Fall into rain

It is one of those dark, gloomy, grey and rainy days I would rather to stay in bed with a big colorful quilt.

Gilbert Legrand

Gilbert Legrand is an artistic genius. It takes a lot of imagination to look at an object and see one of these in your head?

"Gilbert Legrand, graduated in Plastic Arts and Design in Paris, lives and works in Toulouse, is a unique painter-sculptor: he likes to reveal the secret life of small things. Designer by training, he has designed more than 400 unique pieces, using gear, tools or objects of daily use, which he transforms through the magic of his brush. It produces illustrations in volume, having as a starting point, everyday objects deviated into poetic and funny characters. For 10 years, driven by the passion for this second activity, he regularly exhibits his unusual and wonderful objects in art centers throughout France." 

 

Gaslighting

I had a very bad relationship in my early 30's and it reminded me of the gaslighting in Dirty John and Betty Broderick, it brought back some very bad memories of a relationship I hated myself for, and I hated him for gaslighting me that he was dumping for his secretary. He denied it even when I found her clothes in my closet. Yes, I stalked him to see what he was doing behind my back. BTW, they got married. And yes, he told everyone that I was the crazy one!

And then next popped up Dirty John, which should be a true nightmare for anyone dating these days. It made me sick to my stomach. 

Some men divorcing their wives really f*ck them over. I have seen it again and again. I begged my best friend (who is a psychologist), whose husband dumped her for one of her best friend, to write a book about men gaslighting their wives, leaving them with houses in need of repair, kids and kid's tuition, health insurance, kid's cars. "You're crazy" and told all of YOUR friends how crazy you are. And in the in the end, after their dad who has brainwashed them, completely take the (poor dad's side) of the story.

I have been there in many relationships. Damaged woman would love it, that have been there and can not get over how stupid they feel for being sucked in. I still wish she would write the book, for women out there that have been put through hell, need reassurance that they are not crazy.

Gaslighting Behaviors Denying that he or she said something, even when you have proof Mismatching actions and words Projection (accusing you of what they’re doing) Telling blatant lies Telling people – or you – that you’re “crazy” Telling you everyone else is a liar Trying to convince you that others don’t care about you, or that you can’t trust others Using your personal characteristics to tear you down Wearing you down over time

"During a divorce, these behaviors can even extend to family, friends and coworkers – meaning that the gaslighter will contact these people and provide them with false information about you. The idea is to turn other people against you when it comes to your divorce and possible custody battles. Sometimes, the gaslighter even tries to use the legal system to his or her advantage by filing false police reports against you or trying to make you appear as if you’re mentally unstable by pushing your buttons repeatedly. This commonly happens in custody cases where one parent wants to push the narrative that you’re the “unstable” parent, and that the kids are better off without you. He or she may try to alienate your children from you. In cases like these, the gaslighting spouse knows better, but he or she is out to hurt you. If you are (or were) married to a narcissist, then you may be familiar with the term, “gaslighting.” It is the narcissist’s masterful manipulation technique to gain control over you. As your relationship begins to weaken, he carefully causes you slight anxiety or confusion. But as the relationship worsens, he punitively devalues you, and you thereby question your mental sanity. Extreme or long term gaslighting can ultimately lead you to having a distorted sense of reality – not knowing who is right or wrong, feeling guilty for being the person you are, and losing any remaining self-confidence. Gaslighting is an extremely dangerous form of emotional abuse, as it causes the narcissist’s victim to question her judgment, on even the smallest issues, thereby making her dependent of him. If, for example, she is repeatedly told that she is bad with money, she will begin to believe it, and think that without her narcissist by her side, she will be financially ruined."

Eser Gündüz

Eser Gündüz easy and shapely style just thrills me.

Head shoved in the sand

I have to get this off my chest. 

Even though many of my friends do not want to know what trump is saying, or what his followers are ranting about, I prefer not to stick my head in the sand. That didn't work out so well 5 years ago, or during the Obama years, when he was accusing Obama of NOT being a citizen of the U.S. and ginning up his base for hate and rioting. I ignored it then because I thought is was beneath responding to, paying attention to, it was too stupid. and look where it got us.

This time, as distasteful and painful as it is, I want to know what they are saying. And what they are saying is very, very scary. So when my friends say, "just ignore him", don't pay attention", "I am going to enjoy my life, I suggest you do the same" ... I literally want to jump down their throats.

The far-right talks about engaging in civil war all the time. They talk about shooting and killing democrats and liberals. They continue to insist that trump will be back in office and soon and when he does, he will serve 12 years? And then Ivanka will be the first female president. They profess their absolute love/devotion for trump.

It is a cult of millions like nothing I have ever seen. So this isn't the time to turn a deaf ear and act like nothing strange is going on this country. It is time to be alert and not matter how painful, listen to what they are saying.

I mean I loved and respected Obama but I would never have attended 60 rallies for him (after he was out of office), driving all over the country. There were several cult members today that had been to every rally, driving 1,000's of miles to do so. The T-shirts, the flags, the hats, the posters, it is all gone overboard.

 

I watched some of Newsmax for the first time today and OMG, the ads on there are unbelievable! 

 

Scappy quilt

This looks so fantastic and easy! I would make a quilt. 

Tiny Homes

A best friend from High School is always talking about Tiny Homes and today I happened upon some awesome examples. David laughed and said we would never fit in a tiny house. 

 

This one doesn't seem so tiny 

 

  

 I like this but I could not do a loft with no headroom in a bedroom. 

 

Love this one 

 

My family

I know these people are not stupid or ignorant. But for the life of me, I will never understand why they blindly follow a common criminal like trump, ignore the peaceful transfer of power that as happened in this country since our first elections, and want to destroy our democracy for some man that does not give a shit about them! It just makes my heart sink when I see it and think, honestly, this grand experiment of "America" might be over. They really want a dictator. They want a Russia with oligarchs. My husband gets furious and tells me to turn it off. I have to watch it in horror.

 

Art is for the birds

Or ducks, that is. I did two posters years ago, a Loon and a Heron. David raved about them, which he never does and wants me to do more. And you know, I NEED a project!

So I have been doing research to find some interesting ducks, waterfowl to illustrate. I really love looking through The Cornell Lav of Ornithology. Especially fond of listening to the audio samples of the calls. There are so many interesting things to  look at, from live cams, to learning about bird songs ($), bird ID skills.

Robin wants to go film a murmuration and we are trying to find a close source. So far, it looks like Marin county. So I spent the morning looking through the internet for a birding group to contact and ask some questions. Maybe get some dates, months to visit Marin County. 

Love Audubon Audubon website, American Bird Conservacy, BirdWatching Hotspots

Mark your calendars for October Big Day—9 October 2021! Big Days are a 24-hour opportunity to celebrate birds near and far. Wherever you are on 9 October, take a few minutes to join the world of birding on October Big Day. 

By taking part in October Big Day you’re also joining the second-ever Global Bird Weekend and celebrating World Migratory Bird Day. Be a part of the global team, and help set a new record for birding. We recognize that COVID-19 continues to impact our communities. 

Even if your local conditions have improved, we always encourage everyone to put safety first, follow local guidelines, and bird mindfully. You can bird from home and still participate in October Big Day!

The word of Josh

I met Josh Law when Robin and I drove to Jackson Hole, Wyoming so Robin could learn how to use her new drone. Josh met us there to helped in between attending a conference. He chauffeured us all of over the Grand Teton Mountain range. Not only is he one of the nicest, funniest guys I have ever met, he owns a couple of  very successful companies, is a business genius, a tech wizard. CEO and Founder of Only Co and co-founder of Go Fast Don't Die which also has a fantastic Instagram account. He has inspirational Q&A's to inspire other business start-ups. He seems always available to inspire others, be a great husband and wonderful father, a fair boss. I mean, seriously, I have never met anyone young person like him! I just inspire to be half the decent person he is. He makes me wish I were younger to learn more and pursue larger goals.

