(1) Tick. Tick. Tick. I asked the Husband to investigate the ticking sound in the L Studio closet yesterday afternoon. I hadn’t heard it before. “Hush,” he said, reaching for an item from the shelf way up high.  (2) He opened a small black case that held a polaroid camera once upon a time. Tick. Tick. Tick.  The green wall clock! I wondered where it had gone. The Husband asked, “Did you think a bomb was in there?”  (3) Nervous Nelly. She is me. I am her. (4)  It’s nearly very soon for my-new-knee adventure to begin. (5) I discovered on Sunday that we don’t have enough decent soup bowls, dessert plates, and other dining ware for a dinner party of six and more. That’s what I get for retiring a lot of Mama’s and my dinnerware to the garden and crafting bins. (6) Dirty gin martinis with eggplant dip and chia and quinoa chips. Orange kobacha soup with petite slices of toasted walnut bread and pastrami bagels. Carbonara bucatini and roasted Brussel sprouts. A trifle of limoncello-soaked almo

Today I’m linking up with Art for Fun Friday and  Friday Writings . And, yes, indeed, today is Saturday. 🙃  Art for Fun Friday I created the fabric collage (above photo) recently on the backside of the board that we use for a makeshift coffee table. The board sits on top of Daddy’s hassock which, too, needs mending. (So many things to repair in this house.) The board’s original purpose, once upon a time, was the Husband’s drawing board.  Here’s the collage on the board’s front side, which I call the front because I covered it earlier this year. The collage is a combination of fabric, wallpaper, magazine photos, and vintage magazine ads. Fun! Friday Writings Prompt:  bleeding hearts Some people consider me a bleeding heart . The more hostile simply say effing libtard . I say, “you’re welcome.” Who’s the Bleeding Heart? You drop money in the church basket. You pray and ask for prayers. You go along with whoever you think has the the money, the glory, the fame, the power. You scoff at t

(1) It’s raining, hurrah, hurrah! The weather experts predict rain until Tuesday, yippiee! (2) Rainy days mean soup is on. Today I simmered a huge pot of chicken backs and necks, with a big bulb of garlic. I ought to be able to freeze 4 pints worth of chicken broth.  (3) The past few summers we’ve been able to purchase 10 or so pasture-raised chickens straight from a farm, enough to get us through the next summer.  Definitely a difference in quality and taste from mass-produced birds, even after several months in the freezer. (4) I made corn chowder with some of the chicken broth. I sautéed onions in olive oil with pickled peppers and leftover roasted potato and leftover Chinese broccoli. Don’t you love it when you can turn leftovers into something else? (5) I’ve decided to stop counting down the days to my knee surgery and simply think of it happening soon, quite soon, very soon, and the day has arrived.  (6) With good fortune, nothing will interfere with surgery taking place. Have I

The prompt for  Friday Writings #54 (at Poets and Storytellers United ) is a letter to a stranger. Four days later, I offer mine.   Dear Future Artificial Left Knee, Today it has become real that our surgery will be happening. The insurance company has approved the procedure and primary Doctor B has said I’m good to go. And, Dr. G, the surgeon who shall wield the tools to hack out the bad tissues and replace them with titanium, plastic, and other non-natural materials, gulp, has given me my pre-op pep talk.  I am confident you and I will like each other. It’ll be slow going at first as we get to know each other and what we can do. Ah, the fun we’ll have when we get into step. Then, once our future artificial right knee joins us, oh my, we’ll truly be ready to rumble, dance the rumba, climb mountains, jump over the moon, and so forth and so on. The pain I shall be feeling will be worth it. Yi-haw!  Don’t get me wrong, I‘m not taking this lightly. I am scared. But, hey, we must find li

It would take a lifetime for me to count the things for which I’m thankful, so I’m grateful that  Thursday 13 falls on Thanksgiving Day. What a sweet cop-out.  🙃  So, here I go with 13 wonderful things that I appreciate about my parents. (1) Daddy fell in love with Mama at first sight. (2) Mama said yes when he proposed. (3) They willingly left their homeland for America where they believed they had a chance for a better life for themselves and their children. (4) They gave my brother and me a safe and comfortable life when we were growing up, in spite of their low paying jobs. (5) They showed me, not just tell me, how to be an honest, hardworking, fair-minded, mindful, kind, and helpful person. (6) Mama taught me my numbers and ABCs before I started school. (6) Daddy taught me how to check the oil in my car and fix a flat tire. (7) Daddy breathed calmness with a delightful sense of humor.  (8) Mama steadfastly continued onward and forward with much fortitude and hardheadedness despi

For  Art for Fun Friday : Acrylics on tiny canvas (turned into a magnet) This week I’m sharing with  Thursday 13 ,  I Like Thursday ,  Art for Fun Friday ,  and  Friday Writings .  For  Thursday 13 and Friday Writings (prompt: ordinary) ( 1) Where oh where are my red reading glasses? (2) What oh what do I make for our main meal? (3) I’ll vacuum tomorrow. Maybe. (4) Dear Diary, says the Husband as he passes by me clickity clacking on the iPad. (5) What shall I do today? (6) I’m doing a load of bottoms. Do you want your jeans washed?  (7) Have you been drinking water? asks the Husband. (8) It’s garbage day. (9) Mail call! (10) Sniff, sniff, achooo. . . Really need to dust. (11) Jazz, rock, swing, tropical, what shall we listen to? (12) Going outside. (13) Kiss, kiss. I love you. Night-night. For  Art for Fun Friday : Acrylics on canvas For  I Like Thursday:   Mama’s Gravy LeeAnna, host of I Like Thursday , asks participants to share a Thanksgiving recipe that we love. If I could, I’d s

Landscapes usually make their way out of the recesses of my mind to paper or canvas or fabric. I don’t think about it.  It’s what happens.  This time I experimented with something in mind. I wanted to compose a scene with people and to use bold colors. It turns out hearts like to find a place in my pictures. I like that. Okey-dokey. I’m sharing with Art for Fun Friday . Cheers, One and All!