Saturday Morning Laziness

Good morning.  It's Saturday and a rainy Saturday at that.  For some reason I don't remember the weather people forecasting rain but I'm okay with it because I'm not going anywhere and we truly needed it for spring. 

Today I bring to you pictures of spring birds, flowers, squirrels and my happy time of year.

I know it is just around the corner and if we can just get through without any snow I will be so very happy.  February can be some intense cold and winter weather and for sure some of the flowers need it.  I just want spring to get here so I can feel the warmth and sunshine on my shoulders again. 

I want to sit on my screened porch with the new fireplace and enjoy waking up to the birds singing and the sun rising.

We stayed in town this weekend so The Hubby can finish getting the invoicing ready for me to type tomorrow.  So I called out the forces, my girls to come over today and help me with yet another closet cleanout.  I also wanted to have Snicklefritz over to spend the weekend with us.  I miss that kiddo.  Last night we had dinner of fish sticks, crinkle-cut french fries, tossed salad and a dessert of ice cream sundaes.  We ate the sundaes while working on the jigsaw puzzle she and I started a few weeks ago.  For 8 years old she's very good at the puzzle thing and I so enjoy just chatting with her about school and her life.  Right now it's contained because of Covid but hopefully it will change soon so she can see her friends.  The only kiddo she gets to play with is 16 month old Min.  Min loves it but I'm sure Snicklefritz needs older playmates.  

Can you just feel the warmth of the sun here.

Thursday The Hubby got his first part of the vaccine and this next Thursday I go back for my booster.  Glad to have this over with and hopefully we won't have to do it every year like a flu shot but I suspect we will.

 

Closet Rehab

What can I say, these two are the absolute air I breathe.  This weekend my other two breaths of life came over and helped to clean out the "Christmas closet."  It needed to be cleaned out so that Christmas could go back in the there.  Small spaces with doors, any kind of drawer, boxes or baskets, especially Longaberger baskets are havens for me to stuff crap away, hidden until totally forgotten.  The more space I have to hide stuff, I will hide it.  We have lived in this house now for nearly 15 years, and before, every house we have owned, we have stayed a total of 10 years each.  That means that every 10 years I am forced to purge and I have not had that happen with this house, so closet cleanouts are now an absolute must.  It's not too bad, just a couple of closets and LORDY, my pantry is awful.  Which is why it gets organizational treatment a few times a year.  

Snicklefritz was such a help with the dismantling of Christmas.  The mommas tackled the closet and she and I took down Christmas and stowed away in boxes until next year.  The girls unearthed a huge collection of albums and I sent them home with the oldest since they are the only ones that have a turntable anymore.  There is no sense of them gathering dust, they need to be listened too.  The closet also had a ton of games, never played that will go into the "games" closet in the other bedroom, which will be tackled next.  Also, in abundance was my collection of Longaberger Baskets.  At one time I thought they would be a legacy, college fund for the girls but the value in the things is absolutely NIL and there is no reason I have them anymore.  Oh, I have many that I use throughout the house and I will continue with that, I love them, but the majority will go into the spring garage sale.  I did keep a select few that I will use as gift baskets for friends birthdays or Christmas next year.  I will fill them specifically with special stuff for each person and give them away.  The girls took some they might use, and finally, some of the larger ones I'm taking to the cabin for use.  What I ended up with at the end of the day was a usable cleaned out closet for Christmas and a section/shelf for wrapping and gifts.  I will put a card table in there and already ordered a nice step stool with a seat for the area.  It's a large closet, could almost put a bed in there.  

The evening ended with the oldest heading home with her haul of albums and leaving Snicklefritz to spend the night (I love to have her over.)  The youngest went for Thai food and to pick up her hubby while we got to play with Min.  It was a wonderful evening, it was a magnificent day and I was absolutely exhausted.  Oh on a side note little Min walked up to Clayton (who is much better) and pointed to his eye and then her eye and said, "EYES!"  Good grief words are now going to start falling out of her mouth.  Oh she babbles and you occasionally catch what you think is a form of a word but that one was plain as day.  I LOVE IT! 

