Man, I had a GREAT DAY! My little bro came over and helped me take the storms off and stack them in the shed, the house is full of bird song and the smell of fresh cut grass, woo! We found the little man a new-to-him bike at the thrift store that my mom bought and my bro gave a little once over to, nice! Then mom and bro brought me over a lawn mower from the cottage and cut the grass on the front lawn. We're off to town for swim lessons and grocery shopping after a light supper. What a great day.

Yesterday was pretty awesome too, we went to a vegan potluck in Michigan and walked a labyrinth outside afterwards, had dinner at the Hare Krishna mansion (I've been wanting to go there again for ages), bought what looks like $60 worth of produce from Randazzo's for only $24 (!!!) and got to see grandpa for dinner before we came home (he was away on a golfing trip). Dude, I love summer. It makes for easier and more fun everything!

Glad you had such a great day coco!

Still morning here. I did yoga and ate breakfast (bananas with seed yogurt, plus cucumber, lemon juice, and 3 figs).

Now I have to go to town and do errands - including getting shots (horror!) required for continuing to volunteer at the hospital. I put off the second round of measles and Hep B for so long that now I have to start over.

hey suncloud

just wondering
what motivates you to volunteer at the hospital
if it means that you are going to get shots ("horror": your own words)
i would understand if someone had to do that in order to keep their job and pay their bills so their home won't go into foreclosure or they won't end up homeless or ... they would have food to put on the table...

then they would compromise their health in order to pay the bills etc.

i'm assuming that either the hospital staff treated you very well when you needed them so you are motivated to volunteer

or you just have an unusually big heart

or something else

just curious

that's a big sacrifice

i wouldn't volunteer at the hospital if it meant getting shots
unless something rather profound motivated me to do so

I have a family member who works in a nursing home/rehab & she refuses the vaccinations/shots. They make her sign a waiver...

Yes, but what did you guys do today?! (I wouldn't volunteer at a place I had to get shots for either, too scary.)

I stretched on the front porch this morning in the sun.
Went swimming with the baby girl, her giant knee scab got soft and fell off which resulted in a seriously bloody pant leg later on, oh yay. She is fascinated rather than repelled by the whole thing which is quite the switch from her big brother. Even at 9, if this was his leg he'd be screaming to high heaven, never mind when he was her age. Oh, the drama. Boy does not like injuries to his self.
Check my girl out though, both knees, elbows, hands and face and hardly a complaint about it. She's a toughy [www.flickr.com]
We're eating some watermelon right now and I'm thinking how great it would be to plant some in the yard and sell them this summer. My kid's version of a lemonaide stand. Wonder if we could do it or not... Take them down to the beach on sunny days and slice them up? Hmm...
Oh, I know! If they're seeded I can encourage people to compost their rinds and seeds in the grassy bank, then maybe next year we'll get some wild melons down there by the beach. Oh My, that Would be amazing!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/26/2010 06:47PM by coco.

Hey coco,

How 'bout another "smoothie measles" pic! That one you posted months ago was sooooo cute! (especially her mad face!)

...Sorry, I don't have anything exciting to report...just working, day after day, doing repairs to the house after the harsh winter; getting ready to redo the kitchen in the next month (hopefully) after putting it off for months.

awwww, wow your kid is a tough one! my lil niece who is 4 now, freaks out if she even gets a tiny scratch... I found the only way to stop her freaking out was to go "heyyy kai! wanna see something really funny?!" and she whines/screams "yeaah" then I lift her shirt up and do that thing where you blow on the kids belly so it tickles and makes funny sounds, and she starts laughing and giggling and forgets all about being hurt,lol...

As far as my day goes, not much to report here either... ate breakfast, took the bus to the store to pick up strawberries that where on sale today for only $1 a pound! but they where all out, so picked up some banana's for .79 and some more carrots .50 lb while they where still on sale...and headed back home... now im drinking a carrot and banana smoothie,lol... texture has improved considerably since I sharpened the blades on my blender again...

