Rita's Ramblings: a basically house-bound woman in Fargo, North Dakota blogging for friends, family, and anybody who finds it interesting. I talk about art or craft projects, my grandsons (Ian and Liam), the weather, movies, books, health, and whatever happens to be going on in my life. Welcome!
Got a notice last week that we have covid in our apartment complex.
More than one case, apparently.
The day before this notice went around the guy across the hall from me knocked on my door because he said he had gotten a bunch of my mail in his box. He fumbled the many envelopes and dropped them all on the floor...picked them up...and then went through them one by one handing me mine. He did have a mask on, which isn't something he usually ever did.
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But the next day after we got the covid notice letter outside our doors I saw this taped to his door!
Now why didn't he at least warn me that he'd tested positive for covid a few days before!? I would have had him leave the mail outside my door. And yesterday the sign was gone from his door. So he didn't think he needed to even have it up for 14 days of quarantine, I guess. But he very likely is one of the unbelievers who thinks it's a hoax. We have many people here who I have never seen wear a mask even though they send out notices and put up signs. It's probably surprising that it took this long to get into our senior building.
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Anyways, Leah's grandparents decided to skip Thanksgiving. Her brother, Aaron, came over, though. He lives alone in an apartment complex in downtown Fargo. Leah sent me some pictures. Looks like they had a nice relaxing Thanksgiving.
Mama and the boys.
Ian's "I am thankful for" turkey he made for school.
Video games.
Liam hanging big bells on the tree.
I'm glad Aaron got to go over for Thanksgiving, anyways. :)
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Myself...
honestly...
I've been in the deep doldrums. :(
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Still have the sinus issues that hang on and on...like I often have every winter. Been very tired and decided not to fight it. Just napping and dozing whenever. Been through at least one box of Puffs. But now I really do need to start working on getting Christmas cards ready to mail. I have had no energy...no mojo. Need to turn things around somehow.
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Too tired to even look up a quote. Sorry. Hopefully this will be a better week. My very best wishes to each and every one of you to stay safe and well. :)
Leah came over Tuesday night for the first Craft Nite in many months. I became really stuffed up that day. We worked on the Christmas cards.
We were gluing the die cuts on to the fronts and pressing them under the red trays.
Finished them all!! Thanks to Leah doing a lot more faster than I can.
Then Leah tried to set up the DVD player and it didn't work with my TV. Was on older model, I guess. (No wonder it was so inexpensive.) So have to send it back and order another one. Leah and I had such a nice evening. Been so long!!
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But...
by the time I woke up on Wednesday I was feeling worse. Head totally plugged up, headache, and even took a nap. Finally took my temp and was running a very low temp of around 100. So, I got ahold of Leah to warn her.
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So--no first actual Thanksgiving in 21 years for me. And now Leah's grandparents and brother are afraid to come over...so I was feeling like I had ruined Thanksgiving for everybody. :( But if they want to quarantine from the day Leah saw me for two weeks they could have it on the first. I'd hate to see them miss out because of me.
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I have had no trouble breathing--except for a snot-filled head--LOL! Had the low temp till during the night on Thursday night (couple of days). Sinuses are better. Feel better...just tired and draggy. But that is absolutely normal for me after being sick. Caught up on laundry yesterday. Never seemed to have any typical covid symptoms...but it is disconcerting that I even got sick at all when I am wearing my mask and washing my hands and have only seen McFamily the week before and they're not sick. Just proves to me that I am one of those vulnerable people, I guess. I mean, I know I have a compromised immune system with fibro and all...but this drove the point home, I guess. :(
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I got my card in the mail from the boys.
Sadly, even quarantining for 5 1/2 weeks before I visited them and Leah came over here...I somehow got sick anyways. :(
I really hope they can get together for Thanksgiving after all. Leah's grandpa wants me to get a covid test...but unless you have symptoms or have been exposed to someone else I'm not sure you can even get tested here. And then that would be more exposure just to go in for the testing. So, I think I am going to call the clinic just to question them about symptoms. A phone visit. Just to make her grandparents feel better. Unless I take a turn and start to feel worse (which isn't impossible) I think I just had some regular old sickness. I'm waiting out another 14 days to see what happens.
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Meanwhile, I got a phone call from Caroline's boss on Thursday. I am losing Caroline. I don't plan on having anyone new over till at least January.
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Not one comment on the blog came through to my inbox this week, either. And then I also had trouble leaving comments on other people's blogs this week for the first time. Not that I tried all that many because I wasn't feeling well, but I read them all. Just one of those weeks, I guess.
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But we did finish the Christmas cards, anyways. So, now I need to work up to addressing envelopes. ;)
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I chatted with my mom and she's doing okay. So far so good.
Blogger did not allow one single comment to my email box this week. I do comment on your blogs, though, when I can and read every one of your comments before I post them. This may be the way it is from now on, I guess. Also the videos seem to be smaller in size no matter what I do. Oh well. Adjustments and adaptations are forced upon us. Nothing much we can do about it.
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Well, we had a dusting of snow early in the week. So windy that it blew the dry snow down into the grass and caught it along the edges.
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Big news! Caroline is going to a new job with a different company come the new year. Since she has two jobs at her present company (office and cleaner) she is asking if she can keep me as a cleaning client. After she was promoted, they kind of bent the rules and let her keep a couple of clients she had for personal help visits. But they might not let her keep me when she leaves her main job there. Both Leah and I wrote letters asking to keep her, but who knows? She's been with me since around 2006! She'll let me know as soon as she hears something.
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Annie doesn't like any visitors whatsoever so she doesn't care.
I do, though.
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Partridges were coming regularly, but visits have dropped way down the past several days and I have no clue why.
They should be here more often as it has been so cold. Maybe because I have been gone a bit I just haven't seen them...I hope.
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I've been working on Christmas cards the past week. It's taking me longer than normal as I have had some really sharp back pains--kinks, I call them. So I work a while and rest a while. My back is the boss of me.
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I started out trying the circular die we wanted for the fronts of the cards...but it was really hard to get it out of the die...even using waxed paper.
So I switched up to another Merry Christmas die that was much easier to pop out and will be easier to glue, too, because the font is wider.
That's been my big project for this week.
The Vagabond has been getting a good working out--LOL!
Got 80 out of 100 of them cut out so far.
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On Thursday I went for my first bubble visit in 5 1/2 weeks! Ian was still working on my surprise. I took a short video.
Gramma usually uses the recliner when I am visiting.
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Mama put a halt to the masking tape beginning platform--this was plenty--LOL!
BTW--Ian bundles up all the used tape into a ball and uses it to aim at a masking tape target he made on the wall. Always thinking of something!
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Ian showed me his big drawing of all the characters from Guess How Much I Love You that he made!
Wanted me to be sure and get the whole thing in the picture. It's four sheets taped together to make a kind of mural.
And you can see, that's exactly what we were watching--LOL!
I also got to be there for a second Halloween! Due to USPS being slow with the mail lately half the sugar free candies hadn't arrived in time so the boys got to have a second candy search in the dark with flashlights and glow sticks. Then it was time to divide the goodies evenly.
Ian was in such a generous mood! He gave Gramma a peanut butter cup right off the bat! And he shared with Mama and Daddy...and even Ian got an extra goodie--LOL!
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Annie wants me to settle down in my chair ASAP when I have been gone. Follows me around until I do and then hops up between my legs to sleep. Here she wondered what the heck I was doing, though, taking her picture. She was worried I wanted to get up again--LOL!
Otherwise, did the usual--laundry and cooking and such. Back has been in a really bitchy mood lately...so instead of finishing the die cutting I sat and cut down the front papers that were bad.
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I think I showed you how only some of the fronts I had pre-taped the backs with the double-sided tape (last year, I think) had the glue soak through to the front side. Yuck!
So I had to cut them down--30 of them.
So 70 of them will look like this. The Merry Christmas isn't glued down but other wise these are done.
And 30 of them will look like this.
I cut down, creased, and folded the green card bases. Still have to put double-sided tape on the back of the front background paper and tape them down...and we need to glue down the 100 die cuts on the fronts, too. So a ways to go.
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Luckily, Leah is planning to come over on Tuesday night for a Craft Night!! The first in months and months! I hope to get done enough that all we have to do is glue on the die cuts to them all. They won't all match this year, but them's the breaks--LOL! ;)
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I went back for another bubble visit yesterday so I could spend time with the boys while Dagan and Leah worked on stuff. Liam and Ian were supposed to work on making paper turkeys from their handprints, color them, and then Ian cut them out. Liam didn't last long after the hand tracing. He always seems to need to go find Mama, so I wasn't able to keep him out of their hair the whole time when they were working upstairs. (Sorry, guys!)
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But Ian worked on the turkeys, finished them, and then did a little writing on and signing his name to the cards. They were making cards to thank Uncle Aaron and his Great Grandma and Grandpa for all quarantining for two weeks so they could come over for Thanksgiving...and plus a hope you have a good Thanksgiving card for his cousin's family since they can't come (because they can't quarantine for two weeks as they teach school).
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Yes, I forgot to take pictures.
We were so busy. ;)
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This afternoon Leah is picking up Cashwise groceries--and not only some for me, but her grandparents and brother so they can stay quarantined till Thanksgiving. She does the drive up thing where they just stick it in the trunk. I'm meeting her at my garage because I have a couple things to bring out anyways and I try to leave the apartment as little as possible. Two birds with one stone. We do masks, etc. Leah washes up well when she gets home--me, too, after I put my groceries away. Life is just like this now. It is routine. :)
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Woke up to a little more snow again. It's 24 degrees right now (-4.4 C just asked Alexa) and supposed to get down to 16 tonight (-8.9 C).
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Three residents and one employee have tested positive where Mom lives now. That's the most residents there have been. I hope they nip it in the bud again. They've been so strict there, but the virus is running rampant everywhere. Fingers crossed and saying a prayer.
