When Do You Blog?

Spring decor that I totally forgot to take down

last September when we decorated for  Fall.

A sweet vintage lamp that we found at

the Antique Mall a couple of years ago.

My beautiful writing desk that we found

second hand. An Ethan Allen piece and

the lovely family that sold it to us shared

they had never used it. No marks anywhere!

Time is moving fast. I wish it would slow down sometimes. We're almost finished with February. Today, I will start with a heartfelt and sincere apology. I've been very quiet on my blog but not by complete intent. For the last few years, I moved from writing 260 blog posts a year to 400. I chose that number with the idea I would write frequently, something suggested for new bloggers to gain followers. And I did just that. I also liked the idea of capturing as much of life as I can. Not just to share but also to document our journey. For now, I've chosen to downgrade slightly to give myself some grace as I move through, as we move through, a difficult time in our life. Nothing I want to share just a blip in the land of bliss. For 2023, I'll aim for 260 again and hope to get back to 400 in time. I truly hope this won't lose the interest of my blogging buddies but I do understand if it's not enough to keep you engaged. Please know I read all your blogs every day, and though many of you write each day, I have become more aware that each day doesn't fit in to everyone's schedule. I plan to use Instagram a bit more as a way to document as well, until life settles again and I can get more posts up again. For now, 10 to 20 a month is my goal, with content that varies from our little cottage interior, to our exterior, gardening, work, volunteering, family, travel, writing my book and life in general. 

Oh, and art! Can't forget our art ....

You may recall when we were building our cottage that we often joked we were "building an art studio with a house attached" and our studio is a constant state of activity. I use it for restoring dollhouses, building mini furniture, sewing, journaling and scrapbooking. It also has a workout area with a treadmill and a Bow Flex, along with a corner that is set up as a little playroom. Finally, a spot for dh to tape/livestream his radio shows on our station. I have many favorite spots in the cottage but the studio is literally a work in progress as we continue to work on it's function and style. One day, it will be all finished. 

On to other things ....

It's snowing quite a bit outside today and supposed to continue through tomorrow. It's a long weekend here ~ Family Day in Alberta ~ so we don't have to go anywhere. Lovely when we need the snow to settle before we venture out on the highway. Yesterday was busy but today is nice and quiet. I love cozy days at home and outside of this post and a warm shower, the only other things on my list today are to complete a grant that is due next week and catch up on my case notes. This is our first big snow since before Christmas. Not too cold yet but it may get colder through the week. I'm always so grateful for our little cottage in the big woods but anytime it's cold, or snowy, or rainy, I'm beyond thankful for our safe and comfy home. 

When do you blog and how often?

Where do you blog or is it anywhere?

Wishing you a beautiful snowy day 

OR one that is warm and sunny.

~ Chy

10 Things Tuesday!

Hi everyone!

 

I'm linking up with Carla today to participate in "10 Things Tuesday". Hope you'll enjoy and maybe even join in!
 

1. Builder meeting: happening today at 3:00 p.m. Looking forward to chatting with the two main men in my life today, builder guy and my husband! We're stuck on choosing the front door and hope to come to an agreement today. The beauty of custom building is getting to explore what is out there and making the change to what we want, especially for the front of the house. Fun!

2. Grief meeting: happening today at 7:00 p.m. with the support group I lead for families who have experienced the loss of a precious child, at any age, for any reason. A small but mighty group of individuals who have all bonded together as they journey thru this unimaginable grief. My heroes for sharing their stories and their shattered, broken, aching hearts with each other!

3. Boxes, boxes! All over my house, in my office, in my other office, in the garage, in the back of my car. I've never seen so  many boxes. And all donated by kind and caring people for us to pack up the house. Some are being used to cart items away to the thrift store. Others are for the things we want to keep. Can't wait for the day when all the millions of boxes are gone from my sight!

4. Hot weather! It's too hot here and I'm sweltering in the mugginess of it all. I love the sun and what it's doing for our garden but truly wish we could have a couple of days of nice weather, then a day of rain or cooler temps. The heat is too much when it goes on for days and days. Tomorrow, the rain is supposed to come but with it, thunder and lightening, a side effect from too much heat!

5. But my summer tan is great! Yup, I'm sporting quite a nice shade of golden brown. Gardening does that when the sun it out. I love having skin that retains the color and always feel like I look healthier with a bit of sun!

6. Headache ~ ouch! I think the humidity is creating this doozy. Even putting my glasses on this morning hurt. Hopefully with the rain tomorrow, it will go away and I can enjoy life again without pain!

7. Missing our little guy .... he's away to visit with his dad for 10 days. We're on day 5 now and expect a call will come at some point to pick him up early. He's never been gone this long. We'll see if his dad proves us wrong and he gets to stay for the whole time this time!

8. Quiet house! Not something we're used to. On one hand, it's kind of lovely to have some quiet but very quickly that thought disappears as we realize how much we miss his antics, his jokes, his fast quips and his giggles. I truly miss his tiny little hands around our necks for night time hugs!

9. Shopping today! I've run out of my favorite vitamin water, the only thing that quenches  my thirst in this heat and there's nothing else that I like to drink in the house, so off to the store I go, in between the meeting with our builder and the meeting with my grief group!

10. So tired! Can't wait to fall asleep tonight. It was hard to sleep last night and I'm feeling the effects today. Achy, sluggish body and eyes that want to close. I shall crash and sleep all night tonight!
 

That's my contribution to "10 Things Tuesday".

Sunday Night Chit Chat!

It has been quite the busy fall already. So busy, I haven't had a chance to join in on Carla's Sunday Night Chit Chat. Here's my contribution for tonight: 

Reading: The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay. I ordered this last spring with a whole stack of books and am just getting to it now. So far, it's intriguing!

Listening to: My husband's sleepy breath as he falls asleep after a busy, crazy and productive weekend.

Watching: The Mentalist. Not paying attention like I usually do. Catching up on blogs at the same time has made me a bit distracted to follow the story line. Or maybe it's just not the most interesting episode!

Cooking/Baking: I made homemade Chicken Tortellini Soup tonight with Parmesan Bread. Yum!

Accomplished this week: All the fall yard work, just in time for the snow that fell overnight. Organized garage. Completed paperwork for our centre. Continued to recover from pneumonia and rested often, without guilt. Ordered 6 Christmas gifts today. Hung up the outside Christmas lights and set our our deer family, the lamp post and the big Angel. Now we're ready!

This week: Hope to finish up the paperwork that is sitting in piles in both my art studio and the library. Driving me crazy, so I'm determined to get it sorted out and tucked away. Or shredded!

Thankful for today: A husband who loves to shop, good food, great sales and warm hot chocolate on a cold frosty day. 

Bonus Question: Am I looking forward to Halloween? No, as our community is not providing alternative activities this year and the predicted weather is warm and snow less, so we may have more kids at our door than we are used to. Need to buy candy on a tight budget. Hate having leftovers, as we might be tempted to eat it all yet hate having not enough. 

Sigh. 

Have a great week. And hop over to Carla's to see what everyone else has shared. 

Sunday Night Chit Chat.

Time for Carla's 

"Sunday Night Chit Chat."

Reading: The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. Excellent read so far!

Listening to: Our dogs all whining because we're taking an hour out from entertaining, feeding, walking, brushing, massaging, playing with or cuddling them to watch tv.

Watching: The season finale of Game of Thrones! After last week's episode, not sure what to expect tonight.

Cooking/Baking: Nothing but dd made us a great Spinach Pesto Pasta dish.

Happy I accomplished this week: Met with the former President of the National Organization that I am now the President of. She flew in from the coast to see her family & hand over the reigns to moi. A huge job that I'm ready for. Hope the others are ready for me!

Looking forward to next week: Our children's grief program is finished on the weekend. Always sad at the end of each group but happy that all the families are doing well & no one has missed a session. It's been a really good group, well connected to each other & they've all worked so hard. We'll end with a lovely celebration, a party to honor their hard work. 

Thankful for today: The rain, which gave me extra reason to stay in my warm, cozy bed today. Then the sun that shone for a short time, giving me just enough time to plant our two large planters in front of the garage & one small vintage pot. 

Bonus Question: When I'm out & about & a homeless person asks you for money, do you give it? At times I have, at times I haven't. Kind of depends on how they approach me. 

To join in tonight, 

click here. Have fun!

Sunday Night Chit Chat!

A graphic of what it looked like outside our windows today! So excited for spring ....

 

Reading:

 

My favorite blogs! And the seed catalogue that arrived in the mail this week. As a new gardener, I am trying to get ahead of the game and figure out what to plant this year in our garden. Drooling over pictures of fresh carrots and peas!

 

Listening to:

 

Oldest daughter mumble away while she figures out her banking online. The pups nails click on the wood floors. Youngest daughter making her own dinner because apparently the scrumptious dinner dh made was NOT good enough. I beg to differ. Even had a second helping!

 

Watching:

 

The Amazing Race. I do NOT enjoy watching reality shows, which is why I am reading blogs and writing while everyone else watches. Makes me nervous and I feel sorry for the guy who loses.

 

Cooking:

 

Dinner was cooked by dh and I devoured my portion plus some extra! Roasted pork rib with creamed corn and risotto. Yummy!

 

Accomplished this week:

 

I created the spreadsheet to make the T4 slips for my staff (all three of them!), gathered the items needed to do our review for the organization, gathered our personal items needed to do our taxes (waiting for our T4 slips), bought Turbo Tax and did mock returns to see if we need to buy RRSP products. So far, we do not have to but we still might. Need to make that decision this week.

 

Looking forward to this week:

 

1.) Writing my 100th blog post this week. And doing my first giveaway to celebrate the event! 2.) Getting my dining room table back. All the papers are in neat piles, files lined up, scraps shredded and empty files waiting for this years returns to be placed inside. But still, I like an empty table vs. a crowded one. 3.) Looking forward to seeing our granddaughter again. We last saw her a few days ago but thankfully have been getting regular Instagram pictures so we can see how her little body has begun to uncurl and stretch out. I am quite sure she is really missing gramma and grampa, so we need to drive into the city for a little visit!

Thankful for today:

 

Despite the cool, rainy, snowy, gloomy weather, we had a warm, relaxing day. Groceries and laundry were our only tasks that needed attention. Enjoying an evening to just write and then take some time to put my quilt blocks together so I can start the next step for our second quilt.

 

Bonus Question: Have you ever received a gift you were less than thrilled with? Did you feel like you had to keep/use it in order to spare feelings from getting hurt?

 

 My in-laws once gave me a red scarf, knowing full well that I will not and cannot wear the color red. I did not even dress my kids in red (long story for another day). They made a big fuss that they had hoped I had gotten over it and it was to be the first of many red items they planned to add to my wardrobe. I was livid inside but tried so hard to hide it. I think their intentions were good but it still made me upset. Thankfully my dh told them not to try to get me to change my ideas and that was the end of it, though I did notice for the longest time after that they wore red clothes in our presence. Almost like they were making a point silently. I asked their permission to donate the scarf so someone else could enjoy it and they were agreeable to that. The topic was never brought up again!

Head over to http://halfdozendaily.typepad.com/my-half-dozen-daily/2013/02/sunday-night-chit-chat-2.html to join in!