SUNDAY POTPOURRI

As I contemplate the past few days, I can report feelings of relief this morning—exhaustion, too, since I’ve been scurrying around online, changing e-mail addresses, etc.  It amazes me how many things are connected to an e-mail address, and each site has a different way of changing things!

In case anyone reading this is unaware of it, someone “hijacked” my e-mail account and sent one of those horrible messages to my contacts…you know the one!  The “I’m destitute in Africa” plea for money.

First thing I had to do, after changing the accounts, was send “damage control” messages to everyone in my contact book.

Luckily, my photographer son Craig  Skyped me yesterday and helped walk me through some of that process.

After that flurry of activity, I was happy to escape for awhile and attend a Christmas tea hosted by an old friend.  Other guests included more old friends!  So it was a cozy afternoon.

More reading finished out the day nicely, and then I was up early to tie up a few more loose ends on my accounts.

Now I’m going to relish a fresh new start and hope that the worst is behind me!

Happy weekend!

FRIDAY POTPOURRI

My second cup of coffee is now filled, I’ve just finished a tedious task with Yahoo, of verifying and updating all kinds of information, after which I had to keep repeating myself…and then when I was done, they had all kinds of really screwball information that isn’t mine, so I had to change all of that!

It felt like an alternate reality, or something.  I rubbed my eyes, squinted at the screen, and said “huh?”

But I think I’m done, now.  What next?

Then I go to the blog that hosts my favorite Friday meme and it’s not there, either.  But that’s how this week has gone.  Not a lot happening in the Blogosphere.

Today I had to rearrange my schedule, as I’m going to my daughter’s house to watch Noah, who is sick and home from school.  Naturally she doesn’t want to bring him here.  So I will be away from my computer for a few hours!

Then I have a doctor’s appointment this afternoon…so where did the day go?  In fact, where did the week go?  I can’t believe it’s Friday again!  And I’m not thinking that in a good way.  It’s as if the week slipped by, and yes, I did finish one of my books and the other should be done today—with no computer, I can read!—but still…again with the feeling of an “alternate reality.”

So that’s where I am on this Friday in December.  I’m already wishing for payday again!  LOL.  I hope there are some good movies out this weekend.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

HUMP DAY POTPOURRI

Good morning, all!

I have grabbed a cup of coffee, pulled up my chair, and I’m all ready to commiserate.

Yesterday was another “changing up the blogs” day.

Check out my MILES TO GO and EMBRACE THE WHIRLWIND blogs to see the new headers.  Nowadays, instead of adding another blog, I’m more likely to change the header or the background.

With Christmas coming soon, I’ve changed to holiday-themed backgrounds on some of my blogs.

Also, I snapped a photo of the cute coffee mug that is part of this header.  There it sits (above) next to the Shaker doll and candle.

I’m thinking that it will be a signature for morning posts here, but I’m also using it elsewhere.  On MILES TO GO, I have entered it on my Chat page, where I’ll be opening up a discussion forum and inserting links to author interviews I’ve done.

Today, my youngest grandson Noah is coming over…his mom has the early shift.  He’ll be here momentarily (it’s now 5:20 a.m.!), and I’ll be taking him to school at 8 a.m.  Then I’ll pick him up again at 1:30 p.m.  So it’s going to be one of those days with “interruptions.”

Sometimes, though, after dropping him off at school, I go to the gym.  Now isn’t that a good idea?  We’ll see how I do today!

Also, I’m planning on working on my WIP this morning, before delving into the book I’m reading.

More later…

MONDAY POTPOURRI

Christmas will be here before we know it, so I went ahead and put up my decorations the day BEFORE Thanksgiving.

Partly so that I could do my post on Dames of Dialogue about Home for the Holidays.

In that post, I talk about Christmases past and present, with my current holiday spirit something that had to be revived a few years ago.  I was Queen of the Scrooges for awhile there!

Not so much anymore.  Although my Christmases these days are quite scaled down from some, I have to consider the size of my down-sized space.  That’s why I have three small trees instead of one gigantic one.

And my stockings are hung on my folding screen!

I do have a hearth, though, and a mantle, but I can’t drive nails into it.

Here are some more of my decorations.

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!  I am getting ready to join my daughter and her family for the day.  There will be the usual festivities, with lots of warm, companionable moments.  Nothing dysfunctional, ha ha!

Yesterday, besides the usual errands, etc., I was hanging out with my youngest grandson Noah, who is out of school for the week.  He persuaded me to visit the local Borders store just around the corner, and since he’d been such a trooper already—he helped me pull the Christmas decorations out of the boxes and arrange them around the rooms—I capitulated.

Reminding him that Christmas is just around the corner, and he shouldn’t expect me to buy something expensive (LOL), I turned him loose.  And then had to redirect him a couple of times, because his eyes are bigger than the allowable price tag.

But we found something and came home.  While I put away my day’s purchases, he happily “read the directions” and put together his action figure.

Even though he now is reading for real, he actually “read” the directions of his various toys that needed assembling for quite awhile, by studying the pictures and working it all out perfectly.  I’ve always warned him that anything that needs assembling has to be done by him alone, or has to wait until he gets home to his parents.  That always motivated him!

So here is the finished product from yesterday, while on my tomorrow’s post over at Dames of Dialogue, you’ll see the results of some of my efforts!

