2022 Happy To Be Here

With the closing of the year comes the final blog at this address. The new address should be 2023af.blogspot.com. It will be empty until I write again.  I look forward to seeing you there.  My only resolution is to try to do better.  It is pretty vague, but I'm going to work with it.  Here are some of the happy things from the last day of 2022: As the year closes, I realize I have deadlines to make. The weaving I have only sporadically been working on must be finished before the end of January. To that end, I'm going to attempt to work on it for at least 30 minutes a day until it is done. Today that got me through the first design of the sword and shield and just a little more.   I spent the evening at my friend Amy's house to ring in the new year. When I got there Heather, their old cat, decided that my backpack needed to be marked as hers. I wonder what our cats will do when I get home? We had dinner, watched two movies, and the ball drop in New Yor...

With care, we hung the stockings by the chimney -that no longer works- in the living room.  Winston by the fire. Happy Christmas Eve!  Here are some happy highlights from today: What we are using as a Christmas tree this year is finally ready. Keziah had this idea and yesterday she put it together. Today it got decorated and the presents were placed nearby. She created a "tree" out of the empty boxes we've been receiving deliveries in. Unfortunately, many things came in bags instead. The "tree" is perfect for the safety of the cats. Nanni is under the "tree". Not only did I get myself a laptop with money I've been saving, I got myself a Kindle Fire tablet with my overtime money from this month. It arrived today. I don't know when I will have the time to start using my new toys.  I may have gone overboard on myself this year. We watched three holiday shows this evening. The first was my favorite, Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas . Gideon s...

Yesterday was supposed to be Thankful Wednesday and I forgot. Instead we have Thankful Thursday (because that's original 😉 ). Here are some things I am thankful for: There was actually time off offered at work today and I got out an hour early. That meant I could start my laundry earlier. Instead of going to bed earlier, I watched a movie while my laundry finished. I kind of took a different turn with this one and went with a rated R movie and watched A Bad Moms Christmas . I'm pretty sure I'm not completely like any of the over-the-top moms in the movie and I am thankful for that.  Apparently there is a movie, not Christmas themed, about the bad moms too. Nanni, because I wanted a picture. ☮ Currently reading:  Pocketful of Miracles: Prayer, Meditations, and Affirmations to Nurture Your Spirit Every Day of the Year , Joan Borysenko. Currently listening to the anthology,  A Literary Christmas . Follow the link for more specific information. Thank you for being part o...

Weird work and sleep times meant that this morning I was awake around three. This left me ready to nap around ten so I rested for a short time. It also meant I was ready to crash around five in the afternoon and I did, napping for about an hour. It was just the rest I needed to be able to finish watching the movie Willow with the family; they had started watching it during the week. We also watched the first episode of the new Willow series . So good! Other happy things from today: Being awake so early allowed for a trip to the store before the sun rose and getting a few things. It was nice to avoid the crowds. When I left the sky was lovely and the sun was shining.  Later, I went out shopping again, this time with Keziah, and got to spend time in line. It was good to spend time with Keziah, we got to talk a little about presents.  With the holiday season upon us there is a pull to clean things up. Keziah and I went through two of my boxes (mostly books) today and mo...

It is Thankful Wednesday!  My thankful things for today: I am thankful for canned soup. When leftovers aren't available it is one of the easiest meals I can make. This time of year it is a bonus because they are also a hot meal. As winter gets closer hot food becomes more appreciated. My after work meal today was tomato basil soup. I also had a toasted cheese sandwich to go with it (while I watched The Noel Diary ). This is definitely comfort food for me.   Another thing I am thankful for is that Zed very graciously fronted the money and bought me a new laptop. I'll pay him back when I can get to the bank… I have no idea where my checkbook is (I don't remember the last time I wrote a check).  Which leads me to being thankful for the technology that we have nowadays that makes it possible for me to buy things without a checkbook. Online banking and debit cards are very useful things. Nanni! Because I wanted a picture. ☮ Currently reading: Pocketful of Miracle...

Happy Thanksgiving!! It was a work day (night?) for me. Because of the holiday, I only had to work until 8:45 this morning instead of 11:50. For some reason, I don't have to work the extra day of Friday this week.  They changed my schedule.  Other things that I am happy for today are: They served us breakfast burritos at work today. Every so often they bring in some outside food for the employees. Being a picky eater, I don't always choose to partake. Today I did and chose an egg, cheese, and potato burrito. It was pretty good.  Hearing from family and friends is always a happy occurrence.  I'm happy to say that my youngest is doing fine today, we texted.  My oldest is also fine, we had a quick call when I couldn't find the cinnamon. In the afternoon, after a short nap, I visited my friend, Amy and her son for a Thanksgiving meal- vegan style. I don't care for mushrooms, so I skipped the turkey substitute, the rest was delicious. I like the vegan green...

