Winter has definitely set in. Of course, we always have nice
days interspersed with cold ones here in North Texas (one of the many reasons I
like living here). Last week, we missed most of the snow that everyone else
got. We got some, and it was beautiful coming down, but it didn’t really stick…just
a light dusting. I’m so glad that all my grandkids got enough to play in
though. I really enjoyed seeing the
pictures and videos of them! Another blue norther came through today. No
precipitation is predicted, but the temperatures are supposed to be pretty
chilly. I don’t get out much when the
thermometer drops below freezing. I made my (hopefully) final run to Walmart
today, so I should be stocked up for hibernating. 😊
This was about the most coverage we got.
We had a sleepover with Archer and Kacey in early December, so their parents could attend Ricky’s work party. As usual, they were really good! Then a couple of weeks later, their family all came over for an early Christmas celebration. They were heading to New Mexico the next week. So fun watching the kids with their presents! I think Kacey like the little crocheted ornaments the best. LOL!
On the 17th, we did our annual viewing of “White
Christmas” at the Palace Theatre in Grapevine. Gwen and Gina went with me. We
met up at Diane’s house, where she and Debbie P were waiting. Then the 5 of us rode
together and had supper at Uncle Julio’s. It was Taco Bar Tuesday, so we
decided to go with that. We had a blast! Then off to see the movie, where we
met up with the rest of the gang. It was great, as always! The drive home was
even fun, since I had Gina and Gwen with me. I love our girls’ outings!
We were so shocked and saddened by the death of James Speed!
When Dennis came in to tell me, I kept waiting for someone to call and say they’d
made a mistake. He was way too young to be gone! My heart absolutely breaks for
Chelsey and the kids. He was such a special guy, and we will all miss him
terribly. His funeral was in Paris, so we went the night before to get in a
little extra visiting time with Stephen’s family.
We had our 5th Sunday guest speaker and potluck
on the 29th. Layne was our speaker. After the assembly, everyone
came over here for lunch. I made a big pot of jambalaya and some homemade
ciabatta bread for the occasion. It was great spending time together and enjoying
good food.
Sheila’s family came over on New Year’s Day for our annual
seafood boil. We all look forward to that! It’s a once-a-year treat. Of course,
we enjoy every opportunity to visit with them, too!
Ricky’s family came over and spent last Saturday. We went
out to lunch, then went shopping downtown. The littles really enjoyed the
outing (as did we adults) ! Archer especially loved Garrett’s Pawn Shop. They
have a practice of handing out free ice cream sandwiches to their customers.
The guy who runs the place took a shine to Archer and also gave him a free toy
race car. That little guy made out like a bandit!
Ricky worked out of town last week, so Amber and the kids
had planned to come spend the night. With the weather turning bad, and knowing
we’d all be stuck indoors, we figured we’d all enjoy the change of pace.
However, Archer woke up with a fever the morning they were supposed to come. Poor
little guy felt rotten for about 3 days! He was heartbroken (as were we) that
he couldn’t come over. Thankfully, Ricky was able to come home Wednesday night
to get ahead of the storms. I know it helped Archer having his dad back home!
Ricky is supposed to be working out of town next week, too,
so we are going to try again. Amber and the kids plan to spend a couple of
nights and then head out to be with Ricky for the weekend. Hoping that nothing
gets in the way this time!
Rosie was sick this week with a high fever. After 2 or 3
days her fever broke and she broke out in a rash…probably roseola. This is a
rough time of year for littles! I sure hope no one else gets sick for awhile!
After getting out of my boot and going back to my podiatrist
last month, he sent me for airrosti treatments. I was skeptical, but they
really helped! It involves some very deep tissue “massage”, which breaks up
scar tissue, relaxes muscles and increases blood flow to the area. Exercises to
do at home are also prescribed. My foot/ankle is doing great now! I just have
to continue the at home exercises as needed. After my first 2 (of 3)
treatments, my foot felt fine, but I had developed a pain in my hip that wouldn’t
go away. So my therapist focused her efforts on it for my last treatment. It
was immediately better, and completely cleared up in another couple of days of
home treatment. I’m a believer now!
I made several small projects during December. I did Santa hat towels for a couple of my girls, crocheted ornaments to go on all the presents, crocheted a toy basket (for here) and a highland cow (for Archer), made a snowman table runner and knitted a cap. Then this month I finished up my embroidery journal and crocheted a gnome. I’m currently working on a crocheted hedgehog, but it is much more problematic and time consuming than I expected. The yarn that I bought for the spikes is very hard to work with. It got all snagged and tangled, so I’ve been working on rolling it into balls for the past few days before going back to crocheting. The technique used to make the spines is very slow and tedious, so I’m going to play around with it to see if I can find another way to do it. If I ever get it finished, it should be really cute! So much work for such a small toy!
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| toy basket |
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| Highland cow |
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| gnome |
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| Snowman table runner (I think this one is my favorite) |
I like to begin a new year doing some cleaning and reorganizing. For the past couple of weeks, I have been cleaning out and straightening all of my closets and pantry. I finished the last one today. YAY! I made a trip to the thrift store yesterday with a bunch of stuff to donate. Now I have a bunch more to take. Everything looks so much better and is easier to locate. Now if I can just keep them all that way....
I guess that’s all for now. Stay safe and warm during this
cold snap!
Ps 147:12, 16-17 Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem! Praise your
God, O Zion…He gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes; He casts
out His hail like morsels; Who can stand before His cold?
