I Like Thursday 7/24

Thank you to Leeanne of Not Afraid of Color for reminding me to notice things I like. 

 I like spying an unusual bird. This buzzard or vulture in our side yard was huge!  I don't think he was interested in bothering the chickens or the garden, but was drawn by a poor deer who wasn't careful in the highway.

I like making soup.

I like painting with these two!

I like these colorful little chickens.

I like bringing my day's garden haul.

I like my back deck in summer.

I like my garden. It's about as deer proof as I can make it.
(And, there's Pete strutting around... zoom in on the left

I like visitors who stroll through the yard.

I like discovering a surprise on the hillside.

I like cucumbers, but goodness... enough!

I like growing all kinds of herbs on my back deck...
thyme, rosemary, chives, oregano, basil, squirrel...
Bwahahaha

LeeAnne's  get-to-know-you writing topics this month:

Do you have a favorite summertime drink? My favorite drink... summertime or any time... is a nice cold Route 44 Coke from Sonic.

Have you ever gone to an outdoor play? Sure. In Eureka Springs, a city not far from here, there's The Great Passion Play in a huge outdoor amphitheater. I went as a kid, and we took our kids.  Or a concert? do you like outdoor performances? Sure. We've seen some good ones, but the best has to have been Garth last year.

Do you like road trips in the summer? Sure... but not in summer any more.  After letting the schoolyear calendar dictate my schedule for nearly 50 years of my life, not any more.  I want to travel in fall and winter and spring.  Everyone else can travel in summer, I'll just stay home and tend to my garden in summer.

I Like Thursday 4/24

   Thank you to Leeanne of Not Afraid of Color for reminding me to notice things I like. 

I like the purple of redbud trees. 
It's so fantastic that it's Dr. Seuss-ish

I like my strange little daffodils.
They look kind of like a carnations.

I like a hot fire on a chilly spring day.
So does Buff. He loves a good nap right in front of it.

I like our neighborhood road in every season.

I like these gals... and Pete.  
They've been giving me so many eggs this spring!

I like the sound of windchimes.
They're especially lovely in the spring winds.

I like these 6 little ones who call us Gram-E & Pop-E.

I like having a greenhouse... Actually, it's the upstairs bathroom. 
There's a big window that gets lots of sun.
And, there's a door... to keep the cat out.

LeeAnne's  get-to-know-you writing topics this month:

Amusement Park or Day at the Beach?  I'm going to pick "Day at the Beach" but only if it can be a rocky, big-wave, lighthouse kind of beach... or a windy, shell-scattered beach if it has to be a sandy one. My dreamy day isn't the lay-under-an-umbrella, watch-the-same-never-ending waves, white-sand, turquoise-water beaches. 

• The best rocky beaches I've been lucky enough to visit... Maine, Washington State, Indonesia 
• The best shell picking beaches I've been lucky enough to visit... Outer Banks of North Carolina, Indonesia
• Bucket-list beach to visit... Nova Scotia where the tides are the highest/lowest in the world.

Morning Person or Night Owl? I'm forever a lark, a morning person. Get on up and get 'r done!

Crunchy or Chewy? Crunchy, for sure.  What's the point of Plain M&Ms or a regular Hershey Bar? Or cereal without almond slivers sprinkled on top? Or salad without croutons? Or a soggy apple? Or Milky Way when there's a Snicker's around? 

Bed And Breakfast or Luxury Hotel?  We've had some of our favorite experiences staying in Bed and Breakfasts.  I'd recommend any Select Registry place. Where ever your next trip might take you, there's probably one nearby.

I Like Thursday 3/24

  Thank you to Leeanne of Not Afraid of Color for reminding me to notice things I like. 

I like having a friend to paint with and to get to share our art with.

I like walking around the bend and seeing deer. 
They stand still and stare... until they raise their tails and run.

I like flowers on the table. So does Buff.

I like Pete. 
He's a good protector of his hens.
But Lordy, he does crow all day and all night!

I like collecting colorful eggs.

I like the beginnings of spring!

I like our YELLOW March yard!

LeeAnne's  get-to-know-you writing topics this month:

Describe something you experience with each of your senses every SPRING taste,  touch,  sight,  hearing,  scent  

I wrote this the year after I retired.  I think it's a good description.  I re-read my words and still love them.  

