Maintaining Sanity; Backing Away from Facebook

 Hi, friends. Some of you are much wiser than I am and have long ago backed away from Facebook. Perhaps not deleting your account, but just backing away. I find myself so stressed out lately about conversations there of all types, most of them on other people's pages, not my own. Some about politics, but others about various cultural topics. After yesterday, I just can't take the anxiety load anymore.

Part of the damage is that my anxious mind has difficulty relaxing enough to do things that I really want to do, like reading your blogs! Your nice, peaceful, happy, creative, beautiful blogs -- just the kind of social media that brings peace! Why has it taken me so long to have the courage to back away from Facebook? Well, there are people who I only see there, dear friends, family. So I'll try to check in with them, hope they will private message me. I'll still put my blog posts and watercolors there. But I have to get away from the actual text posts that go off-the-rails so fast.

Granny Marigold mentioned a youtube lady whose channel is called The Last Homely House. She's utterly delightful and creative, and makes many of the same kinds of things I like to make! Go give her a look. This morning I enjoyed watching how to hand-sew small Coptic-stitched books.

Now for a few photos of what's been happening here.

Two new baby chicks, with Henny Penny as their mama.

Four more eggs are being sat upon, but I don't think they're going to produce chicks.

Yesterday I wrapped some cured soap, tea tree bars and lavender bars.

I'll put their stickers and price tags on soon. Planning to return to the farmer's market in September when it's cooler ... if the crowds are manageable.

I've been looking at last year's autumn "Victoria" magazine for pleasure and inspiration.

Adam's still cooking yummy, healthy stuff. He must change his diet for better nutrition for his Pemphigus Vulgaris - lots of leafy greens and vegetables. He made a delicious eggplant dish called Spetzofai, on his homemade bread.

Eggplant, onion, red bell peppers, tomatoes, garlic, balsamic vinegar, wine, a bit of sugar

Summer is coming to a close, and with the cooler mornings and evenings, Adam and I want to develop a habit of walking with the dogs. We drove to Oriental to one of our favorite old walks: looking at boats on the docks at a marina.

Below is the "Blue Bayou," which used to be a very fast racing boat. It's in a sad state now. I blogged about it a few years ago. We were amazed that it's still floating. Adam laughed and said he realized while walking past it that the name is a lovely word-play. As a winning racing boat, it could also be spelled, "Blew By You"!

What a sky!

The pair of catamarans below have been anchored out in the Neuse in front of Oriental for a few days. Just chillin'.

Still painting a little. For months I've tried to figure out how to add a watermark to my photos of my watercolors. Finally! -- I found I could do it on my phone! Nothing techy is ever easy for me!

I painted a few pugs. This one looks friendly!

Sunset last night:

That's it for today! I hope you all are well and safe from storms, fire, and pandemics. What a world we are in! And for Facebook friends ... I may return, probably after November, or in the New Year.

Coping

There are times in life when we flourish, and times when we only cope. I'm amazed at some friends who are seeming to flourish during this pandemic, which is wonderful! More and more, I am just coping. I don't think it's the virus and all its daily terrors that are getting to me so much. It's Adam's complicated, baffling, exhausting array of illnesses he's had since mid-March. We are both worn out.

So tomorrow morning I am going to Ocracoke to visit a friend for a few days of rest. I intend to do nothing, until I want to do something, and then I'll only do what I want ... a sure recipe for discontentment, haha! We will have fun, and I plan to eat from the Mexican food truck nearby. I want to smell sea air and walk along the sandy alleys on the island near the tiny shops. Otherwise, I don't much care what we do.

I went shopping at the local thrift store yesterday, hooray! Here are a few clothes I found to take to Ocracoke:

 A linen skirt and thin, drapey blouse above, both of which I had to mend a bit ... and below, my favorite shirt.