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

La V,

Thanks for your concern!

I'm volunteering one day/week at the office in the Food Service Dept. It's OK. None of the dietitians are vegan, but I figure if they can put up with me, I should be able to put up with whatever.

I'm working toward a degree in dietetics, hoping to eventually become a registered dietitian (RD). I pretty much have to volunteer at the hospital to be accepted into the two-year "practice experience". The dietitians have a policy against accepting students, but they're making an exception for me since I'm willing to volunteer for over 2 years in advance.

Crazy, I know. I'll be 64 by the time I'm ready to take the RD exam (Just approaching my youth, I think. Not quite up to the prime of life).

I'd rather avoid the shots of course. I hope they don't kill me or give me Alzheimers or something. But what the heck. I've had a great life this time around.

Today was my volunteer day. I labelled menus, cut and folded, and ate delicious red ripe lychees that one of the dietitians brought to work. This dietitian gets up early every morning to work out and go surfing before work. An inspiration!

After work, my husband and I visited our mangosteen trees and got to see lots and lots of precious little mangosteens starting on the trees.

We gave RedDog a bath because he rolled over in wild pig @#$%&.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/27/2010 04:56AM by suncloud.

I worked on my accoustic guitar I am making, may finaly be done this week.

Mangosteen, wild pig @#$%&, wow! You live some kinda life there Suncloud!

back2eden Wrote:
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> I worked on my accoustic guitar I am making, may
> finaly be done this week.

Pictures? Sounds amazing.

It's sunny out, I am shackled to the house until I get this craft room sorted out. Not a happy camper. But I WILL be, once it's done. Light at the end of the tunnel...

yes, pictures and maybe sound files soon.

Cool!

Today I am cutting the grass (I LOVE that smell!), will have to watch out for small toads.
Then it's the same old, sifting through mountains of craft supplies and books and getting rid of stuff. Stuff stuff stuff, so much stuff. Not for long though, I'm on a serious minimizing kick and it feels GREAT! That could be the spinach, berry, pineapple, fig smoothie talking though

Shifted my easel, paints, etc. from the loft in the barn into a downstairs room in the house where it is easy to heat (since winter is coming on here). Came across a pastel painting I had started and decided to finish it. Oh, the distractions when there is work to be done! Anyway, I finished it - a pastel drawing: close-up of my stepdaughter's face looking at a kiwi (flightless NZ bird). Happy with the result. Will give it to her when she comes to visit on Monday. Happy with the light in the new studio space too.

Cleaned eight donkey hooves.

Ate a persimmon for the first time. I was fascinated seeing the video posted here a while back showing how ripe they needed to be. Well, persimmons are finally in season here in the southern hemisphere. Got one and waited days for it to ripen to mush. I was slightly disappointed that it tasted so bland - kind of like a sweet, mild tomato. I had the impression that they packed a powerful punch. Fun to try something new, though.


My favorite raw vegan

Persimmon. Not my favourite. I'll take a ripe peach over that any day! Peach season is only a few short months away here, I'm so happy!

Can we see a picture of your work? There's a nifty crafty thread going with links to my crazy crafts, I sure would love to see other people's too.

Yesterday was so great, I made a pile of stuff to get rid of, hung out with the kids, mowed the lawn, did some laundry (I know that doesn't sound like fun but I'm so happy when it's all done, it feels great). I made a mess of a cauliflower mashed potato recipe, eww, that was sad. But then I got to play cards with friends which was great! I stayed up too late though, I'm beat today and have piles of work to do. I'll be moving slow for sure. It's gorgeous out too, so gorgeous.

