A little better

Here is the finished bookcase.  Hmm, I may be a little obsessed given the titles of the books on the shelves.

My favorite is the book on epigraphy. It is fascinating.

The room looks way more inviting in this direction. Sorry for the uneven lighting from the skylight in the room. Whenever I watch a show on the TV where the people in the show are considering moving into or buying a house or apartment with a slanted ceiling, all I can think of is No!No! Noooo.... don't do it! This is the only room in the house with a slanted ceiling except for the living room which is only a single story (so the ceiling is high, but I don't like that either). Every time I walk toward the low end, I end up hitting my head.  It is quite annoying. And, I am not that tall. Just in case you ever think about moving into or buying something with a slanted ceiling, you have been warned. 

A few campy stuffed animals here and there.

A favorite metal bar table even though I don't like or drink beer (except I do like beer batter for deep frying food).

An old Mexican chair.

The other chair. They are not really for sitting anymore. Some old woolen ponchos from Mexico. Once we wore them to the San Francisco Opera. It was cold and we didn't have any jackets. I can't remember exactly, but I think we had been to the football game to see the 49'ers play earlier in the day and were not "dressed for the opera" but we went anyway. (Oops, another little stuffed animal, all of which my Dad bought at yard sales but that is another story). I bought the zebra skin rug at a yard sale, too, for $20.  You never know what you will find at one, it is real but not in good condition because of its age.

Summer Projects

I am in desperate need of bookcases.  I have bought a few that sit atop a table or desk.  Then I bought this at a yard sale.  I sanded most of the stain off.  Then, I painted it white.  Then, I painted it orange. Then I sanded it again on the edges for a shabby chic effect.  Here is a detail of the top.

Here's what it looks like in my "library". I'm letting it dry a bit longer as the paint still seems a bit sticky.  I thought it was all solid wood but it wasn't.  The sides are veneer.  Just the top and the facias are solid wood.  Note to self: quit buying veneered furniture. I had to glue the bottom facia board back in place, too.  I wish I had some large furniture clamps. I wish I had a nail gun and compressor, too. Maybe Santa will bring me one if I am a good girl.

See desperate need.

Here is my other project from earlier this summer.  My tall friend painted the back of my kitchen cabinets with metallicized paint and then black chalk paint.  The reason is that "stainless steel" refrigerator in the background.  How can it be stainless steel when not one of my cherished refrigerator magnets will stick to it? The metal paint is a bit dodgy.  It has 2 coats.  I should have sanded it down. I should have used a smoother paint roller tube, too. I couldn't imagine the dust I would have had to clean up, though, if I had sanded it down. So I am just living with it.

Michaelangelo's David, Queen Nefertiti, King Tut, Marie Antoinette, Piero della Francesca, Pompei, Bernini's David (I have seen Donatello's David in Florence, too, but, they didn't have any refrigerator magnets of him) are some of the trophies I have collected among others. A few homemade magnets, too, including one I made from my own photo of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence.

I bought a refrigerator magnet of San Francisco because it needed representation! Then, I wanted to write something on the chalkboard. The first part says, It's your story. Make if beautiful. Fill it up with what you love.  Remember what matters. Forget what doesn't. Have a happy life. Yes, it's from a greeting card but, really, it is  a nice philosophy.

So far this summer...the county fair

 We went on a sojourn to the county fair.  I say sojourn because we were there for about 7 hours.  The grown ups wanted to see the farm animals, pies, jams and quilts.  The kids wanted to go on the rides, of course! So, we did a bit of both. The rain forest exhibit was refreshingly cool and filled pretty tame critters.

Cute armadillos!

The basic ferris wheel.  Basic or not, I still didn't go on it.  When I was a kid, it was the last straw before all the other rides and junk food I ate revolted from all the sloshing and g-forces.

I didn't of go on this one either but it was the last ride for those who did at the end of our day. I'm sure the kids enjoyed the feeling of flying and the cooling effect of being swirled through the air.

Other worldly scene at dusk.  It started to feel like something like a science fiction scene from another world.  The incredible noise from the tractor pull going on added to the effect.  We were all pretty tuckered out by the end of the day. I haven't been to the county fair in years but I'm glad I did and it was lots more fun with the little kids!

