20 Years on Blogspot

It's called Blogger now, but I was there when it was Blogspot. My web address still reflects that.

So much has changed in my life since then. My life has certainly not followed the trajectory I had planned, but that's ok. I couldn't have imagined where my life is now.

My husband left, but I found a life partner in Ivy. The kids have all grown and mostly moved out, and now the grandkids come to visit. I am not a teacher or professional artist, but I do have a job with people I love to support, occasionally get to teach an artistic class, and I create art I love making instead of feeling I need to hustle it. While I don't own a multi-story Victorian with a gazillon rooms, I do own the property I live on, and am slowing making it the home of my heart.

And today, as my blogger turns 20, I turn 56. As I said on my Patreon, "Mostly it doesn't feel like I could be over 50. But sometimes I catch myself in the mirror and am surprised." But I have a had a blog for over 20 years -- this blog, I wrote on other platforms before this one -- of course I'm old. And it beats the alternative! ^o^

The Week in Photos: 7-22-12

• My Mommy
• My birthday cake
• JoAnn on her birthday
• Thistle & Yellow-Spotted Cucumber Beetle
• Fruit Bowl
• Ant on his birthday (with Jacqueline)
• Harborfest Fireworks

30 Days of Me: Day 18

Day 01 – Introduce Yourself
Day 02 – Your first love
Day 03 – Your parents
Day 04 – What you ate today
Day 05 – Your definition of love
Day 06 – Your day
Day 07 – Your best friend
Day 08 – A precious item
Day 09 – Your beliefs
Day 10 – What you wore today
Day 11 – Your siblings
Day 12 – What’s in your bag
Day 13 – This week
Day 14 – Your childhood
Day 15 – Your dreams
Day 16 – Your first kiss
Day 17 – Your favorite memory
Day 18 – Your favorite birthday

It would indubitably be my very last birthday! For Jacqueline's 40th birthday, I planned 40 things for her to do (some small like getting morning hugs from the kids, some big like driving down to Syracuse), and this year she reciprocated when I turned 40! I had a BLAST!

We walked the Oswego Harbor pier, went to Brietbeck Park playground, and walked the shore by Fort Ontario; then we had lunch at McDonald's, took some pics behind St. Paul's cemetary, and walked a *tiny* bit around Rice Creek (although by that time I had to go to the bathroom pretty bad...); and topped it all off with a delicious dinner of grilled veggies, pepper steak, corn on the cob, and the most fabu cake ever! And those were just the big things! There were so many other fun things... Just the best best best...

Jacqueline at the Pier


Me in a tree by the Fort


♥ CAKE! ♥


Day 19 – Something you regret
Day 20 – Your morning routine
Day 21 – Your job and/or schooling
Day 22 – Something that upsets you
Day 23 – Something that makes you feel better
Day 24 – Something that makes you cry
Day 25 – Your sleeping habits
Day 26 – Your fears
Day 27 – Your favorite place
Day 28 – Something that you miss
Day 29 – Your favorite foods/drinks
Day 30 – Your aspirations

CAKE!

I might have forgotten to mention the fabulous cake I was going to have for my birthday... It was fabulous! XD I thought you all might want to see some pictures! Oh and JoAnn & Ant had birthdays with sweet treats too! So their pics are here too...

3 batches of butter cream frosting weren't enough! The outside is whipped cream!


And this was tempting us all night!


Making wishes: me for my birthday, Ant for cake! ^-^


After serving...


Leftovers! Lia is the only one who finished her whole piece! o.O


Josie made her own Lemon Bars! And we all played Clue!


Finishing touches on Ant's Japanese Strawberry Shortcake!


Ant didn't want his picture taken... so I had to be sneaky... ^o^


Oh noes! After cutting it fell apart! >.<


It was still very tasty!

Looking for a Gift?

I am sure you all are! You know my birthday is Wednesday...

Well here's a hint:

Rabbirds: Mourning Doves by `ursulav on deviantART

Is that not the best picture ever?!

Ok, so, you know I am all kidding about that...

If you really wanna throw your money at me, you can buy me time on LJ, or send random cash to my PayPal to help pay rent...

Mosaic Monday Bunday

This week it's a special birthday-anniversary edition! Just for my Sweet Sunshine! Bunnies with foxes, bunnies with sunshine, bunnies cuddling & loving, and a fairy bunny granting wishes for a very hoppy birthday!

Click any pic to see its Etsy listing!

38th Anniversary of my Birth Day

This morning I woke up all achy and sore, and blearily waddled my way to the bathroom for my morning ritual. And as I sat there, inside my head, there was a little girl, bouncing up & down and from side to side, screaming and singing, over & over, "IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!!" Sometimes I wish I could still be that kids and bounce around and scream and yell, but my body disagrees...

Anyway, I checked out my window as usual, and this is what greeted me...
Despite having mowed everything down, the meadow looks quite lovely; we even have some chickory! ^_^

Then, my sweet darling love created me a special ice coffee beverage for breakfast, which was served with birthday hugs from my dork-a-boo!


After a relaxing morning spent reading & replying to various birthday greetings, Jacqueline & I went out and ran a few errands. While shopping, we picked up some picnic food and went on an impromptu picnic. We found a nice place near the lake to eat, and happened to discover this little trail...
After eating we decided to check it out.

Just a short jaunt in, the trail opened up to the lake...


And to a long drop down a steep rocky slope...
Note the great blue heron flying away! ^_^

We decided not to go any further because the trail got *very* close to that drop, and opted to take some pics instead...



And somehow Jacqueline convinced me to try to climb a tree...
Thirty-eight year old fat chicks shouldn't try climbing trees - particularly not barefoot in a skirt - but I did find 13¢ in the crook of 2 branches! ^_^

When we re-emerged from the woods, there were several large birds flying low overhead. I *think* they were golden eagles, but they may not have been...


Then we headed home, where I had a beautiful and refreshing sparkling cherry lemonade, and JoAnn & I reorganized some of my crafting supplies to the tantalizing scent of pulled BBQ pork in the crock pot...


Unfortunately, I neglected to take photos of my delicious BBQ pork sammiches and the scrumptious four-layer German chocolate torte we had, but here is a shot of the artistic creations the girls made for me...


Lia also gave me a My Little Pony, which I *think* is Wisteria (the year on her hoof is 2002!), and you can see Ant's gift to me here...

And now, it is way past my bedtime, and the skeeters are getting more persistent in their attemps to feed on me; so I'll be off to bed! ^_^ G'night!