Scrappy Hearts

30 Days of Gratitude - Day 6, 2018

Tuesdays are for Yoga!! So grateful to be a little active these days. Mark and I reserve Tuesday nights for Yoga Stretch at Echelon Fitness. Our instructor is super mindful about limitations people may have and is constantly sharing ways to modify or increase impact for each and every participant. Until I am comfortable enough to get into the pool, this is a good way for me to stretch and strengthen my muscles without having a negative impact on my joints. It has been too long since I have been able to do anything physical, I am grateful for stretch yoga at a time that is convenient for us.

30 Days of Gratitude: November 14th

Mark spent today building a new shelf for our bedroom. I moved the Longaberger bakers rack, that was near my side of the bed, to the shop and that left an empty spot and a lot of stuff on the floor. Mark stopped at Target to pick up a new shelf for me and then put it together so that I could get myself a little organized this afternoon. It's no wonder I love the man!

On Any Given Sunday

Home, that’s where you will find me on any given Sunday. But this Sunday, a couple of weeks ago, Mark and I ventured into Fishtown to visit with Jess. Actually we traveled over to Northern Liberties for brunch at Heritage, one of the places where Jess is currently working. We had a wonderful time catching up with Jess before her adventure to New Orleans for Mardi Gras! After our visit, Mark and I were anxious to have a little outdoor adventure so Jess recommended Wissahicken Park. 

“Come to the woods, for here is rest. There is no repose like that of the green deep woods. Sleep in forgetfulness of all ill.”
― John Muir

We drove out of the “city” anxious to escape and find ourselves exploring fresh greenery and the deep rich scent of a woody path. What fun we had. The day was gorgeous and the trail, inviting. 

Sundays are currently my only day off. I use my Sundays to take care of laundry, changing sheets and catching up on school work. But to have a Sunday which is truly a day off, like this Sunday of Presidents’ Weekend, is such a blessing. I am so glad that we didn’t waste it. I am so grateful for the opportunity to take a walk in the woods!

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Connecting

Connect is the word that I have chosen to guide me through the current year. On this perfectly wonderful spring like day just a week ago, Mark and I ventured outside to forge a connection with nature. It was a short walk, just out to Three Pond and back, but it was just what we needed. Since we have opened the shop we have become very sedentary out of pure exhaustion. Forcing ourselves outside is necessary for our sanity. By taking the time to walk, like we did when we first met, we are connecting with each other and nature. Around the pond on this beautiful day we were greeted by gaggles of geese and a raft of ducks. It’s interesting that a group of ducks in flight is a flock but in any other configuration, they're referred to as a raft.

We took photos, lots. We talked, lots. And we had fun. As the year progresses I am hoping to be mindful of the different connections I am able to forge on many different levels. 

Getting it Together

Sometimes I feel like my life is just circling in around me. When I begin to feel overwhelmed by body just shuts down and I spend a great deal of time being unproductive. After being sick for a fair amount of our winter break Mark and I decided we needed to get a better handle on some things. One of those things being food shopping and the preparing of food. I generally do not mind cooking. Just don’t ask me to prepare dinner on a night after I have taught all day and then run over to the shop to work the closing shift, getting home around 7. That was not happening. 

Now we are back to cooking several meals on a Sunday while we are both home. It just becomes a part of our scheduled routine and that works so much better for us. Now Sundays are for laundry, changing the sheets, cooking and making our to-do lists for the shop. Unfortunately, in order to cook, we need to have food in the house. Seriously, I cannot take the time out of my week to shop and Mark is too much of an impulse buyer to do the weekly foodshopping.

Thank goodness for online grocery shopping. I place the order on Sunday, after we spend our brunch time making a list and planning meals. It is working out so well! Mark picks up the order on Monday afternoons at a set time and the food is put away by the time I get home from work. Seriously convenient. 

Another way we are streamlining our lives is by ordering our cleaning supplies online from Grove Collaborative. I love that we are able to order earth friendly products and have them shipped straight to our home. We are still struggling with time management and  organization both of which have always been a thorn in my side, but we are making progress. What helps is trying to keep school work at school and well, store work everywhere, but I seriously love that part of our current crazy!

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30 Days of Gratitude - Day 21

Tonight I am grateful for the opportunity to get a haircut with my hubby and then home for an early evening. Leftovers for dinner and into jammies early. It truly feels like a dream come true! I will catch up with my posts for my earlier days but tonight - it’s time for bed!

