Mid-Week

 Yup, you've guessed it - another grey day. They are (touch wood) predicting some sunshine tomorrow. I'm hoping. 

I did go out for a walk today. The beavers were really busy! There are such fun to watch. As I stood by the shore of Asylum Lake one of them kept swimming around, then grabbed a branch from the lake and swam until it was facing me and started crunching on it! It was like the beaver was putting a display on for me. Some of them are quite shy and duck under the water as soon as they see you watching, others, like this one, seems as curious about me as I am about them. 

After my walk I stopped off and picked up a few stocking fillers. Back home, I got housework done, wrapped a couple of things, moved stuff from one place to another lol. It wasn't a bad day on the whole. I don't feel totally in control - I'm clenching my teeth like crazy at night - but I'm doing the best I can. 

I did take a couple of photos of Christmas goodies in the craft store. I stopped in to pick up a couple of flosses that I didn't have for a couple of stitching projects. I pulled out the floss I had, but there were a couple I didn't have. Anyway, in the craft shop there were a few Christmas items. If I had the space, if I was so inclined, sigh. I did pick up one thing (plus the floss)

What did I pick up?

They had some lovely bits and pieces and they were 60% off!

Back tomorrow. 

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!

Yup, Rainy Sunday.

It was dull and rainy when I woke this morning. As I write this at ten o'clock at night it is still raining. We went for a drive and there was a tiny break in the rain when we walked along the pier to the lighthouse. I was amazed to see the fishermen out. I suppose I shouldn't be all that surprised when there was one out last week in the windy snow! 

It's really been quite the uneventful day. I got a bit more sorting done when I got back. Not much, but any little progress is, well, progress. Tomorrow I'll get back to it. This week I want to get all the gifts I have wrapped, see what needs to be still got. I need to get some tidying up done, things are sitting around that need to be put away before I leave. We'll see how far I get. 

The really quick walk today was interesting. We went to South Haven. It was rainy when we got there. 

Through the car window

The weather broke for just a little bit that we were able to get out for a walk. The beach is already changing. Where the sand was once flat there is about a five foot 'cliff' as you walk along. Lake Michigan always surprises me. There are no tides, but during Autumn and Winter, the beach is let go wild and there are such changes. It's this time of year that I like to visit most. 

A few more phone photos

I loved the patterns in the sand! 

Saturday

It was cloudy and grey this morning. I did get up and go for a walk. Tomorrow it's supposed to rain all day and I didn't go for a walk yesterday due to the rain, so I thought I'd better get out and do one. It was muddy and quite slippery, but peaceful as there weren't many people about! I saw a couple of beavers, one ducked under and into the lodge just as I arrived but another swam in a bit later. They look like they are continuing with business. 

After my walk husband and I ran a quick errand, then I spent the rest of the day at home. I did some sorting in the craft room. There were only a couple of things I could bring myself to donate (as of yet) but I did manage to make some space to put some other things away. It does seem as though I'm just moving a lot of stuff around at this point though. There are going to have to be some serious decisions being made next year. I don't want to get started on any major sorting as I'll be going to daughter's house on the 15th of this month and not sure when I'll be back. I don't want to a) be in the middle of something when I leave and b) leave a big mess behind when I leave! I shall keep plodding along with the small bits of sorting I'm doing. I have got one full box and am starting on another to be donated before I leave. I have also continued sorting through my magazines including the photography ones. I don't think I mentioned it, but when husband went to his friend's house last week he took another stack to his friend's wife who enjoys photography. 

I feel as though it was more of a productive day than I thought I was going to have. I suppose that's a good thing!

We will be going out for at least a drive tomorrow. Maybe not a long one, the rain and/or snow seems to be extending over a large part of the day-trip area. Usually, if it's raining close to us we try to work out where it's not likely to be raining and head in that direction, but I think it seems to be everywhere. Sigh. 

Not a traditional photo today, but as I was sorting through things I found this cartoon I had cut out of a planner. Reminded me of how my head is spinning when I'm lying in bed at silly-o'clock unable to sleep. Thought I'd share

December 1st

Wow. It's coming to the end of the year. Sigh. Ups and downs. But that's a topic for another post. 

Today was...blah. It rained all day long. No walk. No bird watching. On the plus side I did get quite a bit done. It still seems as though I still have so much to get done before I leave for daughter's in two weeks. I have started a bag of craft and other things I want to take with me to keep busy. I'm also planning on getting a lot of photography projects done. I have lots of photos taken, it's a matter of organising them and such. 

On the Christmas front I'm way ahead of what I usually am at this time. Hand up. I'm a procrastinator and usually always leave things until the last minute. I actually have some wrapping done. Shock. Gasp. On my weekly chat with my sister, even she couldn't believe it! I have some of my shopping wrapped up. Not all of it, but a good chunk. The beginning of next week I plan on getting more wrapping done and to (another gasp) make a list of what I have left to get. That last week before Christmas, when I'm at daughter's, will probably be the most stress-free, relaxing Christmas I've had since I had children lol. 

How is your prep coming? Are you a procrastinator? Do you do a lot for the holidays? 

I suppose because we never had a lot of money - either growing up or when we were raising our own children - that Christmas was the one time we could have extras. I still do it that way. 

Photo for the day - well, I actually didn't take one today! I did take this holiday decoration the other day at the shops. I really liked it, was interested and thought maybe I would put something out in the garden. UNTIL I saw the cost of it! 99.99!!! Even with 20% off it's too much. I thought it would be about $20 lol!

What would you expect to pay for something like this? 

Tomorrow I'm hoping to get out for a walk. The weather doesn't look great. Sigh. No sunshine. Maybe more rain. Rain or snow on Sunday. Grr... I hate Michigan when it's grey all the time in the winter. 

I'm going to do a bit of sorting and then I'm going to work on getting some things together to do while at daughter's house. I have some cross stitch projects I want to put together. 

What are your plans for the weekend?

Behind as Usual - Snow and Antics on the Hill

 It's been a week of ups and downs. Tuesday we ended up with about 5 inches of snow! I didn't go out for a walk. I thought about it a little later on and looked out the window to see someone struggling up the hill (video later below) and decided not to. Husband says my car can easily make it and he's probably right as I have four-wheel drive, but honestly, I just didn't want to stress myself out just to go for a walk! When he came home after work he took me to the post office and to do my food shop. By then the roads, at least were clear. 

Wednesday, I did go for a walk. Almost slipped over a couple of times as some of the snow had heated up, started to melt and then refrozen into ice. I was glad I went as it was quite pretty. 

A couple of phone photos from my walk

I love that stream in the winter. In the summer the light always hits it the wrong way and it just looks...plain. In winter, the light hits at the right angle and it's always pretty. 

I did manage to get a few things done on Wednesday. Not as much as I had hoped though!

This morning was a bit warmer - just below freezing when I went for a walk. As yesterday when I went it was a little slippery and icy I wore my Yaktrax today. They are things that go on the bottom of my boots to help grip in the ice. The temps yesterday got up above freezing, things melted and then froze again so I knew it would be quite icy. I was glad I wore them! I didn't slip once despite the ice. 

The beavers had been at another tree. It was halfway down, balanced precariously against another tree so it hadn't hit the ground. Another walker took photos and was emailing the man in charge to let him know about it. 

It's pretty close to the beavers' lodge (you can see it to the left of the photo). They have started chewing on the tree behind too! The wire you see around the other trees is to protect the oak trees. Busy beavers. 

It warmed up this afternoon (a high of 51f/11c) so most of the snow is gone. Tomorrow looks like rain then maybe some mixture and snow at the weekend. Temps are going up and down. Tomorrow a high of 39F/4C.

All the ups and downs drive me crazy. I'm battling a cold and seem to go between boiling hot and freezing cold. Sigh. 

Lastly, the promised video. Little back story, we live on a hill. People cut through our neighbourhood - especially since they redid the main road at the top of our street (and messed it all up but that's another story). They don't know the roads. They obviously don't know that if you go two streets over the road is flat. When it's icy out our road can be really slippery. 

He's on his way back down at this point. After this he did try to turn in our driveway and back down the hill. Thought he would get stuck, but he gave up and ended up backing down the hill where the saga continues. 

After this he did try coming up the hill again, but finally gave up and went along the flat road. I'm really glad that wasn't me! I am also glad that he wasn't hurt and other cars that did pass by did so carefully. 

Back tomorrow!

Sunday, Monday...

Yesterday was a snowy day. We did go out. It was cold and snowy. I had my dentist appointment today. Luckily, in our town, it did not snow enough to cover the roads and I was able to drive myself. It went okay, not great, but okay. It's over and done with now. I don't have to go back until my check-up appointment in March or April (can't remember which and I'll worry about it closer to the time!). It's still snowing outside as I write this. We are under a weather advisory. Could be 2-5 inches of snow. Could be just a dusting. That's the 'fun' thing about Lake Effect snow. There tend to be bands of it and what you get depends on where the bands are. Hopefully there won't be a lot of it!

Tomorrow I shall take a walk if the weather co-operates. It's one of my non-walking-friend day so I don't have to think about anyone walking but myself. I do have to make a meal plan, sort out some gifts (this is a MUST for tomorrow), do some housework and have a general tidy-up. 

A photo from yesterday taken with my camera. I don't generally take photos of people, but I was standing in the snow on the pier leading to Grand Haven lighthouse when this fisherman passed me by with all his gear. He was going to stand out there in the snow and fish! It was slow going pulling his stuff along behind him, leaving trails in the snow

It's the Weekend!

I can't believe this is the last weekend in November. Yikes. Just thinking about it makes me start to panic. I shouldn't think about it or I'll wake up at silly-o'clock and start worrying again. Sigh. 

It was cold, cold, cold this morning. -8C/18F when I got up and it only reached 2C/35F today. I did bundle up and go out for a walk. There were a few beavers about, lots of geese passing through and a few deer. I didn't stay out too late. Most of me stayed warm, the only problem was with my feet. I think it's time to invest in some toe warmers again. My socks are supposed to be really good ones (I wear my hiking boots while out walking) but my feet still got a little cold. I even wore two pairs of socks! I think it was because I stood still watching the beavers. They were okay when I was walking. 

I did go and do a quick food shop today. We were out of a few things and I thought it was better to go today rather than tomorrow. There is snow in the forecast. We are doing our usual Sunday Adventure, but not sure where we'll be going yet. It depends on where the snow is falling and how much we are supposed to get. I knew it was bound to happen as I have to go to the dentist on Monday. Sigh. 

In the afternoon I did a little bit up in the craft room. Still looks like a bomb hit it. I did bring down a couple more things to put in the donate box. I think I shall have to start another. Will I be able to fill it up before the end of the month? 

Today's photo - From Behind the Beavers' Lodge. I think someone knows that bad weather is coming! It's getting bigger. 

It was really sunny at the start of the day!

Friday - Busy Day

Today ended up being busier than expected. 

I woke up at silly-o-clock - AGAIN - and couldn't get back to sleep. I was tempted to get out of bed, but too stubborn to do it. I tossed and turned for about forty minutes before picking up my Kindle and having a read before I felt tired enough to go back to sleep. It was only an hour before the alarm. I should have turned it off, but it was supposed to be a sunny morning and I wanted to go see the beavers for a quick walk. 

There were a few beavers out this morning. So funny to watch. Some are bashful and submerge back into the lake as soon as they spot me watching. Others swim closer and take a look at me as I'm looking at them. It was really cold this morning -5c/23F. I had to pull out my big winter coat and handwarmers while I was out this morning!

After my walk, husband and I took Thanksgiving dinner down to my middle son. He had to work yesterday. He lives by Lake Michigan, so we stopped in at the lighthouse. It was quite strange as one side of the lighthouse was really windy and wavy, the other side quite calm. 

A couple of phone photos

In the afternoon husband and oldest son went out to husband's friend's house to visit for a few hours. I did end up going to a local supermarket as they had a good sale on coats and socks and husband needed both. After that I chatted with sister for a while, had a nice relaxing bath, cleaned the bathroom, did some washing, did some washing up and then got some Ebay things to mail. Phew!

Here's a video of those waves too. I love wavy days. Always reminds me of home. Obviously Lake Michigan is a lake and not the sea, but on windy days it reminds me of the sea 

Thanksgiving Day

I did get up and go for a walk this morning. It was quite chilly, but lovely and peaceful. I saw a few beavers swimming around which is always nice. When I walked up through the field back to the car park I saw a male and female deer. It's getting to be 'that' time of year again and I think they have paired up as I think I've seen him with her before. She laid down behind a fallen tree and he laid down in front of it. Husband says it might be that they've already mated and he's trying to keep the other males away from her. He was quite a big deer! It's also hunting season here in Michigan though there is no hunting allowed in the preserve - which might be why they felt so safe even with me standing on the path watching. 

We went to MIL's in the afternoon to eat. It was a small gathering. We seem to get smaller and smaller each year. My middle son had to work too so he wasn't there. It was a lovely meal though. I think I was on the borderline of eating too much. I felt quite full and a little dizzy after the meal. I think the dizziness was because it was quite warm in the house. 

I took a little nap when I got home. It wasn't something I planned on, but I was watching a Youtube video and fell asleep! I did feel better for it though. 

Tomorrow - no black Friday shopping for me. I have ordered a couple of 'deals' online for gifts though. I am going for a quick walk and then me and husband will be taking a Thanksgiving Dinner down to my son. He lives by the lakeshore so we'll stop in for a quick lighthouse visit while we're there. 

Here's a short video of the deer - she's on the other side of the log