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So Christmas is over, New Year's is upon us. Everything was good. We celebrated Christmas with 2 of the kids who were with us from the Eve until Friday. Saturday we left for son and fiancé's down in the 'burbs of Minneapolis.
It was going to be the highlight of the season because our granddaughter was home on leave. We had a great time! And soooo happy to see her! I took dinner down with us to alleviate the stress somewhat for them. Two of our son's friends stopped by to visit and eat; granddaughter's BFF was visiting her and stayed overnight.
Around 11:00 pm, we got around to opening gifts. Everyone enjoyed their presents. Lots of "oohhs" and "ahhhhs"; lots of handmade gifts.
Saturday was a gorgeous day....lots of sunshine and temp in the low 4o's. Happy weather! But by late evening, there was a shift in the wind. And we got a lot of wind! Temps started plunging, and by the time we were heading off to bed, it was downright frigid!
Sunday proved the weatherman correct....below 0 temp with a double below 0 windchill. And it never let up.
But not to worry (or try not to) because we had our new furnace at home. The water pipes should be just fine.
It was a "hairy" ride home, those 3 hours and some. Arctic temps, winds, a bit of snow blowing into white outs on the highway. So we finally arrive, grab some things to take into the house, turn on the water right away......no......water. Oh my God!! BH proceeds to take the closet apart....because that's how we get to the water heater. I'm opening the bottom cupboard doors in the kitchen, moving the infrared heater next to it. BH gets out the hair dryer....because that's how we thaw out the frozen elbow at the water heater.
After a few minutes, he says "wait....there's no cold water? The pipes aren't frozen inside the house....it's outside where the main line comes into the kitchen".
Soooo.......on with the boots, gloves, hat, Carhart jacket...and off he goes. Only....the trap door is frozen shut, there's 2 feet of snow in front of it that needs to be shoveled away. And the 2 huge rocks in front of the traps door that need to be moved, are frozen in the ground. He now goes to the shed to get a hammer.
He'll need the hair dryer outside, so....the extension cord to the deck lights gets disconnected to be used on the other side of the house. Only....most of the cord is on a reel.....which is frozen....so that needs to be brought in the house to warm and thaw.
After shoveling the snow away and much hammering on the rocks, he manages to gain access to the water line.
An hour later, a few breaks to warm up in the house and a bit of trouble getting the hair dryer to work....success! We have water!
What the hell did we bother with a new furnace for?? Well, actually, all the pipes in the house were warm and as it turns out, the freeze-up was outside. It seems that even with warmth inside, if you have no basement, just crawl space under your home and if water isn't being used for 2 days in arctic, sub-zero temps..the outside line will freeze.
Remember.....you heard it here first.
As I sit here, mentally tapping my fingers on a table top, I'm thinking what can I do now?
It's 2 days before Christmas. All is done. Well....almost. Today I will bring out all the gifts from the spare bedroom and place them under the tree, then clean the bedroom. Easy enough. Box up all the ones that are going to son's next week. Easy peasy. And a couple loads of wash. No sweat.
Chicken soup is on the menu for today. Gotta get that started later this morning. It will also be on the menu for Christmas Eve dinner along with roast beef sandwiches, shrimp cocktail, potato salad, assorted veggies, pickles and olives. For many years, after all of kids were grown and gone, my mom would fix roast beef sandwiches and shrimp cocktail for her and my dad. Sometimes my sister would stop in and join them before they headed out for Midnight Mass.
Do any churches still have Midnight Mass? I don't know. But that is a memory of Christmas that is still with me. I, long ago, switched from Roman Catholic to Lutheran. Lutherans do not have Midnight Mass. That's a shame.
I make special cookies every year to give to the kids as part of their Christmas presents. I have each one's nicely packed in aluminum cake pans with lids. Their names on the lids...because some of them have certain favorites, so more of those cookies are added. However.....I've been craving the cut-out cookies each morning. So.....I've been raiding one kid's pan. I think it's down to 2 of those cookies left. I hope I remember to replace them before we take them to him.
Oh, there's more cookies stored away for our home. But they're out in the van....which we use for kind of a "walk-in freezer" during the winter. Good thing we live in northern Minnesota! We also have 2 picnic coolers on the deck..."mini freezers", if you will.....loaded with breads. For more gifts. We have 2 regular size freezers in the house, one upright, one chest. These, too, are loaded with not just our monthly food supply, but more breads, cookies, fudge and candies.
We got and email from almost daughter-in-law with pictures of granddaughter. She came in last night! She posted a message on FB that she flew First Class thanks to a wonderful woman at the airport. Granddaughter had to travel in her Army fatigues. Thank you to that woman...you made granddaughter's trip even more special!
So....I want to make something to take to son/fiancé's next week for dinner. Then they won't have to spend the whole day preparing a meal. I think the chicken soup will go; there may be enough roast beef and turkey breast (Deli) and cheeses left; I could probably whip up a Pasta Salad; there's assorted tub cheeses, pepperoni and crackers; I'm going to make a new recipe....."Turtle Cake".....chocolate, caramel and nuts...yum! A new recipe called "Crab Rangoon"....a hot cheesy dip for crackers. And I found a recipe for Honey Nut twist pastries that seems very easy. It uses the store-bought crescent rolls. I think I'll try those, too, for a breakfast while we're visiting.
Let's see.....that'll be HUGE boxes and boxes packed with gifts; our duffel bag; boxes and coolers packed with food....we have a mid-size care......geezzz...we might have to empty out the "walk-in freezer" so we can drive it to the Cities!!
Merry Christmas, everyone. May the holidays bring you health, happiness, peace and the promise of better times.
It's been very busy here. Finally, everything is done.....except for a little cooking and maybe a couple of things to bake.
But the gifts are all wrapped; the tree is up and decorated; the lights and decorations are all about; cards and Christmas letters have been sent.
Our beautiful granddaughter will be coming home on leave for 12 days. I can't wait to see her!!! Have a bunch of special gifts for her.
So, we're planning on going down to son's house Saturday after Christmas and spending a few days with him, fiancé, and granddaughter.
Since son's fiancé has been in the final throws of studying for exams for her RN degree, they haven't gotten it all together for Christmas. She graduates today!!! So this will give them a few days to get prepared. Granddaughter flies in Saturday night before Christmas and she will be staying with them until she goes back to the Army base Jan. 2.
This has been a bad year for me, emotionally. I don't know why, but my sister told me a few months ago that she's been going through the same thing. She suggested that it could be because our parents' house was finally sold (to our brother) after 2 years of jumping through hoops and a lot of frustration. It's a done deal. Is that the reason for this emptiness? A feeling of loss? Of heartache? Maybe so. All I know is, I miss my mother and father more this year than in the past 3 years. I think of them every minute of every day and even imagine what it would be like if my mom was living here with us at this moment. My dad passed away 6 months before her.
The memories of Christmases past have been flooding my heart and mind these few weeks. Memories from being a kid, to my kids being small, to just a few years ago when mom and pop were still with us.
When my dad passed away, I was returned his pocket watch that I bought him for Christmas over 30 years ago. He was a railroad engineer. The watch had an engine engraved on the back of it. I had a leather pouch made for it with his initials burned on the back of the pouch. He wore it to work every day. I was so proud of that watch.
Somewhere along the way, the watch stopped working. Because he was retiring, it was never repaired. Until this Christmas. I took it to the jeweler. The intention was to gift it to my oldest son, who loved my father so much and I know still misses him terribly to this day.
The watch was repaired. I wrote a note to my son to say I hope he will use the watch and remember Grandpa, who loved him more than he could know and more than he could even show. I also found a beautiful snapshot of my son and dad together, taken 13 years ago. I bought a beautiful frame for it and sent it along with the watch.
My sister asked me a few weeks ago if I thought my son would like the flag that was presented to my mother at Pop's funeral. Of course he would! She's giving that to him for Christmas. BH and I bought the triangular case for it, and he will receive that also.
For all his life, but more so over the last 10 years or so, my son has been my dad's right-hand man. Something needed to be repaired in the house.....call John. The van needed to be fixed.....call John. They needed a ride somewhere, or be picked up from somewhere....call John. Snowplow the driveway....John showed up at first daylight, no call needed. And he was always there. He even did things for them they never expected. Like, my father telling him that it was very cold in the bathroom; made him get chilled after a shower; never seemed to be warm. The next day, John went out and bought a wall heater and installed it in their bathroom. My father was soooo happy. And John would take no money for it.. it was his gift to them.
When my dad died, my mother relied on John for everything. She even had him go over the insurance policies, deposit the checks in her account, add them up and tell her how much she had in her bank account. He would go over there every morning before work, bringing her a gourmet coffee and doughnuts or sweet rolls.....my mother's favorite things!
When she became very ill the last month of her life and had to live with my sister, John went over every morning to stay with her while my sister was at work. He brought her meals, carried her to the bathroom, took her to the doctor.
I don't know what possessed me to go on like this. Except to say that I have a son who has been a gift from God for me and all the family. I feel I could never do enough to show him how much I love him and how much he is appreciated. When family members say to me..."that John! Where did he come from....he is a Godsend!", my heart just bursts with pride. He can do anything and he is meticulous about his handiwork. Never refuses anyone; he has a heart of gold. He is my angel. And being 1200 miles away from him is sometimes almost more than I can bear.
He has been our gift that just keeps on giving. Christmas is the time I can give a little back to him.
Wow....it's been a month since I've written. Things have been nuts, to say the least.
We left for South Carolina and granddaughter's graduation from Basic Training on Saturday, Oct. 5. Got there on the 8th. My sister and our eldest son from NY came in at night.
The Fort had "Family Day" on Wednesday with a banquet at night for all the families and the new soldiers. What a wonderful time we had!! What a heartfelt experience. Everything was so grand and beautiful; filled our hearts with so much pride.
Thursday was the graduation. All the soldiers in their "dress blues". She had her medals..."Sharpshooter for Rifle" and her ribbon for being a soldier in a time of conflict (read: "war"!) Fantastic!! It was over by about 10:30am, and she was free to leave the base and go with us. She had her orders to report to the next Army base in Virginia by midnight Friday. We were driving her there.
So we spent the day shopping, napping, talking....and talking and went out for dinner that night to a nice, swanky restaurant. Then she stayed with us in our hotel room for the night.
Friday morning, we hit the road early. My sister and son had to catch their plane at 5:30 to return home. So they drove in their rented car, we in ours. We stopped every so often and changed passengers so our granddaughter could visit with each of us on the way to Virginia.
When we crossed the state line, we pulled into a travel plaza and said our goodbyes, I-love-you's and I'll-miss-you's. We proceeded to the base; sister and son proceeded on to Richmond airport.
So, granddaughter is at her new post...studying airplane/helicopter mechanics. She'll be there for 5 months! She loves it! She told us there's talk of a 2 week leave for Christmas. I hope so!! I can see her being career Army, she's that kind of person.
We got home just this past Tuesday afternoon. Whew. BH and I were "road weary". We put 3550 miles on the car. Good to be home!
It's been very cold here; had to turn the furnace on. Yesterday we had 2" of snow...it hasn't melted. If the ground were frozen, it probably would've amounted to 4 or 5". It snowed all day, from morning to night.
Thank goodness we picked our apples Friday. Temps were predicated (and did) to be in the 20's overnight. So yesterday, I peeled, cored, sliced and froze 25# of apples!! Made a big kettle of Vegetable Beef Barly soup and baked 3 loaves of wheat bread.
However, the lawn ornaments, flower pots and perennials have not been taken care of yet. This week it's supposed to get back into the 40's for daytime. I'll have to hurry and get all that done......before the next snowfall. It's not even the end of October!
Saturday, BH and I took a small trip (makes you wonder how we could even face getting back in the car, right?).....90 minutes away to the Cambridge Wool and Fiber Fest. It's just a small deal, only 1 day. Last year was the first one. Kind of disappointed.....seems not all the vendors listed on the web site were there. I hope this doesn't go the way of the Mora Fiber Fest. That only lasted a few years. Besides the Lake Elmo Fest on Mother's Day weekend, there isn't really anything close to us. And I do love to go to a Fiber Fest!!
It was nice all in all. BH talked me into buying a "blending board". What a guy!! (It didn't really take too much talking). A vendor makes her own....very nice!! AND......I saved $25.00. Which I quickly spent on some roving at another vendor....$5.00 for a 4 oz. ball....bought 4. Saved.....$5.00. Priceless!!
Can't wait to use the blending board. Got big plans! I just started spinning again yesterday. Haven't touched a wheel in......7 months!! Yep. 7. months. I know. I can't believe it either. But it feels great to be back at it. Except....spinning will be put back on hold soon....when it's time to get ready for the holidays and getting gifts made. I can't think about that now....I'll think about it tomorrow....afterall....tomorrow is.....another day.
Today I take daughter to the surgeon's to schedule her gall bladder surgery. I hope it's this Thursday or Friday. She's been feeling very nauseas every day. But not much pain, so that's good.
So....onward and upward. It's all kittywhampus!
So this morning I'm up at 4:15am. BH....not. I turn on the coffee and the TV. Pour a cup. Go sit in the recliner. Take the vest out of the bag, start knitting. One sip of coffee; knitting. Second sip of coffee.....BAM. I missed the coaster, hit the edge of it, the coffee cup tips over....coffee all over the arm of the chair, the end table, the pattern, the paper with the finished row markings, the floor, the wall. Aaaarrggghhh!
Dash off to the kitchen, grabbing towels, wet cloth, run back in to blot and mop. Chair is wet. Very wet. Don't see much coffee-color coming up on the towels. This will have to be shampooed today.
We just purchased 2 matching recliners in July. One of the old ones was 25 years old (a La-Z-Boy...plug); the other was same make but we bought it at an auction 10 years ago or so. We needed new recliners. Went to the local furniture store. A make I've never heard of, but the salesman assured us it is quality furniture, made in Indiana. And since they only have one of any style in any color, we had to order the color we wanted for 2 chairs.
Anywho, they arrived after 3 weeks and we were very happy! Wow! Look how high we sit in these! Who knew you didn't need to be physically fit to pull yourself out of a recliner? Or that you really needed another person to help pull you up from the chair? Or that we really don't need one of those recliners that the seat rises up at an angle and it kind of dumps you out of it?
Yeah. So after some menial housework and food prep for supper, BH (yes, he's up and around now) brings the shampooer over from the storage house. And the job gets done. The real test will be after the fabric is dry....did it discolor?
So, I was thinking....what the hell.....might as well start shampooing some of the carpets while I'm at it. Hahahahaha!!! Yeah. No. It's 54 degrees today, not getting much warmer, and drizzling off and on. Not conducive to damp carpeting. Tuesday will be a much better day. Well then, why not get started changing the furniture around in the bedrooms, away from the furnace vents....because......we will have furnace heat this winter!? Again....Hahahahaha! No. Not today. The carpeting has to be shampooed before the furniture is moved around.
I had a pan of brownies in the oven. A 9x9. Actually, it might be an 8x8. Who measures these things? Well, 30 to 35 minutes it says on the box. I don't like dry, cake-like brownies. I always go for the least amount of time and then watch it very carefully. These took nearly an hour. I kid you not. Now I'm wondering......is the thermostat going on the oven??? It is 12 years old. Ei-yi-yi. Time will tell.
Doing a load of wash. I cannot leave the house while the washer is going. It has a quirk...during the spin cycle, it sometimes likes to "dance" across the floor. Doesn't matter how big the load is or isn't. So, I need to stand by it as soon as the water starts to empty out; wait for the "spin" cycle to start. If there's no banging or "dancing", it's good. But the same needs to be done for the "rinse" cycle. Oh....this machine does not discriminate cycles.
I know what you're thinking. "Well, it's not level." Au Contraire! The level has been put on it numerous times. In every direction. It's as level as an honest person. It just has a quirk. C'est le vie.
Perusing granddaughter's Army unit photos today. The person in charge must have downloaded 1,000 pictures since yesterday. Went through each and every one. Each. and. every. one. Found 8 more pictures of her - coming out of the gas chamber and during their physical training drills. This is one happy, happy grandma!!!
So tomorrow is daughter's appointment with the surgeon. I should have a pretty good idea if we're going to be able to make it to granddaughter's Basic Training graduation or not. Keeping my fingers crossed and saying prayers like mad. In the meantime, my sister is making her plans to be there in case we're absentia.
I think that's all. I know there's more. I just can't think of it right now. It'll happen after the "publish" button is pressed.
I gotta go find something to do before BH comes in the house. Something that looks like I'm really, really busy. What to do.....what to do..........
What ever can go wrong.....will go wrong. Murphy.
So Monday, I made the hotel reservations for South Carolina. Done. We're set.
Daughter had a doctor's appointment that afternoon. For a protrusion on the right side of her stomach. Very noticeable.....to me. Apparently, the doctor did not spot it on Friday when she was in for what was thought to be a UTI. Hmmmmm.
Well,.....Doc scheduled her for an ultrasound on Wednesday. I left a message for the Doc to call me with the results. She called yesterday. It's gallstones. She's going to notify the general surgeon; they will call me for the appointment.
Within 1/2 hour, the surgeon's office called. Bring her in Monday, 2:30.
I made 2 searches on the internet for gallbladder disease, gallstones and the needed surgery. This does not ring with a promising outcome.
Today I called my sister and told her what was going on. Then I asked her how she felt about going to South Carolina. For granddaughter's graduation from Army bootcamp. She was thrilled!! Yes!! Yes!! I'd LOVE to go!!! was her response. Thank God. I told her there may be an outside chance we'll still be able to go, but otherwise, she's welcome to the room we booked and I'm so happy that our granddaughter will not be alone on one of the monumental stepping stones in her life.
And if we do make it, my sister will be there too. This will be great!! She's booking her flight today!!
In other news....I've kind of hit the wall. Every evening I make plans for things to do the next day. The next day comes and...eh....maybe tomorrow. Nothing gets done this way. Some of it's not a "have to, have to"....but would be nice to get done now. Funny. This usually doesn't happen till winter. I think it's all the anticipation and anxiety of what's coming in the next few weeks. I hope so, because, seriously......things have to get done.
I have 3 items on needles right now. Besides the lace scarf and poncho, I remembered a couple of days ago....OMG!! there's a vest that's been sitting in knitting basket for months...that needs front bands and armhole bands knitted. Geezzz. So I pulled that out yesterday, sewed the shoulder seams and started picking up stitches for the front bands, got half way done. This morning......I ripped them all out. Because I just know there're not enough stitches and it will be all bunched up. From past experience. So now I'm in the process of picking up the stitches again. Half way through....again. We'll see how this goes.
My computer monitor has got a funky darkness to it since this morning. Don't know what the hell is up with that. Tried adjusting the brightness and contrast. They're both at the limit. It's just a smidgin better ....but still looks dark. And the cursor has a funny "glow" to it, just about invisible. When you try to point it at something, you can barely see it. Geezzz... I sure hope the monitor isn't getting ready to crap out. It's only 2 1/2 years old!!! I could spit nails.
So besides the expense for the hotel room, the cost of gas, meals and what have you, BH informs me this morning that his chainsaw is really on its last legs...and he should order a new one....like today. Ehhh.....what the hell.....in for a penny, in for a pound....right?
Or as I like to tell him....."When it's all going down hill, you might as well jump on the toboggan and enjoy the ride!!"
