BRRRRrrr! - October 16, 2026

Wow, it has turned off COLD today!  And windy!  I had to put on a sweatshirt this morning.  

Yesterday, The Grandson and I worked in our yard.  We mowed, cut down the phlox bed, did some weed-eating and leaf-blowing.  At the end of the day my out-of-shape butt was dragging.  I texted The Husband to bring home dinner from a fast-food restaurant.

This morning, I had breakfast with my sister and one of my aunts.  

The Grandson landed a new job (his old job as a carpenter's helper ended when the carpenter hurt his back and is unable to work at present).  The new job is at a scrapyard.  He has to be there at 4:30 a.m.!  And it is at least an hour away from home.  I am hoping that he can find something closer, as I fear that he will not realize any money after he fills his truck up with gas.

I have been pretty worthless this week as a crafter.

Monday, I bought some "scented stone" instructions to make - well, scented stones.  There were three recipes for the "stones" - one made with flour, one made with salt (and something else), and one made with plaster of paris.  I made the plaster one.  The "recipe" called for 1 cup of plaster of paris and 1/2 cup water.  I believe the recipe was wrong, for what it made was a thick paste, like putty - far too thick to pour.  I tried mashing it into a mold, but it just crumbled.  The next day, I saw another "scented stone" ad that seemed to be from a different vendor.  Sure enough, when I checked it out, it appeared that the instructions I bought were spoofs.  I emailed the people I bought my instructions from to see if the recipe was correct but never heard back from them.  

However, I had some "Magic Pour" left over from experiments from several months ago, and I thought I might try scenting it.  When I went back into the craft room, I remembered that I had a bag full of disks and pendants that I had made months ago.  I dragged them out and dropped some lavender oil on one of them and put several more in a ziploc bag with a cotton ball soaked in lavender oil.  The oil that I dropped straight onto a pendant did not readily soak into the material, but it eventually did, or else it evaporated.  (Do essential oils evaporate?)  I hung the pendant in my car the next day, and yesterday when I checked the car, I couldn't smell the lavender.  Later, I added one of the pendants from the ziploc bag, and this morning my car does smell faintly of lavender.  I wonder if I could add the oil to the "Magic Pour" along with the water as the batter is mixed.  Might try that.

Other than that feeble attempt at crafting, I didn't do anything.  

I need to get with it.

  

What a Week - October 13, 2026

Man . . . . 

Last week kicked my butt.  The discomfort was primarily due to the fact that I sit on it far too much and am totally out of shape.  But I digress.

Friday evening's 5 o'clock meet-and-greet at a local restaurant was fun.  Almost all of the out-of-towners showed up.  We had about 20 folks.  The next day, one of the group posted pictures from the event.  

It's one thing to see yourself in the mirror and acknowledge your gray hairs and wrinkles; it's quite another thing to see a whole room full of people your age and see a sea of gray hair and wrinkles.  When I saw the picture, I thought, "Damn, who are all those old people at our party?"  😆

Saturday morning The Husband and I met several of the Reunion Committee members at 10 a.m. at the venue to help set up and decorate for the reunion.  We unfolded and arranged tables and chairs, hung banners, spread tablecloths, fluffed centerpieces, blew up balloons - the works.  Many of my muscles were lately unfamiliar with the tasks.  ;)  It took us about two hours. 

The Husband and I, dressed in jeans and tie-dye t-shirts, went back to the venue to open the doors at 5.  People started rolling in about 5:30, sixty-something folks in all. A DJ played "our" music.  The food was scrumptious.  We had a photographer who could print out 5 x 7 photos on the spot.  

We had a blast.  

Many classmates stayed to help us clean up.  We got it done and were out of there by 10 p.m.

My feet ached all night.  I finally got up at 3 a.m. and took some Tylenol.

Sunday, we had a road trip to/from the middle of the state.  I was "stove up" (as my daddy would say) when we got to our destinations.  It was painful getting in/out of the truck.  

We were both pooped yesterday.  

I tried a new craft yesterday.

FAIL.

And, otherwise, sat on my butt most of the day.

Today, I'm trying to get with it.  Did some laundry.  Put a roast in the crock pot for dinner.  Washed the kitchen counters.  

I need to tackle the craft room. It is seriously discombobulated.  The room needs to be emptied, cleaned, and reassembled.  There's furniture that needs to be given away and replaced with sensible storage cabinets.  It's too crazy to think about today.

Maybe I'll just clean off the worktable.  

It's almost here - October 9, 2025

This has been an unusually busy week.  I have left the house almost every day!  😅

Monday, I went to work (a "special assignment") with The Old Boss, and then I went to the final class reunion committee meeting.  I can't remember what I did Tuesday.  Wednesday, I got a long-overdue haircut and then picked up the Little Rotten Baby from school.  Yesterday, I shopped for household necessities and filled up my car with gas.  This evening, I will join some of my classmates for a pre-reunion get-together at a local restaurant.  Tomorrow morning, we will be decorating the venue, and then the reunion will start at 6 p.m.  

Whew!

