This and That

It's not been a bad start to the week. I haven't been as productive as I had hoped, but there's still a few days left! Yesterday, I participated in my small group for my camera club. I do so hate talking to people, get very anxious, but I'm determined to do more of it and it went okay. I did talk and share a couple of photos. I am going to keep doing it. I think things will get easier the more times I participate. It is nice to hear what the others in the group have been up to and get inspired by their photography. 

I have been for a walk both days, but today I got rained out first thing today, so went a bit later on. I was glad I went back as the toads (I think they are toads) were out in full force, singing and playing. It was all rather fun. I could hear them making lots of noise and almost (yikes!) stepped on a couple of them. Thankfully, I looked down before I took another step. 

The next few days look to be wet. Hopefully, there will be enough of a break that I can get out for a walk, otherwise I'll concentrate on getting some house things done. I do have a hair appointment tomorrow and I have to go to the post office so those will be combined. I think I should probably stop by the shops and pick up a few bits while I'm out doing that. 

The days seem to go by so quickly! We are halfway through April, and I realise that I haven't done a lot of decluttering yet, so that is definitely on the list for the next few days. As the weather gets better and we get busier I know the decluttering will suffer so I have to make sure to make it a point to sort a little something each day. There are a couple of areas in the house that needed to be revisited on a regular basis, those little places that we tend to just put stuff 'for now' and never seems to get moved! Do you have spots like that in your house? 

I am pleased with how the main areas of the house are looking. They aren't minimalistic - I won't ever be that I don't think - but they are looking a lot tidier. If only the same could be said for the craft room!

The beautiful sunshine after the rain. 

Sunday - and Thanks!

Thank you for all the comments yesterday. I can feel a bit of the ache still today but it's nowhere near as bad as yesterday. I think the headache was resulting from a bunch of factors. I had been out for a walk and then had a volunteer thing that was very social (I'm not). I didn't take water with me so no drink, and I didn't have breakfast, and I had to do a lot of interacting with people and I think all of it combined just gave me a headache. It was the kind that I don't get often, but when I do nothing seems to help - I just have to go to bed and sleep it off.  Needless to say, I was not productive yesterday, but I did do the volunteer thing, and I won't feel so guilty about being away for the big volunteer event at the beginning of next month. 

Today, for our Sunday Adventure, we had been thinking about going to a favourite nature park further away from us but with the rising petrol/gas prices and entrance fee, we decided not to go and opted for somewhere closer that was free. Well, it's not free but we pay $15 a year for a pass that gives us entrance to 103 State Parks of which we visit quite a few of throughout the year - a bargain, I think! I'm a little sad not to go, but I can't justify spending the money when we are going to visit daughter in a couple of weeks which we're really looking forward to. I feel we really have to choose our activities a lot more carefully when prices are high. 

We did have a lovely walk. There were a few Spring flowers about. The Trillium was just starting to bloom. In a few weeks they will carpet the woodland floor. 

There were also quite a few Dutchman's Britches around too

There were lots of birds singing as we walked through the woods too. It was quite lovely. Surprisingly, it wasn't that busy. Our weather was summer-like today! The high was 80f/27C!!! Can you believe it? And lovely sunshine. The temperatures are dropping a bit tomorrow and then maybe several days of showers. At least today was lovely!

How was your weekend? 

Ugh

I was going to post, read blogs and reply to comments today, but I've got a bad headache and think I'm going to have an early night. It's the kind of headache I can only get rid of with sleep. 

I'll be sure to catch-up tomorrow!

Last Couple Days

The week started pretty chilly. It was hard to get out in the morning and go for a walk. I'm really struggling on the cold days. I'm tired of wrapping up in the heavy winter coat, gloves and handwarmers. It was chilly again this morning but did actually warm up. The next few days will be warmer but rain! Can we not have a nice mild day without the rain? 

There was at least a lovely sunrise this morning to see while I was decked out in my cold winter gear. 

And some weird winter light. The first photo is taken in one direction; I turned 180 and took the second photo. There was weird light as the sun was coming over the horizon. 

Not much else going on. My life has been pretty uneventful. That's good in one way.

I did attend an online photography session with my online camera club. I didn't speak, but it was nice to attend and interesting. They always give me food for thought. 

