Oct 10 - My Healing Tree

The tree outside my living room has been changing since my surgery. I've said all along that once its leaves have dropped, that I'll be healed. Granted, it will only be the start of new eating habits and the healing of stitches, but it's a healing process. Photos of the tree are below.

Before the bariatric bypass surgery, they said that your tastes could change. I thought that protein shakes wouldn't be a big deal and stocked up on some. Thank God, I can still drink some of them. Already tossed out vanilla and one other. Read online that you could nuke whey protein but it's something I won't be doing again. Made some chocolate protein mixed with soy milk, nuked it and tried it. Thought I was going to get sick. Looked good, had a good texture, but couldn't get it down, except for down the sink drain.

Glad there is sugar-free popsicles and gelatin because I can't stand coffee anymore. Hopefully, that taste will get back into my diet.

Here's the trees

Oct 4 - New Dog in Town

My sister's dog did not like his new doghouse. Bobbi, on the other hand, thinks like a dog and has no problem using it. The only thing that bothers her is that she is unable to bark...but maybe someday she'll figure that out. She already greets us at the door.

Oct 2 - I'm still here but Walker Is Not

Had my surgery on Monday and it went well. This week I lost over ten pounds. Had gastric bypass surgery and another surgical procedure done. Found out had I not had this surgery, I would have been looking at another life-threatening disease. Establishing good eating habits while I'm off work. I've fought using a walker or cane to help my walking but while in the hospital, I realized the benefit of a walker. I was able to walk around the hospital with ease and no pain to my knees. It was pretty awesome. OT decided a walker would be beneficial for me and now I have one chained up upside.

Previously, it was painful to walk to my car but with the walker, I am able to walk four blocks at a time. Will work on increasing that while I'm off work. Pride sure got in the way of health and I'm glad that I'd rather have someone look at me with the walker than for them to look at me not being able to walk. Just have to buy a grill cover so the walker can stay outside, at least until I can maneuver it up the stairs, which might be a month away. Next month, I'll be joining the YMCA for swimming. The reason I haven't joined the Y is because I don't want people to look at me and criticize me for my weight but then I was told that people probably won't even look at me because of my weight. Never thought of that before.

My hope was to make a whole bunch of earrings while I was off; however, my attention span is extremely short right now and I'm tired. Maybe next week I might try it but not now.

Going to try to walk four blocks two or three times today.  By the way, my walker is here but Governor Walker is no longer in the presidential race. You know, if he hadn't hurt the people of Wisconsin by isolating them and putting them against one another, he might have been a good choice. But then again, he goes this way one time and that way another. Pretty wishy washy and has big corporations' interest in his heart; he does not have Wisconsinites in his heart.

Sep 18 - 7th Heaven Discovered

Last night, I was in 7th heaven. Found a new website, which led me to an inexpensive app that I love. Little background first. My sister and her partner were watching the sky the other night and saw something that was flashing a white light every 24 seconds. It was kind of circling half of our city. It wasn't a plane and it wasn't a lightening but, just a flashing light. My sister looked up satellites but couldn't find anything on one that would be flashing every 24 seconds. That got my interest up so exploring had to be done.

Found this website: http://www.heavens-above.com/ISS_3D.aspx?lat=44.9642&lng=-95.9071&loc=Unspecified&alt=314&tz=CST in which you can watch a 3D visualization of ISS (International Space Station). It is so cool! They have other satellites listed too but ISS was pretty fun to watch.

They also have a free app you can download if you go to that site. Of course, it was on my phone in minutes. The app gives you real-time viewing of stars at your location. I've always wanted to learn astronomy but never have taken the time. Now I can open up the app and see what stars are overhead.

Then I discovered something even better..."Safari Satellite." Their website is http://www.southernstars.com/~southfb9/products/satellite_safari/index.html. Their app was inexpensive but once you start exploring it, it is worth a lot more money. It is a beautiful app! What I like best is you can select a satellite and look at earth from the satellite. You can look at the heavens too! While watching earth from the satellite, a calmness completely overtook me. The kind of calmness you can get when you lay in water and float. I guess you'd only get that kind of calmness if you know how to swim.

The only thing I wish the app had was a sleep timer function. I was so busy watching but then fell asleep!

Worked on my earrings some tonight. Took some into work and gave them to coworkers. I enjoy giving my earrings to people. One of my coworkers reminded me that I have a craft sale that I'm going to be selling my earrings and that I should be hanging onto my supply. That was a good reminder.

Sept 17 - Thank you for the prayers!

Had my doctor appointment the other day and I didn't lose just the ten pounds, I lost 12 pounds. Pretty happy about that. Now on a special diet up until my surgery. Life will be different in two weeks!

Been making a lot of beads. Trying different products on the beads based on YouTube videos. One of the products recommended was called "Vibrance" but it's just like a watered-down water-based varnish. Plus you have to string the beads on fishing line, dip them into the solution five times, and hang them between drying. Personally, when I first started, I did it that way. Now that I have some experience under my belt, I prefer brushing them. It's quick and easy and no dripping and extra things for hanging beads are needed. Another product I tried was called "Triple Thick" because it had good reviews. However, you get somewhat of a pebbly surface. Hands down, the "Diamond Glaze" was the best. The drawback to it was is that it is $16 for 8 oz, whereas, "Triple Thick" is about $5.