I just read Give life to those around you, something Josh wrote and that was published in The Sheridan Press.

"We are fragile. None of us know the day or time of our death. There’s 7.6 billion people on the earth right now and sometime in the next 85 years or so, everyone in existence will be gone. 

The process with which we leave this earth is confusing. Death has been top of mind since the pandemic started. I don’t like to think about death. As I look at the culture and the way that we are handling this, I can’t help but think that we are ‘killing each other.’ 

And I’m not talking about a physical death — but an emotional, mental and spiritual death that is greatly driven by our inability to follow the golden rule. Where did this rule come from? I’m not sure, but the concept is not unfamiliar to those who study Jesus’ life and his teaching. 

It’s important for us to stand behind our conviction, however we must also acknowledge what others around us are going through very difficult days. It is far too easy for people to jump to conclusions. We’ll all experience death personally — whether it’s our own or our loved ones — but right now our collective actions are causing us to give into “death,” prematurely. 

Today I want to challenge us to give life to those around us — especially when the days we find ourselves in to be particularly difficult. 

Oddly enough, it’s not easy to treat people the way you would want to be treated, and Jesus knew this and reminds his followers. It’s easy for me to believe that I have been wronged deeply by others or by society and that I must lash out. Let’s see what Jesus has to say about “The Golden Rule.” 

As we look into Mark chapter 12 starting at verse 28, we see a story that involved people debating rules; public debate is a key component of humanity. As the debating continued, someone asked Jesus, ‘Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

Jesus gives two answers. He starts with, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” And he ends with, “The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” 

To put it another way, the back half of Jesus’ answer is “The Golden Rule.”

When we decide to put our faith in Jesus, he offers us life, and life abundantly. Not only an eternal life, but his kingdom starting today. For those of you that know Jesus, I challenge you to remind yourself every day to love God and love people — following the two commandments that Jesus laid out to his disciples 2,000 years ago. If you don’t know Jesus, I urge you to look deeply into the scriptures. Pro tip: start with the book of John, not Genesis. 

Know that Jesus has a plan for your life, and he loves you. Death is at our doorstep, and not just during a pandemic, but Jesus offers us life, starting today — right now. 

It’s shocking to realize that all 66 books in the Bible lead us to our calling, our vocation as residents of earth — to fully love God and love people. Loving people is a lot easier when we acknowledge that each of us have been uniquely created by God, and he values every one of us."

Feeling fall

Frustrating nightmares

I have been lots of nightmares lately, really, more frustration dreams. 

The word I woke up with in my head the other morning was NEGATED. And yes it occurred to me, I do feel like my life, my work, my future career has been NEGATED. And when I explained it to David, I felt better somehow.

Window magic

Watched a great video on the history of Bergdorf Goodman, but the part that really caught my interest were the window displays. Then I spent the better part of the day watching more window displays.There are lots of videos on YouTube

Someone elses reflection, a nice change of pace

I discovered this blog the other day, I Could Be Wrong and it gives me some reassurance to read it: 

My dog and I most mornings go to this little place along the Intracoastal Waterway for breakfast and a cup of coffee. The sun, most days, has not risen yet so we can sit back end enjoy the birth of a new day. Sometimes we see a dolphin or two. Sometimes the Black Skimmers are feeding. It is a good way to refresh your soul every morning. It is also a good way to realize what is really important in life. The older I get the more reflecting I do. I am closer to the end than the beginning but that’s ok. 

 History is important to me. I love checking historical facts. A lot of the time I find out what I thought was a fact growing up really isn’t. You can’t stop studying history because our knowledge of history is always evolving. In today’s digital age it is so easy to research any subject and, as new facts are discovered, they are easy to share with the rest of the world. Yes in today’s digital age all history is world history. You can try to burn all the books that you want but because of the internet it is impossible to erase that book from history. Now there is a lot of BS out there on the internet but there is also a lot of truth. It is our job to sort through the BS to find the truth. That is what history is. The search for the truth. 

