I often buy wine based off of the label, especially red wine since I know practically nothing about it. I love this label. It is so fun. I love the dancing. I love the colors. Yup, I am posting a picture of a wine label for my Friday Photo today!
Posted by terrepruitt on July 20, 2018
I often buy wine based off of the label, especially red wine since I know practically nothing about it. I love this label. It is so fun. I love the dancing. I love the colors. Yup, I am posting a picture of a wine label for my Friday Photo today!
Posted in Friday Photo | Tagged: Dancing, She-razz, wine, wine label | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on July 18, 2018
I am not a hairdresser, nor do I really know anything about cutting hair. I do cut my own hair. Not all the time but more often than not. When I lost my corporate job I was trying to cut costs and I believe my hairdresser at that time raised her prices on me without telling me. I understand when stylists have to raise their prices, but in the past I had been notified in advance, she just tacked on some money one time when I went to write my check. Which upset me, I had FINALLY gotten her to cut my hair the way I wanted. So the two situations (job loss and no advance notice on the price increase) had me exploring other options. When my hair got too long to tolerate I would just chop at it with my cuticle scissors. They were sharpest ones I had. Or maybe I used my other pair and they got dull and I started using my cuticles scissors. No, it was my cuticle scissors first because I remember laughing and thinking I was Kinsey Millhone – hacking at my hair with little cuticle scissors.
Every once in a while I do go get my haircut, but I go to a place that does not take appointments and so sometimes I am sitting there for 45 minutes or more and that is just annoying. The last time I was there she mentioned that she spends more time on me than any once else so I kind of felt bad taking up so much of her time, so I haven’t been back.
I have also been challenged with getting my hair stylists to cut my hair like I want them to cut it. I am not one to have the latest style anything (clothes, hair, makeup) so I want my hair cut like I want my hair cut and because of my work, I want it to be as easy breezy wash and go as possible. Most of the time I am out with sweat drenched hair. Yeah, that sounds gross, but when I finish a class and I am right next to the grocery store, I am NOT going to go home and shower and then go all the way back. I just run my errands after my classes on my way home and I need my hair to be acceptable looking after I towel dry it.
When I go out, I do my hair, but that is not as often as me running errands after a class. I hate flat hair and when my hair is too long it just lays flat. So I like it a little shorter and choppy. It is the choppy I can’t get a hair dresser to do. So usually I come home and end up chopping at it on my own. So I just decided that – for the most part – if I am going to come home and cut my hair after I get it cut, I might as well do it myself.
The problem is . . . oh, heck, there is more than just one problem with me cutting my own hair so I won’t get into all that. What I will say is a good pair of scissors makes all the difference in the world. I bought a low-end good pair of scissors. I can understand why stylists spend a lot of money on scissors. They need to be good in order to cut the hair. And since they (stylists) actually know how to use them they can do wonders. My aim is to get my hair out of my eyes and if I can, make it stick out a bit.
I could very well be walking around looking like I cut my own hair, but now-a-days people walk around with all types of stuff going on up there so . . . that is ok with me as long as I am ok with it. And I am. Especially since I purchased actually hair cutting scissors. They make it so much easier to cut my hair.
One thing though, I cut my hair wet so, I never really know what it is going to look like when it is dried and styled. I don’t actually cut it the same way every time (refer back to the “I don’t know what I am doing.”).
I just cut my hair today and had my scissors out and that is what made me think to share how a good pair of scissors can make a world of difference. I don’t know what my hair will actually look like, I have yet to see.
Do you have a pair of specialty scissors? Perhaps for hair, gardening, cooking?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: cuticle scissors, cutting hair, Goodie scissors, hair stylist, hairdresser, Kinsey Millhone, scissors | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on July 16, 2018
It was way before 2008 that I first noticed an oriole on our hummingbird feeder. I didn’t know what it was then. I got a picture of one on a feeder in 2008. I don’t know that I saw any more for years. Now they are regulars. In fact I am rushing to post this so that I can go fill the feeder they just emptied. I’ve mentioned before that the feeder we bought specifically for the orioles is way too difficult to clean. It is very narrow and I am not sure I can get the brush in there and get it clean enough. They are much dirtier than the hummingbirds. Or something. It could be that they have to get their beaks all the way in whereas hummingbirds have long tongues. I am not sure, but the hummingbird feeder they primarily eat off of is way more gross than the ones the hummingbirds eat off of. It gets this black sludgy stuff in it. This time of year it is not so bad because I am filling it every three or four days. Our hummingbird feeders come apart and are very easy to clean so we just take the flowers off of them so that the orioles can get their beaks in for the sugar water.
I think the orioles we get are Hooded Orioles. I originally read (now I can’t find it) that they depart in July, but now I am looking at a site that says they depart in August. So we might have them another month or so. I am trying to keep the feeder full so they have enough before they go. But I try to keep them all full for the hummingbirds anyway.
