48 inch square ART Quilt.  but a nice 12 inch square could be framed...under glass.

Daily Notes for Tuesday. October 7th. Sun is shining here in Maine- 62 degrees.

 Banana Halloween Pops.  I asked if we should make some- he said no.  So....Plain Bananas are just fine. As is.  But these are very cute.....

1.  ...read the newspaper....now trying to cleanse my mind.......the Suduko wasn't going anywhere and the internet was giving me a tutorial on bar soap this morning......I actually do not use bar soap....so that was today's personal update....continue to not use bar soap..(now)  I do have a stack of bars somewhere.........

2.  Watched a very long program on a guy from Tennessee who pushed all barriers (brains but zero cash to get into college) and get a degree and head up Moderna and develop the COVID vaccine and many many other wonderful life saving things.  It was a very very good thing to watch.... I get my COVID shot on Friday.  I signed up on the internet.  Successfully.  Which is a Major Victory..... (balloons, confetti and a parade)

3.  Previous to the medical program I watched different teams in Egypt digging up old tombs looking for...they never actually say for sure.....what they imagine finding....one guy was over the moon about finding broken pale blue pottery bowls.  Which "proved" something.  I get all nervous when they shimmy into very tight spaces that could fill with sand.....I would NEVER.....

4.  Yesterday was a Road Trip with daughter....first she had to move all the landscape tools out onto my front porch so I would have somewhere to SIT.  Then the Town Office to pay Property Taxes... BIG CHECK.........THEN down the hall and I voted absentee (in person)...I found that amusing. Then to the bookstores to buy books.   And a new wall calendar for 2026.  I very nearly bought the identical one to the 2025 on the wall....ooops

5.  I looked over the Art Supply section but didn't feel the need for any supplies of that sort...I have husband's colored pencils and pens and my own sets.....and the pencil sharpener from Germany is still working to capacity.....all is well in the colored pencil area of my Life.  Wish I could say that about other areas of my Life.

6.  I also visited two books stores and purchased BOOKS which are now residing in my bookcase. Two favorite rom com authors had new books....we are still looking for Pride, Prejudice and other Flavors by Sonali Dev.   I had just finished reading Birding with Benefits - Sarah Dubb and purchased my own copy. just because I often forget I like the book....I also purchased a hard cover of the Love Haters..... Other new titles are Slow Burn Summer by Josie Silver,  The Austen Affair by Madeline Bell, Maid for Each Other by Lynn Painter (of Mr Wrong Number FAME) and The Launch Date by Annabelle Slater.

I was looking for something new from Tessa Bailey but....no.   I might do an internet search after hitting publish......then move on to Antiques Roadshow-  TiVo recorded quite a few yesterday.

Daily Notes- Monday October 6th. No Newspaper Monday.

 Three sets of dots- might need one more.  Notice how the colors are identifying with my emotional state???  We won't be seeing pink or bright yellow in the near future.  Or cooler blues and greens.

1.  British Soccer was good....American Football was almost good....my book finally got to the best part.....and now we have to get thru the typical "misunderstanding" part of any of these rom-com books. I've read this one before so...this dull part of the book. ...was something I was not surprised by.  This Time. I'm going to skip ahead while the mom tries to totally "manage" her daughter's choices. (because mother had made all the wrong choices).

2.  Still waiting to see if either friend is actually going to have lunch with me. Unless they decide to have lunch with each other and skip my participation......which could happen.  But it is Monday and a great day to go out and have lunch....the sun is shining here in Maine.  No Military Take-Over as yet.

3.  I Swiffered the wood floors yesterday....easier than dragging the central vac hose around the house. The Swiffer picked up quite a few VERY large dust bunnies.

4.  Sunday Pizza was great....  I just wished I had eaten some of the birthday ice cream after........

5.  Monday and zero newspaper...zero news...  which is beneficial to my mental health these days. And I have a stack of partially finished Suduko puzzles to work thru while eating my bowl of oatmeal. So..Life is okay...''not watching news on TV" really helps me get thru the day.... and not having a newspaper on Monday is also helpful........bad things happen on the weekends.....

6.  Was America always like this?  OR was it just not as loud and in our faces????????

Daily Notes- Sunshine Here In Maine on Sunday, October 5th.

 I bit of this and a bit of that....hasn't been sewn together as yet.  Still playing with color and fabric. This looks very Halloween (ugh).   Not a Great Fan of Orange...but do like Halloween Candy.

1.  The Sunday Newspaper........not much there....and the Sunday Suduko- not much there as well. Just when are we going to stand together and overturn this particular government???????

2.  Perhaps none of us actually care?  I do but...I'm old.  And I do vote. Every Time.

3.  I am going to attempt to use the internet to make an appointment for a Covid Vaccination.  I did this once before- in the very beginning of needing a vaccination (years ago).....and it was difficult.  I might not need one as I go No Where and No One Sneezes on Me.  

But I do Touch Surfaces..... I'm more concerned about the Flu-- I got REALLY sick one year--with the Flu.  Back when I worked at the Greenhouse. My husband never noticed I was very sick........what a guy. Never even made me a cup of tea.  This was YEARS  before he forgot who I was.

4.  My former cross the street neighbor sent an email....I sent one back.  This is a second person wanting to have lunch with me... but that is as far as it goes (we never actually set a day and time)..... my Lunch Buddy..sigh...we haven't had lunch in a Great Long Time......so many other important things on her calendar... I have only Library and Grocery Store on my calendar....Town Hall is added this week to pay taxes on my house.

5.  Two British Soccer games yesterday- one in the pouring rain,...another one today. Possibly two. And later Sunday Pizza and American Football.  I have salad to go with my slices.  I'd like to also have a glass of wine...but I don't have any......that I can open.  I need twist off caps not corks.  I do have ice cubes, a cold bottle of Gin and tiny bottles of Tonic. (in the fridge). But wine (whine) sounds better.

Daily Notes Saturday, October 4th. Sunshine here in Maine and 66 degrees

 As you can see....added strips.  I like the keyboard squares under it also.  White makes everything better.

1.  One more day of Hot Dogs and tomorrow is Pizza.  I've run out of Antiques Roadshow episodes. Today is cooking shows which I have recording.

2.  Ran thru the cable channels I have (yesterday) and found exactly NOTHING worth watching.  I've already  missed two British Soccer Matches....I did watch one late yesterday in the driving rain...had to be miserable for the players...

3.  The Newspaper continues to infuriate me....why are we allowing this to continue????? Countries have overthrown insane dictators for decades....why can't WE?????

4.  Putting the duvet cover on the king sized down comforter was easier than I imagined it to be... and I was nice and warm all night long.

5.  Yesterday's and Today's book is. Birding With Benefits.  First time around I missed quite a bit...so I am enjoying the banter this time.  Sarah T. Dubb is the author.  And I might retain some bird info.

6.  Only four days in and the October Desk Calendar is filling up FAST.  And that's it for today.

Daily Notes from A Chilly but Sunny Day in Maine.

Stitched while watching TV.

I gave up on finding something that worked with that blue square and made this out of a long strip of cloth cut into rectangles....now the difficult part of adding another color.

1.  Today is Library Grocery Store....And it's also Stuffing the King Down Comforter into the Comforter Cover Day....this activity closely resembles turning the mattress- not flipping it- I used to do that but I was much younger---I turn it clockwise  so I make sleep dents in both sides of the mattress....while still only sleeping on my side of the bed.  I have a tall four poster bed- so the turns have to work with the four posts...  it's a geometry puzzle.  And only once a year....

