Raige Creations

We have a nice neighborhood to walk in. We can walk down the street, along the river, then walk up a bit of a hefty hill to get back to our place. A nice rectangular walk that includes all sorts of interesting things.  One day, it was the bus stop bench. It has a a great rusty look, right next to the River Walk path.  We have seen clothes left there, food, the usual garbage. This day (being from about 2 months ago - still no sign of Spring), a most interesting piece of what I would call garbage was here, but I would bet that someone will pick this up and do something with it.  Our neighborhood has a great bunch of landowners who have all kinds of interesting bits in their yards. They also add beautiful things to their porches, and even garages! I would love to see this interesting thing left on the porch bench appear creatively in someone's yard. I am not sure what it came from, but I bet it could be used for something interesting. The last time we went by, this piec...

 I can hardly believe how long it has been since I added to my blog. I often open a tab, create a new post, and watch the blinking cursor tempting me to type something. But it blinks in vain. I sit there, my mind blank. Mind you, it is not blank any other time. In fact, I have written many a great post in my head while laying in bed at 1am or 2am, after a 2 or 3 hour nap on the couch. But the minute the cursor blinks, great words and ideas disappear. I wrote this blog many months ago, but never thought it was quite ready to post. Plus, I had to ask my friend if I could post her picture. We had both been so busy we didn't get to talking about that, or even swimming much. But here this is, I am sharing now because I finally asked and she said sure! The sad part is, we were chatting because she is moving away. And I said, " NO!!! - What will I do without my Swim Buddy!?!? Oh, by the way I have this blog....." So much like the original night I wrote this , I am sitting here o...

I first started this in January, asking ' And now almost half of January? ' But now it is MARCH! Time sure does fly. And I try to write, and am plagued by ' Where do I even start? ' Then I start, and never quite finish. So, time flies but have I been having fun? A bit, yes. That and a bit of a piled on work load at the 9-5. Work load over full, the lead up to the holidays flew by, and suddenly our house was full. Kids were home from College and they got me to play a bit. I even miraculously got some time off from work! And I even managed to get the whole family up before sunrise Christmas Day to watch the sunrise together. Best present ever! Christmas Day 2016 Sunrise via  Raige Creations But suddenly the holidays were over, and I was back to work and they were back to school. The house was again so quiet. In January, I though maybe, just maybe I can get back to more writing and creating. I tried to make it higher on my priorities this year. (Not th...

This is not the chipper TGIF kind of Friday post.  I am sorry to put a damper on your excitement for the weekend, but today I am finding I miss those 'good old days' where we didn't have worries other than lava on the floor. source: Pinterest I am not feeling that chipper! Instead, I am facing a day of unpleasant tasks. Though it will be good to have them done and out of the way so I CAN enjoy the weekend, I am not enjoying the worry and sour mood these tasks bring me. So pardon me for putting a damper on your joy at rejoicing the favorite day of the week. Though I may get to sleep in tomorrow, I am still dealing with the stresses of the stupid health care crap, and this other one pesky problem. source: imgfave.com Some day soon I know this problem will be solved, but in the meantime, I would much prefer to jump on the couch a little.  This would be a better pastime than the other 'game' we made up as a kids. I hate to even admit it, but our game wen...

This song came up over dinner. It is funny how slight word combinations can bring up songs, and then dinner takes a turn.  It happened something like this: I had picked up some macaroni and cheese from the deli at the grocery store for dinner.  (I made a kick-butt Kung-Pao Chicken last night and didn't have the gumption to be too creative for dinner tonight. Thus, it was grocery store deli dinner night) This mac-n-cheese was loaded. It had ham and broccoli in it, which sounded like it would be a hit. But when my son was coerced into trying some, he picked through it to find just the broccoli.  Mind you, the broccoli was well mixed in, and therefore appeared as little green dots throughout the mac-n-cheese. Once in a while, you would get a big chunk of it, but mostly it appeared as little tiny specks.  We knew he loved broccoli, and ham. So we were teasing him for picking through the dish to find the tiny specks of broccoli, and saying after each bite e...

