Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Last Day of 2008

I like to review my year on Dec 31, when I can.Usually, that's in my journal, but I'll do it in my blog this year.

2008 was probably my least best year, I'm afraid. Losing my daughter, Michele, is right up there with being one of the worst experiences in my life. It was so unexpected, despite the fact that for many years, when she was younger, I was afraid that she would drink something, or run off and get into trouble that would lead to her death. The past several years were quite calm after her years going through puberty and getting into a group home. Because of the excellent care she received from Turn Services, I began to relax. In fact, I had started to worry about how Michele would deal with my passing. I guess no one could have predicted she would have a brain tumor.

There was a great deal of pain in Michele's passing. There still is, for that matter. Even so, I was amazed at the lives she touched, and the people who were there with me and with her, giving her their love and energy to get through her last task. I am so grateful for them.

Strangely, gratitude is an emotion that rivals sorrow for this last year. I had help and caring from so many people, those at the hospital, those people who worked with her, people that I work with and my wonderful family who bear the sorrow with me. I hope they all know how grateful I am to them.

I can barely remember the first few months of 2008, but from Michele's passing onward, the year seems etched in my mind. Strange.

I got to get to know a little about my granddaughter to be, when Sam and Solanah drove down from Vancouver to see us after Michele died. They knew they wouldn't be able to stay for any funeral proceedings, but were here to show thier support for us. I'm grateful.

I'm so grateful to my son, Bob, his wonderful wife, Lisa, to my grandchildren Caitlin and Ethan, for thier company and presence during the planning and services for Michele. We had this little 2 bedroom house, filled with the people I love, mattresses everywhere, and it was great!

I got myself busy doing yard work with a "green" people power mower. It was really quite easy. It helps when the mower is new and the blades are sharp. I had planned to plant a garden, but hadn't got the grass dug out before Michele's passing. After that, I just didn't have the energy, or the heart to dig it out. Hopefully, I will get that accomplished this year.

We didn't do much movie going, but did go to an art exhibit last summer. Gas prices were still high, so there weren't any road trips. Most of my travel was commuting back and forth to work in Salt Lake. By the time I needed to start my extra Holiday hours, the price of gas was coming down. For awhile, it seemed that the price was in free fall, dropping a couple of cents a day. Now it's up a few cents, but seems to have leveled off. (hopefully) I have a new co-ordinator at work, but things aren't too changed. It does seem that there's a bit more micro-managing with the recession and all.

A really bright spot has been the election of Barrack Obama as President. He has so many problems ahead of him, I give him my prayers for strength and good judgement.

The future looks a little scary right now, but I have a lot of hope for us. I was reading an article in the news that most people feel much the same way for now. Maybe we'll be forced to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps and make a kinder, better world.

I know this is kind of long, and I've only hit the most important spots. Onward and upward to 2009!

Friday, December 26, 2008

Quiet Christmas

We had a quiet Christmas yesterday. The south wind was setting up a raquet though. I could never seem to figure out if it was snowing lightly, or if all the flakes in the air were just being blown around from existing snow. There was about an inch of snow on the roads though, so MaryLou drove down to get Maureen for dinner.

I cooked dinner, nothing too elaborate, a cranberry pork loin. We did pig out on cheesecake for dessert. It seems that all three of us got food for Christmas, lots of chocolate. By 4 pm, MaryLou took Maureen home. Later, we realised we couldn't hear the wind anymore.We looked out and it was snowing like crazy.

Today, I got up with a sinus headache around 5 am and took ibuprofen. I got up at 6:30am and got warm clothes on to go out and dig out from the storm. We had at least 6 inches,maybe a little more. By the time we cleared the driveway, porches and walkway, it was after 8am. I cleared my car a bit, but need to finish. I got snow in my boot and my pant bottoms were snow crusted. One of my feet was so cold that it ached for awhile after I got into the warmth. My head was still hurting, so I finally decided not to go to work today, I'll make it tomorrow though. Can't afford to take too much off.

