October is flying by. I finished up a few things.
Our little foster Echo found a forever home! This little pig obtained some serious chill while she was here. I hope she's happy with her new friend. We'll miss her. Finishing with a foster guinea pig is often bittersweet.
One more I Like Thursday post this month. Crazy, right?
Ooh - what do you think of this crazy-elegant Halloween lady with her pearls. Totally styling, right?
Mmm... black and white. I spent Saturday buying yards and yards of
black, white and grey fabric for a king sized quilt I'll be making. How appropriate for October - I'm terrified to tackle this project and yet I can't wait to start working on it!
Whew! Lots going on in the last two weeks! So many great things to
make me happy. Let's see -
the Powerpuff Girls
are settling in. There's been much loafing when they're not fiercely
demanding treats.
There really is a guinea pig in that photo... the first week Bubbles tried to hide under everything.
They're learning to beg properly and they're enjoying the three level cage - everyone has favorite spots. And they were pretty excited to check out the cleaned cage.
Busy week! But I've managed to squeeze in a post to share with the I Like Thursday crowd.
On Sunday I attended the
Boston Pignic. Oh, loafy, wuzzy piggies. Always a delight. If you clicked on that link you see I'm now fostering a trio of guinea pigs. They're still settling in, but I'm sure there will be more photos soon.
Remember that little frog that we found hanging out between the window panes
last month? Well, either he changed colors and returned, or he told one
of his buddies to try it out. Rob found this one last week.
He stayed there about a day and then disappeared. I have no idea why that window sill was so popular.
Let's squeeze in some more likes this month to share with LeeAnna and friends at I Like Thursday.
I spotted this in the way home from an evening kayak. I'm not sure what
caught my eye first, the antique truck or the mini-church. I stopped to
get a closer look.
Ooh - a mid-month I Like post! I finally got around to hitting the highlights of my trip to Cape Cod the last week in July.
It was a great time and the weather mostly behaved. I brought my kayak and got out a couple of mornings. Sunday morning was so calm and still - would you believe this photo was taken out in Cape Cod Bay? It was quiet, too: I could hear the water lapping on the shore. The water was clear enough, too, to see my shadow on the sand below.
May! Already so chock-a-block full I'm writing my Like post before
the end of the month! Time to share with LeeAnna and friends at I Like Thursday.
Ahhh... first kayak outing of the year. A beautiful evening, and early enough in the season the pond wasn't choked with weeds. I love being able to explore the nooks and crannies along the edge of the pond (and check out the beaver lodges).
Rob and I finally made a trip to The Clark, which we had planned weeks before, but life kept getting in the way.
I managed to squeeze in two trips to the pond to kayak between the rain and windy weather. My sister joined me last Friday (with amazing 75° weather!). Not nearly enough paddling this fall, but I was happy we got the chance to go out.
I like that I made it to Family Weekend this year. Heading to the Cape was an adventure.
I picked Mom up at the commuter train station in Waltham. Rob was
tracking my phone and was highly entertained by my wrong turns getting to the
train station and then my inability to get back on 128. All 'round Robin
Hood's barn!
First up are my May Day flowers. Aren't they pretty? I was really taken by the calla lilies. My mom convinced me to get the big red flowers. I had to add in a tulip, some roses and a carnation.
The flowers came from the Montague May Day celebration. My sister and mother came again this year. Music! Morris dancers! A May pole! There was also buckets of flowers to choose from to make garlands. As you can see below, I decorated my floppy hat. It went quite nice with my flower dress.
Welcome to this week's post. These seem to be my only posts lately - not much on the sewing/guinea pig front. On the other hand, I've snagged a bit of restful, quiet time. I'll roll with that until I get creative again.
I kayaked on Friday! Couldn't let the warm weather go by without a
paddle. No one was parked at the entrance, but I came across a trio of
paddleboarders on the water. Otherwise I had the pond to myself.
Kayaking is calming. I don't know if it's the water, the view, or the
rhythm of the paddling, but I have a better mindset when I'm done.
A dozen years of blogging. I had no idea when I started a blog I'd still be at it this long. I'm still enjoying writing and sharing some of the fun things in life.
