Saturday, December 31, 2016

Early, Early, EARLY Saturday Morning

Happy EARLY Saturday morning from the Rancho.

4:44 am, Moto Kitty not-so-gently wakes me up...it's time for him to eat.  4:45 am, George jumps on the bandwagon.  Time for him to eat, too.  I drag myself out of bed, head towards the kitchen and get the food bowls taken care of.  Well, well, well...now, they are both back in their beds and I am left awake at 5 am on a Saturday morning.  Definitely see a nap in my future...Sigh...

Christmas was very quiet this year.  Only me and hubby, but, I did get a few pictures!!

Me and my Christmas bow...I'm so pretty, so pretty...LOL  LOL  I think that my pink jammies definitely put this outfit on a new level.


Here we are...being silly...


I was impressed with the light that morning, definitely evened out my wrinkles.  LOL

I have learned a new medical term...sciatica.  And not in a good way...

After making fudge the week before Christmas, I felt a little twinge in my hip. Not unusual, I was standing on a cement floor for about 4 hours, in my slippers.  Very. Bad. Idea.  Then, the pain went from my hip, to my thigh, to my knee.  It has been two weeks and I'm still trying to find the right combination of stretches and OTC painkillers to keep me going.  I believe that giving birth to quintuplets would have been less painful.  I have never, ever had back pain.  Now, walking hurts, sitting hurts, standing hurts, laying down hurts.  Does that cover every position?  Pretty much.  I'm giving myself until next week and if I'm not better, I'll head to the doctor.  I know what she'll say,..lose weight, exercise more...I'll get right on that. LOL

Another quiet weekend planned.  Baby Boy heads this way on January 4th, so I need to get his friend's scarf finished.  I think I've got about another 15 inches left.  No problem, I can do that.  I would say I could do that with my eyes closed...but knitting and closed eyes do not go together.  LOL

I leave you with my favorite Christmas picture.  Back story...

Baby Sister came over to visit.  She was taking selfies and "sissy" pictures with Snapchat.  I don't know what filters she used, but I love this picture.  I look about 25 years younger!  And the flowers? She added those later.  Makes me feel special.  LOL


I promise, my next post will have less pictures of me.  LOL

Wishing each of you a Happy New Year.  May your life be filled with love, laughter and joy.  And all your dreams come true...

Be kind to one another.


Saturday, December 24, 2016

Merry Christmas to All


Good morning and Merry Christmas to all!

My Christmas wish for each of you is to find joy in every day, see smiles on the faces of strangers, time to show kindness in your actions, and love in your heart.

I want to say how grateful I am for each and every one of you.  Over the past four years, you have been here for the very best of the good times and the very worst of the dark.   I have built friendships with people that I may never meet, but hold me in their thoughts and prayers.  In this world, you cannot ask for more.

Again, thank you to all for being YOU...

Be kind to one another. 


Saturday, December 17, 2016

A Little Chillier Than Usual....

Happy Saturday from chilly California.  I had to put on a sweat shirt, long pants, and shoes today...oh my poor, tiny, cold toes...

This morning, I took a walk out to the garbage cans.  Here are a couple pictures of my car:


Snow you ask?  Oh no, just frost.  I'll be honest, I don't like cold.  Anything under 40 degrees is really unacceptable.  It was down to 28 degrees last night and has stayed around 43 degrees most of the day. It rained on Thursday and Friday, so I should be glad that it wasn't cold then!  We got one and three quarters of an inch of rain.  Yay!

Less than 50 feet away, you will find my flower pots and rose bushes.  Really?  Really-really? LOL


These plants are next to the house, so I know that's why they are still blooming.  But, it seems wrong. LOL

Meanwhile, my son sent me a video of him in Iowa City...yes, it is snowing and holding at about 17 degrees.  I don't complain to him.

It's been a long week.  Asleep on the couch last night at 8 pm, but did move to bed at midnight and up at 5 am.  At least it wasn't another 13 hour power sleep.

I've tried to work for at least an hour every night on my current project scarf.  I think I made it 3 out of 5 nights.  LOL  The grey stripe at the top will be 7 inches wide, but then there will be more and smaller stripes going towards the end.  Very uneven color changes, but I think that will add to its charm. I wanted to send it to Iowa for my son's friend before Christmas, but I don't think I'm going to make it.  LOL


I starting my countdown to Baby Boy's visit...only 17 days left until his arrival in California.  I sure do love that kid.  I call him almost every day.  We are making plans. 

