Drum Roll Please...February Decluttering Totals

I am really pleased with what I got done this month. Some days I don't feel as though I've done a lot of anything but looking at the list, I'm quite pleased with all the things that have left the house. I am going to keep going. I can't say all months will be this way BUT every little thing that goes is one less thing in the house. 

I've been doing well with the lists, but I haven't made as much progress with the small piles of things that seem to have gathered around the house. I need to add at least one to the list each day, so things are put where they are supposed to be. It's all too easy to just put something somewhere 'for now' and then neglect to move it. Mind you, I'm not the only one in the house that does this. 

I must admit that I'm a little embarrassed to post some of the totals, especially the books, as it just goes to show how many books I actually have. The sad thing is that there are so many more to go through and sort out. It does seem to be easier letting them go. I wish the same could be said for the crafting items! 

CRAFT ITEMS 54

MISC.  21

MAGAZINES 57

BOOKS 142

I am really pleased with the magazine total AND the fact that I haven't brought any more into the house. I was really, really tempted to stop at my local Barnes and Noble Bookshop and pick up the latest Outdoor Photography magazine they had. I resisted. Instead, when I got home, I looked on Pocketmags on my Kindle and purchased the new edition for 1/3 of the price! So, it cost me less AND I didn't bring a physical magazine into the house. I'd call that a win, at least it was for me. 

Me, peeking out cautiously, embarrassed by my book hoard 

What Day is It?

I definitely must be losing my mind. I keep forgetting what day it is now too! I'm not sure what's making me feel all over the place! I'm also not sure what happened to the day either. I don't feel as though I got anything done. I don't think it's helping that I haven't made lists the last couple of days, so I have written myself one for tomorrow and one for Thursday. Hopefully that helps! 

I'm feeling a little hemmed in by stuff again. I've got boxes sitting to go to donation, stuff I need to get listed somewhere for sale and other stuff I need to look through. Aarrrggghh! Hopefully the list will help me work through this and get things back to where I want them, or at least well on the way! 

I did go for a quick walk today. It was super icy at Asylum Lake. The temperature dropped today and everything that had started to melt yesterday froze again today. It wasn't fun so I decided not to walk far. I did see a beaver pop up in a small open space of water AND (drum roll please) I heard my first Red-winged Blackbird - a spring bird - of the season! Does that mean winter is coming to an end? 

What's the first sign of Spring you look for or listen for? 

A painted stone on my walk :)

I Must Be Losing My Mind

I was so sure that I posted on Saturday. I must have just imagined it, or thought about it and meant to do it as I obviously haven't posted since Friday! Yikes!

It wasn't a bad weekend. I did get out for a few walks. Saturday was definitely the nicer of the days, but we went out both days. Husband mostly sat in the car as he's still struggling a bit. He had a little walk, enough that he started coughing again. 

It was nice to get out though. The ice at South Haven was beautiful on Saturday. It was still quite chilly so there weren't many people about at all. Just the way I like it ha ha. 

The temperatures are rising this week so all that ice will start to melt!

I didn't get as much done on Saturday as I had hoped. My middle son came over to do some washing and ended up staying for quite a while! It was nice to have a chat, but all the things I was planning to get done ended up not getting done. Sigh. Hopefully some things will get done this week! It is the last week of February - yikes - so I need to add to the declutter totals!

End of the Week

I haven't posted for a couple days. Just having a few blah moments. I think I'm just feeling the mid-winter blues. Even the decluttering hasn't been happening the last couple of days. Winter really seems to be dragging on. There seems to be some relief in the forecast though with temperatures getting above freezing. The downsize to that is that the snow will just become an icy mess again at Asylum Lake. I think I might try walking a couple of different places as long as the roads stay clear. 

Something that made me smile this week - a video daughter sent me of Baby A helping to unload the dishwasher. It was so cute! She picked up huge plates and handed them to son-in-law. He always makes these exaggerated noises when he picks up something (to demonstrate to her) and she copies him right back. Really cute. Daughter says that when either one of them is doing it she wants to help. I think she'll be helping daughter cook at some point!

