2019

I’m off to a slow blogging start for the year. I had three doctors appointments this week and haven’t been able to get myself organized enough to do a blog post. I haven’t taken hardly any photos either so this will probably be a short post.

Dennis went back to work on Wednesday. After 2 four day weekends it’s going to be hard for him next week when he has to work five days in a row! I imagine there are a lot of people facing that hard fact right now.  I’m sure missing having him home. I’m looking forward to his retirement.

 I finished Alex’s sweater! It will look very familiar to you all because it is exactly like Dennis’s, just a size smaller. And I played yarn chicken and won!  Do you see this 4 inch length of yarn? This is all that I had left when I finished his sweater! Believe me, I wasn’t sure that I would make it. I don’t think I’ve ever cut anything this close. It sure made me wish I had taken a couple of rows off of the length of the sweater. Ha!

And the finished sweater after washing and blocking. Please excuse the wrinkled tablecloth.  I will be mailing this off to him shortly.  I sent him this picture and when we talked last night he was pretty excited about it. I enjoy knitting for my kids. He and Mandy are especially very verbal in their thanks for anything I knit for them. Definitely “yarn worthy” people.

Wednesday night I made a big pot of chicken and wild rice soup. I used a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and that makes the process so easy. It is very labor-intensive, but also very worth it. We will have the leftovers for dinner tonight. If anyone would like the recipe just let me know and I would be happy to post it next time.

Last night we had our annual Bible Study Christmas potluck and gift exchange. We usually wait until January to have it because people are so busy in December. I left the decorations up and I took this photo of the tree just before I went to bed last night. This morning it all came down and got packed in boxes for Dennis to drag downstairs tonight. It’s always sad to take the decorations down, but also a nice feeling to get things back to normal again.  In the past, I have always wanted to have everything put away before the new year so it felt like I was starting with a clean slate. Since we’ve had the party in January, I’ve left the decorations up by everyone’s request. It’s really no big deal since I’m home now and can take them down anytime. When I was working it was a lot harder to find the time to put them away.  Do you see my blue and white crocheted tree skirt? I love that tree skirt. I debated making it for a couple years and I’m glad I finally did it.

Monday, on New Year’s Eve, I saw the actual spine doctor that took me months and months to get an appointment with. I was so glad that Dennis was off work and able to go with me. That extra set of ears is so handy. The doctor was amazed at how much I have already done to try to make my back better. I saw the physical therapist in their office yesterday and a pain psychologist this morning. She gave me some breathing exercises to do when the pain gets severe and also recommended some natural supplements to reduce the inflammation in my back.  I can either choose to keep seeing her or not. The physical therapist gave me two exercises to do. They don’t seem to be hardly any motion at all, but boy, I can sure feel it. On the 22nd I will receive an injection in my back and will also continue with physical therapy for a month or so. They will then reevaluate where I am.

I hope you are all having a wonderful start to 2019. I am very hopeful that this will be the year I get my health under control and I can start traveling again. I want so badly to go to Japan in the spring to visit Alex for the cherry blossom festivals.  I would love to be able to go to Omaha and see Mandy and Piper and the rest of our family too. And of course, Dennis and I want to go to the coast in February or March to watch the winter storms come in off of the Pacific. Such an amazing and powerful sight to see.  We had hoped to go to Hawaii in February but that’s obviously not going to happen. Maybe next year.  It all depends on when I can fly again.

On Sunday I begin teaching the kindergarten through third grade Sunday school class every Sunday morning.  I haven’t taught Sunday school in several years and I’m both looking forward to it and dreading it. :-)  I’m not sure what to expect. Children seem to have much different expectations now than they did when our children were young. I’ll let you all know how it goes. Pray for me!

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.”  Proverbs 16:3

Many blessings, 

Betsy