Busy Couple of Days

 I'll play catch-up with reading blogs tomorrow. 

It's been a busy couple of days. We were over at Jane's yesterday and are plodding along getting everything ready for the sale. I have a feeling that next week I will be spending a lot of time at her house!

I didn't go for a walk this morning. Husband had to take my car in - we had a slow leak in the tyre (tire) and had to end up having all replaced. He was going to drop me off for a walk, but the weather wasn't the greatest and I didn't want to get caught out in the rain. 

When he got back we went over to Jane's and sorted out the garage. We had a lot of cardboard boxes and plastic storage boxes that had to be moved. We don't want to get rid of them yet as the things that don't sell in the sale will be going to the charity shop and will need to be packed up. There is a screened in back porch at the house and husband moved them to there. We did put some broken or weirdly shaped boxes in the recycle. It's a big load off my mind. I find it hard to organise that sort of thing and I just panicked as I saw a big mess and no way to sort it. Husband is a bit more analytical and managed to work it all out. He also checked the attic while he was there (taking off a handle that was in the way and replacing it after). Thankfully it is empty! He also replaced a light fixture in the hallway. The garage was the last of The Big Mess. 

When I got home I did a little more sorting. Jane collected postcards and I had brought home a couple of folders (binders) full of them to sort through and pull out to be sold. There are still three more to do. I actually really enjoy looking through some of the postcards. She has some from over 100 years ago and it's wonderful to see how things have changed. 

Tomorrow we are going out for a Sunday Adventure and a walk. Later we have to go to Jane's briefly. I am looking forward to getting out and walking as I didn't today. 

Photos for today - a couple of the 'flowers' (weeds) in my garden - taken with my camera. I am finally trying to use my macro lens a little more. Things are finally starting to grow a little. 

And a little catching up on my Phone Photos - Things That Make Me Smile project. I am still taking the photos one a day - not so good at organising them which is why I am documenting them here as I can look back and remember which one I took for the day and why!

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Such a peaceful way to start the day. I've been getting to the lake earlier than my friend and I wait for her at a certain point. I just stand there and listen to the birds and the sounds - the perfect way to start the day. 

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Yet another nature photo. Yup, it brings me joy. I love this crooked tree. It has such character. Always makes me smile, especially on a day where I really didn't want to spend another day sorting the house. 

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Today. Well. If I was doing another photo instead of phone photos it would have either been a photo of the hawk I saw sitting on my fence this morning (grabbed the big camera and managed some photos) or it would have been one of the photos I took of the flowers blossoming in Jane's garden. As it's a phone photo it has to be one of the postcards that I've been sorting through. There are so many good ones, old ones, black and white ones. 

The one I'm sharing is actually two sides of the same postcard. It was one that was written and sent in 1940. I find it interesting that with all that was going on the same mundane things were written on the card!

I think if you click on the photo you should be able to read it. 

Goodnight all. 

Just Another Day

 Managed to fit in the minimum I wanted to get done so I'll chalk it up as an okay day. Was cold this morning, but warmed up a little this afternoon. The house is still a bit of a mess. I'll try to work on it this weekend. I have empty boxes sitting around. I want to keep them so I can put my donation bits in but don't want them sitting around so I might break them down. 

Tomorrow we're back at Jane's. Not sure what the goal is tomorrow. Straighten up a bit more. I'd like to take a few pictures as I want to start placing ads on Sunday. Not sure I'll achieve that. I might have to pop over at the weekend. I need to get back to writing lists so I can stay on task and feel as though I am achieving something. 

So that's another day done and dusted. I was going to stay up later, but I'm really tired so popping off to bed. Here's hoping I can actually sleep when I get there. 

I thought I'd share a different pic today. This is a collage of ones I took on Sunday. The birds are used to being fed at this nature park and this Red-Winged Blackbird couldn't even wait until husband had got out the food. Apparently the first bag husband got out contained peanuts which these birds don't eat. The bird squeaked at him until he got out the right food. So funny. 

Sorting out

Still plodding along at Jane's house. Not sure we are going to do things justice. We have got rid of - put in the rubbish, recycled and donated - a lot of the more mundane things, but she has some beautiful things. There must be stories behind each piece that we aren't aware of. She lived overseas and travelled a lot so has lots of things she brought back with her. 

