Mid-Week

Cold again this morning. Dreary too. I did go for a walk, but I must admit it's getting to be a struggle to be motivated. Things are supposed to get warmer over the next few days though, so fingers crossed. I wasn't quite as productive as I wanted to be, but I did get my dailies done, some listing and I attended my camera club zoom talk, so not a bad day in all. 

The zoom talk was really inspiring. So much to think about. It was Paul Sanders . He worked at a large newspaper, had a breakdown, stepped down and found solace in photography. Such a good talk and I'm glad I attended. It gave me a lot to think about as I haven't felt really motivated in my photography either. I'm hoping it's just because the weather is getting me down!

Baby A was back in daycare today but as soon as she got home, she wanted to talk - though she suddenly got very shy and wouldn't chat at all to begin with lol. Daughter said she had demanded to talk to Nanny when she got home. She wanted to see her Grandpa and her Uncle. Once again, she did more hiding than chatting. She did say Goodbye Uncle, but only after he'd already left lol. Son-in-law was home today, but he's feeling better. He has to go to work tomorrow as he doesn't have any more time off (he doesn't have any sick time and only gets a few holiday hours calculated by how many hours he works).

Tomorrow, I'm chatting to my sister in the afternoon - usually a Friday thing, but it's her daughter's birthday on Friday so they are going out for a meal. I'm looking forward to chatting and seeing some photos of Spring from her end lol. 

Hope everyone is having a good week!

A Bit of This and That

Overnight there had been a little bit of snow and ice, just enough to make things a bit of a pain this morning. The car needed to be warmed up and the roads weren't great. I took the back way through our neighbourhood into the next so I could park and take a walk at Asylum Lake. It was brutally cold this morning. I think spring decided to go back to bed for a while! I didn't hang around for long. It was far too cold to stand still for long. I must admit that I'm getting a little tired of mornings like this. Always seems to be this way at Winter's End. I almost stayed home, but when I looked out of the back window it appeared that the beginning of the day was going to be a little sunny and sunshine is always good at this time of year. 

Sunrise from behind the Beavers' Lodge

The walk was brisk and pretty uneventful except for the three Great Horned Owls we saw. 

One of the owls. 

As I was pulling into the driveway daughter texted to ask if I was home. Baby A wanted to chat. I asked her to give me time to get my coat off and then we chatted for a couple of hours! She was feeling a bit better today though my poor son-in-law was home as he was sick! Baby A kept asking to talk to Grandpa or Uncle though they were both at work. It's really funny, because she doesn't actually talk to them if they come to the phone - she just hides! I think it's a bit of a game. She did call back later and see husband though she wouldn't talk she just kept hiding lol. 

I got my usual housework done - why does the weather always seem to be rubbish on days I'm going to mop the floor in the kitchen by the back door? When husband got home he took me to the post office as I didn't want to drive on the icy roads in the morning. By the time we went out, the roads were mainly just wet so if there is no more snow tonight, they should be okay in the morning - though there isn't anywhere I have to go lol. Things are looking warmer for the weekend. 

I did have time to work a bit on a new little cross stitch and to go up in the craft room for a bit (no cleaning up there today!)

In the plans for tomorrow - a walk, dailies, a zoom camera club talk in the afternoon, some listing and some time spent in the craft room. I am trying to do more varied things instead of hyper-focusing on one thing and getting nothing else done!

Monday?

I'm not quite sure where the weekend went! I was pretty sure I wrote a post between Friday and now, but apparently not! 

Saturday, I went for a walk by myself in the morning, ran a few errands - not what I'd planned, but we ran out of loo roll and that's something we can't do without lol. Later in the afternoon, we drove over to a nearby town where MIL's ashes are at a military cemetery. We took some flowers. I still can't quite believe she's gone. 

As Sunday was English Mother's Day, I bought some extra flowers to keep in the house in memory of Mum. My sister had taken some to her bench for me but I thought it would be nice to have some in the house to be able to look at and think of her. The ache is still there, but it's a little easier to think of the good times we had and not so much of that bad time. 

