Habits and Other Decisions

Heavens to Betsy, I knew I needed to start writing again, but I didn't realize how out of touch I was. It's been a busy year. Two major surgeries, one the week of Valentine's Day and the other on Halloween - I like to live it up when I have my medical problems...and I think I'm finally getting back to normal, whatever that is. I really didn't want to have the second surgery, but it was kind of one of those have to things and it was cheaper to get it over with since I'd already met my insurance deductible for the year. So there you have it. What was bad, is when the nurse called to schedule the 2nd one and she said, Oct. 31st., I thought, "that sounds familiar". But, it still didn't occur to me it was a nationally busy day. However, it's not like I have to take 2 doz. cookies or cupcakes to 3 classrooms at school anymore, so it didn't really make that much difference. Plus, it's been a busy year between surgeries...helping with a Senior Adult and an After-school programs at church, and my big news: I'm going to be opening a booth at a nearby consignment store. More about that after I can post pictures in a week or so.

Other than the fact it's 2 days before Christmas, it's all calm on the western front. Except, this slight problem. We decided yesterday, 3 days before Christmas that we needed a chimney sweep. Probably not the best time to engage one. At least, not for any of the ones we called. So, I have dug out all the electric heaters I could find in the closets, until the chimney sweeps of western Oklahoma have celebrated Christmas. Our 2 youngest will be in from college later today. They will probably decide they need to go visit their grandmother after they experience the true temperature of our house without the wood burning stove. We had run out of wood and I had gone and bought a rick from this nice man selling it nearby.  I knew it didn't seem to be burning as hot as the last wood, but thought we'd just gotten a hold of some wood that didn't burn hot. Luckily, my husband decided to do some internet research. Hip hip hooray for the internet, he probably saved us from a house fire. It turns out that's one of the signs you need to clean the chimney. As we'd had a house fire 31 years ago at Christmas, I'd already decided I didn't want to do THAT again. (That was an electrical fire.) In closing, I'll share a couple of favorite Christmas time pictures from the church we attend. 

  

Merry Christmas and hope everyone stays warm. 

Elaine, aka, the Red Dirt Cowgirl