2.   I haven't decided on a Luncheon Choice for the WEEK and we are going to the grocery store today.. Hot Dog Week was just "okay".  Perhaps it was my choice of hot dog brands.....I usually had lunch while watching a repeat of Antique's Roadshow.  Repeat Show and Repeat Lunch.

3.  I will be looking at the bottom shelf in the hallway of the Library today for a nice book to use as a canvas for some ART.  Removing the pages from the cover...using the inside of the cover as a canvas, If it actually turns out to be a workable "thing" I will take pictures of the progress.

4.  The majority of last week's books are going back unread...well, I read 10 pages...each...then gave up. In the final book, yesterday...I lost track of who was who and what was what and actually...didn't care. And the husband who was supposed to be "training to live on Mars"?????? whoa.  And there was an entire family speaking German.  It was "a lot".

5.  I am going to grab a few Danielle Steele books...they require very little on my part to keep up with the plot lines...

6.  I discovered- while looking for replacement ink cartridges...that the fat Mon Blanc fountain pen husband bought me in Germany is now worth 1K.  It's now "vintage:.

 

Daily Notes on Thursday, October 2nd- Sunshine..62 degrees

 Austin Read-a-Like booklist.... tomorrow you get a Rom Com List. (the Decoy Girlfriend sounds interesting and I've read or own most of the others).  I love when a book list matches my bookcase.

Horoscope- Don't Live Someone Else's Dream when you have Your Own Dreams to Pursue.

1.  Son says ignore that little blue icon in the top right....

2.  My neck aches..Son says it's from turning my head sideways while watching tv...  I recall this happening in other years when I stayed on the couch for weeks- once with what we thought was COVID. that was long ago and it wasn't...it was the FLU.  I now get an annual Flu shot....well, I did before Trump said NO.  I'll try again tomorrow at the Grocery Store Vaccine Desk.

3.  It's getting cool enough in the house for me to wear wool socks....so it's the right TIME to start making pots of Homemade Vegetable Soup.......

4.  Lynn Painter has a new booklet....Maid For Each Other.... Gonna look for it....

5.  Law and Order episodes yesterday were dreadfully upsetting...I deleted most of the ones I decided I could NOT watch.  Will set 10 more to record today... still season one.  The CSI series  I like is still showing in the square box format....eventually- it takes months.. but they will notice and go to full screen again...... maybe.

6.  Well...that's it for today...Heating Pad, Book and Law and Order ....I also have cloth here to sew into very strange squares........nothing goes with anything else and there isn't enough scrap material to make a second one of any of them........ah...add HOT DOGS to the list......and some more Tylenol.

Daily Notes- Wednesday, October First..... with some unwanted blue extra. in the right top of this post.

I have begun reading Alexander McCall Smith's Emma.  Two pages so far and he is describing a field. An actual field.  Which I have little to no interest in.  The book has about 15 more minutes and then it goes into the return to the Library Book Bag and I read the Lottery Winners three books.  (daughter found them)...

1.  I watched a few not very good Law and Order episodes yesterday....by that I mean I watched a few minutes of each. I need to find something new to occupy myself... the last of the modern takes on Jane Austen was read and finished yesterday..... the World Cup Soccer- the camera work is not good...so I deleted the games.  I am used to the British camera work which is so so much better.

2.  The Computer Engineer doesn't know what that new blue icon in the far right top corner is....it showed up when I opened this page....he tried to remove it but it's still here.

3.  I have a few more books on the Library shelf....one of them is certainly NOT going to be describing a field.  I hope.  But then I will return to my bookcase here at home....select something I have read before... a sure thing.  Or draw things on index cards.  I did some of that yesterday... flowers.

4.   Jude posted that TypePad is gone.....I recall that they did warn people.  Jude was worried about all the years of content on her blog...... I can see all the decades of my posts...all still here on NOT Typepad-.... that would bother me a bit but I actually NEVER go back and read any of it.  I know Readers often mention reading from the beginning.  I think I have enough words written to create a large BOOK.

5.  blogger.com......free and secure...   Well, I have the desk calendar to work on- getting September off and uncovering October... the monitor is quite heavy......Son got me the larger one...I better get started.

Daily Notes- Tuesday September 30th. Sunshine..

 Pumpkin Roll Up Cake.

We DO NOT have one HERE in My House.  Bah Humbug.

1. So far World Cup Soccer is not working for me- camera placement is not the best.  So I recored about  10 Old Law and Order episodes........for when I get tired of reading my books.  Or sewing strips to my cloth squares.  Or when there is no Antiques Roadshow on PBS (but they tend to repeat the same ones- ugh)......I know they are on the PBS app....but I am not watching things on this desktop- or on husband's tablet which stays on the charger just in case something of importance shows up.....and it's a French Canadian laptop....husband made a mistake in buying it..... we finally got it unlocked.... but only halfway. It might be nice to read books on it.  

2.  Taking my time reading the last of the Sonali Dev four book series.... today I will finish  The Emma Project  and I will need to find something new to read.   I do have four books from the Library on the shelf.  Waiting...and it's Tuesday and Library Day is Friday.

3.  Looked for the dark blue fabric with the black and white circles.....NO...found the same fabric in black with white and black circles. As SOON as I sew the black/white on the square the blue will show up.

4. The tendons in my neck are tight and achy....  I'm going to go sit on the couch and stare up at the ceiling until they relax......right now I am holding my head downward and stretching the muscles at the back fm neck.  Heating pad if nothing else works.

Daily Notes for Monday September 29th. Sunshine here in Maine.

 Doughnuts and muffins.

No baking going on here...other than Sunday Pizza.  I watched some football.....not much (have any of you noticed how slow the game has gotten- time outs etc-- it all drags......and then I moved on to other things like Soccer (very fast moving) and finally Masterpiece Theater on PBS (more repeats of very old series).  Which is what PBS is now- really old repeats and fund raising.

1.  I may have found a piece of cloth to cut into strips for another set of borders on the blue square I am making.   Suddenly I have become "picky" and previously I was just "making what I had on the pile" WORK.  I like the pile idea so much better- actually got things DONE.  This looking for matchy stuff is not my wheelhouse.  "Good enough" is fine with me.  It's not like anyone but me sees any of this "work". Or any of it "becomes" anything. The squares I make- will always be unfinished squares

2.  I was thinking about this blog....about the many people I have met along the way and lost contact with. If you are one of them- send an email or comment here...I'd like to know how you are doing... quite a few of you are on the west coast.  From top to bottom is the way I remember it.  East Coasters can write also... and the Florida and Southern Readers....let me know how you are doing.

3.  I sure wish I had written down college friends ..knowing where they lived (at home) is not helpful. Having a last name for some of them would have been the way to go... and perhaps Facebook would be the way to go???? I have never entered that domain. Time for this Old Dog to learn even one new trick??????

4.  I never returned to The Emma Project....so today I am going to get back into reading.  Less screen watching.  Which is not great for one's brain.  And also looking for a fabric for the blue square.. before starting in on the purple square.  And it's IS Hot Dog Week......

5.  I set about 10 or more Law and Order episodes to record...also repeats but ones I totally enjoy watching and not bothered (at all) if I decide to delete them midpoint.  Or even sooner.