I've been working for 2 days straight on organizing and destashing my studio which includes all those little bits of paper with essential information written on them. It's weird because I have so many little note books to collect that stuff in but do you think I use them? Oh no, not me, little bitty scraps of paper it is. Silly.
I think I'm organized enough to take stuff outside and work on it there now so we can spend the day in the back yard watching the birds, squirrels, bunnies and toads, yay! The kids have a rebounder out there and toys galore so it will be a nice day of fun. I've set the little man up with a canvas so he can do a painting he's been itching to try, can't wait to see what he comes up with! He's so creative.

Here's my list for today, wish me luck!
sort and organize:
filing box
scrap book papers
papers, pics, cards etc for baby book (I know he's 9, I'm still working on it, ok?!)
recipes and start transcribing to recipe cards.
Take pics of kid art that is going to be recycled (there's too much of it to keep it all)
Take pics of clothes I've made and never photoged

That oughta keep me busy for a few hours at least!

I know it's your long weekend in the states (ours was last weekend), here's hoping you all have a wonderful, lovely relaxing time! There are tons of Americans over here with their boats right now, bet the beach is crowded too since it's so sunny. What a nice day we're having, I love it.

WAH! Today started out so great. The baby and I sat on the porch waiting until little man's bus came to take him off to school then we waved bye, so sweet. Since then I've been making outfits for my girl out of old tshirts and scrap fabric and we've been having a grand old time. This is better than the other day when she fell and reopened her knee and bled all over the place and freaked us all out. So, hey, a day of sewing, pretty sweet.

Then she pulled a stick out of the window and it fell down onto her hand. Ay yi yi, screaming and swelling and scary.
She took a little nap after that painful trauma and right before she woke up little man barfed on the carpet in his room. WAH! Cleaning up barf, snuggling crying grouchy baby, fabric scraps covered living room and it's pouring out with thunderstorm warnings for later. @#$%&. I usually have better days than this. Sure do wish there was a wine store close by.

I have to tidy up and feed the kids (and hope little doesn't throw it up) and get them into bed and then maybe if I'm lucky this day will be said and done. Whew.

Built myself a garden box today,and planted tomatoes.

I am suffering a lull in creativity. It's sunny outside and we're still in pj's with no desire to get moving either. Might have something to do with a serious lack of sleep last night though. Maybe a nap with the baby girl will brighten this day.

Today I fed my kids mountains of fruit and gave a girl friend a sewing lesson, then I stitched up a dragon stuffy for my little boy to give to his friend for his bday tomorrow. That was all fun stuff but now comes the tidy up which is not exactly my favourite part. The rest of this night will be dishes, laundry, counters and floors. Oh well, I've got a big bowl of fruit on the table to keep me going. Have to make another fruit fly catcher to set next to that bowl of fruit, we've got a small cloud of winged visitors in here!

Coco: I would love to learn how to sew! I see these electronic sewing machines at Walmart for various prices. They have one for beginners, intermediates, etc. I don't know how to sew at all (except by hand for small things)--which machine would you recommend. I was thinking the intermediate one. Also, is it cost-effective to sew? I was told that you really don't save any money because fabric is pretty expensive and then there's the patterns...

I know nothing about machines, we used industrial tanks at school so I just go with what the store clerk recommends when I have to replace one. I don't shop at Malwart, they don't know anything either so you can ask any questions or try a machine out. The prices are good on a second hand machine from an actual sewing shop and they'll demonstrate and sometimes even offer lessons. If you really want to learn how to make and fix things lessons of some sort are essential, you'll learn more in a couple of them than you can figure out on your own in a lifetime, I'm not kidding! Once things are demystified a bit you can get creative and fool around, that's when sewing becomes really fun.

Buying fabric and patterns new is expensive but you can find great deals on both at yard sales or thrift stores. I hardly ever buy anything new, I'll even pick up clothes in larger sizes to make things out of a lot of the time. Sheets are good too, you can dye them any colour you like.
All of the clothes here were made out of other clothes from the thrift store
[www.flickr.com]
All the creatures I make are out of old fleece jackets too, I couldn't afford to craft if I had to buy fabric new!

really large used clothes from second hand stores can be great ^_^ Im thinking of making a jacket out of this giant royal blue velvet Jacket I purchased for $3...LOL...downsizing...lol...

