The candle of hope

As I am starting this, I don't know what the title is. I've been making Christmas cards, but I don't want to post them here until they are all done. I'm also trying to slowly put out a few Christmas decorations, and clear off things.  The tree is all lovely and full of light. There's an almost full moon out there. It's cold enough that you can see your breath if your are looking for it. 

My friend is out of the hospital fortunately. Still sick, not sure what that was all about. I am praying for no more loss this year. It's enough to hear about so many sick and dying all over the world. Somehow trusting that God knows what He's doing...

I sorted out some piles today so that's good. Some of them don't seem to get smaller, but they have to, since I am carefully avoiding making them larger. There are several bags ready for the thrift store, so hopefully tomorrow will get over there to dump them off. Some things I am sort of holding my breath about, some of my mom's things, some of my dad's, because I can't keep everything. I know that someone somewhere will treasure them, and so I will let them go, since that's much better than sitting in a box for who knows how many years. 

All in all... week one of Advent. The candle of prophecy, the candle of hope. The candles are supposed to be purple, but I don't have purple, so white will have to do. As I think about hope, I can reflect on hope in the midst of this darkness in our world. It will not last forever. 

how are you doing with the sad?

I bravely put up my bitty tree. The lights are too big, the snowflakes are too big. For tonight it will stay this way, but I don't like how the snowflakes look, or the lights. I think it is partly because I want everything to be different. 

I need to go paint something, and figure out how to turn the sad off. Thinking of my friend in the hospital tonight, wondering how he's doing, not knowing, and too late to ask tonight. Wrong time zone... haven't heard from him for a couple days, don't want to bug someone in the hospital but sure want to know. 

I lit a candle for him today, I know, I'm not Catholic, or Lutheran. But it's Advent. 

Today's silliness

Just today's silliness. I didn't do anything crafty, I cleaned. That's crafty I guess in some ways. Now the toaster is shining, and the mixer, and the countertops aren't stained. The stovetop is shining again after a LOT of scraping and scrubbing. I love/hate glass tops, I can never seem to give up unless ALL SPOTS ARE SCRAPED OFF and it is all shiny.

And I made those "sugar free, artificial sweetener free" SURE>>>> brownies.

We each had a taste, and it was lovely, but we're both a little afraid of consequences.  I'm annoyed that 1. I didn't read the comments and 2. that I saw "no artificial sweeteners" and just got it and 3. that maltitol is not considered "artificial sweetener? That is goofy all by itself. But I sure won't get it again. Learn. READ THE LABEL>

I also transferred a bunch of posts from my "old" blog today. If the title has ... at the end, it's the "other" blog. Mostly, it is sentimental stuff or faith stuff, not crafty. Originally, THAT was the "thinking" blog and this was the "crafty" blog. I decided to merge the two last year when I realized that nobody was really reading either one, and I just wanted to deal with ONE blog (rather two instead of three... I still have another one, with recipes. LOL) https://recipesbldforme.blogspot.com/  if you want to find out what catches my eye. Some I LOVE and others I haven't tried. I do have this fight between myself about keto and paleo and vegetarian and The See-Food diet. Mostly I do the last one, at least lately. 

I am planning on labeling all the ones I've put here from the other site "updated" and have some of them but not all. There are also topics, such as dementia, or whatever on the right side over there, and if I have tagged a post with something, you can see them all at once. I still have a couple years' worth of posts left, but I'm not transferring ALL, and I am deleting some. 

So when the last post is transferred, in a week or so, I'm going to have a blog party. If nobody comes to my party, I will just take me out to dinner or something. Otherwise, I will have a prize for someone. 

And maybe I'll have to write a book or something. 

fun stuff!!

I do love to do these teensy rolodex cards. This one is in honor of GZ and MZ. I took over a jar of pickles to them, and of course they can't just accept it and be done, they must reciprocate. So G sent over a little bag of chocolate and salted caramel covered almonds. OHHHHH. So yummy. The ribbon on this is from the package. That little bird said it well. 