 

Urge To Purge

It's been a minute since I've posted but I've been very busy,  busy with sketching that is.  After writing the last post about "ME" I started looking at the photos and wanted to sketch them, then paint and hopefully make an entire show around the world of "ME" and my evolution from baby to adult (so far.)  

This one I used to also reference my anger, disappointment, and utter deflation on finding out that I was yet again turned down membership in Women Artists of the West (WAOW).  I have entered no less than three times and just knew that the third time was the charm but I was sadly mistaken.  I mean, really, what does it take.  Good grief I juried into one of the biggest show around in NYC!  Well, I'm not giving up and will again enter in the fall.  

Then it is back to sketching... 

Today, Saturday I decided it was finally time to yet again organize my closet.  You know, since we have been married, 43 years, we have moved every 10 years so I at least clean out and get rid of every 10 years.  But, we have been in this house 14 years and WOW, it does accumulate.  I've had the incredible urge to purge lately.  Probably because Brother and his wife built a new house and have moved and my studio partner, Linda and her hubby bought a new house (after 25 years) and moved and is purging.  It just put me in the mood and I needed to do it before fall.  Last night when I went to bed I told myself, "Tomorrow it is clean closet time," and this morning after coffee that is exactly what I did.  I purged clothes to go to Goodwill (or other) and my purses, OMG, my purses.  Really I have a love-hate relationship with them and there were some that I had not carried since 2013, (there's proof with receipts in them.)  Plus they are not cheap, my love-hate relationship is with Coach purses.  EGAD!  I also know Sister loves Coach, so, I sent her a text asking if she wanted, and guess what the answer was, YES!!!  Yeah, they will go to her house on Monday and I only kept a select few that I more than love.  I got rid of at least 15 purses guys!!! 

Part of my clean out agenda was to go through every single purse and pull out the trash, receipts, notes, fingernail files, my pocketknife I lost, gum, change, a $10 bill and lots and lots of fortunes form fortune cookies that I collect.  One of these days I will use them in one of my paintings, maybe one of the self portraits.  

This and That Christmas Crap

Good morning.  A quick update about my fast track life lately.  I have to admit I took two whole days at art class this week, I needed it!  Actually, I didn't work at the office much, but tried to get my Christmas shopping done, and did.  This year was order online and a few gift cards and DONE!  Wait, I forgot the great niece, well, one more.  

Next week is going to be OFF the CHART busy.  Tomorrow I'm attending yet another art workshop with Christopher Westfall.  You might remember a few weeks doing one but it was abstract.  This one is representational, which is basically what I do.  A one day affair I anticipate a lot of learning from a new eye.  That evening I HAVE to rush home because it's our banks Christmas party at Southern Hills and we always love to go to it.  Unfortunately I will miss the Jazzercise girls Christmas party that same night.  Oh well, something has got to give.  Speaking on that I am NOT going to art on my usual Tuesday, opting to work in the office since I'm missing Monday at my desk.  Plus Tuesday night after a full day at the desk and maybe my easel there Snicklefritz is spending the night because her Momma will be on TV (Channel 8-KTUL) to promote The Alliday Show very early the next day.  I'm sure she will be in my care a good part of the day which is okay BUT means I have got to wrap presents quickly today.  Also on Tuesday I have a luncheon with the Tulsa Artists Guild peeps in which I will attend and transport two of my art buddies before heading back to the desk.  

Thursday, YES, back to art class and my peeps!  I really don't need the class anymore, so to speak, but the critique and laughter with my friends is what I pay for.  I LOVE the whole thing!  Friday is back to work with payroll and pay bills!  YUCK!  Then Snicklefritz will again spend the night and be with us till about noon because we have yet another Christmas party to attend on Saturday night.  Busy, busy, busy.  

