Getting Packed and Ready

 We are off for an early start tomorrow. We want to leave the house by 5am (yikes!) so we don't interrupt oldest son's morning work routine. It's a long old drive so if we get an early start we might make good time. Sometimes when we go we avoid Chicago as it is horrible driving there but it adds an extra hour onto our time. Hubby says we are going through Chicago tomorrow. Yikes. People drive so fast and there are lots of lanes. It makes me quite nervous even though I'm just in the passenger seat! 

I was busy most of the day running last minute errands and getting stuff together for our visit to daughter's. I must admit that I am feeling a little (lot) frazzled. I know things will go okay, but it's more the anticipation that is worse than anything. I am even clenching my jaw at night. I can feel myself doing it when I wake up and my jaw hurts. Perhaps being anxious is another reason for not sleeping. Sigh. 

Everything is packed (I think) and ready to go (I hope). I'm glad I made a list for things I needed to buy and stayed on track. I was almost tempted to go to the lakeshore for the waves as it was another windy day but I knew it would put me behind. I had gone at the weekend and got lots of photos so I decided (wisely) to keep on track. 

I did have a few minutes later in the afternoon to pop up into the craft room, make one card and take photos of a couple of others. 

 I almost missed posting again! I really need to write myself lists or reminders. Speaking of lists, I have started one for when I go shopping tomorrow. I was going to stop at one shop after dropping off MIL today after we got done at Jane's, but when I looked for my purse I realised that I had forgotten it! Sure enough it was on the table when I got home. Usually if I'm going somewhere after my walk I will keep my purse in my camera backpack and take it on the walk for me (there have been some break-ins at the car park to the nature park). I thought it was in the backpack and I actually didn't look until I was parked in MIL's driveway. I thought I'd get my purse out of the backpack so I didn't fiddle around when I got to the shop. Luckily I didn't drive all the way there before realising I had forgotten it! Grrr... just one more thing to add to the list to do tomorrow. 

As I'm writing this I can hear the wind whipping up outside. We have more high winds coming. I hope we don't lose power! I got emails from the energy company and the television place that we might lose service so be prepared! I might be tempted to go to the lakeshore if the winds are right, but I have a lot to do so I'm hoping I don't get distracted! I can check on Youtube to see if the winds are hitting the lighthouse the right way. I did get lots of photos the other day. 

Photo today of another little card I made for Christmas

Of course (as always) I'm behind in reading blogs and answering comments. I shall do tomorrow. Today is amost done and I'm ready for bed (though it will probably be restless sleep again - too much on my mind!). 

Just a bit crafty

 Didn't sleep well again last night. This may be a little tmi but I wonder that maybe on top of feeling stressed and sad, some of it may be due to menopause. I've not had trouble sleeping much in the past but lately I feel as though after about three hours I'm awake more than asleep! 

I did manage a walk. It was bright and sunny this morning. We saw a few deer but no sign of the beavers this week. I had to go and pick up just a couple of food items that I needed and then I spent the rest of the time organising presents and wrapping up and starting a pile of the things we are taking to daughter's. We are going for a (quick) long weekend this weekend. We are driving on Friday (takes 10+ hours) will spend Saturday and Sunday (her birthday) there and will then drive back Monday (10+ hours). Fingers crossed that the weather holds for us and there is not a lot of snow. Temperatures in Minnesota will be colder than here. Daughter made me laugh as she told us to bring warm clothes. I know Minnesota is a little colder but it's not as though we live in Florida or somewhere like that. 

On Saturday evening daughter has booked us tickets at the Glow Festival at the Minnesota state fairgrounds. I think it has lots of lights and food and things. It will be interesting though I hope not too busy! On Sunday we are exchanging presents with daughter, her husband and his family. It is also daughter's birthday so we shall be eating cake!

I am feeling a little better than I have got their things sorted out and wrapped. I still feel as though I have a lot to do but that was a big job. 

I also finally took some photos of a couple of the little gift boxes I've made. I will fill with some sweets and treats. I even cleaned off part of the desk and prettied it up a little! I enjoy making these - they are fun to make and quite easy. 

 Well, it's the beginning of another week. Up early this morning. I had a few nightmares last night. Not sure why. Maybe a little anxious or stressed. Now I'm struggling to stay awake but I know if I go to bed any earlier I shall be up even earlier tomorrow. 

