Pumpkin Sunrise

  Good morning! How are all of you doing? I've got lots to say so sit back, grab a cup of coffee or tea and let's begin. This week has been busy. We continue to declutter and unearth all sorts of treasures (junk) and I wonder why oh why am I keeping this stuff. I have systematically picked a section of a room and just go through the belongings and make a big pile on the kitchen table to then put directly into our SUV.  Earlier in the week, we donated a second car load and now we have a third load ready to donate. Slowly we are making progress.  Yesterday I fell in the hallway on a droplet of water that I splashed and did not clean up. I sprained my ankle, at least I hope it's just that, I see the doctor this morning to confirm. I am looking forward to his humor and teasing about how it's 'just' sprained. I don't know, I guess because I have RA and joint issues, I freak out when I injure myself and want to make sure all is well.  In case you're keeping sc

  Good morning! My knitting this week is the same as last week and the week before that. However I've finished two Christmas stockings out of three total. On Mother's Day, I duplicate stitched the names on and -oh boy- did I have a time with that. Apparently I forgot how to duplicate stitch and even though I had the names charted out in front of me I continued to misspell names.  Gracious! I have big plans to make another birch leaf shawl as soon as this pink shawl is finished. I love how the pattern is memorized and I just pick up and go go go. Since I'm busy with other 'life' stuff (who isn't) I need simplicity in my knitting. What have you been working on this week?

  Call me crazy but after a 48 hour break, my husband and I resumed the Great Declutter Project. Yes, I was going through a big closet over the weekend. Repeatedly I get excited that I am clearing out what I do not want and yet am disappointed at what I continue to own! I will never fit in a tiny house. Let's be honest, my yarn stash would have difficulty fitting in a tiny house, ha ha. How are you? How was your weekend? I talked to both kids yesterday and we had homemade pizza for dinner (yum). The views outside our windows look like mid to late spring but it was a chilly weekend. It's supposed to warm up today but I think we are going to be great friends with clouds and rain this week. In our front yard we have a mostly decomposed tree stump that a pileated woodpecker is helping itself to a hearty breakfast nearly every morning, I wish I could get a photo but so far it's very shy. Tell me about your weekend!

  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

  Hello! How are you?  I'd love to tell you about how much I am knitting but that just isn't happening this week. My husband and I have been overly busy and as you know, some things get set aside for the busy. However, yesterday afternoon I had a blissful 2 1/2 hours of uninterruptedness and I knitted away on the second Christmas stocking while listening to some audio knitting podcasts. What bliss! So today no matter how busy I am I will be returning to this project and giving myself permission to ignore the 'busy' and give myself a much needed break. What are you working on?

  This weekend is brought to you by two household pets and an elusive frog that posed ever so pretty for a photo while it was enjoying the abundant endless sunshine.  How was your weekend? Mine was packed full of household chores and tasks. It's too boring to list them but let's just be honest and say that checking off a long list is satisfying especially if you color code the list. The Great Declutter has taken a brief pause because my trunk is full of stuff and I have to get rid of that before I can load up again. Excuses come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Yesterday was brilliant sunshine and over 80 degrees. On our daily walk, I was wishing for capris instead of jeans, I was overdressed.  How was your weekend?

  How are you? Are you living your best life? Well, around here I'm trying my best while I navigate feeling a bit under the weather earlier this week and a myriad of things to do. My ideas and tasks are like buzzing little gnats around my face. I write down those thoughts hoping to swat away their annoyance but then more pop up. Isn't that life? Each morning I ask myself 'how present are you going to be today?'. The answers vary but I do try. I haven't done a Happy list for awhile so here it goes: - for May arriving tomorrow - y a y -for apple blossoms and rhododendron blossoms and dogwood blossoms - breath-taking beautiful -for SIMPLE dinners so I don't have to spent much time in the kitchen -for every single belonging that we donate and get out of the house - it is freeing -for Frodo snuggles and his complete devotion -for Holly's antics and playing fetch with me each morning -for morning coffee -for notebooks and pens and watercolors -for being okay with