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Monthly Archives: November 2013

The Simple Woman’s Daybook

03 Nov
simple-woman-daybook-large

For today, Sunday, November 2, 2013

Outside my window…this morning I watched the leaves blow around the yard, dancing with the squirrels who were rooting around for nuts. Now, as I write this, it is getting dark way too quickly! I love the bonus hour of sleep we get from “falling back” but do not appreciate the early sundowns throughout the winter.

I am thinking…about new directions I can expand my job search this week. Maybe a volunteer opportunity could morph into a paying job? Can’t hurt to try!

I am thankful…for so many things, I couldn’t possibly list them all. But I’ll pick one…I’m thankful that my husband’s family will be gathering at our house for Thanksgiving this year. At last count, there will be 8 coming from Massachusetts and 6 (plus a dog) coming from Alabama. I gotta get to the store before all the 25+ pound turkeys are gone!

In the kitchen…there’s not a whole lot going on. It’s pizza Sunday, so it’s an easy prepping/cooking/cleaning day for me.

I am wearing…grey sweatpants and an over-sized Lions Club sweatshirt. Oh, and socks with frogs on them. 🙂

I am creating…lots of DIY projects around the house. This past week I sewed a valance for the master bath and curtain for the man door of the garage, repainted a full-length mirror for the master bath, and put a base coat of paint on a tissue box cover.

I am going…to start making large batches of soup to stockpile in our new freezer. The old freezer did not survive its five years in storage, so we just got a replacement delivered last week. Lots of room now for soups, stews, chili, and casseroles for the upcoming cold winter evenings.

I am wondering…how long it’s going to take me to catch up on seasons 3 and 4 of The Good Wife…the promos on now for season 5 are spoiling the storyline for me!

I am reading…the Sunday paper and Orkney by Amy Sackville.

I am hoping…that the guy who wants to buy our gym equipment on craigslist really shows up to collect it next weekend.

Some disassembly required.

Some disassembly required.

I am looking forward to…turning the current gym into a craft room/reading room/she-cave (see above).

I am learning…how to use Numbers on my iPad. I am building a spreadsheet of all the lightbulbs in our house. Why, other than catering to my Type A tendencies, would I require a spreadsheet? On the first floor, I need a ladder to reach every single light fixture (the stepladder, if I’m lucky, but a couple require the 4,000-lb. finger-crushing Little Giant). If a bulb blows, I don’t relish the idea of dragging out the ladder today to find out what wattage bulb I need, then dragging it out again whenever the day comes that I have simultaneously been in town and remembered that I needed a light bulb. If I have a spreadsheet of all my bulbs in Numbers, I can magically access it on my iPhone (thanks, iCloud) while at the store, without the struggle of the preliminary scouting climb.

Around the house…I see that it is time to dust and vacuum again. Didn’t I just do that??

I am pondering…dessert options for Thanksgiving dinner. I don’t do pumpkin, but I have a fast, easy recipe for pumpkin mousse that I’m thinking I could serve instead of a traditional pie…

A favorite quote for today…Ghandi-on-Change

One of my favorite things…is going to the library. So I’m thinking about volunteering there once a week. Downloaded and printed the volunteer application today.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Going to the gym (more than once), job-hunting, more DIY projects, cleaning light fixtures (and filling in the rest of that bulb spreadsheet), planning menus for the week the hubby’s relatives will be in town, and reorganizing the filing system in our home office.

A peek into my day…

margarita

Football and a margarita–a perfect Sunday afternoon.

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To read others’ Daybook posts, or to learn how to participate, visit The Simple Woman’s Daybook.

My Sunday free-write for NaBloPoMo.
NaBloPoMo November 2013

 
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Posted by on November 3, 2013 in Challenges

 

Eicke’s game

02 Nov

dachau-pistol-range-61.3Photo copyright 1999 by Philip Greenspun 

“It is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die.”

Bound and blindfolded, all hold their breath. Few hold their bowels.

“Anlegen, zielen, Feuer!”

Pistols crack.

Eicke’s words are an empty promise. Again.

Dignity is the only victim in this SS game. Today.

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Thirty-three words (not including the bold prompt, which comes from The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater) for Trifextra: Week Ninety-Two. For me, the words brought to mind the horrific mental torture endured by prisoners in Dachau, marched repeatedly to stand before SS firing squads. Sometimes the guns were loaded…sometimes they weren’t.

NaBloPoMo November 2013

 
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Posted by on November 2, 2013 in Challenges, Fiction

 

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Gratitude Photo Day 2: Love

02 Nov

loveMy true love and me exiting the theater into this afternoon’s sunshine.
I’m grateful that he still holds my hand everywhere we go.

Lessons learned from this quick snapshot:

  1. The middle of a busy parking lot may not be the best place for photography.
  2. Even a spontaneous shot could benefit from a little composition (I just spent 10 minutes retouching a yellow parking line out of the hubby’s shadow).
  3. Consider the perspective–neither of us is 12 feet tall, although you’d never know it from this photo.

30day photo challenge

 
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Posted by on November 2, 2013 in Challenges, Photography

 

Spend it, spend it all!

01 Nov

time and moneyPhoto by Joe Belanger

NaBloPoMo Friday, November 1, 2013
If you found one million dollars in the morning and had to spend it by nightfall, what would you do with the money?

If I had a million dollars
Well, I’d buy you a monkey
Haven’t you always wanted a monkey?

Oh, no, wait. That’s what the Barenaked Ladies would do if they had a million dollars. If I had a million dollars, I’d start out predictably, paying off the mortgage and my student loan, then writing checks to help family and friends realize some of their dreams. I’d rip up the carpet upstairs and put down hardwood floors, then go on a whirlwind curtain shopping expedition. I’d pay someone to design and build a deck and landscape the yard. I’d book the hubby and me on the Queen Mary 2 for our dreamed-of round-the-world cruise. I’d find a pair of jeans, a pair of boots, and a swimsuit that truly fit and wouldn’t bat an eye at the price tags. I’d buy the most expensive steak from Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, Gordon Ramsay Steak, and Food Lion and do a side-by-side taste test to determine once and for all if the price really does affect flavor (I’m guessing not as much as they’d like me to believe). I’d show up at my local Habitat for Humanity build with my hammer and a big fat check to fund their next project. I’d buy boatloads of books and oodles of school supplies to donate to kids in the local shelters. I’d make the day (year) of the guy panhandling on the corner. Lastly, I’d head to the neighborhood gas station and spend the rest of my million to fill up the tanks of anyone who could get there before nightfall.

I’m not sure I have a really good concept of just how far a million dollars will (or won’t) go these days, but it sure would be fun to find out!

NaBloPoMo November 2013

 
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Posted by on November 1, 2013 in Challenges

 

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Gratitude Photo Day 1: Color

01 Nov

photo 2

The fall colors have become much more intense in the local area over the past couple of days. The blazing red of this burning bush (actually a whole row of them) could not be ignored! I’m grateful that the strong winds that blew through over the last 24-hours didn’t tear them away before I could capture them (although they’d certainly make a brilliant carpet)!

30day photo challenge

 
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Posted by on November 1, 2013 in Challenges, Photography

 
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