Christmas 2021.

 It's been a year.   

Lots of surgeries and recovery time.   Loss of 2 people we hold very dearly, my husband's mom and my dear aunt.   Covid 19.    And, bathroom remodeling.   

But we're still here.  We're happy to be celebrating Christmas this year even though it's going to take us a few weeks to get it done.   We're celebrating with my husband's Dad and one of his brother's family today, then next weekend with our son and daughter-in-law from Mississippi, and then in the first couple of weeks of January, we'll be meeting with the extended families if they meet.  We've celebrated for the past couple of weeks with our church family.   

Christmas is always bittersweet as we mourn Christmases past and family members who are not with us anymore, but it's always beautiful.  

It's 9:00 a.m. as I write this and youngest son, the person I know who loves Christmas the most is already up (though he worked late last night) wrapping presents and making me smile.  

Merry Christmas!   

Job Title.

 Youngest son decided on the job title he'd like to have in the future:   Eccentric Millionaire.  

Looking ahead.

 We are trying to move ahead,  We are making plans and looking forward to the holidays.   We have moved the location of Thanksgiving so that it will not be at my mother-in-law's house, though my father-in-law still lives there.  It seems like it would just be too emotional to have it there.  So, we're having it at my brother and sister-in-law's house.  We've got a lot of cooking to do this week for all the feasting.  I'm not ready and would kind of like to skip the holidays this year, but I'm going to put on my brave face.  I guess that's best.  

Believe it or not, I've already started my Christmas shopping!  My family has been pretty prompt about sending me their lists (most of them) and I've been better about just going ahead and ordering them.  Usually, I hesitate and obsess for a few weeks.   

We officially are done with the bathroom remodel, at least from the contractor's point of view and now we just have to finish some trim, a tiny bit of painting, and  set up the new bathroom furniture.  We are also getting our driveway graded even as I write this.  Things are happening to make the house look nice going into the holidays.  It's a money pit, so it's never done, but I can be happy with that is.   I guess.  :-P  

Anyway, happy Thanksgiving week! 

Fall break and crisis.

 We just got home from a lovely little weekend break.  We went to Cullman, Alabama to meet our son and daughter-in-law.  We saw the local sites and played some board games and video games.  It was very nice.  However, in the middle of this vacation, we had a call from my father-in-law that my mother-in-law was not doing well and she was hospitalized that night.   Now she has passed away and we are doing funeral planning.  It's been a shock how quickly it all happened and very sad.  She was a wonderful person and the holidays are going to be difficult this year without her.    

We're still here.

 Things are looking up in some ways.    Husband is doing better post-Covid.   He's able to do some things now, but still gets tired easily.   The bathroom renovation is ongoing.  We're on week 4.   No more of my friends have gotten Covid, thank God and the numbers seem to be going down here finally.  Work is still kind of frantic and annoying, but that seems to be the norm with the supervisor we have now.  I think it's a management problem.   I'm tired of it.   

I have some fun things scheduled and I'm trying to focus on those!   After all these years of writing this blog, I have gotten better at focusing on the good.   A little better, anyway.   

Still after all these years, hanging in here.

 It's still rough.  My husband is trying to get over COVID but it's a horror.  He still feels very bad and it has been weeks.  He's still very weak.  Two of my friends are out of the hospital, one is on long-term oxygen and the other I don't know how she's doing.  I only keep up with her on Facebook, but I heard she went home.  The other friend passed away last weekend.  The funeral was Wednesday.  She leaves behind a husband in his 50s, 3 daughters and 7 young grandchildren.  It's heartbreaking.  

Along with all this, our scheduled bathroom remodel has begun this week.  I was told it would take 3-4 days, but it's day 4 and there's no end in site yet.  Sometime next week, I assume.   Having workmen in your house all day is kind of stressful, plus my work has been crazy.  We are short-handed and the work pace is frantic.   

I'm trying to hang in there - a phrase I have used off and on for many years on this blog.   

It's been kind of rough.

