Good Bye 2013

I'm sitting here in front of the TV and the computer waiting for the midnight hour.  It really doesn't seem any different than any other night for me.  Except that tomorrow I will have to remember to date everything with the new year.

I had thought about getting some snack items and having a little party but decided I really didn't need all that junk or the calories, let alone all the cholesterol that would come with them.  So I did fix some crackers and cheese so I can say I had a little celebration.

Everyone I know either doesn't stay up to celebrate or they are out of town or have plans so the past few years I've been alone.  So it really isn't a big deal anymore.  I stay up late almost every night so tonight isn't really any different.  The only thing is I'm watching the celebrations on TV where I usually would be watching reruns of JAG or Dr. Quinn or maybe Pawn Stars, Counting Cars or American Pickers or that restoration show.  I know I live an exciting life.  LOL!

I only hope this next year will be a good year.  I have some plans and I'd like to see them completed and start a new way of life.  Got to get through all this cold weather of winter and then it will be a busy spring with cleaning and thinning out things as I will be downsizing to a smaller place, I hope, and will be closer to family.

It's been a great year with my family.  We've had family gatherings.  We've shared a lot of good times with a couple of bad times but we are strong and it just brings us all closer together.

We miss our loved one but we know he is with us and watching over us.  So as we end this year, I am looking forward with anticipation for a good year filled with happiness and hopefully healthier than this past one.

So I say Good bye 2013 and HAPPY NEW YEAR 2014.

CHRISTMAS

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I sit here early in the morning of Christmas Eve thinking back on the year and wondering where the time went.  It seems only a few months ago we were gathering to celebrate Christmas and here we are again.

The gifts are wrapped but I didn't do the holiday baking this year.  I left that up to Melanie and Michele.  I cut back on my decorating as well, not because I didn't want it but mainly due to the weather we had.  It has been cold or stormy so I picked one nice day and put up what I could outside and then decorated the inside so it does look a lot like Christmas.

This could be the last Christmas that I will spend here in this house as it goes up for sale this spring.  I'll be going through all my stuff and having a heck of a sale as I'll be downsizing plus I have way too much stuff and don't need half of it.  I will miss having all the Christmas decorations for outside but I won't really have a place for them so they will go too.  I'll keep some but most will go.  And I guess it is time to narrow down what decorations I really use year after year.  I have enough decorations that I could decorate 3 or 4 trees and will cut that back to just one saving out my favorite decorations and of course all the old antique ones I have.  

I call them antique as I still have decorations that Harold and I bought for our first Christmas 51 years ago plus I have some other family pieces.

But back to the passing of the year.  Michele moved out in March but again it only seems like a couple of months ago.  The summer was a wet and cooler summer than what we've had the past couple of years so it meant getting out to mow when I had a couple of nice days and the yard was dry.  The fall came quickly and again wet and cool so the leaves didn't get mulched or raked.  But the worst came with the coming of winter the first part of December with temps in the 20's and teens at night and then mid December brought us a sleet and ice storm with 4 1/2" of snow.  We actually got lucky and didn't have as much ice as some places and our temps warmed enough for it to melt off right away.

We did get the generator out and I have gas for it in case I would need it.  I pray during each storm that I won't have to.  First of all, I can't start it so I'd have to call on a neighbor but he has offered to help if I need it.

Michele had back surgery last spring but it didn't work so will be going in Jan. 2014 to have another surgery.  Hopefully this time it will work but because they will fuse the bad discs she will be limited on what she will be able to do and have a 3 month recovery so the kids and I will be around to help when needed.

Melanie changed jobs and is back to working master control for Channel 8 in Tulsa.  It is a steady paycheck although she may take on a part time job as is saving her money for a trip to Europe next year.

In February I got Foxy who has been my constant companion.  She follows me around or is near me at all times.  She is my watch dog and warns me when someone comes even though her bark is much worse than her bite.  I have to laugh as I really don't think she would bite unless someone was trying to hurt me and then I think she would be as protective as she could.  As a 15 pound Pomeranian, she isn't real big but she has a big heart and gives me love and companionship.  I still have my cats and I'll always be a cat person but I have to say Foxy has stolen a part of my heart and I don't know what I would do without her now.

On Wednesday the house will be full of laughter, talk and gaiety as we all gather for our gift exchange and dinner.  There will be a lot of surprises this year but all for the good.

Now we will start looking forward to the new year and what plans we have made.  If they all work out, it will be a busy and eventful year for all of us.  For me, it will be a huge change in lifestyle and leaving some memories behind as I move forward to build new ones.

My wish for my family and my friends is that good health be with you and that your wishes and dreams come true.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

HAPPY NEW YEAR

 

Dreaming of a White Christmas! NOT

I used to like that song but not anymore.  When I say or sing (well I attempt it from time to time) that I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas, I don't mean it literally.   After all I'm DREAMING!

The other day all those dreams became reality when we got hit with a winter storm that dumped 1/4 inch of sleet and then added about 5 inches of snow on top of it.  So it was snowy and slick and cold.  Temps stayed in the teens or low 20's and even dropped down to single digits one night.  

I made sure the heat was on enough and opened the cupboard doors so it could reach the pipes to keep them from freezing up.  I've had a heater going in the shed on the washer since last Thursday night and still not able to get out there to check on it.  I'm not sure it is still going or not.  

We had some wind with the snow so it has drifted in front of one door so I'm not able to get it open and I noticed it drifted in front of the shed doors as well.  It blew so hard and came down so fast and furious that even my car parked in the carport was covered from rear to front in snow the following morning.  The poor outdoor kitties had sought shelter in the carport and on the screened in porch and survived but their bowls were full of snow so had to be emptied before I could feed them.

Right now, I'm housebound and have been since this hit on Thursday night and this is Sunday night and I'm about to go stir crazy.  I only go out on the carport to feed the kitties and make sure they have water which freezes quickly but at least they do get some.  I've let Foxy out and she has made a path and found a place in which she can relieve herself but she doesn't go far and doesn't stay out for long periods either.

So while I've been cooped up, I've got some of my inside Christmas decorating done, watched TV and took naps.  Nothing else to do.  I was prepared in case we did have an ice storm as got the generator in place and bought the gas for it but thank goodness I didn't need it.  I had cooked up some food just in case I wouldn't have the power to use the electric range.  I could always reheat it in the microwave.

I'm not a scrooge when it comes to snow, I just don't like it.  As a kid I enjoyed it as all kids do.  I used to stay out until I was almost frozen, sledding, building snowmen, having snowball fights and whatever kids do in the snow.  I lived and grew up in southwest Iowa and in the 50's we used to get some pretty measurable amounts of snow.  It wasn't unusual to see 3 to 4 feet or as high as the fence tops.  

But as I got older, it became a hazard and a pain.  The scraping of car windows, driving on slippery roads and the cold that just seems to invade the bones and keeps a person cold until the spring thaw.

I really thought I lived far enough south that I wouldn't be seeing this kind of weather but I've discovered in the past 10 years or more that the south is just as vulnerable as the northern states and of course we aren't as prepared so it makes for an even miserable experience and especially if a person lives in a small town or rural area as I do.  I chose to live here but never thought I would have to fight the elements of winter weather this way.

So the next time I hear that song about dreaming, I'm changing the words to I hope we don't have a White Christmas.