Well, our winter lasted about a week. We were fortunate that we didn't have any trouble from the ice and cold. We hunkered down and watched it from inside our cozy house. We both were suffering with chest colds during that time, so it wasn't even like we felt like getting out anyway. All of the ice and snow have now melted, and the temperature has been mild this week. I've been enjoying going outside, sitting in my chair, and just soaking in the sunshine. (Our colds are pretty much gone, too.)
Since I spent a solid week in the house, I was able to double down on a baby blanket that I was knitting for our new granddaughter who is supposed to make her appearance in late June or early July. This was my first "big" knitting project. I made some mistakes, as I ALWAYS do, but it still turned out cute and so soft! Kacey kept trying to get it while I was working on it, and I had some leftover yarn, so I ended up crocheting a little doll blanket for her. That child loves blankets and quilts!
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| Kacey's doll blanket |
I like to start the new year doing those cleaning projects that I don't normally get around to. I had the carpet cleaned after the holidays were over. Now I've started doing a deep ceiling to floor cleaning, one room at a time. I just try to do one room every week or so, because this old body really complains to me afterwards! So far I've done our bedroom and bathroom and the large guest room. I'm hoping to tackle the hall bathroom this afternoon and the hall and entryway early next week. Then I'll have to take a few weeks off.
I've been struggling with carpal tunnel and cubital tunnel syndrome for quite some time. It has steadily worsened to the point that it needs treatment. My left hand used to just go numb and ache while doing handwork or driving. Now it happens when I'm not doing anything. So I am scheduled for surgery next Wednesday. I had carpal tunnel release in my right hand about 2-3 years ago, and it was a really easy surgery to recover from. This one will be a little rougher, since they will also be working on my elbow (cubital tunnel release), but I'm still expecting an easy recovery period. Probably won't be doing any knitting or crocheting for a few weeks though!
Back in late December, just before Dennis left on his South Texas hunting trip, my oven died. After doing a little research, I decided it was probably the igniter and ordered a new one. It arrived while Dennis was gone, so he was able to repair my oven as soon as he returned home. I was SO glad that we were able to save my range! I looked at replacements, and I couldn't find anything that I liked as well as the one I have. I'm hoping it will last me many more years!
I wasn't so lucky with my dishwasher. It started acting up a few weeks ago. It kept giving me an error message after every wash cycle. It eventually quit but then started having drain problems and giving me a different error message. We played around with it and finally decided it was probably a faulty "brain". So Dennis told me to pick out a new one. He installed it last Saturday. I really loved my old dishwasher (which was 10-11 years old), so I bought another Bosch. They are so quiet and clean so well! This new one is even quieter than my old one (which was very quiet), which is a big plus since our living room and kitchen are open to one another. This one has the 3rd tray rack for silverware and utensils, which I am loving. It also has a feature where you can set the door to pop open at the end of the cycle to let steam out. I'm also liking that! I hope I get many years of use from this one.
I hope all of you made it through the winter storm ok and are staying well!
Ps 147:12, 16-17 Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion...He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes. He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold?
