It's a Boo-thday alright... meanwhile, some wise eyes in the room

This is a birthday card my dear friend Pen made me.  (She's a real whiz at her Cricut machine.)  "Boo-thday" does seem appropriate this year, and not just because my day falls on Halloween.

1. The mid-term election forecasts are making me pretty antsy.
2. I've been dealing with a pretty serious long covid relapse for a couple weeks now, and it's wiping me out.

I wake up every morning around 5:30am with a lot of inflammation in my cheeks and jaw.  I use the bathroom, then head to the kitchen and hold ice packs over my eyes while I gargle with warm salt water for 15 minutes.  When things calm down, I pop a Lemon Mint Ricolla Lozenge in my mouth, go back to bed and watch Youtube videos on my tablet until I doze off again.

I wake up an hour or so later with an aching face and a jaw that is very sore, stiff as a board.  Things don't ease up until mid-afternoon or so.  Around 5-6pm, oral inflammation sets in.  Ugh--I really am sorry for sharing all this, no one wants to read it.  I'm just burnt out.

This January will mark my third year anniversary of dealing with long covid.  All I can do is try and manage the symptoms one day at a time, and when I get 1-2 days of calm, rejoin society (like a couple weeks ago, when I was able to meet up with friends from the Senior Center at Chili's).   

Other than that, I'm just hoping I see some long-term recovery in 2027.

As long as I'm here... have you ever bought something and wound up doing something different with it then originally intended?  A couple weeks ago I was on an arts & crafts site looking at the different things for sale, and saw this macrame owl crafted by a young woman in Bali.

It immediately reminded me of the 1970s, when macrame seemed to be everywhere.  Hanging planters, ladies fashion... I bought her last macrame owl, intending to hang it beside a piece of artwork above my couch.

When it arrived yesterday (even nicer than I expected), I hung it on a magnetic hook on my (metal) front closet door while I ran to get a hammer.  But when I came back and saw it perched there...

I think this owl had found it's home.  It sure is a nifty looking thing, isn't it?  The eyes and nose are hardwood nuggets.  I love it.

On that note...I don't have much else to say.  I just wanted to get something new blogged.  I'm not very fond of my last post with all those former birthday photos, it felt a little too self indulgent.  Plus it makes me pine for healthier, happier times.

But I did enjoy all the very kind feedback, thank you again.

I hope everyone has a great Halloween, and (sorry my conservative friends) I hope we get that Blue Wave and a Democratic House & Senate again, and a cure for long covid while we're at it.

Thanks again for the lovely cards Kim, Robin, Pen & Bobi.  Bobi, I loved that wood bookmark, thank you.

And thanks to everyone as always, for being here.

My Halloween birthdays thru the years

I always enjoyed having my birthday on Halloween.  My dad drew funny cards, and Mom made sure I had a Halloween-themed birthday cake.  Our family didn't have a lot of money when I was growing up, so we knew better than to pester our parents for all the stuff we saw on tv.  But they went out of their way to make our birthdays special.

I know I've been sharing a lot of selfies lately, but since I'm turning 65 this year I thought I'd look back at some of the birthdays and cakes I've enjoyed over the years.  

So if you're not too tired of seeing my face just yet...

October 31, 1966 - my 5th birthday.

October 31, 1967 - wearing my gift (a Batman costume complete with Bat-boots and utility belt) guarding my 6th birthday cake.  I wore a devil costume to go trick-or-treating though, I was a huge Bat-fan and was afraid someone would steal this batsuit right off me!  

October 31, 1968 - 7th birthday, and that's Patootie, a boy clown doll.  After this photo was taken he only wore his red long johns.  I admit it, I loved this clown.  My younger brother Steve adopted him after I outgrew him.

October 31, 1969 - 8 years old, missing a couple front teeth but look at that cool bike.

October 31, 1971 - 10 years old, excited to get an easel so I could do my artwork like Dad.

