Getting Back into Daily Stuff - Everyday Life

I have three weeks at here before I go back to England to visit sister and family. I'm so excited! But, for now, I need to try to get back into the groove of household stuff before the trip home. That means trying to get things under control and getting back into daily stuff. 

I've been walking in the mornings with my friend. It's been hot and humid first thing, so we've been trying to get out early to beat the heat. The horrible bitey flies are in full swarm and I've taken to wearing a scarf about my head as they seem to like landing in my hair - yuck! I shouldn't complain too much. When I was at daughter's I managed to go to the wildlife refuge drive a couple of times and they were so bad I couldn't even get out of the car at points! I also had to roll the windows up. A shame really as it was really lovely and I could hear lots of birds singing. I can deal with mosquitoes, but the bitey flies (I think they are called deer flies) aren't deterred by sprays and when they bite, they hurt! I swell up quite a bit with them. It isn't fun! Some mornings it's so bad I wonder why I'm going out at all!

The house stuff, well, I'm caught up on housework and I'm trying to sort out a few bits. It's not going great, but better than it did last month - so I'll take that! I am limiting what comes into the house too. With prices going up and husband's countdown (2 years) to retirement, I really need to watch what we're spending. I think it all comes down to choices and what we choose to spend our money on. I don't need anything else for hobbies - no matter how pretty the papers are or how cheap they are. I'm really trying to change my mindset and not fall back on old patterns of spending especially if something is on sale, or a bargain, or I feel the 'need' to shop when I'm feeling down. 

I'm back to writing lists and planning menus. The freezer is full, so it's mainly cooking from there with some fresh bits. Things seem to be going up every time I go to the shops! There are some cod fish fingers/sticks I like that (for 15 of them) the price has gone up from 7.99 to 11.99 within a few months. Sadly, I won't be buying them at that price! There are so many things that are out of the price I'll pay for them now. I watch for sales and plan around them and stock up when things are on sale. I need to go back to the recipe books and find some cheap, hearty meals. 

Is there a favourite recipe you use when trying to save money or use up freezer things? 

Photo for the day

Summer Mornings

Camping at Crow Wing State Park

We had a lovely weekend camping in Minnesota. Daughter, Son-in-law and Baby A (and dogs) have a camper, so they had one spot, Son-in-law's Mum and older brother were in the spot next to them and we were a couple of minutes' walk away in a mini cabin. Unfortunately, the cabin had no electricity, and it was really hot, but it had several windows you could open, and we had a couple of solar rechargeable fans which worked really well. We spent most of the time in daughter's campsite and it was (thankfully) shady. The mini cabin was really nice though and was quite secluded. It had a little screened in porch with a couple of chairs on. This is definitely one I'd like to go back to. It would be very relaxing just to hang out and relax at the cabin. 

These are some phone photos I took of the cabin

We had a great time hanging out. There were some really good trails around (we've walked at the park before) but our experience of really, really bad ticks along the river trail (and how hot it was) made us rethink taking those kinds of walks and we mainly walked the dogs through the campground. It is a really beautiful park though and has a nice historic trail. 

This is a little snippet about the park

Crow Wing State Park is a state park of Minnesota, United States, at the confluence of the Mississippi and Crow Wing Rivers. The park interprets the site of Old Crow Wing, one of the most populous towns in Minnesota in the 1850s and 1860s. The entire park was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.  A section of the Red River Trails that passed through Old Crow Wing is also separately listed on the National Register.

I woke up quite early in the mornings (very snorey husband and son!) so I decided to take a little drive to the boat launch and sit there in peace for a little while. Daughter and I had taken a look at it the night before and it looked like a lovely place to see the sunrise and sunset. It overlooked the Mississippi River and I couldn't go to Minnesota without at least taking a photo of the river!

As I drove the short distance from the campground in the park to the boat launch (also in the park) a bear crossed right in front of the car!! I was really excited as it was my first time seeing a bear up close (I had seen one a couple of years ago alongside the road in Minnesota as we drove). I didn't get a photo though.

It was so very peaceful sitting there in the morning. I could hear nothing but the birds. I saw a beaver walk from the shore to the water and start swimming, some herons and some turtles. 

After I had been sitting for a while I spotted something in the water a little up the river. It took me a moment to realise it was another bear! It was crossing from the opposite side of the river and swimming along. 

What a treat to see! I've always wanted to see one. 

The next morning while I was there, I saw another one (a little further away), lots of herons, an eagle and a loon swam right in front of me!

