Last Writing Day?

 This morning I took a walk-before the rains came.  It has been almost a week since I have been on the back property here and again I realize how happy going through there makes me.  One of these days I may remember to bring a rake and actually work toward making the route I take a trail.  It was pretty quiet back there today.  This was a contrast to later in my walk when I traveled down a dead end street.  I saw and heard juncos, chickadees, cardinals, and a woodpecker.  It was quite a bird-busy little section of road.  Other happy things for today:

• Gideon finished his 10,000 word count for NaNoWriMo.  The last two days he was becoming very burnt-out on writing.  He pushed through and was so happy with himself he danced around the house!  K had a book as a surprise gift for him and he will be getting an official NaNoWriMo shirt.

• My word count for today is 10,659 including the 126 words that I copied, pasted and then added to (see blog titled Cheating?).  It is a far cry from the 50,000 words that is suggested for adults.  I did write every day and I did get a few more words than Gideon, so my goal is met.

• I finished filling out a thing for health insurance.  Perhaps I am more relieved than happy?  It is one less thing on my plate and I am glad the first part is done.

• Since it is up to me to make a meal every week, I am starting to remember how to cook.  Weird how something so basic can become not important enough to be forgotten.  That sounds wrong.  It isn't that I forgot how to cook, it is that there are the little things that I didn't do for quite a while and they are coming back to me.  Like how biscuit dough should feel and how much I dislike pulling the meat off turkey bones.  I spent a while relying on K or cooking quick, basic foods.  I don’t really like cooking, but this once a week thing is good.

Very early this morning there was a lunar eclipse. I tried to wake up for it, over slept a little, then stepped outside about 20 minutes after what should have been the peak and a long time before it supposed to be over. It was overcast.  I could see the moon, but no details.

Deer print.

View.

☮

Stay safe.

10659--final count for November NaNoWriMo.

Moon

 Every day I write this blog.  Every day I try to come up with new things to be happy and grateful for.  Every year as December rolls around I start thinking about ways that I can change up the Blog for the coming year.  This year I had many ideas but not much of the layout changed because a pandemic is happening.  Perhaps being unemployed will spark more creativity.  For now I will focus on those happy and grateful things:

• Most of the family is playing the game Among Us.  A few weeks ago I downloaded that game, didn't end up playing it, and then deleted it.  It is a game that the students are playing.  Since I am no longer working it isn't as much of a curiosity.  Or at least it wasn't.  The family is having fun and maybe I will join them next time.   Tonight I am enjoying listening to them have fun while I do other things.
• Talking and laughing on the phone.  
• Working outside on a mild November day.
• E and I put together a quick meal tonight that everyone seemed to enjoy that we hadn't planned.  It was to be a weekend full of leftovers.  I didn't finish the turkey soup because I was outside and forgot.
• The ice cream shop that closed last month is reopen selling Christmas trees, hot chocolate, eggnog soft serve, and peppermint stick ice cream-my favorite.
• The full moon rising.

Setting sun.

Moon behind the trees.

Moon over the shed.

☮

Stay safe.

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Cheating?

 It feels like cheating, but I guess it depends on people's individual opinion.  In my NaNoWriMo writing today I made a list that the character in one of the stories planned to do.  Then I copied and pasted it and added the way it really happened for the character.  Then I thought, oh, shoot, that kind of seems like cheating on my word count.  So depending on opinions, the count may be considered 126 words higher than it would be had a chosen a different way to relay the information in the story.  Now, if I was aiming for the 50,000 words, I can see where this would be a huge thing.  My goal has been to write some every day, and I have.  I may have been hoping for the 50,000 words, but I didn't expect it.  Gideon is trying for 10,000, I'm hoping to have more than that.  I have two days to get less than 1000 words to reach the 10,000.  If I make the time, this will happen.  I'm pleased with my progress.  I have to say that writing fiction is harder than I thought it would be, perhaps because what I usually write is non-fiction.  Things I am happy for today:

• Singing Christmas carols in the car with K.
• That the house was built in a way that I can walk in circles to help me acheive my step count for the day.
• The sun rises and sets every day.  On some of these days, the sky turns lovely shades of color as a gift to those who look up.

