So.....

I've taken a little break from blogging.  I have been trying to reduce my time on the computer (or phone).  I've decided that I like it this way.  I want to spend my time living my life not documenting it.  I am going to shut down the blog, for the time being anyway.  It has been a fun experience and I've "met" some very nice people. 

I'm not leaving totally...I will still be reading blogs and commenting from time to time.  

Take care everyone...Peace 

O Happy Day!

An amazing thing happened today.
I opened my closet looking for something to wear and I pulled out a pair of jeans.
Hmmm....what?  I forgot I had these jeans.  I don't think I've worn them since I retired 2 years ago.  I don't know why I stopped wearing them.  I almost didn't bother to try them on.   Surely they wouldn't fit.  But just to be sure I pulled them on.
And miraculously they fit!  Not only fit, but fit really well.

I think I heard angels singing for a minute...
O Happy Day!!

Finding a pair of jeans that fit just right in my very own closet...amazing.
I think I need to see what other treasures I have forgotten in there.

Have a great day!

Til next time,
Peace

Happy Fall

The situation on my deck...

Top 10 Reasons I Love Fall...

Sweaters

Pumpkins

Leaves change color

Candy corn

Bonfires

Winter Squash

Hot chocolate

Apple cider and donuts

Good knitting weather

Back to school!!

Today is the first full day of school for Miss Preteen.  Now we settle back into a routine which I love.  

What are your favorite things about fall?

Til next time,

Peace

Wine and a Black Cat

Hi friends,
I'm not sure why but August seems to have flown by.  Fall is not far off.  We are having cooler nights and more rain.  I have worn socks for the last 2 days!  That's a sure sign summer barefoot weather is coming to an end.

Last Saturday I went on a wine tasting bus trip with my daughter-in-law and daughter.  It was fun bonding time with both my girls. My former employer has some really fun social activities and the bus trip was one of them.  My daughter-in-law is also employed there.  We had a great time.  Michigan has some great wine country about 3 hours from here.  There were some prizes and games on the bus, and it was fun to see some of my former co-workers.  We left about 7:30am and went to 3 wineries.  We had a yummy lunch and also a couple hours on our own shopping time in downtown Traverse City.

   DIL Darcey left, daughter Stefanie middle, me right

   Rows and rows of grapes.  You can see a sliver of                Grand Traverse Bay in the background.

It was a fun outing and the weather was perfect.

Our house has seemed empty since we had to put our 14 year old cat down a couple weeks ago.  I don't think we have been without at least one pet since our daughter was 10.  She's 33 now!  We went to visit one of the local cat rescue shelters last week and of course we brought home a cat.  I went with the intention of finding a young cat, a calico or torti cat, definitely not a black cat.  Don't get me wrong...I love black cats, but I felt it would just remind me too much of Salem.

This is our new little fur-baby....Agatha

She walked right up to me and I fell in love.  She has medium long hair and is all black with green eyes. When I heard Agatha's story I knew I couldn't leave her.  She was dumped at the shelter last winter.  She was skinny, her skin was a mess and her fur was coming out in patches...and both of her hind feet had tape wrapped around them.  Turns out she had flea allergy dermatitis.  They probably taped her feet to stop her from scratching herself.  In spite of that she is very sweet and affectionate.

The shelter had named her Agatha and I planned to change her name but I kept slipping and calling her Agatha....so Agatha (or Aggie) it is.

I am counting the days until school starts...only 5 to go!  It is time for a bored granddaughter to be back in school and I am ready for life to get back to a normal routine.

Til next time,
Peace

Fiber Fun

Last week my daughter and granddaughter (hereafter referred to as Miss 6) went with me to the Michigan Fiber Festival.  My daughter knits and has tried dyeing yarn. We are slowly indoctrinating Miss 6 into the fiber lifestyle!  We had a great time.

We said hello to some alpacas...

And the softest, fuzziest bunnies.  It was hard to tell some of them were even bunnies....they just looked like big balls of fluff!

We saw a happy sheep (doesn't he look happy to you?)...