The next time I make beads, I'm going to try putting the "Triple Thick" on first and finishing it with "Diamond Glaze" to see if the glaze can smooth out the imperfections created by TT.

Paper bead making has been quite the experience. Started working on them in May and it's already mid September. What I've learned is what "accessories" I need to accent my earrings with my paper beads. Another thing I learned is that I really like Amazon and I think Amazon probably likes me too. I still go to Michael's but the other hobby stores and slowly fading. There are things I can get at Michael's that Amazon has higher prices and/or a lessor quality.

Yesterday, we were all excited because I received a package from China. Just about everything comes from Asia when it comes to beads, other than my Czech glass. The package was the first time I've ever received anything directly from China. Wish it would have had stamps on the package and not computer-generated postage.

Will probably take some photos of my earrings this weekend and post them.

Sep 7 - Prayers Needed

I need your help. My bariatric surgery is 22 days away. In some stupid mentality that I've had in the last month, instead of keeping my weight off, I gained ten pounds. In order to have the surgery, I have to not have any weight gain. Thought I was doing pretty good but then something in my head triggered that I had to have foods that "I would never be able to eat again" and eat I did. So now I need to loose as much weight as I can in the next 8 days and the rest within the days after that.

As a strong believer in prayer, I know that God will send his angels to help me through this and that I will have the strength and willpower to lose this weight.

Excuses are excuses and I can't look back now; I have to look ahead. For the first time in my life, I had a dream of me not being fat. Yes, I am fat. Calling oneself overweight is not a truth. If you were to cut off my two rolls, it would not contain anything inside other than fat. It does not contain overweight.

When I was younger I had had a bicycle accident and had a concussion. After that, I started gaining weight. By the time I was 16, I wore a size 16. My the time I was 18, I wore a size 18. By the time I was 28, I wore a size 28. So you're wondering what size I am at 61? I was a 30-32 but have gotten it back down to a 28. It's not about sizes either. It's about health and my capacity to move.

I want my grandsons who haven't seen me in 8 years to see me happily instead of being embarrassed. I want to be looked at because I look good and not because of my weight. I want to walk a mile. I want to walk two miles. I want to run like the wind like my sister tells Sparky. Will never run like the wind but maybe a little ways would be nice.

My sister is going to help me a lot these next days through her support and prayers. I know my sister-in-law and brother will be doing the same for me even though I haven't said anything yet. Please help me through your prayers. And I thank you and I thank God. I am so grateful to be in His hands.

Sep 5 - Family Day and Wallpaper Samples

Had a nice lunch with my brother, his wife, their son and grandson. We have so much in common so the time flies when we are together. My sister-in-law made some beads out of wallpaper samples that she got. I had forgotten all about that because I've had my fingers in too many places while making my beads. however, after a quick phone call and a stop at a paint store, now I have a couple of books for me to use.

One of the books is all gold and silver wallpaper samples. The other has a lot of gold and silver too but with other colors added. Can't wait to try them out. Got these just in time too because this weekend I'll have to make more beads for future earrings.

Reorganized my living room again to have a craft corner. Looks a lot bigger and cleaner! Every time my cat goes out on the porch, something happens in the living room and she has to rediscover "her" living room when she comes back in. She's happily asleep on top of her six foot cat tree. When I'm working on my earrings, she'll be able to supervise me.

Also got a new tool today to make loops to hook the beads to the earring. Handy, dandy tool it is. Most of the reviews were good but the people who didn't like them had me kind of worried. They weren't able to make the loop and struggled so much; they said they went back to the manual way. My first loop was simple to do and my second loop was pretty close to being perfect. I'm sold! Can't wait to put some earrings together as the real test.

Sept 4 - Getting Harder to Remember to Blog

To blog or not to blog...that is the question. It seems like with fall coming it is getting harder to write the blog. Okay, that's just an excuse. I'd rather be playing with my earring making. Over the last two nights, I assembled 24 pairs of earrings. If I keep giving them away, I will have to double the number of making them verses the number I give away. It's fun to see people's expressions when they look at the earrings and the shocked look when they find out the main beads are paper.

Tonight I had to catch myself because I was looking at a jewelry catalog at earrings. What was I thinking? Well, I've always wanted a pair of chocolate gold earrings; the real ones would be nice but I would gladly take imitation chocolate gold earrings. There's such a richness about the color that makes me attracted to it. Lately I haven't been wearing any earrings - neither Donna's nor my own, but if I had a pair of chocolate gold earrings, I would wear them all of the time.

IS is going to blow up all of Syria pretty soon. I feel sad for the people they have captured and those who have died because of IS. Have a hard time understanding destroying ancient buildings. They believe that these buildings "promote idolatry" but I think they just want to blow things up. Think they got so far out of hand that they have lost their civilized thinking. Reminds me of what I read in my psychology class about people who abuse animals and  get off on it. Not healthy for anyone. http://news.yahoo.com/official-islamic-militants-destroy-ancient-tombs-syria-093935792.html#

Long night, good night.

