Visits

 August 18th

Good morning, Sky!

Here are some happy things from my busy day:

• This morning Keziah and I met with Stephanie at the State Surplus Store.  Stephanie hadn't been there before and Keziah was looking for a wheel chair for her store.  The surplus store was very busy, and we all found a little something to get.
• Stephanie and I then went to the SCA storage unit to store the common tent we had been using at Pennsic.  Things at the storage unit look okay and we had a good visit.

Look how neat everything is!

• After that was lunch and a walk with my friend Amy.  The park we went to today was very busy.  The weather was very nearly perfect so that might be why.  I'm looking forward to more days like this.   It was a nice visit with Amy and I followed that with a nice visit on the phone with TF.  Being in Texas, her weather had temperatures over 100 today!  I'm thankful to be in New England where the high today was around 75 degrees.

The water in the stream is really low.

☮

Continued listening to: James, by Percival Everett 

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

Archery

 August 17th

Here are some happy things from today:

Sunrise

• This morning I did some cleaning and organizing.  Most of the things I got from my shed are cleaned and on the drying rack.  Most of the things from Pennsic that are clean, have been put away.  There is still some laundry that needs to be done, but the washing machine has been busy.
• There was archery practice today.  More people than usual showed up.  It was good to get to visit with people I don't usually see.  For me, practice went alright.  I had a bit of a groove for a short time, and then my arms got tired.  It was fun!  Stephanie loaned me a target so I can practice some at home.  🥰  She also showed me how she puts tips onto the arrow shafts.  I had one fall off at Pennsic and we repaired it today.  Well, Stephanie repaired it and taught me while I watched.

I know you can't tell, but I have two arrows in the gold in this picture.  My arrows have the shafts half painted blue.

So many arrows!!

Not my best scores, but not horrible for me.

Melting the adhesive.

Heating the arrowhead prior to attaching it to the arrow shaft.

• From archery I went to the studio.  I purchased fabric while at Pennsic, some nice linen, and the edges need to be reinforced before I can wash it.  Also, last night, I got some polar fleece at DIY Craft & Thrift.  I made that into a sleeve to store my bow in.  I think it came out pretty well.  I might add a strap to it for carrying. 

Reinforcing the raw edge so it doesn't come apart in the wash.

Bow sleeve (or bow sock).
My bow fits inside quite nicely.

☮

Continued listening to: James, by Percival Everett 

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

Garden

 August 16th

Alexa told me the temperature outside was 58 degrees and the high for today would be 89 degrees.   I donned some jeans and a tank top.  I covered that up with an old flannel shirt.  It felt so comfortable and soft.  I thought, hello my old friend, nice to see you for a short time this morning.

Fishing Rods are part of the bounty that I pulled from the shed yesterday.  I had placed them in the backseat to keep them safe and forgot about them until this morning.  I plan to pack them up and give all but one of the rods to my brothers.  

Bel and I walked out to the garden looking for a tool.  We didn't find it, but the garden is looking good.  I haven't been out there for a few weeks.  

In the evening I went out to dinner and ice cream with some friends and Gideon, my grandson).  We had a good time.  They are going to Italy soon and are planning their trip.  I'm excited for them.  

This sunset picture was taken through a tinted window.

☮

Started listening to: James, by Percival Everett 

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

Crafty Day

 August 15th

Some happy things from today:

This morning Bel and I went to the house I rent out to look for some things in the shed.  I thought we would find an archery target there, but we did not.  We didn't completely empty the shed, it could still be there, but I'm not going to hold my breath for it.  We did find many other things, including lots of evidence of rodents.  But also some things that we brought back home.  About half of the things we brought home were either put away in the shed (yard tools) or will be cleaned up to use.  The other half is either trash or things I plan to give away or sell.  There were a few books that I said goodbye to because of the mice.  However, yay downsizing! 

My messy shed.

Still messy, but less stuff in it.

This afternoon I met with my friend Amy at the studio.  We talked and crafted, went to get dinner, then crafted at the Craft Night for a while.  I worked on the whip cording I started a while ago, tried doing a fingerloop braid, and started work on a favor for the Baroness.  

