It’s been a different kind of busy week this week. My sister and her family, as well as our parents are on vacation this week. They asked Sean to dogsit. Since they’ve moved closer to where we live, he opted to just go over in the morning, then for a few hours each evening and then come back home to sleep. They are social dogs and need human interaction.

Michael went over with him last weekend. While they were gone, I decided that I could go over in the mornings, after my breakfast, and deal with them and stay for a few hours. I’m not really an animal person but . . . they are good dogs.

They definitely know the sounds of a camera.

Thankfully Tiffany has gone with me. She IS an animal person. I get my Bible reading done while we are there.

First we let Kipper out of her enclosed area and let her and Belle outside. Then we put them up so that we can let my parents’ dog, Hutch out. Although Belle and Hutch are liter mates, they need to be separated.

We give Hutch some people time. Let him out and give him treats.

Kip and Belle get some lovin’ too, even while being penned up.

I’m not sure which one this is . . . Hutch or Belle.

After a bit, we put Hutch back in his area and let Belle and Kipper back out for their people time.

She usually ends up at my feet under the table.

Before we leave, we try to run them around a bit, since we know Macie usually runs around with them.

I usually throw Belle’s toy for a bit. She plays fetch. I’m not used to large dogs, so this week has been an experience for me. They are all lovable though.

I’ve also been trying to keep my sister’s mums alive.

The good thing about mums is that once they are planted, they will come back. Mine have multiplied. They bloom in the spring and generally die off during the heat of the summer but bloom again when the temperature drops out of the 90’s.

Those are my mums on the back right. I started with two pots of brown mums a few years ago and it has multiplied that much. I hope to get a better picture soon, minus the weeds.

It’s been a bit cooler! Hallelujah! It feels like fall. I am glad. These make me happy.

I know it is a bit blurry but the point is, I have orange lights up in my kitchen and it gives me holiday feels (as my daughter would say).

I especially like my dishwasher magnet! I’m so happy to have several different holiday themed ones. I took the hummingbird one down and put up this one. It’s new . . . I think I got it for my birthday.

This just makes me happy! I have a cornucopia for November and Snowmen for December. My real sunflowers outside are way beyond looking this good. The heads are all dried up now and ready for harvesting. I’ll save some of the seeds for planting next year and some for eating, either for us or for the birds.

Conference starts at our church Sunday and I’ve got some preparations to make. I’m working in the kitchen and am happy to make some low carb egg muffins/omelets. It will be nice to have something instead of the heavy complex carbs in the bagels and muffins. I may make some keto bagels one day.

They are really good about attempting to provide some healthy breakfast items with apples, oranges, bananas, and yogurt. The problem is that the yogurt has sugar and the fruit has carbs that some cannot eat. Thankfully they have allowed me to buy some stevia sweetened yogurt too. They really do try to meet the needs of the people.

Well, I’ve got a lot to do, so I’ll run for now.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

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I enjoyed having Liam here. Of course, I’m no spring chicken any more, so I rested up at the beginning of the week but I do miss his sweetness.

Love him soooo much!

I told about his temper the other day. Here’s a picture where he was just overwhelmed.

Yep, that is Shiloh’s bed. He was so upset he laid there crying. He soon stopped and was back to his sweet self shortly thereafter. Shiloh was even interested in his display; of course, it is her bed, so she has a vested interest in him getting out of it.

As you can see, Shiloh was a bit jealous of Liam and craved more attention than usual. I think she was glad when he left.

Liam enjoyed toddling back and forth down the hallway. It made it difficult for Aunt Tiffany to get work done.

She didn’t mind though.

I love that look on his face, which is why I included this blurry picture.

I’m really going to miss him, as they are moving two hours away this weekend. Of course, Brian promises they’ll come visit once a month. At least it isn’t in another state.

In other news, we’re gearing up for conference at church. Tiffany and I went over one day this week; she cleaned the kitchen while I had a meeting about kitchen processes and needs.

We’ll have a shopping day next week to buy conference items, although we’ll probably just add it to our regular grocery day as it isn’t really that much extra that I need to get.

I have had to make household preparations also. Since we will be at the conference all week, we’ll need to figure out the menu for several weeks. That is always challenging. I try to get as much as possible before the conference so that all I have to do is get perishables at the end of the conference.

Thankfully the weather is turning cooler and we will get to start having soup again, enjoyably. So we have soup on the menu, at least once or twice but will do so even more in the upcoming weeks.

Conference meetings are usually over before dinner time, so I’ve got simple meals planned. Some are so very simple, I would have never thought of them had it not been for Trim Healthy Mama and their Stubborn Losers Menu.

I’ve also got to do my nails. I haven’t done them in a long time and they are in definite need of attention. Then there is the laundry and figuring out what I’ll be wearing throughout the week.

Well, I’ve got lots to do, so I’m going to go. I hope you have a great week. I’m going to rest up as much as possible and pre-make some snacks and such, to stave off bad eating during conference week. I’ve finally got the scales moving in the right direction again and hope not to mess that up.

Until next time, God bless,

 Michele ºÜº