Perfect walking weather

Oh what a beautiful morning!  After the rain and the humidity of the last few days it was especially nice.  A cool 49 degrees with lots of sunshine!  It doesn't get better than that for walking!!

Just look at the lake this morning!

Lots of people came out to enjoy the lake and the birds were happily chirping good morning to us all.  It seems everyone had a smile and a kind word to say.
I saw the heron down by the rocks at the edge of the water.  I walked very slowly and got pretty close to it and just stood perfectly still and watched it.  I didn't want to take my camera out but because I didn't want him to fly away just yet.  We just stood there for awhile and then he just flew away low over the water.  Wow!!
I saw three deer on the path behind the church on the way home and got a picture of these two across the brook.

I walked up past the liquor store before coming home and was rewarded by finding a dime.  I walked 6.3 miles.

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Yesterday's supper turned out pretty good but not good enough that I would make it again. I'm thinking that maybe I'd better stick to a recipe! : )  Ken thought it was a bit dry but he liked it.
I put cajun spice on the chicken and then cooked it in a little bit of olive oil until browned.  Cut the chicken up in bite size pieces and added a packet of Uncle Ben's Spanish style rice, a can of corn and a can of black beans.  Heated it all up and that was it.  We ate some tostito chips along with it.  I didn't take a picture because some food just doesn't photograph well and this was one of those times!

The strawberries I planted yesterday do look a little better than yesterday but still a bit wilted looking.  They got so much rain yesterday that maybe they need a couple of sunny days.

I haven't been able to do any laundry the last few days because of the rain so that is what I'm doing today.  I could have used a few more clothes lines.  The first load of clothes which were the whites took up all three of my lines.  Wow what a lot of white clothes there were to be washed!!!  I had to wait a while before I could hang the next two loads out.  It was also windy so I had to keep going outside to untangle the clothes and take the dried clothes in so I could hang more wet ones up.  Eventually everything got washed, dried and folded, and put away.  All the clothes actually dried really fast because of the sun and wind. 
Ken's white shirts were the first things to dry so I got them ironed while watching a couple of HGTV shows.

So now I'm off to read some blogs and then I'll spend a little time making a few more weave-it squares and then if there is any time left this afternoon, I'll read until Ken comes home from work.

Hope you are enjoying your day.
Happyone

A person will be called to account on Judgement Day

for every permissible thing he might have enjoyed

but did not.

~Talmud

Strawberry Plants

This morning I walked around the lake.  It was a cloudy very humid morning and 64 degrees.  Walking along the path here I felt like I was in a rain forest. 

It wasn't raining but it was very humid and I could hear the water dripping off the leaves and the birds were really noisy.  I was almost surprised not to see a few colorful parrots in these trees today. : )
Lots of people around the lake but oddly no fishermen!
The birds were the only wildlife I saw today.
The sun came out for a short time as I was getting home and the sun shining on my little front garden was a nice welcome home.  I still want to get some petunias to put in the front there to add a little more color.

I found a dime and walked 6.2 miles.

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Yesterday Ken came home from work with some strawberry plants that a coworker brought in and asked if anyone wanted any.  Knowing how much I like strawberries Ken said yes and brought some home. 
Today I planted them in a big flower pot out back on the deck.  They are a bit wilted but I'm hoping that is because I just planted them.  Hopefully tomorrow they will look better.

I made a few weave-it squares this afternoon for the next baby blanket I started a few weeks ago.  Haven't been working on it much so don't have very many done, but now that I'm in a weave-it mood I'll be cranking them out pretty fast.

I am the kind of cook who usually follows a recipe but tonight I'm going to be creative and make up a recipe for supper.  I have chicken, rice, black beans and corn and will see what I come up with.

Hope you found happiness in your day.

Happyone

Life is made up of small pleasures.

Happiness is made up of those tiny successes.

The big ones come too infrequently.

And if you don't collect all these tiny successes,

the big ones don't really mean anything.

~ Norman Lear

Finished my book

57 degrees and sunny when I started my walk this morning and it was 65 by the time I got home again.  By then some clouds had come along and the wind picked up.
I walked along one of my connect the path routes which connects a few paths together crossing the least amount of streets.  It is fun finding different ways to connect the paths up.

Everything is so lush and green and full that it is hard to spot the deer now.  I didn't see any at all but I did see a few rabbits.  Two Gold Finches flew by and I heard a woodpecker but couldn't find it.  The birds seem to extra chirpy lately.  I guess they enjoy these beautiful mornings too.

Passed quite a few people along the paths, all people I've seen before but only knew the names of a few.
My phone rang and it was my friend Lin calling.  She was out walking too and we "talked and walked" for about a mile.

As usual it was great to be out there and I walked 6.3 miles.