Daily Notes-- Sunday, September 28th. Sunshine and 69 degrees.

 Under the sub-title of Fall Baking.  So delicious looking........too much work for me but can imagine Son measuring to get the stripes EVEN.

1.   Watched one of the first World Cup games.  New Zealand v. Chile.  A New Zealand striker named Walker had THREE YELLOW CARDS long before the game ended... he tried and failed (at the very end) to stop the same guy he'd been knocking over the entire game...and that guy scored the winning goal in the very last few seconds of the match.  Chile won. Sometimes what goes around comes around to bite you. 2 to 1.

2.   Am I foolish to expect good sportsmanship in World Cup Soccer Games??????  Yes...I am.

3.   I didn't get too far reading the Emma Project book due to the World Cup...And not sure how it will go today as we have American Football and Sunday Pizza. 

4.  I did a bit- just a bit- of hand sewing yesterday....it was the sort of day when I wished I could take a nap. Falling asleep is very difficult for me....I trained as a small child to stay awake in case of a family emergency...my parents were unreliable.  Their arguments were loud and terrifying.  

5.   I have been Damaged Goods my whole life.

Daily Notes- Saturday, September 27th. Sunshine and 67 degrees

 I have a basket- not quite this large- sitting over to my right- filled with cloth scraps.  I dig around in it every so often hoping to find a bit of cloth that works well with what I have going in the usual SQUARE I am hand sewing.   It's an easy project with no deadline OR even the slightest of expectations. The last time I did this the squares became potholder gifts for the neighborhood.  I found a nice blue yesterday.

The floor looks like mine...but mine has none of the warm color of this one.  I specified- no red tones.

1.  The Sun is shining and the grass continues to green up in the cooler temps.  The perennial beds around and next to the house are overgrown and have a jungle aspect to them...I am unable to care for them...I admit my age and tendency to tip over as the reasons.  Too many older people tip over and hit their heads...and the ones I knew- died. Always alone.  The funerals were devastatingly sad.

2.  I have Soccer on the USA channel later today....cooking shows on PBS in a few hours.  I am up early... Today's book is the Emma Project.  The last of the Pride and Prejudice series by Sonali Dev.  Book two was as wonderful as I recalled it to be.  I purchased the three books so I could read them when I was unable to get to the library in my "old age".  The print is the right size and has enough ink to be visible to old eyes.   

There are books in my bookcase I cannot read...light (pale) ink.  Magnifiers are not helpful with light ink.

3.  I did a load of wash yesterday and forgot it was in the washer- recalling the Washing Machine Pages- when I had to sit and watch the old machine in case it started spilling water all over the floors........which happened if I even got up to answer the phone.  I waited to replace it until we renovated the old bathrooms.  I still sit and watch the new one every so often...it makes whale noises which intrigue me. Son says the entire process takes exactly one hour...he has timed it.  I'm not surprised.  I have never even thought about timing anything.

4.  I finished the roasted beets...ate the dark red ones...the golden yellow ones were mushy. We also finished off the birthday cake....I was tempted to buy another one at the grocery yesterday......the cake was that good.  But I did not.

5.  This week is Hot Dog Week.  For my late lunch or early supper.... it surpasses Toasted Cheese & Pickle Weeks. But a close second to Homemade Vegetable Soup Weeks.  I also am thinking of reviving Spaghetti Weeks. I also enjoy Toasted Cheese and Baked Bean Weeks.  Been awhile.....  Deli Baked Chicken and Mayo is only for the Summer Months along with BLT's.  Sunday is Pizza.

Daily Notes- Friday, September 26th. Sunshine...and 70 degrees

 What came in the mail yesterday...all the way from California.  

I was having some trouble with purple.... cloth that played well with it.

1.  One final slice of Birthday Cake for sometime today.... Library and Grocery Store....I am out of Coffee Cream and coffee with regular milk-- just not right.

2.  My cable subscription does not include the channel with the soccer games.....I am really bummed out. CBSSN.

3.  My book is getting to the really emotional part of the story....where everything goes terribly wrong before it can go right.

4.  I don't think I have any books waiting for me at the Library ...I'll have to just walk around and see what's what. I'm going to check and see if there is another  Dev book on the shelf in the stacks.  I do think there was another book.  Then I will check the new books....

Daily Notes on a Wet and Cloudy Day in Maine. 62 degrees. 99% humidity.

What I am trying to read.  Law and Order got to the point where I fast forwarded thru parts I didn't like.  So I guess Antiques Roadshow is skating near the edges also.  My Attention Span can only stretch so far. And I do NOT have the channel showing SOCCER TODAY...and I am not happy about that. Goog has soccer news to share- NOT.

1.  I fixed myself an actual (sort of) meal yesterday of eggplant and cheese.  It was good but possibly too much food.  I was going to have ice cream but I doubt I would have enjoyed it.  My son would say too much food (in my estimate) was not enough food....he is usually correct.  I don't eat enough..but then I don't DO ANYTHING BUT SIT.  I don't think reading uses up calories????  Neither does rolling one's eyes.

2.  My neck hurts....the tendons on the right side.....it's a problem I have every single year. When I am  watching TV.  Why I always have a book handy.

3.  The small blue square next to the book (in the top photo) is having trouble finding other blues that are compatible. I have tons of blue but the prints/colors on them do not play well with the tiny square. I may have to move on to orange.  Opposites.

4.   Well, I have tea here to drink and my three pills to take-  Tylenol (Trump says it's bad stuff and I take one every day--sometimes two), Vitamin and tiny statin.  I already used my inhaler.... I don't have socks on....where did I leave them??????

5.  Take care....it feels like something bad is about to happen.  And I'd like to be wearing socks.

Daily Notes- Wednesday, September 24th. Clouds and perhaps some rain. (99% humidity)

 The Ottoman Workshop.  No longer a spot to put my feet up.  Like the Days of Olde.

1.  My desk top calendar is full, a few spots for something "small".  Finished my book... Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors."   I really enjoyed reading it... Now on to the next of the series...when I figure out which book is second.  I know one of the books makes me cry...not sure which one.

2,  All the colors are sorted into sandwich bags.... mostly scraps...and I lost my spool of thread..

3.  I also have noticed the house needs to be vacuumed.  Perhaps why I am coughing.  That task wiped me out the last time I hauled central vac hose around the house......(goog has thoughts on vacuuming).

4.  I roasted the beets in the oven and they are still a bit raw in the centers...so I will put them in the microwave and push the vegetable button.  It's like a magical thing... (which my son says exists only in my imagination)....but the sweet potatoes were cooked so perfectly.......time after time.

5.  I am hoping there is an episode of Antiques Roadshow today.  And there is a possible soccer game on this afternoon.  And I will be chasing a book to read......possibly one on the Library Book Shelf???? Some thing is due soon and I am being notified of it in emails.

6.  So that is all the Breaking News here in my house. I have taken my pills, used my inhaler and discovered I had run out of coffee creamer....so my Cuppa is not so great with cereal milk.

7. My Sad Lawn will be back on the mowing schedule......sigh.  There are green areas that need to be trimmed.  The yellow bits are still yellow.

Daily Notes for Tuesday, September 23rd.....Sunshine and still cool here in Maine

 In the line up for today or tomorrow.  I have another blue one that's 4 inches square...but still looking at fabrics.and actually not finding anything as yet. Blue yes, but the pattern in the fabric has to work also.

