862.

Hello good people.

Hopefully everyone is somewhere safe and if possible, enjoyable.

It's a warm-ish Wednesday evening in my realm. All is quiet as All Hallows Eve 👻 👹👺👺 winds to a close. In fact, it's been mostly quiet here all evening. I did hear a bit of commotion earlier, a dog barking and music but nothing outrageous.

No one knocked on my door for candy. Probably my porch light being off cued them in that there were no goodies to be given out here.

Halloween isn't a "holiday" I'm mad about. It was fun for a while, when I was in my late teens. My best friend and I would head uptown in our city, to an area that featured lots of festive fun for those who gathered.

It was quite a trek from our neighborhood, over an hour on the bus, but it was worth the trip. People literally mingled in the streets for hours, laughing, dancing, singing, eating, and drinking.  😁

Then we got older and Other Things took precedence, leaving us no time to participate in such frivolities.

*sigh*

I look back on those days fondly but not fondly enough to take Baby Bliss trick-or-treating when she was old enough.

Thank God for Mr. Bliss. 😀 He loved all things festive and Baby Bliss benefitted immensely. For many years he took her to get her costume and out to collect candy. 🍫🍭🍬

After we moved south and began home schooling, I did take her to Halloween parties given by other home schoolers who were her friends and peers.

They were fun if I recall correctly.

🌸 🌸 🌸

Daddy and I had an uneventful day. We've settled into a semi-routine. It varies depending on what time daddy gets up in the morning. Most days he's up by 8 a.m. If he isn't, I'll wake him. If he wasn't on medication and diabetic, it would be okay for him to sleep as late as he wants.

But he has to have his meds and meals properly spaced. I'm also monitoring his glucose levels (also known as "taking his sugar" or "checking his sugar") several times a day so that has to be factored in too.

We've been doing pretty good so far and I'm thankful.

Next week I'm hoping we can get to the mountains for a day. Before daddy got here, I was planning a beach vacation for him with Baby Bliss, my mom, and possibly Baby Bliss' fiancé. But the hurricanes necessitated re-thinking that one.

I think a trip to the mountains will be a good substitute. We can eat and shop, enjoy the scenery and the fresh mountain air.

He said he wanted to go but I'll play it by ear. There's always the park at the lake if daddy isn't up to a day of travel and frolic.

🌸 🌸 🌸

In other news, I got a call from my friend this morning. We talked for an hour. All is well.

🌸 🌸 🌸

Looks like I forgot to mention a visit from Baby Bliss and her intended. They dropped by on Saturday, to see my dad and get more of her things. 👚👜👢📓📕🎹🎤

Daddy was napping when they arrived so they visited with him in his room. He was happy to see them.   😊

732.

Good early morning folks.

Hopefully everyone is somewhere safe and comfortable.

I'm home, snuggled with my blankets and pillows on the sofa. Tired and a little sleepy because I've been awake over 16 hours.

When I checked my mailbox today (the real-life physical mailbox where I get snail mail), there was a card from my friend who lost her mom recently.

My friend is a devout Catholic. The card said Baby Bliss and I would be prayed for at the Easter Novena of Masses at the Basilica back home.

The card is pre-printed but she added her own handwritten greeting and sweet words about her mom. How thoughtful of her to do something so nice for us (and I'm sure others as well) in the midst of her own grief.

My prayers remain with my friend and her family as they continue to mourn the loss of their mother.

🌺 🌺  🌺 

On a more personal note, I had a date last night. (Friday.)

He and I went on a couple of dates last year and although I thought he seemed to be a great guy, he was new to the area and still mentally involved in getting out of a really long long-term relationship. So when I didn't hear from him after the two dates, I thought: I wasn't really his type, he was sowing his newly acquired wild oats, and/or he'd thought better of dating and was taking time to get himself together.

No big deal. I'm not fond of being the rebound chick.

Fast forward to a month or so ago and he reaches out on the dating site we met on.

Cool.

We began exchanging emails every so often then the pace sped up a little. Finally we got around to talking about why we'd only had the two dates. I told him his understanding of events was a lot different from mine which led to him asking me to call him.

When we spoke by phone, although I still didn't recall things the way he did, I better understood why he thought we never went out again.

It turned out to be a good conversation and it ended with him asking me to dinner and a movie.