I also found toys for grandchildren to play with, when they come to Nana's house. Want to see?

 a castle (needed some repair)

 a barn

 beach toys

a bulldozer

I'll take a couple of books and my watercolors to the beach, just in case I want them. I still haven't found a book that's grabbed my interest, so I've returned to old, faithful Mr. Trollope.

 This one below is more of a booklet.

I sewed a little pouch for my paint brushes. Art cases are rather expensive. This one is a temporary fix.

 Slip your brushes in those slots, plus anything larger in the two end slots, and then roll it up.

 I had this very cute red fabric, but alas! it had drops of superglue dotted all over it :(  I cut the girls out of the fabric, and appliqued them onto my pouch. I think she's so cute.

 I ended up painting four versions of the orange tulips. This last one was on 9"x12" Arches paper, very nice, rather expensive paper. 

 If you are not bored of painting quite yet, here is a series of goose/goslings I did, following a lovely video by a painter on facebook.
First one. I didn't like the color of the goose.

 So I gave her a brown body.

 The water is hard to get right. A third attempt:

 Are you still reading? Bless you! 
What's Adam doing, on days when his mouth isn't killing him with sores? He's at his computer, starting up a new youtube endeavor! He's making tutorial videos for people around the world who play a game called "Crusader Kings." The existing videos are poor quality, but millions of people play this challenging game. He's been a good game-player for most of his life. He got himself a new "gamer" chair that is more comfortable than the wooden dining room chair he was using:

 And, the last of the peas. The cool spring garden is coming to an end.

You're lovely to bear with me. I may post on Ocracoke. I'll certainly take pictures and post afterward. Time to rest my nerves. What is it that Mr. Bennett says to Mrs. Bennett ... that her nerves have been his constant companions these many years? I feel the same about my nerves!

Every Bloomin' Day!

 Are we still plugging along, my friends? Yes, we are. I've been painting a bit because folks have been ordering my cards, and I've been shipping them away. Here are a few favorites from last week.

 The lavender (above) is a fuzzy photo. I really like this type of painting (below):

 Geraniums:

 At last, I am biting the bullet and getting some of my watercolors made into packages of assorted cards. I'm in the process of working on that with the printers in New Bern.

I don't post about my chickens much anymore, but they are still a part of my daily life, and I enjoy them. Below are Clementine the Mean, Sheena the Assertive, and Sylvie the Loud Mouth.

 I think those two hens between them could run the world.

I did finish Adam's vest at last. Many adjustments need to be made in the next version, but he's enjoying this one. I bought lots of these buttons at the thrift store months ago. I knew they'd come in handy.

 I bought this stunning hanging basket at the nursery recently, among other plants that were a splurge and I probably should NOT have bought them ... but I couldn't resist. Isn't she beautiful? I sit on the back deck (which is now cleared of potting paraphernalia) and gaze at her.

 Adam and I were doing stuff at the church and checking in on a couple of folks this past week. We chatted at them outside in their yards, wearing our masks. We stopped at the local grocery store, the Piggly Wiggly. (Except this is a little store, not nearly so big as the Big Pig. So everybody calls it the Piglet.) We got two lunches to go, parked in front of the wide river, and had a little car date.

 Other people were there doing the same. We saw friends. A dog begged from car to car. People adjust and find new ways to enjoy life, even in a pandemic.

Adam is not well yet. His Mono still makes him tired. His eyes are much better but not quite well yet. But now he has thrush in his mouth -- yeast infection. It is painful and uncomfortable. It hurts to talk, to swallow, even to chew. I made nice, soft pancakes this past week for him. These are our strawberries from the garden.

 My dear mother-in-law sent me a wonderful "happy"! Now I can paint directly on watercolor cards, instead of gluing the watercolor paper onto separate cards. This is nice paper!

 My herb bed looks like a magical sea of airy cilantro blooms. I want to bury my face in it and breathe in.

 That wasn't much to tell! Maybe because we are kind of meandering through life right now as many people are. When all our tomorrows look quite unpredictable  and uncertain, it's sometimes easiest to turn to the points of beauty around us for calm and comfort. Blooms do that for me. I hope you are finding peace in your disrupted days. 

