1. We went to a jack o'lantern extravaganza that was SO worth it. Excellent for the season. I have so many photos, you can't imagine.
2. Getting kiddo to finish her homework just in time.
3. Sambusas and Somali tea in a little cafe while waiting for my kiddos to finish Sunday school. They were playing a loud livestream of an imam reciting in Arabic, so not sure I'd recommend it as a get-work-done cafe, but the food and tea was really good.
1. The kids earned extra screen time from all the outdoors time leaf-peeping at the Landscape Arboretum on Friday, so we had a nice relaxed Saturday.
2. IT Lash Blowout mascara. I found a mascara that I don't even feel when it's on!
3. Halloween party! Alas, I didn't get a photo, so you'll have to take my word for it that my Morticia Addams costume turned out well.
today - buying a new to me sofa, lemon drizzle cookies from Lidl, soup, catch up (via text) with a friend, a huge mug of tea thats sitting next to me now.
We will ignore the bad things, they are pretty much my usual.
Soon going to be time to crawl into a cosy bed with a good book and wait for the arrival of The next few days will be spent at home and hoping family and friends that live in the red warning area are okay.
1. Watched the first episode of the new season of Loki with spouse, and it is AMAZINGLY CHAOTIC. ::chef's kiss::
2. Free carton of La Croix from my co-op, thanks to their "owners" freebie coupons. In my middle age, I have started actually drinking this stuff. Weirdness. But I love freebies!
3. Installing freebie curbside storage shelving under my kid's lofted bed, where it fits perfectly.
Fabulous things for a Fabulous Planet.1. Took a very short bike trip to get my daughter to her free tennis activity. Not as recovered from Covid as I thought I was. It wiped me out I slept until almost 11am today. But getting her--and me--on our bikes is still good.
2. Coffee shop writing and a Pumpkin Spice Lawsuit (their version of a PSL, with actual pumpkin).
3. Scouted murals for a future photo walk.
1. Watching Moonlighting (old TV mystery show with Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd, now on Hulu) with the kids while folding laundry before bed. I'd never seen it before. Pretty fun show! The kids liked it too: I'm now forbidden from watching it on my own.
2. Bought a new phone to replace my broken one. Not the model I wanted (too expensive), but it'll do. Pixel 6 Pro, refurb.
3. Halloween decorating with electric votives + a dozen tiny jack o'lanterns.
1. Our new Roomba did a great job on the carpet in the cat porch.
2. I got an extra 300ish words written in the evening, over my word goal, thanks to 4theWords.
3. Figured out who is going to end up a corpse-puppet, and why it will wrench the hearts of my readers.
1) I am out of quarantine for Covid and feeling improved if not all better, though I'm still masking around my family for 2 more days.
2) This cup lid, which I got with a matching mug at our favorite Asian grocery store and then discovered it fits all my large coffee mugs! Magic.
3) My electric lap blanket. Best thing ever for writers working in cold attic garrets.
A little day brightener! This started with a wild brush line that might be a distant horizon or a dragon (depending on your mood or perspective).
gouache in 5x8" journal
Wins for today -
A short walk.
Tofu fajitas (my first proper meal in days, living on toast or sandwiches a lot lately).
A chat with a neighbour.
Cuddles from my neighbours dog.
A little bit of cross stitch done.
Lots of laughs with the child.
Thats lots of good things to feel positive about. Been trying to avoid things that bring me down.
Time for pjs, then a cup of tea (and probably toast - I'm not being THAT good).
It rained last night and yesterday afternoon and I came home to the most beautiful and huge chanterelle underneath my rosemary bush. And then this morning I got to watch the first flight of a fledgling blue jay.
I hope this gives you a warm feeling.
Tube (AKA valve) amplification gives that embrace of deep bass, warm mid-range and non-fatiguing treble that makes music shine.
If you ever get the chance check out the Seashore Trolley Museum not far from there in Maine. Pretty cool wooden New Zealand Trolley there from 1903 too
A burst of deep magenta ink to brighten your day!
I make a lot of small format collages, usually on 3x5' index cards. These move forward in an impromptu way, one decision leading to the next (not planned in advance) -- just keep going until it's interesting!
I'm working on little abstracts in ink, and going through the "awkward" feeling/phase that happens when I shift back to a medium I've not used in awhile! So I wade in, start with open-ended play, mark-making, experimenting, letting the process evolve, not working toward a particular finished work. My favorite way to work!
Wishing you a day filled with inklings of good things at every turn
acrylics on wood
"I have come to believe that there are infinite passageways out of the shadows, infinite vehicles to transport us into the light." Martha Beck
ink on 3x3" watercolor paper
Who is making your a We want to know about your +
is about recognizing doing .
Best part of living in Northern California is the nights in the park. Cool breeze, cool music, cool friends.
It's no joke, it's Federal Equal Pay law.
holy acts of Congress, Batman!
When an unexpected good arrives in our life, it may provide a moment of startling insight, a fleeting experience of wisdom, by showing us how we have needlessly accepted the limitations that were imposed on us in the past.
