A Peaceful Moment

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Tonight's photo shows one of the most peaceful moments that I had on our Alaska cruise…walking into Tongass National Forest. We visited this area while we were in Sitka, AK.  I just looked it up to make sure of the name of the forest and found out that the Tongass National Forest covers 16.7 million acres across southwest Alaska. It's the world's largest temperate rain forest.  There's your school lesson for the day!  But walking into that forest was a very reverent moment…very peaceful, though there were others from the tour all around me.  A refreshing memory!

I have kept pretty busy today…vacuuming, dusting, polishing, and distributing pumpkins to cleaned surfaces.  I have even moved some pieces of furniture so I could vacuum under them…now this was only smaller pieces of furniture…no couch!  But I have moved end tables and the coffee table.  All these efforts took place in increments  of time during the day.  I cleaned one area and then sat and rested for a while before I moved to the next area.  And, the living room is not cleaned nor decorated completely.  But it is cleaner than it was and hopefully tomorrow it will be even cleaner…and, decorated! 

I did stitch some last night and am closer to a finish on another Christmas ornament.  I’m hoping that I will be able to finish it this evening.  

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious! 

  

Cook, Clean, Decorate

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Of the three things that I listed in tonight's blog title, cook took up the most time.  I did clean off one half of the countertop on the sink side…moved everything, wiped off the countertop really well.  Then when I put things back I added in some pumpkins and got out the cooking items I needed for my cook of the day.  

I made chicken and shrimp gumbo…tasted very good for a late lunch.  While cooking I tried to keep the mess under control.  And, it did help when I had the gumbo finished.  I haven’t run the dishwasher, yet…waiting to put the last of today's dishes in.  I plan to turn it on in a little while.

I’m later checking in tonight as a couple of friends and I visited while their husband's were in choir practice.  

It has been a good day…really a little cleaning, a little decorating (at least I have started!), and spent quite a bit of time in the kitchen.  My house smelled like gumbo when I came in the house tonight.  There are worse smells!  I guess I had better get that dishwasher going to perhaps take some of that smell away.  

I hope to stitch for a while tonight.  I need to get back to working on Christmas ornaments.  Last night I took a break from Christmas ornaments and stitched on a sampler.  I think I need to be disciplined tonight and get back to Christmas stitching!

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

A Fun and Busy Day!

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I did get underway with my decorating for Fall today..but didn’t make a tremendous amount of progress as it is slow at first since there is cleaning to do.  I washed a lot of glass objects and started clearing off tables to give them a good dusting and polishing.  I got the vacuum out to do a more thorough vacuuming job then my usual "push it through traffic areas." 

I put the cleaning/decorating aside to head off for an early lunch with Linda H.  We had a nice visit.  She came to Tullahoma for an appointment so we met up before her appointment.  That worked out perfectly for me to meet Donna to work in the church library this afternoon.  Donna and I worked and visited.  So I got a lot of visiting done over the hours that I was away from home!

And, I guess I was tired as I was awakened by the phone about an hour ago.  I can't remember when I have fallen that soundly asleep in the middle of the day!  I guess…that I must have been tired!  Wondering now if I will be able to get to sleep at a decent hour tonight! 🙄

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Maybe the Great Pumpkin Visited?!?

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Looks to me like the Great Pumpkin visited and turned my table into a pumpkin patch!  I guess it is time to do some picking and choosing and placing of them throughout the house…a job for another day…at least they are all gathered in one place!

It has been a nicer day…heat and humidity were down some.  When I got to church tonight for prayer meeting, I actually sat in my car with the windows down and didn’t burn up and there was a bit of a breeze blowing through the car windows.  Now it isn't actually cool yet, but we "only" got into the upper 80s for a high today. But it does seem that the weather folk were right.  They put us under a heat advisory last Wednesday at 11am…that was just supposed to last until Friday, but they ended up extending it a couple of times and their last extension took it through last night at 8pm.  Glad that that advisory is behind us.

Today I had a hair appointment after lunch.  Which made this a good day…as all hair cut days are!  I have stitched a little and plan to stitch more this evening now that I am home from prayer meeting.  I’ve looked through cookbooks trying to decide on which recipe that I want to use for Chicken Gumbo.  Wade and Melany brought me some okra and part of the barbecue feast they provided on Saturday was some smoked pulled chicken…that should be good in gumbo.  And, I have some shrimp in the freezer that should be good in it, too.  BUT…it is still rather hot for gumbo!  So I am gearing up to do some cooking.  I also want to use the leftover pulled pork in a tamale pie…both of these items freeze well so I may sample them, but if they make me feel too warm, I may slip them in the freezer for upcoming cooler autumn days.  

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious! 

Sunday Favorite Alaskan Photo

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A Cool Scene for a Hot Day

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We had another day and when I looked through my photos to choose one for tonight's blog! I saw this photo taken at the Butchart Gardens and it just made me feel cooler!  Supposedly the heat advisory ends in less than an hour…we will see what tomorrow's temperatures bring!

I had a nice visit with Melany, Wade, and Erin today.  I was hoping that Erin would feel like coming with them.  I thought she might come since it could be a shorter visit.  Melany brought her stitched Christmas stocking and we visited for a while.  Then Wade went to pick up lunch.  He got Piggy's Place barbecue.  This is a local barbecue restaurant.  Woody worked with one of the original owners so we used to get it more than we have lately.  Piggy's Place had a special part in Melany and Wade's Wedding celebration.  Their rehearsal dinner was held there.  So we shared some memories with Erin today.  We sat around for a while after lunch and talked.  One of the things we talked about were things we can remember where we were when something in history happened.  What started that train of thought was that Dolly Parton died on Erin's birthday.  I told Erin that I would remember the date Dolly died because of it being Erin's birthday.  Then we went on to remember where we were when other things happened…like the day Elvis died…Woody, Melany, Nathan and I were visiting in Massachusetts.  We were sitting at he dinner table when my Uncle Don casually dropped that piece of information…well, my cousin, Sue, was one of the biggest fans of Elvis…I think we went into mourning for most of the rest of the trip!  We remembered about: where we were when the Challenger Shuttle exploded;  our location on September 11, 2001; where we were when the assassination attempt happened for President Regan.  Erin, of course, didn’t remember most of those.  And, I shared where I was when I learned that President Kennedy was assassinated.  And, one very random one…when Marilyn Monroe's death was reported…Daddy, Mother, Cheryl and I were visiting San Francisco.  I’m thinking that maybe I heard that news called out from a newsstand…not absolutely sure about that…but I know we were walking along a San Fran street when I found out…and in those days we wouldn't have anything with us that would give us news when out walking!  I just looked that date up for Marilyn Monroe's death and it was announced on August 5, 1962…so I was 14 and my sister was 7…I doubt that Cheryl remembers that.  Funny the things that stick in your mind.  But that was the direction that our memories ran this afternoon.  

I’m settled in for the night.  I haven’t done any stitching today.  Maybe I’ll stitch in a while…not sure I feel like stitching tonight! 

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious! 

Friday…Again!

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It seems like all I have to do is blink and another Friday has rolled around.  Today I chose not to go to the grocery store…I really didn't need anything, at least as far as I know…now.  Another reason to skip grocery shopping today is the fact that it is Labor Day weekend and I’m sure that more than usual would have been at the store getting ready for cookouts, etc. Pretty hot for cookouts, though!  Our heat advisory has been extended until tomorrow evening.  I think most of us are ready for a break in this heatwave. Once again, today, I stayed inside keeping out of the heat…so thankful for a comfortable air conditioned house!

I have done more puttering around doing a little of this and a little of that.  I did get a bit more physical and actually vacuumed…finished vacuuming downstairs and then have started upstairs.  I plugged in the vacuum in my bedroom…vacuumed in there and then as far as the cord would let me vacuum…the bedroom, the sewing room, half the hallway, halfway down the stairs, and just through the doorway into Melany's former bedroom.  I’ll hopefully do the rest of the upstairs tomorrow morning…or when I plug the vacuum in next!  I have the downstairs vacuum parked next to the stairs to vacuum the other half of the stairway…I will definitely do that in the morning so I can put away the vacuum.  I did do a lick and a promise with dusting downstairs.  I will be doing a better job dusting when I get underway with my Fall decorating.  

Melany and Wade and maybe Erin are coming for a visit tomorrow.  Melany is bringing the Christmas stocking she has cross stitched so I can make it into a stocking.  She brought it once before, but I suggested that she do a little more stitching at the top of the stocking that the pattern didn't say to do. I think it will make the stocking top more stable.  She has finished doing that extra stitching and is bringing it back tomorrow.  And, we'll get to visit for a while, too. 

I managed to do some stitching today, too, so I am closer to a finish on it.  I think that I will work more on it this evening…ready to rest from the more vigorous efforts that I have done around the house today!

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!