Not sure how I'm going to do it, but I'm thinking a thank you for the thank you may happen LOL

The other thing I did was start the Mixed Media Morsels Snack Bag journal. It's another teensy thing. The little journal is 3 1/2 by 3 3/4 inches. The bag themselves are only a bit more than 6 inches tall, they are meant to be snack bags. I think the ones I found are even smaller than what Cat did, but that's okay. The tiny things are just so much fun. 

The outside is not my art. It's from a card that was in my Stencil Girl order. But it was perfect!! The band around it is a hair elastic headband. I got a pack of those, thinking I would use them for my hair, but I have a large head so they are too small. This purple one was a great color for this, so I knotted it in the middle. Cat takes two hair elastics and loops them together for binding these tiny books, but this will work just fine.

Here's what the inside looks like, just blank, with a couple bag "pages" in it. There are videos with page ideas, so I'm going to get going on this. This was 2019's project, I did 2020's except for December. Yes I'm "arting" a lot but it's way better than the alternative, which seems to be wringing my hands and pacing these days. Arting helps me focus on the good stuff, and so does writing, which is why this blog exists. Funny though, I really have only told a few friends, so most of those who read it are internet buddies. Hope those of you who keep on reading enjoy my little patch of the world.

I also ordered a kit from Cat. It is for a journal in a tin. I've thought of that, for the Altoid tins I can't seem to toss. I made a teensy doll to go in one, and might do a journal in one. It actually would be fun to do these tiny things and give as gifts. 

Hmm or maybe a blog giveaway...  I can't believe that I've been doing this for so long.

Dollhouse stuff (musings)

This crazy blog is kind of a strange thing. I always have this urge to document everything, and yet this is not exactly In Order, because I just put things here as I think of them.

And I have been thinking about my old dollhouse. It was the 50s. It was probably tin, it bent easily when played with. It was a 2 story thing, arranged as usual, with a kitchen, a living room, two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. Kind of like this one....     

https://images.app.goo.gl/yUa8en9rvNEXMotC9

I had a mishmash of odd furniture, some I made, mostly plastic furniture. I don't have the dollhouse, but I do have a little box with some of the furniture. There used to be a refrigerator but it got broken beyond repair. A bathroom sink, too, that who knows where it went. And a little sewing machine that you could crank and it would go up and down! I didn't keep many of my childhood toys, but I loved that doll house, but, like most of my other toys, it was given away without my consent when my mom thought I wasn't playing with it any more. This stuff must have been hidden somehow, because for some reason, I still have it, along with my "family"...

I never thought that my dollhouse family was odd. It didn't have a Mom and Dad and Big Brother and Little Sister like the families that you can get for dollhouses.  I remember one time asking my mom about my doll house family and she didn't remember anything about the doll house, much less the family. I just wondered why nobody ever got me an actual family for the dollhouse. All I had were these little porcelain dolls. I don't even know how I got them, and my mom didn't remember either. Who knows.

So my family was this strange assortment. The Cowboy, The Uncle, and the orphans. I remember playing that these poor neglected children lived with the Cowboy and The Uncle. I don't know what kind of a place they were running... there was nothing sinister in my play, I just played with what I had. They were precious to me, and as you can see, well played with.

I did some research and found out that the cowboy was from a Cowboy and Indians set, and The Uncle was actually someone's groom. The kids were supposedly quite common, they were made in Japan. I don't remember naming them, they were just The Orphans. 

Now the little box sits in Liv's doll house which is waiting for them to move into an actual house instead of an apartment. Oh well. Liv's dollhouse family was bears, and I made a Goldilocks clothespin doll who for some reason now has no clothes that I can find, and there are only a couple bears left. So I got her an new family for the house, and her play stuff is in a file box. So now they need a house, and we don't need a pandemic so we can go to that new house and deliver this house.

This little girl is about 2 1/4 inches tall. I really would like to remember where she came from, but I probably will never know. 

