Update from the land of snow and ice

I came home last night to find a beautiful bouquet of a dozen mixed roses.  So cheery and bright compared to outside (which I will get to later)   I know everyone is wondering about Mom so I'll get right to the update.  She is still fighting.  There have been some bad days.  Christmas Eve I wasn't sure if she would make it to Christmas Day but she did.  There have been good days and days with a combination of both.  The past 2 days she has had good mornings and not great evenings.  She continues to amaze me with how tough she is. Her doctor is back from vacation tomorrow so I'll see what he has to say.  I know the outcome isn't going to change but I think she will hold on longer than expected. 

There isn't much else to report.  I have been going to the hospital mid to late mornings and staying into the evening.  Auntie is with Mom now so I just popped home to check on Millie who is hopelessly lonely.  My only other activity has been shoveling.   I believe our town is Winters Official Headquarters.  It just keeps snowing.  This is looking towards my backyard from the driveway

Ugh!   The lady who was cleaning Mom's room this morning said it was like a Winter Wonderland and I seriously wanted to beat her with her own mop!!   And just to add insult to injury ANOTHER storm is arriving Sunday night into Monday.  COME ON.........ENOUGH!!!

I've been too tired when I get home at night to check on you all but I will soon.  There is no wireless in the hospital so it uses to much data time to blog.  I do check in on Facebook though. 

Again, thanks for all the messages and prayers for Mom.  When I arrived at the hospital the morning of the 24th there was gift bag by Mom's bed.  A friend dropped off the angel and she's been watching over her ever since.

Kind acts, large and small

I'm so touched by your comments and emails that I have received in the past few days.  Mom is getting great care and is still fighting.  She remained alert all day which was a gift in itself.  

But there have been so many kind gestures it can get a little overwhelming.  And you know I'm soft hearted so the tears flow pretty easily these days.  Friends have stopped by the hospital with lunch, coffee, snack food and just companionship.  Last night we had some snowfall and freezing rain.  Then the street plow blocked off the top of my driveway.  I was scared it would freeze harder and we wouldn't be able to get out over that big ridge.  I called a friend's husband to ask if he would come with his plow to just skim off that lip of frozen slush.  When I got home he had cleaned out my entire yard right down to the bare pavement and then refused to take a cent. I also found an entire pan of lasagne delivered to my home when I arrived. 

There is also a coincidental support at the hospital.  In the room right next to Mom's is my friends father.  We were best pals in elementary school and our moms became friends.  Her mother passed away a few years ago and now her Dad isn't doing well.  So we are checking in on each other, visiting each other in our respective rooms or sometimes out by the Christmas tree which is in the hall between our rooms.   It's not nice that her dad is sick, but it is nice that we can be there for each other.  

Mom was resting comfortably when I left this evening.  So far it hasn't been necessary for me to sleep at the hospital so I wanted to give everyone a little update. It was simpler than trying to respond to each individually.  

Thank you again for all your concern and prayers. It means so much 

Blue

I'm sad to say that Mom's condition has deteriorated.  This blog will be quiet for the near future. 

Christmas blessings to all 

Bells, bells, and more bells

I'll start with a Mom update.  Thank you for all the lovely comments on my last post. I told her she had lots of people praying for her.  I made 4 visits today between breakfast and tonight.  She is still in a weakened condition but was the most animated tonight.  There was some chatter and she managed a couple of smiles so I left feeling better.  There is a big snow storm coming tomorrow and the predictions are its going to be bad so I may not get to visit her tomorrow.  That is stressing me a bit but we will have to see how things are.  Her roommate has a phone so I asked her if it would be OK if I called her a few times throughout the day for an update.  

Which reminds me - Mom got moved late last night to a room on the medical floor.  So no more sleeping in the hallway of the Emergency Room which is better for everyone.   And it also means I don't have to look for that creepy elf anymore.  He's an ER elf.  As far as I know, the medical unit is Elf-free.  Lol. A friend had this on Facebook today so I borrowed it.  

In between hospital visits his afternoon I had to go to the grocery store.   Well....being tired and stressed my nerves were a little edgy.  And because of the storm forecast the store was NUTS.  While I was waiting in line to checkout I had to post this status on Facebook -"Apparently it's "bring your dopey husband day" at Superstore."   Arrgh. Seriously every single aisle was packed with people and every 10 feet was some dopey man standing around with his cart all willy-nilly in the way.   Just standing there!!!

About 4pm I went back to the hospital to feed Mom her supper.  I went to adjust her in the bed and I heard this clank on the floor and this screaming alarm started going off.  What the heck??  I run around to the other side of the bed and see this plastic box on the floor.  It's the thing that's screaming.  I can't turn it off and I'm freaking out thinking "I broke the hospital".  It was so loud and I even tried to muffle it under a pillow and it had no effect.   

