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| Not Quite a Weathervane |
The neighbor's rooster is a frequent visitor in my garden, usually scratching around and taunting Mama Cat who mostly ignores him, unless he eats her kibbles and then, she'll chase him. Today, I noticed him up on the garage roof! Not quite sure what he was doing up there, but, if he was pretending to be a weathervane, he was not doing a good job of it!
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| Still Not a Weathervane! |
This has been a bit of a social week for us, although Monday's visit to see cousin V and my daughter's walk with a friend were cancelled.
It rained on and off all day on Tuesday and my daughter and I spent a relaxed day at home during the day. In the evening, however, two of my daughter's friends from school days visited for their annual holiday get together. These get togethers started when they were all in high school - my daughter and four of her friends would have a potluck lunch at school on the last day before the winter break. Once they graduated from high school, they continued to hold their holiday pot luck at our house. One year, just before the pandemic broke out, they held their holiday get together at a restaurant. Over the years, one or two of the girls dropped out, making their excuses for not attending the holiday get togethers. This year, it was just my daughter and her friends A and V, and V's 5 months old baby who is such a cutie! Everyone wore masks (except the baby, of course) and this year, there was no sharing of food as that required masks to be taken off. I stayed in the family room for the most part while they stayed in the living room, but, it was pleasant to hear them chatting and laughing.
On Wednesday, I visited neighbor S very briefly as I wanted to give her the euryops plant I had bought for her (she had admired my euryops plants and said she liked the yellow flowers). Then, we enjoyed our visit with Baby Yoda as posted, earlier.
Today, Thursday, has been another rainy day! Today, in the afternoon, we visited my cousin R. Her planned visit to Scotland had to be cancelled because her son's passport was damaged and they couldn't get a replacement passport in time. She was rather disappointed about it, but, was accepting of the situation. I had met her briefly at her sister's house on Christmas Day and I gave her her Christmas gift then. Today, I gave her an early birthday present (her birthday is next week). My daughter and I wore our masks during the visit which lasted about 15 or 20 minutes. When we were leaving, cousin R gave us three bags of clothes and a few other times that she had decluttered. Some of the items still had their tags on (they were gifts that didn't fit her, she said).
I had worn one of the blouses she had given us the last time and she was happy to see that I was wearing it.
After we came home, daughter and I tried on the clothes that cousin R had given us. The majority of them fitted daughter and some of the items fitted me. Daughter chose the items she wanted to take to Berkeley with her, including a lovely warm jacket (something she had been wanting to buy for herself) and a purse. I selected a few blouses for myself. There were two blouses that were too tight for us and my daughter will offer them to her friend A and if she doesn't want them, I will offer them to my friend R. Thanks to my cousin's generosity, my daughter and I will not need to buy any new clothes, next year! Such a blessing!
The big question is, will I declutter my closet to accommodate the new clothes? Or, will I add them to the existing clothes (and maybe buy another set of hangers for them?) That might be a question to ponder in the new year. But, for now, I have a dozen new to me blouses and cardigans to add to my wardrobe!
This evening, daughter's friend A is visiting and she and my daughter are doing some artwork together (once again, everyone is wearing masks).
Later tonight, daughter's friend P is bringing more vegan Vietnamese food and lemons from his sister's tree! I have a feeling that I might be making a batch of lemon marmalade this weekend! LOL.
In between visits and having visitors over, I've hemmed the dress my daughter will be wearing as a bridesmaid at her friend J's wedding (and gave her the rest of the spool of thread and a needle to take with her, just in case there are further repairs or adjustments that need to be made), done some laundry, and cleaned the kitchen a bit.
Today, I am grateful for:
- The much needed rain
- Visits with friends and cousins
- A safe drive to my cousin's and back
- New to us clothes!
- The many blessings I've received
Today's joyful activity was visiting my cousin.
Plans for tomorrow include more laundry and some tidying.
How is your week coming along? What are your plans for tomorrow?
My weekend plans include hemming three pairs of trousers for my daughter. Being a mum is a great job - I'm so blessed to have my girls
ReplyDeleteSounds like you'll be busy, Angela. Yes, hemming clothes seem to come with being a mum! LOL. Come to think if it, I've a couple of pairs of trousers to be hemmed, too. I guess I'll have to do that one of these days. :)
DeleteMy sister in law leaves tomorrow, so I guess I will be washing sheets and getting the guest room clean for whomever comes next. I do not like carrying dirty laundry over into the new year
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of having all the laundry done before the new year! I guess we'll both be doing laundry tomorrow, then. :)
DeleteLet's hope Mr Rooster doesn't take to welcoming each new day on your roof. Seems like the visit with your daughter has brought lots of cheer & new clothes into your lives. Wishing you all the best in the new year. ... Mary-Lou
ReplyDeleteI don't mind him being on my roof or even crowing in the early mornings, but, I do hope he won't eat my snow pea seedlings! I must ask M to put up chicken wire mesh around the second planting bed we made for the peas.
DeleteHaving my daughter home for the holidays has been a real blessing. :)
Thank you, Mary-Lou. Wish you and Mr. Man all the best in the new year.
I'm glad you enjoyed your social events ... do you still find them stressful? Your cousin was very generous with the bags of clothes and now in a happy position where you won't need to buy any new in 2023.