Maybe why I don't throw things away easily has something to do with my mom's attitude. I remember my aunt, after dinner, would whisk your plate away the minute you put down your fork, whether or not you had food on the plate. I always felt like my mom too was lingering by my toys, and would grab them if she thought I might have lost interest. I don't know how my dollhouse toys survived. They must have been hidden. I found out that my original-in-the-box Barbie had been given away when I visited the neighbors and found her brushing Barbie's hair, which, if you remember the original Barbie, was NOT intended to be brushed. I remember crying for days. So after that, I guarded my stuff. I guess I'm still guarding it. I guess that's also why I have a bookcase full of my kids' toys, waiting for grandkids who can't come. 

 

Thanksgiving

oh dear, I've been thinking again. Our American "Thanksgiving" is kind of confusing, so I'm just going to decided how *I* want to celebrate it and that's what it is. Especially this year. Last night I found out about a dear friend in the ICU... I don't think it's COVID but I don't know for sure, I texted with him for only a minute, he said he's never been so sick in his life. Don't know yet what that means, and of course, I don't want to bug him by asking, it doesn't help to ask.

So. Thanksgiving. I am thankful for lots of things. He made it through the night. We are another day closer to the end of a pandemic, although I wonder how that will be, I don't think it will be one day "it's over" so who knows. 

Last week, we bought a turkey roast. But it was a bit too soon, because I was going to have to freeze it, and then thaw it, and so we just baked it. And ate it. So I decided upon Plan B, which was some chicken soup. I ended up making that yesterday, because both of us thought it sounded like a wonderful idea. However, that left me with nothin today.

So I grabbed a pound of hamburger out of the freezer, and the cream cheese that needed to get used up, and a can of mushroom soup, mixed them all together with some zoodles, and voila we have an actual meal, with veggies and everything. We both ate it, and it was good. A little onions, a little garlic, some Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Not fancy but good.

The other day I made brownies. We are doing low carb because of hubby's diabetes, so I did a low carb version. FAIL. Unless you like chocolate crackers. Actually not bad if you thought of them as thin crispy cookies. Definitely not "brownies". So since I was ordering something else on line I ordered a package of sugar free brownies, it also said "no artificial sweeteners" so I thought all was good. Well I don't know WHAT I was thinking, brownies that aren't sweet? Well there's sweetener all right, malitol. It's an alcohol sugar. I'll leave you and google to figure out what is the problem with malitol. It doesn't affect EVERYONE badly, but I am not taking a chance, but hubby wants to... to top it off, you have to bake them in a 9 inch glass pan (I don't have one) inside another pan (who has that setup??) with water in it. I sense another FAIL coming. 

But I'm going to laugh and not cry if it's a fail, and I am NOT eating any of these. I have ingredients for regular brownies, and I am not diabetic. Of course a whole pan full?? Not all in one day, I'll freeze them. 

Meantime, back to painting, I'm starting another of Cat Hand's series while I'm waiting for the next Mini Morsel. This one is snack bags, from last year. It will be fun. Usually I paint what I want, but this is helping me get started. So that's good.

I may or may not say if any of the brownies turn out well. There's a Raley's down the street, within walking distance really, and they have brownies already made, I'm pretty sure. HA. 

evidence of love.

Not all days are good days, despite what you might think when you read blogs. So many of them seem to just highlight the fantastic wonderful times. Well, right now I am struggling to stay in the light. That is the way it is. I read somewhere that a dark time is not a hole to dig out of, but a season to get through. That helped. Sometimes people blame you for the depression. I don't condemn myself for being in a dark place; but staying here is not good, nor fun. So I have to ask myself, what do I need? Right now, it is to acknowledge that there are good reasons for feeling how I am right now. If it didn't hurt to lose folks, or miss people.... well, maybe then I am not right in the head. 

Usually when I journal darkness, I paint over the dark and turn it to light. But I want to acknowledge this darkness. Anyone would be in the dark when friends, acquaintances, relatives died. Anyone would be in the dark when there's a pandemic going on and when we can't gather with our loved ones on Thanksgiving and Christmas. When there are new baby grandchildren that this grandma can't hold and breathe in new baby smells and how much it nourishes the heart to see them?? Anyone would be grieved by all of this, if not, maybe one should be. 

