Buddy says there is nothing like a good nap after Thanksgiving Dinner.

Hey folks.  Just checking in.  A cold front is on its way and the wind is blowing beautiful leaves all over the place.  It looks like an animated scene you'd see on the internet as the leaves toss and turn in the wind.  It was lovely.  I'm still in shorts.  Been so for a couple of days.  But the long pants are out of storage until next Spring as the cold temps will come and go until then. 

Big plans for Thanksgiving at Son's house.  My Sister and her crew who usually host most holidays will be coming as well as DIL's mother who I have not met.  Grandson, who I have not seen since he got his own apartment will be there!  So excited to see him.  Grand Girls will be home for Thanksgiving but gone for Christmas.  DIL's sons are the opposite and I think DIL is planning an after Christmas Christmas for when the girls get home. 

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday with the young female doctor I like so I could get my happy pills refilled.  I have issues with anxiety, startle response and claustrophobia.  Ever been stuck in traffic and had claustrophobia?  You want to jump out of the car and run down the road like Godzilla is coming after you.  She said my blood pressure was high again and upped my medicine again.  My sugar was pretty decent for me the last couple of days but my energy was really dragging.  I didn't even think to check my blood pressure.  What do you do if your blood pressure is high?  It is not like sugar levels where you can take a shot to bring it down.  Brother, life sure is complicated sometimes. 

Has anyone watched Mandalorian on the new Disney plus channel?  I won't spoil it for anyone but I thought it was excellent if you are a Star Wars fan. 

I read this when the last cold front came through recently.  I thought the early winter was all in my mind but I guess not. 

With clouds and rain Thursday, we managed to only hit 48° for a high temperature. That was the third consecutive day of Houston not getting above 50°. When is the last time that occurred in November? That would be November 27 to 30, 1952.

1952 was a long time ago.  Just look on a drop-down menu.  It's way down there.  Hahaha.

More later ...

Kayne West and Joel Osteen

I'm sure most of you have heard of Joel Osteen and Lakewood Church which is here in Houston.  I have never been to a service there but went many times before the Church bought it when it was an entertainment venue.  I'm sure most of you have heard of Kayne West and his Sunday Services and his new album, Jesus is King.  In the various newsfeeds, I read there is always something about Kayne or Kim Kardashian so I see just the blurbs.

At any rate, I pulled up Youtube yesterday to see what the bruha was about.  Well, I nearly died when Kayne told Joel and the audience not to say anything because he was all about a stream of consciousness and comments - like Amen - caused him to lose his stream.  Who tells Joel to be quiet at his own service?

I also thought it was interesting that Joel stood right next to Kayne on the stage.  I wondered if it was to grab the mike from him if he went off on some tangent!  Truthfully I only listened for about 3 minutes.  Ok, maybe seconds.  Kayne sounded so much like Muhammed Ali saying I am the greatest.  Maybe it's an act or maybe he believes it, I don't know.  I'm afraid I don't keep up with the young people's music anymore. 

I think maybe he has an attention disorder in which he gets easily distracted.  I had a friend once that couldn't have the tv on while trying to talk.  Maybe that but then again, I've never been on a stage in front of gazillions of people so who am I to judge?

I guess my take would be that I'd rather see him dedicate himself to religion than of the other paths music stars might follow.  I've also read that he dictated that his young daughter would no longer wear makeup.  Hum.  Then how is going to handle naked pictures of his wife being shared with the world?  Now that, I think, will cause a big bruhaha.  We'll see. 

Hahaha.  Just my own version of stream of consciousness.

More later ...

What is your best time of day?

Author Elizabeth Gilbert on time management:

“If you’ve reached a certain age then you know what works for you. You should know by this point in your life what time of day you’re 'good' — like what time of day is your brain at its best. Because the reality is we all get, maybe, two good hours a day where we actually feel awake and alert.

"And the big, important question is: Who currently gets that time from you. The best time from your brain every day—who or what currently gets that? And would you be willing to take it back so that it’s yours and then give the world the 'second-rate' version of you (which is the other 22 hours of the day)…"

This was a clip from JamesClear.com.  I couldn't find the link back to where he got it but you can find Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat, Pray, Love) at https://armchairexpertpod.com/.

As I've mentioned before, I am an avid audiobook listener.  I have Overdrive on my old phone.  I can access my library through Overdrive and listen to and place on hold any book that interests me for free.  I could also ebook it but I haven't gotten to that yet.

