Starting to look like a winter wonderland

It snowed again this morning.  I went to let Professor out at around 8 a.m. and it was snowing.  Enough that he wouldn't get off the porch, although we only ended up with about 2 more inches.  Except where it drifted across the sidewalk.  There we had about 8 inches of snow to shovel.  What fun.

Fortunately our good neighbor got the driveway apron again.  I'm going to get him and his wife a gift card for a restaurant around here.  They do this every year.  We used to be able to get out there and get it done first but then he told us to stop so we did.  One year the snow plow had gone through and he was at work and no way could he get into the driveway with a 4 foot wall of snow (this was the year of 108 inches of snow) so we headed out there as soon as the snow plow went past and shoveled him a path first.  Still, we get more than we've given.

We got the sidewalks and the driveway done and the truck is out on the street so we can swap vehicles tomorrow.  Plus I had to move the truck out of the way so Zach could get the garbage bin out.  Narrow driveway.

I worked quite a bit on Zach's sweater last night, making progress on the armhole.  I've knitted about 5 inches up.  Another couple of inches to go before I start the neckline.  Then I worked a pattern section on the bamboo patterned socks and a pattern section on the dvd bag. I felt pretty productive yesterday.  Today I'm doing more laundry.  I have another load to finish for sure because I'm out of wrappings for my lymphedema.  Plus I had to wash the curtains separating the bedroom.  Something got spilled on them.  Tom thought Professor peed on them, but it doesn't smell and it's not looking dry so I'm thinking something oily.  I have no idea what it is but it looks terrible.  Not sure it will come out at all.  Tomorrow I'll get the other curtains but I didn't want to do it all today.

Not sure about supper tonight.  I don't have anything laid out but the fish will thaw very quickly so I think it will be fish tonight.  Baked, not poached this time.  With rosemary and butter.  And mashed potatoes (Zach can have fries) because I really want mashed potatoes tonight.  Then more laundry and more knitting on the sweater.  I might get the front done tonight if I get to it quick enough.

Tomorrow I have to transfer money to checking to pay the property taxes.  I won't take care of that until next week but Monday and Tuesday are for dr appointments so I won't have the energy to tackle errands those days.  January is bleeding me dry financially.

Off to take care of laundry and start supper.

TTFN

Stay at home Monday

The weekend was a blur with the attempt at cleaning before company came on Sunday.  I thought I had done okay, considering I'm in a really bad fatigue period right now, only to wake up on Sunday, open up the curtains and blinds and discover dust everywhere.  Too bad.  It was, for the most part, clean.

I had thought about turning my bedroom back into a living room but that would have involved rearranging the dining room, too.  Because I would have to remove some of the furniture in the "bedroom" to make enough room to turn it into a living room.  You wouldn't think it would work out that way, but it does.  In the end, after some exhausted tears, I told Tom I just couldn't do it and he was okay with that.

We had a good time, although I am still very anxious about people inside my safe places.  But we had laughs and fun and stuffed ourselves on summer sausage, braunschweiger, cheese and crackers.  I'm not a big cook anymore and this was less stressful than trying to put on a cooked spread.

My knitting has suffered lately.  I just don't have the energy for much.  I did manage to complete about 12 rows on Zach's sweater.  I'm 4 rows from starting the armhole shaping on the front.  I will get back to it today.  I'm also still working on the dvd bag and the bamboo-patterned socks.  What I really feel like right now is a nap, though.  Still not sleeping well.

I'm doing laundry today, which seems odd since Mondays have always been errand days.  I'm trying to shift it all so I don't run to town because I'm used to running to town.  Next Monday I have a dr appointment in Fond du Lac and Zach's physical on Tuesday in the next town.  It will be a hectic week for me, starting out that busy.

But for now, I'm enjoying a clean house and will shut down here in a few and work on the sweater for a bit before starting supper.  Something to do with chicken breasts since nothing else is thawed out.  We enjoyed some sunshine for a while with warmer temps.  Enough to melt some of the snow on the sidewalk, but it will freeze again tonight and more snow is on the way on Wednesday.  Still, not a bad winter so far.

