Staying Busy

Life is like a hurricane, and we're spinning in it. Sometimes we're calm in the eye, sometimes we're thrashed by high winds and nearly sick with the speed of it, and sometimes we're lolling around on the fringes of the tempest, thankful for a rest. These are days of being swirled around.

Henny Penny has five baby chicks so far! We're waiting to see how many more will hatch, if any. Some eggs are "duds," unfertilized.

That one there is not ill; he is a "Naked Neck" variety.

I made shampoo bars. I was down to my last bar at the market stall.

I'm weaving a scarf. Cool-weather items at the market will be needed soon.

Autumn is a busy, sometimes frantic, time of year. Because it's September I'm teaching a Bible study again, leading a handchime choir, and singing and accompanying in a local chorale. That last bit, "accompanying," sounds so little, but it takes a huge amount of practice time at home.

 The handchime choir (at church) is preparing just one song for our Christmas program in December, so that's not too hard. I want variety in that program so I decided to play a simple piece on the recorder also. Problem is ... I don't know how to play the recorder. How hard can it be, right?

 Adam bought this wooden recorder many years ago. I'm learning the tune to "Good King Wenceslaus."

I've knitted fingerless gloves until I'm sick of them. Here is the last pair.

 

 But this morning, rather than doing anything creative, I wore my body out! Before grandbaby Isaac comes to visit at Christmas, I wanted to paint the floor in the guest room. 

 It was under shag carpet when we bought the house, and has remained in this ugly state for 4 years. I covered it up with rugs.

 First I cleared off half of the front porch. (The other half is Adam's study area in the cool months.) I started early when it was relatively cool. All the items from the guest room will be shifted to the front porch during this project. I cannot stand to just empty a room into another room, thus making a small house like this nearly unlivable until the project is finished. I can't move this chair alone; it's too big for the door. It's a great chair. My mother gave it to us.

 See how empty the room is getting? Adam left for New Bern early this morning to finish his training to work for the U.S. Census this time around. So I'm doing all this with my own girl muscles!! The front porch thus far:

The porch is well-enclosed in plastic sheeting (which withstood Hurricane Dorian), so I think everything will be fine.

I've taken two Tylenol and will spend the rest of the day doing easier things like painting or weaving. Actually ... I'm feeling like a trip to the thrift store, which makes no sense since that guest room was chock full of lots of stuff I've been tucking under the bed out of sight. So Much Stuff. I am noticing items that really should go to the children now that they have homes of their own ....

Time to go check on Henny Penny again. So far she's being a pretty good mama.