This was a genuinely needed long weekend. I spent all day Sunday just a little amazed at how much I was getting done around the house and also that I had one more day to keep it up. It remains ridiculously hot. I got up early and got my watering of all my plants done early, as well as a little more planting too. Everything that I currently have purchased this year is now in the ground. Including this lovely addition to my lily collection:

A lovely rose on the outer edges and a cream in the middle. I am THRILLED to have it! I am sure it’ll bloom closer to the others next year, but this year I get to enjoy its drama all by itself.

I do think I’ll pick up some more stuff this year, annuals to fill some bare spots in. Mr. Ink did an overhaul on my shade garden by the shop. He had put a Japanese maple in there, and I’d been mentioning that it needed his expert touch. The soil was pretty bad and needed good turning. And he wasn’t thrilled with the placement of plants. And I wasn’t thrilled with one of the huge hostas in that garden. I didn’t really want to get rid of it either, so he took it and found a new spot for it.

It’s by a new tree in another shady area with some ajugas we’ve been nursing along for the last 3 years. And that is again, a bit less yard to mow for Mr. Ink.

Saturday night I finished all the singles from the purple and green combo spin.

I didn’t bother to start plying Saturday night, but bright and early Sunday morning I got to work on the singles I’d spun on spindles.

I was done with this before noon, and with the high heat all I had to do was soak it, run it through the spin cycle on the washer, and lay it out in the sun for a brief time. And I had finished yarn! 570 yards of 2 ply.

Now I am on to plying the combo spin which is going to take a little longer. I am also itching to organize my yarn stash and fiber stash, in part because that room itself is a little dirty and out of control looking. It’s mostly Mr. Ink’s problem, but he’ll think of it as a problem perhaps once a year. So I may get to tackling that project today. Plus, shopping with Miss Butterfly who desperately needs more shorts.

And that’s about it from my corner of the world. Have a great day, and if it’s an extra day off, that’s extra special!

 

Yesterday I set out on a 53 mile bike ride. I knew I was pushing it, trying for 50 miles this early in the year, especially since I haven’t kept up with the biking properly over the winter months. But, while I know that I am known for biting off more than I should be able to chew, 98% of the time that pays off for me. So I wasn’t too worried. My friend and I set off to a town about 45 minutes away from our home. Mr. Ink couldn’t join because he had to work. My biking friend is a far stronger rider than I am, and we are both introverts so we knew that we’d be mostly spending the day riding “alone.” He would ride ahead at his pace, then wait for me to catch up from time to time. It worked for us. Now, this was an organized ride so there were other people on the ride. But I personally did not know anyone. Furthermore, the anticipated weather was rain all day long, with scattered storms. And it was cool. So many people registered to ride didn’t show up.

The ride ended up being pretty nutty. For at least 30 miles we were pushing into extremely strong headwinds. The kind where you get SO excited to find yourself at the bottom of a hill, because that hill gives you a break from the wind. Only to crest the hill and realize you now have to push just as hard into the wind as you did to climb the hill. We stopped at a couple of places, a fruit farm for homemade pie, and then a little cafe for lunch. We were able to sit with 3 guys that my friend knew, and we all had a lovely break and lunch. Company was very good. But, during the time we ate, the rain began.

At that point, we were already so far into the ride that turning around to go back was pointless, we might as well push on through the ride. There was about 15 miles of gentle rain, and then 15 miles of absolutely drenching pouring rain. My bike bag took on water and became a pool. We’d had the wind at our back for awhile, which was such a relief that I didn’t even mind the pouring rain that much, but then we had to turn into the wind again and that’s when things began to take a real downhill for me. Between the unrelenting rain and the unrelenting wind, I began to notice my right knee twinging. This isn’t something that happens for me, and there was nothing I could do really, so I geared down a bit and pushed on. And then I geared down again, and again, moving slower and slower. Meanwhile my friend would find a tree to stop under in hopes to stay out of the rain while waiting for me to catch up, while I just continued to ride slower and slower.

