End of Week

It's been an okay couple of days. I've been doing a bit of sorting (really not much) more moving around from one place to another lol. Husband took several boxes to the charity shop on Thursday. Really quite pleased with all that went. I am starting another box. I just have to work out where to keep it as it seems as I declutter a place, I end up stacking more things that need to go. At least things are leaving the house. 

I had my Asylum Lake meeting on Thursday. It went on for quite a while but was quite productive. I'm still not sure how/whether I fit in. I'll give it a while longer and then see. It seems the people involved are a lot more knowledgeable than me. I feel a little...beneath (not sure that's the right word!) them. I am in charge of social media and seem to be doing an okay job, so I suppose that's something! 

Friday, I went for a walk in the morning and then did a few household things. I messaged with sister in the afternoon. C had some good news and bad. Good news - our brother-in-law's (Sister D's husband) latest scan says he is still cancer free! That's fantastic news! They have finally booked a little getaway and I'm hoping, fingers crossed, they will be able to go. They haven't been away since before Covid. The bad news, Sister C was supposed to be on holiday last week, but they had to come back early as her good friend J's husband passed away. It wasn't unexpected, but sister C wanted to support J as she was such a big support to sister C when she was looking after Mum. 

It will be a quiet weekend here. We are going away camping for a week starting next Friday so we won't be going far this week. What are your plans for the weekend? 

Photos from a walk in the woods

End of Another Week

Had a lovely walk this morning. The sunrise was lovely and the clouds - oh my - I loved them. By the time my friend had come down to the lake for the walk the clouds had all gone and the sky was just blue. I think she missed the best part of the morning!

I sat on one of the downed trees that I usually sit on, felled by the beavers quite close to their lodge and enjoyed the quiet of the early morning. There were Cedar Waxwings flying over the lake trying to catch flies, two Kingfishers competing for fish in the lake, a Green Heron flying over to land on a nearby log to fish for breakfast and there were the beavers coming into the lodge from their night beavering around in other parts of the lake. It's really lovely sitting there most mornings. I enjoy waking up there. 

Friend and I had a nice walk around. The temperature was just right.

I had one errand to do before going home where I did some house stuff and went up into the craft room. It was nice up there with the window open and the breeze blowing in. I plan on going up there again tomorrow for a bit. 

I chatted with sister this afternoon. This time next week I shall be there in England. I'm really excited! I am looking forward to long chats and walks and lots of just relaxing and enjoying time together. We get along well. 

What's up for the weekend? Not a lot. I have to look through my clothes and things and make sure I have everything I think I'm going to need. I'm not sure about tops and things as I tend to wear the same things over and over and just wash. I think there are things buried at the back of the wardrobe, but we shall see! 

What are your plans? 

Last Couple of Days

Yesterday was...okay. I felt a little down. I think staying in the house was getting the best of me. So, this morning, as the weather was forecast to be sunny but chilly, I decided to get up and go for a walk. I actually walked all the way to the place I usually go to. It was nice. I didn't walk around too much when I got there. I sat on one of the downed beaver trees and watched the beavers swim, swans trumpet and geese honking at one another. It was really quite relaxing. I didn't relish the walk back home, but I managed it and warmed up with a nice bath when I got back!

By afternoon I was feeling a little down again. Yesterday, late in the afternoon, husband had got a text from the car place telling us that the car was almost finished. We were expecting to hear something today. I was hoping. It's supposed to be nice-ish tomorrow and then rain until next Thursday!

Around 3.45pm husband got a text telling him the car was done and it was ready to be picked up! I HAVE MY CAR BACK!!! If I could insert a dancing emoji here I would.

It looks wonderful. You can't even tell there was any damage. They even cleaned it and vacuumed inside. I would definitely recommend the place for repairs. After the first couple days, they were really good about updating us on progress. They got us in a lot quicker than they said they could. I think that's because it's all going through insurance and we're not arguing about the cost lol.

