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october zinnia
october zinnia
martinis with a view
martinis with a view
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gettysburg fence for
germinate shawl on rocks
germinate shawl on rocks
field of flags 2
field of flags 2
color affection with edge
color affection with edge
cedar leaf shawlette 2
cedar leaf shawlette 2
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Monday On My Mind

January 4, 2021 By Carole

The problem with taking the week after Christmas off (although I did pop in on Thursday and Friday) is that you miss blogging about all those end of the year things. The reflections and thoughts. The challenges made and missed. So today, in the interest of staying current while also moving ahead, I’m going to do a little recap.

  1. First, I’m showing you my Instagram Top 9. That’s it up there. My most popular picture was the one of Dale right after he got home from the hospital, asleep on the couch with Jackie’s giraffe. His storm trooper boot ranked high, as well, as did lobster rolls on his birthday. It was quite a year and I must say I’m very glad the photo of all 4 of our kids together made the top nine because that was definitely a highlight of 2020 for me despite the reason for the gathering.
  2. Second, I’m telling you that I listened to 18,048 minutes of music on Spotify. Is that a lot? It seems like a lot to me but I don’t really have anything to compare it to. The song I listened to the most was The Weight by The Band. That didn’t surprise me, it’s a favorite of mine and Dale’s. Also in the top 5: Perfect by Ed Sheeran, Wagon Wheel by Old Crow Medicine Show, February Seven by The Avett Brothers, and Coal Miner’s Daughter by Loretta Lynn. The last song on the list was How Far I’ll Go from Moana. I’d like to blame Jackie for that one but it’s all me. It’s an eclectic list with everything from Beyonce to Coldplay to Lady Gaga to Dolly Parton. It’s also heavily influenced by the amount of music I listen to when I’m with Dale. I’m going to make a point to expand our musical horizons this year if I can.
  3. Finally, I’m sharing that I met my Good Reads challenge and finished 75 books in 2020. I made it by the skin of my teeth this time, finishing book #75 on New Year’s Eve Day. Whew! I’ve blogged about books all year and I’ll update you on the ones I’ve finished since my last update, but for a quick recap, those 75 books equaled 23,249 pages. The shortest book was Grief Is the Thing With Feathers by Max Porter at 114 pages and the longest was Cape Cod by William Martin at 713 pages. The average number of pages per book was 309. You can see all the stats and titles I read by clicking on My Year In Books

Hmmm. A list of 3 things. Maybe I should have saved this for Thursday? Too late, it’s done and I don’t have the gumption after so many days off to come up with a different topic for today.

Happy first Monday in 2021, friends!

Filed Under: Monday On My Mind

Monday On My Mind

December 14, 2020 By Carole

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of my brother-in-law Randy’s death. It was not an easy day, anniversaries of this nature are always emotional. But it was not a horrible day, either. Dale and I both posted on Facebook and received a great deal of love and support from our friends there. There were phone calls with family members that included lots of reminiscing and sharing stories. There was a general feeling that Randy was among us all day long and I found that reassuring and comforting.

Grief is work, friends. It’s exhausting and at times it’s overwhelming. It’s also necessary. As I’ve learned (sometimes the hard way) pain, much like truth, will out. You can ignore it or stuff it back down. You can eat too much or drink too much. You can take your pain and use it to lash out at others. Or . . . you can acknowledge it, take the time you need to feel it, and release it. Sure, it will come back. But when it does you will be ready and you’ll go through the process of accepting and releasing your feelings. Again and again and again.

To quote my own social media post, grief is the price we pay for loving deeply. It’s heartbreaking and terrible. It’s also a blessing and an honor.

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Monday On My Mind

December 7, 2020 By Carole

Here’s what’s on my mind this week: COVID testing. Dale and I have been tested and, mercifully, we are both negative. Color us relieved and thankful. But there are issues with testing that I can’t stop thinking about now that I have gone through the process personally.

First, it takes too long to get tested. And second, once tested it takes too long to get the results. Here’s our experience:

We were exposed on 11/21. The person we were with starting experiencing symptoms on 11/23 and was tested on 11/24. They got their test results on 11/30 and that’s when Dale and I were notified. Fortunately, we mostly stay home, limiting ourselves to work and necessary shopping. Also, since this all happened over the Thanksgiving holiday, we had been almost exclusively at home. Still, on 11/30 we were both at work when we got the news. We met up at home and went to a drive up testing center but were turned away as they were already at capacity for the day. We went to an urgent care facility near us that does testing, their website said they didn’t take appointments but to call when you arrived. The line was busy for 15 minutes straight and, while it did ring through at one point, no one ever picked up and we were eventually disconnected.

