Pumpkin Sunrise

  Good morning! How are you?  Well we had the time change this weekend, the nights are super cosy now. I love it. I get so much more knitting done in the fall and winter compared to spring and summer and I give the time change the credit. We had chilly weather and I even wore a winter coat one morning. Holly found the perfect sunspot and I was able to document it. She doesn't like her photo taken usually, she finds the behavior suspicious. Over the weekend we hosted our daughter in law's birthday party and local family attended as well as her mom. The gathering was wonderful however, I was tired after all the setting up and putting away. My sister helped in the kitchen and that made my work easier. I do not remember how loud kids were when mine were little. I love how my memory is warped because you know they were loud sometimes, right? Despite my fatigue I did walk outside over the weekend and enjoyed the fall views. I have the rest of my tests for the pulmonary doctor this w...

  Good morning! How are you doing? I've been doing okay, I haven't been feeling the greatest but I could feel worse. My schedule is busy and maybe I don't get enough downtime to recharge my batteries. It's going to be busy with grandkids, adult learning classes and many doctor appointments in the next 2 1/2 weeks.  I still have a few tests for the pulmonary doctor to complete before I see her mid-November for a follow up visit. I have only myself to blame for the scheduling!  I found out that there is emergency knitting to be had! My daughter informed me that the baby desperately needs hats and socks for his tiny body. All the gifts she received are for 6 months and bigger. Well you know what I was doing yesterday, a deep dive into my yarn stash! I cast on a little hat yesterday afternoon. Bliss knitting! I've been walking outside and enjoying being in nature after more than six months of doing cardio in my house. There is nothing like fresh air and I believe na...

  Good morning! How are you?  Around here it's the same old happenings. I am completely over the summer weather and want the cold weather. My fingers are crossed the cold weather comes this week like it's supposed to arrive. Regardless of the temperatures, it looks like fall. I placed my winter bird feeder out and put the thistle feeder away. In less than an hour, woodpeckers and chickadees arrived! We bring in this bird feeder every single night because of our resident raccoon. The trick is to remember to bring it in at sunset. I've knitted each night this past week and finished one of the Christmas stockings for our new grandson, three weeks old already! I'm eager to meet him. I also started knitting star Christmas ornaments. I have to be careful with my hands and not create a flare up, so I only knit for an hour on this project. Holly loves to look outside and chirp at the chipmunks and birds. I wonder what she is thinking? I have a digital library book that is due i...

  Hello! How are you?  I'm doing pretty good. I spent the weekend absorbing all the electricity and internet after having neither for 48 hours last week. I am so dependent on both and I am okay with that. The weather was all over the place with sun then rain but thankfully no big storms.  I received my first temporary pair of scleral lenses (medically necessary for severe dry eye) and I can get them in and out of my eyes, so yay. However the fit will be continually changed since they are custom made for my eyes. It is a long process, I guess. I finally am finish with chart TWO on the christening blanket! I need a parade or something because the last 5-6 rows took forever and it's only going to get worse. Each row is longer and longer. I can do it! As you can see, Holly decided to give me some love. She does that every once in awhile. I love it and she loves me.  How was your weekend?

  How are you doing today? I'm doing pretty good. It's been a busy week and today is a day where I don't have to be anywhere pressing. Of course I might go out but it will be because I want to go out. Before I forget, Happy Easter if you are celebrating! My sister's hosting Easter this year so I get to kick back and relax and enjoy the food. I will see family too! Around here, it will be getting warm and the tree pollen will be at an all time high. I have quit walking outside because of allergies since I can't take anything because of my health issues. I am enjoying doing you-tube exercise videos in my office. They are more challenging than my daily walks! I'm enjoying my lace knitting project that I talked about on Wednesday. It is a fun knit. Also, I had my first contact lens fitting for my 'medically necessary' contacts that will help protect and heal my extremely dry eyes. Once the lenses are made and in their office, I go back and get another fittin...

Good morning! How are you? How was your weekend? Mine was pretty nice. We had no plans and stayed home most of the weekend. I did lots of knitting but did not take any photos of that so you'll have to pretend there are photos here of my knitting progress. Spring is roaring in with lots of blossoms - I even decided to switch the bed clothes from winter to spring, so you know what that means, the temperatures will drop and I will be cold. I continue to read The Alice Network  and have a slight worry for the characters as I read through. It's a fantastic book but sometimes suspenseful! I am also reading White Nights  and that is my evening book. I'm enjoying that book as well.  I finished my sweater but need to block it out and do a photo session of it. I'm glad that is finished! I have another baby blanket to start up and I also want to finish the baby sweater that I already started. Babies are sprouting up in this family!  Thank you for the well wishes for my severe d...

  Good morning! How are you doing today? This past week I've been reflecting on my focus. What do I focus on and is it something I want to focus on. I've made a strong effort to prune away my wayward attention span. Of course it's a work in progress, but I'm happy with the progress I've made so far. I get sidetracked by current events or 'interesting ideas' where I fall down a rabbit hole of researching on the internet and then find out that time has slipped away. I've become purposeful on how I focus and what I focus on each day.  The more technology advances to help us with our life, the more tangled it becomes on what is important to focus on and what is not important to focus on. Each day, I write what I want to accomplish. That helps set the tone of my focused attention. Anyways, this is what I've been thinking about.  You know what I love to focus on? My knitting which by the way has made significant progress. I hope to finish the baby blanket ...

  Good morning! How are you? I'm doing great over all. I've been consistently exercising and trying to expand my routines while avoiding an arthritis flare-up. It's a slippery slope that I am managing so far. I have some good news --- we are two-thirds of the way through winter. Now you know I love winter and can tolerate the cold way more than tolerating warm/hot days. But yesterday afternoon, we finished lunch out and we were returning to the car when a blast of wind hit me, I was cold down to my bones. I had a fleeting thought of wishing for 30 degree weather. Yes, it's true, I feel like I'm betraying my love of winter. It's been six months since Frodo (our old miniature schnauzer and Holly's nemesis) has passed. Holly has been blossoming. Every day we see more and more of her. And yes, she still checks the loveseat where Frodo slept but there is less alarm and more of a 'yay he's not there' kind of glance.  We love her! I still miss Frodo but...

  Good morning! How was your weekend? My weekend was nice enough. I went out shopping with my sister briefly on both days and also started doing pesky house cleaning tasks. I used the self cleaning function of a VERY old oven and it worked...I was concerned since it is ancient. My fears were unnecessary - my oven is squeaky clean! My next task is moving furniture to vacuum under them, I need my husband's help with that one, but the task is on the list and that is half the battle. Our weather is finally above freezing and on my walk yesterday, I took off my mitts because I was warm. What luxury! I've been wearing double layers on my walks for so long that I felt light with just regular layers.  I started yet again another knitting project. This one is a baby blanket for a relative who is expecting sometime this year. I'm now up to five projects on the needles, that is my maximum. Anything more and nothing will be finished in a timely manner. How was your weekend?

  Hello! How are you? How was your weekend? My weekend was ultra relaxing but I made it so. I've been enjoying reading and knitting, sometimes at the same time, in the afternoons before I start cooking. I love the change of seasons and how I move with them. In the summer, I hardly feel like knitting much but I do. In the winter, I can't get enough of knitting. I've mainly worked on my hat or my sweater  on Saturday and Sunday. I walked yesterday and I believe that is the last walk outside until the end of the week. It will be too cold. That doesn't stop me from exercising in the house though. It's been so cold I washed eight pairs of wool socks yesterday! A record.  We really didn't do much this weekend except go to a nephew's birthday party on Saturday afternoon at my sister's house and attend church on Sunday. I've been hibernating. I love winter for the cosy hibernating. Holly says 'hello', she is waiting for her beloved (husband) to come...

  Good morning! How are you doing? How is January so far? After my company left last weekend, I have put my house back to the way it was and fully recharged my battery with lots of knitting and reading. I am working on another hat (remember it's hat-knitting mojo for me right now). I started a new book to read and it's one from my shelves which will count towards my ultimate goal of reading what I own and then donating the book out of the house. Sometimes I keep books if I find them extraordinarily touching. I've struggled with maintaining my walking outside, there is a limit to how cold I can be. I continue to exercise inside with my weights and doing yoga poses. Even though it's cold, I continue to love winter the most. My creativity soars in brisk weather! I have exciting news to share. As you know, Holly only loves my husband and shows that love only to him. Well, other day she gave me some head butts for the FIRST time ever. I felt so loved by her, then she took a ...

  Grab a cup of tea, this will take a while. How are you? How's your week been? I have been thoroughly enjoying this Advent season! I cannot believe we are near the end. Time does fly. We left on Sunday to help out with babysitting on Monday and Tuesday and arrived back home on Wednesday this past week. We had excellent driving weather both to and from Indiana. Sadly all my photos cannot be shared with the internet of the kids. I don't feel right doing so. So just imagine me and my husband being on the go from 8 am until 8 pm unless it was nap time. Our grandson is almost three years old and our granddaughter is 16 months old and both are fun. I have wiped my distant memory of taking care of little ones and wonder how I had the energy. I am now battling an arthritis flare (it is a small one so not a big deal) and I know it's from traveling and doing too much. I still knit a lot on the car rides and I started a new project but you'll have to wait for me to create a proje...

  Good morning! How are you? How was your weekend? I had a great weekend but I didn't take any great photos. I've been wrapping presents a little bit each day instead of doing it all in one massive long day. This has made a difference in my joy as I wrap. Do you wrap all at once? Or do you do a little bit at a time? Miss Holly has been finding the sun spots and getting her 'tan' going. She is a sweetie. I have no idea what she is watching outside that window. She does that every day. My guess is probably birds or chipmunks but chipmunks should be resting now that it's super cold outside. Sadly I did not take any photos of my knitting, but I have been knitting! I continue to work on my husband's hat and I ripped out a pair of mitts I started (couldn't see the dark yarn with cabling) and started a much simpler pattern instead. Sunday was church then the laundry. I am getting excited for the upcoming holidays. The kids are coming back with the grandchildren and...

  How was your weekend? Well, I decided to decorate the house on Saturday in one fell swoop. I am still sore but it is done! My calendar is going to be busy from here on out and I wanted this task done. My house feels like Christmas! Because I was decorating all day, we ate from the freezer for dinner and it was nice that Past Me froze the leftovers from our Fake Thanksgiving celebration two weeks ago. What a delicious dinner! On Friday night my sister and brother in law made dinner for us and we played board games. I also received my birthday gift from them. Holly had to intensely investigate the bag. I love her 'concerned' look when she is evaluating the degree of threat. Sunday I went to Mass and enjoyed some reading and knitting and being chill. Of course there was the laundry and some chores. How was your weekend?  ** Please note that I will not be posting this coming Friday as well as the following Monday. We have family visiting again and I know I will be busy with them...

  Hello! How was your weekend? My weekend was wonderful! On Saturday, my sister and I went out shopping to craft stores and spent some quality time together. In the afternoon, my husband and I went out as well to do a bit of shopping for 'boring' stuff. He needed some new rain boots for when he works outside. But it was quality time together! I was woefully behind on laundry and got all caught up this weekend. That is a satisfying feeling and it's so nice to have shirts I want to wear as opposed to having to wear. It's a mindset. After months of not painting, I pulled out my supplies and dabbled a bit. I also worked on my throw that is evolving on its own. I've added more colors since the photo. Now I'm trying to use up all of my scraps if that is possible. I do like the challenge. Sunday morning we attended Mass, afterwards I rested by knitting and reading. It was a great day! What did you do this weekend?

  Around here, Autumn is showing off with beautiful oak leaves. I love them! Yesterday it rained all day and while my hair was a frizzy mess, I enjoyed the drizzle. We are in need of rain. I even took my daily walk in the drizzle, delightful! Over the long weekend we had both kids and the grandkids here, I made a fake Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday. It was a lot of work and I was exhausted even with helping hands. I miss the energy and stamina of my youth. On the other hand, I was proud I was able to do what I do! Whenever we have company, my house is turned into a mess. It's a good mess, but when everyone leaves I put away the toys, the chairs, the moved around stuff that happens when we have company. I miss everyone when they leave AND I missed my tidy home that I recapture.  Our grandson and granddaughter play with a splattering of old toys and new. They keep us very busy and we have so much fun playing with them. I am grateful they all traveled here to see us. What blessing...