I went for a walk this morning. The sun was actually shining so that was nice. The winds have died down a little - at least for now. Walked with my friend and then picked MIL up and we went over to Jane's. We are only doing Monday and Wednesday there this week and then we are taking a break until after Christmas. Today MIL's cousin came over and got some more of the genealogy research and books. Cousin likes doing genealogy too so it is nice that she is able to take some of Jane's things with her. MIL and I are trying to organise what we have sorted as we have (hopefully) got through all the paperwork upstairs though there may be a lot more in the basement (hope not!). Cousin was surprised at how much we had got done as last time they had come they could not get in the back bedroom or sit in the living room! It is beginning to look a little better. 

At Asylum Lake early this morning. 

 

Weekend Over

 Well that went rather quickly! We managed to get out today for a bit. It was really windy again so we took another trip to the lakeshore (a bit further away) and I got to take more photos of the waves. Today was nicer than yesterday and there was some sunshine. It always makes me a little more cheerful. It was above freezing today but I still bundled up - with the wind and being by the lake it felt a lot colder than it was. 

When we were done on our adventure we popped over to Jane's. Earlier in the week I couldn't open the lock on the skip/dumpster. FIL tried too. Apparently because it was so cold it froze! Husband was able to open it easily today as it has been a little warmer. He said water came out of when he tipped it slightly to put the key in. I'm not sure how the water got it in. The lock has a little latch over the hole, but apparently it happened somehow. Husband threw all the bags of rubbish away and took care of a large box full of recycle stuff that I couldn't lift. So tomorrow when we go back to Jane's we start with no rubbish around. Someone is coming tomorrow to look at some more of the genealogy so hopefully some of it will be gone!

A wave photo from today. This lighthouse is South Haven. 

While we were there two...people (being polite) went right down to the end of the pier with two dogs! The You can see how big the waves were and they were rolling over the pier at points! As I was getting ready to take this photo another couple stepped out onto the pier just as a waver came crashing over the other side! They managed to escape the water and wisely decided not to go on the pier. 

So Windy!

 It was a windy day here in Michigan. The temperature plummeted from 59F (15C) to 39F (4C) in about an hour! What a drop! We had really high winds too. MIL lost power for a few hours but luckily we didn't. A few things were blown around the garden, but we didn't lose any trees (thank goodness). We have a few really tall trees at the bottom of our garden. They have survived wind storms so far but you never know! As I sit here now it sounds as though the winds have settled down a little. 

I didn't get a lot done today. We were gone for a lot of the day. We took a trip to the lakeshore and stopped to drop off some things that middle son had bought and had shipped to our house. I think I've said this before but having packages delivered to his apartment usually includes having to either drive to the post office or waiting until the office (located in another apartment complex owned by the same company) is open so he can go get it. That usually doesn't work out too well due to his work/sleep situation. 

Husband wanted to get his booster vaccination today so on the way back we stopped to do that and I picked up some shopping while waiting. I later learned that daughter and her husband got theirs done today. My oldest son had his on Thursday so at this point we have all had it. After the shopping/vaccination we stopped at the post office (I was surprised it was still open as it was later on Saturday!) and then we stopped and picked up some bird seed we had ordered online. 

The lakeshore was really windy! Husband got out for about two minutes and then decided he was going back in the car. I braved the winds - stayed at a distance - and got some photos. It is really striking to see the waves and to realise that this is a lake - it's not an ocean or sea with regular tides and waves. I had to brace myself to stay on my feet! 

This is St Joe Lighthouse close to where my middle son lives. No walking out to the lighthouse today lol. 

It's Friday!

I started the day off with my usual walk. It wasn't quite as cold today - still below freezing when I started out - but it warmed up - and the sun was shining! I have to say that certainly makes you feel a bit brighter when the sun is shining! As my friend and I were starting off our walk we saw this beautiful sunrise through the trees. 

What a wonderful colourful way to start the morning!

I feel as though I got quite a bit done today. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night (again) and woke up early. As I was up early I was looking for a certain pair of socks and ended up pulling out two drawers and sorting through them. I got rid of a whole lot of things! It wasn't on my list, but it was nice to get something of mine sorted. I did manage to look through the things I've already bought and have found that I bought 2 of the same game for my son! I will have to take one back. Sigh. A good reason why I should probably write more lists! 

I did get to my craft room and made a couple of small boxes. I am waiting for better light to take photos of them. By the time I finished making them it was quite dark - a hazard of the shorter days. I have put a ring light on my wish list so perhaps I might get one. I think that would help with the lighting trouble. 

Tomorrow will be quite busy. Depending on the weather - we're due wind and rain - we might go out for a quick walk or a trip to the lakeshore if the waves are right. Husband wants to get his booster jab. They are accepting walk-in appointments. We have to pick up an order for bird seed that is finally ready and make a stop at the post office, probably a trip to get some food too. I also want to get back into my craft room if possible. I want to get some of daughter's presents wrapped. We are taking a long weekend visit to her over her birthday (19th) weekend and we will share our gifts then. 

Oh - one good thing about sorting out bits and pieces are found things you forgot you bought. Take these gift tags. I found them just in time for this year! 

Oopps!

 I almost missed posting. I had thought about it earlier, transferred some phone photos to my google account so I could upload them and after talking to my son tonight I shut down my computer so I could go to bed. I then remembered that I had forgotten to write my post. 

I went for my walk this morning. It was still cold but a little warmer than it has been - almost freezing lol. After the walk I ran some errands. I did end up going to the dollar store. I wanted to pick up some wrapping paper, tape and a few cleaning supplies that I was running low on. I ended up buying a bunch of snacks for stockings and spent more than I had thought! Still, the prices are better than other places. At least for now! I hear that the dollar store will no longer be selling things for a dollar. 😲 How crazy is that? There starting price will be 1.25. Maybe they will be changing their name to 'Nothing for a dollar' store. It doesn't sound like a lot but that is a twenty-five percent increase!! When you think of it like that it is a lot. I would like to see them keep some items for a dollar and have other items that are a little more. 

MIL and I have decided to take tomorrow off Jane's. Neither one of us got done the things we wanted to get done today. I think it will give us both a chance to catch up a little. I don't have any errands to run tomorrow so after my walk I can come home and get started on some things on my list!

A couple of Christmas-y photos today. My Christmas mug - I think I got this at the dollar store last year!

And a pretty bad lighting photo of a card I made today. I have to do better at my photos here. I am tending to post a lot that I take on my phone. I really need to take the time to take a better photo. Sigh. 

Quite tired this evening. We went to Jane's today. Sorted probably another 6 bags of clothes to be donated and 5+ bags of rubbish.  When I came home I sorted one (very small) cupboard of my own. 

Tomorrow is a day off Jane's house. I'll take a walk in the morning. Then I have a couple of errands to run, some housework to do and maybe either some Christmas crafting I need to get done or sorting gifts. I'm behind in what I need to get done so I have to make sure I do something. 

I took these photos a couple of weeks ago. While I was in England and my sisters and I were thinking of Mum's bench and plaques and what they say we looked at a lot of them as we walked along. There aren't as many of them over here in America, but when I see one I always stop to read it. This one really made me chuckle, especially since the bench is under a sand drift due to the high winter winds. 

I shall catch up on blogs tomorrow as I'm ready for bed!

Brrrr

 It was really cold this morning and a touch snowy. Our road was pretty icy - as it had both rained and snowed the day before. The main road was a little icky but I braved it to go to the park for my walk and by the time I got finished the road was a lot better. I already miss the warmer days when all I had to do in the morning was hop in my car. Now I have to warm the car up, dress in long undies, gloves, hat, boots, scarf. Today I even wore double socks and double gloves. It really was that cold!

Before I left for my walk I looked out of my back window and although I don't have a clear view of sunrise the sky was ablaze with beautiful deep colours. Yes, it really was this colour. 

Sadly after the sunrise there wasn't a lot of sun for a while - just lots of clouds!!

I didn't get as many errands done as I had hoped. I did get the food shop done, but it was busy and crowded and I just couldn't face going anywhere else. I am glad I went to the shop I did as I read later that the one I sometimes go to (a little further away) was going to be closing at 2pm until Thursday for 'deep cleaning' due to increased local Covid numbers. I read that to mean there are several cases at the shop as there are other branches of this shop in our town and none of those have been closed! Over here they won't tell where the cases are so it's speculation on my part. 

Got one more shelf cleaned out at home. Not as much done as I wanted to. Daughter called and we chatted for a long time. She said she was feeling a little lonely. Her workplace is now working at home for good so it means little interaction for her with people. It's nice that she doesn't worry about the dogs but not so nice that she's all alone all day. 

It's back to Jane's tomorrow. Oh, I almost forgot to share the photo of the room. I know it's not perfect. We are leaving the books on the shelves (they have been sort of looked through) as they are mostly history/genealogy books and we are hoping to have one of her genealogy friends come look through and take what they want or think their genealogy group would be interested in. The dressers are empty. I am SO pleased it looks like this. It was one of the worst rooms. We could not even get into it when we first started!

It really makes me feel as though we are making progress!