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Tuesday is knitting day but I ended up not going.  We meet outside again now that's May and it was cloudy and windy out today and just not quite warm enough for me to sit outside and knit.  It seems the only time I'm not cold is when I'm walking!! : )

So I stayed home and finished the book I've been reading -  One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus.  The book is fiction but got its start on an actual event.  Back in 1854 at a peace conference between a Northern Cheyenne Chief and the US Army, the chief requests the gift of 1000 white women as brides for his warriors.  In true life the request was denied, the women never came, the conference broke up and everyone went home.  In the book the white women DO come and are traded for 1000 horses.  The story is told in the form of journals written by May Dodd, one of the woman.  I liked it a lot and the book was hard for me to put down.

After reading I did my exercise DVD, had some lunch and got some work around the house done.  Seems there is always SOMETHING to do.

Don't have to cook anything for dinner tonight because last time I made some Spinach/Bean soup I made plenty for two meals and froze it.  There is also a couple of homemade rolls left in the freezer and they will be thawed out too.

And that's been my day so far.
Hope your having a good one too.
Happyone

It's not how much we have,

but how much we enjoy

that makes happiness.

~Unknown

Walking, working and relaxing

A cloudy morning with the temperature at 54 degrees and it was great to be able to be up and out walking early this morning.
Just as I got to the lake five deer crossed the path in front of me and ran down in the field by the lake.  Getting to the lake I saw a heron fly low over the water.  Many times people ask me where I get my motivation to get up and walk every morning.  That right there is part of it! : )
I took the old detour through the woods again, which I do about the half the times I walk the lake now, and walked along here.

A few days ago when I was walking up by one of the parking lots around the lake there was a hopscotch board drawn in chalk on the sidewalk.  As I walked along I jumped in the lines.  A woman was just getting out of her car and laughed and said to me, "I love that you jumped the hopscotch board."  I said, "I just couldn't resist." and kept on walking.  Today I saw her again in the same spot laughed and said to her, "The hopscotch board is gone."  She told me that when she saw me the other day hop the board it brought back happy childhood memories and thanked me.  She told me she wrote about it on her facebook page and it got lots of comments about people recalling their childhood and how we should enjoy the little things in life every day. Funny how just doing a little thing like that can make others happy! : )
So now I have a new walking friend, Mary.

Mondays I usually see few people around the lake and that was how it was today.
I saw a couple of rabbits and this is the first ground hog I've seen in a long time.  He stayed still long enough so that I could get a picture of him.

I walked 6.4 miles.

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I had breakfast and then headed out the door to do some more outside work at the old house.  I had left piles of leaves and grass around on Saturday and today I bagged them up.  Raked and bagged some more and did more weeding too.  Sometimes it is just so sad to see the state this yard is in because I used to take such good care of it.  I was always outside doing something when the weather was nice.  The getting the house ready for sale has been put on the back burner for a while because we are concentrating on the building on the land.  But now we will be able to keep more stuff from the old house because we can move it up to the land and use it there.  The house will be get sold all in good time.  Tomorrow is yard waste recycling day so I just left the five bags out by the curb.

I was going to take something along with me for lunch but I forgot so I came home for lunch.  It was just as well because I didn't feel like doing anymore outside work anyway. :-)

So now I'm home, had lunch, did a few things around the house and now it's time for some relaxation.

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We watched a couple of good Netflix movies over the weekend.  The first one was Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont.  The story is about an older lady who moves into a hotel to be near to her family and being recently widowed.  She waits and waits for them to visit an in the meantime meets a young man and a friendship starts.  A great movie which made me laugh and cry.

The other movie was War Horse.  Its a WWI drama which centers on a boy from Devon, England and the bond between his horse Joey who is sold to the cavalry and sent off to France.  It is predictable but good and I enjoyed it.  This one made me cry too.

Hope all is well in your part of the word and that you found happiness in your day today.
Happyone

The really happy person is one who can enjoy

the scenery when on a detour.

~Unknown

Sunday

My Sunday school class was cancelled this morning so I didn't have to shorten my walk and went my usual 6 miles.

I stayed on the sidewalks and walked to the end of Gray Rock and back again.  It was 59 degrees with a very light mist in the air.  The sidewalks and streets were wet but under the trees it stayed dried. 
I didn't see any deer running around the neighborhoods but I did see a couple of rabbits.
A few runners were out and a couple of dog walkers too.  It was nice to be out walking  to enjoy the early morning.

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In just a few minutes I'll be on my way to church.  It is only two blocks from home so I  walk there.  Since they put in the cross walk it makes it much easier to cross the street.

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Romans 15:13

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,

 that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Have a blessed Sunday.

God loves you.  : )

Happyone