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!

Trying to Get Back into the Groove

I'm having a bit of a job getting back into the groove of things again. I must admit that I miss the peace and quiet of the cabins and the wilderness. 

I've been writing lists each day and doing the dailies and trying to get back into the rhythm of doing things. The house sort of resembles a mess right now as I try to put things back where they should go and sort through the too-much stuff we seem to have. I really, really need to get rid of stuff. I was partly wishing some decluttering fairy would have come to the house while I was away and got rid of all the stuff. I certainly didn't miss a lot while I was gone. It was certainly nice to have an absence of stuff. I wonder why, then, it seems so hard to get rid of it. Sigh. I suppose if I knew the answer to that I'd have a really minimalist house lol. 

I've been out walking with my friend in the mornings. We aren't seeing a lot of anything. I'm not sure if the beavers are just quieter than I've ever known them at this time of year or if they have finally moved on. It wouldn't surprise me if they abandoned the lodge and built a new one somewhere else (they do have another one further down the little lake) as there have been several reports of people standing on the beaver lodge. It makes me angry and sad, but I can't be there 24/7 and can't control the actions of others. 

While up north and at Seney National Wildlife Refuge I saw lots of beavers. There was one spot on the wildlife drive where I saw four of them enjoying eating the lily pad leaves in the early evening. One evening I was there, a car was stopped in front of me (there were three beavers that evening) and one of the people in the car came to talk to me. He said I was seeing something very unusual. He was from the area and visited regularly and had never seen the beavers all together. I think I saw about ten beavers in different spots around the drive that night. It's a really magical place. I think if I lived close to there I'd get even less done than I do now!

The top one made me laugh as it had the habit of sticking its tail up in the air as it ate. 

While I was away, I did write down some goals, so I think I will take a look at them again and see what steps I can take to achieve them. Perhaps some of them are just dreams, but if I don't take steps forward that's all they will ever be. 

I'm Back - Where I've Been

Thank you all for the lovely comments on the last post. I haven't been on the whole week we were gone. It's good just to take time out and enjoy the little things for a week. I spent minimal time on my phone (mostly when we were driving from one place to the other lol). It was quite nice. It's strange to think that a few years ago we didn't spend all that time on phones/computers and when we went up north there was no service at all! We had service in most places though it was spotty. 

We had a lovely time away. We spent time at three different places. 

Our first was a Yurt in Tawas State Park

Our second was a cabin in a rustic camp site at Tahquamenon Rivermouth Campground

The third was a mini cabin at Northland Outfitters Campground in Germfask

None of them had bathrooms. The second one was in a rustic campground so there were only outhouses though the modern campground was about a ten-minute walk away (and I went there more often than not lol)

The second one was the most peaceful, the cabin was spacious and the site was really spacious. The view was just fantastic, right along the river with a beautiful sunset and sunrise. The third was the most luxurious. It had an actual bed (which I did not realise when I booked it lol). It had nice sheets and pillows and a wool blanket, if needed. There was a television in that cabin though we did not use it. We are booked to stay there again in October, but we have the only deluxe cabin in the place then, that has its own bathroom and shower! I booked that because who wants to keep nipping outside in October lol. 

We would definitely stay at all the places again. I absolutely loved the area of the last cabin as it was a five-minute drive to Seney National Wildlife Refuge that has a fantastic drive that you can do and is well known for its Common Loon population. A wildlife refuge is basically acres and acres of undeveloped land that is used for wildlife purposes. Some have many trails, some have a few, some of wildlife drives (certain areas you can drive a car through very slowly) and hope to see some of the wonderful wildlife population that reside or visit the area. This wildlife refuge has such wonderful views, and I was thankful that I was able to see sunrises and sunsets in total silence except for the birdsong around. 

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is one of my favourite places in the state to visit. I wish I could live up there. There's just something so quiet about it. You can sometimes drive miles without seeing anyone else. 

Sigh. 

It's back to the real world with lots to catch up on. I took so many photos; it will take a while to sort through. We've all recharged our batteries and had a wonderful time. 

A Bit of a Babbling Post

I can't believe it's Thursday already and I haven't blogged. Good intentions and all that. It's been a busy sort of week. We are going away tomorrow, fingers crossed, as FIL is doing quite well and middle son and neighbours are going to check in on him. He had a follow-up visit with the doctor and all is looking good. He does have to take it easy but is supposed to do some things. Husband will be calling him every day while we are away to make sure everything is okay. 

It always seems when we go away there is so much to do before hand, supplies to buy, things to get ready, arrangements to make. Husband has to try to cram in as much work as he can before he goes and makes sure there is work for others to do while he's away. Once we are in the car and heading out of the city I think we'll all feel better. This holiday is a camping (in mini cabins/yurts - electricity, no water) and two of the places are fairly isolated. I find it good to have a recharge, to get away from distractions. I usually don't go on my phone much, or I try not to. Back in the day, the phones we used to have didn't even get service in the UP of Michigan. We do (mostly) have service now, but I miss those days when I wasn't even tempted. It was nice to not get work calls/texts until we drove back over the bridge (the Mackinac Bridge connects the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to the Lower part of Michigan). I remember the ping ping ping of messages as we headed back home, and the reality of everyday life crashed back in again. 

We've been to the UP many times. It's one of our favourite places to visit. There are a couple big cities, but mostly smaller towns and miles and miles of roads where you sometimes don't see anyone. It just feels like life is slower. Maybe it's just us, and we take things more slowly when we're away from home. I'll be (hopefully) wandering around and taking photos, husband will be relaxing in his hammock and catching up on sleep. 

We really need to work out a way to bring that feeling back home with us - or is that just part of being on holiday?

Skies from today

Sunday Adventure

We did go for a walk yesterday. It was very nice. 

First, we stopped at the Poppy field. We've been here before. Some people have a field of poppies that they grow in memorial to their son, who killed himself due to PTSD and a family friend who died from cancer. The field is really beautiful and, early in the morning when we went, very peaceful

A couple of phone photos and one from the camera

Such a lovely place to take a walk! 

From there, we decided to try a new place - The Outdoor Discovery Centre in Holland, Michigan. The actual buildings weren't open (as they are closed on Sunday) but you are able to walk the trails. It was a really lovely walk - another place we're adding to the list to go back to! It was fun to see that there were families there with children who were fishing in a designated pond. They were certainly having fun!

We walked along a couple of trails and headed towards where they keep rescued Birds of Prey. These are birds that have been injured and can no longer be in the wild. Each one had a little bit about the bird and what happened to them. There were quite a few that were hit by cars and even one that had been caught in a trap! They do educational talks with the birds too. 

They are in cages so it's difficult to take photos, but I managed to get a couple that I'm pleased with - here's one. A portrait of a Golden Eagle. This one was unfortunately caught in a trap in the Upper Peninsula and lost it's 'thumb' so it can no longer hunt effectively. 

Here's a couple of trail phone photos

This was well worth a visit and a great place to take children. 

Hope everyone had a good weekend!