The orioles have gotten a little more brave as they used to fly away immediately if we even walked into our living room. But now they will stay at the feeder or even come into the yard when we are in the living room. And they are so brave that now they are eating at the feeder that is close to the window. They are tormenting my cat. She climbs up on the cat tower and talks at them. She reaches at her paw for them. There were two on the feeder today while Nessa and I were playing and that quickly distracted both of us.
I guess over the summer they have gotten a little used to us so they are not as fearful. They are still very cautious, but they are less freaky and will stay and eat as long as we are not too close.
My husband said he saw six last night around the feeder . . . that could be why it is empty and I have to fill it. I know that I have seen two brightly colored ones together, so I know that there are at least two males. It is difficult to tell the females apart but I have seen at least four together so I know that there are at least four of them. I have never seen all six together.
Since they have gotten a bit brave I was able to take closer pictures. So here are a few.
Do you get to see birds in your yard?
Posted in Birds, Misc | Tagged: brightly colored bird, cat tower, Hooded Orioles, hummingbird feeder, hummingbird tongues, Hummingbirds, Nessa, orioles | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on July 11, 2018
The other day we had bananas WAY past their ripe stage, and recently whenever that happened I said I would make banana bread, but I have not. This time I was determined to. I went looking for my banana bread recipe and I found I did not have it, the one I talked about in my Blender Banana Bread post. I thought I had it bookmarked but could not find it there either. So I had to make it from memory with a little help from the internet. I am not sure I have it right. It is tasty, but I might need to do a little experimentation.
Here is what I did.
________________________________________________
3 ripe bananas
1/2 cup butter (one cube)
2 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Peel the bananas, putting the peeled bananas in a bowl. Smash the bananas with a fork. Cream the butter, sugar, and eggs together. Add the vanilla. Sift the flour, salt, and baking soda together. Mix the flour mixture into the creamed mixture a little at a time.
Grease a loaf pan. Pour the mixture into the loaf pan and bake for 55 minutes. Check the loaf to see if it is ready. Ovens vary so you might need to bake it longer.
________________________________________________
I like walnuts in my banana bread, but my husband does not so much, so I didn’t put them in this time, but next time I will. And one of these days, I’ll put chocolate chips in there.
How do you make banana bread?
Posted in "Recipes" | Tagged: banana bread, butter, ripe bananas, vanilla | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on July 9, 2018
I can’t remember why exactly . . . I think it was because when we adopted Teagan (Smokey) and Nessa (Esmeralda) The Dancing Cat used pellet litter . . . . so I started researching litter. I liked the litter that we used when we first got Spot, but Costco stopped selling it LONG ago and we had switched to Arm & Hammer. I liked it. It clumped well and it — the unscented kind — did a good job of keeping the smell in check . . . at least with Spot. But I got very tired of the dust. I share a room with the litter box and just regular dust is hard to deal with, but add cat litter dust on top of that and I just was tired of it. My research revealed that Dr. Elsey’s Ultra Litter was pretty much dust free. Of course, that was the old formula . . . according to the reviews. Seems like about the time I was thinking about buying it they switched their formula/litter and loyal customers were upset because the dust free litter now had dust. I decided to try it anyway because there were a few reviews that said it was good. Well, I think it is a lot less dusty than the litter we used to buy. It might be more dusty than it was at one time, but it is still less dusty so we use it. And the cats had no trouble at all adjusting from pellets to one litter the the next. They are such good girls. This story is all leading to #Orangeinside.
The last litter bag we opened had an orange collar inside. (Ha! That is not what #Orangeinside is about. 🙂 ) I picked up the package and read “Share a photo with #Orangeinside on Instagram for a chance to win a year supply of Dr. Elsey’s Ultra cat litter.*” And I said to my husband, “Will you do it for me? I don’t have Instagram?” And then I went on to say what a brilliant way to market. Send out an orange collar with your website on it and have people take pictures of their cats in it and post it on Instagram! I thought that was brilliant. I don’t even HAVE Instagram and I was going to do it — or have it done. I could use a free year of cat litter. Heck yeah!
But then I flipped the bag over
and read the other side of the enclosed card. It said that less than 5% of missing indoor cats are returned home, that a cat with an orange collar is an indication of an indoor cat, a cat with an orange collar should not be outside. Ha! I hadn’t read past that because I thought that was a great idea. Now that I am reading the entire thing I understand what the white strip on the collar is. It is a space to write your phone number so someone can call you when your cat is found. This is cool. I like this program.
I also noticed once I really looked at the collar that, there is a little kitty face on the breakaway buckle and if that kitty face is facing outward the website does not show, only the spot for the owner’s number.
