Three on Thursday

Joining Carole and friends for Three on Thursday, today with three random things. I didn't return to the NO Extra Anything place this week, but will do it in the near future and see if I can find out more of the story.

This first one is a couple of weeks old, but it still makes me cringe, so of course I want to share it with you. These are Valentine's Day flowers I saw at the grocery store, but I wouldn't personally call this an upgrade.

It's just my personal preference, but I don't like glitter sprayed on poinsettias at Christmas, nor do I like roses heavily encrusted with glitter and odd white dust for Valentine's Day. I wonder if they sold many of these?

This second one is a bit weird, but I've never noticed this before. I was leaving Walmart, happened to look up at a flock of seagulls, and wondered about these clear "whiskers". They are on the upper edges of the yellow asterisk and all the white letters.

But then I noticed the probable reason for the whiskers ...

... to keep seagulls from roosting. Nobody wants to see Walmart * covered in seagull poop!

The last one is not weird, just interesting and nice. Justin visited a winery and brought me a present.

Sixty percent dandelion, 30% orange, and 10% raisin is definitely an escape from the normal! It's delicious, so much so that I had to have two glasses and keep myself from finishing the bottle.

Head on over to Carole's for more Three on Thursday, and possibly an escape from the normal!

Unraveled Wednesday

I'm working on my Sockhead Cowl and listening too raptly to blog about knitting. Michael Cohen may have unraveled his own life a bit, but I'm hoping it's really Trump's presidency that is coming unraveled.

I'm also visiting with my old friend Chris Christie, who is actually making some valid points!

What are you making, reading, and watching this week?

Which Little Word?

In the beginning of 2019, I had chosen Patience as my One Little Word, but then I read Kym's extraordinary post at the end of January and it felt like an important moment. I thought about it for ten minutes before finally realizing that I had to change my word. Kym's logic and reasoning for choosing Intention as her word this year made so much sense to me, but it was really her simple diagram that showed me why I needed to change my word to Balance:

Balance ==> Focus ==> Intention

This is such a logical progression, but you have to start with Balance. Everything starts with Balance! Right now, I feel quite unbalanced after several years of my father being sick and spending quite a bit of time contributing to the care, help, and transport that he needed, his death in 2018, buying the house in MD, traveling back and forth between NJ and MD, and the death of my mother-in-law last month. I desperately need to feel like I am living a life in balance again, but I know that has not been the case for several years, maybe even longer. I would love to "jump ahead" to focus or intention, but I know that's not what I need. So Balance it is, equilibrium between work and leisure, fun and serious, physical activity and rest, thoughtful consideration and spontaneity.

So far, my actions have been mainly questioning, reading, and thinking about Balance - what it is, what it might mean to me in my own circumstances, what it looks like to lead a balanced life, and trying to practice small steps towards Balance. It will be a slow process, but I think that by the end of the year, I might be able to place myself in the photo of a Life in Balance.

I am joining Juliann and hope you will, too, to read where others' words are leading them.

Sometimes Monday ...

... is a day to Just Begin. As Kat reminded me on Friday via Katrina Rodabaugh, “Begin this journey with whatever skills you have today and trust…You’ll improve techniques as you practice.” Excellent advice for invisible mending, sewing, knitting, almost anything, including taxes.

Tax time always brings a sense of dread and makes me feel disorganized, and especially this year. I don't fully understand Trump's tax plan, but I already know I don't like it because I can't deduct all of my property taxes (one of the joys of living in NJ is sky-high property taxes.) I also have to file in three states - as a partial year resident in NJ, partial year non-resident in DE where John works, and partial year resident in MD where we live down there. I still "help" Ryan and Justin with their taxes, so maybe I'll start with their easy Federal returns and then do their CO and NY state taxes. I spent Friday morning gathering all the necessary tax information in one place, so now I can act like a grownup and Just Begin. 

Friday Letters

I haven't written any Friday Letters for almost a year, but have taken my virtual fountain pen in hand this week to offer a thank you, write a sincere apology, and question bureaucracy. Let's open the mail ...

Dear Amaryllis,

I want to offer my sincere thanks for your many beautiful and non-stop blossoms. You started sending up shoots at the end of December, had blossoms beginning in mid-January, and you're still continuing with bright blooms at the end of February. I feel bad leaving you in the cold, dark house in NJ when I head to MD on Sunday, but I've always tried to make sure you have enough water and sunlight. You surprise and delight me every week when I return on Thursday night to a new blossom or bud stalk. I don't enjoy the drive, but you've made it more bearable when I know I'm coming home to the beauty that you provide. Thanks for making my winter much better!