When K saw this in the store today she asked me
to take a picture to share with our friend.
Our friend loves Stargate. Between the truck and the trees
there is a decoration similar to a stargate.

☮

Wear a mask.

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Black Friday

 This morning K, Z, Gideon, and I met some friends for a walk.  There was laughter, friendship, and baby loving.  It was fun.  I must say that my anxiety level was big for some reason.  I think just because of the pandemic.  Gideon got to use his scooter on the nice, flat, paved rail trail we were on.  Other happy things for today:  

• While we were walking, E had lessons, and C decided to figure out the heating system in the house.  They found that some of the bleeder valves on the radiators needed replacing.  One wouldn't tighten back up and was leaking water.  We went out to the store to get parts.  It was late enough in the day that the store wasn't very busy.  I'm not much of a Black Friday shopper, I've tried in the past, but it really isn't my thing.  Very thankful that it wasn't busy and we were able to find the necessary parts.
• Last week I deleted a game from my phone so I wouldn't be distracted by it and could focus on other things.  Yesterday, at K's request, I downloaded it again so that K, C, and I could all play together.  As expected, I have been spending a lot of time playing the game instead of being productive.  That said, I'm enjoying playing and losing the game to my youngest!
• Left over food from yesterday's large meal.  Pie for breakfast.
• After finishing this, I am playing Minecraft with TF.  It is Friday and that is what we do on Friday. 

She was a little tired.

Being tired didn't stop her from wanting to ride that scooter!
Her mom wanted to ride it too.

Ducks!

Smiles!

☮

Stay safe.

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Happy Thanksgiving

 Or Happy -Oh My, I Ate Too Much- Day!  We stayed home and phone calls were made or messages sent to people with well wishes.  This year K decided to make a wreath with paper leaves on it with things we are thankful for.  Gideon, E, and I cut out different leaf shapes.  Before dinner I sat down and filled out a bunch of them.  There is a picture below of some of the leaves I wrote on.  I did a few more after that.  Everyone filled out some and K glued them onto a cardboard wreath.  It makes for a very nice, seasonal decoration.  Other things I am happy/grateful for:

• All the wonderful food we had to eat today.
• How we all worked together in one way or another for the fantastic meal.
• Creativity.
• Family.
• That we can put a fireplace up on computer screens to add to the ambiance of a room.
• There was a Macy's Thanksgiving Parade that was partially virtual today and people wore masks.
• Pie.  Yesterday I commented about not being happy about the way the pie crust worked, it tasted fine, it just didn't want to roll out.
• K pulled out her good china.  I tried to pull out some good silverware but that didn't end up working out.
• It is a very grateful day.

Some of the leaves I wrote thankful things on.

Z, E and C.

Me & K.

Gideon.

The computer fire.

The gang.

I tried to remove years of tarnish off my mom's silverware.
They didn't polish up as well as I hoped so we didn't use them.
Some of them seemed to improve sitting there while we were eating.

The Thanksgiving Wreath.

☮

Social Distance.

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The Eve of Thanksgiving Day

 A few days ago I finally scheduled a walk with people from the Barony.  That walk was today.  I put the walk on a Barony Facebook page and a few people wanted to go but couldn't and a few could.  In the end, just one family was able to join K and I on our walk.  It seemed to work out well though and I hope to schedule more of these around the state.  Masks were required and we were outside, so we should have been safe.  It was a good time.  Other happy things for today are:

• Ducks in the pond.
• Gideon helped me make an apple pie for tomorrow by using the apple peeler, corer, slicer.  He also mixed the cinnamon and sugar as well as providing a play-by-play that went something like--and now the cinnamon and sugar are added to the apples.  What's next?  Stirring!-- and so on.  He has a nice announcer voice. 
• K made the pie crust.  It was a different recipe than we usually use.  I think it will taste okay and look forward to trying it tomorrow.  It didn't want to roll out though and I ended up pushing the crust into the pie pan.  This is not a problem, just not what I expected.  It looks like it cooked up well too.
• On the way to the walk, K and I listened to a podcast by Brené Brown that we finished on the way home.  This gave us some good conversation and things to think about.
• I just figured out how to put the accent over the e in Brené.  The first Google options that were presented to me didn't work.  I had to ask Google how to do them in Blogger.  
• I'm going to try growing carrots again, from the tops I cut off before grating some today.  I grated them to go into a jello salad thing that we make around the holidays.  