We went home and regrouped and made appointments at a local pharmacy for 12/2 in the afternoon, deciding that it made more sense to have appointments than to drive around looking for a place that would test us without one. They told us the turn around time for results had been 2 days but would most likely be 3-4 days although there was the potential for it to take as long as 6 days. I got my results Saturday morning. Dale, who was tested at the same time as I was, got his results Sunday evening. And today we are both headed back to work.

But. All those days from when we were exposed until when were notified we had been in close contact with a person who tested positive were days where we could have been potentially spreading the virus. Also, by the time we got the results, our quarantine period was up anyway. I’m hearing that people with symptoms can get tested and get results more quickly but without symptoms that was not how it worked for us.

I’m not an expert and I don’t have solutions our answers but even I can tell that this needs to be more efficient. We need more testing places and faster turn around on results. Yes, a vaccine is headed our way. In the meantime, though, I think there needs to be a better way.

And that’s what’s on my mind this Monday.

Filed Under: Monday On My Mind

Monday On My Mind

November 23, 2020 By Carole

It’s Thanksgiving week so it’s only natural that gratitude is on my mind. I’ve kept a gratitude journal since August 2019. That’s 456 days of sitting down first thing in the morning (while my coffee brews, in fact) and writing down 5 things I am grateful for.

It generally takes the shape of 5 things from the previous day and sometimes it feels like I’m just writing down daily highlights . . . the best things that happened on a given day. I’m not always certain that’s a true expression of gratitude but there’s nothing wrong with being grateful for good things that happen. Plus, my gratitude journal . . . my rules.

The things I’ve written down are as simple as birds singing outside my window, as lighthearted as watching Jackie dance, and as profound as the day after Dale’s accident when I simply sat at my table and wrote, 5 times over . . . Dale is alive. Flipping back through the pages of my journals sparks memories and moments that I wouldn’t ordinarily spend time recalling and I am very glad I have a place to go where I’ve gathered these memories together.

If you’re the journaling sort I encourage you to give this a try . . . and what better time to start than Thanksgiving? I believe expressing gratitude makes us happy, makes us present, and makes us aware. It’s a good way to live, friends.

Filed Under: Monday On My Mind

Monday On My Mind

November 16, 2020 By Carole

You know what’s on my mind this morning? Sleep. As in, Sunday night sleep. I struggle with it and I’m not sure exactly why. Last night was better than most but there was still a fair amount of awake time in the wee hours, my thoughts on overdrive.

I’m not alone in this struggle. Sunday night sleep problems . . . dubbed Sunday-somnia . . . are a real thing that many struggle with and it’s related to . . . wait for it . . . anxiety. Of course. Some studies I read mentioned that it’s anxiety related to a difficult commute or Monday morning meetings but neither of those are issues for me. I actually have a job that I enjoy and find satisfying so returning to work shouldn’t be anxiety producing for me.

And yet, I’m pretty sure it is. I’ve ruled out the other typical reasons for Sunday-somnia: having different sleep cycles on the weekends (I don’t), drinking more on the weekends (I don’t), taking naps (I don’t), so yeah. It’s anxiety related to the start of the week. My therapist and I discussed this recently and she thinks it’s related to me having to give up my freedom when Monday rolls around. I think she’s on to something there, frankly, because I truly value and appreciate having whole days to myself to do whatever I want at whatever time I want.

The reality is that retirement is still 6 years away for me so daily freedom isn’t coming any time soon. I don’t have any good answers yet on how I can mitigate the anxiety and sleep better on Sunday nights but rest assured . . . it’s on my mind.