Merry Christmas!

I don't know where the time has gone this holiday season.  It seems that I am behind schedule on getting all of the things I want done around the house so I didn't decorate as much as usual.

This little miniature tree is my favorite Christmas decoration this year.  And, little birds seem to be making their way into the decorations.  I really love the little handmade felted birds I bought from  CraftCaptive  on ebay .  

Maybe next year I will get my cleaning/decorating/superwoman act together.  I've decided that I really would like a new house or at least a different one.  But, I doubt that I will do anything about it for awhile so I will have to make do.  In the meantime, I have a few sewing projects that I am obsessing about which is why I have not been able to focus on the tasks at hand.  Fabric is everywhere.  Books are scattered here and there.  Little scratchy drawings torture me.  My trainer wants me to exercise five days a week.  The weeds in the garden are out of control and my strawberry plants will be here soon so I will have to abandon my sewing projects until I get them squared away.  Plus, I need to clean my house before New Year's Eve.  I need more time, more daylight and more energy. 

So, here is wishing you and yours, wherever you are, a Merry Christmas and hoping for so much more(whatever more of you need in your life) in the New Year!

The Winter Garden

This is the first year I have had a winter garden.  I really should have planted it earlier, but like everything in the garden this year, I was late.  Part of my delay was in trying to figure out something to discourage the cats from using the planter boxes without spending too much money.  I decided to buy some short 2 foot t-posts (they were cheaper that bamboo sticks, figure that out) and some green plastic construction fencing.

I decided to plant some decorative kale (bought in Canoga Park at the Green Thumb Nursery on our trip home from LA) for some bright winter color.  They have a very friendly and nice staff!


Since I was rather late putting it in, I bought lettuce, broccoli, green onions and baby bok choy already started.  I did scatter some daikon, carrots and arugula seed here and there.

Oh, and those naughty chickens.  I have decided that they can roam around and try t keep the weed population down.  But, I have to keep my eye on them so they don't become gourmets on my garden or my  worm bin!  Or, worse, victims of the lurking cats.

My Obsession

Okay, I tried to take a better photo of my adorable little zinnias.  They are the "Cut and Come Again" variety.  I love them for their beautiful shades of color.  I like to cut them when they haven't fully opened.  So you can still see the little, petals still partially formed.

I have a favorite style of vase that I try to find at thrift stores and yard sales because they are perfect for these small flowers.  But, sometimes when I am stripping the leaves, I yank the heads off or there isn't enough stem for this vase.  So, I found some smaller "vases".  I have a pressed glass toothpick holder for these really short zinnias.  It would make me sad to throw a flower away because it is length disadvantaged.

 

Then, I found some old, cut crystal glasses at the thrift store for 29 cents.  I paid a dollar for the cut, champagne glasses.  Yes, all these glasses are all different.  I am sure 60 years ago or so, they were part of a set now reduced to a single.  But, alone they make the most beautiful, mini vases for these mini flowers.  Wouldn't these be the most adorable individual arrangements at a dinner party?  You don't need many flowers to make the arrangement and it just takes a few small fronds of fern to back it.

 

This is a shot glass from San Diego with wild animals on it and the word Africa.  So, I put these hot orange and yellow zinnias in it.

 

I don't really like orange flowers.  But, I think I can live with these.

I like big zinnias, too!

Yummy goodness!

Here are some of the beautiful eggs from my chickenettes!  They are still young girls, so their eggs are small.  Sometimes they forget to put a shell on their eggs.  I don't let that stop me from eating them, though, I usually cook those ones up right away.  Right now, one of the hens is laying speckled eggs.  I think eventually they will be solid and darker.

