A Small and Quiet Christmas

It's been a week of ups and downs. I got my cast off on Tuesday, and I had to get used to walking around on crutches pretty much full time. I had no idea I would get so tired.

I kept the knee scooter to use at home and so I don't have to struggle with the crutches in the middle of the night when I get up to use the bathroom.

I have to do exercises to get my ankle back to normal and to wake up the muscles and nerves. My foot is still very swollen and stiff. The exercises make my ankle very sore, but they do reduce the swelling.

Getting around at work is a pain, especially if I need to carry something in my hand.  Just going to the fax machine is an expedition.

And to top off the week, Charles' 89 year old dad was admitted to the hospital. We feared the worst, but we got good news today that he is responding to treatment. He'll need to be in a skilled nursing facility for a week to continue his antibiotic therapy, but if he continues to improve, he'll be able to come home.

Charles is tired, too - he has been taking care of everything: cooking, cleaning, laundry and lifting my scooter in and out of the car, which is not good for his back. Now that I'm only using the scooter in the house, he is relieved of that duty.

We haven't done any decorating at all for Christmas. We are going to put the tree up tomorrow with Phoebe and Odin's help, and get the house spruced up for the holiday.

For a few short hours we switched from thinking about finally getting ready for Christmas to thinking about the quickest way to get Charles to California to be with his family, but the news today was good, so we changed directions again, back to holiday preparation mode.

I'm glad that I have a long weekend, and that Charles has all of next week off. Phoebe and Odin are here from Fairbanks, and Miguel and Becca are back east with Becca's family for Christmas.  We decided not to have our open house this year, so Christmas will be quiet and small: fewer gifts, fewer decorations, fewer cookies, but with just as much expectation, joy and love,  and, thinking about Charles' dad, with much gratitude and relief.

A Down Week

I've been down this week.  I had an unfortunate incident at work, and it has stuck with me, resulting in thoughts of "If only I had handled things differently...", and "I should have done THIS, not THAT...", and wondering if I am in the right place.

Self doubt, regret and not a little depression have been my constant companions his week.

But God's excellent timing brought me Hallie Lord's new book: "On The Other Side Of Fear: How I Found Peace". It's a quick read abut trusting God and being grateful in all things. She experienced health problems, financial difficulties and marital discord, and writes so honestly and openly about her life.  It was just what I needed this week.

I'm still having a hard time, but I am going to try to put my trust in God.

Phew! That Was Close!

Hi gang - remember me?

It's been a long time (again) since I posted, and I almost didn't post this time, because I couldn't seem to access my "New Post" button.

Anyway, problem solved, thank God!

Among the many reasons that I have been incommunicado is the fact that this laptop is on its last legs and is really uncomfortable to type on.  I suppose I could post on my phone, using my thumb, but that leads to pain and suffering.

I have been keeping up with Facebook (maybe a bit too much Facebook, according to my son, who thinks I live on Facebook).  I do enjoy reading my friends FB posts and commenting on their goings on, and I like to post photos, which I can't seem to figure out on this computer.  How do I get my iPhone photos on my MacBook?  Anyone?

IF I could figure out how to do this, I could put pictures on El Bloggerino.  So, any ideas would be helpful.

I need a new laptop.  OR, I need a tablet with a really good keyboard.  Charles has an iPad with a separate keyboard.  Maybe that's what I need.

In other news, I have lost 22 pounds!  Hooray!  Thanks to Dwija over at houseunseen.com, who turned me on to Trim Healthy Mama, I have finally found the key to losing weight!

Let's see, what else?  Our car is dead, so we need a new car.  Preferably one that runs.  And that is not a 2003 VW New Beetle.  Remember those cute old VW Beetles, that had the engine in the back, and seemingly ran forever?  The 2003 VW New Beetle is not one of those.  Our Beetle, which we bought because it was cute (never be taken in by cute), and it was a diesel (better mileage! less $$!) turned out to be a disaster.  We still owe almost 5K on it, and it would take about 3K to get it running again.  I think we would rather spend 3K on a better car.  So, we will take the bus and borrow cars and beg rides until we have enough scraped together to get a different car.

We went to Sitka this past weekend, which was great.  However, when we returned home, we were greeted by our two dogs, one of whom, Beans was limping and holding up a bloody paw.  I tried to stop the bleeding by applying pressure, but she was really losing a lot of blood.  So off we went (via Becca's car) to the vet, who stitched up Beans, who had torn her little pad down to the bone, and cut in between her toes.  Fifteen stitches and $872 later, we brought her home to recuperate.

            [Gosh, this post really is not supposed to be about money, or the lack thereof!]

Good news!  I lost 22 pounds (I know I said that before, but I'm trying to change the subject)!

One of the things that happened while I was trying to figure out how to post was that I couldn't find any of my followers. I thought that they had all disappeared, or abandoned me because I am such a bad blogger.  Thank goodness, when I fixed it (I have no idea how it happened), PRESTO! there they were again.  And I'm glad!

Bear with me and be amazed at the sheer quality of my ramblings.  And perhaps, you may be treated to photos, if I can figure it out.

Thanks for reading!