Arrows Woven

Happy things from the last day of my work week:

• While I slept yesterday, there was a blue moon. When I went to work this morning it was bright and beautiful.  The moon looks more like a huge star when viewed through my camera phone. The moon lit the house up quite nicely though.

• At work I kept getting moved around. Eventually Problem Solve needed help so I went there. It has been over a month since I worked in that area and things have changed. I felt a little bad for the person I was supposed to be helping because he had to train me in the new way to care for a particular type of package. It was good to learn something new. I think I caught on fast and did the work sooner than expected.
• At home I noticed that there is jewelweed growing out back. It is such a pretty little flower on a tall plant.

• The first design is finished on the band I am weaving. More progress!

☮

Currently reading: She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb.

Currently listening to: Keep Moving, by Dick Van Dyke.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Weaving Wednesday?

 Some happy things for today:

• Work went well last night.  The equipment worked well, things went fairly smooth, and (bonus) they served food at the end of the day.
• At home, I got a call from TF.  Her job options are looking better.  She had two interviews last week and one of two offers so far.  I'm really happy for her.
• And then there is weaving.  I did a bunch, then realized a mistake and took most of that out.  So I worked quite a while on it, making little progress.  Any progress is good.  

☮

Currently reading: She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb.

Currently listening to: Keep Moving, by Dick Van Dyke.  

–This is my second time listening to this book.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

And the Weaving Begins

 Happy Tuesday things:

• By taking the extra time yesterday before bed to sew my hair up, I totally didn't think ahead to getting ready for work.  Suddenly I have more time to get ready.  Time that would normally be spent brushing and braiding my hair.  I may sleep until my second alarm tomorrow. 
• At work I got a compliment on my hair.  More importantly, management didn't have to talk to me about my hair being over my shoulders.  Yay.
• After work I did a lot of nothing much until I remembered that I have weaving to do.  I'm down a weaver so I may have to do more than I thought.  Hopefully I'll remember earlier tomorrow.  ☺️ I got about a finger and half width woven today. 

☮

Currently reading: She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb.

Currently listening to: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, by Susan Cain.

--This was due today so I am back on the waiting list and I will finish it someday.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Hair Day

 Some happy things from today:

• Too much of my day was spent being distracted by the internet.  It was a good distraction, as in things I enjoy watching.  Productivity lacked, relaxation did not.
• At the end of the day, I accomplished most of the things I wanted to.  This included sewing my hair up.  Having my hair off my neck and not hanging over my shoulder where it can get caught in something is a good thing.  I have been asked how I do this so here is a brief explanation.  I put my hair in two braids and then use a large, dull needle with crochet cotton and sew the braids to my head.  Other types of yarn, string, or ribbon could be used.  I learned this from a friend and then further investigation on YouTube.

• Some of my day was spent at Keziah’s shop.  I am thrilled to say that she made the front page of the Concord Monitor today.  

☮

Currently reading: She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb.

Currently listening to: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, by Susan Cain.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

A Celebration of Life

 Some happy things from today:

• A good portion of today was spent at a funeral and celebration of life gathering.  I knew the deceased, but not as well as I know his daughter.  These things are always hard.  There were quite a few people that I got to see, that I don't always get to spend time with, and that part was good.
• From my vantage point at the cemetery I could see something hanging from a tree.  It turned and gently swayed in the breeze.  After the service I went to see what it was.  Someone had hung an old camera from a tree as well as some hanging decor.  My assumption is that one of the people buried there enjoyed photography.   What a special way to remember someone.

• Another special way are the seeds that were given away at today's celebration of life.  He was a lover of nature, so it is a fitting thing to remember him by.

Some other things:

My hair is getting very long.

A sign we saw in Dover, NH.

Contrast.

☮

Currently reading: She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb.

Currently listening to: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, by Susan Cain.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Number One

Happy things for today:

• On Saturdays, DuoLingo adds an additional five points to the score during the first hour of practice.  For a short time I was number one in the Pearl League.
• The family got more cookies at Crumbl. I will never be able to give up gluten again if we keep getting yummy treats.
• Helping Keziah at the shop today. I mostly measured out fabric and built shelves. She opens her new shop in less than a week. There is still a bunch to do but it looks more and more like a craft store every day.

Now that is a lot of ribbon.

• Nanni thinks she's sunbathing.  🤣

☮

Currently reading: She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb.

Currently listening to: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, by Susan Cain.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Happy Friday!

 Some happy things from today:

• Keziah and I started the morning with breakfast out with her father.  He flew back home today.  Breakfast is my favorite meal.
• At Keziah’s shop later we sorted things and she priced things.  Due to some shelves arriving late, the planned opening day is now September first.  There are also some leaks in the roof that the maintenance person has been trying to fix.  It will be nice when water stops dripping in.  I put the fake flower display together. 