 My husband had a pretty difficult time with Covid.  He did not (so far) have to go to the hospital but there was one night he would have asked me to take him but decided he didn't feel strong enough to go.  He lost 20 pounds in 14 days, despite my going to the store pretty much every day to find things he would be able to eat.  At this time, I've got a couple of friends and an acquaintance in the hospital, a dear friend who just got out of the hospital and is going to have to be on oxygen for quite a while.  It's rough out there.  Two of my friends are on ventilators.   My mother-in-law is not doing well at all and we can't go over there or do anything much to help.  It's been a frustrating, stressful time.  

The Invisible Enemy.

 It's here.  Despite being very cautious, following all the rules to the T and getting vaccinated as early as possible, my husband has COVID 19.  It feels very unfair.   He feels very, very bad.   We're trying to cope as best we can.  We are all vaccinated here in this house and my son and I have still been going to work.  Apparently, that's the new policy, if you've been vaccinated, the chances are supposedly less than 5% you'll get it, so where we work, you still need to go to work (as we are desperately short-staffed.   Normally I work at home, but I've spent 5 of the last 9 workdays in the office because someone was out with COVID and people were being pulled everywhere to cover.   It's been a wild week.  I've finally got a day off and I am going to spend it in my room, by myself.  My husband is warning people if he needs to come into a room so we can go out of it.   We're wearing masks at home.  I'm sleeping on various couches trying to find a comfortable spot.  And now my daughter is showing (thankfully milder) symptoms and is going to get tested today.   

Prayers please.  

Update:   My husband is feeling better.  Has been fever free for 3 days.   However, I think it's going to be a long time before he feels normal because he has been so weak.   

And also now our oldest is very near the path of the hurricane.  

More prayers please.  

Regrouping and trying again.

 I'm trying to get past the first part of this year and get back into life.   I'm pretty much done with recovery although I'm sure where I had my tooth pulled is going to feel weird for a while longer and my knees will also be artificial.  I'm not letting it stop me.  I've joined a weight loss / lifestyle change program that is available through my job and I'm trying to make some lifestyle changes.  I'm back to doing my yoga, which is the best thing ever.  Go look at Sara Beth Yoga on Youtube and do some of the beginner workouts.  I have to modify them, but they help so much with pain and stiffness.  This morning I got out and took a walk on the street.  It was very nice and peaceful.   Later today I have physical therapy so I'm getting in quite a bit of gentle exercise today and I want to be able to walk a 5K this fall (walking, not running).  

Things are going okay around here, with the current normal.   My husband and I are still working at home.  Youngest son is working at the hospital on second shift and has finally started scheduling some D&D games, which he had not done since the onset of the COVID.   Hopefully, the new issues won't end that and it will all be over soon.  Daughter is doing a dog-sitting gig this week.   We haven't gotten to talk to oldest son and daughter-in-law for a while.  They were going to call Sunday but we were at a friend's reunion all day.   We'll catch up later with them.

Editing here to add, that youngest son got a tetanus shot today for a small injury sustained at work.  This blog has been so helpful to our family to keep up with things like that, so next time it comes up, I will know the date to tell him.  Today.  :-)  

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The fun times continue!

 So my latest thing is that I got an abscess in my tooth.  This is a big deal if you have had your knee replaced because the infection can spread to the knee.  So I've been taking my antibiotics and keeping my fingers crossed and then today I had the tooth extracted.  The actual extraction was pretty much a non-event.  I didn't feel much of anything.  But now, 6 hours later, I'm starting to really feel it.  Fun, fun times.  After this, though, after this, I feel like I'll be in better shape and I can get out there and walk and enjoy life.   That's the hope. That's the dream.   

I hope I can get to feeling better because I have a lot of fun things to do!  

Now 2 months.

 I'm 2 months into recovery.  I'm so glad it is behind me.   It is not the most fun thing in the world as I'm still not feeling 100% great, but it's better.  I need to keep that in mind when I get discouraged with it taking so long.  I'm still not driving, but I think I will be able to start next week.  I'm starting work again next week, work at home.   I am ready emotionally, to go back into the office, but physically, I might need a few more weeks.  Right now we are stacationing, with my son and daughter-in-law from Mississippi here with us.  It's wonderful having all this family time.   We've been cooking a lot and playing a lot of games.  My sons have been cleaning out their childhood debris from their old room, which is really helpful to me.  I can thank my wonderful daughter-in-law for that.  She told my son he should do it for me and I really appreciate it.  We need to get the carpet taken out of that room soon as part of our ongoing home improvement and having less stuff will definitely make that easier.  We have a huge load that is going to go to Goodwill today.   I've been making inquiries about getting our first home project done in a long time and someone will be coming to look at the hall bathroom next week.  It's one of about 6 appointments I will have to work around my first week back to work.  Fun times.   Also next week, youngest son gets to go to second shift and hopefully will be able to resume his social life.  A social life is so difficult when you are on third shift and trying to sleep every minute you're not at work, but being awake at 5:00 in the morning, when no one else is.  

