Sunday Work In Progress

Here's Willie! As you can see, I am coming into the home stretch. I still have to do the two mittens that hang from his cute tree branch arms. My goal is to complete them tomorrow during Dancing with the Stars. I am starting the back stitch on his head and doing it as I finish up each section. I do not love doing backstitch, so I try to break it up.

It did not rain all weekend as expected. We did get the rain all of Friday night, but it gave way to sunny skies and warm weather all weekend. Liesl stretched out and sunbathed today. I wish I could capture on camera what a happy little dog she is. She laid out in the sun, watched over her queendom that is her backyard, played with her toys, and came and sat in front of me so I could scratch her neck.

I got all of my chores done today, which makes me feel good. I love a clean house, clean sheets, having the laundry done, etc. I also had to drop off my library books back at the library. I had the pleasure of reading three really excellent books back to back, so I felt a little sad taking them back to the library. I felt like I was saying goodbye to three really wonderful friends.

Well, I am off to bed early so I can be ready for the work week. It is my busy week as an accountant so I want to hit the ground running and be well rested. I hope you have a great work week, too!

Party Day

I had plans after work, but was so tired, I had to come home, put on my jammies and crashed on the sofa with my stitching. Liesl was more exhausted than me. She ate her dinner and then put herself to bed.

Today's party at work was really great. The food was awesome, the rain held off, and we had a lot of fun. Our pumpkin did not win, but the ones that did were really good! Liesl had so much fun. When I put her Dracula cape on in my office, she did her legs buckling thing and glared at me with her head hanging down. It was quite pitiful.

The story was different when she got up to the party and saw her doggie friends all dressed up and loving it. Plus, everyone was telling her she looked beautiful. Suddenly she was posing for photos doing her show dog stance and smiling. (She is descended from show dogs, and ever since she was a little baby, she has done the stance. My daughter calls it "Liesl doing her pretty legs.") She was even smiling for the camera. What a ham. My friend at work calls her "Mangia Una" in Italian, because she says that Liesl eats it up.

Anyway, she was enjoying little bites of my hamburger bun and tiny, tiny bites of hamburger, until our CEO, who was doing the barbecuing, came over with a hot dog that he had cut up for the dogs. Liesl has never had hot dog and wondered what little bite of Heaven she had been given. It was all she and the other dogs could think about after that. She played with her puppy friends and made sure she saw all of her favorite people. After we got back to my office, she crashed and was sound asleep the rest of the afternoon. Then as I said early, she went right to bed after dinner.

I did stitch for a little while but I am totally tired, so I had to be really careful. Otherwise, I will be pulling out my work tomorrow. So I have just been taking it easy. I think I will finish my book and turn in early so I can have fun tomorrow.

Amazing Day!

You know those days that are few and far between, where nice things happen, your work seems effortless, and everything sort of feels in sync. Well, I had one of those today and it was pretty cool. I think I have shared in the past that I work at my dream job with really wonderful people. I really enjoy being around the people that I work with, and I look forward to going to work in the morning.

It was a pretty busy day, as always at work, but in the afternoon our team had to decorate our pumpkin. We have really fun people on our team, so we laughed alot in the creative process. We also put together a darn cute pumpkin. It was really fun.

Tomorrow is our party at work. I will tell you in the past, I have cringed at the notion of the company party, because in many companies they really are not much fun at all. But I have to tell you that we have really fun company parties that everyone looks forward to. It will be raining tomorrow, but we will have barbecue, and contests, and good camraderie. The employees' dogs will also dress up and are invited to participate, too. So Liesl will be with her favorite dog buddies and people buddies. What is amazing is that all of the dogs are off lead and know to be on their best behavior at the parties. The dogs seem to know it is a special occasion and do not wander off, nor do they cause any trouble. They all get along and add something extra special to the party.

Have a happy Friday.

Trader Joe's rocks! Tonight I had to run into the local TJ's for salad. I am trying to stick to my diet in hopes of dropping another size in the next month. I had my salad fixins' in hand, ready to check out and that was when I spied them-dark chocolate covered caramels. I wrestled with my myself, but in the end I got them as a special treat. I had one tonight after my salad, and it was spectacular! I totally heart Trader Joe's.