Then I realized I really couldn’t put pressure on the right knee at all. Ok, now it’s time to change the tactic again, new tactic, allow the right knee to just be along for the ride and let my left leg do all the work. I eased off that right knee, and since I am connected to my pedals, I concentrated on both pushing down and pulling up with the left leg. This kept me moving slow, but consistently. My friend waited again at the end of a road, I stopped and asked how far we were from the end. He said “12 miles.” I said “We’ll be turning again now, right? With the wind at our backs?” He said “Yes, just right around this corner.” “Ok, I think I can make it.” I remarked, and we set off again. But, even though I was able to move much faster with the wind at my back, I began to feel the left knee twinge. It wasn’t appreciating all the extra stress I was putting on it. I tested out the right knee, was it maybe magically better? No, no it was not. I kept on, but I was in such a bad way. All I could THINK about was walking. I just desperately wanted to walk. My friend stopped again, I flagged him down before he could take off in front of me, and asked again “How many miles?”  “5.5” he said. I said “I can’t make it. Why don’t you just ride on back, pick up the car, and come get me?”  “Really?” he said. “You are feeling THAT bad?” he said. Now, don’t get upset with him, this was not a comment questioning how I felt, it’s just that in the 7 years I’ve known him, he’s never seen me give up and he’s watched me push through heat exhaustion even. So he was incredulous.

But, he quickly agreed this would be for the best. He rode off quickly, and I got off my bike. I rearranged my gear, I dumped the water out of my bag, I removed the rain jacked since at that lovely moment it decided to quit raining, what a relief! My toes were numb, I was completely drenched. I looked forward to a bit of a roadside hike, at least I wasn’t biking! I took a step. And experienced extreme pain in my right knee. As it turns out, the one thing I desperately wanted to do, I couldn’t even do. I leaned over my bike, tried a few more painful steps, and rested for a bit. I tried again. Thankfully, I found myself able to limp along a bit. It was slow going, but at least I was moving forward. The sun came out. I stopped for a few minutes, took off my soaked tshirt as I had on a “wishful thinking” tanktop under it. It was actually warming up. I tried to walk again, and it was worse than when I first got off the bike. Ok, new plan, don’t STOP walking. Just keep walking to keep it from stiffening up.

Not long after, my friend came to get me. I got in the car, he loaded my bike, and said “There’s Ibuprofen in the glove compartment, TAKE SOME. By the time we get home it may start taking effect.” I listened. After a pleasant ride home, it had taken effect. He unloaded my bike, Mr. Ink was in the yard planting things, and I told him I’d done something terrible to my knee. I dropped my bike right there, said goodbye to my friend, and headed inside.

I am thrilled to say that this morning it is significantly better. I’ve been keeping up on the painkillers, icing when I can, and getting up and moving regularly until it gets bad enough I need to take a seat. I have high hopes this will be an injury I can get ahead of quickly.

Final total, 48 miles.  2 miles shy of my goal.  I will call that a win, but keep that ice bag coming!

Meanwhile…Miss Butterfly and Lizzie were running a race. I’ve got photos of that! They, too, got rained on. I was told that Miss Butterfly’s dad had to hold the leash for a good portion of the run, since Lizzie was SO excited that she’d just run circles around Miss Butterfly. With dad holding the leash, Lizzie would run after Miss Butterfly, making the experience quite a bit more pleasant.

I’d have thought after actually running a 5K, Lizzie would be worn out. But she wasn’t. I don’t know what I was thinking, she walks a 5K regularly with me, and it NEVER wears her out. All in all, I suspect a new tradition was begun, as they really enjoyed this race together.

Today I am hoping that in between my sitting times, I will be planting and weeding. It rained overnight and the weeding should be at a point it goes fairly easily. Mr. Ink has been too busy planting things to get around to the weeding of things. We also plan to see if we can get to our favorite farmers market for more plants. And he tells me he’s going to build me some tomato cages today, since I don’t like wimpy cages, and he doesn’t want to spend a ton of money on hefty ones. We’ll see how it all goes! I am feeling the desire to get out there though, so here’s where I’ll leave you. Have a wonderful Sunday!

