Canvas and Curler Catastrophe

Moved my recent canvas art onto the walls. Just love them but the walls are getting a bit squeezed. I belong to an art Facebook group; when I posted my photos, a gal asked if I'd consider selling them. Hmmm, not a bad idea and might just try that one on for size. Would definitely loosen the belt on the walls and give them breathing space.

Yesterday took my almost daily stroll at Willow Grove. We were passing by, in six feet range mind you, a family who had a German Shepherd. It came bounding up to us at which point Stubbs turned on a dime, barked, growled, and that pup went running back to its kin.

Later at home, we were outside when Stubbs began barking. Looked over and he was chasing a lab along with a huge Rottweiler/Pit Bull/Son of Satan beast with a spiked collar out of the yard. For a 12-year old, eight pound dog with a touch of arthritis he can sure bring down the big boys.  The two dogs ended up roaming in the alley so grabbed a pic (safely behind the gate) and posted it on line not just for someone to rescue their dog but to keep that monster away from kids.

Recently picked up some cheap bendy curlers and have tried them out a few times. Definitely boosts the oomph in my hair. Usually just roll up a few of the larger noodles but last night went for the gusto, used all the rollers, then hit the hay.

Come to Mama!

This morning proceeded to unfurl my hair and it was outrageous!  Flashback to being a kid when Grammie would give me a perm with rods so small a No. 2 pencil would overshadow them!  Whoa!

Brushed my hair and it morphed into an afro so gigantic couldn't help but channel Little Orphan Annie and burst into a rendition of "Tomorrow."  Decided it was definitely a shower and shampoo day; unfortunately, the event was so traumatic I failed to take a pic so you will just have to make do with this:

Y'all know the beach, the waves, and mermaids are my thing. Stopped at Dollar Tree to pick up hangers when what to my wandering eye did appear but a sweet mermaid tail!  For a buck it was going home with me!

Last night and again tonight my recent craft project has been to paint and decorate two driftwood walking sticks. Finished the first one tonight then started on the second. There's just something about crafting and art that soothes the soul.

Gifts, Goats, and the Greatest

The gifts just keep on coming from work. Yesterday to kick start the weekend, the powers that be told everybody to take the afternoon off and leave at 2pm.  Then received a gift package of Dancing Goats coffee as a thank you from them. Brewed up a cup this morning and it was dark, smooth and tasty.  A significant difference from my Walmart Great Value French Roast daily grind.

Upon logging off from work, grabbed Stubbs and headed over to Walgreens to pick up a canvas print made from the recent Willow Grove bubble picture. Had the river on my mind so detoured there for a beach walk. Methinks Stubbs loves it as much as I do.  Hadn't planned on river walking so combed the sandy banks in my shortie boots. Definitely not as comfortable as my beach shoes but didn't slow me down.

Stopped at the Ocean Beach Walmart to pick up items they were out of at the 7th Avenue store like cilantro and cabbage. Made a huge bowl of salad last weekend and finished it off Thursday so ready to prepare a new batch this morning. Definitely getting in my greens.

Last night watched "The Greatest Showman."  Catchy music, lots of dancing, Hugh Jackman and Zac Efron - what else could a person want on a Friday night for entertainment? Surprised this film wasn't on Broadway first as that would be a perfect fit; digging into this more it sounds like a move to theater is in the works.

And here we are on Saturday. Began organizing and cleaning my room some but, aside from the above mentioned salad, have nothing on the agenda.  Hard to figure out adventures for the weekend with everything - including the coast - shut down lock, stock, and barrel. Stay at home only gives one so many options. However, still have a few pieces of driftwood in the back of my rig so may ponder what creative possibilities they hold.  Crafting therapy definitely soothes the soul during these self-isolation times.

Tealight & Tonya

Follow up on the fungus art - ended up adding a piece of driftwood to it as a holder, threw in a battery-operated tealight and there ya go! I love it!  Just need to figure out where to place it!

Watched "I, Tonya" last night with Margot Robie and Allison Janney.  Entertaining flick especially since she lived and still lives in SW Washington. Back in the day she would visit Longview to hit Silver Star bar along with other local taverns.  She was quite the scrapper from what I heard.

If the movie is true, her mother was a real piece of work so it's no wonder she had some serious emotional issues. Even if you can't stand Tonya, watch it if only for Allison Janney's Oscar-winning portrayal of her mother. Just over the top!

Fungus Amongst Us

Headed out to Willow Grove yesterday with the Stubbers but first checked the mail. Another gift card from the boss - nice!!

Strolled the beach and ran across the following tribute, which really struck home to me. 

Continued my walk, found a few pieces of driftwood then stumbled upon a treasure buried in the sand - a big bottle of bubbles with a large wand.  Took a pit stop to capture some bubble pictures. Probably took eight before snagging the amazing one below.  Putting two and two together, this was clearly a gift from my Mom! ❤

Ventured over to Big Lots after the river to browse with, of course, mask in place. They always have weird things for sale - dried dragon fruit, obscure chips and cereal, and the unusual.  Took home mixed nuts, goji berries, canned green olives and a bottle of mango nail polish.