Filed Under: Monday On My Mind

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Today I took a drive to pick up these hothouse ane Today I took a drive to pick up these hothouse anemones and tulips from my favorite local flower farm @crossstreetflowerfarm and they have me jonesing for spring! #crossstreetflowerfarm #hothouseflowers #anemones #springbouquet #springflowers #treatyoself
Aerogarden is doing it’s thing, I’m hoping for Aerogarden is doing it’s thing, I’m hoping for an herb harvest soon! #the100dayproject #100daysofiphonephotos #aerogarden #growingherbsindoors #dill #parsley
I didn’t order groceries today so our snacks are I didn’t order groceries today so our snacks are from the larder, summer sausage, Swiss cheese, some crackers and hardboiled eggs. Even without the fancy snacks I’m still celebrating that the weekend is here! Happy FriYay! #fridaynightsnacks #happyfriyay #martinitime #cocktailhourathome #cheeseandcrackers
Ms. Pajama Party amaryllis is definitely having he Ms. Pajama Party amaryllis is definitely having her moment. #amaryllis #pajamapartyamaryllis #100daysofiphonephotos #the100dayproject
Has it really been a week since I posted here? Who Has it really been a week since I posted here? Whoops! Let’s catch up! I’ll start by sharing this photo of my Pajama Party amaryllis, she’s in bloom right now and she’s a stunner. #100daysofiphonephotos #the100dayproject #pajamapartyamaryllis #amaryllis #winterblooms #whiteflowerfarm
Pictured here: 8 of the 48 cream puffs I made for Pictured here: 8 of the 48 cream puffs I made for Valentine’s Day for my family. One batch was a bust, pretty sure that was my mother-in-law saying hello from heaven (she always said one batch always fails) but the others were some of the best I’ve ever made. You may say Happy Valentine’s Day but around here it’s Cream Puff Day! #100daysofiphonephotos #the100dayproject #creampuffs #creampuffday #familytradition #homemadeisbest #whippedcreamfordays #thanksruthie
Sushi for Valentine’s Day! #100daysofiphonephot Sushi for Valentine’s Day!  #100daysofiphonephotos #the100dayproject #sushidinner #tatamieastbridgewaterma #welovesushi #takeoutforthewin #supportyourlocalrestaurants #eastbridgewaterma #valentinesdaydinnerathome
I love this little face! #100daysofiphonephotos #t I love this little face! #100daysofiphonephotos #the100dayproject #attaboyjack #nanalife #fridayswithjackie #lookslikehismama
Jackie teaching his Grampa how to use the iPad! #1 Jackie teaching his Grampa how to use the iPad! #100daysofiphonephotos #the100dayproject #attaboyjack #nanalife #grampalife #whosteachingwho
Sunrise and snowy trees. #100daysofiphonephotos #t Sunrise and snowy trees. #100daysofiphonephotos #the100dayproject #snowysunrise #inmybackyard #winterinnewengland
Cold and snowy outside, warm and cozy inside, make Cold and snowy outside, warm and cozy inside, makes for a perfect Sunday afternoon. #snowdaysunday #warmandcozy #wintertrees #twinklelights #mycozyhome #100daysofiphonephotos #the100dayproject #rustyandingrid
Favorite spot to spend an afternoon reading. #the1 Favorite spot to spend an afternoon reading. #the100dayproject #100daysofiphonephotos #readingspot #mycozyhome
An old favorite this Friday, triscuits with melted An old favorite this Friday, triscuits with melted cheese and green pepper. It’s the first snack Dale ever made for me, almost 25 years ago now. #fridaynightsnacks #martinitime🍸 #helloweekend #triscuitsandcheese #thosenapkinsthough #cocktailhourathome
Sailors, take warning. #the100dayproject #100dayso Sailors, take warning. #the100dayproject #100daysofiphonephotos #februarysunrise #sailorstakewarning #redskyatmorning #outmybackdoor
Silly faces are all Nana gets these days! #100days Silly faces are all Nana gets these days! #100daysofiphonephotos #the100dayproject #attaboyjack #nanalife
It makes my heart happy to know that my father-in- It makes my heart happy to know that my father-in-law got his second COVID vaccine at the VA today! I guess from his reading material he’s now making plans to cruise America! #covidvacccinedone☑️
This Velvet Nymph amaryllis was definitely worth w This Velvet Nymph amaryllis was definitely worth waiting for, she’s stunning. #100daysofiphonephotos #the100dayproject #amaryllis #velvetnymph #whiteflowerfarm
A snowy day calls for my favorite boots, I’ve ha A snowy day calls for my favorite boots, I’ve had these since 1988 and they are still going strong. #100daysofiphonephotos #the100dayproject #snowday #llbeanboots #llbeanhuntingshoes
I’ve been baking sourdough bread for 10 months n I’ve been baking sourdough bread for 10 months now and I think I’m finally getting close to how I want the scoring to look. This loaf took about 24 hours from start to finish, it was sluggish at first so I waited patiently and adjusted my timeline. It rested in the banneton on the kitchen windowsill overnight and I baked it when I got up this morning. Oven spring was impressive, it’s got a good ear and a nice open crumb. It tastes good, too! #sourdoughbread #sourdoughbaking #lookatthatear #nicecrumb #ovenspring #homemadeisbest #breadforbreakfast #morningbaking #the100dayproject #100daysofiphonephotos
I’m so very grateful for @iamicaniwillido and he I’m so very grateful for @iamicaniwillido and her rides. She empowers me and pushes me and inspires me to work harder than I think I can every damn time. I am. I can. I will. I do. #iamicaniwillido #pelotoncycling #iamanathlete #findthejoy #opentochange #icompeteagainstmyself #strongereveryride
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