Just Another Day

I FINALLY got a haircut! No more Covid Hair for me lol. It's been the highlight of my week so far. I felt really comfortable going inside the small salon. When I got to the salon I had to text my hairdresser and she texted me back to let me know I could go on in. I didn't see anyone as I walked to her booth. I had on my mask and she had on hers. When she needed to get close to my ears she had me hold the mask over my face and release one of the ear elastics and then the same with the other side. My head feels so much lighter. It's been really hot here (over 90F/30+C) and will continue to be so for days so a nice short haircut feels a lot better. Hairdressers opened here on the 15th of the month but she didn't schedule me until yesterday. I found out why. Her husband, who had been diagnosed with a brain tumour, sadly passed away three weeks ago. They hadn't been married very long. She seemed okay, but I imagine it's a really difficult time.

I went for a walk early today. It was hot outside even though it was early and I didn't stay out as long as I normally did. I met up with the lady I've been walking with but she was very hot too. It's quite draining walking out in the heat! Even the birds seem to get overheated.

I tried to find a bigger bird bath, but no luck. I ended up putting out another large bowl of water. Hopefully it helps!

Crafty Bits

Here's the last of the cereal box mini-albums. This one I made into a Halloween album. I really like the paper in this one. Not sure what I'll do with it but (I think) it turned out well.

I also made these two little ones, each from 1 piece of 12 x 12 double sided paper. I followed along with a really easy YouTube tutorial from Lyric Lover 810. They are small and cute. I like her videos. She does a lot of papercrafting ones that are easy to follow along with.

An inside peek at the top one. This is one I'm going to fill in.

And this is the bottom one that I filled with little things that bring me joy.

It's been hot here the past couple of days and looks to be just as hot in the days to come. I've been working on the cross stitch for my sister as I can do that in the living room.

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Plodding Along

Can't believe another week is almost over. I've got a couple of moans to start off (scroll ahead if you'd rather not hear lol).

1. My foot cramps have got a lot worse the last couple of weeks. I'm not sure if this is due to heat or what. I'm been eating bananas, I thought I was drinking enough water and I have been out walking every day. There have been several nights I've woken up with such bad pains in my foot I've had to jump out of bed! I've always had them, but I find I usually get them after long travels. Just before writing this my left foot started cramping and I had to walk around the living/dining room to get rid of it. Maybe the heat? Maybe I haven't been drinking as much water as I think? 

2. Food Shopping. Groan. I didn't particularly like doing it before Covid-19 and I hate it even more now. It's hot out. I don't like wearing the mask (but I am going to continue to do so). The other day I was in the store and I felt as though I couldn't breathe. I ended up breathing really fast and left without some of things I needed. Sigh.

Those are my only moans (so far anyway!). I have been up in the craft room. I have finished the last album. I shall take photos and share tomorrow. I have been watching a Youtuber who does something called No Paper Left Behind for people who have masses of paper (I put my hand up here). She does wonderful tutorials of simple mini albums/booklets to make. I am going to try a couple. I have started on the stitching but (of course) I'm not sure I like the fabric I am doing it on. It's 14 count and looks as though it's going to be too big for what I want. I'm not sure I have 16 count which is what I'd prefer to do it on. 

Photo of the day : - one of the crows that comes to my garden. I posted this today to my Instagram account My Instagram and a couple of people thought it was hurt. It's not. It was sunning in the garden. Just minutes before it was eating, flying, cawing etc along with the others. There was another one not too far away all puffed up and happy. I guess even birds sun themselves!

A Good Book and another Mini Album Make

I've just finished another book. I've pledged through Goodreads to read 100 books this year and am well on track for my goal. This is another by Kristin Higgins. It's what my Mum would call a woman's book - a little family story mixed with a little romance. I liked the characters in this one. There were a mix of ages and they all seemed realistic. I was reading a book the other day and some of the characters were going on about their mother and how she was and the author made her sound like she was in her seventies - turns out she was fifty-six!!! I groaned out loud at that one. I'm fifty and I couldn't recognise myself at all in this 'old' woman as she was described.

I finished another of the cereal box mini-albums. I have only one more left to do and it's about half done. I quite like how this one worked out. I have to work out what I'm going to put in them now.

I've got a new stitching piece to work on too. I had most of what I needed to do it and I have ordered a couple of threads (speciality) that I didn't have. Usually I would probably just make do but this is a special piece for my sister and I want it to be just right.

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

A Chat and a Cross Stitch Finish

I finally got to go to my appointment to renew my licence this week. It was a little strange. Usually we just all bundle into the offices, you take a number and hope the wait isn't longer than an hour or so (though usually it is). This time it was by appointment only. There was someone on the door making sure you had an appointment. You were let inside. There were no chairs. You had to stand on the Xs and move forward as the queue moved. It actually worked better and I liked it. I was only in there for 35 minutes! It was weird this time as anyone renewing licence had to fill out paperwork and one of the questions was whether you are a citizen. As I'm not I had to show my green card and had to see a specific woman. This must be new as I have never been asked that question before. I didn't have to have an eye test - maybe because that requires sticking your eyes close up to what is like a pair of binoculars. I did see an older man having the eye test though so who knows? I'm just glad that is out of the way. My licence expired on my birthday in May (they have to be renewed every 4 years, but only every 8 years in person). There was a law enacted that people who licences expired during this period could still drive but I'm glad it's all done now!

