Plaster

 Happy Monday!  Here are some happy highlights from my day:

• Once I got moving, the first thing I was going to do was more preparation for painting the kitchen.  That didn't happen because I got a message from Keziah asking if I could wake up my grandson, Gideon, and bring him to school this morning.   Gideon would correct me for saying he is going to school.  It is an eight day program to help the former eighth graders prepare for freshman year in the fall. Anyhow, instead of sanding and cleaning, I spent time with Gideon and got him to the school on time.
• Monday morning my oldest, Keziah, and I spend time together.  We mixed plaster for Keziah to use to reclaim clay so she can make more pottery things.  We also went to her store to drop things off and pick things up.  Most importantly, we had a nice visit which is the point of having this time together. 

• My friend Amy is back from her trip south to visit family.  We shared stories and I got to see some pictures of her adorable new grandson.  We also had a nice walk.  I'm very thankful for the friends and family in my life. 

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Currently listening to: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain.

Thank you for being here and being part of my daily happy things. Stay safe!

Cooped

 Here are some happy things from the penultimate day of June, the 29th.  

• This morning I got out and did some lawn mowing.  My shoes were still wet from working in the wet grass yesterday so I wore the waterproof socks I got for hiking.  They seemed to keep my feet dry.  I walked in a puddle to be sure.  🙂  We have more than five lawn sections to try to get mowed.  I got the biggest one and one of the smallest ones done.  Those two are the ones I plan to keep up with.  The rest are stretch goals for me.  Maybe someone else will find the time to work on the yard, too.
• A friend came over for a visit today.  She had a medical procedure a while back and was ready to get out of qthe house.  It was really great to visit with her for a little while.  
• Bel and Corvidae put together  a  chicken coop today.  When I saw what they were doing I helped a little.  I'm not a chicken person, putting together the coop doesn't involve the chickens.  🤣  I'm glad I could help a little.

☮

Currently listening to: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain.

Thank you for being here and being part of my daily happy things. Stay safe!

Market Days

 Happy things for today:

• Despite the drizzle, I went outside and used the weedwacker for a little bit.  When it ran out of cord and I couldn't get it open to refill, I started pulling weeds instead.  Thankfully the drizzle had stopped.  Pulling weeds seemed much more therapeutic than whacking them down with the equipment.  It is possible I went a little too far.  Pulling up grass around a retaining wall, I found rocks that I don't remember from when we moved in five years ago.  I'm hoping that the grass and weeds I pulled out weren't holding things in place!  

Berries!

I'm not sure what this plant is.  
Maybe when it blooms I'll be able to figure it out.

• After lunch I took a nice nap.  There are things I probably should have been doing, but I've been tired lately and the nap felt good.
• Today was the last day of Concord Market Days.  Gideon and I went and met up with the rest of the family.  They have been busy working at it.  We walked around and got fair food for dinner and dessert.  Now I have had too much sugar!  😅

New art on Main Street.

Market Days.

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Currently listening to: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain.

Thank you for being here and being part of my daily happy things. Stay safe!

Feeling Fine Friday!

Here are some happy things from today:

• Yesterday I wasn't feeling well.  I'm feeling much better today.  I even took a short wak this morning. 

Prickly or another wild lettuce

• Friday is when I get some time with my youngest, Bel.  We ended up running errands this morning.  Part of this was to try to fix the one broken drawer on my staircase.  I thought it just needed a new roller.  Closer inspection revealed that the wood was broken.  Still, free stairs.  I've sent a message off to a friend that might have the tools to be able to fix it.  If not, under the top stair will become a bookshelf instead of a drawer.  😁
• The other Friday thing I am hoping to work into a routine is going to the studio.  I went today and sewed some ricrac onto some towels so they will hang on a hook easier.  It is also Craft Night so I stayed, did a little whipcording, and visited with people. 

Making a whipcord.

☮

Currently listening to: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain.

Thank you for being here and being part of my daily happy things. Stay safe!

Nest

 June 26th

At work, I wasn't feeling well.  It felt like a migraine only the pain wasn't as bad as it should be.  Anyhow, ibuprofen and not being hot seemed to help some.  I requested voluntary time off and was able to leave early.  I went home and slept a few hours.  I've been taking it easy all day.  Here are some happy things from today:

• Getting out of work early so I could take care of myself.
• Trying to look into the bird nests near my window with my selfie stick.