So back to the article.  I remember when I worked.  The starting time was usually 8 to 8:30.  Like the song, I would stumble to my desk and grab that cup of coffee before my brain kicked in (Working 9 to 5).  While I was drinking coffee, I would read my emails from the boss - as emails from him were either information to know or tasks to perform.  With that information in hand, I would review the work for the day and separate it into groupings and by 10:00 I was at peak performance.   I can still remember that feeling of being ready and really hitting it.  Such good memories.

My daughter sent me a picture of her cubicle from her new law office and it made me so nostalgic - but not nostalgic enough to go back to work.  Hahaha.

And just a little humor to close. 

More later ...

Hunkered Down

Anytime it is sweater weather here it might as well be -20.  Hahaha.  Little Buddy and I are hunkered down.

I covered my plants on the balcony but the wind blew the cover off and it's looking pretty sad.  Here is before.  

Memories.  Light the corners of my mind.  (The Way We Were) And, I'm afraid that's all that will be left.  

More later.  

Pumpkin Carving

Isn't this the cutest?  Not mine. Found on Pinterest.

Today we are going to the Son's house for a Pumpkin Carving Festival.  Everyone (my daughter, her girlfriend and girlfriend's son; my sister and whatever of her family members; son, his girlfriend and their four children; and me) is bringing their own pumpkins, carving tools and templates in an attempt to bring home carved pumpkins for Halloween.  Kind of late but you try getting this many schedules together.  

I wouldn't mind bringing home some pumpkin seeds to roast.  Anybody have a good spice recipe? 

It is pretty nippy here but the Son has one of those gas patio heaters that came with the house.  I don't think the weather will bother me but the sound of all those little voices may drive me inside.  

Nothing exciting to tell.  I spent all week trying to go to bed and get up so I could be on daylight hours for today.  Hahaha.  Last night I got up at 10:00 pm.  I thought it was 10:00 am and I forced myself to get out of bed.  Made my coffee.  Texted my daughter I would drive myself today.  Then sat down to drink my coffee and watch something on the tube.  Only then did I realize it was dark outside.  So I looked at my phone and damned if it wasn't night.  Surprisingly, I watched one program and went back to sleep. Got up at 4:00 am.  I'll probably be ready for bed before all the pumpkins are cut.  

I read a really interesting article about circadian rhythm/sleep cycles/diabetes and how they affect your glucose numbers.  It basically said what I had been thinking.  When I get up early - like today's 4:00 am - my numbers are better and stay better.  Then I found a new website Insulinnation.com and it has similarly informational posts about T1 diabetes.  Watch out!  I may become well informed.  

I met a new neighbor this week.  He asked me if I was interested in gardening as there is a community bed that has been laying unloved since I moved in.  Since I just met the fellow I didn't want to go into the saga that is my diabetic health problems when here he was trying to start a food garden the whole complex could take advantage of.  If the time is ever right, I'll explain why I can't be counted on to (1) be awake during the day and (2) have the energy to move from the bed to the couch.  Drat.  Being old and unhealthy is a drag.  Plus, he was kinda cute.  I guess I'm not all dead if I could still think that!  Hahaha.

More later .....

Just a lot of thoughts

Marie's blog made me think of something I heard on House Hunter's International.  Two young women were looking for a shared rental on a beautiful island.  One wanted affordable housing and the other wanted a really nice home but especially a good view.  They looked at one house which had a view of a beautifully treed mountainside.  She said that was not her idea of a beautiful view she wanted to look out at the water.  While I do LOVE a Waterview, I equally Love a picturesque forest or wooded area.  I'd never thought about which I prefer.  It seems I'm easy to please - I love both.  What about you? 

More later ...

Update: I deleted the rest of this post because I'm so tired of hearing myself talk about politics.  I'm going to try to stay off the news channels until after Christmas.  If it looks like the World is coming to an end, someone please let me know.  LOL.

What a difference a day makes -- in the weather

 

 

Yes, I am still playing with my salt dough ornaments.  Above you can see the gray and white tumbler I use as a rolling pin.  I have a really nice rolling pin but for the small amount I make at a time the tumbler works better.  

Here are some of the Halloween ornaments I made for the Grand Girls to paint.  You can see I dyed the dough with red and yellow food coloring to make it orange and a little more Halloween specific.  The Girls were supposed to come over last weekend so they could paint them but something else came up.  

I have a great number of cookie cutters.  Like any craft I get into, I over-purchased my supplies and these are only a few.  

