Shopping

 Hearing the dog, Aesop, whine is what pulled me out of bed this morning.  It didn't keep me from going back to my room to get warm under the covers and avoid doing the long list of things to do that I had just created.  There were seventeen items on that list.  I had hoped to get through a bunch of them, or at least start some of the projects.  As the day draws to a close, I am happy that I took my time this morning.  Other happy things:

• Just when I was about to get up and motivate myself, I got a call from Keziah.  She wanted to go to the Spirit Halloween store with Gideon and would I like to go?  This motivated me out of my warm bed and to the store.  I'm not a big Halloween person.  When I was a paraeducator there was a student who LOVED Spirit Halloween.  These memories and wondering how they are doing now are a happy thing for today.

• Thinking of that student prompted me to text someone from the school and we texted a bit about school and my new job and would I ever go back into education.  A week ago I would have answered no.  Today I am very much undecided.  It was great to communicate with them again.
• We did more shopping after that and I was able to find a pair of jeans that fit.  My size seems to be popular and is seldom in stock.  Yesterday, I found a worn spot on the jeans I was wearing so replacements are in order.  I also found some pajamas that I like.  I'll be getting rid of some old clothes to make room for these.  
• After getting home and having lunch, I started on my list.  I managed to get through seven of the seventeen items.  Yay!
• Keziah found a sweater for Aesop with a llama on it.  I tried to take a picture but he is a very active dog.

The llama is wearing star sunglasses and
the top says, "Stargazer."
He doesn't seem to mind wearing dog clothes.

☮

Currently reading: Mount Washington A Guide and Short History, by Peter E. Randall.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Happy Mother's Day

Not every mother is happy today and not every child (or adult) is happy with their mother.  I hope they find happiness, even if not with each other.  

Zed and I downloaded all the videos from the trail cam.  Some were just bugs or wind blowing.  Others are more interesting.  I've decided to share on my blog the links to those that I am posting onto YouTube.  The YouTube posts are being scheduled to go public at different times (one a day) that won't have anything to do with the blog.  Readers can see most of them first.  Honestly, I am rather excited about seeing the critters, even the squirrels.  Most likely this will be me sharing lots of squirrels and deer with a few other interesting critters in between.  The trail cam only records for about 22 seconds so these are short.  Here is the list of links from video collected in the last week or two:

• Squirrel.
• Birds.  Most seem small, one seems to jump into the brook.
• Cat.  At first glance I thought it was a racoon.  It was during a rainy night.  I'm fairly certain it is a household cat.
• Deer and turkey.  The turkey comes down the hill a little bit in.
• Deer.  The deer walks right in front of the camera.
• Beaver.  Fairly certain this is a beaver.  I always thought beaver ate fish; they are vegetarians.  How did I never learn this before?
• Fireworks.  This one starts off with a loud scream, I recommend turning down the volume.  It also doesn't appear to have any wildlife.  There is something in the very beginning where a light can be seen.  That is a mystery.  The popping noises are the fireworks.  Sound carries in weird ways.
• Mourning dove.  Hard to see what I think to be a mourning dove.  
• Squirrel.  The squirrel comes towards where the camera is.
• Bluejays.  Just a couple of blue jays.

If I did this all correctly, anyone with the links can view the videos and the public and people subscribed to the YouTube channel will get one a day for the next ten days.  Other happy things for today:

• My daughter, Keziah, wanted a productive day ending with girl movies for us and our friend that is visiting this weekend.  We spent the beginning of the day cleaning some problem areas and later in the day we watched the movie Moxie.  She got what she wanted for Mother's Day.  
• I wanted to not have to cook.  We ordered out from the ice cream place in town for lunch and Zed brought home dinner from Olive Garden.  Win!!
• Bel called from Texas to wish me a Happy Mother's Day.  They seem to be doing well, helping their dad on his farm and at Pioneer Farms.  They hope to be able to work more on turning their bus into a home soon.
• During the girl movie we each did a face mask-the kind that are for deep cleaning, not guarding against disease.  I chose a peel-off kind.  As a teen I loved that kind.  It has been a few years and maybe my face is more sensitive?  It feels nice and clean but I didn't expect it to hurt so much coming off.  It was still a good time.

My face was kind of frozen.

• The coif.  I got some pictures of the coif today.  There were a couple books and some websites I used to guide me in my design as well as knowledge from Keziah and a friend.  There is also so much more that I might get around to adding to it another time.

D for Deirdre and the llama because
that is how I am depicted in a comic that 
someone does.

Llamas are from South America, not Europe in 
the Middle Ages.
So really, it is just a tall sheep.
😉

This is at the top and
won't be visible under the coronet.

☮

Currently reading: The Backyard Homestead, by Carleen Madigan.

Wear a mask.

String

 There was a bit of excitement today when one of the cat toys was suddenly missing about 6 inches of string.  No humans were in the room when it happened (they were alone for maybe five  minutes) and so we could only speculate as to whether it was Nanni or Winston who was able to achieve this feat.  Keziah and Zed took both the cats to the vet where it was determined that Winston was the culprit.  This is at least the third time that Winston has done something that could have cost him his life.  He has jumped on a gas stove-while lit, got into chocolate, and now swallowed string.  Thankfully each time he has managed to come out the other side just fine.  Other things I am happy about today:

• I got rid of more things and more things were put away.

Some of these things are recycle, some Zed has claimed,
some are things to be returned, and some for donation.

• This morning I got the majority of the driveway cleared of snow.  I was outside for one hour and forty-eight minutes according to my FitBit.  I'm learning how to make the best use of the snow thrower.  The direction I push depends on the best place to throw the snow.  North/south, east/west, diagonal-many steps are had in clearing a driveway of snow.
• Keziah has been working on a scroll for a friend (my protege) and tonight that friend came by to pick it up.  For whatever reason (I don't know why) she wasn't awarded the scroll itself a few years ago when she was awarded the Silver Crescent for service.  I'm not sure I can show the scroll yet, but below is the presentation.

Keziah came out a little blurry.

• Because my protege is awesome, she also dropped off Christmas gifts.  I got llamafied...

The pens have the llamas on top and the pen is wrapped
in what appears to be a woven band.

• Earlier in the week I ordered seeds and they came in the mail today.  Tomorrow other things I ordered should be here.  Hoping to be able to start plants inside next week.
• Today is National Love Your Pet Day.  I feel that the string incident and getting the cats to the vet in a timely way shows how much these cats are loved.  

Nanni

Winston

☮

Stay safe.