Ok, Let's Start Right

It is so near the end of the Julian calendar year it is almost scary.  I am pretty sure 2017 started only a few weeks ago, maybe?  But no.  It has been 363 days since that happened.  What a year in our personal life.  We celebrated 50 years of marriage all summer long.  That trip to France in July was a real highlight.   The trip was follow up by a bang up party in August.  Then hurricane Harvey in September.

That stinking hurricane was the cause of my stressing and tearing a muscle.  So I have been in recoup and rebuild mode since early October.  Just as I was being able to get almost a full mile of constant walking each day, I was hit with a flu/cold/respiratory bug in late November.  After coughing through most of Christmas celebrations, I finally gave up and set up an doctor's appointment.  Good thing, too, as the night before three times I was being unable to get enough air to even cough.  Turned out that was caused by a bronchial spasm.  "Drop your drawers" was the command for the steroid shot in my bohunkus.  It worked and only one spasm since the shot.  Also, a couple of meds to deal with the excessive drainage and I think I will live.

With the weight loss programs we have been using for evaluation purposes for our DILove, we each have dropped a full clothing size.  Hubby probably even a little more than that.  This means we will begin 2018 already in a better state of health than at the beginning of 2017.  In addition we have continued to slim down our possessions, too.  More trips to the Salvation Army are in the near future. 

As for the unfinished projects from 2017, I want to get those wound up by March.  Let me see if I can remember what they are.  Oh, yes, scanning all the photos and documents for two families.  Then compiling a book of our mother's letters to the grandparents during WWII.  Finish the slide show of our trip to France for easy sharing with our cousin who will be coming in March.  Thus the deadline of March.

There is one more big adventure on the horizon for 2018.  Son would like to see us purchase a lake house with him.  It would be listed on HomeAway and hopefully pay for itself by the time I die.  Ha!  That would be a decent thing to leave our half for him.  DIL has some ideas on the color scheme.  Her dad is retiring, selling his home and relocating to Costa Rica!  I know, Costa Rica.  Anyway, a lot of the furniture for the lake house will come from him.  And a few things we have been holding onto with this in mind.  Oh, well.  A new adventure for a couple of retirees.

We may join the Baca center.  There are activities and some volunteer opportunities.  The kids are encouraging us to get out among the people.  I still need some more convincing on this as I do love some lots of alone time.  It is an election year for Congress so I may want to spend my time campaigning for some not bat shit crazy people for office.  Because as I said in the beginning, this has been quite a year.

Have a great weekend to all out there.
Janice

Post Christmas

Well, it is done and over for the most part.  Will watch the Adcock grandsons open gifts on Jan. 4.  We had a wonderful Christmas Eve with our son, daughter in love, her dad and two children.  Dinner at the fanciest place I had ever been to for a meal.  First ever coat check taken by the waiter.  Tasty and perfectly cooked food was just the backdrop for a fun evening of conversation.  Back home I shaped the yeast breads.  One kind was ready to bake by the time I had shaped the second batch of breads.  So I cooked the bread while I iced the cookies.

In bed by 2:45 and back up by 7:30 to bake and ice the remaining breads.  Dress, load gifts and food in Icie and we were on the way to the FAB household for Christmas stockings, gift exchange and brunch.  We did have a cup of coffee and sample the coffee breads I had brought before opening gifts.  And what a delight to watch the family seem to enjoy the gifts I had chosen.  And we were all showered with so many great gifts.  New sheets, chimes, clothing, coffee, gift certificates for the movies and manicures.  So excited to get the enjoy these in the near future.

I would post photos but we failed to take any photos.  bummer...  But we do have the great memories.  Well, for as long as we have our memory brain function.

Happy New Year.

Christmas Preps and Celebrations

The weeks leading up to the Christmas celebration are filled with preparations.  Gift purchases, greeting cards addressed, decorations for the home and gift wrapping.  Baking is something I have
doing in years past.  I would still enjoy but for one thing, calories.  Hubby and I are both working to get several pounds lighter.  I could bake and then give away but some always finds its way into my mouth.  Homemade goodies have a way of doing that, getting in your mouth.