The truth is not being told very much lately. When it comes to vaccines the “my body, my choice “historically does not hold up. It hasn’t held up from the beginning. Dear Old George had his troops get vaccinated for the small pox. Soldiers in the military get vaccinated for just about everything today. They cannot say “my body, my choice”. The people that are telling you that hope that you are too lazy to check for yourself or just too stupid to know that they are lying to you. Because of all the digital evidence history will know who lied and the digital evidence will probably outlast this country. Marjorie Taylor Greene is a mother of three. I wonder if she worries about what her great grandchildren will be reading about her. She will not be able to write her own history. In the end that is what historians do. Take Robert E Lee. I grew up thinking that he was a hero of the south just like everyone else. I thought he was fighting for a noble cause. In the end it has been proved by historians that he was just fighting for a way of life based on slavery. He was fighting for an economic system just based on slavery. Those were not very noble causes. 

I have written before that you have to be careful today what you write and say because in today’s digital age it will more than likely outlive your great grandchildren. Can you imagine what history will say when they here Trump bragging about grabbing women by the pussy. He is literally bragging about sexually assaulting women and we still elected that man President. That recording will survive and our great grandchildren are going to think that we were nuts. They will read about people taking animal dewormer instead of a readelly available proven vaccine. All the lying and misinformation will be known as just that, lying and misinformation. How do you think that history will write about Trump, McCarthy and McConnell? You can say what about the lying from the Democrats. I will say what lying? They have not always been right but for the most part they are the more honest of the two parties. I once mentioned Trump’s lying and a Republican friend said what about the lying from Obama. I asked what lying? All she could come up with was not everyone was able to keep their same doctor. There is a big difference from being wrong and lying. 

I have also stated many time that the lying and misinformation has weakened this country and has strengthened our enemies. I have asked the question who benefits? America doesn’t benefit. Russia may benefit. China may benefit. The real people that I believe will benefit is the people like the Koch family. The 1% that we here so much about but are always working in the shadows so their faces are not seen. The people that own our politicians are lying to us. They are lying for them. So they keep reaping billions and we fall further behind. They are the real people that do not want to see a free America and many of them are Americans themselves. 

 I write this blog knowing that someone someday may come across it so I try to make it as truthful as I can. Will it pass the test of time? I don’t know, but it will be honest.

Little somethings

I remember the afternoon in 2004 when I decided to create this blog. Only after I had been reading blogs, getting inspired and excited did I think, well, maybe I could do that for fun? So on the spur of the moment I jumped onto Blogger and just did without thinking of what I would name it. All the obvious titles I wanted were taken, and after an hour I got desperate and throw "littlesomethings" in there and it was available. I had been reading Erica's blog and so loved her content, her blog, it seemed like something I could do for fun. 

Anway, last night on my iPad I wanted to look up something on my blog and don't have it bookmarked so  googled "little something blog". I mean, Little Somethings? I thought is was lame back then but you can't really change it without starting a new one. When my friends wanted to start blogs, the first thing I told them was to have several good titles at hand before they started. 

When other bloggers referred to me would sometimes say "don't be put off by the name of the blog", and I agreed with them. So I was a little shocked to see how many "little somethings" were out there last night. Manh more than before. Even one that had copywritten their blog name. I guess they had not checked how long I had had mine ;) Seriously, I don't really care, I just thought it was funny. 

Of course now I have lots of other blogs,  Something Sand, Something from the Studio, my news blog over at MillerCarneyMiller

 

Raku Inoue creates

Very, very cool! 

A peak at the process. Raku Inoue creates these hand-crafted paper-sculptures to reflect the beauty of Mother nature. The textures of the original sculptures were separated digitally and printed individually on high quality Verona watercolour papers. Afterward, they were cut-out and then mounted on a base structure to form the shape of the insect. It was the ideal method to recreate the original floral creations without being bound by the ephemerality of organic materials.

