Brr it's cold outside

I didn't go for a walk today. To be honest, it was just so cold I couldn't be bothered. It was about 1F/-17C with wind chills colder than that. It just didn't sound appealing. I almost changed my mind when I looked out the back window and saw the sunrise over the trees. I don't get a great view, but the skies over our big trees at the end of the back garden turn a nice colour some mornings. 

As it was so cold I did decide to give frozen bubbles a try. I wish I had a clearer view to take photos, but I gave it a go. Not sure how the camera photos turned out. 

A phone photo. It's fun to try...and a little frustrating!

I did end up getting quite a bit done. I'm pleased with crossing everything off my list and then some! The book donation pile is coming along nicely. I'm hoping that, by next week, the weather will be a bit better, and I can drive some boxes - yes, boxes - of books down to the library bookshop for donation. 

I'm not doing overly great in the craft room BUT I am making sure that each time I go up there I pull out a few things for donation. I feel like it's going to take a while, but every little bit is progress. It's better than not tackling it at all! I do feel like every bit I get rid of, makes me feel as though I can get rid of a bit more. Does that make sense? 

Tomorrow, it's still going to be cold in the morning, but we're on a warming trend. Makes me laugh as that still means we're not getting above freezing until Sunday but next week we might hit 41F/5C which is practically a heat wave! There are bound to be people out in shorts. Mind you, we did see a man in shorts at a petrol station on Sunday. He was with a woman and a couple of children (they were well bundled up at least!). Shorts though - brrrr!

Anyway, what I was going to say is that I am going for a walk in the morning. I'll bundle up and just keep on moving. Even if it's not for long I'm going to get out for a walk. 

Sunday Adventure

We did go out Sunday. Husband was feeling well enough to drive, but he didn't get out and walk anywhere. He's still coughing away. Poor guy. 

We stopped at the lighthouse near where son used to live. I took a peaceful walk out there, at least to the part where it wasn't icy. It was quite lovely, though chilly and blowy. For a time, I was the only one out there. There were lots of birds in the water where there wasn't ice and I took a few photos of the ducks. A couple of people took a really quick walk, but didn't stay long!

We then drove down the lakeshore a bit to a state park that we like. Warren Dunes. It's always a great place to visit in the winter. The ice is usually quite good along this stretch. 

The light bit that you can see is where the lake starts and is quite mushy. One idiot person decided it would be a good idea to try to walk across it to get to the ice. They soon worked out that it wasn't a great idea! The ice is obviously not stable. 

It was very windy, I think there was a gale warning, and waves were crashing up over the ice, flinging up new chunks of ice. I was quite mesmorized. 

I took a lot of photos with my camera (that I haven't sorted yet of course!). I was having a good time despite being cold. Then suddenly the weather turned! Snow started to come down and with the wind it was like a blizzard! Husband said he was worried I wouldn't be able to find my way back to the car! I know the park pretty well and had already started heading back as soon as I saw the snow coming in off the lake. 

It was strange as not far outside the park the snow stopped! 

I spent the afternoon trying to get warm. Sigh. 

It's back to Monday now and time to get into the groove of the week. I did drag myself out for a walk. I was tempted to just stay in, to be honest. The wind was still blowing, there had been a little more snow, and the temperature was pretty cold 10F/-12C and with the wind even colder. But I got out as it's supposed to be even colder tomorrow morning! I must admit that I am looking forward to Spring. A warmup cannot come too soon. As I'm writing this, I went to get a drink, looked out the window only to see snow coming down again. Sigh. 

I wasn't terribly productive today, but I did get a few things done that needed to be done. I had forgotten that it was the online camera club meeting today. I hate anything new and meeting people is uncomfortable for me but I've made it a goal to attend the meetings. Maybe one day I'll speak at one lol. It was quite interesting. Later, daughter and Baby A video chatted with me. Also, son called. Quite the social day for me lol. 

I'm not sure about a walk tomorrow. It's up in the air. Today was quite hard going. The ice at Asylum Lake is now covered, but the snow had drifted in places and was almost up to our knees in some places! I have made a list for tomorrow so that's a plus!

Hope everyone is having a good start to the week!

Okay Saturday

It's been an okay sort of day. Nothing spectacular. I woke up this morning and there were a few inches of new wet, heavy snow. The snow ploughs came through on our road fairly early and because we weren't a lot below freezing the salt they dropped cleared off the road by about 11am. I hadn't gone out early. It was grey and dull, one of those days when the sky is a flat colour with no contrast at all. With the extra overnight snow, I didn't fancy trying to trudge through more snow. 