There's lots of good, don't get me wrong. I have a pot of soup simmering on the stove. It was supposed to be for tomorrow, a "special dinner" for Thanksgiving. But I need it today. I put on my Sharon slippers when I need reminding that friends are still there, they still love, I still love, I still appreciate. 

My Sharon slippers were made by a dear friend who moved away many years ago and I have not seen since. She was one of those friends who had your back, who understood, who didn't condemn you when you weren't totally upbeat. She didn't run from my depression at the time, she admitted her own, and finding out we were going through the same medication crazies helped. Years later, I got a package in the mail, the Sharon slippers she made for me. I don't wear slippers much, but sometimes that's what I need.

Yesterday we went on a walk. I needed that. Today there's soup. Probably another walk, since it's gorgeous out. Maybe I'll eat one of those delightful candied almonds that Gary sent over. Look at the wonderful stained glass things that were made by my son, my daughter, my uncle, my father.  Aunt Eunice's painting. The "Be Happy" embroidered by my mom. The rose that Mavis gave me yesterday. Look at the orchids that are STILL ALIVE in spite of my brown thumb. Look at my dear husband who does not run from my bad times, but listens. And there's Bad Cat, who is a stinker and can be mean, but if you treat her right, she will sit on your lap for five minutes. 

So focus on the good. But I'm not forgetting the blob of grief in there, because if I didn't love I wouldn't grieve. I'm missing some people terribly. Marilyn. Loretta. My parents. Virginia. Ann. Erla. Edith. John M. Dennie, and the many others from where my parents lived for 17 years. Lots of days go by where I don't think of the blob at all, but other days it's there in its bigness. It's like it says, you want to grieve for S. or K. or V.??? (the ones gone within the last month) then you have to remember ALL THAT YOU LOST. Now that's not truth; I'm allowed to have just small grief. Or think of the fact that all these folks are with the Lord!!! I remember when my nephew died, all I could think was he was dancing in the streets of heaven, no more pain, no more cancer treatments... that's a pretty big crowd of the folks I knew up there. We miss them here. My heart aches for the families. For the children left behind. For the aunts and uncles and cousins. And the friends. 

 I miss Marilyn's laughter and encouragement, I miss Loretta's companionship and our sewing together. I miss Edith's knowing when what I needed was a cup of tea and to talk about baseball. I miss Erla's upbeat humor even when she was on oxygen and in a wheelchair and still smiled. I miss Dennie's quiet ways and how she loved my parents. I miss my birthday bunch, I'm the only one left. 

BUT.... I have been blessed in my life, with these friendships, the ones I knew well and the ones who I only knew when they were helping assemble bulletins or volunteering as a receptionist or babysitting. Some that I miss aren't gone, but I never see them. I COULD send a card or make a call.... I need to remember that if I had not been so blessed with these friendships, I would not grieve. So the grief is EVIDENCE OF LOVE.

I have wonderful memories of Edith's tea, Erla's laughter, Dennie's quiet smile. I even have a vase she gave my mom. It has silk roses in it and it is beautiful. It was precious to my mother until she died.  

Looking to the light doesn't mean not acknowledging the darkness. I need to look to the light in spite of the darkness, knowing that I won't always SEE the light, but that it never really goes away; but the shadows don't either. For some of us with clinical depression, it's tougher to stay out of the shadows. But sometimes when I just dive in the shadows, and really allow myself to feel them, I can also see the light more clearly. So instead of thinking of the dark as The Enemy, I can think of it as contrast; like looking at a homeless person and being reminded of how MUCH I have. Not in the sense of being better, because I know, but for the grace of God I am not in the same place. 

   

GRIEF IS EVIDENCE THAT WE LOVED.....

pretties from an autumn walk

went walking today for once. It was nice out, sweatshirt weather but not super cold. Felt good to be out walking. I realized I hadn't even been out in days. Sad sad. 

