ust when you think the rain is over , there is it again! Rain until late Saturday. It's hurricane season so it's expected but what was the rest of the summer's excuse?

As I was doing my furniture moving a friend called and came by to help me lug books to the newly moved barrister bookcases. I managed pretty well with the armoire cabinet even with the tv inside. I just took it slow and since I don't have carpets it went okay.
I like how things look right now and there is a bit more room which is always nice.

I got a registered letter today from people who are buying government land behind me to build on. It's wetlands and one wonders how they get around that to put up a house/houses on it.
The houses will need to be built on stilts because the water table is very high. The woods behind me are laced with small, crystal clear sandy bottomed creeks. They are everywhere and they all flow out to the bay. They are home to fish of all sizes and frogs, turtles and are safe places for ducks and geese chicks to learn to swim, and for raccoons and other animals to get freshwater clams and a clean drink.
I hope it's only one house. They just can't ruin the land like that.
Most of the little creeks are not deep, some only a few inches deep but they are just everywhere. Some flow only in rain storms but most are filled with clear water all year long.

A few meander and some are babbling brooks racing out to sea over smooth pebbles and rocks but, they create a small wonderland in the pines.
Walking back there under the canopy of pines, holly trees, and cedars the sunlight dapples down in dots on the white sand pathways and sparkles along the creeks in a profusion of diamond glitters.
I marked the water in the picture because otherwise it looks like plain white sand.

Some are wide and filled with cedar water , crystal clear but reddish tinted by the cedar trees that grow around it.The largest one collects from the small creeks and widens into the bay eventually.

Canoeing is very popular in some places around.

Some are so tiny but you can see occassional little fish darting on by if you watch.

I am not sure what they intend to build. Lots here are large, though houses are very small. Many were built in the late 60's and records say they sold for $14,000 new.

I hope its not a bunch of huge McMansions on tiny plots of land. They are lovely homes but look odd so close together.

I feel sorry for the people who might buy too when a bad storm hits . They better get water wings.

Have a wonderful and safe weekend.

Moving Day, I Think.

I am taking a break after moving all the furniture around. Well, more out of place than into place.
I unloaded the barrister book cases and moved one so far and the armoire with the television in it.
Everyone says I shouldn't do it by myself. Who else will then? The furniture fairy?
People are great with advice but not with help.
I get bored looking at the same four walls day in and day out and no where to go and so moving the furniture is a bit of newness for me. Also, the cottage is so tiny(just slightly over 1000 sq feet) and really has no wall space in the living room so it's very hard to place things and I keep getting what I hope are better ideas.
Well, they rarely are better ideas and so the move begins again.
So I remove the books while sitting down. Then I push a couple inches, stop,sit and rest, breathe and then begin again in a while til something is moved. Whew.

So that's my day today. Books are piled high everyplace I can fit them, sofa is sitting all wonky in the middle of the room, armoire is askew waiting for me to gather up the energy to plug it all in and move it against the wall, which, the way I feel now might be in 2090.

Hurricane Bill was not such a deal after all. It was way out at sea and we got hard rain and a bit of wind and noise but not much else. So, that was great.
Hope your day is going along in a spiffy manner !

Storm Warnings , Oh Please....

this afternoon, later this afternoon & tonight severe thunderstorms advisory.
Small craft advisory in effect for hazardous seas due to gales. Flood watch in effect til Sunday.
Hurricane Bill is down to a category 2 as it approaches cooler waters around Bermuda.

Getting closer....Bermuda is just off the Carolina coast. Still a 2 can do significant damage and the water here is up to 76 degrees.. probably warmer in the Carolinas and certainly warmer in Bermuda as I think it hits the gulf stream there.

So we are on the watch. This has been a rainy, rainy, stormy summer! If we have gone 2 days without rain that would be alot. Nights often have echos of thunder in the distance so you can hear that it's always storming somewhere.
I wonder if Autumn and Winter will be stormy too?




o one discusses it much or pays much attention so it can be good to remind yourself that cleaners and makeup have shelf life limits. They expire and can become useless or a problem
The small open can shape with 24m is the expiration ...24 months.

I came on this in an article on keeping bathrooms uncluttered and of course their suggestion was to toss expired items.

They also recommended tossing makeup out routinely as it attracts bacteria after a while and is dangerous to use, especially mascara and lipstick.

Worth knowing.

