One Busy Week in January

 It's been a week far too busy to sit and blog nightly.  

The most personally significant event this week happens to involve ME and a CARWASH. Many of you know I trend to claustrophobia. I have made the last year - what I thought was my 58th year - a year of conquering fears. I got my ears pierced. I spoke at several retreats. I bought a monthly pass at the carwash and have been going in alone and together a LOT.  There was a time in the beginning when I told Stacia, "I'm going to roll down the window." All in all, I've improved. The weather was warm, and the car was filthy with all the muddy splashing water. I dropped into the car wash. I lined up on the tracks and didn't panic. Score. I got about 1/2 way into the car wash and the CAR STOPPED MOVING!   WHUT? Nothing. We just stopped. I sat there trying to figure out if I should open the door and get out or put the car in gear...and then a LOUD, obnoxious alarm went off. I figured it would be safest to stay right where I was, and someone would fix the situation. They did. I haven't gone back again. I should. 

The week began with Stacia and Allie babysitting - (Monday the 17th). Unfortunately, the children turned out to have colds. The girls came home and immediately changed clothes, took showers, gargled with sanitizer...but alas, Stacia woke up with the start of a nasty cold on Tuesday.  By Thursday Allie was feeling ill too. They are both well on the way to normal now (Monday - the 24th).  I am seriously thinking a health questionnaire for families they are going to sit for may be in order.  Maybe take our own thermometer and scan heads when entering. ::snort:: 

Dad saw the eye doctor this week. Everything looks good, though I need to track down his OR optometrist for records. 

In a show of the VA's vast efficiency, they've approved Michael for 12 more visits to the chiropractor/massage. Seriously - we are all trying to avoid back surgery. His doc told him to do this weekly and put off surgery as long as he can.  They approve 1 - 3 months at a time...Meanwhile, Michal waits in pain for approval for another 12 visits.  They are down to a 2 week wait, that is MUCH better. We are thankful this is staving off back surgery. 

The girls and I had Bible study.  I had a haircut. Nolan put in significant time towards his current college semester. Alex studied for an employment test.  

Michael and I rescheduled our planned for Hawaii trip.  We are thinking next January, or February will fit our dynamic schedule better. 

Bre and babies have covid. We hadn't seen them the week prior to them testing positive.   

All the older Gherkins stayed away this weekend. This is good as Stacia sounded nasty. Our church cancelled the weekend service as several families had tested positive.  This all added up to a very relaxed weekend.  It turned into a few days of refreshment and renewal. I made a few trips delivering groceries and at home covid tests.  

The weather has been WARM all week.... in the mid - high 40's.  There has been talk of an early breakup, Michael is consistently warning us the weather will get cold again. Meanwhile, snow is melting, berms are shrinking...it's been raining, temps are well below freezing at night, so driveways and parking lots look like ice rinks...

Here are a few glimpses into the week. Nolan works a LOT of hours, significantly more than 40 hours a week on a typical basis. He is also taking 21 credits this semester. He got firm about having his days off. We love knowing he will be home Monday and Tuesday...we don't see him until dinner - but it's nice. Here he fell asleep with Millie while waiting for dinner. 

The girls purchased bed sets - this is quite significant.  Allie didn't think she needed anything other than a sleeping bag when she moved in. We gave her a bed. We told her we'd buy sheets and comforter, but she really was most comfortable in her sleeping bag. Around Christmas she began talking about getting a bed set...and Stacia decided it was time to turn in her Hello Kitty fuzzy blanket too. They set out to find something coordinating they both liked. This Paris/travel theme checked the boxes for both of them and they ended up purchasing matching sets. Next up is painting an accent wall. 

Stacia's side

Allie's side

OH - before we went shopping for bed sets, we picked up Arielle and went to the MOVIE THEATER. I haven't been in a theater in two years. We went to Sing 2.   There were very few people in the theater, and we had significantly more than 6 feet of space between us and anyone outside of our household.  We met Krista and Brittany for a trip to ColdStone. We had planned dinner, but our choice of restaurant was closed due to wind damage. 

Supply Chain disruption...I will admit the past week was a challenge. Usually, if there isn't fresh, I go with frozen...but this day when I hit Walmart fresh, frozen and canned were all scarce. 

I am VERY happy for the things we have put away...and determined to grow and can more this summer. I was pretty proud of this meal...it was all caught or grown/canned by us.....far from sustainable and independent of the supply chain...but we are taking baby steps.  I would like to figure out a good storage system around here for food and get quite a bigger working pantry set up. 

Sunrise at 9:18 a.m. 

Enjoying the warmth

The chickens enjoy the warmth too! 

