Last Day of November

Another month over. Feeling a little melancholy tonight. Thinking of Mum. There are so many times I think of things I want to share with her and then I realise she's not here and I can't tell her. How I miss her. Sigh. 

I had a mini adventure today. I drove myself to the windy lakeshore. Probably why I'm thinking of Mum. I'd always tell her when I went, and she'd laugh because I was so crazy to go. She'd like seeing the photos too. 

Here are a couple of photos I took with my camera. I say this every time, but it amazes me when Lake Michigan is this wild and crazy. 

I was gone for most of the day, so didn't get much at home done. Tomorrow, I shall catch up on housework and run a couple of errands. 

Good thing about tomorrow - I get to open my chocolate advent calendar. Chocolate is always good. It might just be the thing that makes me smile tomorrow lol. 

I didn't take a lot of phone photos today. It was too darn cold to take my double gloves off while I was out on the beach. It was freezing. I saw snowflakes lol. I think the windchill was somewhere around 14f/-10C. 

Day 334 

There's a log here. I sat on it to take photos lol. 

More tomorrow!

Spent last night on the sofa. Sigh. Husband was snoring away quite happily and no amount of nudging would get him to move. I wear earplugs to bed and when he snores loudly I can hear him even though the earplugs block out most noise. If I end up on the sofa again tonight he's going to give me a break and sleep downstairs tomorrow night. I'm hoping he just won't snore. The sofa makes my back ache. I woke up grumpy. I don't take daytime naps as (unless I just sit and fall asleep doing something) they just make me grumpier. 

I went out for my morning walk. It wasn't bright and sunny today. Very cloudy, but quite at Asylum Lake. After my walk I ran some errands. I was trying to shop for some gifts but didn't find a lot. I am just at the point where I am going to do online shopping. I hate walking around and around and not finding what I'm looking for. Even if I have to order and pick up it's easier than trying to find it myself!

I did pick up a couple of things for the dice game we play at daughter's Christmas. I also picked up this (Day 333 Things That Make Me Smile) for myself

I love Hedgehogs (who doesn't?) and this is something you can put in the microwave and heats up. It was $5 and I thought it would be good to warm up my hands in the winter time. It's just the right size! If my hands get cold I have trouble getting warm at all. Hopefully this will help!

I also stopped in The Dollar Tree again. I gave into temptation and ended up buying some books from there. Quite pleased with them!

When I got home I actually sorted through the cupboard and boxed up the items I want to get rid of. So, something checked off the list. There are still things I might get rid of in there, but still pondering them. 

Beginning of the Week and a crafty Card

Not a bad start to the week. The rain stopped and today the sun came out. 

Day 332 

 I stood still on my walk and looked up (only for a minute so I didn't get too dizzy lol) and loved seeing the blue sky and the sunshine, even if the trees are all bare. I don't think we take time to look up very often. 

It was a nice walk this morning. I stopped and looked more than I walked. I rather enjoyed it. It was so quite at Asylum Lake this morning. Arnie, the park worker, was the only person I saw for ages. The beaver was out, several muskrats, some coots and lots of Mallards. I was fascinated for a while watching a female mallard eating a frog. I had never seen that before! 

From the lake I walked up into the field and watched the House Finches eating berries in the tree. I saw a couple of people walking their dogs (one sadly off-lead, even though they are required) and chatted for a while to another photographer that I see sometimes. His 'thing' is deer and it's currently mating season, so he's out and about documenting and photographing the deer he's been following all year. 

I did my usual daily chores when I got home, a little cross stitching, a little photography stuff and then it was time for the guys to come home. 

I have to do a little better with time management tomorrow. The cupboard by the back door needs to be worked on as I want to get the stuff out for bulk rubbish pick-up on Friday. 

I didn't go up in the craft room today, but I have been up there. Here are a couple of cards I've done. 

I still need to make envelopes for them. I think I might send them to my sisters for their cards this year. 

Rainy Sunday

It was pretty dull and rainy today. We did manage to go out for a little drive before running a couple of errands. 

We stopped at a covered bridge and I took a couple of phone photos

We stopped at a nearby park and we saw a couple of eagles. No photos as they took off as soon as I came close. Honestly, I didn't even see them until one flew as I was just going to the water's edge to take a nice reflection photo with my phone. 