Coco: "Malwart?" I am assuming that is your pet name for Walmart? I almost was going to just say 'discount store' because I knew someone would express their dislike of Walmart. Let me say that I am not in love with Walmart but I do not want to spend more money than I have to while I am not working. And so many people who dis Walmart go to Target and yet what's the actual difference? Both sell cheap stuff from China, both are not unionized...both are dominant in the market (so therefore can knock off the smaller stores). But Target is seen as "cool" and Walmart is seen as low-class. Oh well, I prefer Walmart to Kmart, in terms of layout and what they sell. If I didn't go to either store, I would be forced to go to a dollar store. I do that sometimes but I can't get everything there.

Oh no, there's nowhere to shop here except for malwart either. That's just what I call it, nothing personal to you! I'm saying you can get the same sort of prices for a second hand machine (that cost more to buy new) at a store that specializes in sewing and has knowledgable staff to answer questions and show you what's what. Most stores will give you a 6 month warranty too, time enough to trouble shoot and see if your machine has bugs. Thing is, many people upgrade and get rid of perfectly good machines that you can scoop up at a super discount. Check it out, this is a great way to get a starter machine and find out how to use it too.


Today I went to a wedding. I want to be all romantical about it and say ah how sweet etc etc but really I just thought it was weird. Weddings are weird, I'm not ever getting married.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/13/2010 03:10AM by coco.

I made some wonderful vegetarian curry for me and my friends for dinner, which they all loved, even my dad loved it, even though he keeps insisting he hates curry, just didnt tell him it was curry, he tried some, loved it,lol... and I made a huge salad, which I ended up eating most of as everyone else just stuck with their curry...lol... I guess that's one benefit of being the only one you know in person who likes raw veggies...more salad for me!!! lol... Didnt do much else of interest today other than applying for a couple jobs...


she is definitely right about second hand places, I dont even get it, but I was able to set my mom up with a full living rooms worth of Lazy boy furniture, A cough with warming and massage functions in each seat, a love seat, and a recliner, then a real maple computer desk, book shelf, one of those circular spinning tables, and an oak entertainment center, for $250 delivered to her door, everything was like new... second hand stuff is awesome... I just got me a $150 hiking back pack like new, just missing the little sleeping pad that comes with it normally, for $7!!! I love it when rich people get new bigger better toys...lol

Also, I dont really like wal mart, mostly cause their quality is crap, and they make enough pure profit to pay every employee they have 100k a year and still have money left over, yet they pay minimum wage... one thing they differ from target though, is that their sweat shops pay more than double what targets do, I have friends in china that say wal-marts places pay so much that she has heard of people killing people that work there so there will be a job opening they can apply for...if their not caught... they make about $20 a day on average, which doesn't seem like alot, but unless they try to by western products, its the equivalent of making around $500 a day over here in the U.S. compared to their average cost of rent and food, and other normal living expenses... I actually applied for a position with wal-mart corporate over there when I was working for wal-mart in the past, then as the paperwork was going through, somebody drugged my orange soda in the fridge with enough meth to kill most people if they drank it all, orange soda was my favorite drink in the world be4 I cut most processed sugars out of my diet, It was about half a two liter, I drank it all,lol... thanks goodness im ADHD, or I wouldnt be here today,lol...

Dude, that's a scary story man. Still, a blessing in disguise maybe, else you'd be working for corporate Malwart overseas!

Yesterday I cleaned the mold off my antique wooden chairs but had to leave them outside as the house is currently overflowing with everything that was stored in the basement. Of course it had to rain last night, d'oh. My grandad's carpet is out there too unfortunately. A friend is lending me her carpet cleaner and I've got some mold spray to treat it with but none of that is going to make a difference without a little sun today to dry it out. Oh well, maybe it's time to just get rid of everything I own and backpack around the world with the kids. Anyone want a piano?