We met at a nearby "lifestyle/hybrid center" that consists of shops, restaurants, a movie theater, office space, and residential accommodations. It's laid out like a small town.

It's generally a safe place. I've had dates there in the past as well as gone with family and friends for various reasons.

My date and I met for dinner at 8 (I was late due to the horrible parking situation) at an upscale pizza joint. The pizza was freshly made and looked absolutely scrumptious. What surprised me is that it was almost tasteless. I don't know why. The sweet tea was good. Not too sweet like at a lot of places I've eaten.

After dinner we had about an hour before the movie was to start. We decided to take a drive in his car to run down the clock. We stayed in the general area, riding around talking. We still managed to get to the theater early and had to wait almost 10 minutes before previews started.

I chose the movie, Logan, because I'm a big fan of the X-Men series. Well folks, I was totally unprepared for the level of violence on the screen. Lots of gasping, arm-clenching, and screaming during this one. Thankfully no one shushed me.

No spoilers here but be warned if you have it on your want-to-see list.

He drove me to my car after the movie. We talked about the next movie we'll see (the new Fast and Furious installment), shared a long good night smooch, then parted.

I called to let him know I'd arrived home safely and thanked him again for the date. We talked for a few minutes then said good night.

And now it's almost 4 a.m. and though I could really really use 40 winks, looks like I'll be settling for 35.

Sweet dreams y'all.  😴

706.

How-do y'all.

Well, I'm happy to say it was a fun and funny day.

My date and I had a good ole time.

We attended a rollicking festival at a vineyard about 40 minutes from my home. It wasn't my first time so I knew it would be a blast, based on previous attendance.

The fete began at noon; we arrived at 20 after and found that available parking was already threatening to have us walking to the pavilion from the boondocks.

Judging from the number of vehicles, I expected us to have a hard time finding an open table. Oddly, there were several tables that appeared entirely empty. We chose two seats at one, dropped the cooler, the extra bag, and my jacket (to hold our seats) then galavanted off to greet other attendees and check out the vendors and food trucks.

We met one couple who I think we both enjoyed meeting more than anyone else we met.

They were Cynthia and Tom Wilson, vendors at the festival. Not only are they really cool people but  they have the awesome job of raising the much-loved alpacas that are part of their extended family.

Two of the alpacas, mommy Mocha and her baby Luna, were on-site. The others stayed home to keep the other farm family members minding their p's and q's.

Neither my date nor I had previously seen alpacas live and in person before today. We both fell in love with them. They are beautiful creatures, mostly gentle-natured but also high-spirited on occasion.

We asked a ton of questions and the Wilsons were kind enough to share the fascinating story of their alpacas with us.

If anyone is curious about the alpaca, Open Herd is Cynthia and Tom's website.

There were lots more vendors but only one other caught my eye long enough for me to stop.

A woman named Kristina Tomkie, who runs "my little design company", designs and creates greeting cards by hand.

Lovely little things they are.

As a creative spirit, I have an appreciation for the time and effort others put into their works of art. Not all of it is enticing enough to get me to open my wallet but greeting cards just happen to be my thing because I actually like sending actual cards via snail mail.

There's something delectable about receiving a card in the mail. Even if there's nothing handwritten in it other than a signature, I feel like someone was thinking about me for the amount of time it took him/her/them to buy and sign the card, address and stamp the envelope, mail the card, wait for me to acknowledge receipt.

Over time, I have amassed a collection of hundreds of greeting cards. Partly because I have a tendency to buy a card for a special occasion, bring it home, lose it, then return to the store to purchase another.

Sometime after mailing the subsequently purchased card, I find the first one et voila, an extra card for my collection.

Any who, while I can (and do) get greeting cards for cheap I don't mind paying a little extra from time to time for something original.

It satisfies my impulse to encourage other creative folk and I hope the recipient can see that I thought enough of him/her/them to send something different.

Without going further afield (because I'm nodding), if anyone wants to check out Kristina's cards they're here: My Little Design Company.

Okay y'all, I'm outta here.

Good night everyone.

Sweet dreams...

705.

Good morning folks!

I tried to get this missive out in the wee hours but I passed out before I could log in.

When I awoke this morning, my laptop was perched... on my lap.

Ha ha!

So now I'm once again racing the clock.

I've showered and shampooed and it's time to get dressed while the kettle boils.

I have an all-day date planned.

He's driving a few hours just to spend the day with me.

