Pumpkin Sunrise

  Hello friends! How are you doing? How was your weekend? My brother in law and sister in law from Ottawa, Ontario visited us from Wednesday afternoon through Sunday morning. We haven't seen them since September 2019 and we were grateful they drove down here to visit us after visiting my mother in law. On Thursday, we took them to the Phipps Conservatory . (I know I was there just last Sunday!) My husband and I enjoyed the second pass through the greenhouses.  On Friday morning we went to the Strip district  and walked around dropping into some stores then having lunch at a local pizza shop. On Saturday, we visited the Carnegie Science Center so they could see the miniature train display. Each day we went out for lunch and then I cooked dinner at home. The weather was spectacular so dinner was outside on the patio. We had the best time ever.  We did lots and lots of talking, laughing and catching up. I did little to no knitting!  How was your weekend?

  Good morning! How is everyone this morning? I was away visiting my mother-in-law for most of the week with my husband and returned home yesterday afternoon. Oh my, the older I get the more I am a homebody thru and thru. This visit was challenging because I had some weird stomach bug the day I arrived and could barely function.  Thankfully it was short lived but the recovery phase was long and I still don't feel quite like myself. It was nice to see family but it was even nicer to be home. Sadly I did not take many photos. I did knit in the car though!  Believe it or not, the sun is out! I feel like a vampire squinting and shielding my eyes, ha ha. Later today after the BIG blog reading catch up and internet stuff catch up, I'll walk Frodo and soak in the sunshine. Maybe it'll be warm enough to sit on the back patio. Gratitudes: -my bed - my kitchen - my coffee mug - my coffee! - silence - Frodo snuggles - phone calls from the kids - mighty to do lists! - big salads - suns

  Hello! How are you? I've missed visiting your spaces and hope to catch up with you all during the week.  My it's been such a long time since I wrote here. Before I get into what I've been up to this past week and weekend, I want to let you know that my dad went home on Saturday!! He will continue to receive therapies at home and he is so happy to be sleeping in his own bed (just like me!). Thank you for all the well wishes and prayers, they mean a lot to me. Anyways, last Sunday we drove to Indiana to visit our son, daughter-in-law and grandson and to help out with childcare for the week. Their babysitter was taking a vacation. What a delight! We spent so much time with him. Sadly, he had another ear infection but was quickly put on medication and improved. In their neighborhood they have a local park that we walked every single day. We bundled up our grandson and off we went. He loves to eat bagels and blueberries and goldfish. When I laughed, he would laugh. He is a hap

  Grab a cup of coffee or tea, this is the extended weekends version of my life. On Friday we drove to Cambridge MA to visit our daughter and son in law. We were in the car for eleven hours because of a highway road closure and the GPS snaking us through the countryside of Pennsylvania. I was so tired of being a car! We arrived safely at our hotel and checked in, quickly dropping off our bags. We had pizza and homemade apple cake at their house. Delicious!! Saturday we walked over 20,000 steps and my arthritis symptoms acted up. Flares are just awful and they sneak up on me. Each time I think there's something wrong but cannot quite figure it out. We were all over the greater Boston Area doing some shopping and sight-seeing. I didn't take many photos, I was living in the moment. We toured three churches (cannot recall any of their names...).  Sunday after attending Mass we had some donuts for second breakfast then did more sight-seeing. Our son in law drove us around which help

  Hello! Oh boy have I missed this space. I haven't taken a break from here for a week, ever. So the break was good. My husband and I went to a residential area of Virginia Beach with our son, daughter in law and our sweet grandson! Sadly, our daughter and son in law were unable to attend due to work schedules. It was HOT, too hot. I stayed in the air conditioning most of the time because I am sun sensitive due to Sjogren's Syndrome. However, mornings and evenings were fine for a walk on the beach. Also the added bonus of staying inside was baby duty! Our grandson is perfection and he is such a happy baby. How blessed am I to have had this opportunity! I am so glad we were invited. Of course, I did NOT knit a single stitch, painted a picture or journaled about anything. All I managed was reading The Stand whenever there were pockets of time. Each evening I was tired from the vacationing. I forgot how busy babies make a day. I need a vacation to recover from the vacation, ha ha.