This past weekend we opted to stay in town and not go to the cabin because The Hubby had a dance thing in OKC on Saturday.  I didn't mind because I NEEDED to get the Christmas tree up and decorated if Snicklefritz was coming.  Actually, my heart was NOT into it this year, mainly because I wasn't hosting anything, next will be a different story.  So Friday morning I didn't go into the office until late in the day.  I spent the morning digging out the tree and decorations out of the guest closet.  That left a MESS in my guest room, Snicklefritz's bedroom when she spends the night.  (Yet another mess to clean up!)  Plus I HAD to get my closet under control.  I still had stuff in a bag from our travels to Italy, IN SEPTEMBER!  I hate clothes.  I took the opportunity to dump TONS of summer clothes that I did not wear this year.  

Oh, and two suitcases out of the guest closet that I don't use anymore.  With a gigantic bag of clothes to give away and two suitcases in tow my first stop on my way to lunch with The Hubby was Goodwill.  Before that though I did get the tree up, not decorated but up so The Hubby could light it.  Last year my wonderful pre-lit tree gave it up and didn't pre-lit anymore and he took all the lights off planning on LED lights.  He wanted to string the lights this year.  That was a first let me tell you.  In nearly 41 years of marriage that man has probably put two ornaments on a tree.  There was reason for that, no design style in tree decor.  So Friday night he strung "HIS" lights.  I looked at the way he did it and knew I would be restringing.  That guy is a MASTER at lighting homes, inside and out, but Christmas tree lighting inside, ummm, no!  While he was gone all day on Saturday until late I put ornaments on but because I can't seem to find the spirit it wasn't as much fun.  It just seems that we jumped right into Christmas without enjoying fall and Thanksgiving.  Next year I am SLoooowwwwing down and enjoying the experience again!  

Christmas tree is done, not like I have done in the past but done.  The storage boxes are back in the closet along with everything else I had to drag out of their and today I will organize the gifts that are piled on the bed into the dining room and wrap.  Yes, wrap, wrap, wrap.  The niece may get money in a card!  

Tuesday Catch-Up Day

What a strange week it has been.  Of course work on Monday but I had already been in the office on Sunday so my desk was pretty clear.  I watched Rio most of the day and then home.  Tuesday I had planned on going to art class but with my favorite person/friend not being there it just wasn't going to be as fun so I opted to stay home and get some crap done.  I don't know if I have shared but I'm in the middle planning The Hubby's 60th birthday bash.  Every time we go to a social function he always asks if there will be dancing.  He is just eat up with dancing so, I am throwing him a Surprise Dance Party!  It's next month and I have the venue, food, guests and now music and slide show all ready.  He even delivered a handful of invites (in a brown paper wrapper) to a friend in his dance class to be handed out to the other dance geeks.  He had no idea.  Again I score.  Back to Tuesday.  In his computer he has the BEST dance playlists and I needed them for the party.  I ended up having to make discs, a lot of discs of his music to put in my laptop.  Well, when added to my ITunes it added as "Track 1, Track 2, Track 3...etc." I had to add all the info and make sure I didn't already have the songs which I had a lot.  So Tuesday I completed the task and now I have 9 hours of dance music and a slide show of that guy.  DONE.  

Another task taken care of was another clean out of unworn clothes from my closet.  New clothes in old clothes out and then a trip to Goodwill.  

Last but not least was a box that had been storage when we moved our offices.  The Hubby was getting ready to chunk this box until I opened it.  I found childhood books, a brick from the church I grew up in and has since burned down, sheet music, and this AWESOME T-shirt.  Absolutely thread bare this T-shirt was worn by Bro, Sis and myself at different times.  I am going to have it framed I think.  The books I found were cleaned and put on the shelf for Rio when she starts reading:  Huckleberry Finn, National Velvet, Encyclopedia Brown, Ramona (my girls)...