magick musings…

“Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.”

~Russell Baker

… to Hell?

Today, here in North Texas, the temperature with the heat index was a roasting 108 degrees.

I walked outside to help GW fix the micro-sprinkler system on our lemon trees and the heat was almost suffocating. Needless (and embarrasing) to say as soon as we were finished, I ran, not walked, back inside.

The rest of the day was spent catching up with household details and getting some writing done.

Friday night we went out to eat with some friends and tried a new Italian restaurant. Their pasta pomodoro was awesome, but the cannoli for dessert was to die for. Even though GW and I shared it, it was still way to much for us and we were so stuffed, we had to roll ourselves out of there.

But great wine, great food, great dessert! And the best of all, great company!

Have a busy, busy week so gotta run.

~Sandy

“It isn’t what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about”

~Albert Einstein

..it’s been awhile since I posted. I fully intend on posting several times a week, but somehow life just gets in the way.

Things like…

…getting my iPhone (still happy dancing!) and having to spend HOURS getting it set up just the way I want. (so many apps, so little time!)

…planning a couple of trips we’re taking this summer. (the scoop when we get back)

…catching up with some old and dear friends. Meeting and getting to know some new friends. (A funny thing happened on the way to the Rangers/White Sox game…nah! Better not tell that one!)

…decorating the house. Still have tons to do. I’m very picky (maybe indecisive is a better word but I’ll deny it till I die) so it is slow going. But now I am SO addicted to HGTV! Cannot get enough of it. It gives me lots of ideas and many late nights watching it. I think GW is glad I haven’t figured out how to record on the DVR yet.

…watching the entire second season of True Blood. Oh. My. Gaw! Another thing that has kept us up late past our bedtime.

…not getting much writing done. Not sure why. Somehow, I have closed a vein and having trouble re-opening it. Hoping with all my heart the trip to Nationals will inspire, motivate, and just plain kick me in the butt. If not, I will find a scalpel and slice at it until it bleeds the words.

…and just generally staying so busy I have a heck of a time finding the time to get everything done. The older I get the faster my life whirls by.

~Sandy

“This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.”

~–Western Union internal memo, 1876.

GW and I went to Best Buy and I preordered my iPhone!!!

Time to retire my flip phone to the old phones home.

~Sandy

“Food is an important part of a balanced diet .”

~Fran Lebowitz

I have discovered a new way to cook food.

The gas grill.

Not that I’ve never eaten food off the gas grill, I’ve just never cooked on a gas grill before.

And it totally rocks.

With spring hiding behind the corner, the weather has had some very pleasant days. So, tired of eating burgers and steaks and such from the kitchen, we pulled out our new gas grill and cooked some burgers.

Out of curiosity, I asked GW to show me how it works. Being the patient man that he is, (and being married to me makes it a pretty tough job staying that way, LOL), he went through all the steps from preparing the grill, lighting it, watching for the correct temp, cooking, and then shutting it down. I dilegently took notes because I am such a visual person. Not to mention forgetful, but… I won’t mention that.

The burgers were great! Mouth watering great!

So a few nights later, following my written down instructions, I fired up that puppy, seasoned up some chicken breasts, threw on some hand picked rosemary from our herb garden, and I have to brag on myself…

They were the best chicken breasts I’ve ever eaten!! Even GW said they were awesome. And that is high praise coming from someone who is a much better cook than I am.

So, today we were at Lowe’s and we picked up a humongous book on how to grill which has about a million recipes included which all contain a picture of the finished product.

I am pretty fascinated with some of the grilled vegetable recipes I can’t wait to try it this week. Bought some corn on the cob, some peppers, and some squash to try, but forgot the eggplant. Not sure we even like egglplant, but the recipe looks delish. Told you I was a visual person, LOL!

Today, we’re making stuffed peppers. Yum! And he and I are such a good team in the kitchen. When he cooks, I clean. When I cook, I clean.

Wait a minute….

~Sandy

“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”

~E. E. Cummings

..several weeks ago we had some very special company visit for a couple of days. So we came up with some ideas to entertain them and ended up having a wonderful time. And we got to experience some things that we’ve (or at least for me) have never done before.

First thing, we went to visit the CSI exhibit and the Museum of Science and History. We were given three crimes to solve and, be assured that you can sleep soundly now, we solved all three. The streets of North Texas are safe again.

It was strange because on the first crime scene, you miss a lot of clues because you aren’t trained what to look for.

