I’d stick me in a corner, but…

That wouldn’t get a post written. Life has been the usual crazy. People in, people out, work, illness, etc. So, where do things stand? Dare I say mellow? Hmm… Short Recap.

Winter was Damn Cold. It seamed to last much longer than last year. Partially because it started out mild and then turned into an Ice Box. We even had snow a couple of weeks ago. 8 inches no less. We have all been waiting for Spring.

October saw AshcaTek move down to Washington School. That was a good thing, as there was black mold at the other site. I actually started to feel a bit better, as it seems that every time I turned around, I had a cold, or sinus infection. Granted, work wasn’t great. Dan has been busy as the proverbial one armed paper hanger. Meanwhile, decisions made by the bosses kept decreasing my workload. Yes, I worked three days a week, but damn… let me actually do my job instead of putting more on the plates of the IT Techs. Finally, in April, I’d had enough. I ‘retired’ on April 10th. Same day that one of my co-workers left to take a better job in Kansas City, MO.

Granted, I’ve had at least five job offers since I quit. For the moment, I’m going to do a bit of website work for a friend, sewing work, and in general, relax. Gardening is high on that list too! I actually got out and did a few things today.

Stefan and his dog Axle moved out, and up to Monument Lake where he will be for the season as restaurant manager. 🙂 That brings us down to the two dogs, the cat, Bryan, Dan and I. Oh, and the occasional guest.

The other thing that happened is that I got sick. Yes, the black mold was an issue. However, so was a baseline infection that we suspect has been there quietly bubbling up every so often for seven or eight years. At that time, I dislocated my right big toe. What I didn’t know, was that it was cracked. Between bone marrow poisoning, and other infections, it became a hotbed for bacteria. Mid April, I started to feel off. I went to Urgent Care, got on antibiotics, and made an appointment with my podiatrist. Yep… infection, but he wasn’t sure exactly where. Not surprising to be honest. A week later, we knew, as the antibiotic wasn’t kicking ass. X-rays proved infection, and the source… that cracked bone. The only recourse was surgery. While I was kicking myself for not taking better care of my feet, it was pointed out that there was no way I could have known there was a crack in the bone, nor that it was slowly poisoning me.

I’m healing. Learning to walk is the worst. I got used to a certain ‘stride’ because of the dislocated toe. Now, I get to correct it. The foot doesn’t really hurt, except for the occasional bit of nerve pain. The hip and knee on the other hand more than make up for it. I hate being gimpy! I also get to reclaim my digestive tract after a month of antibiotics.

One thing I did on Friday/Saturday was get up at 3am, and watch the Coronation. I’m not a huge fan of Charles III, but I wanted to see the pageantry, the ceremony, that moment in history. It was interesting. Not sure which bit was best…. Charles having a tizzy when the timing for his arrival was off, Camilla looking bored, and staring off into the void during the whole thing, or the various antics of the Wales’ children.

Now to go see if I can get someone to help me move plants.

The End of an Age

I woke up Tuesday morning with a start. ‘The Queen is dead” Huh? Hold on. Turned on the news. Nope. HRH Queen Elizabeth II was still hale and hearty. Not a headline about her on the news. Weird. Just a bad dream. Blame it on the sinus cold. Later on I watched HRH meet Liz Truss, the new PM of England. It was a little disconcerting that she looked so frail, but she was alive.

Wednesday, all calm. Silly dream. Here’s hoping she lives as long as her mum.

Thursday morning, I listened to the news. No worries. After breakfast, I sat down to read the news. I literally opened all of my news tabs to see… HRH Queen Elizabeth II had passed. Devastated. No! Heart wrenching. Sad.

I’ve been watching/reading the news a lot for the last few days, and will do so until her funeral which is slated for the 19th. 9/10th of us in the world have been born since HRH became Queen. She’s always been there. Her presence was a part of our lives for the 10 years we lived in England. In my mind, HRH has been my Queen. Yes, I’m an American, but dammit, she’s always been the shining example of how to be a ruler, a leader, and a woman in power. How could I not hold her in my heart as someone special? Someone to admire, and look to as an example?

May she rest in peace. May she and Phillip enjoy long rambles across the heather. The second Elizabethan Era has ended.

The Queen is dead.

Long Live the King.

Taming Chaos???

I think that I shall never see a chaos that doesn’t like me. Sigh… I was on track. I had plans. The garden was going well, sewing was being stitched into order, and life in general was moving forward.

Then, July 13th rolled around. Stefan was on his way to Trinidad to replace a tire that kept going flat. At mile marker 47 on HWY 12, it blew. He ended up in the ditch. His car was totalled. He had a trip to Pueblo via ambulance. Slight concussion, cracked wrist, cracked/damaged L3, all the ribs on his right side were bruised and battered, and he broke his ankle.

