October 30, 2023 Monday--11am

 Good morning!  (Big news at the end.)

I just stayed put, drank a lot of water, and cuddled up with Allie on Monday.  I never did call again on the breaker--but to my surprise, Gerald showed up at the end of his day about 4:30pm.  AND--of course--the overhead lights in the pantry and hallway did not trip the breaker!  They all worked!??  I was baffled.  But--Gerald believed me and decided to change the breaker regardless.  No issues since.

Leah dropped me off some oil of oregano on Monday.  She knows how hard antibiotics are on my system, I did not want to go in to the clinic unless I got worse, and the oil of oregano is supposed to be the best natural thing for UTIs.  So I have been taking 3-4 of the caplets every day.  Was sick--but no worse till Wednesday.  That night I had bad diarrhea and the temp was back up to 101...but after that the fever basically broke I've been feeling better than I did.  Since then, I might run a low temp in the evenings (99.4), but no temp all day.   Just tired.  But nothing like where I was dozing off for 5-10 minutes here and there all day, taking naps, and still sleeping 8-10 hours at night before Wednesday.  So I have felt on the mend now.

Leah and the boys dropped off some groceries on Tuesday.

Wednesday Leah dropped off some pre-made foods for me.

Thursday she and the boys dropped off some cat food for Miss Allie before their trip and the boys went down to check my mail for me, too.  :)  Leah even said I looked better and perkier than I had been.

Friday morning woke up to this.

Very pretty!  That little bit of snow has never totally left.  Too cold to melt away, really.

As you can see, as soon as I put out food and shut the door there were flocks of small birds at the Critter Cafe.

I figured it was time to switch to that last shower curtain--lol!

It is very pretty!  You're looking at a small clear pathway through a tall snowy forest where there is a light beyond...

 ...and light above.

It's how I feel in the forest.  Safe, small, and quite appropriately awed.  :)

On Friday McFamily left for Warroad, Minnesota (up by Canadian border) for a visit with Dagan's half-brother and his family and a birthday for his little niece who is just five, I believe.  They did hit some snowy roads and took it slowly.  Each of the boys picked out a present for Evie.  They'll be driving home on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, I have been just on R&R.  Other than doing laundry and dishes, been taking it really easy and just glad I am feeling better and better.  I see the partridges several times a day, too.

I watched all the seasons of Rebus on BritBox, a complex Norwegian serial killer murder mystery on Netflix called The Snowman, an odd assortment of historical documentaries on YouTube (ancient Egypt, life in Medieval England, and witch trials), a few movies, and my usual YouTube vloggers.

Even by today the snow isn't gone.  Although by my patio all the grass has been pecked and trampled free of snow by the partridges--lol!  Allie has really been keeping an eye on all the activity.  Seems to calm her to watch her CatTV.

The flowers fought bravely for the first day or two of the freezing weather, but they are all goners now.

I have missed these guys and gals.  But today there has only been five.

And I didn't see anyone limping or hopping.  ??  

Could be another covey, but it could mean those two injured birds have given up the trip into town?  Best case scenario, of course.

They do often hang about nearby now that it is cold enough that humans are rarely ever using the sidewalk.

When the snow and freezing weather arrives it gets very quiet on the backside of our buildings without the runners, skateboarders, roller-skaters, joggers, bicyclists, walkers, and dog walkers.  They can hang around and relax.  I love to see them all calm and just chillin' nearby.  :)  Winter is here!

We can't forget Miss Allie.

Like most cats, when it gets cold out they get even cuddlier--lol!  

We are their human hot water bottles!  LOL!

So, Keanna comes on Tuesday to clean.  McFamily will be driving home on Tuesday.  

Beginning this coming week our lives will be changing BIG TIME!  

I couldn't say until it was a known fact...but Leah got a job where Dagan and Trent work!  She'll be doing basically what she used to do over a decade ago before Ian came into this world--lol!  All this wasn't totally planned but was one of those opportunities that fell in their lap.  They'd been looking for someone for over five months to fill this position.  And it just so happened they were looking for someone with Leah's particular skillset!