To My Hyacinths,

I'm really sorry, and would like to offer my sincere apologies to you. Recently, I was too critical of you and your sparse flowers, and may even have called you spindly and accused you of lacking fragrance. Imagine my surprise when I got home yesterday and was greeted by your oh-so-wonderful springlike fragrance and found that you were no longer spindly. The purple one has even rewarded me with an extra little bonus bloom. People tried to tell me that you were doing your best, and now I can finally see that. I apologize for my impatience, and thank you for your magic.

Hey BC/BS,

I just can't use the salutation "Dear", and will refrain from commenting about the BS in your name. You probably remember me; I've been communicating with you for over a year about the claims for radiation therapy for my father (who, by the way, died in Jan. 2018). We have previously disagreed about whether his estate owes you $58,556.10 or not. The radiation therapy was performed in Sept. 2016, claims were submitted, and you paid them without any argument. But for some reason I've continued to receive bills from the hospital and EOBs from you saying you would still like me to pay $58,556.10. When I opened this most recent love letter from you, I was thrilled. I don't know if you've finally understood that you already paid for this, or if I just fought long enough that you and the hospital gave up, but I am relieved to read that I am not responsible for these charges. Because guess what? I don't have $58,556.10! Thanks for the up close and personal tour of bureaucracy and finally seeing things my way (just a year late)!

Wishing everyone a good weekend, with plenty of magical flowers, but free of bureaucracy!

Three on Thursday

Joining Carole and friends for Three on Thursday, today with things seen around Elkton. I've been making a concerted effort to take a walk every day, and to make sure I have my phone so I can take pictures. I've seen some interesting/sad/dilapidated/beautiful sights and here are three of them. 

Downtown is a real mix of businesses trying to make a go of it - a coffee shop, two restaurants, a brand new brewery, along with lots of empty storefronts. It looks like Elkton also offers convenience if you need a bail bondsman with two places right next to each other and a shared entrance. Cut 'Em Loose is cleverly named, but you can call Angelucci collect. 

This sign is in the window of what I think is a liquor store. The main sign says "package goods" but the fireman's hat and balsa wood models seem out of place. I was tempted to go in and investigate, but the sign made me a bit fearful. After stating NO extra anything, at least they thank you for your cooperation.

I'm not sure if the AAAA Driving School is actually in business, but I'm betting they're first in the phone book. They do have a 5-star Google review from two months ago that states "Buissness [sic] was very clean and welcoming." Something tells me this may not be a real review. Most remarkable is the pay phone on the front, and it even has a dial tone!

After three fairly depressing things, I want to leave you with a happier bonus fourth thing. Elkton Florist is lovely, well-kept, and even has a painted elk. There is one other plain blue one in town, but this one looks more cheerful. John wants one for our yard, but that probably won't happen. 

Head on over to Carole's for more Three on Thursday.

Unraveled Wednesday

Joining Kat and friends for Unraveled Wednesday. I'm still plugging along on one of my Sockhead Cowls, hoping that it's still winter when I finally finish it. If not, I guess I'll be early for next year. The photo isn't ideal because it's a dark winter day and we're awaiting snow in MD. They're predicting 3-5" and it's caused quite a tizzy for several days. Schools were cancelled yesterday in advance of the snow, and it was all people could talk about at the library, grocery store, and yarn store. 

I had to go to the yarn store yesterday because my niece has had her baby, a sweet little girl. I knit three hats before the baby was born, but only one fit, and the other two were already too small. I was considering a cute baby sweater, but I talked to my SiL last weekend and she had one sweater done and yarn ordered for another one. We discussed baby socks and thought they would be very quick. I honestly thought I could knit a pair in an hour or two, but it turns out they take a little longer than that in real life. That's how far I can knit in an hour, so I've still got the foot to do, and oh yeah, a second sock. They're certainly smaller than adult socks, but a little more fiddly. I'll have to see if they fit before I knit any more socks. That's supposedly a 6-month size, but I remember my boys' ankles being fairly chubby, and I'm not sure the ribbing will stretch enough to get them on. There don't seem to be any babies in the neighborhood to try them on, so I'll just finish the pair and try them on my grandniece when I'm home this weekend.

I finished The Tommyknockers and it did provide hours of lovely listening to Edward Herrmann. Too bad the story was awful, but in an odd way that kept me listening as I really expected it to get better at some point. It did not, so now I'm just waiting for my next good audio book to find me. Any suggestions?

What are you making and reading this week?