HNT -- A nice ass (and 20-365 Phase II begins)

Happy HNT one and all! I thought I'd show you all one of my favorite assets today. I am a girl blessed with plenty o' round, curvy tush. Can you believe there was a time when it bothered me?
(In the interest of full disclosure, this photo is about a year or so old. With the crazy schedule of late I've been doing well to take and post and Proj365. I'm actually about 20 lbs lighter now than I was in this picture. Vince says I have to stop losing weight if I start losing this ass.)

And we continue with Proj365 and the floor. This is the first coat of finishing phase. One down, two more to go!

Have a great day folks and don't forget to swing by Osbasso's and check out the rest of the Half-Nekkid-ness!

19-365 At least it's not chicken

So in addition to returning to the weights and measures, I also got my rear end back on the bike yesterday. Yes, it's been a bit cold (Shush, Hubs!) but I've also been a bit slack there too and letting my "busy-ness" get in the way of exercising. So I'm getting up an hour earlier so that I can enjoy my ride without feeling like I'm losing too much productive time.

We have several stopping points depending on how much time and I have this is at the "short ride" (30 minute) mark. As I was resting on my bike, I took a photo looking down...

... and another one looking up.

And now it's back to the coal mine! Tap, tap, tapping away....

18-365 In the interest of good taste....

.... today's Proj365 photo is NOT being shown.

Okay, here's the deal. I don't mention it much, but I'm working on losing a few pounds. Yesterday I weighed in and was up a pound. I'm not "plateau-ing", I'm slacking. While I've been keeping track of what I've been eating, I haven't been weighing and measuring.

So I took a photo of 3 oz. of chicken on my food scale. I've got it in my Proj365 folder. It's there. But....

1 -- 3 oz. of chicken flesh on a scale doesn't look very appetizing.
2 -- it could be triggering to some vegetarians.
3 -- it wasn't a great picture.
4 -- it made me hungry to edit it.

So I'm not posting it. If you're a fellow Proj365'er, and you just feel like you HAVE to see it or you won't be complete as a person or an artist or a blogger, then let me know and I'll email it to you.

Otherwise, you can thank me in the comments for sparing you all this one.

17-365 Wrapping up a nice weekend

So while Vince presses on with the floor refinishing project I've been holed up in my office working on a big project with a looming deadline. And lemme tell ya, I've been stuck. I HATE that. Without going in to too much boring detail, I've had writer's block. But on Saturday Vincent said the magic words that got me unstuck and now I'm a flurry of creativity again. Whew!!

Still, a girl needs to get out of the house/office so when some friends texted with an offer to join them at House of Blues for a concert we took 'em up on it. Thing is, we didn't quite get the planning right so while they enjoyed the sold out show, we indulged in a little Louisiana-style cookin'. After the concert, we met for drinks and that explains how we ended up with about 5 - 6 hours sleep last night.

For those who don't know,the Cirque du Soliel venue is right across the pathway from House of Blues. I just thought this was a cool image of their sun logo.


And last but not least, here's a photo of the raw, sanded heart pine floor. For those that don't know, heart pine is old growth pine. It's very dense, very hard, and has a very tight grain. These floors were installed in the '40s and they have plenty of character! (aka flaws, damage, etc.) But dang, they're going to be pretty. I hope the tenants will appreciate them. PS -- I didn't actually take this photo. Vince did.

For the rest of the week I'll probably be pretty quiet except for the photos. It's buckle-down time around here!

16-365 Summing up a Saturday

Since Friday was all about drag queens and drinks with friends, Saturday is about house projects and an evening in. We have have an apartment over our garage. For the last eight years we've used it for our offices (even living in it for over a year as we renovated our house) and before that, we rented it out. With the continuing efficiency of the Internet we no longer need that much space for work and have decided to rent it again.

However, it has the coolest damn hardwood floors you've ever seen. They're heart pine, which was actually the cheap wood back in the day when the place was built but now would run you around $10/board foot. (Yes, I am a remodeling and home improvement geek.) But since the place is empty I can't resist refinishing the floors even though it's "only for a rental."

Here's the first pass with the floor sander right. I'll post more when it's finally done with a good top coating.
And since Vince did most of the sanding he decided to kick back and watch the Steelers' game (being the Pittsburgh boy he is) last night while I cooked supper. He is soooooo ruined! Here he is posting the final score on FB after the Ravens pretty much gave away the game in the second half.