There's a Special Event taking place in a town not too far off. We're heading over to enjoy the festivities and I have lunch and drinks stashed in the cooler.

We've been e-mailing/talking/texting for a month but this will be our first face-to-face meeting.

He's a nice man, a bit... skittish (or "scary" as folks in these parts would say) but overall a good bloke it seems.

The weather is already beautiful. Sunshine and Carolina blue skies.

Nothing better!

Gotta run folks.

Enjoy your day!

678.

Well that was a cool first date.

I think the band was supposed to play outside but it rained and they had to set up inside. So the music started late but it didn't matter because the conversation was good.

When the date ended, he walked me to my car. We hugged good night and he asked if I would like to go out again.

I said yes and gave him a peck on the lips.

(Insert girlish giggle here.)

I texted him shortly after I got home, to tell him I enjoyed the date and I'm looking forward to more good conversations.

He said he enjoyed it too and he's looking forward to getting to know me better. He also said my pictures don't do me justice.

Now aren't those just the nicest things to say to a lady after a first date?

I guess the fairy dust did its job tonight.

And now I'll bid you all a fond good night. I'm tired. Not going to bed yet but I need to unwind.

Sweet dreams everyone.

Back with more soon...

677.

There was no swimming yesterday.

It began to rain before I could find my bikini top. Then along came thunder and lightening.

Ah well, we'll swim another day.

In other news, barring any unforeseen circumstance(s), my Friday night date shall commence at 7:30.

I'm a bit excited about this one.

He's not the kind of guy I usually date so it's a toss up as to how it will go.

I think I'm just happy to have plans to see live music again so soon. (Fingers crossed that the musicians are good.)

I've shampooed my hair, given myself a pedicure, and taken my shower.

The venue is close by so I should be on time. (Which I'll try very hard to do because I saw in his dating profile that he's averse to late arrivals. *sigh*)

However we did have a brief conversation about it and he said something like he's getting over being a stickler about it.

Still, I'm planning to arrive early. No sense starting off badly.

Well y'all, it's now 6:10 p.m.

Knowing how I always think I have more time than I do, I think I should r-u-n-n o-f-t now.

I have to find an outfit, do my hair, and spritz on a bit of fairy dust before I commence to dazzling the masses.

À bientôt folks!

646.

Not that I want to start out on a less-than-positive note but not only am I dog-tied, my feet hurt.

And yes it's because we danced our butts off last night.

When my brain re-sets itself, I'll post more details about Miz A's weekend birthday blowout.

Until my return, I leave you with this:

645.

I have been a busy, busy, busy bee for the past month.

A great vacation at the beach with Baby Bliss, a good visit with my dad, a family baby shower...

This past weekend I had three long dates with the same guy. Lots of food, laughter, walking, talking, hand-holding, arm-swinging.

Tuesday evening my daughter and I made an impromptu fro-yo run.

She choose a wild mixture of red grapefruit and pink lemonade sorbet, topped with mango boba pearls.

My choice of fro-yo was (and is usually) the more sedate Greek, festooned with a medley of toppings. Sometimes I get healthy toppings like fruit and nuts. This time I went a bit wild: dry pecans, maraschino cherries, chocolate covered sunflower seeds, Heath Bar pieces, and Butterfinger pieces.

It should be a while before I eat something so decadent again.

Or maybe not.

Miz A's birthday is in a few weeks but we're celebrating this weekend. The blowout starts Saturday afternoon with a meal and cake at our favorite local venue, FireWater.

We're continuing the bash at a local dance club around 7 p.m. (Because we heard it's impossible to get a table any time after that.)

The finale will be Sunday, early afternoon in the same general area as Part I, to wind down and re-hash all the shenanigans before we all head to our respective homes.

Some of us will be crashing at a near-by hotel Saturday night which means I'll have to pack sometime tomorrow. I'm one of the hostesses for the weekend so I need to arrive at the venue an hour in advance on Saturday to take the cake and help set up the decorations.

In addition, I promised my grandma I'd take her shopping tomorrow and Baby Bliss has prom tomorrow evening.

*Digging through the cupboards for some Geritol...*

Stay tuned for photos y'all!

637.

Happy Saturday everyone!

It's overcast here, windy, a bit chilly. In the past few weeks we've had an abundance of sunshine and warm temps and I know they'll return soon so I'm not complaining.