October 31, 1973 - 12 years old and Grandma Morris stopped by on her way to work to wish me a Happy Birthday.  That silver bracelet I'm wearing was a POW-MIA bracelet, remember those?

October 31, 1975 - 14 years old and in my Sears Husky Jeans phase, with my handsome Dad.  I can't remember why, but I asked Mom to bake me a German chocolate cake that year.

October 31, 1977 - 16th birthday with my sisters Donda-Lin and Courtney.  Ignore my bowlegged pose, I was being a goof.  

October 31, 1978 - 17 years old and in my suit for Senior Picture Day.

October 31, 1980 - 19th birthday and some pretty wild hair.

October 31, 1981 -  20th birthday and not living at home anymore, this would be my last Halloween cake from Mom for a long time.

October 31, 1991 - My 30th birthday.  My mom & sisters Shawn, Donda-Lin & Courtney drove up to Pittsburgh to take me out to dinner.  Mom baked me a chocolate bundt cake.  She also brought those woven placemats and kitchen curtains for my new apt.

October 31, 1996 - 35th birthday, at my parents place back home.  A surprise cake and surprise visitor, my beloved Grandma.  

And finally, October 31, 2009 - my 48th birthday.  A Star Trek cake from my sister Shawn, and a Halloween one from my niece Sophia.  No selfies here, but at least you can see the cakes!

  

One says golabki, another says halupki and I am one lucky fella

A couple days ago I was on Sparrow Tree Journal, reading blogger Jennifer's latest post.  She'd been busy in her kitchen making a Polish dish called golabki for her husband Gregg, and wanted to know if anyone had ever enjoyed it or even knew what it was.

I realized "Oh, she's talking about stuffed cabbage rolls..."  Growing up we called them pigs in a blanket.  I loved them but couldn't remember the last time I had any.  There's a lot involved in making those suckers.

My friend Kimba visited me on Saturday, bearing gifts

The next day I'm texting my friend Kim and she tells me she's making halupki, and asks if I've ever heard of the dish.

I said I didn't think so, what's in it?  Kim begins describing it--steamed cabbage leaves, stuffed with a meat & rice mixture, cooked low n' slow in tomato sauce... 

Stuffed cabbage rolls again!  The same ingredients, but another name for them.  I told her I enjoyed them many times over the years but never knew them by that name; then I told her about my blogger friend Jennifer's post just the day before.

Saturday morning I get a text from Kim, asking if I'd be home later.  I said yes, asked why.  She said she wanted to bring over some of her halupki aka stuffed cabbage rolls.  

That's her above of course, sweet as can be.  She brought me enough rolls for a couple meals, and after I put them in the fridge we sat and talked for a couple hours about everything under the sun.

Her 33 year old son Sam called, and I had a sudden flashback to when Kim was on maternity leave, and brought him downtown to have lunch with us at Warner Center.  I can even remember holding him while Kim ate her sandwich from Chick-fil-a.  

Anyway, after Kim got on her way (she and her husband Dave were going to the Mountaineer Casino in WVa) I got dinner started.

Kimba, you wanted an honest opinion and here it is, they are fork tender and absolutely delicious.  Thank you so much for the cabbage rolls, your visit and that awesome pop-up birthday card.  You made the day a really special one.  

I wonder if anyone else has a name for this Polish delicacy?

A spur of the moment thing, and a surprising farewell to someone I didn't know

This morning I awoke with my face in it's usual distress from the LC inflammation.  I laid there in my bed for a good hour, watching youtube videos on my tablet before forcing myself to get up and use the bathroom and make a cup of coffee.  Some days I feel really defeated over these chronic pain symptoms, and this was one of those days.

I turned on the tv for a few minutes, then snapped it off and brushed my teeth and got dressed.  No shower, I didn't need one.  I put on my jacket and decided to take a walk, see where it took me.

I walked up the street in the direction of my favorite hangout, Kuhn's Market.  It's amazing to see the new supermarket pretty much complete.  They just need to stock it, and pave the new parking lot in front of the store.  They promise it will be open by Thanksgiving.