Husband was still coughing but did manage to get out and snowblow the driveway. I had got out yesterday and shovelled a path along the side of the house, to the front porch and around my car but with the extra snowfall and the ploughs coming through (they end up shoving a pile in front of the driveway) it really needed to be done. He was out of breath when it was done. The inhaler he was given seems to help. 

We did get out for a bit. He usually cooks on the weekend and although I had planned quick things I could do instead of him, we decided to treat ourselves to a takeaway from a place in a neighbouring town. I persuaded him to stop at a park there and I took a quick walk even though the snow was quite deep!

It was nice just to get out. I like this park. There are some fairly big hills there and there were people out with their children sledding down the hills. There was even a place you could borrow one! How good is that? 

I had forgotten how much I like this park. There are lots of really interesting trees there. It was actually quite peaceful. I certainly felt better getting out. It was nice to hear the children laughing as they played in the snow. 

There is more snow coming. Maybe. Perhaps. At some time. Lol. It's a running joke with husband and I as the forecast never seems to be right!  We haven't got a lot extra today, but we're still under a Winter Weather Advisory until 7pm tomorrow night so we shall see. We are going out tomorrow. Husband probably won't be walking, but he is up to driving me somewhere. 

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend!

End of the Week

Thank Goodness this one is over! 

They guys are still fighting the flu. They both went back to work on Thursday. Husband only managed half a day, son managed the whole day. He told the foreman that he wasn't working outside. Thankfully, he's been inside both days. He's really tired now, but he's got the weekend to finish up. Husband managed a full day today. He certainly sounds a lot better and isn't coughing quite as much. I think this the first day he really seems a little more like his normal self. Hopefully, resting up for the weekend will have him well on the mend. He's out of breath when he walks, but I told him that could last weeks (at least it did for me after I've had the flu!)

As for me, I went out for a walk. It was pretty cold this morning. I think it was about 9F/-13C. Brrr. But the wind wasn't blowing. I was bundled up. I walked by myself, and I was glad I did. I took a wander through Asylum Lake. It snowed yesterday (no walk) and the snow was quite deep in places as it had drifted. There wasn't a lot of wildlife or birds around, but I found it quite peaceful as there weren't many people around either!

After the walk, I did go a few places. We're under another Winter Weather Advisory and I wanted to get out while I could. I picked up a few bits for the weekend in case husband isn't feeling well enough to drive me. This afternoon I messaged with sister. She sent me lots of photos of the birds she's been seeing on her walks. She lives quite near the Orwell Bridge so can take a walk along the river and see lots of birds. I'm really jealous! We talked over plans for me to visit so I can start planning. It's really something to look forward to! She's off out for the weekend. Her children got her tickets to Hairspray in Norwich and gave a voucher for a meal. She's looking forward to it as she has a busy week ahead with her Grandchildren as it's half term in their area. 

I chatted with Baby A this afternoon. It's amazing how far she's come in just over a month of walking! She now rarely stays still and moves quite steadily on her feet. They shared a video this week of her outside in the snow all bundled up. She looked quite bewildered! 

Thanks for all the comments about the decluttering and how you tackle the amount you paid for something and how to let it go. I'm trying to rethink how I approach this and thinking more of the final goal. 

Photos for today, just snow from my walk today. These are phone photos. It was quiet and peaceful and, well, just snowy. 

Stay Back Horrible Flu!

Husband and son have had another couple of days home with the dreaded bug. Husband finally went to the doctors to get checked out. It is the flu. Apparently, this is a nasty one that isn't covered by any flu vaccination (neither one of them had a flu vaccination but say they will get it next year!). I think it's the first time either of them has had the flu and now they realise just how miserable it can be. So far, I'm doing ok. Maybe it's something I've already had. Fingers crossed. 

I went for a cold, icy and snowy walk. Sigh. It wasn't a great long walk. I think my walking friend (who tracks these things) says it is a little over three miles. It might have been almost four as we did walk a little bit longer than the last couple of days. There is snow forecast and I'm not sure I'll get out tomorrow.  I didn't want to go home after. To be honest, I needed a little alone time. Not good for the budget. I didn't spend a lot. That's all I'm going to say, though it wasn't as bad as it could have been! 