Long story short--Leah applied and got called in for interviews a couple weeks ago.  She had back-to-back interviews--four of them--with two people at once in one of those interviews.  She stopped here afterwards.  You know how you don't want to jinx things--but Leah really liked it there and liked all the people (we already know how good they have been to Dagan)--and she could imagine being happy working there.  It is a type of job she is quite familiar with and she'd get paid well so that the boys can go to Montessori.  (None of us wanted them in public school right now...Montessori goes through 6th grade, anyways...will have to figure what comes next for them at that point.)

Both Dagan and I thought she'd get this job right from the get-go!  Just has seemed meant to be--period.  :)

The boys were over to visit at the Montessori School this past Thursday.  Ian used to go there for preschool before Covid.  Liam was too little to have gone back then, but he loved the visit last Thursday.  The boys are starting school on Wednesday and they both sound really excited.  Leah starts her new job the following Tuesday on the 7th of November.  Big changes for McFamily!!  

So that is what's happening up here.  The little news and the big news...you are basically all caught up.  They predict more snow today.  

I do love the snow but having snow before Halloween never used to happen when I was young.  It was rare we ever even needed to wear sweaters or jackets or long underwear or anything like that under our costumes.  There was a rare cold or chilly Halloween--but I do not remember snow.  Ever.

I do remember the huge record-breaking Halloween blizzard in Minneapolis (we had another blizzard that wasn't as bad on Thanksgiving that very same year) in the very early 90s.  Was over two-feet of snow, if I recall.  Was it 1991?  Anyone remember?    Buried my car--roof and all.  Every inch of it.  Seems anything has become possible these last few decades, though--lol!

Anyways, not a blizzard coming.  Just a little snow.  50% chance of it getting here.  I'm one of the few who would love to see some soft big floaty flakes.  Such a rarity up here in windy country.  One can dream.  ;)  Till next week, my friends...

October 23, 2023 Sunday--6pm

 Hello and happy Monday!

Not that it is the happiest of Mondays for me.  I think I may have a bladder infection.  Been endlessly running to the bathroom to pee and have had a temp of up to 101 degrees on Saturday.  Feel a bit better now on Sunday but still have a temp of about 100.  Writing this early in case I have to go to the walk-in clinic Monday. 

I worked this week on finally switching over the winter clothes.  I'm probably 3/4 done but then haven't felt good for a few days and I didn't get any farther.   Same with the Christmas cards.  I got all set up and taped maybe 15-20 more of the inside panels...but that was as far as I got.  (Was watching Quirke on BritBox.)  

Oh, and Connie was right!  That silly wooden rabbit holds my cell phone just fine--lol!  I am using it for now.  :)

So very happy to see partridges here and there this week.  Anywhere from eight to two at a time.  

The two crippled birds are still doing okay.

Leah texted me Saturday that the pallets are all in the garage...but they probably wouldn't be over to reorganize until after Halloween.

I called again last Monday to get the breaker box fixed/have them find out why my electricity is going bonkers.  No Gerald all week.  I am not sure he is even getting the work orders as there have been complaints about this new "hub" telephone system not forwarding messages.  I need to call again, but I might not until I feel better.  

So that is it for this week.  Hopefully will feel much better by next week.  Till then, my friends.  :) :) 

October 16, 2023 Monday--2:45am

 A very good early morning to you!

Cloudy days.  Sunny days.  Windy days.  Rainy days.  All of them chilly--lol!

The petunias have survived the freeze and frost warnings so far, but they are looking a bit more peaked and saggy than they used to.

Under the weather would be more literal--lol!

I figured it was time for the falling leaves shower curtain to go up.

At the rate we're going I'll be hanging the one with the snowy trees sooner than I thought--lol!

This week I got more done on the Christmas cards.  I made the additional inside panels I needed.  Then began adding the double-sided tape on to the backsides of the front and back panels.

