Never Too Old to Learn

When I stayed in South Carolina with my son several years ago, I spent a lot of time sitting around while my son practiced riding dirt bikes. He was at a training facility, so that was his purpose. I could only watch the boys riding the same track so many times in a day.  It was at this time that I first discovered blogs, and Postcrossing.  I don't know how I discovered either one, but I have really enjoyed both of them!
In case you have never heard of Postcrossing, it is a website that you can join for free.  The whole purpose is to send and receive postcards from people you don't know in other countries. Your address is only provided to one person at a time, as your name comes up on a list to received a postcard. You start out sending one postcard at a time until you get established, and gradually you can have more than one in the mail at a time.  I have participated on and off almost five years already. I have sent postcards to countries I have never heard of!  I am including a screenshot of the map of where my cards have been sent, or received from:

The red lines indicate cards I have sent, the blues lines are postcards I have received. This is fun to see. I wish my boys were still young enough we could have a map on the wall, and use this as a geography lesson. I never appreciated geography when I was growing up, now I wish I had paid attention more, but, you're never too old to learn new things. You never know what kind of picture your received postcard will have, I like to see ones that show something native to the country, like this one of "Kissing the Blarney Stone"

I always thought the Blarney stone was just an old wives' tale, I love this!  And I love this one I just received this week:

Unfortunately, the sparkle doesn't come through on this photo, it's much prettier in person.

I have received over 130 postcards over the years. I'm thinking I would like to start a scrapbook specifically for these, they are so much fun to look at.  I used to collect stamps with each of my sons as Cub Scout projects, so even the stamps from different countries are fun to compare. I encourage you, if you are looking for a new hobby, Postcrossing is something to look into, even my husband looks forward to seeing each postcard as they arrive. It's nice to receive something other than bills or junk mail in the box once in a while!

That's it for now, thanks for stopping by, have a great day!
Cindy

December Challenge

Welcome to December, already! Where have the past eleven months gone? I for one, am happy to see this year end, and welcome in a new beginning in 2018! It seems crazy that is just around the corner.

While scrolling through blogland recently, I stumbled across a photo challenge for the month of December. As a scrapbooker of sorts, I like to preserve memories, and this was a perfect way to document this month.  Whitney, from Come Home for Comfort shared a post of prompts to help photograph some of the things that make the holidays so special.  Looked like fun to me! Here are the  first few days that I have followed through with so far, I need to catch up today.

Day 1, the prompt was red.  For me, looking out my window at a 16 foot inflatable Santa, is a lot of red!

My husband and I had a lot of fun putting him up in the yard last weekend, when the weather was perfect for being outside! We smiled at the memory of my youngest son wanting to buy this for his dad when he and I were staying in Oklahoma together. We had to find a way to load up the heavy box, bring it home with us, and hide it from dear hubby. On Christmas Eve, our three boys were able to set it up in the yard as a surprise for their dad to find the next morning. Such a pleasant memory.

Day 2, the prompt was lights.  I miss the days when we would hang icicle lights all the way around the rooflines of our house. Since the new roof and gutter guards, we can no longer do those. None of our neighbors light their homes the way we used to when our children were younger. Something we see every year however are the lights around the county courthouse.

Greencastle is one of the older cities with the big courthouse in the center. It's not tall enough to make a perfect tree, but I'm glad the city hangs these strings from the rooftop.

Day 3, the photo was prompted by sweets.  I know a lot of people stress over baking for the holidays. I do not. Hubby and I realize we both struggle with weight issues, and with both of our fathers being diabetics, we do not do a lot of sweets. Every year however, I have M&M's on the table, in a special jar.

My middle son did not always enjoy crafts like his mom. But crafts are a popular activity in Cub Scouts, and I was thrilled when my child cooperated with his den leader in elementary school and made this candy dish. It is a simple mason jar inverted on a chicken feeder. But my son made it, and it has survived over the years. I love it! The fact that I collect snowmen only adds to its appeal for me! I made the mistake of not having candy in it one year, and I took a lot of harassment from my family. I haven't missed a year since.

I hope to keep up with this photo challenge throughout the month. These will make some wonderful memories for me to save for my family. I hope you'll come back to see the other traditions we love, and maybe join the challenge yourself. Thanks for stopping by!

Cindy

A Fun Find

Good Morning!

