Pumpkin Sunrise

  Good morning! How are you doing today and how was your weekend? My weekend was fantastic in that I did nothing exciting at all. I read, I knitted, I sat on the back patio watching my birds and relaxing. I am feeling restored and rejuvenated. Oh and guess what? I heard the cicadas for the first time this weekend. We are in mid-summer now.  I have been feeling wonderful! Yes you read that right, I am feeling so good these days and feeling like myself. I've been on the new immunosuppressant for eight weeks now. It will not be in full effect for six months but I'm enjoying feeling the beginnings of it working. The other fact that makes me feel good is that I do not have a doctor's appointment for a MONTH. Whoop!  So far in the past year I have had doctor appointments with PCP, Rheumatologist, Pulmonologist, ENT and Cardiologist. Then I've had so much testing done by all of them. I am basking in my one month of no doctors.  Because I'm feeling better I am also feeling ...

  Good morning! How are you doing? How was your week? Happy Fourth of July a few days late. We had a family gathering that day and I am so very grateful for the helping hands that made my work less work. I paced myself and delegated and yet I was still exhausted. I miss the days when I had endless energy when I was younger. Anyways, I was excited to get an email from the local farmer's market that their corn was in!! Wahoo! Their corn is superior to any store bought corn. Just saying.. Yesterday after Mass, we offered to watch the local grand kids for an hour or so while my son and his wife did boring errands. My granddaughter played 'hospital'. That's the hospital in the photo above. I must say she is a thorough doctor and made everyone feel better. My grandson was building cars from my son's old brio set. Because of my virus battle (still winning!) I had low energy and did minimal knitting. However I did sit on the back patio when it wasn't sweltering hot and ...

  How are you doing this week? Are you going to get the heat wave ? We are going to have one all week long, sigh. I really dislike hot and humid but my husband loves this kind of weather so someone is always happy in this house. I love winter and he does not.  We've been sitting out on the back patio enjoying the birds, chipmunks and squirrels. They are busy little beings. I usually take a book out to read to pass the time if we are not talking to each other. As soon as I get hot, I scurry back into AC. Last Tuesday we babysat the local grands in the morning and our grandson had a stuffy nose. You guessed it, I got it and it walloped me. Even though I am on a strong immunosuppressant it seems so far I am winning the virus battle. I am grateful and I am super grateful for the nebulizer that seems to keep it out of my lungs so far. (I don't want to jinx anything by talking super-positively!!) Because of the wonderful virus gift, I didn't do much except read books and nap a lo...

  Good morning! How are you and how was your weekend? I'm doing pretty good and I had a restful weekend. Since I have my 'wind' glasses now (moisture chamber glasses for dry eye) I am walking outside regardless of the crazy weather. They transition so I get the best of both worlds. I am happy with them and I'm glad I bought them and put my prescription in the lenses. I spent a lot of time resting and reading in the afternoons. I'm mostly reading self help books which I am getting tired of reading. Once I finish the two I'm currently reading, I'm switching to history for my non-fiction reading. For fiction I'm in the middle of My Friends  and I'm enjoying it. I have the kindle version and love that I can carry a big book in a small devise. Also when I read at night I can tent it onto the pillow and when I fall asleep I do not get bonked on the head with a heavy book. I had lunch over the weekend on the back patio and listened to the noisiest Northern ...

  Good morning to you! I'm sitting at my kitchen table writing this post and listening to the birds gently start their day. I'm enjoying watching a mama cardinal feed her baby safflower seeds, so sweet. The word is out on the street that I'm feeding them and I cannot believe how many birds are visiting the feeder. Who knew that they like this seed this much.  Over all it's been a nice week. I had a bit of an autoimmune disease flare but I think it's settled down. I'm still waiting to hear back for the doctors. I have so many specialists it's difficult to decide which one to message.  The above painting is from the watercolor preprinted set that my daughter and son in law gave me. I am having so much fun, I only started this on Friday. We are watching the local grands today so I don't know if I will have the time or the energy to resume painting. Since I felt off this weekend, I went to the bookstore to cheer myself up. I love bookstores and libraries bot...

  Good morning! How are you? I'm doing pretty good, every day I feel better and more like myself if that makes any sense. At the end of last week, we went to the art museum to see the new exhibits and then had lunch out. I enjoyed the outing so much, it's been quite a while since my husband and I went out just the two of us.  I have energy now that the new medicine is working and I deep cleaned the kitchen. I will not tell you when it was last done because it's been a long time and I really do not remember. I also deep cleaned the bedroom again, it's been a long long time.  Late last week I splurged and bought moisture chamber glasses and am having my reading prescription as well as transition lenses made for them so I can have the best of both worlds. I need to wear them with the scleral lenses on SUPER windy days. I'm sure you are wondering why I need to read, well, if I am outside I would like to read a book or see my knitting and if I am walking I look at my pho...