Problem is I wear it so seldomly that it makes it an expensive proposition to toss if it's hardly used.
Eye makeup lasts for around 6 months, a year for foundations, and 2 years for a lipstick.

I think of all of them the eye makeup would be one to be diligent to toss and replace.

But, and here's the rub, preservative free makeup has to be tossed even more often. So, you pay a price for ecology.

They recommend labelling it with the date of purchase but I would label it with the targetted disposal date instead.

It seems like a good idea and I will probably do it since things build up otherwise.

No plans for the week end here. Just a quiet few days if the hurricane leaves me alone and I hope it will.

I need new soffits and gutters and they won't stand up to high winds. So, I am hoping for a quiet weekend and a hurricane that disperses itself out over the Atlantic like a good storm.

I happened across an old picture that the famous anonymous kid drew when she was around 2 or so. On the back of it I had written down how she pronounced a the word "screwdriver". She had a Bob the Builder tool kit and she called it her "dooshriver". I love things like that .

Do something nice for yourself this weekend and above all smile.

I Don't Need a Hurricane

AT THE SHORE

Wind Speed: 10 knots
Wind Direction: S
Sea State: Very smooth
Condition: Waist high
Ocean Temp: 76 F
Wave Height: 3 ft
UV Index: 8

urricane Bill is headed up this way. We have had enough rain all summer but this will dump a deluge on us if it comes. Bermudians are already battening down the hatches for the blow and the weather centers are predicting that it will be at the outer edges of the Maritimes in Canada by Sunday. That's a fast moving storm. Winds are clocked at 120mph but hopefully as it hits colder waters northward it might slow down. And, hopefully it will remain far out at sea though we will see it's effects in the surf and some rain I suspect.
The last big storm we had was 1991. They made a movie about it called The Perfect Storm and it hit us very hard. Much of our little village on the watersides got hit badly. The movie showed what it was doing way out at sea farther north in Massachusetts.
When I let my dog out into the yard after the storm, she trotted off happily, then about 20 ft out had to begin swimming. There was so much water. As a Labrador Retriever she was in her glory... surf in her own backyard!! A Lab's dream come true.

No repeats of that , thank you.
It is hot today but I hope to get some house cleaning done in spit of the heat as well as working on some art projects.
Hope your day is spiffy.

atching HGTV late last night, I was struck by the thoughts of some of the couples. Mostly in their 30's, they were newly weds seeking a first home and the idea of a large backyard was something that turned most of them off.

One of the couples agreed that a child would consume all their time leaving little time for yard work or for one another.

Where do these ideas come from? That's what I was wondering since my thoughts were so different from theirs.

Are they part of the same ideas that keep people from marrying and committing til later and later in life? It does seem that people are marrying later now and that marriage is falling out of favor with many people. I must have lead a very different life.

I was very young when I married and had 2 kids by age 21. I am young enough now that people think my grandbaby is my own baby. Also young enough that my mother in law was still having babies when I was!

My daughter also married very young. She married the first boy she ever dated and they saw no reason to wait til she was older. So marry they did and after a year came along a very cute little sweetie pie.
Years ago people desired a big back yard for "the kids". It was just assumed you'd have a houseful and they would want to play in the yard.

Even with all the leisure time today and the time saving gadgets that people have, it seems that they don't have enough time!
What is that all about?

Today if you marry young people assume you "had" to marry. Well no, I didn't. I chose to marry. That I married the wrong person..notwithstanding , but my young age was not a detriment to success. Of that I am sure.

My own mother married at 31. She just never met the right fellow until my Father came along.

Can you succeed marrying young?

Well my daughter, partially home schooled, is now running a medium sized corporation in New York City.I don't think you can find a person that young doing that very often!

She worked while being home schooled and learned to manage a medical office and to be a coder. She parleyed that job into another high paying super responsible job. She has made quite a name for herself now. She learned by "apprenticeship" really, working part time after school since age 14 . By 18 she was running a medical practice for a vascular surgeon and now she manages a whole company.

She is also going to college part time and just completed her freshman year in May , making the Dean's list. She also had a new baby a year ago.

It can be done. I think it is all in how you look at life and how much you are willing to put into things. I think that being a go getter has a lot to do with it also and she is.

Its Meme Day.

Name 10 fads you just don't get. Hmmm.....
Well... I guess
1. body piercing
2. tattooing
3.being on phones texting 24/7
4. greasy looking, gelled up hair
5. super skinny women
6.super high heels
7.Twitter
8. reality television
9. ending every sentence with the voice going up..valley girl style
10. huge soled shoes ( I know but I am coming up empty now!)