Aug 31 - Pretty Little Flowers

It's not a new hobby, just kind of blends in with my earring making. Pretty little flowers caught my attention on YouTube and thought I needed to try it before I went to bed. Instant addiction! The first video I watched demonstrated using glue but my glue was thrown out a couple of weeks ago after it leaked all over the place. Then I found another video but it was in Spanish. Needless to say, language is not a barrier in love nor in arts. Here are my new flowers made solely of wire and fingernail polish:

 

Actually, the leaves on the one flower were made with clear fingernail polish because I didn't have any green fingernail polish. Dollar Tree isn't open at almost midnight so I used permanent marker. It worked. the flowers are pretty rough looking but can you imagine what they will look like after I make a hundred of them. There are some pretty beautiful necklaces, earrings, and displays made with these delicate flowers. Here's the site I learned how to make them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NUy6QAl4fU

 

Now I am going to bed. Tomorrow night the centers will be glued on using the beads I have on hand. Wow, what fun!!!

Aug 30 - Walls around United States

Looks like we have a lot to look forward to in the United States. A wall between US and Mexico, a wall between US and Canada... We're going to have to put walls on every shoreline too when you think about it. Kind of reminds me of Germany's wall. Was it to keep people in or out? China's wall, on the other hand, has become a great tourist attraction. One of the quotes on Wisconsin presidential candidate Walker wanting a wall between United States and Canada was pretty good "

Franksta 2 hours ago

1

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Scott Walker is not very smart, but every once in a while he does something that you would have thought was far beyond his cognitive capacity, like when a horse does simple arithmetic problems by tapping his hoof" http://news.yahoo.com/walker-says-wall-canadian-border-worth-reviewing-132533027.html;_ylt=A0LEVykkYONVkWMAaNyl87UF;_ylu=X3oDMTEyZ3AyZXY3BGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDQjA4NDdfMQRzZWMDc2M-

 

Granted the purpose of the wall makes sense but does it, you know for security reasons (terrorism) ? We would have to put walls around everything. Maybe we should build a prison for those who a want to build these walls. They can feel safe and sound within those walls and not have to worry about illegal immigrants, etc. Isolation is not the answer. People get weird when they become isolated and become even more paranoid. Maybe United States should think of doing something in cooperation with Mexico to make life better for Mexicans so they want to stay in their country. Of course, that could sound like a possible war situation, which is probably some politician's idea already but he hasn't said it yet.

 

Again, Walker changed his mind about something and what will happen if he got into office? "Walker, at one point, echoed Trump's call for ending birthright citizenship, but later said he's against any such repeal." (same source as above)

 

My apologies to my nephew, I wasn't going to pick on his governor anymore but it's hard not to do when it's so easy to do.

 

Time to work on my earrings. Made about 30 pair last night and have about 20 more to put together. Pretty soon I'm going to have to make more beads. Love going from making beads, designing the earrings, and then putting them together. All putzy stuff that keeps me entertained!

Aug 28 - Really Cool Email

One of the things I've learned while writing my blog is that if you read a blog or a book and write to the author, they respond. I was so moved by the audiobook I completed today that I wrote to the author. The book is "The Great War of Our Time" by Michael Morell. Realizing you can't believe everything you read, I put my faith in God when I read this book. He is going to lead me to where I need to be. I believe Michael Morell is a good, honest man and that he told truths while he was serving his country. Someday, I will shake his hand and give him a Minnesota hug - this will probably happen when we meet in heaven. Even though the book was not pleasant to read and I surely wanted to keep my rose-colored glasses on, I read the book and many of the chapters were repeated. Mr. Morell responded to my email and I'm glad that he was able to keep a sense of humor and not darkened by the knowledge he had had. Again Mr. Morell, thank you for the work you did.

Ironically, the person who I did trust was Michele Bachman but after reading Morell's book and her jumping on the bandwagon without truly listening to him, my opinion of her has changed. It appears that she, along with others, had already formed their opinions about Mr. Morell and it probably wouldn't have mattered what he said. United States was very fortunate to have Mr. Morell serve in the different capacities that he di.

Now I'm reading on Mark Antony and another book on Cicero. However, I don't think either one of them would respond to me. It would be really neat if I could spend some time with Cleopatra though!

Aug 25 - Fall Weather and a New Pair of Earrings

We are having fall-like weather this week. The nights are cool and the days are warm. The trees should have beautiful color this year if this keeps up. Next week we're supposed to have temps in the 80s again but I would prefer today's weather. Kind of feels like we are in Colorado, not in Minnesota. Was surprised by the amount of birds flying south already - or they appear to be flying south. Besides geese and ducks, there have been a number of smaller birds flying in large, very large, flocks. Last night, there was a flock of birds in our little apple trees and on the lawn. It was kind of funny to watch them because they would fly in as a group, leave as a group, and then fly in again. They did this for a while. Must be a lot of insects in the grass. You can tell the peregrines aren't around!

Still listening to the audiobook on Al-Qaida. ISIS is a part of them but not because ISIS uses a lot of different tactics and does not have the intelligence of Al-Qaida. ISIS depends on rogue terrorism a great deal. I was learning about the one person in ISIS who has been training others in his field to make weapons that are basically invisible to dogs and security equipment. The terrorist on the French train was captured by some fast-acting people otherwise that scene could have been a lot different. From what I am learning, there will be a lot more people killed in numbers of 1 to 100 rather than large groups like 9-11. I'm probably getting some facts confused here but it doesn't make a difference which group it is, terrorism is just that, terrorism. Maybe we need to start watching YouTube videos on terrorism to know how terrorists are going to act. Mom always said know your enemy. She also said be friends with them too so that you are prepared but I know I don't want a terrorist as my friend.