That's it from us.  I started this blog when youngest son was 6 and we started homeschooling.  Now he's 23, a college grad and working his first real job.  The days are long, the years are short!.  

A Month In.

 I'm one month into my recovery from my knee surgery.   It's the point that you feel like you've been doing this FOREVER and you also feel that it's going to be another FOREVER until you can get back to normal.  Things are not normal.  My knee is feeling better and bending and moving well, but I have no strength or endurance.  I went to a graduation party yesterday.  I walked a little bit, went into my cousin's house, sat in one of their dining room chairs for about 2 1/2 hours talking to people, walked back out, came home, and collapsed, exhausted.   

It was nice to get out and see people.  My daughter went with me and no one had seen her for a while, so that was good.  She was helping with the decorations when one of my uncles said "why is she working on that, when she can paint like she does", which was a sweet compliment in a kind of weird way, but that's him.   My son went to meet their friends at the park while we were there.  Everyone at the party I was at asked about him as well.  It seems that no one knew he was working 3rd shift at the hospital so we got everyone updated on that.  :-)   

Speaking of his job, he may get to move to second shift soon.  They have hired someone for his job, which is great, so hopefully that will work out.   He got an award from his boss for taking the initiative at work and helping cover for someone who was out on leave.  

My oldest son also got a job this week.  He has had the worst luck with Covid ruining jobs for him, so we're relieved that he has found something at last.   

In home news, we're celebrating youngest son's 23rd birthday (which was Friday) by ordering pizza and making a cherry cheese pie this evening so that will be fun.  I can't believe how old he is!   We're all getting up there now!  

Survived it!

 I survived my knee surgery.  I'm very happy about that.  It's been almost 3 weeks and I am doing quite well.  I am doing so, so, so much better than last time.  Last time, I got a knee with a bit more stability than the average knee, with a pin in it, is how the doctor described it.  This time, I just got a regular one.  I'm having some pain, but not nearly as much as the other time.  I'm already up and about, cooking and doing some cleaning.  The recovery time has been night and day.  Last time, just 2 1/2 weeks in, I was still basically just writhing in pain.  Now I feel that I have things to look forward to.  I'd like to walk a 5K this fall.  I'd like to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  I'm looking forward to not being handicapped for the first time since I was 24 years old and hurt my knee for the first time.  I'm going to have to learn to walk again, without a limp this time, and I'm a little worried about that, but hopeful. 

Everyone else is doing okay.   Daughter is doing a commission painting a Mary statue for someone and taking care of her dogs and me.   Youngest son is trying to get his job changed to second shift, but it's dependent on being able to hire someone and with the current subsidies and unemployment, people just don't want to work.  They keep hiring people and having them not show up.  So he's hanging in there, waiting.  It's hard to have a life on third shift, when you have to sleep when everyone else is out and about.   Oldest son is still doing his business in Mississippi and daughter-in-law is still working on her master's degree in anthropology.   They are going to come and visit us soon and we are very excited about that.  I hope to be walking better so that we can get out and do some things.   

Husband is still working from home and I am off work until probably around July 1 to recover from the knee surgery.  I've made myself a to-do list which includes getting some CEU credits for coding and working on my Youtube channel.   When that actually gets up and going with a lot of videos
on it, I will share it.  

It seems crazy to me.

 That it is already MAY.    This year is both flying and crawling by.  I keep having doctor's appointments and assessments and surgeries and recoveries and altogether it is going to take up half my year, with me hopefully getting my knee surgery done and being recovered (mostly) by the end of July.  I am hopeful (it's the only way I can cope) that after that, I will feel decent and will be able to walk reasonably well without pain and I can then commence with my life.  I feel like I'm on pause right now.  I'm trying to deal with the frustration of that by getting some things done at home, but I feel like I'm failing at that too.  My knee is pretty bad so it's hard for me to walk outside to garden, to do much housework, etc.  I have launched a Youtube channel and I've put a couple of videos up on that.  That has given me something to do to occupy my time while I'm in limbo here.  I'm having my surgery next week and will be in healing limbo for weeks and weeks but then I'll be able to walk normally (I hope) without pain and I can get on with my life.   

