Progress

Sunrise from a couple of days ago. The snow is mostly gone now.

Good morning from my chilly new home -for my computer anyway. As part of our efforts to get ready for construction, I moved my computer into one of the extra bedrooms, and it's cold. This new environment may prevent me from lingering at the computer and playing another game that I don't need to. :) I layered up yesterday to work here, but then I was too hot for the rest of the house. I'm sure I figure out a good compromise, but until then, Brrrrr.

Ward also moved his computer from the office into the living room and is ready for work today. We added a table in there to have a coffee pot and microwave on the main level when construction begins, but we had to be careful not to block the window ledge the cats love. We're a bit worried about how the construction will affect them, especially because they are so old. But I think if they get adequate lap time, they will be okay.

The guest room has reached capacity on the number of boxes it can have and still be able to get to the bed. Wally occasionally sleeps there when he visits, and we have company scheduled for a visit in about a month. We want to be able to offer them reasonable accommodations - at least a clear path in and out of the room and surface to put a suitcase on.

And it goes on. I have a donation pickup scheduled in a week, but I'm going to have to start boxing some of it up before then because the pile is getting in the way. I also have feelers out to find a place to donate our old working appliances. The first place said they don't want them, and I'm waiting to hear back from another. 

My fingers are cold, so I think it's time to move on from this room. I have to get ready for work, anyway, which, by the way, is still hectic because, in addition to the test kits, we are now passing out N-95 masks.

Until next time...

Busy

I'm working on some extra projects right now, so my posting here may be sparse for a few weeks. Although, I'm not sure how you will tell the difference from my regular, irregular schedule. :)

Every couple of days, we are having
snow and ice to contend with. 

First, some of my computer writing time is being taken up each week with a gift I received for Christmas. My sister-in-law got me a subscription to StoryWorth, a service that sends you a question each week to answer, and after a year, your responses are published into a book. It's a means of saving family history and telling a personal story. The questions are open-ended and require effort. For example, the question I'm working on now is, "What were your grandparents like?" I'm finding it challenging to discuss four different grandparents (and a bonus one we discovered a few years ago) in only a few paragraphs. Actually, this answer is more than a few paragraphs, and I'm only discussed 2/5 so far. I have told some of my family stories here on my blog, but with Storyworth, I can add specific names, places, and times that I don't share here. We'll see how it goes. I may get tired of this before the year is done, but I would like to do this for my kids and others.

Also, we have a date for construction to begin on our kitchen. In just two weeks, we have to have several rooms emptied. The kitchen is the main focus, but the domino effect of closing doorways and opening others have spread the job. And then there are things like if the new floor is going to extend into the connecting laundry room and bathroom, do we want to take this opportunity to put in a new toilet and vanity to replace the worn 33-year-old ones? We need to shop for those things if we do. And we're trying to figure out how we will function the 2-3 months the project is supposed to last. We have a small canning kitchen in the basement, so we have options there. However, we are moving cabinets from upstairs to downstairs to replace the small, crude ones there now, so we have to have that area empty, too. However, that's the first thing they will do, so hopefully, we will have a usable space down there before too long. But even before a functioning "kitchen," we have to figure out our workspaces since the office is one of the areas we have to cleanout. Ward works from home every day, so he will need a good space to relocate into. There are options for everything; we just have to figure them out.

So I'll see you when I see you. Actually, that might be more often than I plan because I am talking with you now because it's easier than working on either of the projects I mentioned above. 

Fleeting

The first news came when my niece, Lianne, told her grandfather and the rest of us that she might be late with his Christmas present. If he could wait until April, she and her husband Ben were going to have twins. These would be their first, and we were all excited about the news.

Lianne and Ben lived away, and we visited with them at Thanksgiving. Lianne was out of the morning sickness phase and starting to show. They were both so happy and excited. Lianne and Ben's next visit was going to be in January when there would be a baby shower for them in the area. A registry was formed, and gifts arrived, awaiting the shower.