I was going to try and take a couple pics of how it looks inside, but they have all the windows covered.  All I know for sure is, it's HUGE.

Heading further up the street towards the senior center, this is the intersection where I got off my evening bus every night when I worked downtown.  That's my former apartment building below, where I lived for 23 years.  I really enjoyed my former life there. 

The entrance to the Senior Center.  Aren't these thrilling photos!

There wasn't that many people there.  Colleen, Helen, Cussin' Connie & my friend Mary.  I got to meet Carl & Kate, the new senior kitchen volunteers.  I was informed there was an extra lunch available if I wanted it, Orange Chicken with carrots.  Why not.

Walking home, I decided to stop at the store (the old Kuhn's) and get some eggs & Tylenol.  In front of the building was a white truck from Rietz Foods.  Something pinged in my head, like I should know that name--but nothing came to mind.

I came upstairs, did a google search on Rietz and got a location in Austria.  Did another search on Rietz actor, then actress, and yep--found it.  Karen Rietz, Robert Reed's daughter.  Born in October 1956, she had one acting job in 1970, playing Marcia Brady's classmate in the Slumber Party episode.

Karen & her dad, Robert Reed

However, I was dismayed to see she died last November at age 69.  No cause of death was given.

Her obituary read that she spent her life training horses, and loved her son William more than anything.  Her mother was listed as family, but no mention of her dad who died in 1992.  

I probably shouldn't be writing anything today, not in the greatest of spirits.  I'm so tired of battling these long covid symptoms daily, I worry they'll never go away.

I've also been concerned about an online friend who's going through a lot right now with her adult daughter, who's dealing with some urgent health matters.  I'm not a parent, but I'm reminded of something my mom said many years ago when I had a bad fall and broke my leg in 2002.  

Mom kept calling and asking how I was doing and did she need to "come up there"  (she lived pretty far south of Pittsburgh).  I told her I was 40 years old and could take care of myself, please stop worrying.  She said "Fat chance, you kids will be the death of me when you reach my age!  Well, if I'm still here I mean!"   

Mom, I'm your age now... wish you were here!

It's coming, it's coming.... it's coming (I hope)

Sunday night while brushing my teeth before bed, I began smelling that all too familiar aroma of diesel fuel and a perfumey decay; the "long covid smell".  I knew that meant it was coming, but prayed the bad stuff would come and go by morning.  

It didn't, I woke up with a swollen right eye, aching cheekbones and burning mouth.  I deal with varying amounts of inflammation and soreness pretty much daily, but this was officially a 'flare-up' day.  Nothing you can do but swallow aspirin, hold an ice bag to your face, suck on lemon drops and ride it out.

But I was happily surprised when I went downstairs to get my mail and saw this early birthday card from my dear friends Robin & Chuck in Canada.  I loved it, and I'm afraid to look at the postage it cost for sending it here!  

But I sure am glad they did.  Trump may have his deranged bickerings with Canada, but the rest of us are quite fond of our northern friends & neighbors.  Thank you, Chuck & Robin.

Me turning 65 years old... it's coming.  It beats the alternative, but if I could pick a younger age, I would.  It's sweet when older friends and even some neighbors will say "Oh you're a baby" but c'mon, 65 is up there.  Just ask my gray head and enlarged prostate and Medicare card.  They gave me a 10% Senior Citizens Discount on my Chili's receipt last week without me even asking.

Speaking of Trump and his criminal organization (Putin, the Republican House & Senate, Newsmax, Don Junior's Russian wedding backers, his MAGA crowd who just love the show, etc.) I am not sitting here rubbing my hands in antipation of that blue wave that CNN and MSNOW say is coming.  It would certainly be great, but this country is full of voters who would rather go hungry and without gasoline or proper medical care to ensure we don't get someone in government that isn't Trumpy.  Crazy, but true.

I love Texas, some of my favorite bloggers and people are from there--but I don't see it turning blue anytime soon, do you?

And speaking of politics, I just started reading this biography of Robert F. Kennedy written by Chris Matthews.  A dozen pages in and you can already see the love and admiration Chris had for RFK and laments he never got to be the leader of our country he should've been.  

Heartache... it's coming, because he's right. I can still remember in June '68 when the news interrupted whatever we were watching with his death.  My mom cried while Dad held her, I'd never seen her cry before.  

And now, everytime I see his crazy-ass son on the news or online, I wonder what his dad would've thought.  How'd we go from Bobby to that walking measle.  😕

I shouldn't be writing while in such a cranky mood.  I got a bill today from my "pre-Medicare" health insurance for $1547.00, for 'Anesthesiology Services' rendered June 9.

It says I paid $144.20 to it, but now owe $1547 more.  It's clearly in error, my cost was the $144 I paid 5 months ago.  I called Member Services, who said "Yes your share is $144.20."  I said "Then why am I getting this bill demanding more?"  My insurer said "Do you want to talk to the hospital's billing dept?"  I said "That's YOUR job."  He said "Oh--well, they closed at 5pm anyway."

UPMC...I'm coming for you later today. 😠

Finally, because I'm a boring foodie, I wanted to show you these 3 pieces of chicken I got from Kuhn's on Sunday.  The last time I bought fried chicken up there, 3 chicken filets for $7.60, I lamented their cost.  A few people told me that wasn't a bad price, I insisted it was.

These two big fried chicken thighs and a chicken leg, $2.38 total.  Now that's a fair price!

UPDATE:  After arguing with a Pakistani woman who insisted I pay the new $1547 hospital bill, I called the surgeon's office who said they'd take a look at it.  

Twenty minutes later my insurer called and curtly said my billed amount was adjusted to $71.00.  What a racket!

Loved Ones & Other Strangers (and shaven ones too, I suppose)

I felt pretty lucky yesterday.  Tuesday night I was talking to a friend on the phone and telling them I was supposed to go on a senior outing to Chili's on Wednesday, but didn't think I'd make it because of these LC flare-ups.

Me & my dear gal Evvie, outside our senior center on Wednesday

Wednesday morning I was awoken by a huge thunderstorm raging outside, and thought "Well, there's no way I'm walking a mile in all that!"  But an hour later both the rains and inflammation in my face subsided, so off I went.

I was so happy when I got to the center and saw Evvie, and she told me she was going to Chili's too.  This was the first lunch we'd be having together since December!

To be honest, the lunch wore me out.  There was too many of us to sit together at the large table, so Evvie & I sat at a smaller one.  5 minutes later, Barb Wire jumped up from the other one and joined us and said "I need real conversation!  Not all that jibber-jabber behind us!  Do you agree?  Well, do you?"  Barb is 87 years old and always on a tear, I fear she is in the early stages of dementia.  She then proceeded to rant how awful everything was, and told Evvie she had to beg me to have a drink with her at our last outing (untrue) and how we had to send Dennis home in a taxi because he bought so many bags of food (also untrue).  It just went on & on.  

But when our bills came, Barb asked if I'd look at hers.  I told her "They're charging you for the side of macaroni you sent back, and for two orders of potato soup, and you only had the one, and you got that in place of the fries your burger was supposed to come with which I asked the waiter if you could substitute soup for and he said yes."  She said "I'm so confused, what do I do?"  I said I'd take care of it.  She thanked me for looking out for her so that calmed her down some.

When I got home, I was so worn out I wanted to take a nap but found a strange note on my door--more on that in a moment, here's a few pics first.

My boy Dennis who said "DOUG I AM HAPPY TO SEE YOU!  I'M ALL DAMP BECAUSE I CARRIED $500 WORTH OF HALF DOLLAR COINS TO THE BANK ON MY WAY HERE TO TRADE IN FOR SPENDING CASH!"

This is Claire, who attends all the lunch outings and is just about the sweetest person you could meet.  She was anxious to show me her Native American bag and laughed when I said I dug her papoose.  She's a dear.

Here was Evvie & my table at Chili's. A half hour after we arrived this place was packed. 

Evvie's meal--a half rack of baby back ribs, fries & street corn.  Evvie said those were some of the best fries she's ever had, and I very much agreed.

And here's my meal--Nashville Hot Chicken Crispers, Brisket Quesadillas, fries, white cheddar mac n' cheese.  I brought half of this home for dinner, and it was real tasty but needed something green.

I was shocked when I was eating, and someone came up and hugged me from behind--Candy Kim, who was there with her husband!  She used to attend these lunch outings regularly, along with my friend Mary.  She's about 7 feet tall and reminds me of Maude.

She whispered "I'm sorry I couldn't come with you guys, but my husband has health issues and I don't have the time for 5 hour lunches!"  God bless her, she's so funny.  I just love her.

And finally, when I got home I found this post-it taped to my doorknob.  "Would like you some company."  A male in his 60s, fun, clean.  Why is shaven underlined?  He's discreet and lives in the building.  Very convenient.   

        

I have a feeling I know who this is.  I was downstairs in the lobby this weekend, waiting for Amazon to arrive with a package.  This man walked into the lobby to get his mail, looked in his mid 60s, my height, a little rounder.  He smiled and nodded, got his mail, walked out.  A couple minutes later he came back and wanted to introduce himself, said his name was Bob.  I have a feeling this is him.  Oh well!

Chicken with the Dunnes, pancakes too and hoping I count

A couple days ago I walked up to Kuhn's Market, went to the deli to buy some sliced turkey for sandwiches and watched them set out a big silver pan of something sizzling. I asked "What's that" and was told they were fried chicken fillets.  They smelled delicious, so I said I'd take 3.

When I saw the price on the bag, I almost handed them back--$7.60??   The man behind the counter saw my expression and said "They're 100% seasoned breasts, if you don't like them bring 'em back."  

That was the first time someone in the supermarket offered me a guarantee, so I thanked him and brought them home.

They were bigger than I thought, I had half of one for dinner that night on a soft roll with mayonnaise and pickle slices, it was delicious.  I do my share of cooking, but shy away from frying chicken in my little cubbyhole of a kitchen.

Here's what I had the next night for dinner, and the night after that. 

Chicken fillet with roasted little potatoes & green peppers, and a good honey mustard sauce I made with mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and honey

The next night, I assembled this "fried chicken salad" Pittsburgh style (french fries on top).  It was pretty tasty, but I had trouble eating it because of an LC flare-up. 

As long as I'm at it, here's some pancakes I made for breakfast this morning.  They're not exactly perfect, but they're big and crispy on the edges and perfectly delicious.

Hmm... these photos looked a lot better when I was starving and getting ready to eat!

Do you remember Griffin Dunne?  He's the son of famed crime writer Dominick Dunne, and co-starred with David Naughton in 1981's An American Werewolf in London.  I haven't seen that horror flick in decades, but it had a huge impact on my 19 year old self with its gallows humor and cutting edge special effects.

He is also known for his younger sister Dominique Dunne, who played the older daughter in the first Poltergeist film, the one who screamed "What's happening!!!"   She was strangled on the front lawn of her apartment building by her deranged ex-boyfriend on October 30, 1982.  She was only 22.

Anyway, the reason I mention him is because of a memoir he wrote about his family, "The Friday Afternoon Club".  Something compelled me to buy it (which I'm surprised I did as I swore off celebrity bios a few years ago).

In fact, I totally forgot I owned this until I was reviewing last year's Visa purchases.  The book was still sitting in my bedroom closet, in it's cardboard box with some moth traps I bought from Amazon.

I've been spending the last week or so reading it, and do you ever come across something so good that you force yourself to ration it, to make it last?  I've been doing just that with this book, that's how great it is.  Exceptionally well written and a fascinating read of a somewhat famous family rocked by dysfunction, fame and tragedy.

