WOW!!!!

Hurray! Trump might finally have to face up to his misdeeds. 

Sharing grief, loss and moving on to cleaner drawers

I was thinking about the advice I give to one of my best friends, Ruth about cleaning her house. She is in her 80's and having a hard time just thinking about going through her stuff and getting rid of things. I always tell her, start with ONE drawer. Clean one drawer and it will start an avalanche. Well, while cooking my French Onion Soup today, I started cleaning out that ONE drawer. The drawer in your kitchen that collects everything. Ours has been out of control for a few months now. I emptied it, threw away, started over. It felt good. 

BTW, my French Onion soup turned out GREAT. The smashed sweet potatoes were a minute or two under the broiler too long. A little burnt around the edges, but tasted good. My cooking confidence might be returning.

My friend Robin, called me that her ex-partner called to tell her their dog Monkey was dying of mouth cancer and had a couple of days to live. I ask, how does a dog that has been fed organic food all of her life, have mouth cancer? But Monkey isn't the only precious pup passing away, there are many in the blog-universe. Pixie acts like a puppy zooming around, but she is having such a hard time eating. I am trying so many foods to get her interested. I watch her breath at night and think, is this the night?

And it started me thinking about dying in general. Pets are so close to us, so much like children. I mean losing my Scooter and Pebbles was NOT like losing David but the same daily pain follows. I look out from the back porch where David laid dead in the grass for a couple of hours and suffer. I was sharing with Mason when lost Pebbles the other day, and I suffer. Death is death. We love, we lose, we suffer. Death is a part of life and must be accepted in that manner. I guess, the hard part is being the one to be left to remember. If only for a while. Thank you, Angie for sharing!

Lucky

Oh my! I just read this old post and thought ... I have had such a great life!!! Have not accomplished as much as I would have liked to, but all in all ... I feel so lucky and so thankful that I have documented my journey in this blog so I can remember! (Thank you for being a part of my journey). I still see this neighbor and she is still perfectly beautiful ;)

I love watching Kirsten and Joe's journey in England ... it makes up for not taking vacation. Traveling without leaving my house

Being mobile

I blew through January without accomplishing a thing. The month is a wash, I am glad February is here. I can hardly remember Thanksgiving or Christmas and now January will be a blurry memory of trying to figure out how to get my political shows on Roku. Thank God for Netflix, because I have just  had Dateline, or old Agatha Christie mysteries going on in the background. Now I am listening to The Midnight Club while I drink my coffee.

I have been making sure to feed the birds. They are so happy and chirpy back there, it is fun to hear them going on and on.

On recommendation from my friend, Robin, (her new book, rain, is coming out soon) I am making Smashed Sweet Potatoes today. I hope the snappy music is playing while I am cooking them LOL. I have a abundance of onions so I am thinking French Onion Soup. (Even when you think they are brown enough, they are not, keep sauteing). BTW, speaking of food, I think I finally ate too many Daikon radishes the other day (if you know what I mean) :0

 

I wish I could buy this leaf mobile by Jan R Carson, Moon Lily Mobiles. How spectacular, delicate, love the colors. But since I am in the "getting rid of phase of my life" like Joanne mentioned the other day ... I would hate to spend that kind of money. 

I was thinking Mason would love one for her new room, but what if she didn't. Expensive mistake. After watching to video about how she makes it, I understand the cost.

 

 I guess I could make my own come next fall.

Mattie O. has her own beautiful version of a leaf mobile.

I am considering buying this Butterfly Mobile by Atelier By Ella for my S-I-L for her birthday coming up very soon. If I am serious, I need to do it soon, as the seller is in Croatia.

 

Wooden dolls

Alexander Girard was an architect, interior designer, furniture designer and a textile designer. 

He designed over 17000 items, from sugar sachets to planes, for the re-branding of Braniff Airways, fabrics and textiles for Herman Miller and children’s toys.

 

 

Squished

Sharece Studios "squishes" art into shape

Science Sunday - Feeling like a curious child again

I ran across this photo on FB, a photo of walking stick eggs come in a variety of colors and sizes. 

"Phasmids are an are an order of insects whose members are variously known as stick insects. Each species of stick insect produces an egg that is unique in shape and design." 

I mean how you not be curious, after seeing this photo of by Levon Biss. I mean,who would not want to know more about these?!

The Incredible Phasmid Egg. Stick insects have eggs that look exactly like seeds. Scientists can’t figure out why these masters of camouflage would lay eggs that resemble bird snacks. Looks like the eggs resemble seeds for a reason.  

"As Hughes and Westbory explain, for stick insects that leave their eggs on the leaf litter, the eggs are intentionally attractive. Eggs of these species have an unusual structure called a capitula, a lumpy appendage stuck to the end of the egg. Its function was a mystery until Hughes and Westbory compared the eggs to actual seeds, some of which have their own appendage called an elaiosome.  