1.  The Sun is shining.   And Google already has something it wants to insert... Goog needs to find someone else to bother...I'm a very very poor choice...

2.  Halfway through Pride, Prejudice and Other  Flavors. Sonali Dev.  Emma by Alexander Smith is waiting at the Library for Friday pickup.  I had no luck finding Jane Austin in Scarsdale... just typing the title makes me laugh..... no clue as to if it's even a good book.  And I imagine the expression on the face of the local bookstore owner if I asked him to order it for me........oh, I have missed that......facial expression.

3.  Stitched fabric thru a few Law and Order episodes and have more being recorded.  

4.  Coughing....this happens every year when we close all the windows...I have my bedroom window open a bit and no coughing.......I like scientific research projects.

5.  I have to cook the beets my daughter brought me.....bake or boil. The bake makes them sweeter and a bit more dense...the boil is faster..... I'm gonna bake- make them sweeter.  But first I have to think about how to turn on the oven.  Last time I used the oven (on my own)- it was to bake my birthday cake...over a year ago.  

6.  I forgot to put out the recycling for Trash Day.....I actually find out what day it is when I sit here and type the post ....and then after I hit print...I forget what day it is...it's not like I have any appointments or places to go or people to see....I have books, fabric, (my thread got lost- I looked all over for it)... and Antiques Roadshow and Law & Order.  This is My Life.  I take up very little space.

Daily Notes on a Sunny 64 degree day in Maine. No newspaper to read with breakfast.

 This one is..different.  Moody. (like me)  Using some of DebL's precious hand dyed cloth and some of my painted cloth.  The black and white is mine- it's difficult to find dyed black cloth that will bleach back to white...I don't have much of it left. But do try and use every small scrap of it.  (photo was taken with cloth on the keyboard and desk). I've got the center for a blue and black one ready to sew if I want to today. If I plan to watch Law and Order.  My Son drove all the way to Yarmouth to buy me my favorite custard  ice cream.   

1.  I started the day with a story plot and worked on that, in my head, for awhile and then took a shower. I have to be super careful taking a shower at my age....a really good slip and fall and crack on the head and I'm gone for good.  I needed a shower. My hair is happy. 

2.  The Kohl's commercials running for Back To School have the spokeswoman in the striped sweater vest- red and white and now black and white.....I really like the vests.....  there is just something about them....I don't think they exist in Maine.  Kohl's...Oh, there was ONE north of here...a long ride.

3.  The Chicago football game was pretty awesome.  I enjoyed it.  We lived in the Chicago suburbs for many years.  Two different times and houses.  Before and after Germany.

4.   Still not ready to resume walking to end of the road and back...also I am coughing....but I usually do when all the windows get closed up as it gets cold.  

5.  Used up one inhaler and starting a new one tomorrow.    

6.  Google still thinks it has 11 reasons to add things to this post.  To enhance it.

7.  No paper today but sudoko puzzles to try and figure out.....I noticed that the Sunday paper has a price tag of  FIVE DOLLARS.......so NOT worth that many dollars.

Daily Notes on Sunday, September 21st. We have Sunshine and 61 degrees. Pizza.

12.5 by 11.5 inches.  I added strips to 3.5 center rectangles or squares while watching Law and Order. The repeat episodes seem to be the trigger to get me threading a needle and sewing.  I do zero sewing while watching English Soccer.   Every one of them needs spray starch and a hot iron.  Some Day. Soon.

1.  I also spent time this morning crying...because dear Readers I feel like I squandered my Life. Wasted it. I'd really like a do -over....go back in Time and make different choices....I can see clearly where I messed up.  One wrong move and...here I am...with regrets.

2.  Moving on...today is Sunday Pizza.

3.  It's getting chilly here in Maine even with sunshine.  I have on wool socks and a thermal under shirt with a cotton work shirt over it...the furnace is set to the usual temp....I am Running Cold in my Old Age. But I think it's normal as my mother often complained about my cold hands and feet as a baby. I was breast fed so the cold baby hands must NOT have been welcomed.

4.  My Desk Calendar is almost completely covered in news headlines and images. I have about three or four open inches for the remainder of the MONTH and a pile of items I cut from the newspaper and have no where to paste them down........  will have to wait for October.

5.  I'm coughing and there is phlegm.  Not a cold...something....who knows what...no fever.

6.  After I press publish here I am taking my cloth squares and rectangles down to the ironing board and the spray starch and getting them nice and flat and stiff.  And, California Friend, I'm going to see what I can do with the purple fabric.......it's going to be amazing. Amazingly different. Possibly Weird.

 

Sunshine and temps in the high 60's here in Maine... Sweater and socks weather.

 Actual ART for you today. Something I made awhile back.  Just to make sure I still can do what I used to do.  I added the dots.

1.   Cold here in Maine this morning...might need longer pants and some socks.

2.   Vintage Law and Order episodes yesterday. (Season One)..hoping for British Soccer today.

3.   Planning to walk down to my room for long pants and socks. As soon as I press print here. Perhaps a thermal long sleeved shirt as well.

4.   Son served us both a wedge of cake yesterday late afternoon.......a lovely treat.

5.   Fabric is still not what I want to do.  Sorted out some art for the desktop calendar...September's page is covered almost completely.  And October is 10 plus days away.  I am perplexed as to how to entertain myself.........but did find two books at the Library that I had asked daughter to find for me (just the day before).....so Library has BOTH SAM so I might NOT need to buy copies....I ask her to buy the stuff I can't always borrow. And books I read often...the two I picked up yesterday are NOT ones I read OFTEN.

6.  One was (only) because I want to do a FULL WEEK of all the Pride and Prejudice books....Modern takes on P&P that I enjoy reading.  Like Eligible And the Other Bennet Sister.  Austenland is also hilarious. I also have Pride Prejudice and Other Flavors (library).  Longbourne is very very good but not what I want right now- Pride and Prejudice from the servants life and thoughts.  A modern book I am reading right now has a certain P&P vibe...and got me thinking.....It's A Love Story by Annabel Monaghan who wrote my all time favorite book- Nora Goes Off Script. 

7. That was quite the Book Report.....I'll let you go now and go find long pants and socks and perhaps a sweater.....get warmed up.

I was so happy to see all the Birthday Good Wishes......Thank you.

 I'd like to have a sandbox- decorative...... but the neighborhood cats would mess up the designs and poop in the box.  Even if they had to walk thru the woods to get to the box....  I have the bottom round rock already...I picked it up in the first week I was walking.....carried it home.

The Cake was fabulous.

The Eggplant was very very good-and there is plenty for many days.  I had some refrigerator cold.

I don't feel any different but perhaps the next birthday will knock me back... ends in a zero.

Watching very old Law and Order today....Washed the windows that had held the AC units.....then discovered quite a bit more dust and had to continue........it's sunny today and warmer than usual...which is fine...

I found two books at the Library that I had asked daughter to find and buy.....but now I know I can check them out.....whenever I want to read them....

Good Morning....Thursday, September 18th. Sunshine...

 Looks like it will be a Nice Day and I might decide to resume my walks up to the end of the street and back. I stopped for awhile because I was feeling light headed....and I promised my Son I wouldn't walk if I felt that way.

I have a Peanuts cartoon here with Lucy saying "Don't Talk to Me!!!"  "I'm mad at the Whole World". I imagine her saying that because she has been watching News Shows.... which make me mad at the Whole World as well.

