End of May...

I can't believe how quickly May has flown by! Is anyone else feeling this way? I feel as though I didn't accomplish as much as I wanted, though to be fair we had a trip to visit daughter and a camping trip and my birthday stuck in there. June is a new month and new beginnings. There will be a camping trip (for a week) later in June and this is the last full month I'll be in the states for a while as I leave for a six-week visit home to England in July. That should probably mean I should try to get lots done in June.

As I said on the last post I will be getting rid of (at least) 30 books. I want to get the front porch cleaned off. There are a couple of boxes there that need to be dropped off at the charity shop. I should clear through my wardrobe too. There are plenty of things I don't wear - I tend to wear the same clothes over and over again, probably because they are comfortable and, at this stage in life, I want comfortable!

In our house we have a basement too and it seems to be the place where we put things we aren't sure where to put elsewhere. I would really like to get it sorted. It's cold down there in the winter so I don't go down much, but with summer (supposedly) coming it will be cool working down there. What plans do you have for June?

Today's photo - an oriole visiting the garden. I put out some grape jam. Apparently they like it and they certainly do! This is the first time I've seem them in the garden more than once. The trouble is trying to keep the ants out of it!

Catching Up

Yup, you've guessed it - I'm behind again!

We had a really great time camping. The weather turned out beautiful. On the way there it was raining and when we got to the bridge you could barely see it in the fog!

This was one of the better views lol. When we got across the bridge on the other side you couldn't see it at all! We decided to drive up a little further. The fog cleared up the further up north we got, the sun came out and it was just glorious! When we came back down towards the bridge to our camp site the fog had lifted and the sun was out. The rest of the weekend was fairly warm and sunny. Better than what the weather people had said!

I have photos to sort through. I got sunsets and sunrises (2 of each lol). We went to bed earlier than I usually go so I was up quite early. It was lovely just to sit by the lake and watch the sun come up over the bridge. I was the only one there and it was lovely and peaceful.

It's been a strange week because of that holiday Monday. I have to keep reminding myself what day it is. Am I the only one? Hope everyone had a lovely long weekend!

I can't believe it's almost June! Bless over at My Two Cents is doing a challenge for June in which she will try to get rid of 30 books in 30 days. How could I resist that one? I will be joining in and decluttering.

Long Holiday Weekend

It's a holiday weekend here in the states this weekend. It's one of the few weekends where it is a holiday weekend in America and in the England. This weekend is also the unofficial start of the summer. If beach towns weren't charging for parking before this weekend they are now lol. It's the weekend when people here in Michigan seem to remember that there are plenty of beaches along the lakeshore. It's funny because, before this weekend, even if the weather is nice (hasn't been lately lol) people don't tend to take a walk along the beach. A few people are around but come this weekend the beaches will be packed. I kind of miss the quiet. 

Anyway we are joining in the madness and taking our first camping trip of the season. I can't wait. It's been raining most of the week, but I am hopeful that I might get to see a sunset or a sunrise. The state park we are camping at has a gorgeous view of the lake and lovely sunrise and sunset views. 

I rang Mum today to chat as I won't be talking to her tomorrow. It will seem really strange. I can't believe it will only be weeks until I see her again! We had a nice chat. I shall be sure to send her photos when I get back.

I only took a really short walk today as I got rained out. Instead I managed to get some stuff in the house done. It did sort of clear up later in the day - at least enough that I could take an inside flower photo. Well, not really a flower, but a lovely fluffy dandelion. We had quite a wind blowing through yesterday and I thought I'd missed my chance. 

I hope everyone has a really enjoyable, sunny, relaxing weekend. 

Thursday

The sun finally came out today! I was quite happy. It's been a dull and dismal week so far. I did get my usual jobs done today, but nothing extra. I sorted through some books and there they sit. I shall try to get to them tomorrow. Tomorrow isn't supposed to be too good weather-wise again so maybe I'll have time to get some extras done instead of daydreaming (or procrastinating). Speaking of procrastinating - a few weeks ago Jacky from Dicky Bird's Nest and I exchanged some goodies. She had made a wonderful needle felted hedgehog I wanted for my hedgehog collection and in exchange I sent here some of my photos. I included this card I'd made - as we're both known for putting things off.

Jacky does such beautiful work! She teaches needle felting classes as well. I wish I was closer so I could go to some. As part of the flower photography class I'm doing we had to do a still life project and so I while I was playing around I thought I'd take a photo and include the hedgehog she made as well as some lovely soap her friend over at https://www.littlebullfallssoapworks.com/ made. I wish you could smell it - the scent is Honey Apple and it smells just lovely.

Another Week

It's been a few days since I've posted, but this week is a lot better than last week. I'm not getting as much done as I hoped, but I am getting things done - that's more than happened last week!

I got my new chair for my craft room desk and it's a definite improvement. Not perfect, but I can sit in it for more than ten minutes without my tailbone hurting. I actually got up in my room yesterday and worked on a couple of things. I'll probably have some cards to show in a few days. I've been spending a lot of my spare time taking photos. I think I said before that I'd signed up for a flower photography course. It's quite technical - I had to get out my tape measure and measure how far I am from my flowers, the depth of my flowers. Phew. It's supposed to really help to get the flower all in focus. I'm struggling a little, but it's not something that I can't learn. I just have to keep going. I am finding it enjoyable which is that main thing. Here's one of the photos I took of my single flower.