When talking about watching the videos promoting terrorism sounds like a bad idea, I remember watching a video on adults committing sexual crimes against children. By watching the video, we learned signs to watch for to protect children. Think the same principal can be used. Being proactive instead of reactive has its benefits.

Last night about ten pairs of beads got matched with other components. Going to do the same thing tonight and then tomorrow night, I'll be able to assemble some earrings again. Have only about 40 pairs of earrings done and on hand because I've given so many away. November craft show isn't far away so the earrings aren't going to be given away any more for a while. Have my stock pile too to give to my parish jewelry sale coming up.

Have to admit I love the newest pair of earrings I made tonight. Couldn't wait to show them off...

Considering the main bead is made out of paper and not a composite, I think they're pretty neat!

Aug 22 - Last week's trip photos

These are the earrings I wore today. Sure like how fabric beads look with crystals.

Had such a good time with my brother, his wife, and their son last week. Was able to spend time with my other brother, my nephew's wife, son, and his mother-in-law too. We get along so well. My sister's son went home on Tuesday. Parting is such sweet sorrow and I've always hoped he would move back to Minnesota but California has his heart (maybe someday he will find "the one").

Here's photos from last Saturday and Sunday. Sometime when the sun is out, I would like to go back to the garden and take some more photos. These are all from my cell phone so they aren't the best but still worth keeping. Can you believe I forgot my camera at home!

Aug 20 - Shout Out to North Korea - Kim Jong-un Fearful of Citizens Hearing the Truth?

Wow, North Korea taking action against South Korea for South Korea playing propaganda (which I believe is truth, not falsehoods). Kim Jon-un must be afraid of his people hearing the truth. That could be the only reason for the retaliation of the North against the South Korean broadcasts. He's definitely afraid of people believing that the South is correct; otherwise why bother. I thought he was going to be a good leader instead he is full of himself and not caring for his countrymen. Jong-un is going to go down in history but not in a good light. Someday North Koreans will know and understand that there is more to life than what they have. To live in terror is not something I want in my life. If I lived in some other country, I could be facing some other fate than my current outlook. Glad to be an American. http://news.yahoo.com/south-korea-fires-tens-artillery-rounds-north-korea-084136508.html#

Speaking of being an American, I'm still reading (audiobook) on the CIA. I've decided that whoever is the next president needs to have experience in foreign matters. which excludes Scott Walker. In fact, I wonder if Scott Walker even understands United States and its different cultures and people. Sad to think about it but Hillary Clinton would be a much better choice. She's proactive when it comes to foreign matters and experienced! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/scott-walker-foreign-policy_55abd414e4b0d2ded39f3fd7  A quote from the link "Walker's foreign policy miscues included a statement earlier this year that his fight against the unions in Wisconsin had girded him for the battle against Islamic State." How can anyone compare the unions to ISIS????

Will be working on my earrings later tonight. Might have a photo later. Made these earrings the other night and now they belong to my sister:

My sister and I both agree the bead reminds us of Russian stacking dolls, matryoshka dolls. Years, and I mean years ago, one of my bosses went to Russia and brought back me a set of dolls. I still have them and value them as much as I did back then.

Aug 19 - Viewers

The one thing I look at everyday is where my readers are located. To me, I find it fascinating to have someone living in a place where I've never been or probably ever will be, reading my blog. If it wasn't for Donna, this would not have happened. Without Donna and her earrings, there would not have been a blog.

Here's were my readers are from this week: (Might just post a new screenshot every time there's a new country).

Vacation helped me be more tired so off to bed I go.

Aug 18 - New Readers: Moldova and Slovakia

Kind of scary when I knew where both of these countries were without looking them up. Knew it without the information I've learned on my blog. Must have been paying attention somewhere along the line. Typically, I would do an egg recipe from the countries, which I will try to do but it won't happen until this weekend. Lots going on in the next couple weeks with company coming and going back to work from my time off.

Did you see the aurora borealis that was taken from the space station? The article said it was a once in a lifetime event to see the aurora borealis but I've seen it often. More often as a kid than as an adult and less often over the last ten or so years. What I've seen isn't as pretty as the photos you can find online but still it's a spectacular sight. https://www.yahoo.com/travel/you-have-to-watch-this-amazing-video-of-the-aurora-126955632987.html

Contemplating starting a business selling my earrings. Don't want to make it work so it is something that I will think about thoroughly. Love making the paper beads and putting them together to form earrings. Here are a couple that were finished within the last few minutes (tomorrow's outfit is the same colors so there may be another photo tomorrow.

The cell phone does not take good photos but you can kind of see the colors.

Aug 17 - Family

Spent the weekend on the road with my family. The heat was pretty intolerable especially with the high humidity so a road trip was nice. Much of the time was traveling from one destination to another. All along the way the scenery was beautiful. My camera is somewhere mixed in the with my nephew's stuff so I forgot to bring it with me. Thank goodness for cell phones so I was able to get a few photos.

Tomorrow is another big day with lots of "stuff" going on. Glad the week will only be three days long and then we have Labor Day right around the corner.

Going to keep this short tonight.

Aug 12 - First Reader from Nepal

Had my first reader from Nepal, which means time for an egg recipe. Found two recipes but think I can only make one of them. The first recipe is a "Nepalese Scrambled Egg" - great recipe but crappy photo http://allrecipes.com/recipe/nepalese-scrambled-eggs/; like the idea of fried red onions. The other recipe was the one I would really like to make but it calls for mustard oil. It took a lot of mustard oil to make the pickled egg but it looks like a winner https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kWcKBIo5a4 Might have to look for mustard oil when I go to Minneapolis this week.

