Life Last Week (8-14 September 2025)

 

We finished up the week with glorious weather for Vic's birthday celebration outing.

The weather for the week ahead:::

68, yes...82, NO, NO NO!

On my reading pile:::

 No change here - still working on The Last Dress from Paris by Jade Beer from my bookshelves, and I have The Resistance Daughter by Joanne Kormylo on my Kindle.

On my TV:::

We've been all over the place again this week.  Some BritBox, some Hallmark+, some STARZ.

(BritBox) The Hardacres launched last week with two episodes and the remaining four will be shown one per week for the next four weeks.  Really enjoyed this one.

Checking out the Fall into Love offerings on Hallmark+.

We also watched Episode 7 of Blood of my Blood, the prequel to Outlander.

Checked off the list:::

• Our Lunch Bunch friend who entered hospice last week died on Wednesday.  So sad, she was one of our founding members, had a wicked sense of humor, and will be very much missed.  Not a checked off the list item, but something that happened last week.
• Downton Abbey - The Grand Finale was fabulous!  I think I need to watch the whole series from the beginning and by the time I'm done, this latest movie should be available for streaming.
• Booked our flights for London in December, so excited!

Crafts roundup:::

Photo printer arrived, just need to hook it up.  Still keeping current on my memory planning.  Working on December Daily 2021 because when I went to file away 2022, I realized that I had never completed 2021.  Fifteen stories told, ten to go.

 

And in other news:::

Week Three's cleaning emphasis is the entryway.  I'll leave the links up here if you're interested.

Holiday Grand Planners - Get Organized Community | Facebook 

Organized Christmas? Try a Holiday Plan | Organized Home

Sunday was Vic's birthday, so I planned a getaway to a destination we had not visited before - Mount St. Helens.

The Visitor Center had an informational film, great 3-D displays of the area, and the complete history of Mount St. Helens up to and after the eruption in 1980.

Here we are at the Science Learning Center with Mount St. Helens in the background and Coldwater Lake in the foreground.

Picnic lunch at the Coldwater Lake Recreation Area.

Vic's favorite - scones and fixings.

Happy Birthday, mon amour!

Coldwater Lake

Our hotel for the evening was the Kalama Harbor Lodge, one of the McMenamins historic hotels.  It is modeled after the Pioneer Inn in Maui.  I took this photo Sunday morning as we were leaving, hence the rain.

Each of the rooms celebrate people, places, and events from Kalama's history.  John (Johannes, a German native) who, with his brother Phillip in 1871, founded Kalama's first and only brewery along the flat east of the train depot, which they ran for 15 years. John married Lucy Ahles, and our room is named for them.

The room was lovely.  We had a partial view of the Columbia River (as all the river view rooms were sold out) with a balcony.

While we were having dinner, an American Cruise Line ship, the American Harmony, pulled up to the dock.  It's on a Snake and Columbia Rivers cruise.

After dinner relaxing in the rocking chairs next to the Columbia River.

The weather on Saturday was glorious, and we had a great time.  As we entered the Visitor Center and Vic saw all that they had to offer, he said, "I LOVE trips like this!".  Happy Birthday, darling!

Friday Favorites - September 12, 2025

 

I went in search of home decor today, not that I need anymore but it's fun to look, right?

I started off at Michaels and it was a huge disappointment.  There seemed to be four rows of Halloween decorations, everything from your standard jack-o-lanterns and ghosts to all manner of ghouls - cat skeletons, dog skeletons, and a whole line of Goth Chick accessories.  There was one row of what I would call autumn, and it was mainly geared toward Thanksgiving.

I think I might go back and purchase two of the thankful long pieces and put them back-to-back on my dining table.  I'm having an afternoon tea in November because we plan to be traveling in December, so the theme is all about thankful and grateful.  I just need a way to elevate them slightly.  Will think more on that.

I don't usually buy candles at Michaels, but they had 3/$9.99 which sounded like a good deal.

One sniff and I remembered why I don't buy candles at Michaels - they smelled primarily of wax with very little of the autumn scents present.  

Spent at Michaels = $0 - yay!

Next stop, Home Goods.  Uh oh, dangerous territory.

There were oodles of awesome displays - every dish and table decoration you could imagine.  I love Home Goods.  I was glad that I bought my plates and mugs for my November tea a few weeks ago because all of that pattern was gone.  Things don't last long at Home Goods.

