Not as bad as expected....

Hello friends and family.... and those who are just reading.  The great bridge replacement on Route 41 has begun.  For those who do not know, in my area there are two main truck routes going north to the turnpike and Harrisburg or south to Route 1 and I-95.  The majority of that traffic has usually gone along Route 41, as there is a truck stop along the way before hitting Route 30 and points north.

I live on Route 10.  I have been here since 1983ish.  I ended up here following the divorce from my first husband so I could keep my kids in their school district.  It was a cute little house, with the emphasis on small.  It was a two bedroom bungalow.  My second husband built a third bedroom in the basement so the boys had a bit bigger space and were not sleeping so close to our bedroom.  These days it would not be a legal bedroom as the basement window is not big enough to crawl out of in case of a fire, but there is a exterior exit in another part of the basement... but I am off topic.

Penn DOT has, as of Tuesday, closed Route 41 and detouring ALL of the traffic going north, up Route 10, through Parkesburg to Route 30.  This takes them right by my house.  It has been in the planning stages since spring although for all of the chatter on Facebook by locals you would think Penn DOT decided to do this on Sunday and suddenly closed the road.  But they altered several lights along the detour adding left turn signals to speed traffic along and added a traffic light at an intersection that has needed one for years.  Many of us are thrilled that it has finally been installed.

I fully expected to have a significant increase in the amount of traffic that would make it very hard for me to get out of my driveway.  I also expected to have a rash of accidents at the intersection with the new light, but neither has happened.  Traffic has increased.  I notice a larger number of trucks speeding by, but I ventured out yesterday and had no trouble getting out, moving around the area using alternative roads and getting back home.  And, to date, not even a fender bender at the new light.

My sleep patterns are changing, finally.  I have been having some trouble getting a good night's sleep since getting back from Fancy Gap this spring.  I sometimes find it very difficult to fall asleep.  But if I do fall asleep, I find myself waking up throughout the night or not really being in a deep sleep and being aware of tossing and turning.

The last couple of weeks I have been dealing with Miles being in the house.  He is a younger dog than Winston and in the first couple of weeks, whenever he would get up in the middle of the night, I would get up, take him out, just so we had no accidents in the bed (he is sleeping with me).  He now gets up and down all by himself and seems to be able to make it all night without having to go outside.

My Fitbit, that I have been using since late winter, indicates that I am getting no less than 6 hours a night, but I have trouble being overly active on those days.  I do better with closer to 8 hours.

Yesterday I got a new pair of pajamas from Target.  One of the quilt designers that I follow, had posted them on her blog and they are adorable.  They are long sleeved, long legged and in "pouty pink" with all kinds of sewing things on them, needles, thread, scissors, sewing machines, rulers, embroidery floss... all kinds of cute sewing items all over. the link is: http://www.target.com/p/nick-nora-women-s-pj-coat-set/-/A-17328918  and be sure to select the Pouty Pink, as the other colors are different, non-sewing designs.  I got the 2X and they fit me fine except the sleeve and pant length are designed for an Amazon.  But they are stretchy and soft and I wore them last night and slept for almost 10 hours!!!

Today I received another sleep aid from Amazon.    They have daily deals and I always look at them but rarely buy.  But I have been looking for an essential oil diffuser that I could use in the bedroom.  But they are really expensive and many of them only run for a couple of hours.  I wanted something that could go all night and send the scent of lavender into the room all night long.  The Pure Spa Deluxe was usually around $90, but was on sale for one day for $30, so I pulled the trigger.  It arrived today.  I set it up around 2:00 PM and I just checked it and it is still putting a gentle mist into the air.  What I like, is that is does not make a sound!  It has some subtle lighting, but it can be run with no lights, too.  I will let you know how it works out for me!

On the Winston/Miles front, things are moving along, but there are some bumps in the road.  It is quite obvious that Miles sees himself as the alpha dog here.  Winston, who has always been laid back and not much of a lovey dog, had a bit of an anxiety attack on Sunday.  After getting back from church, I had planned to do some sewing, but Winston began to frantically pace, trying to find a tiny, dark space to crawl into.  He has done this a couple of times before Miles arrived, but I am sure that Winston had enough of the new kid and just wanted to find a place to hide.  He tried my bedroom, where he has always been able to hide, but that did not seem to suit him.  He just paced circles and figure 8's on the main floor.  He finally headed to the basement and I watched him on the cameras go from room to room.  He finally settled down in the dark sewing room and slept for over an hour.  After that, he has been good.  I am trying now to give him separate time for playing and cuddling when Miles is outside on his own.  Miles will not let me pet Winston alone if he is in the house.  We will have to work on this behavior.

Tomorrow I will be making an unexpected trip to Delaware.  I had an email from my niece, Nancy.  She apologized for short notice, but in the beginning of the year they had arranged to buy a football jersey for Steven to wear in a special game, honoring or remembering cancer victims.  They had purchased one that said Rudewick in memory of my late husband.  It turns out that Steven and Nancy and Jeff will be part of the pre-game ceremonies by marching on the field.  They have invited me to join them.  I was quite touched by their thoughtfulness, so I am going to go down and join them in remembering Rudy.  I will get some pictures!!