2022 Happy To Be Here

    There was a challenge I entered to walk 67 miles during the month of April. The 67 miles is based on the miles walked during the pilgrimage in Canterbury Tales.  For me, that challenge was to be just on actual walks and not my total miles per day using FitBit.  Life happened and I didn't reach that goal.  If I were to begin the challenge again I would just not count working days.  All that said, my total miles for the month are over 200.  Last year when I did this same challenge I walked to Canterbury,  NH.  Today I did it again.  This time I split up the walk by going to the studio first.  I met my friend, Amy,  there and we walked the rest of the way together. Today most of my happy things are in pictures. I am also very grateful to Zed who drove to Canterbury and picked us up when we were done so we didn't have to walk back.   ☮ Currently reading: Pocketful of Miracles: Prayer, Meditations, and Affirmations to Nurture Your Spirit Every Day of the Year , Joan Borysenko.

As is expected, days off are nicer than days worked.  For some reason I am having a hard time getting back into a routine since getting home from Texas earlier this week. The things I kept doing in Texas, like DuoLingo, I'm still getting done. It is the things I couldn't do in Texas, like water my plants, that I am having a hard time remembering.  Here are some happy things from today: Everytime I come into or out of the driveway I am still loving to watch as the plants get larger and open up.  There is a tulip that looks different, but I am certain it came with the rest that are coming up.  According to Lens (an app) this is a wild tulip or a West Point tulip.   Being at the studio and visiting with friends.  I didn't end up doing anything but organize some things and chit chat, it was nice to be there. Minecraft Friday. ☮ Currently reading: Pocketful of Miracles: Prayer, Meditations, and Affirmations to Nurture Your Spirit Every Day of the Year , Joan Borysenko. Curren

 When I got home from work I decided to watch a little more Gilmore Girls .  A few hours later I had completed all there was to watch and was in tears from the show.  I am happy that I have finished this series.  It was good to have something to sit down and watch, but I think I have been less productive because of it.  Other happy things from today: I have slept.  Probably not quite enough still, but I napped and then fell asleep on the couch after dinner while Gideon and Zed watched things. Keziah is away this weekend being an assistant to a friend at a convention.  They arrived safely to their destination after driving all day. I'm really enjoying coming home to the tulips and other flowering plants that I put into the ground at the triangle in the driveway.   ☮ Currently reading: Pocketful of Miracles: Prayer, Meditations, and Affirmations to Nurture Your Spirit Every Day of the Year , Joan Borysenko. And The Middle Ages: A Graphic History , by Eleanor Janega and Neil Max Emma

It has been a very tiring day. Two days ago I was in Texas on a mini vacation and today I was back to work. Keeping my eyes open after work to complete DuoLingo was not possible. Eventually, I got it done but sleep happened too. Now, when I should be relaxing for sleep I am suddenly energized by considering my future. I’m 57 years old and I don’t know what I want to do when I grow up. My place of employment will reimburse a limited amount of money for me to go to school and get a bachelor’s degree. Somehow, I managed to narrow my focus down to three possibilities and when I am done writing this I will research these more. Ideally, that will help me fall asleep. I’m happy that, for today anyways, I feel a little bit of direction. Other happy things from today: Aesop, our dog was all excited to see me today. He was at doggy daycare yesterday when I got home so we didn’t see each other. The leaves on the lilac and the part that will become the flower are more than twice the si

Today was spent mostly at airports.  TF drove me to the Austin Airport super early.  There was a four hour layover in Baltimore and I got back to NH around 3 PM.  Keziah picked me up and we went home.  Then laundry and it is time for me to go to bed to get ready for work tonight. Bye, Austin! Bye, Baltimore! Hello, Manchester! Happy things from today: TF has cats.  I forgot to write about them.  Instead I will just share a few pictures of the cuteness. During the four hour layover I walked back and forth along the concourse and got all my steps for the day in! The flowers at home are much closer to blooming.  There are some that I forgot what I planted. ☮ Currently reading: Pocketful of Miracles: Prayer, Meditations, and Affirmations to Nurture Your Spirit Every Day of the Year , Joan Borysenko. Currently listening to: Seven Surrenders , by Ada Palmer Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

It was a rainy day with passing thunderstorms in Texas. During a lull between the storms I went for a walk to help me get some steps in. I didn’t make it back before the rain started again, but it was close. This was the first time in the four days of being here that I haven’t had to get the rest of my steps in after dark walking the neighborhood. Yay! Other happy things from today: The Blue Bonnets are starting to turn to seed and are still very pretty. I got some pictures of some other flowers while out walking too. There was a section of trail with slightly gnarly trees that were dark from the rain. It was only a slightly eerie feeling so I proceeded. At one point while it was raining steadily, I went out to just listen and take a picture of the water falling onto the trampoline. Someone not too far from where TF lives has a Tardis for a gate door. ☮ Currently reading: Pocketful of Miracles: Prayer, Meditations, and Affirmations to Nurture Your Spirit Every Day of the Year ,

Yesterday the car broke down, Bel and Folke fixed it, but not enough and it was up to TF and I to take the next step in fixing it this morning. Things were going well. There were four parts, one for each cylinder, that we needed to replace. TF and I worked well together and things went well… until we were on the last part, screwing it in the last bolt I had it just about tight enough when the bolt broke. Thankfully, we were able to find bolts at the local automotive store and now the car works a huge amount better.  Other happy things from today: When the bolt broke in half we were officially without a car. The auto place wasn’t far and we started to walk. Thankfully, one of TF’s neighbors picked us up along the way and this shortened the time it took to get the job done. It felt so good when the car was done and it ran well. We visited Bel and Folke again to help them work on the bus. One of the goals was to get the mattress on the bus and we did! The bus hadn’t been started i

Today TF and I visited Bel, Folke at my ex-husband and his wife's place. Bel and Folke are making a recreational vehicle out of an old school bus. We helped them out. It was so great to see them and be able to take part in some of the build.  Today's other happy things: Today I almost said goodbye to my 10,000 steps a day streak. I had hoped to finish getting my steps once we got back to TF's house, but the car broke down. My fitbit didn't move to Texas time like I did. I changed the settings on the Fitbit so it will follow whatever time zone I'm in now. We got back to the house in time for me to get the steps in. As mentioned earlier, the car broke down. We called Bel and they came to the rescue with Folke and my ex-husband. Family can ve a wonderful thing.  We managed to break down across the street from an auto supply store.  That made getting parts easy.  Unfurtunately, the fix didn't quite fix the problem.  It did get us back to TF's house

So many things are green in Texas. It is Texas wildflower month. That means there are shades of blues and reds and purples and whites and oranges and yellows.  They plant the wildflowers along the highways.  Things aren't yet as green in New England. TF even has roses blooming at her house.  It was a day filled with happy things. Today we climbed Enchanted Rock near Fredericksburg, TX. The rock is pink granite. I live in the Granite State . I'm not going to say there isn't any pink granite in New Hampshire (I don’t know), but it is Concord Gray Granite that the state is famous for. There is yellow granite on the property at home. There is a wide variety of granite that I wasn't aware of until today. At the bottom of Enchanted Rock, it was hot. The temperature was in the mid 80's and this girl from the north had a hard time climbing because of the heat. The higher we climbed the stronger the wind blew. There were a few times that I thought the wind migh