AAM Monday: Project Life Week 37

The year does roll on and doing Project Life really seems to let me feel the change, the procession of time a lot more. It also helps keep me in the moment because I concentrate on the week, the days, at hand and not look forward or backward so much. That's why I like to keep "up to date" with it. Live the week, scrap it. Week 37 included me using an Ali Edwards technique in some journaling by starting each line with the same phrase - Fall is for... I want to try and remember this and use it now and then.

AAM Monday: Project Life Week 41

There is a always a strange feeling as the weeks are in the 40s. For me it's a very visible sign that the year is drawing down. Sometimes the weather has to take its time to catch up with the calendar but the numbers tell the story. It makes me want to do a lot of tidying up with my digital play, another  kind of 'putting the garden to bed' which is something I rarely get to these days. Not much of a garden  either. Oh well, priorities shift.

I also found that I mixed up some of the photos for week 41 and 42. At some point I'll need to go back and fix week 41 but lets's just say I'm not so keen to do that. But it is on my mind!

Project Life Weeks 39 and 40

When my husband is away and then returns, I often lose track of posting on my blog. So it's not Monday and it's not one week, it's two. Hope you enjoy a chance to get a little look into my life.

Five on Friday: October 14, 2016

1. I haven't done a Friday post for a while and I felt it might just be time to do so. If I write now, I can have a pumpkin latte at the finish. I make my own and often just make a decaf coffee in our faux Keurig. I like this machine because you can use pods or a filter basket that looks like a mini of the normal coffee filter holder. No trying to get the grounds into the little lidded baskets sold for the real Keurigs. That process tends to lead to spilled grounds, kwim? So if your Keurig breaks, look for this handy dandy little machine Hamilton Beach FlexBrew

2.  We are supposed to be well into fall now but with all the rain we've had even before Hurricane Matthew, the leaves do not appear to be interested in putting on their autumn outfits. I am dressed appropriately in tans, orange and greens but the trees? Only a smattering of those early adopters who go yellow.  It may be time to just look at autumn on line. Google Watercolor Pumpkins or check on Pinterest and you'll find the prettiest pumpkins around. Or look at some of my favorite ones from Katie Pertiet - Watery Pumpkins.

3.  I saw some of an online discussion about someone hating a boss. It always amazes me that some people just cannot get along with a boss. I do know about unreasonable bosses but when you need an income, you learn to stick it out. If you have marketable skills, you look at your options before leaving in a huff and burn another bridge.  Sometimes, I think there are just some people that are unable to learn life's 'job lessons' and end up spending their life always unhappy at work...if they can still find work. It's sad because most of us do have to work most of our life and those are a lot of hours to be miserable.

4.  Yesterday, I managed to do something I've always hoped I wouldn't do. Take someone else's iPhone by mistake. I was at a friend's and she asked me to help her fold some king size sheets before I left and one of us put her phone down.  Automatically I picked it up, stuck it in my purse, and drove home.

I had just had a JSJ session which does leave one rather out of it in my defense. At home I decided I would take a nap and enjoy the blissful feeling but thought I should call for my mammogram appointment first. I reached in my purse, got a phone and went to may desk to check the appointment sheet. I noticed the phone felt strange, then also noticed I had texts from people I didn't know but the names seemed slightly familiar. Finally really looking at the phone I saw it had a solid black case while mine has a display of vegetables.

A true comedy of errors took place over a few hours...remember you can't call your friend to tell her you have her phone ...because you have her phone! plus if there's no working land line...well...it all resolved but what an afternoon!

5. Now if you're in the mood and feel like making another thing for these fall holidays, here are the instructions for Paper Book Pumpkins!

Now it's time for my PSL! so have one yourself and have a great weekend!

Five on Friday: November 6, 2015

A mixed week with a lot of good  and a couple of doses of crazy. Fortunately, none of the crazy belongs to us! Not my circus, not my monkeys. It's always good to remember that.

1. I absolutely love the fall. I love the shorter days, the cooler air, the falling leaves. Fall is the best season in my opinion.

2. Wednesday night I had a chance to visit with my old Artist Way friends in Baltimore. Two of them have a gallery showing and I was invited to the opening night. It's good to see people getting ahead by hard work and perseverance.

3. Not a lot of cooking done round here since we got back from the beach. However, if the temperatures continue to drop, I'm in the mood for some cooking and stocking up the freezer.

