Memorial Day 2020 was super interesting. We managed to make our way through it with the hopes that next year will be better. Larry and I hope that you had a great day and made memories.
I face timed with Matilda last evening. She is such a wonderful personality and makes me smile all the time.
Photo: Face-timing with Matilda
Today I HAVE to walk my laps. (almost to 4 miles now) Thinking about it makes my head explode, but I have to do it. To keep moving right now is a good thing. I also have a blouse to cut out and assemble & cards to get ready to mail out. LOVE sending mail…and I am sorry to say, my good friends must get tired of it but real mail is very special.
Photo: At my desk
Keep smiling…soon things will be back to normal. (or make your new normal)
Happy Memorial Day. (and Happy Birthday to Bruce and Norman) The flags are flying and the rain is falling. The studio is to dark for me to paint. (I should be finishing the still life that I sketched at ART in the Garden last week)
The laundry is already started, I took a bath and washed my hair. My ambition is on low and my inspiration is even lower. Would that be *extra low?
Last night I received an email from a beloved friend. She is struggling… but has the best attitude. I wish that she would bottle her positive feelings and then sell some of them to me. This beloved friend has been diagnosed with Lupus.
If you could, during your day today, send good thoughts and sweet prayers for her. You do not need her name. God knows her. She is the kindest person I have ever met and I am honored to call her my friend.
Larry and I wish you a happy Memorial Day. Today is a day of remembrance and thankfulness. We don’t have to be at the beach or grilling out….we just need to be thankful and remember.
Photo: Our mailbox. Memorial Day 2020
I just ran out in the rain to put the flag in the mailbox planter.
We have been having storms off and on all weekend. The gardens are enjoying the humidity and I am enjoying the green.
Matilda and I did not have ART in the Garden yesterday because of the rain. We were to paint tote bags, but will paint them next week. Did you know that ART in the garden is for Matilda and I to spend time together. The ART we create each week will be put in a gallery in August. Each item will be auctioned off and proceeds will be donated to St Jude Hospital in Memphis. (Matilda’s decision and I am excited)
I am dressed and ready for the day. It will be a good one. I just have a feeling.
Yesterday I walked 4 miles in the country. It was early and foggy. Larry, Lauren and Matilda were there also.
Photo: Matilda made me a bouquet
I did not feel to well, but we managed 4 miles. I came home and rested.
Photo: Prepping for watercolor
I did not paint yesterday but I will now. The paper is ready and I am cleaned up from 3 1/2 miles walking this morning. Today is cloudy and ready for storms. At least it was an hour ago. (The sun just came out!!!)
Photo: Walking my laps this morning….
Larry is on a conference call. He will be on calls all morning. The house is quiet except for a Turtle Dove cooing his heart out in the side garden.
There are a few projects on the work table (besides watercolor painting) . Another one of them is a pattern I bought yesterday on Etsy…..
Photo: A new blouse pattern
I need a few tops for shorts and jeans this summer…I will play with the pattern sleeve length and buy my fabric from Mood.com and Fabric.com …… I can make a half dozen tops and never leave the house!
The weekend is upon us. I am reading a good book sent me me by my CA Cousin, I’m making new tops and painting a still life that will be sold at auction. What are YOU doing?
Larry and I are leaving in a moment for a walk in the country. The sweetest 8 year old is waiting for us and we will walk a few miles along country roads. Can you think of anything better for a Thursday morning?
Photo: My Favorite Girl
I hope that you have the chance to hang out with some of your favorite people today…..
Happy Wednesday! How are YOU doing? When I am at my lowest, I think about how YOU are doing.
Photo: Atlanta, GA 2019
Our days are odd to say the least. Keeping busy is not a problem for me. Face Book is not part of my day, except the moment when I post the blog link to this web site. I worry about my family and friends. I worry that someone within my family/friends will become ill. No, it has not happened and this virus is not a hoax.
Larry’s business has been directly impacted by the pandemic. (He is in the restaurant business) The restaurants will slowly reopen and hopefully jobs will be re-filled with workers who have been laid off.
Keeping busy…I read a lot. There is a 5’canvas in the studio that is sketched and ready for paint, my latest sculpture, The Toad, is drying in the corner and I scour the internet daily for vintage patterns. Larry and I have been invited to a wedding (in a far off state) in November and since it is formal…..I am convinced that I will either create a design or find an old pattern on Etsy.
My life has changed. I have given up very much this year. A tree went through our house when the tornado hit in Oct. Having breast cancer for a second time has changed much more than the first time. We have had to cancel/postpone two trips to France and one to Kaua’i. AND I sit here.
