1/16/21: Winter is upon us with cold nights and mornings, but it usually warms up to the sunny 60s by mid-day. Rosie has no interest in going out in the cold and even less in going out into the rain. So, I’ve adjusted my morning routine to carry on with my things until she sheepishly walks in and lets me know she’s ready! Today was dark, rainy, and dreary but as soon as it stopped raining, there she was ready to go!
Last entry I
forgot to tell you about one of my Christmas gifts. It was really a lovely
Christmas ornament given to me by Debby and Dave as a hostess gift at the party.
That was gift enough and totally unexpected, but as they were leaving Dave said
he would like to paint Rosie! He’s a very good artist (and organizer of Bluffton's yearly Arts and Seafood Festival) and I’m so gratified that he has offered to do it.
He said it would give him something to do as we say put during Omicron and
asked that I send him a few photos, which I did. I told him there was no expectation and if he didn't get around to it, that would be fine. Well, last Sunday they had me over for wine and munchies and he had done it! What a wonderful surprise and you can see that he totally captured her eyes and ears, as well as her funny little legs. I love it!
1/20/22: The
Big 7-5!
Even though I
had nothing planned, my 75th birthday turned out to be a very nice day. I must have been
looking forward to it as I got a good night's rest and woke around 6 AM - very
much unlike me! In checking my emails, I found this card from Sandra which got
the day off to a perfect start. You have to see it! (I do hope this works. I promise you will smile!)
I've decided
that William Shatner is my spirit animal!! First of all, he is even older than
I am but he seems to enjoy everything he does. He's even been shot into space,
for heaven's sake!! He seems to never say NO to anything (like this fun video)
and just keeps moving forward. There is much I can learn from him.
Rosie and I got out early as it was a nice, warm morning. Lynn and Tom invited us over for coffee which was a great way to start the day. Before we went over, Jan called from Seattle and after we got back Cheryl called from FL. I enjoyed a good catch-up with both.
Even before my birthday, I had gotten cards from Carolyn, as well as Sue and Dave. Reyna brought me gorgeous red roses and a Spartina bag and Melodee sent the heartwarming book, The Goats of Anarchy, which I'd seen online. This is not the first goat gift I've received as you can see by the little white goat by the book. There is a theme here! Eileen timed her card perfectly as I received it on the day. And then there were the wonderful messages online - emails, FB messages, etc. It was fun to see them trickle in throughout the day and I loved receiving them and thinking of friends and family. It was a good day all around!My only plan
for the day was to cook as the fridge was empty. So around lunchtime, I began a
vegetarian shepherd's pie and tortellini soup. I wound that up just in time to
take Rosie for her afternoon walk. Reyna dropped by after that and I received
texts from Rabbi Covitz and Ann and Martin. It was a very nice day and thanks
to all who were in touch. There is also a little side story here. Rabbi Covitz calls me every year on my birthday, but this year I had dropped my landline so there was a little hitch. Thank goodness for texts. In any case, I'm so glad I didn't miss it because he told me that he has gone vegetarian!! I went vegetarian the last few years he was here but I never imagined it would catch on or that he would consider it. He said he was motivated by the few animal-friendly things that I post online. Another wonderful surprise!
1/21/22: Today is NOT fun! It’s 1 PM and the
temperature is 38F! My house is cold and the heat has run all night non-stop! On the second day, we stayed in bed as long as we could stand it and
then got dressed for the day. I have on tights, thermal underwear, two pairs of
socks, pants, sweatshirt, and a house robe (and my feet are still cold!)! Rosie
has added her sweater as she follows the sunspots around the room. The sad
thing is that we have more of this ahead.
11/29/22: The cold has continued. The most nights
in the 20s since I’ve lived here I'm sure. As before, It’s 1 PM and it’s 43
with a wind chill, feels like 36. I did
break down and have someone come out and look at my HVAC. I thought the houses were not built for these
temperatures (on a slab, probably poor insulation, high ceilings, etc.) but the
house kept getting colder and colder. Sure enough, there was a faulty component
and the freon had leaked out of the HVAC! So, it was a matter of putting $1500 into a 14-year-old unit or replacing it. After talking to my financial guy, I replaced
it. He said they would probably be less expensive at this time of year than in
the summer and, when I thought about it, they had it available for immediate
installation. Who knows whether or not they will be available later? Anyway. On
the day they installed it, there were the two of them and three cleaning ladies
from my new cleaning service. They spent about 3-4 hours doing a deep cleaning.
The interesting thing is that all of them were Spanish speakers! At times it
sounded like Grand Central Station! Rosie loved it at first but when the vacuum
cleaners got going and the guys were up in the attic banging around, it got to
her, so she and I retired to the bedroom for some peace and quiet. At the end
of the day, she was out like a light. It was a chaotic day but we were happy to be clean and warm at the end of it!
One of my favorite TV binging series has been Grantchester, which I hated to see come to an end. I have since gotten into Endeavour. For some reason, I didn't take to it originally but after the first season, I was hooked. I'm about two seasons away from finishing it and am open to suggestions for future viewing.
Speaking of viewing, I had my eyes checked in preparation for new glasses, which I promised myself for Christmas. As it turns out, I have cataracts in both eyes. I guess that's expected at this age and many friends have already had the surgery. To my surprise, there is also a scar on my left eye for which she prescribe steroid drops for a month to see if it can be improved. She asked if I'd had shingles in my eye and, believe it or not, I think I may have. Years ago I had something awful in that eye, but I didn't have it see to. I remember being in NC with my mother and meeting up with a cousin while I had this terrible eye thing. Maybe it was receding by the time I got back here and I didn't have it looked at. Even so, I distinctly remember how angry it looked and felt, and at the time, even though I didn't know it was possible, I wondered if it might be shingles. Anyway, watch this space!