Tomorrow is the prep day for our Halloween party at work. My department has to get our pumpkin decorated tomorrow in order to enter the company contest. Our project is super tippy top secret. Then, tomorrow night I have to make my contribution to the party. I am not cool enough to dress up this year, but Liesl will go as a vampire. Her cape is the only thing that she will wear for the five minute maximum. She does not like to dress up at all. In fact, she goes into full on drama queen mode if I put her raincoat on when it is rainy or really cold. Her legs buckle under the weight of the coat, her shoulders droop, and she will sit with her back to me. So the little cape will be her concession, but the clock will be ticking on her tolerance.

I did get to stitch tonight. I will post photos this weekend!

A Stitching Evening...

Okay, not the whole evening, but a good part of it. I also had a couple of hours of studying and a test in my Microeconomics class. This is one of the hardest classes I have ever taken. I am really being challenged in this class, which is kind of cool. I did get a 100% on my test. Whew!

After all of the hard brain work, I rewarded myself with playing with Liesl for a while, then settled in to stitch. I did get a lot done on Willie. I am coming into the home stretch with it. It was so peaceful to sit still after a busy Monday. It is kind of cold this evening, so it is really nice to be cozy. It is supposed to rain all of this weekend, so I am planning for another comfy weekend at home, stitching.

The rain really made my yard smell all fresh and clean. I have a little bit of clean up to do from the wind. But every thing got a nice drink of water. I had also had done a bunch of work in my driveway and it really looks like it is going to pay off. It was full of weeds and just not very pretty, but I have put a bunch of color there. I can't wait to see what it looks like after the winter rain.

End of a Rainy Weekend

What a good weekend. I had church first thing this morning, with an early choir practice. I truly love my church and the people who are a part of it. It is such a loving place and I feel so happy when I am there.

Afterward was my first real outing in a couple of weeks. I got to have lunch with a very dear friend. This is the kind of friend that from the moment we sit down, we always have deep philosophical discussions. I always leave with a lot to think about. She is such a neat friend and so wise. I got to have yummy prawns and chips. I even decided to not feel guilty for having fried food for lunch.

It rained here all weekend, which was kind of nice. My garden is happy for all of the fresh water. Plus, it was not cold. I got to stay inside and do the things I like to do. I did not stitch as much as I had planned, but it is okay. I still feel very content. If this keeps up, my garden will thrive, which is a good thing.

Well, I have a little furry companion who has just entered the room requesting my attention. I guess this is my cue to go put kisses on top of her sweet little head...

A Nice Saturday

Well, the day did not go entirely the way I had planned, but it was still super. The skies were semi clear this morning. The air had that warmth that it does before it is going to rain, so I wanted to go for a nice long walk with Liesl. She knew what was up on the way to Pacific Grove, so she got really excited and starting shaking with excitement in the car. Pretty darn cute. We walked about three miles total, which was really nice. Monterey Bay was nice and calm for the moment, and the path was relatively uncrowded.

I was still feeling pretty motivated when I got home, and decided to do some pre-weather garden prep. I trimmed a large floral hedge back, swept up dead leaves, weeded a few beds, filled the yard waste bin, moved the outdoor furniture out of the weather, and transplanted a huge geranium that was so root-bound it was not funny. It must have been in this pot for years. It has not been very healthy so I knew that unless it got planted in the ground, it was not going to live much longer. In order to move it, I broke off a bunch of legs and transplanted them in my driveway. It will look darling when it matures out front. While I was out there, I got to officially meet one of the neighbors that moved in across the street a few months ago. She is a total sweetheart and has a couple of dogs that she is always doting on. She told me that they are now keeping chickens in their backyard and she would like to share some eggs with me. I am so excited. A new friend and fresh eggs. I am pretty happy.

I am thrilled because just as I came in and was taking off my shoes, the skies opened up and the rain came down the rest of the afternoon. I must have totally overdone it because Liesl and I came in and took a long nap. I got to putter around the house after that. It was so nice. I like puttering around my little bitty house. It is only 600 square feet, so puttering does not take a long time. I have two friends that have little houses (even smaller than mine), too, and we always talk about how much we love it. They are quick to clean, easy to maintain and just enough space. Plus, if you are ever going to buy something you need to think long and hard about your purchase because something else has to go so that you have room for it. This includes something like a pair of pants. It makes you run a really lean household. Plus I only have one closet. It also makes you have to be very organized.

