Proof of life

After my dad died (dad #2, that is), I tried to call my mom daily to make sure she was doing okay. She didn't always hear her phone (or didn't know where it was, or had inadvertently silenced it) so after asking the neighbors to check on her at various times, I finally asked her to check in with me instead, even if it was just to text "POL" (for Proof Of Life).

I have been trying for awhile now to post here, but between a lack of discretionary time and physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion, I just couldn't get 'er done. Then yesterday I got a sweet PM from a Rav-pal, checking in to see how life was going since I have so much on my plate these days and wanting me to know she is thinking of me. I took time this morning to respond to her, and decided my response, below, could be used to give my blogpals POL.

"Thanks for checking in. I'm keeping my head – well, at least my nostrils – above water and that's about it.

“My surgery date is April  9 – if I don't have to delay it. We are still in the process of moving my husband's vet clinic into the new space, and yesterday I started training a new hire in the chaos of boxes and supplies everywhere and no phone service. I have some concerns about her and if she doesn't work out, I'll have to continue covering the office until someone else can be found and trained.

“My sister and I were going to converge on my mom in TX next week to help her get ready to move from a 5-bedroom, 2-car garage house into a 2-bedroom apartment near my sister's in NE, but she adamantly refused our help so I cancelled my ticket this morning. That takes one thing off my plate but we know she is NOT going to be able to do this without our help whether she likes it or not. Since her move-in date is May 1, I won't be able to BE any help if I don't change my surgery date. But the thought of postponing makes me cry; I'm taking two Aleve twice a day and am still barely functioning at times.

“The other thing that MUST be done before surgery is getting my flock of 15 sheared. Doing it myself in my usual time- and labor-intensive way isn't physically possible; getting on a  professional's schedule is iffy. But another Shetland breeder has agreed to come help me, so I think we'll get them sheared at least. Most of the skirting will probably have to wait, but I have a few fleeces already reserved that I will do my best to skirt and ship off before surgery/recovery.

“At least my son is working again!"

I have photos on my iPhone to share but not enough time to download and save them, so I'll just add one more piece of farm news. Bridget miscarried a dead lamb, so provided none of the little escape artist ewe lambs got bred through the fence, I don't have to worry about a lambing season. A blessing in a bane, I guess.

That's it for now from . . .

Fire and ice

After what feels like A-G-E-S on some fronts, things are starting to happen.

I now have a surgery date, April 9, along with assorted pre- and post-op appointments on my calendar. A week after my ortho appointment I had a pre-op appointment with one of the anesthesiologists at Salem Hospital. The good news is that he, too, thinks I am an optimal candidate for a bi-lateral knee replacement surgery based on my labs and EKG. The not-so-good news is that my BMI limits the total amount of anesthesia that can be administered; since the spinal and sedation are non-negotiable, that means that the nerve blocks needed for two legs will have to be carefully calibrated and I can't get as much as a heavier person would. Cue a tougher recovery – but hey, it's still only one recovery.  (I'm trying to focus on the positive but yes, I'm a little nervous about the surgery and recovery.) 

We have finally secured a new location for the clinic. After looking for months, DH and I happened to drive past an small office building a week ago tonight and I spied a sign. I told Rick to turn around, I noted the broker's name and number, and sent her a text. Late Monday afternoon she sent me some information which sounded promising, and we went to look at it. Before we left, she had talked with the owner and we made a verbal commitment to a three-year lease. My boss at my part-time job is going to sublet from us as her current space is both bigger and harder to access (stairs) than she needs, which will make it more affordable for us. We already have keys, although some work (replace flooring, build a dividing wall) has to be done before we can all move in.

The "For Lease" sign is now gone!

No replacement secretary/receptionist yet, but we have interviewed several. In looking over my recent posts, I don't think I mentioned that Rick's secretary went from halftime on January 1 to, rather abruptly, full retirement at the end of January. So I have been 'as busy as ten things' as my mom used to say, doing twice-daily barn chores and what house chores I can squeeze in while working two jobs and trying to become more proficient at ALL the tasks at the clinic. It's enough to make me almost look forward to the enforced downtime after surgery!

an increasingly rare ride

In the meantime, we have run the full gamut of PNW winter weather. January was cold and mostly dry, while February brought first a dusting and then a blanket of snow that lasted three days. Now we're back to typical rain and above freezing temperatures. The hens and Stella are responding to the lengthening daylight with more eggs and shedding hair (Lance holds on to his winter coat far longer).

I'm still posting to IG/FB as I can. Here is what I've posted since I last blogged.

"Lance enjoying a sloppy-good roll after the arena footing thawed."

"From awkward (Lance yesterday) to elegant (Poppy today). We have all kinds here!"

"I love public art! (Taken at Salem Hospital after pre-op appointment.)"

"If you are looking for the beauty, it's easy to ignore the power lines."

"Fire in the hole!" (two photos)

"Leo's morning bliss: warm hearth, full tummy, and LOVES."

"Well-camouflaged visitor this morning."

"Full moon in a clear sky. Not a common winter occurrence here!"

"Preparing for even colder weather (the barn cat wants to prepare by becoming a house cat)."

"The hot-rodder and the plodder. Lance, born and raised in Lincoln City, hated the wind and snow in his face; Stella, born and raised in southern Oregon, wasn't at all fazed."

"Good morning! A winter parfait of snow/ice/snow here."

"I hadn't filled our feeder in a year, but in the recent snow, birds showed up looking for fuel. Of course I obliged (with black oil sunflower seeds). A little bird must have told this hungry soul." 

