Today I’m thankful for the reminder to look for my gift.

Today was the craft fair that I submitted a vendor application to and wasn’t picked. It’s held at the fairgrounds every year where there are over 150 vendors. I was going to boycott it on principle. Then I realized that in hindsight, I’ve spent the last (how many?) months too tired/sore/crabby to accomplish the amount of crafts I would have needed for a booth. It would have been hard. So we went since 95% of it was outside. And I’m thankful we did because I found a few treasures. Like the 4” x5” frames I needed for some antique glass photo negatives. And legit vintage tinsel. And this sweet cabinet. I love wooden cabinets.

How cute is this?! It’s been a long time, but my friend Heather stopped by and brought these sweet Fall items for me. First of all, I’m thankful I got to see her and catch up for a bit. I’m also touched that she thought of me! She knows I like this coming season. That crow makes me smile.

I’m also thankful for the lavender gift my mother-in-law sent me. I’ve been stressed lately (my twitching eyelid tells me so) and the lavender will help, especially when it gets cooler and the warm neck wrap will feel good. Plus see the skeleton candle?! Halloween is coming…

I haven’t gone to the doctor to confirm, but I’m pretty sure the swollen fingers and issues I’ve been having with my left hand is De Quervain’s tendinosis. I know I shouldn’t be self-diagnosing, but I’m tired of doctor visits. And the pain in my hand has gotten worse, so we spent the afternoon looking for a hand brace. We found one at Target which helped, even though it doesn’t fit great. Yay! I’m thankful to know it’s probably just tendinosis and can get better. Now I just need to get a better fitting brace.

I’m thankful today for a quick and fairly painless filling at the dentist. And that it was done gratis since my original filling broke. I’m also thankful for Halloween decorations, which I was planning today. And finally, I’m thankful that I wasn’t too sore again. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow.

It was such a lovely day again. The sunshine. The moderate temperature. I finished up what I could of what I’m planning to add to my Halloween graveyard: skeleton flamingos. Aren’t they fun?! They’re going to look great.

Sadly, I was a bit optimistic yesterday about not taking my anti-inflammatory meds. Or maybe I simply did too much because I was SORE today. Like muscle burning, too much tightness pain. I took some medicine in the middle of the day and at least the burning sort of went away. I’m thankful for that.

It was another beautiful day for us, sunny and yet cool. I hate to push summer out, but it’s really starting to feel like fall. So much so that I spent most of the afternoon taking down summer decor and adding fall touches. I had to sneak in a touch of Halloween to our fireplace. That tombstone I got yesterday was too cute to put away.

I went the day without my prescription anti-inflammatory. I hate taking medicine longer than necessary and this one required that I not take any antacids within 2 hours. Since chemo, I’ve had trouble with my stomach and lately it’s gotten troublesome again, so I opted for antacids today instead. The upside is that while I’ve been sore today, I haven’t felt as swollen. That’s a good sign, I think. I’m on the mend and probably don’t need my prescription anymore. I’m thankful for that.

I’m also thankful for a quick visit with my friend, Ann. Sadly, I didn’t get the yummy cookies I made yesterday into an air tight container and they got too soft from the humidity. They were perfectly crisp last night, but this morning they were soft and crumbly. Ann gets a lot of wildlife at her place, so I thought the squirrels might like a cookie or two. It was a good opportunity to sit on the deck and have a glass of wine (alcohol free for me).

Another rainy(ish) cool day. Patrick has been wanting to upgrade some of his beer-making equipment, so we decided to venture to another town where he could look at the items firsthand. While he didn’t see everything he was hoping for, he did find a couple of things, including a seasonal beer kit for a new brew. Yay! Fall beer!

We found a couple of other stores to check out and I found my own fall items. I loved this cute squirrel and couldn’t resist the wooden tombstone. They will look great on our mantle.

When we got back home, I made sugar cookies sprinkled with orange sugar. Chance may have firsthand knowledge of how yummy they are…And I may have eaten a few as my dinner.

I’m thankful for a day spent exploring outside of the house. I’m also thankful to a friend who alerted me to the fact that I had been posting as August again the last couple of days. As if I need to go back in time…!

It feels like Fall. It was cool and rainy all day. I fully intended to get something done like putting out Fall decor, but all I accomplished was one load of laundry. Instead I chatted with one of my sisters for a bit, then chatted with a friend for a while, hung out in my craft room thinking up future projects, and read a bit. While I usually try to get a lot done, I’m actually thankful for the downtime.