Well, I am off to stitch and read my book. I am reading a really good one, "Shanghai Girls" by Lisa See.

Cheap Thrills

Earlier this week I posted that I would like to decorate a small porch/alcove with a fall theme. I had to run by Target after work to pick up some non exciting things like shampoo, so while I was there I looked at welcome mats. They had a beautiful fall themed welcome mat, on clearance for $6.48. Yay! I was feeling pretty happy, and thought that I would look across the street at the local Marshalls for more fall inspiration. (I heart Marshalls!) I was looking at the clearance housewares stuff, when I spied a small basketed dried floral arrangement for $3. It is in browns and creams, so it really needs something. So tomorrow I will pull out my paints, beads and ribbons and see what I can do to jazz it up. I have a new look on the way for the porch for under $10! I just need to go get a pumpkin at Safeway, but that will have to wait a few days.

It rained here today and is supposed to rain this weekend. I am looking forward to staying in tomorrow and working on craft type projects. I think I may bake some cookies, too. It should be a fun domestic day. Sunday I have church and I am looking forward to having lunch with a friend. However, tomorrow is my day to play at home, read my book, cuddle with my little furgirl and relax. But first I am sleeping in...

It will be nice to sleep in tomorrow. I am thinking that it is also time to change over to flannel sheets tomorrow. It is hard to believe it is time to do that already. But it will be even cozier and that is a very good thing!

Friendship

A good, albeit tiring day. I had to go to a payroll workshop early this morning. I really do like going to workshops where I learn a lot. I like the ones that help me to do a better job. This one was really good and I got a lot out of it. The only problem with going to a workshop in the morning is that I was hustling to get caught up the rest of the day.

A big bummer in the last couple of weeks of getting over my bug was that I have not been able to see my friends, or ever talk to them on the phone. I have been catching up with people one at a time over the past few days. I have really missed everyone. I got to talk to a wonderful, really wise friend on the phone tonight, which really made me happy. We laughed and caught up on the news. Then we somehow got on the subject of friendships. She said something really profound to me, about the true abundance of love that you get in your friendships. Wow! I have never really thought about it like that before. I have been thinking about that all evening.

I think about the abundance of love that I have received, particularly in this past year. I have wonderful friends who have brought me flowers, called me, prayed with me, laughed with me, walked dogs with me, had meals with me, invited me over for holidays, and have told me they love me, particularly when I have been down. Wow. I think about how these friends have provided a special nourishment in my life. I include Liesl in this picture, as well. She has been a beautiful companion and has also given me an abundance of love.

Tonight I think about God's grace and the blessings of the abundance of love from Him and my friends.

Just a really quick post tonight. I did not sleep well last night and today Murphy's Law was in full swing. What a ride. So I came home, changed right into my jammies, made dinner and collapsed onto the sofa with a good book. I am totally tired.

I had been looking forward to coming home and stitching all day, but when I finally sat down, I was too tired to pick up my project. I knew if I even attempted to stitch that I would be pulling out my work next time. Oh, well, it is supposed to rain this weekend, so it will be a perfect time to stay inside and stitch.

I just wanted to give a helpful tip that I stumbled across. I happen to love the Old Farmer's Alamanac. It is a pretty cool publication and is pretty amazing in its forecasts. I wanted to look up some weather information the other day so I did a google search and found them online. They have a great email newsletter, too, which is full of really cool stuff. So if you are interested in looking around at their site here is the web addy: farmersalmanac.com

Well, I have a schnauzer making sweet little puppy snores, so I am going to sign off and go to dreamland myself...

Wow! It was really dark and kinda spooky when Liesl and I took our walk early this morning. It was really foggy, and I could not see very far in front of me. We walk for an half an hour every morning, so we both get some exercise. We do not walk super briskly as I read recently that a walk is not only exercise, but mental stimulation for a dog as well. They have to smell the happenings in the neighborhood and check the p-mail. So I do build time into the schedule for Liesl to check the goings on. But now that the time change isn't until November 6th, it is really dark. The fog added a layer of creepiness to the whole thing. LOL

The walk is good mental stimulation for me as well. I think during that time, or say my prayers in the quiet of the early morning. I look for interesting flowers blooming when it is light. There are a couple of orange mushrooms on my walk that are an odd, interesting shape that are about a foot and half across. Most mornings, I can smell the salt air from Monterey Bay, and taste it on my lips. It is a special time of day. It seems almost magical, because the day stretches ahead, full of so many possibilities.

