A Rather Busy Day

Tonight's photo is one of the barns that we found on our trip to the area where the borders of Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia meet.  I think that I may have taken this one when we were in North Carolina…but not sure.

My first task of the day was to get myself to McMinnville, TN for my doctor appointment this morning.  It was a very pretty day to drive through the countryside to get there.  I did find out that my heart rhythm was like, I think she said, a teenager's or perhaps she said a thirty-year old's…either way it is much younger than I or my heart.  Now it is wait and see what my labs show this year.  I imagine that I will be able to look at the results sometime tomorrow or the next and they will call the end of the week or the first of next week.  I was able to get to and from with just enough time for a little lunch (and, I was hungry since I was to fast for labs) before it was time to go work in the library with Donna.  We mainly did maintenance today and did a little catching up with each other. 

I came home and did get out a few more things from the Christmas closet and placed them where they may or not go by the time I'm finished decorating.  Some things get tried out in various spots before I am satisfied with their placement. 

I decided that today was the day to tackle my wash…the loads are a bit larger than usual since my trip clothes are included.  I have two loads washed, one load back upstairs put away and the second one all folded or hung up to be taken upstairs.  I have the third load downstairs and ready to go into the washer.  I will do that after I blog.  

That about wraps up my day. I did get the rest of the ornaments stuffed last night…now need to sew up the openings that I stuffed them through…next step…almost to the point of being totally finished.  

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

Another One of Those “Has-to-be-a-Good Day!

Tonight's blog title refers to what I say when it is hair-cut day!  My appointment was late morning today instead of right after lunch, as it usually is.  It worked it well…just that it cuts into my day differently.  I did do a little more picking up so I can get out some more decorations.  I didn’t get a lot of decorating done today…but did get out some pillows that I have out for Christmas.  Little by little I am progressing…but probably won’t meet my goal, if I don't pick up the speed a bit!  

Last night before going to sleep I did stuff some of the ornaments.  I hope to get the rest that need to be stuffed done this evening.  I stitched a little on some "labels" that need to be added to the back of three of them. So progress in getting ornaments done so I can gift them.  

After getting home from my haircut this afternoon, I decided that I needed to do a little cooking.  So I made a pot of soup…my refrigerator was a bit bare since I had been away last week.  I have been eating things from the freezer and sandwiches.  I decided that it was time to have soup since the temperatures are getting a bit cooler.  We were down in the 30s last night.  I made a recipe that I have made for many years.  It's called Winter Soup, a no-meat soup…it has onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms, barley and chicken broth.  And, the only spice called for is black pepper.  It always surprises me as to how tasty it is with so few ingredients.  Oh, and it is supposed to have beef broth instead and of chicken broth, but I am trying to be good and cut way back on salt since I had so much more salt than usual since I ate out on the trip.  I could get salt-free chicken broth, but could only get 50% less salt beef broth so chose the one with less sodium.  

I doubt that the effects of eating more salt than usual has worn off and tomorrow I go to the doctor for my six-month check in and labs.  We'll see what the results of a week of indulgence makes on my labs!  

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

Sunday Favorite

Under Way

The Christmas closet doors have been opened!  And, the easiest boxes to get out were the ones that held what I like to put out first—the Precious Moments nativity.  The two boxes that hold all the boxes these figurines go in have been packed up with empty boxes and are ready to go upstairs. One is on the stairs and the second is ready to follow close behind.  

I have worked at unpacking, too.  I just brought up the last clothes that were on one side of the suitcase…and not many left on the other side.  I decided that it was easier to make a couple of trips up and down the stairs than to carry the heavy suitcase up the stairs…will bring it up when it is empty.  I charged batteries for my cameras and got the lenses all put back where they go.  I have been using the card table to get things organized and at the moment it is the closest to being cleared than it has been in some time.  

This afternoon, Joy came over and we spent a couple of hours sewing.  I serged edges and she ironed and sewed some of the pieces together on the sewing machine that she uses when she is over here.  I think she was pleased with her progress.  She is coming right along with this dress that she designed…no pattern…she just cuts and sews…my brain doesn't work that way!  I need a pattern…now once in a while I will modify a pattern piece or two…but can’t start out without some tangible crutch to get me going and keep me on the right path!  She's a designer…I just see what others design!

I realized that one of my clocks, that I turned back last weekend, was a day ahead. It is one that shows day, date, and time.  I guess that when I made the time fall back, I forgot to move the day back, too.  I was happy that we weren't as far into the month as the clock stated! The fact that the day gets dark so early is still confusing me…I think that it is much later in the day than it is.  The afternoons and evenings seem much longer than they did last week.

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

Getting Back to Reality

Today I have attempted to get back to reality after being away…back to routine…sort of…My first piece of business was to go to the Credit Union and get a new card.  That was accomplished quite easily, then it was off to Kroger.  I got items that have been requested for our White Christmas boxes at church.  Each year we pack several hundred boxes of food to distribute to those in need.  This year they have asked us to purchase certain items for the boxes so found those and added them to my cart.  I also picked up some sale items that I will use for my holiday baking and cooking.  Checked out the sales…found several good ones on things that I use in my cooking.  I have noticed lately that more and more of the sale items are often not the best for us. When bargain shopping, I try to not impulse buy…but buy things that I use in recipes.  Once in a while I do give in to a treat or two…if they are part of a sale…all the better! I came home and got the food put away.  

Getting unpacked has been slow…more fun to pack than unpack!  It will happen.  I did get photos uploaded to my iPad.  Tonight's photo is one of them…taken in North Carolina on our way home…looking out over a valley.