Megan Fox wore a fully sheer iridescent gown with just a sequined silver thong showing underneath. 

Next year she should just save time and money, dispense with the shiny slip and sequined underwear and go naked. This is my rant of the day.

Paper flowers

You look at these and think, how can this be paper? 

A Petal Unfolds is the studio of paper artist Susan Beech, who creates beautifully delicate crepe paper flowers and botanicals from her home in Hove, UK.

Pretty DIY Paper Flowers to Make For Home 

 

I have always love these big, happy, fiesta flowers  

 

Paper Flower Wreath – Crepe Paper Icelandic Poppies

X-citing

X-citing packaging experience designed by Marc Clormann. 

Doing dishes

I feel like I am the official dishwasher now in my house. To be fair, others do many dishes, but I feel like I do the lions share. If (and always because I rarely cook) Matt, Bri or David cook dinner I offer to do dishes. Many times, I have a few left over to finish up in the morning. This was the case this morning when I came face to face with a sink full of cold water, grease, dishes. You know the kind, where you gag when you stick your hand in the pull the drain stopper out. 

But that is not the point of this post. When I do the dishes, I watch videos on my wonderful iPad. Mostly educational documentaries, more than likely, religious themed. I like watching documentaries. I can listen and not be fearful of missing something important since I am not looking at the screen. I have soooo many Audibles books right now, I really should start listening to those. But even those, I feel like I have to really pay attention and not miss some important plot twist. 

Today's dish washing installment is The Last Apostle. "Dr. Mark Fairchild is a real-life Indiana Jones,  world-renowned archeologist who travels the historic route of Saint Paul the Apostle and explores the Holy Land of eastern Turkey". 

 

And speaking of Amazon Prime, Vera is back with a new Season 11! I was so excited because I did not think they were making new seasons. They are rolling them out one episode at a time. 

I found another British Mystery I just love, McDonald & Dodds, "no-nonsense boss and the unassuming yet brilliant details man continue to balance each other's flaws in this charming crime series". 

Unforgotten British crime series on Amazon Prime was brilliant, Seasons 1-3. 

Escape to the Country, David and I are addicted. I tape if from CBC, it is also available on Amazon Prime and Netflix. "The program helps potential buyers find their dream home in the rural UK by showcasing three properties (including a mystery property) for inspection, then asking that week's guests to guess the market price. Episodes also feature information regarding the suburb presented, for example local industry and history".

And a ton of Norwegian, Icelandic, French, Spanish, Russian, Hungarian mysteries, really takes concentration to read subtitles so I can't tweet or do anything else except pay attention.

Bri watched Truth Be Told on Apple TV, loved it, so do I. "True crime podcaster Poppy Parnell (Octavia Spencer) is called to investigate the case of convicted killer Warren Cave, a man she painted as the murderer of the father of identical twins. Soon, Parnell must decide where the lines between guilt and innocence lie when Cave claims that he was framed for the crime." 

Here are just some of my YouTube addictions: The Graham Norton Show - especially good for a laugh, DW Documentary, House & Garden Design Notes (quick and fun peak into people's homes, usually designers), Who Do You Think You Are? but the videos are not full videos and never in order, very hard to keep with with one episode, Grand Designs - UK Season 22 (this is a must) - there are lots of episodes and also from Australia, New Zealand but you have to do a quick search for me. You can also find Grand Designs on Amazon Prime. Absolutely anything Lucy Worsley host. The best documentaries, can be found on YouTube and Amazon Prime.

Okay, I think my greasy pan has "soaked" long enough. Off of break, back to dishes.

The Zapper

On a lighter note: I bought a fly zapper. 

We had a fly infestation in the garage, which I discovered after 100's of flies made their way to our living area. After days of cursing them, I traced them to the garage. Ran to Home Depot and bought all kinds of fly papers, and fly-catching-devices. It took all week with a fly-swatter and my new fly zapper, but I think I am NOW rid of the flies. Little fly corpses little the window ledge, still cleaning that up.

