In The Days of COVID

Hello friends,

I have been in a bit of a funk lately. A good friend of mine has COVID, She was diagnosed two weeks ago, and I had been around her for a few days before she was diagnosed. As soon as I heard she was positive I felt that familiar worry start to creep in. I have been monitoring myself carefully. I also stayed away from Mark as much as possible. We can do this easily because we have such different work schedules. Also I got a new TV for Christmas for my upstairs den and we added HULU. I am a little ashamed to tell you how much time I have spent catching up on all the shows I have heard about for so long.

My friend who has COVID is very sick and has pneumonia. She is starting to feel a little better but the recovery is slow. It’s scary seeing someone so young and vibrant so sick.

The cold hard truth is, we are probably around many more people than we realize that are COVID positive. I wear a mask when I am out and I follow all the other precautions. I only go to the grocery store and usually do the online shopping for that. I did venture out yesterday to Hobby Lobby in Maryville, about 45 minutes from my house, to get a tool I needed for my earrings I am making. More about those earrings later.

But still we carry on because what else can we do? I was talking to a friend the other day and she said that some days she feels positive, some days she feels fed up with everything that is going on, and somedays she doesn’t really know how to feel. I think that pretty much sums up the way that we all feel. I think it’s hard to think about what we will do in the upcoming months because we really don’t know. I am a planner and it makes me realize that you just have to take life as it comes day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute.

So I have been hanging out at the house a lot. I’m trying to continue clearing out the clutter in my house. I just finished reading a really interesting book, The Year Of Less, by Cait Flanders who calls herself a binge consumer turned mind consumer. It was a really good book and I highly recommend it. It helped me to understand that I don’t need all of the things in my house just because I “think I need them”. Maybe I think I need them because I have always had them. So what? In this book Cait actually made a commitment to herself not to purchase anything for a year, other than groceries and toiletries. She put her money into saving for things that she really enjoyed like traveling. Before she made a purchase she first went to the things she already had in her closets. It has made me really mindful of what I need and don’t need to buy.

Weeds? I don’t care I love the muted winter colors.
We have lots of these squirrels’ nests in the trees.
Walking the babies and enjoying being outside is always a pick-me-up.
Look what I found at Hobby Lobby, 100% Merino Wool and very reasonably priced. I wanted all of it. But I did refrain because I already have a lot of yarn at home that needs to be knitted. But I may still be in trouble just knowing how close it is.
TVA ( Tennessee Valley Authority), drops the lake level every winter. It is really low right now.

I had the weekend to myself. I did some reading and working on a Valentine’s cross stitch. I baked some bread and walked with the babies. The usual. I like the usual. Not everyone is having that luxury right now.

Just look what is blooming. It gives me hope and promise.

I feel ashamed saying I am in a funk when my friend is so sick. I can’t really do anything for her but check on her every day, and try to be there for her. I continue to pray that my family stays safe and healthy and we get through this COVID crisis and things return to somewhat normal for us.

How is your weekend going so far?

Have a wonderful week and always remember

Love your day your way!!!!!

The Mountains Behind Us

Are you a mountain climber? Of course you are!!! I am speaking metaphorically of course. You may have actually climbed real stone mountains but I am talking about those things in your life that you have accomplished or overcome or struggled with, etc etc. They are just as hard to climb.

Sometimes I get overwhelmed by things in my life that I feel that I need to do. You know those things you feel like you should do or feel like you have to do etc etc. It seems like when we look at the big picture with everything that needs to be done it looks like a mountain. I usually stare up at my mountain at around 2:00 AM on the mornings I can’t sleep. That mountain seems so ominous!!! It’s usually better once I get up in the morning and have had my coffee, it doesn’t seem quite as hard to tackle. But it’s still there.

But have you ever stopped to think about the things that you have already done in your life? The mountains you have already climbed? I don’t think we give ourselves enough credit for those things. Think about it with me for a minute:

You were born, you have learned so many things. You have helped so many people during your life whether you realize it or not. You’ve applied so many of those things that you learned to your life and to other peoples’ lives. You’ve climbed a mountain.

You have had relationships. Maybe you’ve married, had children, grandchildren, You have been a son or a daughter, a sibling, a partner, a mother a father, a lover a friend, you have loved. You have hurt, you have been joyful, you have lived. The things you have learned, mentored, and taught the people you have known and loved is astounding!!! There is no measure. You’ve climbed a mountain.

You’ve nurtured, fed, clothed, cuddled, survived. You’ve climbed a mountain.

You’ve overcome obstacles that limited you in many ways, physically, mentally, emotionally. You’ve climbed a mountain.

You’ve worked, supported yourself and your family. You have given your knowledge, earned money, helped your family, friends and co-workers. You have grown and matured. You’ve climbed a mountain.

You have been happy, you have been sad, you have mourned, You’ve lived. Each day that you are here is in and of itself a mountain that must be tackled and taken step by step. This is a mountain you have climbed and continue to climb.

So I say when you are lying in bed, or wherever you may be, and you have something weighing on your mind. Think about all the things you have done in your past, and all the things you are doing right now, and know that you will get through you are climbing a mountain.

And even though you still have a lot of mountains to climb you have so very many that you have already conquered. Those are the mountains behind you and they are to be treasured.

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!

This is the Berchtesgaden Alps in Southeastern Germany, near the border of Austria. 2019.

Weekends and Clearing the Clutter

Happy Monday. I woke up at 4:30 AM this morning with an overwhelming urge to knit. It hits me like that sometimes. So I got up, got coffee and started a new scarf with some of my Christmas yarn. I like to knit scarves because they don’t usually require patterns or a lot of thinking. I can just knit away and it is so soothing. There is something about making a stitch over and over methodically that makes me happy and peaceful. Lord knows we can all use some peace in these crazy times.

Do you love the odd color of these knitting needles. They are really old. They are part of about 25 vintage sets I bought at a thrift store a couple of years ago. These are size 8. I cast on 20 stitches and am just doing a straight knitting stitch. This is called Garter Stitch. The yarn is just heavenly to work with. The weight is just right for a scarf and it just seems to knit itself.
The yarn is a light weight and you can see it is made of several different fibers. I think that is what makes it so nice to knit. I love the color.
I am also STILL working on this cross stitch for Valentines’s Day. I started this last year for Valentine’s Day and didn’t get very far with it. I picked it back up last month but I still have a long way to go. Maybe one of these years I will finish it. LOL

I had a good weekend. On Saturday morning I finally took all of my Christmas decorations down. I put my Santa collection away for the year. Of course as I was putting the things away in the basement I was reminded of how badly cluttered my basement is. Well it has been that way for a long time. It’s not like I just noticed it. It seems like through the years it has become a catchall for EVERYTHING!!! I have the back of my basement organized by holidays, Christmas, Thanksgiving & Fall, Easter, Valentine’s, etc. So I started working on that. Two hours later I had five garbage bags, the big ones not those kitchen sized ones, full of junk ready to go to the dump. Since the convenience center closed at noon on Saturday I had to get going.

I took the garbage to the center on my way to buy groceries. I also had a few things to pick up for my mother in law so I did that and drove them over to her. I got back home and did a little more in the basement. I decided that the basement will be an overwhelming challenge and if I’m not careful that might cause me to procrastinate. I am going to try and work on it a few hours a week until I have it back in order.

The basement isn’t the only place I am trying to clear out. Clearing clutter is on the top of my list to do for this year. Every Wednesday for the past two weeks I have been taking two huge bags of clothes to a local area ministry. The first week you couldn’t even tell that any clothes had been taken out of the closet. That’s sad. The second week you could see a difference. So that is a bit of an accomplishment. I hate clutter it makes my brain hurt. I fell like clutter makes life unrestful.

Last week I lost my glasses. Well a pair of glasses I should say. But they were my all time favorites. I have several pairs of glasses because I like to switch them out and wear different ones. I am also very hard on glasses. I fall asleep in them, I drop them, I sit on them, I lose them. I usually order them from Zenni Optical and they are fairly inexpensive. But the glasses I lost were my favorite wire frames that I wear around the house all the time because they are so comfortable. And of course they were an expensive pair I had gotten from my eye doctor. I had been outside taking snow pictures and I had my cell phone in my pocket and my big camera in my hand. I was grabbing the cell phone out at times to take pics and I had my glasses in my pocket and well you can probably see where I am going with this.

After I got back to the house I missed my glasses and started looking for them. I need them for distance since I am nearsighted but I can still see pretty well without them. I looked all over the house. I went back outside and retraced my steps where I had been taking pictures. I even went through the garbage and no luck. I figured they would wind up somewhere strange one day when I least expected it. Well they did. Mark actually found them a couple of days later, on the road at the top of our driveway. The snow had melted so they were easier to see. It looked like they had been run over. At least I know what happened to them. I will quit looking for them everywhere.

I you haven’t ordered from Zenni you should try them. You can load a picture of yourself onto your computer or phone and then choose to try on as many glasses as you want. You will need your prescription and there will be step by step instructions on how to place the order and fill out the order form with the prescription. I have never been disappointed by them. It is a great way to get to switch out your glasses and try several different ones. I got both pairs for under $100.00. I don’t have bifocals but those are also an option. The cost may be a little more for those.

My Precious Boy

How was your weekend? Have a wonderful week.

Always remember,

Love your day your way!!!!

The Winter Light

A cold and cloudy day today. The temps will barely make it to 39 degrees F. We are actually having snow flurries right now. I am one of those odd people who loves winter. I like wearing warm snuggly clothes and snuggling with the fur babies when I get home in the evening. I don’t even mind that it is usually dark when I get home from work. There is just something so cozy about all of it. I love the winter light. It is so different this time of year. On a sunny day the shadows are more pronounced and the light of day just has a different tinge to it. On gray days, like it is today, the entire day looks like it is dusk and night will be falling soon. Maybe I am a vampire. I think I really like the slower pace of everything in the winter. You can’t do that much outside so it’s almost like you get to hibernate inside for awhile.

I love working on projects in the winter. I usually have two or three knitting projects going as well as a couple of different books I am reading. I often have a jigsaw puzzle out so that I can place a few pieces here and there when I get a chance. Kitty Kitty also loves the puzzles. She is fascinated by all the different pieces. I have been working on tapestry earrings and I love making them. I admit the first few pairs I made looked horrible. I may have acted like a big spoiled brat when I threw the first pairs in the floor proclaiming to my husband that I would never get the hang of making them. He reminded me that I had acted the same way when I was learning to knit socks. Patience is not one of my better traits. I will show you those tapestry earrings very soon.

Kitty Kitty is obsessed with all the puzzle pieces.
I just started a new pair of socks. I love the colors.

I love baking in the winter. I made a few loaves of sourdough bread last week and two loaves of banana nut bread. My nephew, Tyler, loves the sour dough bread and had been hinting that he wanted some so I had a good reason to make it. There is just something about baking in your warm kitchen, with the winter light shining through the windows, the warmth from the oven, and that wonderful aroma of baking bread, or whatever you have in the oven, that is just heavenly.

Banana nut bread
Just look at this beautiful yarn a good friend sent me for Christmas. I can’t wait to start knitting it.

Yes the colors are muted and gray and that is okay with me. Time to recharge and regenerate and get ready for the year. I think with all that is going on in our nation today it is good to be at home and get back to nature and nurturing and things that are comfortable for us.

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!