December 20- 26, 2020

 December 20- 26, 2020  

Hello Friends!

Merry Christmas all!  After so many days of migraines, I had three days this week pain-free! 

I was surprised to receive a Christmas gift from my mom in the mail this week; a little box of caramels!  She used to not send things very often, but the last few years she has and I’m embarrassed to say I really appreciate it.  It is such a treat when you feel loved by your parent, and such a blow when you don’t.

Mammogram: I had my mammogram this week.  I had been putting if off during the pandemic, but my doctor insisted I get it done and I had to.  I try so hard to keep any visits down to bare minimum – especially anything I can put off.  My results were good and I appreciated that news. 

Old Treadmill:

I’ve been dismantling our old treadmill as it is just sitting on our deck by our front door and looks a bit disgraceful; definitely not Christmassy either!  I got most of the bolts out on Tuesday.

Bank:

About a year or just over ago I opened a bank account with Dd so she would have a place to deposit her pizza shop paychecks and to build on her college fund that Dh and I had been saving for since her birth.  I had put all that college money in the account and told her not to touch that money and never thought to check on the money in all this time. She has dipped into our part and I will have to think about when would be a good time to remove what's left and how to proceed with this difficult situation. 

Christmas: Dh made Agadashi Tofu and Egg rolls for our Christmas lunch!  We had chicken nuggets, rice, broccoli, and wonderful fish sauce for dipping! Yum!  Our presents were humble as always, but we did get Dd a large screen laptop for ‘her studies.’  She seemed pleased with the gift.  This was the first year it really didn’t have that child at home, special magic, cookies for Santa type of feeling.  It was sad, to be honest.  She always had made cookies and put them on a plate in the living room for Santa and was excited with us.  This year we went to bed with her still out and then had to wait hours in the morning for her to wake up; such a change from the girl who used to start unwrapping at 3 am!!!  We invited her boyfriend to spend the morning with us and then they left after lunch to spend the rest of the day and night with his family.  From what I hear, they have a lot of fun and stay up late into the night; plus more siblings are present.

Felt Owls: On Saturday I started making felt owls to add to our collection of felted feathered friends on our Christmas tree….what fun!

Dd’s Progress: German: DuoLingo: 7 sessions = 1:10 hours

Biology: Apologia: 2 sessions: 1:00 hour

Physical Education: 5 sessions: 3: 15 hours

Reader: The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski

December 13-19, 2020

 

December 13-19, 2020

Hello Friends!

I had four migraines last week and five this week.  Fortunately, I can sometimes drink enough water and hold my tongue just right and be able to go about my day fairly normally as sometimes the mornings are the hardest and the pain and symptoms can decrease as the hours go by.  I know I was a little bit stressed waiting for the Electoral College to vote on the elections this week and that was so chaotic hanging over my head.  On Thursday night I was woken up at 2 am with so much pain in my head that I was unable to sleep.  That migraine took five days to pass!  My doctor prescribed progesterone and I wonder if that is why the increase in problems?

Felt Birds:

I had fun sitting and working on some felt birds this week.  It is always appreciated when I can find a legitimate reason for sitting down and seemingly doing nothing by having my little birds to sew!  I can sit and use my creativity without the guilt of working on a big project; especially when I’m run over by migraine problems.

Treadmill:

Two-three weeks ago, my treadmill had stopped working, and I had taken it apart and somehow got it working.  Then it stopped again and I was unable to fix it.  Dh and I spent the whole weekend looking up prices and places where we could get a new treadmill for me at a good price.  I’ve had this treadmill over twenty years, longer than our stationary bike.  I use the treadmill in bits and spurts year-round.  I do like to run with Henry on the leash in the woods, but he enjoys getting in front of me and suddenly stopping; especially when we are going up and down hills, so I save my real running for the treadmill when I don’t have to be so timid and cautious.  This week our new treadmill arrived and Dd and I put it together.  It was so nice to see her again and be able to spend some time with her, it has become so rare to see her.  She comes in after we are in bed and when she wakes up she heads straight out.  She doesn’t even eat here except for our pizza nights.

Work from Home:  Dh continues to occasionally work from home; this week he was here on Tuesday!  A treat!

Bible Studies:  are on Christmas break, but I am trying to get a little ahead with this time off.

Dd’s Progress:

German: DuoLingo:  7 sessions = 1:10 hours

Biology: Apologia: 5 sessions = 2:30 hours

Physical Education: 5 sessions = 3:00 hours

Reader 1: The Return of the King by J.R.R Tolkien = 6:00 Completed

Reader 2: The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski

December 6-12, 2020

 

December 6-12, 2020

Hello Friends!

This week was a lot of Christmas prep!  I worked a little each day on getting my Christmas cards written out and finally mailed them out on Saturday.  I also worked on wrapping my Christmas presents and putting them under the tree to add a little more excitement for our holiday.  I look for little gifts at our local thrift store and hid them away throughout the year.  Dd wanted a laptop for her studies as her gift this year, which was quite expensive, so she didn’t get as many gifts as usual.  I do want to help her be able to learn and grow.

Bible Studies: I’m really loving my studies!

Felt Birds:

Each year I sew felt birds and add them to my Christmas tree for a colorful decoration.  I also like to give some of them away to family or close friends.  I made one for Dd’s boyfriend this year.  I brought out all my felt and materials and got started this week!  So fun!  I sew the year with embroidery thread somewhere on the bird—on its belly or under or on a wing… this year was “2020.”

Dh & Woodshop:

Dh has been doing a good job making things in his workshop this fall.  He has made quite a few things already, this week he made a frame that holds his drills.  It is his therapy and refills his cup!

Hiking:

My dog Henry and I are back to hiking in our woods again each day instead of just the front roads.  I love our daily hikes together!

Dd’s Progress:

German: DuoLingo: 7 sessions = 1:10 hours

Biology: Apologia: 4 sessions = 2:30 hours

Physical Education: 6 sessions = 3:30 hours

Reader: Return of the King by J.R. R Tolkien – 3:00 hours

December 6-12, 2020

 

December 6-12, 2020

Hello Friends!

This week was a lot of Christmas prep!  I worked a little each day on getting my Christmas cards written out and finally mailed them out on Saturday.  I also worked on wrapping my Christmas presents and putting them under the tree to add a little more excitement for our holiday.  I look for little gifts at our local thrift store and hid them away throughout the year.  Dd wanted a laptop for her studies as her gift this year, which was quite expensive, so she didn’t get as many gifts as usual.  I do want to help her be able to learn and grow.

Bible Studies: I’m really loving my studies!

Felt Birds:

Each year I sew felt birds and add them to my Christmas tree for a colorful decoration.  I also like to give some of them away to family or close friends.  I made one for Dd’s boyfriend this year.  I brought out all my felt and materials and got started this week!  So fun!  I sew the year with embroidery thread somewhere on the bird—on its belly or under or on a wing… this year was “2020.”

Dh & Woodshop:

Dh has been doing a good job making things in his workshop this fall.  He has made quite a few things already, this week he made a frame that holds his drills.  It is his therapy and refills his cup!

Hiking:

My dog Henry and I are back to hiking in our woods again each day instead of just the front roads.  I love our daily hikes together!

Dd’s Progress:

German: DuoLingo: 7 sessions = 1:10 hours

Biology: Apologia: 4 sessions = 2:30 hours

Physical Education: 6 sessions = 3:30 hours

Reader: Return of the King by J.R. R Tolkien – 3:00 hours

November 29- December 5, 2020

 

November 29- December 5, 2020 Christmas Tree Up!

Hello Friends!

The pandemic is still in full force so we continue to watch church online.  We have a cord that puts the computer’s image upon our tv screen.  The positive is that prior to the pandemic I was attending church alone, after we left our old church Dh wasn’t up to trying new churches all over again and Dd was going with her boyfriend on Saturday nights.  Now that I am watching the sermons at home Dh is watching with me and getting to see the two pastors that divide the preaching with me.  Dh is liking the sermons.  Who knows, maybe Dh will be up to returning to church with me when / if things get back to where we can attend in person again.

Tigger:

Last month Dd’s boyfriend adopted a kitty from a rescue shelter and they brought the kitty, Tigger, over for a visit this week.  I had a female stray in college that I named Tigger, so I am already predisposed to liking this kitty---they even share the same coloring!  My kitty was a girl and this one is a boy.

Health:

I’ve been going to an alternative medical facility this fall and they tested all sorts of things and have found some findings---adrenal fatigue for one.  I also have a new list of foods they found I am sensitive to.  I seem to have trouble absorbing minerals; probably due to my gallbladder removal.  I had only one migraine this week, after last week when I had two.  Dd has been getting migraines the past few weeks.

Christmas Prep:

Dd helped me put up the Christmas decorations this week!  It looks so great having our cozy tree and felt birds decorating the branches!  I just love our birds and nature theme.  It was very unexpected and nice that Dd actually helped me put up the decorations.  It was a nice treat.

Pizza and Mandalorian with Dd:

Now that Dd’s quarantine is over she was able to spend time with us again this week so we had pizza together on Friday night, with her boyfriend, and watched the weekly episode of The Mandalorian together.

Chickens:

I was a little late giving the chickens new “Flock Blocks” for their Thanksgiving treats, but they received them this week!  They are happy now!

Dd’s Progress:

German: DuoLingo: 3 sessions = 30 minutes

Reader: The Return of the King by J.R.R Tolkien: 6 hours

November 22-28, 2020 Thanksgiving

 

November 22-28, 2020 Thanksgiving

Hello Friends!

This week’s church sermon was given by John Dickson, a frequent guest host for our church.  I really enjoy it when he visits us!  Even if this time he had to Zoom in from his home in Australia due to the travel restrictions because of the pandemic.  He really gives a lot of good things to chew on!  I enjoyed his sermon so much on Sunday that I watched it again on Monday!

Bible Study:

I spent a lot of time on Bible study this week.  Attending two Bible studies mean a few hours of study each day and some weeks I get really engrossed in the material; like this week!  Due to migraines, I really try to stay a week ahead in my lessons in case I have to take a week off reading.

Hiking:

Due to hunting season, I’ve been walking Henry on our front roads and staying out of the woods as much as I can.

Working from home:

Dh has been working from home a lot this week.  It is nice to see him on the computer working away throughout the day.  He doesn’t get interrupted all the time like he does at work and says he actually gets more accomplished when he works from home.

Thanksgiving:

Since Dd and her boyfriend are in quarantine, we ate our Thanksgiving meal outside on our deck.  I bet we will all remember this very unique meal!  I put thick towels on each of our metal chairs to help keep us warm and we were all bundled up!  We had our traditional lobster meal, but this time we had Dd’s boyfriend joining our circle.

Dd’s Progress:

German: DuoLingo: 7 sessions = 1:10 hours

Biology: Apologia: 3 sessions = 1:20 hours

Physical Education: 1:45 hours

Reader 1: The Two Towers by J.R.R Tolkien 6:00 hours (Completed)

Reader 2: The Return of the King by J.R.R Tolkien 3:00 hours

November 15-21, 2020

 

November 15-21, 2020

Hello Friends!

Migraines:

I had a headache or migraine all but 2 days this week.  I didn’t feel good this week.  Dh seems to be over his sickness, but I was still fighting it.

Power Out:

We lost our power on Sunday; it always amazes me how often we lose power here in Michigan.  I had lived my whole life with very rarely losing power- maybe 5 times in my life?  Here we lose power about 5 times each year.  This time our power was out for two days.  We had to take our cans to the gas station and fill them all up again since we ran the generator for two days.

Christmas Boxes:

I mailed out three Christmas boxes this week.  With the pandemic, I decided to get out our Christmas boxes as early as I could!  I only wish I had mailed out a box of books to my brother’s sons—I just don’t know if they would still be interested in the types of books I send?  I just don’t know.

Hunting:

Dh and Dd went hunting together on Wednesday and Thursday.  They saw deer, wild turkey, and a coyote!  They just enjoyed being out there and didn’t shoot anything.  They had a good time together! Big Bonus!

Donating Camry:

We *FINALLY* donated our old Camry to NPR!  I have been begging for this for about three years now!  Now it is out of our outbuilding and on to greener pastures!  Yay!!!!!!

Dd’s Progress: Dd’s boyfriend’s co-worker tested positive for Covid 19 so Dd was isolated this week.  She kept downstairs when she was home so we weren’t exposed to her too much.

German: DuoLingo: 7 sessions: 1:10 hours

Biology: Apologia: 2 sessions: 1:00 hour

Physical Education: 6 sessions: 4:20 hours

Reader: The Two Towers by J.R.R Tolkien: 6:00 hours

November 8-14, 2020 Sick, Snow, Hunting Prep

 

November 8-14, 2020

Hello Friends!

This was a hard week, Dh was sick (started last week) and I started with migraines and ended up getting sick too.  It wasn’t a very productive week, but I did manage to get some of my Bible studies worked on before I got sick.  We had rain, sleet, and snow this week.

