Blessed Holiday

 Christmas 2024 is all but a wrap. Sarah and Catherine, Emily, and Erin all came home for the holiday. What a treat for this old KY Lady to be all of us together with my girls for a holiday - that was the best present of any. I like to leave decorations up until after New Year’s Day. It seems that people who get things decorated early are ever so speedy to get them all put away again. 

Auntie Em 💖

Reading new books in the new tent

Catherine "learning" music from her mommy

More learning music

so many candy canes

Auntie Erin plays on and off with the lights

Candyland - Catherine knows colors and can count.  The concept of board game is not quite there yet. 

We visited the park to see the lights. Catherine gets a ride.

Catherine loves hot chocolate.

Erin is engaged – she and Tanner made the commitment about a week before Christmas. There is another wedding to be planned, although Emily has most of her planning completed. Emily is a go-get-‘em type of person…can’t say that she inherited that gene from me. I’m a how-much-longer-can-I-procrastinate type of person, mostly.

Showing off those beautiful rocks

Sarah’s baby belly is getting bigger and rounder (my excitement is growing as well). The baby is due in early April. The plan is that I will stay with Miss Catherine during the birth and hang around until Sarah can manage a baby and toddler without help. Catherine will have to learn to share her parents’ attention…as all children with siblings do. I remember all too well when Sarah realized what it meant to have two newborn babies in the house – she was eight years old when Erin and Emily were born. I was busy with one baby (or perhaps both…it’s all such a blur) when Sarah said ever so sadly to me, “You’re just never going to have time to do anything with me again.” I admitted to her that it was going to be a long while, probably. It made me feel guilty and sad, but there was no point in lying about it.

Someone starts his physical therapy tomorrow (to recover from his rotator cuff surgery earlier this month). He survived it, but it’s been pretty rough for him so far. He will return to work next week if he can drive. I’ll take him to a vacant parking lot this weekend so he can experiment with how it will be to drive with only his right arm.

Someone will be recovering, and I will be busy getting courses ready to open for Spring semester at college #2. College #1 has a session in progress…I’m still working that job but thinking about leaving that position this year. The student population has changed a lot since they merged with two other college systems. Not only that, they keep asking me to do more tasks as part of my job with absolutely no increase in pay. It’s to the point that it feels like charity work for the amount of time I’m required to put in. For college #1, I need to create a course for teaching the basics of Python. I’m looking forward to this one, but it’s stressful figuring out how to plan things out. As an experienced IT person and coder, it’s hard for me to gage how quickly or slowly an inexperienced and average person will learn their first coding language (not to mention, I’ve never taught a coding language). I will have to rely on the publisher’s recommendations for this first iteration of the course.  

With the start of January begins the dreariest season.  Don’t get me wrong, I love some aspects of winter. But for me, winter is just the time of anticipating the more desirable seasons. My focus (so as to distract from the dark dreariness) will be getting more fit and getting this house in better shape. Lord knows that me and this house are in great need of vast improvements. Fortunately, the weather can be delightfully variable in the Ohio River valley. Even in the bleakest winter, we can occasionally get sunny days with weather in the 50s.  Hope springs eternal for those days.

Erin loving on our zoo (they don't mind the cold)

Death by Pot Roast

 It has crossed my mind many times over that I could kill Someone with pot roast.  Someone is a hard-core carnivore in every sense of the word. I like to put a roast in the crock pot in the morning. Dump in a chunk of meat, onion soup mix, ketchup (or tomato juice), chopped-up carrots and potatoes, a stalk of celery because it makes it smell extra good, and use the setting for low heat. It cooks all day long while the house is empty (except for our sweet dogs). When I come home, I can smell that wonderful aroma before I even open the door.

Early in our marriage, I learned that Someone always eats in one meal whatever amount of pot roast that’s cooked. We can have leftover vegetables, but the meat is never enough that some will be left over for another day. I even bought a larger crock pot so I could cook larger roasts, and then it just got ridiculous. Nobody should eat that much meat in one week, let alone one meal.

Someone is well aware of the fat content in a beef roast. He doesn’t care. It’s why he runs (he says). He can just eat whatever with no consequences because he runs. I don’t think it works like that, but what do I know? At this point, I just make pot roast a few times a year. Of course, it’s a simple task and Someone could make his own damn pot roast, but in his mind, a crock pot is a black box device that requires two x chromosomes to divine.