As the sun finally starts to rise, we have what John Steinbeck described as "pearl time." It is the small window of time, where everything is sort of suspended for a moment before the clatter begins. The light is almost irradescent as it starts to settle on the town. It hangs there for a short time, and it is almost like a power switch is thrown and the hustle and bustle of our beautiful town by the bay begins...

Liesl's Throne

Yes, this is where she holds court. Liesl loves the ottoman. It is one of those bench type ottomans. She likes to stretch out to her full length on it. Oh, and if your feet, the remote, or anything that is in her way should happen to be on it, expect a cold nose to nudge it off. LOL She does love this spot, especially when company is over. I suspect it is because she is the direct center of attention. LOL She is a bit sleepy in this picture, and quickly moved when I attempted to take another photo. She does look pretty cute laying here, especially when she dangles her feet over the edge.

We had a good day today. I got a lot of work done today, then came home to a really ordinary evening. I love ordinary evenings. I made a wonderful, healthy dinner. Did a little bit of stitching. Played with Liesl, then brushed her out. As you can see, she has beautiful, really soft and shiny fur, that is fun to brush. It is on really ordinary evenings that I really have the opportunity to see how blessed I am. Enough food to eat, a place to live, a meaningful job, amazing family and friends, a sweet dog...I am truly fortunate.

It is most definitely fall here now. It is cool and we are expecting more rain later in the week. I have a little nook of a front porch and I am thinking about doing a little decorating for fall out there. I think I may go buy a cute pumpkin at Safeway to put out there, too. It would look really darling and happy, if I put some work into it. I have to go through my stuff to see what I have to make it look cute out there. I do love fall, especially all of the colors. I think I may have to check out Martha Stewart's website for more inspiration. She always has great, inexpensive ideas!

Sunday Night Already?!

It was a lovely, quiet weekend. Today it rained so it was a very cozy day. It was our first real rain of the year. This day is always a tough one for a certain dog, as she pokes her head out of the door, realizes it is raining, then just stands there remembering that she is a sugar cube and will melt in the rain. LOL. This is the same dog that plays in the surf at the beach a few blocks away and always comes home wet. But rain, that is something else entirely.

My cozy day was quite peaceful and lovely. I got to write my paper for my class, read my book, cross stitch and watch a movie. I watched "Wild Hogs" which is laugh out loud funny. I love the scene where they are pushing their bikes through the desert and the buzzard is walking behind them. Cracks me up.

I do so love the rain. I love the way it sounds on the roof, particularly as I am falling asleep. I love the low light and having the lamps on in the house, so they sort of glow. I love having my cup of tea, my stitching, and Liesl curled up in a blanket next to me. As you can see, I did get some stitching done and I am coming into the home stretch on this piece. It was a good day to work on this.

I am really grateful for days like this. It is really good to be home, recharging the batteries, and doing some of the things that I really love doing. I even got to watch Jerseylicious, truly one of the funniest shows on television. You know how I love my New Jersey shows! I am hopeful now that I have rested that I will be totally over this bug during the week.

Enjoy your Monday!

TGIF!!!!!

Oh, my goodness, I am tired. It has been a busy week at work and I am still getting over the dregs of that bug I had. I stopped at the grocery store on the way home. All I wanted was to get home. However, I was out of Newman's Own moist dog food (it gets mixed with a certain spoiled dog's kibble. ) The only place that carries it around here is Safeway, which thankfully is on my way home. Had it not been for the aforementioned spoiled schnauzer, I would have just gone home with my eyes glazed over. But, she gobbles it up and looks so happy after her dinner, so it is totally worth it. In fact, we were just saying at work today that we love the look of a happy dog.

Speaking of happy dogs, Liesl is pretty worn out tonight. She got to play with her big dog friends today. Both of these dogs have about 25-30 pounds on her and yet she holds her own with them. (I think she trusts them and knows neither one of them would ever hurt her.) So she runs with them, smack talks like them, shoulder bumps them as she goes by them, and loves to chase and be chased by them. She looks hilarious running by them as fast as she can. Mini schnauzers are known for being able to cover a lot of ground really fast, which is how a lot of them end up getting lost. Liesl was exhausted all day, but all three dogs had their eyes all lit up and big smiles. She came home and went to bed early, after her feast.