Dad is a bit congested.  He is still eating, but not with the same gusto that he usually shows. Sigh...His 84th birthday is January 24th.  Will that be the end?  I guess that no one really knows.  I am trying to keep up the Christmas spirit.  Hubby is doing better than I expected, though he keeps asking what I want for Christmas.  I feel like I have everything that I need.  And as for "want"...I am wanting less and less these days.  I have my family, my health, and enough money to pay my bills and still have some for crafts. Again I ask myself, when is enough, enough?  I think that time is now...

Have a wonderful weekend.  Be kind to one another.

Saturday, December 10, 2016

It's Beginning To Feel A Lot Like Christmas...Not Really...

Another Saturday night at the rancho.  I am trying really hard to promote the Christmas happy at my house.  My husband's father died many years ago between Christmas and New Year's, so it is always a tough time for him.  With no children at home, it almost seems like a waste to put up a tree...

But, I put on my big girl bloomers and got started.  Here is my table tree.  It is only a few feet tall and this year I went blue and white.  The little snowman is cute.  And sparkly.


This is the tree in my living room.  A four foot "plug and glow"...easy to handle.  I have little Santas, with red, white, and green bulbs.  Not bad.  And it is pretty with the room lights shut off.


In six years, I have never found my handmade ornaments.  I only think about it at Christmas and then I just don't have the time or energy to empty the garage and find them.  I am pretty sure that they are in a box, under my dad's and my son's stuff.  With how I feel about cleaning garages, they may never be seen again.

While I was in the house putting up the trees, nature was outside acting very unnatural.  It was a bit rainy today, but still about 60 degrees.  I trimmed some of my rose bushes, but the ones next to the house were so sparse, I didn't do much to them.  Between the rain and the warm days, I have lots of new growth and buds.  Really?


This cymbidium is on the back porch next to the house.  December to May is the blooming time.   I will need to move this plant into the garage in the next week or so.


I finished my blanket for Dad's caregiver.  She said that it is now her favorite blanket.  She had seen it a few weeks ago and commented that she loved the colors, so I already knew that she liked it. I am happy that she was happy.  The blue is a beautiful peacock color.  The second picture shows the shell edging.


It is a tough time.  Dad is not as good as he was even a month ago.  He is sounding a little congested and has a runny nose.  Is it just a cold?  I don't know.  His eating is slowing down, one of the things that they said would come at the end.  We've put him on a muscle relaxant to help with the muscle contractions, but it doesn't seem to be helping.  There are times when he groans, not in a painful way...but those sounds tear at my heart.  I am so afraid that he will hurt at the end. That would be wrong.  We've been going through this for three years, Dad deserves a quiet and peaceful end.

Enough sad.  The weather has been crazy.  I hope that each are you are safe and warm.  Be kind to one another.

Saturday, December 3, 2016

Old People Get Really Tired

Happy Saturday evening from the rancho.

Oh. My. Goodness.  Old people should not take three weeks of vacation at a time.  LOL  It was so incredibly difficult to go back and work for an entire week.  I came home yesterday afternoon, got Dad's dinner ready, set hubby up to serve Dad, and laid down "for just a moment".  Three hours LATER, I woke up.  Folded two loads of laundry and then went bed.  Ten hours later, I woke up to Saturday morning. I think I was tired. LOL  Thank goodness for hubby, he picked up the slack...

I did get some knitting and crocheting done this past week.  Only an hour a night, but better than nothing.

I have three and a half skeins left on my blanket.  I'm hoping to have it done this weekend.


My baby boy picked the colors and pattern for this scarf.  I will continue knitting a large stripe of black, then go to different sized stripes in random patterns until the end.


When my sister stayed with us earlier this year, she brought a Christmas cactus that she had ignored for several years.  I tried to send it with her when she moved, but she really wasn't interested.  It was left outside all summer, watered once in a while.  Last week, I noticed a bunch of buds!!  So....I moved it into the house for the holidays.  Isn't it pretty?  I have two plants of my own that never bloom like they should. I think that I will move them outside with this one and see how next year goes.



Not much else going on.  I spent most of today doing chores, and did get my car washed and waxed. Of course, my arms are tired now, but I'm sure I can get in a couple of hours of crocheting. LOL

I wish each of you a wonderful weekend.  Be kind to one another.