Raige Creations

Writing has been difficult for me lately. The words just do not come easily, or if they do they are a jumbling mess of rambling on. And not good rambling. So to ease back in I thought a Music Monday would be a nice, easy effort. Well, turns out that wasn't as easy as I thought.  Let the rambling begin! Can you believe this is only the 2nd blog I have done in 2022? I have had lots of stress, work is ridiculously busy and there was an incident that has been quite stressful to deal with. I do hope to write more about that soon. But the words to write about that are not pleasant words, and what I have to share about that I (finally) realize is precisely why I am struggling with writing.  What happened to me made me more reserved, questioning every action I did. I realize now the effect this incident has had on me, and the effect it had on my writing.  Now that I realize what has been the cause of my writing difficulties, I can begin to work through it and get back to writing....

Wow, I hadn't heard this song in YEARS! And here it was...but modern, heavy, cool! We watched Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw - our Saturday night 'date' movie. I wasn't real excited to watch it, but when it started with this song, my mood changed. Was this that song I used to LOVE? Wait, it IS Time in a Bottle , but ROCKIN'!! Okay, this could be a good movie then, if they picked that song , my warped thinking was (it was almost midnight....) And I actually enjoyed the movie, even though it was a completely predicable ridiculous action movie, it was entertaining.  This version, the cover of this oldie but goodie, it was not bad! The song is one of the few songs I learned to play with few mistakes (mostly) on the piano. I have a music box that plays this song. I love this song, and have since the 1970's. I always loved the original Jim Croce song. Yes, it is one of those AM Radio songs I heard playing in the kitchen when I was young. But this cover w...

Source Funny how you start thinking of time, how fast it goes by and things like that, when you are celebrating 26 years of marriage. We celebrated that milestone yesterday. The talk was mainly - ' wow, we have spent over half our lives together ' - and things like that. Also - ' It hasn't always been easy, but here we are ' - and things like that. Because it isn't easy. Life isn't always easy. Sometimes it is darn hard. But, we stuck it out thus far, and being that some of those darn hard times were more than darn hard, we figure we may as well stick it out another 26 years or so. Overall, we would say we have lived our lives together pretty well. And are looking forward to many years to come, living pretty well. Life, if well lived, is long enough.

Friday! We all wait for it, especially those of us who had to go back to 9-5 jobs. This has been a particularly long week.  Our office recently moved in to a new building, thus a new floor plan. Gone is my office, and I am back to cubicle working. In other words, every 15 minutes I have some paper pusher coming to my desk and hovering until I notice they are there. Even hovering while I am on the phone. Or obviously busy doing something for the paper pusher who is still standing there ahead of them.  So much so a co-worker who was waiting on me to sign a check told one aggressive hovering office space invader  : 'Give her a minute she is doing something'.  This particular week, for whatever reason, was chock full of hovering office space invaders and paper pushers . Constantly interrupting me. Add the phone that seldom rings suddenly was ringing far too much - some cubiclists decided to stay at their desks and call me instead.  Dare I say, I was a...

It is that time of year, the frickin Time Change. Or more officially, Daylight Savings. ( I have lamented over this odd custom for years.... ) I spent all day Monday walking around in a tired stupor, wishing it wasn't so dark when I got up and wasn't so light for so long in the evening! (it was weird eating dinner with it so light out!) But at least we can wear our sunglasses at night again! (and not appear as someone who is utterly ridiculously wearing sunglasses when it is totally dark out and obviously clinging desperately on to the 1980's lyrical fashion suggestions) I think the whole point of Daylight Savings in the beginning was fine, but in the modern world, it has lost its value. It is pointless these days! Time does not change - it continues steadily, no matter how much we all wish to stop it, or make it go faster. We aren't saving anything. I will pose the question again..... Can't we all just keep the clocks where they are and continu...

It's been............... 3 days since I have blogged. (so much for posting every day! this NaBloPoMo has been extremely difficult for me to keep up with!) It's now........... One Week until daughters graduation (well less than that now, it's Saturday! But on Saturday this song kept playing in my head, because it WAS one week until graduation. Somehow, I am not ready for this......) Plus, the other day, hubby said to me,  "It's been one week....", and then he paused. Boom - the  Barenaked Ladies filled in the rest. I can't even remember what he said after that. How can you NOT think of this song when someone says something like that? Over and over, in my head... It's been... One Week ...  And then the rest fills in. Chickity China the Chinese chicken Have a drumstick and your brain stops tickin' Watchin X-Files with no lights on We're dans la maison It will still be two days 'till .....family arrives in town for th...

