Path

My happy things for today are:

• Surprise for me!  I seem to have slept mostly okay last night.  Monday is my transition day from being awake days to being awake nights.  Usually I have a hard time falling asleep.  I didn't yesterday.  I did a lot of tossing and turning, but always went back to sleep. 
• Keziah asked me to vacuum the store after work today. Unfortunately, the vacuum didn't want to work.  I did get to see the progress on the window art.  I hope the artist doesn't mind that I got their picture with the art.

• While I was at the store I also got a picture of the new way the flowers are being displayed.  I really like how it looks.

• Gideon's enthusiasm over finishing the book he has been reading has inspired me to read the book series.  I can't remember if I read it or not when Keziah was his age.  I have added the first book (Alanna, by Tamora Pierce) to my list on the Libby app.
• The prompt for Inktober is Path.  I took the time to find plain paper and a pen.  It is still a quick sketch though.

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

Currently listening to: Homage to Catalonia, by George Orwell.

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

Inktober

 Some happy things from today:

• This morning I had hoped to go shoot archery.  I did not.  It got late and I had a bunch of things I wanted to accomplish.  I rested on my bed and practiced my DuoLingo.  I woke up an hour later.  I guess I needed more sleep.  
• While doing the dishes I played some music and started to sing.  My lyrics turned into, "and I can't hold a tune today, but I'm going to sing anyway."  Gideon and I laughed.  He agreed that I should sing anyway.
• I stepped outside and checked out the plants in the front of the house.  The butterfly weed has long seed pods.  If I remember, I might harvest some to plant somewhere else. 

• I didn't use ink, or take much time, but I did do a little doodle for Inktober today.   The prompt today was dream.  I'm not an artist.

☮

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

Currently listening to: Homage to Catalonia, by George Orwell.

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

Autumn Olives

 My happy things for today are:

• Last night, I didn't go to work.  I decided that I couldn't justify the expense of a Lyft.  I had time and I used it.  The result was about nine hours of broken sleep.  This was good.
• Since I was home, when messages came in this morning about upcoming SCA events, I was able to respond.  It is possible that I responded too much.  Either way, I got some business taken care of and that too, was good.
• At the end of the day I felt that I accomplished some things but not a lot.  I went outside for a look around the yard.  Another rose has bloomed.

• The autumn olive trees are filled with berries.  Zed liked these when we first moved here.  I don't remember if I tried them or not.  

☮

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

Currently listening to: Homage to Catalonia, by George Orwell.

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.

Pennsic Full Day Four

Pennsic Full Day Four happy things:

• My back has been bothering me since before I got to Pennsic and sleeping on a cot does not help. A friend loaned me a memory foam mattress and I had a nice nap with it this afternoon. I'm looking forward to a full night's sleep on it.
• I took a walk to the campground store and got lunch. They have spinach rolls that are pretty good and I remembered them from last year.
• Some friends and I walked to the battlefield after dark to see the hill. Every year they mow the Pennsic year number into the hill. Usually they use Roman numerals. This year is 50. Apparently the L was not easy to see and looked wrong so they put 50 up there instead. It is lit up at night and looks really nice.
• The moon rose a bright orange. The "face" quite visible. Beautiful.

Pictures:

☮️

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


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

Sew Day

Happy Saturday things:

• The volume of items to be processed at work last night was low enough that I was able to leave early. I'll probably miss that overtime pay at some point, but I feel so much better having gone home and gotten more sleep…over three hours more sleep.
• We are in the last week to prepare for two weeks of medieval-ish camping. I was able to repair one gown, put a hem on a small table cover, and work on a chemise I started making over a year ago.

Hemmed table cover

My finger should not be visible through that mess of seams.
Things like that got fixed today!

• Fireworks aren't my favorite thing because of the noise. They are pretty though. Tonight a neighbor shot off some nice ones. Purples and greens were especially good.

☮

Currently listening to: The Pilgrimage, by Paulo Coehlo.

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

Tired Wednesday

Today’s happy things:

• Yesterday, I tried real hard, but couldn't fall asleep. I did, eventually, but it took almost three hours to finally fall into a restful sleep. So I am super tired today. When I realized that there were things on my mind to do that were helping me to stay awake, I made a list.  And so, I was able to get productive enough after work to accomplish things that were on my mind as I tried to sleep.  That feels good.
• Keziah got the cash register for her new shop today. Yay!  I'm so happy that things are moving along for her.

• Pizza was served at work today. When everyone is on mandatory extended time, there tends to be special things, like food, more often.  I wonder what tomorrow will bring.

☮

Currently listening to: The Pilgrimage, by Paulo Coehlo.

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

Saturday!