I'm a little wary about parking my car where I did before. I know it was probably just a fluke thing, but still. Sigh. Today, on our way to the car place husband and I looked at another parking area that has access to the park. It's in a nearby neighbourhood and there are only about six parking spaces but it is rarely used. I think I'm going to try parking there - at least until they get the camera up in the parking area I used before. I worked out how to drop a pin there on my Google Maps so I can find my way back. We'll see how it goes in the morning!

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A little sweet treat made me smile today. I am still eating the Christmas goodies lol

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A view from my walk.

It's the Weekend :)

I think I'm all caught up on my comments now. I do appreciate all your comments. I do read them although I'm behind (the story of my life) with replying. Days just seem to be sliding into one another! The last couple of days seem to have flown by even though I haven't been out anywhere. 

Today - Saturday - felt like I recharged my batteries. I slept in for a bit this morning, as son-in-law was home. Turned out he was staying in bed longer too lol and daughter was up when I did get up, so I took Baby A and she went back to bed! 

Later in the day - shock, gasp - I got out for a walk. A long walk! It was a bit drizzly when I left, but it did clear up and the sun came out. It was lovely to just get out and walk. The temp was a little above freezing - a heat wave at this time of year for Minnesota - and the sun felt nice while I walked. I went to the wildlife refuge today and walked one of the trails there. I was gone for a few hours. I can't describe how lovely it felt!

Tomorrow I'm going out again. Son-in-law is having some of his family over to see the baby so I thought that would be a great time to leave them to it and take off for another walk. I'm planning to go to another park by the Mississippi River that also has some gardens to walk in. I know there is nothing growing right now, but sometimes there are some birds to see and there are lots of statues and such that I'll take a look at and maybe a few photos. I'll probably be in most of next week I'm sure, so I want to get out while I can. 

While I was out today I saw lots of trumpeter swans. There were three pairs on the frozen lake talking to one another. I love the sound they make! When there are a bunch of them it's really loud. 

It's not the greatest video, but I thought I'd share.  Don't they make quite the sound!

Phone Photos Things That Make Me Smile

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Baby A gripped onto daughter's hand while she was holding her. Really was a lovely, sweet moment. 

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Getting outside in the sunshine made me smile today. Really was a much-needed recharge of the batteries. 

I'm going to catch-up reading blogs while Baby A is sleeping and before I fall asleep!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. How's the weather on your end? 

Not sure this post has a title. I don't want it to be gloomy all the time lol. 

It was another grey, rainy/snowy day here in my part of Michigan. As much as I sort-of like living here the grey days we get at this time of year really start to get me down. We haven't seen sunshine in days. There isn't any forecast for days. I can live with the cold, the rain, even the snow, but not having any sunshine really seems to affect my mood. 

I did go out for a walk despite the rain/snow mix. I got cold and wet. I didn't stay long. I did a very quick loop around the park. I didn't see many people (though there were two other cars in the car park where I parked). I did see a deer. A handsome fella. 

He looked at me like I was an idiot being out in the weather and went back to trying to find some food buried under the leaves. 

After the walk, I did my grocery shop. I've tried to start stocking up on a few quick things husband and son can cook after work when I'm gone, at least for the first week lol. 

When I got back home, I seemed to do more moving things around than I did sorting anything. It's really frustrating but I don't want to get started on something I can't finish. I am hoping that this week I can get the presents all done and next week I can concentrate on tidying things up, putting a few things away and leaving things in some sort of sorted state before I leave. I also need to start sorting out things I'm going to take. 

I am probably over-thinking things, but I know I am getting a little anxious as I am clenching my teeth while I'm sleeping and having weird dreams. I know everything will work out, it's just my anxiety rearing its ugly head. 

Tomorrow is another walk. A dry one at least. Probably cloudy. Sigh. I have to go to the post office, stop at a shop to pick up some stocking goodies, come home and do the Wednesday jobs. 

I'm hoping to take a few phone photos out and about to make a more festive post lol 

Hope everyone is having a good week. I really appreciate the comments!

