I have returned!

Yep, I'm back to my dear, if not very unfrequently written in.....blog. Some idiot hacked into it last week, and I spent many frustrating moments wondering what to do about it. But, I defeated the horrendous hacker and I have returned! So, take that....you gloopy, scruddy hacker! Those are words I just came up with randomly. They sound good to me......

Now I have to think of what to blog about.

Well, the weather is prefectly spring-like. You couldn't ask for a prettier day!! I was outside a bit ago, cleaning out flower beds & mowing grass. It felt good to be outside doing work. I only hate to think that once you start the grass mowing, you have to keep it up for the next 6 months. I absolutely hate mowing the grass.

The other day I did something rather embarrassing. I was at the library and I kept running into the same guy. Not literally, but it was just that wherever I went....he seemed to always be there, too. At the self check out, at the holds pick-up shelves, he even went to the restrooms when I did. We even ended up coming out of the restrooms at the same time!! Oh, it was too much!

So, I was in front of him as we were heading out the main entrance. I must have been in a leetle bit too much of a hurry, because I didn't give the automatic door enough time to open, and I slammed into it rather hard with my left shoulder. Of course that guy was right behind me saw the whole thing. That was embarrassing enough, but the worse part was I hit it so hard, that I knocked it right off its track! He dutifully asked me if I was ok, and I of course couldn't help but laugh and I sort of rambled a bit foolishly. I told him I was ok, but it looked like the door wasn't. I wanted to get out of there, so I just left the door the way it was. I'm sure the staff wondered what happened........

Then I get out to the parking lot, and guess who was parked right besides me? Yep......you guessed it. I just couldn't get away from him........

Collage pictures.

Close-up shot. I love how cheerful this lady looks! The text paper pieces besides the main picture say randomly " The moon was out", "her brown eyes bright", and "happy".

Here is the collage I just finished. Everything except for the blue paper with circles, is vintage material. The music sheets were so old, they practically fell apart before I even ripped them! The texture of the background is unusual in that I mixed clear glitter with the paint, plus sanded the edges off to give it an antique-ish sort of look. I had such fun making this!

Thursday thoughts

I really have nothing profound to write. More than anything, I'm just sitting here writing because I'm too tired to move. You should see how hunched over I am in my chair, tapping away at the keys. I'm afraid good posture went to the same place my energy did. Wherever that may be. Today was the Thursday-3-story house cleaning day for me, and I'm just wiped out from that. One nice thing though, I really appreciate the fact that the owners of this house provide me with natural cleaning products. I have done other residential cleaning before ( plus apartment complex cleaning )....and it can be very brutal on the lungs to use those nasty chemical filled cleaners!! Especially the strong, industrial strength types they had at the apartment job. One whiff of that bathroom tile cleaner and you could almost feel it physically burning places in your lungs and nasal passages. Ugh...that was something I was glad to get away from!!!!

I just noticed I have 8 tabs pulled up on my computer......AOL, Facebook, Youtube, Amazon, Key bank, Blogger, Ebay, and Bonanzle!! Good grief....I must be crazy!

I'm starting a new endeavor. I have been thinking of doing this for some time, and now I'm just going to take the plunge no matter what. I have decided to go full speed ahead and try selling some of my artwork on either Etsy or Bonanzle.com. I think I'm going to go with Bonanzle, though. They don't charge listing fees, and the final offer fee is quite reasonable. It's also an easier AND shorter listing procedure than on Etsy or Ebay, for that matter.

I have always been fascinated by mixed media collages, and recently have been taking a stab at making one myself. It's amazing what you can come up with!
I think they can look fabulous, given they have the right color combination & pictures. The collage I'm working on now, is on a 11 x 4 piece of canvas, and has what I call a French " Joi de Vivre" theme to it. I'm hoping it will sell! I have had so much fun making it, and have put a lot of thought into it. I love the old world, vintage sort of look that it has! I hope it makes the person who buys it.....smile!