I love that last photo and it's my smile for the day (Day 331)

When I came home I did a bit of the tidying up I'd put off. I thought that if I got some chores done today then tomorrow - if the sun shines - I can take a little longer walk and not feel too guilty! I also managed to get that shredding done that I've been putting off for ages! The pile had grown a bit more and it took a while, especially since the shredder machine was not cooperating. It was only shredding on one side. I checked for blockages, but I honestly think that it's just about had its day. Still, the shredding is all done for now and husband even managed to fit it into the recycle bin. 

Hope everyone had a good weekend. Plodding forward to a new week and the beginning of a new month!

Saturday

I'm feeling almost back to normal! Yeah! Daughter, unfortunately, is still feeling lousy. She is able to only eat popsicles and ice cream. 

It felt a little funny not getting up and going for a walk. I felt a little...off for a while. I felt alright once we were in the car and heading out to the shops. It wasn't as busy as I thought. It was kind of nice to have a look around. I didn't buy a lot, just a couple of gifts for the Christmas game we play when we go visit daughter. I looked in the craft shops and didn't see anything that really jumped out at me. There were some pretty good sales, but I was pleased that I didn't buy anything!

We stopped in at World Market - a place that sells things from all over the world. I picked up a couple of British food items. I also picked part of the gift for my Christmas partner in my Ipswich group (made up of people who are from Ipswich but now live in the states)

It's got tea in it, but I got it more for the tin. It is a money box when emptied, so I thought that was kind of fun. 

I saw a couple of other tins that I thought were fun to look at but they were too expensive just to buy for the tin! They wanted $16.99 each! The one above was a LOT cheaper lol

I also saw this tin of tea. It was a little cheaper and the brand of tea is something that son drinks. If he doesn't want the tin in the end perhaps he'll pass it along lol

Day 330 Things That Make Me Smile

I picked up some cross stitch today. It's the first time in a long, long time - since I was at Mum's when she passed away. I had been working on a piece to take to her room for her to display. I just haven't been able to pick it up since. I feel I'm ready. This piece is (hopefully) going to be for my Christmas partner. We shall see. 

Hope everyone is having a good weekend! 

Thank You

Thanks for all the well wishes for both daughter and myself.

I am feeling a bit better. Still have stuffy nose, but I'm feeling much better in myself. I actually seem to have some energy back! Daughter is still feeling really rough. Her throat is the worst. A family member did drop off some Thanksgiving food to them yesterday, but she was unable to eat a lot as it hurt her throat just to swallow. I feel so helpless. It's horrible being so far away, but even if I was closer there isn't a lot, I'd be able to do. I keep sending her messages hoping they help just a little bit. I really wanted my Mum when I wasn't feeling well, just a word or a cyber hug or something, so I'm trying to make my daughter at least know that I'm thinking of her. 

I did go over to MIL's for Thanksgiving yesterday. The other person who was supposed to go called saying they were sick and wouldn't be attending. MIL was okay with me going. I doubt I am contagious anymore as I've had it for a while and am on the mend now. 

Today husband and I went out to the lakeshore, just for a little while. The weather isn't supposed to be great on Sunday, so I thought if we went today at least we got out for a bit. Tomorrow husband, older son and me are going to do a little shopping in a nearby larger town. We don't go there often, and husband and son have a couple of places they would like to go and look at (shops that aren't in our town). I thought it would make a nice change. 

It was a hard choice for the Thing That Make Me Smile, Phone Photos (Day 328)

Either 

This funky tree at MIL's. Not quite sure what is going on with it. Dare to be Different. Lol. 

or 

the wonderful Apple Pie my MIL made. I think I have to go with the pie. It was delicious. MIL makes the best pies!

Today at the lakeshore a couple of things made me smile 

Patterns in the sand

More patterns and shadows. 

Both were lovely. The beach walk was fun. But what made me laugh-out-loud today was this beer that we saw in the shop we went to. 

The name made me laugh - Fluffer. Nutter Peanut Butter Marshmallow Stout. 

And then I went yuck! Not sure that even remotely sounds good lol

This and That

Ack. I had this post all written and accidentally deleted. Sigh. I can't even remember all I wrote now. It was quite a long post. Now it will be brief and highlights lol. I really need to remember to save. Just as I had deleted the post it did an automatic save. Grrr. Story of my life. 

Felt queasy this morning. Feeling so-so. Not sure I will go to Thanksgiving tomorrow. I really don't want to get anyone else sick. 

