What to do Today?

Been out of town since Friday.
I drove hundreds and hundreds of miles there, and hundreds and hundreds of miles back again.
Whilst there I was completely encompassed by another world with no, or rather, hardly any, chance of doing my own thing.
(Funny how I am always desperate to do my own thing more when I can't.)

And now I'm kind of annoyed that, now that I'm back home, I don't seem to be all that bothered about any of it.

WHY IS THAT!!!


Sooooo, what will my 'thing' be today?

I'm kind of thinking of tidying and organizing this,

(it's actually looking worse right now, a complete mess).

Or, I could work some more on this,

(but this kind of depresses me when it all goes wrong).

Or, I could pick up the house.

Nah! (What on earth was I thinking!)

Whatever it is, I need to do it now before it's lunch time, before I get really bored, before I give up completely.

I think it will be the organizing ...


tuesday notes.
tired from my trip home yesterday. was nice to see b at university but boy am i pleased i'm not a student anymore. love my dad, had a nice chat with him this morning. sad he's in england and i'm in houston, (and not just because he's eating sausages and mash for dinner). am thinking i'd like to really make a go at the jewelry and am tired of just piddling with it. would like to make $10,000 this year for save the children but as soon as i say that, i have no faith. what will it take for me to have faith? need to work on that one.



OMG sausages!!!

Source: google.com via Deborah on Pinterest

Crap day in the studio painting.

Sorry, did I say crap! I must have meant crap!


So, here's the story, I want to paint, but ....

I can't do it :(

I know it takes practice, nothing comes without work, but ...

It's depressing me :(

And now it's raining, which is good, (I live in Texas and we ain't had much this year), but ...

It's depressing me :(

So, I've come inside for lunch, (tomato soup and toast), and I'm sitting with the shaking Willow, (because of the thunder), and I'm wondering, should I just stick with the jewelry?, and I definitely have the sad, pitiful, woe is me, face on, and I'm also thinking, snap out of it girl! what the hell does it matter anyway! ...

but that's not working and now Pickles has come to join me, and we all three are moping ...

And now I'm thinking, I should worry! Poor Pickles is fat, and Willow has a gunky eye and has to wear the light shade collar!

Man! How depressing is that!!!

(Actually, I'm smiling now).

Back to the studio ....

I wish I could paint like Van Gogh.

Source: en.wikipedia.org via Deborah on Pinterest

A bit of Grunge

Here's my newest treasury.

I'm loving the grunge :)

'A bit Grungy' by coldfeetjewelry

90s grunge lace up boot... ElaineAndNico $25.00	Rustic Cuff -Simple is ... RusticCuff $36.00	Grunge Band - Fine Silv... MyLittleJems $80.00
Red sweater Garnet red ... ileaiye $115.00	Glass Tile Adjustable F... goddessglass10... $9.00	Sterling Silver and Co... coldfeetjewelr... $60.00
Brass Studded Leather B... GunmetalGems $15.00	Union Jack Grunge Briti... InsomniacArts $11.99	Just a Little Pinch ...... DawningLightDe... $38.00
NIRVANA grunge rock alt... rocktease $15.50	Gear Head Earrings. Mac... darkcarnival $16.00	Rocket Man Belt Buckle bmused $20.00
Pistol Belts and Tea. H... clpstudio $58.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Click on each picture to go to the individual shops as there are more goodies to see there :)



Tuesday notes ...
still can't get back into the 'swing' of things as family is still visiting. that's o.k. though as i'm doodling and thinking and preparing for when i can get going. thinking about becky's quilt design. thinking about eating healthily. about taking more exercise, about freshening up my herb garden. of painting ... man, i can't wait to get into the studio ... quiet day. no t.v. actually haven't had the t.v. on much at all over the past weeks. i like it :)

Crab kind of Day

So, the crab cakes were delicious only they weren't really cakes but more like hash. Excellent flavour and definitely a 'make again'.

I think that they weren't cakes because although I doubled up the recipe I didn't put another egg in (duh!). I actually liked them more this way, however.

I made a huge, put everything in the world in it, salad, (only I forgot to include the kohlrabi which I found the next morning looking alone and forlorn on the kitchen counter,) and the crab hash looked surprisingly good on top of it all.

(This is where I would insert a wonderful picture of the dish, but we ate it before I remembered, also, my mil is here and I think she might have found it a bit strange had I stopped everyone for a photo shoot prior to eating ... so here is the web pic.)

The recipe is here.