It has been a relaxing, unproductive day. As I prepare to rest for the night I am suddenly having the panic thoughts of all the things I should have done. In the end, it was a good self care sort of day. My big accomplishment are some of my happy things: Dishes, many dishes were cleaned. Music was listened to and part of a movie watched while washing dishes. The rest of the movie was watched while I paced to get my step count in. I went out and got my seasonal flu shot. I've been forgetting. No problems, other than a long wait, or side effects from getting that vaccine yet. There was a Google meeting this evening for our local SCA group. Keziah and I attended. I got there early enough to be able to visit with a few friends before the meeting started. One other thing that I almost forgot, I put new sheets on my bed and I am looking forward to going to sleep with what I hope is new comfort. I put a hole in the old sheet set about a week ago that kept getting bigger. Winston ...

This morning my big errand was to take Keziah's van in to be inspected. It needs brakes real soon, but not so soon that it didn't pass inspection. Other happy things for today: Instead of waiting for the inspection I walked to the studio. The weather has been warmer than it probably should be for November. It was a nice walk, just about a mile from the shop that I got the van inspected at. I actually worked a little bit on my coursework. The cats were play-fighting. We have a tube for them that has the normal holes on either end and two along the sides to poke out of. Nanni was hiding inside of the tube, but her tail was wapping against the side of the tube or out one of the side holes. I found this funny and tried to get a picture of the tail. Last Friday I went to the studio and made some things on the pottery wheel. Today I went back and trimmed those things so that they may get ready to be bisque fired. I finally picked up my loom again and got a little over an inc...

It is Thankful Wednesday. There are a few of my friends that are posting daily on Facebook for November things that they are thankful for. My Facebook memories remind me that I have done that before too. I'm thankful to be able to read them when I see them. Here are some things I am thankful for: The night was clear with a mostly full moon to guide me to the car last night. I heard from my friend in Texas today. We are both in a better headspace this week than we were last week. I am thankful for the happy memories I have of people that are no longer with us. Nanni was nice enough to pose so I could have a picture in today’s blog. ☮ Currently reading: Pocketful of Miracles: Prayer, Meditations, and Affirmations to Nurture Your Spirit Every Day of the Year , Joan Borysenko. Currently listening to: The Dream Thieves , by Maggie Stiefvater. Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

A day later, I am feeling a bit better about the Java classwork. It wasn’t just sleeping on it that helped. Sometime during the early morning when I couldn’t sleep any more, I found video tutorials to help guide with the actual course I am doing. It is helping to fill in the blanks that seem to be missing from the actual lesson. This is a very happy thing for me. It gives me some hope that I might be able to learn this afterall. Other happy things from today: In ceramics class two more of my pieces were bisque fired. I glazed them today. Hopefully they will be fired again before next Monday. The two pieces that I glazed last week were fired and they look good. The piece to the front is mine, not the one in the back. I was able to trim the piece I made last Monday and I used an underglaze on that one. I still have the three pieces I made on Friday last week to trim. They weren’t dry enough today.   Winston, the orange tabby, finally misses Keziah enough to not just come...

Thankful Wednesday. Apparently I haven't been looking up much lately when I leave for work, or it has been overcast. Looking up last night there was Orion, not where I thought I saw the constellation last. It was beautiful, I am thankful to have seen it. My other thankful things for today are the cats. It is nice to have them near. Nanni, the brown tabby, likes to follow me around the first few minutes that I am up. Once I pet her a little bit, she wanders away. Winston and Nanni. ☮ Currently reading: Pocketful of Miracles: Prayer, Meditations, and Affirmations to Nurture Your Spirit Every Day of the Year , Joan Borysenko. Currently listening to: The Dream Thieves , by Maggie Stiefvater. Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Some happy things: First I must say that I am happy I made it through work last night. I couldn't get to sleep and was tired. At lunch break, I tried to nap for five minutes and that seemed to help. Another happy thing for today is that autumn colors seem to be lasting or at least cycling through nicely even with all the rain we have been getting. My daughter, Keziah, is so talented. She has made a clay piece that she carved a cat into.  Her hope is that she will make it into a small lamp.   ☮ Currently reading: Pocketful of Miracles: Prayer, Meditations, and Affirmations to Nurture Your Spirit Every Day of the Year , Joan Borysenko. Currently listening to: The Raven Boys , by Maggie Stiefvater. Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