We've been having some good times here and there amid the waiting.  I went back into work 3 days to help out and it was good to see everyone there again after several months of working at home.   We had a for-no-reason party last night and had a really nice time.  We made ourselves some of our favorite fruit dip (2 ingredients, cream cheese and marshmallow cream) and ordered a takeout dinner. Then we did Mad Libs for old time's sake (had a ball with them~!) and then played some board games.   It's just nice to do that sometimes.   

The weather here has alternated between rain and days that are breathtakingly beautiful.  It's been a nice spring and it's great that we have been able to get out and see people and go shopping in a limited way.  My best friend and I got to go shopping last Saturday and that was so great.  It had been over a year.   

I'll share some pictures of the things I've mentioned, plus probably a few extra of the cats and the dogs.  

Wish me luck this week!!  

This Blog.

 Homeschooling has long since been completed here.  I'm not sure why I still have this blog called Home School Home.  It's still our home and we are grateful for all the years homeschooling, thinking it is one of the best things we ever did.  But, alas, life moves on.  I probably am the person who benefits most from this blog.  It's handy to have such a family history.  I often use the search feature on the blog to look things up, for example, when we got Zoey or Zelda, and yesterday I used it to look up whether or not my daughter needs a tetanus shot after an injury yesterday.  I looked it up and saw that she had one more than 5  years, but less than 10 years ago and so she does need one.  Thanks blog!  

I'm going to spend some time today downloading this family history and storing it on our hard drives here at home because I live in fear that Blogger will become unprofitable and be taken down and I will lose all my information.  

I thought about getting it published as a book, but it's so massive, I don't know if anyone could do it.  It has been a long, long, time I've been blogging here.  

If you've been around for the ride, thanks for reading.  I'm not going to stop blogging all together, as I enjoy coming on here to update occasionally.   

I don't really want to share an update today because 2021 is already not my favorite year, but we're still here, we're still alive and mostly doing okay.   I'm loving this song right now:   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC2wk1w09U8

It rings so true because I certainly don't have it all together.   

My son launched a company to sell these amazing hammocks that he makes, so I'll share that link too.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDxkf4WHHOI

www.sleepyslothhammocks.com/shop

New year, with new challenges.

 Still here.  I'm getting ready to conquer another huge challenge this year, having my knee replaced.  That's going to be a huge focus of my energies for this year.  I'm also still working and since I passed my coding exam, I'm probably going to be migrating into a coding/transcribing position soon.  It's weird that I'm doing this and going to be out for surgery for 6-8 weeks as well, but oh well, that's how it goes sometimes.  Because of my knee surgery, I wanted to get new furniture, specifically something with a power recline.   The reason for that is that last time when I had my other knee done, I had to sit in our only recliner at that time which was a "big man" recliner, and being a short woman, I couldn't reach the manual recliner lever,  This resulted in my daughter, my son or my husband having to help me in and out of my seat, every time, 24 hours a day.   This time, I hope to be more independent.  The furniture is being delivered today (we bought a couch and recliner) and I am excited about it.  

My youngest son did get hired by the company that he's been a temp for and got a 2.50 cents per hour raise, which we're all very excited about for him.  He's moving on towards his dreams.  It's cool.   

I think that's our only news.   We're just hoping this pandemic blows over soon and we all get to get out there and see people again!  

Back to reality.

 Now we've had our wonderful vacation break and we are back to reality, back to work and back to facing all the stuff we have to do this year.  I'm coping with it the way I cope with everything, with a to-do list.   :-)   Break it down, get it done in 2021!  

We made some wonderful gingerbread.

We had some lovely Christmastime weather.

I noticed that this little "garden" has formed of its own volition in one of our landscaping ties.  Even at this time of year, it's beautiful and green.  Cat feet are for scale.  It's a tiny green oasis in the January gray.

We had such a nice holiday.  I hope you did too!