Bright Lights

I’ve been a little under the weather for the second time in the last four months, so that meant I had to postpone all the chores on the list, just sitting with my computer in bed until even there, fatigue and coughing won out. I tend to wear myself out with the holiday that I love so much. I almost get it all up when it’s time to take it all back down. I do not like the last part.

Gracie is done with Christmas too.

The part of the Christmas holiday that I like most of all is the lights. It was fun to see all the Christmas decoration I kept after a deep purge two years ago. I knew my next place would have limited space, I just never expected it to be quite so limited. There was almost not enough room for the small table top tree my DIL found at the thrift store. The  LED lights on the tree also brightened my spirits and I didn’t have to turn them off. I was the only person in the courtyard area to have outside lights thanks to my genius kids. I think I mentioned they put the outside lights up with paperclips to protect the siding. The lights are Christmas for me.

It was still snowing

One evening before Christmas, my son called to see if I wanted to see the lights the cities put up and some of the homes that they found extra delightful. Our cities are very small. I wasn’t expecting much from these communities. What a surprise I was in for when the kids drove me all the way up the mountain (heading south) to the smaller town to find one whole street lit up in a way I have never seen other than on TV.

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In the darkest hours of December, there were so many lights, moving parts and synchronized music that it was like a fairy land. My DIL drove with me up front for a clear view and my son walking ahead to get more clear photos. The lights, action and music brought out the child in each of us hoping to capture the feeling and hold onto it for another year.

Frosty’s camper

Down the street.

Across the street

The news of these lights got around quickly. My 87-year-old neighbor, Everett had seen these displays a week earlier. He spoke of them with great exuberance. You are never too old to feel that childlike wonder. I was grateful that I had the opportunity to get out there. We drove quite awhile to every area that had gave their best shot at cheering their community up with the lights.

Wow!

The Manger

Huge

How did they do it?

By this time my tree is down (not yet put away) and the lights had been turned off on the porch when another neighbor lamented that she missed them so much on my porch. I did too; so in the evening hours, I’ve turned them back on to give us here a slight lift as we go through the shift to more daylight. Now that I’m feeling so much better, the rest of the holiday decor will be placed back in its respective container before the next snow comes in and makes it impossible to get it to the rented storage space.

It looks like lace

The last thing to go in a box will be the Christmas gnome the kids painted for me with lights. It’s been on every night on the kitchen island. It will be sorely missed.

My Christmas Gnome

All lit up

What are you missing most now that holidays are gone?

From my heart to yours,

Marlene Herself

Creeping

I thought I had loads of time to get it all done. Every year the same thing happens. I hear everyone commenting about the stores getting ready for Christmas in September, not even waiting till Halloween is done. Well let me be very clear here, three and a half months is not enough time for me.

All are welcome here

Somehow, and I can’t imagine how it happens, Christmas is creeping up on me with less than four days to go. Where the heck did all the time go? It was there just a minute ago.

Could it have gone here?

Snow barely covered the ground but kids were enjoying every drop.

The first snow this year. I spent too much time watching the children play in it from the sewing room window where I should have been working.

Oh, to be a kid again.

Could it have gone here?

It all froze. First time in the last 4 years we have had this much snow and freezing rain.

Our second snow this season brought the city of Portland to its knees. The aftermath is beautiful but the 3 hour ride to cover the 22 miles from the airport after picking up my son complete wore us both out. Cars were littered over all the roads and interstate. No one was prepared for the amount of ice on the roads. My son, the expert driver, got us home without bending anything.

Nothing but gray skies as far as the eye can see.

It sure is pretty if you don’t have to leave the house.

 

I’ve been busy working on things, some of which I can’t show you right now. Shh, they are presents. Here is one I made for my son’s birthday last month at his request.

My son has a great sense of humor

I had a tiny photo of my tree skirt on a previous blog and a better photo was requested. I have more started but the details I add take a great deal of time. I think I’ll start on them next month.

The whole tree skirt

Lots of added detail like the gold bows sewn on before it’s assembled

There is a spot to hide a gift under the heart.

My son flew home for Christmas and collecting all his belongings to move them into a shipping container on a friends piece of property. The shipping container was less expensive than a year’s storage fees and when it’s no longer storage for his things, it can be used as a shop and work space. So along with the Christmas decorations and preparations, we are getting ready for another shuffling of stuff and moving it. Not the best time of year for it but storage unit fees are getting astronomical. Is anyone starting to question our sanity?

Someone has to make use of these things.

I also made time to walk my daughter through a project she wanted to do and we were flying by the seat of our pants with no real pattern. We made it up as we went and it turned out pretty good for her first time. She likes using my machine so I can hover and calm when fear arises. It’s a gift for a hard to gift friend of hers. We are both proud of her.

Daughter sewing on moms machine is so much better than at home alone with hers

A gift for a cat loving friend

The back of the pillow for easy washing.

I still have a dozen projects to finish in the next three days. What are the odds? Will the baking get done? How about you?

Is Christmas creeping up on you like a cat stalking a bird or are you ready to smack it down?

Every year it looks different

Old treasures and the box I painted years ago.

A closer look at the wreath I made

I had a lot of these to sew names on, in the meantime…

Bear has been in the family since 1987? I think.

 

Since I most likely won’t get another chance, I’m wishing you all the joy this Christmas season can bring and hope that the New Year will bring a new start and peace in your heart.