I did a bunch of quilting early in the year (which will show up in its own post on Saturday). Only a handful of foster guinea pigs - far less than last year! We took the summer off from fostering while the kitchen was remodeled. But one of our fosters, Mark, was a TV star!
The kitchen and the pandemic interfered with my cooking portion of this blog as well. I'm still figuring out where everything belongs in the kitchen, but it has been nice to bake again. I'm looking forward to trying out some of the oh-so-many recipes I have bookmarked.
Dancing started up this summer and it's been wonderful to see old familiar faces and share the joy of kicking up our heels. I've slowly been getting together again with friends.
Fingers crossed for 2023: I'd love to blog about lots of quilting projects, my garden, Chick Events, fun fosters and cooking in the new kitchen. Thank you all who read and comment on my blog.
I am totally chuffed to be published in a medical journal. Never in a million years did I envision that: High rates of oral anticoagulation in atrial fibrillation patients observed in a large multi‑specialty health system in the Northeast. How nice to be included for digging through databases to gather and present information.
Another trip to Mom's house. I picked up all sorts of prizes: a gift basket I won from the Chocolate Tour raffle earlier in the month as well my quilts with their two Topsfield ribbons. Mom also sent me home with a bag of Lindt dark chocolate truffles. Yum!
We've had a few warm days in the last week and I'm squeezing in whatever
kayaking I can. The first day was so calm, the water was like
glass. Look at the color!
Thursday already? The week started out so well. So let's focus on that for this week's I Like Thursday, shall we?
Although unable to attend Family Weekend, I at least spent some quality time with my sister. Sunday morning was cool and sunny - a beautiful time to go kayaking. I have not seen the water so low in the pond. We desperately need some rain.
It was a long weekend... and not all in a good way. <sigh>
But even as I sit here thinking holy @#$% what a week, there were some good
things to share with LeeAnna's
I Like Thursday. (Thanks
LeeAnna!)
Get a load of the artwork on this car. At first I thought it was paint, but as I got closer, it looked like duct tape. How fun is that?
When I told Rob I needed to sit down to write my I Like Thursday post, he asked what I had to like about this week. Admittedly, it's been a long, exhausting and stressful week. Every single day some minor crisis or decision came up with the kitchen. The workers are great and the noise level was reasonable, but it was hard to concentrate on my high-priority project due next week. We took in a very ill foster guinea pig that didn't make it. We're both pretty frazzled around the edges. Goodness, just writing this down makes me tired.
But...
I have over a half-dozen photos documenting the good things that made me smile this week. Let's take a gander at them, shall we?
Rob clearly is not impressed with taking selfies, but look! We're dressed for a contra dance! This was the first contra we've been to since March 2020. The masks make it warm and I need to figure out how to keep hydrated during the dance in a way that makes me comfortable, but it was lovely to see happy people and get out and move.
My sister gave me nasturtium seeds for Christmas and the first ones I planted are starting to bloom. They're pretty! The potted ones are doing best, but I have several in the garden that are thinking about budding.
My marigold plants are tiny, but two already have flowers. Zinnia seeds
are sprouting all over. They have a ways to go.
Three day weekend. Woot! And is it really June already?? How can that be? Regardless, it's Thursday today - time to link up with LeeAnna's buddies to share the bright spots of the week at I Like Thursday.
I met up with my sister on Sunday before it got too hot. Leverett pond was hopping! Some nice guy in a pickup kindly moved how he was parked, which gave just enough room for my sister and I to squeeze in. Yay! So we were able to park right near the launch instead of down and around the corner.
I love the water, the rocks, the trees. So much green and blue and brown. A bit of a breeze and lots of sun. It was lovely. We had a great time.
It was a crazy hot weekend, and what did I do for two days straight?
Weed the gardens. Nuts. But the garden looks so much better and I
planted more seeds. Yay!
I pulled out some lily of the valley when I weeded around them. They
look great in my little vase I bought last fall. They lasted longer than
I expected - they're still pretty good today.
I planted a bunch of zinnia and marigold seeds by the driveway. I mostly
just scattered them and I was convinced none of them would sprout. But I
saw a bunch of them sprouting!