Now I'm thinking "oh shit!  What do I do?  Make it stop!!  All of a sudden this nurse flies around the corner and I'm standing there holding this thing with the guiltiest look on my face.  I start yammering about how this thing just fell off and I don't know what it is ....   Apparently it's a safety alarm that was clipped with a string to Moms shirt so if she tried to get up alone they would know.   It's funny because I saw a string clipped to her shirt but there are so many tubes and wires I didn't think much of it.   But it made me feel so much more secure about leaving her because if she did happen to try and get up, everyone on the floor will know.  It's a great idea.  And now I know not to pull on the string!!  (I was pretty embarrassed)

Now we are all tucked in and ready for tomorrow's storm.  And I'm watching my all-time favorite movie "It's A Wonderful Life"

I think this may be the greatest movie ever made.  It's not the holidays without watching this every year.  "Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings". Night all

From merry to scary

We hit a little bump in the road this week.  Mom had a little crisis yesterday. She was not acting right all day.  By the time I got home from work she was worse.  I contacted her doctor and explained what was happening.  He advised me to call an ambulance right away as he suspected she was septic.  He was correct.   I'm so thankful I called him or things might have turned out differently.  She will be in the hospital for a few days but is responding to treatment tonight.

But last night was pretty scary.  The paramedics were throwing around words like thready and tachycardia, which I didn't really understand what it meant but I've heard it on Greys Anatomy and it's never good.   After we arrived at the emergency room and the team was finished swarming over her with needles, IV's, monitors etc there was nothing to do but sit and wait.  

Staring at the monitors, watching the numbers change and occasionally panicking when alarms went off for hours soon got tiring so I began to look around the trauma room.  And that's when I saw it......that's when it got scary again.....

THIS was behind me the entire time

You can call it "elf on the shelf" if you want but it's really nothing but a tiny wannabe Christmas clown!   Eeeeeeee.  Yes it creeped me out but as I turned my attention back to Mom I soon forgot about it.  

Just before 11pm Mom was stable and I was exhausted so I got ready to leave for the night.  After I put my coat on and turned around I saw THIS

WHERE DID HE GO???  Seriously, I didn't notice any nurse go by that area of the room.  But he was gone!   Creepy........I think so.  (See where my mind goes when I'm stressed and over-tired?)

I just got back from the hospital and Mom is resting comfortably and has a nice new bag of antibiotics flowing through her.   It's been a long 2 days.  

Merry???

Well, a little more was accomplished.  Last night I tracked down my missing tree helper. (More like stalked him like a dirty dog!). So my tree is up in the corner and as a special treat, all the lights still work!  Yay.  Before you get too excited, the tree is still naked but at least it's standing in the right spot.  

And I also got my new rug pattern drawn. It's the Merry Christmas rug from Red House Wool Studio (aka the fabulous Cathy Greshner).   I didn't get to start it last night and I had to work late again tonight.  I always seem to have to stay late when I'm chomping at the bit to get home hooking!

By the time I got home I had missed supper.  But I did get to enjoy the yummy aroma of something burning as I walked in the door.  It took me a few minutes to get to "the truth" but apparently auntie placed a tea towel on a hot burner on the stove.  Arrgh !  I only warn her NOT to do that a thousand times a day.....  Well ok, at least twice a day, but possibly I've said it 500 consecutive days!!

Not exactly an appetizing aroma.  So I grabbed a cup of tea and a handful of cookies for supper and grabbed the hooking frame

It always calms me down.  Today felt like the 2nd Monday of the week.  Somedays you need to make your own merry.   Merry Hooking for me.  

Out the window....

I never learn!!  Any attempt to make a schedule (and accomplish it) in this house is just a waste of brain cells.  I had such grand plans for today.  I had a plan, a carefully orchestrated schedule of tasks.

Guess what?  I got virtually zilch, nada, zippo, nothin done.   Arrrgh   I know better yet occasionally I get delusions of grandeur that I can defy the odds.  Haaaaa

Is my tree up?    Nope.  My tree helper went missing-in-action today

Did I draw out the Merry Christmas rug?   Nope

Did I start hooking the Merry Christmas rug?   Obviously nope

Did any of the carpets get shampooed?   Ahh, NOPE

Any baking, shopping, wrapping.......NOOOO

I did however get 2 small reports done for work.  Not the most fun or holiday-productive but income dependent so that was good.   I also did multiple errands for others.  Note: not for me (sigh)

So since the day was not remotely fun, I decided to do something else tonight that is not fun......binding a couple of small rugs.  I wish I could learn to love (or even like) this task.  

Here's hoping Monday is a cheerier, more productive day.

It's time to catch the spirit

I've put it off as long as I can.  Despite my bah humbug schedule lately, a tiny bit of Christmas spirit in slowly creeping in.  I decided I needed to do a little power shopping today and Downtown was hosting another Artisans Market so there was lots of hustle and bustle and lots of great things to look at.  Our local Department Store downtown is all decked out for the holidays.  