They are the operative words. I sit here. I am alive. I have a wonderful husband. We stay safe but have not stopped living. We stay safe for ourselves and for you. I refuse to live in a world of paranoia. My God and my faith are my constant.
Larry and I watch our local Presbyterian Church service (where we are members) on You Tube and Fr Jeff, Larry’s best friend from High school, is an Episcopal priest in Memphis TN. During our quiet times, we pull up Fr. Jeff’s lessons and listen together. Fr Jeff is our religious mentor right now and it is a true blessing.
As I sit here, I worry about the others in my life. What can I do? I can blog every day about being kind and non-judgmental. I can post photos from my moments yesterday and I can blather on about ART and reading. We are all in our own little world right now. Moving forward is going to be difficult and nothing will really-ever be the same. I want to try to make it better. I want to be kinder and more faithful. I want to be able to make people feel better and feel content.
On Sunday, I roasted a chicken. Using veggis, and a 4 pound chicken from Whole Foods, I roasted the chicken like I do in France…with Brandy.
Photo: warming the veggies
Photo: Chicken ready for the oven
The chicken barely fit into the Dutch oven. I cooked him in a HOT oven for a short time. He turned out perfectly.
Photo: Sunday dinner
Photo: Sunday dinner wine
Photo: Sunday Movie
Sunday dinners are still important to us. We plan and and then enjoy each bite. Our movie this week was The Last Metro. It was very, very good….1981, with a few awards.
I have been thinking about next Sunday’s dinner. I seem to have a Menu block……(and menus are one of my favorite things to plan….)
A few weeks ago, The Komen North Texas MORE THAN PINK WALK! was postponed. It was to be held May 16th, 2020. (and rescheduled for September 12, 2020) Because May 16th was this past Saturday, Larry and I decided to pack up the Raffle Quilt, put on our Team Believe shirts and walk a 5K in honor of all of the fighters and survivors of breast cancer.
Photo: Team Believe lives!Photo: Dream A Dream Quilt
It was raining, and I carried the quilt in a duffel and carried an umbrella.
Photo: It rained for the entire 5K
Larry and I walked the 5K around Bob Woodruff Lake in Plano, Texas. It was cold and wet. We were alone at the lake and no one knew that we were honoring them in a private hike. It was special and overwhelming.
Photo: Me in the rain, carrying the Dream A Dream Quilt on a 5K
It was gloomy and sad. I missed the other walkers and music. Larry sang I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor for me, but is just was not the same as when there are thousands of us……
I would like to thank Hannah and Heather at Komen. You both do so much and we take much of it for granted. Thank you for being part of this experience for Larry and myself.
Photo: The Raffle quilt experienced the first 5K with us.
If you would like to chance to win the Dream A Dream, North Texas MORE THAN PINK Walk, quilt….please go to the link below. I am selling raffle tickets till the Pinker Than Pink 5K in September. In fact….I think that the quilt will walk the 5K on that date too! (and the raffle drawing will be the day after the 5K , Sept 13th, 2020) The journey continues. Link to quilt information…… https://robintolbert.com/team-believe/
Photo: A rainy 5K ~ Komen Pinker Than Pink
Breast cancer has been quite a journey for me and it continues every day. Making a difference, makes it all worth the agony.
Photo: Friday May 15, 2020~ I walked three miles today
It was 72 degrees today when we walked around the lake. Clouds are thick and we are expecting rain later.
Photo: At the lake
The ducks were not social distancing, but they were happy and noisy.
Our exercise (Three miles!) was filled with wonderful conversation. I adore being with Larry and one day we will smile when we talk about these difficult days.
I went onto the patio at 5 this morning. The rain was soft and I could hear raindrops falling onto the leaves of the huge mulberry tree. Then I went back to the big bed. I am having trouble sleeping, are you?
There are 3 THINGS on my GOAL list for today, one is to straighten my book shelves. Keep-donate-throw away- many cook books. Cook books are like friends to me and I don’t like parting with any of them. I have a feeling that I will not get this certain goal completed today.
Photo: Dining room shelves
Photo: On top of my treasured recipe box, is a jar of rocks given to me by Matilda! ( the best recipes go into this box that I have had since moving to Texas.)
Photo: Lenox spice rack
I have many, many spice racks. The one above is dated, 1989 and it is the newest one I own. On my list is to dust the spice racks. I doubt that will get done today, much like the cook books.
The third thing on my list is to take apart the TEXAS jigsaw puzzle.
Photo: The Texas Puzzle
That has be the most boring chore in the world. Taking apart a puzzle. Oh my gosh.
I will close now, say a bientot and …work on a canvas I started and that is not even part of the 3 THINGS list.