The carrots.  Also I am keeping scallions in water.
They are ready to use and will hopefully stat fresh.

Ducks!

A very cold looking brook.

☮

Wear a mask.

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Rail Trail Walk

 

Walking with a friend today we traveled a bit farther up the rail trail.  We have been going a little more west every week.  Over the last few weeks of walking on Tuesdays we have gone from Raymond, NH to Candia, NH.  I'm working on figuring out places to park along the way.  The trail itself is a little over 27 miles.  From what I can tell we have done almost twelve miles these last six weeks or so.  Other happy things:

• Conversation while walking with a friend.
• Star Trek NG episode: Too Many Datas.
• K braided my hair today, it is getting very long.
• Birds have been near me today.  When I went to the garden there were two in the cherry tree watching me.  When my friend and I were walking along the trail, a chickadee landed on the ground about five feet in front of me, for only a moment before flying away.  Too quick for a picture.
• The hornet's nest.

Hair braiding.

There is a bird in the tree.

Hornet nest.

Trail.

Trail

Along the trail.

Trail.

☮

Stay safe.

8427

Rainy Monday

 Waking up this morning I could hear the rain outside.  I probably spent a little too much time in bed before getting up.  The time was somewhat productive though; I read, practiced Spanish on Duolingo, checked my email, and Facebook.  When I did get up, I got ready and went on a walk.  I considered getting my steps inside today, and most of them did come from inside.  Around 5000 steps were from my morning outside in the rain.  Rain jackets are nice, but they don't keep my legs or feet dry.  I think I did a good job at staying warm.  Other happy things for today:

• Gideon and E doing percussion?  I'm not sure what to call it, so here is a video.
• Much appreciation for all the people in my family who helped me navigate through insurance stuff today.  I'm amazed at how much information they want.  It isn't finished, but we got a good start.
• Also appreciated is the conversation I had today with someone who gave me many hints about things to say in a job interview and a list of questions that are commonly asked.
• I didn't have to wear a mask today.  I had one on the walk in case I needed it, but didn't.  My ears and nose are thankful.

Duolingo.
700 days.

Yogi teabag.
My picture taking has been limited the last few days...

☮

Stay safe.

8170.

Kitchen Time

 Last night I slept.  At least more than recently.  I almost got seven hours of sleep.  This helped my energy levels today.  Other happy things for today:

• Back in the day, I collected some dinnerware that was produced by Avon.  Some of it was in a box I emptied today.  I've decided that I am not ready to get rid of this and will need to find a place for it.  I'm thinking that it will end up in the apartment.  First I need to find the rest of it.
• My walk today was after dark.  At one point a jogger came out of the dark and jogged by saying hi.  I didn't see them until they were right there because of the way the darkness and lights were in my face.  A little bit later they came up from behind.  They said, "Excuse me." before they got to me and we had a quick conversation about how they had come up on me the time before and surprised me.  They didn't want to surprise me this time.  Anyhow, it was a nice, brief, and pleasant exchange that reminded me that there are considerate people in the world (and not just in my house) still.  
• Animaniacs on Hulu.
• Parts of the kitchen were rearranged today.  The spice rack was hung up and organized so they no longer are commanding the counter.  There is a coffee nook now (which I don't use but looks better).  Just little changes that make the kitchen seem bigger.
• There was rearranging in the laundry room and dining room too.

The kitchen lighting is weird...
but baskets were hung to hold towels and cloths.

☮

Stay safe.

7476

Tired Saturday

 Yesterday's high adrenaline and energy faded completely today. I tried to get to sleep fairly early for me on a Friday. I was in bed just after ten. I stopped playing Minecraft way earlier than usual because I was so tired. Then I woke up at four in the morning and couldn't get back to sleep. I tried to nap but it didn't work. So I took it easy most of the day. I did make a list and was able to get a little bit of everything on there done. Other happy things:

• I went out for a nice walk. It was a bit longer than I had planned, I improvised. It involved a new-to-me trail that connects two nearby roads. There are other trails in this town and I want to find them.
• There is now a very large box waiting to be burned in the fire pit. It is filled with old bills. Downsizing! :)
•  Gideon is ahead of me for word count in NaNoWriMo.  He is at 7508 and I am only at 7326.  We are both writing, and that is what counts.
• I ended up watching the last episodes of a short series, Dash & Lily, with K and E tonight.  It was a fun Christmas romantic comedy... and I may go back to watch the beginning sometime.