I have the eggplant sliced (top to bottom) and salted and pressed with heavy weight on top....I knew I forgot something at the grocery and it was eggs....usually I dip the eggplant in egg and then bread crumbs... I'll have to check and see what I can use as a sub....or ask a neighbor for an egg.

That's it for today....The bank sent me a card with a very shiny gold foil lined envelope.  I save the gold foil. Every time.....never know when you might need it.......

That's all I have today.......

Daily Notes a bit later than usual......Birthday is Tomorrow.

 We had places to be and things to do....just the usual but it all got done.

1. Haircut moved up a couple days.....

2. Library to drop off books and pick one up...usual day is Friday

3. Grocery to select items for the Birthday Dinner...Eggplant Parm...

4. I changed my mind from the dinner we thought we'd make.  Pot Roast.

5. We got the CAKE.......and some ice cream.

That's really all I need....Cake, Candles- and Ice Cream....Bars...

Now to watch Antiques Roadshow.....

Another Lovely Day here in Maine- Cooler temps and Sunshine......

 1.  No art today as I don't have anything waiting....or ready.

2.  Things are quiet here and I have been reading my books (re-reading favorites) and watching Antiques Roadshow episodes....there is just something soothing about that show and old favorite books.

3.  I have watched NO NEWS.  I read the morning paper and that is enough.

4.  I did sort thru some cloth strips over to the LEFT of where I sit and read and watch tv.  Considering a new square as the ones I have set up to sew- I don't really like............ I even sorted thru the odd leftover fabric bin.  Came away with a few items.

5.  Just finished reading Things You Save In A Fire by Center.  I've read it many times before...it still is a good book.  I might go thru the bookcase and pull all the Jane Austin Read-a- likes..... and work thru them as sort of a birthday gift to myself.   I have enough to get to Friday and the Library visit.  I don't have any reserved.   Which is never a good thing.  I might have to make a list......

6.  A new look at the star constellations and I might be a Leo on the cusp rather than a Virgo. Everything Old is New Again.....

7.  Hair cut tomorrow...and purchase of Birthday Cake and Ice Cream.  I'm thinking about NOT making the Pot Roast.....just eating the left over Pasta I made.....which is a very nice meal....usually eaten while watching TV.  Nothing new in that since, while married, I usually ate alone OR in front of the TV.

8.  Was I actually married???????  That's a very important question.

9.  I am preparing to read my way thru Jane Austin themes written by modern authors.  I will research it on the internet to see if there are ones I haven't read as yet...if not- then the old ones will do.

Daily Notes- Monday September 15th... Sunshine and cool temps

 Took a bit of time to get the image here...This is off my desk Calendar where I add art all month..then I put the used page in the box with the calendar pages from several years.....  I've covered up the majority of spaces on this month's calendar......and still have half a month to go.

1.  The NYTimes had something about horoscopes....or really what sign you are born under...I am on the cusp of Leo as Time Goes By....more so than the Virgo I always was as the constellations move and change.  Both my children are Leo.  Perhaps this is why nothing feels familiar anymore. Not Virgo. I'll start reading the Leo horoscope with breakfast from now on.  

2.  Yesterday's Pizza was excellent and the football wasn't too awful.... then I finished reading my book.

3.  Haven't chosen a book for today as yet...hoping for some Antiques Roadshow on PBS.  They continue to Fundraise  (weekends) selling the same stuff they sold 10 or 20 years ago....  same cookbooks, same tapes and cd's. I imagine the fundraising was actually recorded (decades ago) and they just hit the play button  and everyone stays home.and off the payroll.  

4.  I haven't selected a book to read as yet.  For today.  I might read book one in the three book Lottery Winning series...I liked the characters very much.  Or Charm City Rocks.....I do love that book. And I might find a CD in the box over yonder with piano music.....The guy in Charm City plays the piano..and I could listen while I read.

Daily Notes on another Sunny Day in Maine. September 14th.

Yesterday's Colored.

The "eyes" seem to be noticing the nose running ........

1.  Sunday Pizza.  And yes, the pasta was delicious. and plenty more......in the fridge.

2.  Reading and watching British Soccer took up most of the day.  I finished eating my cold fried chicken nuggets.  I tried to watch a Hallmark Movie but after 15 minutes I was done......even with fast forwarding.

3.  I snagged a few images of "Make Ahead" breakfast ideas...I would actually be eating them for lunch. Breakfast will always be oatmeal or shredded wheat for me.  And even though I like the idea of a fried or poached egg with a runny yolk---there is not ANYway those items will be made at home....by me.

4.  Electric Bill.  Even higher without the AC units running.  How odd is that??????

5.  I also got my WHOPPING property tax bill.  More like buy a new CAR. And giving it to the Town. Every year.

6.  Watched three British Soccer Matches....also watched the fans get up and walk out mid game as it wasn't going as they had hoped.......yep whole sections of the seats- empty. I'd seen it happen, infrequently, with US Football Games....but not like that. And not even half time.

7.  Well, I have my book to read....and wait for the lovely last page......where it ends like every Hallmark movie ever made. Whomever left...comes back.  Perhaps in my Next Life someone will come back for me.

 

Daily Notes- September 13th....Sunshine here in Maine and very cold at night.. Delightful.

 New line drawings.  Found on Little Something's blog post yesterday.. actual art is by JOEL ESCALONA.  My line drawings are just that and if you want to see the real thing- please visit his site. Or Little Somethings which might be in my sidebar?????

I freehanded the sculptures as line drawings....looking forward to coloring them in.

1.   Made red sauce and spaghetti yesterday... I didn't have a large piece of beef or pork to simmer in the sauce all day....I had a package of Ground Angus Beef.  I added mushrooms and the remainder of an onion from Sunday's pizza.  I hadn't had spaghetti in a really long time so it was delightful. Will be again later today.  Next thing:  Eggplant Parm...homemade.

2.   Watched all the recorded PBS mystery series I had in the TiVo.  No reading...just tv watching.

3.   I have European Soccer to watch today.  I will skip American Football.

4.   I may read and I may not.....I feel, most of the day, like I need a nap.  You know...like Old People.. A Nap.  My Dad fell asleep if he held an eye blink too long.  Must have been nice. To sleep like that.

5.   Skipping news until the recent shooting gets boring and they stop talking about it.

6.   PBS is Fund Raising (AGAIN) and showing 20 or 30 year old things to 80- and 90-year olds who forgot they already bought the tapes and CD's. and crappy cookbooks..... So no Saturday Cooking Shows.  I have mostly GIVEN UP on Public TV. (other than Antique's Roadshow).....  I have British Soccer games to watch.  12:30 and 3 pm. 

7.  I have a book over on the couch to read and a few others on the shelf... I am seriously considering getting the paints and brushes out and doing some watercolors.  I have a PEAR that would make a nice model.  And some RED PLUMS..  I watched something about Leonardo yesterday that I had recorded weeks ago and it got me thinking about mixing color. Painting.  Holding something in my hand and making marks on paper.  Sort of like this post.

Friday September 12th. Sunshine and not as cool or as warm as it has been lately.

 The pink didn't get any white crayon.  Oops.

Grocery Shopping....I've lost interest in eating...I do eat but it's more a "snack" thing than a plate of food. I was making soup on the regular last winter and spring......and enjoying it very much...but it doesn't seem cold enough for soup YET.

