Hey friends! Boy where does the time go? These past few weeks have simply been a blur. It’s been good. I’ve got lots of exciting workshops, classes, live events planned just in time for the holidays. I’ll do a separate post on those, but you can find out more information here.
Anyway, in order to catch you all up on what else has been happening, I’ve given you lots and lots of photos! I know, that’s probably not a real shock. HEHE. I had a big order last weekend from a really good customer. He wanted a ‘pamper yourself’ basket for his wife so I included handmade washcloths, soap, salves, lip balms, and the such. I really had a good time making it too. I love being able to take my time and work on each thing individually and then put it all together in (what I hope is) a lovely presentation.
The Mister and I walked the gamelands looking for pheasants but all we found were two that were killed by a hawk. It was weird though because they were moved and laying side-by-side underneath some low bushes. Definitely not where they were killed. But you can tell by the injuries that they were killed by hawks. Or a hawk anyway. I didn’t find very many shotgun shells either which is weird. And kind of a bummer. I mean, I’m glad that people are picking up after themselves, but I sure do like collecting them to make into other things! Of course, it could be that maybe people aren’t getting many shots off.
The flyshop is officially closed for the season but not after one last hurrah! Saturday was not only Halloween, but it was the last day of the season AND a full moon (charity) float. I dressed up as Holy Cow for dinner and then we all donned our warmest clothes and braved the cold and floated a few miles down the river. It was for a good cause and the local fire department was on hand in case anyone capsized (there were mostly kayaker and canoers and about 5 ‘drift boats’ which is what we were in).
Anna and I have been taking some much needed walks. I can’t resist taking selfies when I’m up in the woods! And as you can see, there is a very good reason I don’t make the bed most mornings! That is Corny, the cat we saved from near death last year. He’s obviously made a full recovery and is living his best life. The girls have had little outside (the run) time. I was able to sit with them a couple of afternoons last week but mostly they’ve been regulated to the coop and run. Most mornings have been so cold that they don’t come out of the coop until a few hours after we open it up. I don’t blame them though.
I was supposed to host the first Things of Autumn stitch along last night but alas at 6PM the power went out. We lit some candles but by 6:45PM I decided it was time for bed. So I went to bed and was asleep by 7:30!!! The power finally came back on around 11PM (the Mister was nice enough to get up and turn all the lights, etc. off). Then I was up before first light making coffee and settling in for the day. I have slowly been switching over to Quickbooks and I had a meeting with the cooperative extension to discuss my business. I got some great feedback and will now be full steam ahead. I have an good idea of how to move my business forward. So you’ll see some changes as time goes on. I do have a ton of one-hour live events coming up. I’ll be back (hopefully on Wednesday) to round those up into one post! Oh. One of the things that has really been helping me keep on track is to get up every morning and get ready for work. I know it sounds silly, but really, it helps keep me focused. Then I pack it in around 4:30 or so and cook dinner. Then the Mister and I have been sharing cleaning duties. I think today is really the last of the slow days until December 23rd (you’ll see once I post about the classes!). I do miss sharing what I’ve been making with you all here so I’m going to try to add some more about that coming up. I guess really I haven’t been making much, only for my classes. But I’ll definitely start making things just for you all.
Okay. I think that’s about it. It was a quick ‘catch you up on all the things’ post. I’m really excited about everything that’s been happening lately. What’s been your favorite thing that you’ve done lately? Mine? The float on Halloween!
’til next time
-k
xoxo
Tracy
I would come by your blog even if you only posted photos – because WOW!
Okay, Kristin. I need to up my photo posting game. I’m going to maybe try new things with how I display them. I like what you’ve done here. (Blows out a breath.) I’m certainly not up to your level of presentation abilities, but I learned an important lesson many years ago in life: Hang out with people who do things better than you (and smarter than you, wiser than you, etc.) and LEARN from them. 🙂
If I ever get back to GCER’s blog! Which I want to! I do! (I know you know why I haven’t been updating it…)
Now, about YOU. 🙂
Sounds like even with all the pandemic-related issues out there, you are keeping on. That’s great. I know it’s so challenging, especially for small businesses. It’s such a crazy time. The Halloween float on the river sounds like it would be so much fun! And Holy Cow? LOL… awesome.
Exercise…. UGH. I am too embarrassed to admit how little exercise I’m getting. It’s especially impossible (yes, I’m going with impossible) during the Mon-Fri work week. I have been working late and even some weekends. But I am so happy for you that you are making walking a priority. (Applauds!)
Corny looks like everything is well in the cat world and your chickens seem to be doing well, too. I love the last photo at the bottom of the post. WOW.
Okay, I read two other posts of yours I’m behind on and it’s so good to learn about what you are up to. I have to run and finish getting ready for work, so I’ll have to come back and comment on those later. But I wanted to say hi. 🙂
Hope you are having a GREAT week! Hugs!
chickenlibrarian
Aww! Tracy! You are so kind! Thank you. I love taking pictures and seeing the end result. I want to share what I see with everyone else. It’s funny. I haven’t been taking photos for all that long…maybe 5 years. And when I feel stuck I just start looking at other people’s photos and start trying to see what they see. And then I do some research on settings and then I start taking photos. And I instantly feel better about my pictures. I don’t know if this makes sense. But every so often (it just happened) I feel ‘stuck’ and like I’m not growing as a photographer. So I take a step back and look around and then study a little and bam! I’m back in the game! Also, I’ve heard that it helps to read your camera’s instructional manual. But who’s got time for that. sigh. one of these days.
As for the grid of pictures…it’s just a feature in WordPress (insert a ‘gallery’). Then you can choose how many pictures to display in one row. It helps when you have a ton of photos. I used to worry about being consistent in the layout of my blog, but that’s not something that is as important to me now. I really just want to share my pictures and what I’m doing (recipes, homesteading, crafting, just day-to-day activities) and if the posts aren’t consistent, oh well. Hopefully people aren’t here to see how consistent my blog posts are. double sigh….
So just keep going! Keep looking around and finding inspiration. And yes! I totally think the same thing…surround yourself with people that you want to be like. I’ve thought that for a very long time and try to do just that thing….
xoxo