Sunday husband and I went out. Weather wasn't great but we managed a little walk, and it was quite peaceful as there weren't many people about. We both commented how lovely it was to have such a peaceful walk. 

A couple of the trees I really liked. I'm not quite sure what kind of trees they are. If you have any idea, please let me know!

There were a couple of people down on the beach here looking at stones and gathering some up. Husband and I have no idea what we're looking for and we mentioned it to one lady. I did say I'd seen some pretty ones. She commented that she and her friend knew a few of the ones they were looking for but also looked out for VPR - Very Pretty Rocks (stones). Made me laugh. 

Later I chatted with Baby A again. Had another chat with her today as last night she came down with a fever and had to stay home from daycare. We spent a couple of hours chatting and playing today! That certainly makes me smile. I love that despite the miles between us, even as this young age, we get to play together. 

I did go for a walk this morning. It was still windy and the temperatures had dropped enough that the rain had turned to pelty bits of ice and later snow. It was, again, quite peaceful out. I don't think I saw one other person as I walked around Asylum Lake. I did see beavers, muskrats, a mink, deer, an owl and lots of little birds. For a while there, I was wondering why I had even bothered to go out but as I walked around, I remembered why I enjoyed walking there so much even in bad weather. 

I did not get as much done around the house as I had hoped but talking with Baby A is so much more fun and definitely worth putting off any housework! I'm hoping she'll feel better soon but daughter said her fever was back up and she had said she was cold not too long after we finished chatting. They cuddled and she ended up falling asleep. Poor baby. We might be having another chat tomorrow!

Week All Done

I can't believe there's another week done and dusted. This one - don't I say this every week - has really flown by! Today was really blustery - anything not nailed down was flying around. I did go for a walk, but it was a quick one and we didn't see much of anything - people, birds or animals. Everyone/thing with any sense had battened down the hatches - I must admit when I thought of this phrase I automatically thought of  https://jabblog-jabblog.blogspot.com/ who would surely know exactly where the origins of this phrase and probably wrote a blog post about it lol. Anyway, things were pretty windy and chilly. Luckily, we haven't lost power or any of the big trees left in the garden. 

Things are supposed to ease up later tonight and then start up again on Sunday. We're in for a rollercoaster of a few days of weather from wind, sunshine, rain, clouds, high temps, low temps, ice and snow. All seasons rolled into about four days. I'm not going to complain too much as daughter is under a Winter Storm Warning for 5-10 inches of snow. 

Anway, walk today - there were lots of rolling clouds first thing this morning and a bit of sun. It was rather nice - or would have been if it wasn't cold and blowy. 

I had to make a few stops after my walk, then a bit of housey stuff, preparing some dinner in advance. I talk to my sister on Fridays - our clocks have sprung forward, hers haven't so the time between us is just four hours which pushes me into dinner time. I wanted to make sure I just had to reheat food. It's going to be the same way until the UK clocks change time. I had to google the time lol, just to be sure!

Later, after dinner and washing up, Baby A video called to chat for an hour or so. She took me behind the curtains once again where she showed me her baby and dressed it and put it on the potty. Rather fun! A nice way to finish the evening before settling down and watching some Poirot. I can't say I've actually watched them all and am finding them rather run!

Mid-Week - Crafty Bits

It did rain this morning. When I woke in the middle of the night, I looked at the weather and it said it wasn't supposed to rain, but by the time I woke up again early morning, the forecast had changed and it was perhaps maybe going to rain. After I'd woken up a bit, the forecast had changed again, and it was going to rain all morning. After my run to the post office, I stayed in. I did go upstairs and do a bit of crafting and a bit more of looking at the mess. The day seemed to go quite quickly. 

