I'm not quite sure why, but I'd lost the blogging bug of late. Strange, really, because "chatting" with people from other countries, as well as those scattered from coast to coast of my own, is a source of pleasure. Perhaps it was just a phase as a few changes were made around me. My brother and sister-in-law have recently moved away. This is not the home town for any of us and I'll miss having some family just a short drive from here. Mind you, it's only about an hour to where they will be living.
Life flows along, and I toy with the idea of settling elsewhere. Then again, I have some friends here and a history of about two and a half decades.
For someone who made daily decisions in my career, I seem to stall on what to do at this stage of my life. How silly is that!
Enough; time to refocus on some joys, like autumn walks that show colours creeping into view
and tomatoes that need picking (perhaps they will ripen on a windowsill), now that the nights get steadily cooler.
Let's not neglect the sense of satisfaction that came from my first ever installation of taps and a drain mechanism! You would have chuckled at me poking, prodding and prying to get the old fixtures removed. (Liquid Wrench Penetrating Oil loosened the one nut that refused to budge, in case you ever find yourself in need of said item!)
I had read that the most difficult part of installing new bathroom taps and such was removing the old set. True. Sheesh! I was very close to calling someone to come and finish the job. For many, this is a small task; we won't discuss how long it took me, but if I were to be paid by the hour, a small sports car might be sitting in my driveway right now!
In other happy news, some of you will remember
that I had a foster cat, Claire, who was adopted into a wonderful home
in July. After thinking that I wouldn't foster for awhile, that I wanted to make some travel plans, that it had been almost 5 months before lovely 4 1/2 year old Claire was adopted and that I didn't know if it was a good time to make such a commitment again, I offered to foster another puss. She moved in just a few weeks ago.
Here she is, Hope. She's going to need hope and a wee bit of luck to find an adoptive home. You should hear her purr! More on Hope's history later.
Time to get on with this new day, full of
hope for all it holds!
Thank you for visiting,
Karen
It is hard not to have family around... It is not easy and I have been finding it harder and harder lately as my husband is now working in South Dakota... I can't get into doing anything. Thursday I picked all the rest of my green tomatoes.. and hope that they will ripen.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard when family move away, but at least they are only an hour or so away which makes visiting much easier. We had family move to the other side of the country .. a bit too far for a weekend visit.
ReplyDeleteYour new foster kitty, Hope, is adorable and she will be company on the winter days that will soon be settling in.Looking forward to seeing more photos of her and hearing about her news.
It would be difficult to have family farther away. I guess for us our siblings all live in different areas or provinces and have for years but I'm glad our son is nearby. Hope is a sweet cat and I 'hope' she is adopted soon. Your fall pics are so pretty. I hope you keep up with your posting. Hugs. Pam
ReplyDeleteNice photos ! We are used to family being farther away now except for Hubs mom and dad who are next door lol Good for you doing your own faucet they can be a pain in the butt to get the old ones out . I am so happy for Claire and this new one Hope looks cute to ! The reason we called our cat Harley is cause she purrs soo loud like a Harley motorbike lol ! Hope she finds a forever home soon ! Thanks for sharing , Have a good weekend !
ReplyDeleteKaren - sorry to hear that you will be farther from your family, but HOPE can be your family for now. What a beauty she is...I'm a sucker for cats...I would have more than just Sloan if the hubby and Sloan would let me, next time around I'm going to adopt a pair...My favourites are black and black and white kitties - Here's hoping she finds her fur-ever home soon. Thanks for being a foster Mom!!
ReplyDeleteCheryl @ The Creative Me and My McG
Hi karen! I just found your blog on Endah's page. I'm so glad I did, you have a lovely garden. It's hard being away from family. We moved to Idaho and most of our family are in California. We miss them. Claire looks like my 4 year old cat, Lilo with similar colors. Is Claire a Tortoiseshell? So cute. Our kitty is hyper and she's a lap cat. I'm a new follower here and I look forward to reading your posts. Have a wonderful day! :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Karen,
ReplyDeleteSo lovely to see a new post from you! I can understand how you might be stumped as to certain decisions at this point in your life, as I have been on the fence about some of mine, for years! Honestly, I believe that one day you'll wake up and just 'know'; you'll feel it, and without a doubt, you will proceed to the next phase, whatever that may be.
Don't feel too bad about your brother being an hour away - my only daughter lives several countries and an ocean away! I do know that I don't want to be this far from her too much longer, but we take it day by day.
How wonderful to be fostering another kitty, and she is just as stunning as her pretty predecessor! Looking forward to hearing all about Hope's history in future posts!
Happy October!
Poppy
All the best with the fostering. I truly wish that Hope can find a permanent and loving home.
ReplyDeleteTake care!