- saw many buns in the park. and a rat!
- finished last year's spring sketchbook lol
- swapped out tarot decks from storage, found myself trying to reach for the thoth and the morgan greer, so out they came. along with two fun ones.
- revisited different sketchbook for inspiration and i'm mixing up new color palettes with old techniques :) maybe something fun will come of it
- it's supposed to rain all night!
- found a youtube channel very up my alley, don't know why i haven't stumbled across it earlier (Crecganford)
ok i have to double down with positive things. it's been harder to find/focus on any recently (overall and also acutely in the last week or so), all the more important to get on it.
here are some
- the weather has been cooler and i finally felt like i have energy to live. might even clean up today
- i'm having a lot of fun arting and crafting, using up stuff i already have. it's very rewarding to be in a place where i don't really need to be getting anything
- i am 10 years marry this week! so that's cute. maybe we'll takeaway about it
- blessed to have a friend i could whine to about everything, they're a connection to home and to the good parts of my past
- been listening to music more since we got tidal. i like its algorithm
- ever so grateful for the accessible, no-hoops required trans healthcare around here
Some good things to smile about-
I have a golden eye frog or two that lingers by the light at the front door for bugs. They are cute.
I hear the barking frogs even if I rarely see them & they make me smile.
We have an armadillo (or 2) that have started scrounging the yard for bugs & slugs. They are just plain WEIRD looking.
now knackered and somewhat sweaty, but I think that we did (TM)!
Rob Lamothe-The Good Things
There is no compass
Where are my shipmates
Where is my sailing hand
There is no badly-drawn map
There is no turning back
There is no sign of land
And would I recognize it
If I was stranded on it
Would I know your heart
I am writing down the good things
Every wounded heart and bloody ring
Behind the brave words and the smoke screens
I am hoping that you'll know it's me
- turns out rose syrup + fizzy water is a decent approximation of Fentiman's rose lemonade!
- pizza and Poirot with the partner :) takeaway is so spoonful
- we were promised a storm and while it seems to have dissipated before it properly arrived there was a very dramatic cloud. and it smells nice
- managed to stop myself from purchasing a ridiculous amount of beads (didn't get any, in fact!)
- reading in the sun!
- luscious soap
today's highlights:
- launched a peanut directly into a crow's beak! it made a satisfying clack on impact
- enjoying combo postage
- cat keeps inviting herself for hugs. it is a bit cold
today -
- saw a super bright crocus
- one crow in the park has a Very Different voice from all its friends and it cracks us up every time
- big snuggles with cat
- i Tried and therefore no one should criticize me
- got a package from mom! with candy, stickers, and supplements
- getting arty with said stickers and bits of ephemera
- working through a really meaty course of insight-integration. loving it
- another 10C day! supposed to be 13 over the weekend
3/3 Interval since the endish of January:
-I finished my first of 2023: by . I absolutely loved the book's characters - not just the heroine but the supporting characters as well.
-I started a of Sanderson's with the goal of doing my first of the newest book in the series .
-My wife and I got married 6 years ago today! So we are going to take the spawnling and eat tasty ramen!
2/ Interval since the endish of January:
-Started to play more seriously with a close friend and two of our EQ2 friends joined us! So we played on new characters with them and did some of the intro quests/zones together.
-The same friends then invited us to try out with them and we have since been enjoying the game. I have been told it is similar to (which I never played). This game has so much potential for creativity and I am excited!
1/ Interval since the endish of January:
-My Defiler got her Prismatic 2.0, guild ran old content to get people the update so yay.
-I am playing in a weekly campaign as a Divine Soul Sorcerer named Aelyn - she is such a personal character and I am so lucky to play in a group that I am comfortable enough with to bring that vulnerability to life.
-Attended the spawnling's open house and met all of their teachers at their current high school - so many good comments.
I think I get Sage phones because I like the verdant feeling. Add a case with flowers on, and I'm blooming inside.
- so warm and sunny! Second time this year i was able to pray outside. Cat got to bask to her heart's content, indoors and out
- nutty fruity bread! That Ben and Jerry's brownie chocolate collab with Tony's chocolonely... And proper leafy black tea. Hit the spot just right
- discovered we can get boostered at any time at the pharmacy. Yay! Now if only there were guidelines and recommendations as to how many to get. Last one definitely ran out
Rich guy gives money for operation to 1000 people so they can see again!
I mean, that can only be a positive thing... can't it... you can't complain about that... can you
Apparently you can.
(Do you think Jesus was ever critisised for miracle porn)
BBC News - MrBeast: Why has YouTuber faced criticism for blind surgery video
January was a very difficult month for me, emotionally, but there were some good things:
Saw a Great Spotted Woodpecker
Started watching Detectorists
Joined Mastodon and liking it so far!
Started my Welsh course with Dysgu Cymraeg
Donated blood, something Ive been meaning to get back to doing for ages
First Doers & Improvers book club meeting of the year with
:ablobaww: