Thankful Thursday, Ren Faire Edition

 I doubled up on Ren Faire last weekend which was really fun and also exhausting!

I'm thankful for:

1. My villager pass to Ren Faire. It's meant I can go multiple times this fall and it's been easy to get tickets.

2. Lunch with Bec on Friday since they were in town for faire!

3. Ren faire. I love the music and the generally joy of faire. Saturday I wandered with my friends all day and Sunday I went by myself and just listened to music all day (and one Shakespeare performance). The weather was lovely- 60s and dry! I'm also really enjoying putting costumes together. Saturday was a peasant/Heidi look, and Sunday was my witchy look again (Temperance gave me another sinner clothespin because I threatened her with my wand.)

4. Skirt hikes and safety pins. I bought a dress online and the zipper broke the first time I wore it at faire. Luckily a vendor had safety pins they gave me for free to prevent a wardrobe malfunction, and then I bought skirt hikes later to cover the gap. 

5. Productivity! I've been hard at work on a bunch of paperwork I need to do for financial and medical stuff for mom, plus a bunch of girl scout paperwork and online trainings. It's so nice to check things off my to-do list!

6. An amazing book- 'An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography' by Paul Rusesabagina. He's the man the movie 'Hotel Rwanda' was based off of. Hard to read at times, but an amazing story of what one person can do, and how dangerous hateful rhetoric can be. 5/5 stars.

Thankful Thursday, October edition

 Somehow in the middle of October it was 85 degrees yesterday and now it's 62. Welcome to Maryland?

This week I'm thankful for:

1. Refurbished bells! Our church bell choir has been ringing the same bells for 30+ years and they were in desperate need of refurbishing- new handles, polish, tightening screwed, fixing worn parts. We finally got them back after my friends Carol and David drove 8 hours round trip last Friday to pick them up. They sound so nice, and they are so shiny!

2. I had a lovely rainy day of raining in my pjs on Sunday. It's fun to run around and be with friends, and its also lovely to nest with snacks and good books.

3. I've found the children's series Dear America this year, and have been picking up several at the library. I'm not sure how I missed this series as a kid, but I'm enjoying some easy reading but good stories. This week's reads were the (fictional) diaries of a 12 year old girl during the revolutionary war and a 12 year old girl that was the first to integrate a white school in Virginia in 1954. I love historical fiction and its really different to read it through the eyes of a teen/preteen.

4. I found a local fabric store yesterday and got some cheap fabric for my ren faire costume. 

5. I did some organizing on Monday and have a functional guest room again!

6. I had tea with a friend Tulie on Monday and she gave me a lovely painting she did of Luna. 

7. All of my reports are in for work for a while! It's nice to have a break from chasing people to send in their parts of multiple reports.

8. I was able to help my cousins move boxes into a pod being shipped to their house across the country. And everything fit, WOO!

Thankful Saturday, Music Edition

 It's been a fun week with a lot of music!

I'm grateful for:

1. I temporarily joined the church choir of the church 2 churches down from my home church, because they are singing Mozart's Coronation Mass in November. I miss singing big choral works like the Blacksburg Master Chorale does, and I've really enjoyed the first 2 rehearsals.

2. I found my high school chorus teacher! She goes to this close by church and sings in the choir. I literally haven't seen her in 25 years and hope to get coffee with her sometime soon.

3. My church had a fun bonfire last night at Butler's Orchard. We went on a hayride and made s'mores and had at least 50 people there. Fred brought his guitar and a bunch of us sang campfire songs for an hour or so. Singing around a campfire has to be one of my favorite things of all time.

4. I went to a picnic today with a blogger I love, Kristen from The Frugal Girl. One of her followers organizes this annual gathering and it's the second time I've been. It's kind of like meeting a celebrity, except that Kristen is so down to earth it's more like a gathering of a group of online friends. Super fun.

5. Mom had a good day yesterday- I went to see her for dinner and she had already eaten (huzzah). She was in a good mood and chatty, and somehow stuck on the idea that someone is moving to North Carolina. I finally managed to distract her by talking about the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1955 World Series, and she could name 7/9 of the starting line up!

6. Ella and Charles came over for a game night tonight and we played trivia and ate pizza for several hours.

Thankful Monday, Cooler Weather Edition

 It was a bit of a cray week at work, but it's lovely October weather!

