The End of May | 2025

And just like that… May is nearly over! I didn’t want to go without capturing a snapshot of this last week, so I’m here on a Friday evening trying to type this up despite everything happening around me. So please forgive however this turns out! This week has been up and down but seems to be ending up on a relatively high note, so I have no real complaints.

A strange illness hit me this week! I woke up with a sore throat on Monday and felt rotten by that evening. I had to lay down most of the day on Tuesday but managed to stay upright on Wednesday by following the regimen listed above. I always write down the times I take medication, or when I give it to the kids, because I can’t rely on my memory when I’m not feeling well. I wouldn’t have made it through Wednesday without all of that medicinal help! But I went to work (masked) on Thursday and did just fine. And other than a little congestion today, I’m feeling really good. I think it was just a terrible cold and am hoping it’s the last illness of the summer.

Unfortunately, I had a blood donation scheduled for Wednesday and had to reschedule it for early June. Please cross your fingers for a healthy couple of weeks so that I can get my third donation of 2025 completed in time to allow for a perfect year with the Red Cross!

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The best part of today is that we went to the local nursery and picked up a hefty supply of plants. This is my annual garden with ageratum, celosia, and snapdragons. I also have zinnia and sunflower seeds planted on the borders. Near this little garden are two very small plots with 4 tomato plants (as opposed to the 40 we planted last year), 6 cucumber plants (as opposed to a much larger number from last year), and 4 heads of romaine lettuce. The beds are small and close to the house, which makes it easier for me to manage on my own. And because of their size, I will be able to get mulch next week and get these babies tucked in tight.

At the front of the house, I have planted 48 impatiens in my flower boxes. I am very excited about those and am proud to have gotten everything planted today. And we’re supposed to be getting rain tonight and tomorrow, so the timing is very good.

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To make all of the planting and future tending possible, we got an outside lead for Dawsey. He’s not wild about it because he can’t come all the way to the garden area with me, but he’s in the shade and has plenty of sticks to play with. Maybe one day he’ll be able to be unleashed and trustworthy in the garden, but not at his ripe old age of 15 weeks.

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Friends, I am really hoping for some quiet reading time this weekend. It’s dramatic, but I feel bereft lately — my reading time has been severely lacking despite the literal piles of books I have sitting here in the kitchen, just waiting to be read. And I keep delaying all of my Libby holds because I just can’t get through books very quickly right now. We won’t even mention knitting time! Part of it is Dawsey and part of it is my brain; I haven’t been the same since Matthew’s car accident in February. It’s been hard to get back on track. I know I can’t rush it and that will things will gradually fall back into place. And still — I am ready to return to normal! Whatever normal is, I suppose.

And because I’m having a hard time including the things that fill my bucket, I am especially hopeful that you will be able to do that this weekend. I hope it’s full of exactly what you need to feel like yourself. Take good care.