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Sunday Happy

February 4, 2018 Colleen Stem

I woke up this morning with a very vvid recollection of the dream I was having. In it I was the inventor of a thing called The Fire Stick, which essentially was a fishing pole with fire on the end that you stick in water( know, it makes no sense ) and it somehow propels you around. In the dream, I was using my Fire Stick to cruise down a river on a makeshift raft because I was fleeing something and I needed to leave by water.  Thats it, but I know in my dream I was damn proud of my Fire Stick. Dream me is very strange and scares me a little. 

The mr and I have no big projects going on right now so he is doing a bunch of side work and I am doing little things around the house plus trying to get through the taxes (I am procarsinationg so hard) I am getting a touch of cabin/spring cleaning fever and am starting to think about running away or  repainting all the walls... which is crazy because  it hasn't been more then a year since I last painted. So I guess that leaves running away. Ha.  What I really need to do is build a shit ton of shelves and reorganize the closets, but that takes measuring and buying wood and power tools and the mr so it will have to wait. ( I have to sweet talk him into having a shelf making day with me.. I would do it alone, but it will be much easier and nicer if he helps) And the running away part, well we are working on that part too. 

Other then my crazy, the week has been pretty good. The mr got me another new power tool (I am returning the scroll saw in favor of band saw) The back porch has unofficially turned into a wood carving studio. And not just for me, the mr is really into wood carving right now too. We even braved negative temperatures to walk around on the beach to find cool pieces of drift wood to make spoons out of. (he gets pretty jazzed about stuff and there is not stopping him) Before that freezing  cold returned there was a day where we were able to walk the wold without jackets and that was the day we took Shannon out for a walk. That lady just got a new hip and already she is walking better then I can. Maybe I will get myself a new hip too. Or new knees. I could be unstoppable. 

 Qui came over for a vegan banana bread baking how to, which got me thinking that  I should start teaching vegan baking.  Then Barb came over for chili and a dance party party, and  then we had the little over for a sleep over and all around house trashing. I don't know how they do it, but those littles  make the biggest mess out of nothing. And they are sticky and gross and even surface needs to be wipes after they leave. 

We did treat ourselves to a little culture and went to the Shelburne Museum to check out the Sweet Tooth art exhibit. It was cool, but not exactly what I was expecting.  It was only a small room with a handful of pieces and I wanted more, and bigger and more, like the giant ring pops. Those were cool. I want a room full of giant candy, but no candy wrappers. The wrappers freak me out. But the next exhibit I am really interested in seeing too. It's a puppet exhibit and that's got be be some kind of fantastic. 

Are you super bowling today? Yesterday the mr and I ran into the grocery store and it was packed with people, with shopping carts all full of chips and beer and garbage food. It was kind of crazy. We figured it was all for the football game. Then we started to blame everything that was annoying on the football game. It's nice to have a reason for it all.  This football game day thing always makes me feel like it is a holiday that I am not celebrating and I am ok with that.

So no football here today, just keeping it easy, maybe getting out into some woods at some point then maybe some reading or Netflixing some Grace and Franky.  Keeping it low on this non holiday day. People be crazy and I want to stay away from them. Plus I have the Fire Stick to think about. Haha.

Stuff from the internet that I read this week. 

-The 'IKEA Effect' — And Getting Kids To Eat Their Veggies. Eat what you make and be proud of it, veggies and all. 

-Things we should all know. Why Dogs Have Floppy Ears: An Animated Tale

-It’s Reportedly Becoming ‘Normal’ to See Whole Foods Employees Cry at Work. I think I cried a little when I worked at Heathy Living. 

-I have had a conversation with the littles  about what shape carrot tastes better (when they are cut into chips) Does Chopping Change Your Vegetables? 

-Interesting planned, one that I think humans should leave alone. It's enough to destroy one plant, lets stay away from the others.  Pictures of Mars

-The Many Questions We Have About These Cookbook Covers. When I saw this, all I could think was douche bags. If anyone came up behind me while I was chopping anything, well there might be a unintentional stabbing. 

-I don't know if I ever will do this, but I really like the idea. HOW TO MAKE A LARGE SCALE (PATCHWORK) DIY RUG

-This is no Why Procrastination is Good for You

-What to Do When You Worry Yourself Awake.  Do your worrying during the day. 

-Axe-Throwing Bars: Why Mixing Weapons And Beer Is Surprisingly Good Business. But is it? Got to keep the hipsters happy. I guess it is kind of like really big darts, which I could totally get behind, but there is some real potential for some crazy shit to happen. 