This is the whipcord.  I think it added about 18 inches or so to it.

The left side is where I messed up.
I like the way this fingerloop braid started though. 

Favor started.

The place Amy and I got our food at serves only vegan dishes.  I got Mac and cheese and it was really good.  Amy got a chicken sandwich that she said she liked.  Everything was vegan.  The place also has live music and entertainment sometimes.  

☮

Started listening to: James, by Percival Everett 

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

Stars

 August 14th

Here are some happy things from today:

• My work week is over unless I choose to pick up more hours.  Tomorrow I will not work.  There are other things for me to look forward to then.
• After work and food I took a nap.  Since I was home alone, I took me-time when I woke up and watched some Netflix.  Eventually I decided to get up and find some food.  That is when everyone came home.  I got to talk with the family a little before they headed to bed.  
• It seemed like a short day.  But I worked for ten hours before coming home for a nap.  I took a few minutes to look at the night sky before writing this.  Here are some pictures.  I played with the settings on the last one.  I hope, dear Reader, that you are able to see the stars too. 

Summer Triangle and at least part of Cygnus.

Cassiopeia by the trees.⬆️⬇️

☮

Started listening to: James, by Percival Everett 

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

Apple Tree

 August 13th 

Happy Wednesday things:

• One of the best parts of my job is that I usually only work three days a week. My work week is ⅔ over. One more day until my weekend.
• At home this afternoon I walked to the front of the house and found that the butterfly weed still has some flowers blooming. There is also a whorled tickseed in bloom.  

• Walking back from the front yard I found the apple tree. A few weeks ago I think I mentioned that I wasn't sure which tree was the apple tree because I couldn't see where the apples were growing. There are actually two trees that I suspected were it, based on the bark. The lower branches of the apple tree are dead. The upper branches have some apples where the tree reaches between the Norway maples.  The book I finished reading today has reminded me that I should take more time to notice things.

☮

Finished listening to: A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, by Becky Chambers. 

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

Back to Work

 August 12th

A few happy things from today:

• Sleep didn't last as long as I would have liked before getting ready for work.  That could have been better, however, I was assigned to a good area at work.  Then I was moved to Problem Solve and Hazardous Materials.  There was a lot to do and, oddly enough, it was good to be back. 
• At home I had plans, instead I kept falling asleep whenever I sat down for more than a few minutes!  🤣  It was definitely more of a self-care day after work than a day to mow the lawn.  I'm okay with that. 
• Since I have been away for about two weeks I took a short walk around the yard to see what has changed.  I'll probably do that every afternoon this week.  Today I saw that the chickens seem to be doing alright in their coop.  Bel and Corvidae have obviously done some work on it while we were gone.

• I also checked on the peony to see if the seeds are ready to harvest.  I can't tell.  So I will do some more research.  Yay, research!

☮

Started listening to: A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, by Becky Chambers. 

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

Home

 August 11th

Today my happy things are mostly about being productive:

• TF and I caught up with each other on the phone this morning.  I made plans for Friday to see my friend, Amy, and catch up with her.  From what I can tell, the friends I have been with at Pennsic all made it back to their homes.
• Everyone here at home, who went to Pennsic, took the time to completely clear out the truck and car from all the bags, boxes, suitcases, trash, etc.  My things are not all put away, but some of it is.  I only did one load of laundry today so I can make it through the work week.  The rest will wait.
• We had some post-Pennsic discussions about changes for next year.  There are always improvements to be made.  One of the things I am considering for next year is a solar powered fan for inside the tent.  That one thing will make taking naps on hot days nicer.  
• The milkweed is almost ready to harvest and find places to plant in the back.

☮

Finished listening to: A Psalm for the Wild-Built, by Becky Chambers. 

