Long day...

My Husband and I had one of those sort of busy, get stuff taken care of mornings, and then had finally sat down to rest for a bit before dinner. 

He gets a phone call, and it's from his dad.  Husband's youngest brother is under EMT care, he is not responsive, and they are taking him to the hospital.

We just sat dumbfounded.  He was doing fine!  Dad and Mom-in-law were staying at his house!  GAH???

So. 

We waited, Brother in law is a state away, with Middle Brother and Dad.  We received word, this morning, Youngest Brother didn't make it. 

He wasn't much older than me, so there's that.  He was finally getting settled in, doing pretty well for himself, and working on hearth and home.  Having been there, I might add, quite a nice home.

Husband has been hit hard, obviously.  I am going to have to see what happens, he might have to do some travelling in the future. 

Just amazing how a normal day can go completely sideways, and kick you in the teeth sometimes...

Long journeys, ending, starting, going.

So. I have been away for the whole month of September, and the majority of October.

Whatta flake, right?

Why, yes, er, no.  Sort of?

September is my super busy month.  This one was no exception...  Just looking at my calendar, I had about ten days when I was home, all day, in the month.  I will admit some of the items were of my choosing, (looove me some book sales!), but a lot were getting things ready for events, going to events, and then coming home from events.  I did cut back on what I did at one event, which I will cover in another blog, but I still had to prep, and clean up when I returned.

Then I got the sniffles after.  I didn't think much of it, just broke out the Vitamin C, and tried to wash my hands.  Got word that Grandma was fading, and that things were starting to not work right for her.  I decided to get over there when I felt better.  But, there were two or three more small meetings and such... Then Husband got sick.  I had the sniffles, what he got was BAD.  Down for three or four days bad.  So, I made chicken soup, forced Vitamin C down him, and went on my way.  He finally recovered...

And then I was blessed with the crud.  I was down for better than a week, and even had to call in sick to my one volunteer day at the sub.  Bless her, I said "hello" on the phone, and my 'boss' piped up, "You sound like crap!"  (Good call, Mistress Obvious.)  I had a continuing cough after that, and didn't know if I was contagious or not, so I didn't go see Grandma.

Well, she died just a day or so ago.  I did get to see her before this whole thing started, and chatted with her when she was having a 'fairly good' day.  She knew who I was, didn't know what season it was, and was surprised that I had something to do with the Sheriff's Office.  Still, I enjoyed the talk, and walked her to the dining room, and left her to her supper.

I guess, if nothing else, at least I have a good memory to think of, at the end.

And, I am going to be giving up one volunteer job, (not the one at the sub), and am getting a handle on what I am doing, and if I want to continue doing...  Let's just say, I have had a bit of time to think, and some conversations that lead me to believe I need to make some changes.

But I am still loving to blog.  And so, that, my dear blog friends, will continue.  (And I will get about to reading your blogs, too.  Of late, the phone has been my computer, and for some reason, I haven't figured out how to get it to post on blogs... Odd.)

There's busy...

And then there is busy.

I realized today, getting ready again, that I have went somewhere every day this week.  There was the usual 'stuff', but I was on the go, and I am going to be on the go until Wednesday, by most of my calculations...

Ya know, I think I am going to be really sick on Wednesday, if anyone calls for me to do something...

However, I did do something nice yesterday, Husband and I went boating, and I will see if I can get some pictures up.  I hope the ones of flying birds came out, they were so majestic when I tried to get the photo!

L is for...

Lovin' Husband...

This is the guy that I married.  He puts up with my moods.  (That right there says a lot...)  He knows that gifts for me are probably not the 'typical' girlie-girl stuff.  He bought me a bunch of fencing and fence staples one year.  He did get me a kitten this year, but I think he wanted it as much as I did...

The man that has no problem with me being "Farmer Jane", and even took care of all the animals when I ended up with a broken leg.  He even went so far as to learn how to cook some meals in the crock pot, as I was so out of it, I probably would have burned water at that point.

He stayed with me when I had to have surgery, even when an aide told him he had to leave.  He is unfailingly polite, he just told her no, my wife needs me.  (And, Boy Howdy, did I, at that point!)

He's helped me learn skills that I didn't have, I have been able to teach him some skills he didn't have.  He is a very helpful cookie critic, and is quite happy to sample my latest batch of baking...

He loves me, and he is good around his family, and my family, is a strong, caring man, with a goofy sense of humor, and a generally happy and comfortable in his own skin.

Guess I'll keep him!  ; )

*****

Well, it is going to be busy for me for a bit.  I finally sat down and filled out the calendar for the next month.  BUT, that lead to the next, and the next.  I won't be going to everything that is listed, but I could be more or less on the go nearly every other day, if not every day, for the next 2-3 months if I really wanted to.  I had to write everything down, because there are several things I have to do, like giving a speech at a group meeting in May.  But there are things I want to do, and a few, possibly, that I should do.  That being said, I am putting my foot down, and there are some that I won't do, as well...

In with all this, I am trying to assist Husband, who is helping Mom and Dad with a kitchen rebuild.  It was busy today, I pulled tacks from the wall that held old insulation, Mom was hunting down the tacks I dropped on the floor.  Dad and Husband were figuring out where the electrical was going to go, and was working on that part, and then putting in some new insulation.  I shied away from that task, I am really bad about breaking out when I deal with fiberglass in any form, so I decided that staying in the other room was a very good idea.  

I have also tried to start some seeds.  Nothing yet, I had them in the green house with a heat pad.  Well, the outlet didn't work, so I brought them in the house.  I haven't seen any germination yet, but I am sort of impatient.  I will wait another week, then see what I will do for plan B.  

So, I will have to pick a time, and hide somewhere, and catch up on blogs again! EEEEP!!  I miss reading everyone's blogs!

G... Um...

You might notice I didn't write a blog yesterday.  It would have been Zzzz, not G.  So, I will write through Sunday, then I should be back on track again... I also haven't caught up on reading and replying, that will happen over the next few days.  I apologize, and thank you all for your continued reading and replying!

So, G is for Grandma's Kitchen.

My Grandma M. had a different kitchen, but it took me a long time to realize why.  One side had an electric stove, and a refrigerator.  There was the usual cupboards, sinks, and then... There was the wood cook stove.  And the wringer washer.  Right next to the electric dryer.

She lived at the end of what amounts to a canyon, and they lost power frequently.  Dad even remembers when they got power in the area...  So, they had to make sure they had a way to have heat and cooking when the power died.

I remember more than one dinner where veggies and sides were simmering on the electric stove, the main dish in the wood stove, and a pie or other dessert on the warming shelf above the stove.  I tended to stay very near the wood stove, to this day I love the heat from wood.   Grandma would admonish me not to play with the stove.  (I only played with the handles that you use to lift the lids.  That wire thing on the handle was interesting to me, for some reason...)

Grandma would wash the clothes, then run them through the wringer, where I was again admonished not to put fingers up near.  Pretty much, I wasn't supposed to do anything but sit quietly when she was washing.  I did sit, generally, but quiet?  Maybe not so much...

I also remember her flour and sugar bins.  They were HUGE!  You opened a cupboard door next to the sink, and there were these bins of sheet metal, basically a quarter circle, that I think could hold as much as 50 pounds or more of flour.  Again, they lived in place where a trip to the store wasn't just a quick jaunt.

Grandma also had gravity feed water.  This was great, wonderful water from the creek on the hill.  Until a bear found the new screen.  The bear thought the new screen was a great toy, and tore the heck out of it.  Dad ended up having to paint the screen black so it wasn't so noticeable to said bear...

Grandma now lives in a retirement home, with food available from a full kitchen with cooks.  Laundry is taken care of.  Water comes from the city.  It is so much easier for her.

But it just isn't as interesting, Darn it...

*****

I have been on the go of late.  In fact, I made a choice, I have been skipping a group thing I do on Mondays, so I can get more taken care of as far as shopping, and in-town chores.  I even need to get a haircut, but haven't managed to do so.  Just call me Mistress Fluffy, at the moment...  I did finish a pair of socks, but that was mostly because I knit while waiting, or when I was "on break" when doing my shift at the substation.  They have found some work for me to do, and there is a LOT of it, so I try to work on it for about 5 hours.  (It's checking information accuracy, and I check a paper printout against a computer. Much more than 5 hours, and my eyes cross...)  I also will be helping occasionally at the Sheriff's Office, they are having a Citizen's Academy, where I help with things like handing out and collecting papers, leading people to the restroom, (it's in a somewhat restricted area, so I am an escort), and generally helping as needed. 

So, I will be slowing down for a few days, then gearing up again, plus the yearly Doctor's appointment, which is when I am going to have to ask the Doc all sorts of questions.

Such as, if I can get my weight down, my energy up, and possibly adding an extra 2 or 3 hours in the day.

But somehow- I think he might not have much of an answer to the last one.

Meh.