So worth going down there in the morning to get my nature fix - a great way to start the day!

The rest of the time we relaxed with the family and I played with Aurora. She had a great time though she didn't want to go to bed! I hope we can go camping with them again!

It's Been a While

It's been a while since I've posted. 

 Had a lovely time with Baby A. She has so much energy! By the end of the days, I was so tired. It didn't help that I picked up something on the plane. Ugh. 

Husband and Older Son came out on the Thursday night, and we spent last weekend camping. We got back late last Sunday, and I've been catching up since and recovering from the yucky cold thingy. Poor husband ended up catching it too, so he's been struggling all week. I'm finally starting to feel better. 

I loved spending time with Baby A. We read lots of books, played with lots of dolls and had a lot of fun. We couldn't go outside much as it was too hot and there was a lot of smoke from the Canadian Wildfires. I'm so glad that I went out for the week. I know that daughter was glad I had gone out as it made things easier for her. They do have son-in-law's mum to help out, but she doesn't drive and lives about 45 minutes away so daughter would have to wake up, pack up baby A go get her, bring her back, work and then repeat. She doesn't generally stay at the house for some reason. 

Camping was a lot of fun. It was hot and we were in a mini cabin that had no electricity, but we did take a couple of solar powered rechargeable fans and they worked really well. The cabin itself was really nice and private. I would love to go back there. More about camping in the next post!

 Baby A. 

All the babies in a row. 

I've caught up with a few blogs, but have a few more to go!

Unexpected Trip

I would say that I was trying to get back into the groove again, but I'll be off again on Saturday, so I won't say that!

A while ago, daughter told me that sometime this summer Baby A's daycare was redoing the car park and the daycare would have to be closed for a week. She wasn't sure when but would give me more details when she knew. Perhaps either me or son-in-law's Mum would be able to babysit. On Monday of this week - yes, this week, they told her it would be closing on Friday!!! She asked whether I would be able to come out and babysit. If I wasn't able, she would make other arrangements. We already had plans to go camping with them for a couple of nights on the 17th and I talked it over with husband and he said to see if I could book a flight out and then he would drive out on the 16th (with oldest son who was planning on coming with us), we'd camp and then I could drive back with them. 

So, that's the plan!

I wasn't able to go tomorrow as I have another commitment, but I am flying out on Saturday. I'm really excited to get some one-on-one time with Baby A. The camping trip was going to be with son-in-law's family as well (his Mum, 2 brothers and 1 sister-in-law). With all her closer family around I wasn't sure how much time I'd get to spend with her. This way I'll be able to have some lovely time with her and just relax and take the camping trip as it comes. I'm really excited!

Today, was an early walk - another hot day - and catching up on housework. Nothing exciting. 

Bright sunlight on my morning walk

Checking In

It's been longer than I thought it would be since I last posted. 

We had a good - but really hot - weekend away. We tried to limit time in the sun and - to be honest - couldn't stand out in it long. I sweated even standing still lol. Luckily, the site we were on was in the shade for all but a few hours of the day. There were a couple of showers, but they didn't really mess with the weekend too much. There was a strong storm in Kalamazoo while we were gone, but thankfully the only thing we lost was a tree limb in the back garden. 

Tuesday though we lost power from 1am -7pm. Apparently, somebody crashed into a pole at the top of the street in a hit and run and took out a huge area of power. Sigh. It was a hot uncomfortable day. There were several times when we notified that our power was back on...only it wasn't so then I would have to go report another outage. Finally, it did come on!

The mini cabin and some sunrises. The mornings were lovely and peaceful, though during the day it was quite busy. I suppose everyone had the same idea on hot days to get to the beach. I'm not sure how they can sit out in it. I can't do that any longer. 

Back home for a little bit now...less time than I thought, but more in the next post. 

Hope everyone is doing okay. I've been trying to catch up with blogs. 

Hot Days

We're having a week (so far) of hot days. Not my favourite. So, what are we doing? Well, I booked us a weekend away (a long time ago) in a mini cabin not realising how hot the weekend was going to be. We'll make the best of it, not move about too much and hopefully enjoy the time away. If all else fails, and we can't stand the heat, we'll be back home. The camp site the mini cabin is on is shaded and has trees, so it will be better than full on sunshine. I'm taking my camera, a couple of books and a notebook. 

Be back in a couple of days. 

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Decluttering Totals and an Interesting Advice Column!

