Cindy's Art Studio

I ordered a new liner for the pond and it came today via UPS. No place around here carries the pond liner so I had to order it from a place in Maryland. After all the work we did on it last month, the liner got a bunch of little holes in it and all the water leaked out. That sucked! My poor goldfish have been living in a garbage can full of water for about a month now. I do change their water once a week, but it will be nice to get the new liner in and everything working again. Thank goodness Pat and Adam will be helping me! Well, that’s all for today. Maybe I’ll post again next week sometime…then again, maybe not lol.

I’ve had quite a long absense from here this time…almost a year since I’ve written anything. Where to start…hmmm…
I did my taxes earlier than usual this year and got my refunds back already, it took just over a week to get them both. Most of it is spent already on real estate taxes on the house. Some of the remainder will go for things that I normally wouldn’t have money for, like new filters for the drinking water system or new tires for the car…sounds thrilling right?
Bill has recently started some new treatments on his back aimed at getting his pain levels reduced. He’ll be doing these for about 6 months to a year. I hope they work for him.
I’m still working as head cook at the Pawnee Senior Center here in town, getting in 20-25 hours a week. That’s enough. I’m not as young as I used to be ya know…I used to post the menus all the time but got tired of all the typing. I suppose I could scan the monthly menu and post that…
We did take a trip last year in June to Colorado, Arizona, and Nevada. That was something else! I took so many pictures and videos! I bought a new tablet computer last year, and was amazed at how good the pictures are. Playing with that thing is about the only hobby I have now…it does so much. Mostly I just take pictures with it and play games…kind of hooked on Candy Crush LOL.
Obamacare took effect January 1 requiring everyone to have health insurance, and after much frustration I got signed up…I’m still wondering how it will go once it takes effect for me on March 1. Just signing up was a pain and I’m not even covered yet…although the final premium and coverage is very good…we’ll see how it goes.
All three of my boys and their families are doing well. Steve and Jessica and son Alexander live in Hickman. Pat and Samantha (recently married in September) and their kids Camryn and Adalyn live just across the street from us here in Genoa. Adam and Evie and son Vaughn live in Columbus. All of the grandkids are growing like weeds and they are all the most intelligent and cutest grandkids EVER! (I’m proud to be one of those grandparents LOL!) I don’t see them enough…If I had my way I would give them each kisses and hugs (and Goldfish Crackers ha) every day!
In my last post last year I spoke of painting a mural on the side of our garage…well that’s as far as it’s gotten. Wishful thinking that. When I got the basic idea down on paper, it just seemed like too massive an undertaking that I kind of gave up on it. I kept telling myself that I should do one small section at a time, but thinking about doing something like that and actually doing it are two different things apparently. Someday…maybe…
Time passes quickly…way too quickly. I think of all the years that have passed, I’ve raised a family and now they all have families of their own. I used to think about what I would do with my time when all the kids were grown up. Well here I am living it and all I seem to be doing is working part time, and nothing much else. I seem to have run out of energy for doing all that stuff I thought about when I was young…You don’t seem to realize when you’re young that once all that “raising a family” is over, it’s hard to find anything that will take the place of that. I kind of miss having kids around all the time, but then again I don’t think I’d have the energy to still be doing it every day. Don’t get me wrong, I really love my family and their families, and love all of my grandkids enormously, and would really like to see them more often. Raising kids is indeed for the young, because once you get a lot older it’s a lot different…can’t really explain it…I guess I’m just feeling old today LOL. I think I need a nap…
Well, I can’t think of much else to say today. I’ll be getting ready to go to work soon…salisbury steak at the Senior Center tonight. For me the best part of the meal will be the dessert, no-bake chocolate oatmeal cookies! Bye for now…

So Do Something…I think it’s time to get back to that again. The calendar says it’s spring, although you can’t tell it by the weird weather we’ve been having…weird for Nebraska anyway. I have cabin fever pretty bad. I want to get out and start taking my walks again but it’s too icky out. I did walk to the post office and back a couple times when it was fairly nice out though. I haven’t gotten much farther in the planning of the mural either. That will be something that will keep me outside once it warms up a little. Have I said recently that I HATE WINTER?

So Do Something…OK I will…one small thing at a time. I do what I can, and that’s all any of us can do right? Someday I plan on showing my grandkids how I can twiddle my thumbs like my Grandma showed me she could do (I miss you Grandma). She once showed me how to fold a handkerchief into “a baby in a hammock” and I wish I could remember how to do it…I tried to Google that and believe it or not, there wasn’t anything showing how…if anyone knows how to do this please let me know.

So Do Something…OK. Start posting little things to my blog again, done. Maybe the ramblings of this old lady will entertain you…or make you wonder “what world is SHE living in?”…lol. Bye for now. Oh, and I promise that I won’t get an “old lady haircut” (Steve) lol!