I've already been out gallivanting and although the weather does require warm outerwear of some sort there's no need to drag the mink out of storage again.

However, when I hit the streets later, it's likely I'll be wearing pants, a rarity for me.

If I didn't have a previous engagement, I would be staying in tonight. But one of the sista-friends in our circle is hosting a themed event at her home this evening.

She's from that town in Louisiana known for partying and jazz funerals. Surely this evening's festivities will be worth me braving March winds for one night.

The party starts in a few hours so y'all know what that means.

Time for me to get ready to get ready.

More later...

626.

I had a "first date" last night.

It was fun.

—That's 30 for today.—

611.

Someone gave Baby Bliss a plot of land at some castle in Scotland.

She has instructed the masses to refer to her by her honorary title of "Lady".

She is now accepting applications for knights if anyone is so inclined.

That is all.

605.

What a fantastic weekend I've had.

Lots of driving, visiting with friends old and new, and food. I even had time to squeeze in a few dates.

Laughing, noshing, dancing, crying, kissing...

I loved every minute of it all.

The reward for being such a busy bee is needing a good ole Epsom salt-baking soda soak.

As soon as I eat my last bit of leftovers, I'm diving in to zone out until the water chills.

Sayonara y'all.

584.

I got kissed in the rain. *blush*

547.

I have had many experiences in my life. A long list of adjectives can be used in describing all I've done, seen, and heard. Can I say how thankful I am that the word "boring" is not one that would make the list?

So much has been going on in my life in the past few months. I just wasn't up to blogging about it all.  But that will change with the next few posts.

Moving forward...

In today's news, I spent a nice holiday with my grandma, two aunts, and a cousin. We started at a park near my home then caravanned to a park a bit further south. We talked, ate, laughed, crocheted, met interesting people, took photos, enjoyed the boaters and jet skiers on the lake...

Baby Bliss didn't go. She stayed home to catch up on sleep. Poor girl missed an interesting day out.

What I'm thankful for: even though I thought about Mr. Bliss and how much more fun I would have had if he had been there with us, I wasn't sad about it. I will always miss my beloved and on holidays even more so because he loved celebrations. But I am so thankful that I was able to make it through the day without feeling like an emotional breakdown was imminent.

To change the subject, about an hour ago, I began having problems with my phone. Again.

*sigh*

I'm on my third handset for this particular brand and model of phone. If I lose this one, I'll once again need to enter all my phone numbers, etc.

My daughter has been telling me to get a smart phone for years. I probably should but I'll be kicking and screaming all the way if I do. It would increase my monthly phone bill by $20, just to be able to save my contacts in the cloud or somesuch.

It just doesn't make a lot of sense to me right now.

Well, we'll see...


.

544.

I love this. I absolutely would dance!

Would you?


Funky Friday



(Thanks Katie Price!)


.

532.

Good morning!

Guten Morgen!

Доброе утро! (Dobroe utro!)

Bonjour!

Labas rytas!

Доброго ранку! (Dobroho ranku)

Günaydın!

Buen dia!
 

Boker tov!

Yesterday with my beau was fun.

Our picnic was at a nearby park that is situated on one of many arms of a huge lake near my home. The place has gorgeous views. Some angles remind me of  images of Lake Como. Very romantic.

The weather was perfect: sunny and breezy. We had a good hour or two before the rain washed us into the car but that felt perfect too, giving us an opportunity to share good conversation and indulge in our passion for music (he's a musician, I'm an aficionado).

After our picnic, we headed off to a juicing seminar. It was fun and interesting. We both met new people, learned a lot about fruits and veggies, tasted some juice I never want to taste again. (Which he thought was palatable. Interesting...)

The seminar ended. We said our goodbyes to the hostess and other attendees.

I then took him on a tour of the beautiful area I am blessed to call home. It's as far north as you can get in the county before spilling over into the next. Although he grew up in this county, he didn't spend much time in my neck of the woods.

After the tour, we drove to a popular area venue that encompasses shopping, housing, entertainment, eateries, in a park-like atmosphere.

We walked a bit, caught a little of a live music duo, then sat on a bench to eat dessert, laugh, talk, kiss.

*sigh*

We reluctantly parted around 1:45 a.m., with plans to meet again Saturday.

531.

Date # ___________ was wonderful. (I've lost count but I think it's number four. Could be number five though. Or six. Depending.)