When I was looking up Nepal, the CIA's website came up https://www.cia.gov/index.html . That was interesting in itself. Will have to explore this site another time. Ironically, I'm listening to an audio book written by someone who used to work for the CIA. The book I'm reading is pretty interesting and scary. The title is "The Great War of Our Time: The CIA's Fight Against Terrorism From al' Qa'ida to ISIS" by Michael Morell. Thought I needed to know more about "religious" terrorism since I figure someday my life will come to an end when I'm beheaded for not "wearing the mark." At least, I hope that I stand for my faith and not fall.

Spent a couple of hours tonight sorting the beads that I had made the last two weeks. Felt bad about the beads that I wrecked last week. There are so many single beads left that I like that are left from that batch. Will have to figure out what I am going to do with them. Got my jewelry making suitcase all packed and ready for my trip!!!

Aug 11 - Celebration?

Today would have been my wedding anniversary of 42 years; instead it was my divorce anniversary of 14 years. Time flies. I would have never divorced my husband and would have remained by his side through whatever came our way. Instead, I asked for a divorce because of him fooling around once too often. Yet, if he would have said "let's try making it work one more time", I would have given him that time. It would have been part of my marriage vows to forgive, move on, and improve. Didn't work that way. Now the celebration of living life without the verbal abuse is in its 14th year. Finally feel like I did when I was younger, even thought physically my body feels much older. I can't wait to see what's around the corner in the next couple of years. Had I not gotten the divorce, I wouldn't be where I am now. Don't get me wrong, because of my beliefs in marriage, I would have preferred staying married if effort had been made to keep it a marriage. I miss my son, his wife, and my grandsons. That is the worst part of the divorce. Even though I wasn't the betraying my vows, my son leans towards his father. Guess that what mom meant when she said the sons leave the house and the daughters remain. In heaven, I will have my time with my son and his family.

Haven't been posting lately but have been working on creating paper beads and make the process better. When putting on the varnish, a sponge brush is used. It's so slick to roll the paper bead over it (while it's on the toothpick). About 15 minutes later, it is dry and has to be loosened from the toothpick. This is done at least a couple more times to get a nice solid bead. Tomorrow night the beads will get matched up and ready for earring making.

Going to be spending time with my brother and his wife again and guess what my sister-in-law and I are going to do...Yes, the obvious answer is make earrings and you are correct on that. Will enjoy my vacation time from work with the two of them. Good times coming!!!

Aug 6 - European Visitors

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You (me) are responsible for confirming this notice actually works for your blog, and that it displays. If you (me) employ other cookies, for example by adding third party features, this notice may not work for you (me). Learn more about this notice and your responsibilities." Quote from Blogger.com

Well, I don't use cookies, however, I'll warn you that some of the websites that I post could use cookies. Guess I'll add a disclaimer that cookies are not always good for health, that is of your computer. I looked on my blog but Blogger.com didn't put any such notice on my blog. The only thing I do is watch where viewers are reading my blog. It also tells me what kind of system is used and the browser. It doesn't tell me anything else. I do not know where you live, how old you are, what sex you are, what nationality you are, etc. It just says that I have 1 Portugal view, 3 US viewers, 1 Vietnam reader, 2 Russian readers, etc. Knowing where my readers are located helps me keep doing this blog; otherwise I'd be just talking to myself and I do enough of that already.

Since I'm in the United States, I wonder how European Union laws can affect me. I'm not under the European Union laws. If someone doesn't want to read my blog, they don't read it. Big brother is everywhere anyway.

Aug 4 - Mistake on Bead Making

Got bored tonight and wanted to speed up the varnishing of my paper beads. Learned the hard way that shortcuts are sometimes not the answer. So I dipped my beads into the varnish instead of brushing the varnish on the beads. Hey, it looked great especially after I wiped up the excess varnish with a brush. Only wanted them to dry a little while to make sure the beads would come off the toothpicks. Guess I waited too long. Lost about 1/3 of the beads because they came apart. Had to pull so hard and ripped them to pieces or they wouldn't come off at all. Wasn't worth the time and effort and I lost a lot of beads. Out of the whole group there may only be 10 to 12 pairs left. Bummer and lesson learned.

Now that I'm looking at the beads, I lost about 67% of them. Darn, some of the ones that got wrecked were the ones I really wanted.

Aug 2 - Family Day

We were going to go to a play today but played instead. Went for a road trip. It was so hot out that the birds were pretty much in hiding. Did see a couple of sand cranes fly in but they disappeared between the bushes between the road and the pond. Saw a lot of monarch butterflies hanging out in the milkweed. Milkweed is making a nice comeback in the area. I can remember as a child, milkweed was everywhere. It was a cool plant because of the "milk" that came out of it when you broke a leaf off or broke them stem. Back then we didn't know monarchs needed milkweed.

The day was just great. Now next weekend my nephew (sister's son) comes home for a couple of weeks. Our family is going to meet at a place we all have to drive to but it's a central location. That way he gets to see everyone that is able to come. He hasn't been home for a couple of years so it will be good to get a hug from him.