As you move along to each station – blood spatters, fingerprints, guns and trajectories, and even how figure out how long a body has been dead according to the life cycle of a blow fly (that was the only ick factor for me), then at the next crime scene, you get better at what to look for. Then you take your findings to ‘Grissom’ and solve the crime and he gives you the thumbs up if you are correct.

Here are just a few of the pics we took.

CSI exhibit

The spring weather was absolutely beautiful so we decided to something that I had tried to do once, but was not so successful.

Yep, that’s me. On a horse. On a BIG horse.

Even though I live in Texas, the only time I’d ever tried to ride, the horse 1) kept trying to bite me and 2) kept trying to run into a fence and knock me off – which he/she/it nearly succeeded. So, I got off and never tried again.

But not to be a partypooper, I became determined to try again. This time I would show the horse who was the boss.

Princess was wonderful and a perfect lady on the hour and half trail ride and she let me think I was in control the whole time, but only she and I knew the real story.

Next on the agenda was a comedy club that featured a hypnotist. I had never been to a comedy club before and have never seen a hypnotist perform so I was anxious to see how it all worked. He was very good and very funny and very entertaining. I had always swore I would NEVER let anyone hypnotize me because of a deep rooted fear of being made to cluck like a chicken or share any secrets I didn’t want well…shared.

But when he asked for volunteers to come on the stage, my butt left the chair and my feet climbed the stairs. To this day, I don’t know how that happened. (I’d only had ONE glass of white zin. I promise.) Next thing I knew we (all the volunteers) was being told to physically relax, stare at a clear crystal ball he held in his hands, and to empty our minds the best we could.

Now, if you knew me as my loved ones know me, relaxing my body and my mind is next to impossible. Both are constantly on the move. So, to make a long story short – I was kicked off the stage because I was one of the few who could not be hypnotized.

Probably better that way. He didn’t promise not to make us bark like a dog.

For the rest of the weekend, we ate out, cooked out, and generally just enjoyed everyone’s company.

It was a wonderful few days and so sorry to see everyone leave. But now I know: 1) I can look at a crime scene with a whole different perspective, 2) I CAN ride a horse, and 3) I CANNOT be hypnotized.

~Sandy

“A sense of humor is just common sense dancing .”~William James
… do it!

I broke the 10,000 word mark on my new WIP today!

I decided that the weekend was not going to end until I did exactly that. And since Monday is going to be busy, (and technically not part of the weekend) I got butt in chair and hands on that keyboard and got’er done.

I can still finish it by June 1 if I stay on course.

Our new guest bedroom furniture was delivered this weekend. It rocks and I am very happy with it. We bought new lamps for the nightstands and now the only thing left to complete that room is window treatments and artwork. Now we’re ready for that special company!!!

We had a very busy and productive weekend. I hate the way Sundays go so fast. Grocery shopping, laundry, gardening, writing, cleaning house. Before we knew it, it was 8:00 pm and hadn’t had dinner yet. GW had bought some talapia so we fried some up and made some veggies go with it and it was an easy meal. I know, I know, we should have grilled the fish, but we were both in the mood for fried.

As soon as the weather gets better, I am going to learn out to cook on our gas grill. Don’t know the first thing about it, but I bet I can learn.

~Sandy

“Until you’re ready to look foolish, you’ll never have the possibility of being great.”

~Cher

…we ran errands. And ran errands. And ran errands.

But we finally found the rugs we wanted for both the foyer and the family room. And they rock! They are the perfect colors and size and it is amazing how they bring warmth to the rooms. Still have so many other things we want to do but it takes time and lots of work. And we want to make sure we get it how we want it.

Then we shopped around and found the bedroom furniture for the guest bedroom. They now make ‘media chests’ which matches the furniture so you can put a television and DVD players and such on which makes it better than the equipment taking up room on a dresser. I loved that idea! I like a place for everything and everything in its place.

The furniture had to be ordered, of course, so it is the same ole hurry up and wait. But I have patience.

Most of the time

We trucked to Home Depot and then to Sam’s Club to stock up on some items we were out of and by then we had worked up an appetite (shopping makes you hungry) so went to eat a late lunch. We had a gift card to On The Border so we pigged out on fajitas and veggies and rice and beans. Yum! We were good, though, and didn’t do dessert.