As I mentioned before I doubled it, but not the egg, nor the breadcrumbs now I come to think about it, and instead of more crab I sauteed some shrimp in grated garlic and then chopped them into small pieces and added that to the mix - yum.

To be fair they did start out as cakes, (or rather, balls, because someone in our house helping me out decided that's what he wanted them to look like,) but as they cooked and I tried turning them/rolling them over, etc., they just kept on breaking down until I'd had battled long enough with them and mushed them all into one big pancake (not in anger you understand).

The rest is history - the crab hash was born and we ate it allllll - even though there was probably enough of it for eight people instead of the four of us that remain in the house after the college exodus.

The remoulade was excellent too. Very spicy, which I like, although it did kind of overwhelm the crab flavour, but excellent non the less.

Now to other stuff ...

This is what I wanted but didn't order,

Now it's gone :(

So, this is what I'm thinking I now want,    
                 

Both of which you can find here.

I thought that was important for you to know.


Sunday notes ...
quiet kind of reading day. made a treasury on etsy after adding these to my salt and pepper shaker collection. (i didn't know I had a salt and pepper collection until I realized that one has crept up on me when I wasn't looking.) now drinking a nice, cool, sauvignon blanc, and sitting with the fire on.

Back to School.

I thought Christmas was over when the decorations came down but now I realize that I wasn't actually feeling it. The kids have just left for school, however. Packed up their respective cars and headed off on the eight hour road trip to the back of beyond where all their learning waits for them - and now I feel as though Christmas is over.

So, what to do now?

Over the course of the holiday I have been doing some of this,

and, some of this,

and, a lot of this,

but, other than that, not a whole lot really.

It takes me a little while to get back into the swing of things when the kids go back, and we still have family here from England, so I don't expect to be able to get back fully to all my goodies until at least another week, but I can't wait :)
I should have used this 'down' time for organizing. Rearranging all my stuff so that when I can get back to normality everything will be lovely and I will know where everything is and I will have thrown away all the old useless stuff, but, I didn't.

Still got a week though.


friday notes ...
relaxed. quiet. peaceful. relief. tired. willow back from the vets. making crab cakes and salad for dinner. reading catching fire, suzanne collins (enjoyable enough and an easy read.) love, what katie ate. want to take good photographs but not sure i have the patience. now thinking, why do i want to do everything? trying to stop pondering this question before it gets too overwhelming. not so relaxed anymore ....

Time to Lose some Weight!

Yep, that must be it!


I did so well last year, (damn you Christmas!), but I refuse to feel blue - after all, it is a new year. 

It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good

I've been singing this every morning in the shower. Unbeknown to me these lyrics must be lurking inside as I'm singing them before I know what I'm doing. It's like I catch myself being happy, all on my own. Wow! Big difference to how I used to be. I blame the Voltaire plaque I have on my bathroom counter. I discovered I turn my head to the right each morning as I clean my teeth, and so I've put it there, right in the line of my vision,

'I've decided to be happy, because it's good for my health' - Voltaire.

Hard to ignore it really. Even when I'm not paying attention it's there burying itself into my subconscious. And I think it's working.

That and the drugs of course :)


Friday notes ...
one more cup of tea then out of bed. studio time. new oil paints. i feel excited about painting. new day to start paying attention. find a new song to sing in the shower (it's getting a bit boring now). eat better - the grilled cheese on toast was great but it's time to say goodbye to the fat. take one more step in the direction of the treadmill, you never know, maybe this time next week you might actually be able to get on it, oh, and stop pretending you can sing like Nina Simone, it's getting a bit embarrassing ...

A New New Year

I love the new year, perhaps more than Christmas even.

But I don't like New Year's Resolutions so I've changed mine to Good Intentions.

A much better fit for me as my resolutions seem to go down the drain as soon as I've made them.

It's all just a sneaky set up to fail if you ask me.

This year, however, I will not fail but I will enjoy all of my good intentions and I will feel good inside when I think of them instead of frustrated. 

I also bought this book and thought I would give it a go. Don't know how long it will last, but again, I have decided not to let it get me down.

So far I have completed Day 1, Monday :)

And, finally, one of my most pressing 'Good Intentions' (more like a job really - I'm trying not to say chore) is to figure out this new blogger format. I just can't seem to get a grip on placing the pictures and font sizes and, well, just everything really, although it does seem to have worked this time (I'm not holding my breath).

Monday Notes ...

spencer lying beside me. warm body. fire on. cosy red blanket over lap. finished reading, a rule against murder - louise penny. (on her fb page - 18 years today she stopped drinking. brave sharing). football on t.v. qpr v nor. football as background noise reminds me of home.