And a lot of hungry goats.

After we saw all the animals we had a stroll around the displays.

Of course there were spinners and weavers.  Miss 6 was fascinated by them, as was my daughter.  She bought a drop spindle to attempt to learn how to spin.  She's still working on it.

There were mini-workshops and kids activities.
Here is Miss 6 working on felted soap.

And of course there was lots and lots of yarn.  It was all very tempting for a couple of yarn addicts on budgets.

I stuck to the budget and only purchased 1 (700+ yards) skein of sport weight yarn in this beautiful golden color.  I think it wants to be a shawl.
And I just couldn't resist this cute little lamb.

It was a lovely day spent with two of my favorite people.

Today it is rainy and I can tell that autumn is not too far around the corner.  I'm not quite ready to let summer go...but soon, very soon.

Hope you are enjoying a lovely, still summery day.

Til next time,
Peace

Life Goes On

Despite losing a beloved kitty, life does keep moving.

We celebrated a birthday for a special 3 year old.

Her parents got her this battery operated car.   She loved it of course.  It's cute, it's fun I'm sure...but does a 3 year old need a car?  I'm showing my age, I guess.

We also went to a local farm with our 2 younger granddaughters and our daughter went along.  It was really too hot...must have been mid-80 degrees (F) and quite humid.  (I know....that's not hot to you 100+ folks)
We fed the animals and there were various play areas throughout also...slides, go carts, a jumping area.  I didn't take many pictures because I was too
hot to care!

 



We were greeted by
a working windmill.

Look at that blue sky....not a cloud in sight.

 I have no idea why a mid-western farm would have a camel, but this one does.

                              Feeding the goats

 The big rocking chair.  The sun was in their eyes.                    Our lovely daughter is in the middle.

                              Horse tire swings.

 There was this beautiful bush that looked very tropical and out of place on a Michigan farm.  The flowers were as big as dinner plates!  I would love to know what it is?  Hybiscus maybe?

After we left the farm we went to a local dairy farm that has expanded business to include a pizza place, deli, and cafe with the best ice cream and chocolate milk around.  The place was packed...they must do a great business in the summer.  We had ice cream, bought some cheese from the deli, and headed home for a nap.

I also went to the Michigan Fiber Festival last Saturday....I am saving that for another post.

Til next time,
Peace

R.I.P. Salem

I want to thank everyone for the caring comments, prayers, and hugs for me and my family as we made the difficult decision this week to put our sweet old kitty down.

                           Rest in Peace Salem

I think we are in the reminising stage that seems to go along with grieving.
My daughter came over on his last evening and held him for quite awhile.  We talked about how he came to be our cat.  Here's the story....

My son noticed this young stray black cat hanging around a pizza place nearby.  My son was about 24 and still living at home.  He brought the cat home and then wasn't sure it was a good time to get us to agree to take in another pet.  We had several other pets already.  He put him into an old car sitting in our yard and gave him some food.  He was going to wait for an opportune moment to bring this cat to our attention.

The next day my daughter and her boyfriend came home and there was a black cat on the porch!  He had somehow gotten out of the car.  She had no idea that her brother had brought this cat home.  My daughter brought him in the house..."look mom, this cat was on the porch, he's so skinny!  Can we keep him?"

It didn't take much to get me on board.  He was so scrawny and flea ridden, and purring like crazy.  But Hubby was out of town and would not be happy about another pet.  This would require just the right approach.

As we discussed keeping the cat, my son came into the house.  Daughter excitedly told him she had found this stray cat!  Son was a bit confused because it was his stray cat!  They still argue about whose cat he really was.  Actually, from the very first he was my cat.

Hubby came home and knew it was a done deal....Salem was home.

He became my shadow for almost 14 years.  He was a "talker" and I miss him.  But he is at peace now.  And I am at peace about it too. The circle of life...there is a time to live and a time to die.

So life goes on.  I am quite sure there is a kitty needing a good home...it won't be long before I find him.
Thanks for listening,

Til next time,
Peace