The vultures tried to warn me!

How did it get to be October?!! We survived Hurricane Helene. The power was out at our house for 2 days. My friend, who lives a few miles from me, was out for over a week. We are on 2 different power companies and I suppose that was the difference. There are still pockets without electricity further up the mountain that is not easily reached. Our county has not reported any deaths from Helene and that makes me very thankful. Cleanup is starting today as far as removing broken power poles and downed lines. People are still cleaning up trees and will for the foreseeable future. 

Several weeks before the storm, I had these two visitors on my patio deck.

Perhaps I should have paid more attention to their message! Vultures are good harbingers of signs to come. Their wingspan was close to 5 or 6 feet. They are huge. 

My heart goes out to all the victims of Hurricane Helene and to Hurricane Milton. 

July Reading Wrap-up

July was a good reading month for me; I read nine books this month. All of them were good reads, either 4 or 5 stars. I know what type of book I like. I don't mention or rate books that I don't finish. I feel that is unfair. Just because I didn't like it, doesn't make it a bad book.

The books I read were:

I enjoyed each one of these. 

Join me on Goodreads. Click this link!

Happy Reading!!

Susan

A little blue!

Made fresh blueberry muffins today for my oldest. He loves them! 

Knitting Christmas gifts

I started knitting yesterday. This is my first washcloth that I started. I used a size 6 needle and I should have used a size 7. I’ll switch when I finish this one. I just need to decide what to pair it with - a bar of soap, another washcloth, etc..,?

I was at the thrift store the other day and bought this tablecloth for $2. 

As you can see, it not only had 1 tear but 2 tears at opposite ends of the tablecloth. But, I really liked and wanted to save it. I zigzagged it with multicolored thread and I love it. The imperfections stand out, which is what I wanted. I really like how it turned out.

It would look better if I ironed it BUT that is not in the spirit of my home! 

It’s time

This past May was the end to 4 decades of teaching. I left my students in good hands. I will miss them and my teacher life. But, I will enjoy my new life!

Susan in SC

Happy Thanksgiving

First start of 2019

I started this on January 1st.  Shouldn’t take too long to finish.

Susan

Ready for the Trail back to work

I can identify with this beautiful horse as summer is over for me.  I love the expression and stance of the horse.  I start back to work on Thursday and no more lazy days for me!   This is one of the pictures of the wild horses that I took on our recent trips to North Dakota Badlands.  I feel in love with this particular horse and have lots of pictures of him.  He must be my spirit animal.

The summer vacation has been wonderful - very relaxing and restful.  I wonder how long it will take for me to be exhausted again when I start back to work?  I hope longer than a day!  

Susan

North Dakota Vacation

We recently went to North Dakota Badlands for vacation.  It is one of my favorite places on earth.  

You never know what wildlife you will see:

We didn't see any buffalo close up, so my sister-in-law sent me this picture that she had taken on a previous trip ...  I love buffalo!  We saw lots of single male buffalo who was separated from the herd.

Breathtaking scenes from the landscape...

wild horses...

wild animals...

Susan

On Vacation

Vacation - we left early this morning for a very short vacation!  It is nice to take a break from every day living.  

Fun Day Off From School

On November 4th (Election Day) the boys and I had a day off from school.  Their daddy had to report for work so it was just us at the house!  We had so much fun!!

First:  The boys slept in while I went to vote.

2nd:  We ate all day!  I baked blueberry muffins.  Each boy cooked their own snacks and meals.  The fire alarm only went off 1 time!  We are making progress!!

 Finally, we watched our favorite TV shows.  N and I caught up on our favorite shows together.

Of course we did other things in between but those are the ones we enjoyed the most.

It was a really good day.

Oh, I almost forget - D gave Maxie a much needed bath!  She is nice and clean now!

The Work of His Hands

N recently went on a field trip with his Honors Art Class to the Governor's School for the Arts.  He had a great time and this picture is one that he did while there.  He is very talented in art and seems to enjoy it very much.  He does not, however, like to use color.  He is strictly a black and white boy!  

He is interested in attending a summer camp at the school.  We will have to see if he is willing to pursue the application for getting into the school.  I am very proud of him!

Psalms 90:17 And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.

November 3 - Housewife Day

November 3rd is Housewife Day!  This day we honor all the housewives that make their homes a place of peace and love.  Housewives come in various shapes and sizes, working in the home or working outside the home, it is still hard work.  

What do we housewives do?  We love our families, give hugs to encourage, comfort, and celebrate, cook, clean, do laundry, listen, problem solve, budget, shop, plan, referee, create...the list is endless.  And, I might add, it requires an endless list of skills!  It is not for the faint of heart!

For those called to the vocation of being a housewife and mother, it is the greatest job in the world and one I would not give up for any amount of fame or money!  

It's all worth it to see a smile on your husband's and children's face at the end of the day!  It's a good thing!

November 2 - All Soul's Day

One of the things that I love about the Catholic church is the remembrance of our dearly departed.  On November 2nd of every year, we remember those who have passed away and prayers are said.  This would be my entire family with the exception of one brother.  

It's probably one of my favorite days of the year.  

I find great comfort in the prayers and my memories of my loved ones.

November 1 - All Saints Day

November 1st is All Saints Day - a time to remember all the saints, known and unknown, who have gone before us.  

Happy Halloween

Hope everyone has a Happy Halloween!

The menu week in review

This past week I was in the kitchen cooking.  

Monday -  salsa chicken served over rice

Tuesday - turkey, stuffing, gravy, pumpkin dump cake 

Wednesday - BBQ chicken, rice, broccoli

Thursday - hamburger hash brown casserole

Friday - popcorn shrimp, hush puppies, corn

I went to the doctor this week with a sinus infection.  The meds have a terrible side effect of a headache.  I will be glad when I am finished with them and my head can quit hurting!  

I have this coming week's menu planned.  I tend to change meal throughout the week so I will wait until next week to post my meals.  Many times it depends on my work day and mood.  My goal is to cook each day and clean out my freezer and pantry.  Not to mention that my budget is gone for groceries.  So, I need to cook at home and use what I have.  Might make for some interesting meals!  

It's raining here today and is supposed to rain all week.   I don't mind the rain.  It's good to lower the pollen count.

Farmer's Almanac and Weather Predicitons

When I was growing up, my father planted the garden by the Farmer's Almanac.  He would buy a new one every year and I remember many nights of him pouring over each word and planning his garden.  Did I mention we always had an acre+ garden??  Not so fun as a child working in the summer heat in the garden, but that is another post!  

Anyway, I decided to check the Farmer's Almanac after the last snow we had and see what it had to say about this winter.  It had successfully predicted the two previous snows.  

This is what I found for February:

FEBRUARY 2014: temperature 41° (5° below avg.); precipitation 4" (avg.); Feb 1-6: Rain, then sunny, cold; Feb 7-14: Periods of rain and snow, then sunny, cold; Feb 15-20: Rain, then sunny, cold; Feb 21-26: Rain to snow, then sunny, cold; Feb 27-28: Rainy, cool.

Hmm, looks like snow is in our forecast again!  I am not surprised since the snow stayed on the ground for 3 days, waiting for another snow.  I grew up with that saying and then to confirm that saying, we had another sign of snow to follow - a thunderstorm in winter means snow will come 7-10 days.  There you go!  Two sayings about snow and the Farmer's Almanac prediction - better buy that bread in milk today!!