Painting by Kay Doiron
Wowzers! This month has flown by!! Let’s get the party started!
1. – 3. Cardinals – Family – Heavenly Visitors: The photo for my header this morning is a painting my near great niece, Kay, painted for her grandmother, my sister.
The cardinal represents those we have lost coming back to visit. We lost two fans of Saint Louis Cardinals, our nephews Keith – whose birthday is today – and Michael, whose birthday is in March. Keith is shown here playing his guitar and Michael at the Cardinal’s stadium. We were blessed to have these two in our lives and they are truly missed.
4. Weather – is it spring or still winter? It’s crazy, but at least the sun is trying to shine.
5. Write Now is coming up in May and I am excited about all the choices of presenters. I am going to have a hard time narrowing down my choices, but there are far worse problems to have. Here is the link to #WriteNow2020
6. Poetry – Tomorrow is a Poetry Meetup of which your’s truly has put together. Wish me luck! It looks to have a nice turnout, right here in Raleigh!
7. Art – I have been working diligently on art work for my current WIP and it’s coming along well, although it’s taking longer than thought. All is well, though.
8. Taxes are done! WOOHOO!!
9. People who care – Blessed indeed!
10. And here is the spot for you to share your thankfuls! Hey, it’s leap year, so who’s asking who to get married?
Welcome to TTOT and the first February 2020 Leap Year post! Without a lot of fuss I am going to blow right in!
1. WOOWEE Was it every so windy today! BUT! It was not raining too much 🙂 It was buckets and flying windys yesterday, but it could have been worse. Power flickered and played hide and seek with us and we survived just fine. It’s doing without that helps our character, right?
2. Smooooothe sailing for the Real ID today! I took my soon to be 44 year old daughter to get her Real ID – in case you don’t know about it – it’s a thing you need for reasons such as flying, entering a Federal building, and important stuff like that. I would have gotten mine too (since we’re supposed to have them by October) but I am just past the window to have to pay twice. We only had an hour wait and there was a full house at the DMV. I think several were there for licenses. And with it being windy the DMV official announced it might be a “never” for getting driving tests today. YIKES!! I hope that didn’t come out to be true.
3. Health – I have been getting these treatments for my neck and back and got the first on for my back this week. It went very well. It was done quickly and I did not take anything medicated (sleepy making) to relax. I am feeling good effects from it. And I graduated from Physical Therapy on Monday and just have to do home exercises, so it’s all good. Here is the link to help explain what the Radiofrequency Ablation is.
4. Opportunity for Artistic Focus – I have participated in inspired art with Elizabeth Foley and she invited me to participate this month to be a part of this activity again. I am grateful as it gets my creative juices going.
5. Daughter is here and we are celebrating her birthday on Saturday! I can’t believe she will be 44! Where does the time go? Seems like it was just yesterday that this sweet little 8 year old found her way into my heart instantly! She resides there closer that ever and I cherish these times together. She’s gonna be reading this post, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Jodi!!
6. Support – I had an excellent meeting with other writers on Wednesday. It helps a lot to have real time support from other writers and I hope I offer the same to them. Writing is mostly an isolated career, but sometimes you need a little help from your friends.
7. 8. 9. Observations – I was at the Starbucks at the grocery store with Jodi and we were having her celebratory hot chocolate (they added butterscotch a positive experiment) and my coffee (yeah, I’m boring). I observed a lady eating a pastry. She was taking her time nibbling her way around it and savoring every bite. It made me think about how in life we can get in such a hurry and consume food so fast and not take the time to enjoy. It took her quite a while to finish and I could tell by the look on her face that she was thoroughly enjoying every bit. I looked over at the produce section and saw the colors of apples on display and wondered how many people pay attention to the care that the produce folks take. Then there was the checkout lady who was super friendly, even though she said she had stayed very busy, she loved what she did, it was clear to see and she took just the right care of the groceries, packing them just right.
10. And then there’s you! We got to the end of this and there is a blue link where you can post and share your thankfuls. So, how about it? Even just one is fine. And if you are in a hurry, just comment your thankful. And have an awesome week!
We’ve reached the end, folks. It’s January 31, making this the end of the first month of the new year. Not so new anymore. How’s it been for you? My month has been decent. I have made some good changes and pursued goals, meeting some and working on others. The important thing is to keep on working. So, without further introduction, here are the top 10 thankfuls for this week.
1. The Golden Girls and Betty White’s birthday! Who knew that Betty White really is older than sliced bread? That’s what the internet says 🙂 I love Betty White. She’s been in my life for years. I used to watch her on her husband’s show and they were so cute. It was called Password. Maybe some of the older ones on here remember that show. I turn on the Golden Girls in the background while I am working on projects. It’s like visiting old friends.
2. Daughter is coming! She is going to turn 44 soon and she will be coming this week to celebrate and do annual important things such as get her new ID. We are going to a special event and have some valuable time together.
3. Lucy Brummett has this Lovely Blog Go check it out. I have met her at the Raleigh NC Bloggers meetup and she is a true gem! She is an author, freelancer and archer!