Saturday, Dec. 16 is my extended family's Christmas gathering.  Family from Oklahoma and around Texas will gather at my youngest sister's home for the day.  This year we have decided to have fried chicken and the fixins.  We will not be cooking ourselves but instead will purchase from Grandy's Fried Chicken.  And we will be using money from funds we sisters had contributed to an account for our mother's use.  She passed before all the funds were used.

There is special significance for using Grandy's chicken.  That was a business located across the street from Daddy's appliance repair shop.  Many a Sunday and other gatherings Daddy would load up whatever grandchild was near, crawl into his pickup and head to Mckinney to get a bucket of chicken for the meal.  What made it even better were Grandy's hot rolls.  The rolls were always fresh and yeasty good.  My son has special memories of riding on Grandaddy's white tool box in the front seat on the way to get the chicken.  My son especially loved the yeast rolls.  Daddy always bought extra just for him to have to eat on the way back to Allen.

The rest of the meal will include homemade items from the various family members.  Some dips, chips, desserts and cookies for munching before and after the main meal.  I am taking small tarts of cherry, apple and mincemeat.  The tart shape makes for easy munching without the need for forks or plates.  Hubby will be making his yummy mashed potatoes.  I am pretty sure there will be a pound or two added by the end of the day. 

After the meal Santa will pay a visit for the young children.  He will take orders and give small gifts to each child.  Those smiles will be priceless!  Time for a little more grazing and visiting.  Next up will be the Dirty Santa/Grab and steal gifting fun.  There is usually about 25 participating in this activity.  Gifts are opened by one person.  The gift can be stolen twice then is belongs to that last person.  It can be quite fun especially when a gift is really good or really bad.  Always lots of fun.

At some point during the day one of the family will read the Christmas story.  Momma had started that tradition back in the 1960's.  The day will be filled with the making of new memories.  It will also carry with it an air of Christmas past.  Grandy's chicken, hot rolls and the love between the prodigy of Arleigh and Mary.

May your weekend be blessed with love and family.

Janice

1967 Christmas Rogers gathering at my oldest sisters's home.

DJ, Grandma and a Rabbit

Over the Thanksgiving weekend our son's dog, DJ, and the foster dog, Christina, were in an argument over a couple of bones.  DJ did not want to share.  Christina showed her who was boss.  Emergency vet trips, lots of $$$ later and we were asked to help supervise the two dogs while Son and DIL were working.  It was decided the easiest thing was for us to bring DJ to our apartment.  DJ, who is a Staffordshire terrier, is usually too confined in our place.  But with the pain meds, she mostly wanted only to sleep and follow close to us.

That was for the first 3 days.  With the swelling being reduced and antibiotics staving off infections, DJ was ready to move more on Thursday.  Of course there had been the necessary pit stops all along but Hubby was the one doing the walking.  The only way I can walk DJ, who is stout as a horse and weighs 60+ lbs, is with a muzzle.  The injuries on her face, head and neck would not allow the walking muzzle to be put on her.  By Thursday evening I decided I would give Hubby a rest from the walk and take DJ for the pit stop.

south courtyard

I almost went to the park but decided to just stay in the fenced courtyards of our apartment complex.  With DJ on her leash and a supply of poop bags, we walked into the north courtyard.  DJ did the usual doggie thing of finding where every other animal has eliminated. Then she must mark it, too.  This had been going on for a few minutes when I saw it.  The bunny that is living around the apartment complex.  I was gathering in the leash and heading back to the apartment when it happened.  DJ got wind of the rabbit.  I was just slightly in control of the dog as it pursued Bugs Bunny.  And then I was not.  I was stumbling being pulled by the excited dog.  The leash ripped from my hands in time to keep me from falling.  Or maybe I just let go.

