I can’t believe how quickly time seems to pass. It is remarkable when you think about those days, like Christmas morning as a kid, when days didn’t come fast enough. How does that work? Totally random question, no need to really ponder it.
But this is why I am writing:
What kind of Spam do you get in your WordPress comments?
I ask because mine is really inappropriate, to the point of disgusting sometimes, and I was wondering if that was just my site or if everyone got the same Spam. Maybe I clicked on something once and now it stuck? Where do they all come from and honestly, what is the point of them? Call me naive but I can’t wrap my head around it.
I just received a message from my daughter that her boyfriend of years ago has just lost his step-father to cancer. When I had first met the family, so many years ago, the gentleman had been waiting and had finally received a new heart, as his was failing. Now, after surviving that he was recently diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. He started doing better but there is only so hard a body can fight. RIP Tom.
As anyone can imagine this opens so many wounds that will only partially heal. It is hard to understand that if this is a part of life, why understanding it and dealing with it is not easier. Oftentimes when I am remembering my late husband and especially my son I think about all the people who have lost their loved ones, some in even worse circumstances than my own and I just have to think how lucky I was to have them in my life to begin with. As I have always said, and will continue to say, losing my son is a something that will never feel better.
I appreciate all of you who read my blog and offer support. I hope that in some way or at some time I can help someone too.
As most of you know I pride myself on my creations. I love making miniatures and have been for quite a while now. I just sold a dollhouse. The customer sent me pictures and it was nearly destroyed in the mail. I had insurance and will file a claim, however, I leave a note in all my orders to please save the box and take tons of pictures if there are damages because that is what I need to make the claim. The thing that upsets me the most is that this customer accused me of sending an “old” dollhouse that was in poor condition. She said it had old, warped wood. To see my creation in so many broken parts breaks my heart but to then be told it looks like it is old! Well, I was polite in my response but now I do think she will leave a bad review. Funny part is, I don’t make much money on these, I do it mostly for the hobby part!
On a positive note I made this adorable trinket bowl:
I’ve been thinking and I want to give myself a challenge and write some sort of poem anthology and I want to ask everyone for help. For each poem, I would like to use between 7 and 10 random words. I don’t want to know if they are related, or anything else, just a list of words. For each set of words, I will write a poem, just like my compilations. I guess this would almost be like going back and grouping words from various bloggers and days, but thought it might be fun if anyone had some words they wanted me to work with. I’m also curious to see if what I come up with may be the “idea” of the blogger who left the list.
So…that being said, if you would like to help me in my personal challenge, give me a list of words in the comments below. I have done up to 12 words so I will try to attempt varying length lists. This is completely for fun and if you want me to dedicate the poem to you because it was on your list, I will. I guess it would be easier to say that if you DON”T want your name then tell me.
We shall see how this turns out. I am hoping that because blogs pop up here and there for different people randomly I will get some new bloggers with very varying lists.
Thanks!
Before I forget…I finished a few new ceramic vases and they are out of the kiln. I will be making the flowers for them and then having them on my shop on Etsy. https://www.etsy.com/shop/StineMiniatures
Today is one of the happiest days of my life, it has been for the past 24 years! It is my daughter’s birthday! I am so happy to be here in CT to celebrate it with her, if only for a few hours. She is the light of my life!
Good morning! As I had mentioned I am on my road trip up north. So far everything has been great! I’ve been staying next door to my old house with my best friend, Mary. We had become best friends the minute I moved in and she came walking up my steep,awful driveway (that I don’t have to deal with ever again!) with a cake and a smile.
So far I’ve just stayed here and relaxed. Lots of animals so there is always entertainment. Horses, various birds, and dogs are the domesticated ones!
CurlyCiscoLovey
Tonight is the awards ceremony when I will present my son’s scholarship to two students from his old high school. The Joseph Bialczak Excellence in Mathematics scholarship! I know he will be looking down with a smile that he is “going public”. Lol 😂
I rarely check my Spam folder because it always has hundreds of messages and it takes such effort to delete them all. However, today I looked and I was glad I did. I had three messages, one from Jim, one from Sadje, and one from Cindy! Do you all check your Spam folder?
