Tuesday, December 29, 2009

The Holidays



MimiRock at Castle Yonder
The Rockwell Family
Jessica, Geoff, Chris, Mimi, Rocky

     We had a chaotic Christmas at Castle Yonder! It started on Dec. 11 when we had our first snow of the winter season, about 2 inches which made the woods look really pretty.

     Then Dec. 14, Rocky started having abdominal pain. We know he has gall stones and our Family Practitioner was very pessimistic about his being able to tolerate anesthesia in order to remove them surgically. Well, he toughed through it until the next afternoon and then insisted on going to the ER. I tried very hard to get him there, but due to my increased breathing difficulties I knew I could not drop him off, park the car, and walk back into the hospital in the bitter cold weather.

     We got ourselves as far as my car in the carport, and then I called 911 and the emergency crew took him there. We were pretty sure they would admit him, so I did not go along. They did admit him and for awhile talked about doing surgery. Then they saw how bad his lungs are, told him his odds of survival, and that it was his decision.

     By that time, Thursday, the pain had stopped so he decided not to have surgery, but to give it another try at controlling it with diet (hah!). I visited him for four hours on Thurs.  Friday there was a huge snowstorm and the hospital found reasons to keep him, so he was warm and safe in the hospital.

     But here at home, I was snowbound! Our neighbor, Rudy, managed to get up our hill Fri. afternoon to bring me the mail, but I understand he slipped and slid all the way back home. But I felt very secure knowing we have a generator that will kick in if we lose our power, and a gas log for additional heat. Just in case, I took the flashlight to bed with me.

     Geoff came 4-wheeling in late Sat. afternoon, but didn't quite make it. He got to the top of the hill right before our parking lot and must have taken his foot off the gas because his big diesel truck slid out of his control and ended up sideways across the road so no one else could get in or out.

     So then the two of us were showbound until Mon. morning when two of our friends with a 4-wheel drive truck and chains got in and pulled him out. By that time the sun was in and out and the snow began to melt off. Then Geoff could go to the grocery store and the grandkids could get in. It's stayed cold but no more precip.

     Christmas time is not the time to try to diet, so Rocky has enjoyed all the food that got cooked up by Geoff and Jessica. They left over the weekend, and sure enough, the abdominal pain started again Sunday evening and has been intermittent since then. 

     I don't know what to expect. 2009 was a year of great changes for us and thinking about what 2010 might bring produces a lot of anxiety. But, hey, the wishes can't hurt, so I'm wishing you a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Saturday, December 12, 2009

"...The goose is getting fat."










"Christmas is coming,
The goose is getting fat.
Please to put a penny
in the old man's hat.
If you don't have a penny,
A ha' penny will do,
If you don't have a ha' penny,
God bless you!"





Here's a poem I learned many many years ago. And it always visits my brain right about this time of year--every year.


I posted it with the photo of our 2009 Christmas tree which probably wouldn't have gotten put up without the help of my niece, Rosalie. She helped me buy it, she and her husband got it wedged into the planter, and started digging out ornaments.


However, after they left I began remembering other ornaments, so went to our storage to dig out more. It took me three days to decorate this little ol' tree and then a couple more to find places for things that came out of the boxes. Way more is in storage than is being put to use and I can't imagine where it will all end up someday. 


I used to justify collecting fragile glass ornaments by saying someday I would give them away as gifts. Am I ready? I need to give that some more thought.


Also, imagine what a ha' penny would buy when today twice that much, a full penny, won't buy anything by itself. Times...they change, but tunes, trinkets, and traditions live on.

MimiRock at Castle Yonder

Saturday, December 5, 2009

First Snow of Season



                   Bird feeder on our deck during 
               the first snow of the season on
               Dec. 5, 2009






Steps leading to parking lot at approach
to Castle Yonder during first season's 
snowfall on Dec. 5, 2009



MimiRock at Castle Yonder









Thursday, December 3, 2009

Thanksgiving Weekend 2009



It's December! How can that be? One holiday flows into the next with very few days in between, it seems.


My niece and her husband, Rosalie and Leslie, were here for five days over Thanksgiving and in addition to cooking a huge feast and some freezer meals for us, they did some projects around the house. Rosalie fitted some slipcovers I had bought for our recliners, planted eight Asiatic lilies, and helped me buy and place a Christmas tree, then dig out some ornaments. Leslie cleaned off our deck, cut off some grape and bittersweet vines, and pruned my blueberries. 



We also took a tour of The Bristol Speedway "Christmas In Lights." Wow! I hadn't seen it for over five years and it has expanded and is more organized into themes. And even more, they have set up some displays in the middle of the stadium so you actually get to drive on the racetrack. It's pretty spectacular!


MimiRock at Castle Yonder