I'm thankful for:

1. One set of work reports are submitted. One down, one to go!

2. Breakfast with a good friend in from out of town this morning

3. Cooler temperatures

4. I was able to give away dog food and dog treats to a neighbor this afternoon

5. Fun (and loud) girl scout meeting yesterday

6. My Halloween decorations are up

7. That I did not actually have a heart attack when I found a raccoon in my trashcan last night (although it was close)

8. I got to visit my Uncle Charlie on Friday

Happy Fall, how was summer?

 I meant to check in on my summer bucket list on the fall solstice, but how about on the first day of October?

My Summer 2026 Bucket List:

1. Go kayaking 2-3 times- I did this! Kate and I went to Fletchers Cove on my birthday, and then I kayaked twice in PA at the lake with Elisa.

2. Virginia Renaissance Faire- I did this! 

3. Go swimming- I swam at the lake!

4. See a movie- I did not see one in the theaters, but I watched several at the lake with friends. 

5. Eat down my freezer- I did throw a bunch of old stuff away, but I have not eaten it down. 1/2 a point.

6. Take a writing class- I did this, and it was really fun and interesting!

7. Read 5 books- Check!

8. Read in my hammock- Many times check!

9. Eat a giant ice cream sandwich- I did this with my cousins in June :)

10. Go to an outdoor concert- I'm counting the ones at the VA ren faire, check!

11. Go white water rafting- Nope

12. Wander a museum I haven't been to before- yes, I did this with Babs in September (it was before the solstice, it counts haha)

13. Hike 2-3 times- At least 5 I think, check!

14. Host a game night with friends- Wound up doing several as friends came to visit Luna.

15. Grill burgers- Somehow I did not! 

16. Do an escape room- Nope

17. Catch a firefly- Yup!

18. Eat a popsicle- Several!

19. Back up my photos on my computer- Nope

20. See fireworks- Are we counting my neighbor's shenanigans in August? 1/2 a point.

15/20?

Bonus points?

1. Went to the lake with friends!

2. Visited family on Edisto

3. Visited friends in Minneapolis 

4. Visited the Minnesota State Fair

5. Visited the Minnesota Ren Faire

All things considered, it was a great summer of fun activities, minus the heartbreak of saying goodbye to Luna. The few things on my list that I didn't get to do, are more than made up for by my August/September travels.

Onto fall adventures!

Thankful Tuesday, Nor'Easter Edition

 This has been a fun week, and I spent a lot of it outside, even with a nor'easter that came through over the weekend. I'm thankful for:

1. I got to hike before the storm on Friday. I went to Patuxent State Park, which is a lovely little park to hike 4 miles and change near a creek. It's very buggy in the summer, so its nicer in the fall/winter.

2. I went to Ren Faire again, this time for Celtic weekend! The rain held off until about 2:30, and then it was very swampy. 

3. There's something wonderful about dancing in the rain. I had a full change of clothes packed for ren faire, so I didn't mind getting soaked.

4. I had fun looking for some ren faire garb on the spur of the moment last week. I wound up getting some things at Target of all places!

5. My church had an amazing rally for Christian Men and Christian Women's Fellowship (CWF/CMF), with 600+ people in our parking lot for worship and a singing competition. It was a little rainy and gusty, but everyone stayed mostly dry and was fed, and the day was wonderful.

6. I got to spend some time with my cousin Kate yesterday as she was helping her dad in northern Virginia.

Thankful Tuesday, Fall Edition!

 Today is the fall equinox and I am so ready for cooler weather. Fall is one of my favorite seasons and there's lots to be thankful for!

1. A fun ministry fair at my church on the 13th. It's great to see all of the cool things my church is doing, and my friends pitched in BIG time to make the trifold for our Racial Justice Ministry when I was out of town (with no phone!).

2. My mom has a great care team. She had a rough week last week, but I was able to talk with her nurses, doctor, and health aides to make a plan.

3. I just finished a really good book, Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver. I'm in that afterglow of a good book when it kind of fills your mind for a bit once you've finished the whole story.

4. I got to go to the Maryland Ren Faire on Saturday! I went as a purple pirate for pirate weekend, and enjoyed lots of sea shanties and pirate music. The end of the day was also super fun.

5. I saw so many friends at Ren Faire! I counted 8 people from church, 3 from college, 1 from Peace Corps, and 3 that I've actually met through faire itself. It's so fun to see people in costume and enjoying the good music and vibes.

6. The temperature turned yesterday and its coooool. It's not quite cold enough for sweaters, but I'm so excited for hiking and sweater weather.

