Happy Winter Solstice!

The shortest day of the year. It seems so strange that we're at this time of year again. This time last year I was at daughter's house, and we were waiting for the birth of Baby A. How time really does fly! On this day of the year, I always feel a little hopeful. Days are going to get longer, and the darkness will give way to lighter days. It is strange how it seems to take so long for the days to get lighter, but they really got darker quickly! 

This morning, I was treated to a beautiful sunrise. It was really cold and there was a thin layer of ice on parts of Asylum Lake when I went for my walk. I wasn't expecting the sunrise, as it was really dull when I first got there with no hint of colour in the sky. Suddenly I could see the colour peeking over the horizon and, just as quickly, it was gone. It's these moments that make it worth getting up early for. 

The beavers were out trying to keep the little space in front of their lodge free from ice. It always amazes me how hard they work at keeping some water open. It's supposed to be another cold night (15F/-9C) so the snow and ice will still be around tomorrow. 

I got a little distracted by the beavers - they were out quite late this morning - and husband and I started shopping late. We got a lot of the list checked off. One last little shop on Monday and everything will be done (hopefully). 

We participated in the party with daughter and SIL's family. I was a little sad we weren't here, but I'm telling myself to enjoy the moments I can and to make the most of them. It was lovely to be included. 

The rest of the afternoon I spent doing a bit of wrapping and more than a little procrastinating. 

Things are slowly coming together. I'm still not in the Christmas-y mood, but that's okay. I don't have to be jolly. I can just be in the moment and enjoy the small things. It's less than two weeks before we will visit daughter and Granddaughter. That's not long at all! 

I'm Such a Chicken - a day inside

It snowed a bit overnight and was still snowing this morning. Not a lot, but enough to just make me anxious about driving - so I didn't. I stayed inside. I felt a little off as I didn't get out for my walk BUT I did manage to get moving in the end and get some things done. 

* I actually started wrapping! Leaving it a bit late, but I got a lot done

* I made a list of what I have left to get! Yes, I still do have a few odds and ends left to get

* I made a food list. 

*We put up the tree! 

* I finished putting some stuff away that has been sitting around too long!

I also had a lovely video chat with Baby A and daughter. I must admit that I've been feeling a little down as we aren't going for daughter's annual Christmas get-together this year. Today, after work, daughter was doing a bit of cooking ready for the party and put me on the counter on video chat while she was cooking. Baby A was in her highchair, and we played peek-a-boo, and she blew me kisses. It certainly cheered me up and made my day! We are video chatting tomorrow during the party, but it's not the same as being there. I am going to try to be cheerful and keep in mind that it will only be a couple of weeks before we do visit for Baby A's first birthday! Can you believe it's been a year? I've got to focus on the good things and not think about the things we'll miss. I suppose that's the same for all people who live far away from family members. 

I am really thankful that daughter - and son-in-law - make such a great effort to include us in those little moments and do video calls. 

Tomorrow - I am going for a walk. It's going to be cold - a morning temp of 19F/-8C but it MIGHT be a little bit sunny. Hubby is going to drop me off and later on pick me up. We're going to get a bit of the shopping off my list done afterwards, before we video chat with daughter. Later in the afternoon, son and husband are going out so I'm going to get some more wrapping done. 

Photo for today - it's another of those lovely ornaments my MIL made. This is one of my favourites on our tree. 

Thursday...feels like Friday lol

I'm all messed up on my days. I usually message my sister on Fridays but we changed to today as she has plans tomorrow. I didn't do my normal housework as I was out with son looking at apartments/flats. It's all made me feel like it's Friday instead of Thursday!

I also found out that several comments - including replies I've left to comments - ended up in my Spam folder. Not quite sure how that happens! I shall have to make sure I check them from now on. 

Today is daughter's birthday. I sent a message this morning and chatted with her this afternoon when work was done. I had already given her a gift, but I did send a couple of foody treats that she enjoys. It was nice to chat with her. Usually, we head over to their house around this time, so it seemed odd not to be there. Perhaps that's why I'm feeling a little off with Christmas. Those routines and traditions, when off, make me feel a little wobbly. 

I was feeling better today. The nausea has gone. Husband and son seem to have got a little of it, so it must have been a 24-hour bug of some kind. I went for a quick walk and was back in time to go with son to look at flats/apartments. They were...okay. One of them he quite liked, but the woman who showed us around was a little...well, almost rude. She side-stepped questions more than she answered and when asked the price for the place she said it could change daily, and we couldn't lock in a price until we actually leased the place. That sounded really off. Sure, enough when we got back home and looked at the website the price had gone up $50 a month! It's really frustrating. 

We'll have to see what happens next!

We're forecast some snow tonight, not masses of it, but enough that I might not go out for a walk tomorrow. That would probably be good as I have a lot of housework to get done and I really need to start on the wrapping! I am such a procrastinator. 

How are your preparations coming along? 

Photo today - an oldie. My MIL is so talented. One year she made these lovely bird ornaments and displayed them all on one tree. They are so beautiful! I was lucky enough that she gifted some to me to put on my tree. 

Wednesday - Finished Ornament

Another grungy day today. Where's that sunshine? If you have some try blowing a little my way, would you please? I didn't go for a long walk. I woke up round about 5.30 and felt really nauseous. Not to be too graphic but I felt as though I was going to be sick all over the floor! I stayed really, really still (despite the rolling stomach) and managed not to be sick. I didn't feel great most of the day. I was okay sitting down. Luckily, I did most of the out-and-about errands yesterday so today I had planned on getting things done at home. I sat, then got a bit done, then sat again. It was basically like that all day. The nausea part has faded a little bit, except for now and then. I'm hoping a good night sleep will have me back to normal tomorrow. I certainly hope so as I'm supposed to go view some flats/apartments with my son tomorrow. 

I did get the ornament out in the post. I'm going to share it. Baby A (who I'll still refer to that way) is named Aurora. She's adorable (if I do say so myself). She's almost walking but she can manage to push the walker by herself and lift it to turn corners. She's so funny as she makes a little noise each time she lifts it lol. 

Anyway, here's the ornament. I'm quite pleased. 

 It's all one colour on the back. The lighting is really bad (roll on lighter days lol)

Tuesday

This month has gone so quickly! I feel a bit productive today. I got Baby A's ornament finished. I shall take photos before I post it tomorrow. I had hoped to buy some ready-made bows, but the ones I found didn't seem to work, so I bought one, pulled it apart to find out how they made it and then ended up making my own. Not my favourite thing to make. The ornament turned out ok. There are a couple of errors on it, but hopefully nothing glaring that anybody else will make too much of. It did take longer than I had thought to finish it but it's done now!

I did go for a walk this morning. It was dreary out, windy and a little chilly, but I did walk. I also got a few errands done. I won't have to go anywhere after my walk tomorrow. I am hoping to start on the wrapping.  I've got to make some sausage rolls as husband has a get-together at work and they are all expected to bring something. It will be nice to have an at-home day when I get back tomorrow.

Today's photo - I wanted to share another ornament. I found this one at a charity shop for $2.50. It's a Hallmark Ornament. I was pleased to see it. I don't generally buy a lot of ornaments - MIL is so great at making them, we tend to use mainly the ones crafted (by her or me) on our tree, but I couldn't resist the England Santa/Father Christmas. I like the Christmas Pudding he's holding lol

He will be going on the tree this year!

How are your preparations coming along? 

Monday

Time is just flying by. It's going to be a busy week this week. I did get a couple of things done that I was procrastinating on mainly my sisters' cards and my sister's calendar. Last year I ended up doing my sister's calendar on Snapfish.co.uk. In the past I've had it printed here in the US and then sent it over to her in England, but the cost of postage is just terrible. I think last time I sent a calendar it was over $20! That's not including the cost of the calendar. When I use Snapfish.co.uk the cost is just so much cheaper! I also did their cards using Funky Pigeon. It's great to use. You can design the front of the card (or use one they have) and you can add photos to the front or the inside. It's a great way for me to share photos of Baby A. 

I have also just about finished Baby A's ornament. It needs to get in the post by tomorrow at latest. I have to add a bow and hopefully it will be done. It was harder than I thought as it's heart-shaped and trying to cover a heart with fabric and the cross-stitched design was not easy! I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. I'll be sharing a photo when it's finished. You might even end up knowing Baby A's name! 

I did manage a little walk today. It was another drizzly day, so I cut it short and ran some errands. I think this might be the week of running errands as I want everything bought by the end of the week. I also have to go look at flats/apartments with my son this week on Thursday. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate. Even though we're currently having mild temperatures, and the snow has melted, it's apparently back to snow at the end of the week!

