Love-Hate

           This week has been all about creating. I've been working on practice watercolors in my sketchbook. It's called practice for a reason. I can see areas in each piece that I'd like to improve or change. The best part is, knowing I don't have to show these to anyone takes a lot of pressure off. It allows me to experiment and have fun with the process.

          All of these were done with tutorials. There are two ladies I follow that I really like. She says, “Make a half circle.”

          I make a half circle.

          Most of the time they tell you to use whatever colors you want but I usually use whatever color they’re using.

          I love doing tutorials because you end up with something recognizable and I always learn something. I like this, I don’t like that. Paint is too wet or paint is too dry. It even gives me practice fixing or trying to fix mistakes — which, by the way, I don’t do a lot of in my practice book. Mostly because its better not to make the mistake in the first place. So unless it really bugs me, I’ll just flip the page and not look at it anymore. But I have to tell you that I’m in love with watercolors like I’ve never loved any other paint medium.

          I have to tell you something else, too.

          I have a burning desire to make my own art.

          You guys have given me great practice in taking photos and I’ve taken some really nice photos over the years. Now I look at my photos and my fingers itch to try and paint them. These next two PRACTICE pieces were painted using photos as inspiration. They don’t look exactly like the photos because like my friend Susan says, “If I wanted a photo, I’d take a photo.”

                                                                        >>>*<<<

          I have a love-hate relationship with my Cricut cutting machine. When it works, it’s great. When it doesn’t, then it’s a huge pile of frustration.

One of the websites I follow has been offering fall clipart for several weeks now. The images are so pretty.

Another website I follow offered fall themed digital papers this week — and I loved them, too. That’s when it hit me. That’s when I was inspired to combine the fall digital papers with the fall clipart to make some fall greeting cards! I mean really, I had to!

          I spent an afternoon sifting through files, trying to decide which images and which digital papers I wanted to use. Then I printed a bunch of papers. For the images, I decided to use my Cricut. It has a function where it will print, then cut out an image. And that’s what I wanted to do. It would save so much time over hand cutting — and it would be so much neater.

          Famous last words, right?

I didn’t have a plan other than I knew I didn’t want to spend days making cards. I’d make one design and copy it for however many cards I decide to make. I just jumped in with both feet and let the chips fall where they may.  

          The first thing I had to do was upload the images to the Cricut software. Sizing them would be a little trial and error since I wasn’t exactly sure how big I wanted them. Some elements I knew I wanted to use on all the cards, so I’d print multiples. The images could all be different depending on who I was giving it to, so I’d only print and cut one.

          When I had all the images uploaded and saved to mats to print and cut, I got the Cricut out. I sent the job to the printer, loaded the cardstock into the Cricut machine, and my troubles began. It was making a whole bunch of little cuts, like it was cutting pixels instead of the whole image and it made a couple of holes in the paper before I stopped it.

          Well! I thought. I guess I’ll be cutting these out by hand!

          I spent the next couple of hours printing and trying to cut. One time it was cutting the image, but it didn’t match up to where the image was printed on the paper, cutting through them rather than around them.

          I rebooted the software.

          I rebooted the Cricut.

          Then I thought to check the memory on my computer and it’s almost full. That’s likely what’s causing my problems. I spent the next long time, hour, maybe more, moving photos to the external storage device. Then removing unused programs. That gave me a little more memory. Rather than use the print then cut function, I just cut simple shapes from the Cricut software and the Cricut did okay with that. I didn’t try the print then cut feature anymore because by this time, I’d had enough. Enough time and aggravation trying to get the machine to work and enough images already printed that I’d have to cut out by hand.

          I’m thinking I need to take my computer to the computer doctor and let him clean it up. Either that or use the internal software already on my computer to set it back to factory. That’s a problem for another day. All in all, I spent three days making fall cards.

          During this whole card making process, I got to thinking about all the times I passed up shape-making hand-held punches. I didn’t need them, didn’t know I’d ever need or want them, so I didn’t buy them. I still don’t need them. After all, my Cricut is supposed to be able to make them for me, but it sure would’ve made my life easier if I had a punch that would punch out hearts or stars. I got on Facebook Marketplace looking for some and found a hand operated machine called Sizzix that has different dies with it. The lady was asking forty but would take thirty.

          “Mike, how about a road trip to Hughesville?” I asked.

          “What for?”

          I explained what I wanted and all he said was, “Let’s go.” He really is a good husband and indulges my need to create.

          So! Road trip! How about road pictures?

Hughesville is about an hour away and the GPS took us right to her house. She professed to not knowing anything about the Sizzix. “I’m selling it for a friend.”

I didn’t know much about them except they cut shapes. It looked like it was in good shape and had a bunch of dies with it. We paid her and headed for home.

          To get back to the main street, Mike turned up an alleyway.  

What do you think these blue and red things are used for?

          The first thing I did when we got home was play with my new machine — and boy did I get an education!

          Did you know that this machine, besides cutting shapes, can cut letters?

