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    T Tuesday: another two weeks edition

    It appears that this is how things may be for a while…slow to update…such is life these days. Time keeps ticking away and I’m finding less and less time to be creative. So many fall projects to tackle before its too late.

    I’m scrounging for canning lids as I keep getting more green beans. What do you think of my carrots? LOL  I had to pull them up because the squirrels were trying to do it for me.

    I also have a couple other canning projects I’d like to try but I either need more regular lids or more wide mouth jars…neither of which I can find anywhere.

    I did can some bloody Mary mix and somewhat appropriate sized containers.  It is a homemade, never be able to reproduce since I didn’t measure anything, type of mix. Hopefully its not the best ever. (Please excuse the poor photography and chaotic pantry.)

    School is going well. We all seem to be finding a rhythm…although I really should not have said that since I’m likely jinxing myself.

    One crafty thing that I actually completed during the past week was this paper garland. Our resource room is tiny…white cinder block walls with 6 doors but no windows…I can’t even make that up. It was originally a storage space of band instruments almost half a century ago.

    I really want to dress it up a bit without spending money since we certainly don’t have a budget. I’m hoping that between the 4 of us that current use the space throughout the day, we can make it a like happier. Brighter. A place the kids actually want to come for extra help without being distracted or over-stimulated.

    Last week, (I think…it’s a blur) we had some really interesting sunrise and sunsets. A high veil of smoke gave the sky a sort of post-apocalyptic look.

    I’ve been suffering with a sore hip or sciatica this past week. Its so frustrating! Hurts to do anything for any length of time. Whether its sitting, standing, walking or laying…it all hurts. I’m sure it came about from my abrupt change in activity when I returned to work. I’d been used to walking 2-3 miles most mornings then puttering around the house and garden. Being barefoot on soft surfaces. Nothing like life now. More sitting, hard floors, shoes, standing, leaning over. When I spell it all out like that, it makes complete sense but it doesn’t make the pain any less.

    I did get out for a walk Sunday morning. The trees are so beautiful. There was a slight crisp in the air. I love this time of year. Jeans and hoodies…my perfect outfit.

    I’ve made a few more masks as well. I decided when this is all over I’m going to cut apart all the masks I’ve made and make a COVID quilt.

    I have done a bit of art journaling as well….this is a current WIP. Of course this was what I should have been doing…but since I cleaned up my space it just had to be done.

    As many of you know my art space is in the laundry/utility room. My crafty chaos tends to overflow my actual space and I end up putting things on the washer and drier.

    But look…they are clean. Unfortunately there is a really lame reason for my sudden cleanup. The rubber gasket that keeps the water from leaking out the door of my front load washer ripped. Mr. G ordered a new gasket but the washing machine has to be taken half apart of replace the it. While waiting for that part Mr. G came across a video showing a potential hack to “rebuild the gasket with roofing sealant. We are giving it a go since…if it fails…we are right back where we started. I’ll update you next week as it takes a couple days of cure time.

    I’m so thankful that he is able to tackle these projects. In the meantime, I had to clean and make a trip to the laundromat.

    It’s certainly not perfect but trust me…much better. I tend to end up creating in a one foot square space. So dumb but I can’t seem to break myself of the habit.

    This is also madness. All of the scrap papers I had laying about. Ok truth be told…half of this was in the bin to start but seriously. I have a problem.

    What are you doing today?
  • Blog - Creativity

    T Tuesday: card crazy edition

    Another week that has flown by. Not sure how it happens that I don’t even touch my blog for a week at a time. That being said, I have been working on creative pursuits whenever possible. Well that’s not exactly accurate…I did waste a bunch of time one day on YouTube watching other people exploring the great outdoors when we were cooped up inside. somewhat organized space

    Getting organized has been a priority for me over the last few months. Trust me…I’m just scratching the surface. I’m sort of an organized chaos type of person. I want to change that so I’m working in baby steps.

    scrap bin

    I’ve gathered my paper scraps into this bin to make them more usable and visible.

    scrap bin

    But along with getting organized I trip myself up… I hate waste. Throwing stuff out really bothers me which is why I always seem to have a mountain of scraps.

    creative space

    With that in mind, I’m continuing my efforts to use scraps in creative ways. Mini-collages for cards and journal pages mostly.

    organized sentiment stamps

    Now that I have my sentiment stamps all in one spot, I have an easier time finding the words I want to use.

    dark 30 coffee

    I wasn’t sure I was going to get this posted when I started to write, find and edit photos etc yesterday. But I guess my brain had other ideas. I woke super early this morning soI was able to sit and finish my post with my first cup of coffee before getting ready for work.

     

    What are you doing today?

  • Art - Blog - Creativity

    T Tuesday: somewhere in paradise edition

    We are temporary empty-nesters as my neighbor so perfectly phrased. The boy is off at college and the girl is traveling around Costa Rica. Crazy!

    I’ve been keeping up with her through a few random texts and Snapchats…otherwise I’m using social media to see photos from their adventures.

    Mini-me sent me this photo she took at the Irazú Volcano.

    And this one of the La Fortuna waterfall. They rode horses to get to there then swam at the base. WOW!

    Meanwhile in MN…we are watching the snow melt. 🙂

    I am so excited that she has this opportunity..once in a lifetime.

    AS far as myself…I’ve been knocking things off a todo list. Feels good. There just haven’t been enough hours in the day or week lately. I’ve been creating and experimenting with my supplies. I think these may become tags….or at least tag backgrounds…or starting pointsAnother thing on my list for this week is to clean up this chaos. I want to streamline and phase out some things that I really never use, are too old and junked to use or lets face it…never liked in the first place but hung on to it anyway.

    It’s a big job but I think I’m up for the challenge.

    Mini-me comes home on Thursday. Friday we leave for the state archery tournament. Well, at least she gets to sleep one night in her bed.

    What are you doing today?