It’s Friday.
I can’t begin to tell you how relieved that I am that it is Friday. This has been an exhausting week. Mostly because I’ve spent most of it in that “bordering on sick” phase.
You know, the phase where you’re coughing, congested, and have general feelings of malaise, but since you aren’t bedridden, nobody actually thinks that you are sick.
Yeah…that’s been me.
Given this fact and that it’s a busy time of year, participating in this Gratitude Challenge has kept me in a mostly good mental space.
I mentioned in last week’s Friday Faves that the flurries of snow had begun, but weren’t expected to stick. As the evening wore on, the snowfall picked up.
The snow continued and began to stick to the ground.
First Snow.
We awoke to a blanket of snow. Not enough for sledding or snow angels, but enough to cover most of the dull brown. Miss Sunshine wanted to take Maverick for a walk on the Roanoke River Greenway. The hubby, Miss Sunshine, Maverick, and I loaded up in the Jeep and headed over there for a stroll. Maverick loved it and I got a chance to capture some of the beauty of the first snow. I shared some of those photos in Wednesday’s post.
Maverick the Goldendoodle.
By the next day, most of the snow had melted. It was pretty while it lasted. I spent most of Sunday curled up on the couch. Even though I could feel the sickness coming, I went to Pilates on Monday. It was a really good workout… and good that I went. Today was my first time back in the gym this week.
Hair.
Tuesday I had a hair appointment. I love when I come out of the salon with some fresh color and a nice blow dry. Then, I try to avoid washing my hair as long as possible because I can NEVER get it to blow out as nice as my stylist can. I claim it’s because she can hold the hair dryer and brush at a different angle than I can for my own head, but I suspect the real reason is that I’m lazy. However, I do have a lot of hair and it takes a LONG time to fully dry.
Winter.
That night, the temperature starting dropping and flurries again. It was in the 20’s F and the wind chill made it feel about 10 or so degrees colder. We were concerned because Mr. D had to close at his job that night. Since he is a recent solo driver, we needed to monitor the roads to be sure they weren’t icing. Otherwise, we would have needed to make alternative plans for him to get home. The roads nearby ended up being fine.
However, Roanoke is a valley. On either end of the county are mountains, Bent Mountain and Catawba Mountain. The weather conditions on them are often much different than in the valley. Apparently, they were because around 8 p.m. we got the message that the school would be closed the next day. Normally we end up being jarred awake by a 5:30 a.m. call that school is cancelled, so I appreciated the early notice.
Since Wednesday was another freezing day and I was still feeling like junk, it was a lazy day. Miss Sunshine had her end of season soccer dinner that night and shortly before it ended I received a text from the hubby.
Fire.
The neighbors’ fire had burnt our fence. This is only a small segment of the damage. When he had walked outside there were four fire trucks at their house. This was between properties so there wasn’t damage to homes. Thank Goodness! You can see that it did singe the ground into our yard. I’m thankful it wasn’t much worse. The trees lining our fence are evergreens planted long before we came. Had those caught on fire, I suspect the outcome would have been much different.
Even though the firemen were confident that the fire was fully out, I admit that my sleep that night was restless. Thoughts of “it only takes one ember to set an entire forest on fire” tried to replay in my brain. I was thankful that the side of the property that the fire happened on was the one that my bedroom faces. It helped give me peace that all of the children’s rooms are much farther away. Still, when I would awake in the night, I would glance over toward the blinds to be sure I didn’t see an orange blaze. And yes, I have real issues with anxiety. Given the circumstances, I could actually see and feel the benefits of my meditation practice and the gratitude challenge. I was able to be calm and be thankful in those moments.
Interestingly, the next day’s gratitude prompt was “challenges”. I was like “I’ve got this one covered!”
Instagram.
Every year, there is website where you can find out your best nine Instagram photos for the year. I’m a curious type, so I always check it out. These were my top nine. You all are getting the first view. I’ll be sharing it on Instagram this evening. I’m not surprised that it’s all sunsets. I also think that the results are completely skewed. The changes to Instagram’s algorithms made me virtually invisible on the platform. I think these photos had close to 400 likes, a few had over that. That was already beginning to be lower than the year before. However, after the change, my number dropped to around 150. And not to discredit the sunsets because I loved them when I took them… and still do…but I’ve learned a lot since I took them…like how to make sure the horizon is level (in the beginning, that was hit or miss).
Some days I want to give up on Instagram altogether, but then I remember that I love photography so I keep putting my stuff out there and keep getting inspiration from all the other things on there that I see.
Holiday Prep.