Excuse me. It's my turn.
So last week we had a reprieve. The temps were in the low to mid 70's...no humidity. Oh Yeah, Baby! This is what I'm talking about! Can it be? Is Fall finally here? My heart skips a beat. I get excited about finishing up some work around here. Visions of getting back to spinning are dancing in my head (haven't touched a wheel since April! I know!)
Ah....but the pessimist.....or realist as I describe myself to BH.....knows not to get too excited. So last week he tells me "the plan". "We'll put the air conditioners away next week", he announces. "Not so fast, mister. Air conditioners DO NOT get put away till the end of September, sometimes early October, depending on how the temps have been fluctuating", says I.
We have this little discussion every year. Every. Year. Sometimes I have to ask him....."what planet are you from?" or "so when did you move to this country?" He has such a bad memory. Or maybe he just wants to keep my blood pumpin'. Good job, Sparky.
Last week we got a phone call from granddaughter at Boot Camp. What a surprise!!! They weren't allowed to make calls till a week or two before graduation (in October). But she said they were allowed 1 hour to make calls. I don't know where they got the phones from; they weren't allowed to bring their cell phones. Anywho, by the time she got a phone, she said she had just 2 minutes. She's doing well; doesn't like all the verbal and physical fighting at night amongst some of the girls; she had rifle training, scored 36/40 and got her "Sharpshooter" medal!!
Then last Tuesday we got our first letter from her. I've been writing her every week for the past 3 weeks. All is good. She's getting excited, albeit a bit nervous, for graduation. And she would love us to take her to Virginia for Tech training (we offered). Woohoo!!
So after scanning hotels in the area, I called and made reservations for that week of graduation. Can't wait to see her!!! See how much she's changed.
Labor Day weekend we had our second and last yard sale. This one was nothing but craft supplies. A LOT of craft supplies. I was selling most of it as "bulk". Buy the whole schmear.....you get the tote for free! It ran from Friday - Sunday. Friday was pretty good....sold a lot. Saturday, not so much. Being that our town had the big end of the season whoop -d- do. Which included a parade. Which started at the top of our road. Which closed off our road for about 3 hours in the early afternoon. Yeah.
So just a few people stopped by. Sunday was a washout. It wasn't supposed to rain, but sure enough, by 10:30am, it started drizzling. The sky got darker and darker. I told BH "this doesn't look like it's going to clear up any time soon; let's call it a day". And we proceeded to pack everything up, take down the tables, take down the signs around town. And that was that.
So the plan is......to be a vendor at the schools's annual Craft Fair in November. Hopefully to sell as much of the left over handmade crafts as possible and maybe more supplies! This is something else I'll have to get organized and ready. BH is not too happy with the idea. It's a lot of packing, lugging, setting up, all day, tearing down, packing away and lugging back home. He's getting very tired; his energy level is waning....big time......every day. I understand. If this doesn't materialize, then the option is "Craig's List".
I have been knitting. Mostly in the morning because I get up anywhere from 4 am to 5:30am. BH rolls out anywhere from 6 - 8am. Gives me a couple hours of quiet time. So, I'm doing a poncho and a scarf/shawl. The scarf/shawl is being knitted in laceweight, cream colored BFL, which has iridescent "Firestar" spun into it. Knitting it in the "Feather and Fan" pattern, and adding iridescent glass beads every 8 rows. I can't wait till it's done. It looks beautiful!!! I imagine it as a winter wedding shawl. It's got just enough glitz and the patterning looks elegant!
The poncho is coming along but I'm not sure I'm crazy about it. It's probably 1/2 completed. Not sure I like the pattern I chose; not sure there's enough yarn to finish it. Aaawwkk. "Just salley forth".
Oh, I forgot......so, anyway, after the very nice Fall-like weather last week, sure enough......Friday started with the high 80's/90's and 100% humidity. Which has carried on since. Tomorrow it's supposed to break.....again.....and we'll be back to comfortable days and nights.
But no air conditioners will be removed from the premises until further notice.