Daughter has Covid. Not feeling the greatest. She does work from home so managed to do that and, because of the Thanksgiving holiday, has the next four days off so hopefully she'll be able to get some rest. Not-so-good for her husband's family - his Dad was in an accident and has fractured two ribs and his sternum. He is home from the hospital but OUCH!

Day 327

Was a peaceful and quiet start to the day. 

Still feeling a bit under the weather. Not as queasy as I have been, but my nose is cracked and sore and is still going between running and being stuffy. I used the 'soft' tissues, but they still feel like sandpaper lol. I have been putting some cream on my nose before bed and that seems to help. I forgot last night though and I'm paying for it today!  I haven't had a lot of energy and am just plodding through the days. I have been going out for a little walk each day. It's been icy out - some of the snow is melting and then refreezing at night. I pulled my Yaktrax out of the car and put them on my boots, and I was glad I did. 

My friend is gone this week and it worked out well as I wouldn't feel good about walking with someone else and it's nice just to plod along and look around. Yesterday, even though it was cold, the sun was shining, and a variety of birds were feeding on a tree full of berries. It was lovely to stand and watch them - until the cold chased me away. 

I was glad to get back home into the warm and warm up with a cup-a-soup. 

I'll hopefully be back tomorrow! 

Day 324 (Sunday)

This ice at the lakeshore made me gasp and smile at the same time. So beautiful. This phone photo doesn't do it justice!

Day 325 (Monday)

Golden reflection

Day 326 (Today)

Still quite a bit of snow, but, thankfully, the main roads are all clear now. Can't wait for the side roads to be clear!

Just Quick Check In - Feeling ick

Yesterday wasn't a good day. There was lots of snow so I didn't go for a walk, but I doubt I would have been able to go far anyway. Everytime I moved I felt sick. I think it's because my head is all stuffed up and it threw off my balance or something. My head was hurting too. I got most of the daily stuff done, but other than that I cuddled underneath my blanket and barely moved. At least I didn't feel sick that way! A part of me feels that the day was wasted as I could have done some crafty stuff, but I really felt awful. I went to bed early.

More snow overnight. The feeling-like-I'd-throw-up thing had gone away by the time I woke up this morning. I'm still stuffy, can't breathe properly and nose running too. I felt guilty for not walking yesterday (silly, I know) so husband took me out and I walked a little bit in knee deep snow. I didn't manage long. Most of the day has been spent sitting in my chair again. My nose is redder than Rudolph's and even the 'really soft-with-lotion' tissues feel like sandpiper. Sigh. 

More snow this afternoon. It's supposed to stop by morning. The Winter Warning will be over and temperatures should be rising next week. I hope so. Depending on how much snow we get we might go for a drive. Not sure there will be any walking.

Hopefully, I'll feel a little better by morning. I'll check in on blogs tomorrow. 

Day 322 (Friday) Things That Make Me Smile - Phone Photos 

Thankful that I could stay inside and didn't have to go out. Husband had to drive out of town - four hours away for work. Thankful he managed to not slide off the road and made it home safely.

Day 323 (Today)

A nice view. 

Plodding Along on Thursday

It was snowing when I first got up this morning and I wasn't feeling great so I stayed home...for a while. The sun came out around ten. I feel kind of guilty (stupid, I know) if I don't go for a walk. So, despite feeling not the greatest, I went for a walk. The sun was nice to see though so I'm sort of glad I went. I struggled for the rest of the day. I managed to get household chores done so I suppose that's a plus. I had a little sleep in the afternoon. I managed to make something to eat for the guys, but I was struggling there for a while. I am going between being all stuffed up, not able to breath and having a headache, to nose dripping like crazy. Hope that means I'm closer to the end of it as yesterday I was just mostly stuffed up. Still aching quite a bit. 

It's snowing outside now, been snowing for a while, so I have turned my alarm off and I will definitely be staying home tomorrow. I have some washing to do and some Ebay things to pack up and then I shall do some crafting. 

On the plus side, because I did not go for a long walk first thing, I managed to get a calendar done online to send to my sister. It is on its way to me and I should be able to get it to her in time for Christmas. I've been procrastinating on getting it done (story of my life) so it's nice to have it done. 

Day 321

Lovely to have a nice hot chocolate when it's cold outside. This mug always makes me smile too as my Mum got it for me for Easter one year - it had a chocolate Easter Egg in it. 