Worked on some paper earrings made from scrapbook paper. After I spent time trying to roll the paper into beads, I realized magazine paper was much easier to roll plus the beads are prettier.

Today's paper bead start

The other thing that I like about the beads made out of magazines is that they aren't as stripped as the scrapbook paper. Compare the two and you'll be able to see the difference - the beads below have more of a geometric design to them and it would be difficult to make four identical beads.

Aug 1 - First reader from Isreal - How about Skshuka Eggs?

http://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/2010/07/summer-2010-travel-blog-shakshuka/  At Tori's website, I found not only the recipe for shakshuka but also a restaurant that looks like I want to be there to try everything in it...Dr Shakshuka's in Israel. When you first look at the photos of the restaurant, you might think it's not a good place to eat but look closely at the floor and look how clean it is! I'd love to eat here and try their shakshuka. I think it's pretty close, if not identical, to another egg recipe from a different country that I posted not long ago. Just last week, I opened my container of cumin and wondered what I was going to use it in and now I know. Looked at the price of eggs today. You can buy eggs at the local grocery store for $3.69 or you can buy them at a local convenience store for $1.29. The convenience store is family and employee owned. I'm not worried about the eggs from them at all because they go through so many of them.

Isn't it kind of ironic that we hear about the killing of Cecil six weeks after it happened and yet today, within hours we hear of the killing of his brother. Wonder why it took so long to hear the story about Cecil. And why with all of the publicity, did someone poach his brother. At least now Zimbabwe has stopped all big game hunting. However, according to a news report, many people there make their living from legal big game hunts. They are limited by their resources for what they can do. Vicious cycle.

Today gave me the opportunity to make some more paper beads. It wasn't as fun as it was when I was at my brother and his wife's making them. Even though it is something one person does, it's nice to have conversation while making them.

Doesn't it look like a birthday cake?

Going to start putting new earrings away without wearing them. That way I can decide later what to do with them. Still going to give the majority away but I think I want to start wearing Donna's Diamoniques again.

These are fabric earrings made from some Oriental-looking fabric. Got my Silhoutte's sheets today but the glue on them doesn't hold fabric together. Too light weight so now I'll have to go to Michael's, Hobby Lobby, and JoAnn Fabrics to get the small sheets on sale. Need to find a place that I can order them and not pay an arm and a leg for them. Going to check out Dick Blick's to see if the product they sell might be less expensive than the other places - plus I can save 18% by ordering online. It's typically less expensive to order online than to drive 80 to 100 miles.

July 31 - Big Game Hunting - Bet you Palmer would like

Arnold Schartzenegger wants the killing of big cats stopped. Id' like to see married men keep their marriage vows. Arnold has a much better chance of his wish. I wish a "hero" like him wouldn't have cheated on his wife. This story about the poaching will die down quickly. There's so much poaching going on in the United States but very little is done. I'd like to see Betty White and Bob Barker stand up against poachers in the United States. On another thought swan killing is illegal in one state but legal in another. By the way, you can kill lions in Zimbabwe if you do it legally. If Palmer had killed the lion legally, you wouldn't have heard this story. Don't get me wrong, poaching is poaching and it should be illegal. Also, I don't approve of big game hunting. http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/cecil-lions-killer-walter-palmer-contacts-authorities-n402081 Most people would like to have a chance to live one day over to do it the right way. I wonder if Palmer would have not killed the lion or if he would have also killed an elephant on that day.

On a side note, I'd like to see Zimbabwe make female genital mutilation illegal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prevalence_of_female_genital_mutilation_by_country#Zimbabwe

Today's earrings

July 30 - Planned Parenthood

Gave little thought to Planned Parenthood until the July 30 after watching the video from the Post Bulletin in Rochester MN. So many families are already so torn apart and values discarded. The State representative from Rochester is lucky her mother didn't abort her. Remember Michael Crichton's book about the suspended bodies kept alive for parts? Now we have baby parts and experimenting with fetuses. Wouldn't you think PETA would be in the front line on this??? They protect animals but not their own kind?  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPfE5yOgh20

http://kimt.com/2015/07/28/abortion-issue-hits-rochester/

Today's earrings

July 29 - Grilled Cheese

Today at work we talked about the grilled cheese sandwich that is wrapped in bacon. That sounds so good but I don't have any bacon on hand. But I do have blue cheese (delicious looking chunk of it!), cream cheese and bread. Might have to buy an artisan bread because not only do they look good, but they taste good. Found a blog  with a blue cheese/cream cheese grilled cheese recipe http://grilledcheesesocial.com/2010/10/28/blue-buffalo-buffalo-chicken-grilled-cheese-with-franks-hot-sauce/

It calls for another cheese but maybe I'll substitute one of the other cheeses that have been waiting for something other than slices.

Anxiously awaiting for heirloom tomatoes to be in our local coop. Even though the price is high for them, I can get three tomato steak sandwiches out of them so the cost is lowered because of that. The heirloom tomatoes are so large that a good slice of it is the same size as a beef steak. MMMMMM Then after I've had the tomato sandwiches for a couple of days, I'll add bacon to the last sandwich.

All of this will be coming to an end in October but I can enjoy some bacon once in a while up until then.