TTFN

Not loving the snow in spite of having good neighbors.

Bless our neighbors.  Someone, and I suspect it was two different someones, cleared both the driveway apron and our public sidewalk.  So we didn't have to get up early and dig the Town and Country out so Tom could get to work.  We did go out as soon as he left and cleared the rest of the driveway though.  He's going to be taking the minivan instead of the truck for a while, I guess, but I did tell him that I wanted the car when I had errands and such because the truck is crap to drive.  At least I think it is.  It bounces me all over the place.  Plus I have no place to put our shopping unless it's in the back.  Which means I can only shop at one place because I can't leave the stuff in the back of the truck when I'm at another place.

I want him to put the cover back on so no one steals the bags of salt we've got back there providing weight on the axle.  We were lucky no one stole it today but water softener salt is in high demand here.  Nearly everyone has a water softening system because of the extremely hard water here.

Tomorrow will be a cleaning day in case we have company on Sunday.  I'm not scrubbing the house down, but I do want it presentable.  Not that it's not presentable now, but more presentable.

I really need to get back to knitting.  Since I slept quite a bit last night, if not uninterrupted because a certain dog wanted to go out four times last night only to refuse to get off the porch and came right back in, I am feeling a bit more rested today.  But errands wear me out and I still have supper and laundry to do yet.

Which I should get to right away before I completely lose interest.

Like...now.

TTFN

Why, yes...there are 24 hours in a day

Ask me how I know.  No sleep last night.  None.  Nada.  The few times I did drift off, the pain woke me up within a few minutes or the pets needed out for a wee. Professor went out 4 times last night, anticipating the snow storm, I'm guessing.  At any rate, he's sleeping on the bed and I'm still awake.  I might crash here in a bit but I think I'll cook up supper first and leave it in the oven for Zach to turn on.  Pizza Casserole sounds good.

The pain was bad again last night, maybe from the storm front moving in.  Pressure changes do affect me that way.  I did some knitting on the sock yarn sock.  I decided to do a bamboo pattern as it's easy to memorize and easy to see in my dark bedroom.  And I didn't get to the sweater at all because I was really tired.  Not sleepy, but tired.

Probably won't knit tonight though because we'll have to go out and shovel the driveway out so Tom can get the minivan back in.  I didn't want him to take the truck today because the roads aren't clear yet and the truck is absolute crap on the snow.I barely got the truck back in the driveway when we swapped the cars out and it's still snowing steadily.  We've already got about 3 inches but the driveway has about 5 due to the wind blowing it into the driveway like a wind tunnel.  I'll have to get a nap in before we got out at about midnight to shovel.  Maybe my neighbor with the snow blower will get the apron of the driveway at least.  I don't know, though.  He's peeved at us because of the pile of branches and pallets back in our thicket.  It's practically hidden from view but you know how neighbors can be.  He intimated to Tom last summer that he should clean it up.  Which Tom then told me to have Zach take care of.  Not having any place to put the wood aside from in our garden, out of sight of the neighbor's watchful eye, I decided the wood was fine where it was.  It's behind the apple tree and several bushes for pete's sake.  He really has to look hard to see it.

So I guess we'll be doing all the shoveling by ourselves.  The neighbor to the right is a young guy who barely shovels his own sidewalk so we can't expect that kind of neighborly trade off we enjoy with the other neighbors.  Tom made Zach shovel his sidewalk a couple of times last year but he didn't return the favor.  In fact, I can't seem to educate him on the propery line and he insists on mowing and shoveling well into our yarn, but as the property line is on an angle, we end up having to mow his yard in the back.

Next time we move, I want an apartment so I don't have to deal with yard work anymore.  If I want nature, I'll go for a walk or a hike.  All things considered we get less yard if we go by his reckoning.  I don't know why the realtor didn't tell him what his property line was.  You can see it on the town platt that the line is angled.

Yes, I'm cranky when I don't get any sleep.