I am finding myself quite intrigued with the two Cuckoo Clocks that she had. They are so intricately carved with lots of detail and are such works of art. It seems a shame to put them in an Estate Sale when I'm sure they won't be appreciated. I am leaning more towards doing a little research and finding out if they have a market on Ebay. 

I will take photos the next time I am there. I don't know a lot about them, but I took this photo of a label I could see on one. 

We did manage to sort out the rest of the donation items, so they are all ready to go hopefully this weekend they will be gone! I have volunteered husband to come over on Saturday and help me sort out all the boxes and plastic storage bins in the garage. We don't want to get rid of them in case we need them to box up leftovers and such but we need them out of the garage. Sigh. 

Tomorrow I am hoping to get in a lovely long walk, some housework and washing and maybe some sorting of my own. There are a few of my own empty boxes sitting around that need to be taken care of. Hopefully. Fingers crossed lol. I don't have to go to the shops and I'm trying not to spend money - well, there's nothing I really need or want - so I am not going anywhere else. 

Plodding on and signing off. 

Ooops... almost forgot my Phone Photo - Things That Make Me Smile 117/365

When I got home today I put on a couple of episodes of Miranda and that made me smile. 

Another Week

We were at Jane's yesterday. I looked around at all the things we still have to organise and felt more than a little out of depth. I'm not a great organiser and it all just seems like a little too much. I hope we get through it. I suppose it will all work out. I'm just not sure where to start or how to display the items. Yikes!

We had some lovely warmer temps over the weekend and, well, it's basically gone down from there. Today was barely above freezing and there was a light wintery mix at times. I got caught in it when I was out for a walk. It felt almost like winter again. Brrr... I went to get my hair cut today and to do my food shopping, cleaned house a little and the day was done. I still haven't got anything orgnaised in my own house though. 

Tomorrow it should be sunny - they said that today - and I will get a walk in before Jane's. I have to work on the garage tomorrow and get a few boxes of things we have stored in there. I have the last pile (for now) for donation started and I want to make sure we have it all ready to go at the weekend.

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This really made me laugh or groan more than smile. I was taking down lots of castles that Jane had displayed up on her shelf and I couldn't get this one to come off! I had to take down the shelf and MIL had to pry it off (gently) with a knife!

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Treated myself to this lovely magazine today. 

Quick Post - Wore Myself Out

This won't be a long one. I just remembered I was going to try to post today!

It's our day for a Sunday Adventure. We decided to head west instead of our usual heading east towards the lakeshore as storms were forecast to come in from that way. We decided to go to Kensington Metro Park which is about an hour and half away from us. There are a bunch of different metro parks on the other side of the state. We decided to pay for a yearly pass the first time we went and maybe explore some of the other parks at some point. Kensington Metro Park is almost 5000 acres. It is huge. I think there are two beach areas, a golf course, biking and running paths, you can boat and fish. The area we usually go to is the nature centre. No bikes, no running, no dogs at that part. It is purely to look and watch for nature. 

It was really beautiful. We walked about 5 miles around the trails (we didn't complete them all!). Saw lots and took lots of photos. We saw turtles, frogs, a snake, herons, cranes, warblers, songbirds and others. Really loved it. Tired out now. Haven't even pulled the card from my camera to look at the photos. I did take a few phone ones. 

There still isn't a lot of green around. The most I saw was this Skunk Cabbage, so named because of it's horrible smell. To be honest, it didn't smell bad at all, but I wasn't up close to it. I think when it gets damaged it gives off a bad smell. 

Did not see any Pileated Woodpeckers this time but saw lots of trees where their work was evident. They make oblong holes in the trees. 

Lots of lovely trails through marshy, field areas. If you stand with your hand out filled with bird seed sometimes the birds will come down and eat! It is husband's favourite thing to do (and why he doesn't mind going lol). 

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And a lovely big lake to walk around. 

Off to bed now!

All I seem to be doing...

 ..is playing catch-up!!

I have such good intentions writing in my blog but then I end up forgetting until I'm tucked up in bed and by then I just can't be bothered to get back out again! Grrrr... I shall try to do better. I have some catching up to do reading blogs too. 

I'll start with today and go backwards lol

Beautiful weather today - sunny and warm 28c/82F was our high today! Wow. Made the most of it by going out walking. Unfortunately, husband had to work overtime today so I was on my own. It's not going to last. It's dropping back down to a low of below freezing on Tuesday lol. Oh well, it was nice. My windows have been open since I got home so the house is having a nice air-out from winter. 

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A lovely morning reflection. When I first got out it was lovely and quiet. Just me and the birds. Later, it did get quite busy though! I suppose it's because it was the first really nice day we've had - and we'll back to rain tomorrow!

Friday we were at Jane's again. We were matching up lighthouses with boxes. Wow, Jane had a lot of them! We didn't find all the boxes, but we did manage to match up a lot. Next week we will be starting to set up and stage for the estate sale as we are having it the first full weekend in May. If we can get things set up this week and start pricing we'll be well on track to finish in time. 

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Morning sunrise. Made me smile because it was the only sun we saw on Friday. Just after the sunrise, the clouds moved in and then the rain!

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Just a bookmark. Made me smile. I was tidying up and came across it down by my chair. I have dozens of bookmarks but can never seem to find one when I want it!

I hope everyone is having a good weekend. 

Wednesday

 Thanks everyone for the comments. I'm a little behind as usual. 

On the good news front - I have exceeded my 30 book declutter challenge for the month! I have got rid of 40+ books with more leaving. I still have to call the library bookshop now that it is open and make an appointment for donation. I hope by the time I remember to do it they haven't changed their minds again!

Still plodding along at Jane's house. Today was matching up all the Christmas Village boxes with the appropriate buildings and ornament boxes with ornaments. Thanks Dicky Bird (Jacky) for the tips for the sale. It is a challenge to know what to put on things, but we will be willing to accept lower prices and everything will be half off after noon on the second day. At this point we want it gone. MIL and I will both be glad when we are done with it. As we work on Jane's house it seems our own houses are feeling and looking a little neglected. I have a pile of things to sort through at mine. I suppose I will have time once we are done with Jane's. 

I have been listing a few of my craft things on Ebay and have sold a couple of bits that need to be packaged up tomorrow. It does feel good to have things leaving the house. I doubt I shall miss them. I still have a lot more I plan on getting rid of but the things I want to try selling I am listing a little at a time. Once we are finished at Jane's I will list more at a time. I don't want to overwhelm myself trying to get things ready and posted while getting ready for the sale. If I sell one or two items, I can arrange to have them picked up at my house when the post is dropped off. I would feel bad about having a load for them to carry though I don't know if there is a limit they can pick up. 

109/365 Phone Photos Things That Make Me Smile 

Was a surprise to see a new information panel on my walk Tuesday and see that they had used two photos of mine. Made me smile. 

110/365 

After the dull cold weather of the last few days it was a lovely start to the morning today. Still chilly, but lovely to see the sunshine. It made me feel better. As it was cold I was the only one there. Well, me and the birds singing out loud. Even they were glad of the sunshine!

Spring or Winter?

 I'm not sure Mother Nature knows exactly what season it is! We had some snow again this morning and it's been cold and dreary and snowy most of the day. Sigh. I didn't get out for a walk as I had another dentist appointment. I've been dreading it since the one on Thursday. I managed to get through it. My mouth is a little sore, but hopefully will be okay tomorrow. I have to go back in a few weeks to have the permanent crown put on and another filling done. I had my dentist exam today as I didn't have time for it on Thursday and she found I had a filling needed doing. I asked if it could be done the same time as the delivery of the permanent crown and she managed to fit me in! After that I won't have to go back until October. Thank goodness!

We were back at Jane's after even though I wasn't feeling the greatest and was a little tired from the anxiety medicine I took. We got most of the downstairs Christmas stuff sorted and found a bunch of boxes and packed up some of the ornaments with the boxes. Most of what we have to do now is organise things. 

Yesterday Husband and I managed to get out for a walk. We got out early and were the only ones down on the beach. By the time we got back to the car park it was getting quite full. We were all bundled up as it was quite cold - hats, mittens, big coats. I can't wait until we no longer have to do that! Snow looks to be in the forecast again tomorrow but then things might warm up. It looks as though our temps will go from 3C  (38F) today to 26C  (78F) on Saturday. My poor body won't know whether to be warm or cold! Ah the joys of Spring in Michigan!

106/365 Saturday

Husband bought me this. Definitely made me smile!

107/365 - Sunday

From the photo it looks lovely, you'd never guess it was literally freezing lol. It made me smile that it was such a peaceful, quiet walk - just us and the gentle waves. 

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I have been quite grumpy all day so I struggled with today. Almost didn't take one at all but then these arrived in the post. Yum. I paid a ridiculous amount for them (considering I know exactly how much they actually cost) but it was worth the smile. I shall just have a couple at a time. 

Onward Tuesday!

Mission Accomplished ...?... Maybe? Sort of?

Well, it's Friday. The end of another week. I miss where this weekend would be a holiday. I don't really celebrate Easter, but a nice long weekend would be ... well, nice. As it is, the weekend is nothing special here in the US.

Today we were back at Jane's house. I suppose I should explain the blog post title. We got done the goal that we had set for this week, so although we have a lot of things still to do, we did get quite a lot done this week. So, the mission for this week was sort of finished, but we plod on. 

We got the village taken down, 10 bookcases emptied in the basement, two wardrobes full of picture slides taken care of. Husband and FIL took out the rubbish and Husband took another load of donation to the charity shop. Quite an achievement for the week! Next week we will start setting things out for the Estate Sale. Due to several reasons - mainly no-one wanted to take on everything (too much work apparently) - we are staging the sale ourselves. We have three weeks to get ready for it. So staging is the next goal. 

Any tips will be welcomed! We plan on doing some more researching for products, advertising on Facebook, Nextdoor (a neighbourhood social media thing here in the US) and Craigslist. 

I got out for a walk today. First thing was beautiful - which is my Phone Photos - Things That Make Me Smile 105/365

Looks lovely, doesn't it? There is finally some greenery in the field. Not long after this it started dropping something close to ice pellets. Lol. Better than rain, I suppose. This was the most sunshine we saw all day. After this, nothing but rain. 

On the household front, another 25 books (23 sold, 2 donated) that will be leaving the house. This pushes me over my 30 goal for the month, but I shall still be plodding on. The email I received from the library bookshop today says they are accepting books by donation so I shall call them shortly and make sure I can book an appointment. Depending on their limits I really want to donated books to them so I shall have to do more sorting if they will accept the books. 

Tomorrow is going to be cold. Maybe a morning walk. Husband and son are going out in the afternoon so I would like to work on the craft room. 

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Not the Best Start to the Day

 Thanks for all the encouragement for the dentist. 

Wasn't a great start to the day. It was really chilly this morning - just above freezing - so I popped out to start up the car for a few more minutes while I was getting last minute things together. I promptly managed to somehow lock the keys in the car while the car was running. We have no spare keys. Sigh. Panicked. Called husband who promptly came home - but his work is about 30 minutes away.  I must admit to sitting and crying for a few minutes. I tried ringing the dentist, but my appointment was the first of the day and they weren't open yet. I really didn't want to cancel as I had managed to get myself in the frame of mind to go (have a dentist phobia). 

I finally got hold of the dentist and asked how long they scheduled for the appointment - an hour and ten minutes apparently. I said I would be there as soon as I could. Husband got home and, in the meantime, I had called MIL and expressed my panic. She said FIL would drive me to the appointment. We were about half hour or so late, but the hygenist was more than happy to fit me in. My actual exam will be done on Monday when I had an already scheduled appointment for some work. 

Husband called a locksmith who came and opened the door so we could retrieve the keys. After work husband went and got a key that would at least open the car door. Our car key is one that needs to be ordered and programmed and it isn't cheap! It's next on the list. Sigh

What a horrible start to the day. When my blood pressure was checked at the dentist it was quite - understandably - high. 

I'm glad this day is over. 

104/365 Phone Photos - Things That Make Me Smile 

I would post a photo of husband, MIL and FIL, the locksmith and my whole dentist centre (who were very sympathetic and didn't complain at all for me being late) as they all made me smile a little today. As I don't have photos of them I will post a picture of the lake where I took a nice long walk after all was said and done. Being outside in nature is really good for my mental health! 

Wednesday - The Christmas Village

 Managed to get a walk in before the rain set in. Well, almost. I did get rained on for a little bit. It was nice to get out for a walk. It was nice and warm, shame about the rain. There were lots of birds out singing. I would have liked to get more photos, but I was trying to keep the camera from getting too wet and the light wasn't the greatest. It does seem as though more spring birds are returning though!

We were back at Jane's today. We decided to give the book sorting a rest (and rest my knees from having to keep going up and down the stairs!) and start on dismantling Jane's Christmas Village. It was quite the production. I actually forgot to take photos before we started but did find a couple that I had snapped months ago. 

It was quite the set up. It was arranged in front of a (unused) fireplace, on three small tables on the bottom and a shelf above. Each house was lit up and there were several streetlamps. They were all plugged in on quite a circuit. It took quite a lot of unhooking and working out how to get it all apart. They were on Styrofoam blocks and all arranged quite carefully. It took us several hours to take it all apart. 

I'll have to take a photo of the fireplace. I thought I had but I only have one with MIL in the photo and I don't want to share that one. We arranged the pieces on cleared bookshelves (all the books have been taken care of). There are boxes in the basement for each house so we still have to match those. 

The room looks so much bigger without the fireplace blocked out. It felt really productive to get this taken care of. MIL and I had both been dreading it. Friday we will be back on the books. Husband is going to come over after work to take some bags up from the basement to the rubbish skip and load up his work van with donations. That will help clear out some more things. 

My thing that made me smile today was one of the little people from Jane's village. BTW one of the village signs she had said population 1100+ and I think she may have had that many little figures to go with the village! Anyway this one made me smile. I think it would be me if I ever went skiing.  Not the best photo but made me smile. 

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Tomorrow - well, I'm trying not to think of it. I have a dentist appointment. I am - as usual - dreading it. Miss having Mum give me encouragement. I shall get through it. I'm trying not to think too much about it. Wish me luck. 

Just Plodding Forward

I was going to write yesterday but after being at Jane's I was just too tired. I've posted that this month I'd like to get rid of 30 books. If I could include the number I got rid of at Jane's I would have shattered that amount lol. I'm not sure how many bookcases are in the basement - maybe ten (?) each quite tall and filled with books. Sigh. Lots of old (not old as in classic/vintage) books - mass market paperbacks that nobody will want. It's hard to get rid of them all. Dragging them up the stairs is another matter. My poor knees are still hurting. Things are getting emptier though. So I suppose that is good. 

On the plus side we've had three beautiful days in a row. It was quite chilly this morning but ended up lovely and warm and sunny. 

On Sunday we did manage to go for quite a nice walk. It was chilly in the morning, but the snow had all melted and the day turned out lovely. We walked up into the sand dunes, through the woods and along the beach. Had a lovely time. 

There wasn't a lot growing in the woods

But what made me smile 100/365 (can't believe I've stuck at it for 100 days!!)

Some lovely daffodils growing in the middle of the woods. They always make me think of Mum. I had a little smile (it definitely wobbled a bit) and thought of her. 

My Phone Photo Things That Makes Me Smile 101/365

Mother-in-Law made some of her lovely potato salad and brought some to share! Yum. I'm not a big fan of celery and she always cuts it up quite big so I can pick it out lol. I really like her homemade potato salad. The ones in the shops are really sweet but hers - delicious!

Today's smile 102/365 - another food post

I almost forgot to take a photo which accounts for the fact that it's been partially eaten but I had a smile when I sat outside on the back porch in the warm sunshine and ate a pistachio muffin that husband got for me. These are delicious too! 

I will play catch-up with blogs and comments. As always I am behind! Hope everyone is having a good week. 

Snowy Saturday

 Yes, you read that title right. It did snow. It was a snowy, cloudy morning. The sun finally came out about an hour before it went down! Hopefully tomorrow will be better. 

I was tempted to stay inside and curl up with a book but as my photography project is documenting a Year at Asylum Lake and this MIGHT be the last snow, I thought I'd pop over there and take some photos. It was lovely and peaceful for a little while. 