I hope with all my heart, this new adventure will work out.....that God will bless my efforts! I'm just not getting enough hours with my current job, so I have to do something else. I've always been the artsy type, so this it right up my alley!

Day of the attacking dog.

I'm tired today, in spite of coffee. I was up earlier than usual, because I had to take my sister to work at 7:30. Unfortunately, she didn't realize her license tabs had expired on her RAV, and was driving around all this time in blissful ignorance. The DMV never sent her any notice to remind her, like they usually do. Last night she got stopped by a policeman, who sternly informed her that she needed new tabs. So, I took her to work in my car until she can get them.

After I returned home, I had the bright idea of taking a walk. I thought it would be a great way to start the day. And it would have been, too if that dumb, ugly dog hadn't attacked my sister's dog, Annika..... who I had with me. It was very scary & annoying!! It somehow got out of its yard and came hurtling towards us. It just kept coming at her over & over, and I don't know what made it finally stop. I guess me yelling, stamping my feet, and hitting it with a stick helped. I just hoped it wouldn't turn on me. Annika was pulling so hard on her leash, and I had the stick in my other hand, so I didn't have as much control as I would have liked to have had. I tripped horribly on Annika & it's a wonder I didn't fall into the frantic mass of growling, squirming dog fur. But, somehow it all ended and we walked away, unscathed. My legs were so shaky after that, I didn't know if I could make it the 1/2 mile back home! But, I did. Now I'm going to have to get their address and call Animal Control, because I refuse to go through that again!! Shame on its owner, to let it do that. It should be tied up or in the house, if it bites other dogs.

I discovered a great way to get myself to drink more water. I put a couple of slices of lemon into my water bottle, add a packet of Stevia which makes a nice drink! It tastes like lemonade. It's very good! I would also like to try it with limes.

Odds and ends

I can't seem to figure out how to add the pictures where you want them, or how to delete the ones you don't want! The second picture is of Lucy, and the first is Lucy, too! She's the dog I took care of over the weekend. LOL. :0)

Just thought I'd jot down a few words for my blog, instead of intentionally waiting to write when I have the time. If I don't do it this way, when I can....I never will!

It was a very gorgeous day here today. I can't believe how sunny it was, and pretty warm, too! We haven't seen much sunshine since I don't know when. It really lifted my spirits immensely. Lately, I have felt rather depressed and unmotivated. I know it's partly because I just lost my precious kitty, something that still hurts greatly......and then it has to be because of all the gloomy weather. I usually don't mind cloudy days that much, and think they're great days to be in, reading a book or for puttering around the house. But, the sun has been a wee bit TOO scarce of late, and it was HIGH time it shone so brightly today! We Washingtonians DESERVED it!!!!!!!!!!!!

I even went for a walk, something that I greatly enjoyed!! There's nothing like a good walk to get your head cleared and make you feel alive. It was a long one, too. I just couldn't seem to quit walking, it was so nice. But, now I'm feeling pretty tired from it. Even Annika was pooped afterwards, and it takes a lot of exercise to wear out a Alaskan Malamute, let me tell you. When I was walking..... the birds were singing so sweetly in the woods, I couldn't help but smile to myself a lot. The people in the cars that passed me must have thought I looked sappy....but I couldn't help it!

I did some house-sitting over the weekend. It was nice to get away, and it was a lovely place to be. You can see the Olympic mountains from the deck, something I could stare at endlessly. I love those mountains so much! I don't know why, really. They're just terribly stunning and majestic. They remind me of the Swiss alps in Switzerland, a place I would dearly love to visit someday. Sigh.

I got to take take of 2 cats and a HUGE black Newfoundland dog while I was there. Lucy is a very sweet dog, but a very -in-your-face sort of dog. And when you have that much dog in your face, it's sort of hard not to feel overwhelmed....mainly because of her breath! But, she was so good, if a bit restless and the cats were so fun to be around. They're both big, bushy cats that are fun to hug,.....though Brulee wouldn't let me, being the shy, paranoid calico mix that she is.

I see it's almost time to start supper, so I better skedaddle if I know what's good for me!