Pictures from the week. 

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Have a good weekend.

-C

In winter, the great outdoors, sunday happy, photography, life, internet links Tags sunday happy, internet links, everyday life, vermonting, VT, lake, Shelburne Museum, Sweet tooth, candy
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Sunday Happy

August 27, 2017 Colleen Stem

The other day I went into my closet and spent a few minutes refreshing my mind on all of my sweaters and socks, just so I know what I still have going on for warmth. I have even been wearing a few of those sweaters and socks in the mornings. I grab a sweater, a throw blanket, a book, and go sit on the front porch, with coffee of course, and watch the sun come up. I know it's still summer and all and we always get a hot week or two come September but this cool weather has been just the shit and I am loving every minute of it.

This week has been pretty mellow. My gym closed for the week so my daily routines have been all kinds of fucked up. If you know me well enough you know that if I don't go to the gym or get a really good bought of exercise in my day, I am kind of a crazy ball of crazy. So that has thrown me off a bit but bike rides, kayaking, internet yoga, and just running around has kept me from going completely nuts. Then there was eclipses day. The mr and I spent the afternoon playing by the river, him fishing, me picking up rocks and just soaking up all the crazy vibes coming down on us and casting weird shadows. Very cool and now I am very excited for 2024 (total eclipses right here in VT) We had the little's for a day and we (more me) decided we needed to have a fire in the yard so we could roast marshmallows. I didn't have graham crackers for s'mores but give a kid a bowl of chocolate chips and sprinkles for dipping gooey marshmallows and they are all good. The garden and farm, if you didn't read my previous post, are giving out whatever they got, which is a hole heck of a lot. The goldenrod is in it's prime, and the mosquitoes are only really out at night. Ah, all the good and it's really really good.

And bees. We got a new hive this week from one of the mr's friends. Not a large colony but looking healthy and happy here with us so now we have to get the new ladies ready for winter. 

Today the mr and I are looking to get a few more things done around the house. The mr is making furniture out back, I am attempting to fold an origami type lamp shade situation for the dinning room light fixture (it's the last light fixture we need in the house!) and probably going to spend a good chunk of time with garden and yard work. There are two very lovely little pine trees planted right in the middle of the yard and I have been doing some research and think I might be able to move them more to the back of the yard. So I might start that process today, we shall see

What I spent time looking at on the internet.

-Didn't get to see the eclipse or excited for more? Here is a list of eclipses and all the info you need to see them for the next twelve years.

-Harvesting Salt By Hand Is Making A Comeback In France. Pretty cool.

-A lot can be said in (or on) a cake. This Buttercream Kills Fascists

-To Get Calcium, Navajos Burn Juniper Branches To Eat The Ash. I take calcium supplements, maybe I should try this.

-There is still plenty of summer left. How to Make Ice Cream Without Dairy

-The mr wants a house boat. I could live in this house boat.    

-It's all about balance and enjoying life. How to Have Your Health Food and Love It, Too.

-See the Most Colorful Places on Earth. It's amazing to see so much color in nature.

-“Crown Shyness” Where Trees Avoid Touching

-This could be really good for a lot of people. A New Clinical Trial Shows Potential Long-Term Relief From Peanut Allergies

And pictures from the week.

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Bye

-C

In Winooski, vermont, Vegetables, the great outdoors, summer, sunday happy, photography, life, internet links Tags Sunday Happy, internet, ver, vermonting, vt, life, everyday life
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Sunday Happy

August 20, 2017 Colleen Stem
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It's been a pretty ruff week. It started off great with four little kitties that I spent all off my time with. I had fallen in love with them all. But then Tofu, the little runt, got really sick and she ended up passing away. I did not handle that well. Plus some crazy apartment shit that needed to be dealt with asap (things are ok now) and just an overall feeling of being an emotional basket case. And then the world. I think we are all feeling a little like, What the fuck world...What the fuck?. I just don't understand why there are people with so much hatred. It boggles my mind.

We were still taking care of the three kitties and I pretty much spent all of my time with them.  I didn't want to give them up but I knew that I couldn't responsibly take 3 more cats into the house, it wouldn't have been fair to them.(I was so close to keeping them). A lot of people wanted to adopt them, but I talked to the Humane Society and it was best for them to go through them so that they could stay together for a while and get the medical and social attention that they needed before being adopted out to new homes. So the day came when we had to say goodbye and that was pretty heart wrenching.