 

As someone who has an event planning background, I know just how difficult weddings are in the planning department. As such, during our time away I had really hoped that we’d be able to be of help during the wedding. But I also knew full well that sometimes these things are so carefully orchestrated that stepping in at the last minute to help can be more a hindrance and annoyance than a help.

Miss Butterfly and I arrived in Alabama at 10:30 am on Friday morning. We’d gotten up at 3:30 am to do that. We picked up our car, a nice red Nissan, and headed out to find our first coffee of the day. I remarked to Miss Butterfly that it was nice to be given a bright red car as a rental, because it would be easy to locate in a parking lot. We went in for coffee. We came out to our car, and tried to get into 2 other bright red cars before we managed to find our own. I blame lack of sleep and coffee.

I had not been anticipating seeing the Alabama family that evening as I knew they’d be busy. However, they are also gracious hosts and pretty good at realizing that good company is the most important thing. So, I was surprised to get a text that they had sandwich fixings at the house and we were welcome to come over. I headed to the Inn, picked up my parents, and then to the Alabama family.

And that’s when I realized we were going to be able to be helpful after all. After a long swim in the pool (it was in the 90s the entire time we were there, so pool was a must!) we headed back to the Inn to check in, drop off our bags, and get ready for the rehearsal dinner. Then we picked up some supplies from the store and some flowers on order, then went to the restaurant to create vases of flowers for the tables. Nana (My mom) and Miss Butterfly created some beautiful vases while Pop pop (My dad) and I cleaned up behind them. We were so glad to be able to help!

And the vases looked truly lovely once they were done, though there were a few moments where we had worried we didn’t have enough flowers for the large vases. The restaurant was in an old train depot, so my nephews had a great time watching the trains go by.

We all had a lovely social evening, making a great start to a wonderful weekend.

Day of wedding I am struggling to remember what we did! This does happen sometimes when there’s so much going on. But I do remember that we needed to be ready by 4 for potential photos. I was surprised to see not only my nephews matching, but that unexpectedly, Miss Butterfly matched them.

So very cute!

I did get a selfie with Miss Butterfly in the chapel right before the wedding, so I’ll post that tomorrow with the detailed makeup look included.

Sunday was a day spent at the farmhouse with family. Many treats were consumed, it was an all day feast of homemade delights. And so much good company as well. Miss Butterfly swam all day, getting good and tanned. Many naps were had by various family members. It was a day of mostly relaxing and hanging out.

My cousin was struggling with a sore back and a blown out knee, so biking was not in the cards for him. My brother and I rode his route without him. We had some serious hills and great directions. At the top of the mountain I decided we needed a selfie. It was ridiculously bright out and I managed to get my brother in the frame as well as some of the top of the mountain but not much of me at all!

Anyhow, it’s a beautiful ride, too bad I wasn’t in a position to actually get a shot of the valley. Or me. It was so hot and humid! We talked about how we were going to eat homemade perogies and jump right into the pool with our bike clothes on. So, we did just that. We rolled in, quickly removed our helmets, gloves and shoes, and cannonballed into the water. My cousin handed me a beer. A pool beer!

This really is the most refreshing way to ride on a hot day. The promise of a full body temp cool down really did make us feel like we could get through the ride. And while the temp change was absolutely shocking, it was very welcome.

Here’s a quick look at what my view from my hotel door was, isn’t that spectacularly relaxing looking? Turns out at night the frogs get to talking and are so loud they are deafening. It was a great venue and fantastic experience.

Miss Butterfly and I stuck around until Tuesday at the farmhouse. On Monday we took the kids into a town so they could hang at a coffee shop and feel like proper adults while my cousin’s wife and I visited some antique shops. We had planned to grab a late lunch and then see a movie to beat the heat, but once the kids ate they all decided they wanted to go back home for naps. I guess the weekend really wore them out. On Monday evening my cousin and his wife were talking about how they still had to go over and pick up stuff from the reception hall. I told them that since we weren’t flying out until afternoon, if we planned it early enough I could go help. They thought this might be good as they weren’t sure how much stuff the bride had brought that needed to be picked up.

