Raige Creations

It is so hard to know how to feel during all this. This Pandemic . COVID-19. The novel coronavirus , or 'rona as I saw in one funny meme on the internet. What a strange time. But that really doesn't describe it with any justice. It is so hard to put in to words. And by the time I try to get something down to describe it, the mood swings swiftly in the opposite direction. I have really been struggling with such swinging emotions, feelings that change from perfectly calm and settled to extreme panic, fear. Then being okay, then worrying. Then active and feeling healthy to lazy and feeling like doing nothing, while having a Kit Kat, then so happy to be in a safe place to going stir crazy. From wanting to laugh to wanting to scream. So in today's Thursday Thought of the Day, there is no one thought. It is all thoughts, ever changing. I mean, how do you process going to the bank these days? Last week, the last time I went in to a bank, there was maybe a new hand sani...

What a race! The Flowers Sea Swim , a very well done event, this year is the 27th year it has been going! I trained a long time for this, since January. All through training, I simply wanted to just be able to swim a full mile without stopping. And at the start, I realized just how hard that would be. But, after months of training, I knew I could swim that far, even if I did stop to get the mouthful of water out of my mouth, or massaged a cramp, or slowed to get a better look at the fish. So the day came, and I wanted to swim it faster than I had in every training session. I was excitedly nervous. The weather was beautiful, even if a bit hot. The ocean was calm and a few clouds gave us some relief from the sun sometimes. Me and my numba! Never so proud to wear J16! Especially after I got my number painted on me! I felt so good, actually, with that number on. It was official now. Now, I just had to stash my stuff - they had a shuttle to take our stuff to the finish line....

I got this idea in my head. I thought I should try to find one cool thing a day, or write what I am grateful for each day. So I started snapping pictures. Random, things I thought were cool or interesting. Because life has always got interesting things happening if we just take notice. This week, a list of random things that caught my eye. I found a lizard living in a little plastic guy we found on the side of the road. The plastic guy sustained an injury getting blown off the porch rail, but it seems to have worked out because now he is open for business as a Hotel for Lizards . See this little lizard hanging out on the 'arm porch'?  Great for taking in the scenery. Then the lizard just turns around and goes up inside the head when he ready for sleep, or hiding. Lizard Hotel We were visited by this great Old Arnold bird, what they are called here. They are in the cuckoo family of birds , and make the coolest sounds. Perhaps named after an area of the island, or ...

South Sound beauty I get to experience regularly. Thankful for where I am. Now you too can have a postcard with this beautiful image on it. Mail it to someone who needs a reminder of the beauty of this world. Sunrise in Pinks - South Sound, Grand Cayman Postcard by RaigeCreations Or here is a Greeting Card. I thought I would put on some cards too. Leaving it blank inside for further words or wisdon that you come up with. Sunrise in Pinks Greeting Card by Raige Creations by RaigeCreations I decided to mix it up a bit and throw in a sea fan. Sea Fan in South Sound Greeting Card by RaigeCreations And then I found pillows....this is dangerous. Sunrise in Pinks Pillow by RaigeCreations Sea Fan in South Sound Pillow by RaigeCreations Taking a little break now to work out some glitches and clear the cobwebs from my brain about Zazzle. I actually can't wait to put on some mugs, even though hubby says they aren't good sellers. I migh...

Take this as literal, as in actually digging in the dirt and sand. The song relates to, as says Gabriel, "During this period I discovered the most unbelievable phenomena within myself, characteristics which I value for myself, but also characteristics with which I would rather not be confronted, like unlimited rage, or merciless hatred." But no such rage or hatred was involved in this digging. Only curiosity and awe at the finds. This led to research, a digging of sorts, for information on practices long changed and nearly lost. The site was next door to a cemetery, and after the earth and sand was greatly moved for a new development, these things were near the surface! Very interesting finds, and the mind does want the stories that go along with such things. Thankfully, hubby is a pro researcher, having the interest and curiosity to search and search until every possible thing is found out, every possible theory, scenario, etc. At times, it is tough to keep...

