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Showing posts with the label life

Hopefulness

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  Good morning! This week has been busy with classes and routine doctor appointments. The arthritis doctor has a few tricks up her sleeve for some of my dry mouth issues (from my autoimmune disease - Sjorgren's Syndrome) that make me feel hopeful. What was the most important thing during that doctor visit is that I felt seen and heard. I am thankful for her and her team. Speaking of hopefulness, look at my daffodils sprouting up! Some of the daffodils are just starting and some already have a head start. I love winter, but I'm looking forward to spring. The crocuses seem to be taking their time this year, as well as the snowdrops (unless those pesky deer have eaten them, grr). Even though I am still knitting my baby blanket, I have gathered four skeins of potential socks to be and am dreaming of a wonderful sock frenzy cast on. 

Around Here

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  Around here, I've been going to my non-credit classes and keeping up with various appointments. Yesterday, we went to the Carnegie Museum of Art and walked around the galleries. We love going there every month or so. After a lunch out, we headed home so I could take Frodo out for his daily walk. We continue to have daily sunshine and now I'm focused on the singing birds on my daily walks. Sometimes I remember to pull out my merlin app to identify the birds but frequently I'm not fast enough to catch the recording. Tonight we might have some snow, we will see about that. Around here, I'm knee deep in baby blanket knitting mode, trying to make steady progress so I can finish the project. I've been reading a graphic novel, Grass by  Keum Suk Gendry-Kim. My non-fiction read is Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson. Both are really good, I'm sure the non-fiction book will take months to read. Holly has been quite social and says 'hi'.

Around Here

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  Good morning! How are you? Around here, we have had warmer weather that has melted the snow away and so we have a muddy backyard. It's nice to wear regular winter weather but damp weather sometimes feels colder. This week once again, I pulled out the paints and started on my Valentine cards. They are not finished but it was fun to sit and paint hearts in various pinks. I hope to work on them later on this afternoon. The baby blanket is so close to being finished! I'm already plotting away the future baby sweater to cast on. I usually use the Elizabeth Zimmermann pattern 'two needle baby sweater' which as you might guess is mostly memorized in my head. I'm excited for non-credit classes to start up once again. I'm taking more history classes (who am I? I didn't like history in high school.) and of course Tai Chi, which is my favorite class ever.

Family Gatherings

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  Hello! Happy post Thanksgiving! I'm dropping in for a quick update. Our families arrived on Wednesday night as planned but sadly our little granddaughter wasn't feeling well Thursday morning and so her parents took her to ER and she was diagnosed with RSV but not admitted and sent home.  That diagnosis dispersed our big Thanksgiving family to two houses instead of everyone at my house. My sister and her family stayed at her house and my family stayed at my house. My dad visited both houses. My sister and I were swapping dishes to complete the meals. (We cooked the turkey she made the stuffing etc). It was quite the production but we made it work and we each had a good Thanksgiving. Our little granddaughter is slowly feeling better and so far no one else has any symptoms (yay!). Our days are filled with babies playing, napping, crying and eating. We are living our best life. To make things more exciting, our new furnace quit working yesterday and we had to have an emergency te

Weekends

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  Good morning! How are all of you? Like my computer, I am slow this morning. I haven't been sleeping well (probably from waking up in the middle of the night thinking of everything I need to do even though it's written down...). Maybe tonight will be a good night, eventually some night will be. Our weekend was busy, I have been chipping away with the 'to do' list that I have written on pages and pages before all of my company arrives on Wednesday. The list is LONG.  Saturday, I thoroughly enjoyed working on a cowl and probably shouldn't have been knitting. Sunday was a no knit day for my hands to recover again. I am impatient! I have every intention on being here Wednesday, then I will take a break from this space to enjoy my company. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you in case I am not here on Wednesday. 

The Beginning

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  The beginning of Christmas has entered my house along with the holiday cheer. We are exchanging presents with my dad and step mom at Thanksgiving (which I am hosting at my home) and my daughter and son in law have never seen Christmas at my house.  I have about four lists written up for the next two weeks and have another list in my head that needs to be put on paper. Besides hosting 15 family members on Thanksgiving day, my family (adult children and grands) will be staying between 3-10 days. So before I forget, I will be posting here intermittently from now until the beginning of December.  While I was down in the basement bringing up the Christmas decoration boxes, I discovered a water pipe leak, and so my day today is waiting for the plumber. A forced day at home.  Also before I forget, my hands are feeling so much better! I am nearly recovered from the gnome knitting abuse. 