It's been really hot the last couple of days. The air conditioners are on again. Yesterday I kept the curtains closed all day to help cut down on the heat. We went out this morning and it was already about 80F (27C) by just after 9am this morning. We didn't stay out long. I'm hoping it cools down a little tomorrow so we can at least have a little walk. I don't like walking too much when it's really hot - seems to take a lot out of you.

It was supposed to have some writing down the left hand side, but I didn't want that on there so left it. I got this kit at a charity shop when I was in England one year so I'm glad it's finished. I didn't mind the stitching, but I'm not a fan of backstitch and it was quite difficult to see where all those lines on the wings were supposed to go so a lot of it I just guessed lol. My next project is going to be a Ruby Wedding thing for my sister as it is her anniversary in September and Mum asked me to stitch something. I got the design on Etsy and it looks fairly simple so hopefully I'll get it done quite quickly.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Crafty Make

I finished another of the cereal box cover mini albums. I am really liking how this one turned out. Still not quite sure what I'm going to put inside. Probably some of the nature photos I've been taking.

I've made two and have two more to make lol. I did remember to (sort of) write down how I made the first one and tweaked it for the second one so hopefully the third will be even easier!

Another Week

I can't believe it's Tuesday already. I feel as though the time is just slipping away from me. We've had a couple of days of lovely weather, but now it's starting to heat up again and the air conditioner is back on again. I'd much prefer to just have the windows all open and a nice breeze coming in, but as long as it's not raining I'll take the sunshine.

I've been out walking at my usual place, taking photos and just enjoying the early mornings when things are a little quiet again. It's not been as quiet as it used to be, but it isn't as busy as it was when this whole thing first started and my little walking spot was the only place in town open. Things are really starting to grow now. Everything is so very green and the wildflowers are beginning to come in waves. There have been a lot of deer the last few days. I don't know whether it's because of the abundance of food or because it has been a little cooler.

This month in my online camera club the theme is 'close to home'.  I made a collage of some of the shots I took on my walk a couple of mornings.

Daughter sent me a text telling me that my library is back open. I checked on the website and this week they are only accepting book returns. Next week they will open for limited hours. As this is the first week I bet they will be quite busy as I'm sure a lot of people have books to return. Once I've dropped off my books I won't be going back for a while. There are roadworks on the road I take from my house to the library and it is closed one way - for the life of me I can't remember which way! I shall be glad to get rid of these books - I think I may need to give them a dusting first!

End of Week

Another one ending. Feeling a little up and down. Tomorrow we should have been leaving on our annual camping trip to the U.P. Sadly the campgrounds don't open until next weekend so all our reservations were cancelled. I had booked them all in December as it takes a bit of planning and we were staying in our own tents, some cabins and a yurt. Sigh. Campgrounds here book up quite early especially for the weekends so no chance of rescheduling this year. I shall miss seeing the sunrises and sunsets over the lake. I am trying not to let it get me down but...shrug

It's been an up and down weather week this week. Today has been beautiful though. It was cool enough to turn the air conditioning off and open up the windows. I love having a cool breeze with lovely fresh air flowing through the house. The sunshine helps too! I have been sitting in the garden watching some of the new arrivals beg their parents for food. They are so funny to watch. I have taken more photos than I've had time to sort through lol.

I've been doing lots of reading too. I shall have quite the pile of books to decide what to do with soon. I did actually get up into my craft room today too. I've been working on another one of the cereal box mini albums. I forget how much I enjoy crafting. Sometimes I just start feeling a little down and can't get a lot of motivation for anything. Is there something you do when you can't get motivated?

The weekend is supposed to bring nice weather. Husband and son are doing something tomorrow morning so I shall probably go for a walk by myself before Skyping Mum. Sunday we are going for a walk a little further afield as we are allowed more freedoms now. It will be good to go somewhere different for a walk!

Today's photo is a rabbit. They are plentiful where I walk in the mornings. I usually only see the tail end of them as they are hopping away. This one sat quietly for a minute before noticing me.

Things Opening

The shops here reopened. To be honest it feels really weird walking into a store now. I hate crowds so tend to shop early so there isn't any waiting around in queues and whatnot. I just feel like I have a case of what my kids used to call the cooties. Everything is carefully wiped down when you use it, most people are wearing masks and people seem to give you a wide berth. I won't be shopping much I don't think. I have decided to stick to my once a week grocery shopping and will probably do the same for other shops - if I feel the need to go.

The park where I walk is a little quieter now that a lot of people are back at work. It is still busier than it used to be but at least the car park isn't full anymore (when I go early in the morning). I can walk for a while without seeing anyone which is nice. It's a great way to wake up and start the day.

It's been quite stormy here today. A strong storm came through last night - for less than 10 minutes - and we lost power from about 6pm last night until about 2am in the morning. We forgot what we had turned on so lights and other things came on lol. Son was sleeping in the living room as it gets really hot in his room upstairs. He does have a window air conditioner up there, but obviously with no power there was no cooling things down.

Photo for today. A lovely view to see as I try to wake up in the morning on my walk.

My Daughter Got Engaged!

My daughter's boyfriend asked her to marry him!

I'm not posting full photos just in case they don't want them on here. It was really cute. Each dog had a sign around her neck and so did daughter's boyfriend!

They were all nicely lined up, well, as nicely as three huskies could be!