Designing in Life

The Age-Old Mystery of Socks

I am off for a little adventure tomorrow (remember, I mentioned how important it is to have adventure in your life!)  In preparation, I am gathering clothes to take with me.  And this is how I once again encountered the mystery of where socks go.

You see 5 single socks in the picture.  I know there are 5 that match these somewhere in this house.  The question is, "Where!!!"

How many pairs of socks do we really need?  I supposed it depends on the types of shoes you wear throughout the week.   Thinner for dressier shoes, medium for clogs, heavy for boots and white athletic for your running shoes.  So let's say 15 max.  So 5 missing is HUGE.

I have found a sock here and a sock there, stuck to towels, still in the bottom leg of my jeans, on the dryer ledge that you can not see when you open it, on the front top side of the washer (where you're too lazy to lean over and look and far too many other places to mention.  But these 5?  Vansihed.

With time on my hands these days, I found myself tearing apart drawers and shelves looking for them.  Nope.  Nowhere.  So what should I do?  Certainly not what I've done before when I've found a stray.  Throw it away, only to have its mate miracuously appear 3 days later when the trash has been emptied, and is no longer available to search through?

For the moment, they're back in the drawer.  You might think I'm crazy, but I can assure you if you go and look in your own sock drawer, you'll find unmatched socks you couldn't bear to throw away, because you just knew the mate would show up if you did!

 

Why Not Draw a Stickman?

I ran across this fun little way to fritter away a few minutes in your busy day.  We all need something to take our minds off our mudane jobs, sometimes.  This is a perfect way to do it. 

Draw a Stickman. 
See him come to life, and have a little adventure.  Which is something else we should all do once-in-awhile.  But of course, that's for another blog post!

Not for the Faint of Heart!

How I got a cold is a mystery to me.  I have tried to be so very careful, but sometimes even that doesn't work.

I found this at my local food co-op.  It was intriguing, because my favorite tea is  lemon-ginger, and I thought combining this with the tea might taste pretty darn good, which I think it does.  Approach with caution, though.  This stuff is incredibly strong.  Strong enough that Nick says he can't drink it.

I think it's perfect if you have a cold, and suggest you seek it out if you can find it.  Just remember though, this stuff is not for sissies.

 

To the Moon – No not You Alice!

This came in the mail from my sister the other day, and I found myself deep in thought with memories of the past.

This was published in 1969, and is  filled with amazing photos of the history of manned exploration in space.

I bet some of you remember crowding around little black and white televisions in your classrooms watching that very first US manned space craft.

Although this is all history now, one caption under a photo still rings some truth about us.  "Nine hours after his arrival, man had littered the moonscape with his paraphernalia – TV camera, flag, laser reflector, solar wind sheet, special stereo camera and the sun-powered seismometer.

Floral Fantasy

Not quite sure what I would do with this design, but I do think it's a bit of retro fun.

Luck – Is Mine Changing?

Someone gave this to me at Christmas, and I just found it.

Okay, so it's not $5,000, but I'll take the 10!

Chicken Soup

Luckily, I'm not on top of Mt. Washington right now.  But looking out at the thermometer from the kitchen window, its 0.  And you know what that means?  A nice hot, steamy bowl of chicken soup.

Soup is one of the easiest meals to make.  And really, one of the best things about making soup, is that once you get the hang of it, you can use the basic recipe to make any flavor you want.

Here is what you'll need:

Basic Chicken Soup Recipe (makes 4 or so cups of soup)

4 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
2 teaspoons olive oil or butter
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 of a small onion chopped/diced
1 chicken breast cut into small bite-sized pieces
1 carrot (or 6 baby carrots) chopped/diced
2 stalks celery chopped/diced
2 sprigs parsley chopped
1/2 – 1 cup frozen peas

Sautee onion, garlic and chicken pieces on medium heat for 5 minutes.  Remove chicken from pan, leaving any bits of garlic and onion.

Add carrots and celery, and sautee for 5 minutes.  Add sauteed chicken and sautee together for 1 minute.

Pour broth into pot over the sauteed chicken and vegetables and add the parsley.  Let simmer for 10 minutes adding peas to the last 5.

(You can add rice or noodles to make it more hearty.)

And its as easy as that.  Just add some crusty bread and a salad, and dinner is ready.  And guaranteed, you'll forget how cold it is out there! 

 

Turtle Memories

Last night's conversation turned to Sparky, our now "living free and large" turtle.  We miss him.  You might think that a turtle is a turtle is a turtle, but I'm here to tell you, Sparky had a personality.  We found him to be (along with our cats) funny and cheap entertainment.

We never planned on keeping him after rescuing him from a swimming pool.  And when we found him looking longingly out the front window where his aquarium was, we knew where he really wanted to be.

So on a warm June afternoon, with granddaughters Chloe and Phoebe, we took Sparky about a half mile from our home to a beautiful pond.  Spotting many Eastern Painted Turtles with heads popped out of the water, we knew Sparky would be happy, and feel right at home.

We said our goodbyes, and sadly released him knowing it was the right thing to do.

The odds of a turtle surviving the first year are 1 in 100.  The odds of a turtle living after its first year are 100 to one.  He's a lucky guy, and I bet he knows it.

 

A New Life – A New Beginning

How many of you have been laid off, let go or just plain fired during your working years?  Well, until a few weeks ago, that would have been 0 for me.  But things change, and businesses go in different directions – or so I was told.

The company I worked at for 12 years was sold in September.  The founding owner died in November, far too soon to enjoy his retirement.

Two veture capialists, one from New York, the other from California bought the business with promises of keeping all the existing employees.  So much for promises.

So here I am in a far-too-late-in-life unemployed situation.  But I have never been a quitter, and really do believe that when one door closes another opens.  Finding myself with some time on my hands, I am reigniting this blog, and will let you know what I'm doing.

I have been working on some kid's designs for a while now, with the intention of trying to sell them.  I've moved forward with this notion, and am back to creating more.  Here's one.

Wish me luck on my new life's chapter!