Headed home when bestie texted to see if I wanted to come over for dinner. Dropped the dog off, ordered Chinese food, and drove to pick it up. Put mask in place and there were three ahead of me with four more arriving soon after. Apparently Chinese was the food to eat during quarantine which is kind of ironic. 

They brought out the two combinations in a box and there was a TON of food!  Felt like the box weighed 10 pounds!  We only made a small dent in the first combination so ended up bringing the leftovers home which should last the whole week!

Finished my driftwood project last night. Or what I thought was driftwood but, after sending the before pic to Steve for clarification, learned it was a mushroom fungus!!  After adding paint and beads, I've put the fungus part out of my head.

Fungus Before

Fungus After

Stayed up late last night and watched Hustlers with J. Lo.  It was pretty entertaining and Jennifer Lopez actually did an excellent job so I understand why her name was bandied about for an Oscar.

And today is Sunday so capping off the weekend with laundry! Let's make it a memorable week!

Blue Sky Blessed

Beautiful week just ended - glorious blue skies, warm 70ish temp - couldn't ask for more.  There's just something about sunny weather that puts a lift in my step that daily doses of vitamin D just can't compete.

Years ago bestie Lynn told me she uses a sleep mask and it helps her fall into slumber faster and maintain her sleep. Decided to try it this week and you know what? It works! Picked up a pink floral satin mask and put it on every night. Fell asleep faster and stayed asleep longer rather than the usual wake up at 1am, at 3am, and so on.

Found a clearance Rocco Dispirito Healthy & Delicious cookbook this week which contains over 200 mostly plant-based recipes. It's a hefty book so looking forward to reviewing today since the rain has returned.  Haven't gone completely vegetarian but the last couple of weeks a main portion of my diet has evolved around a huge salad filled with red cabbage, asparagus, carrots, red onion, celery, and swiss chard from Marie's backyard. Used it as a salad or added more items to it such as last night added cold whole wheat noodles and peanuts along with a spicy chili sauce. Yum!

Along with browsing the book, started a driftwood painting project this morning. Will share pictures once it's complete.

Received some unexpected gifts this week. Boss sent a Starbucks card, Account Manager gave me a Visa card he had received for a project we worked, and now expecting a parcel of coffee from corporate. Real plus to work with a company and team members who are so generous and appreciative! ❤

Finished up another work video this week. Definitely a fun distraction during the quarantine!

Soup, Syphillus, and Sacajawea

The soup last night was amazeballs! Tons of veggies and my homemade stock was perfect!

Yesterday ended up feeling the 70's vibe so watched 1973's "Go Ask Alice" with William Shatner. Based on a true story (I remember reading the book) about a 15-year old naive teen who fell in with the wrong crowd and became addicted to drugs.  Was groovy to see all the 70's fashion, hair, and accessories.

Followed that movie up with "Someone I Touched", made in 1975 and starring Cloris Leachman and Glynnis O'Connor.

Plotline swirled around syphillus - who gave it to whom, who had an affair, who is keeping it a secret. Here's a clip from the movie where Glynnis tells her mom.  Okay, it's dramatic but they could have improved on the sound editing just a bit.

Last night laid out some workout wear with plans of walking before work. Well, that didn't happen. However, had made myself a commitment to exercise more so after work threw on my shorts and tee and walked from my house to Lake Sacajawea, walked around the entire lake then back home. This was close to five miles in total.

Such a gorgeous day couldn't help but snag a few pics along the way. Funny how we take things for granted. All this lovely environment with an accessible path to walk or run, meet with friends, or take your pooch for a stroll.  When it feels like the world is coming to an end, you begin to appreciate what you have and be thankful it's still available for use.

Nothing Better Than Blue Sky

Happy Easter everyone!

I sent the following to Jordan and Sam. Yes, this is a real picture from the early part of the 1900's.  Who in their right mind would create what's supposed to be a friendly bunny in this manner???

It's Sunday so my room just had to be cleaned. Hung up my clothes, made the bed, then called it done. Next task was to finish making masks - had picked up some 97cent fabric quarters along with soft cotton roping (store was out of elastic) then, after digging and searching for the right liner material, located the last package of cotton mesh dry wipes from the Dollar Tree.  Finished cutting out the fabric then sewed the lot together to make three masks. Turned out acceptable but, with the remaining fabric, will make the masks a tad larger.  At least they are soft behind the ears!

Masks done, decided the pup needed a little R&R so scooped him up, gave him a bath, then blew him dry til he was a fluffy ball of fur.

After spending so much time in isolation, decided Stubbins and I needed a change of scenery so we went for the proverbial Sunday drive. Made our way to County Line Park on the Columbia.  Oh, I remember the sweet summer days spent there in the late 80's with my beach towel, sunscreen, and book - pure bliss! 