  Good morning! How are you? Happy Memorial Day!  Our weekend which is still going strong today has been filled with the local grandkids being here. Today they are coming over for the day and we will have burgers and fries for dinner. Yesterday I made brownies so we already have a dessert. I've been trying to build up my exercise routine after weeks of slacking off due to my health issues. I guess slacking off isn't the right wording. I did take a slow walk yesterday and heard the spring peepers (frogs) for the first time. Truly spring!! I love hearing all the birds as well. My bird feeders have been visited by: cardinals, sparrows, nuthatches, chickadees, goldfinches and many titmouse. I have a thistle feeder and a safflower feeder and best of all the raccoon who lives in my woods does not bother with them (yet). We went to the local garden center for deck flowers and those are growing nicely since it's been raining nearly every day.  What have you been up to? Do you do ...

  How are you! I'm doing pretty good. I've been enjoying the weather up until yesterday when we were hit with heat and humidity. I wilt completely. Sigh. I was enjoying my walks outside but now I will exercise in my art room instead. We attended our nephew's son's tee ball game, such delight! Little wigglers out in the field are adorable. Now for a mini health update  -- I had extensive heart and lung testing over the past few months, I'm hoping that's the end of it. My heart is completely fine! My lungs show so mild involvement of my autoimmune disease (Sjogren's Disease) which my inhalers are controlling . The pulmonologist believes my shortness of breath is due to neuromuscular weakness from the autoimmune disease and has started me on an immunosuppressant. I am now navigating the side effects and the timing of the medicine during my day. I am thankful the medical testing odyssey is over (hopefully). I am thankful for a doctor who has taken the time to fi...

  Good morning! How are you? I'm writing this early Sunday morning instead of early Monday morning, since tomorrow is really busy. Since I last posted, I have made significant progress on my shawl and hope to cast off today. Right now the sun is shining brightly which is nice considering they are calling for rain next week. In the above photo, my daughter, son in law and grandson sent me a 'just because' care package. I love it! I was so surprised when it arrived. They are excellent at knowing what I like but my daughter says I'm easy to buy for. Below is a photo of my early Mother's Day gift from my son, daughter in law and grandchildren. I cannot wait to do the puzzle and dive deep into writing answers about my life. How I wish there was something like that for my mom when she was alive. That would be a treasure.  My adult classes have ended before the summer session begins. I like having these breaks to catch up on other stuff that I neglect (dusting!).  What hav...

  Good morning to you! Spring has definitely sprung here. We had unusually warm weather yesterday and thankfully today will be back to regular cool weather. I don't like the hot weather but I do like the sunshine and the flowers blooming. My second session of adult learning classes started up last week, so I am busy driving to and from campus attending lectures and making new friends. Of course I continue to take Tai Chi, it's my favorite class. I don't like to cook, which is no surprise to you readers who have been here awhile. But I do like to make salads. I made the best one ever a few days ago that had lettuce, spinach, kale, parsley, red pepper, cucumber, mozzarella cheese and pepitas. Of course the shrimp too. It was delicious. I like to use a tiny bit of oil and vinegar as my dressing. I could eat salad for dinner every single day. I also did some knitting and reading over the weekend. And most importantly I started to do tiny sketches in hopes to rekindling my love ...

  Good morning! How are you? I'm doing okay. I have an early morning appointment with the ENT today. The week I do not have a doctor's appointment will be a miracle! However, I am grateful I like all of my doctors who help me out. This weekend was crazy weather! This tree that fell over into our neighbor's yard and knocked out their power is NOT our tree but is close to the property line and it did NOT knock our power out, thank God. On Friday evening our lights flickered so many times during a horrific wind storm. My husband and I ran around the house, filling water bottles (I like cold water) and charging our phones and flashlights. We were lucky and our electricity stayed on! My sister's did not and she lives very close to me. Yesterday after Mass, my daughter in law and the two grands came to stay at our house for a few days while my son is traveling for work. Party! The grands love having a sleep over here and we love helping out whenever we can. I knit very minima...

  Good morning! How are you doing today? I've been enjoying the spring time weather (it was a little too warm for me on Saturday, but it was nice enough). Thankfully we are not as warm today and therefore I am not as hot in my house. As you know, I love winter and I love to be cold. I do not like to be hot. My one lonely snowdrop is blooming. I guess when my husband redid the garden bed he disrupted the batch of them. Hopefully this one will multiply over the years. Also the crocuses!! Gah! I am so excited to see them as well. A true sign that spring is heading our way. On Saturday the kids and grandkids came over in the morning to visit and stay for lunch. We were outside sitting on the patio while the grandkids did outside chalk. We all had a really nice time together. On Sunday after church and lunch, my sister invited me to go with her to the local yarn store. I had no plans to buy anything. I came home with a new project bag! I haven't bought a new project bag in over 10 y...

  Good morning! How are you? Thank you so much for the health well wishes, they finally worked! I ended up calling the ENT on call Wednesday night because of the pain and happened to get my own ENT, what luck. She phoned in a high dose of prednisone (again) and double booked me an office visit on Thursday instead of Friday. Once I saw here she ordered antibiotics (again) and on Saturday night during my family party dinner I hosted at my house, I ate pain free after nearly 10 days of painful eating. It was glorious!!(I would not wish this on an enemy) I have another follow up with her on Wednesday morning, she is so very kind. Our daughter, son in law and youngest grandson are visiting over the weekend and unfortunately their flight was cancelled today to go back to Boston because of the blizzard warning. They are here until Wednesday. We have been soaking up a ton of family time together and the cousins are all seeing each other. I have done minimal knitting between not feeling wel...