Either way, the dog was loose and Bugs was running for it's only life.  As I yelled for her to stop I lost sight of DJ when she and Bugs rounded the corner into the south courtyard.  A gentleman up on the parking garage walkway noted the dog was in the south courtyard.  I thanked him and said she was chasing a rabbit.  He wished me luck in catching her as "she is really, really fast."  No kidding.

 BTW, apartments open into the courtyard and there are patios, etc. where a crazed, bunny driven dog could cause havoc.  I knew it would be hopeless to run after her as she was indeed really, really fast.  I settled for the cut her off at the pass and step on her leash tactic.  Got her.  But she was still in catch rabbit mode.  I could only take a step or two toward the hallway entrance before she was attempting to bolt again.  Our apartment was less than 50 steps away by this time.  It was obvious that I would never be able to control DJ.So as any person would do, I called Hubby and told him of the situation.  He said a bad word and added he would be right there.

He was not right there.  I do not remember if I called him or he called me.  He had gone to the park just knowing the dog was loose and would be killed.  No, dear, she is with me in the courtyard.  Ok, will be right there, was the response, again.  If only he would listen to what I say and not what he thinks I will say!  In the meantime I am still dealing with this dog that is standing next to the rabbit trail.  She goes behind the shrubs and is content just smelling the trail.  Then not content smelling but  m u s t run again.  Not this time, little girlie.  Sit and S T A Y.  In the process of dragging the dog out of the bushes and away from the scent trail, a rather large holly branch broke off underneath her collar.

By this time Hubby is coming through the gate.  It took Hubby's strength and command over DJ to get her back to the apartment.  Obviously, DJ was well on the way to recovery.  Hubby missed seeing the holly branch stuck in the dog's collar.  She had looked like the little dog (only not so little but the branch was really big) in How The Grinch Stole Christmas.  I had to laugh at the sight and the ridiculous situation we had gotten into because of DJ, Grandma and a Rabbit. 

Step Count

Without a regular sized house and garden to maintain I was doing way too much sitting.  December, 2014, I was given a fitbit Zip.  Over the last three years I have been working to increase my step count.  It has been met with challenges.  Knee pain in 2015 caused me inconsistent walking.  Not to mention the two falls when I hit my head causing concussions.  Dizziness and walking are not good partners.  In January, 2016, a total knee replacement had me looking forward to increased activity.  During the trip to Eastern Europe in March and April of that year, I was on the road to a 10,000 steps per day.  In February, 2017, a foot injury had me immobile for 6 weeks.  Back on my feet with new orthotics and support socks I was able to get to the goal of consistently 3 to 4 miles a day.

September of this year brought another setback, chronic IT band stress and a torn muscle.  Physical therapy and determination has me back to walking in 1000 to 2000 steps at a time.  Even though yesterday with a major head and chest cold I accomplished a total of 5000 steps for the day.  With minimal pain and stiffness.

Now I must confess that some of the steps were achieved in a slightly different way.  I had walked 3,123 steps.  I removed my clothing to do some laundry.  I managed to get another 1250 +/- 30 steps by doing the laundry.  That's right.  I failed to remove the Zip from the pocket.  So to not be cheating on the steps, I did another walk, counting my steps till I had the number of steps.  Really.  And I only felt a little agitated.

Addictions

I have a new addiction thanks to YAM, a blogger friend over in Scotland.  It is a certified addiction.  If I am not puttering around the apartment, I MUST do this.  Click here.  Since introduced to this site I have worked around 150 of these puzzles.  It is a great distraction from the politics of the day.   Also another fun way to sit and just pass the time.  Middle Grandson has joined into the fun and we have worked a few of the puzzles together.

When Farmville first came to facebook, that was an addiction for several months.  I would set an alarm to get up and harvest.  Really.  I told you it was an addiction.  Of course, food is an addiction for me, too.  Maybe it is just eating that is the addiction. 

Addictions come in so many forms.  Photography can be an addiction as well as writing, blogging and even birding.  So what is your addiction?