Someone is about to have rotator cuff surgery (Monday afternoon). He will not be running again for many weeks. He’s been stressing so much that…I might have to start drinking again. No, just kidding, but Lord, he’s driving me crazy with all the stressing out he’s doing. We are very different types of people, or maybe I’m just better at appearing chill to the outside world when my inner world is walking a tightrope. Right now, and for the past week, his entire world is revolving around this surgery and his recovery. For whatever weird reason, he even took off half this week so that he has extra free time to worry about it all. 

To say I’m ignoring it would not be true. Of course, I have to be involved. I’m taking him to the hospital and bringing him home. He won’t be able to drive for weeks. I’ll have to take him to physical therapy several times a week and to his follow-up doctor appointment. I won’t be able to go anywhere until he’s managing himself, but fortunately I can work remotely. And here we are on the brink of Christmas. I still have shopping to do, and decorating, and presents to wrap and ship.  It’s a lot…and I have only two days of freedom left. That’s what’s on my mind, far more so than his shoulder.

So, enough blogging for now. I’m out of here soon to go Christmas shopping and dog walking…and there’s a basketball game on TV at noon that I want to watch. Just maybe, I’ll go hit a small bucket of golf balls today. We have unseasonably warm weather today – we can’t let that go to waste!

Family Expansion

 Baby Catherine is now a toddler, some two years old, plus a month. Time has flown by and she is starting to talk in a way that I can understand her some of the time. I got to babysit her for several days last month while her mommy went away to a conference. It was great fun to spend so much time with her. Sarah wants her to call me Grandmother, but she usually calls me Grandmothee, which is close enough and rather endearing (to be fair, everything about her is endearing 😊).

While I was visiting, Catherine’s Daddy stopped in with a pizza for lunch to share with all of us. Catherine loves pizza. He asked her how many pieces she wanted to eat. She replied, “One at a time.” The little munchkin ate three pieces! She’s a hearty eater and a healthy girl. What a blessing that is!

Sarah and her spouse are expecting another baby in April. Again, the gender will be unknown until birth…that’s the plan. Drat it!!  I want to know! Patience is not my virtue. So, another grandbaby is one way our family is expanding. Catherine will be a big sister.

Emily is getting married next May. Logan proposed on the Fourth of July. We are thrilled for them; they have a lot in common, I think. They seem very smitten with each (as it should be), he’s very good to her, so that’s good enough for me. Emily, Sarah, Erin, Catherine, and I were all together in Lexington when Emily tried on wedding dresses and selected one. That was delightful for me and once she had the dress, it all seemed more real.

Congratulations to Logan and Emily

Erin is on the cusp of getting engaged.  We think it will happen very soon (like, before the end of the year). It’s exciting to think that in a family with no sons, we will soon have three son-in-laws…sons-in-law?? I am pleased. Erin and Tanner have been dating since high school. He has been over many (many) times when Erin and Emily invited friends over. They went to dances together. He already feels like family. Erin said she hopes to have a wedding in fall, 2024. Two weddings in one year!!

Soon to all be part of our family 💕💕

Changing priorities

 Little Miss Catherine will soon be 17 months old. With time speeding by as it does, Catherine has developed into a delightful toddler. I got to stay with her and her daddy a few days while her mommy (Sarah) went away for a business trip.  How lucky for me that I only live 90 minutes away and her parents allow me into their home to be part of this little miracle’s life. I was on spring break so Sarah’s trip was perfect timing for me.

Little Catherine

afternoon recharging

Catherine is just starting to say some words - most distinctly are no, more, and bad. She communicates well by nodding yes and shaking her head no. She blows kisses and waves bye-bye. We had the best time reading books, pretending to cook with kitchen utensils, an empty salt shaker, and measuring cups. We played with a ball and with her other toys. She has a great affinity for music boxes. 