So yeah, not the happiest week of my life, but it's life.

 I am still feeling kinda blue, missing the kitties, feeling more then a little overwhelmed and confused about the world and the humans in it. Blah, but things will get better because good happens. Good over bad.

Today the mr and I are probably just going to do some house work and what not. Those gutters wont hang themselves.. We are taking the afternoon off tomorrow for a little eclipse viewing and nature therapy because we both need it.

Internet from the week.

-I picked up a book, The Age of Miracles, at one of the many tiny libraries in town without knowing really what it is about. Got home, started reading and whoa. t. It's about a young girl living through the slowing of the earth rotation and what the effects are.  It has kinda of fucked with my head and has made me think about the up coming eclipse in a different way. Will The Eclipse Make Crops And Animals Flip Out? Scientists Ask (Really)

- Speaking of the eclipse. Why Future Earthlings Won't See Total Solar Eclipses

-Pretty safe to say the I am very diverse in my day to day emotions.  Emotional Diversity’ Is More Important Than Happiness

-New Yorkers, Here's How You Can Camp For Free in City Parks. How cool. This is now on my life bucket list.

-Concrete Volvo 240 (I owned six different 240 wagons. Still my favorite car and I have hopes of someday restoring one to drive again)

-Maybe a Sunday project? DIY Macramé Rope Bag. Would make a great apple carrying bag.

-I have totally woken up and been made or upset with someone because of something that happened in a dream. When Betrayal in a Dream Leads to Real-Life Conflict

- Have Tools, Will Serve: Cabot Hardware Store Adds Bar. The mr wants to move to Cabot now.

So freaking awesome. Now I just want to make piñatas for a living. Figures From Hieronymus Bosch’s Paintings Recreated as Sculptural Piñatas.

-How to Build Resilience in Midlife. Life happens and we need to be able to live with that.

And I really didn't take any pictures of anything besides that kitties so here a few. THe first one is Tofu.

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Bye.

-C

In Winooski, vermont, sunday happy, summer, photography, internet links, life Tags Sunday Happy, Everyday life, photography, internet links, kittens
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Sunday Happy

August 13, 2017 Colleen Stem

What, you don't have a large trough full of kittens?

Yup, that's right, the mr and I are currently foster parents to 4 little itty bitty kitties and oh hell are they cute and stinky and all sorts of crazy. But lets back it up here. The beginning of the week started off like any other. Did some work, picked a shitload of berries and all the cucumbers, had the kiddos over for brinner (breakfast for dinner), you know, the usual.  Then on Wednesday we went to Belvidere and spent some time with my family in the most magical place..We played in the waterfall, the mr went fishing, we found some cool rocks, just hung out with my people. Then it happened. Thursday, the mr and I were over at one of our apartment buildings where we have a barn that we keep all of scrap wood looking for well, wood. And there they were, a pile of freaking kittens, tiny as can be, living in the pile of wood in the barn. Long story short ,a few hours of super carefully moving wood, we managed to grab them all and get them in a box. And now they are living with us until they can find new homes. We have four crazy kitties that went from swatting and hissing to snuggles and love and now are the neediest little things ever.  Only is mad at us and doesn't want to come inside. I think he is jealous. We feel kinda bad so he got a can of tuna.

Barb came over Friday night to have a sleep over kitten party.  I had planned an epic night of Wayne's World watching (she hasn't seen them..Asphinctersayswhat?) before the morning trip to Ikea, but the evening turned into kitten time. And honestly, it's all turned into kitten time, but that's ok, we will Wayne's World party time, excellent soon.We did end up named them; Farro (the only boy) Quinoa, Tofu, and Jumper. Tofu because she is the runt and barb so tofu is the runt of the meat world. Jumper because she is constantly trying to jump out of the box, and Farro and Quinoa because we were talking dinner and that happened.

After finally settling down and getting a little sleep,  we woke up. played with kitties, the headed north of the border to Ikea where barb and the mr eat handfuls of hot dogs, we got a new kitchen faucet and some clothes hangers, then drove back through the craziest rainstorm any of us have ever seen. We all thought we were going to die. But we didn't because we needed to get back to the kittens..

Needless to say that today is probably going to a kitten heavy day. The mr made a little playpen for them to play in and I found that last night I ended up watching them for like an hour without even noticing.  Plus they all pooped last night next to the litter and managed to walk all in it so now all the kitten are covered in poop and I have to wash them all. So cute, so nasty....this is my new life for a little while.

