Pumpkin Sunrise

  We had some wild weather this weekend. On Saturday morning, it snowed so much that my husband had to clear the driveway before the rain set in. By Saturday night all the snow melted and it was raining until Sunday early afternoon. I decided to go for a walk after the became a scant drizzle. That is of course when the snow started and it was heavy! I was soaking wet and my shoes were leaking, so sad.  So now we have about 3-4 inches of snow to clear once again this morning. Besides the rollercoaster weather, I finished a book over the weekend and then started Glory Over Everything  as my next read. So far I find the book captivating and it is from my 'to be read' bookshelf. My goal of reading the books I already own for 2025 is going strong. I continued to work steadily on my sweater over the weekend as well. It's a comfort knit with all of those stockinette stitches. How was your weekend?

  Yesterday we went to the local conservator y to see their orchid and bonsai exhibit. We had fun being indoors looking at flowers while outside was a dreary drippy, damp day. After our visit, we went out to lunch for ramen and then did a tiny bit of shopping that amounted to nothing being bought.  My adult non-credit classes started up this week and I eased into a new routine and schedule. I love seeing friends I've made and I continue to make new ones. Joining the adult learning program has been a good decision. Of course my favorite class is Tai Chi.  Can you believe we are over a third of the way through winter? Yikes! Time flies. I've been watching the weather and I see snow in the forecast for the next week off and on. I don't mind the snow. Currently, I'm reading a short story collection, The Wonder Garden, by Lauren Acampora. It's been a long time since I've read short stories and I'm enjoying the switch up. This book has been languishing on my '...

  Good morning! Today our weather is starting to warm up. Yesterday I took a walk after three days of not being outside due to the frigid weather. I was cold, but it was so nice to be outside and get some fresh air. Since I was homebound, I've been doing lots of reading, knitting and some journaling. I finished reading Conjure Women, which I highly recommend. I was captured by the plot immediately. Now I will start reading, The Wonder Garden. I cannot remember where I bought this book and I have no idea what is about as of yet.  This past Wednesday we had no water in the evening for about five hours due to a water main break on our street. I felt empathetic towards the people working in the frigid temperatures to bring back the water. I tried to not be too annoyed by the inconvenience. But I am now living in a state of gratitude for running water. Another book I am starting today is Digital Minimalism  with the hopes of downsizing my time online. I have drastically cut do...

  Good morning! How are you doing? We have been having all the snow this week. Yesterday it snowed so much that my class was canceled and I felt like a teenager getting a snow day. I made good use of my time by reading and knitting. I love my bird feeder and my birds so much. They delight me every single time I look out the kitchen window.  A few times this week I shoveled the front walk and a path to the back deck to get to the bird feeder and found out that this shoveling movement irritates my and and wrist arthritis. So now I am resting my hands again and letting the flare up calm down. At least I pinpointed the activity! I am grateful that I can still knit. I've been reading a book, Conjure Women, and it is really good. I picked up this copy when I was visiting Boston a year or so ago. One of my loose goals is to read the books I own and donate the ones I've read and don't want to keep out of this house. I have about 100 books to go through. Most of them were bought sec...

  Hello! How are you? Can you believe it is 2025?  Right now I'm sitting in my clean quiet kitchen writing this post. Our company left early Saturday morning. I put away all the kid's stuff, stripped beds, cleaned the extra bathroom and did the sheet and towel laundry as well as undecorated the house. It was the fastest I've been ever. Of course I took some medicine for my arthritis to get me through the work. My arthritis flare is subsiding and I'm grateful! Picking up kids and putting them into and out of carseats in awkward angles (not to mention pushing those safety strap buttons) is not the exercising I do on a regular basis. Also they are DEAD weight. Argh. We are getting a little bit of a snow storm, it doesn't seem too bad right now but I don't have to go anywhere or do anything. Yesterday I did our laundry and cleaned up the house some more. It is all looking pretty! Above are the books I believe I will read. I want to read what I own (always a goal tha...

  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...

