MIA?

Today was quilt meeting day.  The Lick Skillet Guild had met the night before and Jane was instructed to relay a message to me from a mutual friend after she had apparently asked how I was doing.  "Tell Linda she needs to update her blog!"  Carol, you are right.  I have had friends tell me that my blog is one of the first things they check when they get online.  I've been disappointing them for about 3 weeks, I guess.

I think you know why I have been absent---mostly being in a "Debbie Downer" mood. My anniversary was January 26th, or would have been.  Do you observe them or not once you are widowed??  My feeling is that it will remain a special day in your life regardless.  We were married for just 15 years and a few days but had been a couple since 1978.  I don't know which day exactly--sometime in June or July maybe.  I managed to get through that one but not without some tears.   I was trying to focus on the good memories of our time together and not dwell on what was missing.  Some moments I handled more successfully than others.  I know I was blessed to have whatever time we were granted but greedy enough to have wanted more.

Tuesday the 27th, the following day I missed our Belles meeting---only slept about 2 hours, tweaked my back trying to get out from that pile of bedding and not roll over on the cat.  Miserable!  I spent a big chunk of the day on the heating pad on the couch.  BUT we had planned on going out to Top of the River for supper.  DJ and I often would go there for our anniversary dinner as they drop the prices of their signature catfish dinner to the January price of 10 years prior.  I picked Tuesday as Terri's husband Frank's birthday was the following day and he had passed away two weeks before that.  Divide the difference and celebrate my anniversary and his bday with our girlfriends.

Move forward to February the 1st or the anniversary of day that DJ died.  My friend Bev and husband John invited me to breakfast at IHOP so I at least got out of the house and got my mind off things.  Others have been calling, emailing, texting or posting that they were thinking of me which I appreciate.  My neighbor came out when I walked past with Oscar to give me a hug.   DJ and I never made a big deal out of Valentine's Day once we had an anniversary to celebrate so I think I'll be okay then.  I am officially through the year of firsts without him at my side. Does this means it is supposed to get a bit easier?

I saw this on facebook recently and maybe that explains it----

So what else is going on?  Time just runs together.  Who even remembers after this length of time.  A few binge cooking days.  Lots of reading.  No sewing, but didn't feel like it anyway. No knitting or stitchery either.  Creativity is on vacation.  That is going to change however. Today I cut out my challenge quilt which is a BQ2 instead of tumblers though it is an option for the leftovers later.  The Belles want to do a sew-in with 2 1/2 inch strips later this month so I am supposed to pick a couple o ideas for us--been thinking about that one and reviewing my saved files.  Also, I've been asked to assemble a top of one hundred fabric squares which is apparently a Chinese tradition to send good wishes to the infant.  See this article on 100 Good Wishes Quilt.  The child is adopted and now ten but Grandmother no longer sews and needs the help.  Another thing on the list is "mama pads" to help an expectant mother. Oscar is going to have to do some outside time and let me hit the sewing room OR even though I don't want to do it, drag the machine out to the kitchen.

I had a plumbing emergency last week to deal with on Wednesday.  First inkling was laundry water coming back up the kitchen drain.  Oh oh.  First load of laundry, small load, so not much water.  2nd load, jeans and sweaters--more so and water coming from somewhere all over the utility room floor. The load was about done when I noticed the water spot on the throw rug.  14 towels later, I got it all mopped up but here I was with soaking wet towels and a washer that was questionable.  The 25 lb. container of cat litter had a hole in it so that added to the fun of cleaning up.  Thank heavens for the laminate flooring as that was the only way I was going to be able to move that washer.  I accidentally pulled off the exhaust vent off the back of the dryer before the clothes were all dried so that made it hot in addition to messy and wet.  NOT a good day!  Worse yet, it was right around lunch time and both critters were underfoot and wanting fed .  Oscar went out and Skyler eventually got the message that food was not forthcoming.

The plumber could not come till the next day but I was pretty sure the kitchen stand pipe needed cleared out as this happened maybe 4 or 5 years ago, minus the water on the utility room floor.  I asked Robert to come down and help me hook the dryer back up and check the water hoses.   Also I needed to get the appliances back in place so I could close the doors on either side of the utility room.   He came down with the plungers and would have tried the stand pipe if he had had the equipment.  I told him the plumber was coming and wouldn't want him (Robert) to deal with that nasty job.  Robert took the wet towels down to their house to wash them so that was enough.   And the stand pipe WAS the problem.  The plumber made sure that there was no water from the washer with the test load of laundry he had me do.  It is NOT the hoses which was something DJ always worried about.  Well, I worry too and do not run the washer or dryer if I am not going to be home.

I don't need anymore excitement like that!  While I was doing plumbing stuff my mom said she and Dad were dealing with the furnace giving out with the temps down to zero.  They replaced it late last week.  I guess it is always something when you are a home owner.  I know I have paint to touch up, weeds to cut back and I wish that awful dry nettle that is flowering and taking over the yard would go away.

Our little Lily Bug is going to have to have more surgery later this month.   She is now 7 months old.  Her MRIs showed that the surgeons need to revisit the surgery she had in late December.  (The bit of tumor that was left in needs to come out to prevent problems later.)  The brain MRI was normal.  Her Nana keeps me in pictures and this is a recent one.  Such a sweet smile!

The Belles met today but it was just Bev, Jane and I so I got home really early.  One of the girls is out of state, another had a doctor's appointment, another is working day shift now, another's husband is ill.  Two of the husbands have had or will have cataract surgery.  I got my top cut out which was my goal today.  Bev was playing with a folded star project and Jane brought some scrap quilt books to share.  Short meeting but I felt so guilty for leaving Oscar out in the cold to this morning.

The sun came out about the time I got home but the wind was fairly brisk.  We are heading towards lows in the teens later in the week.  Meantime my daffodils are starting to look like blooms are about to open and the crocuses are up.   The camellia is going to get zapped---again.

I guess that's about it.  I'll try to be more faithful about posting if I have anything blog worthy to say anyway.  THX for your concerns about my well being.