We're actually seeing some blue sky here and there.It's really cold though, about 22degrees. I don't know why I grump and groan about the cold and snow every winter. After all, it is winter, and it comes every year whether I want it to or not. Maybe I should find something fun to do in the winter that I could look forward to every year. Might work, as long as it doesn't require driving in ice and snow. Lotsa luck, right?

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Odds and Ends

It's been an interesting week or two. We finally got busy at Sam's Club with the Taste of Sam's event. Every week-end after that was pretty busy. People aren't buying as lavishly as they have the past couple of years, but they are still buying some of the things they really like, even if the price is a bit higher. I was really getting tired from the extra hours, plus we've been required to work later hours. All of our week day shifts are from 11 am to 7pm. That puts me home pretty late. Last Friday we had a pretty big snow storm and it took me 2 hours to get home. Things will slow down for awhile now.Maybe I can get rested up.

My daughter-in-law got me started on Facebook. It's been kind of fun, so far. There's a lot of fun things you can do. I've already added some friends, of course they're all related, except for my grandson's fiance, and she will soon be officially related, though she's already part of the family.

The weather up in the Northwest has been scary. I think they have more snow in the Portland area than we hae in the Salt Lake/Tooele area. I worried about my family being on the road, but it seems that it's been so cold, that one cars'battery went dead, and another had a flat tire, so they're not on the road too much for awhile. Instead of road problems, they have to worry about cabin fever.

It's been pretty cold today, or at least seemed so with a south wind blowing in another storm. Christmas Day is supposed to have a pretty heavy snow storm. We're staying home,but my Aunt Maureen is coming here for dinner. If the storm gets too bad, I guess MaryLou or I can drive her back and forth.

We spent the morning going into Salt Lake to visit Mom and Michele's graves and put some poinsetias on them. All day, I've felt that something was missing. It's been like waiting for someone to arrive, so Christmas could begin. There's kind of an empty space in the house right now.

Lisa did a beautiful version of one of the pictures she had taken of Michele and sent it to MaryLou and I. It is really special and we both cried when we saw it, but we appreciate it so much. Lisa always sends out a family picture for thier Christmas card. Solanah is included this year too. The family always has wonderful poses and attitude for the picture. They all should be on the stage.

I've been a little lax on my posting. Sorry, but I've been pretty tired after work and busy on days off, maybe a little lazy as well.Hopefully, I'll get better

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Blah, Blah, Blah

As you may see from my title, I'm not in too great a mood. I've been trying to post at least once a week, more if I can. I'm just putting down words to say I've posted.

Christmas is next week. There's not much to say about it, except that I'll be through doing a 4 day work week, that's nice. It will be a very quiet day for us, I think. It will be white, I'm sure. We haven't got huge amounts of snow, just persistant storms coming through. I could even deal with that,I think, if it wasn't so blasted COLD! It'sabout 15 degrees out there now. I need to replace my windshield wiper blades before Friday's storm,but I'm really resisting going out in the cold.

When things get dark and I get grumpy, it's time to find something to be grateful for. I filled my gas tank for under $12 last Sunday. Prices for gasoline are about $1.39 per gallon, so far. That's something to be grateful for. We have a roof over our heads and the furnace works. Our shower is done and works. I still have a job and, so far, my hours haven't been cut. I enjoy the people I work with. I enjoy most of my customers, especially the babies and toddlers. I have a wonderful family,even though it is one smaller this year. The snow is only inches deep, not more than a foot deep as it was last year. We are starting to pile it up in the mountains. I have books to read, crafts to do, the internet to play with. I have clothing to counteract the cold, and I don't have to work in the cold, like some. I guess I have things pretty good and if I'm open to the possibilities, things will get better and better. I know all that, but, just for today, I'm still a little grumpy, but I'll be better tomorrow.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Procrastination

