Scarecrows - just a bit of fun!

While I was in Minnesota visiting daughter and Baby A my daughter took a day off work and just the two of us took a trip to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. It's not the best time of year to go, but they had a bunch of scarecrows people had designed and we wanted to go take a look and also have a bit of a walk around. It is a lovely place. They have lots of separate gardens and a maze. It's some place we are hoping to go back to next year when we visit in warmer weather. There was also a three-mile drive and a three-mile walk. We did both. They aren't the same thing lol. We got a little turned around on the three-mile walk and ended up doing a bit more than that! 

Luckily, we were able to rest up in the cafe and have a bit of Apple Pie. It was delicious. It had more of a crumb topping on the top rather than the traditional pie crust but there was pie crust on the bottom. 

The scarecrows were wonderful. I had a really good time looking around at them. I got some ideas! I might try making one next year for the garden just for fun. 

I liked this one, an ET one.

These three were my favourites, one made with a rake and a hose, one with a teapot as a face and the lady just because she looks so fabulous and free!

They made me smile. Daughter and I had a fabulous time, and it was nice to get a bit of just us time. 

Back from Minnesota

I got back from Minnesota Monday evening. I'm trying to get back into the swing of things. We don't have any more trips planned until the New Year, so hopefully things will settle down into something a little more normal.

I was so glad that I was able to fly out and help daughter and son-in-law with Baby A. She was off daycare all week, so I was able to look after her while the adults worked.  She wasn't sickly in herself so was a joy to be with. I just made sure I washed my hands a lot and cleaned all the toys when she was done with them. She has such a funny personality now. She is crawling everywhere, and she can move really fast! She is also pulling herself up and standing and walking around the furniture. She can walk a little bit with a walker, but she is still quite wobbly. She turned 10 months while I was there. I can't believe how time has flown by and how fast she is growing. She has six teeth now and more on the way. 

Unfortunately, while I was there my son-in-law ended up with strep and Hand, Foot and Mouth disease! It was good I was able to help out as he tried to stay away from daughter and baby. Thankfully, everyone is better now. 

My husband and son drove down as planned so it was good they were able to spend a long weekend there too. 

I got to spend Granddaughter's first Halloween with her. She dressed up and stayed outside (for just a bit) while daughter and son-in-law handed out sweets. She really found it funny when the kids came up dressed in costumes. She would laugh and clap her hands. It was really cold that day so she wasn't out for long. It actually snowed in Minnesota on Halloween! 

The dogs really liked it, but I don't think anybody else did! I was certainly not ready for it. 

Back tomorrow. 

In Minnesota

It's been a busy week! I've finally got a few minutes to update before I toddle off to bed. 

Baby A is doing okay. Her sores have mostly healed now. She will be home until Monday. Poor thing not only has the hand, foot and mouth disease, but thrush and also is teething! She has been surprisingly cheery except for today when she was really quite grumpy. It's been lovely spending time with her. She is crawling everywhere and pulling herself up on most things. It's really been fun to watch. Her personality is really starting to shine through now. it is really cute when she finds something funny and giggles and giggles. She seems okay with me taking care of her. She is quite pleased to see her Mum when she comes out of her office between meetings. She is eating most things too now. She isn't a picky eater - or not so far at least - and eats a lot of different veggies and such. They basically feed her what they eat. She does like her food! 

 My poor son-in-law is dealing with strep the last few days, so he's trying to stay away from everyone, so he doesn't give poor Baby A something else to deal with!

I haven't been out this week yet. I shall go out at the weekend and next week while Baby A is in daycare. The Sandhill Cranes are migrating through this area, and, at last count, there were 12,000+ of them! I'm hoping to at least photograph a few! 

Hope everyone is doing well. I shall play catch-up as time allows. 

You can't see her face, so I thought I'd post this one. She was trying to throw the train over the gate but isn't quite tall enough yet! Look at how big she's getting!

A Bit of Decluttering and a Change of Plans

I've been (sort of) nagging husband to give me a hand tidying up a space so I can move some things from another (bad) space. He did some of it today and ended up with a huge bag of rubbish and he several boxes to donate. He loaded up the car and took a bunch out. 

Really pleased that we made a bit of a start. 

I did go out for a nice (quick) walk this morning as I wanted to get back and (sort of) help husband. The sunrise was beautiful! A couple phone photos

Today was also the third anniversary of losing Aunt Jane. I think of all the things that have changed since she passed. I like to think she would have been proud of Baby A, a Great-great Neice. She did a lot with my children and I think she would have enjoyed seeing Baby A. 

Speaking of Baby A. Plans have changed. Daughter sent a pic this morning of her with a spotty face. They thought it was because of her drooling, but later she started coming up with a rash in other places. It meant a trip to the doctors. Funny in a way, as yesterday when I was talking to sister, she was telling me that her grandchildren (in England) had been off from school and nursery because of Hand foot and Mouth disease. Not something my children ever had. Well, guess what Baby A has? Yes. It's Hand, Foot and Mouth disease. She has to be off daycare until she heals. I offered to see if I could get a flight out to help out as she cannot go to daycare. I managed to get one for tomorrow, so I am flying out early! Husband and son will still be driving down next weekend. 

It does mean rushing around, trying to get last minute things sorted, but I really want to help. I feel bad about not being close enough to help out. I've sold a few things on Ebay lately, so I'm able to do the flight. Daughter will pick me up from the airport. I wasn't going to take the computer with me, but as I'm staying longer I think I will. Baby A goes to bed quite early and so do daughter and son-in-law so it will be a good time to work on some photography projects

I'll be back soon - from Minnesota! 

Long Nights and Chilly Mornings

It seems all of a sudden that the nights are really long. I don't like getting up in the morning when it's still dark and I don't like how chilly it's been! This week temperatures were about down to freezing. I had to bundle up for my walk. I even pulled out a pair of gloves! I'm not quite ready to get out the big coat yet. It's that time of year that when you go out in the morning you need a big coat, gloves and even a hat and by lunch time you look like an idiot all bundled up like it's the middle of winter!

The other morning it was stunning on my walk. There was a mist over the lake, quite thick, though thinning out in parts where the light shone through. 

On the home front I'm stuck with the decluttering. Well, I shouldn't say completely stuck. I've packed up almost two boxes for donation. I just need a kickstart to get back into it. I need to actually pick a place and start sorting rather than just thinking about where to start! I want to at least get the second box filled by the time I leave for daughters next week. 

What's happening at the weekend? Probably not a lot. I don't think we'll go far, as we did go away last weekend and we'll be going away next weekend. Perhaps I'll get started on that decluttering again! I have been in the craft room now that it's cooler. Still seem to be moving things around more than anything!

Do you have plans for the weekend? 

Took a Blog Break

It wasn't planned, but I ended up taking a blog break. I'm back. Hopefully a bit more cheerful now lol. 

We spent the weekend away, a long weekend Friday to Monday, a planned trip to the U.P of Michigan to look at the Autumn colours. It was really beautiful and peaceful. There's one more trip we have planned, end of next week to visit daughter and then we're done for the year. Not complaining, but it's been quite a busy summer with planned trips away. 

I can't wait to see Baby A. She is standing up now! She can pull herself up to her feet and when daughter holds her hands she takes wobbly steps. Where has the year gone! It just seems like the blink of an eye that I was planning to spend a few months with them when she was first born. Time really does fly. 

It's getting chillier now. I haven't given in and turned the main heat on, but I've put away the fan that was by my favourite chair and I've pulled out the little heater. It's been on the last few mornings as the temperatures dip to near freezing. It takes the chill off the house and the rest of the time I'm now wearing my jumpers. 

Have you turned your heat on yet? 

Photo today - lovely sunrise this morning. 

I'll post more later. 

Weekend Catch-Up

I didn't have a bad weekend. Nothing very exciting. I went for a walk by myself on Saturday morning. It was #1day12pics, the first Saturday of the month. I've been trying to do a theme each month. I've been in a bit of a funk recently so just decided to take a mindful walk, enjoying the things that I could see and to take photos of things that appealed to me. It really was quite pleasant. At one point I was sitting on a downed tree near the beavers' lodge and a family came along. I think it was Grandad, Father and two really small boys, one a baby, one about four or five. The older boy was chattering about the lodge and the beavers and things he had seen. Just as they were turning to go a beaver came up out of the water. In a hushed voice I told them one was above water and they all got to see the beaver. The little boy's face was lit with wonder. It really was lovely to see. 

The beaver. 

On Sunday husband and I went down to middle son's place as his car still has not been fixed and he needed to do a bit of a shop. We went for a walk in the state park first and then picked up son. My older son (who lives with us) had to work all weekend so he wasn't too happy. He shan't have a day off until next Saturday. 

What's in the plans for this week? 