However, the shower was canceled. The twins arrived unexpectantly on Dec. 30, just one day before Lianne's birthday. Little Sawyer and Allison (named after Ward's sister, who passed away a few years ago) were tiny, each weighing just over 1 pound. But they were alive and surrounded by excellent medical care. The parents held vigil round the clock with the babies. The hospital gave them a room to shower and sleep in, although I don't know how much sleep they got. There were ups and downs every day. Allison held onto Lianne's finger, then Sawyer's oxygen level dropped, and so it would go. Lianne pumped breast milk and gave it to Allison on a Q-tip. Ben read to them, The Hobbit and All Creatures Great and Small. However, little Sawyer passed away after being on this earth for just a week. He died in his mother's arms after she baptized him. The parents were consumed with grief, but they had a daughter who needed them, and the vigil continued.

Allison's medical problems persisted, but we heard reports about how she had the family eyebrows and was a feisty little thing. Every day forward brought a new day of hope. We all celebrated her two-week birthday by sending pictures of us embracing life. But this morning, Allison went to join her brother. She was just too little. When it looked like the end was near, Allison and Ben got to hold Allison, and miraculously, all of her vitals improved to perfect. Babies know their parents. Lianne and Ben spent many hours holding her before she passed. A family portrait shows how much the parents were in awe and loved those babies.

Now the long process of grieving and recovery begins. I wish Lianne and Ben strength and pray they can find comfort and peace in the days ahead.

My Neck of the Woods

 or to paraphrase weatherman Al Roker, "Here's what's happening in my neck of the woods."

The most recent snowfall. We are forecast to get three times this much tomorrow.

Today is a welcome day off from a busy week at work before I return tomorrow. Our library has begun handing out COVID test kits for county residents, and there's been somewhat of a frenzy. While there is separate staff handing out the kits, we are fielding continuous phone calls asking about the status of the distribution. These constant interruptions make it hard to assist people who want help with actual library services. But it's all good. People are happy to get the kits, and we are happy to be providing the service. BTW, I don't know the current COVID-related numbers anymore because I've stopped listening to the details. I just know that they are high, and more and more people I know are getting sick. But this too shall pass, she says wearily.

Well, I didn't get this posted yesterday, so let's see what I can do before I'm off to work. And speaking of work, I just found out one of my coworkers now has COVID, which he contracted from his wife. It's been five days since I've seen him, and that was from a distance, both masked. So I think I'm okay. 

And speaking of COVID-related matters, we are experiencing empty grocery store shelves here like most of the rest of the country. I think we are seeing the perfect storm of residual supply chain issues, worker shortages because of COVID, and a big snowstorm last week with a promise of another tomorrow. And to top it all off, these have led to panic buying. Panic buying is the only thing we can really control, but human nature gets in the way, and panic buying results. While we don't exactly have an overly full pantry or freezer here, we won't go hungry for a long time if we get no more supplies.

Until next time...

Tuesday 4, True Crime and Mystery

This week Tuesday 4 asks questions about true crime and mystery. Join me if you'd like.

1. Was there a notorious crime in the news that caught your attention or interest? Did you follow that case to it's conclusion?  If there was no solution, do you pay attention to news about the case long after? (for instance the Lindbergh kidnapping case... Patty Hearst, etc., ) I have followed various crime cases in the news, but never to the extent of every detail. However, one in particular that I followed closely was the Jon Benet Ramsey murder. Her mother was from WV and I had met her a few times at school functions. Also, her kids were the same age as mine. I still glance at any headlines I see about the case all these years later since it has not been solved.

2.Does the mystery genre of literature and movies interest you?  Does any one book ,series or movie stand out for you? In general, I'm not a mystery reader or movie watcher. I don't like the intensity of them. I'm more of a half-hour comedy type of person. However, the mention of Lindbergh's in the first question reminded me of a fiction book I enjoyed about the Lindberghs, The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin. I also have liked these mystery series: Alan Bradley's Flavia Deluce, Jaquiline Winspear's Maisy Dobbs, and Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache.

3.  Ever play Clue or any one of the new mystery games available?  Do you enjoy solving mysteries or puzzles? I enjoyed playing Clue as a kid and I played it with my kids, too. While I like a good mystery or puzzle, I don't try to solve them often. However, my husband and kids are excellent at them and they enjoy the challenge.

4. Some towns are known for mysteries that took place there.  Do you have something like that in your town or state?  If not.. how about telling us about something that has always puzzled you! It seems that every place has its share of mystery and ghost stories, but I don't know many of them. However, not far from where I live, they filmed the Blair Witch Project, a supernatural horror film. And in WV, there is the legend of the Mothman. In the mid-1960s, people claimed they saw a 10' creature with wings and red eyes. 

Mothman