Thankful Saturday, 3 weeks edition!

 My summer had kind of a crazy end to it, and so I haven't posted regularly. I hope I can get back in the habit next week with less travel and more weekly activity stuff. So much to be thankful for!

1. I ninjaed down to Edisto on August 27th for an extended family member's funeral. It was wonderful to see so much extended family that I haven't seen in probably 10 years. 

2. I'm thankful for Okie, my dad's cousin's wife who passed away. She was 89, kind of like an aunt to me, and a very sweet lady. She had an amazingly full life and she would have loved all of her family getting together to celebrate her life like we did.

3. Family laughter. There were 7 of us staying at Betty's and even though the occasion was sad, we still had a lot of time to hang out and get to know each other better and laugh.

4. A dog fix. There were 4 dogs at Betty's including the 1 year old lab puppy Indigo. He is hilariously excited, clumsy, still in shark phase, and the best dog ever. At one point 10-year old Maddy tried to hold him when we opened the front door and he half dragged her outside. I had to physically pick up his rear end and pull him back inside. We were both laughing so hard and I really wish someone had that on video.

5. A quick visit to see Meghan in Charleston

6. Friends and coworkers willing to step in and take over some things so I could go to SC. Babs came over and coordinated a furniture pickup, my girl scout co-leader started the year without me, and coworkers worked around my travel schedule to get some things done.

7. I went to Minneapolis for a week! My friends Sandy and Stephen have been inviting me to come visit so I finally did. We went to the Minnesota State Fair, hiked around a lake near their house, went to the Minnesota Renaissance Faire, and visited some local parks. We also caught up on life and played some board games.

8. I got to hang out with my friend Deb that just moved to Minneapolis. She's now my MN mom, and it was wonderful catching up with her. We went to the arboretum, 2 indie bookstores, and a near cupcake place.

9. A new phone... So I lost my phone, got a new one, and then someone turned in my old one at the arb where I dropped it. I desperately needed a new phone and I'm very happy I have a new one, and I'm also very glad someone turned my old one in (which I picked up a few days later) so I can transfer things and not worry about identity theft.

10. Minnesota State Fair!

11. Minnesota Ren Faire! This is the 4th Ren Faire I've been to, at least of the big ones.

12. I got to see the Mississippi river!

13. I got to have dinner with my cousins who were in town yesterday.

14. I went to a cool local festival with Babs today, Boonsboro historical days. Lots of food trucks, tons of handmade crafts, and we toured a local museum. We picked up a bunch of info on Boonsboro historical sites and now have lots of things to explore in the future. We also stopped by another indie bookstore that I've been wanting to check out in the downtown area.

15. Life gets back to normal a little next week. I have loved gallivanting the second half of my summer, even though I'm still so sad that the reason I can travel is because I no longer have Luna.  That said, I've had lots of adventures the last 6 weeks and am looking forward to a little more routine for a bit. Girl Scouts, bells, church, maybe some regular board game nights. 

16. It's almost fall! Fall is one of my favorite seasons- it's crisp, its cooler, its festival season, and its great for being outside. 

Thankful Saturday, Half of August Edition

 Whoops! I guess it's a good summer when I forget to post 2 weeks in a row? I'll try to cover the last 3 weeks, because there's a lot to be thankful for.

1. Downtime. From a combination of things, not all of them good (job is part time, no Luna), I have found myself with a lot more free time that I have had in a while this summer. And that time to just think my thoughts, do some hobbies, spend time with friends, has been wonderful and needed.

2. On the other hand, I've enjoyed planning for the fall as well. I had a meeting with Barb to plan scouts, and a potluck with my church's racial justice ministry to plan our fall priorities and activities. 

3. My local library system. Between my brick and mortar library and Hoopla, I've been reading a lot this month for free.

4. A new (to me) Ren Faire. Ella, Charles, Jacob and I went to Oakenmist Ren Faire in Westminster and it was a lot of fun! It was great that the whole thing was indoors (except the food trucks) since it was hot outside. 

5. I'm still walking in my neighborhood. It was hard right after I lost Luna, but I enjoy walking in the evening, and I've met so many people walking Luna that I want to continue to say hi to them.

6. Watching the US gymnastics championships on TV.

7. Our local country fair. I entered some photos in the MoCo fair, and then went with Alexandra this week to look at crafts, animals, and eat fair food. 

8. Mom had a good day last week. We got ice cream and hung out at my house, and we both enjoyed it and she wasn't very confused. All the wins!