Sunrise 4-29-16 Apparently I only needed 6 hours of sleep last night. I was up at 4:30am. But, make the most of every situation, right? So when it started getting light, I popped out and put my feet in the cool sand, snapped a pic, and have high hopes this Friday, and weekend, are as spectacular as the view this morning.  At the same time, I know I will be getting tired, and know that when I am tired, the grumps set in. I may just want to hide this afternoon, kinda like this wee little froggie I caught in the banana plant.  Wee Little Froggie  Hiding Sunrises and hiding froggies.....could either be a great story of beauty and nature, or a tale of impending doom. It will be interesting to see how this Friday unfolds.

That is a good summary of my week, actually. Didn't realize it until I started writing. It was a week of negotiations for a bathroom renovation (due to an unexpected leak - pain the...well wallet, ass, life, etc), loss of a family member, and injury of my stupid quadracept in a Cross Fit class. Breaking waves, and rain in the distance.  As I see it, it is still a beautiful view.  First, we now have a contractor we think we can work with - thankfully for a decent price. Second - the loss of a family member is sad, leaves an empty spot, but she lived a beautiful life. Through her life, she taught us how to be caring and giving. She was both to the extreme. Third - the injury. The burning pain made me realize perhaps I jumped too hard and too fast into the Cross-Fit class. I like the class, but it is HARD. Nothing like an injury to help us set our boundaries and limits. So I will have to find other, less strenuous ways to get my workouts in.  The waves broke...

"American Woman!" Said in not so nice a way.....to me....by Hubby..... Guess why? Because I didn't cook rice with dinner last night. I cooked potatoes. Who cooks rice WITH potatoes? Not me. And last night, we had potatoes. But apparently, I was reminded yet again,  "There must be rice with every meal!" Damn Caribbean Boy. He grew up with rice, or rice and beans with every meal. But he knew when he married me I was not a cook. I have come a looooong way since then , but apparently I still don't always get it right. It is true, we haven't had rice with a meal in a  few days...4 days without rice, I believe.  And apparently that is just one too many days without rice. So, tonight, rice, with something I don't know yet. Maybe even rice and beans. Because I don't want 'American Woman' to mean 'Can't cook worth shit' anymore. 

My Current  Dream Writing Space photo: Raige Creations Someday, my Actual Writing Space and my Dream Writing Space will be the same. For now, I mostly sit at my dining room table, which is not what's in the first picture here, by the way. That is my kitchen table, with a nice view, plenty of light, more comfortable chairs. My Current Dream Writing Space. My Actual Writing Space is my dining table, and it is basically in the living room (it wouldn't fit in the kitchen). The living room is on the side of the house that doesn't get sunlight, so it is very dark and the lamps don't really help that much. My Actual Writing Space (dining set IS for sale ..... as soon as we can move it out of there.....) photo: Raige Creations It is also where after a couple hours my back starts to hurt, because my  my feet don't touch the floor when sitting on the dining room chairs because I have short legs. This strains my lower back so I can hardly sit, and basically make...

For me, it is hard to find a good recipe I can follow directly. I scoured the internet for chicken and dumpling recipes, but wasn't satisfied with any I found. For one, hubby can't have milk or cream, so that ruled out half of them. Second, I didn't happen to have any biscuit mix and I wasn't about to go to the store at 7:30am to get some. Besides, growing up in the 1970's I have had my fill of Bisquick . (my mother didn't use flour at all that I can remember, only Bisquick .) So I found if I took ideas from these recipes, and tweaked them to suit our needs and tastes, I could create my own perfect homestyle meal, and make my own comfort food recipe.  I love slow cooker meals ( I have raved about them before ). There is nothing better than coming home from work with dinner ready. No stress for me and a wonderful meal to enjoy with the family.  For this meal you will need: Big Ass Chicken One whole Chicken (I got a big ass chicken from Sams Club) salt ...