End of October - Last Week Update (post one)

I'm behind on replying to comments. I have been reading them, just haven't replied yet. Regarding Time Management, I am definitely thinking the timer thing. I've tried it before and it has worked. I'm just not sure how to incorporate that in with the photography. It's my go-to stress relief and I usually take photos when I'm out walking. I just need to limit myself to being outside. That might be a little easier with the winter coming up. 

As for being behind, the dentist. Ugh. It didn't go too well. I thought I was doing okay, but I had to stop the procedure twice. The first time I thought I was going to pass out. I was really dizzy. Not sure if it was due to the vertigo I'm already experiencing after Covid or I was having a panic attack! I was spinning around and around and it felt as though my heart was beating out of my chest. After sitting up for a few minutes, taking a break and breathing I continued on. The second time I stopped was due to the horrible, burning taste of something they had to use. Just horrible. I got home and mostly slept. 

Today my jaw was aching and things didn't feel too bad, but then I started to get some pain and it's been on and off all day. I've taken some pain relief and that helps, but when it wears off the pain comes back. Hoping tomorrow will be better. 

LAST WEEK UPDATE

I was really pleased with all I got done last week. I had made a list at the beginning of the week and by Sunday night I'd got all but one thing done! I was quite pleased. I even ended up decluttering a few more things than I had hoped. Not a lot. But every bit counts. I am trying to sort through that mini hoard of magazines and I had about six photography ones sorted. Husband was going out to his friend's house on Saturday and his friend's wife likes photography, so I had him ask if she'd like them. She said yes, so they left the house! The other things were a few odds and ends that I decided I didn't want. I also gave a couple of things to walking friend that I thought she'd like. 

Every little bit helps!

I've started a list again this week. I'm not doing too badly considering the mouth thing. Sigh. 

This morning ... read the next post to see what it did in the afternoon!

Ba Back Tomorrow - just a quick one

I've got blogs to catch up on and comments to make, but not feeling great after dentist so will update tomorrow. 

More Thoughts and Ramblings - Time Management

I really appreciate all the comments and tips on yesterday's post. They have certainly got me thinking! I think I'm coming to understand that delcuttering is going to be an ongoing process with me. If I work at it, keeping plodding forward, I can get where I'd like things to be. 

Following on from yesterday's post and my lack of progress in the decluttering arena, I started thinking about time management. I'm not good at it. Very blunt. Very honest. I tend to either get stuck on one thing so much that I hyper-focus on it, or I end up getting totally distracted from what I was supposed to be doing and go off on a tangent. 

How do you manage time? How do you balance the things you want to do and the things you have to do? How do you stick to getting things done? 

I know that I need to do lists. They help. I just tend to get distracted from even making them! I've thought about allowing myself x amount of time to do something I enjoy and then x amount of time getting something done I'd rather not do. Does that work for anyone? 

I did go out by myself for a walk today. It was rather peaceful, until it wasn't. Must have been the day for all the seniors (high school students) to have their yearbook photos done. It's a thing here in America. Each year high schools have a yearbook. Students submit photos of themselves usually ones they've had done for them. I counted four separate lots of student/parent/photographer groups, one family group having photos taken and a girl playing a guitar while having a video taken! I decided it was time to go home then. 

It was rather chilly this morning. I think we've seen the last of the warmer temps for a while. I had hoped to see a sunrise, but it wasn't to be, though the sun did briefly make an appearance. It cast a weird light over the top of the treetops.

 

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. Be kind to yourself!

Decluttering - How do you decide what to get rid of?

I've been thinking about this for a few days. I know that I need to get back on the delcuttering wagon. I feel as though I need a bit more space around me. I haven't been creative up in my craft room for a while as it is just too messy, and it doesn't make me feel at all creative. But how do I choose what to get rid of? 

