31 December …
Well … did you all have a nice holiday? Hannakuh? Yule? Christmas?
I tried to get back to sending cards (which I hadn’t done in years), but didn’t get around to many. So here you go …
Here we started the 25th with crepes made on order by Tyler followed by gifts …. and with a six-year-old in the house you can guess what that was like.
John and Michael had to leave before dinner to spend time with Michael’s family in Sacramento (a four hour drive).
The rest of the day was chaotic but more quiet. I don’t know why things quieted since neither John nor Michael are noisy. I spent the time knitting and reading. And watched Miss Peregrin and her Peculiar Children with the family. I had read the book some time ago. The movie didn’t follow the book but went its own way with the basic story and while it wasn’t the same, it was interesting.
Since then, and even before, days have been interesting.
The wednesday before Christmas, shortly after noon, the Blue Star Gas and Propane truck pulled into the yard. It surprised me … a lot. I hadn’t ordered any propane. George used to have the tank taken care of in August and that’s when I ordered and got the supply for 2019.
Mark was at home and went out to see what was going on.
Bill, the delivery man said he knew George was gone and wasn’t sure whether or not I was alone, so he decided to come add a hundred gallons to the tank, just to make sure I got through the winter okay. He wanted to get it done while he was still sure he could get out here. And he will charge me for only sixty-five gallons. He called it a “senior” discount.
I guess being a widow and nearly 90 brings out the protector in folks.
Thursday the 20th I went for a bone scan. I have osteopenia (bone loss, which is why I’m getting shorter), arthritis (which both parents and three grandparents all had), but no osteoporosis … so I don’t have to worry about unexpected fractures (i.e. breaking a hip and falling as opposed to falling and breaking a hip).
I got home TIRED and found that both Kamille and Paul were on the sick list. My planned attendance at the Taize service in town was cancelled and I went to bed.
Friday morning I woke up to do breakfast (having slept the clock around and feeling much rested) and found that no two clocks in the house had the same time and the clock in my room had eschewed the Westminster music and was making up new tunes to chime. Kamille was better and went to work. Mark had to be at the fire house early (they are interviewing a candidate for live-in). Paul was running a fever so he stayed home. I was on duty until Mark got home. I then went to a physical therapy appointment (my back is showing our age), followed by shopping and the library before getting home to do dinner. Another full day.
Saturday wasn’t much except I was struck by the look of the birch trees. May not seem much to anyone else, but they awed me.
Then came sunday the 23rd …
Mark and Kamille left for church. Paul stayed with me because he had a head cold. I had planned to shower (we still have only one shower in the house) but just as shower time neared, Paul’s cold turned into a sore throat which led to an incipient ear infection with pain.
So I prepared garlic oil for the ear (antibacterial) and gave him a children’s aspirin. The warm, smelly oil helped, but he wanted his mama. The rest of the day centered around keeping Paul as comfortable as possible with the possibility of a trip to the doctor in the morning.
Monday morning when I went down to start the fire, there was Paul … feeling fine and excited about it being the day before Christmas. The rest of the day was rain mixed with snow. It was also disjointed with rearranging furniture and baking cookies. We ended the day at the candle light service at St. Barnabas.
I’ve told you about the 25th.
It’s been a bit of a blur since then.
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This past year I took you with me as I learned about Vincent VanGogh. What a trip … at least for me.
I spent time one day watching “Loving Vincent”, the movie done all in paintings. If you haven’t heard about it … they filmed the movie, then gave each frame to an artist who rendered that frame into a painting. Over a hundred artists were involved. Most of the film is done in VanGogh’s style. The exceptions are the flashbacks which are done in black and white photo style.
I learned a lot about VanGogh … about his death … and about his relationship with Theo (who was dying of syphilis). The title of the film is taken from the way he signed his letters to Theo … something along the line of “from your loving Vincent”.
And I cried at the end when the credits were backed by a song …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxHnRfhDmrk
But then I seem to cry more easily these days than I used to.
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Weather is winterlike without any snow remaining on the ground. Temperatures have been around freezing. Great reason to stay indoors.
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Today is the last day of 2018.
It hasn’t been one of my best years, but then I can think of several aphorisms which apply. Maybe this is one …
If I had not sat in darkness, I would not have seen the light. I’ve seen better days, but I’ve also seen worse. I don’t have everything that I want, but I do have all I need. I woke up with some aches and pains, but I woke up. My life may not be perfect, but I am blessed.
So … ‘til later when I will make my best effort to get back on track …