Pumpkin Sunrise

Tilly the Turtle (hoping it's a girl)  Hello!  Another Friday upon us and this weekend looks like it's going to be a hot one.  The month of May seems to be fickle with temperatures.  It starts out mild or chilly and then -boom- we get a heat wave.  The temperatures here have been flirting with near 90 degrees.  Not quite making the 90 but the humidity, oh my.  I wilt! Our walks have shifted to after 6:30 p.m. to avoid the full sun, I love this time of day because the birds are singing to each other and traffic on our little roads is minimal.  The walk is quiet and calm, my husband and I talk about our day and plan out what we would like to accomplish this weekend. I believe there will be a garden planted!  We skipped last year because of the wedding and laziness.  I regretted that decision all summer long.  We had volunteer tomatoes and basil but it's not the same as tending purposeful plantings. phlox!!  So yeah, a garden.  He has to do all of the labor, I g

Can you see three deer?  One of them is awfully shy, the other two?  They are brazen, they stand and stare me down and scoff at Frodo who desperately wants to catch one of them.  They think he is ridiculous, and I think he is a positive dog who seeing the glass half full.  A great way to think. Yesterday, I heard him barking out in the backyard and just knew there was a garter snake refusing to move.  Again, it's a stand off, so I call Frodo back inside to give the snake some peace and time to hide. Fifteen minutes usually does the trick. This past week was kind of crazy on the health front.  My theory is a simple one, my one medication for inflammation was changed (I requested it...) and that just set me up for my body going bonkers with an RA flare up. On Wednesday morning, I called my RA doctor who called me back within the hour.  I am now on a course of prednisone and back on the old tried and true anti-inflammatory drug I do well on.  What a crazy week though.  I w

Let's start with the awesome, shall we?  On Monday this past week I stopped by our local florist to deliver some prints from the wedding of their bouquets that were beautiful.  The florist has a photo album of weddings they've done and I loved looking at "real" arrangements.  Imagine my surprise to receive a bouquet to thank me, thanking them.  This world is full of good good people. I finished my sweater last weekend and blocked it willy nilly.  Only to try it on after two days of drying and finding out that the slap dash blocking is NOT flattering to my figure.  Ahem.  So I re-blocked the sweater on Tuesday using a measuring tape -- so far I love my sweater!!  Now to weave in ends and do the photo shoot. I've been Santa this week cranking out mitts for gifts that need to be done by this weekend (sort of self imposed deadline...).  I am happy to report I think I'll be finished-phew! Now for the eye update.  I went to the doctor on Wednesday a

This week has been quite the week with emotions.  Usually I'm not emotional, I can keep the tears at bay even during a heart wrenching movie.  Now when I'm worried about my health, well then the waterworks begin!  Monday had me worried and crying about my eyes, so I went to an urgent eye care clinic at the big big hospital and saw an ophthalmologist. You see, I started with a simple eye infection and those antibiotic drops caused corneal abrasions that were not healing with subsequent drops prescribed.  So after the third visit and my eyes looking worse I knew I needed to switch doctors. So now the good news, after two days of yet again new antibiotic eye drops, I went for a return visit for a recheck with the reddest eyes (so ugly!).  However, my corneas are nearly healed and I've now started a steroid drop that has reduced the inflammation significantly.  This is by far the best my eyes have felt in a long long time.  I see her (the doctor) next week.  I feel I&

Yesterday I walked by the front room and stopped to admire the sunbeams on the sofa.  These days seem to be filled with cloudy days.  Day after day they arrive and stay, leaving me feeling ho hum.  To my delight, the sun peeked and changed the way I felt.  There was a spring in my step and a smile on my face. Our walk in the afternoon was a sunglasses wearing walk AND a non long john wearing walk.  What a treat!  Frodo enjoyed not being cold as well.  How funny that 28 degrees feel like a heat wave, but it did :) Over all, the week has been tranquil and peaceful. I've had a bit of anxiety but so far I'm firming squashing it.  I'm eating healthy, I'm walking and yes, the tiny bit of yoga I do each day helps.  When I'm proactive, I feel powerful.   Have a good weekend.  Get outside and breathe some fresh air!!

We had dear friends over for dinner and company on Friday night, the first dinner of many without a single child between us!  As much as I was sadden by the lack of children, I embraced the quick and easy clean up and the abundance of desserts on the tray.  We had a good time, with every intention to knit while together but we ended up with knitting in our bags at the ready untouched. Saturday afternoon I resumed walking with my husband and Frodo, gingerly-I'm happy to report that the ankle is doing much much better and as long as I watch where I'm going I should be fine.  Those dastardly shoes have been safely tucked to the side. I feel incredibly lucky to be recovering so quickly. The time change offered me a chance to knit a tiny bit more on the Thanksgiving sweater.  "I think I can, I think I can", is the mantra in my head. Positive thinking and all that stuff.  Besides the conversations with my two kids, I had a lovely chat with my favorite Aunt and Uncle.

I'm thinking that summer is at its end.  Brown leaves are abundant on the sides of the road and sprinkled in are red and golden yellow leaves.  The wind sounds different when it breezes through the trees, have you noticed?  The weatherman mentioned a five letter word- F R O S T.  Not for my area but boy, the weather is changing.  I wouldn't mind a wee bit of frost to kill the weed pollen. We walked yesterday just the three of us, lots of talking and sharing our daily events.  Frodo is quite happy leading us and exploring.  Our new rhythm is to eat dinner, walk and then have our dessert if there is one.  I promise you, there is one! I am slowly going through a few cookbooks, pulling different recipes out to try and hopefully incorporate into our weekly menus.  We both are committed to whole food plant based and it's a journey that ebbs and flows.  Since I participated in  Heather's 30 day vegan course  in the spring, I have continued to be vegan for two out of thr