From the 50s to the 20s......

 

This photo is from a party my friend held at her beautiful home ~ we all knew each other from work.  Not long that after this party she and her husband found out he had early onset alzheimer's.  We were good friends for a long time, but when I quit working at that job, we just drifted away.  She had so many milestones that took her away from most friends that weren't family.  We spoke once or twice a year, and she would tell me about how at first it was odd, him not working, but not remembering things they had done the day before.  He quit driving soon after the diagnosis.  Eventually she had to hire people to check in on him during the day, then hire someone that could stay with him all day until she got home from work.  They sold the beautiful house and moved to a single story home with a casita (a large bedroom with a full bathroom that is separate from the house) that she didn't like.  I remember thinking that she had become the person who loses one thing after the other, and becomes this sad,  lonely, and tragic figure that just keeps going through the motions ~ because she had to.  It took, as it often does, decades to come to it's awful end, where he didn't know who she was, or recognize their two boys.  

Her family is very supportive and loving.  I have this photo and a few others to remember her by, and most likely, it's how she wants me to remember our friendship.  Sadly, her husband passed away 2 years ago, after 23 years of gradual decline.  I've been tempted to contact her, even though it's been a long time since I've heard from her, but I hesitate until I talk myself out of it.  

I did work for two weeks to fill in at the dental practice I retired from.  It was just the right amount of time ~ just about the time it started to feel annoying to get up and get going, it was over!  I did discover that the girl who was on vacation was hired about 6-9 weeks ago.  She didn't tell them that she had this trip planned when they interviewed her......the practice manager said she wouldn't have hired her knowing she would be taking 2 weeks off in less than 2 months!  Apparently she doesn't have any dental experience.  Well, except her own past dental visits.  Apparently there is a serious shortage of people that want to work the front office these days.  There was a brief discussion that went something like: what if she doesn't come back?"  Thankfully she did come back ~ or I think she did because I didn't hear anything.  Thankfully!

I am catching up on all the projects I had planned.  I started painting the bedroom today.  I didn't do too much, but I got started, and that will encourage me to keep going until it's done!  

Like so many people in the US, we had a bitter cold front that dropped our temperatures dramatically.  We has a couple of inches of snow, but some places had a dozen inches.  It was a huge front that swept across from New Mexico all the way up to the Northeast.  Luckily we will back into the low 50s by this weekend.  The dogs are really itchy to go on a walk!  

Well, gotta go!  Have a wonderful week.

Love, 365 

 

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go........

 

I have the match between Kokkinakis and Korda on, and wow, it's pretty exciting!  It was a bit disappointing that he didn't win the match, but it was great to watch!

As an update on the month long icky feelings I had, I am back on track to feeling good.  It turns out one of the medications I am taking was changed to a larger dosage.  I feel kinda stupid that it took me so long to figure it out.  

The dental office I retired from has called me again asking if I wanted to work for a couple of weeks to fill in for someone who's on vacation. This was 2 weeks ago, and I figured I could always use a few extra bucks, so said yes.  I am not buying anything to wear, there is no point when it's only 2 weeks.  I hate the pants I usually wear, and I have decided that at the end of this 2 weeks I'm throwing them out.  Luckily I can wear a nice pair of jeans with a button down shirt instead of dress pants.

I put the Christmas decorations away last week....we usually leave it up until after Theophany.  Then the boxes hung out in my office until today, when I re-organized it and put it away.  I really need to get rid of more of the decorations I have.  I did buy a new tree after Christmas, and got a steal on it at 1/3 the original price.  A big plus is that it weighs less than 15 pounds, so I can manhandle it to the upper shelf in the closet without help.  

I'm also painting our bedroom, it's been a long time and we're ready for a fresh coat.  I probably won't finish until I'm done with working though.  The last thing I will want to do after coming home from an 8 to 5 job is paint.  Nope!

Honestly, we have so many projects we want to do.  There's no rush, really, but it drives me crazy.  I just want to get them done!

Well, I need to make my lunch for tomorrow, and chill out a little bit.  Have a great week!

Love, 365 

Happy New Year!.......

 

As you can see, Zoe was not impressed with the New Years celebrations.  Oh, not that we did anything, but you could hear the fireworks from the partiers nearby. 

I do not know what is going on with me, but I have been feeling sick more than I have been feeling well.  I had to pull over and throw up on my way home on New Years Eve.  There's nothing I hate more.  I even have special bags I use, which Romeo saw on Amazon.  But basically it's just all gross.  The next day I was very tired and still feeling a little nauseous.  Today I feel fine.  This is how it goes.  Sometimes I feel sick in the morning and fine in the afternoon.  Other times I'll feel fine for a week.  I think I complained about this before, so sorry about moaning about it.  So really, this has been going on for a month.  I have a Dr visit on Monday, so we'll see what she says.

 We have had the most strange weather!  We had 7 or 8 days in December that broke records.  Today was 54 f.  We have had one day of a dusting of snow and that's it.  I have never experienced such temps since we moved here in 1995.  In Texas these temperatures are not at all uncommon.

I made a try at making french onion soup, and it turned out pretty good!  The only thing I wish I had done differently was buy wine for it, but I didn't have any and ended up using a substitute.  It was ok, but next time I buy the wine!  I don't drink wine, it give me terrible headaches, so I never have any on hand.

I made a resolution to try new recipes at least once a month.  We will see how long it lasts!  Haha

I hope 2026 is kind to us all, with plenty of laughter and love. 

365