I got to stitch tonight. Willie is so close to being done. He is so darn cute. The photos totally do not do this cute little guy any justice. He is so sparkly and adorable.

Off to get some rest...

The Ides of October Are Upon Us...

My goodness. Can you believe that we are halfway through October? Time is flying by at a record pace. I am in the mood for something with pumpkin in it and may have to bake something this weekend. I love pumpkin anything. Hmm, now that I think about it, perhaps I should bake a sweet potato pie. Delish.

We had an interesting workshop at work yesterday. It was really good and had me thinking about it throughout today. One of the things that was brought up was that we each have a system of reward for ourselves. This got me to thinking on a deeper level of how I reward myself. I reward myself and my working hard by sleeping in on Saturday mornings cuddled up to my dog. It makes me happy and I look forward to it. I reward myself by setting aside time to stitch or read at the end of the day. I reward myself by walking by the water, or making myself a nice meal or having dinner with a good friend or family member. I had never considered these things to be rewards, but somehow it makes them seem ever more special. The other thing the workshop leader brought up was that we need to protect our rewards. I found this to be really intriguing, because when I am stressed or get over extended with commitments, these are the first things to go. As a result I get tired, cranky and feel really stressed. I never thought about protecting these things. But they are really important and I need to guard them with special care.

I am looking forward to the weekend. I am still trying to get rid of the crud, so I am looking forward to resting. I may not even get out of my jammies on Saturday. I have not had a jammie day in a long time. I think I am due. In any case, it will be nice and quiet. I think I will reward myself by finishing Willie!

Witnessing a Miracle

What an evening. I stayed home tonight so that my throat can get all of the way better. The bonus was that I got to come home a bit early today, too. It was a beautiful afternoon, and the sky was the most beautiful shade of blue. It is a blue that you only see in the autumn sky. Rather than starting chores right away like I felt I should, instead I changed into my playclothes (sweats) and relaxed. I had a glass of juice and just decompressed for a while. I got out my stitching and worked on Willie for a while. I am coming into the home stretch on this piece. I will kind of miss it when I am done. It was nice to sit down and relax when I got home rather than rush around, doing chores and cooking dinner.

Tonight I got to see the amazing rescue of two of the Chilean miners. It is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. God bless them, the rescue workers and the people of Chile. It has been beautiful to see the love of families reuniting. It has been beautiful to see the moment of joy of rescue workers as they see everything they have worked for come to a successful conclusion. It truly is a miracle. I pray for the miners continued recovery and readjustment. I am so happy for their families. Thanks be to God!

I had a little bit of a lonely evening. I had an overly tired schnauzer tonight. She got to play with every single one of her puppy friends at work today, including her favorite big dog, who always covers her head in dog spit. Her fur on her head is always a bit crisp after she plays with him. LOL. She wears it proudly. She fearlessly boxes his nose with her front paws, then he puts her whole head in his mouth and slobbers in her hair. They think this is a hilarious game and both have big doggie grins afterward. Anyway, she honored me with a few passes of playing fetch with her favorite squeaky ball. She decided then she would rather chew on her chewie and then walked off to her puppy bed with nary a "good night." She cracks me up.

Yay!

Yay! I am feeling much better. Still have the sore throat, but all in all, definitely on the mend. Whoohoo.

Had a pretty good day today. It was really productive, which always feels good. I got to come home right after work. I started to putter, but realized I should probably take it easy. I ended up chatting on the phone with a couple of friends, which always fills my heart with so much joy. One of my girlfriends has a standard schnauzer so we always take time to share our schnauzer stories, which make us laugh. If you know anyone with a schnauzer of any size, they will tell you similar stories of a dog with a really goofy sense of humor. So we have our little schnauzer fan club and celebrate a breed that is very complex, but truly amazing dogs. LOL

I am going to stitch to DWTS tonight but only for a little while. I really feel the need to go to bed early and keep getting this yuckiness out of my system. It has been a wonderful day though filled with beauty, friendship and joy.

Sunday

I woke up this morning with a relapse of the crud. I had been feeling a bit better the last couple of days, but had a rough night and woke up with a really sore throat. I feel badly because I had to miss church and a responsibility I had agreed to. At the same time, I had no business taking these germs to church where I could possibly get someone else sick, particularly someone with a weaker system. I called a wonderful friend, who stepped in to take my place and I am so grateful. So instead, my little furry nurse and I wrapped ourselves up in a quilt on the sofa. Liesl has been amazing the past few days, and has stayed closer to me then usual. I still think she must perceive that I am not feeling well, and is trying to provide comfort. She has stayed on the bed with me every night since I really started feeling badly, so I think she feels it is her job to keep a vigil. Dogs are so amazing. When I shared the story with someone the other day, she shared that when she had her recent surgery, all six of her dogs stayed on the bed with her during her recovery. They, too, laid perfectly still while she got better. We are truly blessed to have pets in this life.

Obviously, my day of domesticity was a no go. I did make my minestrone, only because I really needed some soup and it does not take a lot of attention or work. I stayed put on the sofa, got to watch my race and, whoohoo, Tony won today! I took another really ridiculously long nap and stitched this afternoon. Willie is close to being done. I have a feeling it will be ready by the end of next weekend. Then it will be Ellie May's turn. I will finish them both at the same time. I have to go through my fabric stash to find a suitable backing fabric for them.

The good thing about having to sit still and be quiet is that I had the opportunity to count my blessings. I am so grateful for so much.

Well, I am off to get some rest. Stay well.

Serene Saturday

Today was a good day. I got to sleep a bit late, which is helping with the crud that I am getting over. Then it was off with my daughter to get our hair cut. We did not make it to the craft store, which was okay. I did duck into Target though for dog shampoo. What can I say, I lead a very glamorous life.

One of the features with this bug that is going around, is the inability to stay awake. Liesl and I ended up taking a really long nap this afternoon. I am hoping that I am at the tail end of this thing. I had been reading my book, which is a really great book, so in a way I am sort of bummed. I am reading "Loving Frank" about Frank Lloyd Wright and the nine year affair that he had with one of his clients, in spite of being married to other people and nine children. It came highly recommended to me.

I will get to stitch tonight, and I am so happy about it. As you can see, I have made a lot of progess on Willie. He is so darn cute and is such a fun stitch. I am a bit bummed that the camera does not show that he is really sparkly. I love Lori Birmingham designs.

Tomorrow after church will be my day of domesticity. I have been talking with a dear friend who does a lot of her cooking on the weekends for the week ahead. She does this so that she will eat healthy during the week rather than popping something processed into the oven or grabbing take out when she is tired or too stressed to cook. This strikes me as a brilliant idea. I have a few veggies in the fridge that I need to use up, so I will make minestrone tomorrow. I love hearty soups so I will have good lunches. I also have some bananas that need to be used so I am going to make banana bread. I think I may make some cookies, too, for the evenings that I just need something sweet. I am looking forward to this. Tonight, I cooked up the rest of the chicken breasts that I bought last week, so I have chicken for salads or meals this week. Now I will have more time to stitch during the week, and I will eat healthy. Yay!

Friday!

It has been a couple of days since I posted. I caught the crud that is going through my office and was feeling pretty gross yesterday. I had to stay home and spent the whole day laying down because I felt so rotten. Get your flu shots and have plenty of hand sanitizer around. It looks like this is going to be a bad cold and flu season.

What was kind of cool was that in the wee hours of Thursday morning, I could not get comfortable enough to sleep. I kept moving around. Liesl is not much of a lap dog, she will snuggle, loves to be hugged and kissed, but does not sit on a lap, nor does she like to be touched while she is sleeping, unless she is cold, sick, hurt or scared. Therefore, she sleeps in her own bed, unless it is really, really cold. Well, she must have sensed something was wrong because after my wiggling around trying to get comfortable enough to sleep, she let me know that she wanted to be up on the bed. She came up and snuggled up right against me and laid really still. I was able to go pretty much right to sleep with her calm, warm, furry self right there. She must have sensed that I needed some sort of comforting. She laid perfectly still until mid morning, until I felt I could get up and make a cup of tea. Dogs are pretty amazing in their perception. I think they know way more than we give them credit for.

I am feeling better tonight and plan a weekend of quiet. I got to stitch tonight. I am almost done with Willie Melt and will post photos the weekend. I have to get ready to stitch Ellie May after this.

I got to have dinner with my daughter tonight. We met at our favorite burger place and got to catch up. We decided to get our hair done together tomorrow morning and go poke around the craft store. Other than that I am going to rest and sleep this bug out of my system.

Stay well!

Autumn Is Upon Us

Well, the season is truly changing now. It is colder and I am finding myself wanting a lovely cup of hot cocoa in the evening. No longer do I find myself thinking about coming home to my garden. Instead, I am enjoying evenings indoors and thinking about baking and quilting.

It drizzled a bit today. It is sort of frustrating when it drizzles, because I wish it would rain and get it over with. I do like the rain, but only when I am home out of the weather. I love the way it sounds on the roof as I drift off to sleep at night or as I sit stitching with Liesl tucked into a blanket next to me on the sofa.

I am thinking that I may plan my winter in the same way I plotted out my summer. There are some indoor projects I would like to complete. I would like to get a small quilted wall hanging completed. I have been promising homemade marshmallows to a couple of friends, and I would like to have dinners for my friends. I would like to read some really great books. I remember a long time ago reading a Martha Stewart magazine and she would have a calendar where she would plan out things like dividing plants, or making a birthday gift. I am thinking this may be a good idea so I can get everything done that I am excited about.

Happy Monday!

The cold weather has arrived a bit early here. It was wear a coat cold today. It was gray and we even had a little drizzle. Tomorrow's forecast includes rain, so I ran home after work, put dinner in the oven, and headed out to the yard to put my gardening tools away. I also swept up all of the leaves and pine needles so that it would not be a mushy mess after the rain. I am proud to say I got everything done and my tools are now safe and out of the weather.

I am also proud of myself because I made a delicious, super healthy dinner tonight. Safeway had chicken breasts for $.97 lb, so I bought a large package for $5.00. (I love a bargain!) I baked one tonight, with brown rice and broccoli and carrots. Since brown rice and chicken breast are Liesl's favorites, I also made a plate for her. I am convinced on nights like this that I have a toddler with fur. I chopped up the vegetables and mixed them in with the rice and small pieces of chicken. My little furgirl spit the vegetables out and pushed them all around her plate. I told her she could not have anymore chicken unless she ate her veggies. The face while she ate those vegetables was priceless. Oh, the drama... She was one happy little dog though and snuggled into her blanket shortly afterward to snooze off her feast.

It has been a wonderful, quiet evening. I even got to stitch. Actually, I mostly got to unstitch. I had made a mistake in my count, but it was not a large portion so it was not too bad. It was nice to sit still and be quiet. My stitching really makes me happy.

The highlight of my evening was that I got a phone call that I had totally did not expect. It was really a gift out of the blue. A friend of about 15 years had gotten in contact with another mutual friend and got my phone number. I was so surprised! It was so wonderful to talk with her.

I have been extremely blessed this year with my friends. I have also had reconnected with some old friends. My cup truly runneth over and I cannot believe how fortunate I am to have so many beautiful people in my life.

The next few weekends are supposed to be a bit on the busy side, so I am looking forward to staying home and getting some things done around the house this weekend. I need to do some things around the yard, such as trimming back the bushes one last time, then packing away my larger gardening tools until spring. I remember seeing once that you should store your tools in a large bucket with a mixture of sand and oil to keep the tools sharp and protected from rust. I may have to run over to the wonderland that is Home Depot.

I also have some puttering to do around the inside of my house. I am looking forward to this. There is a little spring cleaning type stuff that I need to do. I am noticing clutter forming, so I need to go through and purge some stuff.

Liesl has had a case of TGIF today. She was full of the dickens in a funny way today, like she was ready for the weekend. LOL I always think it is interesting that dogs just seem to know. Liesl's favorite day of the week is Saturday, especially when we are home for the day. We sleep in, we walk down to the beach, she plays in her yard, she can nap in her bed, play with her toys and get lots of love and attention. I love Saturdays, too, and it makes my heart happy to see her so happy.

I am hoping to get some stitching in this weekend. In addition to all of my chores, I also have to take a mid-term for my class, so I will have to work to get some stitching in. I am sure I can make it happen at some point.

Wishing you a great weekend!