Pumpkin Sunrise

  Good morning! How are you? I celebrated another birthday and it was nice! Above is a photo of all the stuff I bought while in Boston at various bookstores. These are all for me, I didn't photo the gifts I bought for others. Whenever I'm in an independent bookstore I try my best to buy something in appreciation for the existence. Part of my birthday celebrations was to decorate the house. After 27 years we replaced one of the two Christmas trees we put up. Now I have an easy tree, it's three sections and then BOOM it's up. What a game changer for me. My only complaint about the new tree is that the branches are droopy and floppy so ornaments slide right off unless you precariously place and balance them. These are the 'hefty' ornaments. One of the neighborhood boys was selling homemade wreaths for the fundraiser for some sport, sadly my husband knows and I do not remember. However, the wreath is beautiful!! It's been two weeks since I started the second inh...

  Good morning from Cambridge Massachusetts!!  We are heading home after visiting our new baby grandson and witnessing his baptism. Immediate family from both sides gathered to celebrate. Of course I had the best time ever! I love the amount of independent bookstores here and managed to shop at four of them. I also love the paper and pen stores! I was in heaven!! I finished all the respiratory testing with the pulmonologist last week and had my follow up appointment. Overall I passed the tests. I’m doing a trial steroid inhaler for the next few months and taking a break from additional testing hoping this helps with my symptoms. I am beyond thrilled to not see a doctor for eight weeks! I’ve changed my rheumatologist and my pcp in the last few weeks to have fresh perspectives on my complicate autoimmune disease. I feel good about these changes. How have you been? What have you been up to? 

  Good morning! How are you doing these days? Around here, it's the same old stuff. I pick up the kids at daycare 2-3 times a week depending on the schedule. This week my adult classes start back up after a lovely one week break.  Thankfully we had some much needed rain yesterday and through the night. Also the temperature is reflecting October vibes, finally. I love to be cold. the rain and wind brought down tons of oak leaves! The awning on the back patio was taken down for the season.  Friday afternoon we went to the conservatory to see their fall flower show. I was excited to see my first turtle ever at their pond. Sometimes we see frogs, but never a turtle. He was sunbathing and wasn't thrilled we were walking by him/her. After the conservatory, we were supposed to go out for dinner but I was too tired to do so. We went home instead and had some soup. Yum! I am nearly done with the second Christmas stocking. I make two for each grandchild. One for their home and one ...

  Good morning! How are you doing? Even though I have lots more to knit for the holidays, I took a wonderful detour and decided to cast on a cowl for myself while on a car ride to visit my dad and my stepmom. I know, crazy! Hopefully I will update the ravelry page soon. The weather has been delightful and a big sigh of relief, I feel like I can breathe fresh clean air! I put the winter bedding on my bed. Below is a photo of some mums at my dad's house, they are so pretty! Autumn is my second favorite season, my first is winter.  The grandkids have been keeping me busy as always. Saturday was the last soccer practice which is nice now that the weather is getting chilly in the mornings. This week I only have one adult learning class because the rest of the week is a break between sessions. This gives me a chance to catch up on my reading. What have you been up to?

  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've had a 'busy' week and this week is another doozy. But I'm ready. I have a long list of to do's and I'm going to get them all done. Anyways, I met with a Pulmonologist last week and now I'm getting more testing done to see if the lovely autoimmune disorder is getting into mischief with my lungs (or is it asthma?). I won't know for two months since the various testing appointments are scattered throughout the eight weeks. Also I had my routine colonoscopy last week and since then I am eating everything in sight to make up for the fasting and prepping. All food is delicious now! Will it ever end??  Even though the outside looks like fall, the temperatures are still reflecting summer and I am so over it. I want to be cold. I want the heat on in the house and not the AC. Supposedly next week will be cooler, I cannot wait and I hope it doesn't change. I finished my grandson's sweater, yay. And I made a typo in my last post wh...

  Good morning! How are you? After a wonderful cold snap, it's now getting warm again but thankfully not overly warm and the nights are still cool. AND it's September, finally!  Over the weekend, we celebrated our granddaughter's second birthday with family and friends. I enjoyed seeing everyone and of course watching her delight as she opened up her gifts, two years old is a wonderful age! I'm sure she will be in the terrible twos soon, but for right now she is happy and compliant and full of energy and discovery. We celebrated our 38th wedding anniversary on Friday! We went out to lunch at a new to us Chinese restaurant. They had a HUGE sakura (cherry blossom) tree in the middle of the eating area. I loved it! The food was fantastic as well. I saw my arthritis doctor and there's a chance I will be adding a medicine to manage symptoms. I guess I'll know in a week or so after some testing results. I'm not happy about it more medicines but I am happy if it se...

  Good morning! Today is the day where the weather is cooler, I am so excited. Instead of high 80's it'll be low 70's. A dream come true! I cannot wait to feel cold. As a winter lover, this is the hint I've been waiting for and I will not squander my time.  I've been busy with the grandchildren. I see them frequently and when they come here to visit they play with the toys I have in the family room. And I feed them strawberries and bananas. They both love fruit!  Yesterday we had lunch at my sister and brother in law's house along with my dad and his wife. It was nice to get together. The above photo was from my sister's beautiful yard. I snapped the swallowtail butterfly photo from my front yard.  We had all the plumbing in the basement replaced last week because we spring a leak every 3-6 months and we were weary of that. Also we had landscapers remove the ancient abandoned pool in our lower back yard. They'll be coming back to add topsoil and grass se...