Email me if you want a kitten. (seriously)

Stuff I saw on the internet that isn't about how to bath kittens.

-Gnawing Questions: Is Sugar From Fruit The Same As Sugar From Candy? Candy bar or bag of grapes.... Go with the grapes.

- How to Be Better at Stress. We could all be better.

-I have been on the seltzer wagon for a long time now. I drink Polar. Vanilla, grapefruit , and the new pineapple grapefruit are my favorites. Seltzer's Popularity Bubbles Up In The U.S.

-100 Years in the Kitchen: A Century of Kitchen Color Trends. I am all about the70's colored appliances. My fridge is harvest gold with wood accents and it's the best. 100 Years in the Kitchen: A Century of Kitchen Color Trends

-I want one of these. I have a very real fear that me or the mr are going to lose some fingers. Despite Proven Technology, Attempts To Make Table Saws Safer Drag On

-A 100-YEAR-OLD, PERFECTLY PRESERVED FRUITCAKE WAS DISCOVERED IN ANTARCTICA. Eat up!

-My sister wore this shirt all throughout her tween and early teen years. This shirt and kissing Steven Tyler posters. She was scary.

-What Brands Are Actually Behind Trader Joe’s Snacks? I knew it!!!

-So much neon light. Ultraviolet Break of Day: A Midnight Walk Through the Neon-Hued Streets of Asian Cities

-Traffic Accident Leaves Arkansas Highway Covered in Frozen Pizzas

 

Have a great day!

-C

In Winooski, vermont, the great outdoors, sunday happy, summer, photography, life, internet links Tags Sunday HAppy, Kittens, Kitten Adoption, Family, vermont, ikea, life, everyday life, photography
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Sunday Happy

July 9, 2017 Colleen Stem

I feel like the summer has just begun and at the same time is almost over. Isn't that how it always is? I don't know but I did catch myself fantasizing about sweaters and apple picking. Too soon? Maybe a little but at the rate of time flying in my head, it's gonna be winter before we know it. (not fantasizing about that yet) This is a note to myself and to everyone to try and slow down a little and get out there and enjoy more summer.

It was a packed week. All the painting and siding one could ever want to do. The mr spend his days on the roof shou sugi ban-ing the addition and it looks amazing. I painted the porch, then painted it again and painted the roof like 3 times too (not surprise there). Getting that perfect color is important you know.  And on top of all that we did a good amount of babysitting, had a sleepover with a couple littles where we went strawberry picking and played in the rain, and we helped a sister move again. I know, I know, we are the best. Needless to say, we keep ourselves busy.  And I just remembered that the fourth was this week too but honestly, we didn't do anything. The plan for fireworks turned into an early night. I think I was in bed by 9. Staying up past 10 is a hard sell for this old lady and fireworks really aren't my thing, so yeah.

I am not sure what today has in store. We could plug away, keep at the siding and I could start painting the windows oooor we could run away, find us some woods, perhaps a river to play in. The mr could bring his fishing pole and me a good book and just keep it all nice and low key. Hum, tough decision. (but not really. I am not working all day!!!)

Internet for the looking.

-Important. Please Do Not Snort Four Loko Chocolate. Although its better then coke.

-Aesthetic Evolution In The Animal World. Peacocks and there sexy tails.

-I don't know if this is a real thing or not but it is kinda f-ed up. Smart Pot Punishes Your Plants If You Don't Change Your Bad Habits. Why does the plant have to suffer for your shit?

-A lot of work goes into making a watch.Portrait: Masahiro Kikuno, Japanese Independent Watchmaker

-NEFARIOUS CRIMINALS CAN'T STOP STEALING BEE HIVES. So dick.

-So amazing. Flora and Fauna Paper Constructions

-Next kitchen we remodel..14 Dreamy Farmhouse Sinks

-The Most Ridiculous Food-Themed Pool Floats Money Can Buy. And if I had a pool (although I hate pools) I would want them all.

-Watch: How to Make Chewing Gum In Your Microwave

-Maybe a weekend project? I really need a bench and this is perfect.

Pictures from the week.

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Bye

-C

In Winooski, vermont, the great outdoors, summer, sunday happy, photography, life, internet links Tags Sunday Happy, Vermont, strawberry picking, vermonting, internet links, photography, everyday life, life
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