 

 

 

 

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

SUNDAY POTPOURRI

When I opened my newspaper this morning, there were Christmas ads colorfully displayed.

In the stores, everything seems to be “business as usual.”

But we know that it is not.  Even without the reminders when another business closes down—and yesterday, I got a postcard from one of my favorites sending me the “going out of business” message—we can feel it in our own pocketbooks.

So how will we get through this cheerful season? 

Somehow I know that we will.  Maybe we’ll have to turn toward homemade gifts, or perhaps we’ll simply surround ourselves with family and friends, knowing that “togetherness” is the best gift of all.  I know that I have found many pleasures in simple activities lately, like the family game night with my daughter and a couple of grandkids.

Filling my various blogs with seasonal images cheers me up, as does the blog-hopping that follows.

So here’s to a Happy Yuletide to all.  May you find those homey blessings that bring memorable joy.

 

HUMP DAY POTPOURRI

In these troubled economic times, stories about families working to put their lives back together are even more poignant than usual.

While I was a social worker, I often encountered and, in fact, worked to assist families struggling with addiction issues.  Finding treatment and then maintaining that hard-won sobriety in a supportive environment was often a key to success.

Spirit of Woman  is an organization/treatment center in Fresno, CA, that has been addressing these issues for many years.  In today’s Fresno Bee, there is an article on the front page of the Life section that spotlights this particular program.

Apparently, an old hotel has been renovated and serves as a home for rehabilitating women who have recently been reunited with their children.  The women learn to live “sober,” while caring for their children and completing necessary tasks to help maintain the home.  They attend classes and therapy throughout the day.

In the article, the founder/chief-executive-officer is seeking donations to help improve the rooms.  A pleasant environment, which is a key factor in promoting a chaos-free life, is necessary.  While the rooms now are clean and neat, they are showing the wear of age.

Now some may say that these women should be happy just to have a place to stay—and that’s certainly true—but we all know that our environments are crucial to our inner well-being.  Our surroundings do not have to be expensive in order to achieve this feeling.

Personally, whenever I am depressed or feeling frustrated with things going on in my life, I look around my home and take comfort in the few beautiful objects that seemingly encircle me with warmth and comfort.

Studies have shown that people even respond positively to certain colors.  Some colors evoke peace, while others stir up more negative emotions.

All of this is directed toward eliciting compassion from each of us for those less fortunate…those who are struggling—with the consequences of their own poor choices, certainly—but who still deserve our empathy and any strength we can offer.

If you wish to reach out during this season, I am sure that there is a place in your community, just like this one in mine, that could beneft from your used and no longer needed items.

During this upcoming holiday season, my vow is to turn away from my own feelings of self-pity (for the tough economic times, etc.) and look around at those less fortunate.  I am sure to find many!

FRIDAY MORNING POTPOURRI

Yesterday, I was doing a little blog tweaking.  I grabbed my camera, whisked this doll away from where she was minding her own business— sitting there next to a basket of magazines in my bathroom!—and plopped her down next to a copy of my book “An Accidental Life,” for her photo op.

Half an hour later, I had a new header for my Accidental Life blog.

That was yesterday, though, and today I have new potpourri to mention.  Over on Dames of Dialogue, you can read a fascinating article by Betty Dravis, describing the history and many uses of peanut butter, complete with amusing photos.

So hop on over and enjoy this taste treat in literary form.

For the weekend ahead, I am planning on finishing and reviewing my current reads; diving into my Alice in Wonderland books, for that Challenge; and sauntering through each of my blogs to post updates.  Oh, and I’m going to watch the animated version of Alice in Wonderland.

Perhaps I’ll even sleep in one of those days, but I wouldn’t count on it.  My sleep patterns are weird, finding me in bed early, but wide awake in the middle of the night, reading or watching a movie.  Then I’m awake again by 5:30 a.m.

Have a great weekend!

WEDNESDAY MORNING POTPOURRI

Good morning!  I can’t believe it’s been three days since my last Potpourri blog!

It’s been one of those weeks, with appointments, etc.

Normally, today being Wednesday, I would be planning ahead for my regular pick-up-Noah-at-school appointment at 1:30.

But he has no school today, so we’ll just be hanging out.  Which means that I’m being kind of lazy, still in my p.j.s, with my hair askew.  Ooh, don’t try too hard to picture that!  LOL.

Yesterday I had prints made of several photos I had taken in the last few weeks; they had really added up!  As I was putting them in my album, I reflected on the moments leading up to each one.  I love that about photos!

This one below, for example.  This is a post-Halloween shot of my office chair, since I’ve brought The Wild One into the menagerie with some of the others.  And the Halloween ghost has gone up on the shelf.

Then I have another photo to share.  It’s a stack of books that I had snapped awhile back, as “to-be-read” selections.  Well, guess what?

I’ve finished most of them!

There are only two on the stack that I haven’t yet read, and they’re listed to come up soon!

So that’s a kind of progress, isn’t it?

Yesterday I finished Girls in Trucks, which I’ve reviewed over at CURL UP AND READ. 

I am now reading Marshmallows for Breakfast, which I am enjoying so far.

So now that I’m on my second cup of coffee, and I’ve finished my Waiting on Wednesday post over at Web of Tyranny Chronicles, I think it’s time I go work out on my treadmill so that I can finally take my shower!