In my craft room there are lots of things that I like and think I would use. Do I want to give them up? Honestly? If my house was bigger and I had more room I'd probably hold onto more stuff. But do I really need it? Am I really going to use it? I have so many projects that, even if I lived another 50 years, I wouldn't get them all done. I do know that, after going through Mum's things and Jane's things, I really don't want to leave all this for my children to deal with. The things certainly wouldn't have the same meaning to them as they do for me. 

So, back to the title - how do you decide what to get rid of? Do you miss the stuff when it's gone? Is there something you've given up that you regret? Do you feel guilty about letting it go especially if it was something given to you with love? How do you decide what to keep? 

I have been decluttering some magazines. You would think they would be easy to let go of, but I'm not finding it all that easy. I do like the space created by letting some go so I am going to keep plodding along. 

If you have any decluttering tips, or things that work for you, I'd love to hear them! I do appreciate the input and comments. 

Today's photo - The Stream

Well,

A root canal is in my near future. My very near future. There was a cancellation for Monday, so I am going back to have a root canal done on my tooth. If it was a back one, I'd just have it pulled. It's a front tooth. Sigh. I'm not looking forward to it. It's really expensive too. I just have to suck it up and get it done. The assistant today was new. That wasn't fun either. Sigh. I'm going to try not to think about it until Monday...well, Sunday at the earliest.

After the appointment I went for a walk. I just needed to not think for a while. Unfortunately, that meant not a lot got done except essentials when I got home. Sometimes doing something for your mental health is more important than housework. I was thinking a lot about Mum today. She was always the one I'd chat with about my dental fear as she didn't particularly like going either. I admit to having an imaginary conversation with her too. 

Just leaving it here for today. 

A view

Wednesday

A bit of a rainy day today. I didn't go for a walk first thing. I umed and ahed about it and because it looked like rain I decided not to go. It's so terribly dark first thing in the morning and the silly weather couldn't quite decide what it was doing. Sigh. Of course, it didn't rain much to start with. I did go for a little walk later on. The days seem so long if I just stay home. I was tempted to go shopping, but I really don't need anything and I'm trying to get back on the declutter wagon again, so decided a walk was probably the best thing. It certainly made me feel a little better. 

Can't say too much on the household side got done today. Usual jobs. I did do a bit more on a problem area and I started to take the time to sort through some photography magazines. I hold my hand up to being a bit of a magazine hoarder. The amount of them is getting on my nerves so I've decided to sort through them. As with most things, I find, it's really tough to let go of them, but once I have, I find that I don't really miss them that much. That's the theory anyway!

Tomorrow, I have a (much dreaded) dentist appointment. It's one I was supposed to have ages ago, they postponed it twice, I postponed it once and then they postponed it again. It's to talk about an issue they saw on an xray I had at my last check-up. Thankfully the tooth hasn't given me any bother, but I'm sure they'll want to do something horribly expensive and time consuming. Sigh. It's just the thought of even going there that makes me anxious! 

Hopefully back tomorrow!

Week Started - Sunday, Monday and Tuesday lol

Where are the days going? Not sure I know. 

I'll probably go backwards as I remember more about today than the days before lol. I didn't sleep well last night. Tossed and turned so much that when I woke up this morning the pillow case was completely off one of my pillows! Not quite sure how I managed that lol. Hopefully tonight will be better!

I got out for a walk today. Not much of one, but a little one. It was so lovely out. Near record highs for today! It reached 26c/79F! That's ridiculous for this time of year. Sometimes by now we've had our first snowfall! I couldn't stay inside on a day like that so I spent more time out than I usually would. I even sat on the back porch for a while and watched the birds. 

Yesterday warmed up quite a bit but we had our first frost in the morning! When I walked through the field everything was quite white. 

It was really quite beautiful if a little chilly!

I did my grocery shop after the walk. I have made a meal plan for the week using several things from the freezer and cupboards, so just picked up what I need to complete the meals. I also made a list of things I wanted to get done for week - not including the usuals. I made a start on them too! I feel as though I have got some things accomplished. 

