Pages

Saturday, April 29, 2023

Saturday

 At least I'm remembering to post! And I have left comments on blogs. Gasp!

I went for a walk by myself this morning. Husband had slept elsewhere in the house last night to give me a break from his snoring and he slept in late. I thought I'd give him a break and just go out by myself. I'm glad I did go out. I thought about staying in. The morning was cool, but sunny to start and the combination of sunrise and mist on the field was really beautiful. 

Some of my phone photos from this morning















When I got back, husband and I went to do a little food and household shop. Spent too much, but we were out of a lot of household products and those aren't cheap! I do need to stop at the dollar shop next week as there are a couple of items I need from there too. We also stopped to look at some furniture. I would like a smaller table for the dining room. We have a nice one now, but it's one of the higher ones with six chairs and we really need a smaller, lower one. This one hurts my back and my legs don't touch the floor (I'm actually quite tall) and now that I am getting older it isn't nearly as comfortable as it was! We didn't end up buying one, but we saw one we wouldn't mind. We also looked at new mattresses. We really need one. I am sure the one we have contributes to aches and pains we both have and we don't find it comfortable. However, I feel like Goldilocks trying them out - too hard, too soft, too bouncy etc. Sigh. 

We did end up buying a bird bath. Not on the list lol. And a little pricey. But we've been talking about getting one for a while and none really jumped out at me. Husband found this one and I really like it!



I'm sure it will take a little while for the birds to get used to it. I did see a male Cardinal on it taking a drink, but then it started raining and well, that was the end of that! 

Tomorrow, if it doesn't rain, husband and I are planning a walk. 

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. After the walk tomorrow I'm going to work on lists for the week. 

Friday, April 28, 2023

End of April

To be totally honest, this month has really been a bust. It's flown by and I haven't got any of the things done that I wanted to get done. The good thing is that May is a new month and I can start again. I will be making a list of things I want to accomplish. May is a busy month for us, it includes a week long visit to daughter and our first camping trip of the year. This just means I have to work on my time management and actually get things done instead of just thinking about them!

I shall post more tomorrow. One part of my plan is to post more consistently! That means making a list of a reminder to post and probably to do it in the day and not leave it until night time, when I mostly forget and only remember when I get in bed. 

Photo for today - my current favourite soup. I had it for tea tonight. Cauliflower and Parmesan. Yum. It's been a rainy sort of day and the perfect day for soup. It actually feels more like Autumn than Spring!




Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Time Flying By

Can't believe it's already Tuesday. The days seem to be flying by. I can't believe it's almost the end of the month. It's almost May and guess what we had today? Snow showers!!!



The snow was wet, heavy and continuous! I was so soaked by the time I got back home lol. I'm hoping tomorrow will be a bit better. 

There were goslings on my walk this morning. They were born over the weekend. The poor mother was trying to shield the babies from the snow and cold. 

Yesterday it was cold and sunny and I managed to get a couple of photos of them







Seeing them made me smile!

Saturday, April 22, 2023

It's the Weekend!

Today was supposed to be a nice day. Rained most of the day. Luckily, we got out for a little walk before the rain came. It didn't look all that promising to start with but I had looked at the forecast and there was 0% chance of rain! What do the weather people know? Lol

Ominous Skies 



We had a little walk around. Things are starting to look a little greener!



Some steps in the woods



We took a little detour to Yoders Country Market - an Amish store that has a wonderful bakery. It's a good thing we don't go there too often!



The cheese bread is amazing! They didn't have any left the last time I went so was really glad there was some there this time. 



It must have been the day for going out as we saw three Amish Buggies. 

We made it home just before the rain and - gasp, horror - snow showers! I spent the afternoon indoors. Had a nice bath and some relaxing. 

Tomorrow we're off out for a nice walk. Hopefully the weather will be better tomorrow! Hope everyone has a good weekend. 

Thursday, April 20, 2023

End of week

Thanks to those who let me know that Eileen from Bracelet of Days is okay. I hope she's back online again soon! I miss reading her blog.

This week has been a blah sort of week. I'm feeling better than I was. Tired still though. I've spent the last two nights on the sofa. Husband is snoring really loudly. I have earplugs in and can't hear the fan he has to have running all night, but I can hear his snoring. Sigh. I'm not sure I'm even going to try getting in the bed tonight. I might just start out on the sofa. When I go to bed, I end up getting frustrated that I can't sleep and then it just makes me anxious, and I don't think that helps the sleeping situation. Sigh. 

