Computer Problems, Red Salad and Lemon Lavender Iced Tea.

Somewhere along the line I got out of the habit of blogging and into the habit of tweeting.  Twitter is perfect for my ADD mind... that seems to run on fifty tracks at one time.  I think it also contributes to the reality that my life feels that it's going fifty different directions most of the time. One of these days I'll figure out what I want to do when I grow up.

I spent some time Tuesday unplugging and that was wonderful.  But since then the unplugging was more forced than usual as my computer suffered some serious issues.  Silly thing fainted on me repeatedly and I began to be very frightened for her welfare.  There was a point yesterday when it was all very touch and go.  I considered calling in the relatives.  She'd go non-responsive, "Clear!"  ZZZOT!  over and over again!  Yesterday there was surgery to remove McAfee and Adobe Acrobat, and she pulled through that ok.  Overnight I left it with a second scan for virus and she came through that clean.  There was a transplant of my files to my external hard drive and some very stern language at points.  There were all kinds of scans and diagnostics, some very invasive testing.  Today she is having a better day.  She has not fainted even once all day, we hope that we are past the worst.  In my solitary life, this contraption represents my connection to a world beyond these walls.  Believe me, I am very grateful that she's doing better!

And here is a random fact from my meaningless existence:

I must be very bored to be taking photos of my lunch. Red salad, iced tea. Red salad = strawberries, mint leaves cut up into little slivers (there is a big fancy schmancy word for that, which I have forgotten and couldn't spell even if I remembered.) black pepper and a bit of sugar. Lemon Lavender iced tea. That was an interesting experiment, it works.

Here's how I make iced tea:
I have a coffee pot that has not, and will never see coffee. I really dislike coffee on so many levels, but that's a bit beside the point. One large family style naturally decaf bag of tea goes in the basket. Half a lemon, sliced, goes in the glass pot. I added three stems of lavender blossoms to the pot as well this time. Turn it on and wait until all the water has gone through. Add the warm mixture to 3/4 cup of sugar (or to taste - and don't you dare put any chemical fake sugar stuff in this recipe! Gag me with a SPOON!) and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add lots of ice and enough water to make a gallon. Presto! It's easy and it's yummy.

I'm very glad to be back online today, grateful that the silly computer didn't die. I would have been very cross! I'll try to do better about blogging the mundane details.

Savor the Flavors,
-Carmen Rose

Home Office Makeover (& Ham)

Today I did a little bit of everything in true ADD style. I stuck a big ham in the oven to roast for a while as I cleaned off the dining room table. Ages ago I emptied my home office out of the larger of the two kitchen pantries. I then did a little remodel of that pantry and now it’s actually a pantry again and I love it. I rarely shut the door on it anymore because I like the way it looks. (I rarely shut the door on my closet in my bedroom because it’s all beautifully organized and I like the way that looks also.) So my office stuff had been there piled on the dining room table… for a while. Don’t ask how long, I don’t even remember. So I went through my piles and threw a bunch of stuff away. I hung up some photographs on my walls and some momentous from days gone by.

Along the way I came across my old credit card and cut it up almost without thinking. I had a little moment with it though. It had my name and the name of my gallery on that card, though of course my days as a gallery owner are long behind me. But there was something there that reminded me of a happy time in my life. Those years were really good ones for me and I'll go back to that kind of work soon enough.  I don’t know why I cut it up, the card had no value to anyone but me. One can’t hang on to every little symbol of better days. But it was cut and there wasn’t anything else to do but go ahead and toss it at that point. One day soon I’ll get back to that gig, for now I’ll cherish my freedom.  There is a framed poem in my little closet office that I had in my gallery on the wall in my office, that's the reminder I need to live the dream.

I've got lots of stuff in my little office (pantry/closet) to remind me of things and people I love.  I've hung a few clipboards with the information for ongoing projects.  I have a color wheel and the plaque from when my gallery was a member of the chamber of commerce.  I've got the notes people have sent me and photos of my family.  I've got a program for a show called "Tattered and Torn" that I saw with friends.  A few quilt photos for inspiration and the chunk of marble the good folks at Halstead Beads sent me a few years back.


I've got the bald cap for the show Annie, I was one of the makeup artists for the show and I was responsible for Daddy Warbuck's bald cap.  That was a fun show to do, the cast was mostly teens and they were so fun to work with.  I put a few musical theater show programs into frames.  I remember sitting down beside a fellow cast member who was doodling something and it turned out to be a little drawing for me, I have it in the frame with the program and it makes me smile.  I have a variety of other notes from people and little reminders of those who are dear to my heart.  And LOTS of paper.  Paper of every description!


I spent a little quality time with the ham once it was finished roasting. I cut up a good bit to freeze, started a soup and put the bone to simmer for some ham stock. I’ve got TWO border collies who would love to get a tooth in that ONE ham bone… hmmm… I made a simple ham chowder for dinner that turned out to be very flavorful. I was pleased, even if I did have to eat on the run.  Time does get away from me.

Then there was the first meeting tonight, I thought it was going to take a long time but thankfully those lovely folks know how to run a meeting and I was headed for my car after only a half hour. Yes! That meant I could get in on making a little music with some friends this evening. And that’s just good for the soul.

After that I put some hardware on the kitchen cabinets. Even though the doors aren't on their hinges, I've put my new polymer clay covered cabinet knobs on the white upper cabinet doors.  I am enjoying how they turned out!  I also put some of the dark cabinet knobs on the charcoal gray drawer fronts.  I really like how they look.

Last evening the hinge company finally answered my email, I was SO glad to hear from them. I also got the tracking number this evening for a package that should go out tomorrow with my replacement hinges and hardware. I have guests coming Saturday evening, I sure do hope that my hinges come in time to get the doors back on before my guests get here. It’s going to make a difference, I can’t wait to see my doors in place. It’s also going to be really nice to take the two folding tables out of the center of my kitchen floor, I’m sick of walking around them!  Right now they need to be there for the painting project.  It's all just a matter of time.

So today in between a thousand distractions, I set up a little home office in one of my kitchen pantries filled with reminders of the people I love and the memories I have, some take me waaaaay back.  All in all, it's just a little reminder that life is short, love well.

With love,

-Carmen Rose

PS, I've added Twitter to my profile, so now you can see what an ADHD artist gets into in real time.  =)