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This is what made me smile today. Yes, it is snow and yes, I am tired of it, but it was beautiful standing here first thing in the morning. One minute it was snowing, the next there were little glimpses of blue skies.  A lovely little slice of peacefulness. 

These little prints in the snow made me smile too. 

The walk must have chilled me more than I thought - even though I was wrapped up warmly - as I had trouble getting warm the rest of the day. For a while I sat huddled in my chair with a blanket around me. Later I did finally warm up and I went up to the craft room - agh. Mistake. It's a mess. BUT a plan is forming in my mind.  

I finished a book and gave up on another so that's two more for the donation pile. It's rare that I give up on a book, but this one just doesn't do anything for me. I'm not enjoying it at all. I tried setting it aside for a while but picking it up again I realised that it's better just to move on to another one and let this one go. 

Tomorrow is supposed to be better weather-wise, so we are off out for a walk. Hope everyone had a good Saturday!

Playing Catch-up

I haven't posted for a few days. Nothing wrong. I've just been trying to catch up with my other photography blog. On that blog I'm documenting A Year at Asylum Lake for my Big Project with my online camera club. I'd fallen behind - is that anything new for me - and I wanted to get caught up. That meant sorting through photos I'd taken on my walks, organising them on my computer and writing the blog posts. I am still a couple of weeks behind, but it's feeling more manageable. It was on my to-do list for the week so that's one thing I can check off! 

Another thing I wanted to do this month was get rid of 30 books. It's only April 8th and I've already managed to sort out 21 of them! I hang my head in shame as some of these were books daughter had left behind. 

This was also the Phone Photo - Things That Make Me Smile 97/365. I am so pleased that I was able to get rid of so many. I will be looking for more this weekend so stay tuned - lol. 

I listed some more on Ebay. If they don't sell, I shall be donating them. We'll see how it goes. I really wish the library bookshop was accepting donations as I would feel better about donating books to the shop but I need them out of my house so they will have to go to a charity shop of some sort. 

I haven't progressed much on my craft room. I did start looking through things, but realistically I will have to come up with a method of choosing what stays and what goes. I honestly still like most of the things I have in there. It is a matter of working out what exactly I am going to use and not things I want to hold onto in case I want to use them. Sigh. 

I did well on the meal planning this week. I went and did a food shop today too so I have most of what I need for next week too. The place I usually shop at is having renovations done and is a mess, the shop is a mess and the car park is a mess. I don't like food shopping at the best of times, but the mess makes it worse. I can feel my anxiety climbing. So I changed places I shop at - only problem is that the roadworks on the main road close to mine started and (soon) the road will be closed completely in one direction (until October) so I thought I'd go today in case they close it after the weekend. It was supposed to be closed on the 6th but for some reason they have kept a small bit of it open. If I down drive in my neighbourhood I can still get through - for now at least. 

It's not been a good week weather wise. Cold (I'm tired of it), rainy (I'm tired of getting wet on my walks) but I have managed to get out all but one day. 

Phone Photos - Things That Make Me Smile 96/365

I found this at Jane's and it made me laugh!

Day 98/365

I got these today! Made me smile. Daughter sent them to me. 

Hope everyone has a good weekend. I've got some blog hopping to do! 

Another Week

Yesterday we were back at Jane's. It's slowly getting there - slowly lol. It was raining in the morning so I didn't take a walk. However, after dropping off MIL the rain had cleared and I stopped on the way home to take a quick walk. Today was a little better. I walked for quite a while. I also stopped and got to watch the beavers out swimming - there were four of them! I couldn't believe it. My friend wasn't walking today so I was by myself, but it was really exciting!

I did the weekly shop, meals have been planned. Did my chores for the day. Managed to sort out a few items to list. Ack. I look at my own mess and just groan. Hopefully when we are done at Jane's I can work on my own things. I'd love to get crafting again, but the mess just puts me off. 

I have been tempted to buy some new books. Some of my favourite authors have come out with some new ones, but I won't be giving in. I have to sort out my 30 books for the month and IF I can get rid of more I might buy one. I shan't be bringing in any more without some going out. 