 

Here they are doing their thing.  Eating.  They eat grow mix.  I switched them to lay mash but they went off their feed.  It was hot and the gal down at the feed store said that corn made them hot.  So, I guess it was too hot for them so I had to go and buy some grow mix but not the medicated feed they eat when they are little.  Then, I had to buy some oyster shell to add to the grow mix.  The chickenettes are spoiled.  They like tomatoes, cantaloupe rinds and seeds, watermelon, tree branches from my fruit trees and certain weeds.  I have to say, I look for weeds to pull in the garden to give them a treat.  They also have lots of activities they can do in their chicken coop.  The large terra cotta saucer is their "pool".  They like to wade through it when it is hot plus, I think they don't like dirty feet, so they will walk through the water to get the dirt off them.  They can also hop up on various objects and sit on their bench and stare out at the yard.  They can also be obstacles when they are racing around the coop trying to chase down a bug!  They are sweet, sweet girls and I like to give them a treat when I find eggs in the henhouse.  I think they know what they are supposed to do, don't you?

 

Zinnias!

I can't seem to do photographic justice to these zinnias from my garden.  But, they bring me such joy happiness and a sense of fulfillment and serenity to look upon such perfection.

The Bluebirds of Happiness

That is what I think everytime I look at these bird soaps!  Handwashing has risen to a new level of pleasure.  The shape is pleasing and as it gets used it loses its detail but is still pleasing to me.  This was also experimenting with colors and I like how they turned out.  What can I say, I'm into the simple pleasures!

Saturday Still Life

I bought this piece of batik fabric at a rummage sale today.  It is just gorgeous.  I can't decide what I will do with it so for now, it is a tablecloth.

Yosemite's North Dome 2,294 MOH

No, this isn't North Dome, it is what you see from North Dome which is Half Dome in Yosemite National Park.  I want to hike Half Dome and wanted to do it this year, but as a preparation, my friend thought I should first do the much easier hike out to North Dome from the trail starting at Porcupine Flat.  I was game for it.  So off we were early one morning eager to be out in the wilderness.

I saw the sign at the trailhead, North Dome 4.8 miles. No problem, I walk that much just on Sunday.  Except what I walk isn't at elevation.  In fact, I live pretty darn close to sea level and North Dome is at about 7,525 feet above sea level or 2,294 meters above the sea (MOH in Norwegian).  Just for your information, a mile is 5280 feet, so it was 1.4 miles above sea level.

You will notice that we keep going downhill.  We also tried to keep in the shade of the trees as much as possible as it can get quite warm.  And drink lots of water.  My rule of thumb in the field has always been that I bring two quarts to drink.  When, the first quart is done, time to turn back.

A side view from the trail of pine trees growing out of the solid granite.

More going downhill.  That made the hike in not too bad.  (You do see where I'm going with this, don't you?)

Just for scale, the person in the photo is 5'10" or 178 centimeters tall.There it is, just off in the distance.  That is North Dome.

Just before we get there, we have to go uphill.  The climb to the top wasn't too bad.  And, the view was stunning!

We had a nice lunch and a short rest.  Then, I had to slog myself back uphill to the car.  That took considerably more time and effort.  My whole backside was strained to the max.  Let me rephrase that.  My gluteous, hamtring and calf muscles were screaming, I CAN'T TAKE ANYMORE!  STOP!  REST!  BREATHE!  Every step was like doing squats except that I was already at muscle failure and had to keep going until I really, really couldn't take another step.  Oh, I could have stopped more often like every other step, it's just that then I would have had to sleep out on the trail and who wants to do that when you have a perfectly lovely bed to go home to?  (Note to self:  I need to loose more weight.  Do more endurance training.  Maybe go to a bootcamp.  Join the Marines.)  I think that I will have to put off hiking into Half Dome until next year since it is about twice the distance as the hike into North Dome.  But, just for the record, the hike was great and I would do it again anytime!

Retailers pay attention!

Okay, I wasn't really sure what to name this post but I wanted to complain to the powers that be that they really need to design everyday, mundane objects with some sort of style even if we are in a recession. I have been looking, quite unsuccessfully, to buy sheets for a couple of years now. Everything I have seen is your basic blue, brown, green, white or off-white in the most awful shades. I thought it was just me so I mentioned to my friend recently how I had finally bought a new set of sheets after years of looking (the last bottom sheet had finally shredded) and she said the same thing. She finally had to buy a new set and settled on the least offensive color she could find which was off-white.

So, this is what I was lucky enough to find. I would buy another set and maybe even another in a different color, if they were available.  They are made of microfiber which is not as breatheable as cotton but I fell in love with the color and the Art Nouveau like pattern.  And, best of all, I bought them at a discount store for a mere $15. I love them!

My Thirteen Weight Loss Tips

How can this be? After years of trying and trying, I have finally lost 14 pounds! That is not all of the weight I am trying to lose but it has finally begun! It seems that every time that I have tried to lose weight in the past, I have gained weight. Just thinking about losing weight would make me gain weight. I walked 1/2 hour each day for years and years and slowly, inexorably, put on the pounds and I thought it didn't matter. But, I found out that all of the walking kept some of it at bay. This was borne out by the fact that when it rained for a couple of weeks one year, I didn't walk and gained 5 pounds!

I can recall many, many times making losing weight my number one priority, the one thing that would make me happiest in the world. I would sit down and make a detailed plan to lose weight. Eat healthier, eat vegetables, quit drinking sugared drinks, drink water, give up junk food, exercise (more). Then I would eat something to give me the strength to start, only, I wouldn't start.

This was so mystifying to me. Why would I eat (usually something I shouldn't) right after I had all this desire to lose weight? I read books and began to wonder what deeply psychological problem must be lurking about in my psyche to exhibit such contradictory behavior. Surely, someone could explain this to me so I could stop.

Truly, did I need psychoanalysis? Did I mention I even got hypnotised? (No help, either). I went to Weight Watchers and lost a few pounds but I don't do very well on diets and I refuse to count calories. I complained to my doctor and he referred me to a nutrition class where I learned that there is a real disconnect between what the US of A calls a portion size and what everyone else does. We had all of this lovely plastic food in class and I distinctly remember the nutritionist pointing to a plastic orange and saying, "have a baseball-sized portion of fruit". Maybe she didn't play sports because it looked more like a tennis ball to me than a baseball. I wasn't sure you could buy oranges that small. I didn't lose any weight.

Then I went to a different doctor, the Ob/Gyn and complained about not being able to lose weight and she said, "when you get to be a certain age, weight loss is almost impossible". Wonderful. I was finding that to be so true. So, we (I have an exercise partner)refused to accept that and upped our walking time to about 100 miles a month. I lost 6 pounds from May to November. Six months, 600 miles and 6 pounds. That would work out to be weight loss of one pound a month. Then no more even though, I was diligently working out at the gym.

We contented ourselves with the realization that we knew we would eventually lose weight but in the meantime, we had all sorts of other benefits. Increased strength, stability, lowered blood pressures, a feeling of accomplishment that we walked whether it was 100 degrees in the summer or raining on us in winter. The trainers were working with me on my "diet" but I was not making much headway even though they all told me that diet is 80% of weight loss with all sorts of helpful tips.

Then recently, I received an e-mail from one of the commercial blogs I subscribe to, to take a test to determine why I am overweight. Eureka! Free analysis. I was sure that my disorder could be pinpointed. So, I took the test. My results? I am overweight because, get this, I am an over eater! SERIOUSLY!!!

So, I was complaining to the trainers that I hadn't lost any weight since coming to gym even though I had really been eating less and better food (and I hadn't been to Jack in the Box for awhile and had given up root beer floats as well as thrown all the ice cream and chips into the trash). But I had been working out pretty diligently in the gym and still walking about 18 miles a week. So, the trainer really put me through a good workout and told me to not rest between sets to keep the intensity. I work out pretty hard but not as hard as when the trainer puts me through a workout. So right after all of my whining about not having lost any weight, I weighted myself at the gym and I lost 4 pounds but, I didn't believe it. I figured someone had monkeyed with the scale balance. So the next week I told this to the trainer and he told me that I could check out the scale by zeroing it out and to see if the balance arm was in the middle. And, it was. So that meant really I lost that 4 pounds. Only now, I had lost another 4 pounds.

So now I am on the Paleo or caveman diet which isn't really a diet but more of a lifestyle. I don't eat wheat, grains, potatoes, corn or legumes. For the most part. Mostly, I eat protein of fish, lean red meat, turkey and boneless, skinless chicken breast. For carbs I eat fruits and vegetables. I still have raw sugar with my tea. And, no, no high fructose corn syrup which is like the crack cocaine of food! For fats, I have lowfat cheese, 2% milk, nuts and oil for salad dressing and my consumption of butter is way down. I don't really restrict or measure what I eat except, I try to keep to this one cardinal rule which is, I STOP EATING WHEN I AM FULL.

Yes, I confess. I am not perfect and I fall off the food wagon, on occasion, and sometimes I know I am going to eat stuff not eaten by a caveman but it is a conscious decision and see Tip #10 & #11 below.

So, these are my weight loss tips:

1. Keep food preparation simple during weight loss.

2. Don't go on a "diet". Make healthier eating a lifestyle.

3. If you fall "off the wagon", it's okay. Just get back on. Accept that we are not perfect. We are human. Only our Heavenly Father is perfect. (I only wish Heidi Montag knew this.)

4. Make a grocery list and don't spend too much time in there. I find that after a certain amount of time, my willpower weakens and DORITOS! COOKIES! ICE CREAM! scream out at me as I pass their aisles on the way to the checkout stand.

5. Don't have conversations about food that you want to avoid eating. I was in Zumba class the other day and these 2 gals WOULD NOT SHUT UP! They were going on and on about all this decadent food as we were waiting to sweat our butts off for an hour to attempt to lose weight. The class probably wouldn't have burned off the calories in the dessert they were describing. I finally left the room to go stretch in the hallway after even putting my hands over my ears could not block out their conversation. (They were loud, too!)

6. Talk up good foods like just how yummy steamed broccoli is! Or, ooh, raw carrots! Or, how delicious salad made with arugula fresh from the garden is! Or, what a fabulous meatloaf you can make with lean ground turkey!

7. Don't watch TV cooking shows! Especially Paula Deen!!! Seriously. Unless you want to look like her. In fact, quit watching TV entirely or mute the commercials as 9 out of ten commercials seem to be about eating fast food. Watch TV shows like the one about Ruby Gettinger, whom I adore. At one time, she weighed 716 pounds and now is under 350 lbs. Go Ruby! She inspired us to get personal trainers (even though we are much smaller than she is) and listening to someone elses issues helps you with your own, it's just on a different scale, in our case.

8. Read, learn, try different stuff. Use what works for you.

9. Find a way to deal with stress. (I walk and talk to my workout partner but I think kickboxing would be fun, too!)

10. Eat only good quality food. Savor each bite as you chew it slowly and thoroughly. On a scale of 1 to 10, rate each forkfull. The first bite should be a 10. When it gets to a point that it is not as good because you are getting full, stop eating and save the rest for another meal.

11. STOP EATING WHEN YOU ARE FULL!

12. Listen to your body. It is the best gauge of what is and isn't working for you.

13. Be in it for the long haul.

Here is a link to 52 Ways to Lose a Pound a Week

They are good, but, I have already done most of them.

Ow, I feel good!

This morning I reached over to scratch my left shoulder and it was hard. My muscles were hard. And, it was hard to reach over there because I can barely move my right arm. I think I worked my trapezious muscles. Now, please excuse me I have to go and clean the bathrooms. If I can.

Reflections on Resolutions

Almost every year since becoming an adult (I wrote it this way instead of saying, err, for the last few decades) I have written down goals and resolutions for the coming year even though I often despaired that they would happen. One year, in particular (I can always tell when I have been watching Jane Austen movies because the word particular becomes more present in my communication). Anyway, one year, I became despondent about my goals/resolutions because they just weren't happening! Here they were, year after year, down on paper but nothing had moved me towards them. So, that year, I refused to make them. But, the next year, none of them happened either, so being a persistent creature, I wrote them down again. Yes, most of them were the same. Boy, am I a sucker. But ever optimistic and without any clue as to how I was going to do it, I wrote down what I wanted on a 3 by 5 index card and stuck the card under my mattress cover.

One of the things that I wrote down on that card was the salary that I wanted to be making. It only happened to be more than twice what I was currently making. Seriously, I sat on the bed staring at this number WITHOUT A CLUE as to how it was going to happen. No breakdown of the mini steps I needed to do to get me to the magical number, where it would be, etc. None of the typical uber-goal setting techniques I had learned and used from the myriad of books and seminars I had read and attended. Nada. Blankness. Empty brain. Just a 3 by 5 index card. I had a nice job and I loved the folks I was working with and the salary I was making was better than a lot of other people's (and did I mention that we were in another one of those recession things?). Oh, I had gone on a few job interviews before my current job but they hadn't panned out.