Vince is continuing with the floor today while I get a little work done. This evening, we're off to a concert with some friends as a surprise for the wife's birthday. Not a bad weekend at all!

15-365 A night out

Last night Vince and I went out to see a cabaret show starring a friend of ours. This lovely lady is actually a lovely guy and at 6'7", a VERY tall glass of fabulous-ness! The show was fun and the fact is this performer is actually a classically trained opera singer, so as opposed to most drag queens who simply lip-sync, he can actually belt out the lyrics and hit all the notes.
After the show, a group of us went to a trendy little bar in a hip little neighborhood. Totally vanilla but I just want you people to know these aren't my legs. Or my arm. Or my hands and in fact I think the hands belong to two different people. Just because the gathering doesn't include swingers, doesn't mean it doesn't get a bit sexy!

And now it's a day for working. We're refinishing the floors in our garage apartment this weekend. Not a hawt as last night but who knows? We may get inspired this evening!

14-365 Weights (and a lotta work!)

A quick pic from my gym. I work out three times a week at a place a few blocks from my house. It's a small fitness center owned and operated by the sweetest personal trainer ever. Since I started working out there a few years ago she got divorced and now is the sole support for herself and her two teenage children. The other day, I saw on FB that she was selling her wedding ring set to help make ends meet. I work hard but I don't kid myself. Compared to most every single person on the planet, I've got it pretty easy.
Speaking of work though, Vince and my work schedule just got a whole lot busier and in a great way. We're currently working on a very large and cool project (I should actually be working on that at this moment but thought I'd just take a second to post) and knew we had three more lined up. We just found out we have two more as well. In our business, this will fill our calendar until at least the fall. Yes!! Gotta support our lifestyle. LOL

Alright, enough. Back to work!

13-365 Lines and curves (oh, and it's kinda cold)

Time: Right before bed. Place: the den. What: One of Vince's guitars. Why: 'Cause I needed a pic.
And yeah, I hate to whine, especially when so many of you are dealing with REAL cold, but here's the problem -- we don't have any insulation and in our house and when it drops below freezing a heat pump won't do diddly. Our 1927 house is made of terracotta block, covered with stucco on the outside and plaster on the inside. A heat pump works by essentially removing heat from the outside air and "pumping" back into the house. If there isn't a lot of heat outside, then it doesn't work so well. In addition, the walls act more like an ice box that stores cold. Add to this the fact that my feet and hands get cold (as in don't feel human or alive) and if it gets real cold so do Vincent's.

Now all that are just a facts of life. But today, after an interminable 6 days of Aunt Flo, yours truly was in true NEEEEEED of a good rogering and after lunch seemed as good as a time as any. But have you ever tried to have sex without touching your partner with your hands or feet? Hmmm?! And in my case also trying to not let me knees, butt cheeks, or nose from touching ANYTHING on Vince as well so as not to shock the guy into a heart attack? Not to mention the ohsoattractive socks as well as insisting that no matter what position I was in, I needed to be covered by the blankets? Hmmm?!! Well have you?!

Let's just say that the mission was accomplished. Two very determined people overcame layers of obstacles to make sure that Ivey stayed mentally and physically on track. Thank goodness for perseverance! And a gas fireplace. And Vince's ability to withstand preternatural icecubes on his package for the sake of satisfaction.

12-365 Sleepy puppy

As a "showbiz" gal, it's no surprise that my friend Kate's memorial service is becoming and "event" or that I'm the producer. It's going to be quite a humdinger. Anyway, we got together last night for what was essentially a pre-production meeting at the same place where we met last time.

Recognize this little girl? Yep, this is Cassie and after all the excitement of having people over, playing with toys, wrestling with her other puppy-playmates, and fighting over the chew toy she finally just needed a soft spot to land and chose my lap. What a sweet baby.

11-365 Afterthought

Why do I have the feeling that you guys are going to get reeeaaaal acquainted with the stuff I have laying around my house or hanging from my walls? Last night, once again, I realized as I was getting ready for bed that I hadn't taken a photo so I snapped this pic. Grrrr.


As with all things, there's a story here too. This is a Venetian Carnival Mask from Venice Italy. It's a heavy sucker. I got in in 1987 during a trip to Europe and though I wasn't in Venice during Carnival, it was an incredible experience. I still remember sitting in the Piazza San Marco, sipping coffee, watching the people and the ever present birds.