Today's earrings are another pair made with fabric beads. Tonight I ordered some double sided fusion sheets so I can make some more fabric beads. It's frustrating to use the little half sheet sheets because they're so expensive. Found a site on Amazon that sold 8 sheets of 8 1/1" x 11" for the same price as 5 sheets of the half-size - plus it was free shipping. Lot better than buying the half sheets at a craft store even.

Kind of a funny story. Had to go to the bank for work today. As I was sitting there waiting for my deposit slip, I noticed something in the middle of the street blowing around. Looked again and realized that it was someone's bra. First time I've seen something like that blowing in the wind.

July 28 - Fabric Bead Earrings Black/White

Need to make more fabric bead earrings. I like how they look almost as much, if not more, than the fingernail-finished paper beads. Black and white fabric is easy to come by and the beads looks nice for any occasion.

Unhappy about this next topic. Another Minnesotan became famous, but not in a good way. A dentist from Minnesota went hunting, legally, and killed a lion. I can't imagine Africa being overrun with lions. Also wonder why didn't he just spend the money in the United States and hunt on one of those places that have wild animal hunts. Game farms are all around here but in this area the animals are birds and deer. There's probably more animals than that but those are the ones I know of and have seen the fenced in areas. Wonder how many patients this dentist is going to lose....yes, he was hunting legally but in this day and age, where's the common sense? Glad I'm not his patient otherwise I'd be hunting for a new dentist.  http://www.grindtv.com/wildlife/hunter-who-killed-cecil-the-famous-african-lion-identified-as-minnesota-dentist/#U8dpksjOfrZAz6eJ.97

The next website may leave a bad taste in your mouth because it's about game farms in the United States. Even though I don't like it, I'd rather have someone hunt on a game farm than in the wild. The writers make it sound like the animals are really penned in and don't have a place to hide but that isn't true of all game farms. Actually, how far do animals really travel if they aren't facing drought or famine conditions? For the Midwest area, wild game animals don't have to travel far because food and water is readily available. http://www.bornfreeusa.org/a9d_hunts.php Never hunted on a game farm but have hunted in the wild. Even fished in a controlled trout stream and I liked it.

Wonder when they're going to have human game farms. That might make the tables turn...do you think the dentist would volunteer to be on the opposite side of the gun?

Today's earrings made with fabric beads

July 27 - Earrings my sister-in-law made

These are the earrings my sister-in-law made and gave to me. Really like the dragonfly between the paper bead and the round bead at the bottom. Will use this idea in the future (and probably often!).

We've had some pretty big dragonflies around here this summer. Some are as big as small birds. You can find pretty dragonfly photos at http://dragonflywebsite.com/dragonfly-slideshow.cfm

Around here at night we've had a lot of fireflies and now baby bats. Didn't know that the male fireflies fly around while looking for female fireflies who are on the ground. That was interesting...you can always learn something from somewhere. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sC2OkCEdqU4

July 26 - Brother and me

Spent most of my day with my youngest brother starting with breakfast. Came home and went through everything that I had taken out of my trunk yesterday (Had to make room for taking all of our food up to the picnic.). Because I hadn't gone through the stuff in my trunk when I bought the car last year, thought it would be a good time to toss what I didn't need. Last year when I got my car, it was windy and drizzling freezing rain. Oh it was so cold! This morning was a little humid but Bobbi sat with me on the porch while going through the "stuff". Threw three bags of things away that I didn't need and then got everything back into the trunk. Remember, I'm a very organized person so you can imagine what my trunk looks like. Yes, it is very compartmental and fully functional, besides handy to get at things.

Was going to make earrings this afternoon but chose to rearrange my craft area which is in my living room. I'm the only one to use this area so it's kept with my needs in mind. It may look cluttered but like my trunk, it's very functional and handy. If I had to put my beading stuff in a different location, it would be a short-lived hobby. This way, I can make beads or assemble earrings any time I please.

Got tickets for a play next Sunday. My brother and his wife are going with my sister and I to it. Should be fun - it's a musical!

Today's earrings

July 25 - Family Picnic

Late post - had a family picnic yesterday. It was with my siblings, spouses for those who had them, niece and nephews, along with their families. Like most family picnics, we had more than enough food and speaking for myself, I ate way too much. What was nice was being able to share food to take home so no one should have had to cook at least one meal today. The drive was beautiful. My brother and his wife, and my sister and I drove together. That was a first time the four of us had ever ridden anywhere together. Very nice and long conversations too.

Shared my earrings with everyone so that was kind of fun. Going to give them away anyway so it's nice to give them to someone I know. My sister-in-law, who we share many common interests, gave me a pair of her earrings she made. They are so cute and I'm doing to make some modeled after those. Have to buy more stuff to assemble earrings...maybe in the next week or so. Think I should use up more of the stuff I have before I buy more.

Here are today's earrings

July 24 - Bobbi and the Door Knob

Bobbi loves going out on the porch. It's too bad there's not a cat door on the door going to the porch. It would be convenient to her and to me too. Might buy a bell and hang it on the porch. Maybe she'll learn to ring it when she wants to come in. I know dogs do that so why can't she...after all, she thinks she's a dog. She's usually the first one at the door when someone comes home. The other night the sirens went off (fire trucks) and Bobbi was on alert. She realized that in order for her to go outside, the doorknob has to be used. Here's her in her glory waiting for the beloved doorknob to turn

She used to sit by the door but now waits in the chair for someone to open the door. Might have to put a muzzle on her because she meows until the door gets opened. Just joking...

