Recording Thanksgiving

I spent the oddest Thanksgiving of my 60 years, but this blog records the mostly happy moments of life, so here goes.

Thanksgiving - It was odd for everyone. I am not saying anything new or different than most everyone. It was spent at home with just Jeff and me. 

Lindsay and Tyler did come out of quarantine and feel just fine, so it was decided by Tyler's family that they were clear to go to Atlanta. I was happy that they could visit his parents and brother, sister-in-law and little 1 year old.  Tucker got to see his cousin and Lindsay sent some very cute pictures of them. Their celebration was low key too since no aunts and uncles and usual crowd was there.

Paul Allen and Katie did go to Katie's dad' house for just them and her dad as well. No big gatherings were had.

I missed Kristan and her family terribly, but mostly I worried about Mom all by herself. We all called and talked to her through out the day. She did make her famous dressing for me and Paul Allen. She had it ready Wednesday evening and put it in her garage for pick up.

I did make two casseroles on my own since I seem to be symptom free of this virus and how is is a mystery, but I will take it. I had three things on my plate, the two casseroles and the dressing. Not a feast but it was quite tasty. Jeff did have a turkey breast and he ate that too. I am not a turkey fan, so I told him he could fix that and I wouldn't eat it since I force myself each year to eat one obligatory piece. I shared the casseroles with Paul Allen since one of them is his favorite.

We ate early in the day and I just had a bowl of coconut milk ice cream with my gluten free buckwheat cereal acting as my cone for supper. So all in all I didn't blow the diet this year for the joint pain of the feast. One good thing.

I spent almost all of my day on the back deck. 

I took this picture because the water is finally clear after all the rain and storms this fall. It is perfectly wonderful again. There were so many kayakers and paddle boarders out yesterday.

We ate our there. I cross stitched. I watched episodes of Flip My Florida Yard on the computer. I just soaked up the most amazing weather that November has offered up.

As the afternoon rolled on, the clouds started forming, but for most of the day it was filled with glorious sunshine.

I took a long walk about 3:30 so I could have that bowl of ice cream.

It was very different but I have never ever felt more grateful for my blessings.

I think all can agree nothing has felt quite right this year. None of the holidays have seemed like the normal holidays...football season which is a big thing for us seems so weird... and yet, I am grateful.

December is not my favorite month as far as weather goes. In north coastal Florida, it will be foggy in the mornings and evenings and or course couple that with the shorter days it makes December  probably my least favorite weather month of the year. Even January is not like December. It can be cold, but usually the sun shines and makes it a better month. 

All that said, thankfully December has Christmas decorations. When I woke up this morning it was if on cue, the fog rolled in, so I am glad that yesterday was spent soaking up all that sun.

The lights of the tree will go up today. Katie is going to pick me out a tree and deliver it to me. Oh joy! Lightts and candles will help get us through the dark of December. I know that is no surprise that God uses dark and light to describe His presence. He is the Light of the World!

I am going to close this up...........but not before I share how heartbroken I was to hear about Barbara of Sweet Tea and Sandal's Beloved passing. I just couldn't help but cry for her. I discovered Barbara's blog when they moved to Jacksonville. I fell in love with her and her sweet Tom. She has inspired me more than she can ever know. I know I was meant to read her blog. I am praying for days ahead and God's infinite blessings to follow her.

2020 is crazy, but we will survive as many generations have made it through difficult times before. 

It doesn't feel like Christmas yet, but I am going to put on some Christmas music and decorate my tree later today. I don't know if I am going to have hot chocolate yet, because it is rather warm, but cold weather is on the way I hear for next week. 

Blessings to everyone in Blogland,

Sandy

Covid Update and a Crafting Project

 The fact that I can write crafting project in my title lets you know my state of mind is much better. Jeff is doing much better. He has more energy and has had no fever today. He is still tired and I have encouraged rest and he seems to be listening.

The epidemiologist didn't make their phone call to him until almost 3:00 PM today so that let me know they are swamped. I was feeling fine and settled in with Jeff feeling better. I received my news at about 4:30 that I am negative.

That was a surprise to everyone but me. I have had a cold and that is what it is ... a regular cold that wouldn't even raise eyebrows in a different time. As soon as I felt that coming on after keeping Tucker I started taking extra Vitamin C along with my other supplements. 

Jeff and I have worn masks when in the same room since Friday and I wash every dish he touches in hot soapy water and then wipe the counters and areas he is in with Lysol wipes. If I get it I will just get it but this is our current state.

Much gratefulness that it seems to be mild and not as contagious as if he were coughing and spewing germs everywhere. 

