Update

I know it's been awhile. Since my last post, I was down with a virus for a week before we left on vacation. Then hubby and I were touring Seattle and the surrounding area for nine days. We had a great time and I plan to post some pictures soon.

This week I've been busy helping my son's family as they now deal with the virus; doing laundry; grocery shopping; meal planning and preparing; and working out more. While on vacation, hubby and I averaged five miles of walking everyday and I felt much stronger as a result. So I've been working on keeping up that pace, walking when not at the gym for a 50+ class. So far so good. Currently I'm at 8,986 daily steps for the week.

Thankfully, we've had fall temperatures all week, making neighborhood walks much more enjoyable. Tomorrow the entire family's going to the Best of Missouri Market at the Missouri Botanical Garden and the weather should be perfect, mid-60s. As long as the rain is minimal, it'll be a fun day filled with photo opportunities with all three grandchildren.

In the meantime, I had to share this photo my daughter took today of Reya eying her first stuffed pumpkin. At 10 weeks, Reya's healthy and strong, and cuter everyday. We are blessed!

8 Weeks 2 Days

Reya at 8 weeks 2 days.

For seven years, I thought I was going to be blessed with only two grandchildren, both boys. And, if my son and DIL ever had a child, I never imagined they'd live within a five-minute drive from our house.

But now I have proof that, even at my age, good unexpected changes can happen. Nearly everyday now I get to see and love on this sweet addition to our family. Granddaughter Reya is pure joy.

86 Years Old

After school on Monday,
the boys and I surprised
dad with gifts and a cake.

Tomorrow my dad turns 86. No one, including him, thought he would live this long. But, not only is he still alive, he's also still living on his own, driving, shopping, cooking, and maintaining a house and yard.

Unfortunately, I can't say dad is mostly happy. Truth is I believe he's mostly sad. Sad that mom's gone. Sad he can't physically do what he used to do easily. He's also always in worry mode. Worries about money. (He has plenty.) Worries about home maintenance. (He easily can afford to pay for whatever needs to be done.) Worries about health issues. (He has very little and nothing terminal.)

Looking at dad I have to wonder how I'll be at 86 if I make it that long. I'm sure there will be similarities. But one big difference between dad and me is I'm much closer to my children and grandchildren, which I pray will make my 80s much less lonely.

New Seasonal/Holiday Decor System

I love to decorate for the various seasons and holidays, especially fall and Halloween. But, each year, I've grown more weary of hauling storage bins up and down the basement stairs, even though I've purged nearly half of my collections over the last couple of years. I used to say if I had an extra bedroom I'd make it my holiday decor storage space. But, truth is, after the purges, I don't need a whole room, just a small space.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, I watched a YouTube video that changed my life. It was a share of a woman's new storage system for holiday home decor. Except for Christmas, she had down-sized all of her seasonal and holiday decor to fit into an average chest of drawers.

While I'm not ready to go that extreme, it gave me the idea to do the same with the closet at the end of our hallway. It's supposed to be a linen closet, but I've always used it for miscellaneous items, all of which we rarely needed and could easily be stored in the basement. Now that closet holds all my seasonal decor. One shelf for fall; one shelf for summer; one shelf for winter and spring. And I still have the bottom shelf for cleaning supplies.

I just switched out my summer decor for fall and Halloween and can't believe how fast and easy it was. Besides not having to lug my summer items downstairs, I didn't have to bubble wrap breakables and carefully place them in storage containers. I just moved them to their designated shelf in the hall closet. Sweet!

Another plus is I'll now be able to see all my beautiful and cute holiday decor anytime I need a lift by just opening the closet door. For example, in the dead of winter it might be nice to take a peek at my spring bunnies and summer seashells.

There's no room for Christmas in the hall closet, but that's OK. Lugging bins up and down the stairs once a year sure beats doing it five times a year!