Turns out my offer was a good idea. We took two trucks over, backed them right up to the reception hall, and then set about doing a major clean up and pack up. We completely filled one truck and partly filled another. Once home, we worked on washing the many table clothes, sorting through boxes, getting the perishables indoors, and then unloading the rest of the equipment into the barn. Since we hadn’t anticipated the large job, we were both underfed and underhydrated, so we grabbed a bit more breakfast, more of a brunch really, then I hopped in the pool once more before we left for home. After an extremely smooth trip home, we are glad to be settling in at home and also sad to know that there won’t be monthly Alabama trips anymore. But I do think our goal of finding ways to help during what is always a stressful time was successful.

 

This post will be another departure from regularly scheduled programming, and it’ll post while I am flying to Alabama. Here’s the thing, as you are well aware with the help of Miss Butterfly I’ve really gotten into makeup. However, besides Miss Butterfly, I don’t really have anyone to discuss it with. Plus, I would like to be able to keep track of what I have tried and what I liked and didn’t like. Since I began considering blogging about these new experiences, I’ve been saving product empties I’ve finished off. I can get a grouped photograph, and list out experiences, and reference those on my blog. I keep worrying that this will be ridiculously boring, but in the same respect I am trying to remember that the blog is for me and if this works for me, it works for me. No one else actually has to read it. 🙂

So, here’s what I’ve emptied recently:

Working predominately left to right again:

Tarte’s Tarteist lip paint, I am considering this tiny free sample done. Now, I do plan to experiment with this sample, removing the stopper to see if I can get any more product out of it. However, as the packaging currently stands, it’s done. It was an easy one to empty to be honest. I really liked the formula, it was easy to apply, it wore nicely at work, and the color is great for a pulled together look without being bold. I have been wearing this fairly consistently since I got it, I love wearing it on a day I am rocking a bolder eye shadow experiment. I was highly tempted to run right out and get a full size of this in the same color. Except….it’s expensive and since I am still really exploring products I’d feel really sad if I purchased the full size, and then got another sample of a different brand that I liked better. This is the only lip paint I’ve tried. How do I KNOW this is The One? I don’t. So, I am going to scratch out the last little bit from it by removing it’s stopper, and then it goes in the trash. But luckily I’ve got this post to remind me that I like it in case I forget! (I won’t forget. I really like it.)

The Nars velvet matte lip pencil sample I am considering done. You may see that there’s still product there, but there’s no real way to get it onto my lips without making a royal mess. I tried a lip brush, but it’s not working. Here’s what this product taught me. First of all, surprisingly, a super bright magenta or hot pink looks good on me. It was a bold color I never would have tried had I not received it in a subscription box. But, I did receive it, so I felt like I should use it, and in doing so discovered the color is fantastic on me. I actually really enjoyed the formula of this product, I don’t mind a matte lipstick at all. It didn’t transfer easily and I could wear it all day without reapplying, which makes it a very appealing product. Except that I’ve also discovered that matte lipsticks in “crayon” form are very difficult to use without making a mess. That’s my experience anyhow. I’ve got a crayon style tinted lip balm that works great, but I don’t have to be very precise with it. But with this bold a color, a mistake really shows, and I was making a ton of mistakes with the crayon style application. I won’t repurchase.

Clinique’s take the day off makeup remover. I truly want to know, is there any difference in these types of shake them up and apply with a cotton pad makeup removers? In the past, I’ve tried this one, almay ones, estee lauder once, and none of them, truly, seem any different from the other. So that’s a no, I am not going to purchase this product. If I get a sample, I’ll happily use it up but I don’t see the point of purchasing it outright.