Above you can see I was doing that while watching the Goulet weekly Pencast.  :)  

I discovered that the arthritis in my hands didn't approve much of the taping hand movements.  I could write and color without too much of an issue--or more than the usual, at least.  This time they were getting quite cranky.  Could also be the change in the weather?  Anyways, I am going to need more breaks than I had thought I would.  Oh well.  Won't stop me.  ;)

Turned out I sent back the rest of those organizers to Amazon.  The third one I got that was supposed to spin...well, it didn't like spinning at all and was crookedly attached.  So I sent them all back--including the two stationery ones (that were smaller than expected because they were so thick).  Three out of three spinning organizers didn't spin or were completely broken.  Let's just say I would not suggest buying anything from Hennaja on Amazon. 

Amazon had a big two-day sale and I took a chance and bought a different kind of organizer for really cheap ($13).  Looked like it could hold a lot.  Here's the picture right on the outside of the box that came.  I knew I had to put it together, did not have high expectations, but the price was right--lol!

Piles of pieces.  Picture instructions, at least, and a tiny screwdriver.

Turned out to be quite a floppy project where I could have used an extra set of hands--lol!  I found things to prop it up or hold things in place while I screwed in added parts.

Eventually I had success!!  It is on the flimsy side but should hold together for a good while, I think.

I had no trouble starting to fill it up.

But what the heck is this?

A wooden rabbit??  What is it for?  I cannot see any purpose for it other than entertainment.

For now it is sitting next to the organizer on the lazy susan.  So silly!

But now I have more room!  I can even fit a full-size box of Puffs behind the organizer!  TaDa!  I do go through my tissues.  (Chronic sinus has been worse the past couple years, too...along with everything else--lol!)

After I had emptied, cleaned, and redone the kitchen table lazy susan...did the same with the one to the right of my chair.  My pens and drinks one.  Now delightfully free of the excess that was crammed on it...like medications and lip balms, etc.  All my letter writing gel pens plus some markers, too.

I can fit a full-size box of Puffs now over here, too!!  Whoohoo!  Not even in the way of my perpetual coffee and water mugs.  :)

The last lazy susan I cleaned and reorganized to the left of my chair.  I have a bunch of sugar-free gums and mints that the boys come looking for every time they are here.  I use them a lot, too.  There were just too many bottles and packages around, though--so I got the idea to repurpose my weekly vitamin containers that I am not currently using.  

There are gums in this one in the front--labeled underneath on washi tape.  And in the center--yes, washi tape drawers!  Also other stickers and such that I add to letters stacked in a couple small containers on top of the washi tape drawers.

Now one side has all the lotions...and my sugar-free chocolate and peanut butter chips for treats.

The other side has the medicinal stuff--from Tums to Melatonin to eye drops.  Behind all those in that wooden organizer are notebooks and remote controllers.  This lazy susan is still the most packed.

When I got done with all of that reorganizing...I could get back to working on the Christmas cards little by little.  

Reorganizing all the lazy susans was another one of those projects that takes forever...is a real mess while it is in progress, but barely noticeable when finished.  I am so happy, though.  Feels very different to me to have them so organized.  Hasn't been this organized since they were first here.  (And they had less stuff on them--lol!)  

Oh, and I got the rest of the mints and gums into unused vitamin containers, too.  All the extras are now in a box up in the cupboard and not scattered all over the countertop.  Hurray!

There is a variety of other sugar-free goodies in the cookie jar, too.  

The vitamin containers are all labeled on the bottoms.  I have a lot more gums than mints right now.  Low on mint selection--big blue one.  (Gramma likes variety, as you know.)

Once I get a few more mints I will be set for many months.  :)

You may recall I had set up letters (after way too long) recently.  I didn't think I had done much this past week again but I did have 14 letters set up and now I am down to six.  So I am making progress there.  My hands writing with a fountain pen can still do pretty well for quite a while without complaining.  Fountain pens make the biggest difference.  Even better than a gel pen.  Less pressure and gripping--FPs just flow so smoothly.  I have discovered yet another reason to love fountain pens over the years...arthritis--ROFL! 

Someone asked me what I meant by setting up letters.  I use these little folders or folio pads.  Have the envelope all addressed and stamped on the left side in the pocket.  (I'm covering their addresses with post it notes.) 

On the right side under the clip I have whatever I have chosen to write on (bookcard, stationery, card) along with their letter or card or email printed off that they sent to me.   