1.  I do....have on corduroy pants. Today. And wool socks.  I was tired of capri pants, tee and long sleeved work shirts.  I have on a tee shirt and a long sleeved (rolled up) linen shirt.

2.  I had mouth wash on the grocery list but forgot to write down the other things I needed in my bathroom.   Sigh....Son asked if I was drinking enough water as I was getting loopy again.  I tend to have a glass every time I enter the kitchen and since the kitchen is on the path to everywhere....I drink quite a bit of water each day.  (I hadn't know I had stopped being loopy). (thought it was permanent). The water drinking takes the place of opening the fridge and staring at the contents. Then closing the fridge door.

3. I haven't walked in a while- more than a week....because I don't feel secure in my impression of how the walk will go.  And whether I will tip over and fall on the street. And no one will notice.

4.  I hadn't ordered more than two books so I had to walk in the stacks looking for books....since they added mystery to fiction- I can't find anything.  Or I thought I couldn't I did actually find the book I was looking for.  Charm City Rocks.  Moments after I just decided to "give up"......FATE.  Top shelf at the end of a row.  And top shelf is really high.......and guess what....I have a copy on my book shelf at home ....DUH!!!!

5.  In fact I keep telling myself to READ OUT OF THE BOOKCASE........I even have a half finished "new" Middle Ages Romance here on the desk I haven't finished reading...the book my Lunch buddy ordered from the Big A.  As my son has pointed out- my attention span is short circuiting.

6.  One prescription arrived- the tiny statin...the other- the inhaler- no.

7.  I'm about to enter the kitchen to make red sauce.  Been years since I made any....but...I will... Something good to eat for the week.  Something that isn't peanut butter on bread or a flour tortilla wrapped around cheese.  I will be changing my shirt FIRST.  It's a very nice pale yellow linen shirt. One of my favorites even though most of these favorites are too large now.  The corduroy pants went on easily and actually buttoned at the waist.....oddly enough. I might take them off as well.  Capri pants sound nicer.

8...Rock on.

Daily Notes- Thursday September 11th. Sunshine here n Maine. 66 degrees.

 Either I forget what I am doing (computer) or I get confused....but the image is here and that's all that matters now. Overthinking Tech is NOT my strong suit...and NEVER was. I have trouble running the TiVo.  And have completely forgotten how my very nice sewing machine works.....well, I can thread the needle and do a slow straight stitch. Period.  I used to mend pants by going forward and then in reverse...no clue now. I think there is a going backward button to push.

1.  I am very happy that the  Four Engagement Rings of Sybil something or other is going back to the Library tomorrow.   The title seemed interesting..the words in the book- no.  I am DELIGHTED that the second Danielle Steel book is the one I really enjoy reading more than once.  Never Say Never. I will be wanting an espresso machine ....I want one every time I read a book that has one in it.  I settle for one cup a day of instant decaf....from a jar.  

Nancy and I would have a nice espresso after the Black Bean Bisque at our favorite Bistro. Which closed.

2. Amazon dumped 25 COMPLETE SEASONS of Law and Order into my TiVo (Uninvited)- just the titles as son said an actual dump would have blown up the TiVo.  I'm to press the little red button -- and they all go away.  I think the way Amazon works is to discover something you like and then give you ALL of it. And then expect you to pay for it because it feels like "Christmas Morning".

3.  8 episodes of Law and Order was good enough to satisfy my interest in watching an episode a day. Like I did when L&O was on the WE network.  And now it's NOT.

4.  I took a little survey about Dementia Risk---High Blood Pressure? no (actually low) Blood Sugar? no Elevated Cholesterol?  (sp) tiniest Statin in existence (like a belt and suspenders).....BML possibly too high a number.  Diet?  nothing in their diet fits my interests......because I eat whole grain cereals, LOTS of vegetables, yogurt, butter, milk, and cheese.  A Vegetarian who eats meat occasionally..

5.  I am considering Salmon....but not a clue as how to select a good piece at the Fish Counter...and how to cook it.  I have eaten it....and I liked it...once plain and once is a Butter Sauce made with two whole pounds of butter.  (in California). Was Fantastic!!!!!!!  Fish with Butter.  Wow.

6.  I have watched my friend Nancy order salmon and after the first bite push it away because it was cooked incorrectly or was a bad piece to begin with..so I know it's not an easy choice. 

  

Daily Notes- Wednesday September 10th. Sunshine and Cool here in Maine.

 You might notice I toned down the blue with white crayon.

1.  I've been sleeping well and having pleasant dreams or no dreams at all ((my preference)....

2.  My two potted Peggy "Christmas Gift"Amaryllis Bulbs- going on three or four years of age- have small fuzzy white bugs on them... So they are now out on the front porch and have had their leaves clipped much much shorter.  Also the leaves have been washed. As soon as I discover where the plant bug spray is--they will get sprayed.  One of the reasons I filled a garbage bag with very old (sticky) house plants.

3.  I am reading a new Danielle Steel book.....Never Too Late.  A widowed woman moves from California to New York City and a penthouse apartment....her next door neighbor happens to be a very handsome movie star.  These are things that happen to regular people ALL the time.  I know the books are very very popular but every so often as I am reading I have to stop and call bull shit.......The words are printed in dark ink and are readable.......which is why I am reading...the print in many of the other new books from the library is very pale.  Ink must be super valuable as they are stingy with it.

4. In my last book and this one...both have penthouse apartments with "personal elevators".... that zoom the occupants from ground to top in seconds.....no reason to rub elbows with those who don't have billions of dollars.

5.  I can see why women read these books--the fantasy aspect of them.... I liked the Billionaire Guy and the Romance Movie Writer book MUCH MUCH MORE (not Steel)......Steel is going back unfinished. Both books.

6.  I spent time calling the pharmacy refill phone.....they say third time is the charm...so far I haven't gotten any refills when I visit the Pharmacy on Grocery Days.  Last time the Pharmacy clerk said she would check with my doctor....still nothing.  Usually I get a phone call to tell me things are ready for pick up..no calls either.  Perhaps they deleted me when they deleted my husband's account..

7.  Gotta go spray the buggy plants.....while I remember.

Daily Notes on a Sunny Very Warm Tuesday in Maine.

 I found a white art crayon in one of the craft drawers.  Toned things down a bit.

1.  Strange Dreams last night.  

2.  I judged a book by its cover (PINK) and was taking it to the return bag when I decided to give it a chance.  That was a good decision.  Book on the "new" shelf.... which often doesn't mean the book is actually "new". Summer in The City by Alex Aster.  Tech Billionaire and a woman who writes scripts for Hallmark Movies.  Only they say for the Romance Channel.

3.  I'm not sharing my home with a Tech Billionaire but I am sharing with a TECH GUY.  And perhaps this is why I enjoyed reading the book once I got into it.  She speaks in generalizations and he speaks in  whatever it is Tech Guys speak in....... specific details.  He buys her diamonds at an auction and she says- I was looking at the rubies and....he peels off to get the rubies.  That's in the first 20 pages-  I'd like to see this as a movie.  There is another book like this in my bookcase.... I need  to recall the title. And read it.

4.   It rained...The grass is now a mixture of darker beige and light VERY pale green.  I had hopes the rain would green it up.....no...just no.  And now it's hot and sunny so.....a lost cause.

5.  I'd give anything for a quart of ice cream. 

6.  I called in my wee tiny statin prescription.. (a second time) .it expired- the pharmacy will contact my doctor's office. I have enough for a week.   I did call in my inhaler script to  refill it.. no one called to say inhalers were waiting.. I stopped at the counter and asked- they said they had nothing for me..This might go the same way.  I haven't used an inhaler in a month... or more. Saving the final 5 inhales for an emergency.

7.  Well, that's it for today's post....BLT for me later in the day....Son is just arriving home- he went out for lunch....will have a large Cold Brew in his hand.  Yes.

Daily Notes- Sunshine and 58 degrees here in Coastal Maine @ 9:58am.

Not sure the "pink" does the art any favors.  (size is large index card size). They all have this pink. what was I thinking??????  Perhaps some white paint????? to cover it up? Or tone it down??????

1.  The humidity here in Maine is in the high 80 percent range.  I haven't surveyed the grass as yet to see if it's moved into any of the ranges of "green" .........Other than the spaces in the shade of the tall pine trees which are faintly green.

2.  I won't be calling the Grass Cutting Crew any time this week.

3.  I have a load of wash going...unsupervised--- which is QUITE BRAVE of me.  I had run out of underwear.....and threadbare white cotton V-neck tee shirts........the brand I loved was discontinued years- decades ago.  So....My daughter gave me an armload of her last unhappy purchase....not white..but bright like the image up top....I can't see myself wearing colors.  I never COULD.

4.  If Google doesn't stop trying to insert "items of interest" into the post repeatedly...I am actually NOT going to post.. I have to stop and delete so many times just to get a few paragraphs here.  

5.  Yesterday's pizza was quite good...we had a different ball of pizza dough. (from the grocery store) and were not sure we would like it....We both like the Beer pizza dough.  I mentioned that before the grocery carried prepared dough balls I had been making my own.....Son gave that some consideration. I still have the index card with the recipe.  

6.    Cooking and Baking seems like it happened In the Way BackTimes...... I also baked Birthday Cakes and Confetti Cookies for husband's birthdays.  I don't even believe I did that.  

7. My Library Book Choices all seem to have a theme..  Cheating Boyfriends.  The one I am reading now- Summer in the City has about 2 pages of lifespan left before it goes into the Return to Library Book Bag. Too many descriptions of high end decorative objects....like a catalog. GAG!!!!  I mean a glass vase is a glass vase.   I will fall back into the Medieval Books...........happily.  Mud, Bad Odors (cesspit), No Showers, no mention of soap (lots of sweat mentioned) or toothpaste.........and a lack of underwear...

8. Google just mentioned TEN things it could include in this post.......to enhance it.  I'm pressing publish and going to check on the washing machine... 

 

Daily Notes for Sunday September 7th. Rained quite a Bit yesterday. Cloudy and Damp this morning.

 I worked on a few index cards yesterday while watching PBS Cooking Shows and European Soccer.  This was black and white until I recalled husband having colored Sharpie pens...went looking...found five.  Used gray and pink on this one.   The black ink drawings went faster than the coloring.  Not my favorite colors...I like the lighter ones...That occur in nature.  I wonder what he needed the Sharpies for????? Daughter will know.. picture could be brighter but is very cloudy here in Maine.  The colors are dismal due to the darkness outdoors....it's really dismal in the house. also.

1.  It actually rained. (thunder)...and my yellow dry lawn has a few spots of yellow green now..  But anything is an improvement on the dead dry color it was.  Every other yard on this street is a very very healthy GREEN.  I want to add a handmade sign to my yard... Tru Green Is Responsible for This Lawn.

2.  Son mentioned this morning that he does (in fact) like Pot Roast....so...I'll make some. In 11 days. Or Earlier.  Birthday Pot Roast.

3.  Job Market Collapses and Inflation Rises.  The Orange Man gets both wrong...again.

4.  Two Library books went into the return bag....with only a few pages read (OMG) Awful..  I also had to straighten out the contents of the return bag... as some items weren't ready to be put in the bag. And one book belonged to me.....oops.

5.   I have a pink book and a yellow book to try out today...if they both fail..sigh....I'll return to the Middle Ages.  Which never really disappoints me.

6.  I slept thru Open Wheel Racing this morning- damn. But sleeping is good.

7.  Daughter brought me a new jar of instant decaf coffee (from the Health Food Shop) so I am going to make myself a "nice cuppa" and get on with things..... Still looking for the perfect center square for the purple, Joan....everything I have tried has failed to impress me.  I might have to settle for PINK. OMG.

Daily Notes- Anticipating Thunder Storms Today. Overcast and damp right now.

 As you can see...I made this one on September first.  And perhaps it's been seen previously.  I had nothing else here on the desk ready to go.....I need to make some additional ART. 

1.  While watching Soccer today.(many games on tap).I will try to do some additional drawings. Color them later.

2.  I made Green Peas and Rice yesterday.  Been quite a while since I did that....I add Sweet Soy Sauce to it.  I also ate the remaining baked sweet potato.  Today I think I am having the "Final BLT of the 2025 Summer Season".  With an excessive amount of bacon.

3.  I have to decide on the "Special Meal" I will make for my Birthday later this month.  I stopped making things with Beef  (Pot Roast is my all time favorite) when husband forgot to chew and swallowed and choked.  Way to have a birthday........not.  So NOT.  Son does not like Pot Roast....so something else. Perhaps Eggplant Parm. Very labor intensive but..once made- plenty to eat.

4.  This morning, before actually getting out of bed, I was contemplating what my Life might have been like if I had actually NOT married the man I married....a man who was a mistake (our anniversary is fast approaching).  I don't think I would be here typing each morning. 

5.  I have been wondering where my folding Art Box is...I am thinking seriously about painting small portraits of FRUIT for a few months.  Watercolor. And perhaps giving a landscape-- just one as a trial run----a try.

6.  I am going to read today... just like I did yesterday....and hopefully.....just like yesterday, I will cry my way thru the last pages and the "happily ever after". Something I never experienced in my own Life. Which is WHY I read Romances.  I've spent the past few days crying and I am hoping I get over it....sooner rather than later.  Even while watching Soccer. Well, I see grown men in the Soccer Stadiums all the time, in tears.  Soccer can be very emotional.  I understand.

7.  I didn't buy ice cream bars yesterday....but I will get ice cream closer to my birthday.  I wish I lived near you Connie and got to sample that wonderful ice cream you love...so much.  The Blueberry sounded awesome.

Additional post so you get some ART

 Another index card.

1.  It's raining......we have purchased groceries and I bought cheese and didn't need cheese.

2.  Joan in California- I have a stack of purple fabric ready to go-- just need a "center".......

3.  Two Danielle Steele books in today's Library haul...both have a new sticker.

4.   So that's all from the East Coast of Maine....

Daily Notes- Clouds and perhaps some dampness????? Actual Rain would be welcome.

 No image as everything in the picture file has already been posted....

1.  Oatmeal for breakfast.  Rain or just Dampness here in Maine this morning. .Fine with that.

2.  The Department of WAR.  Previously known as The Department of Defense.  Sounds like something from the 1940's????   Detention Camps????  Also sounding familiar.  Wake up America.

3.   Library Grocery Store today....the book bag is full of returns....I was not interested in many of the books I checked out last week.  Two I ordered from other libraries are on the shelf waiting for me.