Well it's what I came up with for now anyway.

Friday....into the Weekend

he weekend is here and today was sunny and cooler than it has been.
I got a ton of work done today. The new trim around the front windows was painted today and cleaned out the pond filters which is a big job in itself, got some other work done and that was a great help to having some peace of mind.
The front pond is small but has a whole group of frogs living in it. A parent I suppose and about 4 or 5 little ones, who are as cute as can be. The big one sits and makes his glunking sounds all day and night. I love the sound of it.

Sunday or Monday I will post a photo of the new bedroom things. I just need to finish up putting things away where they belong. Then that room will get a fresh coat of paint also.

Be back on Saturday evening.
Have a nice weekend.

This post was set to post automatically.

Frogs and Desk and Projects.. oh my

Thunder storms.




r. Froggy is courting.
I can hear his glung, glung every day and most of the night as he tries to attract the attention of several lady frogs in the pond. I love to hear him. It's so sweet. And so loud for a tiny guy!
I took this photo in the dark just minutes ago. He seemed happy to have his portrait taken too.
I detect a bit of a smile on that cute little face anyway.

Here is my old dresser cut out for a desk. I have to finish off the inside there and then decide on a color to paint it. I kind of like the idea of black. And I would get new handles for it too.
Not alot of work left on it. I did set up my computer but have yet to load up the drawers. I will try to add a keyboard drawer also as someone has one they said I could have if they can find it.
Though the desk top is narrow.. not quite 19 inches wide the giant 22 inch screen fits well and I have to have the screen close to my eyes anyway so it works nicely enough.


Do you think it would look nice in black? My little office is a very pale blue. Input please?


It "was" I want Wednesday.
The question of the day was:
What do you want to happen faster? Slower?

I want life to go slower.Much slower!
I would like to feel better faster when I am not feeling well!

Getting Things Done

mentioned a while before that my old finished it yourself dresser had lost a drawer. I was able to finally repair the bottom of the drawer using thin fiber board and hot glue and tape. (Yes a mess, but it worked). However, yesterday I got a nice gift of a dresser and mirror and chest of drawers for my room. They are very pretty. I will post photos when the room is done.
I finished transferring all the clothing and I have tons of drawers left over. I am not a fashionista so I don't have a ton of clothing. But I do need storage room and this will provide it.
Now its a matter of getting the mirror up. It's rather huge and too heavy for me to even lift let alone put up.

Now as for the old dresser....

It has 6 drawers . Three on one side and three on the other. I will remove 3 on the left side and take out the runners inside and turn it into a computer desk.
If the top isn't wide enough I can add a piece across the top. And, I believe they do sell slide outs for keyboards that I can try to install under the dresser top.
It will give me a nice place for my computer with plenty of large storage drawers on the right side.

Right now I use a small old kitchen table as my desk. My keyboard is on the same level as my screen. The screen is 22 inches which is nice for my art work.
Not sure how I will like having the keyboard lower but I will trust those who say I do.
I will take photos once it's all done. I will need to add a coat of black semi gloss first.
I will be making another porcelain ribbon for the new mirror and I will post a photo when that one is done. It will probably be done in white.




I made this flowing white and gingham blue bow over the old mirror. It is a molded mirror from WalMart. I spray painted it silver and then overlaid it with real silver leaf that comes in papery thin sheets. Then I burnished it until it sparkled.




Then using several yards of material, I made a large bow with long flowing ends. I soaked it in white glue or "stiffy" and then squeezed out the excess.

Then I formed the blow and its ends in a flowing way over the mirror and pinned the folds in place so they would stiffen that way. I used wax paper to make the bow stand up and out. When it dries, it is like porcelain.

This photo is awful, I don't know why it does since the real thing looks very nice.

Curious as a Cat's meme for Monday:

1 Do you express how you feel or do you keep it inside?

No. I keep it inside.

2 Are you a light sleeper or a heavy sleeper?

Both. Depends
3 Do you remember the first names of all the bosses you've ever had?

No. I doubt I knew all their first names anyway.
4
Show and Tell. What comes to mind first when you see this picture? Or, tell a story if it reminds you of one.

That not one American Indian is represented in our national government. And the one Indian who was a state attorney for Arizona was replaced by the new administration recently.

Booooo!!

