October found me ill with respiratory issues. Teaching Kindergarten brings the germs, and I catch things so easily. It wasn't until November that I got the cure in the form of a Z Pack. In no time I was feeling better, ready to get moving with the rennovations at 728 N. Emery. My living room is attrocious, really bad. Someone took wood paneling and nailed it to the walls, sort of in a not quite right manner. The trim for the windows was not even, there was foam insulation that leaked out and bubbled up along the edges. The ceiling was papered and painted over, and the walls under the paneling had at least 10 layers of wallpaper. I began the process of taking down the paneling and stripping the wallpaper over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Multiple layers of wallpaper. Underneath? A colored plaster wall, complete with a built in border of yellow plaster. Needless to say, this was at one time I think, a fairly exquisite home.
In October I got a new puppy, a Standard Poodle which I named Harry. He is about a year old, and full of energy. More energy than I have energy for, but I had wanted a Standard Poodle for a long time. In fact, the weekend my husband passed away we had discussed getting one soon. I had decided to wait until I found something more permanent, looking through the craigslist adds I found one, a cream colored male poodle. I emailed and on a Saturday drove out to the farm where he was staying and drove him to his new house. Maggie the 14 year old Queensland mix was not happy, but I figured she would get used to him and eventually tolerate his puppyishness. His first day in his new home he escaped and had quite an outdoor adventure. Meeting a mole in the street, he wasn't sure of what to do, it was extremely humerous, chasing squirrels, and finally being caught by a neighbor in back of my house. He has been a great companion for Nikolaus, who pulls him onto his lap every evening to pet and love. He has been work, but he makes me laugh and that is very important for sad times.
Harry the Dog, Mr. T Hairstyle
Beginning with October 28, the Birthdays and anniversaries began. This used to be a time of happiness and joy, but not so much anymore. Seonaid's Birthday was on October 28, my wedding anniversary November 4, Randy's birthday November 11, my birthday November 23, followed up with Thanksgiving. This year was particularly difficult, my kids live on opposite coasts, I began to feel isolated and without many friends. What kept me going was taking down the wallpaper, and facebook. I worked hard and that began to really affect my hip pain. Having the pain made me realize that I was going to absolutely need the hip replacement as soon as I could afford the time. The pain, emotional and physical took a toll on the attitude I 'm afraid. Geez, Christmas would soon be here! How fun, not! At least I would get to see my two oldest. Matt was going to come early, and Seonaid would only be able to take a few days, but a few days was better than nothing.
We had a blizzard in the middle of December, and a day off from school. Thanksgiving was lonely, really, really lonely. In the past we always had a real family affair, needless to say it wasn't going to happen this year. I did get a turkey, and roasted it, cooking all of the trimmings. It just felt plain odd to have just the two of us sitting there at the big table. Limited conversation from Nikolaus, too much food, made for a sad holiday. Calls from the kids came, and that was nice to hear their voices, but the sadness stayed pretty much through Spring.
After the first real snowfall, blizzard.