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Meanwhile...I shall be working on the Christmas cards and looking forward to a Craft Night with Leah tomorrow! Stay safe everyone! :)
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"Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity or registering wrongs."
This was the first year since I moved here five years ago that the trees across the way didn't change from right to left. They changed right, left, and then center. Well, that's 2020 for you.
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I worked on a bonus class from my Wanderlust course election night. I love mandalas so this was a good choice for me to play with while I watched the partial results. Kept me calmer while we were all left hanging. Instead of doing all the inking first she wanted us to be looser and put in the color first sometimes. Well, I made the entire mandala with my watercolor pens first. (Was going for portability.)
Then added the pen doodling.
May not seem much looser than I normally am--but it is. Somewhat.
I will have to try this class again when I am not so tense--LOL!
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Like most of us I was waiting and waiting all week to hear the news of who won the election. Some of us were upset with the results and some of us were happy. Let's just say I have been sleeping much better since Saturday.
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Otherwise is was a usual week with laundry, trips to the dumpster & garage, cooking, baking, running the dishwasher, and feeding critters. Had packages come from Amazon...board games for Christmas! Gramma will want to play, too. Liam will need help from an adult...so just maybe he might accept help from still fairly scary Gramma he doesn't see often enough...? ;)
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Chutes and Ladders, Sorry...
...Parcheesi, and a kind of Connect Four--wooden travel size, not the original game.
Saw warnings about ordering early this year since the mail can be slow so I have the main big stuff already. Can pick up a couple small things next month so they have something just for themselves since all these presents are for the both of them together. We got games like that for my brother, sister, and I. They were really fun but we still wanted something just for ourselves, you know?
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Speaking of for yourself...lol! I finally got a cheap little laundry cart and tiny wastebasket for in-between the washer and dryer.
I had one at my old apartment but it was falling apart and I never did replace it when I moved here. This one was inexpensive and it is a bit rickety but I don't need to pull it out very often so I hope it holds together for a while, anyways.
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Woke up to snow again this morning.
The partridges have been here five six times already.
Well, I think I have at least two coveys--possibly three--so I shouldn't say "the" partridges--LOL! Partridges or some of the partridges is more accurate, I guess. :)
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I have pictures from Leah from the past month. These are included probably more for Gramma than anyone else--LOL! But here you go...
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Their cat Blink likes to watch Ian at school. She's perched up on the ledge observing all the activity.
Leah added some of our oval wooden labels to the taboret drawers.
Nice and organized.
The long hanging file folder thingie is working really well, too.
I am glad to see things are going so well for kindergarten at home. I think Ian loves his little laptop.
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They had six pumpkins from the garden for Halloween carving.
One was green.
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We had snow so many times in October I don't know when this was from exactly but I love the handprints on the snowy deck.
The boys have their own snow shovels. Here they were helping on the driveway.
Of course one must take time out to make snow angels...
...and snowballs.
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I loved this picture of the boys both busy with their own art projects.
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There were icicles in their tree in the front yard...
...almost looked like decorations put there on purpose--LOL! Bet it looked pretty with the colored lights turned on at night.
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The boys spending time reading with Daddy.
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I was really impressed by this puzzle Ian must have cut out himself.
A pumpkin puzzle.
Not sure if this was a print off from school to color and cut out, but that would be my guess. Looks like lots of fun...and they were trying to find the last piece--lol!
Ian made a spiderweb from masking tape...with things the spider caught in it, too.
Looks like a puzzle Liam would like to try.
I think Ian made this spooky mask.
And I can tell they got packets of sugar free candies from Mama and Daddy. I think they had a hunt for them in the house.
Can you tell when we've been in quarantine for one reason or another the past 5-6 weeks that we get a bit out of touch--LOL! We'll finally be able to see each other again after Thursday. :)
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On one of the nice days this past week (where we were in the 60s and even hit 70s) Mama was taking pictures of the boys in front of the tree in the front yard.
I see Liam mostly like this...more somber.
But he can be silly like his big brother...
...and smile a lot, too.
Ian's hair is pretty long.
Leah has trimmed it a couple of times, I think, but he is determined to grow it long like Mama's. Pretty soon he'll have to start wearing it in a ponytail like his Uncle Chuck.
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Anyways, I can hardly wait to be able to go over for a bubble visit again. :)
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Blogger has been really erratic--so what else is new? First, quite suddenly, I was getting all your comments in my inbox! But then none at all. So if I responded, you know you were one of the ones who made it through--LOL! Not something I can depend on anymore, I guess. But I read every word. :) I don't want to try turning off moderation because I am still getting quite intimate regular invites for sexual romps. ;)
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Until next week. :) :)
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"Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to a divine purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, there is one thing we do know: That we are here for the sake of other men--above all for those upon whose smile and well-being our own happiness depends, for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy. Many times a day, I realize how much my outer and inner life is built upon the labors of people, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received and am still receiving."
