2026 Project 365 – Week Thirty-eight

Remember how last week I said that we had another social gathering at church? Well, we had another one today – a baby shower. Let’s see, I had banana pudding & cake last week, then this Friday I had cake at work (coworker birthday), and yesterday I had cake (birthday celebration for my dad), and today I had, you guessed it, cake, at the shower. I think I need a break from celebrations!
Sunday, September 13^th
A tender moment between mother and daughter (and grandson-to-be).

Dr. M has started documenting my favorite House-on-the-Hill and its soybean fields.
 

Monday, September 14^th                   
Just walking out to my car on a lovely day.
 

Tuesday, September 15^th      
Dr. M took his dad’s truck to be inspected & was turned away because NO ONE THERE KNEW HOW TO DRIVE A STICK SHIFT (they have to drive the vehicle into the bay for inspections). What kind of car people were working at that place? For heaven’s sake. 

 

I saw this lovely out in the middle of my dad’s yard & had to take a photo.
 

Wednesday, September 16^th                     
I’m clearly not the boss of my hair.
 

Thursday, September 17^th         
I took photos of things that made me smile – sheep top frames & penguin slipper socks.
 

Friday, September 18^th      
No photo.
 
Saturday, September 19^th      
Dr. M had a leftover biscuit from Bojangles & I decided to make myself a breakfast sandwich. I was so proud of how well I folded my egg to fit on the biscuit!
 

We had a big gathering of family at a local restaurant to celebrate my dad’s birthday. All of dad's sisters were there, and both of my nephews & their better halves drove in from out of town. It was a good time!
 

My shoulder replacement surgery is on Thursday. I was supposed to spend this weekend doing chores that I won’t be able to do for a month, but I did not. Instead of vacuuming I went outside & whacked things down. I don’t know why. I mean, if I was feeling violent, it seems like the vacuuming would do. So if you come to my house just ignore the floors (well, and also the dust & cobwebs because I care very little about those things). What’s your housekeeping philosophy? (This question is not for Mr. Clean The Floor Behind the Toilet Reed.)

2026 Project 365 – Week Thirty-seven

We had another social gathering at church today (celebrating one of our founding members, who turned 94 this week & who is a total firecracker). It’s almost dinnertime now & I’m still full of banana pudding.
Sunday, September 6^th
I went to church, and had lunch with Dad & Sue, and did many lovely things, but this is the only picture from the day – and it’s not even a photo. I was cackling at how I had dressed my finch, Fig for Sunday so I took a screenshot. She's wearing roller skates. I was picturing her in one of those California movies where they show scantily clad people roller skating near the beach. Ha!

Monday, September 7^th                   
I sent this photo to Dr. M to show him what I had been up to while he was at his dad’s. His dad has had a war on cardboard – he takes everything out the boxes & then shreds up the boxes. I also declared war on our cardboard, but I was way too trifling to even flatten the boxes, much less tear them into pieces (also, my 94-year-old father-in-law has much stronger hands than I do).
 

Tuesday, September 8^th      
I was taming my 33-hour old topknot.
 

Dr. M got some hard news today. Another cousin, who was a big influence in his life and a good friend to his dad, passed away. It feels like every year gets lonelier for his dad – and also for him as he cares for his dad.
 

Wednesday, September 9^th                     
I got some new sunglass top frames. Fun!
 

Thursday, September 10^th         
This cat at Dr. M’s dad’s house does not trust him even a little bit (even though it definitely will get in the way while its food bowl is being filled, which I think is a universal cat thing).
 

Friday, September 11^th      
A big anniversary here in the US, and also my bestie’s birthday. Dr. M got fresh flowers for his mom and grandparents’ graves. The butterflies made us think of Dolly. 
 

Saturday, September 12^th      
This vase puzzle might actually do me in. Stay tuned!
 

I’m marching closer to surgery & wondering if they can just knock me out for the foreseeable? Yes, I’m pre-whining. I am also gazing into the future & imagining feeling much better than I do now. Are there any hurdles that you’re facing in the near future?

2026 Project 365 – Week Thirty-six

I’m laughing at this week’s photos because there are two photos of a wound situation – what an exciting week!
Sunday, August 30^th
The church picnic was lovely! Dr. M made the guacamole, which was delicious. I enjoyed the rest my rather yellow lunch (there are THREE kinds of potatoes on that plate), but the stars of the show were the angel food cake & peaches, and the banana pudding. Yum!

I tried to get a photo of my hearing aids, but this is the best I could do because you literally cannot see them in my ears. 

Monday, August 31^st                  
Dr. M forgot that he ordered these hockey jerseys (sweaters) right after the Stanley Cup, so they were a nice surprise when they arrived. Bussi is the rookie* goalie we brought up who helped save our season and get us into the hockey playoffs & and then helped in the last few games of the cup.  *He’s 28, so not that young, but he hadn’t played in the “majors” until we signed him.
 

Tuesday, September 1^st     
Dr. M made a fabulous brisket! I loved his tomato “flower” with leftover guacamole – very artful.
 

Wednesday, September 2^nd                    
I had a blister on the top of my foot from some new shoes & needed to cover it up so I could mall walk & I thought my jellyfish bandaid was terribly cute.
 

Thursday, September 3^rd         
I had to have blood drawn for my nephrologist & by the time I got back to the office, the gauze was soaked through so my coworker decided to rebandage me & she went a little overboard. Made me laugh. Also, I got my blood work results back & my creatinine was 1.03, down from the high of 1.43 in June 2025 (the range is .5 – 1.00). That seems like a good trend.
 

