Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, cookies, creativity, home, Thoughts on December 5, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Did I make any progress on writing projects today? I did not. Today was about baking and Formula One (Team Hamilton!).
I tested the first of several batches of sugar cookies. Today, brown-edge cookies. Very good, especially with cinnamon on top. Up tomorrow, my sister-in-law’s favorite sugar cookie recipe. The dough is chilling in the fridge now, and I hope for great things!
In completely unrelated news, I learned a new word today: procrastibake. 🙂
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, home, Thoughts, yay on December 4, 2021| Leave a Comment »
We had snow this morning and now the sun is out, streets are white and skies are blue. It’s lovely. I have work to do but I’m grateful to be able to carve out a little time to drink tea and read by the fire.
Happy Saturday!
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, creativity, Fiction, inspiration, murder and mayhem, Thoughts, woodturning, Writers on November 28, 2021| 2 Comments »
I’m heading into the workshop for the first time in ages. On the menu, bottle stoppers and finding the on switch for my lathe.
Later I’ll get back to reading The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman. Murder, mayhem and complicated septua- and octogenarians come together in a touching, humorous and well-written package. What’s not to love?
If you’re interested, start with book one in the series: The Thursday Murder Club.
Delightful!
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, fall, sustainability, Thoughts on November 26, 2021| Leave a Comment »
From Black Friday 2020, but still relevant. Here’s to staying positive!
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, family, Thoughts on November 14, 2021| Leave a Comment »
My nephew’s grandfather passed recently. He loved the land and the life he made on it with his wife of 49 years. He was a farmer, a dedicated family man, a gentleman and a pillar of strength for both his family and his community.
His shadow was long and his roots deep. He will be sorely missed.
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, inspiration, quotes, Thoughts on November 5, 2021| Leave a Comment »
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
― Albert Einstein
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, chilling, creativity, Thoughts, treats on October 31, 2021| Leave a Comment »
It’s Sunday. I had plans and a to-do list and I’m getting some things done, but today I’m cutting myself some slack.
Do I need a little break? I do. Will it help get me back into gear and enhance productivity later? Probably.
Or maybe not. I still need that break.
For the sake of happiness and productivity, our goal should not be to squeeze every second of distraction and leisure out of our days.
— Arthur C. Brooks, The Best Ways to Waste Time – The Atlantic
So I’ll spend at least part of my afternoon reading, drinking a smoked yaupon tea with whole milk and maple syrup, maybe have a treat, like one of the donuts we picked up yesterday. I’ll also check every half hour to see if we’ve managed to trap that last kitten, and generally take things slow.
…
Who am I kidding, of course I’ll have that donut!
Here’s hoping your day is good too.
“Trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit.”
— Moliere
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, #stupidpandemic, cats, friends, home, Thoughts on October 29, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Things we no longer need:
It’s sad not to have the cat here. That’s not so great.
But also? We had a friend over for lunch for the first time since the pandemic began. It was a fantastic festival of vaccinated friendship and exactly what we needed today.
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, #notyay, #sadsadsad, cats, home, kitty, Neko, Thoughts on October 28, 2021| 3 Comments »
One fine summer day in 2006 Mr. Man came home from work and showed me a picture of an adorably tiny grey and white kitten.
“You remember K, who lives on a farm?”
I did.
“Their neighbor has a cat she hasn’t spayed, and a dog that likes to eat kittens.”
Well, that’s awful. What can we do?
“They’re forcing the neighbor to fix the cat so it won’t be a problem in the future, but she needs to find homes for a litter of kittens.”
I was pretty sure I knew where this was going. Mr. Man batted his eyelashes at me.
“Look at that sweet face.”
He was right, the kitten was adorable, bright, charming and full of energy.
“Tintin could use some company, don’t you think?”
We brought her home a few days later. Tintin was not quite as happy about the company as we had hoped, but we were right about her energy and intelligence.
Neko was a catch-and-release hunter who never met a mourning dove she didn’t want to bring home to play, a fierce protector who growled at unexpected visitors, and while never a cuddler, she always wanted to be close.
Was she smart? Oh yes. She led us to problems like leaking basement pipes and trained us to open the patio door on command, to build cardboard palaces, and to carry her up and down the stairs when they got to be too much for her to manage.
Last month we learned she had lung cancer, along with a rare complication called lung-digit syndrome that made it hard to walk as well as breathe. We consulted an oncologist, got new meds, gave her treats, and generally did what we could to keep her comfortable. We watched her energy and appetite wane. She lost weight. Stairs became a draining once-a-day event. Two days ago she stopped taking her meds.
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For fifteen years we made her hunting blinds so comfortable she couldn’t be bothered to actually hunt, decorated rooms with blankets and fleece beds, and made sure we fed the birds year round so that there was always something entertaining out the windows. Whatever we could to make her life better.
Sometimes the only thing left is to make the end as painless as possible.
So today, we did that too.
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, making stuff, quotes, Thoughts, work on October 27, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.
— Goethe
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