Which do you tend to do? Me? Well, if you read this blog at all, you will be able to guess. I would say I tend to do BOTH, but I do tend to procrastinate in getting things crossed off the list.  If you aren't sure what I am talking about, you may want to click here for how I am always running late , click  here for the times I am losing track of the days , and click  here for what to do if you waste an entire morning (I have done that a few times you see.....). Specifically, procrastination is something that plagues me regularly. I do tend to complain about it, too. If you need proof, click here for one complaint in October , and I actually did two posts in November, here for blaming writer's block , and here for vowing to give up this talent of procrastination I seem to possess.  It's not that I don't try! I DO have lists , plans, I have good intentions!  In fact, just this week, I made a list, and planned what day I would...

photo courtesy of: Blue Rage of Asheville I spent most of the day Thursday on the internet, reading blogs, writing a little, browsing Pinterest (I know, I vowed to stop , but Thursday was just one of those days.....). I didn't go for a run, in fact I didn't even get dressed until 2 o'clock. My original plan was to check all my emails, maybe finish my blog I started, go for run, and then accomplish more of the de-cluttering . What happened was the internet sucked me in, again . I wasted the majority of the day. I know this has happened to you once or twice, right? I couldn't help but wonder if we all wrote on typewriters, would be be more productive? (You can actually buy this great typewriter pictured here !) What do you think? Would you go back to writing on a typewriter if it meant you would write more, and write better?

My favorite hour of the day............. There is the early morning, if I happen to be able to get out of bed, just while it's getting light. The birds are just starting to make noise, the sky is a beautiful hue, and there is so much possibility. I make coffee, do the morning routine until it is finished brewing, and then sit and ponder what the day has in store. source Or else it's Tea Time. I love tea in the afternoon, if I am not too tired by then to put the kettle on. It is a time to re-group and relax a bit. Sometimes it is just the right thing to get me motivated to cook dinner. source: Raige Creations Sometimes, my favorite time of day is when I wake up in the middle of the night, glance at the clock and see it's only 2am! I still have 4 hours to stay in bed, in the quiet darkness, no chores to hop up and get started, no thoughts of the stresses ahead.  from Random Betrayals on tumbler.com Quiet darkness, cozy covers, time to dream some more. What...

photo courtesy of Structure in an Unstructured Life on FB Would you care if you were a couple days late paying that cable bill? Would you care if you left that laundry in the living room for 2 days waiting to be folded? Would you think you should have taken that day off and spent it with family, or would you be glad you did? Even though I didn't get this posted yesterday (late for NaBloWriMo again!), I am sure glad I did take the time to enjoy yesterday. Keep things in perspective.

Clarity Through the Mist photo courtesy of Raige Creations This is the beautiful scene as I was running on Monday. The fog was drifting over the water so brilliantly, it was a great distraction from the run. I was on a route that I don't often use, around Lake Louise.  I ended up going farther than usual, mainly because I had to go around the loop more than 3 times to get my usual 3 miles. Then I had to get back to where I head home, so I logged 3.38 miles. Almost all of it a run. The day started out pretty good.  Hard to believe how the day changed , but it is a lesson in enjoyment of the moment , because moments change, moods change, and if I didn't have that good morning I can't even image how truly bad the day would have turned out . I was glad to see this picture today. It reminded me of the beauty right outside my door. It reminded me that I will see clarity at some point, I will find my way. Even if I can't see it exactly, once I get settled after...

"Serendipitous Timing" Uttered to me today by a wonderful new person I met. Before I jinx anything, I will just say a few things. All my worry last night , lack of sleep, and stress about getting everything done, led to a huge relief of sorts. After some driving around and few phone calls, I made the best phone call which made the end of my day rather pleasant. photo courtesy of photobucket Of course, lots of prep, planning, organizing, logistical figuring was figured into the day. Working to achieve a smooth transition out of one location is not an easy thing.  But if all goes well, this wonderful new person will be saving me from dread and unpleasantness beyond what I could handle at this point. AND, as it turns out, I will be helping her in a way she didn't anticipate happening at this time, yet wanted to. I am bringing her closer to a goal she has had, she is bringing me close to a goal I have. Serendipitous. We met not quite by chance, as most serendipi...