Midweek

Ack. Meant to post yesterday but I've been coming down with some sort of bug - sore throat, stuffed up nose, body aches for a couple of days and I think I'm in the middle of it. I don't have a lot of energy and by the end of the day I'm just counting the minutes until bedtime. I did take a Covid test today and it's negative so it must just be one of the many other things going around. 

It's been cold and snowy on-and-off here. I managed a walk yesterday and today but we're under a Winter Storm Warning for the next couple of days and it might just be the excuse I need to stay home and rest. I actually feel quite weird if I don't go for a walk each day and I've been forcing myself to go out though I'm sure it doesn't do me much good when feeling as I am. 

Anyway, hopefully I'll feel a bit better tomorrow.

Day 319 (Tuesday)

Yesterday there was a 'slight' chance of snow showers when I was out walking. It didn't stop. Pretty view at the stream. 

Day 320

It didn't snow while I was walking this morning, instead it was slightly misty and we must have had a bit of ice overnight as there was some ice clinging to plants. I just liked this view - it made me smile. 

Did We Have Snow?

Well, the answer is yes. But it went away pretty quickly. But there is more coming. And, yes, the cold weather has set in. The week ahead looks cold and somewhat snowy. Our highest high will be 39F/4C, our lowest high 26F/-3C and our lowest low 16F/-9C. So the windows are closed up again and the heat has come back on. I think winter is coming. 

Yesterday (Sunday), it did snow. It was beautiful first thing. The snow coated everything in white. We got out and took a drive and I took some photos with my camera

Really pleased with how these turned out. Sometimes it's tough to get the snow to be the right shade of white and not blue or grey lol.

Husband and I had a good day out. My Day 317 Things That Make me Smile, phone photos, is a little collage of a couple of mini-snowmen my husband made. He had a lot of fun. 

The snow was gone by late afternoon. I'm sure there will be more on the way. In the part of Michigan where I live there is always a lot of snow in winter. I still get quite excited by that first snowfall. I know that, by the end of winter, I'll be complaining, but I was still like a child yesterday morning especially as the snow was the kind that sticks to everything. 

I got up this morning and went for a walk. My throat was a little sore yesterday and was still sore this morning. I hope I'm not coming down with anything. I did let me friend know as she is leaving to go and visit her son and baby this week for a couple of weeks, but she said she would still walk. I suppose it is up to her. All I could do was to let her know. 

I came home and packaged up a bunch of Ebay auctions and that was about all I had energy for lol. I'm off to bed early in hopes that I'll get a good night's rest. 

Day 318

A dull morning walk, but the water is receding at Asylum Lake as they have fixed the beaver deceiver, though the beavers haven't stopped working - more trees down. 

Hopefully back tomorrow!

Saturday

No walk this morning. It was cold and dreary and drizzly. It's a little snowy now, but too dark to take a photo. The snow has settled on the bird table and grass but hopefully it won't stick around for long. It is a lot colder though. The heat has clicked on several times today and I've been glad of it. 

Husband and I ran a couple of errands this morning. We stopped into The Dollar Tree to pick up some snacks. I had a little look around and picked up a couple of items. The mug is my Day 316 Things That Make Me Smile. Nothing in The Dollar Tree is a dollar any more, it is all 1.25 but I didn't think it was too bad. 

We stopped in another shop and had a look around. I didn't buy anything fun there, but I did see this ornament. I just didn't want to spend $10 on it. 

Do you see a theme here? Lol. 

I forgot to show this yesterday. I stopped in a charity shop and found this book that I thought looked to be an interesting read. I'm not sure it will hang around my bookshelf for long, but should be interesting especially as both Chipmunks and Beavers are things I love to watch. It was one book with two different sides. 

It was only a dollar. 

We are off out tomorrow if only for a little drive. I hope the snow is around just for a little while so I could get a couple of photos to show! 

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

End of Another Week

It's the end of another week. I've been enjoying the sunshine and warmer temperatures but I'm not looking forward to the sudden temperature drop and ... drumroll... a forecast of snow. We are falling from 75F/24C our high yesterday to 41F/4c tomorrow. That will be our high most of next week. The lows are going to be in the minus numbers. It will take a while for my body to get used to that! I actually had my window open yesterday, tomorrow the heat will have to be on. 

I've been busy listing more Ebay. I'm going to slow down on it for a while. I get so many free listings per month and won't do any past that. This is the first month I've even come close to listing that many! I haven't done a lot of sorting the past couple of days, but plan on doing more tomorrow. It's going to be cold, cloudy and snowy/wet-ish so not sure if we're going out or not. Instead, I plan to do a bit of sorting and maybe some crafting. I'd like to get another box packed up for donation so it can get out of the house. 