Unfortunately, this one is ill. Vets in Alaska don't see chickens. We turned our kitchen into a chicken hospital. She was wheezing. Michael found her under the Rabbit hutch. He brought her inside.  By Wednesday night she was gasping with each breath. We thought this would be her last night. 

Doesn't EVERYONE blow dry chickens? 
In the KITCHEN?

As a last measure Michael turned her upside down and held her by her legs. I KNOW this isn't great chicken rearing practice - but we were desperate. Goodness! Fluid and mucus poured out of her beak...and she is now living on top of my freezer in the garage. She's eating again and sounds great. 

I took the Christmas decor down this week. I left the snowmen up - because winter is far from over. I also left the tree up. Michael had suggested a winter themed tree.  In the end, we switched over to Valentine's Day. I am brainstorming an Iditarod theme for March...all suggestions will be entertained. We should be into brighter mornings and afternoons by the end of March. Last year we took Christmas down by Lent, I'm way ahead of the game this year. 

When it's this dark in the mornings - anything that brings cheer stays up.  The lights on houses and businesses stay up until the last dog reaches Nome....our tree will be up at least that long. 

I think the upcoming week will be a bit slower. Then FEBRUARY with five birthdays (or maybe six) and two anniversaries and Valentine's Day. 

Allie Did a Thing

Stacia, Allie and I went out after church to see Sing 2. 

We hopped over to Walmart and looked for bedding and then....

This happened and it was great fun. There was minimal anxiety and lots of laughter. Krista and Brittany met us for the big event after which we went out for ice cream. We had planned dinner, but things were closed up. 

There is no going back after the first one is done! Krista and Brittany bought Allie some earrings...actually I think we all ended up with at least one new pair. 

Yeah, we look a bit nutsy...but Allie says this is a photo that shows her really happy....so hey...crazy happy it works.  Allie loves this photo and so I'm publishing it...I had whispered something in her ear and she was gruntled (it's a word, look it up). 

Saturday Adventure

Jamin invited Stacia to go cross country skiing a few weeks back. We were in the midst of the New Year's storm when the date for their planned outing arrived. 

📷by Stacia

It's been a long time since any of us have gone cross country skiing. The last skiing, I remember is around the golf course on Misawa Air Base, Japan and along the coastline in Misawa.  

Allie isn't quite up to a sport which may include falling. One of us needed to stay home with Grandpa so I sat this one out and Michael went with the kids. 

📷by Stacia

Michael said it was nice to be out there. 

📷by Stacia

📷by Stacia

While they skied, we at home had our own visitors. Cy, Carrie, Livie and her cousins, Etta and Ellie, came by. It's always nice to catch up with CyRi.  They are looking for a home to buy preferably in Eagle River where their church is. This is a tough time to be a buyer in Alaska. Prayers are always appreciated. 

Etta and Allie - 📷by Carrie

The skiers arrived home in time to visit for an hour or so. Stacia and the girls made and decorated cupcakes which we were happy to send to Anchorage. 

Arch Angel Trail 

I must admit seeing the photos and hearing the stories of fun has motivated me to keep looking for ski gear on the for-sale lists. 

Table conversation was silly tonight. The "Would You Rather" box was sitting out and we began asking each other questions and discussing the answers. This was as much fun, or more, as playing the game by the rules.  Grandpa may have thought we were making up questions because he came up with a great one. 

"Would you rather have a check for $10,000 or a $1,000 in cash?"  This led to the typical conversation about a bird in hand, BUT also to the concept of integrity. There are some people I would take a large check from in the blink of an eye and others I would certainly not trust with a check of any amount. Integrity matters. 

The girls, Grandpa, Michael and I ended the evening watching several more episodes of Jericho. 

That First Week BACK after the Holidays

Whew. Some weeks feel like a well-choreographed dance. This week felt like a Jumanji vine grabbed us by the ankles and pulled us up and down mountains and through the jungle until it deposited in a heap at the edge of a waterfall. 

Sunday - it was great to be back at church! Allie was ill one week, church wasn't scheduled one week, then cancelled the next week due to the New Year's storm... there was talk about what to do THIS Sunday as the ice and wind were horrendous and the sander fell through....

As seen on Facebook

It was good to be together and helping each other across the ice rink provided fun memories.  The worship was sweet and the message both challenging and comforting...Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God. 

Monday - Grandpa had a dental cleaning. Arielle and the boys came over a bit later than usual to play with Grandpa. Michael and I went out for lunch and then to Lowe's to pick up Michael's Christmas gift. Unfortunately, only one of his gifts are in stock. We hadn't taken into account what a winter storm would do to the supply of propane heaters. LOL 

The girls are back to school this week! Nolan is racing to the completion of another semester of college. We ended the night playing Taco, Cat, Goat, Cheese, Pizza. 

Tuesday - This previously blogged day was filled with school, volunteering for the food co-op and our household gift exchange. Grandpa was out again to do some shopping.  It was suggested we have some folks over for games on Friday night. 

Wednesday - Grandpa had yet another dental appointment. We have a system at the dentists and physical therapists. I go out to the parking lot and enjoy some quiet. They call me when he is done. Something happened and I looked up to see Dad walking across the parking lot. The appointment was supposed to take 90 minutes and be a fitting for a lower plate. It was done in about 30 minutes and Grandpa said they filled a couple of teeth. ::snort:: I think I'm going to have to stay inside in the future. 

Stacia had fun playing with her new blow torch - does it have a fancy kitchen name? She melted sugar on top of the cupcakes she made for youth group. 

Burn, baby burn!

Youth group and ladies Bible study started back up this evening. Grandpa's fourth day out in a row. I'm realizing we may all be worn down by Friday and since Saturday - Tuesday of next week also look to be busy...we decide to make Friday night a quieter at home night. 

Thursday - Allie visited the surgeon and we got back to our weekly Bible study.  Allie is all cleared for normal life with the exception of lifting and such for another few weeks. It appears this grumpy appendix was at the root of many of the health issues Allie has had. It's wonderful to see her feeling better. 

A couple of packages arrived for Stacia. Millie and Michael are on hand to check out the air brushing set...and she is making plans for my birthday cake. I've heard meringue (to use the torch) and stencils and air brushed colors....it will be fun to see what she settles on creating.  It was about at this point I realized we should have celebrated Annie and my birthdays last Saturday at the Family's Gift Exchange.  Oops - I think we'll just roll them into February's five birthdays. 

 

Friday - I took Stacia to her nanny gig early in the morning (usually happens on Thursdays). Rather than running errands, I came home and got the girl's first semester grades and 2nd quarter work samples submitted.  I had just enough time to complete the task before heading out to pick up Stacia. Grandpa was STILL in bed when I left at 11 a.m. I had checked on him several times; it appears he just needed to catch up on his missing naps. 

Stacia and I resumed our weekly Bible study.  Since we were meeting on a Friday lunch instead of Thursday breakfast we opted for Hungarian Soup at Vagabonds. YUMM.  Alex and Michael resumed their study. 

The girls wrapped up school. I sat down in the nook and began to work on our bills, Grandpa's bills, balanced all accounts, took care of a bit of correspondence. I didn't come up until the pizza was ready. 

Sometime during the afternoon, I realized it was a good thing we had not invited others over this evening. We were scheduled to be facilitating another parenting retreat for JBER this weekend. They ran into a snafu with the venue and the time has been changed. I am so glad we didn't end this busy week with a 3-day parenting retreat. 

How did we end the week? VERY thankful for Friday! Michael, Alex and Grandpa were not up for games. The girls and I, however, tried a new game, "Would You Rather?"  This was one of the thrift store finds Allie and I made. 

It was actually pretty fun. We migrated to the living room and watched a couple of episodes of Jericho with Michael and Grandpa. *I* stayed awake until 11 p.m. watching with everyone. I want to figure out some of the subplots! 

I am careful to schedule Grandpa's outings in the afternoons.  This week we ended up with several appointments for him as the offices kept calling wanting to fill slots. I am going to be more careful about not agreeing to more than two outside engagements for him. He misses his naps.   Somehow it just became busier than expected. 

It's 4:44 a.m. on Saturday and I'm blogging instead of sleeping. We cannot figure out WHY Grandpa wakes up early every Saturday, it's my one opportunity to sleep in. I would like to figure this out. Maybe he's allergic to pizza. I think he's soundly back to sleep. I'm going to see if I can catch another hour or two of sleep. 

2021 Household Gift Exchange

We did it!  Finally. Tonight, we celebrated our 2021 Household Gift Exchange (as opposed to the Family Gift Exchange on Saturday).  

Aunt Mary sent 2 local monopoly versions 

It took a bit of time for things to fall into place this year. LOL  And, yes, there was noise in the backfield up to the last minutes. 

Michael drove me to Wholesome Food Co-op, and then took Grandpa out shopping. We had made the offer several times before, but Dad had never wanted to go out. I guess he realized this was IT.  

Extra table...organic yumminess @ wholesale

We had a small produce order to sort and the Azure order didn't ship.  I was done and out of there by 3 p.m. Michael suggested we pick up my new glasses on the way home. I went with a big frame for more "in focus viewing area," this pair is MAGNETIC so I can pop on a sunglass and still be able to see.  I was "sold" on a special coating that was supposed to deal with glare and nighttime driving. I don't think I'll get that again. I don't see much of a difference. They didn't have a lot of selection of the magnetic frames.... but I'm happy with these. 

We had just unloaded food when the boys LEFT. What? I was rushing to get dinner done on time so we could open gifts and they left. ::snort:: Um...they had to go buy gifts. LOL The girls and I went out to share some produce. A neighbor came over and helped with our driveway.  

Oranges the size of softballs

Grandpa was set up to wrap gifts. Michael had mercy on him. 

The guys got home. The girls and I got dinner on the table.  And FINALLY, we made it work. Here are a few glimpses of the evening. 

A baby Yoda shirt from Stacia

A couple of Exit Escape Room Games - from Stacia

Millie was DETERMINED to get baby Yoda

It was a delayed kind of Christmas for Stacia. We looked EVERYWHERE local and couldn't find what we wanted for her in the state of Alaska. In the end we ordered a cake decorating Air Brush set and some Cake decorating stencils online.  

Such excitement over a piece of paper

Allie's big, comfy sweater

Yes, there were other gifts and many more photos, but this is enough to catch the spirit. It was fun to finally bless each other - lots of love, laughter and hoots. 

Family Fun?!?

"Let's play a game," they say. 

"It'll be fun!," they say.

My arthritic hand will not be able to hold a pen tomorrow, my nail is ripped back and my fingers are tingling...but by George, we ARE having fun. 

Taco, cat, goat, cheese, pizza with a narwhal and gorilla or two thrown in. 

Give it a try.

Family Gift Exchange 2021

 A few years ago we decided we'd all simply draw one name for our family gift exchange - rather than trying to buy gifts for 21 people.  Tonight, was our family gift exchange. I made a big pot of salmon chowder and tomato soup. Everyone brought bread, sandwich toppings, drinks and dessert.   JaRissa are not able to be with us this year. CyRi missed the evening too, Josiah is sick. He had the big C last July...seems early to have it again...but he's too sick to be with us, and out of an abundance of caution Carrie and Livie stayed away too. I only took two pictures all night, but Cory grabbed some shots.  We went around the room, and everyone swapped gifts. There were some sweet gifts and some fun gifts. We thought we were done when the kids surprised US. 

Moment of revelation -  📷by Cory 

They had one more gift. This was from all the kids, though we've told Jamin was the driver behind the gift. Krista said they'd decided we should have to do a scavenger hunt to find our gift. When I made a face, someone quipped now we know how THEY feel. ::snort:: 

📷by Cory 

 The first clue said something about a sunset on the beach. We ended up in the basement where we found another pink envelope tucked behind our sunset on the beach painting. 

📷by Cory 

The next clue talked about HPT and the marker of time. We found another envelope clipped to GG's calendar in his room.  

📷by Cory 

The next clue was rather obscure and talked about modern nature and blow outs - which is the company Arielle has a business with....I had seen a box on the counter from Monat.  This was a combo blow dryer/curling iron. I joked it would have been more help to Michael before his hair cut. 

📷by Cory 

Inside the box we found a luggage strap and chocolate covered macadamia nuts. The kids asked us to guess what our gift was...almost too good to voice....

"Hawaii?" 

YES! We have a condo on Waikiki beach for a week in February. They've bought the tickets, paid for the condo, and arranged for someone to stay with Grandpa and do "all the things" we do. 

📷by Cory 

I cannot even BEGIN to tell you....we love our life, but the past year has been hard. I have been dreaming of a bit of time away - the two of us - and we knew it would need to wait...but here it is...no need to wait.  I told the kids it didn't escape my notice anytime we travel together it's somewhere THEY send us. When Michael retired, they bought us a cruise to the Caribbean. AND NOW HAWAII! 

Michael has been to Hawaii with the Air Force.  I have been to a women's conference in Hawaii. We have never gone together and certainly not to RELAX for a WEEK. 

The girls and I were talking as the evening concluded. We never had the money for fancy vacations. Our budget was maxed investing in children...but now the children are growing up and holy guacamole...we're going on a vacation! 

This sweet little girl, Annie, wanted meat - all the kinds of meat - and that was just fine with Baachan. 

This girl knows what she wants! 

The only other picture I took all day is of Stacia and her gift. She was excited. She got a blow torch. I guess it's a good thing for making desserts...I expect we'll shortly be seeing singed cupcakes and such around here. 

A girl and her blow torch

Mr. Gingerbread went home with KrUke. The men have won the gingerbread competition this year. Mr. Gingerbread doesn't do much on the years the boys have him, but they've said they will loan him out this year. He may get out a bit more. LOL