I was 20 years old and traveling with my parents. In Switzerland we met a woman, early 30s, who was traveling by herself. Apparently her husband didn't like to leave home and she loved to go places so she traveled all over the world, all by herself. Her name was Holly. In that same city we met an older couple who also loved to travel but his health was failing and they were concerned the only had a few trips left. We all ended up going out for dinner in Lucerne and all going our separate directions the next day.

Sitting in the piazza, I looked up and there she was, pulling her suitcase across the massive open space. I thought she was pretty much the coolest woman on the planet. She was staying at a place close to our hotel so I walked over with her to check in and afterwords. (Now I know you're all hoping that this turns into "my first time with a girl" or a "and she was soooo hawt" type story but nah, it wasn't like that. Just meeting people.) I was supposed to go back and meet my folks at our hotel for dinner and she came with me. When we walked in, Mama and Daddy were sitting with the older couple we'd met. The couple had walked by the hotel cafe they were sitting at looking for a place to stay. Mama and Daddy brought them back to our hotel and they were able to get a room. We spent several days enjoying the city and this little group of people we just happened to find.

Holly was with me when I bought this mask.

I don't have a ton of "things", but the things I do have all pretty much have meaning and memory associated with them.

10-365 A fine day!

Vince and I pretty much checked out yesterday -- no phone calls, no interwebs, no Facebook, no TV, nada. We had lunch with some friends and dinner with family but other than that we were our own little island. Thank goodness. Quite frankly, I really didn't want to deal with too much more of the general horror and sadness of the world. I'd had enough and needed a break.

Fortunately, an unexpected opportunity for Vince presented itself a few days ago and our lunch date had something to do with it. No details, but here are some picture hints. You may figure it out.

Pretty cool, huh?

_____________________

Speaking of the general sadness of the world, there's plenty to go around but some of it you can do something about. Veronica of Another Suburban Mom fame posted an article that is worth reading and doing something about. It concerns the appalling backlog of rape kits that haven't been processed throughout the nation. It's an outrage. Of course, it's also complicated. Check it out.

_____________________

I need to give some attention to

a series of posts by Sadie on empathy and being a "highly sensitive person." In a nutshell, a researcher somewhere has come up with a theory that about 15 - 20% of the population as HSPs, who not only keen observers of social interactions or of people's inner feelings, but who actually sense, or feel them. I'm pretty freakin' sensitive in both good and bad ways. I think it's one of the things that made me a pretty darn good performer in the past and a very good writer/producer now. It also makes it very easy for me to share in someone's joy and experience extreme highs just by being around a positive person or beautiful situation or experiencing art or listening to music and on and on.

But it also makes it difficult sometimes to shut out the bad. Negative waves just kill me. Some days I hate FB because of all the stupid and mean things people say. I feel each and everyone of them. I can't watch television shows that deal with inappropriate social interactions as their base (e.g. The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm). I can't watch shows that show animal abuse, even if they have the disclaimer that "no animals were harmed" blah, blah, blah. I NEVER watch Animal Planet. I'm extremely sensitive to sounds (too loud, too grating, too repetitive, etc), and music (moving or irritating). Vince and I once walked into a spice shop and I almost passed out I was so overwhelmed.

I tell you all this because I think this is what happens when I go "quiet" on the blogs or FB or quit watching the news or reading magazines or anything else I withdraw from. I've reached maximum density. I can't take any more of whatever it is.

I'm not a big fan of labels, but I do think it's useful to see that something is common enough that it can be identified, named, and categorized. And some of the "me too!" comments and observations seem to be a bit pretentious and presumptuous (including this one) but if it's accurate and not just another made-up bullshit trait/syndrome used to sell books and increase speaking fees then I need to give it closer look. I don't want to be less sensitive, but I would like to be able to be less susceptible to feeling pain and suffering that isn't mine to bear.

Yesterday was a fine day, mostly because it was filled with good friends and enjoyable pursuits. A terrific day if there ever was one!

PS -- I have now tried four times to fix the formatting issue (paragraph returns disappear) that occurs EVERY FUCKING TIME I try to publish this post. I'm done. Maybe it will work this time. If not, oh well. Fuckin' blogger.

9-365 Piglet or Turtle?

For those of you who've never heard of it, the Moffitt Cancer Center is one of the premier cancer treatment facilities in the US. That's where I spent my time yesterday. It was Saturday so for some inexplicable reason most of the visitor locations were shut down -- the coffee shop, the cafeteria was just serving a few items, the fountain in the "Hope Garden" was shut down. I know everyone has to tighten their belts but seriously? The fountain in the Hope Garden?

Rock close-up: This is one of the rocks that encircles the fountain. It's set in this kind of mini-Stonehenge, tiny amphitheater formation. I swear at one point all I could think of was "This is Spinal Tap" and I just started giggling. Fortunately, I was alone at the time. The Shut Down Fountain: Maybe the fountain looks different when the water is turned on, but as I sat there looking at it, all I could see was a piglet drinking from a pool. Then the piglet started looking like a turtle. And they weren't giving me the drugs, folks. On a different subject, sorta, I really would like all of this death and dying business to knock it off because it is fucking with my brain and patience. The other day, after reading one stupid FB status update too many, I posted that sometime reading FB posts gave me the overwhelming urge to stab myself in the eye. Someone commented that my status then needed an explanation and I just don't have the heart or the energy. In a nutshell, in light of current events, including the shooting yesterday in Arizona, I'd just like people to stop being selfish, ignorant, stupid assholes. And if they can't manage that, then the least they can do is shut up and quit throwing their ignorance and nastiness on the rest of us.

It was a long day yesterday. But today we begin anew!! Vince and I have a great day planned and I'm sure I'll have a photo or two to share. On another note (and if you've read this far you deserve a little treat!) Vince and I are getting back into the Lifestyle game. We have several couples now that we're trying to set dates with, some more promising than others but are looking forward to the adventures with a new relaxed and open spirit. I wonder how it's going to turn out?

8-365 Store up treasure

Another late night, before bed photo snap. I have to admit, I'm a fan of jewelry. First, Vince is GREAT at picking out stuff I like and sometimes it just shows up. Better than flowers folks! Second, we quickly learned that the amount of traveling we do, it just isn't practical to buy big mementos. But it's a snap to bring back a memorable pair of earrings or necklace.
But the photo also brings other thoughts to mind. I've mentioned it before in the blog but I'm pretty much an atheistic agnostic, but I was raised a devout Southern Baptist; moreover, most of the men in my family are some form of Baptist preacher. I can generally quote scripture with the best of them.

But I'm not one to toss out the good with the bad and there are times when scripture comes to mind, like this one:

Matthew 16:19-20 -- Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy and thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

This particular passage is often used to encourage the faithful to expect their rewards in the next life. It's used a lot when people are disappointed that good deeds don't seem to be rewarded or when they are observing/complaining that they don't have material wealth. There are other applications but most go something along those lines.

Personally, I've come to think of this very good piece of advice to mean that we should put our energy into non-temporal things that don't fade or wear out, and that can't be taken from you like love, generosity, etc. I luvs me some cool jewelry, but if that and pretty much any thing else I have were to disappear tomorrow I wouldn't be heartbroken. My treasure is my relationship with Vince and my friends and yes, even my wack-a-do family. I'm going to keep that in mind as I drive my brother to the cancer treatment center to see his friend. I don't believe there's some "reward" waiting in some far-off wonderland called heaven for doing this or anything else that may be considered "good." The treasure is simply in the doing.

7-365 Kettle (and another sad, sad day)

I snapped this little pic late last night because I didn't have a photo ready. First of all, it ain't for tea. I hate hot tea (unless, for some strange reason, it's Jasmine Tea at a Thai Restaurant) and never drink the stuff unless I'm sick and then it involves lemon, honey, and a shot of Jack Daniels. But, one of Vince's Christmas presents was a French Press Coffee Maker, so the kettle is now a nice little fixture on the stove.
But the reason I didn't get a better picture, and that this one is an afterthought, is because I got more seriously bad news yesterday. Without divulging too much about various complex relationships, my brother's close friend, a woman he's loved since high school, lost, then rediscovered a couple of years ago, underwent brain surgery to remove a massive tumor (size of a tennis ball) that was discovered right before the new year. She survived the surgery, but they confirmed that the tumor is a stage 4 gioblastoma, the most lethal kind. If she responds well to radiation and chemo, she can hope to survive 18 months, maybe two years. Without treatment, the prognosis is 12 weeks.

She had just gotten engaged the evening before they discovered the tumor. Her fiance of 24 hours took her to the doctor due to severe headaches she'd been experiencing. She's had a very challenging life, the kind they make movies about on the Lifetime cable channel. She's been a single mother to her 16-year-old daughter. She has no insurance. And with all of that, she is a beautiful, positive, charming, happy, endearing, warm, loving, giving human being.

My brother is fragile.

Tomorrow I'm going with him to the hospital where she's currently being treated (about a 3 hour drive from his house) so he can see her.

To add to the sadness, I have another friend from my youth whose husband of 16 years was diagnosed with the same thing 6 months ago. She's in another state, so I don't see her, but he is following this same path. He has lasted through 6 months of treatment, but it is very unlikely he will make it another six. He too has teen-age children.

I know the picture of the kettle isn't exactly gripping, but I hope you enjoy it. I did enjoy taking the picture. And I swear, once again, that I plan to fully enjoy my life as long as I have it.

6-365 On the road

Yesterday I had to make a little road trip (about 3.5 hours) to see a client. Near the end of the drive as I'm about 20 minutes from the client's site, you have to drive over this bridge.
Ten minutes later, you're here. The last ten minutes of the drive is four miles of this road. Purdy, ain't it?

And on this road are numerous old Florida Tabby ruins. For those of you who don't know, Tabby is a type of building material, like cement, that is made from crushed and semi-crushed oyster shells. The skill to build Tabby dwellings and other such structures came with enslaved Africans. When they got here, the Timucua and Tequesta Indians had left HUGE piles of oyster shell middens (essentially garbage heaps) which became the raw materials.

As for getting back to the regular routine, I'm ready. I not only have work that I have to do I have work that I WANT to do. Vince and I have a few potential swinger type nights to arrange and look forward to, he has a few gigs lined up so I can get back into groupie mode. I have a numerous regular dinner party gatherings to set up and a few house projects I want to check off the list. The holidays are over; now it's just January! Whew!

5-365 Vince's Birthday Soirée

Yesterday was my sweetheart's birthday ---- yaaaaaaayyyyyy Vince!!

It got off to a bit of a bumpy start since he'd woken up in the middle of the night and ended up going downstairs to sleep on the couch. Not the best night's sleep. After that, we just couldn't get on the same page. To add to his B-Day woes, there was NO card waiting for him at the coffee-maker (more on this later.)

To make it even worse I wasn't firing on all cylinders either and in trying to get back on my post-Christmas weight loss plan, had come up with the not-really-so-well-thought-out plan that I'd have a salad or soup at home for lunch then just a little snack at the party. If Vince was hungry, I reasoned, we had leftovers in the fridge. Let's just say as I was explaining this to him the expression on his face was, ahem, incredulous. After a couple of seconds he just looked at me and said "Ivey, I'm not eating leftovers on my birthday" at which point I realized my dumb-ass yet earnest mistake. We ended up going out for Mexican.

Then, I had planned to set up something special for him at our little gathering later in the evening that involved his card and present. But first, I didn't get to do everything the day before I needed to set it up so was coming up with excuses to leave the house. And it would've worked to, EXCEPT my father, who was supposed to be coming in town this morning to help Vince with some house projects, decided to show up last night and not today. Meanwhile, Vince's mood is sliding down hill because his day doesn't feel "special" and while we're trying to coordinate my dad's arrival and finding out he'd inadvertently almost messed up part of my secret plan, I discover that he's bummed about the day. Damn! There's is NOTHING I hate worse than feeling like I've let the man down but I CAN'T tell him "don't worry, I'm on my way to the wine bar we're having the party at to set up a little surprise for you that includes the birthday card you didn't get this morning!!" Aaaarrrrrgh.

But wait, on the way to the bar, something goes wrong with my car (busted radiator hose, maybe) and suddenly steam is coming out from under the hood. I pull over, check the situation, and call Vince who now has to come deal with my screwed up car and completely scuttling my chance to set up his little surprise. Meanwhile, as he's getting in and out of the freakin' car to check things, his present and card are sitting in the passenger's seat. Fortunately, as he said, a bomb could've been sitting in that seat and he wouldn't have noticed because he was so focused on the car.