I did start a task…with trepidation…changing from one season (Fall) to another (Christmas) inside my house.  Gulp!  Not sure I am ready…but it is less than three weeks till Thanksgiving and I need to have the Christmas decorating mess out of the way before I have the family Thanksgiving here.  It takes me a while to decorate and I need to be able to set a pace that is comfortable for my back!  Time will tell how far I get before it is time for me to cook my part of the Thanksgiving dinner.

I think that I will open the Christmas closet door tomorrow and it will all begin…again.  All I can say is: How can it be this time of the year already!  

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

Raging Waters!

It rained around 8 inches over night and the waters rose in the area where we were in Northern GA…might have made the National news.  Lots of flooding and road closing in the area…we wondered if we would get out…well, not really as Marie is very familiar with the area and she was sure that she could find us another route home.  The first car in our party left early this morning and sent photos of the raging Ocoee river…the road was clear at that time.  By the time we were ready to pull out there were rumors that there had been road closings in that area that we usually travel and that the water was rising.  We decided to go for breakfast and figure out our "escape" route!  We left and traveled in a direction taking us away from our Ocoee River route.  We were following a map app on Marie's phone…one that was recommended to her…Waze…well, we started out following it…but we had trouble convincing it to take us a different way than our usual route.  We did travel around a bit and stopped to take a few pictures.  We stopped at a gas station in the area that we had gotten to and found out the current conditions…and that the road along the Ocoee River was now open.  So we headed to our familiar route.  The Ocoee River is the one that the Olympics in 1996 used for thrir white water rafting…it would have been quite a challenge today to the Olympians!  It was raging.  My pictures don't do it justice…but perhaps you can sort of see the force that it was running and the height to which it had risen.  Tonight's two photos were taken at almost the same spot…one I tried to get a closer view of the extreme turbulence.  The second one gives a reference to the height it had risen in comparison the parking area next to it…it had at one time come over the banks and covered that area.  Plus you can see the road next to it. 

We were glad to get past the waterway and on our way without being turned back…or awash in water!! We pulled into my driveway about 4:30pm…good to be home safely.  We had such a good time plus a little weather excitement.  

Weather excitement seems to go along with this trip. The first year we went to this spot, Hurricane Helen chased us back home early.  Last year the weather was delightful.  And, this year torrential rain and flooding!  Great adventures?!?

I will say that we heard about rescue teams coming into the area…people having to be rescued from rooftops, and lots of damage to homes, businesses and properties.  The gas station store had a rack with sandwiches, etc. for free for the rescue teams.  

Good to be home safe and sound! Oh, my rain gauge says we had almost three inches of rain here.  And, when I got out of the car, I noticed that a couple of my gerber daisies have new blooms on them!  Is it really November 5th?!?!

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

Last Day/Night

This is where we have been sitting for the last hour or more…so nice and cozy.  We have been doing our last catching up session for this trip.  Some are getting up early in the morning to get back home.  We plan to leave 9ish and the others plan to leave sometime before checkout which is noon.  There is a cold front passing through so we have been seeing the sky light up through the large picture windows in the lobby.  I think we will hear more of the thunder now that we are back in our rooms.  The crackling fire and all the talking amongst us and others in the room sort of acted as sound proofing down in the lobby!  It has rained off and on throughout the day.  We went out for breakfast this morning…then broke up and each car went where the driver directed it.  Four of us did end up at the handcraft store at the same time.  Then Marie and I wended our way back taking several different roads in search of barns and did take a few photos despite it raining fairly hard part of the time.  We all spent time in the lobby and/or our rooms in the afternoon.  Then met down in the lobby about an hour before dinner and then ate at the grill restaurant here in the hotel.  We talked some more while we ate and then went to the lobby to talk some more.  The smaller of the puzzles that we started did get finished. The 1000 piece puzzle that had been already been started before we got here got more pieces placed in the center of it.  A rainy day well spent and enjoyed!  

Tomorrow at this time we should all be back in our homes in our various states.  It has been fun and refreshing time away.

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

A Little Late Tonight

We have had a busy day.  We went to a nearby town, Helen, Georgia…got there via very curvy roads…beautiful Fall color along the way. Helen is a beautiful, touristy Bavarian-style town.  I’ll show photos another time…am late so I won't mess with photos taken today.  We walked around the town and ate lunch there.  We came back and sat around the lobby with a roaring fire going and talked and worked on jigsaw puzzles that are on various tables around the lobby.  Looks like we all enjoy jugsaw puzzles…everyone put several pieces in and we got the border together of the two that our group has worked on.  It has been another pretty day.  Tomorrow is supposed to be rainy.  I’m sitting in my hotel room with one of those electric fireplaces glowing and warming up this end of the room.  Tomorrow is our last full day…we'll see what that day holds!  

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

We Made It!

We made it to north Georgia and spotted a barn or two along the way!  It has been an interesting trip to this point.  First we came upon a turned over semi that slowed up traffic for miles and miles so that was a major slow down.  Once we cleared that it was fairly smooth sailing and we enjoyed the beautiful leaves along the way.  I hope I have captured some of the beauty that we saw today.  We also took a side road to find a few barns.  I chose to show two of those in tonight's blog…good to be back to taking barns! 

I had a major snafu when we got to the hotel and I was registering.  My card wouldn't clear…and I had taken the time and trouble to stop at the Credit Union and tell them I was going on this trip so they wouldn't question charges from out of state.  Well…come to find out someone had attempted to charge something to my card in the last couple of days and the Credit Union had out a stop on my card for fraud.  Glad they stopped it before it caused a problem…but not the best time to find out.  I will say that I had gotten an email a few days ago from the Credit Union…about the same time that I got the scam call from the supposed Credit Union…so I had ignored it since the other had never happened.  So partially my fault…and, then these SCAMMERS! No words!  I did call the 800 number and they approved it to be used for one charge for the hotel…so I am not having to sleep in a car!!! Not that that would have happened.  All my friends said that they would help!  And, thankfully I got plenty of cash to use for other things on the trip!  I will say as an aside that I almost didn't get much cash and was going to rely on my card…so glad that I couldn't quite give up my use of cash!