From my heart to yours,
Marlene Herself

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In Search of the Last Anniversary

Have you seen those t-shirts or coffee mugs that say “I have one nerve left and you’re on it?” When people ask me what brought on my Bells Palsy, I refer to that quote. On a stress scale of 1-10, I was at a 15. What happened? We had an accumulated 6 feet of snow that brought down our second canopy. I had tried to talk my husband out of buying another. It was supposed to hold a 40 pound snow load. It collapsed onto the truck, Jeep, tractor and boat along with 6 tanks of propane. That I could handle. What brought me to the last nerve and off the chart stress was when he wanted to file another insurance claim. It would be his fifth in that house, even though we had collected on only one other. I begged and pleaded not to call them. Yup, they paid, which made him happy, then they cancelled our policy. Cancelled homeowners is a big deal and scared the heck out of me. I lost it and within a week, I had what the doctors thought might be Shingles. No visible signs of shingles on my scalp, just the other symptoms. I got something so much grander.

My reward for not managing my stress.

Today marks the four year anniversary of my bout with Bells Palsy. Every day I wake up wondering if it will be the day it’s gone. Do I feel sorry for myself? Absolutely not! I’m so grateful because it pointed out so many things that were broken. Six months later I moved out with the help of family. I couldn’t drive anymore and it took all my energy to pack one box. But each day, I packed and slept then packed some more. My husband brought me boxes. They were stacked everywhere for those six months. Do I have stress in my life now? Yes, real life stress that is usually under the scale of five. I’m pretty easy going so to get me ruffled, takes a whole load of bad stuff. I will never willingly allow that kind of stress in my life again. Yes, stuff happens. Most, with common sense is easy to manage. The kind that makes you sick, is usually a long time in the making.

You’ve seen this before but I look so much better than when this started.

The toughest part of this whole illness has not been my inability to drink ANYTHING without a straw or the fact that my kisser doesn’t work. No pecks on your cheek from me. You have to put up with a hug. I don’t mind that my daughter orders for me so the wait staff can understand what I want, or my smile isn’t as endearing as it once was.

For me, the toughest part has been the constant dizziness that interferes with my ability to walk and drive safely. But I am getting well enough to drive more and more. It’s not quite like vertigo. It feels like my brain is sitting in a bowl of Jello and sloshing around. I can promise you, it’s a weird feeling. I keep telling everyone I meet, that Bells Palsy and Shingles come from the same Zoster virus. If you are over 60, get your shingles shot. You don’t want shingles either. Please watch your stress levels. If you are that stressed, something needs to change or your body will do it for you.

Last year’s anniversary blog was a bit more upbeat. I think it may be that this year, I haven’t been out of the house in 7 days. Our steps were covered in ice and snow as were the sidewalks and street. A large portion of the country is dealing with the same thing. Cabin fever due to weather. I have always tried to venture out once a week at least. No one was going anywhere last week.

It wasn’t much and so pretty, but brought this city to it’s knees.

Today the snow has melted, the temps have climbed high enough to melt the ice, and I will be heading to the post office to mail cards that may need hand stamping and a small box of fabric and patterns to my sister-in-law for her to make up for her granddaughter. Lightening my load and realizing my limits is a good way to celebrate this day. I really want this to be the very last anniversary I have with Bells Palsy. Here’s where I would wink and smile at you but you’ll just have to imagine it with me.

The black plastic bag was to keep it dry on the way to mailing. Small but heavy.

Are you struggling with cabin fever or just enjoying the coziness of winter’s cocoon? Or like me, having a bit of both?

From my heart to yours,
Marlene Herself

In Search of Snow

The drive to Oregon gets really beautiful just after you are out of Redding, California. I always spend the night in Redding so I can truly enjoy the scenery after being rested and wide awake. It was especially beautiful since I was finally heading to where I want to call home.

The Mount Shasta area can be so breathtaking with trees climbing the ridges on both sides of interstate 5. I’ve done that trip so many times now; some by myself with my little dog looking out the window and enjoying the view. Twice with my daughter who did the driving for me and this last trip was with my son. He had always flown but this time he drove my car and the rented trailer back to Oregon. It was his first view of the spectacular scenery. This time I noticed something. Mount Shasta had almost no snow. It was all but bare.

I love this view

I realize its summer but I’ve traveled this stretch in summer before and the snow on the peak was always breathtaking. The water levels have also been lower each time I’ve passed over the lakes of Shasta,. Lack of snow on Mount Shasta is the sign of even lower water levels for the region. Maybe this winter can turn things around for them. I certainly hope that is the case. Snow means water.

Another angle of Mount Shasta

I have to admit that I gave up on living in snow the year I came down with Bells Palsy. In the mountains of Arizona at 7200 ft., we would usually get around three feet of snow spread out through the winter season. The winter of 2010, we had six feet most of which was dumped on us in one night. I spent days shoveling after our canopy over the truck, jeep, tractors and miscellaneous tools collapsed on them. It took a bull dozer to dig us out. I didn’t care to ever see snow after that winter.

Multiply this snow by three and that’s what brought that canopy down the next winter.

Somehow, in all the moving, I’ve lost the photos of that epic snowstorm. Maybe they will still turn up.

We had an epidemic of shingles outbreak that winter which is the same dormant virus that causes Bells Palsy. Many alternative practitioners say the cold and wind have a lot to do with the dormant virus becoming active. Add the stress of an unusually hard winter or other stressors, and you have a breakdown of the immune system.

Oregon gets cold and wet; but there is no shoveling required. I prefer to leave that now to the younger generation. I like to visit the snow or pass by it from a good distance. It’s vital to our lives. I’m sad to see Mount Shasta so barren. Is there any hope of turning things like this around?

I think the environment should be put in the category of our national security. Defence of our resources is just as important as defence abroad. Otherwise what is there to defend? – Robert Redford

From my heart to yours,
Marlene