Around Here

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  Good morning! How are you?  I've had a full week with classes and yesterday our fridge and dishwasher arrived. Of course it was stressful, beginning with the fridge not fitting through the kitchen door. The team really wanted to call it quits but we pleaded that they try the back door which goes through the family room which doesn't have a doorway. Thankfully one of the men said yes and my husband was scrambling to remove the back door and unhook the screen door. Bless sweet Frodo, he cannot hear anything and just sleeps through it all. So the fridge was installed but then there was a water leak (of course), we have a plumber today coming to fix that. Apparently it's our end of the plumbing and not the fridge. Every single fridge we have bought and installed we have had waterline leaks for the water dispenser hookup, it must be a rite of passage. I am grateful that I saw it early and no permanent damage was done. The dishwasher installation needed a new shut off valve bec

Autumn Adventures

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  Good morning! How are you doing these days? So far I am enjoying autumn and the trees changing. Yesterday, we drove north, taking country back roads to a lovely restaurant  to meet my dad and my step mom for lunch. We had wonderful food and a lovely visit with them. We drove back a different way, again, using back country roads and the views were amazing. I don't think the trees are at peak colors but it's very close to peak.  I pulled out some scrap wools for my gnome-marathon knitting. Hopefully I will start today. We are hosting our families for Thanksgiving (12 adults and 3 children) and my list is long on what I want done around the house and what I need to purchase to stream-line this event. I'm happy to report that we did buy a new fridge and dishwasher this week and they will be here next week. That gives me one week to eat as much food as possible, ha ha ha. What a big purchase! I'm looking forward to our families gathering together.

Arbitrary Goals

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  After being away last weekend, this whole week was kind of a catch-up week where I didn't quite catch-up but kept adding more to my to do list. I am behind in my holiday knitting but then does it matter? I don't think so, only I know of my arbitrary goals.  This week, I started my granddaughter's Christmas sweater and I have been thoroughly enjoying working on this little project in the evenings and even during the day. Maybe it's the wool maybe it's the pattern or maybe it's both at the same time. So far, I don't think I have any mistakes but then again you never know. My husband and I received our flu and covid shots on Wednesday late afternoon. Yesterday was a challenging day. Tylenol fixed everything, but golly,  I was dragging myself around.  I only have a sore arm this morning, I am grateful. Of course my husband had a minimal reaction, grr. Autumn is fully here, the leaves are changing and the mornings are quite cold. Frodo and I moved our early mo

September Joys

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  Can you believe that we have arrived to the glorious month of September? I know that summer is still blazing away and fall is inching slowly towards us but flipping the calendar page to September brings me joy. My mom would demand a Christmas list by September first believing she could knit all the things and have them wrapped up for the holidays. She would start asking for the list in August. As a young adult, I thought she was crazy and a bit over reacting. September? Christmas? Jeez! And here I am, starting a Christmas stocking for our granddaughter. My mother is looking down from heaven with an 'I told you so' smirk on her face. However, I am smirking back at her and telling her that I have started knitting for the holidays at the start of this year.  I do not ask for a knitting wish list from my family. I knit what I want when I want and give the items freely away, if I don't meet my virtual 'to knit' demands, no one knows but me. My self-imposed timeline is

Beautiful

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  How are you all doing? Today is a cooler weather day, you know the kind that feels like fall but isn't fall at all. There is nothing new around here which makes life perfect. I had a campus tour yesterday for my non-credit classes that start in two weeks. I think I know where I'm going, maybe. I definitely know where to park. I am excited for school to start. What an adventure for me! September is going to be a busy month for me, so my posting on this space might be less than usual. I don't want to say definitely, but I feel that skipping a post here and there might be the way to allow for wiggle room in life.  Did you see that acorn?? (Autumn is coming!).  While my heart pines for fall, I am enjoying the late summer days by reading on the back patio with Frodo who tolerates this 'outsideness' for about 30 minutes. I remember when he was a pup and I could not convince him to come inside. At soon to be 14 years old, he enjoys outside limitedly and then wants to go

Catching Up

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  Good morning! How are all of you? I'm doing well and continue to play catch up after our trip last weekend to Cambridge, MA. The unpacking is the easy part, it's the internet catch up - bill paying and visiting blogs. Also buying groceries while not having a menu plan. I should just give up having a menu plan since I seem to do fairly well winging the meals.  I've been holding off saying this but I'm just about to burst because I am ready for FALL. I'm doing my best to enjoy the summer season especially since this is my husband's favorite season. As of today, we have 50 more days until the first day of Autumn.  I went out shopping with my sister yesterday morning and I bought some new charms from Joann Fabrics to add to my traveller's notebook. They are so cute. The tidy Buddha was from the beach vacation last year.  This fall, I will be taking some classes at the local university for people over 50 years old. I'm excited to go back to school but it

Happy List

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  The Happy List: - blue skies - cloudy skies - early morning walks with Frodo - the quietness of the mornings - the no plan plan (doing nothing?) - reading lots - sketching some -inspiration from others - reorganizing art supplies - big salads - lemon poppyseed dressing - green goddess dressing - romaine lettuce - radishes - back patio dining - sour dough bread  - endless reading and gobbling up knowledge - heavy eyes while reading (the best doze ever) - steady stitching on a sampler - phone chats with kids - lunch out with my husband - tv watching at night - daily journaling  What would make your happy list?