We get the car home, I'm scrambling to deal with the present issue, and I'm also trying to locate my dad. This is too long of a story for this already too long post but to sum up since I had the party planned, I wasn't planning to cook supper, didn't have a bed set up, and I didn't want to leave my dad all by himself for the night. I ended up giving daddy the leftovers I'd planned to feed Vince earlier, packing him off to my uncle's house and inviting all of them to join us at the party later.

Sheesh!

But we finally made it, had a great turnout, lots of friends, family, neighbors, food, and drink; a good time was had by all but most importantly by my beloved, Vincent. It was dark but I did manage a couple of iPhone shots of the evening.

Drinks!

Friends!

And my beloved Vincent! (This photo was actually taken a few years ago at Salt Lake in Utah. I included it here because it was part of Vincent's gift. I took some of my favorite photos of him and framed them for our bedroom.)

Happy Birthday, baby!

Your beloved,

Ivey

4-365 Wrapping up (almost)

The Christmas Season is almost over and all that's left is the wrap up. Sooooo much more fun and exciting to put it up than to take it down!
But actually, TODAY is the last day of the our Holiday celebrations as it is VINCENT'S BIRTHDAY!! Whoooo hooooo!!! My birthday is right before Christmas which those of us born in that time frame know kinda sucks. ("We'll git ya sumthin' reeeeaaaal nice fer Christmas!") But right after is, I think, worse. Everyone is broke and/or hungover, they're all gung ho on their New Year's temperance resolutions, and quite frankly they are just freakin' tired of all the parties. But not us! We're celebrating Vince's presence in this world in general and mine in particular this evening at a local wine bar with friends and neighbors. I'm sure there will be a pic or two up tomorrow!

3-365 Dog day afternoon

Sunday after New Year's, a group of friends and I got together to ... what? --- organize? arrange? deal with? --- my friend Kate's unexpected death. She had no family that we can find, no Will, no Power of Attorney, no plans, no nothing. Just so you folks know, if you die unexpectedly it creates a HUGE mess for those who are still living and want to do right by your memory. Without authority, we can't get into her apartment to look for legal papers but her landlord is working with us on that a bit. At first, we couldn't claim her body or arrange for cremation (that's been solved thanks to some cool people at the DME), no one has authority to locate or access what little money she had left or to authorize the sale of her car. Plan ahead people, plan ahead.

Anyway, we've divvied up the duties and yours truly is going to handle the memorial service and after party. Oh yeah, that's something I can do quite well! :)

And while we were formulating our plans and figuring out who can do what, these three darlings were relegated to my friend's the back porch. Of course, that didn't last too long. They were just too stinkin' cute and uplifting to be kept out of the fun!

The Ring-leader:


The Baby:The Queen:

2-365 -- New Year's Day Tradition

Project 365, Day 2 (NEW YEAR'S DAY)

As I mentioned before we don't really have a New Year's Eve tradition but instead tend to gather with friends on New Year's Day. The party started on Jan. 1, 1989 at the home I shared with my roommates, the later migrated to my friend Claire's place. This year, we continue!

The feast! Always more than enough.

The drinks! Oh, and this is Claire making the first of many, many mad Mojitos. And her shirt speaks volumes.

And just 'cause I'm an opportunist, here's a great shot of a nice pair of gams and no, they aren't mine! We tend to hang out in the back yard a bit and this lovely lady snagged the hammock.

And thanks for the latest round of advice, everyone. Os, I'll be in touch soon. Hubman, I'm working on it finding a better way to upload and just ordered the updated software that hopefully will help. We'll see.

Kisses!

Ivey

1/365 -- Joining the Proj365 fun!

Day one of Project 365!

First, a quick disclaimer -- I actually started Project 365 on another blog in 2010 but only made it about 60 or so days. I believe my main problem was that it was too fuckin' complex and that still may be an issue. Mainly, I bitch about Blogger. (FYI Hubman, I still can't move pics around unless I drag them on this teeny-tiny little work screen. Grrrr. Cut and paste doesn't work nor does trying to paste them to where the cursor is. F*#king Blogger!) Taking them and editing them is no problem. But it's taken me more than 30 minutes to post them here so my first order of business is to find a way to make this easier. Otherwise, it will go by the wayside again and I really don't want that to happen. Any suggestions are appreciated!

So these pictures were taken last night while I was home alone. I just wandered around the house taking quick shots of the Christmas arrangments so I'll know what I did this year for next year. This time, I added a few close-ups.

Day 1 down. Days 2 - 365 to go. And we're off!