Clean Hard Fast: 12

CLEAN: Much of the house! Much in baby steps - but hey, whatever works! Not the DEEP CLEAN of finding things thought forever lost - simply because, no, we haven't touch every item, nor scratched out every corner. But the Holiday dramas should be a wee tad less dramatic in a (haha) more Zen environment. And work will be a bit easier. It does help to put "Hoarders - Buried Alive" on the Netflix  for a little more "you can do it!" And then do it.

HARD: the soil frozen solid around bulbs I should have dug out of pots a month ago...... Hot water and gloves will be put to task in a few days when forecast is for slightly warmer. It's my first go-round with digging up and storing bulbs. I'm a plant and pray - not plant and dig up sort of gardener. New skill time. HARD Lesson learned.

Another HARD - we are hosting a new art doings here tonight. a small salon-style event called Part Art. So I baked a lovely pan of chocolate caramel walnut brownies only to torment myself and maybe a few others. Trying so hard to really lessen gluten and sugar intake. hahahahahahahaha. And Sigh. Husband licked spoon and pan. Boy, the kitchen smells delicious... Yes, it was from a box - don't care. And other members of family are dealing with food issues, so Thanksgiving will be "interesting." There will be plenty to eat - it just might not all be the normal stuff. Normal stuff - plus. We will be thanksful for many things - just not having to be careful putting items on plate. Was hard enough back in the day when all we were concerned about was Calories. Now it's Choosing Foods with Care. My thoughts go out to all dealing with similar doings. GOOD LUCK! and enjoy The Day anyway!

FAST: how we plunked down bear goodies as The Grand Hand Gallery in ST. Paul, MN yesterday. An oil pastel, two acrylic bear heads, and a small pastel are now there along with the pieces shown below. Apologies for glare and angle. I'm thrilled that the work is right inside the second large gallery. And next to Betsy Bowen's wonderful woodcuts. Woo hoo! We also delivered a big bunch of greeting cards - both Holiday and other.

Then I got to run into Wet Paint and buy yet another Pentel Pocket Brush Pen. The third, so far. Argh. Expensive to lose. Expensive (for cheap me) to buy again - knowing that TWO are probably hiding in not quite plain sight. Argh. But the newest one has a strap I tied onto it. The bright tape on the second one didn't help in the keeping-track-of. We shall see.

And now it's Thanksgiving Day Eve. Every day is a day to give Thanks. Seriously. I think of 30 things each day to be thankful for: (sometimes more than once a day - repeats are legal).
Number One is is usually, even with this "LOUD sound" that no one else can hear - I am Thankful that I can still Hear. The next twenty-nine depend of mood, day, and circumstance. Today I am Thankful for the great jazz music of Vince Guaraldi. We know him most from the "Charlie Brown" soundtracks, but he did much more, and like many excellent musicians - died way too young. Check out his work - it will probably make you happy.

So - HAPPY THANKSGIVING ONE AND ALL! And GO PACK!!!!!

Fare-thee-well,
Sue