Spattered Rolodex #2

Watching a video today with a woman who is harvesting in her garden, and cooking and cooking. I need some of that energy. I haven't eaten yet today, and know that if I don't eat I won't have energy. So I better get with it. 

#2 rolodex that is spattered. I do like the result, but I like things DIFFERENT and not all the same. I'll probably save the last two for another time.

It says "You are strong" if you can't read it. I'm not feeling strong today so thought it was a good time to remind myself that yes, I am strong. I am a survivor. I serve a mighty God. So right now is just a season to get through, one day at a time. One meal at a time. 

 

rolodex gone crazy

I have a very vivid imagination. That's a GOOD thing; it's also a bad thing. I'm really enjoying doing rolodex cards. It's fun doing things that get done quickly, and not a lot of money spent. I've watched a few videos, and actually listened to someone talk about how this rolodex/memorydex thing got started. 

It seems to me it's genius. However, you wouldn't want ALL your pictures done this way, it's too tiny. Maybe. They could be mounted full size; on some kind of stiffer base that would hold it. Recipes. Address cards instead of my file box. On and on. FUN!! my imagination loves imagining. 

Enough of my wandering. 

Number one of the spattered/painted cards. This one is in honor of my brand new granddaughter born last Friday. Under the Happy Day is another piece of tape with her name and details. I don't want to display that here. This was fun to be able to just grab a background, and I think I may do more series of four or six basic cards to finish differently.

And here's my helper today. She had a piece of onion skin on her nose, which means she has been on the kitchen counter. I never see her there, but I do find footprints there once in awhile, and rarely, she gets into the window. She destroyed one blind already... and she broke one of the pieces on the new one. Silly cat. This morning she's running around insanely. She keeps us entertained anyway.

  

rolodex revisited: the messy start

I watched a video today, two actually, who were doing rolodex cards. I suppose I should give credit somehow but I don't think it's a "new" idea. 

First they taped together cards. The first one was doing each one the same basically, 16 of them! I didn't want to do that. The next was eight, but I settled on four. I figured no more than four similar cards for my own collection, even though they will have different sayings and embellishments, and I did not do them identically. The first lady did sewing on her cards, I'm not ready for that yet, I don't have enough sewing machine needles to designate one to paper.

The first picture is part way done, I used black and white washi tape to connect them on the front. Then I put blobs of color on, and painted how I felt like it. For some I used sponge (my current favorite way of painting) and other colors I brushed on. I dried each layer so I wouldn't get mud, 

The second picture is done and cut apart, but I haven't embellished them yet, maybe tomorrow. I will probably add some more stamping and stenciling as I finish each one. I like the start, though, it's easier than doing one at a time. I usually work on paper and then glue it on, and I still think that is easier with the painting part. I ordered a punch, so I think I will go back to that method. I'll do a whole background page and cut out my favorite parts and use the rest for other projects such as cards, Motivations, Art journal pages, collage... things rarely go to waste.

a little different kind of creativity

I've always been a rock hound. My mom always found rocks in my pockets, and the habit didn't really stop. I of course got to know the law about not picking up things in parks... but I have been known to go into the little gift shops and BUY rocks. 

I found several containers of little rocks here and there in my cleaning/decluttering, and today decided to find some kind of place to actually display them so I could enjoy them. I also raided my "rock collection" which is one of those plastic containers with dividers. Most stayed there, the geodes and bigger rock specimens. I should say the MEDIUM ones. I also have LARGE rocks. 

Here's the box. The ones with words on them I got, would you believe, at the DOLLAR TREE. 

Some I got in little bags of rocks from here and there. Some I bought at a bead store! There are a few dyed rocks in there, like the one in the bottom right corner. There are a few metal things with words too, you can see "peace" if you look closely. 