Sunday was our 'adventure' day. We took a drive to the beach. It was really quite a nice day. There weren't as many colours along the lakeshore as we had hoped, but the leaves along the lake seem to change later than the ones inland. I'm sure there is a scientific reason for this lol. We'll try again next weekend maybe. As it was we did get to see some nice colours inland. 

Phew, all caught up! Can't believe it's Wednesday tomorrow. The week is really chugging along!

Weekend

First thing this morning wasn't too bad. Dry when forecast rain. Didn't last long though as the rain and cloudiness soon settled in. We did manage to get out for a little drive and saw some wonderfully foggy scenes. 

Phone photos

There are buildings and trees on the other side of those orange balls

In better weather, there is a bridge in the distance

We stopped at the Amish store and on the drive back saw a buggy out for a trip

At the Amish market there was a display of pumpkins

In the afternoon I headed out to a community meeting. I hate meeting new people - get really anxious - but wanted to attend the meeting as it was for the Asylum Lake Preservation Association. An information meeting and a meeting concerning efforts to build a carwash on land butting up to the preserve. It was long - 3 and a half hours - but really informative. Quite overwhelming too. The land currently is zoned as residential but the owner of the land wants it changed to commercial so they can build the carwash. There was lots of information and jargon. There was talk about raising money to try to purchase the land - but the current owner paid several million for it and that is a substantial amount. Sigh. It just felt huge. Overwhelming. Discouraging. 

Poster on hand

Not sure why there are so many car washes around - there is one only a couple of miles from the proposed site. Makes me feel old - and really dates me - but I remember when a car wash was someone taking a bucket outside and then drying and polishing with a chammy cloth. I remember when these 'kits' were a Christmas present staple for the man of the house (presuming household had a car lol). 

Tomorrow is supposed to be a brighter day and we should be out for a Sunday Adventure. Fingers Crossed. 

Fingers crossed also that son is feeling well enough to go to work on Monday. He seems to be - thankfully - feeling a lot better!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

End of the Week

I didn't get as much done over the past couple of days as I hoped. I did end up going for a walk yesterday and was glad I did as it didn't rain until later in the day. Today I had to stay home as my car brakes had to be fixed. While we were out last week driving on the motorway husband said we should probably get them checked. We did and had them replaced. It was quite a chunk of money! Ouch!

Son has finished out the week at home. He was still testing positive Thursday night (slight line). He said today was the first time he actually felt like eating so I suppose that's a good sign. As with me he said the worst thing was that dizziness and unsteadiness. I'm still experiencing some of it. Just when I think it's getting better, I try to look up to take a photo and feel it all over again. Yikes. I'm just listening to my body and taking it easy. I think that will just continue. 

This week, the 19th of October, marked the two-year anniversary of Jane's death. It doesn't seem that long. She is missed. Whenever I visit a lighthouse I think of her. We had some good conversations about them and it was her love of lighthouses that got me interested in visiting them. I'm not sure I'll catch up with how many she saw though!

I hope everyone has a good weekend. Next week is a fresh week and I shall be home all week so it's time to start a list again. Things need to get done!

In honour of Jane here's a lighthouse from our recent weekend away. It's in Mackinaw City and you can see the Mackinac Bridge in the background. On the left-hand side of the bridge is Lake Michigan, and on the right-hand side is Lake Huron (I hope I've got that right lol).

A Little at a Time

I went for a little walk today. More walk, sit, walk, sit. It was a lovely day today and it's supposed to rain for the next two days so I wanted to get out while I can. I didn't go anywhere after the walk. Good thing too, as I was quite tired out. Son was still home from work today. He'll take another test later and see how it comes out. He's still feeling a bit off balance too. 

