There was no party planned in SL so DH and I went to the club just to dance. I had bought a dress for the grand opening but didn't get a chance to wear it. So, I wore that and we had a little fun just by ourselves.

Heard it would get down to 19 degrees so we washed up all of the clothes and got those out of the way. I spent most of yesterday painting and cooking up a new batch of breakfast bars. Stepson had come back from Arizona and finished off the last batch. He shopped a bunch while he was there visiting his mom for Thanksgiving. He shipped all of it back by Priority Mail. He knows what to buy that sells for the big bucks and makes a lot of money on ebay that way. He was paying like $5.00 for a $1,000.00 suit and selling it for hundreds. The rich retirees in Arizona die and their relatives give the clothing to re-sale shops. The dogs are inside so I'm waiting for it to warm up a bit before I go to the grocery store. In the meantime I need to get back to painting...

Have two cats to paint and get shipped off before Christmas. The first one I'm doing is the hardest mainly because it's black and white and there are lots of little white hairs interspersed in the black coat. Instead of using the masking I am going to try to paint around each white hair. Started on it a little yesterday but it was also the grand opening of the new area in SL. The partying went on all day long. I didn't have to stay right at the computer because your avatar is set automatically to dance. The themes were different in each location. The first one was a western theme and it was so fun.

DH & I are dancing in the second row on the far left.
The send party was on the beach and I didn't take any snapshots there. The third one was a wings theme at the forest and dh & I slow danced. I won $250. lindens there for my wings that threw out snowflakes.

The 4th party with the dressed in black theme was on the 3rd floor of the Plaza. I went and the SL crashed and threw everyone out. I was tired anyway so gave up partying for the day.

for a little warm up before I can run a load of wash. Has been below freezing the last few nights so am not sure if the outside drain is frozen or not. Don't have time to try it out until I'm sure. DH was off yesterday and I had to work at the office. He got miffed a few days ago when I answered the phone when he called and told him I was talking to one of our friends in SL. But, today, when I called him to open the gate when I got home I had to wait on him. Then he confessed he was talking to the same friend and sorry for the delay. So, I gave him the same treatment he gave me. His face got so red because I was miffed. I wasn't really but couldn't let him know that. I said you could have lied and he said I thought about it. It made the whole situation funny and we had a good laugh over it. I told him I had been calling him bad names for the last few days. So there! Will be done with this painting sometime this morning and will post later when the sun gets into the right position for me to take a photo. Think I'll do the same thing this year that my friend, Rush, is doing and not send out Christmas cards except to just family members and my boss. All of those extra people will only get one if they send me one. And, I have cards left from the last two years so don't plan on buying any new ones. We've also decided to only buy presents for the grand kids. Well, I still have to get something for my boss and his wife and I already took care of the two sisters. The boss is easy. He loves the nut and dried fruit mixture I put together each year. Boss's wife is difficult. She has everything anyway. Yes, one of those. Don't have time to paint anything for her so I have to start thinking about that one. Hate to shop except in SL...

in SL. Doesn't that sounds nice? In the nice warm sun and making money too. Not much. It's one Linden dollar per 10 minutes. But, figure while I am cooking or painting I can keep an eye on myself at the beach. Birds are flying around, the water is splashing up on the rocks and fish are swimming. Cooking up a big pot of chili and when I get it all together I'll get back on painting. Worked at boss's house this morning then went to scout out a doggie day care over by Joann's Fabric store for the boss's wife. Nice place. If I could afford it I would take my dogs there whenever we go on a trip. Only brought two plants in this year and one them has started blooming. Don't need the extra work of taking care of a bunch of them. DH gets tired of lugging them in and out anyway.

Tried to run Scooba upstairs yesterday and it wouldn't work. Realized the sensor was dirty so cleaned that. Ran then but no moisture was coming out. Had to look up troubleshooting in the instructions I had bookmarked online. There is a valve that can get stopped up and needed a bulb to blow it out. So, dh got one of those things he measures the antifreeze with in the cars. He pinched it over the valve and blew it out with that. It worked! So now I can run it this morning. What really made it frustrating is that I had moved all of the furniture to one side of the room and had to move it all back for the evening. So, this morning I get to move all of the furniture again. It's good exercise I guess because I had lots of energy the rest of the day. lol The new region(neighborhood) where I have my castle now has a plaza shopping center with shops. So, I rented one to put up some more images of my art for sale. I really have too many projects going on. I try to put up 4 or 5 new products in my zazzle shop, work on my galleries in second life and work on my painting while doing the daily chores of cleaning and cooking. Am I wonder woman or what? Sis #2 has 3 days off and she came over for a little while yesterday to play Wii Frisbee golf. She also works in the exclusive Double Tree Hotel and they are renovating. She brought me a king-size down comforter and 2 fluffy pillows. These will be nice when we have company that stays overnight. Now I can get rid of the old flat pillows and blankets that I have had forever. OK, time to move furniture...

