I’m still participating in the Sentence-a-Day project that JTouchofStyle introduced me to last month. I met a nice group of welcoming women who are hosting/participating…and am enjoying this little on-line diary exercise.
July? Here goes:
7/1 Starting to feel a little better post surgery.
7/2 I. Am. SO. Bored!!!!
7/3 Back on my feet and motoring around the house.
7/4 All the kiddos had fun things to do for Independence Day. Buck (#3) had his friends over for swimming and fireworks.
7/5 Everyone went back to work…I caught up with my blogging and today I celebrated my own Independence Day.
7/6 My parents sprung me from house arrest with a trip to Joann’s for pillow fabric. I chose these patterns for the screen room.
7/7 I’m ready to get started on my pillows, but changed my mind and DO want to add trimwork to three of the prints. I don’t think Joann’s delivers.
7/8 Why I haven’t sewn in way too long? Because the machine I used for 30 years is dead and I have to learn how to work with a new one. C’mon Em…it’s time to MOVE ON ALREADY!!!!
7/9 Finally pulled out my new (last year) sewing machine and manual, and got familiar with all the new dodads. I made three pillows today…sense of accomplishment, ahhhh.
Fear of new machine…ended! I will need new procrastination excuses. Feel free to suggest some below.
7/10 Followup visit with the Orthopedic surgeon today. I will be getting an accessory upgrade.
7/11 My new leg “bracelet”….airier than the immobilizer but, really….! Someone needs to tell the manufacturers about breathable cotton as a padding option. Plastic foam and summer heat do NOT mix!
7/12 Back to the sewing machine for three more pillows! Scrounging around the house for fill.
7/13 Finished the last two pillows…maybe NOW that I’ve christened the new machine, I can move on to family room curtains!
7/14 One of the reasons July is my favorite month: raspberries! My grandmother had a patch in her yard and I loved picking them. That’s why I planted some here…and why a new patch is a bucket list must.
7/15 Payday…the happiest day of the month… “Sure, whatever you’d like” is the answer to every question today…tomorrow it’s “wait till next month”.
7/16 We live in western New York, just outside of Buffalo, where our area code is 716…so today is “716 day”. We should have stayed in town to celebrate with chicken wings and beef on weck, but, ironically, we took a drive to 585 (Rochester) instead.
7/17 Mr. D’s summer project…(for which I did NOT get to help) is to turn the drainage ditch into a hidden pathway. Today he began adding a new stacked stone wall to the back of the pachysandra berm to match the walls we put in last year.
7/18 Remember when we sorted the stones for our two-tier wall project? Well the new puzzle pieces were sorted today. I think it’s going to be a Mentholatum evening.
7/19 I find it hilarious that I am having an unprecedentedly good hair month…and I am housebound!
7/20 Mr. D finished his wall…each one he does is better than the last one. I’m really proud of what he accomplished this summer! (More on this to come.)
7/21 Using the fling and pray method, I hastily lit the trees above the pathway with my remaining LED string lights. I’ll definitely have to stock up again this Christmas!
7/22 Celebrated Tee’s graduation with a backyard bash for him and his friends. We don’t have a Chick-fil-a here (or a KrispyKreme anymore) so our big kids offered to drive to Erie to pick up catering. BIG hit!
7/23 Post party day…always feels like we just ran a marathon. Pull up some sofa, pop on a movie and zzz.
7/24 Best thing about having a party? Leftovers! Who wants one of these healthy meals?
7/25 My mom and I had lunch with two of my cousins… They just lost their mom in May after caring for her at home for years…inspiring, selfless women!
7/26 I enjoyed going through boxes of family history my cousins gave me to store…Photos, documents, a few treasures without homes. Found a great picture of my dad when he was in his teens…he looked JUST like Tee (our youngest).
7/27 Despite my reticence to ever let a fellow human being work on my feet I had my very first “official” pedicure. The foot and leg massage? If we had an extra room in our house I’d have offered it to the technician in exchange for 10 minutes of that a day!
So, yeah…I’m over my hang up.
7/28 During our morning coffee walk, we spent time just appreciating how beautiful the simplest things are–tree bark, leaves etc.–when brightened by the sun. The contrast of shadow and sun….sooo pretty!
7/29 I repainted the squares in the chess garden. But not in the black color I hoped to use…because it doesn’t come in black!!! Had to settle for dark grey… so I suspect I’ll revisit this again some time. I also got a great striped leg tan on my left leg…bahahaha!
7/30 We had a lovely dinner with two of our kiddos and my folks because…
7/31 Happy anniversary, Mom and Dad! 63 years… wow!
Want to see what other bloggers were up to this month? Click on the blue frog link…right here:
I hope that you’re healing well by now – it must be so uncomfortable in the heat …not to mention the boredom. It’s winter here (I’m in Queensland, Australia), but berries (especially raspberries and strawberries) are so cheap at the farmer’s markets at the moment that I’m having a fabulous time cooking with them each week.
Jo, you sound like you have THE perfect winter! Best of all worlds!
Despite the leg anchor, we are having a beautiful summer. We’re even enjoying the rain this year 🙂 But I am much more mobile now that my knee is mending…less discomfort, more pushing the boundaries of not being able to bend it. S’okay, though.
