Monday, October 31, 2022

Halloween 2022 Monday--3pm

Good afternoon! 

Grab a cuppa--lots of pictures again today.  I am running on a 2-hour nap this morning (insomnia mode) so not sure how chatty I am going to be.  ;)  Been a back and forth sleeping week as has become usual lately, as you know.  I had insomnia last Monday, then a 13 hour night, 2 more normal nights, insomnia for 2 nights, slept 12 1/2 hours, and then last night--not at all and had a 2-hour nap this morning.  Let's just say that I'm not too functional...but hopefully I will sleep well tonight so I am halfways human when Keanna comes tomorrow afternoon.  :)

Anyways, we've had more normal fall temps.  The usual guests are here several times a day.

I started in on the bathroom bins on Monday and worked off and on all week.  Well, a couple of days I was pretty useless--LOL!  But I did get a lot done overall!  Whoohoo!

Bins and boxes have filled the kitchen table all week.

I had to first do a major sort and just stick all the vitamins and supplements in one bin and all the OTC medications in another.  Set them aside in the hallway to go through when I got done with the rest of them.

We had some really windy days and the tree on the left across the way was stripped.  The middle one is half striped and never had the chance to even turn yellow.
Everyone is fattening up for the winter to come.
Allie is loving all the extra activity!
She loves that I'm putting the seed and mealworms right on the patio now so that the birds are much closer.
I eventually drug down the last of the bins and started replacing the ones I had purged.
Been chaos...but it feels so good to be making progress.
When I'd hit a wall I'd observe our patio company with Allie, set up my bullet for November, washed clothes, worked on letters, and finished watching Annika S1 on PBS Passport, Shetland's last season 7 on BritBox (very satisfying), and then started the next season of My Life Is Murder on Acorn.  The trouble with that last one is Lucy Lawless's character is named Alexa!!  My Alexa keeps trying to figure out what the heck they are saying to her--ROFL!
Lots of overcast days, a few sunny ones...
...and finding old forgotten friends in my bathroom bins.  Velcro rollers!  Been years!
Makeup!  Also been years!
Since I can't chuck them out without experimenting and playing and seeing what I might want to keep...I moved a couple of bins into the bedroom for later.
Now down to the two bins I had in the hallway--filled to the brims with bottles and boxes that I have to completely empty, categorize, and purge.  Number one--waiting for me.
I have several bins already purged and back up on the shelves.
One is actually empty!!  

So that is what I did all week.  I hope to finish the bathroom this coming week here.  I have the medicine cabinet and two small drawers yet, too.  May take a while to go through all the old friends I want to test and play with, but that is fine.  Want to get all the rest done first. 

I don't think I ever posted what I found out from sending my spit to 23 and Me.  I had always been told we were 100% Swedish.  "Not a Norwegian in the haystack", my grandparents used to say.  Well, they didn't lie.  It was a Finn in the haystack--ROFL!
But they were almost correct about the Swedish part.
23 and Me even showed the ten areas of Sweden my ancestors were likely from.  All in southern Sweden.
That was interesting!  Too bad my folks are both gone so I couldn't tell them about the Finlander--LOL!

Leah sent some pictures.  Funny she had this one of my Dagan when he was a little fellow of 2 1/2 on Mother's Day 1977.  (He can still make Mommy's heart melt.)
Hard to believe that that little cutie pie will be 48 years old on the 2nd!  (And they said you wouldn't live to be five!!)

If you click and enlarge this one you will see that Ian has the thin electric hair...and that is why I will be going through all my hair products little by little, too.  LOL!
Have a small basket full of them and I know some worked okay and some didn't.  Time to toss the didn'ts.  ;)

Leah sent pictures of the AC/heater they had installed in the garage...
...and the humidifier on the furnace  in the house...speaking of electric hair--lol!
Pics of Liam...
...and Ian working on coloring pumpkin pictures.
Here they taped together a bunch of empty Zevia (no sugar) pop boxes to try to make a maze for Blink to go through, but she wasn't having it.  Too small.  But a creative idea!
Short video
How do kids fall asleep sitting up--LOL!
And today!!  Pumpkin carving!
Daddy took the day off.
Dagan also stopped by here to drop off some food and he took out my trash and got my mail for me.  They are getting ready to go out trick or treating as I am typing this.

Liam drew out the pumpkin face he wanted and Mama carved it for him.
Another short video.
Ian's pumpkin was based on this Slime character from a video game.
Here's the pumpkins for this year.  They will have the rotating colored lights in them.
And finally--Leah added a picture of Blink--who seems to have some white threads by her eye--LOL!
I sure hope Blink and Allie will get along.