Clinique cc cream, which is featured in this month’s project pan (or use it up in this case.) Ok, I’ve given this the ol’ college try. This is expired. And, this does not look good on my skin. It’s not just that it is the wrong shade. It does NOT LOOK GOOD on my skin, I can apply with a sponge, a brush, or my fingers and it DOES NOT LOOK GOOD. It’s gotta go. I can do better. WAY better. In fact, I wore something else yesterday and after numerous days of the cc cream I hated, I kept looking at myself in the mirror and thinking “So much better!” The astute among you may observe that if it’s outdated, perhaps it’s spoiled and that’s why I am having such trouble with it. This may be true. I DID use it when I purchased it for the 2016 conference, I did use it to have some photographs taken for my job as well, and I don’t remember having an awful time with it. Either it is genuinely spoiled, or I am just way more critical than I used to be. Or some combo of both. In any case, it hits the trash NOW!

Urban Decay’s all nighter setting spray, this was a free sample. And…I don’t think I’ll repurchase this either. I hear about this product a ton, but I guess this is another “How is this actually better?” situation for me. I mean, I used it all up, but I think there could easily be less expensive options out there, so I won’t repurchase. I’ll explore some less expensive options for awhile, and may even decide that setting spray isn’t for me.

Loreal’s voluminous lash paradise. Would I repurchase? I ALREADY HAVE! For real, this is my jam. I love the applicator, I love the formula, I love how it stays on my lashes, I love how it makes them look, I love the price, and I love this product. You might wonder how I’ve managed to go through an entire mascara in the short time I’ve been hard core exploring makeup. But, shelf life of opened mascara is only 3 months and with this product, it pretty much gets too thick to apply and look great around that 3 month mark. I repurchased this product, but didn’t open it, as I wanted to save it for the wedding. In the meantime, I am trying to use up other mascara samples to tide me over until then. After this next tube is done, I may try exploring a few other cheap drugstore brands I’ve read good things about, but I am eager for another 3 months of this product.

Belif moisturizing eye bomb, this was another sample sent in a subscription box, and I actually am working through yet another free sample now. I really do like this product. When I first began applying makeup, the wrinkles in my undereye area pulled all the way out onto my cheeks, and they don’t anymore. Is it due to this product in particular or to a better skin care routine in general? I don’t know. Might even have something to do with slightly more skilled makeup application routines. I do know that I like this better than my clinique all about eyes sample that I tried right after Christmas.  Will I purchase this? Not at this time. It’s expensive! And I’ve got two more eye creams from samples or boxes that I can try before I make that decision. I am ready to keep exploring on this category. Not ready to commit.

So, that’s my try on/empties for this month. We’ll see what I can manage to work through next month. I can tell you this, that perfume I am trying to work my way through? Guys, perfumes go SLOWLY. Which is great, for the price one pays for them. But less great if you have this idea you need to see discernible progress on going through something.

 

 

 

 

 

It’s gone! It fled! I don’t care about my knitting! Instead I’ve been spinning, among other various things.

However, I did force myself to finish my pair of socks.

They were too close to a finish to quit. But then I got on with my spinning.

I finally finished all the singles on this gradient project. My project page tells me I began these singles at the beginning of December, so they were heading toward half a year in progress. I think I’ll get the plying done today.

In order to begin plying, I had to finish another handspun project I began at the beginning of February. That was on the rose, and I wanted to use the rose for plying. I did finish that yesterday, but it’s currently drying. I will get a photo of that posted tomorrow.

I ran an errand yesterday and when I came home, the garage was full of trees and shrubs!

It was quite a surprise. Apparently a “delivery” showed up while I was out. Mr. Ink tells me this is everything (with the exception of a tree not pictured here) that is to be planted this spring, so he’s got his work cut out for him.

But, sometimes you get to see when work pays off, Coco’s memorial tree, almost 3 years old now, is so large in just those three years! And it’s blooming.

So pretty! I’ll get photos of the new trees as they go in. We did lose a couple to the ridiculously harsh cold winter we had, and the ones which are left are showing signs of having trouble. But, despite this slow start, we are well on our way now.