  Hello! How was your week?  My husband and I went to Indiana to visit our son, daughter-in-law and the brand new grandson. We had a wonderful time. Of course there was unending baby time. Lots and lots of holding, snuggling and soothing. We ate out way too much but it was a fun diversion to always eating at home. We walked many of their local parks to get some fresh air and to get our wiggles out. The weather was gorgeous!! We did a little bit of window shopping in town as well. The trip and visit was fantastic, but you know me. Home sweet home is the best. I was thrilled to be in my own bed last night, waking up and heading to my kitchen for the perfectly brewed cup of coffee, sitting in my kitchen. Maybe traveling makes me appreciate the little things all the more! I barely knit a stitch or read a sentence while visiting even though I brought a hefty 'activity' bag.

  Hello! This weekend has been GLORIOUS! Unbeknownst to you all, my husband and I drove up to Cambridge MA to visit our daughter and son in law on Tuesday morning and we were supposed to stay until Friday morning and return home. We were watching the weather closely the whole time. On Thursday morning I saw what was once a meager prediction of 1-3 inches of snow in Cambridge being switched to 6-10 inches of snow starting at 1 a.m. on Friday. When the weatherperson said 'pack a blanket' when traveling, that's when I woke my husband up and discussed leaving Thursday afternoon. I wanted to spend the night in Eastern PA breaking up the 9+ hour drive. He wanted to drive straight home arriving close to midnight. Needless to say, we did what he wished and our drive was decent until we hit State College when the snow started to fall in PA. We made it safely home at 1:30 a.m. Friday morning... Our nerves were shot and we are still recovering from that rotten drive home. The intersta

  I'm amazed at how much I take for granted in my surroundings and my life. I live in a small rural town and my husband and I take the same daily walks down two of our adjoining roads. You might say it's a 'same old, same old' way of living. I thrive on sameness, honestly the more mundane my days can be the more content I am. I eat the same breakfast every day (cheerios)!  This week we put a pause on the Great Decluttering of our house (yay) and ventured to towns that are close to us. We sat on a bench and watched geese and goslings playing by the river and we picnicked outdoors at a park near a beautiful covered bridge. This particular bridge is retired from car crossings and filled with picnic tables. We took Frodo with us who was thrilled to be exploring new places. His nose went into overdrive trying to decode the information. He thoroughly enjoyed our outings. No matter where we go with Frodo, there is someone who stops us on our excursions and tells us about their

Okay, to me a staycation includes spending the night at our daughter and son-in-law's townhouse in Delaware.  Saturday morning we got into the car and drove to their place, picked them up and spent the day at the Franklyn Institute . They had a fantastic exhibit on Marvel Comics.  What fun! We walked around and dropped in on the Reading Terminal Market .  Sorry I have no photos, but I did eat some great food before we went out to dinner.  (and we picked up donuts!). After we spent the night at their townhouse, my husband and I drove back to Philadelphia on Sunday to spend the morning and early afternoon at the Philadelphia Museum of Art . I haven't been there before and the museum was great.  My only wish was for clear and obvious signs for parking in the garage.  We drove in circles looking for it.  And we were using two different GPS (including apple maps).  The garage doesn't exist in that dimension.  Being an old lady, I told the ticket desk people all

We've been together for a week at Cape May NJ for a long awaited family vacation.  This vacation was in the planning stages since Christmas.  I wanted to go back to Cape May where we used to take our little children on a yearly vacation.  We have fond memories of foods, events, childhood accidents and wonderful beach moments. This past week was perfect weather for all the beach sun lovers.  I can't be in the sun in massive quantities because of my medications and my autoimmune disorder, but that doesn't stop me from loving the beach.  I walked the beach daily.  We rented a house this year to accommodate our adult children, everyone had extra wiggle room in this house.  The front porch was my favorite spot to read or knit or chitchat with whoever was with me.  Of course a vacation can't be a vacation without a problem.  This time I pulled a hamstring muscle (beach walking???) and that really hurt for more than three days. I'm happy to report I feel mostly

Grab a beverage and sit back for the extended weekend recap.  On Thursday we drove up to London Ontario to visit family.  We stayed at my mother in law's house for three days and also visited with my brother in law and sister in law.  What a fun weekend and our son went with us! Friday we went to a few shops then stopped at the cemetery to visit my father in law's gravesite.  The day was beautiful, sunny and the air was perfect.  In the afternoon, I painted a picture for my mother in law that she requested.  She paints as well!  We took her to an art store so she could get some paints and other supplies. On Saturday we shopped at the attic book store and grooves record store .   I bought nothing but my husband found some treasures. We ate at some great restaurants as well as at my sister and brother in law's house.  I enjoyed seeing everyone again. Yesterday we came home (sweet wonderful home!).  I've been unpacking and catching up with all