Even though they are plentiful, our local farmer’s market still charges supermarket prices for the berries…but they’re so great to just pull off the bush and pop into your mouth. Mr. has been adding them to a glass of white wine…and they were delicious with pork chops. When I catch up with my reading, maybe your blog will show how you’re using them 🙂
I truly feel a connection to you! I think we would probably be buds IRL. And I am so glad we are becoming virtual pals.
Ok, I never liked touching anyone’s feet and was never terribly fond of having mine touched UNTIL I started having a whole lot of trouble with my right big toe. Sounds crazy but it was incapacitating at times. When my oldest daughter wouldn’t turn in her homework or would do something else that tested my patience, I would make her rub my toe. Now I love having my foot/feet rubbed and my daughter is a neonatal nurse who turned out just great! Have you had a massage…full body? If you think a foot rub is great, you have to try a full body massage. Heaven.
Love the idea of your garden chess set. I need my garden but would love having one. And croquet. That would be fun, too.
Looking through family photos is such a special experience. When my daughters visit, we get out the albums and have such fun.
Your fling and pray lighting technique works wonderfully. What a fairy tale pathway you created.
Hope you can soon get that device off your leg and get back to 100%. Sure enjoyed reading about your month.
Me too, Leslie! I finally linked your email to you name, btw! I’m such a dope, bc your emails show up in my mail file under your actual name, and here as your email address. It should be an item for next month that the light bulb finally came on and I was able to link them and stop calling you Mom…yeesh!
Full body massage? Well, ahem, Mr. has offered… (Sorry…that was a little chippy!) But no…not by a professional. I’ve had great scalp massages by the shampoo girl at the hair salon. They made me think of Kelly (our lab) thumping her back foot as a reflex of joy when we scratch her back. I will have to put a FBM on a future bucket list for sure!
Hilarious about the toe punishment and your daughter! Now that’s a motivational story if ever I’ve heard one…hahahaha! Seriously…a neonatal nurse…wow! That’s great! Nice job, mom 🙂
A leg brace in summer does not sound like fun… I wish you a speedy recovery as much as possible…
Those raspberry bushes bring back childhood memories. Plus, they are the kid’s favorite fruit, so I’m putting them on the list of things to plant… And how fun is that chess garden?!!
Have a great August!
Andrea
Andrea’s Wellness Notes
Hi, Andrea, Not sure what happened to my earlier response…but…the recovery is progressing 🙂 Thank you!
My grandmother had berry bushes and let me pick them for her jam… she was a VERY funky grandmother, so that is a happy memory for me. Want to make sure I have it all set up for when we eventually have greats and grands visit.
I’ll be visiting you soon!
Em…I just read about your fall in the bathroom, yikes! Glad you’re on the mend, and looking fab with your great hair and pedicure 🙂 I’m hopeless with sewing so I’m truly impressed with your sewing projects. Have a great August!
Hi, Natalie! Yep, that’s me…all dressed up and no place to go…lol! My parents were thinking that I would fall out of a tree or something…much more interesting than the real deal. My mom suggests I come up with something better than that lame story.
Sewing? Can’t believe I’ve gotten away from it for SO long. Now that I can’t blame it on my messy house anymore (an item for next months S-a-D…I am really running out of excuses not to do more of it. Looking forward to reading what you’ve been up to!
I really like your sentence-ish a day for each day of the month. I think I’m going to have to borrow that if you don’t mind. I have fibromyalgia and it seems a burden to try to write down stuff that may be more than a sentence…or I envision that it might take more than a sentence. But if I gave myself permission to only have to do a sentence… (that’s probably when I’d write a novelette). This comes from someone that has a msg center with a place for”notes to self”, “notes about notes to self”, “notes to explain notes are notes about notes to self”. Very clever idea you have! I just need to document the day, not read a thousand notes that still don’t make any sense after reading them all.
Hi, Deanne! Borrow away….although I can’t take credit for the idea…the invitation came from Jodie (below) and the idea came from Leslie at http://www.onceuponatimehappilyeverafter.com/.
I really like keeping track of the days, and I think it may be particularly useful for you if you have a lot to keep track of. FM, I hear, can be a very frustrating and painful condition.
If your journal becomes something you’d like to share, let one of us know, it’s a welcoming group. If it’s just for you…I hope it helps you keep track!
Join us Deanne! My email is mommyhon333@hotmail.com. I can add you to our email list for the link-up and graphic next month. We will post August’s sentences on 9/7.
I wish I could take credit for the idea but I got into SaD through a friend/blogger, Sarah. I am just kind of taking over the emailing and gathering everyone together each month.
Hope you will give it a go.
See what I mean!? Epically welcoming!
First off, I think that’s a great project to work on—coming up with better leg brace materials. You might as well add in some colorful pompoms too —just to make it pretty!!
And the great hair while you’re home bound! Isn’t that the most ironic?? Of course, I can’t relate because I never have a good hair day–ha ha!!
I have my post ready to publish tomorrow. Am I late or are you early??
XOXO
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
I’m definitely a day early, ha ha.
Actually I thought we posted on the first Wednesday and forgot to double check…but it’s OK because for the rest of the week I’m getting ready to accomplish a large bucket list item.
Want to know what it is? Mwha ha ha…you’ll have to wait till next month 🙂
You’re such a tease!!! But I can’t wait to see it!!!
XOXO
Love it!