4. Paul Stryer has an awesome blog for helping people get blogs started. He’s a walking, talking resource who has helped our blog group members so much! Here is th elink to his blog: Bloggers Workspace
5. Test Results were AOK! I had a MRI of the brain this week and other than old age, I am AOK No news is good news!
6. PT is going well. I was able to perform the exercises and I am doing well.
7. The neck procedure on Monday worked out well. It was painful, but better than the prior time. Breathing helps. Otherwise, I might be dead. So always breathe!
Photo by Skitterphoto on Pexels.com Picture of the sky to remind us to breathe.
8. Art news! My niece is a wonderful artist and I referred her to someone who needed an illustrator and she’s on the job! I love it! Here is something she did a while back:
My sister holding the Cardinal painting done by niece (her granddaughter) Kay Doiron
10. Here’s the best seat at the house. It’s the one where you get a chance to tell us your thankfuls! Please feel free to reply with your thankful for this week or create a blog post and join us. Just click on the link below to add. Photo by Mareefe on Pexels.com
It’s January! And 2020! WOW! We are ending a decade and holding hope and promise to this year. Before moving forward, let’s go back and review the week and find all the thankfuls. Would you like to join us? There’s a link at the bottom of this post and we would love more people to join us.
1. Weather! Oh My Goodness! Is it supposed to be Winter? You could have fooled me! Anytime I expect to see birds building nests. It’s hard to believe it is January. Last year, it was snowing in December and now I barely need a coat. I am going to enjoy it while it lasts.
2. Completed Projects – I finished a project, but I can’t share it just yet because it would spoil a surprise. I promise I will share it as soon as it’s done the proper surprising.
3. New Year’s Eve was lovely and my New Year looks promising. I also worked on projects and got a lot accomplished.
4. Art Studio – I was one of a group of one in the art studio at the older adult’s center, but that’s okay. I didn’t have a lack for workspace. I do hope others come because I enjoy the interactions. I did work on two pieces and drew out a third one for my book cover.
5.6.7. Neck Procedure went well. My good friend provided me with company and a ride and the opportunity to catch up over coffee before heading home. It’s a cauterization of the nerves in my neck. They did one side this time and will do the other side the next time. It was painful, but they did give me some calming down meds.
8. We had our last interpretation challenge this past week. I am sad to see it go away, but I understand. Here it the one I did: Eye of the Storm
9. Six Sentence Story – it’s still going strong and I always look forward to the challenge. Here’s this weeks When Crystals Melt
1. Kristi, the wonderful person who keeps us going on here, and I have been communicating outside the group. Yes! And I really enjoy chatting with her. Such positive energy! AND AND AND She went to my old town where I lived for 22 years (other than a couple of short leaves and returns). She even took a picture of the house I lived in from 1977-1992. Isn’t that such so sweet of her?
2. Inktober! It’s keeping me on task to do a post every day to respond to the themes. I am grateful for the opportunity to use my drawing skillz and to allow myself to fumble. It is important to me to not spend too much time on these drawings as I am trying to practice acceptance and it’s working, for the most part. There are some I spend more time on, but it’s usually because I change my mind in the middle of drawing. Here’s my weeks worth.
Theme: Freeze
Theme: Build and I noticed that the actual pics of beehives are not the perfect cells as depicted in graphics
Theme: Husky – I gave mine smiling eyes
Theme: Enchanted
Theme: Frail
Theme: Swing
Theme: {attern
3. Weekly Art Group – I started back to going to the senior group for painting. We do a variety, but mostly watercolor. It’s a lovely group and a great way of getting a happy shot in the arm. I’ve been trying to get back to this group and it’s now possible since I made some significant changes in my life. I created some background art for blogging and such. Here’s a sample:
4. Super Short Story success! I have been trying to get these stories in the right hands and the two I submitted this week were both accepted. Here’s the first one and the next one will come out next Friday. Saving Dad
I will also be posting this on my blog later for those who prefer not to view on Medium.
5. Lately, I have been having sleeping issues and I started having my Kindle read to me. It’s working 🙂 This week it has been a lovely book of short essays and I enjoy them so much. They don’t put me to sleep, but the Kindle lady voice is soothing me. I do go back and replay where I remember leaving off. This is the book in case you want to have a look.
6. Weather – It has been so beautiful this week! It’s needing to rain, so they say, but I am enjoying the sunny days and cool nights. It can stay this way for a little longer.
7. Unsplash is an awesome way to get pretty pictures for blogs and such. It’s free and a nice courtesy to credit the photographer. I love it! I am so grateful for this. I use some of the photos for inspiration and color guides for painting. Here’s a pretty fall one: Cayla1
8. Six Sentence Story – I have not mentioned this lately and it’s something I keep up weekly. Here’s the latest: Notes of the Night I am grateful for Denise and her devotion to keeping this going.
9. Daughter finished swimming lessons and is now able to navigate deeper waters. WIN!!! I met her at the pool and she received a celebratory hot chocolate 🙂
10. And this is where you get a chance to share your gratitudes. Be it one or more, just hop on in and give us a try. Come jump in the leaves of TTOT!!
As a teacher, I will always remain a student. In the classroom of life, l wish to work with and educate others. Whether you’re a teacher, student, or just your average person, here are a few of my "TEACHERble" moments.
Hi! my name is Sebastian (You can call me Seb!) ...welcome to my Blog. I'm a photographer from Worcester, Worcestershire, England. Thanks for dropping by! I hope you enjoy my work.
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