Weekends

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  How was your weekend? On Saturday afternoon, we went to a graduation party for my cousin's son that was fun. I wasn't the host so I was able to relax and enjoy the company.  Yesterday, we went to my dad's house for a lunch and to celebrate Father's day. We had a great time, ate really good food and relaxed with each other on his back porch. Three weeks ago I removed our regular bird feeder because that pesky raccoon came by and ate all of the birdseed, grr. I swapped out the bird feeder with a thistle feeder (raccoons do not eat thistle supposedly). To my delight I spied two goldfinches Saturday morning!  Late afternoon yesterday I braved the air quality and sat outside for a bit enjoying the beautiful day, reading a book and watching Frodo watch the world.  How was your weekend?

Flower Story

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  Good morning! How are you during this warmer than usual week? Today will be 90 degrees, oh my! I am trying to ignore the hot as best as I can.  Frodo and I sit outside on the back patio for little bits until one of us is too hot. It's a system! I've been working on that little blanket (final knit for now) for the granddaughter-to-be and hopefully will finish it tomorrow or definitely Sunday. I do not have enough yarn, so the blanket will be the size that it ends up! This week I've watched my ONE peony blossom do its magic. Every morning I check the status, always amazed at the beauty of it all. My sister just gave us more peonies to plant and every morning when they are watered I send lots of well wishes and hopefulness that the transplants take hold during this hot week. Easing back into a consistent art habit has been bumpy but I've found that being lenient on myself helps. I just do what is inspiring me. The other day was a doodle page with ONE bold fine line marke

Grace

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  Can you believe the crazy weather these days? Yesterday was 80 degrees and today is going to be higher than that. It's too soon! My dogwoods are starting to bloom and it feels a bit early to me.  I've been thinking about how I give myself grace. Sure it's easy to give grace to others and it comes easily.  I wonder why I'm so hard on myself especially if I am not feeling well. Living with a chronic autoimmune disorder (Sjogren's Syndrome) and trying to come up with the best ways to manage my symptoms and eliminate triggers, I lose sight on accepting my reality and just giving myself grace. After battling sinus issues for most of this week and a runny nose for three weeks, I saw my doctor and now have some medicines to get me back to feeling healthy. Phew! I'm doing my best! So how do I give myself grace? Being mindful in each moment is helpful. Journaling my thoughts, feelings and pouring my heart out onto the paper with a favorite fountain pen, the best free t

Daffodils

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  I cannot get enough of the daffodils this spring season. They are beautiful and cheerful especially during a rainy day. Yesterday was dreary and drippy but the pops of yellow in the backyard were delightful to behold. In the mornings I'm confused on what to wear! Is it winter like or spring like. I change outfits because I'm too cold or too hot.  How are you? My dad is close to being transferred to a rehab facility, he is more than ready to get out of the hospital and so are we. Maybe it will happen today? I'm not sure how fast the process is but it's going to happen sooner than later. Thank you for the prayers and well wishes, we appreciate them immensely! My week has been visiting him on most days and doing some intermittent knitting when I have some down time. I'm ready for the weekend.

Nourish

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  Thank you for all the prayers and well-wishes for my dad. He continues to improve and we are hoping within the week he will be out of ICU. He was admitted on February 22nd and throughout the early days and the unknownness I've been pondering on the word Nourish. How do I nourish my body, mind and spirit? As you know, I was thoroughly enjoying writing a haiku a day and doing a bit of art sketching to go with the words. That daily process stopped the day he was admitted. I just didn't feel like writing or sketching. I gave myself grace to quit. Maybe at the beginning of April I will start back up? I also gave myself grace to blog when I can instead of blogging on a set schedule. Nourishing my mind for me is letting go of some creative pursuits and clinging to the ones that soothe me. I continue to meditate daily, knit daily and do a bit of reading. I pack knitting for the hospital visits in case there is waiting time to visit. When I visit by myself, I also pack a book to read

Ordinary Days of Delight

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  Oh my, we are knee deep in ordinary days. I might be one of the few people who love January. I love the cold weather and the restive schedule that envelops me since the holidays are over. I've been enjoying my bird feeder and watching the birds who are making quite the mess. They delight me. Through my back yard, through the woods, at an adjoining business development exists a private preschool. Every day I listen to the children play (squeal) outside during their recess while I am outside walking Frodo. Another delight. January has a slew of family birthdays, I wake up and text/call each family member wishing them a wonderful day. This week I've chipped away at all of my works in progress in my knitting bag. I finished a hat and now I'm working on my scarf. When this scarf is finished I'd like to whip up two pairs of fingerless mitts for me and for my husband.  I am delighted that you visit, read and sometimes comment on this space. How wonderful to have a like minde