"Let not your hearts be troubled."

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace

whose mind is stayed on Thee."

"Lo, I will be with you."

"I will not leave your nor forsake you."

In the end, regardless of how we may all disagree about it, we will all pass through these Coronavirus days together, and emerge on the other side together.  And history will decide the details. We will remember how we felt, how we treated each other. Especially this year, I want to remember to stop and smell the flowers.

What I've Been Up To ... And It's Not Covid

Hi, friends. It's been a busy week or two! As our stay-homeness has progressed, I've found myself adjusting to it and getting on with life. Most of my mental time in the past month has been dedicated to my very sick husband. He has two viruses (neither of which is Covid-19, thankfully!). He has Mononucleosis, and he has Pharyngoconjuntival Fever. The first is in his throat; the second is in his eyes. After a visit to his eye doctor and one last visit to the pharmacy, he is on the mend!

So ... no, I have not been obsessed with Covid-19, as some friends assume. I've been much more worried about what's wrong with Adam.

Have I been hunkered in front of my laptop, consuming scary virus news? (I ask this only because some people have assumed I am.) No! I've been doing these things:

Cleaning out the garage. (This has been a many-days, exhausting job.)

 It doesn't look like it's been cleaned out, but believe me ....
Part of the garage trash:

Then cleaning out the back of the garage to turn it into my new potting shed!

 This area was chest-high with junk. You could not walk into it. I wanted it for a potting shed, so all the stuff had to go into the garage ... hence the garage clean-out.
Potting area:

 Storage area:

 Those tubs and tool boxes are Adam's but are too heavy for me to move. 
More junk:

 This contraption held all the nails/screws/nuts/bolts the elderly previous-owner had accumulated for decades. I cleaned it up too. Adam doesn't want it. I think it's cool but have no idea what to do with it. Ideas, you clever friends?

Working in the garden. (I found sprouted potatoes in the garage that we'd forgotten were there! They were planted.) The peas are all blooming, the lettuce and spinach are perfect, and the strawberries are amazing this year!

asparagus, strawberries, and a volunteer elderberry plant I dug up

 

Digging around in my flower beds.

Weeding out my herb beds. I made a video about the herb beds, but it was awful.
Painting!

 I sent off watercolors to three different friends last week!

Sewing. I'm now making a perfect pattern from which I can make Adam all the swanky vests he could ever want.

I bought this pattern at a German lady's Etsy shop and downloaded it. Then I printed it off, taped it all together at the little x's, and cut the pattern pieces out. I'll make at least one mock-up vest for Adam from fabric I have in my stash. I think the pattern will need adjusting to fit him perfectly. Then I'll order some nice wool and satiny liner to make a fine vest. After that, we won't have to order vests online anymore that don't fit correctly; I can make him all the vests he likes!

This has ended up being a productive time. For about a week sometime in March, I was a slug and lay around discouraged at the changes in the world. But here in rural N.C., life hasn't really altered all that much for folks like us who stay at home a lot anyway. The biggest struggle has been Adam's illness(es), not the Covid Virus. 

We all cope with this event differently, but I think it's so, so important not to criticize others for how they handle it, or presume to think we know their attitudes or feelings. We don't. Depending on people's temperaments, health, family members, locations, and occupations, their responses to Covid-19 will vary. It is unkind to state an assumption about how someone is responding to it, much less to criticize their response. I'm keeping track of Covid much as I keep track of hurricanes in the autumn, staying glued to Mike's Weather Page - because it interests me. That's all.

But Covid is out there, and this is a fascinating, bizarre time to live in, right? I find it interesting to read about and stay abreast of, in the middle of all the other things I'm doing. I hope you do too! One day when our grandchildren ask us what it was like to live in 2020, I want to be able to give an informed, interesting answer.

Stay well out there!