Pumpkin Sunrise

  How was your weekend? Mine was and still is going strong.  Of course, I could show you and talk about all the boxes I packed or have to pack but where's the fun in that? Instead, I'll talk about the teeny tiny bit of painting I did in my art journal. I bought another (!) watercolor pan paint set and had fun playing with them. Yesterday, our son and daughter in law arrived for a two day visit and we took them over to the covered bridges where my husband and I hung out while the current house was being shown by realtors. I have fond memories of being there with Frodo and a packed lunch in the pouring rain in 50 degree weather. I'll miss those bridges when I move. Today is more visiting before they leave and head back to Indiana. Once again I'll resume  packing boxes. We are ahead of schedule and going strong! Oh and we are on the eleventh SUV car donation load, could there be a twelfth? Perhaps. How was your weekend?

  I have a morning routine that starts the day the best way possible for me. After pouring a cup of coffee in a favorite mug (there are many) I sit down and journal for one page, this might be about the day before or it might be about what's on my mind, it doesn't matter - I just write. Before I end my journal entry, I write what I am grateful for, usually it's the coffee in the favorite mug, the morning silence (my husband is a music listener during the day) and then always family and good health and new opportunities. Next up comes the praying. There are lots of prayers and I have a running list of who I'm praying for on a sticky note. I continue to read Magnificat and this year I read a Saint a Day.  I write a list of what I want to accomplish or what needs to be done in the next day or so in my weekly planner. I also try my best to squeeze in a meditation from the insight timer app (I highly recommend), I do meditate daily but morning time is best. Neither of the

  I've got my priorities right, there is ALWAYS room for knitting no matter how chaotic it is to be packing up a house. I look gleefully to 6 pm when I can sit and knit. So, onto the knitting update- The moon river shawl  is growing and growing. I'm enjoying this pattern and am contemplating grabbing some more left over fingering weight wools to cast on another one. Maybe. I probably should check to see if I like the shawl blocked, but as you know, blocking makes everything better and what would I not like? My second birch leaf shawl  is also making steady progress, I'll be knitting this until I run out of yarn and the skein has 880 yards (approximately). This shawl is easy for me because there are four lace rows and the wrong side rows are purling only. This knit is a pure delight! What are you working on this week?

  My sister and brother in law were here this weekend to help us move furniture out to our garage for a donation pick up. They also helped with some packing. We had a nice visit and we were grateful for the much needed help.   During the visit, my sister and I headed out to some local greenhouses for an impromptu sister outing. It was even though it was the last sister outing in this area. I will miss living here. The weekend was HOT compared to the previous frigid weekend (I wore wool!). As you know, I prefer cold weather over hot weather any given day so I am pretending the summer humidity and high temps do not exist.  Frodo is loving life and just saved a mole swimming vigorously in the pool this morning.  Holly is enjoying how her environment changes with stacked boxes and new hiding places. How was your weekend?

  Good morning! How was your week? Can you tell I'm in a major teal color-loving mood based on that lovely photo above? It's been going strong for over a year now.  The weather has been kind of dreary and blah for a few days, so that makes being stuck inside boxing up belongings and decluttering that much easier. Dare I say we are done with decluttering? Maybe? I'm not sure, but the bulk of the madness is over. This week we dropped off the 8th and 9th carload of donations. I've been working on my studio room this week and am so close to be done. Rooms with closets take me four days on average. We started this process super early because I didn't want a mad dash near the moving date. My husband and I tend to work 3-5 hours a day sharing a pleasant lunch break. We are both exhausted by dinner time. Because I'm 'working', my creative pursuits have taken a back seat. I'm showing up for my art journaling pages whenever I get a chance (below photo). But th

  Good morning!  Boy oh boy did I have a time with my computer just now, what a bother. Anyways, all systems are up and running and I am ready to talk about knitting. In the midst of decluttering I still find time in my evenings to knit. I started a new shawl  project a few days ago. The left over fingering weight wool is a bit of a mystery since I didn't keep the tag with the yarn. I am enjoying this simple knitting project.  I finished the last Christmas stocking and the name has been duplicate stitched as well. I guess I'm getting better at duplicate stitch but I still despise doing it. This time I did not make any spelling errors, I felt quite proud about that. Last up is the second birch leaf shawl on the needles, I'm enjoying this soothing project and the repetitiveness of the pattern. I believe it has fantastic stitch definition this time around. What have you been working on this week?

  Technically since today is Memorial day it is part of a three day weekend but I wanted to get this post written and published. We are knee deep in decluttering and somewhat packing. I've been focusing on the two adult children's bedrooms. Yes they have a lot of stuff here and I'm thinning out the belongings. Yes this should have been done years ago with their help. There have been phone calls and discussions on what to keep or give away. A lot of the stuff can go and that is a very good thing. My husband and I were eating dinner and I announced that I (WE) would never ever 'save' stuff again. My house is not by any means a hoarder's house, BUT I have a set of kitchen dishes that have been sitting in the basement for sixteen years unused and I never liked them in the first place.  Why? Why save them??  While I've been in the bedrooms decluttering, my dear sweet husband has been in the basement going through tools and such. Again - many unusable drills that