Have I done anything else interesting?  Quite frankly, no.  I have watched a fair amount of tv while surfing on Pinterest.  I found one or two shows on real tv that I liked but honestly, I guess I must have gotten so specific in my taste that I find it harder and harder to find programs I am loyal to.  

The daughter also got a new/old car after her car was flooded in that last big rain.  It was getting pretty old so she is happy and is used to having a car note so good for her.  My floorboards are still a little stinky.  I leave the windows open many nights to keep it aired out.  I don't think anyone would want to steal it and I think it will eventually lose the smell.  If not, I'll just put my big girl panties on and go anyway.  

And, before I close ....  How 'bout those cold fronts?  We have had the most wonderful weather.  Lots of rain but in a nice soaking way.  Today the temp was 71 when I got up.  Unheard of.  I know I'll be back in shorts before the next three holidays.  Nothing like Christmas in shorts and cowboy boots. 

More later .... 

Two Passes and a Fail

I thought I'd share a couple of pictures of my salt dough ornaments.

Here are two Christmas trees from two different cookie cutters.

I've been playing with dying the dough different colors using food coloring.

I figured out here that my fingernails make pretty good branch impressions.

Here I used Puffy Paint to make ornaments on the tree.

I found that the cheap acrylic paint from the Dollar Store also 

covers the salt dough well but I am not very talented with a paintbrush

so dabbing the Puffy Paint worked better for me. 

I can't figure out how to rotate this picture but you can see 

that the angels look more like ghosts.  I used a straw 

to make the holes (I find two holes are better to hang the bigger

ornaments).  I also have a skewer I use and will try that 

on next angels.  Hahaha.  This is a live and learn business.

More later ....

All is right with the world

All is right with the world - except maybe in Trumpville where the mighty Donald keeps striking out!

As I was cleaning up and organizing my blogs I follow I came across a couple of new diabetic recipe Blogs I wanted to share.  Sometimes it only takes a tweak in the recipe to bring the carbs down.  I also found two blogs share info on Type I diabetes and also have information on the insulin pump which may be in my future one day.  I have these and several more marked to read and review but these two below definitely made my list.

diabeticenjoyingfood.blogspot.com

diabeticsrejoice.blogspot.com

Another thing that slowed down the process of organizing blogs is that I love to look on other people's Blogs I Follow list and click over to see if that blog interests me.  

I have a friend, my oldest and dearest BFF, and it always surprises me how much I like most of the friends she has made over the years.  This has proved true for 40 years.  I guess that many of the blogs I follow are also followed by bloggers whose blogs I like.   You get where I am going with this.  

I have to admit I don't like to follow lots of blogs because then I feel pressure to hurry and read and respond and it starts to take some of the fun out.  I have also noticed that there are a circle of us that somehow all found each other.  Neat, huh.  

So I'll be fine-tuning this blog and visiting new blogs to see what others are up to.

More later .... 

Second Post

I spent a ridiculous amount of time copying my blog reading list off google and adding it to this new blog.  It was surprising to see the blogs that are no longer active and I removed those and the blogs that are no longer in the subject area that I am reading these days.  It was interesting to see blogs I use to follow on jewelry making, small farms, a few on fashion and a few on frugal living.   Actually, I think it is interesting to see how gung-ho I get on various subjects at different times. 

Since I do my blog reading on Bloglovin', I also had to be sure to add some of you that I was not reading back in the google save days.  So, of course, while I was "doing", I went ahead and deleted the inactive blogs and various subjects off Bloglovin'. 

I worked my little brain to death flipping back and forth from all those sites.  Anyway, it is done and I'm never doing it again.  Hahaha.

I also had a doctor's appointment to get the nasty lump on my back looked at.  You know I have claw-like fingernails and I had scratched the top off several times.  Luckily, it was not Cancer but some cyst-thingy.  Why do I always jump to the serious side of every injury?  I guess because I like to go in with a Plan A and B and even C if it comes to me.  Dummie me. 

Well, that's it for right now.   I'm not sure what is the best way to notify everyone of my new blog address.  I'll work on that tomorrow. 

More later ....

Welcome to Simple

I had to start a new blog because blogger archived my blog after I didn't pay the domain registration name.  Blah Blah Blah.  It's a waste of time to fight and a waste of my money to pay the $100 restoration fee.  So I'll try and link up with all of you again.  Luckily I read all my blogs through Blogger so you are all stored there. 

More later....