Believe it or not, I did actually straighten up some this week but you can’t tell! I am tired of the clutter and I need to get it sorted before Mom comes to visit in January – it will drive her nuts to have to work surrounded by my mess. Maybe I can just clean up this side of the room and let her work here!!

But no, i think I need to get my desk cleaned up too!

I got everything packed in two suitcases … I almost forgot Mom’s labels and her kits but I remembered in time and I think I have everything I’m supposed to bring with me. I even managed to make dinner – I think of it as an adult Mac and Cheese and Keith had 3 helpings so it must have been good. 

I didn’t sleep at all last night so I slept very late this morning … I have to get up at 4am for my flight and I don’t know how much luck I’m going to have sleeping so I’ll knit on my blanket a while and then at least try to rest a little. 

Two of my favorite people have birthdays today …. Happy Birthday to Mom 

And Happy 1st Birthday to Mo!

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to celebrate with either of them today but I’ll see Mom tomorrow and Mo will be here to visit me at Christmas so I’ll see her soon. Love them both SOOO much!

The last few days I’ve been doing everything but spending my time sewing … still doing a lot of napping – my cold is improving but it’s not even close to being gone. Quality time is being spent with Finn while I knit or read. We spent 3 hours on the porch last night (I had a new book by a favorite author) and tonight we’ve been upstairs knitting another hat. 

I’ve manage to get a couple walks in … 3 miles today, 2.5 miles yesterday. Loads of laundry done, unpacking done, some organization in the sewing room done. My walk this evening was to our little village which is all decorated for Christmas. 

I printed photos for ornaments 

I even ironed some money for Christmas cards and since I’m not motivated to go to the bank for nice new money, pressing the wrinkled money from my wallet works just as well!

I’ve tried a few photo book services/apps in the past but they can be pretty time consuming  so I was kind of interested in trying out this new app – Chatbooks .

I have too many photos for an app to decide which ones to use but it’s not too hard to choose 30 (or more) photos myself and do some quick arranging and I like the price – $15 for a hardcover book or $10 for softcover —  shipping is $4 dollars but both times I’ve ordered they’ve given me free shipping for the next 48 hours … and yep, both times I went back and created another book to get the free shipping. 

I doubt I’d just do this for everyday type photos but for those special trips it’s even easier than having a bunch of photos printed and then having to put them in albums myself. I guess I’ll be adding some books to the library!

I’m even considering going back and printing a book of my quilt photos.

Chris and Adam are back from their trip to Virginia where they attended their grandmother’s funeral. I love that they took me along with them through texts and photos and that they had that time together. 

I know not everyone would,  but I appreciated Chris taking a couple photos after the service. 

Chris realized this trip that all 3 sets of grandparents are buried (or will be in the case of my Mom) in Virginia. Keith’s parents are at Arlington National Cemetery, My Dad is in Newport News, and his father and that set of grandparents are buried in Southampton county. Keith and I have recently decided that we want to be cremated and our ashes interred at the same cemetery my Dad is buried and Chris told me tonight that he’d like to have his family’s ashes buried there too … of course, he’ll have to convince Becky of that. 

My brother got me information from the cemetery in October and I’m thinking about doing some pre-planning but so far, I’ve just been thinking about it. Maybe it’s time to actually make some concrete plans. 

I was knitting this afternoon when I heard a woman outside calling out and went out to see what the problem was, she was a dog walker hired by one of my neighbors and she’d lost the dog!! I helped her look around our community property and when we didn’t find the dog, I took her to the neighborhood park and along Bayshore where we found the dog but he was scared from all the traffic and noise and ran faster than I could … he ended up jumping in the bay when someone tried to catch him and crawled in a storm drain. By this time there was just me and two strangers who had stopped to help and the guy who had tried to catch him pointed out which drain he’d crawled into. We called 911 and then waited while first the police and then the marine response unit came out and tried to rescue the dog. Eventually the owner showed up and the dog was rescued thankfully!!

In addition to the police and marine response officer, lots of media showed up.  If you’re bored, you can click the link below to view the news coverage – you might even recognize me in my purple top!

Toby’s rescue from the bay

Chris and Adam lost their grandmother today and unfortunately they didn’t have a chance for a last visit. Even after my divorce my father-in-law and mother-in-law were very supportive of me and I made sure they had time with the boys. My father in law died in 2012,  the boys lost their father in 2017, and  I was very sad to hear that Barbara had taken so ill a couple days ago and died today. The boys will drive up to Virginia this weekend for her funeral.