I've been doing a little of this and a little of that, sorting, listing, cleaning, crafting. I'm feeling more than a little restless. Not quite sure why. I suppose it might just be a case of the winter-hasn't-turned-to-spring-yet-blues. At least that's what I'm thinking lol. I keep telling myself that warmer weather is just around the corner. Hoping I'm right! 

Tomorrow and Friday look like rain. I was going to have two days to walk by myself and it looks like I probably won't be able to walk. I've got my alarm on, and I'll wake and look at the weather forecast. Sometimes they are completely wrong, and it doesn't rain at all!

Hope your week is going well.

Sunday

It was chilly Sunday morning. We had made plans to go out to the metropark, but as it's a bit of a drive, we would have had to get up early and neither one of us could be bothered. It's getting harder to have the energy to go out places when it's still really chilly! I had looked up some parks we were interested in visiting so we ended up going there to take a walk. Hemlock Crossing. It was quite lovely. The trail we took was along the river. I expect it will be really beautiful when there are things growing. It was still quite bare. We've made a note to perhaps go back there again. There were several trails there. Some people around, but not too busy so it was nice. There were plenty of benches to sit on by the river just to listen to the birds. 

A few phone photos. 

It's the start of a new week and time to get some things done. I made a list today and checked off everything, meals are planned and food shop done. I'm really trying not to spend a lot of money this week. I need to do better and not buy impulse things. 

If the weather warms up this week, I want to get out and clean up the rest of the front porch. I'm really pleased with what I've got done as it is mostly clear, but there are just a few more things to take care of before the winter plastic is taken off the screens ready for warmer weather. It's my project for the week. It will be nice to sit out there in the cooler evenings in summer and read a book or something. 

What are your projects for the week? 

Friday/Saturday

On Friday I did manage a walk. It wasn't the greatest weather, but I did see quite a few things - Beavers, Egrets (unusual for Asylum Lake), a juvenile Bald Eagle, a Mink, a Possum, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (just love that name!) and a Brown Creeper (wish these were called Tree Creepers as they are in England). I knew on Saturday it was supposed to rain so I thought I'd have a good walk on Friday in case I couldn't get one in on Saturday. 

I didn't get a lot done around the house on Friday. I ended up chatting with Baby A twice. She was home from daycare and daughter was off work so we chatted for a couple of hours in the afternoon and once later in the evening (for another hour or so). She's so funny how she takes me around with her and can set me up. She's only 2 so it's amazing she can work the phone so well lol. I'll just add, that she doesn't get much screen time in the way of watching videos or television - they are quite strict about that. Perhaps I'm her entertainment lol. 

After our first video chat, as I was getting ready to message with sister I noticed that we were without power! 

Confession time (and I must admit that I feel a little stupid) - after chatting with Baby A and before messaging sister, I read for a little while and then decided to turn on the tv for background noise while messaging sister. I tried the remote and it didn't work. I thought it was the batteries. Looked for some more. Couldn't find any. Decided to try to see if another remote had batteries in it, changed said batteries and remote still didn't work. Decided to order some batteries from Amazon. Picked up computer, saw charge was low and plugged it in, went to go on website for Amazon and saw there was no internet. IT DAWNED ON ME THEN! I went into bedroom, looked at electric clock - no power. 

Slapping my head. Silly me! 

Messaged with sister - we're back at the usual five hours between us now that the UK clocks have changed. 

Three hours later power still not on. Isn't it funny how you try light switches and such automatically? The power finally did come on a little after six and we all breathed a sigh of relief. Not sure what had happened as there was no inclement weather at all. 

I did chat again with Baby A. She's so funny. 

Saturday, it rained all day. No walk. We went to the Amish store and got some nice cheese and a few goodies. In the afternoon I chatted a long time with Baby A, did a bit of crafting and sorting and some moving things around. The day went by really quickly! 

Rainy day

The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Hope you are having an enjoyable weekend. Happy Easter for those who celebrate tomorrow. 

March Declutter Totals

It's April! Hopefully the weather will even out a bit. It's been a funny ol' day today. It started with barely above freezing temperatures and this afternoon/evening the tornado sirens went off three times!!! It's been a rollercoaster of weather lately. Usually, in April things even out a little bit. I am certainly looking forward to seeing a bit more colour around in nature. 

