Sunday, October 13, 2024
Thursday, October 10, 2024
Thankful Thursday: October 10, 2024
I Am Thankful For:
A generator
A cup of hot tea
Time with my grandbabies
A long, hot shower
My husband's birthday
The power coming back on
Being able to wash dishes
Flushing the toilet at the push of a button
Having the means to restock the fridge
A home cooked meal
Washing a load of clothes
Cleaning up the house
Sunday, October 6, 2024
Thursday, October 3, 2024
Thankful Thursday: September 3, 2024
I Am Thankful For:
Getting prepared
Books and yarn
A heads up from a friend
My husband home safe before the storm starts
My home is undamaged
People helping each other
Finally getting some texts through
My family is all safe
Cooking on the grill
Catching up with neighbors
Getting a shower
A cup of coffee
Acquiring some groceries
A hot cup of tea
A warm meal
Getting gasoline for the cars and generator
A glimmer of hope
Monday, September 30, 2024
Good Riddance, September
I'm not even sure where to start with trying to reecap the month of September. This was meant to be my month to Prepare. And for a while I was making pretty good progress.
I was getting my house in order to prepare for my knee surgery in October. Getting things cleaned and organized. Decorating for Autumn. Things weren't moving along quite as quickly as I hoped, but I was happy with the progress I was making.
Then we got to the last week of September...
On the afternoon of September 25th, it began raining. Over the next twenty-four hours, the area of North Carolina where I live received record rainfall. Some areas were flooding. It was a bit of a mess. But that wasn't the big problem.
The big problem was that Hurricane Helene was about to make landfall in Florida and head our way. It's path was just west of us, putting us on the east side if the storm where the heaviest rainfall occurs. Rain we didn't need on top of what had just fallen.
It rained throughout the day of the 26th. And in the early morning hours of Friday, September 27th, Helene unleashed her fury on our mountains. It was worse than we could have imagined.
In our immediate neighborhood, trees and power lines are down. We have no power, no water, and no internet service. Part of our road has washed away, but is fortunately still passable. Cell phone service is extremely spotty and virtually nonexistent at my house. I'm posting this while sitting in a parking lot where I was able to find a signal.
As crazy as things are for us right now, we are considering ourselves fortunate. Our home isn't flooded and doesn't have a tree through the roof. We have been in touch with family to determine that everyone is OK. We've been able to cook some on the grill and a propane burner. We have been able to get out and get some more bottled water and some groceries.
So many others in the area are suffering much more than we are right now. Homes have washed away or been destroyed by landlides and falling trees. Lives have been lost. I don't think is possible to overstate how much this area is hurting.
Thursday, September 26, 2024
Thankful Thursday: September 26, 2024
I Am Thankful For:
My dog had a good check-up
Pumpkin loaf
Lipstick
Crossing several things off my to-do list
Homemade soup
Being able to laugh at myself
A new stove
Texting with my daughter
Apple pie
Leaves falling outside my window
Football and snacks
A slow cooker full of chili
Starting over
Freshly painted nails
Sunday, September 22, 2024
Thursday, September 19, 2024
Thankful Thursday: September 19, 2024
I Am Thankful For:
Knowing what to expect next
Appointment scheduled sooner than expected
A glass of wine
Talks with my sister
Goodies from my cousin in Canada
A short visit with my grandson
Going out to dinner with my husband and son
Baking a cake
Rainy days
Autumn decor
Time to read
Productive days
Monday, September 16, 2024
Prepare
September is typically a quiet month for me. I know, I already mentioned that in my "Hello, September" post. I also talked about how I plan to use this month to take care of some things before the last three always-busy months of the year begin.
That's why I have chosen PREPARE as my word for September.
I will be preparing my Etsy for a reopening. I'm hoping to have it ready to by the first week in October. I'm creating a new logo, a new heading for the shop, Facebook and the shop blog. I'm taking new product photos. And all the other little details that need to be taken care of before I can declare it to be back in business.
I'm preparing the house for the fall holidays. This mostly involves packing away all the little summer touches that have been on display for the past 4 months and putting out all my pumpkins and other fall decor. The fall accents will be around until the end of November/beginning of December when we decorate for Christmas.
I'm trying to prepare meal ideas for football Sundays. My usual go-to meals of chili or Gumbo are going to be making less frequent appearances thanks to my GERD. I'm looking for some easy meals that are comforting, but less irritating to my delicate system. Even better if they can go in the slow cooker. (Any ideas?)
I also want to prepare myself for the last quarter of 2024. I'm hoping to have some definitive answers about what needs done for my knee and prepare for that to take place before the end of the year.
What are you doing to prepare for the rest of 2024?
Sunday, September 15, 2024
Thursday, September 12, 2024
Thankful Thursday: September 12, 2024
I Am Thankful For:
Ice cream
Pumpkin Spice coffee
A beautiful fall-like day
Getting my yearly vaccines
Football Sunday
White chili
Root beer floats
Appointment scheduled
Cute videos of grandson
Candy corn
The peace of not engaging
Finding a new (to me) podcast to listen to
Sunday, September 8, 2024
Thursday, September 5, 2024
Thankful Thursday: September 5, 2024
I Am Thankful For:
Air conditioning
My little dog playing while wearing the cone
Apple pancakes with vanilla ice cream
Werthers Maple Creams
Afternoon thunderstorms
Hanging out with my husband
Afternoon nap
Homegrown tomatoes
A quiet day
My husband making a smoothie for me
Steaks cooked on the grill
My dog's eye is better
Learning skills for the future