I managed to get out for a walk today. I hadn't been there long when it began to pour. It didn't last too long. Had to go back to the car for my raincoat. Don't ask why I wasn't wearing it in the first place. Luckily, it was in the car. Came home. Did my household work and then it had actually warmed up enough to sit in the garden for a while. 

Nothing else much is going on. Plodding through the days. I don't seem to be getting as much done as I want to. I need to start with lists again so I'll be able to see what needs to be done and mark it off. I think that helps. 

A few photos from my walk



A bit of a sunrise




Clouds rolling in 





After the rain

Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Tuesday

Feeling a little bit off today. It's back to cold weather. Yesterday we had snow. I'll include some phone photos below. Today was cold and windy. I think I might have been out in the cold too long as I've been feeling off all day. I hope that's all it is and that I didn't eat until noon! I'm going to have an early night and hopefully feel better tomorrow. 

I am so over snow. 









Thankfully it didn't hang around long, though today actually felt colder than yesterday. 

I think I'm caught up on blogs. Sigh. Trying. Has anyone heard from Eileen at A Bracelet of Days ? She usually posts pretty regularly, and I haven't seen her post for a while. Hope she's okay!


Sunday, April 16, 2023

Weekend

Had a lovely day out yesterday. It was warm enough that a walk along the pier and beach was nice. I couldn't believe how many people were out! There were some in bikinis and swimwear, though the water is much too cold to swim in. I wondered what the temperature of it was and looked on Google. Apparently Lake Michigan water temperature is 39F/4C!!! Brrrr. There was a little bit of a breeze coming off the lake, so I was wearing a light jacket over my t-shirt. I'm not ready to get out my summer things yet! Especially as tomorrow the temperature is dropping and there are snow showers forecast all day! 

As I said, we got out for a nice walk. Middle son came up to visit and get something to eat when we got back. This morning we got up fairly early and, despite rain being forecast, it was actually quite nice so we went out for a little bit. 

There was such a lovely sunrise. These were taken with my phone










Really was amazing colours. The rain did set in this afternoon, but it was nice that it didn't come as early as expected and we were able to get out. We stopped at the shops on our way home to pick up a new grill. Ours gave up the ghost at the end of summer last year so we wanted to get one before the reasonably priced ones were sold out. We use it a lot in the summer - or rather husband does. He is in charge of cooking at the weekend and likes to cook on the grill when able to. It certainly helps that we don't have to heat up the house once the really hot weather starts. 

So now we're off to a new week ahead. I really do need to work on some sorting. I don't know where last week went. It seemed to have flown by! 

Hope everyone had a good weekend. Do you make plans for the week? I have been doing well on the meal planning, but not so well on the job list. I have my regular days to do things and I do those just fine. It's the extras. 


Friday, April 14, 2023

Friday

 Another warm day today. Had a nice walk with my friend, but it was really busy at the park. I think everyone was enjoying the warm weather while they could! I had a nice treat first thing and saw an Eagle. We don't see many where I live, but when I got to the lake it was sitting in one of the trees. I managed to get close enough for some photos. Here's one. 



Really lovely to able to get that close to one!

Husband stopped at the shops on his way home from work so I didn't have to stop. I got my household stuff done, sat in the garden for a while and messaged with sister C. She said BIL (other sister D's husband) had his surgery and is home. Next step is scans to see what is to be done next. Sister C had picked him up from the hospital as Sister D doesn't drive. Sister C said she was going to take Sister D to do a large food shop as BIL is usually the one who drives. I really miss Mum, but if one thing came from her death it is really getting to connect with Sister C and realising what a great, caring person she is. I wasn't really that close to her before. I knew she cared, she always made time to see me when I was over, but we weren't really close. Now I feel a better connection with her. 

Husband and I are going to do our adventure tomorrow as Sunday it is forecasted to rain. Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Thursday, April 13, 2023

Agh

What a title! After weeks of not being able to sleep it seems now all I want to do is sleep. Ah the joys of menopause. I've actually been napping in the afternoon. Not intentionally, I might add. I sit down in my chair and the next thing I know I'm asleep! Although I've been walking up at night (par for the course) I have been managing to fall asleep again right up until my alarm!