• The almost sunset sky with a pretty layer of clouds.

☮

Started listening to: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain.

Thank you for being here and being part of my daily happy things. Stay safe!

Milkweed

Here are some happy things from today, Wednesday:

• When I hiked parts of the Appalachian Trail I had expected to spend some nights looking at stars.  I don't think that really happened.  Not in a stargazing sort of way.  Generally, we went to sleep as it got dark.  Or at least into the tent to try and sleep.  When I left for work there were stars to see.  Cassiopeia and the Big Dipper were the constellations easy to identify before I got into my car to drive to work. 
• After work I went to the bank to ask about the savings account I thought I closed in April.  It was supposed to have a minimum balance and money deposited every month to avoid fees.  Since that wasn't going to happen while on Leave of Absence, I closed it.  Someone messed up though and it wasn't closed.  So I asked them to leave it open so I can start saving again.  Yay, savings account!
• Last year or the year before I tried to plant some milkweed in the back property, where it is generally wild anyways.  Today I noticed some growing there!  I'm not sure if it is from what I planted or just happenstance, but I'm glad they are there.  

Milkweed.

☮

Finished listening to: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain.

Thank you for being here and being part of my daily happy things. Stay safe!

Back to Work

 Back to work might mean shorter posts on work days.  Here are my happy things for today:

• Despite the air conditioning, it still is hot at work.  Part of that is the general activity level.  As I suspected, the job path that I was assigned to was stow.  This is really the best choice for someone coming back after any kind of absence.   Any missed training is automatically loaded when an employee goes into the stow program.   That meant about an hour and a half of training when I first got in.  I'm glad that is done.
• Many people commented on my purple hair.  Others were happy to see me after my long absence.  It was good to see people and realize that I still know most of their names. 😅 It was a good first day.  
• According to my phone's weather app, it is 98 degrees and feels like 106.  I'm glad I have an air conditioner in my room.  I stepped out to see if there were any new flowers to photograph.  I didn't see any new blooming flowers, but the volunteer raspberry plant that is taking over some roses has quite a few berries in the making.  There are a few that look almost ready to eat.

☮

Continued listening to: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain.

Thank you for being here and being part of my daily happy things. Stay safe!

Studio Time

 June 23rd

Here are some happy Monday things:

• Tonight I go back to work.  This is bringing some mixed feelings, but most are happy.  I'm going to try to be there early so I can talk to people about changes that may have happened while I was gone.  
• This morning I remembered to pull my work things out and get them ready.  My backpack has been packed again with everything but food, my vest pockets are filled again with gloves and other things I use.  Things that needed to be cleaned were washed before I left. 
• Keziah and I spent part of the day cleaning up in the studio.  During this time she commented on how she couldn't figure out how to take apart my sewing machine to clean it.  So I took apart what I could of my sewing machine and cleaned it.  The best part is that when I put it back together, it seemed to work still!

Look at the inside of my sewing machine.
That pile of lint came out of it.

It works!!

• The weather is so hot and muggy today that I am glad I'm not currently hiking the Appalachian Trail.  According to the weather app, the temperature got to around 95 degrees or so.  The ‘feels like’ temperature was 106 degrees.

☮

Continued listening to: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain.

Thank you for being here and being part of my daily happy things. Stay safe!

Archery Day!!

 June 22nd

Here are some happy things from today:

• It took a while for me to get going but eventually I found a way to make shredding things less boring.  I put an old sitcom on to play on my laptop.  Now I have almost a full trash bag of shredded papers.  Yay downsizing!
• This afternoon I went to archery practice.  We totaled seven people practicing today.  One person was brand new to the SCA, but not new to archery.  It was nice to spend time shooting and catching up with friends.  One person had an arrow go high and it hit a tree and stuck.  It was retrieved after practice using a ladder!  My scores weren't the greatest, but they weren't bad.  I need more practice.

The red and blue arrow are pointing to the top (feathered end) and bottom (pointy arrow end) of the arrow.

My scores.