It's snowing as I write this. I'm pretty sure I'll be staying inside. I think husband will be home tomorrow, but son says he is going to try to go to work. He is hoping - and going to ask - that he work inside. If he can't make it through the day, he'll be home at lunch time. 

The plan for tomorrow is to do some more decluttering. I am slowly plodding along. The magazines I wrote about the other day have now mostly been sorted. The craft room is slow going but I will make progress. I might look around to try to find some sort of senior craft group where I can donate some items. I think I would feel a bit better if I knew they were going to good use! There are a few more I'm planning on putting up for sale at least for one cycle. 

When you are decluttering do you think of the price you paid for an item, or do you just donate and chalk it up to a buying mistake? I think a lot of what is holding me back is the waste of money. But then, holding on to the things isn't doing anybody any good and it is holding me back from having the house as I wish it to be. 

No exciting photos today, just a lovely mug of hot Broccoli and Cauliflower Cup-a-Soup out of a mug that always makes me think of Mum as she got me it for Easter one year with a lovely chocolate egg in it. 

 

Sunday, Monday

We did go out yesterday. Poor husband was back to coughing again and not feeling good in general. Son was still sick. Temperature. Coughing. Husband did take me out but sat in the car for the most part. I didn't blame him. It was pretty chilly when the wind blew (temperatures did not get above freezing even without the wind) and the cold wouldn't do him any good. I did manage to take a few photos though I am sorting through them. The silly date/time thing on my camera got changed again and I'm back in 2024 grrrr...it doesn't do good for the photo organising. 

Son stayed home from work today. As my walking friend wasn't walking, I decided to go to the lakeshore (closest easiest bit to drive to) and took a walk along the beach. There wasn't any ice on the sand, but there was plenty of ice in the lake. It was a lovely walk, chilly again, but the sun was shining, and the beach was deserted. 

Husband texted me while I was out telling me he was coming home from work early as he wasn't feeling well either. They both have fevers and coughs. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before I catch the darn thing. Sigh. 

Things on the home front aren't moving forward very well. I've been trying to do some sorting but have stalled. The weather later in the week doesn't look good. We are under a Winter Storm Watch for Wednesday into Thursday so I think that I might spend that time doing some more decluttering. I can't stop, I have to keep going forward. A little progress is better than none, that's what I'm telling myself!

Holes like this one are part of the reason to use caution when walking on ice! I didn't step in it. I stayed firmly on the beach. I don't go out on any ice however sturdy when I'm walking alone. It's not just about going through to water, you can literally break something on bits like this!

Mixed Bag Saturday

Oldest Son woke up feeling quite poorly this morning. His fever was quite high. He made sure to dose up with water and pills. I think most of the morning he rested and drank lots of fluids. Poor guy. He's gone to bed early tonight. Hoping he'll feel better tomorrow so he can go back to work on Monday. We'll see. Apparently, it's really making the rounds here. 

Husband and I did go out. It was cold, grey and dull, but at least we got out. We drove down to the Amish Shop, spent too much money and came home again. We did stop at a little park, but it was bitterly cold and we didn't walk far. We did see 5 eagles out on the ice-covered lake. 

Here are three

None of these are full grown eagles. The ones on the right look like this years' babies and the one on the left is a little older. They don't have completely white heads until about 4 or 5 years old. There were two more up in a tree. I didn't see much open water, so I'm not sure what they were hoping to catch!

I came home and did a bit more sorting. Middle Son had asked to do some washing (sheets and comforter) at our house. I'd said yes before Oldest Son came down sick, so Middle Son just dropped it off and picked it up later! Oldest Son was on the sofa so I went upstairs to do a bit in the craft room. 

I'm really frustrated about it. I'm not sure what I'm willing to get rid of at this time. I was particularly frustrated as I thought I was done sorting out certain magazines only to find I'd tucked more of them away in the craft room!!! Grrrrr... I feel as though I've taken a step backwards. 

I'm not going to let it put me off. I'm going to keep on plodding along. 

Tomorrow, husband and I are back off to the lakeshore. Hopefully, the weather will be good and I'll be able to take some photos. I haven't been doing a lot of photography this week and it's making me feel a little...off. 

How is your weekend going? Do you have plans? 

It's Friday! It's Friday

Well, by the time most people are reading this it will probably be Saturday, but as I write this it's Friday night.

Yesterday. Sigh. Good day not to have to get out for a walk. We had freezing rain overnight on Wednesday into Thursday and the roads were really icy. Schools were closed. Again. I am pleased with what I got done on Thursday. 