I did get some writing in. That’s important. I was having some trouble getting started on the chapter I am working on. I wasn’t quite sure where to begin it. Until that little birdie reminded me to just START! It can always be revised. But like everything else, I want it to be picture perfect the first time.

Today it is grocery shopping and then writing. I didn’t quite make my word goal this week, but still have to today to make up for it.

Have a great Sunday!

~Sandy

“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive”

~Dalai Lama

…and we were invited to a concert by our good friends, M & L. We traveled not far to a small town that, as many small towns have, a quaint downtown square. I just ‘heart’ those. Before the concert, we had dinner at a fabulous Italian restaurant right on the square. GW and I waited at the bar for our friends to arrive and I had my favorite Berenger’s White Zinfindel. The bartender was friendly and fun and had our mouths watering as he described the brunches they offer there on Sundays. Definitely on our list of things to do now.

For dinner, I opted for penne pasta and meatballs and Yum! Great food! The service was excellent. Our waitress also was fun and seemed to enjoy talking and teasing with us. She could definitely give as well as take on the jokes going back and forth.

After the concert, we stopped in a small coffee shop for coffee and dessert. GW and I split a blueberry and peach crumb cake that was warm and melted in your mouth. Delish!

I just loved walking around downtown. It was so quaint with the cobblestone walks and olde tyme lamp posts you see in those paintings of old. Patches of snow still covered some of the bushes and the trees were lit with tiny white lights giving it an atmosphere of being in a different era.

Unfortunately, we were all too soon jerked back to the present when we got to the parking lot and our friend’s battery was dead in their car. Thank God for jumper cables!

How was your weekend?

~Sandy

“Sound the note that calls your soul to you .”

~Sanaya Roman

 

Isn’t it beautiful????

We woke up to it snowing and it NEVER stopped! About 8-10 inches of never stopping! That is a rarity in our North Texas area.

Was fortunate enough to stay home most of the day. I worked on my new website, cleaned up this website, emailed some friends that I haven’t spoken to in ages and did some writing. It felt so good to be catching up on the little bitty things that need to be done but can never find the time for.

It is almost Valentine’s Day! I’ve never researched to see how this holiday started, but, being the romantic type that always wears her rose colored glasses (okay, most of the time), I don’t necessarily love the commercialism of it, but love the way it makes people think about and concentrate on this thing called love.

Some refuse to even acknowledge the holiday stating it is all a ploy to make them get out and spend their hard earned money. Some get depressed because they don’t have a significant other to bask them with the flowers, the chocolates, and the Hallmark cards with pretty pictures and even prettier words.

I believe it is not about YOU, it’s about others. I believe we should concentrate on showing others they are special and loved, no matter if it’s parents, husbands, wifes, sons, daughters, siblings, or significant others. It doesn’t have to be about spending money, it’s about spending just as much time as you can allow giving a tiny, bitty bit of yourself. A letter, an email, a hug, doing or helping them do something that cannot do for themselves.

My grandmother loved to cook and bake. And always struggling to make the paycheck meet the month, she found ways to cut back and save money. One year, after a particularly rough time, my grandfather gave her the one present that she continued to talk about until the day she died. He did a favor for the friend and when the friend tried to pay him, he wouldn’t take the money, he asked if he could just come and pick pecans that had fallen in his backyard. My grandfather smuggled the pecans into the house and, a few days later, on Valentine’s day, he presented my grandmother with a coffee can full of perfectly shelled halved pecans. The joy on her face was enough to convince me it is not always about the trappings, its the giving from the heart.

But I am still a sucker for pretty cards, LOL! And trust me, I know if it was picked and given from the heart.

Have a warm, safe Friday!

 

~Sandy

“The greatets gift of the garden is the restoration of the five senses .”

~Hanna Rion

…well maybe not by the Northeast’s standard but for us Texans it is COLD! The weatherman has predicted snow tomorrow for our area accompanied by sleet and rain so it is going to be miserable. I am going to hate to leave the house.

But tonight we are toasty and warm and I have a meatloaf cooked and roasted asparagus with parmesan. Delish! I could eat the whole pan of asparagus myself, but will be a good girl and share with GW.

Just revised Chapters 1 & 2 of my new WIP and moving on to Chapter 3. It’s hard getting back into the swing of the writing thing, but, since the story faeries haven’t bothered to leave any completed chapters under my computer, I’m going to have to do it myself. {{sigh}}

Keep warm!

~Sandy