Ta-da!!

There were times when it felt as if M. C. Escher and I would never reach the pinnacle of our relationship.  Perseverence however,  ultimately triumphed over discouragement. 
Just a few days over six months later, it is done!  Now, what to do next–take it apart and submit someone else to six months of frustration, or, glue it together, finding a [...]

The Mighty 198

1302 down (literally, by the way) 198 to go.
There is a side bet going with the contractor–which puzzle will be done first, the jigsaw puzzle or the bathroom puzzle?

Jigsaw Puzzle Update

Back story:  A quiet moment cleaning a closet over the weekend between Christmas and New Year’s sparked the idea to actually put together the 1500-piece puzzle that had sat there un-assembled for over 20-years.  Momentarily forgetting that the real world was only a week away, the puzzle was pulled from the closet.  The idea that it didn’t seem right to [...]

Busy Day

Today was the perfect day to do a yard work blitz.  Man-of-my-dreams worked until 3:00 pm, then left for a weekend charity golf tournament.  That meant that my time was totally mine for the whole day.  Stopping to cook or even get presentable to go out for the evening was completely off the agenda.  With no one but myself to [...]

Keep the Change!

My friend and favorite bartender/short-order cook loves to hear the expression “Keep the change!”  To her, that means that the guest, as the customer relations expert has advised them to say, was happy with the meal, and her service in particular.  “Keep the change!” means money in her pocket.
At the grocery store the other day, [...]

Collecting Quarters

The release of the State Quarters has only a few more to go.  The end of the run is fast approaching.  In 1998, and most of 1999, commercials saturated the airways.  Challenges to “Order your collector’s album now!” were running constantly.  The album I ordered for $19.99 is almost full.  
Truthfully, my interest has waned.  Each already released coin’s slot [...]

Slow Rain is like Slow Dancing

Rainy days are the exact opposite of stormy days.  Rainy days are calming, soothing, relaxing–like a  much anticipated slow dance.  Stormy days are full of angst, tension and worry.  Rainy days are for glancing out the window, watching the shades of green emerge as the dust is washed away.  Stormy days bring branches crashing to the [...]

Organized Grocery Shopping

Pennies saved are pennies earned.  Eating what is in season and what is already available in your ’frig and cupboards will stretch your grocery budget.  A huge money waster in many household budgets is the very bad habit of throwing out and wasting food.  Food that has already had the effort exerted to pick out, cart home and store.  Not only is money wasted, [...]

Double Doing

While we are all familiar with the timeless reminder to stop and enjoy the roses (although in my case lately it has been stop and enjoy the morning glories), the realities of life are that we have many goals for any given day and, alas, the same amount finite amount of time to work through [...]

Time Savers

Now that the summer season has arrived, practially every minute of every day is jam-packed with activity.  The Gershwins wrote ”Summertime and the living is easy….” George and Ira must have had maids and gardeners because the additional outside duties, added to the regular inside chores make any opportunity to free up even a few minutes worthwhile.
Cooking obviously eat up chunks [...]