I Try. I try to be fashionable usually, be cool and roll with the punches, but what comes out is mostly soccer mom, middle age comfort clothes. Today, when hubby complained that it is a 'Macy Gray Day', (because he is freezing cold - story below) and I have a short sleeve shirt on with no jacket, I sometimes have to roll my eyes and silently mumble to myself. (By the way, it was in 65 degrees out when he said this. That is cold to him, a Caribbean Guy stuck in the middle of the US.)   At least it brings back a great memory of why we call cool days Macy Gray Days.  Macy Gray in a rockin' jacket. Why do we call it Macy Gray Days?  Because of this rocking funky cool jacket Macy Gray is wearing in this picture.  Sounds crazy, so here is the story. When we lived in the Caribbean, we once made a trip to Miami in January. We didn't bring any cold weather clothes, after all we were going to be in Miami where it is usually in the neighborhood of 80 degrees fahren...

It is WEDDING SEASON! In honor of all the brides and grooms getting down on the dancefloor, I say to you..... Young Man.....There's no need to feel down.... You can get yourself clean.....You can have a good meal......... It's fun to stay at the...... Y....M...C...A.... Yes, I am doing the arm motions!!  Oh boy I forgot how fun this song IS! Turn up your speakers and join in!!! Everywhere I turn, talk is of weddings. I even have been a mini part of planning one (which I am thrilled about) (insert shameless plug here....)  I got to make Toekini's for a wedding party! They turned out beautiful, which I am so happy about. I only wish I could be there to see them on the bride and her party.  If you are like me, and won't be attending any weddings this year, join me in playing this classic wedding reception favorite. Re-play it, and enjoy the real live Village People singing right along, dancing, and looking, well, like they are village peop...

Some days, the distractions are a welcome relief to the stresses that are going on in your life.  I am lucky that, if I go far enough, on my run I can have such a fantastical distraction. Let me explain..... It was a beautiful foggy morning the other day - I was actually glad it was grey and foggy, it seemed to match my mood. After my warm up hill, and run through downtown, my mood wasn't much improved. This led me to want to go just a little farther. I thought it would be the one thing that would get me through the day, that I pushed myself and succeeded.  'A little extra distance would be the only thing I could be happy about today' , I thought. The stresses were so bad I didn't know how I was going to make it through the day. But then I noticed the most unusual thing. Upon what had I come across? What the was this bursting from the ground? A snake! A very large snake. Then, what should I see, a wizard to greet me? With a wise owl no less.  And th...

Makes Me Wanna Stay. Don't It?  Source:   piccsy.com   via   Rebecca   on   Pinterest Yes, I arranged to have 2 days off in a row this week, Tuesday and Wednesday. I spent the latter part of Monday at work, sick. And I spent my day off yesterday sick, of course. You are only sick on your days off. I didn't even get my walk/run in. I didn't get my Music Monday done. I didn't cook. I didn't even get dressed until 3:30pm.  I have to say it was great to just sit and rest ALL DAY long. I really didn't feel like doing anything else, and that I knew I had another whole day where I didn't HAVE to get in by 11am and open and be stuck at the shop all day, well it just makes me wanna stay and waste some more time. Wasting time Let the hours roll by Doing nothing for the fun Little taste of the good life Whether right or wrong Makes us want to stay stay stay stay for awhile This song reminds me of our time in the Caribbean - t...

'Take time to stop and smell the flowers' they say.  Yes, that sounds like a good idea, but every time I stop and take a minute, I say to myself "When the heck did THAT happen?!?" Things are moving so fast these days, events that happen often take me by surprise. For example, my oldest is now in his second week of college! Yes, well into classes and settled in. I know we drove him there, unloaded all his things, said our goodbyes and drove home without him. (all in one day too, 5 1/2 hour drive each way. No wonder it is all a blur.)   See me hanging on tight.... when did he get so tall??? I look at the pictures and think 'When the heck did my little Cuddle Bear become a man?' It seems like it happened so fast, the last 18 years..... Then today, I nearly fell over when my  youngest  walked in the kitchen like this:   Sir, yes Sir! He is in JROTC, and uniforms are the dress each Wednesday. But when did he become such a handsome young man? (...

We are young So let's set the world on fire We can burn brighter than the sun A great song for today, as we attack the new week after a wonderful weekend! We went ziplining on Saturday with a friend who was visiting from out of town. WHOO HOO!  If that doesn't make you feel young, I just don't know what will. I am not showing you the next picture of my face as I realize I started braking too soon and was going to land short of the platform..... But what a fun ride.  I also got to celebrate mother's day along with my youngest's 14th birthday. My daughter's gift to him was this: An incredible home made and decorated cake of exactly what he asked for on it. (it's a video game on his wish list - doesn't come out until the fall so he is wishing far in advance...) It was painful to watch the birthday boy cut into that piece of artwork. But he carefully got exactly the piece he wante...