This meant that we changed plans rather radically. Stefan and Axle, his dog, moved in with us. So, we now have three dogs, and rotate when Elfed is out as Axle isn’t sure about cats. (dinner? playmate?) We’ve rearranged the house, been transportation to doctor’s visits, etc.

In the meantime, Bryan’s car died. He got a new one and it started having issues. So, we have had to transport him to and from work in La Veta. Here I thought I was done being a bus or taxi for my kids. LOL! Nope, still doing it. His car should be ready this weekend.

For my own sanity, I’m going to Sassy Stitchers on Thursdays at the local library. At least it is encouraging me to finish up some of my projects. Yeah… don’t want to take the same project every week. 🙂

We also ran away from home last weekend, and went camping. It was the first real get away in almost 3 years that wasn’t work related. Ahhhh it was wonderful.

Now to work on the rest of those bullet points… I think I’ve had my fair share of chaos for a bit. It’s someone else’s turn.

Some day…

I just might get back into the rhythm of blogging. I could blame half a dozen things, from dogs to social media to too many projects, and not enough hours in the day. All in all, the biggest thing is a lack of time management. The last few years have been a real big “oooh! Pretty! Shiney!” moment. Disorganization, a part time job, and all the bits add up to ‘damn! forgot again’.

So, I’m a ditz. I forget to blog. I have a few things that I need to do, and writing is one of them. Getting organized is the biggest of all, and so here I go yet again. We shall see how it goes.

A short list of what has gone on in the 17 months…

• I got a part time job at AshcaTek, an IT company. Dan works there too.
• A friend moved in with us for about 6 months after her husband died. She has since moved on.
• My son Bryan moved in with us when he broke up with his significant other.
• Bryan moving in with us means we have two of the grandchildren here every two weeks. Talon and Raven, so life is interesting.
• Plague. Need I say more? Well… while Dan didn’t get it, we think I did last September. Not a bad case, but by the time I tested, I didn’t test positive with the rapid tests. Lost taste & smell for about a week, and every once in a while, I still have issues.
• My son Stefan moved back to Colorado, and visits every couple of weeks.
• We still have Saydee, Thora and Elfed.

Now, this is what I plan…

• Exercise more. Eat healthier. Too much seat time…
• Continue to work in my garden
• Work on finishing up all of my UFO’s. (you can ALL stop laughing eventually)
• Write. Blogs, stories, etc.
• Work to get back to a pre-plague lifestyle. I know normal is different, but I’ve got to start working on that balance.
• Enjoy my grandchildren.
• Work out a work/life balance. Dan needs this too, and I figure that working on it together will get us both there faster.

Wow…

What a wild ride. Insurrection at the Capitol, #45 inciting riot and rebellion, impeachment, a new president sworn in and Covid-19 deaths have reached half a million. I truly understand that ‘curse’ of “may you live in interesting times.”

Meanwhile, I participated in a sewing contest held by Foundations Revealed. Create an item of clothing from a favourite book and for one of the characters. The book I chose was The White Witch by Elizabeth Goudge. The character was Froniga. I made a 1620’s smock with embroidery. It was totally hand sewn. I had procrastinated, and only started sewing on January 5th or so. It was due February 3rd. I made it by about 15 hours.

Once I got that done, i went back to what I’ve been doing for the last 11 months: knitting, sewing, reading, cooking, staying home, attending Zoom meetings, and dealing with life in general. It’s kind of hard to believe it’s been almost a year. Dan has gotten his first dose of the vaccine, and I will get mine hopefully by April. sigh.

I think what I have missed the most besides hugs, is seeing friends and family. I miss my SCA family something fierce. Yes, we chat via Zoom, and on social media, but it isn’t the same as sitting around a campfire, or having a good meal with friends.

I am totally done with the bitter cold weather as well. Last week we got down to -13F. That was horrid. Granted, not as bad as what Texas suffered, but damn! I’m ready for Spring and Gardening Time! I keep walking outside with the dogs, and plot the garden. This plant here, those plants there, a shed over in that corner, etc. I’m working on doing something besides sitting and watching videos while I knit as well. It is just so hard to get motivated when it is cold.

Wow! It’s 2021!

Yeah, I kinda fell off the blogverse. Between Covid, the end of the gardening season, and elections craziness, I just didn’t blog. I’ve done a ton of baking and gardening. We’ve been reworking the basement spaces again. The tool room is now the computer room. I have a really nice area in my half of the basement. I can get to ALL the tool boxes, and I have room to work down there. The garden is as ‘put to bed’ as it can be. We took down the keyhole garden, built new beds, and we will be adding a greenhouse at some point this spring. It will be on the dog yard side, as there is no good spot on the garden side. We’ve expanded and contracted our social bubble a few times, as we dared. It was so good to see people! Plus, we’ve been doing a lot of Zoom meetings with various A&S groups. Once again, good to see people. I’ve even gotten back to sewing and reading! However, here is a short synopsis…

October: We had one hell of a snow storm! Our friend Ben ended up staying with us for a few days as there was no way for him to get home. Elfed got sick, but survived. Phew! And, he started playing with Thora and Saydee. On Halloween, we handed out 54 individualized bags of candy to trick or treaters.