If you care nothing at all about makeup, skin care, or getting the most use out of what one purchases, this post won’t be for you. But if you are interested anyhow, stick around. Just know that this post will be a vast diversion from regularly scheduled programing. But it will look a bit similar to the weekly lists I used to post in order to try to stay motivated during the week.

So as I’ve mentioned, Miss Butterfly is totally interested in makeup right now. And, since that’s something we could share and do together, I got totally into makeup too. The trouble is, she’s 13, and I haven’t cared about makeup ever really, so we have no clue what we are doing. We don’t know what products we like or what products are good. We wouldn’t know a good deal if it smacked us in the face. So we’ve been doing a ton of research and a ton of trying samples.

And then I came across the concept of “project pan” which is basically to use up your makeup and skincare before purchasing more. I quickly realized that just like crafting, there’s certainly a desire to buy more and more stash. Well, I don’t need another hobby with stash. Plus, these products have actual shelf life.

So-the first thing I did was get rid of old makeup. I knew it was old, but I didn’t know just how old. And how old? Anywhere between 8-20 years old. That got dumped. Then, I signed up for a subscription box that delivers various samples to our door to try. And then there’s the shopping, where Miss Butterfly and I, after researching various products, go check them out in stores and sometimes get a thing or two. Already we are accumulating stash. And that’s ok, we just also need to use it up.

So I am going to do my own little project pan here on the blog. I am posting two photos of products that I hope to make progress toward “panning” in the next month. These products will be in very regular rotation during the month. In 2 weeks I’ll do a check in and mention how far I’ve gotten, if there’s been discernible progress. If not, I’ll just do a monthly wrap up when I pick the next month’s products. I will mark that which can be marked to see if we can actually see some progress on some things.

Skin care and hair care up first. The Origins set just came in as freebies. I’ve never tried this brand before. I don’t like the smell. It’s not a hate, but the fresh fake citrus with a sweet overtone isn’t pleasant to me. So, I want to get these used right up and moved back out and I won’t have to worry about purchasing them ever in the future.

The hair balm came in a subscription box. It’s fine. Keeps hair nice and smooth. It does exactly what it says it should. It’s just that…I don’t like my hair smooth. I like wild hair. Hair with texture. So, it does exactly what it says, which is exactly not my style. This month I’ll try to wear my hair nice and straight and smooth and then once it’s gone, no purchase necessary.

Then there’s the Mary Kay product. This is about a year and a half old. It’s a lip scrub, but honestly I don’t think it’s scrubby enough. Now’s the time of year to use it up, when lips aren’t that dry anyhow. I have an elf lip scrub I like a lot more, so I will just put away the elf scrub for this month.

And from left to right again, the first thing is a Clinique cleansing gel that we got around christmas time to try. This works super well for both Miss Butterfly and I. So well in fact that there’s now a full size in the main bathroom. I tend to have dry to combo skin, and she tends to have the same with the bonus of teen forehead acne. This stuff really doesn’t dry us out overly much but still feels like it has some serious cleaning power. So-since we’ve got a full size, no sense keeping this travel size around, time to use it up! Shouldn’t take much time really.

Next is the Clinique CC cream, that’s about 2 years old and probably past it’s life. I purchased it right before my 2016 big conference, as I felt like I should attempt to pull myself together for such a large event. The woman at the counter when I purchased it gave me a color that has never looked great on my skin, it’s a little light. And-it doesn’t make my skin look great anyhow. So, I won’t be going out and getting this again. However, I would like to get a little more use out of it, and now is the time, before I get darker due to the summer sun.

In front of that is a sample highlighter from a subscription box. So-I don’t really get highlighters in general. Their purpose is a bit of a mystery to me. Maybe they are for young people. Furthermore, I can tell you that a liquid highlighter is totally not for me, I don’t think. Not that I’ve even used this product yet. Anyhow, my point is I need to try it, and then hand it over to Miss Butterfly if I don’t like it, and/or use it up. We’ll see.