4. I heard this song the other night on the radio and I'd love to go to her show in DC. I'm not sure I'm up to that kind of thing any more but I'm willing to try!  maybe they have an old ladies section at the 9:30 club. LOL

5. I really hope that I can finish up my Southwest trip photos and maybe even get a book layout done. I saw my friend's Shutterfly book and the images really looked good on black. I've never tried that so maybe with a narrow white border?

In any case, have a great weekend and make sure to do something fun for yourself!

AAM Monday: Project Life Week 42

Doing things while on vacation tends to take me a lot longer than when working on my beloved iMac. I really should take it with me!!!!  as if...

The main stories of this week were the trip to the Romanian festival and subsequent stop at Ikea for new beds.  This was followed by the plan with a friend to exchange our queen sized frame for their double bed mattress. After a lot of moving things about in our house, the plan fell through. That's what it is about plans - they don't always work out.

I have a lot of decluttering and still moving furniture to do when I get home. At least the hot weather is over, isn't it???

AAM Monday: Project Life Week 41

Somehow this fall I'm having a hard time keeping track of the weeks. We are moving furniture about and right now feels like that ground is shifting. I hope that's a good thing and if it turns out to feel not so good, I know from experience that changes we don't expect often turn out to be good for us.

Week 41 was pretty quiet despite my feelings and I know from past experience this is a typical seasonal change kinda thing. Just keep moving on...

Wordless Wednesday: September 30, 2015

seen on Pinterest

5 Autumn or Halloween Ideas That I Could Make

Fall is coming! September 23 is almost here and that is the day. In anticipation here are some ideas that I've enjoyed and hope you will too. Now I'm not saying I'm going to make any of these but I might. I definitely could. But you know I'm really thinking about it ...



1. Fall Banners -  click HERE for link

2. Cutie Pie Mask - click HERE for link

3.  Skeleton Feet - Click HERE for link

4. Edible Mummies - click HERE for link  (and 60+ more healthy Halloween snacks)

5.  Fall lights - click HERE for link

Sunday Serenade: Maybe Next Month

I don't know that the season will really hit til October with our increasingly warm weather. When it does, this sounds like a good place to be. Thanks Sarah! I hope I'll get there.

Culture Clash?

I have lived in my current house for over 20 years but am still amazed at the behavior of my Cypriot neighbors, two couples who are long time friends.  The two women are meticulous, out every morning sweeping their driveway, their sidewalk, the street in front of their house and often repeating this during the day. No leaf, no bit of mess is allowed to linger on their pristine ground. Every year they grouse about the leaves falling.  Uh, trees have leaves, and leaves fall every year. It's nature, folks!

For many years, I had an ongoing battle with my immediate neighbor about this habit. She would be out sweeping/raking while I was still in bed, and as I left for work, I would see her pile of sweepings - in front of my house, next to my car wheel.  Sometimes, I would be petty and sweep it all into the middle of the street where the wind could make a decision on where the stuff should go. Other times, I would get a dustpan and brush out and put it in my trashcan. I tried to speak to her about taking the next step after sweeping and finishing the job but she claimed not to understand English.

This behavior was at its worst when it snowed. She and her husband shoveled furiously at the first sign of flakes, and piled the snow up in front of my house. I would come home from work to find a wall of snow that cold not be moved without a lot of bother. It's a wonder my fury didn't melt the snow!

Things changed when my husband moved in. A man in the house seemed to make all the difference. The men spoke and we were now graced with occasion plates of Greek goodies or bowls of figs. But the sweeping didn't change. Finally I spoke to the husband, asking him to explain to his wife that if she went to the trouble of sweeping up leaves in particular, please deal with her sweepings instead of 'gifting' them to me.  Finally...her leaves became her trash or her composte, no longer my responsibility. 

The other day I noticed the other Cypriot couple out dealing with the leaves from their two Japanese maples. Beautiful trees that are a joy to see each year. But now we are going beyond the usual sweep it in front of someone else's house. They bought a leaf blower! Their red leaves were blown in both directions to the houses on either side of theirs. It was still going on as I was going out so I snapped this picture to remember this behavior.  Is this how it goes in Cyprus? It certainly is a twist on the idea of keeping one's side of the street clean. I guess I'll never understand. Do you?

Wordless Wednseday

3 Beautiful Things

Today...three beautiful things for you.

1. Autumn morning


2.Mail from swap-bot partners


3. A new Asian grocer not far from me with goodies like this

Happy Autumn

fall reading
Originally uploaded by redazadi

or spring as the case may be.

We were to go to the beach for a week yesterday but life intervened and here we are home. But no shortage of reading material, is there? Any good books round your place to recommend? not that I need more but...well, do we ever have enough books???