Nathan's coming home temporarily...

Sorry to keep talking about this, but I have family who look here for updates. Josh and Jess decided that a week was long enough in the ER. They figure Nathan can wait here at home while the hospitals decide where he can be taken. Hopefully, there won't be too much excitement in the meantime. Josh will be present at all times in case Nathan has problems. This is why he can't hold a regular job and works online. (Please pray for more online work! He's getting some, for which we're thankful, but he needs more.) A psychiatric nurse practitioner saw Nathan yesterday and is trying a change of meds, but Nathan still needs a more thorough examination. He's also going to try going to school with lots of special ed help. I'm quaking in my boots a bit, but trying to keep my focus on the Lord Who is our help at all times.

This grandma just needs energy and to acknowledge that it's not all up to me AND it's not all up to Josh to shoulder the burdens. Jesus said to give our cares to Him. We just need to learn to really do that. He is faithful!

Saw my first robin yesterday, you guys! He was taking a bath in the ice water puddle in my front yard. Brave soul! I guess that means it's spring! Remember this Hazel quote from a few years ago? I superimposed it onto someone else's art, hee hee.

That's all for now. Trying to keep up on everyone's blogs. You guys light up my life! :)
Shalom to all my friends and family!

Puddles!

As the snow on the neighboring farmer's alfalfa field melts, we are becoming a lake!

These pictures were taken after dark out of my living room window.

 You can see some fence posts on the other side of the tree. In that big puddle just beyond the fence we've had numerous waterfowl landing. Most of them swans! Fun to watch.

It looks bad, but it will probably sink into our sandy soil fairly quickly. I think the frost is out of the ground so, in the next few days, this should fade away. We shall see what shape things are in in the morning when it's time to take kids to school. Micah and her crew are at AWANA. They'll have to figure out how to get through this and to their house. I suspect Adam will have to ferry them with his 4WD pickup.

Josh and family are back under my roof. It just wasn't possible to maintain a separate residence for them when Nathan's having so many problems. He's been in the ER in a hospital an hour away from us since last Friday, I believe. They know he can't go home, but can't find a children's hospital with a bed available. So, Josh and Jess are taking turns staying with him. They can't officially admit him, since they don't have a psychiatric unit. That's why he has to stay in the ER. We're praying for a solution to present itself ASAP and trying to keep things as normal as possible for Starry. She's doing great in her new school, by the way. Her new kindergarten teacher says she's a delight!

Right now life is revolving around everyone's schedules and keeping in touch with the Lord. This is all temporal, but He is eternal and loves all of us more than we can imagine. If we start blaming Him, the devil's won. That's His whole game. Thanks for any prayers you can spare!

God bless you all! God is good all the time!
Shalom.

A little art...

It's an overcast morning here, but no snow or precip expected in the near future. Maybe with the warmer temps we'll melt a little of this snow!

Josh and family are still settling into their new place. Nathan has joined them and they are still working through some behavioral issues. School placement is still up in the air. Hopefully, within the next week they will decide where he will attend.  He will probably need to be bussed to a neighboring district where they have better resources. Their internet is so bad (slow, dial-up?) that Josh will probably drop in here each day to upload his work. He's figured out something he can do with his smartphone involving a hotspot, but that will only be useful to a limited degree. They plan to find a more satisfactory place to live in a year when their lease is up, but this is workable for now. And I love having Josh drop in. I feel blessed to have them all near!

I've been dabbling in ATC's as I get the opportunity. Here is a group I just mailed off for a swap called "On the Other Hand". They were to be done totally with our non-dominant hand. The little fox and house were copied from two children's books illustrated by Jared Lee.

Another swap was called the "Library Card Catalog" swap. One of our ATC people works as a librarian and he has a pile of old card catalog cards. As host he mailed each of the players some catalog cards and we were supposed to use parts of the cards to make an ATC.

 Then there is the ongoing Altered Playing card swap. We're working our way through the deck. Well, actually, two decks. We do one group of postage stamp cards and one group of bird cards. The bird cards can be drawn or collaged. I don't usually post collaged cards just because it's not really "art", as with drawing. But it's nice to keep track sometimes. :) I think I already posted the birds for #9.

 

Here are the #8 cards. I have several bird identification guides and, yes, I'm actually cutting up one of them for these collages. It's a small paperback that is missing its cover and has been scribbled in and bent up by grandchildren. So, I didn't feel bad using it. I do have a couple of nice ones that I keep out of reach of kids, lol. (Unless I'm supervising the bird watching.)