Well, tomorrow I have my Asylum Lake meeting in the evening. On Wednesday son's car is supposed to be fixed so after husband's work we are driving the car down to son's place and then driving back. Sigh. I plan on doing a bit more decluttering. Then on Friday husband and I are going away for the weekend up north to (hopefully) see a bit of Autumn Colour. 

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Week Ending

It's the end of another week. I've been quite productive this week. It ended with me taking two large boxes of donations to the charity shop and another box started. It actually feels quite good. I am almost ready to start tackling the books again! I feel as though I'm ready to get rid of more of them, to let them go so hopefully other people can enjoy. 

I've been going for a walk each day. It's been quite chilly some mornings and I am having to wear a light sweatshirt first thing. I've even pulled out a pair of fingerless gloves as my fingers get chilly when I'm taking photos. 

Baby A turned 9 months old this week - where has the year gone? Daughter sent me a photo where you can see her two top teeth peeking through! Just a few more weeks until I see her again. I can't wait. She's crawling everywhere and is starting to try to pull herself to her feet. I'm pretty sure that by the time we go to see her she'll be up on her feet. When daughter holds her hands, she can walk a little bit! 

Can't say a lot else has been happened. I suppose, sometimes that's a good thing! How has your week been? 

Another few bits decluttered. 

Magazine Hoarder

Yup, that's me. I've realised that I am a magazine hoarder. I didn't think I was, but since I've started looking over the house, I realise that I have a problem with magazines. The more I seem to actually see them, the more they seem to multiply. I have different kinds of magazines - photography, crafts, country life and cooking. A lot of the craft ones have patterns in them I 'might' someday do. Even if I lived to be 150, I wouldn't have time to do all the projects I've earmarked to do. It's time to sort through them and let them go. If you've been reading the blog, you know that I have been letting go of the photography magazines. I discovered a whole other pile of those so there are more to look though. After that I have decided that it's time to sort through all the others and start letting them go. It's also time to stop buying them. I haven't bought any cooking ones for a while as I look up recipes on the internet, but I do still buy some other ones.  I said it in a previous post, but I might look at continuing on with Kindle Unlimited (a treat to myself once I've decluttered a lot more books) as it has magazine subscriptions or, once in a while, I might treat myself to a digital magazine through PocketMags. Either way, it is time to stop bringing them into the house. Decluttering itself isn't enough. I have to stop bringing things into the house. 

That's my thoughts for the day, a reminder to myself in case I forget! 

Today I didn't declutter much. I did take one lot of floss up to the craft room and sort through it. I got several organised and a pile to donate. I added three magazines to the donate pile. They are knitting magazines with lots of patterns in them. I also decluttered 5 books. Not a lot, but I was busy and didn't dedicate a lot of time to decluttering today. 

Do you still get magazines? Are you a read them and toss them sort of person or a read and re-read kind of person? 

A couple of decluttering photos :)

End of the Month

Wow can't believe it's the last day of September. Another month that seems to have rushed by. I did make the most of the last day of September and sorted out the shelf in the wardrobe. Yikes. I had forgotten I had most of the stuff up there. There were some craft bits that need to be somewhere other than there. Also I ended up with a bag of rubbish and another 21 items to donate! There was another bunch of magazines on the shelf, so I have a really big pile sitting by the chair again. Sigh.

I finished out the meal plan today and have written a list for the food shop which I will do tomorrow. When I get home tomorrow, I plan on reading a few of the magazine and also to organise the craft items I took from the shelf. Most of it was lots and lots of floss. I had honestly forgotten about it. In my craft room I have a couple of storage containers (the kind usually used in garages to organise screws and nails and such, they have little drawers in them) that I use for my floss. It is all numbered and such. Tomorrow I am going to work on putting some of the floss away. It's such a tedious job and takes forever (well, it seems like it) but that's the plan! If I have an excess of a certain colour I'll put it in the donate box. 

What's in the plans for October? 

It's the last month we have a couple of trips planned until the New Year. The middle of October we are taking a trip to the Upper Peninsula to (hopefully) see the Autumn colours. It's really beautiful up there at this time of year and I really enjoy taking photos. Later in the month we are taking a trip to visitor daughter and Baby A. We are driving out, husband and older son are staying the weekend and I'm staying an additional week and will be flying back. I'm really looking forward to it. 

Whilst I am home the decluttering will continue. That pile of magazines by my chair will be gone by the end of October lol 

Photo for today

A bit of colour starting to pop in the field on my walk.