Unfortunately the park was Corona closed so we turned the rig around and headed back to town. Prime scenic view on the return trip so took a few pics from the side of the highway.

Once in town, we headed to Kelso and took a walk on the Coweeman Dike. New grounds for Stubbers so he was all over the place, sniffing and peeing to no end.  He was literally a hot dog at the end of our walk which may explain the nap he's having, with snoring, on my lap right now.

Arrived home and now relaxing before making a pot of soup using my homemade veggie broth for dinner.

Enjoy your Easter and the blue sky!!

Chip Off the Old Block

This morning rose bright and early, had my coffee then made a batch of shrimp penne pasta salad.  Decided to work so spent four hours on the computer cleaning up tasks that had been on the sideline for too long.

After work, cleaned up, had some of my pasta salad then headed over to Jordan's as he needed a ride to Walmart.  Being the one-of-a-kind, unique person that he is, Jordan packed a Plague mask and top hat for protection. He also brought along his crab hands but I had to nix that idea as it verged on excess.

We arrived at Walmart, got in line to enter, and the clerk had to confirm he was cleared to go in with his face-cloaking attire. Yep, good to go so we entered and headed to the paint section.

Surprisingly, there wasn't too much of a ruckus as we walked through the store. Lots of smiles, a few thumbs up, and some children who thought he was a big birdy.  When we went to check out, the clerk insisted on Jordan pulling his mask up to ensure he was old enough to purchase spray paint.

To be honest, it was a hoot to experience this goofy event especially during all the wackiness going on in the world. Jordan never fails to make me laugh!!!

Happy Sibling's Day

Happy Sibling's Day and much love to my brothers and sisters!!! ❤❤❤

Imperfect Perfectionism

Thursday was one of those days when I should have called in sick!

Was backing up a co-worker who was on vacation. The producer on the account asked me to put together a whole bunch of data for the client in preparation for binding. Grabbed all the information, prepared the forms, and sent to the producer.  Unfortunately, one of the forms had errors so he sent it back to fix.  Sent it back then he had more changes. Sent it back and he called me to discuss two more items. It was becoming a comedy of errors all the back and forth. Finally breathed a sigh of relief when it was all finished.

However, it put me in a really irritable mood. I felt embarrassed I had made so many mistakes that needed to be fixed. Yep, my perfectionism and ego were raising their ugly heads.  Instead of focusing on the 90% of the project that was perfect, I mentally berated myself for the 10% that needed correction.

This episode made me think of the other ways perfectionism interferes with my mental well-being.  For example, if someone says I didn't email an item or follow up, I spend time searching for the email to prove, at least to myself, it had been sent aka I was right. Why waste my effort on this? What deep-seeded need drives me to prove my perfection?  I'm the first one to admit I'm not perfect so why let these events drive me crazy?

Of course this situation drove me to Pinterest in search of data or words of wisdom.  Found the following which hit home along with affirmations to help my mental state of mind.

All Over the Place!

Lately have taken Stubbs on a few nature walks, including Willow Grove and today a local skate park. We both definitely enjoyed ourselves out in the 72 degree weather.

Just love taking pictures! A few weeks ago Walgreens had a 75% off canvas print special so ordered two 11x14 and three 8x10 of some of my favorite nature pics as shown below:

Willow Grove 

Willow Grove 

Down the street on my way to
work one morning

Arch Cape

Arch Cape

Only conundrom is to figure out where to hang them! They may be displayed at work if and when we return to the office!  However, I did find a spot for my Haiku award:

Marie hauled me out of the house yesterday in order to see invasion of the ants. Occassionally tiny sugar ants will show their ugly faces in the house and they must be immediately dealt with by Marie aka Ant Killer. The ants she showed me were down the alley.

From a distance.

And up close.

Last night the Pink Moon was Mother Nature's event for all to see.  Disclaimer - I did darken these pics so the moon was more visible.

For my usual movie review, watched "I See You" a 2020 mystery movie starring Helen Hunt.  Poor thing lives in Hawaii and she needs to start laying the sunscreen on thick.  For a B movie (shocking as this woman won an Oscar for God's sake) it held my attention and there were several twists.

Kudos to my nephew Matt for running in a viral ultamarathon. Two-thousand participants and he finished seventh! For more info, here's a newspaper article about Matt.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/valleyview-runner-virtual-ultramarathon-indoors-covid-19-1.5524034

When Marie and I took our lengthy walk the other day, we ran across a few tires. Couldn't resist taking a pic of 4'10" Marie in front of them - kind of in the way you place a dollar next to an item for comparison.

Delighted to report that, although makeup and bra have been optional due to obvious stay-at-home restrictions, Monday night found me dying my roots and Tuesday night lacquered on a fresh coat of red polish. After all, there is a Diva persona to maintain!