I gave up on the front door.  The heater helps to a point and no further.  I can't afford to run that heater around the clock so I just opened up the curtains and am using the house temp instead.  I figure the air pouring in around the door won't cost us as much as running that space heater will.  We've been bombarded with all kinds of extra expenses this month that will dip into our minute surplus and I don't know if next month will be any better since Tom is going up north again for ice fishing.   Zach continues to put in applications.  He's put the library on hold because he heard that they don't give out references.  Nothing definite but a librarian from another state told him they don't do that in order to avoid tarnishing their reputations as city workers or something like that.  No sense spending the money to take him to volunteer if there is no return.  I know that sounds awful but it's hard to get a job without references and he needs a job.  We even briefly thought about going back to church to make those connections but just couldn't do it.  It seemed wrong.

Well, I think I will go fix supper and then crash for an hour or so.  I still have to clean house for my sister-in-law's visit.  Tom will want the house really clean but he won't get it spotless.  I'm just too tired and the house is too small to have a place to put everything.

Winter is coming at last.

Another sunshiny, unseasonably warm day.  Temps reached 52F I think.  We dug out the snow shovels and got bags of salt for the back of Tom's truck for ballast (the truck is crap on snow and ice) and enough groceries so I don't have to go back for a week.  I hope.  Winter storm watch goes into effect around midnight, I think.

Also, good news on the front door.  It had gotten to the point where we couldn't shut it very well and opening it was a huge struggle so I put the heater back in the foyer, only on medium high this time and the door is nearly back to normal now.  I don't have to struggle to open it although it's still a bit of effort to shut it.  I figure another day or so and it will be fixed.

Still not sleeping.  Or I'm sleeping but just not enough.  As a result I'm in a bad fatigue cycle and my sister in law is coming to visit on Sunday.  I'll do what I can tomorrow and Saturday but I'm not going all out like I did when my brother in law came up and stopped in.  Tom had thought he would visit for a while, but he only stopped in for about 10 minutes and then left.  I had pushed myself beyond my capabilities and ended up in bed for the next few days.  I won't do that again.  I'll make it presentable but it won't be spotless.

I think Tom's just going to have pot pie tonight for supper because the shopping and errands wore me out (although we finally found a place to sign the recall petitions...YAY!!!)  Fatigue cycles, pain and errands are a bad mix.  So I think I'll just go to bed and do the kitchen tomorrow.  Hopefully I'll get sleep tonight.  I woke up again last night in pain and took an hour or so to get back to sleep.  Once Tom is up and I hear him, I can't get back to sleep so I just get up.  If I'm lucky, I don't hear him and can sleep until noon.

But, I probably will knit a bit tonight.  I broke down and bought Zach a couple of sweaters on sale so when he goes out putting in applications next week, he'll look better.  But I must get back to work on his sweater.  He should wear it this year and not next.

So, I'm off to bed....

TTFN

Felt like spring

We worked outside today because it was so warm.  I tried to cut down all the tobacco plants to throw away but discovered that my shoe was nearly immersed in the mud that was the garden.  I'll have to wait until it snows a bit before I can get the rest of them.  But we did get the Concorde started and let it run for a bit.  Even though we're not driving it, we need to make sure it's still drivable in case we get the opportunity to sell it.  Then we got the trash taken out and threw the old microwave into the bin as well, since we were both out there.  I might get a load of laundry started tonight as well so I can start the dryer when I first wake up.  Otherwise I have to wait until Tom has his shower before I can start the washer.

Baked chicken, mashed potatoes and corn tonight for supper.  If the darned chicken will ever cook.  It's been in the toaster oven for about 2 hours now.  The toaster oven doesn't cook as hot as the regular oven does but I thought I could save a few pennies by using it instead of heating up the whole oven for a bitty chicken.  Not sure it's working out that way.

I haven't gotten back to the sweaters yet.  Last night was a sleepy night and I didn't get a lot of knitting done at all.  I did look at the pattern I plan on using for the sock yarn though.  Other than that, I just read a bit, then watched tv and fell sleep while doing that.  And I still didn't want to wake up this morning.  In fact, I didn't get up until noon.  Trying to catch up on the sleep I lost when I was in so much pain.

