Summer is in full swing around here. It honestly is going WAY TOO FAST!!!! We are almost to July…I’ve even seen school supplies at the store! That’s a vision no educator wants to see in June. Marvin clearly doesn’t want to hear about mom going back to school either.

I’ve been trying to be outside as much as weather permits. We’ve been getting buckets of rain. Several roads in the county are closed because the Minnesota river is too high.

I stopped at a couple garage sales one day while running errands and picked up a bunch of supplies.

It was just what I needed to sew a new bunting for my garden. My neighbor asked me if it helps deter pests. I told him not that I’m aware of…it just looks happy to me.

Yesterday I repotted a dozen of my houseplants. That took WAY longer than I anticipated.

Good thing I’d made myself a nice breakfast before tackling that job.

May, so far, has been quite busy with all fun things. The month started with my birthday. We celebrated for two days …takeout sushi the day before my birthday and went out to the pub at the dinner theater for happy hour the day of.  We typically don’t go out much but have been trying to shake up the routine a bit lately.

The following weekend we attended Mini-me’s college graduation. It was a beautiful day. It was very emotional seeing her in her cap and gown. When J graduated college in 2021, he chose not to walk so we hadn’t had that experience with a college grad before.  Right after the graduation ceremony, we had to move Mini-me out of her apartment and drive back to the cities. It was a LONG day.

And, of course, Mother’s day was the following day. Mini-me arrived home with the rest of her belongings just before noon. J came over and I grilled hamburgers and hotdogs. It was nice to have everyone around the table for a meal again.

This past weekend was a busy one as well. Mr. G went to a friend’s cabin to help with some construction work. Meanwhile I had my own agenda here at home. Saturday morning, I went to an elementary school version of 101 Dalmatians in which a friend’s son had a lead role. It was really cute and short. LOL

After returning home, I got started on my task of assembling my new compost tumbler. It was a bit of a pain to assemble but it is very sturdy. 

After trying another spot I decided this made the most sense so it wouldn’t have to be moved to mow.

I also finally got the garden cleaned up and planted my seedlings. I want to purchase a few seedlings before planting a couple short rows of green beans. Only one pepper plant sprouted of the four I started.  I’m hopeful everything will adapt to their new spaces. I spent a week acclimating them to the outdoors. The tomatoes are usually resilient but I’ve had trouble in the past with transplanting cucumbers and summer squash.

I’m trying out a couple pots of tomatoes in the front yard this year. The afternoon to evening sun is REALLY HOT in the front but tomatoes tend to like the heat. I also had started a couple extra plants than would comfortably fit in the garden. I am a bit worried about critters nibbling on them or squirrels digging in the pots. Lots of variables but time will tell.

My deckbox garden has herbs at one end and radishes and carrots closest in the photo. There is also mystery seedlings intermingled with the root veggies. I say mystery because I remember spreading them last fall but I failed to make note of what they were assuming I’d remember. That was a poor assumption on my part. Oh well…its just another fun experiment.

Now that the weather is really nice, I’ve been increasing my walking in the mornings. I’m trying to make up for lost miles. I’m about 110 miles behind where I should be to hit my goal by the end of 2024. 

My creative time and motivation had been non-existent as of late. That happens sometime. I have been writing notes about ideas though. Things I want to try. Projects I want to finish. But first I need to finish the last 12 school days.

Wowsers, it’s been a while. I have no real excuse for not posting. Let’s just say that I haven’t been good at doing anything from start to finish. Maybe that’s why I don’t feel as if it should be documented. I have so many projects going in various stages. Some of them aren’t even a project per say…just an idea I had to dive into at the moment. My mind is a whirl of ideas during the day but often, by the time I get home from work and do the household things, I’m out of steam to be creative. 

This past weekend I was continuing my slow process of sorting through my supplies. I pulled out two bins of jewelry supplies. I really want to get things more organized so I don’t waste time looking for something when my time is limited.  I wish I had a brain for organizing…I just don’t. I’m also very frugal (cheap) and don’t want to buy a bunch of new bins in which to organize plus I’m not even sure what I would want or need since my brain doesn’t work that way.

Other things I’ve been working on in no particular order are the seemingly never ending sorting, purging and attempting to organize my vast craft supply. This includes paper sorting, old cards, harvesting images, label making for future projects. 

Making journal cards, tags and pockets for journals

More journals and covers

Seed starting…even though I’m really late this year.

But Spring is playing tricks this year. Marvin was not very happy about the snow that day.

I do have some life updates as well. I am happy to say that I am in complete remission from Lymphoma. I just had scans this past week and will have them again in 6 months. From there the scans will go out to a year.  What a relief!

J’s roommate decided to adopt a cat but the cat seems to have claimed J.

Meet Marshall. Mini-me and I went over to their house to met him in person last weekend. He’s a tiny little cat with a very loud voice.

Speaking of Mini-me…she had 4 pieces of art in the senior show this spring. She got a purchase award for on of her monoprints.

