All is gray today! No sun, just clouds! Even the colors in the trees are almost gone! It is definitely November. Thoughts are starting to turn to Florida where it is sunny and warm! I’m wishing I was there as the cold seeps through my skin. Ah well, soon enough.
Tonight is our secret sister reveal. How fun! I have no idea who mine is and I can’t wait to find out. It’s fun to reveal ourselves with a small gift. It starts at 6:30 p.m. and I hope I can stay awake! I get so tired now at night, especially with the time change. It feels so much later than it really is. I put my fall nails on this morning and so far they are staying on. I’ve learned a few tricks to keeping them on. Taking them off without ruining your nails is another matter. I bought some solution that is supposed to help. I hope it works!
Today I went to Neighborhood Sip where Riley works and she made me a coffee with pumpkin cold foam. It was so good! It was just enough to make it a little sweeter but not too sweet! She always knows just what I would like. I stayed for a while and chatted with her about going back to school which she plans to do in December. All in all, a pleasant way to spend some time! I love the taste of pumpkin this time of year!
After yesterday’s beauty, today is kind of a downer. It’s cloudy, raining, and windy. All the great things that make November in Michigan. The trees are still pretty but somehow it is harder to enjoy them sitting inside. I just ordered Pure Flix movie station for $4.99 month for seniors. Maybe I will watch some Christmas movies to get in the mood for that holiday coming up in the not so distant future.
The elections are over and that’s a good thing, even though the democrats won the majority of votes. In Bible study it was mentioned that God is in control and we are not to be worried or fearful. It’s hard though when Michigan elected a Muslim senator. I trust God that He knows the future and will be with us no matter what happens.
The last of the flowers are being pulled today! It is 75 degrees outside and it is going to rain and get cooler so today is a good day to say goodbye. It is so sad especially the Mandevillas which are still blooming beautifully. I wonder what we will plant next year. Mandevillas for sure! We get them at Costco the first of May when we get home from Florida.
This time change makes the day seem so confusing. And to make it worse I was awake during the night feeling sick to my stomach. After 2:00 a.m. I wasn’t sure what time it was! Until we get our clocks moved back, I will stay confused. I’m still not feeling good so I am outside sitting in the sun, but the clouds are moving in. It is so beautiful in our yard right now. I wish it would stay like this! Meanwhile I’ve got to get the clocks changed so I know what time it is! I wish we didn’t have to go through time changes! Why can’t they just leave it now?! It’s November now and we have Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up sooner than we would like. But for right now, I’m enjoying the warmer weather!
Yesterday we went to Greenfield Village for lunch. It was cold but the sun was mostly out. Today we went to the farmer’s market. It was colder and the sun wasn’t out. We still got veggies and apples. Next week is the last market this year except for the greens market in December. We also stopped at Joe’s Produce where I got a small pumpkin and some gourds. When I came home I made some cranberry apple cider tea with the fresh cranberries I bought. It had a cinnamon stick and cloves in it. It smelled great and was delicious!
Now I am back to making bracelets again. Never get rid of your craft stuff because you will use it again. I got some Christmas beads and charms and I’m thinking of making some for the craft shows we are doing. I have to keep busy! I’ve made 6 today!
We had a nice visit with Megan, Jonathan, Kristen and of course Benjamin. What a sweet baby he is! I could hold him forever! This morning I was rocking him and he was holding my thumb and making little noises in his sleep! What a blessing!
Yesterday, Kristen took us on a tour of Boyce College where Megan graduated from and Jonathan still goes to. It was a beautiful campus and it made me want to be young again so I could study there. We went to the bookstore and I bought a Boyce College sweatshirt and some used books. Boyce was started by Albert Mohler in 1998. It was a nice visit!
We got up early this morning and left for Kentucky at 6;30 a.m. The full moon was still in the sky and it was beautiful! It is called the Hunter Moon.
We are now approaching Blue Lick Rd in Lima, Ohio. So many memories here, not all of them good. But what I am remembering now is the Johnny Appleseed Festival in Ft. Wayne. It was so much fun with food, crafts, and antiques. Once I bought an old Singer sewing machine in itable. I kept it in the bedroom. I sold it at some point. I remember getting sliced apples with caramel apples. We would stay in a hotel and spend time with my sister.
Ohio isn’t fun to drive through; it is flat and bad memories of the accident. At least it isn’t winter with blowing snow!!
I’m sitting outside on the deck in the sun. It is after church and it is nice to relax. I already packed a few things for our overnight trip to Kentucky. We are going to see our first great grandson Benjamin. This weather in Michigan is lovely. We have had a perfect fall; warm temperatures and sun. The colors are almost at peak color. The trees on our street are beautiful! I will probably go for a walk in the woods again today.
If you guessed Greenfield Village you would be right! It was a beautiful day; 65 degrees blue skies and colorful! Even the drive there and back was pretty! We walked, ate lunch, and then had coffee and people-watched!
Tonight I have an MRI of my pancreas to check some cysts that have been there for four years. I’m finally following up on it. I have to go four hours without eating so I ate dinner at 4:00 pm as the MRI is at 8:30 pm. I have to be there at 7:35 pm to start the IV because they have trouble with my veins getting an IV in. Stuff and bother! What a pain! I could cancel the whole thing right now! The big question is, “should I take the Valium they gave me or not? I’m afraid it will relax my bladder. Need I say more?
I will tell you! I went to downtown Northville and walked around. It was kind of disappointing because most of the little stores are gone. It is a beautiful day today and the drive there was beautiful with lots of pretty trees especially on Hines Drive. I was only gone an hour but it was nice to be outside!
Happy 25th birthday to Cavan our second-born grandson!
Sometimes I doubt my sincerity and love for the Lord. But this verse helps me. The Lord does this for me. He comforts me and gives me hope that He will strengthen me. I have the hope of eternal life. I am reading the book “Heaven” by Randy Alcorn. It is very good and gives me such hope about Heaven, I know that is where I am going and I want to know what it is like. This is helping understand and even look forward to Heaven.
Kristen is on her way from the UP. She is stopping in Chicago and then going on to Louisville Kentucky where Megan is having her baby anytime now. Hopefully, it is sooner rather than later! Kristen and Bryce were supposed to go to a camp meeting in Grand Rapids this weekend. The fact that she is not going makes me think the baby is coming soon! Stay tuned!
Paper and Thread is the name of our business! Riley is making the cutest felt and sequin ornaments. Tonight she made the cutest felt and sequin wand for little girls. Riley is very clever and talented. She comes up with the best ideas. So it was another productive afternoon in Santa’s shop. I made some Detroit Lions football cards and some more gift tags!
I worked all day today on my crafts for the craft show. Eight hours and two cups of coffee. I don’t know which one of my cards is the cutest. I have about 20 different styles. Most are Christmas cards. I also made some Thanksgiving cards and some birthday cards. I made a lot of gift tags with buttons, bows, ribbon and paper. The big question is—how much to sell them for. I really want to go cheaper and sell a lot than go more expensive and sell a little. It’s such an unknown! But it is fun to do and gives me a purpose during the day! I’m loving it!!
Who could believe that at my age that I would be in another craft show! I used to do them all the time with my dried flower swags and wreaths. This time, I am making my cards and Christmas gift tags. I’ve already made 48 cards. I have a few Thanksgiving cards and birthday cards. What I don’t know 🤷♂️ is if they will sell. That is always the unknown with craft shows. Sometimes it depends on the location of the show and how many people attend. But, Riley and I are having fun and if my cards don’t sell, I will use them for myself.
We were busy all afternoon crafting Christmas cards and ornaments. It was quite a productive day!
Riley and I are going to do a local craft show on Saturday November 14. We are making Christmas crafts. Riley is doing felt ornaments, crochet ornaments and coasters and other really cute items. I am going to make my signature cards. I’ve got several started and am working on more. It should be fun doing it together.
In other news, the people down the street from us are having an ox-roast tonight. They’ve been cooking it since early this morning. It is for their church; Dunning Park Chapel. Now, I would love to taste that! There will be cars lining our street later this afternoon.
Finally, Don is going to start throwing some plants out in the woods this afternoon. They are looking very ragged!
Forget talking about Christmas! Let’s do Halloween 🎃 first! Not that I’m a fan of Halloween-I’m not! But it was kind of cool seeing the carved pumpkins 🎃 at Greenfield Village today. We went with Karen and Raymond today and ate at the Eagle Tavern for lunch. Karen and I had their delicious squash soup with a salad. After lunch we sat outside on a bench and drank coffee. Then we walked around. It was all decorated for Halloween 🎃 with hundreds of carved pumpkins 🎃. It was a beautiful day to be outside!