You can tell these words were written 5 years ago as some things have changed... I only had 5 hens... I had an outside cat... I had a little dog.  And some things haven't... I still don't know which birds make which sounds.

What is your favorite spring flower and do you try to grow them in your house or yard? Daffodils in March... then irises in April... then lilies in May.

What Spring creatures might you see in the wild where you live right now?  White-tail deer and squirrels every day... possums, raccoons, armadillos on occasion

Baby animals are often born in the springtime. If you could choose any baby animal to be your pet, what would you pick and why? Don't worry about space or legal restrictions, just imagine having it.  Sorry to be boring, but I'll pick kitten.

I Like Thursday 2/24

  Thank you to Leeanne of Not Afraid of Color for reminding me to notice things I like. 

I like seeing my pretty eggs all together.  
I get around 5, more or less, every day.

I like these two guys.

I like a good snow day.
It was gone by noon, but it was pretty for a few hours.

I like my favorite scene in every season. 
I live just around that bend.

I like the view from my kitchen window.
They watch me as I watch them.

I like a good soft that makes the outdoors quiet.

I like how the cardinals come out when it snows.

I like having hot water.
You forget to appreciate it until the below-zero temperatures 
freeze the pipe and you don't have it!

I like planning for the February show. 
Choose paintings, add hangars to the backs, make price tags... 
and about a hundred other tasks.

I like meeting my favorite JOY!
Of all the princesses and characters, she's the best.
I loved Inside Out so much.

LeeAnne's  get-to-know-you writing topics this month:

What qualities do you look for/love in a friend?   I feel like I have many different kinds of friends. I don't know that I've tried to pinpoint specific qualities... Hmmm... I suppose I enjoy time with someone who is comfortable with who they are... doesn't seek attention on themselves... never looks down on others.

What do you look for in a mate?   We celebrate 39 years soon.

Would you prefer receiving a box of chocolates or flowers on Valentine’s Day? If chocolates/candy, what kind would you like to get? do you get them? During the years... decades that I was teaching, I would always get 3-4 of those heart-shaped boxes of chocolate where no two were filled with the same thing. I'd keep them in my closet and make them last long past spring break!  If flowers, what kind would you like to receive, does it matter that they are delivered by a floral business or brought in by your mate? What kind of flowers, colors, number of them would you love to see?   Flowers are always a lovely surprise.

Who was your first crush? (Real or fictional?) how old were you, how did you feel, were you a romantic? 

Who is your favorite TV or movie fictional couple? Why do you like them? if not a tv/movie fan, what about books? Oh, my goodness! I love a good romance novel or rom-com movie! My list would be long and varied. For right now, let's just go with Travis & Taylor! Isn't that who the whole world is watching?

What would be your favorite meal?  It can only be served perfectly in July or August when the garden is at its peak. Tomato-bacon-tomato sandwich... Let me be very specific... White bread, toasted, cut into quarters, thick tomato slices with salt, bacon cooked to just before crisp... scrambled egg, optional. On the side... Sliced cucumbers and/or Ruffles potato chips with French onion dip (Kraft made the best but stopped making it... boo!) The drink would be a Route 44 coke from Sonic.

I Like Thursday 1/24

  Thank you to Leeanne of Not Afraid of Color for reminding me to notice things I like. 

I like that my kids and grand kids each have an Amazon Wish List.
I can set a $ amount, click, click, click, click...
Then wait for the packages to arrive.
Shopping done!

I like our ornaments.  
Each one holds a meaning or a memory.

I like my colorful little flock.
Zeb, Fancy-like, Elenore, Trudy, Beauty, Judy, Pip,
Vendi, Twinkle, Pauline, Jolene, Foxy, Ruby Jean, 
and... Pete.

I like sharing our little piece of the earth with forest friends.
But if they can't leave the chicken houses alone,
 they have to be relocated to a different woods.

I like our raccoons and possums and turtles and deer and birds and
squirrels and armadillos and whoever else pokes around in our woods.
They just need to stay in the woods and out of the chicken coops.

I like firecrackers.
I love the recipe which is  in my beautiful late sister-in-law's handwriting.

I like word games...
Wordle, Quordle, Crosswords, Cryptoquotes...

LeeAnne's  get-to-know-you writing topics this month:

Do you have a favorite appetizer in your family?  My family loves homemade Chex Mix and Firecrackers.