November: This month was a little busy. I turned 61. We celebrated our 5th Anniversary. (yeah, of being married, although we’ve been together 16.5 years) We had a great thanksgiving, saw Morgan and met her partner/boyfriend, and got a set of furniture for the breakfast nook. It’s a corner bench and table set.

December: Lots of sewing projects! An apron for Dan, a curtain for the basement back door, a hotwater bottle cover, and a skirt. I’m getting ready to start a sewing project so I’ve been clearing the repair pile. As with the rest of the world, I’ve been keeping an eye on the political shenanigans. Gads! Plus, by now, we have taken 4 Covid tests. October and November saw a huge bloom of Covid cases in our county, and a number of deaths. Schools are all on remote learning, yet Dan still has to go to work, as he is IT. sigh…

Now to see how things work out. Politics is still crazy. Covid is still plowing through people. It’s too cold most days to garden, and I’ve got knitting and sewing to do when I’m not baking!

A Mabon Surprise

Yesterday, I went out to check the mail. While on the front porch, I heard a kitten crying. Now, there have been a lot of kittens/cats around of late, so I looked around to see if I knew which one it was. No kitten/cat in sight. I clipped my letter to the post box, and as I could still hear the kitten, I said: “I hope that kitten finds it’s home”, outloud.

Yeah, You’d think I’d know better than to do that on the Equinox…

Next thing I know, there is a tiny black kitten running up the stairs out of nowhere. It’ starts rubbing all over my boots, and purring. (shit!) It won’t leave. So, I picked it up, and noticed that it was scrawny. Maybe 5-6 weeks old if that, and I can feel its bones through its fur. So, I took it inside and via Facebook, tried to find it’s owner. No such luck. Most people replied with “Oh, your familiar arrived on Mabon!”

Sigh… I spoke to Dan at lunch time, and we decided to keep him. We’ve named him Alban Elfed, or Elfed for short. He’s tiny. 1.5 pounds, and shows signs that he has been neglected. A neighbor thinks he’s a kitten she’d given to a family that lives a couple of blocks away, which would make him 8 weeks old. Both of us agreed that the kitten is now mine. No one should let a kitten starve.

Hell Freezing Over

Yesterday, it was 93F. It had been in the 90’s for the last week. Today, it is 34F at present, and has not only rained, but SNOWED. Yes, and this is with nearly 2 weeks before summer ends.

I’ve covered my garden, and it now looks like tent fort city. My neighbor thought I had a homeless person sleeping in my yard. (no, I used an old skirt to cover my mint) What a crazy week. Smoke from fires, wind, record heat and now record cold temps. Brrrr!

I brought a ton of potted plants inside, and hope that what I covered survives. We are looking at lows of 29, and maybe 8-12 inches of snow. Damn!

I’ll keep you posted on what happens.

September!

Wow. August was crazy. We actually saw people! Yeah… did the dangerous thing, and went outside our bubble, our community… Even went to a party. Socially distanced of course, but… it was so nice to SEE people. Granted, I have to admit that I sort of held my breath for 14 days to make sure we hadn’t gotten ‘Rona as a friend calls Covid-19. It was still nice though to be sort of normal.

Let’s see… Thora got spayed. No puppies for us! She’s 77 pounds, and taller than Saydee. I finished up 108 masks for the school district and in total donated 291 masks with the help of 3 other people. I have been working in the garden, sewing!!!!!, finally back to reading, and I’m part of the committee that is working to pass a bond issue in Huerfano RE-1 for a new high school.

Oh, and I bought a trike. I realized that I was having issues with vertigo every time I tried to ride the bike. Balance!!! Frustrated, I finally looked at trikes. 🙂 It’s purple.

Now we wait for school to open and see what chaos that does or doesn’t bring. Dan has been working overtime to get all the IT stuff done for the schools.

Damn, It’s August!

Not that life has changed much in the last few months. Most things are still canceled. No SCA. No vacation. No Celtic Music Fest. sigh…

While not in lockdown, we tend to stick close to home, wear masks, and try to keep busy. I’m baking, sewing, knitting socks, watching Thora get BIGGER, and working in the garden. 🙂 We’ve gone to Colorado Springs twice, and Denver once for a computer client. Part of me misses being out and about, and part of me doesn’t. One thing that I have realized is how this whole situation has upped my anxiety at times. I think twice about things like shopping, meeting people, etc. Argh… Granted, I think a lot of people are dealing with mental issues they never had before either.

Dan’s revving up work at the school district. They open on the 17th for training of students and then the kids will go to online school until Labor Day. By then, it is hoped that the state/district will know what to do about school. Or, the virus will have either blown up or gone away. (not holding my breath~!)

Talk to you later!