When I was in seventh grade, I participated in a Science Fair, and I decided to show off my rock collection. I was talking to the lady who lived across the street, and she said her father in law was a rock hound too and he invited me to come and visit his rock workshop! He gave me a few things, like the rocks on the left, a petrified fish and a tiny slice of petrified wood. He also gave me some industrial diamonds from Nevada, which of course some wise guy stole from my display! 

I'm thankful for that man, who took time out of his busy day to show me so much that made my eyes pop! We talked about the different kinds of rocks, and he showed me so many examples and told me where they came from.

This one I picked up "somewhere" I don't remember but I thought it was one of the coolest river rocks I had ever seen so it went in my pocket. 

Most of the rocks I have are small. My collection was smallish rocks and sometimes labeled collections within my collection. But once in awhile I would find a big rock that I just loved. On the land "up the hill" I found a gorgeous pink quartz. It is around three inches across and was just sitting there semi buried in the dirt.

A few were from Oregon, when my brother went there and brought them home and for some reason just dumped them on the hill. When I moved up there, I found them. Finders Keepers I said, but I asked if he wanted them, and he fortunately said no.

So here are some of the bigger rocks. That quartz is on the right. 

I don't remember when I got that pahoehoe. It's lava that hardens slowly into very smooth and ropy formations. That's right in the front. Some of this I have no idea where I got it or what it is. The butterfly is one of my dad's creations.

My dad got a rock polisher once. It took WEEKS to polish in its tumbler. A few of these rocks (the tiny ones) came from there. It is NOT an instant gratification hobby, and you can imagine having that tumbler humming in your shop for weeks? I think he only did it once. 

It was good to have parents that let me follow my interests. As crazy as they were. Not the rock collecting, although I did go a bit overboard with that. I haven't collected any lately, except for the little baggie of rocks that JP put in my pocket when he was 2 or so and I got home with them accidentally, but I put them in a little baggie and it makes me smile to look at them. 

So there's a tiny bit of creating (cardboard and felt put in the bottom of a little wooden box) and a lot of nostalgia. That box is going to be on the table in my little game corner of the dining room. Just in case someone needs to know.

Motivation#11 it was bound to happen.

Carolyn Dube has taught us that OOPS just means Outstanding Opportunity Presenting Suddenly.

Well, this oops can't be fixed, and that's the way it is.

I put the page UPSIDE DOWN in my little book. So OH WELL. I really like the page, so that's good.

So I don't do upside cards anymore, I check and double check. I didn't, obviously, double check. I just don't see an easy way to turn it around, since it is on the back of another page. So I'll just have to live with it. 

As usual, the sentiment fits the page!

Good advice for next time...

so....... couldn't stand it. HAD TO CHANGE IT to be right side up. So I carefully peeled stuff off and this is what it looks like now, so that I can go to sleep now, knowing that it is fixed. 

I may have to find a heart to fit in that slightly empty striped spot lower left. I have the perfect punch, and the perfect paper. Then I will be satisfied. And it will not be upside down any more. 

I'm a strange mix. On the one hand, my art style tends to the more casual and imperfect, but on the other hand, I am a perfectionist. How does that work? As illustrated by this page where I HAD TO HAVE IT RIGHT SIDE UP. And I could not stop until it was RIGHT. 

It's way past my bedtime.

by the way. The posting time is when I STARTED the post. It was around 2 am when I finished this finally. Just so you know that 8:09 pm is NOT past my bedtime.

Motivation # 10. One more until I am caught up!

This one made me laugh, because it felt like everything was going wrong and I was getting grumpy about it. I found the birds in the sticker drawer, so that helped. I learned from Cat that you shouldn't try to fasten the delicate leaves with glue stick, so I used Gina K's connect glue, that ought to hold them.

I think however I am more proud of the pizza. Low carb. We've been gaining weight in honor of the pandemic, and hubby's blood sugar has been out of control so we are going back to low carb. Here's the start. LOL... I also have my eye on a low carb Brownie recipe. When hubby finishes cleaning the kitchen I'm going to make another mess. hehe

Motivation # 9

Just Must Create. 

The right side of the page has names of those whose creativity has inspired me. I scribbled a lot because I could never name them all. 