By the wayRue at Peanut Butter and Jelly Life is having a lovely giveaway. Take a look. She always has lovely posts anyway and you won't be sorry if you take a look. Her decorating skills are wonderful and she comes up with some of the neatest ideas.

Hot!

108°F.

ecause it's August, it's hot, humid and yukky. I hope this is a passing fancy on the part of the weather. I like it cooler. Much cooler. We are due for thunder storms which might cool us down a bit.
Full Sturgeon moon has arrived and tonight is a penumbral eclipse of the moon.Sturgeon are huge and caught more readily in the Great Lakes at this time of year. It's also called the Green Corn Moon by the Iroquois.
Joanne Shenandoah has a lovely version of Under the Green Corn Moon, an Iroquois lullaby.
It's listed under "Oneida Iroquois, Joanne Shenandoah on THIS page and you can download an entire album of American Indian lullabies here. They are beautiful and babies love the sound.
Joanne Shenandoah has a beautiful, peaceful voice. Her albums won't disappoint anyone I think.

It enters penumbra at 7:01 P.M. EDT and leaves it at 10:17 P.M. EDT and you will be able to see it if you live on the East coast or in the central states.
If you noticed the moon has been pinkish for a bit.

In August flies and moths begin to damage fruit so its a good idea to beat them to the punch.
You can trap flies and moths before they damage your fruit trees by mixing together 1 cup water, 1/2 cup cider vinegar, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 tablespoon molasses. Pour into small containers and hang one or two traps per tree. Clean and refill traps every few days.
It's simple and it works.


Wednesday is here when you list what you want. Today's is what do you want to accomplish this month. Click the logo to find out about it.

I want to paint my bathroom, fix the shower stall and put in one of those in cabinet garbage thingies. (that's the technical term for it.) Its a wire thing that holds your garbage bag. Not sure if its a great idea but I plan to try it anyway.
Also hoping to go on a picnic or two at the bay and take some nice photos.


What do you want to do?

Finding Things

ews is that Jill and Kevin were invited to NY by ABC morning news to be interviewed. ABC put them up in the Millenium hotel and then, when they found out that the couple were also scheduled for an appearance on the Today Show, had them throw out of their hotel.
From what I have read the competition between the morning news programs is "vicious".
Seems so. Awful to do that to them. How exclusive can news become anyway? If it's news, its news to everyone.

It's hot and muggy today. I have to help a friend find a lost diamond ring today and am slowly pulling myself together to go and do that. It's awful when you lose something that's precious to you. Hope we find it. I found it for her once before. Yes, this is a habit, but there are extenuating circumstances surrounding it so.. it's okay.



Ten on Tuesday asks you to list 10 favorite characters from television.
I was never a television addict, not sure I can even think of 10!!! but here goes:

• Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother



• Captain Picard of the Star trek series



• Barbara on the BBC comedy Good Neighbors



• Pauline Collins' character from the old BBC comedy No Honestly and the movie Shirley Valentine



• Niles Crane from Fraser



• Benjamin Linus on Lost



• Lilith, Fraser



• Patrick McGoohan as John Drake on Secret Agent



• Dwight Shrute on The Office



• Sheldon on Big Bang Theory




• Brian Austen Green 's Derek character on Terminator, The Sarah Connor Chronicles and the Cameron character also
  

I didnt think I could find 10 but I found 10 and one extra I had to include. There are others I thought of that are not included.
Which characters do you enjoy?


Late night note: found the rings! All is well.

A Joyful Noise!

A bit of Sunshine? Whoa!!! What's up with that?

his is a wedding entrance to end all entrances and it might become a new fashion.
Weddings were not always solemn and staid. In ancient times the bride and groom's attendants danced and had a merry time escorting them to the wedding.
This kind of reminds me of that. That old way might be making a comeback. They say things often come full circle.
Maybe it's about time to view the wedding as the most joyous of occasions. One worthy of song and dance and a procession that fills people with happiness and makes them smile.
There is some negative feed back for the video though. What do you think about this kind of entrance?
Does it symbolize the joy of the day or do you think it detracts from the solemnity of the occasion?
The choice of song by Chris Brown got them in some hot water with people because of Brown's alleged abuse of his girl friend.
Jill and Kevin turned that around though.
Jill and Kevin , the bride and groom have a website here if you want to know more about them and how they turned things around. I think it's great.

I wish them all the happiness in the world.
Here is the video: