The Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my Window... it is dark, cold and wet.

 
I am thinking...about the events of the past couple of days.

From the learning rooms...about myself.

I am thankful for...my cozy little house

From the kitchen...not much is happening today but the next couple of days should see lots of activity.  

 
I am wearing...a black sweater, jeans, and brown slippers.

 
I am reading...The Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn and The Santa Society
I am hoping....for an at-home day tomorrow.  The past week has been pretty busy and i would love a day at home just to putter.

 
I am creating...a few small Christmas gifts and i have some home decorating ideas. . . maybe some painted furniture!

I am hearing...my clock ticking; or i should say, my mom's clock ticking.  For many years it hung in her kitchen and it became my job, when i would come to visit, to wind the clock.  It needs to be wound now as it isn't chiming any more.

 
Around the house...well, as i look around it doesn't look bad, just a little bit cluttered.

One of my favorite things...sittin' and knittin'; watching old movies.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... tomorrow i want to get caught up around the house and maybe do a couple of fun projects along with Thanksgiving cooking, then Thursday is Thanksgiving Day so there will be lots more cooking, eating and visiting. The plan is to have the main meal at my daughter's house just next door and dessert later at my house.

Here is a picture of a lovely Chinese girl i met while i was in Shanghai recently.  she is a college student waiting for her visa to return to college in England.  We met several times at the Burger King in the mall near my son's apartment for language exchange.  Her name is Susie.

More Favorites

It seems that i can't remember to blog every day, so maybe once a week will have to do.  Here is the next in the series of My 100 Favorite Things.
Today will be a series of pics of my grandchildren ~ who are indeed some of my most favorite things!

This is the newest granddaughter, Alice, born to my stepson last November.  She won't be the newest for long as my son and his wife are due to have their first this summer.

This is the second newest grandchild, Tanner, born to my stepdaughter.  He is 3 years old and quite a cutie!  He is wearing a Minion hat that i made for him.

This granddaughter is now 11 and has taken up ballet.  She lives in Nebraska and belongs to my DD Virginia.

This grandson lives in Kansas, is 16 and a huge Nebraska fan!

This grandson lives right next door to me, is almost 17 and going to the local Junior College.  He changes his hair style frequently.

This grandson also lives in Kansas and is the older brother to the Nebraska fan.  He likes to make funny faces and wear his mom's Minion hat.  He is soon to be 18.

Here is the youngest of the grandchildren who live next door.  She is 11 now and quite adept at martial arts among many other things!
This is not all of my grandchildren;  i'll post pictures of the rest of them soon.
Well, there you have it.  The latest installment of My Favorite Things.  Stay tuned for the next round!

More Favorite Things

Sometimes life interferes with the best laid plans.  i had intended to post a favorite thing every day for 100 days but, unfortunately, i am behind by 5 days.  So that means that i will post 5 favorite things today!  They are in no order of favorite-ness .

i have always loved this picture.  It was taken at Thanksgiving about 9 years ago.  This is my granddaughter, Beanie, trying to look into the birdbath in my yard. 

This picture was taken 5-6 years ago in Southern California and shows my son jumping waves.  He always has had a thing for jumping the waves and i think that was his first time to see the ocean.

This is The Eagle and Child pub in Oxford, England.  It was the place where The Inklings, including C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien met with friends to discuss their latest literary endeavors.  We visited there in 2005.  Such a wonderful memory!

My son and his bride, taken at their Kansas reception the summer of 2011.  Her dress was so beautiful!

One more beach picture ~ the 3 youngest grandchildren who live here on the beach.  They were quite a bit smaller then, and how they loved to run and play in the waves even though it was only about 55-60 degrees out!

i hope you've enjoyed a few more of my favorite things.

100 Things I Love, con't

In the second day in a row post of my 100 Favorite Things, I offer:

The beach.  This beautiful area is about 1 1/2 miles from my house and truly is one the best beaches in the area.  It is a little point of land sticking out into Puget Sound, and there is a lighthouse on the end of it.  On one side of the beach, the wind is calmer, the beach is sandy and there are not many shells, while around the point the wind is stronger, the beach is rockier with much more driftwood and lots of shells.  I was just there yesterday and after walking for a ways and picking up a few shells and several pretty rocks, I sat down to read a book, drink a thermos of tea and enjoy the beautiful, calming scene before me.  