Summer, 2016

 This summer was way too short as far as I’m concerned. As I sit here preparing to head into school tomorrow, I can’t help but think that summer just flew by too fast. Both Mark and I knew that this summer would challenge us in ways we couldn’t imagine; we weren’t wrong. 

There were a few things that I wanted to be sure we did so that we felt that we had time to relax. One of those was camping. Last summer, for whatever reason, we never had the opportunity to camp. This summer we drove up to Niagara Falls and camped on Lake Ontario.

Our view was gorgeous and the weather was wonderful. I think I will always remember falling asleep to the sound of the water lapping the shore, what a surprise to me. I did not expect that when I made arrangements for our campsite.

Something else that was high on my summer list was just having fun. I think we did a pretty good job of that. Mark and I definitely took a relaxed attitude when it came to the yard and outside work. We went ahead with having our very first bbq even though our yard and our home were not in the best of shape. On our two little trips this summer we allowed ourselves to indulge in really “touristy” experiences. 

Our trip to Lancaster County included a meal at Miller’s Smorgasbord and our trip to Niagara Falls included The Maid of the Mist and Cave of the Winds Tour. We stomped around on the hurricane deck like we were kids.

Finally I wanted us to have some experiences that we had talked about but hadn’t yet scheduled the time to do. One of those experiences was having crab on the Chesapeake Bay. This past Monday, Mark and I drove into Philly to pick up Jess and then we drove down through Delaware to the Kent Narrows area in Maryland. We stopped at Harris’ right on the bay.

Summer ends officially this week for me. I will miss summer and the relaxed schedule we have created for ourselves. I will miss the additional time we had at the shop and the opportunity to meet so many of our customers. I would be lying if I said that I was looking forward to heading back to school...it is what it is.

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Sundays are for...sleeping late,taking in the sunshine...Sunday chores...watching the birds...reading in your pajamas...watching the clouds float by...bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches...basically just hanging out! 

Off On An Adventure

Wednesday morning Mark and I headed off for an adventure. I love to travel with my hubby because we travel so well together. We had no set agenda and no time frame. I just had two expectations. First, that we would have a late lunch at Millers’ Smorgasbord because Mark had never been there. Second, I wanted to stop by the classroom of The Old Country Store, just so that I knew where I needed to go for my class on Thursday morning. 

We were able to accomplish that and so much more! I love traveling out to Lancaster County and I usually visit at least once a year with Bunkey. This is the first time that I have taken this trip with my hubby. Mark last visited Lancaster over 10 years ago and as far as I’m concerned, that is just too long between visits! On Wednesday we managed not only to enjoy a hearty meal at Millers’, we were also able to spend a good deal of time perusing the quilts at The Quilt Shop at Miller’s. Mark has always wanted a Mariner’s Compass quilt and spent a great deal of time looking at all of the magnificent quilts on display. Me, well I found a wonderful poster to frame for the shop and I also managed to remember to pick up the shop’s license plate and pin! I love participating in the Row x Row!Another visit took us to one of my favorite shops, The Log Cabin Quilt Shop. There I was also able to pick up the shops’ license plate and pin. I had such fun showing Mark around to all of the places that Bunkey and I find the most fun. Once we decided we had explored enough, we checked into our hotel. This visit we stayed at The Inn and Spa at Intercourse. We were one block away from The Old Country Store where I would be taking my class on Thursday, as well as one block away from The Kitchen Kettle Village.Right in the middle of where we wanted to be! Close enough for me to walk to my Thread Painting class on Thursday and for Mark to meet me for a quick lunch between class sessions. After we got ourselves unpacked we ventured out for a long walk. We watched a local men’s baseball game, wandered around the town of Intercourse and marveled at the number of fireflies surrounding us as we sat and took in the night sky. A glorious day which led to a really good night’s sleep!

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An Evening Stroll

Mark and I first met back in 2009 while he was in New Jersey taking care of his mom. During the six weeks between when we met and the day he moved, we walked. In fact, after our first date, the time we spent together was either walking throughout our neighborhood or working on my garden. A couple of days ago we renewed our evening ritual and took a walk over to the library. 

We generally take the long way around and approach the library from the back. That route allows us to walk along a creek and a couple of ponds. It is cooler because of the shade and very diverse in terms of vegetation. 

When we began running, we stopped walking. I’m not really sure why, but taking an evening constitutional (as my grams used to call it) is really a good idea. Mark and I have been talking about what we need to do to keep ourselves healthy and walking is something that we keep mentioning. I am happy that we finally decided to take that first step!

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