• At home I had a nice phone call with TF.  She had some job interviews this week and is very hopeful that employment is soon in her future.
• As a family we were able to sit down and watch some Star Trek Voyager tonight.  The episode sparked some nice conversation.

☮

Currently reading: She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb.

Currently listening to: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, by Susan Cain.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

A Visitor

Happy Thursday things:

• The stars were beautiful when I went to work. I had to just stop and look up at them for a moment. I'm pretty sure I saw the star cluster of the Pleiades along the horizon.
• We had a Safety Committee meeting at work. There hasn't been a safety manager type person on site for quite some time so there haven't been meetings in a while. I learned a few things and had the opportunity to voice some concerns.
• Keziah’s father (my ex-husband) has been visiting. He and I went out to dinner to catch up and talk about the kids and life. When we got back to the house Keziah brought down her massager and I got some sore, tense muscles relaxed.

Relaxing.

• The backyard has many Queen Anne's lace plants.  I thought about mowing them tomorrow and then saw some bees flying around to pollinate them and changed my mind.

☮

Currently reading: She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb.

Currently listening to: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, by Susan Cain.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Sleep

Happy things from today:

• Sleep is a wondrous thing. Today was so much better than yesterday. Work was good. They served waffles at mealtime.  Other than occasional mechanical difficulties with the equipment, it was a good day.
• At home I practiced on DuoLingo reaching a 1700 day streak. In all honesty, they have streak freezes that maintain a streak when a day is missed and I have used a few of them. For reaching this milestone I am getting three days of premium DuoLingo for free.

• It has been a while since I wandered the property. I only went to areas just outside the top driveway where things are overgrown and found three flowering plants.  I'm sure I'll get to the other twelve-ish acres at some point, but not today.  If I didn't already know what the flowers were, I used the Lens app to identify them.

Rabbit Tobacco

Platycodon grandiflorus or Chinese bellflower.

Hedge bindweed.

☮

Currently reading: She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb.


Currently listening to: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, by Susan Cain.

• I have listened to this before and started reading it in the spring. I thought I would be able to finish it faster by listening to it and finally have my turn to borrow it through Libby.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Just One Happy Thing

After tossing and turning for four hours I looked at my work app and saw that voluntary time off was available and I took it. I still didn't fall asleep for a while and only got around three and a half hours of sleep. And so, dear reader, I felt miserable all day. In the end, my one happy thing for today is that I was able to do a little bit of weaving. Hopefully, I will sleep better today and make it to work tonight.

I wove about two fingers long.

But wait, there is one more thing.  My family is loving and supportive.  I appreciate them.

☮

Currently reading: She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Errand Day

Today's happy things:

• This morning's doctor appointment went well.  No problems and she is happy that I have lost some weight and I've been keeping it off.
• There were errands I set out to do today and I got them done.  This included getting forgiveness on a parking ticket.  I paid for the parking through the app, but I managed a typo with the license plate.  They only pardon once, so I'll be more careful in the future.
• There was also time for a walk with my friend, Amy.  It was great to catch up with her and get some exercise, too.  There is some color in the swampy area where we walked.

☮

Currently reading: She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Archery Day

Some happy things from today:

• Too often I let things distract me in the mornings. Thankfully this doesn't seem to be a problem on work days. Today it meant I was later for archery practice than I would have liked. It also meant driving through Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. While waiting in line I spent my time watching the occasional bumblebee looking for flowers on the shrubbery. It was a pleasant distraction from a line that was moving slowly.
• At archery there were more people this time. Two were fairly new and still learning. They did well. My score wasn't quite as good as it has been this summer, but still good for me.

• Keziah and Zed gave the cats some cat grass. They get so excited and love eating it.

• Art happened at Keziah’s shop today. A friend did some window painting, it looks really great.

• Keziah, Zed, Gideon, and I went to see the Barbie movie. It was enjoyable and had some laugh out loud scenes.
• Today is Bel's, my youngest's, birthday. They are 29 now. They live in Maryland and I miss them like crazy, especially today. I called them after we got home from the movie and we got to talk a little. It was very good to hear their voice.

☮

Currently reading: She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Get Ready to Crumbl!

Some happy things from today:

• Preparing to open a store is a lot of work. I'm so thankful that so many people have been generous with their time to help Keziah get ready.
• People have also been generous with the things they no longer want to have in their homes. I missed a few people that came in today. We were surprised by a few that came up from Massachusetts, so that was nice.
• More and more products are getting displayed, shelves have gone up, and things are getting sorted at the shop.  

Backroom is getting more organized.

Sorting beads.

• It was getting late (after 9), I was watching the tail end of a movie when Keziah came downstairs and declared that she wanted cookies. It turns out there is a Crumbl that opened recently in Concord. Cookies are for sale until midnight on the weekends. Keziah, Gideon, and I got in the van and got cookies. Zed is out visiting friends tonight, he'll have to wait for his cookies.  It was a sweet end to the day.

A small part of my snickerdoodle.

☮

Currently reading: She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb.

Finished listening to: Witch Child, by Celia Rees.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Friday

Some happy things for today:

• A good part of my morning I let myself be distracted by phone games and reading. Oddly enough, I think it ended up being just the right amount of time to motivate me for the day.
• The rain was coming down heavily when I left the house this morning. My first stop was to see Keziah at the shop, just to see if the key to my post office box was in her car. It wasn’t. Thankfully, at the post office, the mail person was nice enough to get my mail and take my money to rent the box for another year.
• By the time I got back to the shop the rain had ended. It wasn’t time for me to help Keziah yet though, I needed lunch. A quick walk to Teatotaller and I had a delicious Avo Stack. Yay yummy food and energy to help Keziah!
• When I got back to the shop, my protege was there to help too. Three of us got a few of the bags and boxes of donations emptied and items put on the shelves. More donations came in while we were there. Things are coming together.

Back to front

Front to back

Outside, the sun was bright.

• Keziah got me a cool sticker.

• To make up for yesterday’s ice cream mistake, Zed got me a replacement sundae after dinner. I can’t believe I ate the entire thing in one sitting!

• I started weaving the band I will need by mid September.  I didn't get very far because of tension problems, but starting is good.  I think I fixed the problems with the tension too.

☮

Currently reading: She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb.

Currently listening to: Witch Child, by Celia Rees.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Good Ending to the Week

Work week is over happy things:

• This is obvious, but I am happy that my work week is over and I made it through my first week after a vacation. This was iffy for a while because I didn't feel well. Ginger helped and I made it through the shift.
• There was a new-ish hire that I worked alongside. They were polite, quick to smile, friendly, and just a pleasure to work with. I'm not saying that there aren't other nice people at work, there are. I worked with some of them tonight too.  It made for an all around good night, except for not feeling well.
• Usually I go shopping in the beginning of the week for food. This week I forgot a few things and have been getting my after work meals out. Today that included going to the ice cream place. My order was messed up and I didn't go back to fix it. However, I treated the rest of the family to ice cream and that made me happy to be able to do.
• Zed, Gideon, and I watched some Star Trek: The Original Series. We haven't made the time to do that in quite a while. It was a good way to end the day.

☮

Currently reading: She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb.

Currently listening to: Witch Child, by Celia Rees.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Tired Wednesday

Happy Wednesday things:

• Yesterday I worked late, today I got out a little early. The late amount of time and early amount are close to the same so it is basically a wash. I had a hard time staying awake at work so leaving early was a good thing.
• It is Wednesday so two thirds of my work week is done. I’m happy and relieved that I only have one day left. Going back to work after a vacation is hard.
• After work (and a ten minute nap) I visited Keziah at her shop again. She has had more people come in and donate items. A few friends came today to help her sort and organize. I did some sorting too.

Making individual kits.

So much sorting to do!

☮

Currently reading: She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb.

Currently listening to: Witch Child, by Celia Rees.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Back to Work

Today’s happy things:

• Somehow, even with not enough sleep, I made it through my first-work-night-after-vacation. Not only did I work my full shift, I stayed about 20 minutes late to help finish up some work because it was a busy night and I think we were a little short staffed. I’m not sure where I pulled the energy from.
• It was good to see some of the people from work. They still don’t know about the SCA and things I do on my weekends and vacation.
• After work I went and visited Keziah at her new store. She is open for donations this week (Facebook Link). Things are moving along and it is starting to look like a store. There are empty shelves, but things just haven’t been put out yet.

Sorting

Things to sort.

The Door

☮

Currently reading: She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb.

Currently listening to: Witch Child, by Celia Rees.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Home Day

Happy Monday things:

• The first day back from Pennsic is filled with periods of resting followed by periods of unpacking with maybe some laundry in the middle. This year Keziah has decided to take most of the laundry to the laundromat instead of doing load after load at the house. I am very thankful that she is doing this. Since I work tonight, all the machine washing will be taken care of while I sleep.
• Zed had a professional type person mow the lawn. Some of the daylilies were mowed, but they already seem to be bouncing back.
• There are brown-eyed (black-eyed?) Susan’s that are blooming in the front of the house. Most of the other flowering plants in the front are done flowering.

• Now that Pennsic is over I can post a picture of the medalion that was designed for entering this year.  It doubled as a bottle opener which some people were very upset about.  There were some creative ways that people altered their medallion to remove that feature.  I just hung mine upside down.  The little golf cart hanging from it was given to me to show that I could drive a golf cart.  The makers of the medallion got the year wrong, it should be AS LVIII.

☮

Currently reading: She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.