Catching Up

I keep forgetting what day it is! Having Monday away knocked me off kilter and I'm struggling to keep track of my days! 

I thought I was having an errands only day on Wednesday but middle son rang me as I was on my way to my first stop and let me know that his car was ready to be picked up so I went to his place, picked him up and took him to the mechanics to pick up the car. He had got hit a few weeks ago and apparently, it did more damage than just scratching the bumper, so the work took longer to finish. Still, they both have their cars back now! 

This week has been a settling back into routine and getting back on track again one. I did a meal plan, most of which I had the supplies for which meant not a lot had to be bought. I don't like trying to work out what we're eating, but I do like the results of a meal plan - less thinking about what I'm cooking, less trips to the shops and therefore less money at the shops. In the current climate, any saving is good saving! After driving the sons about I had to fill up my car with petrol. I was anticipating that what I had left in the tank would last the week, but the unexpected trips used it up and - shaking my head - it was a ridiculous cost to fill. I haven't been doing much driving so it should last a while. If we do go anywhere this weekend it won't be far, so it should last into next week. 

I must admit that I haven't got a lot done around the house. Yes, I've done the normal and all is caught up. The main areas of the house are pretty tidy, but there is still a lot of decluttering to be done. I have pulled out things to sort through a couple of times this week, but ended up running out of time and just putting them right back away again. Lol. A part of me is hoping for a rainy day so I have an excuse not to walk and spend the day at home being productive. I know that walking is good for me and I am sort of addicted - more to the routine than anything - but sometimes I really just don't want to do it. I struggle with breaking from the routine and also struggle from feeling off when I don't walk. Stay tuned for me working on this - in all areas of life - next year or at least my planning on doing it!

Photo for today - nice colour on my walk

Lovely Long Weekend

We had a lovely long weekend away. The weather was kind to us, a little showery on the way up on Friday but once we got there the showers mostly disappeared and both Saturday and Sunday were sunny. 

Our little cabin was very cosy and private. 

There were a couple of chairs on the porch of the cabin and then we had a private little deck w/chairs and a fire pit right by the river. It really was quite lovely. The cabin had heat so we were snug and warm. They closed for the season when we left on Monday morning and we were their last cabin guests! 

We had lovely colours

And lovely sunrises and sunsets. This campground is so close to Seney National Wildlife refuge that I could drive quickly there to see both sunrises and sunsets. Really lovely. 

Sadly, all good things come to an end and we're back home now. I have two weeks to get some stuff done before - YAH - going to visit daughter and Baby A for a week (last trip of the year). 

I was up early this morning to take son to drop his car off at the mechanics before work. Over the weekend he noticed some trouble with his brakes, so he got it booked in for today. I followed him over to the mechanics to drop off his car then I took him to work. Later in the day I had to do the opposite as he got word the car was done. At least the work was done within a day, and I don't have to get up quite so early in the morning!

I do have to make a list for tomorrow as otherwise I'll just get distracted and do a whole lot of nothing! 

Shaking my Head...

Been gone too long again. 

Last week, I made a really stupid mistake. After I had written the post last Thursday, I thought I'd better check my emails for the cabin confirmation email. Sometimes they end up in old mail and I can't find it when needed. I pulled it up AND IT WAS FOR THIS WEEKEND not the last!!!! 

It's 10 O'clock Thursday night and husband has taken time off work and I've messed up. I don't know what I was thinking. I've been talking about it for months as going away the same weekend as sister and daughter. YIKES!

We decided as husband had the time off, we would go away for Friday and Saturday night anyway, so I looked around and found us a hotel in an area we had talked about exploring sometime. We had a lovely weekend away up by Sleeping Bear Dunes Previous Visit and Legend . We have visited Sleeping Bear Dunes before but hadn't explored around the area. Sadly, the overlook had to be taken down as the sand shifted and it became unstable. It's harder to see the beauty around there now, but it was lovely. We actually ended up going there for sunset one night

Our hotel was near a lake and there was a wonderful sunrise view 

So - as we've already booked this weekend away we're off again tomorrow. 

Last weekend was quite warm, this weekend is going to be a bit chillier! I'm not sure if we've missed a lot of the colours, but it will be nice to be in one of my favourite areas. 

I am going to do better next week and blog more lol. I've also got to get back on the wagon and start my decluttering again!