Rowing Machine:

Dh has been trying to exercise more by using our stationary bike.  We’ve had that bike for over twenty years now!  He has been wanting a rowing machine for over a decade and as an encouragement for him to like exercising more, we bought a rowing machine this week.

Pizza and Mandalorian Friday Night:

Dd and her boyfriend came over for dinner and to watch the latest episode of The Mandalorian together with Dh and me.  It was nice having them over.

Hunting:

Dd and Dh have decided to hunt here in Michigan together.  Last week Dh and I put together some deer blinds out of branches and camo fabric in our woods and this week I got all the tubs of hunting gear and clothes all together in our spare bedroom.  I washed the items Dh thought they might need and I think they are all set for this year.  Due to the pandemic, and Dh’s brother moving into the family farm in Indiana, they can’t go hunting in Indiana like they usually do.

Bible Studies---going really well for me.  I am enjoying learning from the other ladies in my two groups.

Dd’s Progress:

I’m having trouble getting the progress sheets back from Dd---so I guess this was another week off?

November 1-7, 2020 Election, Hoop House, Chicken Coop, Hiking

 

November 1-7, 2020 Election, Hoop House, Chicken Coop, Hiking

Hello Friends!

We had our first snow on November 1^st!  This was a big, big week as the election was held; although we filled out our ballots and drove them to the local dropbox already.  I was in high anticipation waiting for the results.  Like so many people in this country, I felt incredibly strongly about the results of this election.  I have never felt so strongly about an election before.  I had a hard time sleeping the night before the election results were announced.  I feel like a major burden has been lifted off my shoulders now.

Hiking with Henry combined with Heather:

This week instead of sitting down to chat with Heather, we decided to both go for a walk while we caught up with each other.

Hike with Lori at Wittenback Nature Center this week.  It was so nice to be invited out for a hike!

Chickens:

With the weather so much colder and winter upon us, I worked on the plastic wrapping of the inner sanctum of the chicken coop a few times this week.  I’m really trying to do a good job and provide a warm and dry room for the chickens to visit during the day and get some sunshine and dirt, at least until it gets too cold and they have to stay down in there inside coop in our outbuilding.  This was my biggest job this week.

Garden:

I had to weed the hoop houses this week.  I also transplanted spinach and swiss chard from the garden to the warmth of the hoop houses.  I am getting a good amount of greens to enjoy!  I am hoping the hoop house stands up to the winter snowfalls this year.

Bible Studies:

Both studies are going well.  Last week at Thrive we shared our stories with each other, which is always so great in helping form deeper friendships.

Pizza & Mandalorian:

Friday night Dd and Seth spent time with us.  Dh picked up pizza for them to share and we watched Mandalorian.  It is nice when we get some time with Dd each week.  She continues to spend all of her free time out and about, which makes the few hours we see her unique.

October 25-31, 2020 Extra Hiking – Beautiful Fall Leaves, First Sleet, Winter Prep

 

October 25-31, 2020 Extra Hiking – Beautiful Fall Leaves, First Sleet, Winter Prep

Hello Friends!

This week was basically the welcoming of winter.  The first of the week the leaves were gorgeous and by the end of the week, the leaves dropped like crazy.  It is amazing how when the leaves decide it’s time to go they all just do a mass exodus!  This year it fell on Halloween and with a beautiful orange moon.

Also on Halloween, we had our first major freeze and sleet.  I was glad I had already brought down my winter clothes boxes from the attic and refilled the hallway closet with winter coats!

FaceTime:

Heather and I have been enjoying weekly visits on FaceTime.  I’m so thankful for such a faithful friend, year after year!

Bible Study:

This week I went in an hour early to my church Bible Study to meet with my friend Jeannine to discuss our lesson together.  It is nice having people as interested in the material as I am to discuss in depth.  I really like both my groups this year.  Last year, with BSF, I didn’t connect with the ladies very well, but found the study very well done.  This year I find both the ladies and the material equally interesting.  I have ladies that really are digging in and bringing a lot to the discussions.  I’m really amazed at Genesis, so much more than I realized.

Hiking:

I spent extra time in the woods this week, due to the beauty at its height.  Such a wonderful last week of October!  I remember our first October in Michigan in 2015 and there had been snowstorm after snowstorm with mass accumulation of snow.  People had assured me that lots of snow were normal for Michigan, but I’m beginning to think they were just taking advantage of newbies!

Dd’s Progress:

Reader: Blood of Elves by Gail Carriger: completed: 8:00 hours