Hopefully from this point on, it will be smooth sailing?!?

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

A Sunday Favorite Photo

BOO!!!

It's a rather quiet Halloween evening…my porch light is out…I guess I am a Halloween Grinch!  But we have never had many Halloween trick or treaters at this house.  Where my house is situated…it is easier for trick or treaters to turn down my street but turn down another street before reaching my house.  There are only three houses if you head my direction and it is more advantageous to the candy seekers to not come here and just head down the street with more houses and then go on into the next subdivision. In years past when we did leave the light on, maybe ten at the most would make a stop here over a three to four hour time period…so for some years I have chosen to not turn on the light.  So that is my story and I’m sticking to it! 

This morning Joy stopped by to use my serger…well, at this point that means that Grammy serves something for her.  She has never had a good amount of time to learn how to use the serger.  And, a serger since it cuts while it sews, isn't something one just sits down at and sews away.  She needs to practice on scrap pieces of fabric, not on the garment that she is working on!  She says maybe she will have time over Christmas break or once she is totally through with her Motlow College experience which will be at the end of this coming Spring semester.  We'll see!  But for the time being, I serge the edges of whatever she is sewing on. 

I worked some more on the Christmas ornaments.  I now have ten ready to stuff and the last of the eleven that I stitched on fabric ready for the way I am going to finish it…this one won't be finished with the sewing machine…so I almost have half of the ornaments finished.  The other eleven are stitched on perforated paper and it will take scissors, glue and felt to finish them.  They "should" take less time to finish…we will see…I’m more used to sewing than cutting and gluing ornaments together!

I have done more packing and the suitcase is almost packed…a good thing…since the time for the trip is quickly approaching.  

This evening I am just doing odds and ends towards getting things ready to go.  

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

Another Pretty Fall Day

I sat for a little while on the porch…checking camera settings while sipping tea and then ate my lunch out there.  The second photo shows some of what I can see sitting on my porch…you can see that the leaves are thinking about changing at least a little.  I ran an errand today and saw some pretty trees.  I’m just hoping that Marie and I will see more Fall color while on our trip.  

I got my suitcase out and have started packing…still a ways to go, but at least I have started!  I hav left the final decision as to which tops to take and which I can leave behind.  I’m trying to pack layers as it may be a bit chilly, it may rain, it may warm up…so trying to have with me some choices depending on what each day is like.  Hoping that my final choices fit the bill.

I had planned to go to the grocery store for a couple of things and then pick up any specials that have to do with holiday cooking, but when I got there, the parking around Kroger was pretty filled up plus someone had had a fender bender and half of one row of parking was blocked with police cars.  I decided that my few items could wait for another day and I headed home.  

This afternoon I have worked on Christmas ornaments.  I stitched a little on something that needs to go on the back of one…then sewed and turned that ornament…so four are now ready for stuffing.  I got three more ready for their cord hangers.  I have the cords ready to insert so when I have done that I will sew them up and turn them..I am hoping that by bedtime, I will have seven ready to stuff.  That then leaves four of the sewn ones to do…so I’m heading in the right direction.  Slowly but surely!

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

Beautiful Porch Sitting Day!

This morning, I put the fall decor back on the porch.  Then I sat and drank my tea enjoying my newly freshened up porch on a beautiful Fall morning. At a point I went back inside and did a few things  in the house.  When it was lunch time, I went back on my porch to eat.  So enjoyed some porch sittin' today.  

I have done a little more gathering of things to pack…still making decisions of what to take and what I don’t need to take. I have talked to several on the phone today…Ruth, my sister, Melany, Connie, and have had several texts so have socialized quite a bit today.  Late afternoon I did get underway with the ornaments.  I have three ornaments stitched together and turned right side out and now ready to stuff.  So ornament finishing is finally underway.

I have been listening to a book while I sewed. I think I will watch some TV while I work on some more ornaments. 

To be continued! Be safe! Be Well! Be cautious!

Golden Light is Back

There is a time each year that my backyard just seems to glow with a golden light…and the above photo shows the source of this golden glow.  It seems like the colors are coming later this year…I’m just glad that we are starting to see some color.  I was afraid that the dryness of the last months would keep us from seeing much Fall color.  The gold color is so welcome! 

I worked around the house today…cleaning some things, washing another load of clothes, putting more things on the guest bed to pack, and making decisions about what to pack.  I had some special notes to write today so that took a bit of time.  My painter came and finished the painting and now just has a few finishing details and to fix the doorbell (Nathan's request of the handyman!) and, he will be done. He has done a very good job and I am very pleased.  The front of my house looks all spiffed up! 

All that I have done today hasn't lead to any sewing.  I have just gotten home from Bible study and think that I will have a light supper and then go up and think about making an ornament or two…let me just say that "thinking about it" won't get it done…and I do realize it! 

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

Closer!

Tonight’s photo shows the finished part of the porch rail with the finished front door.  He painted another column that I didn’t show in tonight’s picture because the rail part between the two columns isn’t done yet.  Maybe I should just call the tall parts of the rail just posts…rather than columns?  Pretty skinny columns but they do the job that columns do! You decide the correct wording!  More painting to take place tomorrow afternoon.  The house numbers still have to be put back next to the door…several little finishing jobs after the painting gets done, but definitely much closer to a finish.

