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A Summer Ramble

Most of last week was being lost in Sudoku. Two, three, and, sometimes, four hours at a time, I was distracted only by making meals, eating, doing minimal errands and chores, being just a bit creative, and combing gnats and fruit flies out of Molly's fur. No excuses for my slacker activity, not even the few days of high temperatures. It wasn't until recently that I learned to play Sudoku. So far I've been able to solve a puzzle every eight games or so. I'm indiscriminate: I play easy, medium, hard, and very darn hard games, whatever happens to by lying around in a newspaper, magazine, or Sudoku book. Whatever its level, the puzzle I'm playing is difficult. I like the process so it doesn't bum me too much when my solution doesn't work.  Solving Sudoku reminds me of doing algebra problems once-upon-a-time in high school. I loved solving for x's, y's, and z's, regardless of whether I got the correct answers. The chase! ( Cue wicked grin. )

Face Time

In Your   Face  Face to Face Face It Poker Face Open Face Face Mask  Face Value  Cat Face Face Up to It Face Down   Face in the Crowd Let's Face the Music and Dance Happy Face Check out other letter F posts at ABC Wednesday and other lists of 13 at Thursday Thirteen !

Summertime

Despite the current state of our world and the fruit flies in the backyard, I am enjoying the summer with the Husband, Molly the Cat, and Friends.  Yes, that is a bureau in front of the house. It was Mama's, one of the first pieces of furniture Daddy bought her in the late 1940s. I brought it outside earlier this year but only got around to painting it in June. I like to think Mama's Spirit is okay with that. On Saturday, my high school graduating class held its annual Class of 1971 Scholarship fundraiser. For the past 10 years or so we have awarded a $2,000 scholarship to a graduating senior. We're the first, and still only, class to have established a scholarship at our high school. Pretty good for us, slackers. Yes, we were when compared to the achievers in the class on either side of us. That's okay, look at us now. Go '71 HayBalers! For the fundraiser's silent auction, I donated this one-of-a-kind, perfectly imperfectly handcrafted coffee cup cozy. 

E as in Europe

1. My last name starts with the letter E . When I spell it to someone, I sometimes say "E as in Europe". I'm not trying to trick the person. That's simply what pops into my head. 2. I figure customer service people can spell Europe . Am I wrong to think that? 3. Mama pronounced the letter E as "A". That's how she learned it as a kid in the Philippines, a U.S. territory (then), which had been a Spanish colony in Mama's grandparents' time. "The old-timers spoke Spanish. They tried to teach me," said Mama. I wonder what Mama was interested in instead. 4. The silliness it was when Mama asked 12-year-old Susie to spell a word that has one or more letter E 's. Oh my gosh! Let's suppose, Mama asks, "How do you spell Elephant?"     "E-," I start.     "What kind of E?" she asks.     "E." I say.     "E as in A. or E as in E."     "E!" 5. Before I understood th

Dishing About Me

1. On Sunday, I came away from the antique fair in Moss Landing with eight yards of the above fabric. It was $3/yard, a bargain I could not resist, especially when it's such a cool print. I have no idea what I'm going to do with all that material. Any suggestions? 2. In case some of you are wondering, the huge pile of fabric strips (scroll to xiii) that I cut several weeks ago are still sitting on the bed in L Studio. Molly the Cat seems to enjoy sleeping on top of them. 3.  Carol of Comfort Spring nominated me for The Sunshine Blogger Award . Thank you very much, Carol! As part of receiving the award, I'm to answer Carol's 11 questions.  Here's the first one: How did you begin blogging? I wanted to hear my voice again -- the storyteller, not the writer of educational and reference materials -- so I decided to publish a blog about my hometown, Hollister, California. It became more like a travel blog, which was something else I wanted to try. Since I wa

Rocks, Stepping Stones, and a TIle

Lately, I've been thinking again about earning a bit of pocket money. If I applied myself, I could find a writing gig or two, but I'm not ready. I don't know if I'll ever be ready again. When I was a young thing living in San Francisco, I daydreamed about being a street artist selling her creations to locals and tourists. I had one major detail missing in my daydream. I didn't create anything. Nada. Zilch. Zip. But now, all the experimenting I've been doing with paints, fabric, plants, and junk, maybe, just maybe, my daydream may come true. And, if not, I'm certainly having loads of fun. I'm also learning that there's more than one story in a painting. When I started painting this tile, I thought about creating an outdoor scene with overt dollar signs and calling it Stand United Against Greed. I was ticked off at that moment about the current government's dismantling of environment laws and regulations. The result is what you see

Say Cheese, Molly the Cat

Camembert! Buche de Chevre! Cacio di Fossa! Cheddar! Molly the Cat loves cheese. Unfortunately, her tummy doesn't. Missy Girl and I are heading over to Say Cheese , hosted by Jeanna of The Ched Curtain , and ABC Wednesday , lead by Melody and the ABCW team. Come join us.