It's been really warm the last few days. So warm all the windows have been open. I'm not quite ready for it. It won't be sticking around. The temps are due to drop on Monday by a big 40f. Today the high has been 82F/28C. On Monday the high will be 39F/4C lol. Then it's supposed to climb up to about normal for this time of year. It has been nice to be able to get out for a walk without having to warm up the car or dress in hats, scarves and long undies. I like springtime though and I really want that type of weather before summer hits. 

It was nice to see a tree that already had leaves! I expect the warm weather is pushing things to grow. 



I saw this lovely painted stone while out walking the other day. Such a talented person made this. I love seeing them. They make me smile!



Hope everyone is having a good week!

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

Bit of a blah start to the week. I keep meaning to post and, once again, only realise that I've missed a day when I crawl into bed. I didn't get much sleep over the weekend so now I think I'm playing catch-up. I've actually been dozing off in the afternoon. That's unusual for me. I don't usually do naps. It's been quite warm the last couple of days. I've had some lovely walks. Long walks. Spending too much time outside! I need to get things done inside. I have been doing my usual housework. I like routines, so I'm usually good at sticking to them, it's just adding something new that takes a while. 

My last day writing was apparently on Saturday! Yikes. Sunday we got up early and went to Kensington Metropark. I wish there was one closer to us. It's a huge place with a golf course, beaches, water park, nature centre and miles and miles of trails! We had a good walk and saw lots of birds and such. 

We saw two different Turkey Toms with their females. They were huge. Amazing. I don't particularly like them (after being chased by one - yikes!). Fun to watch though.




Monday had a lovely sunrise again. 




I've got my meal plan done for the week. I do need to work on donations. I did not get my box finished for last month. Hopefully I'll fill extra this month. As things are warming up I need to start sorting through winter clothes and bringing out some lighter clothes. It's a good time to think about what I didn't wear or what is worn out. 

Tomorrow I'll do some catching up on blogs and maybe some sorting after my walk. It's supposed to be another nice, warm day. 

Saturday, April 8, 2023

Saturday

I ended up going for a walk by myself today as husband decided it would be a good day to get some tidying up done in the garden. He wanted to pull up the bird feeder poles, clean up beneath them (birds dropped seed all winter long in the snow and now is piled up). It looks really nice! There is a bit more tidying up I want to do, but I can do that in the week. I stayed out of his way! He and son went to see a movie later on and I wasn't back until after they left. 

I had a lovely morning by myself. I started out at my normal walking place, watched the sunrise and the beavers playing in the water before going to another place I visit a lot in spring and summer, but not in winter. It was my first time there in months and I saw another birder I used to walk with. It was nice to catch up with him. He let me know that another birder guy that used to walk there had sadly passed away. J was a really great guy. He could hear a bird and tell you what it was. 

When I got back I had a nice bath and then napped. I didn't mean to fall asleep. I was watching a bit of Youtube on my phone and dozed off! It's not often I do that. I suppose it was because the house was so quiet and I didn't sleep the greatest. 

Sunrise



It was nice to see it as I wasn't expecting it to be quite so beautiful



The other place I walked





Later on, I received some sad news from my sister C. She had told me a couple of weeks ago that our other sister D's husband M had been to the hospital for a scan as he was having some issues. He received his biopsy results, and they aren't good. He has cancer.  It doesn't sound good. Very upsetting. Still processing. M is such a great guy. He and my sister have been married for over 40 years. I feel so helpless being so far away. 



Friday, April 7, 2023

End of Week

I'm chalking this week up to post-holiday blues and shall start again next week. I had plans, most of which I did not follow through on. I've been feeling more than a little blah. The stomachache didn't help. It is better now though so that's good. There are things I need to get done around the house that I have been putting off. I did get all my usual done so that's a plus. 

Things are starting to dry out a little bit. It really did end up raining lots and lots on Wednesday and everything is still quite sodden. We have some post-winter tidying up to do in the garden as soon as things dry out. I would like to get some flowers this year. Husband built me some planters last year so I would like to use them. I need to look up when I can plant things. I don't have a green thumb at all, but hardy plants I can manage when they are outside.  This year I'll be around most of the summer. I am planning a trip home to England in mid-August and maybe stay for what would have been Mum's birthday and maybe visit her bench that day. 