I have done various things around the house today.  I got some more things laid out on the guest bed for my trip.  I did a load of wash…due to starting to change over my closet from summer to fall/winter…may need some of these items for trip.  They will be ready if I decide to take them.  I’ve been checking the temperatures where we are going and they are only slightly cooler than we are here.  

Looks like we will make it through October without any freezing temperatures.  The weather has really been nice here temperature wise.  But we really do need rain.  It's DRY! DRY! DRY! here.  But despite lack of rain, I noticed today that my little shamrock plant that Linda H. gave me has pushed up new leaves and has flowers, again…even though ground around it is dry as a bone.

I have spent more time in the sewing room today…didn’t accomplish much, but a little.  I think that a few ornaments may see a finish tomorrow. 

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

A Bit of a Forgetful Day

I woke up quite early and did a few things…including putting in a few stitches in the sampler I am cross stitching currently.  But after I had been awake a few hours, I decided that I needed a morning nap.  I think that may have put me off, time wise, for the rest of the day.  Since I don't have a Sunday School lesson to prepare this week, I gave myself permission to go about the day doing whatever. I did plan to do some sewing.  I want to make the Christmas stitching I have been working on for most of the year.  So that was part of the sewing that I wanted to do, but I also had some t-shirts that I wanted to hem.  My other plan for the day was to begin thinking about packing for next week's trip.  I have started to put things on the guest bed that I won't need between now and Marie's and my trip.  And, I started thinking about what clothes that I want to take.  Just some preliminary planning…

I was cleaning off a table and found the shirts that I have been wanting to hem for some time.  I decided that was the sewing that I would start with.  So brought them into the sewing room and got things ready for hemming them.  They are knot tops so that involved setting up my serger for cover stitching.  That takes a bit of time…mainly because I don't change the serger back and forth to different stitches too often…so it takes me following a diagram and holding my mouth just right to get it set up correctly.  I managed the first time to change needle positions and threading it correctly and it sewed correctly when I tested it out…always a "hoorah moment" when it works correctly the first time!

I decided that I would watch TV while I sewed.  My TV in my sewing room isn't connected to my antenna, but my TV being a Roku TV, I can stream some things to watch.  I turned it on to see what I might watch and decided on old Columbo shows.  Of course they stream one show after another and I have no sense of time when watching TV this way. Because of my morning nap, I ate brunch around noon.  Then I got underway with my sewing.  And, I have really accomplished a lot.  I did get two shirts done and am planning on doing at least one more…that will eliminate that stack of "sewing to be done!"  I went downstairs to get something and Nathan called.  He wanted to stop by and borrow my Little Green Machine to clean some upholstery.  So he came on…I paid no attention to the time.  I gave him the machine and then I went back upstairs.  Not long after I got back upstairs, my phone rang and it was one of the people who attends the Furnace Room Prayer meeting that I do.  She was wondering if I was coming!  Oops!  I had totally lost track of time and really wasn't really thinking about what day it was.  I guess I had checked out on the day and was just concentrating on what I was doing in the moment.  I hopped in the car and did get there before it was over.  🙄 I don't think that I can just chalk this up to age…but then maybe this is a time to use my age explain something away!  I did remember to text the group this morning reminding them about prayer meeting…I’m just the one who forgot despite  my reminder!  I will say that I never looked at my iPhone or iPad this afternoon.  I did have my phone in my pocket…but somehow the settings have been changed and it no longer vibrates when a call or text come in.  I always have them on silence so they don't disturb…that way I don't have to remember to turn them off when I don't want to hear them…up to a few weeks ago I would know that they were ringing due to the vibration…but…either I or someone else changed something and I haven't figured out what to change back.  So I didn't hear when responses came in about to night's meeting…so once I sent the reminder, I got no other reminders to my knowledge.  Those are my excuses and I’m stitcking to them!  Hopefully I will be more tuned in to day and time tomorrow! 

Painting porch rails is supposed to start tomorrow afternoon.  

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

Sunday Photo Favorite

Domestic Saturday

Today, I pretty much just stuck to doing things around the house. I cooked and did a few things around the house all the while listening to another audio book.  So I added another book to my list of books read…though I had already read it years ago.  It was an Agatha Christie mystery.  I will say that I did remember the premise of the book…but not the outcome.  I did make gingerbread and since I made something sweet (I don't make a lot of desserts for just me.), I made a vegetable medley for my supper…trying to be a little healthy! But never got around to doing any sewing…did things downstairs and my sewing is upstairs.

I have read through the Sunday School…to see if it makes sense…sometimes when I plug things in (copy and paste) things into the IPad Pages app, they don't always land where I mean for them to…also sometimes the typos can be quite confusing when I try to share a statement and it no longer says what I meant it to say…and have to think on my feet as to just what I had meant it to say.  I think that I have added, fixed, deleted what I needed to and it is as ready as this lesson is going to be.  I will read it over again this evening or in the morning…just to have things planted in my mind as to what I hope to convey!  This will be my last Sunday to substitute for a while.  

This coming week I will be getting ready for Marie's and my trip to northern Georgia.  I’m looking forward to planning for another trip.  Got to get my cameras ready.  I do hope that we will see some color…not a lot of color around here at this point…wondering if we will have much color since it has been so dry these last couple of months. Anyway, my suitcase will come back out this coming week.

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

Accomplishments

There are three major accomplishments that I can report tonight…I voted, as I will be out of town on Election Day, the painting on the door, both inside and outside, is finished, and I have the Sunday School lesson is ready for a final perusal…that might mean some changes, but it is "all but" finished.  And, I know that if something happens that I can't do any more work on it, there is plenty on paper to share on Sunday morning.  

I did make a quick to Kroger after I voted.  I needed a couple of things for a recipe and then shopped sales for this week.  I actually bought some non perishable items that I will use in holiday baking…items that were on sale this week.  So some Thanksgiving and Christmas food items have been bought and are ready when the time comes!  

I was getting ready to put away a recipe book and I was turning the pages in the notebook and saw a recipe that made me hungry for it.  It is my gingerbread recipe.  I guess it is Fall…gingerbread just goes with Fall!  That was one of the recipes that I needed an ingredient.  I "think" I will make it tomorrow.  Since my Sunday School lesson is about ready, that frees up my day tomorrow…time for some cooking and maybe do a little sewing on the Christmas ornaments, 

I finished listening to another book today.  I think I will stitch and watch a FlossTube or two or…this evening before I head upstairs.

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

A Little Bit of Everything

Today has been one of those days when I have worked some of several things around the house.  Did some cleaning.  I bought a long-handled scrubber for the bathtub/shower.  I got it put together and decided to see how it works…hoping that it will help me since I can't very easily get down on my knees anymore to scrub.  I think that it will am going to like it…I think it did a pretty good job on my shower/tub.  I will do the guest bathroom when I have my next spurt of energy!!! I will say that since the temperatures have cooled down, I do feel like I have more energy.  I had one last load of wash to do so did that this afternoon…I still have to take them upstairs…they are either on hangers or folded ready to be brought upstairs.  My door did get some more work done on it today…an attempted fix to get the door hanging correctly in the frame…at the moment the deadbolt opening on the frame doesn't line up if the metal is around the opening.  He thinks he has figured out a fix, easier than his original plan.  He took it off the hinges and painted the hinge edge of the door and also did some touch up on the door.  He plans to paint the panels on either side of the door tomorrow afternoon.

I have done a little more church library work here at home today.  I have gotten underway with the Sunday School lesson…have it outlined and have started plugging in things in the outline.  I hope to be able to draw it to a close tomorrow and, as I say, put it to bed before I go to bed.  Which means that I hope to have it printed out. The kitchen got a little attention paid to it…dishes put away, counters wiped off and the floor dust mopped…just usual routine stuff.  

At this point in the day, I am ready to stitch and listen to a book.  Listening to books is helping me catch up with my lagging goal of a book a week…that would mean 52 by the end of the year…so far I have read or listened to 31 books this year…so I doubt that I will make it to 52 since the weeks left in 2026 are some of the busiest ones of the year!  

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

Nothing to Update

Nothing to update about the painting going on at my house.  I had hoped to be able to posit a photo with at least some of the final color on tonight's blog.  But my painter had to cancel coming today! As a task at his real job took longer than he thought it would.  Oh, well, I keep telling myself…at least it is a functioning door…keeping the cold air and bugs out!  The painting will be finished when it is finished! 

I ended up not taking the meal to my friend as they have an abundance of food at the moment.  I cooked the meat and have frozen it in the container that I will take to their house when/if they need it next week.  

I did do some library work at home.  I got the new books for the library designated as memorial books and then wrote a note to the family informing them of the memorials that had been placed in the library in honor of their loved one.  

I read some more of the teacher helps for Sunday's lesson.  I plan to read the last teacher helps for in a few minutes…then I will be ready to start tomorrow  outlining and writing down things to share with the class. 

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

Irritations: Spams and Scams

I have a blue door, again!  Tomorrow the creamy color (Name of that paint is French Pastry…I like the name!)will be started. That is the last color of paint in this project…the only reason to open up the taupe or blue will be if touch ups are needed.  What is left to paint is the surrounding panels of the door and the porch rails…still quite a bit left to paint. 

Now to explain tonight's blog title.  The spam is in reference to phone calls that come in especially on my landline. They are often identified as "spam risk" on the screen on my phone.  I refer to them as my new best friend = Spam Risk.  We all get these annoying calls.  I rarely answer my home phone these days…unless it tells me a name that I recognize.  But this morning I got a call that said my Credit Union was calling.  Well, I debated about answering, but decided that I had better.  Well this person identified himself and said that he was calling about possible fraud activity on my account…that something had been charged to my card by someone in Memphis TN.  I told him that I would look at my account.  I told him I saw nothing about such a charge.  He said that was because they had blocked the charge from happening.  He recommended that I change my card and that they would issue me one that would arrive tomorrow.  By this point I was telling him that I would just go to my Creddit Union and get things taken care of.  The only phone number that he had was my home number and he mentioned texting me something for my virtual signature…or something like that. (I was done with him at this point…plus he couldn't text me anything to that number.  I told him I was going to go check things out at my CU branch.  I was going out anyway so just made that stop when I was out.  They checked and said that there had been no activity from Memphis at all Target and that no charges had been blocked.  She congratulated me on putting a stop to a scam.  Oh, and, the number that showed up on my phone was the actual Credit Union 800 number.  Things like this are just so aggravating!  I’m just glad that I am leery about just about any call except those from friends.  What a sad state of affairs we see ourselves in not being able to trust most situations. 

I have worked on making photo cards because I need to write some notes.  I also worked on some new library books…getting ready to do the first step prior to processing them into the library computer. Donna and I didn't work in the library today because my painter was here at our usual library work time.  I am working on some books that are going into the library as memorials. 

I didn't get as far as I had hoped because I was planning on also working on Sundays Sunday School lesson…but that didn't happen this afternoon…maybe tomorrow while my painter is here? I may do some more reading on it tonight,

I did go to the grocery store this morning after my Credit Union stop. I needed a couple of things to go with what I am making for my friend's meal.  I have it all ready to prepare tomorrow morning so I can deliver it early afternoon as they asked.  The only thing is that I got a call today that they might not need the meal tomorrow…so I am to call and ask in the morning.  Things are sort of up in the air! 

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

One of Those: "Always a Good Day!"

If you have followed my blog for a while, you will know that tonight's blog title means that it was a hair-cut day.  A good hair cut makes it a good day for me!  I started working on the Sunday School lesson this morning and did a few little jobs around the house.  I also made some plans for what to take to a friend who has recently been in the hospital and then had a death in their family over the family. Our class is trying to help them out by taking some meals to them.  I struggle these days making food for others…my diet is so different these days that I’m just not comfortable cooking for others.  Also this friend has kidney problems so is trying to restrict her diet hoping to keep off dialysis…that meant that I needed to get Woody's recipes out…not a pleasant memory. I think that I have come to a decision for what I’ll make.  

I had fun looking at old digital photos…back to 2011…looking for photos of my great nephew and niece. I make photo cards to send at Christmas, birthdays, and other occasions.  Lately for the grandchildren and now for my niece and nephew, I have been putting baby or childhood photos of them on the card.  The grandkids seemed to enjoy them, so I hope Corbin and Julianna do, too.  I left early tonight for prayer meeting so I could drop the cards off at the Post Office…I didn't have the cards ready to have my mailman pick them up and I was afraid if I wait till tomorrow that they might not leave Tullahoma tomorrow unless I took them to the P.O. Julianna's  birthday is Friday…and, it may not make on time anyway.  Corbin's should make it as his is five days after his sister's.  And, I think that takes care of all the October birthdays…6 family members's birthdays this month!  

My trip to northern Georgia is coming up soon.  We did a little planning for that today…texts among the friends going and then Marie and I talked about it a little just a few minutes ago. We'll be there in two weeks if all goes as planned! Got to get the suitcase back out soon!  I am hoping for the days to stay cooler, as I want to be able to pack some of the tops that I got for my Alaska trip! I’m not asking for too cold…nor too rainy…nor two rainy…just nice Fall weather!  The first year that I went on this trip we had to leave early due to a hurricane.  

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

A Sunday Visit from the Birthday Girl!

Abigail and Payton paid me a visit this afternoon.  Yesterday was Abigail's 23rd birthday.  I couldn't go to the family party for her, since I was waiting on my painter.  So she said that they would stop by after they went to church today and get her gift from me.  We had a very nice visit. It was good to get to visit when there wasn't as much going on around us…three vs twelve or more with four or five conversations going on in the room!  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ABIGAIL!!!

All Tuckered Out!

I got to looking at tonight's photo and saw the people going back on the ship…look how small they are in comparison to the ship.  This shows how massive some of these cruise ships are.  

I have stayed busy all day.  I got up and decided that it was the day to mop bathroom floors…why, I don't know.  I guess it was a follow-up job for washing the shower curtain.  Yesterday I really scrubbed the tub and shower before I put the shower curtain back up..so I guess today's early spurt of energy was a continuation.  The shower curtain was just my bathroom…but I decided today that I would do the floors in all three bathrooms…none are very big…but it still takes some extra effort on my part!  I waited to polish up the Sunday School lesson until my handyman came to paint.  I washed my bathroom towels and the ones that I had used in the downstairs bathroom plus my bathroom bath mat and the kitchen towels.  So had those to fold and put away in appropriate places all over the house.  Today was my Cottey Bookclub.  We had a nice discussion today.  My painter didn't come until almost 3pm.  He did get the second coat on the inside of the door and took off the doorknob and dead bolt and painted around those holes in the door…then put them back in so I could lock up tonight.  He plans to come back on Tuesday, when temperatures are supposed to get back in the 70s in the afternoon.  He thought that would be better since he has to take the door off the hinges and whatever temperature the it is that is the air that will be coming in the house through that open space. I did get my Sunday School lesson reviewed and changes made and then printed out…so it is put to bed!  A little before my painter left, I started making some potato soup.  It is finally done and I am enjoying a cup of it as I write tonight’s blog.  Finally it has become the right temperature to call it "soup weather!"

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

Before and After First Coat

The painting got underway midafternoon…he first did some sanding outside and then came in and got underway with the painting.  I told him that I was going to post a before and after photo of today's progress.  He said to be sure to say that he isn’t done yet.  He plans to come back tomorrow afternoon and do the second coat.  He probably won't get underway with the outside of the door and the porch railing until next week…for one thing the weather will be warmer.  The lighting is strange on the door…I think that the lighting on the stairway is lighting up the bottom of the door…it really is all the same color. 

Note that I mention that the weather will be warmer next week…we had a drastic drop in temperatures since yesterday…80s yesterday…76° this morning when I went to the grocery store…dropping into the 60s by lunch time and currently is 56° and the overnight low is supposed to be 46°.  Now to get acclimated to what we have been wishing for…cooler temperatures!  Next week highs are supposed to be in the 70s so better painting temperatures than today or tomorrow.

I am just happy that painting is underway!  My living room is beginning to look right again with the taupe color back on the front door insert.  The other side of the door will be blue and the rest of the panel surrounding the panel a pretty color called French Pastry.  I like the name of that paint color.  Sometimes I am influenced by the name of the paint when I am choosing! But that color came very close to matching the siding on our house…or at least I hope it does when there is more than a paint brush width on the panel! 

I grocery shopped and went to the Credit Union this morning.  Early this morning and then while my handyman was here, I worked on getting the Sunday School lesson finalized.  And, it is very close to done…so that is a good accomplishment for the day.

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

A Truly Productive Day!

Today was a productive day for both my handyman and me.  He was feeling better and came this afternoon.  He got the caulking and repair done both outside and inside.  He will come tomorrow, do some sanding, and then get underway with the painting…he says he'll start on the inside once he has done some sanding and perhaps a little more repairing outside if needed. 

I got some things done, too.  I didn't get as much of my Sunday School lesson as I had hoped, but did get some cleaning jobs done.  I had been meaning to wash my shower curtain for some time.  It is just not easy for me to get down and then back up.  But today was the day.  While the shower curtain washed, I scrubbed the shower/tub.  The shower curtain is now clean and back up…a major accomplishment for me today.  I started a new book today, after finishing the book I had been racing to finish because my friend was reading it also.  I also started listening to a new audio book and earlier in the week I started a new e-book.  Keeping storylines straight is one way I test my memory!!! This time it may be a bit confusing as I have managed for two of them to be in the same time period.  I did a little more on preparing to make the Christmas ornaments.  I realized that I need to stitch a little something for the backs of three of them…so guess not quite finished with my Christmas stitching!

Hopefully tomorrow night I will be able to post a picture or two of the progress of the painting.

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

Productive Day…In Some Ways…

I had a productive day with getting started on fully finishing the cross stitch ornaments for Christmas gifts this year.  To start with I am working on the ones that involve sewing to finish them.  So today I ironed them and then ironed on interfacing to the back.  Then chose the fabrics to go on the back of the ornaments and got all that ironed.  The next step is cutting the excess fabric from the stitched pieces and then cutting a back to fit each of the stitched fronts.  Then I will have to choose the color I want the hanging cords to be…some I will use the fiber as is and others I will be making twisted cords.  At this point I will sandwich the hanging cord between the fronts and backs and sew them together leaving an opening to turn them.  Finally I will turn them inside out and stuff them and close up the opening and they will be gifting ready.  I am doing those steps for 11 of the ornaments.  The other 11 were stitched on perforated paper…so that involves cutting around the design and then backing them with felt.  The final step is to attach a 2026 charm to the back of the ornament.  Some will also need names or initials on them so Nathan's family can tell which ornament belongs to which child! 

I am pleased to get to the place I am in getting them ready to gift.  I want them all finished before the end of October…because when November arrives I need to concentrate on getting the house decorated for Christmas…which means having it done before Thanksgiving since everyone is coming here for Thanksgiving.  I know that I start early…but that is the only way that I can get decorated…I need time…I can't go like a house-a-fire any longer.  Even today it got to the point that I had to sit when I was getting my sewing prepared.  

Now an update on my painting.  I got a text that my handyman was coming this afternoon…after he went to the doctor.  He said that he was still sick, but wanted to at least get the caulking done and the couple of places that need repair on the porch railing…so he wouldn't come in so as not to give me anything.  I texted him back that I hated for him to come and then end up feeling even worse.  But he said that he thought that he could at least do those outside jobs.  But the doctor changed his mind.  He told him that he needed to rest at least today and let the medicine kick in.  So he said, "maybe tomorrow." I told him only if he felt better!  So we will see…but I’m thinking that probably not tomorrow.

The saga will be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious! 

Tuesday Disappointment

The killer whale sculpture by renowned marine-life artist Wyland at Icy Strait Point in Hoona, Alaska.

I don't think that I have ever posted a picture of this sculpture of an Orca whale.  It is entitled "Orca Dream."  It is very lifelike…as a matter of fact it fooled me for a minute when I was first perusing my photos of Alaska upon my return.  I thought it was a photo of one of the whales that I had taken…and then I reminded myself that we hadn't seen any breach like that and then I remembered this sculpture that I took a photo of after our whale watch excursion, when we were going into some of the shops. The sculptor, Robert Wyland, is one of the artists who has painted on the sides of some of the Norwegian cruise ships.  Melany, being an artist, was very happy on one of the cruises that she and Wade went on that it had a Wyland painting on the bow of the ship they were cruising on. Photo below is the art on our ship done by a Chinese artist.  

The bow and hull art of the Norwegian Joy was designed by the renowned Chinese artist and educator Tan Ping

• Motif: A large traditional phoenix, which represents beauty, good luck, and happiness in Chinese culture.
• Color Palette: Dominated by red (signifying joy), yellow (signifying grandeur), and hints of blue (signifying the sea).
• Concept: Blends traditional Eastern mythology with modern cruise design and Western concepts.

There…some more info about our cruise!  The significance of this being a Chinese artist and design is significant because the Joy was originally built for the Chinese population as it was felt that cruising might thrive in that environment.  But I guess it didn't take off like they expected and eventually when Alaskan cruising got so popular, they reassigned the Joy to our part of the world.  They had to refit her as Chinese ideas of cruising were different than western ideas.  There was not a spa on it and some other things were different.  It has taken two renovations to get it to work for us westerners!  

Well, I hadn't planned on sharing that tonight! That's sort of how I roll with these blogs…just start with a title, which I haven’t addressed yet, and then a photo and see where I go.  Tonight I went towards memories I remembered from our Alaskan cruise.

Now to explain why today was a bit of a disappointment.  I felt like my handyman was coming today since I didn’t hear anything from him this morning.  I expected him after lunch because he works in the mornings and does his "odd jobs" in the afternoon.  But I didn't hear from him till about the time I thought he might show up.  He said he wasn't coming today, but that he would get my job finished this week.  So there's hope!!! But, another delay was a bit of a disappointment.

I have been reading…almost finished with the book.  I also worked some more on the Sunday School lesson…read some more teacher helps for the lesson and made a rough draft of an outline, and I also started pulling fabric to back some of my ornaments…got to get going on those.  I really want them done in October…but October is going by too fast!  It’s almost time for my trip with Marie to the Georgia mountains to meet up with former members of our church…this will be my third time to go on this fun trip.  

I hope to finish my book tonight. I will finish reading it and then see if there is still some stitching time!