Then I am all set to go.  By now, though, I have another 4 or 5 I need to set up.  I keep them in a basket on the table until I get them ready.  They are stacked in with paperwork I need to file in the new file cabinet--lol!  I had best not put it off for very long now that I am finally getting caught up quite a bit.  With the health stuff going on this has happened to me a couple times a year the past couple years, I think...getting so far behind.  All depends on what's is going on and how many spoons I have.  ;)  Just life.  But I always respond--even when I have slow times.  :)  

I do so love me a paper chat and I have the best most understanding pen pals.  They have times, too, where it is harder to respond for a while.  Just how it is.  Heck!  I am even slow on answering emails--lol!  Better when it is because I have been busy using up spoons than because I have none, I guess.  Lately it is more often that I have used up the spoons I did have--lol!  So that is good.

Anyways, when I get them all set up they go over on the fourth and last lazy susan that's on the folding table to the left of my chair.  My letter-writing lazy susan.  I do love being able to reach everything after I bought up the lazy susans.  Best idea I ever had!  Can't imagine my life without them anymore.  One must adapt to one's circumstances, right?  (And one's lack of arm length--ROFL!)  I always needed them in my kitchens because I am so short.  Made sense to me to have more of them around, if to no one else--lol!

Oh, how could I forget!  Turned out the breaker/fuse tripped every time I turned on the pantry light or the light in the hallway.  I called on Tuesday and even talked to somebody at the new "hub" we have to call to report stuff or talk to a human, if we are lucky.  He said he thought it was just the breaker going bad and needing to be replaced.  Sounded like they'd had this happen before.  He would send in a repair request to Gerald.  

But no Gerald--all week.  So I have to call again today, I guess.  It's a good thing I was too tried and sore to untangle all the cords I had messed with to plug into the kitchen outlet.  It is still like that.  Even though I can flip the breaker back now--it could quit working altogether at any time.  So, I have not been using the pantry or hall lights.  Makes it difficult to see what you are doing when you are scooping the cat box--lol!  But the worst part is Keanna comes on Tuesday and she won't be able to see very well to clean the pantry floor.  Oh well.  All I can do is call again.  

I remember there was a notice in our weekly flyer a few months back about how people had been complaining that requests were not being forwarded by this new phone hub thingie (more impersonal and harder to reach a human than in our office).  I guess that is true.  Gerald is usually here in a day or two.  I wonder if he ever got the work order at all?  But they do overwork him.  I think he might be the only maintenance man since Covid for several of the complexes Goldmark oversees.  Anyways, I hope it is just the breaker needing replacement.  I do not like electricity acting up out of the blue.  I always think of fires, you know? 

So that is how the week went.  McFamily was busy all weekend with an Octoberfest event and a golf event.  So no working with Trent on the apartment.  I think Leah picked up my wild bird seed order from Fleet Farm Sunday.  I am just going by our shared calendar.  

Sadly, I have not seen the partridges again all week.  They might be coming early in the morning, but I doubt it because they'd be back during the day, too.  I hope they might return at some point.  Regardless, I will be feeding all the little birds all winter and need the seed for all my little buddies.  :)     

Been a pretty quiet week.  I do so appreciate a quiet week.  ;)  Been sneezing--like with allergies--and nose running a little more than usual.  Just glad to be inside and warm...but able to still crack the patio door open when it climbs into the 60s during the day.  I haven't had to turn the heat on yet this fall.  

Tonight they are talking 33 degrees--so possible frost or freezing again.  The month seems to by flying by!  Half over already!  I shall keep puttering along...working on Christmas cards...letters...whatever I can manage.  :) :)  Hey, I even got three loads of laundry done this week AND put away.  That's something for me lately.  Maybe get enough energy to be back doing P&P again pretty soon.  I have the studio yet to finish going through.  It is all waiting for me.  

I just prioritize according to how I feel each day.  Glad to get something done--even if it doesn't show much--ROFL!  ;)   I am having good days...even if I don't feel that well some days.  Been good days, regardless, you know?  Counting my many blessings.  And you all are counted all the time.  Till next week, my friends.  Good days to you all!!  :)