I finished the cross stitch I was working on (the fox). This kit was just terrible. It was that cheap one I bought at The Works (I think). The fabric to stitch on was too small and when I went to put it in the card they provided that was too small as well! I think I have a larger one somewhere (in the crafty mess). When I do find it I'll see if that one fits any better. 

I actually finished another little kit. This one came with a cross stitch magazine. I think I have a lot of these little ones hanging around. 

This one had plenty of fabric and the card fit well!

While I was putting these ones together, I remembered another little 'free' kit I had completed and never put the cards and stitching together so I did that too. 

Later in the afternoon, in a pile I had semi-sorted, I remembered a small jigsaw puzzle that I had (just 100 pieces) that I wanted to do and then get rid of (it might go to my walking friend).  Oh my. Now I remember why I don't do jigsaws anymore lol. I don't find them relaxing or fun. It drove me nuts despite being small! 

It was pretty though. 

At least one thing will be leaving the house lol. 

Tomorrow the weather looks better so I'll be able to get out for a walk and then there are some housey things I need to get done. Not my favourite household day. 

How is your week going?

I've walked both Monday and Tuesday. Not sure I will tomorrow as it's supposed to rain most the day. Heavy rain. If that does actually happen, it will be a day inside. My life really isn't that eventful, hence the blog title, so must of what I'm being doing is very mundane, a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I have done a meal menu for the week and already bought what food was needed. I am trying to do better about staying on budget and spending less in general. Tightening our belts financially was part of the plan but the rising cost of things and the thought of being overwhelmed with 'stuff' is bringing the issue to the forefront. 

I think once I get on track and break the habit/routine of going to certain shops things will be a lot easier. If I do get the urge to shop, I'm trying to shop from the things I already have. I really do need to get the amount of stuff in the house under control. The decluttering is continuing but in dribs and drabs. I know every little counts, but I need to let go of a little more.  Obviously, part of that is also bringing less stuff into the house. I've seen some people doing the 1 in 1 out or 1 in 2 out method of things. Is that something you've tried? 

Photos from the walk yesterday - the sun was still shining

Sunny Sunday Adventure!

It was all change on Sunday and the sun was shining. It was a little breezy though. We decided to go down to Indiana Dunes National Park. We stopped at Michigan City Lighthouse on the way down and took a little beach walk. There was still a bit of ice along the lakeshore despite the warmer temperatures we've had this week. There were quite a few fishermen all huddled on the rocks, trying to stay out of the wind. 

After that, we headed down to the park and took a walk around our favourite trail. It was so lovely! There were hundreds of Sandhill Cranes flying overhead and the frogs (called Spring Peepers) were out singing like crazy. It was really wonderful. It made me smile just to think perhaps Spring is around the corner. 

After this walk, we stopped at the Bailly Homestead . They have been doing the main house up for a while (the last time we went it had scaffolding around it) so we wanted to see how the renovations were coming along. It looked as though they were almost done and working on redoing the landscaping around the place. We are hoping to go back once the house is open so we can take a look inside. There is just something about the place I find really fascinating!

The middle photo is the back of the house - the front had toilets in front of it lol. The area was quite flooded, a combination of melted snow and the rains from the other day. 

Oh, I forgot to add that on the trail we walked there was an eagle sitting on a nest in a nearby tree! It is a new nest. Always fun to see!

All-in-all quite a lovely way to spend a Sunday!

Rainy Saturday

I haven't been out at all today - well unless sitting on the back porch between rain showers and watching the birds count. That satisfied my taking photos for the day! I feel lost if I don't take any photos. It was raining when I woke up so I didn't go out for a walk. I've done a little bit of this and that today. I finished the little cross stitch I've been working on. Really frustrating as the aida they gave you was too small for the design! I had to adapt the pattern to make it all fit. I know it was really cheap, but ggrrrr. I have a couple more of these little kits I bought so I think I'll be swapping out the aida for a bigger piece. Lesson learned. 

