Eastern Utah
EMAIL ME AT: mgypsy97 at aol dot com

Sunday, October 30, 2016

Journey's End

The girls are back, although I haven't yet spoken to either of them.  I received a msg from Jeannie at 7:30 this morning saying they had driven all night and had just arrived.  I think the distance was something like 700 miles, which I've done many times.  The difference is that I've always started between 4 and 5am and stopped when the sun went down.  I don't think I could drive all night unless it was a dire emergency.  I'm glad they are back and off the roads today.  We had some very strong rains this afternoon, and it is still raining off and on.  I just hope we get more rain - a little each day would be great!

I have been freezing all day and haven't really done much except wrap up in a blanket.  I haven't had the pilot light on the furnace lit so far this year and I rarely use the furnace anyway.   Sometimes when it is really cold in the morning I turn it on for a few minutes to take the chill off, but I couldn't afford to run that thing all the time!   I'd rather use a space heater when I'm sitting down with the computer, or the one in the bathroom when I shower.  The two heaters I have work well - I've tried others that have tripped the power and it's just not worth bothering with trying to fix it.  My electrical wiring leaves a lot to be desired.

Speaking of electric, Steve noticed that I have a 220V outlet in the vicinity of my washing machine.  I'd like to get a new, small washer with no fancy cycles on it, and he says I can also have a dryer.  I may go to Sears outlet one of these days to see what they might have to offer.  I am looking for just a basic washing machine and a basic dryer.    That would be nice for me in the winter to not have to take my laundry across the street, although the dryer would send my electric bill skyrocketing.  On nice sunny days I could still take everything over to the clothesline and air dry them, which is what I prefer anyway.

The rain has started up again and it's really coming down.  I read this morning that Sacramento had reached 80% of normal rainfall for this time of year.  Today should bring us up a little closer to the norm.  My hummingbirds don't let the rain stop them - they've been at the feeder all day long, and it makes me so happy to see them.   I still want to get a bird feeder if I can find one that I can hang in a location the birds won't be in danger from predators.


I've just finished watching Season 8 of Bob Ross (at 13 episodes per).  I truly wish I had gone that route first instead of acrylic, although I would probably not want to paint as often if I had to deal with the cleanup of oils, thinner, etc.  I just love about every one of the 100+ paintings he's done, but most of all I love the calm confidence he inspires.  But there is a reason for everything under the sun!

Have a great week, as I hope to.

19 comments:

  1. Look at Best Buy and Lowes for appliances, also. Hubby and I got some good deals on basic machines at both places. You can get the ones with all the bells-n-whistles that repairmen just love, too.

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    1. I will check all those stores as there are close to where I live. I need Steve to level the floor where I will put them before I get new machines. I have starting to have a leveling problem that comes up during the spin cycle. It is never just one thing, is it?

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    2. We had that problem in the mobile homes we lived in. They build the floors like they build the walls, with a lot of flex in them.

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    3. My mobile home was built in 1962 and everything that can go wrong, has.

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  2. Cleanup was the push to oil pastels for me. A wipe or three with a paper towel and I am finished. Even water color took a lot more cleaning to get things put away. As you can tell I am really lazy.

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    1. I might be the laziest person on the planet, so I am definitely going to look into oil pastels. I hope they aren't too expensive though.

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    2. I've just looked up oil pastels online, and they aren't as expensive as I might have thought. Is there a great difference in quality between brands? I've been buying Artist's Loft acrylics at Michaels, as the Level 1 (beginners) which are the least expensive. The oil pastels I saw at several sources, including Michaels, are fairly inexpensive and I wonder if Artist Loft is much different than the other brands. Do you have just basic colors and blend for variations, or would you recommend a larger selection so blending isn't always necessary.

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  3. Happy to hear the girls are home and safe. I know you are happy about that.
    I wouldn't buy anymore appliances from Sears I think you can get better buys at Lowe's but that's just my opinion. While it could be your floor is off it may be that you need to have the your mobile leveled. I think I mentioned this before. I had been living here 15 yrs and never had it done. then I started to have trouble with the doors not closing or getting stuck closed. No more problems now.

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    1. I have problems with doors not closing at all, or not properly, and I'm sure the whole place needs leveling. I'm afraid if they did that my entire house would fall apart!

      I have a Sears outlet store near me, as well as a Home Depot and a Lowes. I shop at Best Buy once in a while but have never been truly happy with anything I've ever bought there. I'm not crazy about their store, the staff, etc., so I wouldn't shop there for appliances.

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  4. Glad to hear your girls are back safe and sound. Also glad to hear you are approaching 100% rain for the year after all the terrible drought in the west.

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  5. Glad to hear your girls are back safe and sound. Also glad to hear you are approaching 100% rain for the year after all the terrible drought in the west.

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    1. We are approaching 100% for the month of October, but the rainy season has a long way to go. This happened last year and then in Jan/Feb when we normally get the most rain, it just fizzled out.

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  6. You may want to try water soluble oils or do your painting with acrylics and just highlight it with oils.

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    1. I like acrylics for many reason and for painting certain things. One thing I love about the oils as demonstrated in every one of Bob Ross' lessons, is the ease and natural look of the trees he paints. Trees and mountains.

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  7. I have pain in the Bob Ross method using acrylics and also I found that the new energy-saving electric dryers and not as bad as you might think ...I enjoy listening to you adventure and painting

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  8. I have pain in the Bob Ross method using acrylics and also I found that the new energy-saving electric dryers and not as bad as you might think ...I enjoy listening to you adventure and painting

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    1. I just tried it on a piece of sketch pad paper and I'm very happy with the result, it being my first try. I don't know how it will translate to canvas, and I will experiment with different brushes before I actually use it in a painting. I think my trees will look much more realistic than if I used a different method.

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  9. Have you thought of a small size stack washer dryer, we have one and its great! Perfect for small loads.

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    1. I had regular sized stack washer & dryer in my condo when I lived in Virginia, and wasn't at all happy with it. For one thing I could never get used to front loaders, as I've always used a top loading washer. I might look into it before I buy - may as well consider every option.

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