          Yeah. I didn’t know, either! It makes sense that it can cut anything there’s a die for and what I got was a whole set of letters, numbers, and a few symbols, like dollar sign, comma, ampersand, etc. It also came with colored cardstock, a slide cutter with an extra blade, scissors that cut a pattern, and a couple of other templates used in cardmaking. What I didn’t get was what I really wanted. Shapes.

          “So, we wasted our money?” Mike asked.

          “Not necessarily. I can use the letters to spell out stuff like HAPPY BIRTHDAY when I’m making cards and maybe I’ll find some of the dies that I really wanted.”

          Mike got on the computer and looked around for some. They’re out there, but I don’t want to pay that much for them.

          “Let’s wait and see if I can find them at a yard sale sometime.”

          But in the back of my mind, I’m tumbling over things I can use to make homemade dies!

>>>*<<<

          My morning peeps have already seen my progress on my newest commission. The guy asked for a cross. Then, a few weeks later, asked for an open book. It’s for his wife for Christmas.

          “I’ve never done an open book before,” I told him. “But I can try.”

          “How about a cross sitting on an open book?” Mike suggested.

          And this is my attempt at an open book. It’s meant to have lots of character, aka, ragged edges, and I’m gonna try to make it look old and antiquey when I paint it. The cross is one of my molds so it’s pretty much perfect — at least until I paint it!

>>>*<<<

          Mike and I decided to go out for lunch and we decided to go to a local place for a salad and slice of pizza. The restaurant opened at 11 and it was, like, a quarter after when we walked in. They did not have even one pizza out of the oven.

          “We have cheese and pepperoni coming out in a few,” she said.

          I turned to Mike. “You wanna go someplace else?”

          “Yeah. Let’s go to the Ram Zone and try one of their pizzas. They’re supposed to be really good.”

          We went in and found a table. This gal came to take our drink order. She had a sparkly personality and you knew right away that you were gonna love her.

          Becky left and came back with our drinks. “I’ll be back in a minute to take your order.”

          We were sitting right in front of the air conditioner and it was blowing on us. “You wanna move to another table?” I asked.

          “Yeah. Let’s go up there,” Mike answered and nodded to a booth farther away from the blowing, cold air.

          Becky was going past with food for another table.

          “We moved,” Mike said. “It was cold over there.”

          “I figured,” Becky said over her shoulder.

          “It’s probably not the first time it’s happened,” I told Mike.

          When she came back for our order, Mike asked, “Can we get a pizza?”

          “No. We don’t have pizza on the menu anymore,” Becky said.

          “Do you have a pizza night?” I asked thinking it might be a special sometimes.

          “No. We don’t do them at all anymore. I wish they’d bring ‘em back because so many people are asking for ‘em,”

          Mike got the pulled pork BBQ and I got a mushroom Swiss melt. Mike was sad. His BBQ was just okay but my burger was really good.

          Becky picked up Mike’s unused straw from the table we vacated earlier, then laid the ketchup on its side. “I wonder why she did that,” Mike mused.

          When we had a chance to ask her, she said, “I do that so I remember I haven’t wiped the table yet.”

          “How clever!” I exclaimed. That would’ve been a helpful hack to know back when I waitressed a hundred years ago.

          “What’s your last name?” I asked thinking she reminded me of someone.

          Becky hesitated and her eyes went up and to the left. “Ferris,” she finally answered.

          “Why did you have to think about it?” I asked, puzzled.

          “Ferris is my married name.”

          So, it’s new to her, I thought. “Did you recently get married?”

          “Pffft! No! Married twenty years!”

          Now I’m curious. “What was your maiden name?”

          “Woodruff,” she said.

          I’m going to guess that she hesitated because she had to decide if I was asking about her family name or married name. I’ve been asked several times in my life who my parents were.

          Becky was — is just such a beautiful lady! I bet all of her customers love her.

>>>*<<< 

          All y’all know that I make mistakes and I don’t mind telling on myself. Look what I did.

          “What are those?” you ask.

          Those, my dears, are the food cups for my bird cage. I washed them and you can’t put food in wet cups. No matter how dry I think I get them, I always end up with food stuck to spots I’d missed. I put the oven on its lowest heat and put the cups in to dry. I use the oven to dry stuff all the time!

          Hmmm. I didn’t think the oven would get hot enough to melt the thick plastic. Obviously, I was wrong. Maybe the plastic they use has a low melting point and it’s not my fault at all! Yeah! Let’s go with that one! I had no choice but to use them anyway. They still held food. I could still hook them in place on the side of the bird cage. I just couldn’t put the covers back on them.

          Mike, that dear, sweet, long-suffering man of mine, ordered a new set.

          That’s not my only blunder this week either.

          I got a notice from my insurance company that my claim was approved.

          I didn’t file a claim, I thought and went to the website. There was a claim filed for two prescriptions and I don’t take any prescription drugs. I didn’t recognize the names of the drugs and, of course, they have them listed by the prescription name and not common name. What the heck is Fluz-own — that’s how I said it in my head. The other one I didn’t even try to say in my head. I looked to see who prescribed them and it was Gil. A hacker name if I ever heard one.

          “You’d better call,” Mike said.

          So, I did. The lady I talked to was getting me so frustrated! She verified my information twice. I’m thinking she was having computer trouble or something. Then she wanted to know my email.