I will be on a bit of a road trip next week. The scholarship, The Joseph Bialczak Excellence in Mathematics Scholarship, that I started in memory of my son is being awarded and I get to present it! There will be one awarded to a male and one to a female from the high school he graduated from. If anyone or any organization would like to make a donation to the fund please use this information:
Please make check out to TRMC-LEARN
LEARN Tax ID….06-0883604
It is tax deductible and goes straight to the business office at the school. Thank you!
Anyhow, I will hopefully post from along my trip. I will be driving, which is one of my favorite things to do, especially when I have emotional “baggage” to deal with. Luckily, I will be seeing my daughter who makes my heart melt! She is such a good, kind person and I miss her so much.
Here is the picture of the dollhouse I made almost completely by hand. I didn’t construct that actual house and a few furniture pieces came with the house. The rest was completely hand made!
Frog update:
I have been running the pool pump all through the night. Apparently, frogs won’t go in moving water. This has stopped the infestation in my pool! I will do this until we are able to put a screen cage around the pool. My other deterrents were not working very well. The coffee grounds work, but the frogs seemed to be desensitized. Then I went on to vinegar. This worked except it killed a few frogs, which ended up in the skimmer and I thought I might lose my mind if I had to see that again. 🤢 🤮
First let me say Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mothers, wherever the children may be. Today is a hard day for me as I struggle to enjoy beautiful memories while trying to acknowledge but not let sad memories prevail. Motherhood, if it is right for you, is wonderful. For those who don’t have children for whatever reason…I’m sure you are just as important to someone, so celebrate the day!
Next….
My Frog Problem!!!
So, we have a bit of a frog problem. At first it was when we hadn’t gotten the pool chemicals all straightened out so I thought it was probably a good habitat. But since then, we keep it diligently clean and still, we have a frog issue. Now when I say frog issue…take a look at last weeks morning photos!
Absolutely horrifying! It took a lot of skimming and vacuuming to get all that gloppy jelly out of the pool. Well, the other night we went for a swim and I saw one. I had done a little research into the problem, as I don’t want to kill them, just get them out of my pool. So I spread a layer of coffee grounds around the outside of the pool and for almost a week no frogs. We had rain twice this week and I thought I should go back out with the coffee but was lax about it. I have not gone out yet this morning but I was woken last night to a chorus of frog sex and partying! I ran out with the coffee, scooped the few in the pool, and kept my fingers crossed before going to bed. If the problem is bad, I will post pictures later. I just can’t have my morning ruined by that now.
Anyhow, we have googled many things about the frog issue and it seems that one of the problems may be the small solar lights I have around the yard. Apparently, although not the lighting they show on the internet, maybe that is enough light to attract bugs which then attracts frogs. Poison is not an option. I don’t want to sterilize my backyard.
Have a beautiful day and if you don’t see a frog problem post from me, you can take it that I walked out to a clean pool. Otherwise it will be a few hours before I horrify everyone with my frog pond pictures!
I’m outside in the front of the house. I have my Dollar Tree broom, my Dollar Tree rake, and my Dollar General upright/stick dustpan. I am scooping dead leaves and other debris into the dustpan and emptying into a large black yard bag, as today is pickup day. I’m happy the front of the house is looking neater.
Across the street, where there is a sweet young couple with a toddler, a big truck pulls up carrying yard equipment. Three burly men get out. One grabs the edge trimmer, one a blower, and one looks like he will be getting on the rider mower. I know that the young man’s parents pay for their yard care. No biggie….I wouldn’t mind the service either.
Anyhow, it made me laugh. I was perfectly content with my $8 equipment. I don’t know how much they pay for weekly yard care. I was almost expecting one of the guys to come over and offer some help! Hahaha, no way!
My interview got rescheduled for tomorrow…thank God! I just got to the car dealership for service on my car and this one is a big one…I will be here all day! So, if you think you’ve seen a few of my posts, get ready, I’ve got all day! Lol.
I am realizing planting a garden in the south is very different than a garden in the north. Not sure how successful my first year will be. My Rosemary seems to be happy and a few of my tomato plants. My lettuce not so much and it may be just too warm for peas even though the package said it was okay. Kale, good in one pot, bad in another. I am using coffee grounds, egg shells, and banana water so I know everything is healthy.
Stine Writing 
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