Friday, September 4^th      
I finished this book and it was so good. I got it from the library, but I’m thinking about buying my own copy so I can reread it. It’s about a junior high boy, set in 1969 in a small town in New York. Definitely a feel-good book (so perhaps unrealistic, but LET ME HAVE MY JOY WHERE I CAN FIND IT).
 

Saturday, September 5^th      
I had replaced this iPad lapdesk because it was leaking the microbead stuffing, but my new one (while fabulous) it a lot heavier & harder to manage with one arm. So I cut up an old t-shirt to add to the stuffing & then sewed it up. In the process, I remembered that I hate sewing (which is probably why I’m so bad at it). But at least now it doesn’t leak!
 

I had a lovely weekend doing practically nothing (well, I did vacuum – go me!). Today I have a couple of chores on my plate (church lady stuff, and a cleaning project), but right now I’m going to post this to the interwebs and watch baseball!

What did you do with your holiday weekend? Note: I’m speaking to Shoreacres, because the rest of you bozos are retired!

2026 Project 365 – Week Thirty-five

Dr. M & I both took photos of the zinnias this week, but our focus was just a smidge different.
Sunday, August 23^rd
Peaches the Rose is just so pretty right now. I love how the flowers cluster together to give you these big floofy blossoms.

Monday, August 24^th                 

Dr. M’s zinnia flowers – he caught a photo of a butterfly too!
 

I got my new hearing aids today! I think I’m going to love them once we get all the settings sorted out. I’ll try to get a better photo shoot this week because you can’t even tell they’re in my ears.
 

Tuesday, August 25^th    
Here are my zinnia photos. I posted them with this caption: Things die & things bloom & we go on and on. Good news? Hard news? Yes.
 

Wednesday, August 26^th                   
Dr. M’s Dolly post.
 

Thursday, August 27^th        
I was trying to find the end of this yarn and it was giving me fits!
 

Friday, August 28^th      
A friend posted a poem talking about going to Goodwill & getting a prom dress from 1982. Which made me go track down a photo of me from 1982 wearing my senior prom dress. Ha! The one on the left is from 1981, my junior year. P.S. the advantage of going to your proms stag is that you don't have to crop anyone out of your photos later. 
 

Saturday, August 29^th      
I decided to add leftover homemade bourbon chicken to our morning omelet & the verdict from Dr. M and me: Weird.
 

And here is the octopus underbelly turned into a slightly alarming starfish. Ha! (Yes, I went ahead and ordered more yarn so I could finish it.)
 

I need to get ready to go to our church picnic, so I’m going to post this later today. Maybe I’ll remember to update this paragraph, but maybe I won’t. We shall see!

Later - I am entirely TOO FULL of banana pudding to change that paragraph up there. What food is too tempting for you to resist?

2026 Project 365 – Week Thirty-four

You’ll be relieved to hear that this week isn’t a selfie extravaganza. It’s actually mostly flowers and pizza (with a side of Grim Reaper). Enjoy!
Sunday, August 16^th
My Finch Selfcare app has a prompt where you pick an area you want to work on each week (remember the candle fiasco?). Anyway, this week I chose Take a Photo of Something You Love. Today’s photo was a zinnia with a butterfly (a Silver Spotted Skipper, according to The Google) and an azalea blossom. Happy sigh.

Monday, August 17^th                 
Look who I got behind today! I would love to know the story behind this. It’s a little early for Halloween, right?
 

Tuesday, August 18^th    
I was washing my hands in the bathroom and caught sight of my hair in the mirror. I’m not sure what’s going on here, but as far as I know, it had been that way for a while.
 

I love these morning glories – they drape over the rocks behind our house and brighten up that corner.
 

Dr. M got pizza this week as he often does, and I’m sharing it because I ALSO got pizza this week, so we were twinning. Sort of.
 

Wednesday, August 19^th                   
Deck flowers! Ms. Pinky looking prehistoric, and the little buttonhole zinnias looking lovely. (Yes, Ms. Pinky, you’re lovely too.)
 

Thursday, August 20^th        
LOOK OH MY GOSH I CAN’T BELIEVE IT!!! This isn’t a great photo, but the bridge on the road that I like to take to work has been fixed! It was damaged during Hurricane Helene (October 2024) and it has felt like forever. This was small potatoes compared to the damage in the mountains, but it really made my day when I drove by & the Road Closed sign was gone.
 

Friday, August 21^st     
Peaches is blooming up a storm!
 

And here is MY pizza. I didn’t have a salad, but I think the salad was actually on the pizza. Spinach, mushrooms, & tomatoes on cauliflower crust – SO TASTY.
 

Saturday, August 22^nd       
This is my Photo of Something I Love from today. He has been working SO HARD to take care of his dad lately. He’s been the only person in charge of his dad’s care for 7 years now, and just recently that care has ramped up to an every day visit situation with the introduction of insulin into the mix. It’s been exhausting – physically and emotionally – and I’m so proud of how well Dr. M has handled things. He just works to figure things out and do what is in the best interest of his father.
 

We had a Church Council meeting after church today & here is a dirty little secret: they were talking about events happening this fall that I would most certainly ordinarily be participating in, & I kept thinking, “Can’t do that – I’ll be recovering from shoulder surgery!” This withdrawing Enneagram 9 Mostly Introvert is now trying to decide if I scheduled my surgery for September for just this purpose. Hmmm.

What are you trying to get out of doing?