Saturday Walk

Can't say I got much done today. I did get up early and went for a walk by myself. Husband slept downstairs to give me a break from the snoring and he slept late so I was already up and about out the door before he woke up. Unusual for him. It was a nice walk. I just went to my usual place, but by myself. It was surprisingly quiet for the weekend. It was lovely to watch a hot air balloon go over the lake. 

Some phone photos

I almost waved they were so close!

I stood and watched a couple of snapping turtles laying eggs.

Luckily I didn't see any of them near the Mallard, Wood Duck or Swan babies. 

I stood there and looked up into the sky and enjoyed the clouds

By the time I got back home husband was fully awake. I persuaded him that we needed to go to the Amish shop for some doughnuts and goodies. He was more than willing to come along. 

On the way we were going to stop at our usual spot, but it was really busy and I didn't want to get out and take photos. I did take a photo of a couple of a couple of Amish buggies. This is by a lake and I think they went fishing. Not sure what they did with the horses!

We also stopped by this barn. I told husband I recognised it and he reminded me that we'd stopped there in winter lol. I knew I liked this spot!

In the afternoon middle son came up to go to the cinema with older son. He then came back to the house and had something to eat. I also spent time today chatting with daughter. 

All-in-all a pretty good day!

Hope everyone is having an enjoyable weekend. 

Sunday...no, Monday Adventures!

 I was going to name this post Sunday Adventures and then I remembered that it was actually Monday. Groan. It's going to be another of those weeks lol. You know the ones, where you are always trying to remember what day it actually is and then feel off-kilter all week long. 

We did go out this morning. There was a Dense Fog Advisory and - wow - was it really foggy! We couldn't see much of anything. So much for going out and taking some nice photos lol. 

These photos were taken with my phone

Our first stop was at Pere Marquette Park in Muskegon. The plan was to walk along the pier, maybe see the lighthouse and some birds. What happened? Could not see the lighthouse and couldn't walk far as the ice was still really thick on the pier. See? No lighthouse. You can usually see it as you walk along here. Can't even see the lake!

The trees looked quite eerie. 

From Muskegon we travelled down the lakeshore to Grand Haven. It was still foggy but we could see a little more. The water was quite calm looking.

There was still some ice around. There was a little left on the lighthouse, but lots on the path. I can't imagine how thick this was at one point!

It's a walkway. Or it is normally a walkway. There was a huge chunk of ice blocking the path. No, I didn't climb over it. There is another way to reach the path and I went that way. 

It was nice to get out and have a walk. It wasn't too cold, just above freezing. I would have liked to see the sun but, hey, it wasn't raining or snowing so that was a good thing. Tomorrow looks like rain, so maybe no walk. My poor walking friend is out of commission for a while. She broke her foot again! I might take this time to explore some other places to walk. It depends on cooperation from the weather. 

As for the rest of tomorrow, it's time to get back on the wagon. I have lots of cleaning and sorting to do. I packaged up a couple of sale items and have made a couple more sales so will get them packed up tomorrow. The usual problem areas are again problem areas so they need to be tackled. I have a meal planned for tomorrow, but have to check the freezer and cupboards to make a meal plan for the rest of the week and see if there is anything needed from the shops on Wednesday. It's a short week, but everybody will be back at work. 

I want to get started on being creative, but there are some things I need to tackle first. Keeping on track is the goal, so creativity can follow!

I hope everyone has had a good start to the new year. 

More tomorrow!

Happy Halloween!

 Well, the graveside service went okay. We were lucky that the rain held off despite the weather people saying it was going to rain all day. After saying our goodbyes we went all went out to eat. I can't remember the last time we did this. Obviously it would have been nicer to have Jane with us, but we were thankful to all be together to be able to say goodbye. Daughter drove back to Minnesota yesterday so that she could have today to relax before going back to work. The drive was 10 hours long, a really long drive to make by herself. She had to stop for a while as she was feeling sleepy. She rang me - hands free - for the last hour of the drive so she could have someone to chat to so she could not feel too tired. It was a relief when she made it back to her home. I am sure her new husband (and the other two huskies) will be glad to have her home again!