Dh is cooking omelets for breakfast on his last day off of this long weekend. I'll be getting as much done as possible on this next painting. The first of the month is coming up so know I'll have to work at the office. Not going to re-list pet portrait ad on Ebay. Don't think I can get anymore done before Christmas. Or maybe I'll re-list and re-word it so they will know. Got to spray the plants I'll be bringing inside for the winter. Supposed to have a freeze on Monday night...

Four more to go...

Sister's 1 and 2 both did a bang up job on the Thanksgiving feast. I took over the pork roast, green beans and cranberry sauce. They had all of the rest of the turkey, dressing, veggies and pies. We had a nice visit with full tummies. Only one sister gave out and went to sleep. We came home and had pumpkin pie for dinner. On the way home dh said it was nice and no one fought. Hard to believe but some families don't have a peaceful dinner and visit. They usually ruin the holiday for other people. Sure glad that doesn't happen in my family. We did our grocery shopping early but the maddening crowds had already been there at Wally World so I was told so we timed it just right. Bought a nice toy for the co-worker of dh's in exchange for all of the smoked venison she gave us. Later I went online to order one of those zhu zhu hamsters for my granddaughter in Austin and one for dh's granddaughter. Guess I need to get wrapping paper and bows too. I worked on the calf painting all day. Never again do I want to do a close up of a hereford again. The fur about drove me nuts! Now I just have the grass to worry about. Will save that for tomorrow. Dh swept and mopped the living room and cut a board for the front door stoop. Too much air was blowing in along with dog fur at the bottom of the door. Can't wait for dinner and leftovers...yum!

at boss's house this morning. Painted, worked on gallery and played Wii games all day yesterday. Dh had a call from a co-worker who wanted to trade work days so he is working today. Then he has the next 4 days off. Dh's dad fell and broke a femur so he had to have surgery yesterday. You'd think that since he now lives in a nursing home that he would have been on osteoporosis meds. Is doing fine today. Roast and veggies are in the slow cooker so will have that ready for tomorrow to take to sis's house. Spending rest of today painting and vacuuming...

in SL. Just need to do some advertising and start bringing people in. Only have about 35 images up but it's a start. Friend of mine there made a nice sign for the front and I gave her a copy of one of my paintings in exchange. She was admiring it so it was a fair trade.

Mostly worked on my painting of the calf but the fur is giving me fits. Usually if I do herefords they are distant photos but this is more close up so is takimg longer. DH is off for the next three days. So, now everyone has Thanksgiving off. It's a first. Neither one of the boys will make it up here this year. So, only will have sister's son and brood there as far as kids are concerned. Looking forward to it. Hope everyone else has a good one!

Too many things to do. Trying to fit everything into one day sometimes is just impossible. Not enough hours. Spend a couple of hours painting, then building my painting images in SL, then cleaning, then cooking. Have learned to make a flat objects in SL and upload my images and put them on the flat objects. Would be nice to open up a shop before Christmas but it is not going to happen this year. Trouble with the castle I have is that it has so many curved walls. It's difficult to hang flat art on a curved surface. May only keep the castle for another month then move into something smaller and more practical. Or, I could just use it for my main store and have some other smaller ones around in SL. In real life the place only costs a couple of dollars a month to rent. And I can set it to lock up and be private which is sometimes very handy. I like being able to create things with no one watching. DH had the last two days off and we were afraid the floor in the 2nd bathroom was getting weak under the tub. Don't think I can stand another renovation. But, dh checked it out and the wood is solid. Turned out it was just the linoleum that was buckled slightly. That's a relief. We played frisbee golf and the Wii until my right arm was just too tired to play anymore. I had fixed a great stew which lasted about three days and now I need to go get fixings for a meatloaf. The stew was made with veggies, apple cider, broth, cloves and skinless sausage in the slow cooker. Need to write it down so I can do that again. Need to fix up a batch of breakfast bars too and get back to painting...

Rented a castle in SL and will use it for a studio and art gallery. Once the holidays are over I'll work on getting my artwork up on the walls for sale. It has 3 stories and stained glass windows. Oh, what fun!

Finished this one of a customer's two favorite hobbies...sphynx cats and an e-reader and it's been shipped to Finland. Strange, huh?


Work for a couple of hours today and starting the next one. Camping places in SL have mostly disappeared but have been offered a hostessing job in a club. So, income will continue there. I like the people there so will probably accept. Will kind of crowd my schudule but will have more time after the holidays. It's not like I am all that busy anyway most of the time. Won't have to work at boss's house until Thursday so will concentrate on the next painting...

She loves to sing and has made up several songs impromptu. DH recorded them and put them on cd for her to keep. Her voice is loud and clear and in tune. Some songs she learned in school. Some she just made up and is not shy at all. She learned to cook pancakes standing on a chair and played 9 holes of frisbee golf with us. She was terrible at first but got better as the game progressed. Did very very well on the last hole. Stepson and she headed back to Tahlequah yesterday afternoon and she probably slept the whole way. We all kept her busy while she was here. Showed her around in SL and she was thrilled when I took her to Fairy Land and showed her how the fairies dance. Got a lot painted on the two sphynx cats painting and have at least 3 more to do. This morning I snagged a camping spot so will just leave my avatar there making money while I get these paintings done. Have to replenish my Linden dollars since I bought a rug and some furniture for the apartment. DH fixed omelets this morning and I need to get my morning chores out of the way so I can get back to painting...

