Category: Family

Winter Hit Hard

Fortunately it isn’t going to last long and has been dry except for snow flurries, often with the sun shining.

We had a wedding and reception here last weekend with about 45 guests. The bride, groom, their sons, and her parents stayed here for 4 nights a few extra guests for dinner the night before and lunch the day after and it was cold, but not as cold as it became a couple of days later. We haven’t gotten up to freezing for several days and a few mid teens nights. It is supposed to temper back to more normal for this time of year weather for the next week.

I have mentioned that the deer population seems to be extremely high this year and they must have figured out that they can’t get shot if they are on our farm.

As I was preparing dinner a day or two ago, I looked down the hill to our lower hay field and there were at least 20 deer grazing down there. The hunting around here doesn’t seem to be reducing the impact. With chronic wasting disease and hemorrhagic disease in deer both spreading across Virginia, it will reduce the load, but will make it more dangerous to take the meat through hunting. So far there is no evidence that the prions from chronic wasting disease has or can be spread to humans, but if it does, it would produce the same type of brain deterioration that Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease does. Wisdom would require that deer taken for meat should be checked and if infected, not eaten.

The monthly Jenkins challenge is two fold. Those of us who wanted to participate, sent 4 ounces of fiber to one of two “Elves” who spent a couple of days together preparing small 5 gram packages labelled with the first 25 days of December and returned them to the participants. Alternatively you could just spin for 15 minutes per day. I elected to participate in the Fibre Sample group and have enjoyed the surprise and pleasure of opening the little package each morning, spinning, plying, and skeining it into a mini skein. At the end of the month, I will need to find a plan for the 25 mini skeins of yarn from different breeds, different breeds, and a variety of colors.

Along with the daily spinning, a couple of Christmas gifts are being made.

This afternoon, Christmas cards were written and prepared to be mailed tomorrow. The house is finally decorated except for the tree which I still need to set up and decorate. Most of the gifts have been purchased or made, but a couple still are undecided. The ones that had to be mailed have been. Christmas is coming up too fast.

Whew, end in sight

On November 28, hubby took a spill in the road where a pedestrian crosswalk sign had been run down and only the rubber base remained. This spill resulted in a 2 cm displaced clavicle fracture, very near the shoulder end. Eleven days later, he finally had surgery to implant a hook plate to pull everything back together. Today 4 weeks post surgery he was told to stop wearing the sling and begin gentle use and schedule 6 weeks of PT to restore strength and range of motion.

The past 5 1/2 weeks have required sleeping in a recliner, eating most meals on a tray in the recliner, and having assistance to shower and dress, mostly in pull on workout pants and shoulder surgery snap up the sides and shoulder shirts. When the weather turned cold, we bought him two button up the front flannel shirts and worked gently and carefully to get it over the injured arm and shoulder before putting the good arm in the shirt.

Today for the first time, he put on the fleece jacket over the flannel putting both arms in the jacket as we were leaving the surgeon’s office. This is good because our high of 44 was at 4:30 a.m. and the temperature has been in free fall every since, aiming for 17 degrees f tonight. Tonight, we will attempt getting him comfortable in our bed, another step in the healing process.

Soon, we will begin walking laps in the mall to start building his stamina back. When he stumbled, he had just walked 5.5 miles and was feeling great.

I immediately contacted the town and reported the sign issue, it had been missing for weeks, and the next day, it was replaced. As we haven’t been walking there since the accident, we don’t know if it is still there, however, it seems to disappear regularly.

We are both grateful that healing is happening and progress is being made in regaining normal use of his arm. The only positive, was it wasn’t his dominant arm and hand.

Preparations for love and joy

November 19-30 are days filled with birthdays, Thanksgiving, and a wedding. The birthdays begin on the 19th with our newest granddaughter by the marriage of daughter to her new hubby in October, this one leaves her teens and turned 20. She is followed by my stepmom, me, granddaughter, daughter.

On Wednesday, eldest son (the groom), his bride, his son, her son, and her parents will arrive to stay with the us for the long weekend of celebration. Daughter will host Thanksgiving for 16, with contributions of help by son to spatchcock and season the turkey, me to provide some sides, relishes, and pies, and extra chairs.

Friday we have a traditional Ukrainian pre wedding dinner for those staying here and a few other guests and meeting up with daughter to give her a birthday card. The wedding will be in our home on Saturday with a light meal reception following. Sunday will have a traditional Ukrainian post wedding lunch.

Today, all guest beds have been made with fresh sheets, all floors swept and mopped. The cheeses and crackers for the cheese board were purchased. Other food purchases that I am providing will be made as the week goes by so they are still fresh when ready to serve.

Tomorrow, cranberries will be cooked, no canned cranberry sauce here, a couple of pumpkin pies also prepared and cooked. The brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes will wait until Thursday morning after breakfast for all the houseguests is done.

Such an exciting time. Then on to preparing for Christmas. Family tradition forbids me from decorating until after daughter’s birthday and this year, the wedding in the house. Next week, the bins of Christmas decorations will be hauled upstairs and the house will be festive for that holiday for a month.