Born in 1955, Griffin sort of "coasted" into the entertainment industry, mostly because of where he grew up.  His best friend was Carrie Fisher, and they lived together in the 1970s while both got small acting jobs here & there.

He says in 1977 when Carrie landed the part of Princess Leia in Star Wars, she would call him or her mother Debbie Reynolds nightly and joke about the corny film and it's dumb title, and prayed no one ever saw it.  Debbie would remind her that good or bad, it still came with a weekly paycheck.  Six months later the movie premiered and changed Carrie's life forever.  

I'm in the final third of the book now, about his sister Dominique.  Her murderer only got a 6 1/2 year sentence, and then only served 2 1/2 years before being released.  He even went back to work as a sous chef at the same LA restaurant he worked at before--until the Dunnes set up camp there and handed fliers out to patrons detailing who would be preparing their food.  The killer (John Sweeney) changed his name and moved to another state.

Speaking of cries for justice, look what I got the day before yesterday.  After seeing those recent "Trump promos" funded by the US government I pray more than anything my vote counts for something.  

Dear DOUGLAS EDWIN MORRIS,

ALLEGHENY County received your ballot and securely stored it for processing on election day. Ballots cannot be opened before election day.

To find information on your ballot, and to check to make sure it was counted after election day, you can click here: https://www.pavoterservices.pa.gov/Pages/BallotTracking.aspx.

The older I get, the scarier these get

NOTE:  I was going to post this 2 weeks ago, but was embarrassed and changed my mind.  A couple days ago, my friend Margaret of Stargazer shared a scam text she'd gotten and couldn't tell if it was real.  So I thought I'd share mine too.

This past Friday I got on my laptop to check my email and saw the message above.

Most of these go directly to my junk folder and I never see them, but this one made it to my inbox so I took notice.

Someone from Alexandria VA signed into my MSN account using my sign-in and password?  Waitaminute... wasn't there someone from Alexandria VA on my blog's visitor map a couple hours earlier?  Could the two be connected?  I felt a rush of panic. 

I almost clicked on the blue "Review recent activity" button in the email when I remembered an email I got from Netflix a year or so before, asking me to update my credit card info.  It was phony but I fell for it, as my Visa had recently expired.  They couldn't have known, but their timing was impeccable.  I even clicked on the embedded button in their message to update my info. 

Chase Bank contacted me an hour later and said suspicious activity had been detected on my Visa.  Someone in Kansas City, MO was attempting to buy $550.00 worth of gift cards with it.  I'm glad Chase knew it wasn't me.  They canceled my card and issued me a new one.

Getting back to now, I looked a little closer at the sender above.  "New Sign detected" instead of New Sign-In detected.  And "If this wasn't you, malicious user might have access to your account."   A malicious user, you scammers! "A" malicious user!  

Wait, it’s from Microssoft?  Microsoft has only one s!  Sloppy work, scammers!

Still, I'd come awful close to clicking on their blue button.  After that phony Netflix mail last year, I should've sent this to my junk folder without giving it a second thought.  I admit it, I'm not as quick now.

Just a reminder not to click on any embedded buttons in emails.  Some companies like Lands End, Etsy & even Netflix still use them and I admit I've clicked on a couple without thinking--new rule, never again.

Reunions, new starts & hope springs eternal

Courtney & Pumpkin Boy at the Senior Center on Wednesday

This past Wednesday, the senior center had a Pancake Breakfast fundraiser and I was determined to go.  Since my outing to Cracker Barrel on Sept 24, my long covid has been flaring up daily, making it difficult to go out much.  But something in me said to not miss this.

I was happily surprised when I walked in and saw Courtney, who once managed the center until moving on to run a senior living facility around 18 months ago.  The first time I visited the center in 2023 and met Courtney at their Open House, I thought "Why is someone so young working here?"  Five minutes later, she felt like my best friend.   