  Good morning! How are you today? I am doing much better. I am on another round of antibiotics for a stubborn ear infection but I think this time it is really really working. My fingers are crossed. Let's just say, I'm not thinking about my ear and that is a very good sign. All week last week the daycare was closed due to frigid temperatures so we were the back up to the daycare. Saturday was still busy and we celebrated our grandson's fourth birthday (4!!!!) with family. We had fun seeing everyone, then went to Saturday night Mass. Yesterday was bliss. We stayed home the entire day. Besides doing laundry, I did some knitting and reading. My adult classes start up this week, I'm excited to get back into a learning groove. Also, the sun came out yesterday and we were in the double digits! It's funny when you think of 20 degrees as a heat wave. Since I am a winter lover, I am in my seasonal heaven.

  Good morning from a very snowy place! I love it so much, I know I am the odd one out but it's always a fun day when there's a snow day. Of course, it's fun as long as I have utilities. The whole town and near-by city shut down yesterday while the snow fell. Today I think there's one more inch to arrive then they will be clearing all the main and side roads. I did my laundry and chores yesterday then sat and started two knitting projects, a cowl and as hat both for me. The cowl yarn is a birthday gift from my sister back in November. The hat was an impulse yarn buy this weekend (why not!). My son asked me how much yarn do I have in my closet...um... a lot. This week is my last week off for winter break and my adult classes start up again next Monday. I am excited to get back into seeing my friends and of course learning new things.  How was your weekend? Did you get any snow? I hope all you all are safe and warm in your houses. 

  Good morning! How are you? Are you in the deep freeze like me? Today the temps will feel like 15 degrees below zero by the end of the day. That is quite cold! I like winter and I love snow but I am not a fan of extreme cold. Since posting last Wednesday, my symptoms yet again got worse and I ran a very high fever on Friday. I went to urgent care and was finally given antibiotics which I felt should have been given to me a week ago. Health care is completely nuts these days. However the nurse practitioner was wonderful. After 48 hours of modern medicine I am fever free and  I am starting to feel much better. My whole weekend was lying around wallowing in self pity (I always have enough energy for self pity). My cousins and Aunt gave me flowers which Holly wants to eat so badly. During the day they are on the mantle and at night they go into the stationary tub in the laundry room with the door closed. I don't think she can jump to the mantle but I know cats and they do crazy ...

  Good morning! How are you? I have had quite the week. I am battling RSV and it's quite nasty. So I've been sitting around and staring at this view most of my days coughing my head off. I've been reading a ton and knitting just as much. Sometimes I nap and that is nice. I've been to the doctor's twice and not much can be done, sigh. So stay safe and don't catch it!!

  Good morning! How are you doing? I'm good, all of our plans changed for the weekend and we had a ton of free time. I am not complaining at all. I have been knitting up a storm and doodling in journals. I love the lull of January. And even though you are supposed to leave all the Christmas decorations up until the Epiphany, I put everything away on New Year's Eve so I could wake up on January 1st with a tidy looking house.  I finished the Christmas Scarf and have tucked that away for next year. Also I started a sweater for myself! It is in fingering weight wool which is just crazy. I'm sure it will take forever to knit but for now I am thoroughly enjoying the project. And it's for me!

  Good morning! We have snow and it is beautiful but very very cold outside. I love it!! How are you doing? I am okay, I had another salivary gland infection over the weekend and am now slowly recovering with the help of modern medicine. I sure do hope 2026 is a healthier year for me. This year has been a difficult year all due to Sjogren's Disease, the gift that keeps on giving. I have a few new doctors and more treatments so I am hopeful I will be healthier. In the spring, my son and daughter in law gave me a Gilmore Girls themed jigsaw puzzle. I put it together in about four days with the help of my son and my husband. I do love a jigsaw puzzle but I don't like how obsessed I become to get it done and the hunched over stance I keep while doing it. I started a pair of mittens for my sister for her birthday in January. I've knit the pattern before so it's an oldie but a goodie. I love to knit the same things repeatedly. How was your weekend? Are you ready for the holid...

  Good morning! How are you doing?  I have been doing okay. I have autoimmune symptoms that I'm battling yet again but it could be worse. Now it's dry eye and dry mouth instead of breathing issues. I am suspecting my outside walking is making my symptoms flare up, sigh. I'm staying inside this week to see if it helps me out.  My adult learning classes ended over a week ago except for one more Tai Chi class this week. I have thoroughly been enjoying the break! My knitting has blossomed. I'm trying to finish the pair of socks for my husband this week. While also spontaneously starting a Christmas scarf out of wool I received from one of my knitting pals where I used to live. The mail I get from the three of them is wonderful!!  I have a mighty to do list from here on out until the holidays. I finished wrapping all the gifts now I'm down to some selfish knitting and some last minute knitting. I love it! How was your week? How are your holiday plans?