Today is Halloween. I had been planning to get a pumpkin and have husband carve it for me (he does a half decent job lol) but with the way things happened it completely got forgotten, so no pumpkin this year. We won't be doing Trick or Treating either. We don't usually get many children and well, I just haven't got around to getting anything to give out. I just looked outside and it is starting to rain (again). Poor children.

We did manage to get out for a walk today. We walked up in the sand dunes. It's been a while since we've done that. It wasn't as bright as promised but, at that point it was dry. Tomorrow will be back to going to Jane's house to do some more sorting. 

A couple of phone photos from today. There wasn't as much colour in the trees as I'd hoped for. It was very spotty. Still it was nice to get out and walk. Husband and I haven't been out for one of our walks for a while. 

I'm adding a photo of a pumpkin from a couple of years back just because 

I was glad when I woke up this morning that the freezing rain that had been forecast actually skipped us and was further east in the state. I had arranged to meet my walking friend at another local spot as the place we had been walking had got so icy and we hadn't seen a lot of wildlife. The place we agreed on has open ponds at this time of year so we knew it was more likely we would see something. It was a LOT colder where we met as it is wide open and isn't sheltered at all. In the summer it is really hot and in winter the wind just blows across there. Brrr... I had bundled up with long undies and handwarmers and I was very glad!

When I got home I got the things done on my list. It does keep me on track and focused though I know I can do a lot better. Mostly there are little things on there that I always mean to get done, end up getting distracted and forget about them.  It helps to see the things written down and checked off when I complete them. I didn't get as much crafty stuff done as I wanted - though it wasn't on my list. I still have a lot of sorting to do in my craft room. I might write down one crafty organising thing I should get done each day on my to-do list. I suppose if I tackled it in small bits I might actually get it done!

Today's photo - some Common Goldeneye ducks I saw today. They were so funny to watch. They must have been having a conversation of sorts as the two males would do some funny movements and tilt their heads back completely. Oh just looked it up as I wrote this and it is a mating ritual of some kind. They must have been trying to attract the females they were with! Very interesting! These are winter visitors to our area. 

Chatted with Mum today. I was so pleased to hear that her calendar and mini-album of daughter's engagement photos arrived today. I was worried that it had got lost. I had sent it mid-December via Priority mail (which isn't cheap!). The cards I posted two days before arrived within a week. Mum didn't get the calendar until today! The contents were not that expensive monetarily but I spent a lot of time and put lots of love into them and it would have been a shame if they had got lost. She said receiving the items really made her day so I am glad she finally got them.

I went for quite a long walk with my walking friend today. It was okay outside - a little above freezing but walking along we ended up getting quite warm. I didn't get many good photos but we did see two hawk, deer, muskrat, ducks, geese, lots of little birds that have seemed to be hiding the past few days and - my favourite - the Kingfisher. I wish it was a little more colourful but I love these little birds. Not the greatest photo but it was far away

It was surprising to see it still around as most of the lake is frozen. There was a wide bit at the end that was still open and that was where it was. I suppose that once the lake freezes completely it will fly away until Spring or find somewhere with open water. 

Tomorrow I am hoping to get a haircut. It was postponed from last week and - to be honest - I could probably use one!

Too Hot Saturday

Yuck. It's very hot and humid today. We're under a heat advisory. Our Saturday walk this morning was early and fairly short. We made sure to take water with us and we were glad of it! Phone photo below.

I Skyped with Mum. We connected really quickly. Poor Mum got a sunburn. She went out yesterday to the seaside with my sister and though she wore sun cream she still got burned on her face! She said it was quite windy down by the sea so I'm sure that was part of it. Also she hasn't spent as much time outside this year as she usually does.

This afternoon I did some more crafting. I have been using up a pack of cards and envelopes that I must have picked up at a sale or something to make some more albums. They are smaller than the ones I originally used to make the last album but it gives me the chance to use up some smaller pieces of paper too. I am really enjoying making these and using up some supplies. This is one of the ones I made.

I have had this paper hanging around forever. I think I'm going to use this one as some sort of nature journal. I think the paper works really well for that.