I’m slowly getting ready for the holiday, so that is what I’m off to do for the remainder of the day and into the weekend.
I mentioned that Maverick loved the snow. His favorite part was to eat the snow. I didn’t think I had a video of it, but as I was scrolling through my phone today, I found that Miss Sunshine had indeed captured it on my phone. I put together a silly little YouTube video of him for all of you to see.
Music.
Once again, YouTube has recommended an awesome video for the week. This is Vasilis Vasiliou. He is playing the Carol of the Bells on a handpan. It was beautiful to listen to him play. Once fact that he shared in his description which was new information to me was that this was not originally a Christmas Song. The composition is based on a Ukranian folk chant, “Shchedryk”.
According to the information I found at ThoughtCo., the music was composed in 1916. The English lyrics were written to accompany the melody in 1936. While the lyrics are copyrighted, the composition is not.
I hope you enjoy this beautiful instrumental version.
As you go into the weekend and next week, I wish you beautiful days filled with many kindnesses and smiling faces.
Let your light shine!
Amy
Happy Weekend to you and I hope you stay “not sick”! I would love to know what that website is to check out instagram posting!! 🙂
Thank you. It’s 2017bestnine.com. I’ve updated the post to include the link. 🙂
Thank you!
I am glad it’s Friday too. I was sick a few weeks ago and had tons to do. I pray that you are well and can enjoy every bit of this season.
Thank you. I am much better. It’s never being fun when you have tons to do. Luckily, I was able to spend time resting whenever I needed to. My daughter and I begin our annual cookie baking next week, so I’m glad that I shouldn’t be sick for that! 🙂
You write the most uplifting and optimistic blog posts of anybody I follow. I’m trying the Instagram “best nine” thing right now.
That is a very nice thing for you to say. I’m glad you enjoy my blog posts. I assume that you’ll share how your “best nine” turned out?
I always love gorgeous sunsets, and your collage of sunsets brightened my day. As does the adorable footage of Maverick the Goldendoodle enjoying snow for the first time. 😀
I’m glad that you enjoyed the sunsets! Maverick was a hoot. I’m looking forward to seeing how he handles a deep snow. 🙂
Gosh! I hope you keep well!
Maverick is so very adorable!!!!
Your best 9 instagram posts are lovely …. don’t give up quite yet!
The Handpan version of the Carol of the Bells (one of my favourite songs of the season) is wonderful – thank you for sharing it.
Thank you! I am feeling much better and hope that it stays that way.
Maverick keeps us very amused! 🙂
I’m glad that you liked the Instagram 9. It reminded me that I don’t get out to capture that sunset near enough these days and that I should remedy that.
It is a lovely song and he played it so beautifully. Glad you enjoyed it!!
I hope you are now starting to feel much better. Getting sick before the holidays is brutal because of the conflict between wanting to rest and do nothing vs the long list of to-dos running around in the head.
Although the fire that damaged your fence was scary, it’s a great photo. I guess that stark black is so striking when all we see at this time of year is shades of grey and brown.
Hope you have a great weekend! I’m about to ramp up pie-making mode 🙂
Thanks Joanne. I am feeling much better. I’ve ticked off most of my to-do’s…except cleaning, but that’s never really done.
The black did stand out. The outside of the fencing was just a wall of black.
Miss Sunshine and I begin cookie baking tomorrow, which is always a treat! I hope the pie-making is going well!
Your comment about the cleaning never being finished made me feel so much better. I’m endlessly frustrated by the never-ending job!
AWWWW! I love the lil film! Fantastic! Maverick is just tote dorbs!
I’m sorry you’ve been in the sick limbo. Ick. I’d rather spend a day in bed and get it over with than live in the limbo for weeks :/ Too bad we’re never given this choice!
Great photos, as ever.
Thanks Joey! Maverick does keep our hearts full. Makes up for all those tumbleweeds of hair that I find everywhere. lol.
I’m feeling MUCH better and hope that I stay that way.
I’m glad you like the photos. 🙂
I hope you feel better, Amy! Great Friday faves post! Hope you had a good weekend! Marcus
Thanks so much Marcus. I am feeling better. We accomplished many things over the weekend and it’s nice that they aren’t looming out there waiting to be dealt with! I hope you had a good weekend as well!
-Amy
Oh I feel for you. It’s so hard when you feel unwell and have a busy week. I hope that you have great health over the holidays. Love the vid. Maverick is gorgeous! x
Thank you! I am feeling so much better and just in time. Maverick is so silly and brings us lots of joy (along with many puppy antic headaches). 😉