The university bought it to become part of the permanent collection. Isn’t that cool!!! She also just got word that she’ll be receiving an academic award from the art history dept at graduation. Yes that girl is graduating college next month.

Last month I had the opportunity to go to Orchestra Hall with our 6th graders. It was a really fun performance.

Mr. G and I went on a weekend trip to Wisconsin last month as well. We visited his Aunt and Uncle. We always have fun hanging out with them. I did a bit of thrifting while there.

I found this fun batch of weaving swatches and instructions at an antique shop.

As well as this pink ruby ring. Excuse the dry hands…I wash them constantly at school…kids are gross. LOL

Speaking of school…I couldn’t get through my day without my giant water bottle.

It also serves as my ticket to T stands for Tuesday this week. Yay I remembered for once.

Once a month blogging seems to be my new benchmark. Times have changed. I remember when I was posting 3-5 times a week…oh, the good old days!

November has flown by with the exception of the past week when I was so very sick with a wicked virus (not COVID) that eventually turned into a sinus infection. I missed work last week…of course, we only had two days. I missed Turkey Bingo which is pretty much the most fun event we do as a staff. We postponed Thanksgiving until Saturday. GAH! What a lame week!!

Ok I’m done whining…on with the month in review.

I’ll start with a little lap crafting I’ve been doing. I saw a tutorial on YouTube making ephemera for junk journals using 6×6 scrapbook paper. I didn’t want to make ephemera but I knew this technique would lend itself very well to small size envelopes if I tweaked the process slightly. They are the perfect size for gift cards, small jewelry, stickers or anything else you’d want to gift inside. I got a little carried away when I was pulling out papers but now I have enough small envelopes to last for years!

I’ve been doing a lot of cooking and preserving this month as well.

My red cabbage sauerkraut is finally ready to consume. I’ve never tried making this before nor have I eaten red kraut. I like it and will definitely do it again.

My pressure canner is getting its use after a long time of me being too scared to use it. I canned up 13 pints of broth. Previously I’d just freeze the broth but that takes up valuable real estate in the freezer plus if you forget to take it out ahead of time, that’s a pain too.

The first batch of lefse is complete for the season.

I know I’ll make at least one more batch around Christmas. I’m going to have to try out my new griddle for the next round. I noticed that this one wasn’t heating evenly anymore. She’s 25 yrs old so I think I can forgive.

Since I was off today as well I had time to make personal turkey pot pies for us to have for dinner. They aren’t the prettiest but they are so yummy but so filling!!

Our school put on its annual Veterans Day celebration on Nov 10th. It’s always a fantastic event and I was actually able to sit in the bleachers this year to get a different view of the ceremony.

Marvin turned 9 on Nov. 11th. He had a couple extra treats and some special attention for his birthday.

My neighbor and I went on a little road trip to her son and daughter-in-law’s house who happen to live only about 35 minutes from where Mini-me goes to college. We met them for lunch in town then Mini-me headed back to college.

The rest of us went to a local winery. Its was super busy so we took a seat in the production room.

And what does this girl choose to have at a winery…a beer. It was a Minnesota craft beer. I don’t drink wine much anymore. It makes my joints hurt. Weird side effect that makes it not worth it to have any.

I went on a field trip the Monday before I got sick…I’m thinking either the bus ride or lunch facilities was the culprit of the germs. It was a beautiful day for a walk in the woods though.

The weather has definitely shifted so I am thankful the dome is back up from my morning walks. I’m thinking about signing up for a challenge that has you “walk the year”. Meaning, I’d have to walk 2024 miles next year. I think I can do it. I’d just have to push myself a little more on the weekends. So far this year without pushing myself, I’ve walked just shy of 1400 miles so far.

Back to work for me tomorrow morning. I’m looking forward to being back in a routine. Although, I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy today. I crafted, cooked, cleaned up and still had energy to blog and still feel like I had a somewhat leisurely day.

Fall is my favorite season. The crisp mornings. The gorgeous colors. The rustle of leaves. I really do love it all.

I love my morning walks. However this morning was pretty cold. It was 22°F and I’m sure the wind chill made it feel even colder. My face was stinging a bit after only a mile.

I have been trying to get back in the groove of being creative on a more regular basis.

I made this wreath using much neglected supplies. It turned out really cute…of course, you know what a sucker I am for those fall colors.

I also made a junk journal for a dear friend. I have several more in various states of completion waiting for the inspiration or motivation to finish them.

Mr. G and I went to the arboretum one afternoon and enjoyed the walking trails. Most of the flowers were past their prime with the exception of these beauties. The bees were loving them as well.

The cool evenings also give way to having toasty bonfires with the neighbors. A few adult beverages were consumed around this mesmerizing fire.

I couldn’t leave you without a picture of my buddy Marvin.

I also wanted to share that my 3 month follow up tests are looking great. My oncologist is very pleased. Another set of tests in 6 months. I’m thrilled that things are going so well. My eyelashes are growing back, my eye isn’t nearly as dry as it was, things seem to be healing really well!