It’s been a while since I posted. Last post was the menu for February…I guess I got tired of posting them. It kind of seems trivial now. Yesterday something terrible happened at the Boston Marathon…someone set off 2 bombs that killed 3 people and injured hundreds. I feel sorry for those people. Authorities still don’t know if it was foreign terrorists or some crazy person living right there in Boston. I have so many family members who run, and any one of them could have been there if they had decided to run in that race this year. I can’t imagine what those people there are going through right now. I just hope that they don’t stop doing what they love because of this…

Speaking of doing things you love, I’ve decided to start making plans for a mural that I’ll be painting on the east side of our garage. So far I’ve only gotten as far as getting the measurements. It looks like I will be doing this in sections. This will be the biggest artistic project that I’ve ever done. The largest one I ever did in the past was about 4′ x 4′. It was a painting of bunnies with ABC blocks on the wall in the north bedroom upstairs. This has been painted over for years because apparently it was embarrassing for the teenage boy to have his friends see bunnies on the wall…lol. They sure liked it when they were little… Anyway, the plan so far is to do scenery such as mountains or waterfalls or forests or beaches or whatever. I’m not sure what all I want to put on there yet, but it will be fun deciding…and fun to actually attempt such a huge project. Total area is about 23′ x 6′ which is definitely huge compared to a 18″ x 24″ canvas. I’m thinking that I’ll be lucky to have it done this year yet. If it’s not done in that time, I’ll just call it “A Work In Progress”.

Well, I suppose I’ll quit for today. I’ll post again some time…bye for now.

Here’s the menus for February for those who are interested. If you don’t care, just ignore this.

4th Tuna Melt on a bun, stewed tomatoes, ranch potatoes, peaches.
5th Lasagna, garlic bread, corn, fruit coctail, lettuce salad.
6th Chicken noodle casserole, mixed vegetables, apple snicker salad, celery w/peanut butter, bread.
7th Chef Salad, pineapple chunks, bread.
8th Hamburger on a bun, french fries, baked beans, emerald pears.

11th Liver-n-onions or chef choice, garlic mashed potatoes, corn, tropical fruit, bread.
12th Smothered chicken breasts, green beans, mashed potatoes, applesauce, bread.
13th Chili with crackers, grilled cheese sandwich, fruit cocktail.
14th BBQ chicken, pea salad, mashed potatoes, fresh grapes, bread.
15th Salisbury steak, baked potato, steamed cabbage, pears, bread.

18th Hot pork sandwich, baked beans, mashed potatoes, fresh orange slices, macaroni salad.
19th Roast beef, mashed potatoes & gravy, green bean casserole, peach crumble, bread.
20th Chicken vegetable soup with crackers, glazed carrots, lima beans, cheerio bar, plums.
21st Shepherds pie, lettuce salad, raspberry pears, bread.
22nd Polish dog on bun, sauerkraut, peas, half banana.

25th Taco noodle casserole, black beans, fruit cocktail, bread.
26th Pork chop, mashed potato w/ milk gravy, mixed vegetables, applesauce, bread, oatmeal cookie.
27th Beef Stew with crackers, lettuce salad, apricots, bread.
28th BBQ Pork sandwich, tater tots, corn, tropical fruit.
1st Porcupine meatballs, lima beans, ranch potatoes, peaches, bread.

There…now if I feel like it I’ll post something else later that isn’t food related.

Well it’s been a very long time since I’ve put anything down here. I suppose I should start with Happy New Year! At the end of January I will be working at the Pawnee Senior Center for 6 months (due then for a raise, yay). A few people have asked me why I haven’t posted the menus I’ve been cooking, so here’s a whole month’s worth…enjoy!

7th. Sloppy Joe on bun, tater tots, baked beans, emerald pears.
8th. Roast beef, mashed potatoes & gravy, green bean casserole, pears, bread & butter, cookie.
9th. Oven fried chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, corn, tropical fruit, bread & butter.
10th. Chili, grilled cheese sandwich, celery & carrot sticks with ranch dip.
11th. Baked ham, sweet potatoes, peas, pineapple chunks, bread & butter.

14th. Chicken & rice soup with crackers, lettuce salad, plums, bread & butter.
15th. Salisbury steak in mushroom sauce, baked potato, steamed cabbage, rhubarb cake, bread & butter.
16th. Hot pork sandwich, baked beans, mashed potatoes, fresh orange slices, macaroni salad.
17th. Hamburger stroganoff, mashed potatoes, lettuce salad, pears, bread & butter.
18th. BBQ Chicken, peas, potato salad, fresh apple slices, bread & butter.

21st. Polish dog on bun, sauerkraut, diced carrots, strawberries & bananas.
22nd. Smothered chicken breast, green beans, mashed potatoes, applesauce, bread & butter, desert bar.
23rd. Taco noodle casserole, mixed vegegables, raspberry pears, oatmeal cookie, bread & butter.
24th. Beef Stew, lettuce salad, apricots, bread & butter.
25th. Pork chop, mashed potatoes, vegetable, applesauce, bread & butter.

28th. Sweet & sour meatballs, lima beans, ranch potatoes, peaches, bread & butter.
29th. Pork loin, mashed potatoes, corn, tropical fruit, bread & butter, banana cake.
30th. Hamburger gravy, biscuits, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, orange juice.
31st. Chicken salad wrap, lettuce salad, peas, mandarin oranges, bread & butter.
1st. Ham & Bean soup, corn bread, tropical fruit, coleslaw.

Phew…that’s a lot of typing. OK, I’ll try to put more down here than just the menus, but not today. Comment if you like any of these menus and maybe come to the senior center and eat with us…price for people under 60 is $7, over 60 is $4. Call the center by 10am if you want to eat there, 2pm on Tuesday. Hope to see you there!