  Since we arrived home on Tuesday, I've been marveling at the fall foliage trying to memorize the colors and pocket them for future reference. Each day gets better and better. Yesterday after a lunch out with family, we drove through the park just to take in the colors. October truly is a beautiful month.  I'm so glad to be home and back into my ordinary days. I have the week off from classes before the second session starts up next week. I'm still busy around here though. My sister is having a craft show and I go over to help her (I do not do much, but it's fun to be together and see family and friends). I've been pouring over cookbooks coming up with some new recipes.  My heart monitor results were normal, so that's a relief! I'm not sure why I had to do that test but it's done and now I can forget about doctors for a while. (fingers crossed). The less I see of them the happier I am. There's something about autumn and my creativity blossoming. I s...

  And just like that, October shows up and gives us a breath of fresh air and a chance to wear woolens. How are you? How has your week been? I have been basking in this beautiful fall weather. Might I add chilly as well. My morning walks are quite brisk but a wonderful kind of brisk. Probably next week we will be peak fall colors. Maybe! I love being cold so I am happy and content. This week I finished a lot of my first session non-classes, phew! I signed up for a lot and I enjoyed the classes but I did not like how busy I was and how I forgot about  weekly grocery shopping. Silly! The next two weeks will be a much more manageable schedule for me and then I will start the second session of fall classes. My schedule will be easier, I won't have to gobble up a lunch in between two classes and I will have opportunities to grocery shop in the mornings once more.  Besides loving this weather, I've been working on my grandson's holiday sweater which is coming along nicely. Sti...

  Good morning! How are you? My past week was filled with classes and appointments. I am ready for a super boring weekend! In the above photo are the mums (chrysanthemums) I bought in memory of dear Frodo (who I miss so much!) and they are now blooming. So far the deer are leaving them alone. Sometimes you never know what the deer will eat up.  I love seeing my flowers and remembering our sweet boy! Holly the cat is getting ever so bold and brave now that her nemesis is gone. She still checks the loveseat where he slept which I find quite funny. She is very concerned that he might be there. She now lays in sunbeams in the kitchen and comes visit me briefly while I am knitting. Maybe one day she will snuggle. I had a cardiology appointment last week to discuss shortness of breath while exercising and he decided to discontinue one of my blood pressure meds (yay) thinking that is what was causing my symptoms. As a precaution he ordered an exercise stress test which I did yesterda...

  Yesterday was our 37th wedding anniversary, time does fly! We went out for a celebration lunch before my appointment with the ortho doctor to recheck my cracked elbow. I am so excited that I am medically cleared to live my life, return to my exercise routine and I have a clean bill of health. I've found that when I exercise, I feel so much better and the past two weeks of 'just walking' isn't enough. I am grateful. We are adjusting to our quiet house and our cat-only house. I drove to the kennel and the groomer to deliver cookies and thanked them for the way they loved Frodo. At home my husband and I continually are amazed at how much time we have gained without him. Such a weird state of existence. I have also gained a lot of brain space now that I am not worrying about him. He was declining in health since the end of May when he was hospitalized. We balanced hope and reality with each vet visit. My classes start up in two weeks and I will be BUSY. Gah! I am excited ...

  Good morning! How was your weekend? Mine was great! It's been fun ignoring the summer heat and sitting inside my home in AC knitting a wool sweater. I highly recommend this. Supposedly it's going to rain today.  Friday night, we went to my sister and brother in law's house for dinner and board games. We always have fun together and I love to not cook dinner. Saturday and Sunday were my 'chill' days. I read some of The Secret Garden and started The Princess Bride  which I have never read before and only recently seen the movie for the first time.  As you can see in the above photo, I worked on my sweater , adding inches to the body. I do love mindless stockinette knitting. My intention this week is to journal more, doodle more and show up more in my notebooks. This weekend I nailed that goal and I hope to continue this the rest of the week.

  Good morning! How are you?  I am valiantly ignoring the weather. I slipped and started to complain and then stopped myself. Complaining about how hot it is will not change how hot it is. I'm amused that in the middle of winter and the middle of summer (AC), Frodo needs a blanket because he is too cold after his grooming appointment for about a week. All I know is that I love being inside nice and cool. My weekend was calm, relaxing and wonderful. I finished reading Hello Beautiful  and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was entertained the whole way through. I am now in the middle of The Secret Garden and the way the author describes how miserable Mary is in the beginning of the book reminds me of my grumpy childhood, lol. The Power of Silence is good and is about hearing God in a noisy world. The world is noisy, loud and at times obnoxious. I find this read deep, profound and I read a little bit at a time. Besides cleaning the house and doing laundry, I did a bit of journalling....