I borrowed their photo from Facebook so you could see how pretty it looks.  Today many of the shops had live entertainment too.  There was a couple set up on this staircase singing Christmas music today.  I got some shopping done finally and my tree is going up tomorrow.  

I'm feeling less panicked tonight.  My cousin Mike is coming to help with the tree and if he's in a good mood, I might convince him to come with me to pick up the new TV Santa is bringing early :). I might as well use his muscle while I have him here. 

I also finished the special order for the rug tonight so now I can get it shipped on Monday.   

Fa la la la la.  I might even bring "the infamous shower curtain" out tomorrow. 

Saved by this blog

There are so many wonderful reasons why this blog has been a blessing.  Recently, the ability to go back, kind of like a diary, and see what I was doing a year ago etc has been invaluable.   In fact, I will go so far as to say it may have saved my sanity.

You see, today is someone's birthday in my house (not me or Mom).  A week or so there was a discussion about what to do, how to celebrate.  I couldn't remember what we did last year.  So........I referred back to the blog........

And there it was - - - a blinding reminder of the events one year ago ---- (I think it may have been so socially traumatic to me that I blocked it out.)   You can read about the "fun" time we had here

I came so close to accidentally re-creating that party!   Ughhhh.   So thanks to this blog, I purchased a table at a local dinner theatre tonight for Auntie and all her friends who will be celebrating tonight and I will be peacefully at home looking after Mom.   Sighhhhh!   Everyone is happy!

Now, here is another little "Small Town" moment for you.   Yesterday morning I went to the drive thru to get my coffee on the way to work.  When I got up to the window the lady says "The man in front of you paid for your coffee and said Merry Christmas"!!   Wow, I thought that was so sweet.  You hear about that sometimes but it never happens to you.   So I mentioned it on facebook.   THEN this morning I am in line again and I recognize the car in front of me.  I know he and his wife and I'm guessing they saw my facebook post.  I roll up to the window and the lady says "The man if front of you paid for your coffee!" 

TWO days in a row!!!  Guess I'm going to have to pay it forward :)

Small Town Sweet

I love small towns.  I especially love my small town.   There is no such thing as rush hour.  We do have what we call "rush minute" at 4:00pm when there is a shift change at the Industrial Park.  Traffic grid lock is when you have to wait a minute for a pedestrian to cross the street.  And they always wave a little thank you for stopping. 

The down side of small towns is "everybody knows everything about you" 

The up side of small towns is "everybody knows everything about you"

About a week or so Auntie and I had lunch at Bella's Cafe downtown.  They serve homemade desserts and the selection changes every day.  Auntie ordered a piece of coconut cake to take home and I passed. (Good self control eh!)  We had a brief conversation with the waitress about desserts and I mentioned that I loved the almond honey bread pudding I had there once.

I thought nothing more about it until this morning, just before noon and my phone rang in my office.  It was the waitress at the Cafe.  She said they had made bread pudding today, and would put a piece aside for me if I wanted.   How sweet is that?   And how small town?   I bet that kind of gesture doesn't happen much in the big cities. 

When I arrived it was all packaged and waiting for me.   And it was just as good as I remembered.   It was a great gesture and it sweetened me up to try the letters on the rug.  

P.S. The letters are not going well.   Sigh.......

Miracles, progress and a treat

There was an early Christmas miracle today.  The phone bill came and what do you know.....the balance was right!!  First time since June

I don't know what I will do will all my free time now that I don't have to fight with the phone company.  Lol   I got some more hooked done this evening and as promised, here is a better shot of the rug.

I like it a lot.  Now for my question......if I add a surname to the bottom of the rug, will it ruin it?  I guess tomorrow night I will just have to try it and decide.    Now for the treat part.  Since this rug is pre-sold I decided to invest the proceeds of this rug into a new 8.5 Townsend cartridge.   Yeeeeeee, I ordered it today.   Merry Christmas to ME!  

Sparks!

I guess the holidays are officially here!  It's now December and we awoke to a white ground cover.  Not much, less than an inch but it stuck around.  I'm sure lots of Christmas trees went up today.  Not mine - I will wait until next weekend.

This afternoon I preferred sparks to holiday lights.  The sparks were flying off the hook!  I am happy to report I hooked for almost all afternoon.   Here's a peek

There is more finished off to the right but I didn't want to move it off the frame again.   I'm happy with it so far.  Once I get the top portion completed I need to make a decision.  The person who ordered this rug was hoping I could add the family name to it.  You know how much I "love" hooking letters!  Ugh.  I told him I would think about it but didn't promise anything.  

So I ask you.....do you think I can add a name to the bottom or will it throw the balance of the rug off??

I will take another pic the next time I move the frame and maybe then we can see if it will work.  

I hope you all had a nice weekend.  I'll be visiting you later (when I give my wrist a break)