Not sure what's going on for the weekend. Son said something about coming up Sunday afternoon. We are thinking of visiting a nature park a couple of hours away that day. Maybe some sort of nice eats in the afternoon. We don't do a lot of Easter celebrating and there aren't any extra days off here in America but we shall enjoy the sunshine and the weekend. 

Phone photos today - flooding at the lake. As I said, it's rained a lot and the Beaver Deceiver is pretty blocked up again so things are pretty wet. 



These trees are usually on dry land


This is a flooded path!

There is a concrete platform out there somewhere!

Happy Easter and have a lovely weekend. I'm hoping to post but we shall see!

Wednesday, April 5, 2023

Mid-Week

It rained all day today. Downpours. Flooding. Storms too. I didn't go for a walk. I was hoping to get some things done around the house, but the stomach ache I've been trying to fight off since Monday decided not to cooperate. Ugh. I didn't feel the greatest most of the day. I got a couple of things done, but slept for a bit and tried not to move too much. Thankfully I'm feeling a little better tonight. I've tried to stay away from too much food today so hopefully I'm over the worst of it. 

Like I said, no walk and not anything drastic done around the house. So today the photos will be puppy photos. Daughter adopted a new puppy on Sunday. She's hoping things will work out. She's a rescue, but quite young. 







Her name is Sierra and she's a Great Pyrenees Sheepdog mix (not sure what she's mixed with lol).

Tuesday, April 4, 2023

Thanks for the comments on the last post. I'm behind as usual lol. I did visit blogs yesterday and then promptly forgot to do my own post!

Not that much has gone on here. I am caught up on my laundry from my trip. I've done a food shop and menu planning for the week. Otherwise, I must admit that I'm dragging! I turned off my Ebay before I went away and turned it on again on Friday. I had 5 things to ship out and did get them packaged and dropped off at the post office. 

It was nice to go walking with no snow around! It is so much easier when there isn't snow on the ground! Although things aren't entirely green and trees aren't growing, I can see that spring is on its way! There are some migrating birds beginning to show and I can see bits of grass starting to green up. It was lovely and sunny yesterday. 

A few phone photos









Today was totally opposite. It had rained a lot overnight and everywhere was soaked!




Tomorrow is supposed to be more rain and possibly some storms.  I have lots of housework to catch up on so that's the plan for tomorrow - if I'm not distracted! Hopefully I will be able to go for a walk but the weather forecast currently is 50/50 rain so we shall see!

Sunday, April 2, 2023

Back in Michigan

 Yesterday, Saturday, dawned with a new round of snow in Minnesota. About 4 or 5 inches. It was a mess. The day did turn out to be lovely later on. Nice and sunny. We did some shopping and then took the dogs for a walk. What a lovely way to spend my last day in Minnesota. 

Not so great - when we were out and about I got a text from the airline saying my flight had been cancelled and they had rebooked me for Monday at 7am!!! It takes an hour and a half to get from daughter's house to Minneapolis airport, it's recommended you are there two hours before and both daughter (who would drop me off at airport) and husband (who picked me up at the other end) had to work! I must admit to panicking a bit as I checked for other flights and there weren't any available only on Monday. I had just about settled (and worked out with daughter and husband to take time off work) to come back Monday morning about 10.45am. I re-scheduled my flight to that one. Later on I checked again and found a spot had opened up on a flight back today that left at 10.45am! Daughter said she would get up early and take me. I was glad as I didn't want either her or husband to have to take time off work. Luckily, they do both work at fairly flexible places. 

We got up early this morning. Overnight there had been some freezing rain and the roads were pretty slippery to start. Luckily, daughter is a confident driver and used to the bad weather - has learned to be growing up in Michigan and now living in Minnesota! We made it to the airport in plenty of time. 

I am now back in Michigan. It was funny (in a strange way) when flying to see that in Minnesota everywhere was covered in snow and in Michigan there is no snow on the ground! I was glad to make it back okay. The place daughter lives is under a Winter Storm Watch with more snow due on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

When I first got to Minnesota I posted this photo of the buried reindeer in daughter's garden




There was some slight melting in the week, but with the snow on Friday night the reindeer looked just as buried as when I arrived - in fact if you notice you can't see any of its back anymore. I told daughter that we need to measure her snow by how buried the reindeer is! 



Some views from the plane



Between layers of clouds



Flying across the lake



Snow covered Minnesota



And Michigan (with some clouds low and high)

Normal programming will resume lol.