I am looking forward to the weekend. Husband is taking me to South Haven tomorrow morning. As the temperatures have been really cold this week the ice along the lakeshore has returned with a vengeance. I'm hoping to find inspiration to take a few photos. In the afternoon he and older son are going to husband's friends for a get-together. I'm going to go up in the craft room and see if I can get rid of a few more things up there. Ha ha. 

On Sunday we are planning a trip up to Muskegon. Another lakeshore town. It has two lighthouses and a channel of water that is generally kept free of ice so lots of ducks stay there. I'm hoping for a bit of photography there too!

Photo for today - A Blue Jay in the garden this week. Calling out to warn the other birds in the area of a circling hawk or trying to scare other birds away from the feeders? Could be either. They can be so dramatic!

Brr it's cold outside

I didn't go for a walk today. To be honest, it was just so cold I couldn't be bothered. It was about 1F/-17C with wind chills colder than that. It just didn't sound appealing. I almost changed my mind when I looked out the back window and saw the sunrise over the trees. I don't get a great view, but the skies over our big trees at the end of the back garden turn a nice colour some mornings. 

As it was so cold I did decide to give frozen bubbles a try. I wish I had a clearer view to take photos, but I gave it a go. Not sure how the camera photos turned out. 

A phone photo. It's fun to try...and a little frustrating!

I did end up getting quite a bit done. I'm pleased with crossing everything off my list and then some! The book donation pile is coming along nicely. I'm hoping that, by next week, the weather will be a bit better, and I can drive some boxes - yes, boxes - of books down to the library bookshop for donation. 

I'm not doing overly great in the craft room BUT I am making sure that each time I go up there I pull out a few things for donation. I feel like it's going to take a while, but every little bit is progress. It's better than not tackling it at all! I do feel like every bit I get rid of, makes me feel as though I can get rid of a bit more. Does that make sense? 

Tomorrow, it's still going to be cold in the morning, but we're on a warming trend. Makes me laugh as that still means we're not getting above freezing until Sunday but next week we might hit 41F/5C which is practically a heat wave! There are bound to be people out in shorts. Mind you, we did see a man in shorts at a petrol station on Sunday. He was with a woman and a couple of children (they were well bundled up at least!). Shorts though - brrrr!

Anyway, what I was going to say is that I am going for a walk in the morning. I'll bundle up and just keep on moving. Even if it's not for long I'm going to get out for a walk. 

Sunday Adventure

We did go out Sunday. Husband was feeling well enough to drive, but he didn't get out and walk anywhere. He's still coughing away. Poor guy. 

We stopped at the lighthouse near where son used to live. I took a peaceful walk out there, at least to the part where it wasn't icy. It was quite lovely, though chilly and blowy. For a time, I was the only one out there. There were lots of birds in the water where there wasn't ice and I took a few photos of the ducks. A couple of people took a really quick walk, but didn't stay long!

We then drove down the lakeshore a bit to a state park that we like. Warren Dunes. It's always a great place to visit in the winter. The ice is usually quite good along this stretch. 

The light bit that you can see is where the lake starts and is quite mushy. One idiot person decided it would be a good idea to try to walk across it to get to the ice. They soon worked out that it wasn't a great idea! The ice is obviously not stable. 

It was very windy, I think there was a gale warning, and waves were crashing up over the ice, flinging up new chunks of ice. I was quite mesmorized. 

I took a lot of photos with my camera (that I haven't sorted yet of course!). I was having a good time despite being cold. Then suddenly the weather turned! Snow started to come down and with the wind it was like a blizzard! Husband said he was worried I wouldn't be able to find my way back to the car! I know the park pretty well and had already started heading back as soon as I saw the snow coming in off the lake. 

It was strange as not far outside the park the snow stopped! 

I spent the afternoon trying to get warm. Sigh. 