ReplyDeleteI don't really have plans for tomorrow except to know that I'll be staying at home. I'd like to wander round the shops to look at sale items but will wait until the schools reopen on the 3rd when it should be a lot quieter. I'll be joining you, getting the laundry done and out of the way and will choose a film to watch on TV. x
Thank you, Eileen. I'm finding the socializing a little less stressful, now, although I still wear my mask and try not to attend many large gatherings (friend A's funeral was an exception in terms of a large gathering).
DeleteMy cousin was very generous! She and her sister like to shop - after giving us all those clothes, they went shopping in the evening! LOL. I really don't think I'll need to buy any new clothes, next year. The only garment I had wanted to buy was a light jacket to wear when going out to pick up groceries, etc., and my daughter gave me a fleece jacket with a hood that she had bought for herself which turned out to be too big for her, so I don't need to buy one now. :)
I hope you have a peaceful quiet day at home. We went out to pick up lunch from a nearby restaurant, but, came home right after that. :)
so much to be grateful for! here too. My plans for tomorrow are; a meet in the middle with friends from town at friends who live in the middle, we will all will go for a walk about across the frozen river. ( i do have to still ask about the amount of snow there, if i should bring snowshoes
ReplyDeleteThere is much to be grateful for, isn't there? :)
DeleteSounds like you've planned a fun day out with friends. I hope you had a lovely walk out on the frozen river!
I think it is a very good attempt at being a weather vane! Maybe he has only heard about them, but never seen one in real life. If you show him a photo from my blog he might understand where he needs to stand and what he needs to do! Good score on the new clothes. I think if they are all things that you will wear, and still have life in them, and you have the space ... keep them!
ReplyDeleteI thought of you and your weather vane photos, Lady Ella, when I saw the rooster on the garage roof! I was hoping he'd go all the way to the top but, he didn't. I really can't say I've seen many weather vanes (is it two words or one word?) in this area, but, it just might be me not noticing such things (usually, I'm driving and need to focus on the road ahead).
DeleteThe new clothes will be worn. What I might do is declutter some of my own old worn clothing items now that I have newer replacements. But, that will wait until after the new year.
Hahaha. I originally spelled it as one word but some time later I started to wonder, and looked it up. I think these days, one word is acceptable but in my 30 year-old OED it's given as two (vane being an old word for flag) so I went back and changed all my old posts, and the label! I know I'm a bit weird.
DeleteOh yes, apologies, wasn't very clear in my comment - I meant keep all the clothes, new and old, if you have room and use for them. But having a clear out will be satisfying if that is what you decide.
Thank you for clarifying the weather vane being two words. I checked on line and saw it can be written both ways and didn't get an autocorrect when I typed it as one word, so I let it go. I'll go with your OED's version from now on. But, I won't go back and change anything. :)
DeleteNo need for apologies! I had decluttered my closet, late last year (2021) and got it to a point where I was quite happy with the amount of clothes I had. Since then, I've been blessed with more clothes by my cousins and once again, I've an abundance of clothes! I'll probably keep it all for now and later, go through the closet and pick a few items to donate. :)
Your garden is going to be amazing with all the rain you are getting! We have melting snow, so strange for the end of December.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you and your daughter are having some good social interactions done safely. What fun to have all the clothes to try on and how fortunate that they included the warm jacket that your daughter needed.
My cleaner is working miracles on the bathrooms and kitchen and all the hard floors and I have done the ironing this morning. I shall work on the jigsaw puzzle this afternoon for a while!
I'm hopeful that the rain will seep down to the roots and the plants will respond with good spring growth. :)
DeleteWow, it must be strange to see the snow melting at the end of December! Climate change is very real, isn't it?
We are trying to do a little bit of socializing and trying to take the proper precautions while we do so. I owe my half-sister a visit, too, but, that will have to wait as she wants to go out to eat at a restaurant and I am not comfortable doing that, yet.
The new clothes are a blessing! Especially the new jacket. It's a packable jacket, so my daughter can fold it up and carry it in her handbag or backpack.
Glad your house cleaner is working miracles! You'll start off the new year with a sparkling clean house! I am hoping to do some tidying up, tomorrow, but, the real deep cleaning will begin after my daughter goes back and I take down the holiday decorations.
My daughter and I started on a puzzle, last night. We are hoping to finish it before she goes back. :)
That is funny that the chicken got up on your roof.
ReplyDeleteIt's so nice your daughter and her close friends still make attempts to be together. And her one friend now has a little baby. How sweet it must be for you to see these girls grown into young women.
It sounds like you got some nice new clothes. What a nice gift from your cousin R. It's good you have a few people to pass the clothes onto that you won't be using.
I was amused to see the rooster on the roof! I looked outside and there he was!
DeleteIt's wonderful to see my daughter and her friends keeping in touch over the years and to see them become young women with families of their own. The two friends were trying to give my daughter dating advice; they are both very concerned that she is on her own.
My cousin was so generous! My daughter and I received some really nice items and yes, cousin said to give away whatever we didn't want and I will do that. :)
I like you new weather vane. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! :D
DeleteThat was very generous of your cousin. If I were you, I think I would keep all your clothes for the time being. See which ones you will get most wear out of before deciding to part with any.
ReplyDeleteCute weathervane! Xx
It was, indeed, very generous of my cousin to give us all those clothes. Yes, I plan to keep what I have for now and then, declutter what I don't wear that often.
DeleteThat weather vane changed its mind about being a weather vane and took off! LOL.