I did a bit of sorting of a bookcase and pulled off several books to look through. I already have ten to donate. I did a little bit of sorting up in the craft room - not much to report there lol and did a bit of crafting. I also had a nice relaxing bath. 

It's evening now and I'm not really sure where the day went! I thought I'd go a bit crazy not going out, but I didn't. I purposefully decided not to go anywhere so I did not spend money needlessly. I am really trying to be more conscious about where I am spending money. I certainly don't need any more stuff - not for reselling and not for my own use. I'm trying to break some habits - good or bad - that keep me doing the same thing over and over again whether it's because I'm afraid of missing out on something or just because it's something I always do and it makes me feel comfortable. 

Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and mild, so we are off for a walk somewhere. We're not going to the lakeshore tomorrow. We're off to a park to have a walk. Hopefully it will be fun!

My Phone Photo Things That Make Me Smile (yes, I'm still doing that!) is a bit of a cheat today, I took a screen shot when Baby A and I were video chatting. She certainly made me smile today. Her speech is coming along nicely (a relief for me as speech problems run in my family) and she had fun playing with Play Doh

Crafting

It seems I am not the only one who feels a bit guilty for doing fun things during the day. I am trying to break that. I have added going up in the craft room on my to-do list. Yes, I'm hoping to do fun things, but I'm also hoping that being up there will give me the incentive to get things sorted up there! I haven't been the most productive the last couple of days. I've been feeling a bit queasy - nothing worse than that - and just quite tired. I've been through the not-being-able-to-sleep cycle and now it's the I-need-to-sleep-all-the-time cycle. Sigh. Ah the joys of menopause!

I've been watching some YouTube crafting videos to get some ideas and to give me a bit of a jumpstart. I seem to have taken a step backwards though and seem to find it difficult to do some of the bits I found easy to do before! Of course, that's part of the more you do something the easier you find it! I've been watching how to make some mini-albums again and how to do a pamphlet stitch (?). I thought I'd give it a go with a card (that I'd had printed of my photograph) as the cover. 

I don't think it turned out too badly. The pamphlet stitch was really easy. I've got to get a bit more creative about the pages I put inside. It's a pretty small card; I do have bigger ones so will try again with those. I'd like to make a mini sketching nature journal. 

I also picked up the cross stitch again. I haven't done a lot of it (still fighting that guilt thing) but it's coming along! 

I get a little frustrated with the cross stitching as - although I love to do it - I'm finding it more difficult to see the holes on a dull day. I've just got to give in and use the lamp and magnifier I have by my chair. It's just a sign of getting older, I think. 

Fairly Uneventful Day

It was a pretty uneventful day today. I suppose that's good in a way. Went for my walk first thing. It felt colder out than the temperature said (just below freezing). After that, I dropped packages off at the post office and then stopped at a few shops. I am going to try to get back into the habit of trying to do all stops on the same day due to rising petrol costs. I know I should have been doing that, and I have been sort of, but now I am consciously completing all the stops, whether I'm behind on time or not! I got home, did my dailies and what I had planned for the day. For some reason I was really tired and cold this afternoon. I struggled to stay awake and to stay warm! Not sure what was going on. I ended up putting my Snuggie thing on and a blanket and that helped. I did mess up on dinner. I didn't get things in on time. Husband offered to go pick something up, but I said no, rummaged around in the freezer and managed to get a few bits together. Not the dinner I had planned or the perfect dinner, but it was food and things from the freezer and cupboards were used. Tomorrow I'll do better!

Tomorrow is more of the same, but straight home after my walk. I plan on getting up in the craft room for a bit - some crafting and some sorting/tidying up. For some reason I do feel guilty if I do 'fun' things during what should be work hours. Is that just me? 

After dinner (already planned and I WILL cook it) I have a meeting in the evening for Asylum Lake. There's a lot going on with the lake so I'm sure it will be quite a long one!

No exciting photo, just one from behind the beavers' lodge. Still quite icy, but there is some melting and more to come in the next few days!