It's back to Monday now and time to get into the groove of the week. I did drag myself out for a walk. I was tempted to just stay in, to be honest. The wind was still blowing, there had been a little more snow, and the temperature was pretty cold 10F/-12C and with the wind even colder. But I got out as it's supposed to be even colder tomorrow morning! I must admit that I am looking forward to Spring. A warmup cannot come too soon. As I'm writing this, I went to get a drink, looked out the window only to see snow coming down again. Sigh. 

I wasn't terribly productive today, but I did get a few things done that needed to be done. I had forgotten that it was the online camera club meeting today. I hate anything new and meeting people is uncomfortable for me but I've made it a goal to attend the meetings. Maybe one day I'll speak at one lol. It was quite interesting. Later, daughter and Baby A video chatted with me. Also, son called. Quite the social day for me lol. 

I'm not sure about a walk tomorrow. It's up in the air. Today was quite hard going. The ice at Asylum Lake is now covered, but the snow had drifted in places and was almost up to our knees in some places! I have made a list for tomorrow so that's a plus!

Hope everyone is having a good start to the week!

Okay Saturday

It's been an okay sort of day. Nothing spectacular. I woke up this morning and there were a few inches of new wet, heavy snow. The snow ploughs came through on our road fairly early and because we weren't a lot below freezing the salt they dropped cleared off the road by about 11am. I hadn't gone out early. It was grey and dull, one of those days when the sky is a flat colour with no contrast at all. With the extra overnight snow, I didn't fancy trying to trudge through more snow. 

Husband was still coughing but did manage to get out and snowblow the driveway. I had got out yesterday and shovelled a path along the side of the house, to the front porch and around my car but with the extra snowfall and the ploughs coming through (they end up shoving a pile in front of the driveway) it really needed to be done. He was out of breath when it was done. The inhaler he was given seems to help. 

We did get out for a bit. He usually cooks on the weekend and although I had planned quick things I could do instead of him, we decided to treat ourselves to a takeaway from a place in a neighbouring town. I persuaded him to stop at a park there and I took a quick walk even though the snow was quite deep!

It was nice just to get out. I like this park. There are some fairly big hills there and there were people out with their children sledding down the hills. There was even a place you could borrow one! How good is that? 

I had forgotten how much I like this park. There are lots of really interesting trees there. It was actually quite peaceful. I certainly felt better getting out. It was nice to hear the children laughing as they played in the snow. 

There is more snow coming. Maybe. Perhaps. At some time. Lol. It's a running joke with husband and I as the forecast never seems to be right!  We haven't got a lot extra today, but we're still under a Winter Weather Advisory until 7pm tomorrow night so we shall see. We are going out tomorrow. Husband probably won't be walking, but he is up to driving me somewhere. 

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend!

End of the Week

Thank Goodness this one is over! 

They guys are still fighting the flu. They both went back to work on Thursday. Husband only managed half a day, son managed the whole day. He told the foreman that he wasn't working outside. Thankfully, he's been inside both days. He's really tired now, but he's got the weekend to finish up. Husband managed a full day today. He certainly sounds a lot better and isn't coughing quite as much. I think this the first day he really seems a little more like his normal self. Hopefully, resting up for the weekend will have him well on the mend. He's out of breath when he walks, but I told him that could last weeks (at least it did for me after I've had the flu!)

As for me, I went out for a walk. It was pretty cold this morning. I think it was about 9F/-13C. Brrr. But the wind wasn't blowing. I was bundled up. I walked by myself, and I was glad I did. I took a wander through Asylum Lake. It snowed yesterday (no walk) and the snow was quite deep in places as it had drifted. There wasn't a lot of wildlife or birds around, but I found it quite peaceful as there weren't many people around either!

After the walk, I did go a few places. We're under another Winter Weather Advisory and I wanted to get out while I could. I picked up a few bits for the weekend in case husband isn't feeling well enough to drive me. This afternoon I messaged with sister. She sent me lots of photos of the birds she's been seeing on her walks. She lives quite near the Orwell Bridge so can take a walk along the river and see lots of birds. I'm really jealous! We talked over plans for me to visit so I can start planning. It's really something to look forward to! She's off out for the weekend. Her children got her tickets to Hairspray in Norwich and gave a voucher for a meal. She's looking forward to it as she has a busy week ahead with her Grandchildren as it's half term in their area. 