I don't know how many people are still looking at Facebook, other than me! It seems Instagram, Youtube and I don't know what other forms of social media out there are becoming so popular. I have declared in the past that I am technically challenged, so I stick with what I know, blogger and Facebook. Anyway, I had seen posts about the Kindness Rocks project. Rocks. Who would think that rocks would be popular. But I have seen what an effect they have. Our local hospital has a rock garden out front. Our small town library has one as well.  When a local football player was killed this summer, people painted footballs on rocks with his jersey number, and placed them at the high school, it was touching. I see people posting they are painting rocks, hiding them, hoping to make other people smile when they find them.  I have followed some of these posts, and I smile when I see kids hiding them, and see people say they were so happy when they happened across one on a particularly bad day.  I really get it now, because I found a rock!  When I left my mom's house in Texas, I stopped to get gas in Arkansas.  It was so bittersweet heading home. But sitting there by the gas pump was this little fellow

I smiled when I saw him. I almost didn't pick it up, but I did. On the back was the Facebook group that the painter belongs to. When I stopped at a rest area a couple of hours later, I posted to the group that I had found him. He made me happy as I drove home, and I have smiled several times as I have looked at him sitting on my desk. And today, I am hiding him in my local community, and hoping that he will bring a smile to someone else on this cold, rainy day.  It will be fun to see who else finds this rock, and how far he will travel.  Over the summer I collected a few rocks that I thought would be fun to paint and hide.  With the rain this week, maybe I'll be stuck inside and get some painting done!

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day!
Cindy

Stitching Update

I made it home from Texas last week. I spent several weeks with mom, who was sick when I got there, and sick when I left. I hated to leave her, but I had already committed to being a vendor at a scrapbook crop and I couldn't not be there.

I made good progress on my stitching project while I was gone.

On my drive home from Texas, I detoured to Shepherd's Needle, a cross stitch store in Arkansas. I haven't been in a LNS in years! I could have stayed all day, but couldn't. I did make some purchases, some planned, some not. I purchased threads for a bookmark I wanted to stitch for my granddaughter. So, a new start when I got home: Batty Over Books, a bookmark. This is from Stoney Creek magazine, Summer 2016.

I also joined a SAL on Facebook. I knew I had several patterns from Little House Needleworks, but I didn't have any fabric for them. So I purchased a full kit while in AR, and my new start this week is Autumn ABCs.

This is two days work. Chances are I may not complete it by the end of the month, but I am going to just stitch and enjoy!  Last night dear hubby headed to bed and knowing I want this piece done, told me I was welcome to stay up and get my 600+ stitches done to be on track for my finish. Sweet of him, but I didn't make it that long! 

That's a pretty good update for today. Schoolwork is calling. Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful weekend!
Cindy

The Stitchy Picture

I did it! I figured out how to get my mom's internet working, so I don't have to drive to the closest town to use my computer! I'm super excited, but I owe some of the credit to my hubby.  While we were talking on the phone, I mentioned that once again, her computer wasn't working. He has an extensive background in communications, and over the phone, he talked me through the process, and she is back online. 

Anyway, this was my progress 4 days ago. I have stitched every night while we watch the Hallmark channel, so I am further along than this. Hope to get another photo updated posted before I go home, but I think I will leave this week, and I am trying to finish Community Health Assessment course, might not get that next photo until I get home, we'll see!

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day!

Cindy

My Texas Trip

So, I made the drive to see my mom. Fourteen and a half hours, stopping only when I needed gas.  This is the way I used to make the trips to see mom, I'm a little bit older now, and that was just hard on this old gal!  But I'm so glad I made the time. My mom has been a widow fifteen years already, and I see that she is starting to show the trials of those years. Mom is slowing down. And mom is sick, again.  I knew before I came down that she had a "cold" she said.  After listening to her cough for a week, and seeing her coughing up blood, I made her see the doctor. Bronchitis, not the first time this year. This is wearing her out, and she has done a lot of napping since I've been here this week. Not only the infection, but she also broke her foot a few weeks ago. Hobbling around with a walking boot on one foot has thrown her body out of alignment, so her hip hurts too. Oy, getting old isn't for weanies.
On a good note, I have had some extra stitching time while mom has been napping.  On the 22nd, I took a picture of my current project to see the progress. Unfortunately, there is absolutely no wi-fi at mom's. I have been trying to use my cell phone as a hot spot, and that is barely working for me, so unfortunately, I am not able to post my picture. I may end up taking my computer to town, and trying to pick up a signal to submit a school assignment. Maybe I can get my picture posted then as well.

That's all for now folks, thanks for stopping by!

Great Start to the Day!

Today, as I am busy trying to get packed for my road trip tomorrow, I am going to have lunch with my granddaughter at school, before I go get groceries. Needless to say, I am busy!  When I am this busy, I am also stressed.  One of the best ways I have found to deal with my stress, is to run. I have enjoyed this so much this summer, even though it has been very hard for me.

Today, I did my best run ever! And by run, I really mean intervals. I downloaded a couch to 5k program, and i have followed it, kind of. I want to run more than what the program is ready for me to do, so sometimes I cheat. Today, I cheated. And it was awesome!  I ran more than one full mile, without any walking breaks, and ran more on the way home than I have done yet this summer.  My first mile was less than 9 minutes which is amazing for only 3 months of work.  I use a free app to track my runs, and I love the way it analyzes everything for me afterwards.  This is how I looked today

Not that I am going to win any competitions like this, but my biggest competition is me. I struggled in a slight rain for less distance and longer time on Wednesday, so I am happy with this.

Well, gotta go pack my lunch, I don't want to be late to meet Nova! 

Have a wonderful day, and thanks for stopping by!