But within a few months, I received a phone call, out of the blue, from a man who had been on one of the interviews panels. He invited me to apply for a job opening at his company. And, so I did. And guess what? I got the job. And guess again? It paid what I had written down on that card. (In fact my then boss remarked somewhat sheepishly when he saw the salary I was going to make, "Uh, that's more than what I make.")

So this year, feeling once again that my resolutions just weren't happening, I looked at some of my old years resolutions to see what I wanted to write down. Surprisingly, I was, well, surprised at the number of things that had happened. Oh, maybe they had taken more than one year and some had taken hard work but I was amazed at what had gotten done over time. Bought a house, remodelled a house, painted living room, got a new roof, moved woodpile, installed sprinklers, new flooring (okay, I think I lived on plywood sub-flooring for a couple of years before it got done) as well as equally taxing projects like, get organized. I can't think of all of the things that happened because now that I am organized, I'm not quite sure where those lists are. Hmm, maybe in the current projects box in the closet?

Yes, sadly, not all of the things I wrote down on that card have happened. My thoughts on some of those? Some things don't happen because we move on from who we were when we wrote them. Maybe they don't happen because I really don't want them to happen. Shockingly, could this be true? Let's take this small test. Stop now and write down the first 10 things that you want to happen as they come to your mind. If you don't have 10, that's okay. Just write down what you do have. If you have more than 10 just keep writing. A word on this test later.

Some things I have not given up on even though I write them down year after year. I still want to weigh 130 lbs and wear a size 7. I have quite the detailed plan on this with charts (!) and even though I have exercised regularly for a couple of years, I haven't made much progress. I attended nutrition classes for awhile. I upped my walking time. Then I joined a gym and I actually workout 3 times a week. Then, I decided to get help and have a personal trainer. BTW, getting help is not cheating. Sometimes we need a little help. Or a lot help.

Some of my resolutions are less specific like, live more simply, be more gracious (this includes the writing of letters sent by the U.S. postal service on pretty stationery), stop rushing, meet more interesting and genuine people. Some goals are slightly onerous. Sometimes I have to rewrite these goals and give them a more enticing spin. Example? Change "clean out the garage" to "park car in garage" (only possible, if I clean it out) or "convert garage into work studio" so I can take up rug hooking. I got a little more enthusiastic about this before the holidays took over my weekends and spare time, so it's still not done.

Oh, and I still have a few resolutions/goals which are for the future and which I wrote down because even though I don't know how on God's green earth it's going to happen, I still want them to happen. And now for your own list. Look at the order at which you wrote them down. Unconsiously, you wrote the most important first. Sometimes we're smart that way. If what you think is the most important got written down, third or fourth, maybe it's not happening because it really isn't that important to you. Think on that.

Merry Christmas!

This year, the urge to decorate for Christmas returned to me. Er, I can't believe that I have all of this stuff, but evidently, I do. I decided not to buy a big tree because there really isn't room for one as you can see from the photo of my, very small living room.

But, I have a few, little trees like this mini one. It has the red, painted bowtie pasta ornaments that my niece and nephew made in pre-school. My niece painted hers very meticulously covering the entire pasta. My newphew's was painted with a few broad strokes. I'm sure he tolerated the pasta painting for just a few moments before running off to play with all the other little boys. That's him in the photo probably about the age he painted the pasta.

Here is a trio of trees with some of my favorite ornaments.

The round pottery ornaments were too precious to hang on the tree.

I seem to have a lot of santas.

A lot.

I wanted to have the ornaments out that would have hung on the tree. So I placed them here and there on platters or baskets. It made me feel very festive!

Here is another little western table with barbed wire trees and an overdresed coyote.

And, of course, the Holy Family with a few Magi. I enjoyed Christmas so far this year, so much so that I am really looking forward to next year. And, in between, I wish everyone a very, Merry Christmas and a hopeful next year.