The picnic was fun. And romantic. And... blissful.

It rained but we were done by then. Not ready to leave the park but finished eating and had already returned stuff to the car.

We sat in the car to talk and listen to music.

I love how we feel we can ask each other any question that pops into our heads and feel like we're getting honest answers.

He said we've learned more about each other in the past few weeks than some people do in months.

Mmmmm, yes. I agree.

530.

Yesterday, Baby Bliss and I went out for a day of shopping, lunch, errands.

Nothing major. Just EarthFare, Target, Forever21, Chipotle, Aldi...

All after my morning walk.

Couldn't get my evening walk in yesterday. By the time we got home from our busy day, storm clouds were rolling in right behind us.

Bummer.

But thank you God for today!

As soon as I drink my morning smoothie, I'm out the door.

And I'm excited about today's plans!

My "new friend" has transitioned into "new beau". We're meeting for a day of shared leisure, starting with buying yummies for a picnic lunch we'll enjoy in a beautiful park nearby.

There's rain in today's forecast but no matter. He said as long as we're together he'll be happy, wet or dry.

Isn't he a sweetie?

I know it will be a long day. It always is with us.

Which brings me to this past weekend.

We had a date that spanned three days and it didn't involve anything I couldn't repent for in confession without blushing. (Yes, I was raised in the Catholic church.)

Time to get to the blender folks!

And remember:

So get out there and create your stories.

Then start a blog or write a book and share them with the world.

We want to know!

Amen.

490. Bliss in bloom.

Me, with my hyperbolic bracelet.

My daughter's arm, wearing the hyperbolic bracelet.

489: Hyperbolic Balls of Bliss.

Have I blogged about this before?

If I have, forgive me. It's become a mini-obsession.  :D

Somehow, in between dreaming, blogging, doing laundry, sleeping, vacuuming, dusting, writing, Facebook stalking my teenager, and other duties as assigned, I've fallen in love with hyperbolic crochet.

Yes, I know it sounds like some weird dance step or a drug that accelerates the metabolism but it's neither.

Actually it's a simple method for crocheting cute balls of fluff with lots and lots of uses.

They can be crocheted using any yarn in any color, to match your mood or decor.

My obsession started with a search for the perfect flower pattern.

Looking at flat, one-dimensional flowers didn't give me the sense of creative urgency I needed to start working the pattern.

Then I discovered hyperbolic crochet.

Are you now wondering what hyperbolic crochet is?

Yes?

Here is how Lion Brand Yarn describes it:

Hyperbolic Crochet is the name given to applying a mathematical principle to crochet patterns. A hyperbolic plane expands exponentially from any point on its surface, always curving away from itself. You can easily crochet a hyperbolic surface by increasing at a constant rate throughout the piece.

Hyperbolic growth in nature gives rise to the ruffled shapes of coral, kelp, and sea anemone. Crocheting coral forms is a great opportunity to try different yarns and stitches, and is just one example of the types of project that hyperbolic motifs may inspire you to do.

The Institute for Figuring created the concept of the Coral Reef with hyperbolic crochet and have been developing this concept since 2005. More information about the project may be seen on their website www.theiff.org.

And here are links to the IFF fun stuff:

• Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef
• IFF links to galleries of hyperbolic crochet in action 
• Hyperbolic Space Introduction

There will be no hyperbolic crocheted reefs in my future but I know I'll be crocheting lots more Hyperbolic Balls of Bliss.

It's because I have a thing with numbers that's been going on since childhood, when my mother told me the story of our "family numbers", a story I'll have to tell some other time or I shall digress too far.

I don't recall when I first learned of hyperbolic crochet. (Can you tell I like saying those words?) But I've since used several  patterns to achieve the h.c. before realizing I don't need a pattern, just an idea and an understanding of how often to add stitches.

Any way, without  further ado (and before I nod off at the keyboard) here are photos of the Hyperbolic Balls of Bliss I've crocheted so far.

The beige Ball of Bliss is rather small. I crocheted it using crochet cotton, also known as crochet thread.

This weekend I pinned a small hair elastic to it and wore it as a ring. I got lots of compliments on it.

The other two are here awaiting a good home.

They are too big to be worn as rings but they:

• are interesting as over-sized bracelets
• look lovely sitting on a mantel or a desk
• will inspire lots of comments when tied to a car antenna...

The list is bound only by imagination.