Mid August Faves

Happy Friday!  It's time to slow down!  I need to step away from the treadmill of life and take it slow for a few minutes.  That's what Friday Fave Fives is for.  A time to check back on my week and just be thankful.  The link takes you to Susanne's blog where you can join other people and also be encouraged by their items of thanksgiving. 

1.  As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, August is Birthday Month.  Another birthday was celebrated this week.  Happy Birthday to my older daughter, Rocket Scientist Girl! (yes, she really is!)

My Faceb--k post earlier this week:

Happy Happy Birthday! You have always been adventurous from the time we spent in Bandung, Indonesia and Papua, Indonesia, to all the other places you have lived and visited. You will always be up for another adventure.

Me holding Chaplain, my mom holding Rocket Girl.

Short story before you are bored with it all... I got a text one day in October 2017 saying, "Hey Mom, want to go on a short trip over Thanksgiving with me?"  Of course, I responded with YES!  thinking it would be a nearby spot for a quick getaway.  "Where?"  "England!"  And so we two flew to London, took trains and busses and explored Dorchester, Dorset.  Just five days.  That's my girl!

2.  I had a good visit with my primary care physician following up on the various issues like my skin allergies.  I really like her.  She listens to me.  I am thankful that I have good health care.

3.  Morning coffee with Nurse Daughter.  Mostly, I just wanted to spend time with her, but it was a good opportunity to run some thoughts by her that my doctor mentioned (and told me-- yes, discuss these things with your nurse daughter).

4.  Beautiful sunsets.  I'm a sunset girl, not a sunrise girl.  One evening this week, the sunset was amazing!

Do you see the flock of birds flying in the bottom of the larger clouds?

The picture below shows them more clearly.

5.  Today is first school day of the year for our two high school grandsons.  I have mixed feelings.  It's Tall Boy's last first day... Yes, he is a senior!  I had the privilege of tagging along on his open house tour of this year's classes to meet his teachers and find out what classes he will be taking.  Be prepared-- I may be posting photos from his life during this school year, kinda like Senior Sunday.

Tall Boy and his mom

Tall Boy and his uncle playing with a rubik's cube

That's a wrap on my week.  How was yours?

Fave Fives Whirlwind

 Yes, my week has been a whirlwind.  Our calendar was crazily full every day.  Last night, as I was checking to see what we had on the schedule for today, I realized that I needed to stop and take a breath and jot down my Friday Fave Fives to refocus my attention away from chaos.  And so I wrote my FFFs on a 3x5 card before I fell asleep.  These are what popped up in my memories.

1.  Friday night, we joined our two daughters on a night at the local theater for a musical performed by all local actors.  I knew two of them! One was our former mail carrier!  And we enjoyed the play, too.

2.  During the past week, I have walked/hiked six days.  Sometimes, we walk in our neighborhood in the evenings.  Three times this week.  Our other walks were with Nurse Daughter and her two dogs.  Athena and Sawyer love to walk and it gets their wiggles out.

3.  This week our featured birthday boy is Older Son, Chaplain Dan.  Happy Birthday, Chaps!  This- is what I wrote on Fa-ebook:  

Today is our oldest's birthday! Happy Happy Birthday, Dan! You have gone from Southern California (and other places in the US) to Indonesia, to Oregon, back to Southern California, to Arizona, and various and sundry spots all over the world for military assignments. There's more to come, I'm sure. And everywhere you go, your smile brightens everyone's day.

One of my most favorite photos of him.

Sitting on a basketball in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia

4.  A friend texted me and asked, "Do you want basil?"  "Yes!"  (mine is under performing this year)  She picked a bunch of me and handed me a kitchen trash bag FULL of basil.  I spent the evening processing it all and making pesto.  I think I have enough frozen cubes of pesto to last me until next summer.  Yum!

5.  Honey!  Our bees provided abundantly again this spring/summer again this year.  You can't have more local for your honey than your back garden.  It tastes SO SO SO good!

Bonus Fave:  I spent one afternoon at our daughters' home and helped Nurse Daughter do some organizing in the garage.  Double joy for me-- spending time with her and doing an organizing project.

I hope you can slow down and step out of the whirlwind of life and remember the blessings.

Take a Fairy Trail Hike

 Yesterday, The Professor and I enjoyed a walk with Nurse Girl and the two granddogs.  One of our county parks, Infirmary Mound Park, is a favorite.  It is large, 316 acres, and has seven miles of trails, and even a historical mound on the property.  

One of the trails is a Fairy Trail lined with fairy houses.  These are only a few of the fairy houses.  Which one is your favorite?

Goodbye, July Faves

 I really did plan to write up a couple of posts this week, but life has just been crazy busy.  Not bad busy.  Just busy.  I truly need to just stop today and take a breath and write down five of those wonderful blessings from this past week.  Here are my Friday Fave Fives, hosted by Susanne every week.

1.  We have entered the season of birthdays in our family.  Three of our four children were born within two weeks of each other (with a separation of eleven years). First in line is the youngest.  Younger Daughter, the Nurse, had her birthday yesterday.  We celebrated in the morning with a walk with the dogs at our local Dawes Arboretum.  Then in the evening, we enjoyed dinner at a local Mexican restaurant (her choice).  Happy Birthday!!

