We’re having some money worries at the moment with our washer/dryer and Don’s car. So I did something I should do more often, especially when faced with worry. I quickly wrote a gratitude list this morning.

1. Mere and her family are safe. We kept in contact all day Wednesday and into the evening when Hurricane Milton hit. Lots of very high winds and tons of rain. But miraculously, they didn’t lose power. Lots of tree branches down but the trees remained standing. Very, very grateful. Wednesday was a tense day.
2. We watched the Mets win the NLDS in the midst of all the hurricane worry. What a great game!
3. There is a new leaf emerging on my Monstera, even though I thought that process had ended for this year. Grateful for that surprise.
4. It was 34 degrees this morning and the heat came on. Last year, it kept coming on and shutting off immediately and we had to get it repaired. Sigh of relief.
5. I’m getting the urge to work on the Beacon Hill. In keeping with that urge, I cleaned Don’s mini studio yesterday, It was very, very dusty and I had to repair a few things. Grateful that I might feel enthused enough to get back to my miniature work.
6. I have plenty of books to read.
7. I love and am loved.

Just a quick dose of gratitude and it helps so much. We’re doing our best to wait for guidance.

I am frustrated because morning glory flower buds have finally  emerged on my vine and I think the cold will knock them out. Fingers crossed that they hang in there. We haven’t had a hard freeze, so maybe they’ll open.

Don has a gig tonight. We missed the Northern Lights again. Had no idea! So, again fingers crossed, I’ll try to see them tonight.

As I slogged through the day of the hurricane, watching Mere’s local news on YouTube, I redressed a couple of the dolls. I find that soothing.

Here’s Holly, looking quite beautiful:

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Another beautiful morning!

That being said, my concerns at the moment are with Milton, the hurricane headed toward the west coast of Florida. More specifically, towards the Tampa Bay area, which is where my sister lives. I foolishly hoped I was overreacting, but Mere, who is a seasoned hurricane veteran, told me I wasn’t overreacting and that this is a serious threat. That area was impacted by Hurricane Helene. And now this – coming directly from the west. It’s supposed to hit land on Wednesday. Schools have been closed. I’m not sure if evacuations have been ordered yet. Mere lives a bit inland. She probably won’t get an evacuation order. She said that hotels are already full because of Helene.

I’m going to check in with her later today and also watch The Weather Channel. Though, every time I’ve tried to check in on Hurricane Helene or Milton, they’ve not been live. Instead, they air ‘specials’ that have nothing to do with what is happening now. Seriously, all weekend long and after 8 pm every evening. Hello? Weather doesn’t take the weekend off.

I don’t have anything much to share other than my worries about the hurricane. Life is sweet here at the cottage, but neither of us is working and there’s not a lot going on. Once again, I am wondering how much longer I will continue blogging. It’s been on my mind lately. But no decision has been made yet.

Something sweet:

The littles playing in the leaves.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

It’s a very foggy fall morning! Just gorgeous. Don took a little walk in our woods and he said it was very atmospheric.

We watched the Mets last night and that had to be the most stunning turnaround in a 9th inning I’ve ever seen. We were screaming. Wow. Wow Wow. Big congratulations!

I’ve been feeling under the weather the past few days – sinuses – but today seems better. Hurrah! We’ll take a walk this morning and I’ll return some library books at the same time. Then, I’ll be catching up on some chores around the house; vacuuming, dusting, watering the houseplants, etc.

I saw another monarch yesterday – from the upstairs window in our bedroom. Soon it will be time for them to fly south. I officially vowed to always have zinnias around because they are the only viable flowers at this point in the year and the monarchs need that sustenance. I watched him flit from zinnia to zinnia. Of course, I’ll always have milkweed as well, even though they spring up in my big garden bed and crowd out the other flowers. This year, I thinned them a bit and that worked well. Believe me, we have plenty of milkweed even with the thinning.

I finished my puzzle yesterday. The World of The Great Gatsby.

It was a joy to work on, but those partiers were very, very tiny. This is definitely my favorite line of puzzles. The company only creates two new puzzles a year, so they’re a precious commodity.

I just looked out the window here in the den and my gosh, the fall colors are beautiful. Lots of gold maple leaves along with the beginnings of red oak leaves. I need to be present and take this in because it will all be gone in a few weeks.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday,