I Shoot Lousy Pool!!!

Posted on March 12, 2025 by Marcia Stehouwer

I asked AI to produce a picture of people playing pool. Now, people are not just male, people encompasses anyone and everyone – so guess what I got? Certainly not what I asked for. Maybe the person in the back is a woman but it is hard to tell. Notice, however, that there is not a single person of colour in this group. Hmm.

I wasn’t thrilled with this picture, of course, because I’m not in it, and neither is my friend, Thelma, or Joan and one of those women is a person of colour. I thought I’d ask AI to generate a picture of older women playing pool…

This picture was generated with “older women playing pool”. I don’t know about you, but none of us (regardless of gender) leans over a pool table like this. And again, no people of colour represented in the picture. Women are not always white. f

Now, when I started this post, I was going to write about my pool game, but this was an interesting journey into the world of AI – which seems to be kind of sexist and racist at the same time. So, I won’t be using that for pictures of people in the future.

I did not learn to play pool in my youth. Everyone else did, but the oldest and a girl, my dad didn’t think it was worth while teaching me. And I didn’t get a chance to learn in university, which is where my sister learned it. And so, together with others in this senior’s complex, I am making things right.

Here’s to improving!

Marcia

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Just a Quick Hello!

Posted on March 11, 2025 by Marcia Stehouwer

Regarding yesterday’s post, the pumpkin loaf was a bit of a flop. I don’t think this recipe works well with whole wheat flour, which is all we had in the house. I’m going to try it again with regular flour and I’ll report back.

I’m off to play scrabble with my family, enjoying some rare time with Renee and Leon. We’ve played Rummikub, and now we’re doing this!

TCheers,

Marcia

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Busy in the Kitchen

Posted on March 9, 2025 by Marcia Stehouwer

One of our favourite breakfasts is steel cut oats. Mom cooked them in the crockpot (much easier) but I wasn’t a fan. I cooked them on top of the stove (much harder) and mom wasn’t a fan. What to do?

Find a new recipe, of course! And this is the one we found. I checked out other recipes but there were too many ingredients. This one has a few, too but we have them in the kitchen. Much easier to do the first time and we’ve been doing it for about a month now. I do stir it every hour or so and add water if needed. It’s a winner -especially when Mom peels the apples.

Here’s the link for Slow Cooker Oats from All Recipes.

Since mom peeled 4 apples today, I had a lot left over. There must be a recipe that can use the can of pumpkin I bought a while ago and these apples. I went looking again. How did I do this before Google and an iPad in the kitchen.

This is from The Jam Jar Kitchen and I’ve linked to the blog for you. It is definitely worth a look. There is a lot to see and learn. I used the leftover apples, and half of the tin of pumpkin, so that was good. I already had an apple in my oatmeal this morning. To make it easier for you to find the recipe, here is the link to that – Apple Pumpkin Bread

Can’t tell you how this one tastes because I just took the loaf (two small ones, actually) from the oven so they are too hot to taste. I did replace most of the sugar with xylitol-monks fruit replacement since mom is diabetic.

It’s been a quiet day here, but my brother and sister in law are arriving from their trip to Portugal and Spain. We’ve been seeing pictures on Facebook and in emails, but it will be good to hear their stories, too!

If you try these recipes, let me know what you think!

Cheers,

Marcia

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Gotta go!

Posted on March 9, 2025 by Marcia Stehouwer

My mom is off having an adventure. SHe’s bored because she’s been kind of cooped up after her surgery. I don’t blame her – not much fun watching me in at a computer…and there’s not much to do.

Eye sight is fading – so is hearing. Can’t walk anymore. There’s not much on TV on Saturday nights.

I don’t blame her, so I’m going to catch up with her. Still I’m going to give her some time alone. Maybe it is just time to stop worrying.

I just think blogs should have pictures and I have trouble finding what I’m looking for. Like a full waiting room, shopping, being too early for an appointment.

I found something….mom had a doctor’s appointment that I thought was at 1 pm. We were there on time! Except our appointment was at 2:45.

You know, we had the best time I’ve had with my mom. We poked in the hardware store, wheeled around the drugstore. Stopped in at Cobs Bakery – I love their scones!

By the time we finished with the dollar store it was time for our appointment. My mom doesn’t get out much anymore, so this was like a field trip.

Making memories with the aging people in our lives is important. This is a good memory for me!

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Life isn’t what you expect!

Posted on March 7, 2025 by Marcia Stehouwer

I have had some crazy life experiences and they prove that you never know what is coming next. Here’s what happened to me today!

1, I gave up cookies for Lent. My sister and I are doing a Lenten reading and I shared it with my mom. There are three parts to Lent – prayer (connection), fasting (doing without), and almsgiving (making the world a better place). My love of cookies is something that I have started to struggle with and I want to make peace with them in my life. The best way is for me to pass them up and let them go

I especially like Dutch Speculaas and it is way too easy to buy them here. It’s not going to be easy, I think and I will have a lot of thoughts and feelings to process.

2. I wrestled with Canva – again. At the Crochet Business Summit, D’vorah Lasky from Yarn Arts Press shared about how Canva would be helpful in marketing my creative works. I signed up for the trial and tried to create a logo that I saw in my head during her talk. Alas.. I can’t get the pieces to fit properly. Still, I have ideas and there are You-tube videos to watch!. And I hope I will be able to make them happen.

3. I created two snowflakes – one that has taken 3 days and three tries to get right. The other was a walk in the park. I love crocheting snow flakes and I’d like to sell them. Playing with yarn and string and the like is really and truly my jam!

4. The last thing I did was to make Ketjap Manis (Indonesian Sweet soya sauce), a condiment I love to put on Ramen noodles (and so does my mom!) It’s also very expensive. Of course I found a simple recipe at Fuss Free Cooking . I used a sugar substitute and low-sodium soy sauce. It is delicious.