I went out today and had lunch with a friend. I haven't seen her since Christmas so it was a lovely treat. She brought along her beautiful granddaughter. She's about 16 months and was such a treat. She's been through a lot in her young life (including heart surgery). She has Down Syndrome. She's such a cheerful little girl - always smiling and really funny. She pulls such dramatic faces. I was so glad to meet her. I've seen lots of photos so it was good to see her in person.

I don't have a lot planned for the rest of the week. We are having our first sort-of camping (we'll be in the semi-rustic mini cabin) this long holiday weekend so got some things to do before then.

Putting the Week Behind Me

Next week is a new week. I'll be making some new goals and trying to write lists to keep me on track. Instead of spending the day in a blah mood and ending up doing little to nothing, I will - as suggested in the comments - do small bursts of tasks. There is sorting I want to do. I was talking to daughter about it as she has sorting of her own to do (they are still settling in their new home!). I was telling her how it all seemed overwhelming and so I ended up doing none of it. I shall instead break it down into smaller bits so it is all a bit more manageable and less overwhelming.

My birthday is on Sunday. Not a big one, but it's the last one of my 40s. Next year I shall be turning 50. I have to honestly say that I'm not dreading it. I just wish the aches and pains wouldn't come with the passing of the years! I have treated myself to a new desk chair for my craft room. I am missing crafting but find it painful to sit in the chair I have for more than about 10 minutes. Daughter treated me to some crafting goodies for Mother's Day/Birthday and I'd love to be able to use them!

I'm not sure what we're doing for the weekend yet. It will probably be a quiet one as we are taking our first camping trip next weekend. Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Blah!

It's been one of those weeks. Not sure if it's getting back from daughters and missing her or just blah. I'm not motivated. I'm having a hard time doing much of anything. What do you do when you need to get motivated? Is there a 'trick' you use? Something you reward yourself with to get motivated? I'm hoping it will pass, but we shall see.

I have been sorting through photos. I like looking back at the happy times, but it makes me miss daughter more. It won't be long before we go back, but I wish she was closer. I miss just being able to talk or curl up on the sofa and having a cuddle. I know exactly how my Mum feels now - I was thinking it when I talked to her the other day and she even mentioned it. I suppose I'm a little closer, but it's still too far away lol.

I think I'll give myself over the weekend and then take a deep breath and get on with it. So much to do but so little motivation! I really need to get this place in order.

Photo today from one of our walks - this one at Interstate State Park in Minnesota. On the other side of the river is Wisconsin. I was thinking of Jacky at Dicky Bird's Nest while we were visiting the park as she lives in Wisconsin, but I looked it up and it's quite a way from her lol.

It's a lovely park with lots of lovely views. I was so glad to be able to visit and remember it this year!

Catching Up

We're back from Minnesota and our visit with daughter. We had a really lovely time. The weather wasn't too bad except for Wednesday afternoon/evening and Thursday morning - we actually had snow!!! Thankfully it didn't stick around long. We did a lot of things - details to come - but this week, I think, will be a week of catching up. I have clothes to wash, things to tidy up, ants to deal with and lots of reading of blogs. Phew! Sometimes it's really tiring to come back lol.

Couldn't resist including a photo of 'the girls'. We did a husky walk at the Woo Woo Pawlooza - a fundraiser for Adopt-a-husky Minnesota on Saturday and the girls are proudly wearing their bandanas.

More later....

End of Week

Thank goodness it's Friday! I am feeling better - foot still swollen and sore but I'm pretty sure it isn't broken just black and blue. I've been trying to be careful. It does feel better in my hiking boots so I shall take those with me and be sure to wear them if we are out walking places. I think I was lucky to be wearing them (was on my way out) at the time I hurt my foot as they protected my ankle a little bit. I'm pretty sure it would have been worse if I had been wearing my shoes! The sickness thing I think was a bug. I still feel it once in a while, but it is certainly better now. Oldest son woke this morning feeling dizzy and was actually sick so stayed home from work today.

We're off to visit daughter tomorrow. It's a long drive, but I have my Kindle loaded up and I bought plenty of snacks to take with us to cut down on the stops. We've done the drive enough now that it's not too bad, just long. We found a way to avoid driving near Chicago (which always scares me silly lol).

The weather this week has been lousy so I'm hoping next week will be a little better. As I've been trying not to walk too much on the foot I've been spending time sitting watching the birds in my garden as well as the squirrels and chipmunks. One black squirrel is driving me crazy. We seem to be playing a game of  'if you go that way I'll go this way'. I try to get him off the feeder and he'll find a way to sneak around back to it. If I turn my back he tries going around the garage to get to the feeder the other way. Sigh. The chipmunks are getting up their courage climbing up the poles to the feeder and the birdhouse.

There are some tiny flowers in my garden. I put some nuts in them hoping a chipmunk or squirrel would give me a good photo op and one cooperated.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

A Little Book/Ouch!

I got this little book a while ago. It's me in a nutshell.

Thanks for all the comments on yesterday's post. I was dizzy again this morning and fell down the steps from the garage landing on my bum. I did something to my foot. It's swollen and sore but I'm going to give it until tomorrow to see whether I should go have it checked out. No walk this morning. Luckily it was my left foot and not my right which is the one I've had lots of trouble with and surgery on. Sigh.