Lindsay is 100% and Tucker is well. Tyler has shown no signs and Lindsay's quarantine is up today. Of course, it being Thanksgiving week they have no plans to go out anyway. Tyler is officially in quarantine until Thursday since he has not gotten it. 

The rules in our area are 10 days in quarantine from a positive test date with no symptoms. If you are a close contact and have not contracted it you are in a 14 day quarantine. Poor Mama...she has to go without seeing any of us a little longer.

Hope that is helpful to others out there wondering what is going on with this virus. Will I get it? I have no idea, but I am just doing what I can and taking precautions and that is all one can do.

Now as promised - a crafting project. I had a pair of Annabelle dolls, drummer boys to be exact since the early 1990s. They were a gift from my mother-in-law. Oh my goodness, probably 15 years ago, one of the dogs shredded the taller one to pieces.  

I held onto the smaller one even though the drum was damaged. I kept thinking I will find a new drum and one day fix it. That thing has stayed in my Christmas bins for all this time. I never seemed to find a a drum the right size to repair it. Last Christmas I took it out of the bins and left it sitting out on top in the closet hoping I would come up with a plan for it.

The other night after having started to pull out Christmas decorations and seeing my newly stitched drum that I made this summer....

it came to me. Why not make one?

I did just that. I went and found a piece of white linen and an old pattern border and stitched up some stars to match. Then the next day set out to make it into a drum.

The other really special thing other than salvaging a wonderful memory from my mother-in-law is that the fabric for the drum top and bottom are scraps from an old Vanity Fair housecoat of mine. I know city folk call them robes, but country folk call them housecoats and slippers are called house shoes. 

I am a country girl. Almost every member of my family worked at Vanity Fair in Monroeville at some point in their life and we wore VF undies and bedroom clothes. It is who we are!

This made the little drum even more special. Little drummer boy will find a place again in the decor of Christmas. 

Thanksgiving and Christmas are not normal this year. This entire year hasn't been normal. I have given up on thinking it will be. I am just ready as Arlene said today in her post...be hopeful. 

The Lord is our hope. Jesus is the hope we need. I have prepared an Advent reading to start this Sunday. I am eagerly looking forward to it.

As my Aunt Faye has said more times than I can count in my growing up years..."This too shall pass!" She said it so much that at one time I was sure it must be in the Bible. IT is not, but still wise words.

Thank you all so much for your kind comments and prayers. They helped immensely. I will keep you updated on the virus here so we can learn from each other.

Grateful even in uncertainty,

Sandy

How Things Change (not a usual post)

I put that Thanksgiving table out in hopes that I would have a dinner. It won't be happening. 

I said no other Christmas decorations would come out except the foyer until after Thanksgiving. That is happening minus a tree.

Oh how things change!  Jeff has tested positive and I am awaiting my test. 

Let me see if I can back track to give you an update.

Lindsay was sick Friday a week ago. It is flowing through hers and Jeff's office. She tested and found out Sunday morning she was positive. She went into panic mode over Tucker and Tyler. Tyler became a good single dad. On Thursday of last week, little Tucker coughed and both Mommy and Daddy were worried. 

When Tyler went into get him up Friday morning, he called Lindsay to come immediately. So no more social distancing was taking place. Lindsay called the pediatrician who knew Lindsay was positive but told her to come on and she would meet her on the back porch of her practice and examine him so that she could rest over the weekend.

She took one look and listen and very emphatically told Lindsay that Tucker had the croup. Best medicine for all of them was to quit worrying and get outside over the weekend and relax. They were all young and in good health. 

Jeff had a light treatment Monday on his face. Basically they burn your face off:) He probably had some symptoms but with the light treatment and the pain associated with that he didn't catch them. He was also VERY busy with work. Many of the people in his office are sick, so he was trying to do a little double dosing of work. Many phone calls and Zooms went on. 

Wednesday I coughed in the middle of the day. Here is the scenario going on. I am worried about him. He is worried about me and both of us are worried about Mom. 

I have actually had a little cough for several weeks and have had a routine doctor's appointment tomorrow where I was going to mention it. IT is not bad enough to take medicine...more like an allergy. I however am usually healthy these days. I hopefully will have a telemedicine appointment.

So when I coughed a few times during the day, Jeff insisted I call and get a test. I called the health department and they said I could come Friday for the drive through test. The more we talked, I told him if I had it he had to asymptomatic and maybe he should test so we wouldn't worry about Mom at Thanksgiving. 

He calls and they have just had a cancellation and he can come on Thursday afternoon. 

He got his phone call Saturday morning that he was positive. Just in time for him to start actually showing symptoms.

He is very fatigued and running a low grade fever. He slept most of the evening Saturday, then all night and has dozed for 2/3 of the day today. I keep a check on his fever. His sense of taste has left him today.