I managed to get a few things crossed off the list today. Well, if I'd made one, I would have crossed them off. Really do need to get on that again. Sigh. I put the fan away (sad face) and got out the little heater (definite sad face). I keep a heater in the living room as sometimes I get quite chilly, and I don't want to turn the heat up as the rest of the house doesn't need it. I didn't use the heater a lot last year as I wrapped up really warm and put a blanket on. Still, it does come in handy, and I certainly don't need a fan anymore!

I also managed to sort out a couple of problem areas. I'm going to work on some more over the next two rainy days. I'm still playing catch-up from my trip to England, Covid and then daughter trip. I certainly like things looking a bit tidier than they are right now! Although I don't like rainy days, they will give me a break from walking without feeling guilty (self-guilt) and give me some much needed time to work on the house. 

Hopefully back tomorrow!

Tuesday

I'm already forgetting what day it is! I was going to write Monday as the title. Sigh.

Oldest son stayed home from work again today and will stay home tomorrow too. He's still testing positive though he is feeling a bit better (I think). 

I managed to get some food shopping done, meals for the week sort of planned and some tidying up done around the house. It really does look like a bomb hit it. I haven't been home enough or feeling well enough and things have become neglected. I'm planning on doing a little bit each day. Doing something is better than doing nothing. 

A photo from our trip. 

Grand Island East Channel Lighthouse

Back in Michigan - Rollercoaster Week

Back in Michigan. 

My flight back was good. I did a bit of walking in the week, but I am still dizzy and out of breath easily. I think this is a normal for now so I'm just taking the walking easy. After I got back I heard that my SIL had covid! Not good. Luckily, as soon as he started feeling poorly daughter (who is about 26 weeks pregnant) started sleeping in a separate room. Once he tested positive, they continued that and, thankfully, she has not caught it. Apparently, several people in his family came down ill, so I'm wondering if they caught if at the wedding. Who knows with these things? 

Husband and I have been away up north for the weekend. We stayed two nights in a mini-cabin at the campground. We had to leave after two nights as the campground is now closed for the season. We spent last night in a hotel in another town. We had a good time. Tiring, but good. 

Unfortunately, oldest son, who stayed home came down sick over the weekend. He took a test today and he has covid! It's apparently doing the rounds. I'm not sure of reinfection rates, or whether I can get it again after so recently having it. We are going to try to stay away from one another, but it's rather hard to do when you live in a smaller house. 

Anyway, hopefully I'll be back on track with the blogging and catching up with others.

Our mini cabin

The empty campground in front of the cabin. This campground is usually full, but as they were getting ready to close for the season, they hadn't rented out any of the spots in the top loop (where our cabin was). In the lower loop there were probably about 7 sites taken, so it was a really peaceful couple of days. 

It was a little chilly and windy, and mostly cloudy but it didn't rain. The whole weekend was forecast for rain so we were really lucky. We saw a lot of colour and some really lovely scenery (which is why I love going to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan). 

Love seeing this door under the Cut River Bridge. Apparently, T.Troll lives here lol

I'm going to make it a point to try to blog at least every other day this week. I've missed it. 

Checking in From Minnesota

It's been a while again. I'm really enjoying my time spent with my daughter in Minnesota. At the beginning of the week the weather was unseasonably warm and we had to put the air conditioner back on. Now it's downright chilly. I don't think my body can keep up!

I had gone to Minnesota to dog sit last weekend - three dogs! - while my daughter and her husband were at his brother's wedding. They were going away for a couple of days. They had a lovely time. The dogs behaved well, though they were a little confused at night time. Daughter and her husband have their bedroom downstairs, while the guest room is upstairs. They did well the first night, the second they were restless at night. I was ready for them to come home and I was glad for an uninterrupted night's sleep on Sunday!

I'm still feeling dizzy and tired and a little out of breath. I haven't been walking far. I'm hoping this will go away. It has to, right?  

A few phone photos from this week. I fly back to Michigan on Monday. 

The three dogs. Sierra - on the right - does not look happy lol. 

Some Autumn colours

A puffy cloud at sunset

Sunrise through the window