I sometimes put my art aside, thinking it's kind of a silly waste of time. In other words, I could be using that time for more important things. But I really do think it's necessary as a little bit of color and creativity in my day. It's my little happy pill, lol. The real waste of time for me is just staring at a computer screen. I do a LOT more of that than I do working on art. I'm hoping to cut back so I have more time for prayer and reading the Bible and books that surround me with thoughts of Jesus. The difficulties of life only come into perspective when we turn toward Him and really grow closer to Him.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Here's a little something from Rend Collective. (I just love to listen to Gareth talk! Ha ha!)



God bless you all for stopping by! Hugs and shalom!

Aargh!

We got Josh and family into their new house on Tuesday after I wrote that last post. I think Starry's starting school today. She had to get some shots before she could start. Jess started her new job yesterday. THEN our power went out about 5:30 this morning. It came back on at 8:30. I'm so thankful for electricity, and aren't we extremely dependent creatures?

Starry's first snowman at their new place.

Josh heard the air hissing out of his tire yesterday morning and was thankful that it didn't happen on the highway. He changed it to the spare and got safely to town to get a new one. One more thing!

We supposedly had freezing rain last night, hence the power outage, but I don't really see signs of ice outside. It's more just the melting of tons of snow. We're supposed to get snow/rain today and colder tonight. School is late this morning. It's that wacky, in-between season we in Minnesota like to call the mud season.

It just seems to be one challenge after another this week, especially for Josh and family. And I haven't even mentioned everything! A nice way to welcome them to Minnesota! Nathan may come home tomorrow. Not sure just yet. Prayers would be appreciated, I'm sure.

So, if I'm not on here much, we're just dealing with things as they come. I do love reading all of your blogs! Keep 'em coming!

Stay safe and warm, everyone. Shalom!

Busy with family!

Josh and family got moved to Minnesota safely, praise God! They are still with me, but are going to meet their new landlady as I type this. They've found a trailer house just about 1-1/2 miles down the road from us. This will be nice for visiting and so we can all help each other when needed. Jess has found a job at Subway in the town that is about 12 miles from us. Josh brought his job with him. Starry will start school tomorrow and she will be in the same class as Hazel. Nathan has had some bipolar issues and is in the hospital in Fargo where they are reassessing the meds he's on. I think he will be discharged on Friday and hopefully things will go better.

They will be surrounded by a small community out in the country. There are three other trailers, one occupied by a local pastor and his family. The landlady's husband is also a pastor and they have raised a special needs child, so it looks like they are in a good place to make some friends and have some fellowship. As soon as we move their belongings one more time (they're in a storage garage in that town 12 miles away) we hope to all settle into some sort of routine. Yeah, right. Life doesn't seem to like to let us do that, lol. But we'll get as close as we can.

Josh and the kids on their trip up from Kentucky.

Winter may finally be grudgingly releasing its grip on our area. We still have piles of snow, but the temps are rising. It's sunny and we have a south wind today. It feels kind of humid. I think that's a good thing. :)

I don't have much for new photos, but Micah's three youngest posed for these with their Paul Bunyan beard. It was crocheted by their "other Grandma Lisa". This Grandma Lisa gave up on crocheting pretty quickly, lol.

Della

Sully

Thatchy Poo

And Starry lost a tooth!

Well, y'all, I'm tired. We're all just getting over being sick. In fact, Starry and Nathan haven't even gotten to see their cousins yet, so that should happen soon. We're pretty much recovered.

I'm enjoying all of your blogs. Thanks for coming to see mine! Much love!
Shalom.

On a lighter note...

*smile*
Yes, my last post had a lot to do with depression. I had a good cry this morning, which helped. I need to acknowledge now and then that I really do miss those who have gone on ahead to heaven instead of being all "strong" about it. Bob, Mom, Dad, my step-sis, Jill. The "grown-ups" in my life who gave me guidance and support. I'm so glad to still have my step-dad and, of course, my whole family! But it's sometimes a sad feeling to realize you're almost the last of the "older" generation, and when we leave, the kids will have some of these same feelings of not having parents to share their joys and challenges. But I like to think I'll be here a while longer to help in any way I can.