  How are you all doing? Over here, summer is showing off with all the flowers blooming. I cannot get enough of my hydrangea bush, gah. Our butterfly bushes are starting to bloom as well. I might not like the heat and humidity of summer but I do like the flowers. My first summer session classes have ended and I have a two week break before the second summer session starts. I'm loving the rhythm of my days during the in-between time. I'm reading a lot and getting little jobs done around the house. We will have a house full in a couple of weeks when all of my children come to visit. This time around, I am pacing the chores so I do not slam myself with doing everything the day before they arrive. Future me will thank past me for this. We had no electricity for one hour the other night and I sat and wondered why I am so committed to being tethered to the internet. I have no answers but I did question myself endlessly. The electricity came back on and I forgot about my reflections u...

  I survived the heat wave. This morning is glorious! I cannot wait to walk Frodo and be comfortable while being outside. It's the simple things of life. How was your weekend? Mine was lusciously boring. I finished the Civil War book after marathon reading for three days. All I did was read. I enjoyed the book and yet I will not be starting another non fiction book that is nearly 900 pages of reading any time soon. Besides reading, I started on the second leg warmer and have made steady progress, it's my nighttime knitting where mistakes are minimal and the thinking is minimal as well. I also started a pair of mittens for me but I will talked about that project on Wednesday. I do not have any classes this week except Tai Chi. Next week is a week off from summer classes before the second summer session begins. I love having the time off. May you have cooler weather! How was your weekend?

  Since my husband's bike fall last Sunday, the beginning of the week was busy. We had our furnace and AC replaced (by choice) and had workers here Monday and Tuesday. We also had appointments with specialists for my husband's forearm because there was still a tiny stone inside (!). For now they want to leave it in there, I guess it's more trouble to cut in again. They are the experts right? He's doing really well and we continue to keep a close eye on the stitches as it heals.  The little cross stitch birth sampler is 3/4ths of the way completed. I am so excited. We've got a month to go before our granddaughter is born near the end of August. Our grandson is growing fast as well, I can't wait to see him too. I continue to read most of the afternoons outside on the back patio. We have no big plans for the weekend which suits me after the bike fall weekend. Give me all the boring dull days please. I'm doing my best to not wish the summer away, it's my lea...

  How was your weekend? My weekend was restful and felt like a mini-vacation. I ate lunch every day out on the back patio, enjoying the nice weather in between the raindrops. I'm grateful that we are not super-super hot, just regular warm weather pushing humid. Frodo and I walked early each morning before the full sun and or heat was blaring down. The neighborhood is quiet except for the birds singing. More flowers are blooming in our yard, my husband did so much work last year and we are reaping the benefits this year. I mostly read this weekend for hours on end. The library ebook,  Spare,  became available Friday afternoon and I quickly started reading the memoir. I'm also trying to finish A Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths before the next ebook becomes available through the library. July might be a massive reading month for me. I work a little bit each day on the baby cross stitch sampler, I'm over half way done! How was your weekend?

  Good morning! How was your weekend? My weekend was restive and I'm ready for a brand new week to start. I am feeling much better and after a whole week of not exercising, I'm jumping back into my daily routine. I need to stretch and move. Did you get the ridiculous warm weather? Gosh it was beautiful which will make the cold days ahead that much more challenging tolerate. Poor Frodo has a 'summer' cut and is shivering. My entire weekend was huddled up at home and chilling out. I pulled out my paints to start some little loose floral pictures as gifts. I had fun! The photo above is the beginning process and not completed. I also read a bit and knitted a lot. I drank gallons of water or tea. The baby blanket is coming along. I enjoy adding rows and chilling out.

  How was your weekend? My weekend was relaxing overall. First of all, I tried really hard to ignore the wintry cold air blast as much as possible. It was bitterly cold and windy - Frodo and I don't like that kind of weather at all but I do not want to complain about it. Today is the first day of Spring and let's hope spring temperatures arrive soon. I found pockets of time to read and to knit at home even though I am still driving down to the hospital to visit dad who is now in a regular room. My family and I are hoping he can go to a rehab facility soon.  I continue to enjoy knitting my top down sweater . How was your weekend?