We're expecting a couple of inches of snow in the next day or two.  I'm not terribly unhappy about it since we're already into the second week of January.  As long as the weather doesn't play catch-up and we get a bazillion inches before spring. 

Tomorrow I have errands to run and the house to clean.  My sister-in-law is coming over on Sunday and the house really needs a cleaning.  I don't know what to do about the mildew on the bathroom walls.  I haven't gotten to it yet because of the pain and stretching to reach up and scrub it off is painful.  Plus, working with bleach makes me cough and sneeze a lot.  We have had this problem since we moved in.  We use the fan while showering but it doesn't stop the problem.  Even in the summer with the window open the whole time, we still accumulate mildew all over the walls.  We're going to re-do the bathroom this spring so I plan on looking for some mildew resistant primer my mother told me about.  Hope that does the trick.

He wants to renovate it now but it's too cold to paint and putting up the wainscoting before we paint isn't recommended.  But we must get it done this spring.  It's too humid in the summer, even up here.

Smells like the chicken is done and I'm hungry so....

TTFN

Sunny days

I took some pictures today but they're on my other blog.  I need to practice more.  I'm a bit shaky.  I'll try to get some pictures of some projects this week some time.  I do miss doing that.

I'm going through a bad fatigue cycle now that the pain is under control.  I never seem to be free of one or the other.  I'm trying to keep up with the house but I'm not making any headway beyond that.  Still, I'm knitting more than I usually do during these cycles.  I organized the sweater bag, which was terribly tangled up.  The yarn is now in freezer bags to prevent more tangling.  I hope to get back to knitting on the sweaters very soon.  I'm knitting up a bag for Zach's portable dvd player.  He takes it with us on errands but for now is using a huge shopping bag I knitted and it's way too big for it.  So I'm knitting one that is smaller and easier to manage.  Then I'm going to knit a pair of socks with the sock yarn.  I found a pattern in a book I got from the library that I plan on using.

It's been really nice the past few days:  temps in the 40s and sunshine.  Professor was out back this afternoon playing in the yarn.  Till he got tangled in my solar lights.  I just wish I had the energy to enjoy it out there.  I need to refill the bird feeder tomorrow.  Tonight I plan on vacuuming and just general straightening up.  Not sure what to do for supper but I need to do it soon.

Well, I must go dig around in the freezer and the pantry and come up with something.  Then, an early night.  I need to catch up on all that sleep I lost when the pain was bad.

TTFN

Back to my old sleep patterns

I slept very late today, well after noon because I didn't even get to sleep until after 7 a.m.  Damned pain.  Once I got it under control I was awake and getting to sleep took some effort.  Well, staying asleep took some effort.  I would doze off and then snap awake as if I had been startled or something.  Anyway, I did errands today but Zach is going to fix supper and I'm going to bed early.

I finished up the socks last night.  I have no more worsted yarn for socks this year but I still have some sock yarn to work with.  I just need a pattern I love.  I got a book of sock patterns from the library today and my Creative Knitting mag was in the mail box when I got home.  Surely there is one pattern in all of my stash and library books that I will fall in love with.

But...Zach's sweater will be the next project.  And after that, my sweater.  Then, who knows?  I don't plan that far in advance.

I do hope to start taking pictures of my projects, too.  I still haven't learned how to operate my camera but this weekend I'll grab Zach and get a tutorial on it so I can post pictures both here an on my spiritual blog.  I miss doing that.

I didn't quite read a book a week last year.  Well, I think I did but I didn't count books I had already read so the books I read in January and re-read in November and all the books in between actually do add up to more than 52 books.  But I think this year I'll just keep track offline and maybe talk about the books I've read if they're interesting.  I did just finish a biography of Cicero, who has always fascinated me.  But the only book I had read about him took a lot of liberties with his philosophies and had him a Christian long before Jesus was even born.  Since reading more accurate books about him, I've come to the conclusion that I don't really like him much, but he still is a fascinating person of history.  Sort of like Eva Peron.  Fascinating, but maybe not the heroic figure some think she was.  And Dian Fossey.  You don't have to like someone to be intrigued by them.