Back soon!

Another Week Over

Yah! 

Must say that I'm glad to have this one behind me. 

Another week has passed since I last posted. I didn't plan it that way. Sigh. Time just seemed to have got away from me. The days are getting shorter but seem to be passing by more quickly! My walking friend is back though we haven't walked together for the whole week - I had a couple of days by myself (which I really enjoy) as her husband is having some mobility troubles and she's had to take him to some appointments. That's not a good thing! 

It's been another week where I haven't seemed to get as much done as I wanted to. I've done a little bit of sorting, a few things added to the donation pile, and I did take a couple of boxes to the charity shop, so they are out of the house. There's a long way to go, but little steps forward, that's the best I'm hoping for!

Photos from Sunday's beach walk 

Some signs of Autumn from Asylum Lake.

We're going away for a long weekend up to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to see some (hopefully) Autumn colours. It's going to be (hopefully) a relaxing trip with no real agenda. 

I'll do better next week!

What Day is it?

Well, I got through this week lol. It's been a busy week - quite people-y and I'm glad there's a break of social things for tomorrow. We're going to just have a little walk on the beach and come back home as there are some things husband wants to get done around the house. We'll be away next weekend, so we won't go far this one. 

Thanks for all the comments on the decluttering post. It's good to know that I'm not the only one who struggles getting rid of things. I appreciate all the tips. There are a couple of things I'm going to try. I will find what works for me and, for the time being, I'll keep plugging along. I do have another box ready to leave the house and am working on another one. It's slow going, but it's going. 

I've been getting out for all walks all but one day this week. It rained all Thursday, so I stayed in. My walking friend is back from her travels, so I walked with her on Friday. I haven't decided how many days a week I'll be walking with her in the future as, I'd like to walk with her some days, but I did enjoy the times by myself too. 

There was another beautiful sunrise this week. Just stunning. 

It reminds me that there is a reason I get out early enough some mornings lol. It was lovely and peaceful. 

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. 

Decluttering - a bit of moan

I must admit that I'm struggling right now. I know I want to get rid of things, but when it comes to letting go, I struggle with being able to do it. We have - I have - too much stuff. Ours isn't a hoarder house, the areas are pretty clear, but there are just a lot of things. Too many knick-knacks, too many books, too many craft items, just too much. I have a lot of things I 'plan' on reselling or using in bundles I plan to put together to sell, but it's still sitting around and it's been sitting around for a while! Sometimes, I think I should give myself a time limit to do something with the stuff, sometimes I think about just getting rid of it all. 

I am proud of myself for all the things I have got rid of (especially at the beginning of the year) but sometimes it's all a little overwhelming and that's the way I'm feeling right now. Why do I feel the need to hang onto books that I've had for a while? Or the craft stuff I don't have enough years left to use? Or the magazines I'm saving for the article I might need in the future? Sigh. 

Sorry for the moan. Just needed to get the thoughts out. 

Walk today - pretty standard. At least the sun was shining

I did get a bit of extra housework done today - I'm chalking that up as a plus. 

Sunday/Monday

We had a nice walk along the beach on Sunday. It was sunny and quite warm. We weren't the only ones out with the idea of having a nice walk. There were also lots of fishermen around. They didn't seem to be having a lot of luck though. It was so calm for a while too and the reflections were just lovely.

As we walked along the pier a lone Cormorant landed on the pier and began to have a good clean. It was really close to us and didn't seem too bothered by people at all. 

The water was really clear when we first got there that we could see little fish in the water and the rocks by the pier - we haven't ever seen them before. No wonder they say not to jump from the pier into the water!

Today, it's back to the weekday routine - walk first thing and then house-y stuff. I did get extra done today which was nice and felt quite productive! I did have time to do a bit of stitching - the beaver's tail is coming along quite nicely. 

The next couple of weeks I have a lot of people-y things, some social, some just ack, things that make me anxious. I wish there was a fairy who could lift me over the next couple of weeks so I could get past them. 

Hope everyone had a good weekend and a nice start to the new week!

Saturday

I got up my usual time and went for a walk. I had said - for the Asylum Lake group - that I'd print off some of the brochures and put them out. I took them to two entrances today and will do the third on Monday when I go. I printed them at home and though there wasn't a lot of colour on them, the colour ink cartridge has depleted A LOT. Yikes. It's not cheap. I'm hoping I can print off a few more to get out to the third entrance. 