Today the sun is shining brightly. We have just a light breeze and the temp is around 35 degrees. We ended up with about 2 inches out of Monday's storm. I hoped if I ignored it, that it would melt. Unfortunately, we are on the wrong side of the street. We face North. This time of year, the sun is toward the south, so it's mostly behind the house as it goes across the sky. That means that the house shades the walk ways and quite a bit of the driveway. Anyway, the snow was still there this morning. I finally had to bite the bullet and go shovel. Of course, by now, there are footsteps and ice all over, so the walks and driveway are only partially clean. Hopefully, what sun we do manage to get, will melt at least some of the packed snow and ice. If I had not procrastinated, the snow might be gone by now.

To go on with my exciting life; I'm not sure if MaryLou's dreaded virus is aware of me or not, since I always have some sinus problems in the cold weather. MaryLou isn't coughing so much, but she still has a full head. We both got good news from Social Security today, a nice 5% cost of living raise. With me still working and paying into the program, I usually get a little boost in December,which is nice. Considering my salary, it's just a little boost, but better than nothing.

I work the next 4 days and we may get snow. After last year, I'm not looking forward to the commute. Hopefully, it won't be as bad as last year. After the holidays, we may get slower at work and I may get hours cut. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what the economy does, just like everyone else.

Monday, December 08, 2008

Snowy Day

Today it's snowing. It's supposed to be a light snow. I guess it is, as it's been coming down for about 3 hours and there's only about an inch accumulation on my car, so far. The ground is still a bit warm, so it took awhile before it started laying. I can appreciate the snow today, as I have the day off, just the laundry to do.

I love how quiet it seems when it is snowing. Of course, if there's a wind, and it's a blizzard, it's not too quiet. Rain makes a sound when it lands, but snow just settles lightly down. I'm trying to find reasons to be happy about snow, can you tell? I mean, we live in high desert country and we really need the snow, so I might as well try to like it, at least a little. As a child, I liked snow quite a bit. I built snow men and snow forts and made snow angels. Obviously, I didn't drive at the time. I even liked to help clean the walks, just because I didn't have to.

My Aunt, MaryLou is not feeling so well. She's bundled up in her quilt, forcing fluids, trying to fend off a cold. I'm hoping to avoid catching it, as I really don't have time to be sick. Maybe, if I'm very quiet, the virus won't notice me?

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

The Season

Today, we were thinking about how much Christmas decorating we were planning to do this year. Our nieghbors have their lights up and lighted figures out. All over the city and county as well, there are lights springing up everywhere. I halfway expected to see fewer displays this year, what with the recession and all. I guess that either people are putting up a show of hope, or maybe just doing what they always do, out of habit.

We've decided to leave our lighted figures in the basement. We'll probably use some small lights on the fence, just to show the neighbors we're still here. We've got our wreaths up and the mailbox decorated. Indoors, we've put out one or two things. We may put out a little more, but niether of us feels like going all out this year. The economy plays some part, but mostly it's because we are still in mourning. I imagine this year will be the biggest problem, and that it will fade a bit with time, but, for now, my heart just isn't into a lot of decorating. That doesn't mean that Christmas will mean any less. In fact, it will probably mean more, in many ways.

Our weather is still on the mild side. Last year on Dec.1st, we had a huge storm. I'm not feeling left out though. I'm still driving into Salt Lake 4 days a week, so milder weather is easier. I'm sure it won't last forever. I'll just enjoy it while it lasts.

We have new stores in Tooele. A new Big 5 Sports opened recently, and a new Sears appliance store had their grand opening on "black Friday" and did very well. We have a new Gold's Gym being built that will open around the 20th of Jan. Right now, you can join for $21 per month. I've been trying to decide if I can afford it or not. I'm just a little worried that things at work will slow down in January and my hours might go down. Last year stayed fairly busy, but this year could be different. I guess only time will tell. In any case, we're still surviving, plumbing bills and all.