Some Saturday happy things:

• Last night I did a good thing and turned off my morning alarm. I actually got just over eight hours of sleep.  I even had a short nap this afternoon.  Sleep is so important!
• The weather forecast said rain for today, but it didn't start until the afternoon. Between Zed, Gideon and I, some of the lawn is mowed, weeded and trimmed.

Cardinal

Paperwhites and irises (not yet blooming)

Lily of the valley

• Keziah participated in a local pottery throw down. It is a small workspace so the rest of us stayed home. Thankfully a friend live streamed the event so we were able to watch parts of it while working in the yard. She won the first round and scored third place overall. Yay, Keziah!
• It looks like sometime in the next few days there might be some irises blooming.
• We met with friends for dinner. Great food and better company is a wonderful thing.

☮

Currently listening to: The Librarian of Saint-Malo, by Mario Escobar.

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

Sleepy Warmth

The last few nights I haven't slept well. I'm hoping for better tonight.  Here are some happy things from today:

• At work I was trained a little more in Problem Solve but with a different trainer. 
• It was a slow night for problems with two people and when we finished I started to be trained in QA. I assume this means Quality Assurance but I wasn't told.  Either way I am happy to be learning new things.
• Most of the late morning and early afternoon I have been cold.  My last happy thing for the day is how I will be feeling shortly when I am snuggled under the covers and getting warm while I fall to sleep.

Winston!

☮

Currently listening to: Angela’s Ashes, by Frank McCourt

Currently reading: An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed, by Helene Thursten

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

Presents!

Yesterday I got so much sleep that I didn't get enough sleep last night. This was unfortunate because I had plans. Thankfully I have awesome friends that understand my weird schedule and why I fell asleep while visiting. Other happy things from today:

• There is a recipe I found a few years ago for Pull Apart Garlic Bread. It is really yummy and was my contribution to go with dinner with friends. I made it this morning and everyone seemed to like it.
• My friend has a new-to-her floor loom that she wanted to show me. It needs a couple of parts but is in really good shape other than that. I look forward to seeing what she produces with it.
• She and her husband picked up some small gifts for Keziah and me. The windmill is for Keziah and the Pelican for me.

☮

Finished listening to: The Geography of Bliss, by Eric Weiner

Currently reading: Camino Wandering, by Tara Marlow

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

Sleep

It was Thursday so I took a nap after work and my midday meal. 5 PM is when I set my alarm to wake me up. After turning off the alarm, I woke up at 6:30 PM. Dinner with the family was nice. Zed and Keziah went out with some friends after and I lay myself down on the couch for a few minutes. And this is why I am writing my blog after 2 AM on Friday. I awoke enough to hear family members move around and go to bed themselves, but I did not. Apparently I needed to sleep. Here are my other few happy things from today:

• The new equipment at work is interesting. I worked in that section last night. At the beginning of the aisle the packages are scanned so it knows where to push them off. The belt is made to move the packages down the aisle and when the package is at the correct bin it rolls the package off and into the bin. I'm glad I got to work in that area and have this new experience. 
• They scheduled me to work as a Safety Champion again. I’m really enjoying doing this part of the job. I think it is the combination of helping people and the type of physical activity that is involved. 
• Since, other than work, all I did was eat and sleep (I'm glad I did DuoLingo before my first nap); have a Bitmoji!

☮

Currently listening to: The Geography of Bliss, by Eric Weiner

Currently reading: Camino Wandering, by Tara Marlow

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

Snowy Day

Sleep… I went to rest for a bit and woke up over four hours later. Working overnight has really changed my sleeping routines. Here are some happy things from today:

• We had a snow storm. Again I am happy that Zed has someone to come and plow us out. I got the van cleaned off and shoveled out and tomorrow the plow will be back to clean things up. I’m not sure what the final numbers are but it seems like around eight inches.

• My friend, who recently had a baby, sent me a bunch of pictures today. So adorable! I’m hoping to get to visit them soon.

☮

Currently listening to: The Geography of Bliss, by Eric Weiner

Currently reading: Camino Wandering, by Tara Marlow

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

Happy Valentine's Day

Last night I fell asleep easily. Unfortunately, I didn't stay asleep. I woke up about two hours early and couldn't get back to sleep. Here are some happy things from today:

• I didn't fall asleep at work. There was definitely some occasional zoning out, but I didn't fall over where I stood and that is a good thing.
• Zed, my son-in-law, gave me flowers for Valentine's Day. They are made out of wood.  I haven't seen them, but I know he got some for his mom too.

• Any sleep I get today will be a good thing.

☮

Currently listening to: The Becoming, by Nora Roberts

Currently reading: Unenchanted, by Chanda Hahn

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