4.  I should be thinking about meals for the coming week.  Like regular dinner items...it seems like something I did long ago but not recently.  I did finish the Baked Ham.  I have one sweet potato. 

5.  I cleaned out the area in front of the large double glass patio door....was supposed to be a deck out there but it never actually happened...anyway the plants had been here in the house for quite a long time- decades???? (since I worked) and some had gotten very "sticky" so now they are in a garbage bag........three survived (for the time being).

6.  I swept up all the leaves etc that got on the floor... A long time ago there was a fireplace...and then there was a wood stove.......and now there is a big glass door that can withstand a hurricane.  Lets in quite a bit of light.

 

Common Denominator

 In all my exchanges with people is ME... so I must be the factor causing things to SOUR.

Daily Notes- Thursday, September 4th. More sun baking the grass to a nice crisp BROWN.

1.   I don't have an image for you this morning...the day got off on the wrong foot with an email from the guy whose company mows my grass.  He said I had been rude to his employees.  I asked them quietly and sadly to not mow yesterday since my lawn (front and back) is dead and brown.  I was close to tears.

2.  An email this morning saying I was rude.  And the two felt uncomfortable with that. Then why were they smiling and nodding because they were told not to mow if the customer wanted them to not mow.

3.   I find it difficult to even consider that I was rude as my overall feeling about my brown crisp dry lawn is complete sadness.  Like mourning the death of my lawn.

4.  Perhaps it would be in my best interests to not speak to ANY ONE ? Ever. Again.

5.  With that in mind- this post will end with me saying...that's it for today and I will try again tomorrow.

Daily Notes- Wednesday. September 3rd. A Sunny Day.

 Scribbled. From some other time. Found yesterday in old notebook.  Passiflora Caerulea.  Back when I used Latin.

1.  To Joan in California...I HAD a selection of purples here (to my left) in a sandwich bag ready to go since the Very Beginning.... I have NOT been hand sewing (possibly a MONTH) now.  Busy reading.  But the purple baggy is Ready to Sew when the reading is finished and since I owned few purple fabrics I think they are from you.. one or two "look" like me.  I need an interesting center square.  The center is always the biggest hurdle. Sets the pace for all the other strips. It's where I get STUCK.

2.   I also found (in a desk drawer I emptied) cut out big black block paper letters for the desk calendar and a hand full of assorted pens...ordinary ones.  All with black ink except for one with white ink.  And a very nice pair of scissors which I hadn't seen in DECADES.. and the Art up top. Life is always a Surprise.

3. The September Desk Calendar already looks like a War Zone.  In heavy Sharpie Black.

4.  I'm working thru the fridge.. I have one baked sweet potato and some Noosa Yogurt.  Salad and a slice of Sunday Pizza.  Shaved Baked Ham.  Some Toasting Bread.  Cheese. Pickles.  None of it looks like a meal but does resemble a series of "snacks".  Like yesterday. And today and then tomorrow.

5.  The Outdoor Container with a Haircut looks very nice this morning...plant decided to perk up. Live..  

6.  Felt normal to be on the street yesterday TALKING to PEOPLE.......on my walk.

7.  Someone called.... didn't identify themselves and so I hung up on them.... just saying my name isn't going to get you anywhere these days...all the robo calls start with my name. Saying my name and then yours might work.... but the robo calls do that as well...I greet those calls with silence....then I hang up. I used to suggest the person calling try and find a better source of employment...that was a mistake.

8.  The guy across the street is NOT building a Sauna.  It's a Shed.  He looked like he might have liked a Sauna................

9. My favorite number....so people....I am still alive, eating, drinking liquids, doing very little on the many  unfinished Suduko Puzzles I have piled up on the breakfast table, hoping there's some English Soccer but knowing there is NONE. Planning to finish reading my Medieval Romance.  I never got back to it. Damn. And watching a few more recorded Law and Order episodes minus the final 5 minutes.

10.  Listening to an Opera CD....as soon as Son leaves to eat lunch...I want it LOUD.. I want to feel it and cry. Probably AFTER my walk.  Which I should get started on.

Daily Notes for Tuesday, September 2nd. Sunshine....

I drew and colored this for all of the 5 of you STILL reading this blog. (2 related to me)

1.  I am planning to ask my son to FIND the screens that go into the living room windows...I'd like some fresh air.  Some oxygen.  I think he's the one that removed them in last Fall so he should know where they are... like the Boiler in the crawl space- I would also FUNCTION better with more oxygen. (I did look around for them in the garage but didn't see them).

2.  Oatmeal for breakfast and drinking my coffee and taking my pills--the tiniest Statin they make, a  Multi Vitamin and a Tylenol.  At my age....this is actually unbelievable.  I think I could skip the Tylenol and some days I do.  I am sneezing quite a bit today...no allergy pills.  I might check and see if I have any..

3.  I have to change over the desktop calendar.....September.  The August page is loaded with stuff.  Busy month.  

4.  Soccer and Antiques's Roadshow yesterday....

5.  I'd like to finish the Medieval Romance (with Time Travel) today...and move on to a library book.  And I MIGHT (in caps) do some hand sewing of a strip or two on one of the squares.  If I have to go looking for cloth or cut strips- it won't happen.  It's going like that these days.  I'm in my Fussy State of Mind.

6.  Son is going to see if he can find the screens....he also mentioned that a few items the Recycling Bin were NOT items belonging in the Recycling....... I was "pushing my limits"

It's September- Finally!!!! Sunshine, a bit of a chill in the air....

Another bird.  Colored during a Law and Order episode. Yesterday.

1. 71 degrees and Sunshine here in Maine.

2.  Pulled some weeds after uncovering the containers of Annuals.  The small container, in the shade some parts of the day, looks very perky but has been nibbled by deer and has an Ant Colony on one particular  sticky plant with blue flowers.  Ick.  Not the blue flowers- I love them- but the ants.

3. Pulling weeds is not an easy choice for me as I have always had balance issues.  So the "pull" could send me flying to land hard on my butt.  I always prepare myself for the fall.  Today I stayed upright for three pulls and called it a WIN.  Sandy soil so they actually come out with roots attached.  But they always return.  

4.  My Sweet Potatoes got baked and my lunch for two days is taken care of.  Like money in the bank. I also have baked ham to eat-......I think with cheese.. 

5. Missed walking yesterday so today- I might try for a "double".  If it stays cool.. I don't walk if it's really warm.  Because there are no people to rescue a fallen old woman.  The sign at the end of my street is accurate... Dead End.  Sign has extra big lettering. I take my phone on the walks- I'll get all of you a photo.-- I take the phone so I can call for help.  If I fall down.....

6.  My dreams last night included my Senior Year Dorm Room... 4th floor single...incredibly tiny. And the unlimited hot water in the shower down the hall no matter how long I stayed. And I stayed.  And NEVER saw anyone else in the bathroom- EVER..... Connie will remember the name of my dorm- I don't remember it.  Connie also knew the cafeteria in that dorm had an ice cream machine.....I DID NOT KNOW......and am still fussing about it.

7, I ordered a book titled Four Engagement Rings.......from interlibrary loan.  Just the title was enough to get my imagination going.  I'm still reading One Magic Moment. Lynn Kurland.  It's one I own. And I am going slowly as I don't want it to end.  Next up is Never Too Late by Danielle Steele.

As you might guess I am "all over the place" with what I read. But they all have Romance. Because I never had any of that in my own Life.  Reading about it is as close as I'll ever get.