What doesn't kill you....

I must be getting stronger in some way, shape, or form considering that this is day seven fighting a virus that I can't seem to lick. The coughing and fatigue (from coughing, or any other exertion) are not letting up and I am just so tired of both – yeah, I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. 😏 Getting sick like this is not like me at all. It is also strange that neither of my guys have caught it, even though they are both shoveling down the holiday sweets from clients and family that keep appearing in our house.

I'm not getting much accomplished other than twice-daily barn chores, occasionally turning the horses out to let off steam, keeping the fire going, and doing a little cleaning. I did open, spin and ply the last two Advent fiber snacks:

We opened our gifts Christmas Eve:

Poppy was happy to get an empty box to shred

And I turned out the horses then rode Stella when my guys went to the family dinner on Christmas Day. When they returned, Brian and I got out the Lego set my sister gave us for Christmas and put it together. Believe it or not, this was the first Legos I've ever played with!

We stayed in the arena because we could hear four-wheelers

On Friday Rick had me meet him at the Verizon store to get my Christmas present from him, a new iPhone. The salesman couldn't get the data to transfer; after numerous attempts over more than two hours, we gave up and he sent me home to try to do it here. I've lost count of how many times I've tried and been foiled here over the last two days, so I'm going to go back tomorrow and demand a different new iPhone; this one has got to be faulty. (Maybe IT caught my virus???) Hopefully the Verizon salesman will resolve things quickly because wearing an N95 mask is another seriously fatiguing experience; it's a struggle to get enough air.

A couple of my blogpals have already shared their 2025 reading lists. Knowing how long it took me to copy my Libby records into a post for last year's reading list, I thought about splitting my posts into half-year reading lists, but obviously didn't. So coming up soon will be one looooonng post listing all the audiobooks I've listened to this year – long, because rarely a day goes by when I'm not listening to something via the Libby app on my phone. And thanks to the new AirPods my guys got me for Christmas, it will be even nicer to listen going forward!

That's it for now from . . .

Not the post I started

Things have been rather fluid here – in the way that white-water rapids are 'fluid.' I think the stress of it all weakened my immune system, because the headache I began Monday with was quickly joined by aches, chills, and hypersensitive skin, exactly the symptoms I get from a flu or Covid shot. Great. Today was more of the same, so I suspect I'll be staying home from the family Christmas dinner to avoid sharing whatever I've got.

 I will admit to keeping my Monday afternoon appointment with the pain management practice for my sciatica/bulging disk, though. We discussed the various options and settled on trying Gabapentin for  nerve pain, which the doctor deemed much safer that the daily Aleve I've been taking. He also cautioned against lifting more than 15 pounds unless I want risk more injury to the bulging disk, so I will have to recruit more help from my guys.

We did get our Christmas tree cut, put up, and decorated Sunday. Rick had no Christmas spirit so Brian and I (mostly Brian, bless his heart) took the initiative, then Rick joined in.

And here's a beautiful photo of my mom with son-in-law and grandson at ZooLights in Lincoln that my sister sent me.

Still keeping up with my daily fiber snacks; these have all been spun and plied:

Merry Christmas from . . .

Adages I grew up with

So much for the 12 days of Christmas; at this point we may not even get that tree up.

This whole year has been challenging on several fronts. I thought we might have a quiet stroll to the end after Rick got back from his ConEd trip, but a brewing problem blew up into a crisis yesterday so I guess not. "No rest for the weary," I remember hearing as a child; ain't that the truth!

I actually bought one package of Christmas cards Monday after several years of being stymied by melancholy over our son's life choices. Yesterday I delivered cards and gifts to two close friends and hope to mail the rest of the cards today ("better late than never"). I have a few presents for Rick and Brian to wrap, and as yet undetermined contributions to a extended family Christmas dinner to make, and that may be it for the holidays. For an undetermined period, I will be keeping my "nose to the grindstone" with limited time at home. So here are some parting shots of what usually keeps me centered and sane. I'll keep repeating what my mom told my younger self often: "Happiness is a decision." Remember, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger"!

This will NOT be done by the end of the year, but all the little fiber snacks are being spun and plied.

The birthday girl; Poppy turned six years old yesterday.

Here's to making your own good decisions from . . .

Showers of blessings and lots of rain

A lot has been going on here, including some big blessings.

I've had 'hay on the brain' for awhile, because we clearly didn't have enough and it isn't going to get any easier to find. There's a place at the bottom of our hill that usually has "HAY" and a phone number spray-painted on a sheet of plywood, so I decided to call. After buying one bale each of the two types the farmer has for the horses to try, I bought 55 more. The quality appears to better than the two 'off-brands' we bought earlier this year, the price is reasonable, and the location couldn't be much closer. Whew, what a blessing for now, and perhaps a good resource for the future (our favorite hay supplier is in his 80s and cutting back).

The remedial construction our next-door neighbors to the north had to have done is wrapping up, and last week they texted to say there was plenty of room in their huge dumpster if we wanted to get rid of anything. Boy, did we, thanks in large part to the shop project! Rick took multiple tractor bucket loads over, and our place does look better now – if you look past the multiple dead vehicles. 🙄 Hey, I'll take any improvements made.

A few weeks ago, I got an email from someone interested in buying a few sheep. I kept my hopes in check, as inquiries don't always, or even often, lead to sales. But this one has; I received the deposit yesterday. Hurray; three ewes are moving south next month, which will allow me to consolidate the remaining ewes into one group who should get along better thanks to who is leaving.

Sunday Poppy and I competed in our final agility trial of the year. We had a great time; the club that put it on pulls out all the stops, with personalized Christmas ornaments for each dog, a toy chest from which a gift for each dog can be chosen, a photo booth, and great raffle prizes. Poppy got three qualifying scores plus a first place out of four classes and a new chew toy, and I brought home a new ornament and a raffle prize!

Once again, some awesome volunteers in the Jenkins spindle-lovers' community on Ravelry organized and created a December fiber swap/fiber Advent calendar.

I so enjoy the daily opening, spinning, and plying of these small and varied fiber surprises, pairing them with different Jenkins spindles, even if it means less knitting time on my Dala sweater. The current weather is helping, though; it's been too wet to ride, so that means more time to knit and spin. Rick is also gone for a few days to the annual horse vet convention, and that gives me more time as well. But when he gets home, we are going to have to do some 'remedial construction' of our own; I noticed this morning that we have leaks over the daylight basement's sliding glass doors and the two east-facing windows on either side of it. 😳 It's always something!

That's it for now from . . .