Monday, October 20, 2025

Monet and Me

 

We didn't have the doodle class last week because of  Indigenous People's Day. The facilitator send a doodle for us to work on during the week. We finally got around to completing the assignment.

This was a very fun and relaxing doodle. Give it a try. Start with a circle, either freehand or with a template. Around the inside edge, draw half-circles, 3/4 circles and fill them in with concentric lines.

T Stands for The Tea Catalog

 

The tea catalog arrived from Harney and Sons. Fun to flip through the catalog while sipping a cup of tea. So many different types of tea. Black, Green, White. Herbal, Flavored. I'm partial to English Breakfast and Earl Grey.

Do you have a favorite blend of tea?

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth’s blog to find out what the rest of the T gang is up to. If you want to play, include a beverage or beverage container in your post. Don’t forget to link your blog from Bleubeard and Elizabeth’s page.

Sunday, October 19, 2025

How Does Your Garden Grow?



Looks like the squash got some protection during a frost warning


After much needed rain last week, the woods are showing a bit more color


The morning glories have passed, but the petunias are still hanging on.

How does your garden grow?

Saturday, October 18, 2025

Happy, Little, Time Wasters

 Get comfy with your favorite beverage for this tutorial.


DIY Pockets for Junk Journals
Vintage Page Designs

Friday, October 17, 2025

The Friday Five Good Things

 

Five good things that happened this week.

1. Another enjoyable evening watching seasonal movies. This time: Dracula (1931) starring the incomparable Bela Lugosi.

2. The new front doors should be arriving  around the first of November

3. My favorite clerk, S,  was on the desk at the post office when I brought some cards in to mail. She even hand cancelled all of them

4. Another fun movie: The Creature from the Black Lagoon

5. Himself ordered a chicken, pepper, mushroom pizza from Santorini's in Millbury that turned out to be pretty good. A new to us pizza place.

How was your week?

Thursday, October 16, 2025

TBT Reprints from CJ's Whine and Cheeze

 In 2003, Ma had a stroke. Dad was her full time caregiver until he he had a car accident that totaled the car. So in 2006, I became their chauffeur among other jobs.

At the time, to deal with the stress of running two households and working, I kept a blog entitled CJ's Whine and Cheeze. Egged on by some friends who enjoyed the first read through, you'll see your part when it comes by.



Saturday, May 05, 2007
Spontaneous Marketing

We were nearly out the door when Ma told Dad to get the cans for deposit. (Massachusetts has a nickel deposit on soda cans and bottles). Then she told him not to forget the five bottles for Roche Bros. (another supermarket on the other side of town).

I felt my blood begin to boil. “No, no, no, no, no. We are not going to stop at Roche Bros. for five bottles.”

“But we go right by.”

“No! You want to go to Market Basket, we’ll go to Market Basket, but we are not going to make stops along the way.”

“But the bottles!”

“Wait until you have ten, and then I’ll take you.”

Her eyes goggled at my disobedience. “I hope this never happens to you! I hope you never find yourself in a position where you can’t get help.”

I’m sure there was more to her tune. I only heard the small voice in my head whispering Peapod, peapod.

I can hear some tsking out there. “Shame on you for not stopping so the poor, old lady can get her deposit on a few bottles!”

You understand OPD is really an issue of control with a heaping helping of guilt tossed in for good measure. If I made the stop, I would be setting a new precedent. The one appointment/one outing rule would be forever changed. Stopping at Roche Bros. would mean another hour added to an already grueling task. First, there would be ten minutes at the bottle return, and then as long as we were there, let’s just check out the market specials. We’d still have the big shopping at Market Basket ahead of us. Nope, better to nip this kind of spontaneous marketing in the bud.

So we sailed right by Roche Bros. No comments were made. The shopping at Market Basket was whittled down to two hours. Ma and I tackled produce and Dad? Not sure what he was doing as he met up with us an hour or so later with three cans of baked beans in his cart.

Dad walked me to my car as I was leaving. I mentioned a future trip to Roche Bros. when he had gotten enough cans to make the trip worthwhile.

“What cans?”

“Ma said you had cans that had to be returned to Roche Bros.”

“I don’t have any cans for Roche Bros.”

I am so glad the Spontaneous Marketing Ruling was over ruled.