I hope everyone has a good weekend. May the sun shine and it be nice out but not too hot! Stay safe.

And Another Week Ends...

It seems to have gone quickly this week but I think it's because there was a holiday at the beginning of the week. It's been a wet one here in Southwest Michigan. More rain. There are several places flooded but we've been lucky.

Today I watched Hairspray on The Shows Must Go On (YouTube channel). I love the musical but it's not my favourite performance. Jennifer Hudson was fantastic though - what a voice! With all that's going on here in America it seemed like such a timely showing.

I admit that I am growing restless. I'm not in a hurry to go out shopping but I wish we had a little more of a timetable as to when things are going to reopen. It seems strange that if I was inclined I could go to a socially distanced church gathering but I can't go into a store to shop. I can go to the dentist or the doctors but I can't have my haircut. I suppose it's more frustration than anything that states around us seem to have plans and there really doesn't seem to be one here. I think everyone is getting a little frustrated.

When the shops do reopen in your area and you feel comfortable enough what is the first shop you are visiting? To me it's the bookshop. I really miss it, even if it is just to have a good old look around. I also miss the library. There is a pile of books sitting on my table gathering dust that has been there for a long time - since before March. Every time I see them I realise how much I miss the library. I think it certainly makes me appreciate them a lot more. Do you have library books waiting to go back?

We also have a lot of drink bottle/cans in the garage. Here in Michigan we pay a deposit of 10 cents on every fizzy beverage (coke, pepsi, beer, wine coolers). They have not accepted returns since the beginning of the lockdown. I'm not sure when they will reopen. I am really tempted to just put them in the recycle bin but there is quite a bit of money there. I was (of course) behind on taking them back when this started and now they are just piling up.

This is a bit of a blathering post, but just thoughts running around in my head lol.

I hope everyone has a good weekend.

A deer on my morning walk. He sat down to take a rest.

Another Day...

I'm trying not to stress too much about husband's job or the financial and medical implications the loss of it may have. Over here your medical insurance is generally attached to your job and I was worried what getting laid off would mean. For obvious reasons it wouldn't be helpful to be without insurance at this time. Anyway husband says his company will still carry the insurance and then we will have to pay for our premiums when husband goes back to work. I hope it is just for the two weeks. Anyway enough of that.... I'm going to try not to moan too much. I must admit that I'm limiting trying to read about the virus or the news too much (just enough to keep up to date) as it doesn't help my mental health.

I thought today was going to be sunny. I got up early to get to the park so that I could have a nice peaceful walk before it got too busy. It was only sunny a little while before the clouds took over. It's still quite cold. I didn't quite need my long undies today, but I did wear my gloves and my hat. I keep waiting for things to warm up but it seems slow coming after a burst of warmer weather a couple of weeks ago (though it seems longer than that!).

While I was out walking at my local spot yesterday I was amazed to see that a beaver had chewed through the bottom of one of my favourite trees on a point I call 'the point'. I had been at the same place on Saturday evening and the tree hadn't even been gnawed on. As I stood there taking photos the whole tree fell over! Luckily I was not in the direction it fell. Yes, we did get snow on Sunday night!

And this morning when I was there it had started on the other tree!

I wonder what tomorrow will bring!

Monday, Monday

The weekend was a mixed bag. Saturday was absolutely horrible. Our walk wasn't very nice as we ended up getting caught in something that was a mixture of snow and ice. The place we walked had part of the trail washed out. We ended up walking up a trail someone had made through the woods, to the sand dune and down to the beach...what was left of it. I am getting rather sad visiting some of these places. There was hardly anything left of a beach that used to be quite big.

Sunday was absolutely beautiful. It was sunny and bright and the temperatures were above freezing. I must admit that I didn't want to come home. I wanted to soak up that sunshine while I could! We had a lovely walk along a couple of beaches. There were lots of people out having the same idea as we did.

These were taken with my phone. I took lots of photos with my camera but haven't sorted through them yet.