Motivation #8

I had decided to do this as much like Cat's as possible. It sure didn't work out that way and I am fine with that, even totally satisfied with MY version. She used a napkin as a focal point, I used some coloring I did ages ago and cut a page apart to use it. And the sentiment, as usual, is right on, because I used what I had, where I am. I used an alcohol marker to color the white parts so they matched the background. Worked well. 

Motivation #7

Cat did these monthly, and I've been doing them daily or more, and she just put out #11 so I'm going to catch up before the end of the year! Of course she's done TONS of things, that I haven't done. I have been enjoying doing rolodex cards as well, but I am sure going to fill up my little holder quickly! I keep hoping that I will find one in a thrift store or something but with PANDEMIC not going anywhere, neither am I. 

I've had these little boy stickers forever, and today was the perfect time to use them. 

The background, which you can't see too well in a picture, is painted card stock that is smooshed when it is wet with plastic wrap. It looks great in person. 

Today I got something in the mail as well... four tiny dolls.... etsy. I love those little sweeties, and haven't done much with dolls recently. They are from Kid Kore and are only about 4 1/2 inches tall. They actually have clothes, the other one I have didn't. Even though it's kind of a strange mishmash of clothes. I haven't found anything to find out how they came dressed. That's ok, I will probably make a few sets of clothes and they will all share anyway. There's one more little doll, she just has "Mattel 1984" on her back and that's all. She has a really sweet face.

I heard someone say today, just five more months, we should be through this pandemic. FIVE MONTHS?? I better get busier.

Cat Hand's MMMotivations #6

So. Do my motivation pages look like Cat's? Once in awhile. Usually? Not even a little bit. Lots of times I'll just let the idea sink in awhile. Then I'll do whatever grabs me. Today it was a paper napkin, after I saw what the sentiment prompt was. And it didn't even turn out like I pictured. I was thinking of drawing some little kids, carefully cutting them out... and then, thought about stickers. Didn't have any little kids (should I look for some?? LOL) but did see the birds and frogs. I think I got them for putting in a box for kids, then thought, maybe I'll do that, after I use a few. So here's a few. They are foam and so cute (to me anyway) and I think a bird standing on a bird on a frog is whimsical (to me anyway). 

And I got some happy mail today, for playing purposes. 

I was going to say it in Spanish, I didn't know "stencil" as in "I love to use stencils when I paint" but my my the word for "stencil" can also mean

 

1. (footwear)

a. insole

2. (group of employees)

a. staff

b. personnel

c. workforce

3. (sports)

a. squad

 b. team

 c. roster (list)

 4. (model)

a. template

b. pattern

 and last but not least, 

c. stencil

so there's context. Sigh. And believe it or not, I HAVE used a shoe insole for painting. It had a cool texture, and you wouldn't know that's what it was from unless you knew. And some sentences you can tell by the context, such as "Este zapato te quedaría mejor si le metieras una plantilla" which means you would like this shoe more with an insole. A stencil wouldn't fit. 

Not quite ready for Spanish conversation. At least about "plantillas". There could be other words for stencils that would be more specific. But in languages, you never know... I remember an exchange student that stepped on my foot and she said she was sorry she stepped on my toe fingers. I guess I looked puzzled. In spanish, toes are "dedos de los pies" which literally means "fingers of the feet"

But in English you can record a record, or beat a beat, or play someone in a play.... so I guess it's the same to be learning Spanish or English, which seams to bee jest a bet crazier. pan- pen- pin- pun bad-bed-bet-but..... and "cheeks" and "sheets". 

Thinking about Cleotilde, my Mexican co worker. We were trying to learn each other's language. I hope she did better with English than I did with Spanish.

Spanish goofiness

I got stuck today in a box in the bedroom, ran into stuff that made me emotional. I hate that, but at the same time sometimes it's good emotions. Some are not.

Anyway today I got a laugh at my Spanish lesson.The leftover words don't usually make a sentence but today they did.      Potatoes don't buy food.