Whatever Wednesday, I guess

It's been a good day, overall. I ran my banking and shopping errands early enough to still have the interest to do other things today. Of course, none of it meant getting into the studio. I was hoping to list something on etsy today, since it has been forever since I've listed anything new, but I just never got to it. After working out, and then talking our evening walk to the beach, then dinner...I'm just not interested in filling my days off so full that I am exhausted at the end of it and it just seems like another day of work. So I felt good about it.

I have been eating a lot of veggies from my garden.

Here's my squash:

With my last batch of paper I wanted to try something new, and have been wanting to do some paper animals or sculpture of some sort. So I took little wooden fish ornament I have had for years and covered half with my paper. Basically using the same idea that I used when covering the coconut shell for my origami ornaments.

These are the ornaments...

This is my first fish!

And I have been working on some envelopes for these enclosure cards I'm playing with, too.

Now I just have to put it all together, take some pictures, and sell some stuff!!!

Tiny bunny

I just wanted to say...

This little guy (or girl?) was so hidden when I went to take out the trash, that I didn't know he was there until he jumped up and ran away. The poor thing ran right into the trash bin before settling under our wheelbarrow! He could fit in the palm of my hand...so tiny, so cute.

Decisions, decisions

I'd like to first show off the latest shots of my veggie beds. There has been SO MUCH rain here, this year, that I have only truly had to water my beds twice since stuff has started to grow. Luckily, it's so jam-packed that the giant squash, bean, and cucumber leaves are keeping the ground underneath nice and cool and damp. (FYI: when I have watered, we have used water from our accidental rain barrel...which is actually our broken hot tub cover that collects rain water...so we are really saving on water this year. It makes gardening even less of a hassle, which = easier for lazy gardeners, like me!)

I think Moxie and I have eaten all the peas we'll get...not sure. I know we have exhausted our radish supply, though. Hubby has gotten nothing but a couple snap peas, but Moxie and I have been using the garden as a little snack shack when we are out on the days when it doesn't rain.

I have also had the opportunity to cut back all of hubby's lavender before it gets all those flies on it. I'm not sure how to explain, or even what it is, but the lavender usually gets infested with these flies that seem to attach themselves to the flowers and stems and then stick there. It's strange and gross, and I cut it all back to dry and use in my papers before it was too late. It really is pretty and so fragrant!

As I believe I reported in my last post, Moxie is still not back to herself. We still don't know what's wrong, but we're trying to keep her from jumping on and off things, which is pretty near impossible. She's taking joint supplements and still on her anti-inflammatory meds, but I really hope this two-week supply is the last we'll need. (Hanzo, of course, is just the same...friskiest 10 year old cat ever!)

Oh, I almost forgot...(more garden news)...here's our little pumpkin!

And we have at least two other babies starting!

And hubby had to have some Roma tomatoes...I'm not a fan, but it seems silly to have a garden without tomatoes...

Really?...Sunday again, already!?

Friday night's County Fair Fun was...well, fun. Unfortunately, our little Moxie has not been herself, still, since our last vet visit, and I got a call from hubby on my way to play that we needed to go back to the vet Saturday. She has been taking Deramaxx in hopes that she was just experiencing some joint inflammation from a sprain or other such injury. But she takes a pill, then about 36 hours later, she's limping again. Yesterday's visit to the Dr. proved to be another day of guessing what might be wrong. She says that she has seen false negative results with Lyme tests, but usually the joint pain alternates between legs and Moxie is only limping on her front legs. And since she is so good at the vet's all the time, she never makes any sort of indication of whether or not it hurts more in a specific spot!! So we don't really know WHERE it hurts. This time we got more meds, but also a supplement that will hopefully prolong the effects of the drug and 'eventually get her off the Deramaxx'. She was, of course, limping this morning, so I gave her just the supplement hoping that would be enough. But she looks so miserable, I gave her a pill too, eventually. Now she is just passed out on the sofa, and has been like that for a couple hours. It's breaking my heart not knowing what is wrong with her, but we are hoping it is just a sprain that is taking longer to heal as she jumps on and off things so much that she is exacerbating the injury. Once again...fingers crossed.

Back to the Fair...as I suspected, I didn't ride many rides. Sister got sick on the first ride, so we rode the carousel for fun...and that also made her dizzy. She and I had a fab Polish plate to share, and I had an ice cream. Oh, and she gave me her last deep-fried Oreo. But I didn't eat much. There weren't a ton of animals, there were fewer rides, and it wasn't very crowded for opening night...and a FRIDAY, at that! But it was fun. I'll probably skip it next year, though. I'm a rider...no one else is. I got home around 11pm, got in bed and realized that, minus driving time, I had been on my feet since 4:30 that morning!

Once again, I'm hoping to get into the studio today. I really miss creating, but other 'life issues' are really draining me these days. I thought I was better at coping, but things are really piling up.

Anyone else have county fairs they frequent in the summer??

My Goodness...