9. The ability to keep up with long distance family and friends via text and the occasional phonecall.

10. Online games with friends.

11. Great neighbors on my street.

12. Thunderstorms.

Thankful Saturday, Lake Edition

 I spent a wonderful week at Lake Mokoma in LaPorte, PA with friends this past week. I'm thankful for:

1. This week being exactly what I needed. I needed friends, nature, and to get out of my too quiet house for a few days. 

2. The temperature was PERFECT. It was 60s at night and 70s in the daytime, perfect for lots of walks around the lake and hiking. One of the hikes felt like we were in Lord of the Rings- everything was green and moss covered like the Shire.

3. Kayaking on the lake twice. Easy launch area and beautiful paddles.

4. I got to swim in the lake too! We had a rainy week, so we were fitting our hikes and paddles in between showers and storms, but I was able to swim a little bit the last day when it was warm enough.

5. Fun friends. We laughed all week at the refrigerator in the cabin that made a soft 'whoop' noise every time you opened it. We had good conversations, we watched corny movies, and just had a good time.

6. I got to hear Mary Beth preach at the local Presbyterian church.

Thankful Saturday, Birthday Edition!

 This week was my birthday and it's been a great week :)

I'm thankful for:

1. Kayaking with Kate on my actual birthday

2. Dinner with Kate, Garth and Karen

3. Lunch with Babs

4. Lots of texts and messages from family and friends on my bday

5. Spending July 4th with mom

6. A three day weekend

7. Game night with friends last night

8. A thunderstorm to cool things off today because its been crazy hot

9. I snuck a hike in Tuesday night at Lake Needwood before the heat dome came

10. Watching world cup games online and in sports bars

11. Watching Kelsey set the world record rowing from California to Hawaii!

Thankful Sunday, Summer Edition

 Still working on posting thankful Thursdays on Thursdays, but here we go.

This week I'm thankful for:

1. Some gorgeous weather. I have spent several hours reading in my hammock this weekend- its been warm with low humidity. 

2. Fireflies

3. Another cousins hangout, this time with Kate and enormous ice cream sandwiches at Baked Bear. 

4. I'm taking a writing class this summer on research for historical narratives, and so far its really interesting!

5. I got to hear one of my favorite podcasters do a live show in person.

6. Lunch with mom

7. Dinner and 3+ hours of conversation with Babs

8. A vet that's great with Luna

Thankful Friday, Summer Edition!

 It's been a fun week. 

I'm thankful for: 

1. Summer!

2. Hanging out with friends at Sonja's birthday celebration on Saturday. 

3. My Girl Scouts award and bridging ceremony on Sunday. No photos because they aren't my kiddos, but we now have 3 Cadettes and 6 Juniors! 

4. A successful bell concert Sunday night, complete with moving looooots of furniture.

5. I got to help facilitate some interesting discussions at my church on race and mortgage lending through our racial justice group.

6. More things checked off my to-do list, woohoo!

7. Scouts, bells, and to some extent the racial justice group are winding down for the summer, so I get a nice break for a few months.

8. I squeezed in a hike at the Patuxent Wildlife Refuge this morning before it got really hot.

Thankful Thursday, Wet Week Edition

 We got some much needed rain this past week- 2-3 inches worth! It was a bummer that it was over Memorial Day weekend, but I'm glad we aren't going into the summer quite as crispy.

This week I'm thankful for:

1. I got my CPAP machine working again. New mask + correct settings = Yay good sleep!

2.  I took a lovely 5-mile hike at Great Falls after work today in gorgeous weather. Saw a Pileated Woodpecker, lots of turtles, blue herons and a beaver!

3. A fun game night with my cousins on Monday. Ella found Diagnose This, which is sort of like Cards Against Humanity. 

4. Got more things knocked off the to-do list, which is satisfying.

5. Honestly just chilling a lot over the long rainy weekend.

6. The national Memorial Day concert that I can watch on PBS.

Thankful Saturday, good week edition

 I guess we know it's a good week when I don't remember to post until Saturday, rather than Thursday? 

This week I'm thankful for, in no particular order:

1. My friend Kate told me about Fanta 0, and it's great. Yay soda snack with no calories!

2. I went on a lovely hike yesterday in Patapsco State Park near Daniel's dam. It's always nice to hike a new trail, and this one was pretty easy to find, although not well marked.