I don't really like typing all of this, but I made the decision that it is helpful for all of us to know this stuff. 

I can't really focus like I should and I apologize for not replying to my comments or reading my usual blogs.

I am in nurse mode. 

The one other worrisome thing is Paul Allen was exposed when he dropped by for a visit on Thursday afternoon. AT this point, we were testing more out of precaution for Mama rather than believing either of us might have it.

I am feeling fine. I have a little cough, but it is not a dry cough. It actually is productive and I have a wee bit of a sore throat in the evenings or mornings. I could totally have a cold from keeping Tucker.

I do take lots of supplements and for the most part even with thyroid and Rheumatoid Arthritis, I am very healthy.

I decided to write the post to let all of you know to take care of yourselves, be careful, but not afraid of life. Life is way too short to miss out on.

Now onto a little more going on. I have no pictures. IF things go well, I will pull myself together to share more of those things later. 

I did salvage a Christmas decoration with a homemade Christmas drum that I stitched and whipped up last night and put together today. I think y'all are going to be impressed. Again, at some point I will share that crafty project.

Christmas decorations. I was one of those people who didn't like to even breathe pulling it out before Thanksgiving was done. However, what is normal about this year? Absolutely nothing!

I have had to put that table I set out in expectation because it won't be happening. To make myself feel better, I decided to just pull those Christmas bins out of the closet. I have put it all out with the exception of the lighted garland that I usually do on the banisters and the Christmas tree. 

Will I have a Christmas tree this year? I sincerely hope so, but I am in quarantine. If all goes well, there may be only Charlie Brown trees left. And you know what? It will be a blessing. 

I am just going to not worry about that and pray the whole family is in good health. 

Maybe next year I will go back to a fake tree which I swore off a few years back. 2020 is doing strange things to us all.

I will leave you with a Gus antic.

Saturday morning we decided to drive out to the island. We weren't going to get out and walk... just drive out and soak in the salty air, so the dogs could come along. We stopped at Starbucks and got a coffee and they got their whipped cream. 

We drove out to the beach and went all the way down the road that runs between the Gulf and the Sound (Intercoastal) to where the land changes to military and then turned to come back. For some reason, Jeff decided to go down a side street where some houses are along the Sound. We were putting along. The usual set up is Gus, the Springer sits in the front seat with me and Lemony, the Golden sits in the back with the window rolled down. Lemony has never and can't even be coaxed to sit in the front seat. 

All of a sudden Gus, jumped in the back seat and I guess I must have been looking at a house. We turned back out on the main beach road and I looked back in the backseat to see what Gus was up to. 

NO GUS! 

I immediately panicked. Jeff turned around as quickly as he could, but of course a car was in the way. We started tracing our drive. We found him two blocks back just sniffing, but quickly running to the truck. 

He was covered in sand spurs. For those of you not from around here, those are needles and they stick to nice Springer Spaniel fur. He had to sit in the back seat on the way home with the window closed of course. It took me a while to comb this all out with a Spaniel comb. 

I have no idea what possessed him to do that. 

As I was combing, we got the news that Jeff was positive.

So I take his temperature and try not to let my imagination run wild. 

Take care everyone. At some point I will be able to think and do a post with something besides this doggone virus.

The Virus, Thanksgiving, and a Little Stitching

 That ugly virus has hit home and I just haven't even been able to focus. It has taken me a few days to come to the place where I couldn't even write about it. We are all good, but... it just has me a little worried mama.

Lindsay has it and although she seems to have a mild case it has put us all on pins and needles. 

The decision was made to close her and Jeff's work location (they work in the same building). They are working from home for this whole week and the partial week of Thanksgiving. Hopefully that will give it time to be cleaned and settle down a bit. Two  of the people in that building have had a much worse case but most have been mild.

Lindsay is saying it is like a severe sinus infection with headache and congestion. Now, the deal is if Lindsay says it is mild, more likely it would be worse for others. She is the child who would have strep and assure me her throat didn't hurt one bit.

This has meant Tyler has been a full-time single dad and he is quite worn out. I have been praying for him as well as Lindsay.

Every cough- well basically every single symptom that would otherwise be ignored sends us all in a frenzy. Jeff worries over me. I worry over him. 

I have been super concerned about Mother. 

I am staying away from her until Lindsay's quarantine is up. We were altogether the Saturday before she started showing symptoms on Thursday evening a week ago. A close contact is considered someone who is closer than 6 feet for more than 15 minutes and within 48 hours of the first symptom. 

That rules us out, but it is on the rise all over the county.

I will leave it at that.