On that note, I’m going to bed! My mom is feeling better, and maybe I will create something about our week!

Thanks for stopping by and rest well!

Marcia

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40 Days of Social Media Posts??

Posted on March 6, 2025 by Marcia Stehouwer

Really??? Well, if you’ve followed this blog you know that consistency has not been my strong point. But…can it become a strong point? Can I create consistency in this? I guess we will see how it plays out.

So, why now? It’s Lent – so 40 days of “doing without”? I mean, “What are you giving up for Lent?” is, or was a fairly common question. Chocolate, Facebook, television, …mostly things that we thought weren’t really so good for us. Lent can be a time to make a change. I’d like my change to be one that adds to life – for me, and whoever follows along!

Will it always be a blog? No. You can find me on Bluesky… I’m dabbling in Youtube (Lots of perfectionism blocking that path) and I have a Facebook page.

Still, I intend to show up here at least once a week to share where I have been sharing and what. Maybe there will be more than a few blogs, but I will be posting!

2024 threw me a curve ball. It was/is pretty personal and again I ended up somewhere I didn’t plan on. The pain was real and it still shows up once in a while. I will share about that, too. Let me just try to create a collage of pictures that show the path I’m planning to follow:

There are more things, but it is getting late – and I have a few things to do before bed.

\Thanks for checking in!

Marcia

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New Year, New Me?

Posted on January 2, 2024 by Marcia Stehouwer

Why not join all the others who are committing to doing something every day for the next year? I mean, I have done it before – going to the gym every day for a whole year. Somewhere I have the paper to prove it. 

So here are the realities I look at today:

  • My weight is definitely not where I want it to be – and I don’t really want to share that number just now.!
  • Finances are a mess- a big mess. A leaky boat that seems to get a new hole every week.
  • The crafting cupboard is overflowing with unfinished projects and ideas for new ones. (Supplies, too)
  • I can’t seem to do the things I really need to do.

Today, I did do some things that will help these things change. And of course, I chose the funnest one of the bunch. (I’m sticking with the funnest, even though it’s wrong!)

I do want to learn some new skills this year, knit some patterns from Ravelry (I’m Ajourneyoftenyears if you’d like to friend me!) and of course finish some projects.

Stay tuned for pictures and finished objects. I’m looking forward to completing this list!

Feel free to share some of the things you will be working on this year! We can encourage each other!

Happy 2024,

Marcia

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Planting Weekend!

Posted on May 22, 2023 by Marcia Stehouwer

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It’s a Numbers Game!

Posted on May 2, 2023 by Marcia Stehouwer

Today I am celebrating an interesting year. I am not a mathematician by any stretch of the imagination, although I have managed to solve a quadratic equation. Still, numbers fascinate me.

It started the year I turned 49. It was significant as a jubilee year. Forty-nine is also a square number. But squares are so even, so that year I was square and odd. I went to Paris and got my hair done!

I actually went to England for a week and took the bus from London to Paris. I wanted to see the “White Cliffs of Dover” and Dover is where we got on the ferry! What an adventure.

I spent the morning at the Cathedral of Notre Dame, just sitting, knitting and thinking. It was good. Then I went looking for a hair salon to get my hair cut.

The salon is located on the Louvre side of the river. It is on a street that had a garden center on the left corner. I bought some lettuce seeds there – they were a great souvenir. There was also a grapevine outside the store.

Getting my hair done all those years ago is one of the best adventures of my life. It is a great story and I am glad I went to Paris just to get my hair done. Everything else was gravy!

I bring this up because today I begin my year of being both square and cubed. I’ll leave it there, but the idea of that makes my heart do a little leap of joy and I have been humming songs about it all day. I have also been working on my vision board.

Today I worked on rearranging my personal space (See top right corner) to accommodate a DIY Murphy bed. I got the hardware from Easy DIY Murphy Beds, The lumber finally got ordered this week and should arrive tomorrow! I am so excited to see this happen in the next week!

Stay tuned for the rest of the adventure. I will keep you posted!

Cheers,

Marcia

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It’s November!

Posted on November 2, 2022 by Marcia Stehouwer

The journey continues. I just don’t have any pictures to show you! Well, I did find a few on my phone, and they should be arriving in my email, soon!

My biggest success story took place in the garage. Eric did an amazing job of organizing it. I can find things fairly quickly – especially the tape measure.

Last week, I completed a squatty-potty for my daughter’s birthday. The instructions come from Ana White and they worked quite well. I managed to do the cutting by myself, which is in itself exciting! I clamped and screwed, sanded and stained, and placed it in its space without her knowing! It was fun! Check tomorrow’s post for a picture. I will have one! You can find the instructions at her website…https://www.ana-white.com/woodworking-projects/wooden-squatty-potty

I also need to make a boot rack for our small entry way. And Ana has one: https://www.ana-white.com/woodworking-projects/wall-boot-rack-plans. Of course, you can’t just check out one plan, so I found another one by Bob Villa. He adds a shelf on top, and I find that rather handy. I bought my lumber yesterday and today……

Today, I walked into the garage by myself. I measured my pieces. And, without any assisstance (except a you-tube video on how to turn on the saw) I managed to make the cuts. I am so proud of this.

It may seem like a little thing – but for me it is like taking my first steps. I have always been afraid of tools (and their noise). This fear has kept me from doing so much. Now, I feel like I’ve shot myself to the moon!

I’m still playing with pin looms. I am working through a book of patterns. Making my own looms hasn’t been so successful – yet.

I do want to post a blog every day for the next 100 days, so I’m going to stop now and post more tomorrow!

Enjoy your journey!

Marcia

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