• Tomorrow afternoon I'll need to go to bed early in preparation for going back to work on Tuesday.  I'm trying to get to sleep early tonight, and up early in the morning, to help me transition.  It isn't dark yet, and I'm ready for bed.  It reminds me of being on the Appalachian Trail and getting into the tent before dark.  

☮

Continued listening to: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain.

Thank you for being here and being part of my daily happy things. Stay safe!

Puzzles of Differing Kinds

 June 21st

It was a beautiful day to go down rabbit holes! Here are my happy things for today:

• The first rabbit hole I went down was looking online at genealogical information. Yesterday I posted pictures where I couldn't identify the people.  At least two of the pictures (B.S. and 1955) turned out to be my grandmother's brother.  That mystery is solved.  The weird thing I seem to have learned while researching is that both my ex-husband and I have distant ancestors with the first name of Mehitable.  I expect common first names like John, William, and Thomas.  Mehitable was a surprise.  
• My second rabbit hole was working on the puzzle.  I was home alone so there was no other claim to the table.  If my accountability friend from Texas hadn't called, I might have finished it.  She reminded me that I could go through a box.  She was right.  I still worked quite a while on the puzzle.

Before

After

• The box I chose had some things I could easily say that I don't want.  It also contains things to shred.  There are some keepers in the box too.  I didn't finish going through it.  When I realized most of it was to be shredded, I stopped.  I'm leaving shredding for another day.

One of the keepers.  An anvil. 

• In moving around things in yesterday's box, I found a letter that I hadn't looked at.  I opened it and it turns out it is from 1879.  I don't believe it is anyone related.  I think it was left behind in a house we rented when I was a little.  It is difficult for me to read the handwriting, but it is from a brother in Ohio to his sister in New Hampshire.
• 
  

• 
  
    

☮

Continued listening to: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain.

Thank you for being here and being part of my daily happy things. Stay safe!

Old Pictures

 June 20th

Happy Summer Solstice!  Here are some happy things from this first day of summer:

• The morning weather was absolutely perfect.  There was a breeze and the temperature was delightful.  Before I started mowing I picked some of the orange hawkweed, yellow (or maybe meadow?) hawkweed, and a purple Vetch. The hawkweeds were mowed down, their offense being in the yard.  Honestly, if they were considered a native flower instead of European, I probably would have mowed around them.  

• Keziah and I try to spend two hours together on Mondays and now Bel and I try on Fridays.  Today Bel and I decided to work at cleaning out the porch.  It is a general catch-all place.  There are some boxes of mine that are being stored there.  Unfortunately, more than I thought.  However, two of those boxes are now reduced in size.  In hindsight, I might be able to combine them down to one box.  Steps in downsizing were made, yay!

• There was an event happening at Keziah’s store tonight.  I ended up leaving later than I wanted and missed some of the happenings.  There were some vendors there with some fun items for sale.  I'm trying to downsize though, and made no purchases. 

Here are some pictures of things I found today:

This pamphlet is from 1964!

These two pictures look like my grandfather, my mom's father, but I'm not sure.

This one has "B.S." on the back.

?

Possibly my grandfather again.  The image is small enough and at an odd angle, I can't be sure.

The name on the back of this picture doesn't seem to fit with the 1955 date on the frame.

This picture says, "1943 Rocks Village," on the back.

Originally I thought these pictures all had to do with my grandfather.  They don't.  This all makes me want to find more of the genealogy information that my mom had and get it saved and backed up on a computer and multiple hard drives.  I'm tired enough that I'm second guessing what my grandfather looked like!  😵‍💫😴

EDIT:  I don't know why my great uncle, born in 1907??? Has his youthful looking picture in a frame dated 1955.  But that is him and B.S.  I've now found genealogy online and may not sleep...

☮

Continued listening to: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain.

Thank you for being here and being part of my daily happy things. Stay safe!

Juneteenth

 Thursday, June 19th

Here are some happy things from today:

• Before it got too hot, I got a little bit more of the yard mowed and I started fixing some outside stairs.  The stairs have just been getting pushed by weeds, but it has made them unstable.  Once I started trying to fix them, I realized it could be more of a project than I was prepared for.  So the stairs are somewhat better, and I need to consider my next step, so to speak.  😁

Orange hawkweed.