Yesterday, my class reunion outfit arrived.  Bell-bottom jeans (stretch denim, since gravity has taken its toll on my butt) and a tie-dye T-shirt with a peace sign on the front.  Hah!  I wish I had some "stacks" to complete the outfit, but my old feet would complain, plus I'd probably break my neck trying to walk in them. 

I will be glad when the event is over.  

The craft room has gone unattended this week.  I don't even feel guilty about being unproductive.  

Frankly, I am a little disheartened about the jewelry-making enterprise.  The poor showing at last month's vendor booth was disappointing.  Yes, I did sell a few things, and there were extenuating circumstances that caused a poor turn-out.  And, yes, I've already paid for a booth at a better-attended event in November, but if I were to sell every single thing I've made so far at the next event, it might pay for the booth rental but would nowhere NEAR recoup all the money I've spent on supplies.  

Oh, well . . ."it's kept me off the streets," as they say.

Work - October 6, 2026

My recall to work went better than expected.  The Old Boss and I slipped right back into our groove.  The borrowed laptop didn't give me any trouble, nor did the trigger finger on my left hand.  We knocked out the document in a couple of hours.  It was good to see some former co-workers I hadn't seen since retirement.

After work, I went to the class reunion committee meeting that I'd thought I would have to miss.  The reunion is this weekend.  Saturday morning, a few of us will meet at the venue to set up tables and decorate.  I'm kind of excited.  This morning I ordered some bell bottom jeans and a retro t-shirt.  I hope they will fit.

The thought of making jewelry has scarcely crossed my mind since before we left on our trip.  When we came home, all the craft stuff that I'd taken on the trip (and scarcely used) got dumped on the craft room worktable, and there it still lies in disarray.  It would probably help to rekindle my motivation if I'd go in there and clean up, but I'm in no hurry to reorganize.  Maybe after the reunion is over I'll find my mojo.

Home - October 5, 2026

We're back from our trip to Gatlinburg.

All that stuff I took with me to do?

Hardly touched it.

On our first full day there, we drove up to the artisans community and looked around the shops.  I bought some beads.  Oh, and a little chunk of fudge, which slowly disappeared as the week progressed.  

That night, The Grandson called.

"Grandmama!  There are two armadillos in the yard, digging in your flower bed.  Can I shoot them?"

Before I finished the word "NO!" he hung up.

An hour later, he called back.  It seems his phone had died.  (Yeah, right.)  In the interim, he'd shot at one of the armadillos but only nicked its shoulder.  It's probably still alive, somewhere.

The rest of the week was uneventful.

One evening, The Old Boss called.  She has some work to do on an old case that was left over from before we both retired.  She's rusty and wants me to help her finish up the paperwork.

I'm rusty, too.  Back in the day, I was a pretty fast typist, fast enough to type as The Old Boss dictated (she had trouble working the machine).  But now, with this trigger finger problem . . . .  

It's a bad week for going back to work.  Our 50-year class reunion is this weekend, and the reunion committee is meeting today to finalize the plans.  I can't be there but will abandon the work project for long enough to call in to the meeting.

Packing - September 27, 2026

We leave on our road trip across the state tomorrow morning.  Gotta pack today.

I still haven't decided what craft(s) to take with me.  I'll need something to do in the truck; crochet will work.  But what about the three days in the hotel room?

You might think that I'd get out and explore, but we've been to this town dozens of times, and I know from experience that getting out to explore is a nerve-wracking experience.  Traffic is a nightmare.  Bumper-to-bumper.  Pedestrians.  The occasional bear.  Restaurants are crowded.  Anyway , . . .

This past week, the hobby store had 4" x 6" watercolor pads on sale, so I grabbed one.  The size is perfect for greeting cards.  I should inventory my travel paint bag to make sure everything I'll need is there.  I haven't painted in ages.  

For the past few weeks, I've been kind of fascinated with amulet bags.  I went through the scrap bin this week and picked out a few pieces of fabric on which to try some "slow stitching."  It won't take up much room in the schlepping bag.

I should go out today.  We've a trip next week; I need to lay in some supplies to feed The Grandson while we're gone and replenish my mobile craft workshop.  

While I was sitting here on the porch, pondering today's post, I heard a flutter and looked out to see a HUGE bird - probably a hawk - jumping at something on the ground.  It almost seemed to be digging.  My fingers were crossed that it would yank up a mole.  Alas, it flew up to a limb and eventually flew away, empty-footed.  

Which reminds me . . . I still haven't put out the poison mole pills.

Where was I?

Oh yeah, the mobile workshop.

I can't decide what to take.

I've a crochet project in progress, almost finished.  I've another hat pattern that I want to try.  Crochet would be good work for the road.  But I'm about to spend several days in a hotel room while The Husband is in meetings, and I will go crazy without something to do.  

Maybe I'll just take my watercolor stuff and paint some Christmas cards.  

To be honest, I'd really rather stay home and twist wire and roll clay.

A few days ago, I bought an online Helen Breil workshop about texturing clay.  Watched it yesterday.  It was a good buy.  It sparked a lot of ideas.  I had to stop the video several times to go try something she demonstrated.