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!

Mid-Week - better spirits

Thanks for all the comments on the last post. It seems I'm not alone when it comes to the dentist. Sigh. I've still not made a decision yet on the consultant. I suppose in the end I'll go and just see what they say. I'm worried about the cost of it. It isn't cheap. The tooth in question is part of a bridge that I've already had replaced once (it wasn't fitting properly) and I'm concerned that's going to be more money if they have to replace that too! Is it worth several thousand dollars? How much is too much? 

Enough of that. I'm not thinking about it for a while. I start worrying/getting anxious when I do. 

It's been a couple of fairly relaxing but productive days. I went for a walk both yesterday and today. The weather today was beautiful, but it's all change for tomorrow and below freezing in the morning. It was so lovely and peaceful first thing. I sat and watched the sunrise, the beavers and listened to the birds as they welcomed the day. Then it got very people-y. Apparently, I wasn't the only one excited about the warmer weather. I must admit that I do like it when it's a little bit quieter. 

I came home, did the dailies and a few extra bits. I didn't do any crafting today. I was going to work on my cross stitch, but I've lost the bits of floss I needed! The chart didn't come with any colour numbers, so I've got to do my best to match the colour and hope the difference doesn't show too much with what I've already stitched! I had separated this colour from the others and it was hanging out by the light. I must have pulled it off, but can I find it? Nope. Not the end of the world. 

Before the men came home, I sat out in the garden for a little bit as it was so lovely. There were quite a few birds in the garden. It was nice to just sit there and listen. They were home soon enough though and by then the showers were starting to come through, along with storms that will bring in the colder weather. 

Another beautiful sunrise!

I found something green growing!!!!! Can you tell I'm excited? Lol. 

Just an UGH da

I didn't post in advance ('cos who wants to hear me moan some more lol) but it was the dreaded dentist visit today. I had a cleaning and a crown. I was sure when I had booked the appointment it was cleaning first, then the crown and a filling. I go there and it was crown first, no filling and then cleaning. Anyone who has read my blog for a while knows I am absolutely in terror of the dentist (bad childhood experience). I usually take Xanax beforehand and use laughing gas when I get there. Just the change in what I had thought was happening threw me off completely. I was really nervous and anxious and just UGH. While I was having my cleaning the hygienist saw something else and they want to refer me to a root canal specialist. 

I'm not afraid to admit it but I cried in the car. I have so had enough of this. It doesn't seem to matter what I do, there is always something going on with my teeth. I took the referral but I'm going to think on it for a bit. I honestly don't know if we can afford it - at least not until this last lot is paid off. I sometimes think the providers think we have unlimited funds and if not, we can put it on a credit card that the credit card fairies just pay off.  

To top it all off, when I got home, I had a sneezing fit and now my nose is running and I keep sneezing. Either it's a cold or I'm allergic to something from the dentist. I suppose I'll see in the morning. 

As I said, I'm going to put it all to the back of my mind for a few days to find my balance once again. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice, at least later in the day, so I'm going to walk, craft and maybe sit in the garden. I'll do dailies, but I'm giving housework and any online selling stuff a rest

Photo for today - just daffodils starting to force themselves through the dead leaves at Asylum Lake. These had to be planted by the people who once farmed this land as part of the Michigan Asylum for the Insane. There are so many there that grow year after year and are a testament to how hardy these plants are. 

Back tomorrow and I will be in better spirits. 

Weekend

The weekend was quite a peaceful one. I did manage a walk on Saturday and Sunday. My foot was still hurting, but the weather was colder and my feet were freezing so I couldn't feel the pain that much. Not sure that's good or bad lol. I did stay off it most of the afternoons. 

I did a little bit of crafting, but the mess in the craft room is just putting me off (to be frank) so I worked a bit on sorting out some things elsewhere so I can perhaps get some things out of the craft room! I did do a bit of cross stitching. I did a bit of my beaver cross stitch (which I haven't shared in a while) and a bit more on the little kit that came with a magazine. I have a lot of these little kits and want to get a few of them done!

This is the weekend update. I have done a bit more but no photo yet

I am glad I did go out Saturday morning as the sunrise was absolutely beautiful. It's so quiet and peaceful there in the mornings and a perfect way to start the day when I'm up that early. Taken with my phone. 

Sunday was a lot chillier. As we've decided to try to go to some closer places, and we haven't researched really close ones yet, we went to a park up in Grand Rapids. It's a huge park 1400 acres. It has 18 miles of trails, a splash pad (in summer) a six-acre beach (in summer) and boat launches and such too. It has several ponds and there is a path along parts of the Grand River. We went on a favourite trail but have bookmarked another trail to do another time! 

The trail we went on was flat and really easy. Husband is just starting out walking again so we're trying easy to start with - better for my foot too. By the time we were done it was pretty achy and I didn't want to do any more walking!

You can see by the photos that everything is still quite brown looking. There are some closer parks I want to go to but I want to wait until they have some spring flowers in them. Hopefully soon!

Plans this week - to continue sorting. I have a half full bag of things that are ready for donation that I want to fill up by the end of the week. I can't believe we're almost done with March! Only a few more weeks until we see daughter and Baby A