The first is of the lighthouse and the second is of the view as we drove through Grand Rapids.

Today dawned bright and sunny too so I decided to make the most of it and I took a little drive. We'll be back to clouds tomorrow so I wanted to get out and enjoy it and soak up that sun! There were quite a few people out today, some walking, jogging, fishing and there were even a couple of boats out. That's a really rare thing. Usually at this time of year the lake is frozen, but things haven't been quite as cold this year - just grey, grey, grey.

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

After the Holidays

It feels really weird this week. I don't think it helps that Christmas Day was on a Wednesday. It seemed like it was neither here nor there - not at one weekend or the other. I didn't join in the other Christmas madness shopping. There wasn't really anything I needed or wanted. I bought wrapping paper at the dollar shop this year - it was Hallmark paper which is quite a good make and it had grid lines on the back lol - and used it all up. I have bought some in the after-Christmas sales and always seems to end up forgetting where I put it so I don't bother anymore.

We did get up early on Boxing Day (26th) and headed out for a walk. There is a lighthouse I like to go to but it's quite the drive so we started up early and got there early enough that we were the only car in the car park! It's a 1.8 mile hike to the lighthouse and the same back but we had the lighthouse (the actually is closed for the season) to ourselves. The winds in October and November have really done some damage. From the debris it looked as though the water almost came up to the lighthouse! It came up and over the barrier you can see in the photo and carved a sort of stream in the sand. I've never seen it that high.

As you can see it was a beautiful sunny day and not too cold at all. The sand dunes around the lighthouse were still somewhat frozen so we were able to take a walk in the dunes where we haven't been before (it's a lot easier to walk on frozen sand than regular fine sand). By the time we got back to the car park there were plenty of cars there and quite a few people on the beach. It was a wonderful way to spend the day!

Hubby went back to work Friday and the clouds had returned so I didn't take a walk - we'd done almost five miles on Boxing Day so I thought I could do without as the weather was horrible. I did a bit of tidying and got a few Christmas bits put aside ready to be packed away. When I got up this morning  husband had already taken the tree down and packed everything away! It was cloudy again this morning but we went for a quick walk before I Skyped with Mum.

Tomorrow it is supposed to rain all day long. We have already decided not to go for our usual walk. Husband is going to do something with son in the morning. I am classing it as a totally 'free' day - no cleaning or sorting - so I shall read a book and do some crafting.

Hope everyone had a good holiday and is recovering nicely.

New Year's Eve

Just a quick post today. Hope to have a longer one with goals tomorrow. I'm still working on them! How is that for procrastination? Anyway, just wanted to pop in and wish everyone a Happy New Year. If you're out tonight, stay safe. If you're inside (like I am) enjoy your nice night in. I'm staying inside and will probably read, watch a little telly and maybe do something crafty. I will be ringing my Mum close to her midnight time. We always listen/watch Big Ben and see in the New Year together.

I am spending the day today clearing up and doing some crafty things up in my craft room. It's been a while since I've been up there. I am finishing up my 2018 album - I have actually stuck at this all year!

Here's a photo from our walk yesterday. We were planning to do this walk on New Year's Day, but the sun was actually shining yesterday so we made the most of it!

I took lots of photos yesterday. We walked the 3.6 mile round trip out to Ludington lighthouse. The trail to the lighthouse is through some sand dunes. Although the sun was shining yesterday it was really, really windy. We met one couple on the trail who said they had only got halfway before they turned back as the wind was whipping up the sand and it stung! This photo was taken from the top of a small dune. There's a path leading down to a shipwreck. We haven't gone up and down this dune before (usually in summer the sand is horrible, but it was frozen so I thought it was a good idea!). We got to the top but it was terribly windy we didn't go any further. Hubby went right back down as he got a mouthful of sand. I stayed at the top for a few minutes and inspired by a comment left by Rose stood at the top, closed my eyes, opened my eyes and just enjoyed.

I usually post a lot of photos on Instagram. So if you are on Instagram give them a look. My Instagram

Friday

Another week has already passed and I admit to it not being a very productive one. I really need to get back to the list making as it helps me keep on track. There is beginning to be a chill in the air (at least for the last few days though the weekend looks really hot) that makes me think of Autumn. I can't wait for it. Autumn is one of my favourite times of the year. I love all the gorgeous colour changes. I did book our mid-October trip up to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to see the colour change. It should be really beautiful. Hopefully we picked the right weekend - too early and there isn't a lot of colour, too late and it's all gone. 

I did manage to finish my 100 days of All About Me book. Yeah! I will get it out on Monday and take photos. I quite enjoyed that project. I also worked on a couple of cards - will also take photos on Monday. At least the crafty mojo seems to be coming back a little. 

I've been out at the woods taking walks and photos. Sorry if this is a repeat for people who see me on Instagram. I was really lucky to be able to get close to a heron and see it fishing. Usually they are really jumpy but I think this one was more intent on fishing than on me. 

I hope everyone has a good weekend. It will be a fairly relaxing one here. I know it's a bank holiday in England so hope those in England enjoy their extra day. 

Weekend

I finished all my cross stitch. Phew! The backstitch wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. This one was fun to stitch. I have a goal to get some of the projects done I have sitting in my stash and this was one of them. Not sure how long ago I bought the kit. It is supposed to be a large card but I'm going to frame it and put it on my craft wall. Can't give Bagpuss away lol.

The weekend was bright and sunny if not a little chilly. It was nice to get out in the sunshine. It's supposed to be cloudy and snowy the next few days so I'm making the most of it. Daughter is under a warning for a lot of snow. Poor her. She said they were giving people the option of leaving early so you know it's got to be bad for Minnesota to do that lol. She's going to stay at work. Shasta, her husky, is having surgery today so she'd have to go out and get her when it's done so she might as well work. 

We had planned a long walk yesterday - up on the sand dunes, but we got to the State Park, started walking and there was still too much snow and ice on the trail! Couldn't believe it. We've had quite a few days above freezing - some days as high as 15C (60f) - so you can guess how much snow/ice we must have had. Hubby ended up slipping over on the ice and landing on his back. Thankfully he was okay except for a bruised elbow. Ouch. 

The path was solid ice. There was still quite a lot of ice along the lakeshore. 

It is gradually going. We hadn't expected to see any left this week so were quite surprised to still see lots of ice. 

My purchase this week. I keep taking photos of birds and have no idea what they are so treated myself to this little book. 

Hope everyone had a good weekend and a easy start to another week. 

Sunshine!

We had sunshine both yesterday and today and it looks like we might have some tomorrow. I have to say that will be the most sunshine days in a row we've had since I can remember. Quite sad actually. The sun always makes me feel a little brighter. It seems funny that we're warming up and Mum is supposed to be really cold and maybe snowy this week! I'm pretty sure she'll stay inside if the weather is too bad. I hope so. She said she fell the other week - slipping on the mud - said she didn't do any damage and was okay but I still worry!

We went out yesterday to look at the last of the ice on the lake. It's that time of year when it starts to melt. With all the rain and warm temperatures last week there wasn't a lot left. It was really windy yesterday so it felt quite cold but the lake despite the sunshine. It was still nice to get out and about.

I hope that things start growing soon. This is one of my least favourite times of year - when the snow is leaving and there is nothing growing and everything is dull and brown. We'll be heading into March soon and then April and I know it's then I will start seeing things get greener. 

Father-in-law has his consult with the doctor on Wednesday and it's then we find out what happens next. Both MIL and FIL are really worried so I hope it will bring some peace to know. I think the waiting is worse than anything. MIL has a tendency to look to the worst situation in things and I think that's making her worry even more. 

While there is sunshine I'm going to get out walking. I walked for quite a while today, ran an errand, did some cleaning and then spent the rest of the afternoon in my chair stitching with a heating pad on my back as too much bending made it play up a bit. Sigh. Still, I did get to watch the live broadcast of Toad Hollow on YouTube. I love those ladies! They make me laugh. 

Hope everyone had a good start to the week!