I chatted with Baby A this afternoon. It's amazing how far she's come in just over a month of walking! She now rarely stays still and moves quite steadily on her feet. They shared a video this week of her outside in the snow all bundled up. She looked quite bewildered! 

Thanks for all the comments about the decluttering and how you tackle the amount you paid for something and how to let it go. I'm trying to rethink how I approach this and thinking more of the final goal. 

Photos for today, just snow from my walk today. These are phone photos. It was quiet and peaceful and, well, just snowy. 

Stay Back Horrible Flu!

Husband and son have had another couple of days home with the dreaded bug. Husband finally went to the doctors to get checked out. It is the flu. Apparently, this is a nasty one that isn't covered by any flu vaccination (neither one of them had a flu vaccination but say they will get it next year!). I think it's the first time either of them has had the flu and now they realise just how miserable it can be. So far, I'm doing ok. Maybe it's something I've already had. Fingers crossed. 

I went for a cold, icy and snowy walk. Sigh. It wasn't a great long walk. I think my walking friend (who tracks these things) says it is a little over three miles. It might have been almost four as we did walk a little bit longer than the last couple of days. There is snow forecast and I'm not sure I'll get out tomorrow.  I didn't want to go home after. To be honest, I needed a little alone time. Not good for the budget. I didn't spend a lot. That's all I'm going to say, though it wasn't as bad as it could have been! 

It's snowing as I write this. I'm pretty sure I'll be staying inside. I think husband will be home tomorrow, but son says he is going to try to go to work. He is hoping - and going to ask - that he work inside. If he can't make it through the day, he'll be home at lunch time. 

The plan for tomorrow is to do some more decluttering. I am slowly plodding along. The magazines I wrote about the other day have now mostly been sorted. The craft room is slow going but I will make progress. I might look around to try to find some sort of senior craft group where I can donate some items. I think I would feel a bit better if I knew they were going to good use! There are a few more I'm planning on putting up for sale at least for one cycle. 

When you are decluttering do you think of the price you paid for an item, or do you just donate and chalk it up to a buying mistake? I think a lot of what is holding me back is the waste of money. But then, holding on to the things isn't doing anybody any good and it is holding me back from having the house as I wish it to be. 

No exciting photos today, just a lovely mug of hot Broccoli and Cauliflower Cup-a-Soup out of a mug that always makes me think of Mum as she got me it for Easter one year with a lovely chocolate egg in it. 

 

Sunday, Monday

We did go out yesterday. Poor husband was back to coughing again and not feeling good in general. Son was still sick. Temperature. Coughing. Husband did take me out but sat in the car for the most part. I didn't blame him. It was pretty chilly when the wind blew (temperatures did not get above freezing even without the wind) and the cold wouldn't do him any good. I did manage to take a few photos though I am sorting through them. The silly date/time thing on my camera got changed again and I'm back in 2024 grrrr...it doesn't do good for the photo organising. 

Son stayed home from work today. As my walking friend wasn't walking, I decided to go to the lakeshore (closest easiest bit to drive to) and took a walk along the beach. There wasn't any ice on the sand, but there was plenty of ice in the lake. It was a lovely walk, chilly again, but the sun was shining, and the beach was deserted. 

Husband texted me while I was out telling me he was coming home from work early as he wasn't feeling well either. They both have fevers and coughs. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before I catch the darn thing. Sigh. 

Things on the home front aren't moving forward very well. I've been trying to do some sorting but have stalled. The weather later in the week doesn't look good. We are under a Winter Storm Watch for Wednesday into Thursday so I think that I might spend that time doing some more decluttering. I can't stop, I have to keep going forward. A little progress is better than none, that's what I'm telling myself!

Holes like this one are part of the reason to use caution when walking on ice! I didn't step in it. I stayed firmly on the beach. I don't go out on any ice however sturdy when I'm walking alone. It's not just about going through to water, you can literally break something on bits like this!