The thing is . . . my cats are indoor cats and they don’t wear collars. That is one reason I love indoor cats, they are unfettered by collars. I was planning on putting the bright orange collar on our black cat for a photo because I thought the orange and black would really stand out. But when I thought about it I don’t know where she was and her sister was right there. So I tried it on her. Well, I am not posting all the blurry shots I have. She wouldn’t really sit still. She was trying to get it off. I did manage to get one or two, but not of her face.
Today as I was preparing to write this post I put it on the black cat. She was in mellow mode so she just laid there and actually let me get a few photos.
When I googled Orange Collar the result was a lot of sites selling orange collars. The few articles that came up showed a year of 2015 in the summary . . . so I am thinking that this orange collar for indoor cats has been around since at least 2015. I think it is a neat idea.
Have you ever heard of the orange collar thing? Do you have an indoor cat? Does your indoor cat wear a collar? WOULD your indoor cat wear a collar?
Posted in Cats, Misc | Tagged: Arm & Hammer Litter, clay litter, Costco litter, Dr. Elsey's Litter, Dr. Elsey's Orange Inside Collar giveaway, dust free litter, Esmeralda, indoor cat program, Nessa, Nessa with Orange Inside Collar on, orange breakaway collar, orangeinside collar, pellet litter, Smokey, Teagan, Teagan with Orange Inside Collar on, the dancing cat | 6 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on July 6, 2018
Sometimes I take pictures of the cats and I – selfies – and text them to my husband. Sometimes I do post them elsewhere, but most of the time I just end up with a bunch of pictures of me and a cat. Today they were both too close to the slider for me to get behind them and put the camera in front of us. But I did get a few shots of Teagan’s eye. You can see a bit of my head. Failed selfie.
Today’s Friday Photo: Cat’s eye selfie.
Posted in Friday Photo, Teagan and Nessa | Tagged: beautiful girl, black cat, Failed Selfie, Friday Photo, selfies with cats, sending husband love, Teagan, Teagan's eye | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on June 29, 2018
Well, I was looking through some photos trying to find one to post and I came across this one and it made me have a little sense of peace. It was a beautiful day.
Blue sky, clouds, lake, deck, and leaves for today’s Friday Photo.
Posted in Friday Photo | Tagged: blue sky, Friday Photo, lake shot off the deck | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on June 27, 2018
Once upon a time, when I first got my phone I had Pandora on it. I actually still have the app on it, but I no longer use it because it requires a log in and I just can’t remember it. I don’t even know if it always required a log in and I forgot it or if I stopped using it once it required a log in. I just don’t bother. I have so many log ins to so many things, I rather would not since I don’t have to. BUT . . . we have a Roku and we can use Pandora through it. My husband has a Pandora account. He probably has as many things to log into as I do, but he actually remembers his passwords. Or at least he does a better job than I do. On Pandora you can set up “Radios” or “channels”. He has a few already set up. And he set up one for me for Christmas, which I used through out last year’s entire Christmas season. He also was kind enough to let me set up a “Yoga Radio”.
When I do yoga in the living room I turn on Pandora and scroll over to my Yoga Radio. It is so nice . . . except when I am laying in Shavasana completely relaxed and a commercial starts to blare. Oh well. Otherwise it is great. There are so many great songs out there and Pandora is an awesome way to get exposed to them.
When listen to my Yoga Radio, I find that whenever I really love a particular song and look up it is pretty much always Liquid Mind. Well, at least when I first started playing my Yoga Radio and I would look up it would be Liquid Mind. Now I don’t even bother looking up because I know it will be Liquid Mind. Liquid Mind has about 15 albums out. Liquid Mind is comprised of composer, producer, and Emmy®-nominated songwriter, Chuck Wild.
Mr. Wild has worked with so many famous people it is amazing. He originally wrote Liquid Mind music as a form of therapy as he and his family and friends — like so many of us — were suffering from anxiety and stress. When he found it to be helpful and healing, he released an album to the public in 1993.
His music is very slow and calming. His website Liquid Mind Music actually urges people to NOT listen to it while driving or operating dangerous machinery as some people may become drowsy and “slow music may cause slower reaction times in some listeners”.
Well, I think it is perfect for yoga, perhaps not Power Yoga or one that is really high energy. But when I am listening to Pandora and doing yoga there are other artists besides Liquid Mind so it works out perfect.
I do love it so much that I have purchased two of his albums. Even though I can listen to it on Pandora, I like to have it on my devices. I will probably end up getting more, perhaps all 15 of his albums.
You can go to his site and listen for yourself. Come back after you do to tell me what you think?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: anxiety helper, calming music, Chuck Wild, cool down music, Liquid Mind, Pandora, relaxation music, stress relief, Yoga, yoga channel, yoga music, Yoga Radio | 3 Comments »