She's as dear as they come and I just learned Courtney and her husband are expecting their second child. 😊💖

This wasn't the only happy surprise--Evvie was there too, I haven't seen her since December.  She's had a rough year with health issues, different operations on her eyes for cataracts and glaucoma, and problems with walking because of her sciatica.  I really wanted to get a picture of us together, but the last thing she needed was me hounding her.  I can't believe how long it's been since I've seen her.

There were others there I haven't seen and missed very much too--Candy Kim, Cussin' Connie, Little Margie, my gal-pal Mary.  I was only able to stay an hour or so because of my LC, had to come home and spend the afternoon with a couple ice packs on the right side of my head and face, but I hope to see some of them again in mid-October.  

Darn it, I just realized--I was so busy catching up with those ladies, I didn't get any foodie pics of the breakfast!  The sausage patties were good but the pancakes were a bit on the wussie side for me.  I think I'll do a flapjack blog soon, I call mine "mancakes" for a reason. 😋

On Thursday, it became official--I'm now on Medicare.  I got 2 letters in the mail the same day, both from UPMC.  The first said "Your UPMC Health Plan Insurance termed September 30--We hope to see you again!"  The second letter said "Welcome to UPMC for Life, your Medicare Advantage Plan starts today!" 

The second letter included a Mastercard flex card, good for $350 towards dental, hearing or vision services every year.  Well, my hearing is pretty good but my eyeglasses are several years old... 

Finally, I thought I'd share this--look what just came in the mail. 

Yep, my mail-in ballot for the mid-terms.  I'm going to fill this out right now and get it in the mail tonight.  Being a Dumocrat (Trump's word, not mine) I'm sure you can guess who I'm voting for.

I am not expecting the "blue tsunami" these so-called experts are crowing about, we've seen too many good candidates wipeout in the end.  But a fairer balance of power would soothe a lot of nerves, mine included.  I'll stay hopeful till the end.  🙏

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and this beholder likes green skinned women

Well... what do you think?  Maybe you shouldn't answer that.  I'm referring to the new artwork above my bed.  All I know is, I love it.  For the past couple years I've been looking for something to hang there.  

I didn't know what I wanted, I just knew:

1. Nothing too colorful or busy--my bedroom is my zen zone.
2. I wanted something modern, minimalist.
3. It had to be lightweight so I wouldn't worry about it falling down on my head!

I saw this piece above, Nude Woman in Green on an e-canvas site and liked it immediately.  I've got a wooden cross and a couple other artworks on the walls, a sepia Starship Enterprise across from my bed and an "Incan-style" mini-print beside my bookcase, so I'd say my bedroom is pretty much done for wall decor.

Maybe it's time I started shopping for a new bed.  Just kidding!  I love my hippie bed.

The primitive art beside my bookcase and the sepia-toned Enterprise opposite my bed

I thought I'd share this too-- A year or so ago, I bought a map of Pittsburgh for the wall beside my television.  I loved it but it was small, only 18" x 24". 

So last week when I got a 50% off coupon from the same map site on Etsy, I looked for a similar but larger map.  I found it and the perfect 24" x 32" natural frame.  I love it.

I did try hanging a more traditional piece of art there, a row of different colored mountains in assorted colors.  But it was too busy right next to my tv.  And at night it just looked very dark.

I like the whiteness & simplicity of this minimalist map for this space.  I'll hang more colorful stuff elsewhere.

I plan to buy 2 more art pieces, the first is for the accent wall in my dining room.  

I want something oversized, a stretched canvas with an Asian influence.  I have it narrowed down to a few I really like.

The second piece I want is a small wooden, fabric or metal wall hanging to place alongside this wonderful Veloy Vigil.  

I paid a small fortune for this print in the 1990s, and another small fortune to have it professionally framed with museum glass.  I should post a better photo, it's gorgeous.  It's been in storage since I retired and moved a few years back.  It's not a big piece, but it's heavy and will need a wall anchor.  I'd like to see it hanging up above my couch, but it needs something up there with it. 

Well, I think I'll go take a look at my green woman again.  I can't seem to get enough of her.