• Once it started getting hot, it was time for me to come inside.  My tasks turned to things like laundry and watching TV until it was time to pick up Gideon, my grandson, at school.  It was Gideon's last day of eighth grade.   He came home with a bag full of things from his locker.  He is very excited to start summer break.
• First though, Gideon had promotion night.  His parents and I watched the kids get promoted this evening.  It was a nice ceremony.  After, we all went out to dinner.  Not only was this Gideon's Eighth Grade Graduation, it was also Keziah and Zed's wedding anniversary.
• 
  
  
  
  
   
  

☮

Continued listening to: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain.

Thank you for being here and being part of my daily happy things. Stay safe!

Boxes

 June 18th. Wednesday

Here are some happy things from today:

• An email from work arrived today with the Leave of Absence ending notification.   Last week I messaged work to make sure everything was all set.  With this email, my schedule has filled in too.  That blank schedule had been concerning me.  When someone goes on a LOA part of the fine print is that they can change your schedule if they want.  I've never heard of that happening, and I'm happy to say my schedule is the same.  Tuesday I'll be back at work.
• I went through a couple boxes today.  It would be nice to say that I'm getting rid of a bunch of the stuff.   Some was put in the trash, and some wiil be donated, but most of it is to be kept.  Some things are better organized now.
• There are two things I found that I want to write about.  The first is a headband with the word 'Kish' on it.  If I remember correctly that would be the Native American name I chose for myself in Campfire Girls.  I didn't keep the headband, but I appreciate the memory.  The other thing is a P-38 can opener.  Before heading out on my Appalachian Trail adventure I was hoping to find a can opener, just in case.   Now I have found one and will put it with my backpacking things. 

☮

Continued listening to: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain.

Thank you for being here and being part of my daily happy things. Stay safe!

Trees Down

 June 17th

• Yesterday I made a list of things to do today and said that I hoped to complete at least half of it.  Just over half the list is done.  Yay!
• This morning I went out to mow the lawn and take down some large saplings.  It had just started to drizzle when I stepped outside.  It wasn't too bad out, so I cut down at least four saplings/small trees.  It was too wet for me to mow though.  While outside I checked out some a the flowers that are blooming.  

• Inside I worked on cleaning the kitchen up some and making dinner.  All the ingredients for chili were placed into a crock pot and sat cooking all afternoon.  It came out really well.  
• I also puttered in my room for a little while.  I rearranged some things now that I have more drawers.  The bottom drawer will be for tools and be like my junk drawer.   That is the only drawer I've figured out.
• Keziah picked me up a cinnamon roll cookie gift from Crumbl.  It was sweet and delicious. 

☮

Continued listening to: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain.

Thank you for being here and being part of my daily happy things. Stay safe!

Stairs!

 June 16th

Happy Monday!  

• Monday mornings are the time that Keziah and I set aside to try to spend some time together.  Today we painted in my room again.  She says she still isn't quite done with the morning glories she has been working on.  I think they look great.  She worked on that and I worked on the drawers of the stairs Bel and I picked up last week.  

• The stairs were also moved into my room and the ladder was removed.  They are almost a perfect fit.  Because they have shelves built in, I can even access the power outlet.  I think they look pretty good.  I've started putting a few things on the floor under it.  By using the drawers and shelves, I'm hoping for some better organization.  

• The stairs were made to attach to a set of bunk beds.  The back of the stairs is tall and made to screw onto the beds.  This little bit of extra room is just the right size for my bow!  I'm going to get some kind of a hook to hang it there.  Before this it generally hung downstairs or under my bed, but these aren't the best spots.  I think this will work very nicely.
• Keziah and I also went to her store and measured and folded fabric.  It was nice to spend more time with my daughter.   We folded about two bins worth of fabric before going back home.

• Today's productivity gave me hope for tomorrow.  I've already put together a list.  It is probably too long, but I'm hopeful that I can at least get about half of it done.  Some of the things are outdoor chores.  If it rains, they won't get done.  Some things shouldn't take too long.  

☮

Continued listening to: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain.

Thank you for being here and being part of my daily happy things. Stay safe!