Yikes, the totals for June were not good, but everything leaving is a good thing, right? And I am really taking a look at what I am bringing in especially for the reselling. There's a fine line between hoarding and having some inventory!

Books 17

Magazines 6

Misc.  6

Crafting 8

Sad, sad total 37

This is the column I read while scrolling one morning. I thought it was an interesting dilemma and a good answer. It's definitely one I struggle with!

Back soon. 

Mini-Sunday Adventure/Crafting

We didn't go far this Sunday. We have another camping trip coming up next weekend so this weekend we planned on staying close to home. We ended up going for a couple of small walks. Quite good as by mid-morning it was warming up. I've been enjoying the cooler temperatures we've been having but - for now - they are over. We're under an Extreme Heat Watch until Thursday evening. My plan is to go out for a quick early walk, go places I have to and be home by noon where I'll stay inside and drink lots of water lol. The other downside to drinking so much water is the need to go wee so much!

Anyway, yesterday we went to the Historic Bridge Park in Battle Creek. It's a place where they take some historical old bridges instead of just getting rid of them. It's not very big, but quite interesting to look around. 

They all have little descriptions, but (rolling my eyes) I didn't take photos. 

After that we went to Lelia Arboretum also in Battle Creek. I really like this park. It reminds me of the park back in my hometown in England - just a little bit and not sure why lol. It has a lovely native garden and a small fantasy tree sculpture garden and there are rolling hills and some flower gardens. 

I really like these murals

In the afternoon I did do a bit of crafting but, of course, now that I'm in the mood the craft room is really, really warm. 

I really need to do something about the lighting up in the room too! 

A couple of the tags I created yesterday. 

Hope everyone is having a good start to the week

Fairly Nice Day

I did turn off the alarm last night, but I really didn't sleep a lot later than I usually do. I did not bounce out of bed and get going. I did, however, end up going for a little walk. It wasn't a long one and I had no expectations of photos, and it was somewhere different where I usually go, but it was very peaceful...until it wasn't lol. I went to the Fish Hatchery, and they had a programme today teaching fishing to children and families. It was quite busy but by then I was on my way out. There are several ponds at the fish hatchery and only the ones at the front are used for fishing. I didn't see or hear the children until I was walking back up to leave. 

I actually didn't see a lot of people until then, a couple of joggers and one dog walker. It was quite lovely, very peaceful. 

I was home fairly early, and the rest of the day was spent doing a bit of listing, a bit of crafting and a bit of watching some telly. All-in-all, a good-ish sort of day. 

I've been watching a woman on YouTube who has some great papercrafting videos. She had a whole video on things to do with 6 x 6 paper pads (of which I have a ridiculous amount), so I thought I'd give them a try. The last photo, the items aren't finished but I'm pleased with the results so far. I really enjoyed making the little pockets (1st and 3rd photos). They are filled with (1) 2 x 2 handmade little sketchbook, (2) journaling cards and (1) tag (2nd and 4th photos). I think I might use them in journals. We shall see!

It was nice to get up in the craft room, though I really tried not to look at the mess. The plan is to work on things down here and gradually make my way up. 

Tomorrow is an up-in-the-air day. Really not sure what we're doing. 

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Friday

There's really not a lot going on in life. I have been a bit more productive in the last few days, or at least I've felt that way. I've been putting things I want to take care of or list for resale in a basket and the goal is to get it emptied by the end of each day. So far, it seems to be working. There are several piles that have been taken care of. There is still too much stuff in this house and finding places for things is becoming a challenge. At some point I will have to tackle decluttering again (which I am not doing well on). 

I think this weekend is going to be a quiet one. I haven't even decided if I want to bother getting out of bed early to go for a walk first thing tomorrow. I might wait for a little while - though not too long or it will be too hot. I'm not even sure where I want to walk. I'm certainly not sure where I want to go on Sunday either. It won't be far as we have a 'camping' weekend next weekend. 

Normally, I'd consider going to a few charity shops, but I'm trying to curtail the spending and bringing things into the house. It's no good complaining about all the stuff in the house if I bring in more of it. I'm not much of a regular shopper, but I do enjoy finding a bargain at a charity shop or garage sale. 

I've been for a walk the last couple of days, but yesterday was kind of blah and we didn't see much. Today was a little better. I saw quite a bit before my friend arrived so that was kind of nice. We enjoyed a bit of a walk and a natter. 

Phone photos. It was a bit of a lovely cloud morning (before the clouds took over the skies lol) and they made me smile. 

Hope everyone has a good weekend!