Photo today. Once in a while I like to play with the text to AI generator. I'd never claim the picture as my own but it's sometimes funny to see what comes up when you give it a sentence. For this one I think I used - Snowy Christmas Tree with Bird Ornaments in a Forest. Not sure this meets the prompt lol. 

It is quite fun though. I can imagine my chipmunks living on the other side of that door, sitting in front of a fireplace with their feet up on a stool eating a bowl of peanuts. Hum, perhaps I should put that in the AI generator!

A Sunday Adventure

 It was warm enough today that the snow was mostly melted and instead we had drizzle most of the day. The melting ice and snow had left little creations in the sand.  It was pretty calm on Lake Michigan today, but the winds of the past few days had made the pier very icy. We walked for a while until the ice was too dodgy and I didn't fancy falling over.  In these photos it looks brighter than it was, but luckily, we were able to walk in-between drizzly/rainy bits. 

Christchurch Mansion Christmas Trees

Christchurch Park is a lovely park in the heart of Ipswich town. As a child I really enjoyed going there and looking around the mansion that sits within the park. Mum would tell me of going there when she was a child too. Mum loved walking there too. We would often go there, have a walk around the park and then sit and read if the weather was good. On rainy days we'd walk around the mansion even though we'd done it so many times before! 

I think I've shared photos of the mansion before. Here's one I took with my phone this summer

The park is always pretty busy in the summer months. There are a couple of ponds that have lots of ducks, Cormorants and such, and a few trails to walk. There are always lots of families and people sitting enjoying the sunshine. The park has different events throughout the year including a free music festival the first weekend in July. I remember going there to the fair and to see fireworks. 

As you can tell, I really love the park. I spent so much time there as a child and it's always somewhere I visit a few times when I'm back home. 

My two sisters meet up every Wednesday and go for a walk together. For a while now, Christchurch Park has been part of their route. They walk quite a way! I always enjoy going with them when I'm back. This last week when they were out walking, they happened to see that there were some trees in the mansion. They had a look and my middle sister C took photos to share with me. 

I really like the first one. It seems to have lots of crocheted squares. It looks really unique

It's Friday

It was cold again this morning. 14F/-10C when I went for a walk. Colder at my daughter's (BRRR) -6F/-21C. The roads were still icy, but I decided to sort of cheat. I drove through our neighbourhood (where the traffic is lighter, and the speed limits are a lot lower) crossed over the main road into the opposite neigbourhood and parked at the back entrance to the nature preserve. It was lovely and quiet. In all the time I walked there I only saw my walking friend and one other regular walker. It was lovely. There was a bit of sun too! I expect that, because it was so cold, all the sensible people were still indoors. It was pretty calm, the wind not blowing so fairly okay to walk in. The lake is freezing over already. It's amazing how much things can change in just a few days! 

This was Tuesday

This was today

The beavers are keeping a channel open as long as they can. Lots of work, but it's going to warm up again next week for a few days so it will probably melt. 

A beaver popping up through the ice (taken with my camera)

They were quite busy today!

After my walk I drove straight home. I got quite a few things done today and then spent about three hours messaging with my sister. She sent me lots of lovely photos of the Christmas Trees that were decorating Christchurch Mansion - I'll share them tomorrow. 

WOW - I've Made it to Day 12!!!

I survived the dentist. It was a rough one. I found this one really tough. Not quite sure why. I was so glad when it was over and really thankful that husband was able to drive me as I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to drive myself. The roads were slick, and it was snowing. It was also really cold, so nothing was working on the roads (not that the road people had even attempted anything). When we went out it was 10F/-12C and the wind chill made it feel like -4F/-20C. So bitterly cold! I looked at daughter's temp and hers was even lower -11f/-24C with a wind chill of -23F/-31C. When I tell sister of these temps she can't even comprehend. I'm still scratching my head trying to work out why I moved to such a cold place!

Husband drove me home and I spent the rest of the day inside. I took a nice hot bath as I was having trouble getting warm and just feeling a little off. I think it was just due to the dentist thing. I am so thankful that husband has a job that he is able to just go in later if needed. 

I was feeling a bit better by the afternoon. My mouth is a little sore, to be expected, but I managed to get house stuff done and a few extra bits.

I also enjoyed a nice cup of soup - Broccoli and Cauliflower (yum!) in my lovely Owl Mug

And later on I snuggled under my blanket in my new pajamas.

They are so comfy and warm. I wish I'd bought a couple of extra pairs but they were a Thanksgiving Special, and all sold out now (sad face)