Valerean

Last night we learned that despite promises made by others to us that we will definitely not be having any guests for Christmas. The extra hours I've put in for the last couple of months at the day job to "buy" a week off during Christmas to spend my vacation with our guests in the end were for nothing. The turkey for my second Thanksgiving dinner, also planned for this month, will stay in the freezer until February or possibly March. I wasn't really surprised. No one with as much bad luck during the holidays as I have can be startled by more of the same. I thought about it while I was crocheting last night, and there is still a lot to be thankful for this Christmas: it'll just be me and my guy, which is cozy. We always enjoy spending time together. I have a splinted finger, so less work is less stress on my hands. I can take off a week any time I want this month, and since I worked hard for it, I will. I'll have plenty of time to work on my ...

Since Halloween I've been trying to keep a good attitude about the hellidays holidays, and I think it's helping make the fall season a little better for me. Halloween was really fun this year because I got into it and even had a little party for me and my guy. It's hard to be upset when you're partying. Crocheting is helping, too. I've been so depressed over quilting, and my lack of any real progress in that department this year. On the other hand with my crochet I'm like a throw/hat/scarf factory. My hands have never felt better, and with the cold comes pain and stiffness, so I need as much crochet therapy as possible. All the things I'm making with crochet really help me feel not so useless and crippled. The quilt show really inspired me this year. I found a way to quilt next year's calendar project without taxing myself too much. I still have a wonderful job and remain employed, for which I am eternally grateful, especially now with so ...

To get more in the mood for the holidays I'm planning some other projects like the Halloween quilt I'm working on now. I decided to order two fabric bundles from a new-to-me Etsy seller and use them to make a baby quilt and (possibly) a crazy-quilted tote bag. This is the light green fabric bundle I ordered for the baby quilt. It's enough to make one the size of the Halloween quilt, and I love the colors. This bundle was a mystery bag, and I'm really happy with the prints I received. It's a little more than I need for a tote, so I might make some extra gift bags from it. We'll see.

In 56 days fall will begin (I'm writing this post on July 28th.) It's always been a toss-up as to which is my least favorite season, autumn or winter. Most hurricanes arrive during fall, and then there's the whole pumpkin spice insanity that takes over the world. I do like making Thanksgiving dinner, but otherwise, pass. As for winter, I've promised to stop hating Christmas, but honestly, I will never love it. No one will let me skip the holidays, so I have a lot of pretending to be cheerful and going along with the Christmas nonsense. I do like the change of seasons as far as colder weather arriving, but that's all. At this time in my life I sometimes resent how much I have to do (along with all the work involved) to celebrate seasons I've disliked since I was a child. I do like making others happy, however, and I will continue to set aside my dislike and do the work for them. If/when the day comes that I ever live on my own, I often consider what I...

For the last two years my guy and I have thrown away all our previous traditions of celebrating Christmas when it's just the two of us. We've both devoted our entire lives to making other people happy during the holidays, and I have had nothing but horrible luck during mine, so we think we've earned it. This year we went wandering again, did a few interesting things, and ended up walking the beach at Daytona. It was cold, almost entirely deserted and quiet. The ocean was fairly rough but the sound of the waves crashing was music to my ears. At times I felt as if the world had turned into a giant opal. I took pics with my phone and sent them to Kat, who sent back pictures of her island where she was hiking with her boyfriend and his mother. We came across the Florida version of a snow man, which made us both laugh. Then we decided not to look for a place to eat dinner, came home and ate leftovers from Christmas Eve. Perfect end to what is usually a terribl...

To kick off December (and to get in some walking) my guy and I spent an afternoon in Winter Garden, which is all dressed up for the holidays. I love this little town, and how they go all out for Christmas. We'll definitely pay another visit before the end of the year. I stopped by Writer's Block and picked up two more blind dates with a book as a Christmas gift to myself. These will go under the tree for Christmas morning. I wonder what they are . . . .

By the time this post publishes we'll have about a month left of fall. Halloween will be over, and Thanksgiving will arrive in two weeks. Mom and Dad's birthdays have passed for another year. Katherine might be still visiting us and attending some friends' wedding, but she'll have to return to Hawaii soon. This is when my life slows down every year. If I was able to stick to my work schedule, then I turned in the last project of the year yesterday. The rest of 2024 will be spent on planning the projects for 2025 and possibly getting a jump on the first in December. Sadly I won't be participating in that November novel writing month event (I'm not mentioning the organization again, either), which I actually had planned to do. Not that it matters to anyone but me, but a full boycott is the only way I can protest how sketchy and unethical they've become. I have about six and a half weeks before this post publishes; that's how far ahead I am ...