In addition to the Vera Bradley Wristlet that Starr wanted for her birthday, I decided that I wanted to make her a Zentangle of her name, similar to the one I made for her sister, my mom and my nephew. I kind of enjoy making them, though if I continue to make them, I will need to get new glasses so that I can really see what I am doing!! Blurry vision just wont cut it!
It’s 6 or 7 weeks past her birthday, but I finally finished it. At least it wasn’t a year like another project I made for her!! Oops, I don’t see a post of that finished project. I will have to remedy that!
These three quotes caught my attention this weekend and I wanted to pass them along:
To be a good human being is to have a kind of openness to the world, an ability to trust uncertain things beyond your own control, that can lead you to be shattered in very extreme circumstances for which you were not to blame. That says something very important about the condition of the ethical life: that it is based on a trust in the uncertain and on a willingness to be exposed; it’s based on being more like a plant than like a jewel, something rather fragile, but whose very particular beauty is inseparable from that fragility.
- Martha Nussbaum
Sound when stretched is music, Movement when stretched is dance, Mind when stretched is meditation…Life when stretched is celebration.
~Ravi Shankar~ Thank you Martha for this one. I love it.
From one viewpoint, religion can be seen as sort of a luxury. If you have religion, that’s good, but even without it you can manage and survive – but we can’t survive without human affection. While anger and hatred, like compassion and love, are part of our mind, I still believe the dominant forces are compassion and affection. Therefore, usually I refer to these human qualities as spirituality.
For the past two weeks or so, my exclamation of non-choice has been “For Pete’s Sake”. I don’t want to say it, I don’t like it, but out it comes!
For the first week I just said it in my head, but it was already starting to bother me when it started coming out vocally. “Oh, for Pete’s Sake!” Eyeroll!!
I may have even snuck in a “for the love of Pete” here and there. Ugh!
Luckliy I say it at appropriate times, in frustration, annoyance or dismay, not (yet) say in greeting!
I mentioned the dirty rag bin that Sammy was napping in yesterday. I thought that I might elaborate a bit:
Microfiber cloths are one of my favorite things. I bought a pack of about 25 for less than $10 in the automotive department at Sam’s Club.
I wanted to try them, I wanted to like them. I didn’t expect to love them. I love them. I use them dry or damp, depending on the job I am attacking. I love the streak-free finish on windows and glass.
It is important to wash them in a load of microfiber cloths alone. If you wash them with other clothing or towels, particles and fibers from those items will cling to the microfiber and make them less effective. Also, don’t use fabric softener as the oils will attach to the fibers of the cloths taking away some of their awesomeness. I designated a bucket for clean cloths and one for dirty ones, once the dirty pile is large enough to make a decent load for the washer, I do a load. Simple as that.
With these microfiber cloths, I also use my homemade non-toxic cleaners:
20 drops Grapefruit Seed Extract (which can be found in vitamin and supplement section of your local health food store) to disinfect
Optional: add 5-10 drops of essential oil for fragrance. I found that the Mrs. Meyers was fragrant enough, I don’t need to add any additional fragrance.
Give the bottle a shake and you are ready to roll!
Window Cleaner
1/2 t natural liquid detergent, I use Mrs. Meyers again
3 t white vinegar
2 c water
Mix in spray bottle and use! I really like it.
I like the way they work and they are inexpensive to make. I found the spray bottles at Sam’s Club too.
Sammy is always finding a new place to nap. This weekend I found him in my dirty cleaning rag bin. He looks cozy and cute, but ick!! I might have to find a lid for this box and use it! I guess that I need to cover the clean rag bin too…cleaning with cat hair coated rags seems counterproductive!
The other day I heard Sammy crying for help. I was having trouble locating him, but finally narrowed it down to the laundry room. I thought maybe he had jumped behind the washing machine and started pulling out the little cart that lives between the machines so that he could walk out. He wasn’t there. Looking up, I found him distressed and DUSTY!!! on top of the cabinets. Silly. You can’t see the dust in this picture, but apparently I have never dusted up there because the dust bunnies were enormous!!
Yes, we painted the laundry room red several years ago, but never finished!! Someday.
They are a guilty pleasure so we don’t have them very often.
For our Butter Burgers, I take compound butter (recipe below) and cut it into smallish chunks (1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces–it won’t really matter in the end!!) and then mix it with the ground beef…you should see chunks of butter pretty evenly distributed throughout the meat. We tried wrapping the meat around and/or sticking a large piece of butter into the center of the burgers, but we like our way better, it spreads the flavor throughout the burger!! Divide into burgers and grill or pan fry until they are done like you like ‘em. Serve on your favorite buns with cheese. I will add mayo because I am weak like that!
Dragonfly’s Compound Butter
1 pound butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon chopped chives
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 clove garlic minced
fresh ground pepper
Mix the herbs into the butter. Shape the butter into a log and stick it in the freezer. After a little while, I cut it into smaller chunks to make storage easier. It will keep in the freezer for a long time. Use in butter burgers, on top of salmon, chicken, steak or where ever you want. Feel free to play with your favorite herbs and flavors.
Last night I had an ocular migraine. I don’t get them often, maybe 2 to 3 times a year. It’s not painful, but it is unsettling. What I see is similar to the painting below, but the circle was closer to being complete and it was more colorful/prismatic.
I was trying to tell Starr what I was seeing and how it was frustrating me when she interrupted me and said “stop freaking out”…I wasn’t freaking out, I was talking!! Rude. Okay, maybe I was going on about it, but–dude!–I couldn’t see normally!!
*At some point this morning, I had a decent transition/connection planned for these two things, but I lost it! : ) Oh well.*
Now. This morning, Starr woke up with a swollen puffy face. It looks like fluid retention. We’ve both experienced similar before, but it has been happening more and more often lately and she is not happy. Today was the worst it’s been so far, her cheeks, eyes and lips were all puffy. She did not look like herself, she looked sick. Our morning consisted of ice packs, whining and Googling. She has been drinking water, her diet hasn’t changed, she hasn’t been sick. She has increased her workouts.
She asked me to post the problem to the blog (no pictures were allowed!) and see if anyone has any ideas or help for her.
We will keep an eye on it and if it continues I will make sure that she goes to the doctor.
Name? Kelly. Mysterious? Not really. Passionate? Yes. Lazy? Sometimes. Outgoing? Not a bit. Trusting? Mmhmm. Artistic? On good days. Crazy? Could be. Trustworthy? Absolutely. Graceful? I wish. Sarcastic? Often. Deserving? You bet. Forgiving? Yes. Religious? No. Spiritual? Yes. Uncertain? At times. Confused? Sure. Distracted? Daily. Silly? Yeah. Talkative? Not. Punctual? To a fault. Breakable? Quite.
This is not a music blog. While it is my desire to share free and legal music here (music is a part of me), it is not my goal to critique this music.
If I have posted music, it is because I like it, and it moves me at the moment. It might match my mood, it could be on repeat, or mirror the sentiment of my post. It might be quite random, and just what I wish to share.
*Older links may not always work, as promotional MP3s, in particular, are known to disappear without warning.
Artists and labels: if I have erred and posted a song inappropriately, let me know, and I will remove it.
To download a song: on a PC, right click the link and choose "save link as"
Kelly on 