Then there is my perfume. That perfume is 10 years old. It’s good, it smells fantastic. But, 10 years is OLD, and it’s not even the color it was originally. It’s time to use it or lose it. I’ve been wearing it daily lately and want to continue to do so until it’s gone. It’s a good scent, wears well for summer, so that shouldn’t be an issue.

In front of that is a Wet n Wild eyeshadow palette. It’s nicely neutral, but Miss Butterfly convinced me to buy a beautiful big palette and now that’s all I use for eyeshadow. So, I want to concentrate on this little one this month. I can pair it with other things to jazz it up, but this one needs to be in heavy usage. AND I just realized that I forgot to add something to this photo. A sample size of a matte lipstick in hot pink. I figured I could use that up this month as well, since the eye theme of the month will be so neutral. I’ll try to get that into the mid month update.

Miss Butterfly wanted to try a brow pencil and so she picked one up from elf. That is pictured above. Because she thinks it’s too dark for her even though it’s the lightest shade. She gave it to me, and now I am trying to not let it go to waste.

Behind that is another one of Miss Butterfly’s purchases, an elf setting spray. She gave it to me when she didn’t like it. It’s close to being gone, but it’s not particularly useful unless I use it to put on an eyeshadow brush to set eyeshadow in a more highly pigmented manner. Since the eyeshadow of the month isn’t particularly pigmented, the spray may just get some use this month.

What will I get through this month? I think I’ll be able to use up the hair balm and the cleanser for sure. Maybe the setting spray and eyebrow pencil. It’s possible I’ll get through the origins products, but I find that those sizes generally last me more than a month. No matter, I’ll just use them until they are gone, I can add them to the next month’s project pan.

It was sprinkling all the way to work. I walked indoors, and it began to DOWNPOUR. Perfect timing for me this morning.

Thankfully, while we’ve had thunderstorms, our immediate area has been free of severe weather. And rain is good. This was….maybe Lizzie’s second thunderstorm in our home? The first she ended up sitting on my lap and then sleeping on my legs. This one she sat on my feet and barked at the thunder. They make her nervous, but if we don’t react poorly she doesn’t get too bent out of shape.

Before the storm, I got Lizzie’s walk in, and also snapped a photo of my blooming primrose. This is the first of two, and I can’t wait to see what other color I purchased last year. I plan to add to this collection this year, once I figure out what colors I can still purchase.

I think my phone is still suffering quite a bit, as my photos are blurry and sometimes I distinctly remember snapping a photo but then that photo isn’t there. It’s not great. It’s like it hiccups regularly. I had thought that I got a photo of how we spent our evening yesterday, but that one has gone missing. No knitting was done. Miss Butterfly got herself a 1000 piece puzzle, which to be honest is a bit too much for her. She prefers something in the 500-750 range. And even then she wants help. Plus, this puzzle was too large for her desk in her room, so we set it up in the dining room. Since it was rainy and storming, all three of us worked on that puzzle last evening. Or rather, Miss Butterfly got it started, then she disappeared and Mr. Ink and I worked on that puzzle. It IS a tough one. But we were up for the challenge, and in fact even after Miss Butterfly headed to bed, we stayed up working on it until it was time for me to go to bed. Miss Butterfly was up early this morning and managed to put together a few pieces while she was looking at it fresh.

In the ongoing saga of Lizzie getting me up far too early in the morning, we’ve made some progress. Here’s what we’ve done. First, we’ve added another walk to her day, after dinner. Then, we changed her dinner schedule, pushing it back a half hour. And, Mr. Ink takes her out when he comes to bed a few hours after I go to bed. This bought me time this morning. Instead of 5:17 am, I got to sleep until 5:40 am. I am calling that a win. Or at least a very good start. This morning she did not fuss at me for her breakfast at 6:30 either, she seemed to understand that she has a new schedule.

On that Lizzie note, here’s a photo Miss Butterfly insisted on taking last evening. For a dog that hates being on her back and hates being picked up, she sure allows Miss Butterfly to do just about anything.

Belly skritches for our queen goofball.