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

More Driving

 August 10th

It is 9:40 AM and I am sitting in the motel waiting for Gideon to get ready to go.  I let him sleep in a bit. We have over six hours of travel to do not including food/gas stops.  We haven't had breakfast yet and will be going to the sit-down place next to the motel.  We might not start driving until 11 or so.  Oddly enough, I think I'm okay with all this.  Here is a happy/curious thing to start my day:

• A bug was on the motel window.  It stayed long enough for me to get a picture of it.  I had to learn how to use the manual focus option on my phone, so that was fun.  There is still much for me to learn about the camera in my phone.  The bug seems to be the invasive and destructive spotted lanternfly.  I have learned some new things already today!

It is about 10 PM.  We got home just before 8 PM.  Here are some more happy things from today:

• Breakfast was good.  Gideon decided to save the motel and restaurant information for next year when we travel to Pennsic again.
• We chose the more mountainous route home.  I let Gideon make that choice since it added about 30 minutes to the trip.  This way took us through Troy, NY where there was a Sonic restaurant.   I wanted to go there for the raspberry lime Ricky, then didn't see that on the menu.  Instead I got a cherry limeade that was really good.  The food was good too, but I wanted the drink.   😋

• We listened to music and I sang along with most of the songs.  When I felt like I was getting hoarse, we turned on the audiobook for a while.  After a few chapters we were back to music.  In the middle of Vermont, the music stopped because there was no cel service.  Gideon makes a great co-pilot though and was able to find my downloaded music.  
• At home, Bel was making dinner.  I got most of my things out of the car before having dinner with the family.  It is good to be home.

Some other pictures:

☮

Continued listening to: A Psalm for the Wild-Built, by Becky Chambers. 

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

Pack Up and Drive

 August 9th

The last day of Pennsic for us was today.  Here are some happy highlights from today:

• With a bunch of us working together, the common areas of camp that stay in Pennsylvania were packed up before noon.  We had all hoped to be ready to leave by then, but things generally take longer than expected.  Still, I think we finished with everyone of our camp mates things around 1:30.  It is always a little sad to leave, but a little excited to get home again.
• Along the highway there was an area with construction.   In that area was a pile of black tar or some other road fixing stuff.  On that pile, someone had taken something light colored (probably small rocks) and placed them to make a large happy face for passersby to see.  It made Gideon and I happy. 
• Gideon and I are in a motel for the night.  Indoor plumbing is wonderful. Tomorrow we will be home.

Bye, Pennsic!

☮

Finished listening to: When Women Were Warriors, by Catherine M. Wilson.

Started listening to: A Psalm for the Wild-Built, by Becky Chambers. 

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

Last Night

 August 8th

Here are some happy things from the last full day of Pennsic:

• This morning I got most of my things packed, took care of random camp business, and had my last Pennsic shower.  Productivity!
• In the afternoon I walked around the merchant area for a little while with friends.  I bought some leather frogs with two snaps.  I don't know why they are called frogs.  It is a leather strip that hangs off a belt to hold a mug or other handled drinking device.  They are very convenient.
• In between getting the tent packed up Gideon had a performance with the Youth Commedia Group.  All the kids did so well!  Gideon has improved his performance since last year.

• Keziah and Zed have left.  Gideon and I will help pack the rest of the area up in the morning before heading home.  People stopped by to say hello and goodbye.  We tried to burn up more of the wood we purchased and toast marshmallows.   

Moon rise.

Fire.

☮

Continued listening to: When Women Were Warriors, by Catherine M. Wilson.

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

Netting

 August 7th

Some happy things from today:

• Sometimes the nicest parts of the day are spent sitting around camp.  Perhaps those times sitting in the shade are just relaxing. Chatting with friends and planning out things was good.  Some time was spent preparing for packing.  One of the things I did was color my sandals with a Sharpie so they would look a little less modern.

• There was a class at noon on making a bag with a netting technique.  I got there too late for a pamphlet but I was able to take some notes and try out this ancient art.  Ìt was fun trying to figure out netting before I had anything to practice it with.  

• In the afternoon I had a wonderful nap.  This meant that after dinner (pasta bar) I was able to go out and wander for a while with some friends.  

Some other pictures from today with the moon and some fire.

☮

Continued listening to: When Women Were Warriors, by Catherine M. Wilson.

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