DH & myself in SL...



WHY WOMEN CAN'T SLEEP

Have you ever wondered how a woman's brain works?
Well....it's finally explained here in one, easy-to-understand illustration:


Every one of those little blue balls is a thought about something that needs to be done, a decision or a problem that needs to be solved ..

A man only has only 2 balls and they consume all his thoughts.

Went to four gas stations yesterday morning. Two were closed and one was no longer a Shell station. I only have a Shell card. Thanks goodness the 4th one was still there. I was on empty. Worked on cats painting all day after going to get new w/c paper. Started painting them today. Another commission came in to do two hereford cows. Guess I'll be busy for awhile. Have two of my Christmas presents and have an idea for the rest. So, my battle with the present problem is almost solved. The latest toy is one I heard about on PBS. It's called the Hamster Zhu Zhu. It's an interactive toy for kids. You can get all kinds of accessories for it even a habitrail. Better than a live one because you don't have to feed or clean up after. Will be a good one for my granddaughter. Sisters are taken care of. Boss always like trail mix which I throw together at home. The only one that is a problem is boss's wife. She has everything anyway. We ate at Duffy's this morning and got groceries but just found out stepson and his daughter will be here in a couple of hours so sent dh for more food. Back to painting...

for both of us. Spent a lot of time in SL yesterday but won a lot of money in a dance competition. Had a bit of trouble with the apartment security system we now have there so had to have owner come reset the security system so dh could get in. Apartment is so so but cheap. I can hear the neighbors when they are there. One lady thought I was at her door when I came up the elevator. I told her I was only headed to my own. The owner of the apartments and the dance club was redecorating her apartment. Today we changed the colors on our bed. Looks better but need a new wall color and carpet color and some more furniture and pics on the walls. Will take some time. But, may not stay there although it is cheap and the security is great. I can also hear the music from the dance club which doesn't matter anyway since I don't really sleep there. But, it's handy for changing clothes and opening packages of new stuff. Sometimes I forget to take an opened package with me and the owner of another piece of land gets unhappy if I leave trash around. You get to where you look at things in RL as you do in SL. Even real people start to look like avatars. DH has made some friends there and seems to be enjoying it. Camping opened back up at the Fairy Land so am getting some dusting and cleaning done in RL. DH moved my painting table downstairs by the north window so I can be near the computer. The couches have been moved around and the Futon is in the music room now. So, when someone comes to visit they will have privacy. Defrosted some chili for tonight. De-boned the chicken and froze a lot of it. Have part of a pork roast frozen too so have plenty of food at the moment. The weather has been great for November but I don't expect it to last. Winter, sooner or later, will hit us hard...

Club owner at the 60's bash...

Big joint in my mouth...lol

Spend so much time in second life that I forget to take care of things in real life. Yesterday was dh's birthday and he decided he wanted to join up in SL. He wants me to edit his appearance. I told him that was half of the fun. But, being a guy, he is not as into that as I am. So sometime today while I am camping I will be doing that. Also spent some money on him because a man's body is not anatomically correct when they are created. We went shopping and found him a great present for his birthday...lol. Once we get a laptop we'll be able to interact in SL together. A friend of mine just got his apartment there and he told dh we could use it anytime we want. But, I think I prefer now to get my own. DH's avatar name is Twank Whelan. He will be looking for nightclubs where he can play his music. He found out that he can play in some places for tips.

Got a great commission from someone in Finland and am waiting on photos of her two sphynx cats. Zazzle has really picked up lately so am really happy about that. This little simple diet I am on is working and it is so easy. I've lost 5 pounds this month. A few hot pepper flakes on my egg in the mornings, a handful of nuts a half hour before lunch and bread and olive oil before dinner works. It helps not to eat junk food too especially sweets. And, dh just wrangled a day off on Thanksgiving day so all is well with the world...

Worked at office monday and at boss's house yesterday so that is out of the way. Probably won't have to work again until Friday. Loaded up on groceries this morning after a game of frisbee golf with dh. Surprisingly Wally World was not busy. Usually is starting in November every year. DH is home and feeling puny. He is cold then hot. But, he gets over stuff quickly so hopefully it won't last too long. One sister is off for Thanksgiving. Don't know who all is going to show up yet for turkey. DH's sister is flying in from Ohio so everyone there will be staying in Tahlequah. Stepson is driving to Tucson so just need to find out about my boys. Zazzle sales are picking up a little so that is hopeful. Still earning a little money by camping in SL. Just letting it pile up because I can't think of anything I want to buy there. Need to plan some dinner and maybe do a little painting...