Miss Catherine left me with a wonderful memory. She woke up early one morning and ran over to my bed. I heard her thump on the wood floor with her little feet – running – thump, thump, thump, thump – short but very fast little steps. I lay in my bed pretending to be asleep, hoping she might return to her own bed and go back to sleep. She stood there. I could hear her sucking her pacifier and breathing. Then, she hooted a few times…something like an owl or a dove. It made me smile. I pulled her up into the bed with me and she snuggled up against me. I put the blanket over her and she lay there quietly for 10 minutes or so. She had brought a stuffed bird with her, which she began playing with (I pretended to be asleep).  The bird pecked my arm and my face. Then Catherine began poking my eyes and running her fingers through my hair. Then, ever so gently, she started tracing the lines on my face. That made me smile, and as soon as I did that, she grabbed my nose and gave it a hard twist. That made me laugh out loud. As soon as I did that, she giggled. So much for going back to sleep - playtime was on!

Her giggles are infectious, but oh my, she is coming up on terrible two which, for my own girls, started around 18 months. When Catherine doesn’t have something she wants, she gets mad and then she cries unconsolably. The best solution I found was to show her something interesting or to change venue (take her to a different room).  I try to be a good grandmother/entertainment director. 

We had spring last week – unseasonably warm temperature and sunshine. The Bradford Pear trees exploded into bloom. I know they are bad for our environment and terrible invasive, but their blooms are truly stunning! The magnolias and daffodils bloomed, and now the redbud trees are showing their purple. But for now, we are back into winter until late next week.  So much for spring. Someone and I even played a round of golf one evening while spring was here. It was wonderful to get out to the course again, but so crowded that afternoon. We only got 13 holes in before it got too dark to finish the round.

Early March @ 74 degrees F - a winter gift

The semester is chugging along. I’ve cut back hours at University #2 which has improved my work/life balance. Lately, I’ve been thinking about returning to part-time at University #1. I enjoy the work and the people there, but I want my time to be more flexible. By going part-time, I won’t have to go to campus unless I want to, or if they have some kind of training or event. As long as I keep my students happy, my hours would be whenever I work, day or night, and wherever I am. It sounds great except that the adjunct pay is very sucky. I have already committed for Fall 2023 semester (full-time), so there is plenty of time to think about things. Life is short, and getting shorter.   

Mick and Gracie are getting along very well these days. Mick has started paying more attention to Gracie, in a good way, I think. He still will not play with her, but he no longer avoids her. When I am working at my desk, they sleep side-by-side against my chair. 

Co-inhabitants of my home: Someone, Mick, and Gracie on a very warm winter day

  

Heart expansion

I’m delighted to report that we (Someone and I) have adopted a new dog – meet Mick. Mick is an 8-year-old border collie. He’s incredibly smart and playful, trained extremely well, and an outstandingly good boy. Gracie is learning to tolerate him, thanks to her training last summer (we sent her to charm school for a few weeks) and time she has spent with Leo, Erin’s dog. 

Mick

Good boy, Mick!

Rare photo of Emily with Gracie

Mick seems to be happy living with us. Mick and Gracie share their love of walks. I (and sometimes both Someone and I) take them on a walk every day for at least 30 minutes. It’s their favorite thing to do. Gracie is 12 and starting to lose her hearing so I think at some point, she will be grateful to have a companion who can hear. 

We are a month into winter at this point. Other than that cold snap we experienced when we returned from Florida in December, winter has been incredibly mild (like, 40 to 60 degrees most days). I’m grateful for mild winters because these cold months can be such a long haul! I can be happy outside in the cold if there’s no wind and I’m dressed warm enough.  I love tromping through the woods in the cold winter because the poison ivy is much less of a factor (leaves and vines are much easier to see) and the snakes are all hibernating. Just writing these words makes me want to saddle up my dogs tomorrow and go for a nice long hike!

Someone and I drove over to visit baby Catherine today (and her parents, of course). We didn’t stay long, but long enough for that sweet baby to work her magic on me. Catherine is about 15 months now, so she’s asserting herself more and becoming more vocal about things she likes and wants. She loves books and has a lot of them. She shared some of her favorite pages with me. Her special affinity is for moths and butterflies, spiders, snakes, ducks, and cats. She also recognizes the letter V. When it came time for us to leave, Catherine walked us to the door. I hugged Sarah and our son-in-law, kissed the top of baby’s head, and told her good-bye. She looked up at me with those gigantic eyes and reached up to me, so of course, I picked her up. How could I resist? Then, she clutched me as if she didn’t want me to go. My heart completely melted in that moment. That was seven hours ago, and I’m still thinking about it. That grandbaby!!

Sarah with Catherine

sweetness overload