Whew!  Lots of pictures.  Dagan was here while we were chatting and I am still done before 5pm!  Mostly photos and less chatting this week--lol!  Happy Halloween to those who celebrate it.  Till next week, my friends!  :)

15 comments:

Anvilcloud said...

I thought Shetland was excellent. Annika 1 was ok, but not nearly as good as Unforgotten, which she left. I am not a fan of Lucy L. I do get picky. Recently watch Sherwood and Karen Pirie. Both were excellent IMO. Have a good week.

Deb J. in Utah said...

Hi Rita. Fun Halloween pictures. You are sure getting a lot done with the purging. Good for you! You inspire me to go through things since we will be moving next summer then again 2-3 years after that. We have too much stuff. So glad that Allie is enjoying watching the birds fatten up for winter. I had my DNA done through Ancestry about 3 years ago. Interesting, but nothing mind blowing. I have some Norwegian, Swedish and Danish, but mostly English, Welsh, Irish and Scottish. I have a letter to you almost finished. I will get in the mail in a day or two. I hope you get a good night's sleep tonight. Take care.

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Sure lot of purging and packing in your place, Rita, and too bad that the insomnia continues to be an issue. Hope you can find a reason and be able to get some needed rest soon. That maze was quite the project, but Blink was definitely not interested in going in the tunnels. The carved pumpkins looked good and must have been better when lit.

Far Side of Fifty said...

Happy Halloween always a fun time for kids and adults that like watching kids have fun! Nice weather!! :)

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

You have accomplished a LOT by all that sorting and purging. I save old powder makeup to use in mu art. But MY art budget is far, far less than yours.

Lovely carved pumpkins. I hope the boys had fun last night. Stay safe and enjoy your rests, dear. I love my Passport and Annika, too. I binged on all of them at once. I'm trying to figure out the culprit in Magpie Murders, too.

DJan said...

You have sure been busy! And I'm hoping your sleep schedule settles down soon. Love all the pictures! Everyone does seem to be doing well.

Far Side of Fifty said...

I had to come by again! 3.5 % Finn that made me smile!

Janie Junebug said...

I'm still having trouble sleeping, too. Got up at 5:30 yesterday and couldn't keep my eyes open by 7 p.m. so I thought I'd go ahead and sleep. Could not fall asleep! So I did some stuff and even at 11 it was hard for me to sleep. I'm always trying to clean and purge, as you know. I get little bits done but never as much as I want. It's pretty funny you have a hidden Finn. Would that have upset your parents? My mom would have been furious to learn she wasn't 100% Norwegian and would have denied it could be true. The boys are adorable, but you know that. I hope Allie and Blink get along. If they don't, you can keep them separate, can't you?

Love,
Janie

Juli said...

What a busy week.

We've had such warm weather lately. It's weird. Lots of rain though.

I made Kiki a new cat tower, it seems to have curbed a lot of her scratching and craziness at night. Fingers crossed.

That pic of him conked out on the couch, TOO CUTE!!!

jinxxxygirl said...

Loved catching up with you Rita! Thank you for stopping by and commenting on my blog! Hugs! deb

Rebag said...

Oh Rita, you have been busy!!! Doesnt the purge feel good though!? I loved the halloween photos they did amazing job on the pumpkins!!

Stay well lady!!! and also warm!!

DVArtist said...

You have accomplished a lot. Well done. I love seeing the photos of the birds on your deck. The pumpkins are great. Thanks for sharing your week.

Jo-Anne's Ramblings said...

Just dropped by to say hi and have a read

Jeanie said...

What fun photos! Boy, you are on a tear -- so much done! I know, more to do, but what a great start you are making! I love anything Brit and enjoying Annika, Magpie Murders and checking out the old Murder in Suburbia series. Oh, and Doc Martin. And the baking show. And somuch more! I'm so sorry about the insomnia. I suspect the time change won't help much, either. Have a wonderful week!

Unknown said...

The photo of Allie looking at the bird eating the seeds and mealworms made me do a double take. I though you had taken up cross-stitching. The screen makes the image look like a cross-stitched picture. It's a very pretty effect.

Have you been to Gammelgarden Museum in Scandia? It's a museum about 5 minutes from where I live that focuses on Swedish immigrants who founded the community. Here's the website: https://gammelgardenofscandia.org/. Sophia, Olivia, and I used to do a lot there when I was homeschooling them when they were little. Sophia was the summer intern for 2 years, and both girls have done videos for the museum. I'm doing their PR/Marketing now.

If you go to the Facebook page (which I do), you can watch the St. Lucia service in Swedish! Here's the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/GammelgardenofScandia . If you get to the cities during the summer, let me know. I would be happy to take you around the museum!