Pumpkin Sunrise

  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 ...

  Good morning! How are you doing? We lost our electricity on Tuesday at around 5:15 pm from a mighty thunderstorm with winds up to 80 mph and it came on yesterday in the afternoon.  Our whole entire area was without power and it took the electric company a long time to plug everyone back in. There are some people who still have no power and have to wait until Sunday. So nearly 48 hours of me being ultra SAD but grateful this morning. We have some trees down but they are in our wooded area and luckily they're not near the house, thank goodness. I was fortunate that I could move some of our food from the refrigerator to my sister's house and only lost one large bag of food. We are in the process of tidying up the house and putting everything back to where it's supposed to go. I really didn't knit much so the photo is one I took a few days ago of a cowl I am working on. I am planning to cut back on posting here three times a week. I hope to be posting 1-2 times a week fro...

  How are you?  I am enjoying the spring flowers outside but not the cold temperatures, I guess it could be much much colder and I shouldn't complain. Our patio awning was installed for the summer season and I wondered about those people working in 30 degree weather! I cannot wait to be able to sit out there and it will be soon. I had a knitting project that I started ages ago, a shawl, and recently pulled it out. I remember that I found multiple errors in the pattern (or I made a mistake which I highly doubt). So I fixed the mistakes as I knitted then set the shawl project aside for some baby knitting. Anyways, I returned to knitting this shawl yesterday morning and decided that I didn't like it and ripped out about 300 yards of knitting. I loved it! I loved letting go of a project that just wasn't sparking joy. I'm now knitting simple cowls instead with the yarn. In the past, I have ripped out entire sweaters because I didn't like the fit or style. I usually put a...

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? Look at my daffodils!! I know what you are thinking. You are wondering why I am here when I have company staying for the week. Well, before they left home on Saturday, the grandkids had the stomach virus Friday afternoon which postponed their trip until Sunday. Then on Saturday night, the parents started with the same virus. I am grateful that they kept it over at their house and did not bring it here. They plan to arrive on Tuesday now, fingers are crossed that they will be fully recuperated and ready to do some house hunting.  Because the weekend ended up being free and clear, I spent my time knitting and reading. I was planning a family get together with the local family invited on Sunday to share a turkey dinner (turkey thawing in the fridge since Tuesday). I cooked it anyways and my husband and me were a party of two, I froze most of the leftovers. I started a new book yesterday, The Alice Network , it's been on my shelf for quite some time! I...

  Good afternoon! How are you? We have been having wonderful weather here, I'm enjoying it immensely. It seems like a switch was flipped and winter is over. Don't worry though, we did not put the snow shovel away yet as a precaution. I don't know if you remember but Frodo (our mini schnauzer who passed last August) was a nosey little dog and I would call him Mrs. Kravitz whenever he watched the neighborhood (from Bewitched TV show). Well now, look at Miss Holly up there doing the same thing picking up the torch of being nosey in the neighborhood. I love it! (Frodo wanted to park at people, Holly is interested in the birds) This past week was really busy. Tomorrow is busy as well. I have a meeting at church then the rest of the day I'm helping out my cousin with her medical appointment and it's 40 minutes away. My aunt appreciates an extra pair of hands and I'm willing to help out. That is why I'm posting today instead of tomorrow. On my walk today I spied ab...

  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 ...

  Hello! How are you doing? I'm happy to report that the freezing cold weather has eased up and we are now having regular winter weather. I wear 'regular' clothes on my walks and sometimes I have to take my mitts off because I get warm. It's wonderful. The birds have ramped up their singing - a true sign of spring! Since the weather warmed up a bit, the crowding at my bird feeder off the back patio has eased up.  In about a month I will switch to thistle feed only because the resident raccoon will be stirring and he/she lovely to eat the regular mix. I am gleeful when I outwit them.  Yesterday we had a stir fry for dinner. I don't follow a recipe, since it's made up but I use a mix of sesame oil and olive oil. The vegetables in this photo are Nappa cabbage, mushrooms, broccoli and snow peas. For seasonings I use ginger powder and an umami blend (salt free). In a bowl we place chopped cooked chicken at the bottom then a scoop of jasmine rice (hot to heat up the c...

  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? I am doing fine on the super chilly day. Earlier this week, we went to the art museum to see the holiday displays that they do every year. I find routine comforting, I'm sure you already know that. It was a wet drippy start to the museum. We enjoyed their permanent art gallery and love to find the odd picture that was swapped in for another. They rotate some of the art to make it fun. Of course, I love seeing old friends hanging there like they always do. This was the day that started out as light rain and then it turned over to snow. That switch over was very very wet. And let me tell you there was SNOW.  The driving conditions were absolutely fine so that made the snowfall all the more beautiful. After the museum, we went out for lunch then walked around the city a bit. We ducked into the Cathedral of Learning to warm up before going back outside to walk some more.  I am lucky to live near a city and have opportunities to go to the museums. We try ...

  - neighborhood pumpkins - my oak trees showing off - new friends at 'school' - Tai Chi hour - lunch out with my husband - cold morning walks - an unexpected warm up - all the fall knitting (imagined and real) - wearing wool - browsing knitting patterns - sister outings - dark chocolate - blue skies - neighborhood dogs - the kids coming to visit next weekend - the to-do lists that I am creating - afternoon reading (possible snooze) - apples! - soups! - hearing the breeze whisper through the trees - setting intentions - giving myself grace when I need it the most - solitude - grandchildren laughing - Holly being Holly - Blue skies - phone calls from family and friends - the kindness of others - assuming everyone is doing their best - drinking water and staying hydrated - hot decaf green tea in a BIG mug - first sip of coffee - geese flying in V formation and honking all the way (delightful!!) - Focusing on gratitude - focusing on joy  What would make your happy list?

  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...

  Good morning to you all, how are you? How has your week been? Mine has been great, my school schedule is winding down for a break then I start back up with some classes in a few weeks but I will be less busy (at least it looks less busy on paper, I will find out if I feel less busy).  Yesterday the back patio awning was taken down for the winter season. A sign of winter approaching!  I continue to take daily walks but now they are in the middle of the day instead of early in the morning. I love the rhythms of the seasons and adapting to the weather. My husband and I went to the conservatory in Pittsburgh to see their fall flower show yesterday. We had a great time and enjoyed the myriad of mums on display. Some of my favorite sections were closed off which was a bummer but hopefully they will be done renovating those spaces soon. I'm sure it's difficult to renovate while trying to keep the conservatory open to visitors. I'm still knitting daily and enjoying my time with...