Thursday, February 14, 2013
Happy Valentines Day
Its Valentines day and to anyone who may see this I hope its a special one for you.
I came across these acorns while on a walk with my family at the Eau Claire Dells in Wisconsin.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Sometimes Life never goes quite like you plan it
I was hoping to get caught up on my blogging once the Christmas season was over and life would settle down with a bit of free time but life never goes as you plan.
Needless to say - It's been a crazy few weeks for me. My stepfather died on Jan 11. He was 95 years old and had been in very poor health for months and months so his death was not unexpected. It did mean I had to put everything on hold for a couple of weeks and go up to the Northeast Ohio so I could be with my mom during this trying time for her. I really can't complain about things because timing wise it was pretty good. We were past the craziness of the holiday season and the only thing on the calendar was Mardi Gras activities which I really didn't have to be there for them. I just like going to them because they're so much fun. Other than that I really didn't have anything major to deal with- which is unusual because it seems like there is always something going on that I'm involved with.
I decided to go alone with the main intent being so I could spend more time with my mom. My son really didn't want to miss so much school and my husband was very busy with his business. I also decided to drive up there because that gave her access to a big car in which we could move her stuff in. Which we were able to get most of the stuff there in a couple of loads and she was glad I had it.
She's had a place on Lake Eire for about 14 years which she always wanted to move into and make as her permanent place to live but life just didn't work out that way for her until now. The place is fully furnished and so it was just her personal stuff that had to be moved at this time. She still has to figure out what she wants to do with the furniture she had at the other place but that wasn't my concern. I did get to take a nice chair home with me that has a lot of found memories associated with it..
One of the things that had really been bugging me was I thought I was going to have to miss her 90th birthday on Jan 23. We tried planning a party in December but it just didn't work out with peoples schedules - also her friends were afraid of the weather. Then we had to deal with the grandkids being in school for the actual day and again that didn't work out so finally we decided we'd celebrate in the summer when peoples schedules are more flexible. The other big thing too was we were having to deal with her dying husband. Trying to schedule things around that was very difficult because he wanted to be involved too but just couldn't do it.
Well with him dying when he did I was able to stay and celebrate her birthday too. So it really was a good time for me too in a weird sort of way. Its not often you get to celebrate such a special birthday -- 90 years. Its still hard for her to believe that she's actually that old, especially since she has 3 grandchildren under 10 years old. She says she certainly doesn't feel that old and you are only as old as you feel.
I was planning on leaving the day or two after her birthday-- but fate decided otherwise. When I got there the ground was green and no snow in sight, which was perfect for burying someone since they were able to dig the whole for the urn. (He was cremated). After the funeral, each day it started to snow; and it seemed like it would snow 2-4 inches. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal except this snow wasn't going away. It just kept on accumulating making driving conditions miserable. Since I was going so far I decided to stay until some of it went away. This extended my visit longer than I planned but it seemed like it was just right to be there. My mom seemed to need me and I was glad I could be there with her. I was finally able to leave on Monday.
I was glad I decided to do that because my poor car was not used to this cold, cold weather and decided it needed to be looked at by a mechanic. In other words the service engine soon light came on and I definitely wasn't going to drive a thousand miles without having it fully checked out. Normally I do have the car check before I go on a trip but this was such a spur of the moment one I didn't have time for it. We thought it was in good shape because just a couple of weeks before we had taken it on another trip to South Carolina and it did just fine. I really think it had a hard time adjusting to the cold. We had a couple of days where it was down to 2 degrees. This car is used to the sunny south and left 60 degree weather. I did make sure it was fully winterized while it was being checked out too. Once it was taken care of it drove like it always did - as a nice reliable sturdy suv that's great on the highway.
I knew it was time to get home when I found out my son had broken his arm. If its not one thing its another. Now I've had my hands full taking him to doctors appointments and helping tie his shoes again and cutting his food to bite size pieces again.
I started this blog with the intention of writing about the lake effect snow and the lake freezing. Its just going to have to wait until another day.
I muse: I like it when things go as is planned.
Needless to say - It's been a crazy few weeks for me. My stepfather died on Jan 11. He was 95 years old and had been in very poor health for months and months so his death was not unexpected. It did mean I had to put everything on hold for a couple of weeks and go up to the Northeast Ohio so I could be with my mom during this trying time for her. I really can't complain about things because timing wise it was pretty good. We were past the craziness of the holiday season and the only thing on the calendar was Mardi Gras activities which I really didn't have to be there for them. I just like going to them because they're so much fun. Other than that I really didn't have anything major to deal with- which is unusual because it seems like there is always something going on that I'm involved with.
I decided to go alone with the main intent being so I could spend more time with my mom. My son really didn't want to miss so much school and my husband was very busy with his business. I also decided to drive up there because that gave her access to a big car in which we could move her stuff in. Which we were able to get most of the stuff there in a couple of loads and she was glad I had it.
She's had a place on Lake Eire for about 14 years which she always wanted to move into and make as her permanent place to live but life just didn't work out that way for her until now. The place is fully furnished and so it was just her personal stuff that had to be moved at this time. She still has to figure out what she wants to do with the furniture she had at the other place but that wasn't my concern. I did get to take a nice chair home with me that has a lot of found memories associated with it..
One of the things that had really been bugging me was I thought I was going to have to miss her 90th birthday on Jan 23. We tried planning a party in December but it just didn't work out with peoples schedules - also her friends were afraid of the weather. Then we had to deal with the grandkids being in school for the actual day and again that didn't work out so finally we decided we'd celebrate in the summer when peoples schedules are more flexible. The other big thing too was we were having to deal with her dying husband. Trying to schedule things around that was very difficult because he wanted to be involved too but just couldn't do it.
Well with him dying when he did I was able to stay and celebrate her birthday too. So it really was a good time for me too in a weird sort of way. Its not often you get to celebrate such a special birthday -- 90 years. Its still hard for her to believe that she's actually that old, especially since she has 3 grandchildren under 10 years old. She says she certainly doesn't feel that old and you are only as old as you feel.
I was planning on leaving the day or two after her birthday-- but fate decided otherwise. When I got there the ground was green and no snow in sight, which was perfect for burying someone since they were able to dig the whole for the urn. (He was cremated). After the funeral, each day it started to snow; and it seemed like it would snow 2-4 inches. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal except this snow wasn't going away. It just kept on accumulating making driving conditions miserable. Since I was going so far I decided to stay until some of it went away. This extended my visit longer than I planned but it seemed like it was just right to be there. My mom seemed to need me and I was glad I could be there with her. I was finally able to leave on Monday.
I was glad I decided to do that because my poor car was not used to this cold, cold weather and decided it needed to be looked at by a mechanic. In other words the service engine soon light came on and I definitely wasn't going to drive a thousand miles without having it fully checked out. Normally I do have the car check before I go on a trip but this was such a spur of the moment one I didn't have time for it. We thought it was in good shape because just a couple of weeks before we had taken it on another trip to South Carolina and it did just fine. I really think it had a hard time adjusting to the cold. We had a couple of days where it was down to 2 degrees. This car is used to the sunny south and left 60 degree weather. I did make sure it was fully winterized while it was being checked out too. Once it was taken care of it drove like it always did - as a nice reliable sturdy suv that's great on the highway.
I knew it was time to get home when I found out my son had broken his arm. If its not one thing its another. Now I've had my hands full taking him to doctors appointments and helping tie his shoes again and cutting his food to bite size pieces again.
I started this blog with the intention of writing about the lake effect snow and the lake freezing. Its just going to have to wait until another day.
I muse: I like it when things go as is planned.