BUT NOW THE FRUIT FLIES. I have been battling them for weeks. I will stand in the kitchen for hours and zap those little buggers out of existence. Thinking I have succeeded, only to find more of them hours later. I mean, where DO they keep coming from. I swear right now I am down the last 2 or 3 ... 

Anyway, I was standing around the fruit bowl, patiently waiting for one to fly by. There is no better satisfaction than hearing a LOUD ZAP from the zapper. I told David I was down the last few and he said "well, you can say I spent my retirement hunting fruit flies".

Okay, coming out of his mouth, it did sound pretty silly but I have not given up my battle.

The nature of cults

I don't now how I would be at an investigative reporter but I know I love digging into a story, finding out who some racist ranting, germ coughing, anti-mask "Karen" is on twitter and calling her out, finding corrupt people's addresses and looking up there houses, getting the backstory and history of something happening in the moment. Creepy, I know. I especially like to dig for information I am not completely sure about. I think this has always been my nature, being TOO CURIOUS. And now I have the time to dig deep into anything that peaks my curiosity, well, I spend a lot of time searching.

Case in point, Trump speaking at the ‘Moonies’ Conference yesterday before heading off to be a guest commentator during the pay-per-view boxing event. (He had an adoring crowd, which broke out into chants of “We want Trump! We want Trump!’’ He rose to his feet and with a broad smile shook his fist.) Here is the full video of the Think Tank 2022 event, if you can stomach watching it.

In case you don't know, or just have not kept up with them lately, The Moonies is a religious cult founded in 1954. They are still around apparently thriving, loving trump, having freedom rallies.

They actually own and operated a very successful gun factory, Kahr Arms in the United States. They could be found at the 1/6 insurrection calamity. "A pro-gun, pro-Trump sect composed of U.S. and non-citizen zealots was involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and largely escaped attention. Known as Moonies, it is preparing for insurrection 2.0. Look back to three weeks before the 2020 presidential election. Former White House senior counselor Steve Bannon addressed a crowd gathered on the grounds of Kahr Arms/Tommy Gun Warehouse in Greeley, Pa., by video. He warned about a supposed Democratic conspiracy to steal the election from Donald Trump." 

And of course they have an Instagram account to back-up and push all of their nonsense.

They own have a compound in Texas for "Patriots. Lake Limestone, the gun tote'n, Trump-lovin' Rod of Iron Ministries, newly renamed Freedom Rock at Running Branch Marina. Here is the head of the Sanctuary Church in all of his glory, gun and crown of ammunition? If you want to really get chills go have a look at the Rod of Iron website.

Remember this photo of  "worshippers" and their AK-15s?

Maybe you remember their mass wedding ceremonies?

I know, there seem to be so many crazy things going on the world that is hard to keep up with them all. But it is important to revisit them when something like Trump speaking at The Moonies conference pop up in the news. I think there is an underlying thread in all of these events, and none of them are good since Trump has taken over our right-wing politics. He encourages civil war and that frightens me. I am NOT a gun owner. I have nothing against gun owners. But I fear they are going to gather and do something really stupid very soon. I worry for my kids and grand kids of their future. What kind of chaos lives ahead. I try not to live in fear these days, but I am finding it harder to do.

9/11

Seered in our memories, photos from that horrible day

 

Disposable income

Another chapter in ridiculous spending on silly things: Would you pay $18,888 for a plant? Some people would; tour the secret world of Seattle’s plant hunters 

Now I am not saying I have not spent my money on really stupid things in my lifetime. But I think this example is pretty spectacular. 

Not believing what I was reading, I went in search of this expensive plant, and found it on ... etsy!

The magic of mushrooms

Ran across this today and just loved watching it. Completely magical video by Stephen Axford.

 

 

"Mushroom Mike" is a genius!