Today's earrings

July 23 - Earrings only

My cell phone camera works pretty good but when you don't have lights on, the pictures turn out like this. These earrings were made from a hunting magazine. Think it was a photo of a turkey.

July 22 - Hump Day - Yes, There is someone happier on Wednesday than a camel - me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LtjzQaFZ3k Great commercial and it's especially nice because it's about one of my favorite days of the week, Wednesday, or hump day.

Found another interesting website on Humpday pictures. Will have to check out it out another day because it's too late to go exploring on the site. http://www.lovethispic.com/tag/humpday

Today's earrings are another pair of paper beads. Used fingernail polish on them. Really like how the fingernail polish classes up the earrings. The photo doesn't do the earrings justice because the color is beautiful. The one earring looks pretty close like it looks whereas the other earring must have caught the flash. The earrings are a combination of blues and greens. The round bead is actually greens with purple.

Had an interesting experience

July 21 - Sister's New Earrings, Donald Trump and Governor Walker

This is really scary...Donald Trump is leading Governor Walker in the polls. It's pretty bad when someone like Donald Trump beats you in the polls. Hope people are paying attention. If you think Donald Trump is a loose cannon, he probably is. If you think that would be hard to beat, think again...Governor Walker says he's in support of one thing and then a year later, he supports something else. Oh, but then again if you read Trump's tweet, "all our soldiers are heroes" http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/19/politics/marco-rubio-donald-trump-john-mccain-disqualifier/. At least Donald Trump takes a stand, as dumb as it might be, but he takes a stand. https://www.yahoo.com/politics/trump-gives-out-lindsey-grahams-cellphone-number-124680452426.html Still like my Republican Marco Rubio and even more so today.

Worked on a pair of earrings for my sister last night. At first, she thought they were going to be too long but after they were done, they seemed a good length. Didn't want to wait  for an order of 3" gold head pins to be shipped to me so I went on YouTube and learned how to make my own head pins. Think I'll buy a little heavier gauge wire because the 24 gauge was a little too flexible. It was kind of fun to make the head pins because they have their own little spin. Like the spin of the bottom - check it out

The look pretty dark but the color of the paper bead is a mixture of pinks and peach colors.

July 20 - Unhealthy Salads and Bad Things in Coffee

Learned a little bit more about life today. A salad is not necessarily healthy. That I already knew but still like my Taco John's ground beef taco salad with dressing and two sour creams. Couldn't find the calories for this on Internet but it's probably on my phone app. Will have to check on it later. Another thing I looked up was how bad some things are that I put in my coffee. The only bad thing in it is the non dairy creamer, which I'm trying to cut back on. Another bad thing in my coffee world is Kwik Trip's salted caramel mocha. What helps me there is that one-half of it is hot water. Their 50cent special on coffee is done August 13 so that will be the end of my special drinks each morning. here's on the salads:   https://www.yahoo.com/health/the-10-unhealthiest-salads-you-can-order-124095339493.html
Here is on the coffee: http://www.eatclean.com/scoops/worst-coffee-add-ins?cid=synd_Yahoo_Jul15_TheFiveAbsoluteWorstThingsYouCanAddtoYourCoffee

Pretty much everything I do now is an improvement over what I did a year ago. I'm no angel and there will always be bad things in my life like the foods mentioned above. Could be a lot worse because the bad food is not an every day occurrence.

Today's earrings look like they were made from my blouse's fabric but they weren't:

They almost look like chameleon earrings... Here they are without my blouse material in the background:

July 19 - Great Day!

Started out the day with breakfast with my brother and my sister. A family friend who I've known all my life was there. He was my oldest brother's age and I think they graduated together. He was going golfing today with one of his friends. Found out his sister lives in the same town as my brother and sister-in-law. Going to have to check this out.

Grilled pork steak for lunch and then for supper, my sister made Mo's Mom's Enchiladas. They were so good. Don't think I'd ever get sick of having the enchiladas the way my sister makes them. The recipe originally came from Mo's mom who was from Oklahoma or that area. My nephew was in the service with Mo.

Made a bunch of fabric bead earrings today. Like the end result but I get bored cutting the material and rolling it. Got a deal on some beautiful fabric yesterday with metallic thread but it wasn't fun to work with. Ended up taking a match to the finished bead to burn off the fabric strings. Then had to put some deodorizer on them to get rid of the burn smell. Turned out to be pretty good beads but very labor intensive.

After supper came the task of figuring out what pieces to put together. Got about eight pair done before my thumb nail couldn't take any more. I use my thumb nail to wrap the headpin so it is sturdy when it's attached to the ear wire.

What I want to do this week is finish assembling the fabric bead earrings and start making some paper beads again. Really like the shimmer effect from the fingernail polish and will be doing quite a bit of those.  Also, there were some good videos on making your own head pins. Need some 3" gold head pins to make some earrings for my sister so I'm going to make my own instead of buying them. Worth trying out to see if I like them. If I had a torch and a couple of other tools, I might like it better but no sense spending more money on this hobby. If I decide to go to a craft show with my sister-in-law, then I might consider it as long as I sell enough. However, it needs to remain an enjoyable hobby and not work.

Today's earrings were made from buttons that typically are used for bridal things. Of course, these are black but I've seen brides in black before. These come six or eight to a pack so there won't be anything unique about them but they are pretty, especially when they're not distorted like it shows in the phot.