Cindy

Stitching Update

It has been such a long time since I have written a decent blog post, I'm not too sure I can pull this all together! I know that when I look at blogger, to get to my reading list, I see that things have been updated. Like so many other things, I am going to just wing it here, and hope for the best!

It has been over three months now since I have been unemployed. I have to admit, it was exciting at first, then it was really really hard. Once I developed a routine, things got easier. I have eased back into running, and I am so proud of the progress I have made with that. I had to start out slowly, because walking up the 13 stairs from my laundry room caused me to be out of breath. After months of diligence, I can happily say that I can now run at least one full mile without walking! My goal is to be able to run a full 5k, so I will stick with it.

Now for the fun stuff, I have been able to stitch so much since I haven't been working! I really should be doing other things, but I have missed my hobbies so much.  I have had a couple of pieces that I have really focused on, and one that has the most progress so far is a kit by Design Works

I started this piece this year, and until this month, I worked on it only on the weekends. I was so excited to see the progress, so I have been stitching this, instead of doing my schoolwork. Since this picture, I have outlined more of the letters, and started adding in the sunburst below.  Knowing that I usually stop working on a piece when I reach the backstitching, I have completed that as I go. It has really made a difference. I expect I will finish this piece this year. I allow myself to turn on a floss tube video, and binge watch while I stitch and have my coffee in the mornings. It has been so enjoyable. I have to be careful, that floss tube is addicting! Speaking of addicting, I cleaned up my stash of magazines yesterday, yikes!!!! I didn't know I had collected so many magazines. I think I want to get rid of some, and then I realize that my tastes have changed so much since I bought that first issue in the late '80's, so maybe I should hold them and see if tastes change again. I know I will never ever stitch everything I own. I have made some big purchases this summer from 123 stitch and from House of Stitches, so I need to get a little control of myself.

I am leaving this weekend for a road trip. I am driving to Texas to visit my mom. She spends a lot of time watching TV at night, and I usually get a lot of stitching done when I am at her house. I hope to post an update of this piece by the end of the month!

Thanks for stopping by
Cindy

A Dangerous Discovery

Dear Hubby and I returned home from a Niagara Falls trip Monday night. He had to go back to work Tuesday morning, so cleaning out the RV was left to me. And then, because I get distracted easily, I started surfing the internet. And I looked at youtube. And I found a couple of regulars on floss tube that I really like watching.
So, the RV still needs to be cleaned out and prepared for our trip next weekend. At least I can say I have the fridge emptied and the linens washed and put back!
I am now hooked on videos, to a procrastinator like me, that is dangerous!

Finding Balance

What a beautiful morning already! As I sit in my comfy stitching chair, with our snuggly puppy beside me, I am listening to the birds singing, and thinking how lucky I am right now!

I have been struggling, for a couple of years now, to find balance in my life. I have worked hard to become a good nurse. And I have had a desire to advance, one step at a time from an LPN, to my Associates Level RN, and pushing on for my Bachelor's.  Through all of this, I have had my husband, my three boys, and our extended family that I need to spend time with.  Somewhere in there I had to maintain a home which consists of ten acres.  And I have friends, and hobbies I would like to enjoy as well.  How do we do it all?

Until recently, I didn't realize just how much I struggle balancing all of this.  I guess I tend to focus everything I have on one thing at a time.  My job has been my priority for a while now.  I truly loved, loved being a hospice nurse, but I knew it was consuming my life, and I gave up that job to become a Director of Nursing. I thought changing jobs would make the difference, what an eye opening experience!  As I jumped into learning about my new endeavor, my classes moved to the back burner, as did everything else. My successful business as a scrapbook consultant no longer exists, I have at least 30 stitching pieces that are started, and neglected, and my poor family and friends! I hate to look at the condition of my home right now.

As of two weeks ago, I am no longer employed.  I did not deal very well with the inequities in my life, and began to feel very stressed. I am sad to say that I allowed my stress to change the person I was, and it was not turning out well at work.  At first, I was ecstatic, and then I realized not having a job has made me depressed! I feel that I should be using the knowledge I have struggled so hard to gain, yet there is peace knowing that I have one less obligation at the moment. So many emotions every single day.

This week, I have studied, a LOT! I am trying to make up for lost time. And last night, when my husband came home from work, and had to cut grass, because I couldn't find any time in my busy day to do any part of it, I felt guilty. I am struggling to create a new routine in my day. I have exercised faithfully, and kept a couple of extra pounds at bay. I have returned to stitching, even finished a work in progress! But, my struggle continues, find some time every day, to do a little bit of this, a little of that, not an all or nothing.

Today, the new routine I am trying to pull together, gets all out of sorts! My 7 year old granddaughter will be here in an hour. I will have her for 24 hours. It has been a long time since i have spent this much time with an energetic child, and I am afraid, and excited!  We are going to pack up, and head down to the beach, so I hope it gets a little warmer outside! And I think we'll have a campfire and teach her to make s'mores tonite. Is there a chance I'll focus all of my attention on just her today, nothing else? Quite possibly. I'll work on that finding a perfect balance later this week...........