Now for that lighter note! I've been enjoying a beautiful book this morning. This was one of my book sale finds, so it cost me a whole 50 cents! But I see there are lots of used copies on Amazon for about $3.50, which is great for a book that originally cost more like $35! I think all you artists out there will appreciate the beauty of the house being shown. This house was built in Wisconsin for a man who lives and works in Chicago. He owns an advertising agency and has six children and wanted a place they could all gather. He had owned this property for 20 years, but after a visit to Sweden, and seeing the old home of artist Carl Larsson, he knew this was the kind of house he wanted. The house was built not to copy Larsson's house, but with some of the same "spirit". And now I think I know what I want my heavenly mansion to look like!

 The architect is also a professional illustrator, and his illustrations are one of my favorite parts of this book.

 There's a short bit on the history of Carl Larsson's house. Hopefully, you can click on the picture and read the writing. I thought it was interesting. I've read a book about Larsson in the past. He's one of my favorite artists.

 More of the architects illustrations. I LOVE the colors!

 I've always wanted a bed like these!

 The ultimate in hygge!

I also need to do some drawings for a swap called On The Other Hand, in which we're supposed to draw with our non-dominant hand. I'm thinking of copying some things out of this favorite book, which I've shown you before. (You know; the book about ME, ha ha!)

I'm thinking of choosing some of the animals and flora for my left-handed drawing. I love this woodcut look, though my drawings probably won't capture that. They should be simple shapes to draw. I've done this sort of swap before and it was fun!

Well, hopefully today we'll do some furniture moving. I bought a recliner to replace the old one the kids left behind and I may get a futon, too. I think Micah's going to spring the news on Adam this morning, so I hope his calendar is clear to do this. Ha ha. That's the way things roll around here. By the seat of our pants. ;)

My dear son, Josh, and his family are making the move up here next week. Yup. It's for sure this time. They'll be staying with me while they look for a place. They've already got some good leads. Josh is self-employed and can work from anywhere, so that's a huge help. I'm looking forward to spending time with all of them! Jess's parents are selling the farm in Kentucky and aren't sure where they're moving. God seems to be opening all the necessary doors and is making a way for Josh and Jess to move here. We'll keep trusting Him for that! :)

MK, I loved your little washing machine! As I mentioned, we had a tiny washer years ago. Our machine had pooped out and a friend had this one. It was small, but we sure were glad to have it until we could get something bigger. I actually found a picture of it online! It washed in the left side and spun things dry in the right hand compartment. Your new machine looks so sleek in comparison! Memories! :)

It's a sunny, cold day here in the upper half of Minnesota. I hope you're all enjoying your various climates!

Talk to you later! Thanks for stopping by!
Shalom.

Doings...

Howdy, all!

Well, I'm feeling a little under the weather and I think there may be some depression added into the mix. It's only been in the last couple of years that I've admitted to myself that I suffer from depression and have most of my life. I had a couple of really tough days at the beginning of the week, but things have gotten better. It sort of segued into a bit of "sickness" which is going around. The best "pill" for the depression seems to be time in the Word and talking to the Lord. He's real and He walks with us through all of this.

Yesterday Audrey and Hazel came over to my house after school and had fun "doing art". I just put out a pile of art supplies and they drew and painted. They've only been in my house a couple of times since they moved out, so they had fun exploring and snooping through things to see how the house is different from when they lived here. I think we'll do this often. They enjoy the special time with Grandma and being able to play with art supplies without Sully getting into things.

I have some inexpensive binoculars which I bought to watch the birds at the feeder. Hazel and Audrey spent a lot of time using those, and we used our bird guides to identify two large and impressive visitors. It was a pair of hairy woodpeckers. They are pretty large, though not as large as my favorites, the pileated woodpeckers. I haven't seen any of those lately.

I actually did a little hand sewing this morning. A long time ago I bought a large piece of fleece material from the thrift store thinking it was a lap blanket. It turned out that it was just an unfinished piece that was too narrow to cover my lap, but it was just the right size to cover a large pillow. (Which I got free at last summer's free rummage sale.) So, this morning I stitched up a cover by hand. I don't own a sewing machine, and probably wouldn't use one if I did have it, so this worked out fine. I won't show you my boo-boo on the back, but nobody's going to look at that anyway, right?

Here are my most recent APC's.

Looks like we're getting a couple of more inches of snow today.
Well, that's all for now. Everyone keep warm and be well!
Shalom! :)