I would LOVE a piano, but your a bit far away for me to get it,lol...

Yesterday I wallowed in self pity over the state of our house (everything from the basement is shoved everywhere) and then I decided to look at it as a gift instead of a curse. If I don't have room for all this junk then it will all just have to go. So... I cleaned up (around the piles at least) got the young man to take out compost and recycling (his "jobs" around the house), washed dishes with the small girl (which was an adventure and surprisingly quite a bit of fun. Wet though ) and made plans for a yard sale this Saturday. There's a 40% chance of rain but oh well, this stuff has to go. What doesn't sell I'm going to donate, no sense making more work for myself trying to give things to specific people, just outta here is the goal.

It's hard for me to believe that after all that sorting and getting rid of stuff I did there is still have more that I don't want or need to keep. It's amazing to me how much stuff we fill our lives with on the off chance that we might use it one day. Once. HA! Or because we covet pretty things. Ok, I'll still keep some art, a few nicnaks (like a teeny little 'hunny pot' a la Pooh Bear that I put elastics and twist ties in, I love that cute little thing) but so much of this junk is just aggravating in that I have to dust or clean it and live 'around' the space it takes up. It takes up space in my mind too and keeps me from being clear.

Maybe this is my OCD kicking into gear, I seem to go through these cycles of collecting and getting rid of that coincide with the weather. Spring and summer are light and airy, clear space, freedom, fall and winter are huddling in, cosy, homey, snuggles in the house, a time I like the feeling of being crowded. WEIRD! I remember when I was obsessively all raw and ditched all my jewelry, belts, etc 'cause I wouldn't wear metal on my body. Then I got all aversive to natural things that were taken from the earth, shells, wood, rocks and gems, etc. Even essential oils because they create waste in the making and packaging. Then I wanted to get rid of all our dishes and just make things out of coco shells (bowls, cups, spoons, candle holders though what would be used for the candle wax and how would it be made/processed?) I was even thinking not to do crafts anymore because of the resources used up making supplies.
Ok, sometimes I still think about all those things and long for such a simple life. My kids would go bananas though and people would really, really think I was a crazy lady.

You know where I got stuck? Toilet paper. What in the world can you substitute for that stuff? I've read about people who use flannel squares but OMG GROSS! *shudder* Even washing cloth diapers myself was too much for me, when I used them (which wasn't all the time) I had a service, no way was I putting @#$%& in the same machine I do the face cloths in, ugh!

Today, can you tell, I am procrastinating doing much of anything. The baby has a fever and we had a restless night so I'm tired and wired and not very productive. I'll get my butt in gear though. After lunch .

I used to do the same, but ive been cutting down on my "collecting" over the last few years... own almost nothing now except a few things with sentimental value, and some other stuff that is useful... my most recent acquisition is a 1940's radio & phonograph cabinet, its in good condition, but obviously worn out and well loved... been up all night working on it, and finally fixed the radio!!! it was free, languishing in somebodies barn, and parts to fix it where just over $20... phonograph may have to wait awhile to be fixed...have no idea how to fix that...will have to check in on it!!! so its clean, radio is working, speaker is weirdly working, didnt expect that... antenna is hooked up and working, really weird looking too, its original, coils of wire inset into a kinda cardboard backing... If I ever get my camera replaced, I will take some pics of it...

Not much else done today, need to go buy some ink and print up more resume's will probably do that later... its 9 am here... I went for a walk earlier, that was nice, my leg is still really sore, but walking is still fun, its nice to get out.

im going to go eat a yummy salad for breakfast, then probably eat a banana muffin and feel bad about it, then tell myself its ok cause I ate a giant salad,LOL... or maybe i'll just leave the muffins there for my dad when he wakes up...

Today was my chemistry final and a doctor appointment for my back that I injured new years 2009 when I was hit head on by a drunk driver while on duty.