Tomorrow is another day of rain and another day at Jane's. I've been looking through her postcard collection. She had quite the collection! There are some really interesting ones. I really like the old lighthouse postcards. It's amazing how much things have changed. I hope to share some of them when I've gone through them. They really are quite wonderful. 

My 94/365 Phone Photos Things That Make Me Smile is from Jane's house. I really laughed when I saw this book. It's quite interesting. It is from 1974

 

Today's photo 95/365 has to be a photo of down by the beavers' lodge. I really enjoyed seeing them out and about. Really exciting and definitely made me smile! 

Sunday

 It didn't look very promising when we headed out this morning. There was no sunrise and the skies looked very dull and cloudy. When we arrived at our destination though the clouds were beginning to break up a little! It had snowed overnight and there was a wet snow covering on the grass and sand. Even though the signs had said that Muskegon State Park (where we were going) scenic drive was going to be open it wasn't. The road closure barriers were still up. We parked at some designated parking and decided to walk in. Usually we drive in a car park closer to the beach. Instead we parked and walked. We didn't do the walk we were planning on, but still managed to walk up into the sand dunes. There wasn't much wind and although it was cold we did warm up while walking. 

This was actually my 93/365 Phone Photo for the day

It's not the snow that made me smile, but the clear blue sky! For a morning that started off with thick cloud cover the sky was just beautiful.

We made a couple of other stops as we wove our way back down the lakeshore and to home. It was a lovely day out, lots of walking and some nice sunshine. I really wanted to make the most of it as the next few days look quite rainy!

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend!

Saturday

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend. In my corner of Southwest Michigan, it was another cold day. Bright start, but clouded over, rain and then - yes - a little bit of a snowy mixture. Sigh. We went out for a little while this morning. I wanted to look for spring things for my #1day12pics for A Year with my Camera. Each month on the first Saturday of the month the goal is to take 12 photos of your day. I have been trying for a theme and this month I was trying to look for Spring. I found some green, along with some ice, a winter bird, but a couple of spring ones too!

I didn't see many puddles around this morning, but it was muddy. Joy had left a comment that made me smile on the last post about what happened with the Vicar of Dibley and a puddle. She jumped in one and it ended up being really deep! The comment made me laugh out loud. 

Here are my #1day12pics Looking For Spring

What did make me smile this morning for my phone photo-a-day challenge 92/365 was this lovely looking sky. 

I think that was the most sun we saw all day lol. 

When we got home we changed vehicles and dragged our son over to Jane's house. The guys loaded up the van with the donation boxes and took them over to a local charity shop. It felt good to have them gone! 

Later in the afternoon, middle son popped in. He didn't stay long and kept his mask on as he hasn't been well. He has tested for covid a couple of times, but both have been negative. He's on the mend now, but didn't want to pass on the germs. 

Tomorrow we are off out for a walk. A state park path that has been closed is said to be open now so we are going to check it out as it was one of our favourites and we have missed walked there. Fingers crossed for warmer temps and maybe a peek of sunshine!

April 1st

 I was going to have something witty and funny to say or post, but no, same old thing I'm afraid. 

It snowed overnight. Sigh. Really? I think that someone, somewhere, is laughing at us. 

I went for a walk. It snowed while I was out walking. There were a couple of really brief clear moments, even a touch of a sunrise. 

I think this was as much sun as we got - until late afternoon just before sunset. This was my day 91/365 Phone Photos - Things That Make Me Smile. 

I liked this view too. I really am drawn to the winding path. 

Couple of goals for this month ;-

* more book decluttering. At least another 30 books. One for each day of the month. Hopefully there will be more. 

* bit of a garden spruce up. I don't have many decorative things in my garden, but there's a fair bit that can be cleaned up - if it ever stops being so wet. I would like to buy some container flowers when it warms up a little. 

* more crafting. Not just crafting but tidying the craft room. A cleaner space would be more productive. I miss crafting. 

* Kitchen cupboard/freezer sorting. I've been putting this off. I know there are expired items that need to be thrown out, but I feel a little guilty about it so have been putting it off. I need to just clean them out and go forward with a new mentality. Food is getting more expensive and I want to save money where I can. 

My Day 90/365 Phone Photo - Things That Make Me Smile 

Puddles. They made me smile. I should have jumped in one. It would have been fun. Oh well, maybe next time!