I have been unable to concentrate to write a post let alone read one so forgive me blogging world for not showing up this week.

I have been in full on cleaning mode while Jeff is on Zoom meetings and phone calls. I actually enjoy having him home, but don't enjoy the school talk so much.

I have really put away fall decor with the exception of the dining room and my one little spot in the kitchen where I do seasonal decor. I think I needed less clutter for my vision and my mind before Christmas decorations come out.

I set the dining room table today and I realize it is a full week early, but I think I needed to see it knowing nothing is set in stone these days. 

Kristan, our niece will not be here. Lindsay and Tyler will actually come out of quarantine in time to go to Atlanta that is if Lindsay has no symptoms. That is still up in the air. If they can't go, I will take them a meal.

I have stitched a few things. Lindsay requested a turkey like one I had already done. I had already sent the pattern that I used from Arlene back so I had to use my turkey to stitch her one.

She wants a seasonal piece to hang on a cabinet knob. I let her pick a Christmas one and she chose a Prairie Schooler fishing Santa.

If it looks familiar it is because I was stitching it for myself on 14 count Aida with the plan to put it in a 5 X 7 frame. 

So now I have stitched two turkeys and two Santas. 

I did pull out some Christmas boxes to start thinking about it. I even decorated the foyer, but nothing else will come out until Thanksgiving is done...no matter what happens with the day. 

I will be happy if all are just healthy whether they are at my table or not. The plan now is me, Jeff, Mother, Paul Allen, and Katie.

Just grateful that for now Lindsay is the only one and she seems to be doing ok. 

November is one of my favorite months for weather. I always think of that quote that says something about loving to live in a world of Octobers. For Floridians, I think that would have to be changed to November.

The daily walks in the neighborhood have been so pleasant and the nights have been cool enough for a cup of homemade hot chocolate made with oat milk and homemade whip cream. Yummm.

My posts will be sporadic for awhile.

Sandy

Stitching Progress and More

 I have pretty much stitched pages 1-5 of 15 on Let Freedom Ring. This has been a delightful pattern to follow and stitch. What do I have left on pages 1-5? A little of the gold border on each side and the lettering in the green area on the left. 

I am laying her aside today and working on something else for a few days. I am pretty much a one stitch at a time, but with the two really big projects I don't think I can stay with them for the entire finish, so I am setting goals for pages at a time. I also give myself grace to change my mind at any time.

What has been going on in my world?

Tucker was sick last week and I ended up keeping him for 2 and a half days. He was too cranky for daycare. I enjoyed him even if he was sick and fussy. I got way behind on my chores, but I am making up for it this week.  He did feel better on Friday, so we played outside.  We thought he was over the hump, but...

Lindsay and I tried to go to Fairhope on Saturday for a little shopping or just getting out excursion. It did not go well. Tucker was not having it, so we basically had to give up and come home. We had to get in a fast food line for lunch and order and go. Pooh.

For newer readers and those that are not from around these parts, Fairhope is a darling town on the Mobile Bay. The downtown area to me is like stepping back in time. It is very pretty and someone does an amazing job of planting season flowers everywhere. AND yes! They were still fall flowers. 

Lindsay and I usually go once or twice a year around Christmas or in the spring. We tried to go over in June after the Lockdown was up. That was my first experience driving over the newly finished Pensacola Bay bridge that is now out due the DEVIL Sally. They had finished one side of the bridge and taken a two lane bridge and made it four lanes until the new side is built. 

OH MY STARS! Y'all, I drive a truck and it was raining so hard that you could barely see the the car in front of you and the lanes are too narrow for trucks and it is really really really high.... Not as high as the Charleston bridge but too high for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had almost written about it back in June and for whatever reason I didn't.

Then the Devil Sally came along and messed her up! I had already decided after my harrowing experience back in June that I would drive around the long way until the second part was built. Prophetic is what I say. That bridge was waiting for a wreck and how would anyone get to them?

My crazy story is over...

Let's talk something more fun.

I put out my Pilgrims and Indians in the dining room. I am determined to have a pleasant Thanksgiving even if it is Jeff, Mom, Paul Allen and Katie. Lindsay is definitely heading to the in-laws, but Jeff's sister is having a major meltdown over Covid and I don't even know if Kristan, our niece is coming. My sister-in-law is older so I do understand that.

Either way, I will sit down on one day this month and thank my Lord for my blessings, and try to eat some good food reserved for holidays.

I think now more than ever it is so important to be grateful for my blessings.

I changed out the orange yesterday on the kitchen table for some calmer colors. I think I needed it.

Next is just a real picture of what the couch looks like most days. When you have a leather couch, you don't have to cover it. I am still loving it though.

That is about all I can think of..

Sandy