"Today's neighborhood entertainment–a training burn. The fire crews were gathering when we left this morning; an inferno was raging when we returned three hours later."

That's the latest update from . . .

Daily gifts

We had a record-breaking January dry spell that ended last night. Today looked like this (from the clinic in town):

Talk about monotone!

While the clear, cold weather was a wonderful mood-enhancer, we need rain to make the trees and shrubs and flowers and grass grow – to make this part of Oregon look like Oregon. And we need that moisture to fall as snow in the Cascades to feed rivers, lakes, and reservoirs throughout the summer. This week should help those needs, according to the forecast.

I hope it makes our grass grow; the ewes have pretty much eaten it all.

Frost so heavy it looked like snow; we turned around.

A view of Mt. Hood from the saddle.

As the weather started shifting, we awoke to fog and heavy frost in unusual places yesterday morning. 

By this morning . . . well, refer to the first photo in this post.

Besides recent scenic blessings, there have been other gifts as well. Last week a church friend surprised me with this lovely antique piano chair that I had admired at her house. It made a great staging piece for my nearly finished Advent snack scarf.

Unfortunately, I ran out of the yarn I was using for the bind-off. It was one of the holiday snacks, and I have nothing the same color in my extensive stash. So I asked the others who had participated in the holiday snack exchange if they would be willing to part with that snack if they still had it in fiber or yarn form. Someone was, and her singles arrived today. I quickly plied it up tonight, and may finish my scarf yet tonight, too.

Other daily gifts have shown up in my IG/FB posts, shown below.

"Almost 180° of  color this morning! A bit past its prime because my phone was dead, but still glorious."

"Chuckie, begging for attention (he got some.)"

"Our God is so creative!"

"My black beauty has filled out a lot since I got her!"

"The sarcococca is powerfully aromatic all around–and INSIDE–the house right now."

"Good night."

"I love our downtown!"

The big news of the week is that I met with an orthopedic surgeon on Thursday who is willing to replace both my knees in one big operation. He says I meet his requirements of age, health, and fitness for doing it, and sent me on for labs and an EKG immediately afterwards; I meet with an anesthesiologist to go over the results next week. I don't have a date for surgery yet; the surgeon said March or April. I'm going to vote for April or even May, as my mom thinks her move-in date is May 1 and mentioned she'd appreciate me driving her in her car from TX to NE. And I really need to get my flock of 15 sheared and skirted before then, too. Now if Rick would just find someone else to run his office and a place to move it to....

ETA the other good news of the week: DS is gainfully employed again. Hallelujah!

That's it for now from . . .

Never say it can't get more challenging

during early morning chores before work

heading home after work

Hi, blogpals. Isn't 2025 shaping up to be . . . something else? There's no point in talking about the raging bull in the White House elephant in the room; our country as we know it will either survive or it won't. All human institutions will fail before "the great (for those who love Him) and terrible (for those who don't) day of the Lord."  Is this part of that failing? I don't know; I'm no prophet, just another sinner needing the armor of God for protection. Ephesians 6:11:13

Without my faith, I would surely quail/fail at all that life is throwing at us this year so far. I've already mentioned that Rick's office manager cut her hours to halftime at the beginning of the year (and didn't work at all last week because her husband had surgery) and that the clinic has to be out of the space we've rented for almost 30 years by end of February. And no, there is still no plan in place for dealing with either of those major developments; have I mentioned how much my DH hates change? I am hoping to get both knee replacements done in the next six months, but obviously can't be laid up recovering while working five days a week or before we move the vet practice – or before my mom moves. (Great news – she finally got word that a two-bedroom apartment in the 55+ complex she's had her eye on is opening up at the end of February or early March! Alarming news – that's not long for her to deal with all her stuff and property and move from Texas to Nebraska with help from me, her ablest-bodied daughter!) Still, I am hoping to schedule surgery at my orthopedic appointment next week so I am on the docket. Crossing fingers that he'll be willing to do both at once; the other two surgeons I've consulted won't.

In the meantime Rick (with a little help from DS, who is still unemployed) is still working hard to get the shop finished as we will surely need it for storing some of the clinic stuff, if not using it for the clinic itself. He has been prepping for the concrete floor to be poured, which will hopefully happen soon.

compacting gravel at night

On top of chores and what housework I can manage, I am still squeezing in a little spinning and knitting, a weekly agility class with Poppy followed by a shortened visit with my cousin/cherished friend, and an occasional ride on Stella, who is getting fat from lack of exercise. And I'm still searching for pretty/positive/peaceful things to post to IG/FB; heaven knows there are enough of the opposite to find on social media! First, the IG/FB posts:

"Went with DH to x-ray a pretty horse on a preetty place on a pretty day." (three photos)

"Moody sky on my way home tonight."

"Dramatic sky on my way home from church today."

"Gaze with me upon our morning view."

"Mt. Adams in the morning."

"Yesterday was the first clear, sunny day all week–and my first time at hoe in daylight since the Sunday before. Got reacquainted with a few of my sheep and let the horses out for a much-needed romp." (three photos)

"I can't imagine a life without a dog or two."

"Good morning! Inside, a matching red glow in the wood-burner is keeping us warm."

"Not my usual 'dawn from our deck' photos today. These are 'dawn during chores and on my way to work' photos." (four photos)

Second, spinning and knitting updates:

first turtle spun in 2025

still working on my Playful scarf using my Advent snacks

That's it for now from . . .