This new-to-me trail is an old road.

☮

Stay safe.

7326

Putting it Behind

Falling asleep has been coming to me very easily lately.  Staying asleep has not.  This morning I awoke around 4:20 AM, about 40 minutes before my alarm went off.  This meant that I got to work nice and early, but I am getting ahead of myself.  Before I was ready to leave for work Gideon and Z woke up specifically to wish me well today and -bonus- they made me a scrambled egg and cheese wrap for breakfast.  How thoughtful is that?  So my first happy of the day was pretty early.  Other happy things include:

• Coworkers are awesome people and gave me going away gifts.  
• A student that I am with often made me a card.
• Rockets flew far and high today.
• The temperature today was in the mid 50's and pleasant.
• My family made me a cinnamon spice cake to celebrate leaving my job.
• For some reason, that I can't quite explain, I am feeling really good about being unemployed.  This should not be a normal thing and I expect stress about not working to set in soon.  I hope to ride this feeling for a little bit though.  
• The governor order a statewide mask mandate.  It is unfortunate that this is needed, but I am thankful that the governor saw how important it is to have this since the covid numbers are increasing so much as we enter into the holiday season.
• Getting to play Minecraft tonight for a little bit.

Tonight's sunset.

Celebratory cinnamon spice cake.

They even put on a candle on top!

New cup.
Seems so fitting.

☮

Wear a mask.

7045

Bittersweet

 The feeling of relief at leaving my job is counterbalanced with the feelings of guilt at leaving as well as missing all the people that I have come to know.  Happy things for today are:

• Today Gideon wrote 700+ words for his NaNoWriMo.  I am so impressed.  Also, I have decided that my goal has morphed into trying to get at least a few more total words than he gets.  Only because I am older--by 47 ish years.  So maybe 47 more words. 😉  At least that worked for today.  Seriously just want to keep writing every day.
• Gideon joined me for my after work walk today.  We made yelling to each other to be heard over the traffic a bit of fun.  
• This morning the sunrise was orange and pink.  As the sun got higher it was gold.  
• Rockets flew today.  It wasn't as cold as yesterday so much more bearable.  I should have asked to make one.  I expect this just means that I will have to make a launcher and rockets at home later with Gideon.

Sunset Pics--some with the moon.

☮

Be safe.

6921

Back Cracking

There are four groups of students in the grade I work with.  Because of Covid, I work with two of those groups, one more often than the other.  This ends up putting me in science class every day, but the group alternates.  Monday there was a student who had the tip blow off and so the rocket didn't go very far.  Today, after repairs, their rocket went about 63 meters.  This seemed like an okay average distance from what I observed.  Only one of the rockets went over 100 meters.  I'm just happy that so many of the students are working on this and encouraging each other to try.  Other happy things:

• I saw the chiropractor today.
• When I let the chiropractor know that I quit my job and that I am not certain what I will be doing next, they suggested that-except for the season-it may be a good time for me to start hiking the Appalachian Trail.  I admit that this has crossed my mind, more than once.
• Something on the internet made me laugh, hard.  

One of the rockets.

☮

Stay safe.

6540

Short and sleepy

This is my last week at work and it is turning into a long week.  Things aren't bad, I just feel like I am watching the clock more than usual.  It is times like this that help me realize that I made the right choice to leave this job.  Happy things for today:

• Walking with a friend.  Today is her birthday and she gave me a gift.  It is highly unlikely that I will ever be a good gift giver, I am grateful to have thoughtful friends who accept me with this failing.  ❤
• We have been slowly making our way walking along a rail trail.  Today we went by some large granite hills, rolling stone walls, a stone bridge, and different water ecosystems.

Work was happening on the high tension wires.

The gift I received.

☮

Stay safe!

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