They also had a great selection of kitchen linens and paper products.

These dish drying mats are my favorite to buy and to give as hostess gifts.  They have so many uses.

I bought one of these brie baker dishes for Sophia when we went up to see her last week.  I filled it with these, and she was a happy girl.

On my way out, these caught my eye.  They would look beautiful in a tall vase.

I managed to get out of Home Goods for less than $20.  I picked up a set of autumn baking cups like these; they are perfect for taking nuts or Chex Mix to our small group meetings.

 These serving tongs (set of five) are going to be perfect to taking the tea sandwiches off the serving plate at my tea.

Next stop, the gourmet market and it did not disappoint in autumn deliciousness.  Is Gouda an autumn cheese?

This cider display was lovely.

And that was it for looking for autumn goodness.

Patriot Day

For the 2977 people who went to bed on September 10, 2001 after making dinner for the last time, packing their suitcases for the last time, helping kids with homework for the last time, calling their mom for the last time, calling their friends for the last time, tucking in their kids for the last time, and kissing their loved ones for the last time...we will remember you.

Source: Guilford Police Department in Connecticut

Wednesday Hodgepodge - Volume 619

 Welcome to the Wednesday Hodgepodge!  Here are this week's questions, which you should answer on your own blog and then pop over to Joyce's blog (click on the graphic for the link) Wednesday to add your link to the party.

1. What gives you energy? What takes it away? 

Fun times with positive people.  It could be a lunch, dinner, an outing, a party, or really any type of social event where friends gather to enjoy each other's company.  No drama, no gossip, no keeping up with the Joneses, just the type of event that you remember and smile.

Drama and gossip take it away.  I have no time for either one.  Always having a glass half-empty attitude is another downer.

2. How often do you shop for clothes? What accessory do you always wear? 

Rarely.  I hate shopping for clothes, so I tend to order online, hope they fit, and return them if they don't.  I often find a top that I love so I buy it in several colors.  My wedding rings need a resize so the accessory I always wear right now is my watch.

I think I have this in about five colors.

3. What's something free that you feel grateful for? 

Love.  The love of my husband, my daughter, my close family and friends.  Remembering the love of my parents, my sister, I'm so grateful for all of the loving people in my life.

Wedding Reception 1993

Vic's return from deployment 1997

With my parents and sister 2001

4. Breakfast, lunch, dinner...which meal of the day do you enjoy most? What's your go-to comfort food? 

Dinner - Mum's Macaroni Cheese.  She would buy these scrap pieces of bacon from the butcher which would crisp up like a dream and the bacon part was English bacon, not the streaky bacon that we have here in the US.  She made her cheese sauce from scratch (how I wish I had written down the recipe) and would pop it under the broiler to crisp up the top.  Heaven!

5. This week the world remembers the tragic events of 9/11. Do you mark the day in any way? How do historical events shape your perspective on your personal challenges? 

I mark the day by remembering where I was on that day - at work at the VA Medical Center in Illinois.  When the first plane hit the twin towers, we weren't sure what was happening but when the second one hit, we knew something was very wrong.  We went into lockdown, and I remember having to call in hourly bed counts in case a biological/chemical event occurred, and we had to take casualties.  My good friend Ann took her children out of school and picked up Sophia as well, so I knew she was safe.  We had all sorts of added restrictions, barrier checkpoints, no parking within a certain distance of a building, things like that.  No-one felt they were an inconvenience; they were for our safety.  I remember the surge of patriotism, the flags, the ribbons, the packed churches, and increased enlistments in the military.

9/11 had a major impact on my work life as I've outlined above but also on a personal level, as Vic was an active servicemember and I was never sure what would be next for him.  Would he be deployed?  To where?  For how long?  As it turned out, he continued as an instructor at the naval station, but when his follow-on tour was to a ship in Virginia, there was always the feeling that he could be in danger at any time.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I found the coverage of the Coming-of-Age Ceremony for Japan's Prince Hisahito absolutely fascinating.  The Japanese Royal Family is unlike any other royal family, steeped in hundreds of years of tradition.  This young man has quite frankly, the weight of the Chrysanthemum Throne on his shoulders.  Check out the short four-minute video here:

https://youtu.be/budkSwLNqKo?si=mrRwjk_BpYWUOIXA