  Good morning! How are you and what have you been up to since the last time we met (on this blog!). I've been busy these days. I see the grandchildren frequently and am so happy they live near by. I've also been busy working on projects for the new baby that is due near the end of September.  At the beginning of July, I started a watercolor monthly challenge by Emma Jane Lefebve on YouTube which has been quite enjoyable. Of course, I can't do daily when I'm traveling or busy but I have consistently painted when I do have time. The videos are short and sweet. I love that. My paper is not the best so I'm not getting the results that I would like, however, I am showing up and creating a routine that is what I really wanted to achieve. I've also been stitching every single day for at lease an hour and I'm in the 'groove'.  I love this baby sampler design because it's simple and fast.  Now for the sad knitting of the baby sweater .  I'm knitting ...

  Hello! How are you doing? I am starting to feel better again, I'm hoping it lasts for a while now. This year has been 'whack-a-mole' with various symptoms and I'm so ready for a break from it all. Even while having symptoms, I'm still exercising when I can. And as you know I spend time with the grands as much as possible. They make me happy.  I continue to work on the small baby blanket , I think I am half way done. I haven't been doing much knitting on anything else physically. But mentally I'm planning and plotting the next project. I think knitters love to do that. We moved here in 2021 and the flower beds have really taken off this year! I love to walk around and see what's going on. My husband did all of the work. Our neighbor gave us plants and so did my sister. Whenever there is a flower the deer do not eat, I rejoice! I heard the cicadas for the first time last week. Now I know we are into the summer season. They don't seem as loud as they...

  Good morning! How are you?  Around here, the over 90 degree heat has left but it's still high 80's which I'm not fond of either. I've been hiding in my house ignoring it except to get the mail and to walk about looking at our flower beds. I've been knitting some, but mostly reading my books. I'm over half way reading The Great Gatsby, overall I've been enjoying the book. I'd love to be as idle as the characters are in the story. The other book I'm reading is Burnout which is interesting. I should finish reading that book today. I finished Red Bones by Ann Cleeves. I read her books on my kindle before I go to sleep. My comprehension is sometimes murky but overall it's a nice bedtime read and I remember enough to continue reading without re-reading paragraphs.  Sadly I am having a crazy flare up with my ever so lovely autoimmune disease (Sjogren's syndrome). It's the gift that keeps on giving. Currently I am having salivary gland swellin...

  Good morning! How are you and are you experiencing the hot hot hot weather? Goodness it is hot here and I am ever so grateful to have AC to hide in. I've been busy this week helping with the grandchildren. Even though I am busy I finished a few books. The first one is Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett. I picked this book up on a whim and thoroughly enjoyed it. I've reserved the next in the series on Libby. Supposedly that will be available in 11 weeks. I can wait. I also finished The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. I enjoyed the content of the book but I really didn't care for her writing style. I know this book is popular among creative people and I can see why. But the book was not for me. I did finish it though. Yesterday I started reading The Great Gatsby  which I have never read. It was not required when I was in high school and I thought I should read it. I picked up a used copy somewhere a few years ago and I have delightful notes scr...

  Good morning! How are you? Thank you so much for the kind words about the christening blanket, I thoroughly enjoyed knitting that project but I am so glad that I am now done with it and can knit other things.  My life has been full since the kids moved into town. My husband and I babysat the grandchildren yesterday late afternoon early evening for a few of hours and we had so much fun. We took a walk, played sidewalk chalk then came in the house and played with the toys. I don't know who was more tired..!  Inside I feel like I am 30 years old but my body says this is not true! We are happy and grateful to be in their lives. Our gardens continue to thrive and mature since my husband has revamped them a few years ago. My sister and our neighbor have helped us by giving flowers from their gardens. We have bought and added our own as well. The challenge is whether or not the deer will eat it or not. Yesterday afternoon I decorated my art journal and my weekly planner for th...

  Hello! How are you doing? This past week the temperatures dropped and it felt like early spring. I loved it because I do not like to be hot. All the early summer flowers are blooming in my yard, the views are spectacular. I babysat the kids on Friday night with the help of my aunt. We had a fun time and they were good. I also went to their house on Saturday afternoon and sat while they napped so that their parents could run some errands. It's been a rough time the past three-four days because the antibiotic I was on (which I have finished on Saturday morning, thank goodness) caused severe nausea. I haven't felt that queasy since pregnancy. It was absolutely awful. In between bouts of nausea I managed to knit a little bit and get some laundry done. I think I'm better now, I am definitely not worse! Yesterday I took a walk, first time in months and I snapped these photos. I enjoyed being in the fresh air and seeing the neighborhood. I might just go for another walk today. ...

  Good morning! How are you doing?  I have been busy these past few weeks learning how to insert and remove scleral lenses for the treatment of my severe dry eye caused by Sjogren's syndrome . These contacts are considered medically necessary for the health of my eye. I just started to learn how to use them when the electricity went out over a week ago. I guess I am learning and getting better but it takes a few tries to insert them as well as a steady hand. I see the eye doctor weekly and she keeps tweaking the fit and the vision correction. I still have to use reading glasses while wearing them. I see the eye doctor weekly as she changes the fit and the vision correction. I'm on my second pair right now with a third pair coming this week hopefully. This past six months have been challenging for me with the dry eye and the dry mouth symptoms. I am grateful that there are medicines and treatments for the symptoms but I really wish there was a cure. The inflammatory arthritis ...