I've got the heater back in the foyer because I seem to be the only person shutting the door these days.  Zach can't and Tom doesn't shut it all the way because it's so hard to shut.  It wouldn't be so bad if they would shut the curtains to the foyer, but they don't do that either.  So I'm following everyone around, shutting doors and closing curtains.  We'll have to get a new set of doors this summer.  No way we can go through another winter like this again.  The inside door has been shaved or something so there is a half inch gap on the right top of the door and the wind just blows in from there.  Yet on the left side, it's a snug fit.  And the gap where the latch is, funnels cold air in like a fan.  Got the utility bill today and it's a bit high for what we're used to this time of year, but still way below what most people pay.  It was around $126 for gas and electric.

Well, I'm off to bed to read and then watch some tv and maybe knit a bit.  I dare not go to sleep now because I'll be wide awake at midnight and won't fall back asleep until 9 a.m.  Not good at all.

TTFN

The after-holiday crash

As usual, I make it through the stressful times and then fall apart.  Consider me in pieces right now. I am doing much better than I normally do after a holiday period but the fatigue is incredible and I spent a day in pain yesterday.  Although I did manage to get all my work done so Tom will have socks and underwear to wear to work.  But today I had errands and could barely make it through.  It's pizza again tonight because I'm going to crawl into bed here shortly.

I didn't even knit last night because I was too tired.  In fact I fell asleep at 8:30 but woke up around 10 p.m. and couldn't get back to sleep until around 3 a.m.  I don't think I'll knit tonight either because I'm still a bit achy.  I touched my chin earlier and it felt hot but I don't think I'll take my temp as I tend to feel worse if I know my temp is up.  I'll just take some ibuprofen and tramadol and go to bed.

Hannibal is doing fine.  He was acting cheerier yesterday and by this morning his chin was back to normal size so we didn't need the vet this time.  His stomach has settled down, too. 

I'm going to dig Zach's sweater out tomorrow and get back to working on it so I can finish it.  He really wants to wear it this winter.  And I'm close to being done.  I only need to do the sleeves, which are relatively easy.  Then I want to get to work on my sweater.  I'm getting tired of the small stuff.  Although I found these patterns on Ravelry and am debating buying it.  I normally don't, but these patterns are too good to pass up.  I mean, can I really not buy the Fellowship of the Socks?

Well, time to put the pizza in the oven so I can crawl into bed as soon as it's done.

TTFN

Brrrr!

The dryer is fixed and I've been doing tons of laundry, trying to catch up.  I have three loads to go including what is in the washer and dryer right now.  Clean clothes!  And not only clean, but soft.

Hannibal's chin swelled up yesterday to huge proportions.  I'm going to call the vet tomorrow as nothing is open today.  It's a form of acne or something like it.  I think the swelling has gone down a bit and he's not in as much discomfort as he was yesterday (why does everything go wrong on a weekend?) but if it's not significantly reduced by tomorrow morning, I'll call the vet.  He's had this before but it went down on its own with just antibiotic ointment.  I checked online and that's most likely what the vet will do but also with a shot of antibiotics as well.  He's eating and drinking and sleeping just fine.  The online site said if they were in a lot of pain, they would do some low growling and go hide.  He's not growling and is keeping close to us for petting and snuggling so I think he's not in a great deal of pain.  More like a sore that only hurts when you bump it.  Which we're avoiding as much as possible.

We have snow on the ground that, while not a lot, is heavy and a bit icy.  I put salt down on the porch and steps because Professor was having a time getting up and in the door.  He's not staying out much when he goes out for a wee.  He hastens back up the steps and scratches frantically on the door.  Zach will have to shovel today and the wind is very bitter.  I imagine it will involve a lot of short shoveling and then coming back in to warm up.  We have a wind chill of about 4F today.  Brrrr!

I have to go out and about today.  I was going to wait until Zach got up and Tom got home but I think I'll get dressed now and get going.  Well, Tom just got home so I don't have to wait for him.  Anyway...need to get going.

TTFN