On to the decluttering. I meant to post these yesterday, but I had an Asylum Lake meeting, and it went on a bit. By the time I got home I was too tired. 

The total actually turned out - not deliberately - to be the same as January and February. 80 items. There were two large bags and two boxes of things that husband took off to the charity shop yesterday. 

Books 17

Magazines 12

Clothes 2

Misc. 38

Crafting 11

I struggled a bit, but things are leaving. Progress is progress. I'll be continuing on this month. How is your decluttering coming along? 

Photo - some flowers I dried out. I'm going to try taking some camera photos with them. These were the flowers I got to remind me of Mum on English Mother's Day

End of March

Another month done and dusted. I was looking back at some photos I took, at the beginning of the month there was still quite a bit of ice on Lake Michigan, but it was beginning to break up. Now it is all gone and the sands are starting to be smoothed back out ready for the tourist season which will begin again in earnest in May. 

I am glad of some days of warmer weather, though the ups and downs are driving me a little bit crazy! Today people were wearing shorts (it wasn't quite that warm IMO). I did break out a t-shirt in the house today and it was nice not to have the heating on. Hopefully, next month the temperatures will even out a little bit. 

Moods this month have been up and down, winter has seemed so long, but the end is in sight now. Next month will include a visit to see Baby A - so excited and counting down the weeks. House stuff - semi-productive. I'll have decluttering totals tomorrow. I'm still plodding along!

Speaking of plodding along. I am still continuing with my Phone Photos - Things That Make Me Smile 2026 (photo every day). These are the collages for the month

It definitely helps my mood when I'm looking for something to make me smile for the day :)

How was your month? 

Sunday Adventure

It was lovely and sunny today and ended up fairly warm. Husband and I went for a walk at Warren Dunes State Park. There is a lovely trail through a marshy bog bit and along through the woods. It's a fairly easy trail, something that husband could do to build up the walking stamina again. As we walked through the bog bit we could hear lots of birds singing and chirping. We watched as an Eastern Towhee sat atop a branch and sang out his heart. I did get some photos but yes - you've guessed it - I've not got to them yet! We also saw lots of little Golden-crowned Kinglets flitting through the trees. 

It was lovely and quiet out. We saw two other couples and a maybe two joggers but that was it. I think that's why we like to go early on a Sunday morning.  

I did take quite a few phone photos

There are lots of daffodils in the woods. These dot the landscape where the old building of the New First Church Camp used to stand for many years. It's always interesting to see them pop up year after year without any human intervention. 

After our walk through the woods, we headed further into the state park and down along the shores of Lake Michigan. 

My favourite tree by the beach

The snow fences are still up but I'm sure they will come down soon

We had some fun looking along the shoreline for VPS (Very Pretty Stones). There are lots of people who walk the shores looking for all kinds of rocks (as they are called here). We have no clue what we are looking for so just look for the ones we think are unique or different. 

All-in-all a nice fun day, topped off with a video chat with Baby A. 

How was your weekend? 

Saturday - Something New

Inspired by A Letter from Home (who shares her journalling on her blog) when I saw a social media post from the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy (below) I took a deep breath (social anxiety) and signed up. Then a couple of weeks later I asked husband to come with (chicken that I am) and signed him up too.

So, today we made our way to a new-to-us Nature Preserve and took a walk and had some fun. It was a really nice walk. Not a lot of colour but nice. 

First, we stopped at several spots along the trail and did some observation exercises. No drawing at first, just looking and listening and trying to notice all the things going on around us. Further along, we stopped and did a bit of drawing and writing. None of us in the group had ever done any nature journalling before. As our instructor told us, it's not about pretty pictures but observing and recording. I did more writing than drawing but she said that was okay. Perhaps as I became more comfortable with the drawing more would come.

It's dark as I write this and I haven't taken any photos of the drawings/writings I did. I'm no good at art, but I could see myself liking this. It is something I think I'll continue with. The instructor says she is going to send us more resources, so that will be good. 

We did do an exercise where we had to pick an Oak leaf, go off and draw it and then we put the drawings and the leaves on the ground (mixed up) and we had to match them up. After a bit of anxiety, it was rather fun. 

This was a free event, by a local nature organisation. It is something I enjoyed attending and something I'd do again! Not sure husband enjoyed the nature journalling, but he did enjoy the walk so I count that as a win!