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

🎈Happy 21st Birthday, Joy!🎈

Today is Joy's 21st birthday…how can that be possible!?! We celebrated yesterday at Nathan's and Kathy's with presents and cake and ice cream.  It was a fun family time…nice to gather together.  Rarely these days do all Joy's siblings gather at the same time…seems like someone is always out of pocket now that they are older.  Out of the seven of them two are married and there are now only two that aren't old enough to drive. While there we made plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas texting with Melany to get her family in on the plans, too.  Plans are for me to have Thanksgiving at my house.  And, we will have Christmas at Abigail's and Payton's.  

This morning I headed out to buy paint.  Jacob was planning to come prep for painting tomorrow, but he texted while I was at the paint store, so I didn't see it till just a little before he was supposed to be here, that he wasn't feeling well.  He hopes to be here tomorrow.  I’ve done my part…paint is here for when he needs it!  

I spent some time getting underway with this coming Sunday's Sunday School lesson.  I will be subbing again this week. I also read some more in one of the books that I have been reading.  One of my friends is also reading it and she's anxious to discuss things that happen in it.  I decided that I had better get reading on it as I don't want her to tell me too much!  She finished the book yesterday…so she knows all the twists and turns.  She told me that I will be surprised by the ending! 

I guess I will read some and stitch some tonight.

And, again, I wish my sweet Joy a very joyous birthday!

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

Sunday Favorite Alaskan Photo

Rainy Saturday

Do you see the Orca/Killer Whale in the lower right hand corner?  It isn't the best photo, as I cropped it quite a bit.  It is still fun to look through my Alaska photos!  I have been looking through photos today…older than my Alaska ones…looking back to photos that I have to look at on the laptop.  I have been looking for the perfect picture of Joy when she was little…need to make a birthday card!  Tomorrow we will celebrate her.

I have had a productive day…staying in due to it being rainy.  I spent the morning getting the Sunday School lesson ready for tomorrow.  Then this afternoon I spent time in the kitchen cooking.  I made Cashew Chicken…this is the second time that I have made it and I managed to get it less salty and better for me! It is quite tasty.  

I have the lesson printed out.  Next I will create a birthday card for Joy.  For the kids' birthdays this year I have been making a card with a photo of the birthday child way back when.  They have seemed to enjoy them.  After I do that, I plan to do a little stitching and reading before I sleep.  

I published this and realized that I didn't report on the Hurricane impact on us…mainly just much needed rain.  Last I looked we had gotten over an inch.  We never got the wind that had been predicted.  It is lightly raining as I type this.  

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

Friday

I look back on the day and wonder what I have done!  When I first woke up I did a little stitching…finishing up an area on a sampler that I worked on last night.  I got a list ready to go to Kroger.  I needed a couple of things for a recipe and shopped some of this week's sales.  I came home and got the groceries put away.  Then I finished the reading I needed to do for the Sunday School lesson.  After lunch, I got a text from my handyman telling me that he would be later than he had planned, but that he would come.  And, he did.  He got the front porch rails pressure washed…he really pressure washed the whole porch…so it should look really good when it the rails and the new front door get painted.  He plans to come Monday to do the preparation work for painting. Then if all goes as planned, he will do the painting on Tuesday.  I have started filling in my Sunday School lesson outline. At the moment I am taking a break as I was getting very sleepy so moved away from it for a while.  I’m not sure how much more I will get done tonight…my brain seems to be shutting down!

I guess we are going to get some rain and wind from the hurricane that is brewing in the Gulf.  Rain is supposed to start in Tullahoma sometime in the early hours overnight. It's supposed to be a rainy day tomorrow.  

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

🎶Chim Chiminey, Chim Chim Chiree🎶

Meet Nettle the Rabbit and see her dressed up for Halloween in her black cat mask!  Our slumber party was a success and Melany and I figured out how to make her.  Melany did all the sewing…I just helped her know how to run the sewing machine!  We had a good time and even stitched a little last night before we went to bed.  

Around noon, Nathan called to say that the chimney person was supposed to come sometime in the next two hours.  Nathan came by in the middle of that time to check on things, but had some errands to run and projects to work on so he went on after he visited a while and it was almost through the two hour span.  Melany and I took in all the decorations in the front of the house because my handyman is supposed to come either today or tomorrow to power wash the rails around the front porch.  So our part is finished to be ready t job to happen.  We then went in to fix a late lunch…we had eaten a late breakfast!  And, the chimney person arrived.  First…the chimney person that Nathan had talked to had not seen the correct chimney on Zillow…he had looked at Nathan and Kathy's former home next door.  He was none too happy to see the height of our chimney.  He told me afterwards that chimneys that high always scare him even if he is used to doing the job.  But he got to work…found out that the cap on our chimney was just fine, that it just needed to have the screening replaced and then sealed and he suggested having the chimney swept/cleaned (reason for the Mary Poppins' chimney sweep song reference for the tonight's title).  He said since animals had been down in the chimney, it would be a good idea to have it swept…to which I agreed.  He got another surprise, other than the height of our chimney, there was a wasp nest.  I don’t think that any of them got him, but he did get them taken care of!  So hopefully several problems have been taken care of…stop squirrels descents, eliminate a wasp nest, and make it safe for me to have a fire in my fireplace, if the need should arise.  All that and I got by for less than quoted since he didn't have to put a new cap on the chimney. So hopefully a win-win all around! Glad to have that over and done with!

Now to get the new front door painted and the porch railings…

I’m getting ready to settle in for the evening…going to make a hot cup of tea and pick up my stitching and looking forward to Elsbeth being back on the air tonight!  I’ll get back to Sunday's Sunday School lesson tomorrow! 

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