Day 314

The light through the trees. Always makes me smile 

Day 315

Up too early. 

Middle of the Week - Beaver video and photo

Had a nice wander around by myself for my 'walk' this morning. I got to see four - maybe five - beavers!! What a lovely treat! There were two at once, right by the lodge, and quite close to observe and take photos. I did take a little video in between taking photos. It's not the greatest quality, but I love hearing them chomp on the branches!

Here's one of the photos that I took with my camera

They really are a joy to watch and I am so lucky to have them close. There has been discussion on our local Facebook page about how they are 'destroying' all the trees. Yes, they take down trees but there have been some measures taken to protect some of the more 'important' trees.

I had to stop and pick up a couple of things at the shops. I was going to pick up one of the Breakfast Smoothie drinks that I usually treat myself to, but they had doubled in price!!! I picked it up and put it right back down when I saw the price. I cringed at the $1.98 price, but I couldn't bring myself to spend $3.98 on it! I did get petrol/gas and even that made me cringe, but I was driving on fumes lol. 

I came home, listed 10 more postcards on Ebay and managed to sort out six books to donate. I could have done more, but I was running out of time and wanted to at least get some sorted so I could report back lol. I should say I'll do five more tomorrow and maybe I'll do it! I do have 10 more postcards to list tomorrow. I also need to package up some items to ship. 

Day 313

Out by the Old Lodge. Just peaceful. Blue Skies. Alone. Nice. 

Hope everyone had a good day!

Tuesday

Well, I ended up doing more than 5 Ebay listings, but I didn't get around to the book sorting. I spent more time on Ebay listings than I planned. Tomorrow will be just a few postcard listings and then I will work on the books. I had a cursory glance at the bookshelves in the basement (yes, there are a lot of books down there too!) and I know that there are several that can be donated so that's where I'm planning to sort.

I started out with my morning walk. There were some gorgeous skies this morning 

 

Including my Day 312 Phone Photos - Things That Make Me Smile 

I did get my packages dropped off at the Post Office and the housework done, so that's the plus. 

Onto another day!

Just Another Monday

Got up early this morning and went for a walk. The sun is rising earlier, so I'm back to a really early walk for a little while. I ran a couple of errands. Husband needed a couple of things from The Dollar Tree. I didn't last long out. It seems that now it is November everybody is shopping! The shops were busy and crazy and I just didn't seem to have the patience. I felt a little anxious so cut things short. I did manage to get the bits I needed. I might have to do most of the Christmas shopping online. I would like to shop local, but I don't like crowds or people lol. 

Once home I spent a lot of the day listing new auctions. A couple of pieces I checked had bits missing (nothing major but enough that they weren't good enough to sell). I have a box filled ready to go to donation, so I'll have to start another box. I'm hoping to fill up another one within a couple of weeks so they can go to the charity shop. I think tomorrow I am going to start sorting through some more books. I'm struggling with reading lately. The last couple of books I've picked up didn't seem to catch my attention and, rather than struggle with them, I think I shall just donate and move on. 

When reading a book that doesn't quite catch your attention do you read on, pushing through, or do you say 'plenty more books on the shelf' and move on? I used to push through, but now that I am trying to sort out my bookshelves I am really tempted to move on. 

Tomorrow is another walk - chillier in the morning as it is supposed to be almost freezing - a trip to the post office to drop off a couple of packages, some housework, a goal of 5 listings and a goal of at leave 5 books. 

Day 311

Earlier sunrise. I got there before my walking friend and had a lovely while to enjoy the morning peace. 

Thanks! Sunday Adventures

 ...for all the anniversary wishes. 

We had a day out today. Another Sunday Adventure. It was a little windy, but nice and sunny. Can't complain about that! We went to the beach and took a little walk, watched the waves at one beach and at another watched the surfers enjoying the waves on the lake. 

Here's a little video of the beach. The waves yesterday, later in the day, were huge (I watched them on the webcam) but we couldn't go due to other things.

 

And a couple of photos - a walk down to another beach

Day 310 - this view made me smile. These fences were put up not too many weeks ago, but due to the wind some of them are almost buried already!

After we got home I boxed up a couple of Ebay auctions, did a little crafting and did a bit of relaxing. I did also take a better photo of a card I made. Christmas is creeping up quickly!

Hope everyone had a good weekend!