3. I'm thankful for the AllTrails app on my phone. It made my hike stress-free instead of stress-ful.

4. I'm thankful for my house. She isn't fancy, but she's mine, and it's so nice to have my own space to flop.

5. I'm thankful I can pay my neighbor to mow my lawn. He's got a great business and I can spend my time doing other things!

6. I'm thankful for the TV show Top Chef. I don't watch a lot of TV, but this is one of my favs, and its fun to watch over chat with Meghan so we can livechat our thoughts.

Thankful Saturday, Calmer week edition

 This week has definitely been better than last week, although that was a bit of a low bar lol.

Lots to be thankful for!

1. I got to camp with my Girl Scouts after all! I was scheduled to camp with them Friday and Saturday nights, but mom in the ER meant that another parent went in my place for the weekend. As it turned out though, I was able to go Saturday night and had a lot of fun! The funniest part was our troop moving our tents into the Glen Shelters because it was going to rain.

2. Luna is walking almost normally now. We're still sorting out her digestive system (maybe too many meds?) but she seems in less pain and is excited to walk again.

3. I just read the book 'The War That Saved My Life' by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley and it was so good. Historical Fiction set in England in WWII, YA. 5 star read.

4. I had a day of rest and small adventures. I slept in, made muffins for breakfast, checked out a new bookstore in Kentlands, went birding for an hour at the lake, and bumped into 2 friends there. I also went looking for owls in a different spot and discovered a new to me trail that I want to fully hike at a later date.

5. A Pileated Woodpecker basically posed for me while I was birding and I got some beautiful shots of a beautiful bird.

6. Two of my cousins have moved to Arizona! Their new place looks so nice and I can't wait to visit them.

7. Mom is doing better. Saw her Saturday morning and Wednesday for lunch and she seems like herself and can walk relatively normally (with her walker). 

Thankful... Monday? More March Edition

 I'm surfacing after a having a cold that wanted to be a sinus infection. 0/5 stars.

There's still a lot I'm thankful for, including:

1. My immune system. Being sick sucks, but I'm glad I eventually bounce back.

2. Masking is socially acceptable. I was able to take Luna to a vet appointment on Friday while masked, so I (hopefully) didn't pass my crud onto other people.

3. More good books. I finished 'The Last Runaway' by Tracy Chevalier while recovering and started

4. A new season of Top Chef!

5. Livestreams of music. One of my favorite bands from Ren Faire, Piper Jones Band, was playing at a club in Houston on Saturday night, and there was a livestream to watch for free

6. A clean bill of health for my teeth, at least for another 6 months.

7. Bell festival was so much fun. We had a great conductor, good music, and it was at the beach, so who can complain? It was fun to go to a new beach too, I'd never been to Rehoboth before. 

8. Wondering a new wildlife refuge before bell festival, Prime Hook. A windy day for birds, but a lovely walk, and I did see a bunch of forest birds.

9. My friend Kris that let me stay at her house for festival so I didn't have to pay for a hotel room.

10. March weather? We've had 2 85 degree days and then the next day it snowed. I'm here for the warmup and will stay for the crazy back and forth (which we might have again tonight.)

Thankful Friday, Edisto Edition!

 This has been an amazing week visiting family and friends in South Carolina. This week I'm thankful for:

1. The ability to do this roadtrip and see family.

2. Getting to see my aunt Carroll and Uncle David in Columbia.

3. Getting to hang out with my friend Mary Beth in Columbia. We rode the Columbia sky tram at the zoo and generally talked for hours.

4. Spending a week with my dad's cousin Betty on Edisto. Talking, knitting and needlepointing, and going on adventures in Charleston.

5. Hiking with Meghan on Sunday on a very windy day. We did 7 miles and change, saw some cool birds and lots of alligators!

6. A good friend Alexandra to leave Luna with while I was gone. 

7. Lots of doggos on this trip! Marybeth's dog Ky, Carroll and David's dog Dyna, and Betty's dogs Shrimp, Grits and Indigo.

8. That Indigo is okay. He's an 8-month old black lab puppy and he ate rat poison on Monday. Luckily we caught it quickly and a trip to the vet sorted him out and he's fine (and has probably learned nothing lol).

9. I got to do a few family history things on this trip, like hear stories from relatives, search a bit on ancestry, find a relative in a cemetery, and see the house my great aunt lived in in Charleston.

10. I got to hang out with Debbie at Cypress Trees and just chat while we did yardwork and made cookies.

11. I got to eat South Carolina shrimp twice this week already.

It's been a very good week :oD