"Barbie Nails"

2.  If you have read my FFFs from last month, you will remember that our air conditioner quit working, and the AC/Heating company sent someone that day to fix it.  Knowing our twenty-five year old units were on their very last breaths, we decided to have a new AC and furnace installed.  Two very kind and diligent workers came this week and replaced them both.  I was thankful the work is done and that we have more efficient machines to keep us cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

3.  On Monday, I had an appointment with the contact dermatologist to give me information for the results on the allergy tests I had done last week.  Well.  It turns out I'm allergic to all kinds of things.  Two of them are very common in lotions and cosmetic products.  My doctor gave me information on how to get an app on my phone that I can use to scan UPCs and identify what is in every product.  After checking shampoo, conditioner, soaps, creams, lotions, I found that almost all the products I have been using have ingredients I'm allergic to.  I'm down to one shampoo and conditioner, two lotions I bought this week after scanning their UPCs at the store.  Result:  I noticed almost immediate relief on my skin, and my lotion/cosmetics drawer is much more empty.

4.  While The Professor was at his physical therapy appointment yesterday, I popped over to Hobby Lobby and ordered a frame for the painting my friend made me from a photo I took on Aran Islands last year.  I can't wait for it to be done and hung on a wall in my home.

5.  The birds in my garden.  Catching photos of them is basically impossible, but I love to sit near the window and watch the goldfinches perched on the sunflowers and all the wrens and other birds pecking around at the bird feeder and on the grass and in the wildflower garden.  There's even a hummingbird that flies in and hovers around the petunias and nasturtiums.  I love the birds, butterflies and bees that visit my backyard oasis.

Now we are in the month of August.  And we have much more to look forward to in this later part of the summer.  And more blessings, I am sure.  

Family, Flowers, Faithfulness

 This past week, it has been hot and humid here in Ohio.  Too hot to walk most days until late evening.  I have spent most of my time inside (more on that topic below).  But there have been blessings along the way.  Friday Fave Fives is how I share some of them each week.  Susanne is our faithful host and she leads us by example.  The link takes you to her blog and to where and how you can participate in FFF.

Here are mine.

1.  I didn't mention this last week...my bad.  Our Fifty-second wedding anniversary.  Yes, you read that correctly. 52 years.  I am thankful for a faithful husband who has always been through life with me.  We were so young fifty-two years ago.

Many of our wedding photos were damaged when they were in storage during the years we lived in Indonesia, but a few escaped the rats.

2.  Back to current times.  We grow old together.  Dr. appointments become faves.  The Professor had a very encouraging physical therapy assessment.  I was able to schedule a quicker than usual appointment to find out why I am having allergic reactions (and to what).  I am thankful that we have excellent insurance and options to help us with our health.

3.  The Professor is improving and we were able to walk two miles one evening.  And the one morning when the temperatures were bearable, we enjoyed a shorter walk with our Nurse Girl (younger daughter) and the two granddogs.  (According to Nurse Girl, we are the grandpawrents)

4.  As I mentioned above, the weather has been so hot and humid.  Because of the testing I am undergoing for the allergies, I am not supposed to be exposed much to sun or get all sweaty.  So mostly I have been sitting inside reading or knitting.  I'm thankful I can stay cool(ish) in the house.  And I don't have to weed the garden.

5. My view into the back garden is of potted plants on the patio, and just behind them in the garden bed, sunflowers!  The sunflowers are so tall and blooming huge flowers.  I love them.  The birds love them. (photos taken in the evening after it cooled a bit)

And I have a few growing in the front of the house, too.

I am thankful for my garden!

A volunteer daisy among the potted nasturtiums.

A solar light dragonfly among the wildflowers. 

This week I hoped you stopped to smell all the flowers, not just the roses.

Monday Harvest

 Goodies from my garden.  It's worth waiting for.

Sunflowers.

Fave Fives, Mid July

Friday already!  Time to hit the pause button and think about all the blessings of this past week.  Friday Fave Fives does help me stay focused.

1.  Lately I have been reading a devotional book every evening before I sleep.  I bought the book in Lindisfarne on Holy Island, Northumberland, England in April 2022.  This week, the daily reading mentioned Heavenfield.  This is a place in the UK that has great significance to the Celtic Christian church because it is where King Oswald raised a cross before a battle (Battle of Heavenfield).  I looked up where Heavenfield is and, lo and behold,  I have been there.  We were hiking on that same trip and following a path to Hadrian's Wall.  There was a small church on a hilltop and we explored the perimeter and then walked down another path and passed a large wooden cross.  I did a bit of research and yes!  That is the same place that is mentioned in my devotional book.  I love the connections that give me a visual to help me understand and appreciate the words.

St. Oswald Church, Heavenfield

the cross

2.  After several days of heat and humidity, today I am thankful for cool(er) temperatures, clouds and rain.  We needed the break.

3. The garden is thriving, even in the heat.  Flowers and veggies.

4.  Do you have a favorite tea that you enjoy drinking every day?  Besides my first love of Earl Grey tea, I have been enjoying a good herbal tea-- hibiscus tea.  Flavorful and healthy.

5.  I wish I could catch photos of the birds that flutter around our back garden.  I think my favorite visitors are the yellow goldfinches.  I love the bees, butterflies and birds!

Bonus bit:  The Professor continues to gain strength.  This week we did a two mile walk on the path by our house!