100 Things I Love...

A few days ago, i read on a blog that i follow about posting a picture of something i love each day for 100 days.  As i have been wanting to do more blogging (i was just talking to my sister about it a little while ago), i thought this might be something to spur me on in this direction. 
My first picture will be a picture of my dad and me.  Today is my dad's birthday; he would be 96 years old but, sadly, he died when he was only 57.  This picture is taken at our house on the day of my high school graduation.  He was usually a rather serious man, but did love to tease and tickle at times.
                                           Happy Birthday, Dad

Outside my Window... it is dark, cold and wet.

 
I am thinking...about a major step i am about to take.  Should be life-changing!

From the learning rooms...i am learning to be a businesswoman; something i never imagined myself to be.

I am thankful for...my good health.  Many people my age can't say the same thing.

From the kitchen...well, . . . at least the dishes are washed.  

 
I am wearing...a black turtleneck, denim dress, black shawl and slippers from China.

 
I am reading...Winter's Tale and How We Love by Kay and Milan Yerkovich; a very interesting book.

I am hoping....for some warm, sunny days this week so i can get somethings done outside.

 
I am creating...slipper socks for me and maybe some animal hats for kids.

I am hearing...the tree frogs outside.  They are terribly noisy!

 
Around the house...the family room is very messy.  It needs a good straightening ~ probably tomorrow.

One of my favorite things...sittin' and knittin'; lately while watching episodes of Inspector Lewis. 

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... finishing the slipper socks for me and maybe making a pair of socks for a dear daughters birthday next month, making a gift for a different dear daughters birthday and working on soap stuff with yet another dear daughter.  Doing a bit of work outside although the yard is way too wet and muddy to do much yet.  i am just anxious for spring, i think.  

Here is a picture of me and a date during my senior year of high school.  i just loved that dress!  

 

Recent Travels

i have never thought of myself as much of a traveler ~ i enjoy staying in my own little home too much but in the past 20 years or so i have become a bit of a gad-about.  Actually since my children  have grown up, developed lives of their own and moved to various parts of the world i have needed to travel, so i have.  Recently, however, i needed to travel for another reason.  Due to some of the circumstances in my life i needed to get away for some serious thinking.  Not that i can't think at home ~ i can especially since i live alone now but at home there are always things calling to me to be done and so i wanted to go somewhere neutral to do my thinking.  When i mentioned this idea to my family (who live next door) they suggested Cannon Beach, Oregon.  They have been there a few times and have expressed their love of the place and how beautiful it is.  It is about a 3-4 hour drive from where i live and so i decided to go for it.  A bit of an adventure, as it were. 
Cannon Beach is a small town on the Pacific Ocean.  i had never been to the ocean before unless you count a couple of hours on Daytona Beach, Florida 13 years ago (which i don't).  It is a rather touristy area but at this time of year there weren't too many (tourists) in attendance.  The downtown area is a rabbit warren of little shops of all descriptions.  i had looked online for a place to stay and reserved a room downtown above a couple of the shops.  It was a cozy room with a full kitchenette (off to the side) and only 1 block from the ocean.

i stayed there for 2 nights and it was very comfortable.  Since i arrived after dark, i didn't walk over to the beach until the next day.  It took me a while to find it, which may sound humorous since the ocean is such a big thing, but i did locate it and find the path to get to it.  As i walked down the little stairs and onto the beach it took my breath away.  It was absolutely amazing!  The sheer power and majesty were almost more than i could take in.  That day there was a storm off the coast and the clouds were various shades of gray and white and looking very ominous and the water looked the same.  In fact it was difficult to tell where the sky ended and the water began.  The waves were huge and crashing!  i wasn't able to get any good pictures of that day but i can still see it in my minds eye.

There are quite a few large rock outcroppings in the area that just seem to rise up out of nowhere; a most notable one being Haystack Rock. 

You can see in this picture how big it is by the size of the people walking on the beach.  i understand that at very low tide you can walk out to the rock and even climb on it but the tide was not low enough when i was there.  Another notable sight is the Tillamook Lighthouse which sets out in the water perched on the top of a rather large rock. 

Here is the lighthouse with a boat in the water beyond it.  i went back to the beach my second day there and the water was much calmer and the sky was not as threatening.
The other notable part of my travels was the bridge at Astoria, Oregon which spans the Columbia River on its way to the sea.  The bridge is more than 4 miles along and i was a bit apprehensive when i first saw it.  Not that i'm afraid to cross bridges but i had never crossed one that long before.

The river forms the boundary between Washington and Oregon and it is a huge river!  All in all, it was a wonderful experience and i am looking forward to visiting the area again.
As to the reason for my going there ~ i was able to think and consider options for my life.  i didn't really receive the answer i was seeking until i came home but that was all right.  It was definitely worth the trip!