12:01 photo from ClipArtETC 12:01. That's what the microwave said when I went into the kitchen to get a glass of water. 12:01 a.m. I had been laying in bed for about an hour. This, after being woken up from the couch to go to bed because we have another very big day tomorrow. We spent the day packing and organizing the shop downtown.  My business, Blue Rage of Asheville , had a good run in its 8 College St. address.  After a very hard summer, and saying so many times I couldn't count, ' There has to be a better way' , the time had come to let this location go, and go find the the better way. 8 x 10 print by The Love Shop on Etsy I spent all week carefully packing the fragile inventory, making sure all the consignors picked up their inventory, taking pictures of displays, dealing with banks, utilities, etc. Over 30 boxes, and probably 20 pieces of furniture and displays, and oh yes, the track lights and drop down lights, all packed up. Still more to do...

A while back it was one of my goals, along with writing , to take more pictures with a real camera, not my phone. But I find myself not wanting to carry the heavier camera around, and worry about having the card in there. (yes, digital...I can hardly remember the last time we actually used film!)  It was 1973 when Paul Simon sang the pleas: 'Mama don't take my  Kodachrome away' . But alas, his pleas went unheard. Today is a world of digital photos, camera phones, and online storage of our life in pictures. So I carry my phone with me nearly everywhere, and snap pictures when the mood strikes. It is difficult to take them when I am running, which happens to be one of the few times I actually have time to take pictures. But today, it was a more difficult run day, so I walked more. And I took some pictures.  Half-way to full on Fall photo courtesy of Raige Creations Sadly, I was shocked to see these trees. Isn't it early to have the trees changing? Fall Pa...

There IS time, you can find it. Be it a small amount in between other things, or an entire afternoon. Find it. It is there.  Thanks to Namaste Cafe , where I get daily inspiration on FB .

As I mentioned the other day, something about the fall air is invigorating . I get to experience breathtaking views and beautiful color every day. I am as amazed by it now as I was when I first saw it, when hubby brought me here  to show me our potential new home that October 5 years ago. Perfect motivation for getting out there and enjoying! So get out there. Enjoy. And if you are in the Asheville area, stop by Blue Rage of Asheville for the Grand Opening Ribbon Cutting and Fine Art Exhibition Colors In Time .

Having little time to do much of anything but work, dinners at our house have been a little lacking. If we don't order out, or I don't pick up things from the deli at the grocery store, I revert to 'Get Your Own' night and everyone makes their own dinner. This is hardly the tastiest or healthiest ways to go about having family dinner.  if only it were that easy   I suspect that I am not alone in this dilemma of trying to get dinner on the table the fastest and easiest way. I am one to really value a family dinner time, and insist that we all eat together whenever possible. But since I opened the shop and have been working all open hours myself, with few exceptions, home made dinners eaten as a family are becoming few and far between.  these 2 ingredients make it YUMMY Then my youngest asked for a dinner I haven't cooked in ages. It is a dinner I learned from hubby's family - a staple of Caribbean cooking - Stewed Chicken and Rice and Beans. It taste...

Another year, another adventure in life.  Another adventure in writing with NaBloWriMo - where I challenge myself to blog every day in the month of October. I have been calling much of my life lately an adventure. And why not?  Life IS an adventure. But I am always behind. Source: whudat.de via Reach on Pinterest Tell me how to get caught up? I am always running behind , and it's not just writing this blog. It is with house chores, pet chores, shop chores , Raige Creations tasks (so so neglected poor Raige is), family time (I SO need to catch up on family time), time for friends, time for ME, and now blogging every day, the list goes on and on. Source: w3spine.com via w3spine on Pinterest Sometimes I feel like baby tomato, and like I look like poor  Mia there. Still trying to be funny, still trying to maintain composure.  A never ending battle to catch up. So off I must go, already behind schedule. Have a lovely Friday. ...

I understand that it's not Monday, and that it is not November either. But in an effort to get the first two posts of NaBloWriMo in before I get further behind, I am posting this very special song. November Rain , by Guns N' Roses , came out in June 1992, just over 20 years ago. It was that summer, that my life took a turn I wasn't expecting. It was that summer, and during this song, that I knew I was going on the best adventure ever. I met hubby that summer, and he introduced me to this song. We listened to it alone, in a dark room, and it was then (or thereabouts) that I knew  that he was someone I always wanted to be with. We just celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary, but really celebrated being together for 20 years. So I could not think about way back then without thinking of this song. A beautiful song with a sweeping orchestral background that leaves quite an impression, especially in a dark room with just two people in it.  I...

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...