174,000 Reasons

Hello and good day World! You made it to October 27, 2022. As always, that is a great thing! In the last few years, I used to remind myself, every time I wrote a post to be happy and thankful that I made it to see another day, sunset, sunrise or whatever thing that I am happy to experience in this last part of my life. Even with high gas prices, war, and the ugly political atmosphere, I am still proud to be a citizen of America and so thankful that I am alive to see another day and whatever it may bring. However, I do wish and hope that we, red and blue, Democrats and Republicans, get together and stop the stupid cap games. To me, listening to both parties come up with ways to put each other down is getting old and tired. Personally, I want politicians to have a brain, and common sense. I want them to have compassion and a heart. I want them to be strong, and fight for our rights as citizens of the USA. What I see, is adult men and women, getting paid to play games with the lives of humans. We are their bosses, don’t forget that. These politicians work for us. If you or I were to cause as much bullshit and diversions, and spent our time at work on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Truth Social, we would be warned or perhaps terminated. Real people are hungry and worried about their next meal or if they will have a place live. There are lots of things to think about between now and November 8, 2022, the midterms. Hope you have did your work as well and do not fall for shiny, loud objects. To my kids, research before you head to the polls. Check records of politicians, see what they have accomplished in their time served. Now to hop of my soapbox…

This Nora and she is afraid of the pumpkin.

Last week, was busy. I had an appointment for an esophagram. It wasn’t as bad as it sounded. I had to fast for 6 hours prior to the test. During the test, you drink a contrast agent so that X-rays are taken of your esophagus and stomach. IT tasted like Laffy Taffy. It was interesting and fun! Yeah, the machine that they used was like getting on an amusement ride as I started our standing up and then with a flip of a button I was off my feet. The test is to rule out a few digestive issues. Hope to have those results soon. After that test, I had a few hours to kill. The fun part! I walked to a few shops around the area and got to shop at Trader Joes and even get a fancy gel pedicure and manicure. It was the best!!

I snuck a photo when I was sitting in the spa chair. Do get the “works” at least once in your life. You will be glad you did. This time I said “yes”, to almost everything the manicurist suggested.

During my outing I had a spa mani/pedi. It had been a long time since I had this type of service. My feet surely needed work. I think the last time that I had went to have my nails done was over a year ago, maybe longer. After that, I headed to Trader Joes. As usual, it was packed and hard to shop as every aisle was filled with carts and people. After that, I headed to Michaels as I wanted to check out their paints and canvases. I found yarn to make a few beanies to send to the grandkids.

That skein produced four beanies and a headband.

The day after that little excursion was easy. I rested, with my feet up and crocheted till I ran out of yarn. Now to look for more yarn so that I can make a blanket or two for the grandkids.

I only know simple stitches. My sister Denise taught me how to crotchet when we were young.

The weather is making it easier to be in the kitchen. In the last month I have started working on my Food Bucket list. These are items that I want to cook before I can’t. One of those items was crepes. I have had them a few times in my life but had never attempted to try them. It was so easy, much easier than making pancakes. However, I did make a mess. Next time I make them, I know now how to make the process easier and cleaner.

I made cinnamon rolls using the dough recipe to make yeast rolls. I need to figure out the temp and timing as these were a little undercooked.

The last post, I mentioned that I was taking Jenny for a walk to see the blooming cactus’ around the complex. What a sight!

Bees scare me. I am allergic to their stings, so I stood about 15 feet from the cactus and watched the bees do their work through my viewfinder. After a few minutes, a few bees came over to scare me away. I had one bee buzz right at my eye level and we entered into a stare down. I gave up after a few seconds and left. if you live in the CV, I am sure you are getting to see these cactus flowers. I just wish they would last longer than a few days. I plan on using these photos to practice drawing flowers and plants.

It has been so good getting to spend time in the studio. Hubby and I have changed a few things up there. I like having all the wall space to hang my pictures as I work on them. For me, it is a good way to get a different perspective of the picture and the colors that I am using.

Lord. bless this mess….

This is one of the cover-ups that I finished.

If you hold up the canvas to a light, you can see the original picture. This is not done yet.

Hope the next few weeks are just as pleasant. Hubby and I have a few things that we will be doing. One of them is that concert and I am so looking forward to escaping the Coachella Valley. Ocean here we come! The last time we were there was in 2020 for our anniversary. That trip was quick and limited as there were still pandemic protocols to follow back then.

Time for me to get on with the day. Before I go, I did want to mention that I am so impressed with John Fetterman, a democratic candidate, for US Senate. He is running in a state that is not mine, Pennsylvania. The reason I am interested is because I too have had a stroke, brain bleed, CVA or whatever it may be called. I was 21 when the arteriovenous malformation that was living in the left ventricle of my brain bled. At that time, in August of 1991, I was told that the lesion was inoperable, and that I would have to live with this ticking time bomb in my head. However, six months later, I had gamma knife and my chances of survival increased. I sort of remember some of that time. I remember having trouble speaking and calling out different names for things. Material was what I called curtains and such. To this day, I still have trouble. I mention it often. I have seizures, I stare off into space, but my brain still thinks like it did before the stroke. It was not until I saw that Fetterman was using closed captioning and it clicked. I wish I would have known about that device as maybe I would have finished school or may have taken job that required public speaking. I often make weird faces when I am speaking to other either in person or on the phone. The faces are a product of my body and brain trying to process spoken words. Sometimes, I feel like I only hear half conversations and often answer something totally off subject. Anyhow, good luck to you, Mr. Fetterman and fellow stroke survivor, thank you for shining a light on brain issues.

Thank you, dear reader for stopping by. May you have a lovely and peaceful day. Hugs!