Yep! You are reading this right! We got out the Christmas boxes, not to decorate, but to go through them and give stuff away. There is a rummage sale at our church in two weeks and I thought this would be a good time to give most of it away. At the advice of my sister Janice, I am keeping the snow babies. I have quite a pile of stuff to give away and kept a few things to decorate with this Christmas.
I felt a little better today and we went to Greenfield Village to walk and sit and watch people-our favorite thing to do! We also had lunch and coffee afterwards. It was a beautiful fall day with flowers still blooming. One tree was almost in full fall color!
Pain is hard to live with. I’ve had a pain in my stomach off and on since September 1. Sometimes it is all day or all night or part of the day and night. It is hard to function with pain and it is hard to sleep with pain. Sometimes I want to go to the emergency room. I have an appointment with a Gi doctor next Tuesday. Meanwhile, I am taking Nexium on the advice of the nurse in the office. Today it has been hurting all day. I’m eating a bland diet; I don’t know what else to do.
I thought it was from my glp1 shot but I stopped it this week. Of course, all kinds of things go through my head as to what is the cause of this continuous pain. I went to the Emergency Room on September 1 and they did bloodwork and a cat scan. Everything was normal. Well, I don’t feel normal. I feel tired and not interested in doing anything. I haven’t walked or sewn the quilt I started. Next Wednesday I have to teach the lesson in Bible study. Pray for me if you are reading this. this.
My granddaughter in Kentucky called me today to wish me a happy first day of fall! How nice is that!? Then she asked me if I had read the newspaper she sent me. It is called the Lottura Post. I told her I had read some of it and she wanted me to look through it with me on the phone. I didn’t know what I was looking for but there it was on page 7–a picture of me scrapbooking several years ago. She had written an article about me scrapbooking and how she has gained “ a tapestry of memories formed by each scrapbook.” What a wonderful article and I am amazed that she submitted this to the paper and it was printed! I am so happy that someone appreciates my scrapbooks and takes the time to look through them! I feel blessed that I can pass these memories to the next generation. This is why I scrapbook!
Am I happy summer is over? No! I love summer! I love wearing shorts and sandals 🩴 and flowers and watching the birds. Fall is nice if the sun is out and it’s warm, but often it is cloudy and cool. Time to get my sunlamp out!
It was sunny ☀️ this morning but now it is cloudy and windy. I’m upping my caffeine intake too!
I also had to sew the waistband of a pair of jeans that were too big. At a 20 pound weight loss, I’m not ready to buy all new clothes. I like where I’m at right now. I don’t know if I’ll go for another 5 pounds. The keto diet has really worked for me along with the glp1 that I’ve been taking. I’m going to stop my weekly shot this week. There are too many side effects with my stomach and my sleep. I already went down on it the last two weeks.
I’ll try to be positive this fall and praying that the sun ☀️ will be out a lot!
It has rained for 2 days straight and it just stopped. I have been so sleepy and unmotivated! I have to go to a ladies’ thing at 4:00 so I’m drinking a diet cherry Coke Zero and I’m going to go for a walk to wake me up before I go.
Fall starts in two days and I love the colors and the cooler weather. I just don’t like all-day rain and cloudy days. It’s getting to be that time of the year to up my vitamin D and fish oil. Hoping tomorrow has some sun ☀️
I’m so glad that we have a place to go and walk like Greenfield Village. The weather was perfect for it and Don, Karen, and I went today. It wasn’t too crowded which was nice. We ate lunch outside and had coffee afterwards. The flowers were still pretty and some trees had a touch of color. I took pictures of the trees and some of the flowers. Now we are home sitting on the deck. It is 74 degrees out and partly sunny.
I just started a new full-size rag quilt the other day. I’m going to sew today and get more done. It is dark denim and a patchwork denim.
We decided to go for a walk in the woods behind our house after lunch today. The path was cleared of leaves and the roots were painted with orange paint. It was so nice! We saw some deer and we took some pictures of them. It was funny that we took pictures as we see them all the time in our backyard. They just stared at us while we took pictures the pictures.
It is a beautiful day here in Michigan. It was 49 degrees earlier this morning but it has warmed up nicely to 68 degrees. The sun is out and the sky is blue. I’m going to start my Christmas cards today and tomorrow afternoon I hope to start another full-sized quilt.
