Second Call-Out for Cards and a Busy "Day Off"

This is the SECOND CALL OUT FOR CARDS for this year's Holiday Card. If you haven't chimed in that you want one, and haven't given me your address, get going on that! I have them 1/2 finished now, and the next stage is starting the envelopes. That means I'll need addresses very soon. Chime in. Remember, I don't require anything in return, my joy is in the sending them out to friends and relatives and giving a bit back to people I care for - many of whom I've never met in person.  

We don't have the snow yet, but it's coming. 
This year we'll have one of the warmest 
Halloweens on record. It'll be a nice change 
of pace. Maybe we'll have a mild winter too. 
That would be awesome, except it wouldn't 
help our drought conditions, which are 
severe (despite the fact that I live in a 
state with lots of green trees and 11,000+ 
lakes). 

Today's "day off" will be mostly spent in the kitchen. I want to make a batch of chili, and I might make another batch of that roasted peppers and tomato soup. I have three tomatoes that need to be used up, and the rest of the ingredients are pretty minimal. I might even have a small onion in my counter-top storage bowl. I'll have to check. But, as usual, my "day off" will be a very busy one and my blender will once again get a workout. I do love making a fine piece of equipment perform to its' best. 

I love my Wolf blender. I've been 
putting it through its' paces over the 
past few months and it's been up to 
every task I've asked it to do. The soups 
have been a new challenge for it, and 
it came through with flying colors. I'll 
be using it again today for Ogre Juice and 
maybe another soup. It's a purchase I'm 
quite pleased with. 

I want to take my clothes to Goodwill this afternoon. I think I'll rescue one blouse from the mix - it's a blouse I've had since 1992 - a gift from one of my Mall of America employees. The color on it, a burnished gold, is amazing and I adore it. It's way too big (size 14 and I'm wearing size 6 or under now), but I'll see if my tailor can perform some miracles and take it in A LOT. I'm trying to eliminate clothes from my closet that are too large. It's too easy to fall back into bad habits, and having clothes that fit properly instead of just grabbing a larger size is one thing that can help me stick to my weight and to WildFit. 

I have four full shopping bags (43 items - 
mostly shirts and blouses) ready to go 
to Goodwill. I might pull one shirt from 
the bag and see if my tailor can work 
some miracles. I really adore the shirt 
and would prefer to keep it if it can be 
altered. 

If I get a chance, I might try to photograph some of the crystals today. I'm quite unsure whether I'll have time for that or not. I don't like leaving things on the stove without checking on them regularly, it's a safety thing. But I'd really like to get that going. 

I hsve a ring light that I've never used before, 
and should probably try out. I'd like to use 
it to get better lighting for my Swarovski 
crystals that I'll put up on Etsy. Maybe today I 
can set things up and try some things out. 

So, on that note, it's time for me to get this posted and try and catch up with messages and emails. I hope you have a fabulous Friday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini.