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Thinking and Thinking and Sniffling and Thinking

I am in the throes of my autumn ick so my head is stuffy and my throat is scratchy and all that rot. The good thing is that I only have to leave my home to get gas and pick up my grocery order, so I can spend some time wallowing in my home for the rest of the day.  I am gathering a pile of things to laminate for myself and for the future exhibits that I am planning for this spring. At some point, I will sit down and laminate everything before cutting things out and then finishing the projects. I went through the projects that I taught during Creativity Camp 2026, and I have a stack of things ready to sell to others. It is not enough, but that's okay. I priced some materials and found them significantly above the amount that I want to spend, so I am working on additional ways to get books made. I may just print one copy and sell digital resources at the exhibit of the books. I will be able to make enough copies to have one of everything... I am making lots of plans. In the meantime,...
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It's Cold Outside

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Welcome to the first frost of the 2026 Autumn season! The heater is going strong, keeping my home at my preferred temperature, and I am looking forward to seeing the frost. It makes my everyday backyard sparkle when the sunshine first rises. My backyard faces west, so I get to enjoy the look of frost for longer than my front yard keeps its layer of sparkle. I do not mind the cooler temperatures, but this always brings an autumn ick to me. I am currently struggling with sinus and breathing issues - this is usual at this time of year for me. I don't feel sick enough to go anywhere, but there will be some cold medicine in my future pretty soon just so I can continue to sit upright. I have things to do after all. I accomplished some things this week. I went to the library once and got some work finished. I saw a movie (Forgotten Island) yesterday. I cleared the sewing table off and folded the material that I want to make into some nightgowns. The plumber came and gave my system a clean...
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Fun Friday: Movies

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I recently finished sing about the movies  and released it in my TPT store. I have so many ideas and things that go with this theme that I have collected in the time since I published the edition. It is funny how that happens. The ideas flow after the project is done... My sister is currently talking to me about my next themed packet. She has significantly more energy than I have at this point of the day despite being two hours earlier than where I am living. I am getting ready for my autumn ick, so I just do not feel really well. She's having to gather enough energy to work with 22 7-year olds and a student teacher. I don't miss having to find that sort of energy. Not at all. I am going to see Forgotten Island  this afternoon. I enjoy going to see movies, and I often see them by myself. The movie I am going to see is in the tiny theater, and it is about half full according to the seat reservation system. I have to sit closer to the screen than I like, but that's okay. At...
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I'm Great, But No One Knows It...

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Way back, in my youth, I used to sing a song called "We're Great But No One Knows It!" It was a good affirmation song, and we used to sing it loudly when things were difficult. During the last trip I took, my mom and I were watching an old movie, and the song appeared. I didn't know the origin of the song, other than that I had learned it at camp, and here it was!! The movie was My Sister Eileen . That is really not all that relevant to this post, but it is always interesting to find where songs come from... Anyway, I am in my job-hunting mode right now, and it is not very positive. I am sending out resumes and all that stuff, but no one has contacted me yet. I am trying to figure out how to find funds for medical expenses and am to the point where I am going to have to use my credit cards - which is something I do NOT want to do! It is ridiculous that someone has to use credit in order to get insurance, but I am hoping that I will be able to qualify for some sort of ...
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TME Tuesday: Thoughts and Ideas Being Stimulated...No Place to Put Them...

Tuesday. Ugh. This is not the day to be sitting here wondering what I am going to do next. It is library day, so I will be heading out later this morning to see if things get going with my brain and my creativity. I cut out all sorts of cards and decorative papers to make cards for my exhibits this spring, but I can't move forward on that until after tomorrow's visit from the plumber. Once that is over, I will move things out of the storage system that I have started and make as many as I can. I have too much stuff. Not a big surprise to you if you read the blog regularly, but it has been really piling up around here. I have to start the donation process now. It just means that I have to do it - I just need to get started. While I am at it, I should start packing things that I know I will not be needing in the very near future. There is a reason why I kept all of my boxes from my last move. I also want to arrange things for the exhibits that I referenced earlier. No reason for ...
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Music Therapy Maker: New Things to Put in My October Box

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On Friday, before I went a-craftin', I went to some thrift stores to see if I could find an interview skirt and then to the Dollar Tree to roam. I try to get to the Dollar Tree once or twice a month to see what they have that can supplement my music therapy experience design. This month was fruitful for Halloween-themed things. Now, if you know me, you know that I do not celebrate Halloween much. I tend to downplay holidays in my therapeutic interactions with clients because (my former) clients tend to get too involved with holiday excitement and seem to think that it is an excuse not to work on therapeutic goals. This is too bad because there are SO many cool things to shape therapeutic music experiences (TMEs) for this season. Friday's trip was no exception. I left there with all sorts of things, placemats, stickers, playing and educational cards, Mad-Libs, and Halloween Movie Night Kits which go along with my most recent sing about edition: sing about the movies . Of course,...
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The Crafting Aftermath

Now, don't get me wrong, but a weekend of sitting and crafting just knocks me out. You would think that I would be more exhausted after going for walks and stuff, but NO! It's the sitting and crafting that takes the energy out of me. Anyway, I spent 4.5 hours on Friday evening and 7 hours yesterday sitting at my preferred seat at my preferred table with people that I am getting to know. There is Jeanie (all names changed) who has a couple of grandcats, and a whole slew of stepfamily and half-family members.  There is Penny who makes cards by the hundreds and seems to prefer to just work rather than chit-chat. There is Lorraine who colors amazing paperdolls that she makes out of stamps. She also designs t-shirts for her nephews and swap cards for her nieces that have significant layers and steps to them. All of them do wonderful things and are inspirations to my own crafting and creative processes. Meanwhile, I did pretty well myself. I started making cards and got about 110 of ...
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