It occurs to me that it has been quite some time since I have actually done any writing here. It seems like I can get so easily distracted by everything else, that I then don't have the time to write. In reading back through earlier posts, it was Fall Break the last time. Since then we have had Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's.
We actually got to do Thanksgiving this year, at my brother's house. We did it the week before, but that worked out perfectly as I had the boys. My nephew got baptized and then the church had a big meal and we were invited. It was a wonderful day. Gadget wanted to fly down as well, but a bad battery in the plane won.
Then I got to have Thanksgiving the next week with Gadget's family, and it was so good to be included in that. He has been working on remodeling the kitchen (had the sinks and countertops replaced), so we went out again. It is wonderful, except you don't have the carcass to make soup, and there are no leftovers. But maybe really that is OK too.
And then before I knew it, Christmas was here. 011 had his Christmas program at school, and I switched days at school (I went on Wednesday instead of Friday) so that I could go. It was weird being in the other class, but I was not going to miss that program. And they did such a great job!
We spent Christmas Eve through to the 27th at his house, and he was able to at least have the new gas stove installed. Gas lines had to be run, cabinets had to be removed, etc. LOVE IT! He did a fantastic job picking it out. It was good to see his Gramma again, and then also to spend the night with good friends at their annual get-together.
Christmas Day was pretty laid back, the boys saved out some presents to open that morning, and of course their stockings because Santa can find them no matter where they are. We just chilled and watched a couple more episodes of Warehouse 13. Love that show, and they did too. Was very sad when they cancelled it.
Friday we came back here, and got the house ready as I hosted the Christmas for the Poole family. On Saturday, my brothers and their families were here, Dad & Eric, and my Gramma & Grampa made it up as well. It was absolutely lovely to share a meal with everyone and then just get to catch up a bit.
After church on Sunday, then I took the boys to their dad's for the rest of their vacation. I stayed at the house for a couple days to get the rest of it cleaned up and just have a minute, then I headed back to MI to see Gadget. By then he had the new backsplashes put in, and wow did they look good. A friend of D's helped him with it, and Gadget was so happy. The dude was a super-smart kid, and really took pride in his work.
We went to Kumo Hibachi Grill in KZoo for New Year's Eve, and then spent the evening at home. I think I fell asleep while we were watching a movie. Not exactly the dress to the 9s that we usually do, but that is OK. It was a wonderful day.
On the 2nd, we celebrated D's birthday by going back to Kumo's for sushi. Extremely yummy, and so much fun to be included in such a big table of people. Half his friends, and then his parents & sister. And me. Afterwards, we went out for drinks & pool at The Hob, which used to be an old GM bar. In other words, it was right across the street from the plant, and the guys would go there for lunch, and for beer after work. Some really cool stories!
Then it was back home to reality. A friend of mine went into the hospital to start her next round of chemo and stem cell replacement. The next few months are going to be Hell for her. I wish there were some way I could take some/all of the pain for her so she did not have to. She has already been through so much. She is amazing and wonderful, and I feel so helpless and powerless.
The boys started school on Monday, and I went back on Thursday. And the cold snap hit. And the pipes froze. And the house froze - aka the furnace stopped working. And we lost power. I thought that week I was going to hurt someone. I missed a day of school. My perfect attendance for the semester was shot. That made me very sad. But I got the pipes working again, the power came back on, Gadget swooped in to the rescue with a kerosene heater (I have no experience with these, so I've learned a lot!) and we did some major troubleshooting of the furnace. After many hours, lots of meters, and mashing our brains, we were able to see what it was doing. Then it was a crazy experience to try and get parts for it, as no one wants to sell you HVAC parts unless you are certified. But I will tell you, after the $1000+ that I have paid certified techs for, I'm not sure it is all that it is cracked up to be. They kept telling me it was working normally. It has not worked normally for 3 years and my electric bills of $500+ per month can atest to that.
But he was able to get the parts, and last weekend was able to fly down and put the most important one in. And we hooked up indicator lights so that I can tell what the thermostat is calling for, and what the furnace is doing in response. We both have learned so much about it. Not exactly how I wanted to expand my knowledge base, but useful non-the-less. Now we are in the testing & monitoring phase. So far, working a million times better. But the weather is warmer too, with less wind. So not that I'm praying for a cold snap, but it would be nice to proof out the work, ya know?
The boys during that time had 5 snow days, so they are out of them for the rest of the year. They had their first scheduled eLearning day of the semester, and so we went to the pasta bar.
I have finished up Level 1 and start Level 2 this week. I can't believe I'm half done. I've had much more interest from people being practice clients for me, so that is very encouraging. I like thinking I may be able to (somewhat) hit the ground running after I sit the board tests. I got to see my old therapist while she was in town last week, and it was so wonderful. She had lots of good suggestions and ideas. I can't wait to get going.
I am still totally fascinated by soapmaking, and have started looking at other ways of reducing chemical dependence around the home. Some successful, some not. And to be clear, there are lots of times when chemicals are very necessary & important.
Anyway, that's a lot of reading, thanks for hanging in there! Have a great day!