Last night was my Asylum Lake meeting. I was kind of dreading it. I'm glad I went though. The meeting was productive. There is just one lady who seems to irritate me. Everyone else seems to like her. She is one of those people who seems to know everyone, has done everything and wants to do everything in the group. Sometimes I just want to roll my eyes. Maybe it's just me? 

I did get up this morning and go for a walk. Bit of a mistake. It was even icier than it has been. The beavers' little hole had mostly been iced over and the only good part of it was the lovely sunrise. 

Even with the Yaktrax on it wasn't pleasant. I didn't walk far. I went back home and got quite a bit done today too. 

Husband was off a bit early so he came home and took four boxes to the charity shop. I've already started another box! 

Poor Aurora has been off daycare again. She's had a fever. Oldest son also came home with a fever and cough. I hope he's not coming down with what husband had!

I'm not going for my usual walk tomorrow. Husband is going to drive me down to the covered bridge. Maybe I'll stop and get some photos. Sometimes there are Eagles trying to fish in some open water. Otherwise the bridge sometimes is good for photos. I have tempted him with a promise of a visit to the Amish store down that way. They have some lovely foodie bits down there and it's been a while since we've gone!

Plodding Through the Week

It's been an okay start to the week. The trails on my walk are horrible. Basically ice. If I didn't have my Yaktrax, I wouldn't be walking them at all. Parts of my driveway is like that too! Sigh. We're under a Winter Weather Advisory overnight. It's forecast to be a combination of freezing rain and snow. I'm not going out tomorrow as husband is taking my car to the mechanics to have a check-up. I actually don't feel stressed and anxious about not going for walk. I haven't been particularly enjoying them as it's so icy and chilly and not a lot about. The beavers have opened a really small bit of ice right by the beaver lodge, and one popped up Monday and Tuesday. The rest of the Asylum Lake remains frozen

There isn't a lot more space for them to pop up. Poor things. While sorting through books I came across an interesting diagram in one of the books. 

It definitely makes sense as the food cache is near where they tend to pop up. 

Talking of books, I did take three boxes for donation to the local library bookshop today. Go me! Last minute I added 16 more to the pile. These were ones I had passed over before as I intended to read them, but I have to be more realistic about whether I will read them or not. considering there are still a lot of books in the house and (hanging my head but knowing there could be worse things to be addicted to) over 7000 on my Kindle. I'm not going to run out of books anytime soon!

It's on my list tomorrow to do a re-check of the couple of bookcases in the living room. I'm going to let some more go. 

Speaking of lists, I have been making them and completing all/most of what I'm written down. It needs to be something that I keep up with. 

Happy things - I have video chatted with Baby A several times over the last few days. It's so lovely to see her. She blew me kisses. How adorable! Daughter said today Baby A got hold of her phone and brought it to her saying Na Na (or something close to it!) so they did a video call. How cute! Makes me smile to see her. I am thankful for daughter trying to establish a good relationship between Baby A and myself even though I'm so far away!

Sunday, Monday

We did go out yesterday, but it wasn't great :( It snowed overnight, and the roads were horrible. There was snow on top of a layer of ice. We made it where we had planned, but the drive was pretty lousy. The person behind us on a chunk of the drive was too close. I think he just thought that if he got closer we'd go faster. Husband was driving as conditions dictated. He was following behind traffic but not too close. At one point, the person behind tried to overtake (there were supposed to be two lanes on the motorway but the outside lane was completely covered in chunky ice!) but gave up as the ice was too bad on that side. Ended up back behind us, right up our backside again. Sigh. 

It was foggy where we ended up. Not the nice kind, but a dull kind. The ice was lovely, but the light was terrible to take photos in. 

The good thing was that by the time we drove back the roads were completely clear. 

Today was still very foggy out. I went for a walk and made a couple of stops and then came home. 

Update on the time management - it's not going well - something to definitely work on! I spent too long out walking today. Not because the weather was great and I was enjoying it, but because the trails were icy and slippery and hard going in spots. I've decided that tomorrow I'm having a shorter walk and getting things done. I've made a list (something I haven't done the last few days). Seeing things written down does help keep me on track!

Another video - this one from yesterday. It made me smile to see the swans and ducks on a piece of ice as it floated along. 

I uploaded this one from my computer. Not sure which is better! Can everyone access the Youtube videos or is it better from the computer? 

Hopefully back tomorrow! I'll let you know if I get all my list completed!