Moxie doesn't have Lyme Disease. She was all perky and her usual crazy self at the vet last week. She took her anti-inflammatory drugs for a few days and was fine. Yesterday, she started a little limp again. This morning it was worse. I gave her another pill, yet she still can barely put pressure on her front legs! What gives?! I guess we will have to try to take her in for an emergency appointment and hope the vet can figure it out?
Hubby has been working 3 jobs plus his freelance gigs...last week he didn't have any hours at his evening job, then got a call that there wasn't any work again this week. Yesterday, he got sent home early from his morning job, and then got a call later in the day that there wasn't any work for the next day. So it's possible, he just lost two of his jobs this week! We're holding our breath on the edges of our seats! The third job is just one day a week and it's a job he took more as a way of learning the ropes of web design (coding...not actual design), so he took it at a very low pay rate in exchange for the experience and insight.
So today, I am off...and he is off...and nothing will get done.
I have been very bad about creating these past few weeks, being unusually depressed about my own work situation (hate my job...get paid too much to leave...no other jobs available anyway...). Normally, I go to work, grin and bear it, complain a little to hubby, then go about my day...lately, I just hate getting out of bed for work. No matter...it is what it is, I suppose.
I did get some beautiful paper made last week, and have another batch drying. During my downtime at work the other day, I wrote up a list of ways I want to experiment with my handmade paper. Maybe today I will give myself a little 'play' day and see what happens?
For now, I need to get out of my jammies (yes, I'm still in p.j.'s at 9am...I did say 'nothing will get done'!), make myself pretty and see what the world has in store for me today. I hope it's coffee and a muffin!
FRIDAY....THE COUNTY FAIR!

Full day...good day

What a great day! I love it when I actually get stuff done on my day off. After last week's emotional roller coaster (which I really can't explain, it was just an off week, I guess?), I had a great day. Hubby had to work this morning, so that helped get me out and running errands bright and early, just the way I like it. I had run the trash and recyclables to the dump, picked up the stuff I need at the wholesale club for work (yuck...not a fan of work related chores on days off, but...), I even stopped off at the pet store -since I was in the area- for cat stuff and a special treat for Moxie (since she was so good at the vet yesterday), and I still managed to be back home by 10am!

So, I threw in a much needed '4 mile walk' (it's actually a workout video, but by the end you have basically done a 4 mile walk).

After that, I jumped right over to the studio and cranked out a dozen sheets of paper; 4 each of 3 colors: pink, green, lavender. I plan to finish them up (the drying step) tomorrow after work. I can't wait to see the true 'dry' colors!

So much fun!

Hubby and I went back into town after his workday some lunch, so that we could do our own shopping to finally get some food in our new fridge!

Once home, I grabbed the little scissors and snipped some chives, parsley, and basil from the garden to mix up with some garlic and Parmesan cheese. Why? Well, to put on the lovely cheese boule ( I think that's what it's called?) we picked up at our fav little bakery, of course. You can't have Alfredo without garlic bread, can you?

Yummy!

So now I better get to the task of watching the water boil!!

Tuesday night poker

Well, I will be staying home, as usual. And I am pretty excited about it. I made a huge bucket of paper pulp Sunday afternoon, just to NOT have time to get back to it until tonight. I'd be working at it now, but we have a vet appointment and I hate getting wrapped up in stuff before appointments (plus, I'm a bit nervous/anxious about the appointment, since it's not a routine check-up, instead we are worried Moxie has Lyme Disease).
At any rate, hubby will be out all night and I will be trying to get some work done. My newest plan is to beef up my handmade paper stock so that I can make 'other things' more easily, and at a shorter moments notice. It's not really practical making paper as I need it, as it is pretty labor intensive...lots of steps.
So that is my hope for the evening. I hope to have more exciting/interesting news later in the week, but for now, I guess I should go change out of my stinky bagel shop clothes...yucky.


JUST WANTED TO UPDATE:
Moxie does NOT have lyme disease, or any of the others they do with the 'combo' test. She wasn't limping or being weird at the vet, so it was hard to diagnose. So we got a few days worth of anti-inflammatory pills in case it she just has some joint pain. If only dogs could just tell us what's wrong!

July 4

Oh what an exciting holiday we're having here. After a quick trip to the cafe for our coffee and scones, we headed to the beach for a quick visit before having to get home for the fridge delivery. While at our watering hole, our friends handed me a beautiful loaf of brioche 'for french toast'. Well, I'm not gonna turn down a free loaf of bread! It was delicious!And this little beauty is what we've been waiting for! After a couple days of hoping the old fridge would kick back into cooling mode, we gave in and bought a new, smaller, cuter fridge. I love her so. I wasn't expecting to get it delivered on the July 4 holiday, but what else was I gonna do all day??

But just to be sure we were still festive while out and about, I wore my very own hand screen-printed tee. No one on etsy wanted it, so I decided to keep it for myself. It's super soft and comfy, so I'm not sorry I did!

(I almost forgot to include the pic!)
Tomorrow...studio time. Time to make some paper.

just so I don't forget how

It's been too long since I last blogged. But, the reason for that is also the reason I don't really have anything to blog about...again.

So, just to keep in the loop and not be forgotten, here are some photos.

The month of June was rain, rain, and more rain. Yesterday and today we had FAB thunderstorms, but basically it's just been rain. And what a beautiful thing! I have not had to use any of my own water for the garden in weeks! The veggies are looking great...

And here's the cute little furry who is being very good about NOT eating anything out of my garden...so far!