Would you rather have buffalo chicken dip or artichoke dip? Ummm... neither... But, more importantly why did Kraft stop making French onion dip!?!? My favorite summer meal of tomato-bacon-tomato sandwich with Ruffles and French onion dip has never been the same!

What do you try first when you go to a party with snacks? Probably a sausage-cheese ball, maybe some chips and salsa, a little fruit to balance it out.

Do you have plans or desired to learn something new this year?  Yes! Always a life-long learner.  But, I don't have a plan for something specific I want to learn.

Do you have a goal for this coming year?  Hmmmm...I should have an answer here. I do have daily goals, if that counts.   

An event that had a big impact on you this year.... and how did you handle it?   I like signed up for and participated in an year-long on-line multi-media art class called Life Book 2023. There were 30+ teachers and 80+ lessons.  I committed myself to learn new mediums and ways to create.  I did. It was hard.  It was uncomfortable. I loved it. But, I'm ready to get back to my good old comfortable friend oil paint.                 

Does your family play games? What kinds and are any of them new ones this year? Cards? Board Games? Puzzles? Action games like darts or horseshoes etc?  My family is made up with 6 grandkids ranging in age from 1-5. Soooo... the main games played are chase-each-other-with-sticks-while-squealing, pretend-to-hide-then-squeal-and-run, or dump-boxes-of-toys-in-the-floor-and-squeal.

I Like Thursday 12/23

 Thank you to Leeanne of Not Afraid of Color for reminding me to notice things I like. 

I like that first fire of the year.
Actually I love every fire in the fireplace.

 I like the weird mushrooms that appear in fall.
My friend says these are good to eat. 
Ummm... no.

 I like visiting art museums.
These were my 3 favorite paintings
at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City.

 I like the deer that live in our woods.

I like the tree at the end of our driveway.
It's fabulous in every season.

I like like it even after the leaves fall.

I like my painting workspace.

I like my pretty little flock of backyard hens.

I like this guy.  He likes me too.

LeeAnne's  get-to-know-you writing topic this month:

Tell us a funny story about a Thanksgiving you spent... we all have things happen unexpectedly at holidays  so share a funny moment you have had over the years.   I am completely blank on a funny Thanksgiving story, so I'll tell our funny Thanksgiving weekend tradition.  We always decorated our house and tree for Christmas on Thanksgiving weekend. For many years there would be a moody teenager on the couch being less-than-helpful and less-than-joy-filled.  There came a day once the kids were grown-ish that we realized that neither kid was a moody teenager.  That's when my husband it was tradition, so he'd take that role and lay on the couch while we did the decorating.

Do you send Christmas cards?  Are they unique like a photo from this year, or say, hallmark boxed ones?  When will you aim to send them out?  Oh, I basically never did for years and years. As a teacher, December is such a hectic time, I just never got around to it.  I still forget to get around to it in time, but... for the last couple of years, I've done a Valentine card. That's been kind of a fun thing. At the top of the card, it's said something like "Merry Christmas... Happy New Year... Happy Valentine's Day!"  It was kind of an accident the first time, but I liked the surprise of it. I think I'll do it that way again.

Extra credit: do you do craft projects with your old cards? When I was teaching, I always saved them.  My students would use them their art projects. 

Describe your perfect Christmas party, where, who's there, what food and drinks are served, etc  Only family... Our 6 little ones do plenty of running and laughing and squealing.  Food would be kid friendly. Drinks would be soft drinks or juice (with lids for the kids).

1. Real or fake tree? Fake and pre-lit.
2. Star or angel? Nothing.
3. Tree up before or after Thanksgiving? That weekend.

Unwrapping gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?  Christmas morning was always our tradition.  But as we now share our kids with their in-law families, we're fine doing it on a different day when we need to.  

Do you prefer Christmas or New Years? Christmas Do you have a usual way to spend NYE and or NYDay? Not a very interesting answer, I suppose. Just being home.

Would you rather kiss in Paris or kiss in a tent in the woods on NYE? How about my house (which is in the woods) instead of a tent.

Would you rather be at a big fancy party where you all scream happy new year at midnight, or at home on your sofa or with a couple friends playing cards etc  100% I'd rather be at home, preferably sound asleep at midnight.