 For Thankful Wednesday I am thankful that a few days ago Zed was able to get my laptop usable again.  The touch screen is turned off since that seems to be where the problem is.  It is good to be able to type on a keyboard instead of my phone.  Some other thankful things for today: It has been a week and a half since I got back from my Pennsic vacation.  I think that is long enough for me to be thankful that I didn't get sick with anything while I was there.  I know others who did, but we are all fine.  To my knowledge, the others that I know who got sick, are doing alright--I'm thankful for that too. I am thankful for text and similar types of messaging.  I have had brief conversations over different media today and it is good to 'hear' from friends even when the voice isn't used.   Pets are something else I am thankful for today.  For some reason both the cats have decided that my room is the place to be. ☮ Thank you for being pa...

August 14th Yesterday, perhaps because packing was the priority, I forgot to post about the milestone I hit.  Everyday, for two full years, I reached my 10,000 steps a day goal.   I'm not sure if I will continue with this streak or not, but two years!  Other happy things from today in no particular order: --Amid the green in the following picture is a part of the Appalachian Trail that is between east and west Interstate 90 in Massachusetts.  There is a walking bridge to cross the highway. --We drove east on interstate 90 through New York to get home.  We passed by a quarry.  I'm not sure how big a quarry tends to be but this one seemed really large.  To sate my curiosity,  or boredom,  I went to the internet to research the quarry a little.  What I found was the customer comments list.  It was full of rock puns.  Here is a sample... --We had two cars and three drivers for the trip home from Pennsic...

It is my day to be thankful. At work I was assigned to induct the product into the building. This isn’t a place I tend to end up. I was feeling rather achy so that made this the best place because it uses different muscle groups than the other positions I usually work. I’m thankful for that small change at work. The temperature was in the 90’s today. I took a short walk and I am really thankful for the shade. I am thankful for boxes. ☮ Currently reading: Pocketful of Miracles: Prayer, Meditations, and Affirmations to Nurture Your Spirit Every Day of the Year , Joan Borysenko. Currently listening to: The Will to Battle , by Ada Palmer Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

The walk I was planning on today was canceled so I instead walked with my friend, Amy. We met at Livingston Park and walked about three miles. Here are some other happy things from today: There is a plant that is often part of a wooded area's carpet. I knew it flowered and was happy to see it that way and be able to identify it easier. It seems to be a Canada mayflower. The stream that goes through the pond and park seemed happy. The sun sparkling off the water adding light to a partially shaded area. We were all in the living room and strange rustle and thunk sounds came from the kitchen. When I checked to see what was going on I found Nanni, our gray tabby, apparently trying to close herself into a box! ☮ 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.

This evening I took a two mile walk in town. On the way south on the street I had a lovely conversation with TF. On the way north, the wind was blowing so the conversation ended. Instead I got to watch the sunset. The clouds were layered and the different layers changed colors differently. There were various shades of orange/peach and dark gray lavender and pinks.  Other happy things from today: I’ve been enjoying watching the bulbs, tubers, and rhizomes start to grow in the triangle. I’m kind of wishing I had planted more, but they have room to multiply.  Hopefully the pips will start coming up soon too. One of the cats decided that the bathroom sink looked interesting.  😁 Most of the afternoon I spent at the studio. I printed out a flat cap pattern, made some adjustments, then made the hat–out of an old pillow case. It came out pretty good.  Day 98 of the A&S challenge was making a hat.  It took a lot longer than the 15 minutes needed to complete...

Taking our dog, Aesop, out in the morning can be very peaceful. We just wander around the yard a little and I look around for prints in the dirt and notice how tall the trees are. Other happy things for today: More crocuses have pushed themselves through the soil and mulch to open up to the sun. After looking at the various crocuses and beginnings of tulip leaves breaking through I turned and got the mail. There was a small package for me containing my booklet to keep track of mileage walked during the month of April. This challenge is to encourage people to get out and walk, possibly in medieval garb, as much as possible.   The afternoon and evening was spent helping my friend do her taxes. We snuck a walk in as a break and followed it up with pizza and pleasant conversation for dinner. Her cat, Heather, had taken over the loveseat. I stayed late. On the drive home I pulled over for a quick nap. Sitting at the rest area in my car I pulled out my embroidery so I could h...