Mersad
Mersad Donko Photography
Karen now it is YOUR time...a half hour is nothing! What was once 10-13 hrs for us is now 1 1/2hrs so we still have our time and for you, Hope will help you find your way...:)JP
ReplyDeleteI think we all get a little reflective this time of year. It sure is nice to have family close by, now it's just us two in this area. Kudos to you on the plumbing job, I know lots about old faucets and misaligned stems! That's a big job. Hope looks like a lovely kitty, she's lucky to be with you.
ReplyDeleteIt was good to see your post here although for some reason I've missed the last couple Sometimes I don't think the updates show up in my e-mail properly. Anyway I enjoyed your post and was happy that you got the sink replaced. I give you 2 Thumbs up for even attempting it. I am so not inclined to do anything like that on my own. If hubby isn't around to fix it I'd call a professional. Sorry to hear your family moved away but really an hour isn't too far away.
ReplyDeleteHope is so pretty and I really am glad you took her in until she can find a forever family. I was thrilled to hear that Claire was adopted. That was one of the posts I missed somehow.
It is hard to see family moving away.. My sister is planning on moving to North Carolina next year.. I may have to follow her.. Your tomatoes look wonderful.. And the new kitty Hope is beautiful. Have a happy new week!
ReplyDeleteI hope that you and Hope have a wonderful time together and that she is as happy in her new home as Claire is in hers! xx
ReplyDeleteOh I DO remember Claire and what a good mama you were : )
ReplyDeleteHope is one lucky girl :)
Hope is lovely and so lucky to have you. So happy to hear Clair is happy in her new home. I'm very impressed with your new found plumbing skills. My mother used to wrap green tomatoes in newspaper and put them in a cool dark place to ripen ... but there are no newspapers anymore! She also made the most wonderful dill "pickle" green tomatoes. YUM. I often think life would be easier if I drastically downsized ... but I like where I live -- it's very convenient and near things I like to do. I'll let everyone else move! Hugs--
ReplyDeleteGreat job on the faucet installation! Your garden still has some beauty to behold. Hope is a gorgeous girl. Thanks for fostering. It means a lot to the animals. :)
ReplyDeleteSo glad to see a post from you! The blogging mojo seems to wax and wane for many of us. Kudos on the faucet installation. I have one that I'd like to replace - guess I could just try it! Hope is beautiful. You've a kind soul.
ReplyDeleteBlogging is all about finding our balance, isn't it? I find taking my time to visit MM participants and blogging friends more relaxing than trying to keep up daily. Hope is a sweetheart.
ReplyDeleteThank you for linking to Mosaic Monday Karen.
Well done you on changing you tap! I would never be brave enough to attempt any kind of plumbing. Hope is beautiful. I'm sure she'll find a home very soon.
ReplyDeleteSo lovely to see your tomatoes again and yellow leaves.
ReplyDeleteKaren, do not feel sad about your brother’s moving. Life is beautiful. My sister lives far away from me. We rarely have chances to see each other, but I believe sister is sister until our life ends. You have some friends in your area. Friends are precious for your life, I believe. Unfortunately I do not have appropriate words to express my idea though.
Hope is adorable! You named her such a wonderful name!
Have a good new week!
Welcome back dearest Karen. How nice to hear from you. Take life as it comes and follow your instinct.This is my theory, I know things aren't as simple as we describe them. Love your kitty.
ReplyDeleteHugs
Olympia
Hello Karen, I'm thinking there isn't many fence posts between our posts and our lives, slumpy would describe where I'm at. However I like your spunk and attitude and if it keeps me getting on with the day as you say I'll be back to view and push forward. As for the taps, yup jobs can be harder started than finished, looks like you got it done. As for blogging, it has it's challenges as well. I don't want to say don't feel bad about your brother being so far away, but distance can make or brake sometimes and I can only know how you feel about that as my brother is 15 hours away in Ottawa and my oldest daughter is 26 hours away in North Carolina. I sit on the same fence and think about probably way too much, then I come to escape with my blog friends and find I can't write because I spent too much time thinking and all my thoughts are about everything but blogging. I have found a blog family to replace my life size ones when I cant be with them, sometimes it's whatever works the best at the time, change isn't easy. These days it takes me so long to accomplish the smallest things if paid by the hour i'd have a mansion, two lake front properties, a larger RV, someone to organize my thoughts and by the way, love your new foster, hope is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful images of great variety. Very lovely flowers.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on getting the faucet changed out! Love that liquid wrench!
ReplyDeleteSome days are just ho-hum, and very melancholy, aren't they? I don't know why, but I seem to have more days like that, the older I get :)
Guess it's not that un-common.
Love the pictures, and such a nice and heart-felt post too.
May this be a great week for you.
{{hugs}}
Kerin
How sweet to foster these lovely animals...fall is lovely where you are...wish we still had tomatoes.
ReplyDeleteHello Karen Lovely to see this post and your beautiful photos! How kind you are to foster Hope, I am sure she will love her time with you. I hope you enjoy these autumn days and I am sure everything will work out the way it is meant to in time. Happy weekend :)
ReplyDeleteHelen xox
Your garden is beautiful ! Great photos !
ReplyDelete