          “Wait a minute. You just sent me an email saying you approved my claim so you have my email,” I said.

          “It’s not on here,” she said. “Do you want me to put it on here?”

          “You already have it.... Wait a minute. Am I even talking to my insurance company?” I questioned.

          “Yes. You are.”

          “Then let’s get to the reason I called. You pulled up my account. You should be looking at the same thing I am. I didn’t file a claim.”

          “Here’s one for Flu-zone...”

          As soon as she said it, I knew what it was, and I bet you do, too! I’d gotten my flu and COVID shots. That’s what the claim was for.

          “Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry! I did get those shots! I thought someone hacked into my account and filed a false claim.”

          She was very understanding and assured me it was just fine that I’d called.

          “You can’t be too careful these days,” my Miss Rosie said when I told her.

          Now, speaking of the Kipps...

          I love the Kipps, you know that. But I had to sit them down and have a heart-to-heart talk with them.

          “What’s going on?” I know you wanna know.

          I was making a new recipe. It’s called Marry Me Snack Mix. The recipe is fairly straightforward and I’d gotten all the stuff I needed to make it, but when I set about making it, the salt in the recipe was not listed in the directions.

          I’ll call Miss Rosie, she’ll know, I thought. I called, or rather, I tried to call. I kept getting a message that it wasn’t in service. Actually, I don’t remember the exact words from the message, whether it was that or the call couldn’t be completed, I don’t know. All I know is I wanted to talk to Rosie and I couldn’t! I tried for half an hour before I gave up and messaged her daughter, Jenn. “Do you know if their phone is out?” I asked.

          “I don’t know. Let me try,” Jenn said.

          She tried and she couldn’t get them either.

          I tried both Rosie’s and Lamar’s cell phones thinking if their landline was out, they’d turn their cell phones on. They didn’t. It went straight to voicemail.

          Well, luckily, I have a sister who’s a genius in the kitchen so I called her.

          “The recipe calls for me to melt the butter, sugar, and corn syrup in a pan. Then I boil for one minute, take it off the heat and add the vanilla and baking soda. No where does it tell me what to do with the salt,” I told Phyllis.

          Phyllis pulled up the recipe and looked for herself. “You’re right. It doesn’t say what to do with it. I think I’d put it with the butter and sugars in the pan.”

          So that’s what I did.

          The next day I had a talk with the Kipps. “Do they charge you when your cell phone is on?” I asked.

          “No. It’s the same every month no matter how much we use it,” Lamar said.

          “Then why don’t you leave your phone on when you’re home?” I wanted to know.

          Lamar thought for a second. “I turn it on when I leave but when I’m home I turn it off because we have the landline.”

          “But if your landline goes out, how can I get a hold of you?” I wanted to know. “Rosie, I needed you and I couldn’t get you!” I cried like my life depended on it. I was being overly dramatic. If I had really needed to talk to either of the Kipps, I would’ve jumped in the car or on the golf cart and gone down there.

          “I’m sorry,” she apologized. “What did you need me for?”

          I described my plight with the salt and what I did.

          “I agree with your sister. Put it in the stuff on the stove.”

          “I asked AI (artificial intelligence) afterward,” I told Miss Rosie, “And he said it goes in with the vanilla and baking soda. I told him, ‘Uh-oh. I already put it in with the butter and sugar.’ AI said it would be okay, and it was.”

          “I think the issue with the cell phone is Lamar forgets to charge it,” Miss Rosie said. “But honestly, we would rather people could get a hold of us at any time.”

          “Just put the charger there by your chair and when you sit down, plug it in. It just takes getting in the habit.”

          The next day, when I made my morning love call to that feisty redheaded neighbor of mine, Miss Rosie said, “When Lamar turned on his cell phone, he got a message from the provider that our phone was out and they would fix it as soon as they could.”

          Ha! Vindication!

          By the way, it's a really good snack mix.

          I want to end this time with the remaining photos in my file.

          I think we’ve been behind this motorcyclist before. He wears a backpack and passes in no passing zones. Maybe he loves the thrill of being a rebel. Maybe he’s always running late. I just hope he’s careful, even if what he’s doing is illegal. 

          Out of the corner of my eye, I caught an image of strange, skeletal birds sitting on the wires. When I turned to fully look. They’re wire separators.      

          Lastly, out by one of the posts that supports the kitchen awning, I see a mound of dirt pushing up. I puzzle over it but don’t investigate.

          A few days later the round caps of fungi appear.

          Then a few more days pass and they’re fully open and huge!

          I don’t know enough about mushrooms to know if they’re edible, so I took a photo and asked AI.     

“The mushrooms in your photo appear to belong to the genus Macrolepiota, a parasol mushroom known for its large size and distinctive cap patterns. The light brown caps with darker centers and white edges are characteristic of this genus. However, accurately identifying mushrooms can be tricky without more details, such as the gills underneath the cap or the habitat where they were found. It's important to be cautious, as there are some lookalikes that can be toxic.”

Well, then. I guess I’ll pass.

Something I will never pass on is reminding you how important you are to me. You’re all in my heart.

Let’s call this one done.