I had a bit of a walk, dropped some packages at the post office, filled the car (now I'm broke) and then headed home again. I'd like to say that I was really productive, but I wasn't. I did get some things listed - a plus - a couple things sorted - another plus - and then did a whole bunch of...well, not a lot. I did do some stitching. I haven't picked up the stitching in a while, but I wanted to do something, and the craft room wasn't really calling to me. All-in-all, rather a lazy Saturday. Isn't that what they should be? 

I'm on the Beaver's tail. I really want to keep working on this. Darn, getting older. I like stitching in natural light, but only when it's good, otherwise I struggle with my eyesight now. When I was younger, sigh, I could stitch on really small holes. Not anymore! At least I can see enough to stitch a bit. I am looking at doing some embroidery, where I don't have to stitch in holes lol. 

Hope you're having a good weekend!

The Whole Week Has Passed!

Oh my gosh, the whole week has passed and I haven't posted once. I was pretty sure I posted on Wednesday. Oh well. Things are a bit blah, but life is...well, uneventful and I suppose that's good in a way. I have been doing quite well in the house stuff - sticking to lists and a menu plan. I've been combining trips out, so I don't use as much petrol. It's good in a way as it helps cut down on other spending as well. 

I've been out walking every day. It's been a little chilly in the mornings and I'm having to wear a zip up fleece jacket first thing, but it does warm up later in the day. I've even opened a window or two later in the day, though not as many and for not as long. The days are definitely drawing in and the weather changing with it. 

Husband took out our window air con unit the other day and today he put up protective plastic on the front porch. Perhaps it's a little too early to worry too much about winter, but he had extra time off and I think he just wanted to get it done. 

I am struggling with the decluttering. I need that fairy to come in and just get rid of everything for me. Lol. I know I have work to do, but I'm struggling how to get started again. I'm back on that whole - how much did I spend for that and how can I let that money go. I know that I shouldn't worry too much about that, strike it up to bad decisions and not repeat that going forward but I'm finding it really tough. 

Hope your week has been good! I've got to catch up on blogs again. Always behind. 

Photo for today - a beautiful sunrise 

More Rain...Water Problems...and Yes, a Sunday Walk

Water problems - ugh. Saturday morning my son texted to tell me there was notice on Facebook about a boil water advisory for the whole of our city. Apparently, e-coli was found in the water samples, and we were to boil water for drinking, food preparation, washing dishes. What a pain! It made most people a little mad that it was just posted on Facebook - even businesses found out that way - and not done as an alert of some kind. It was expected to last until Tuesday. We don't drink the city water as it is horrible (at times yellow and even brown) so we had that covered, but we did boil some pots of water so we could do the washing up. We used bottled water for teeth brushing and we washed hands and then sanitised as well. Thankfully it ended today as no more contaminants were found!

It was raining again Sunday when I woke up. I did look and further up north, it was supposed to be dull but dry, so off we went. I'm not sure how often we are going to be able to do these daytrips due to the cost of petrol/gas. It's gone up again. We are going to look closer to home, but I really wanted to visit this park as we hadn't gone all summer due to the cost of parking. It was lovely to be able to get out for a walk. We stopped at Grand Haven first and took a walk along the pier to the lighthouse. There were so many people out there fishing. Apparently, it is salmon fishing season. 

I don't like taking photos of people in public but took a couple quick snaps. There were a lot more people further along. 

Now that the summer season is over, they are already starting to put up the snow fences for winter. 

From there we drove on to Muskegon and took a walk there too. Part of that lighthouse is closed off for some much-needed work on the lighthouse. We saw a lovely little mink scampering along the rocks - photos to come!

They are still working on the walkway at the state park. That was a disappointment. It was supposed to be finished in August, but they are now saying November. It's been closed for almost a year now!

I was really glad we went though. It was raining still when we got back home. It took us longer to get back as there was something happening on the motorway. There was quite a back-up, and we were near an exit, so we got off and took another way back. When I looked it up on Facebook somebody said there was a standoff on the road - a man had got out of his car and started running and they had shut everything down! Not sure how long it was closed, but I'm glad we went another way!

It's now the start of another week and I've began as I mean to go on - writing lists!

How was your weekend?