The elaiosome is filled with fat, with one main purpose: to attract ants. The ants take the seeds with elaiosomes back to their nests and bury them. Fooled by the capitula, they do the same with phasmid eggs. The buried eggs gain protection from parasitic wasps. Baby stick bugs then hatch safely beneath a couple centimeters of soil. The whole system is a great example of convergent evolution, when two completely unrelated organisms, an insect and a plant, independently evolve similar adaptations. 

In fact, the resemblance between seed-mimicking eggs and actual seeds might even be more complex. Many plant seeds are irresistible food for birds. The birds eat the seeds, which survive digestion and then germinate in the bird’s feces. The otherwise immobile plant uses the bird to disperse its offspring. Entomologist Matan Shelomi, writing in the Journal of Orthoptera Research, decided to test if this strategy applied to phasmid eggs by feeding them to chickens and quails. Many phasmid eggs are coated in a tough material called calcium oxalate. The coating is probably mostly defensive, but it also requires strong acid—like that you’d fine in a vertebrate stomach—to break down. Alas, while the birds ate the eggs with gusto, the eggs did not survive being digested."

 They keep them a pets? 

 

Great camouflage!

  

Laying an egg

  

   

 

Sharpener

Nanako Kume creates these light fixtures with a custom large-scale pencil sharpener. More here.

Japanese designer Nanako Kume came up with a different idea for making lampshades by continuously scraping a pencil-shaped wood block. The specially built machine looks like a pencil sharpener and works like one as well. The colored shavings can be processed into various sizes and shapes for DIY applications. 

 

Cleaning up the bedroom!

I buffed a bunch of my rings that I have not seen in years. I folded many t-shits. Hung shirts and pants. I put one one of my mom's necklaces on. 

And promised that I will wear a piece of jewelry every day and some piece of clothing!  I bought mom so many rings and I think I can wear them now I have lost a little weight.

I have a ring on now. ;)

Loji Höskuldsson

Loji Höskuldsson

I have questions

I hate to be unkind to fellow artist, but sometimes I can't help but roll my eyes in disgust when I happen upon something like this. Not that those scribbles aren't fun and hangable art, but take a look at the price and you might find yourself laughing out loud, or asking your grandkids to produce some art to sell on the internet.

And then there are these Mahjong tiles. Yes, they are fun little piecs of art ... but ... you can buy tiles for a much more reasonable price.

Finding inspiration to brighten up my day

Yesterday was spent on the phone with debt collectors. I guess everyone got the word that David had passed away and it seems all of them sent notices on the same day. I called them all, had a conversation about money. Paid some, I have been paying monthly. Some I had no idea about, was not on the card, therefore, I don't think I have any responsibility...isn't that grand? It was depressing and frightening. Nothing can scare me more than money, the lack of ..., the making of, the inability to make it. I have been making money saving decisions here, and I know it will all be okay. (I do have money in my account). But it makes me feel even more alone on this journey. I admit I have been having a two week, hermit-like pity party and I really need to get off the sofa and get something done. I just keep telling myself, it is okay, all will be okay and be gentle on myself. 

I am trying to learn how to navigate Roku and happened upon Newsmax this morning, lying piece of shit trump's live campaign rally in NH. Watched enough to make me sick to my stomach. 

I am having a hard time wrapping my head around what to watch, how to get to it, how to find it. I am desperately searching for my standard news shows that I watch daily. I can watch most on MSNBC on YouTube, but just in snippets not the entire show. I am still hunting and I know I will find all of them.

Thankfully, I also ran across this YouTube Channel Free High-Quality Documentaries to bring my brain back to life, so to speak. 

What a fantastic channel. This video is fantastic! A must watch ;) Grab a cup of teas, these videos are long and involved. (remember the playback speed)

 

 

Isidro Ferrer

Isidro Ferrer was born in Madrid in 1963, he graduated in Dramatic Art and Stage Design. He worked as an actor at several theatre companies until an accident on tour took him off the stage. He started work at the Heraldo de Aragón in Saragossa as a layout designer in 1988. The time he spent as an apprentice to graphic designer Peret in Barcelona was a key moment in his professional career. At the end of this time, he returned to Saragossa where he set up his own studio Camaleón. He has mainly worked on editorial design, posters and illustration. Throughout his career his designs have received various major prizes and awards. His most standout work includes that for the National Drama Centre, the graphic design for the Luis Buñuel centenary and his work for the newspaper El País. 

issuu

 

Artfully delicious

virkase crochets some tasty art.

Bright art from around the world

Victori Atelier, Abstract painter from Valencia, Spain, her Instagram.

Marisa Añon, spanish flowers! Her Instagram.

Polly Lyn Kimmorley, her heart is still ruled by the colours and shapes of the outback. Her Instagram.