The second birthday party was marvelous. I always enjoy neighbors Shawn and Bob, and they doubled the pleasure by inviting their relatives. If they had asked me to nominate other guests, these two are the ones I would have chosen. I never see enough of these fun people. I am unilaterally going to make them honorary neighbors, a great addition to the world’s best neighborhood.
We ate spaghetti, followed by chocolate cake. The food and conversation were superb. It was lovely to sit in a room with a Christmas tree and artful decorations, while a slide show of snowy landscapes was displayed on a large screen. Add a friendly dog, and the party was almost complete. The only thing missing was Logan, who was working as a dishwasher at his brother’s restaurant.
Delicious cake!
I took a few lame photos. Bob had some excellent shots, which he shared with me, but I couldn’t use them because the format was different. Given more time, I might have found a solution. Thus ended my spectacular birthday celebrations of 2024. I am grateful.
My family celebrated birthdays, although without much fanfare. Mom would cook something for dinner that she knew we liked. A gift or so was always included, although none were lavish. All this to say, I never felt cheated. Many years later I appreciated the fact that husband John’s family always noticed my birthday. Friends and family sent cards and/or called. Having a birthday on the 22nd of December meant the celebration was never extended or postponed. No one, including me, had time. That changed this year!!
NOT my sentiment!
Many people called, sent an e-mail, texted, sent a card, or telephoned. This was spread throughout the real birthday without overlapping. Niece Kathie spent a whole day driving here, heating dinner she had prepared, chatting with me, also talking with Lise in Copenhagen and me as I held the phone, and driving back to Charlotte. Elaine and her sister stopped by after church, bringing me gifts from the church. We had a delightful visit with them. When Kathie and I talked about gas logs because she had just had hers replaced, I turned on mine. We sat looking at the fire while talking until the light began to fade. She set out on the three-hour drive, getting home well after dark. What a birthday! It was the longest one-day celebration I’ve ever had.
Kathie and the dinner she prepared
I knew fairly early that the party across the street would be postponed a day because of illness. I would NEVER wish anyone ill, but I realized almost immediately that my birthday horizon had been pushed forward 24 hours. For the first time in my life, I had a two-day celebration!!! This simply does not happen near Christmas or the changing of the year. If you have a birthday at any other time, I doubt you could appreciate this monumental happening. I am thrilled, while being sorry that sickness was the cause.
Gas logs are only burning, not exploding.
The day after my birthday this year, I had two long chats with relatives. Oh, the wonder! The pleasure! How blessed I’ve been! This has to be one of the best birthdays of my life. Many thanks to all who made this possible.
I just noticed I had all my original birthday numbers this year. Then 12/22/42. Now 12/22/24.
I wanted to send a friend a long text message, but I didn’t want to chance losing it on the phone. I’ve had things fly off the screen when I accidentally touch the wrong thing. Solution? I typed it on the laptop, polished it a bit, and dictated it to the phone slowly and clearly. That potentially saved a lot of time and effort. I’m wondering why I didn’t think of it sooner.
I don’t need to think on my feet. I need to think on my phone!
I looked up services available in my area when I came in from walking. You see, I got tangled in my clothing. What was routine yesterday was a nightmare today. Since it was cold outside, I was putting on a third layer. The thermal underwear was first, followed by a knit top, then a pullover sweater. I pulled, but the sweater didn’t come over where it should have. Golly Pete! I couldn’t get it untwisted. I could see something was wrong at the front, but I couldn’t see how it had twisted itself in the back near my neck. My arms weren’t long enough to reach anything meaningful. I pulled and I tugged. It would have been ironic if I’d broken out in a sweat. The thought of going across the street to beg Shawn to undress me was humbling. Get a grip! You’ve GOT to do this yourself! Take a deep breath and start over. What a struggle to get the offending arm freed! Good grief! The back had rolled itself up, and the seam that should have gone under my arm was viewing the scenery from my shoulder. I couldn’t replicate that if I tried. When my clothes were on straight, I went out to walk about five minutes late. It was too cold for Joyce to be outside, so being late did not matter.
I had a long mile to think about what had happened. I’ve decided that if I can’t dress myself three days in a row, I’ll call Care Services for Aging Adults. They say personal care service is, “Assistance with bathing, grooming and dressing promotes independence, keeps vital routines in place and helps people age in place with dignity.”
I’ll think more about it. I don’t want to age in place – sounds like a treadmill. I want to age on the go, with dignity intact. That’s a big order when I’m laughing at myself.
I was pleased when neighbor Joyce asked for help getting her car to the shop for a brake job. Her first idea was to join my walk as I reached the stop sign and she came up the steep hill. Luckily, we came up with an alternative, because it was much too cold for the majority of people. 22F (-5.556C) Yes, daughter Lise, I should have listened to you and gotten used to putting the car in the garage. Ten minutes ahead of time I started the frosted car, and the windows were clear when I needed to pick her up.
I must have cleaned off my car hundreds of times in New York, because I worked for 23 years. Our garages were always full of junk, except the time SIL Barbara and Thom helped us clean them out. Those thoughts led me to a small chest in the hall where I rummaged for driving gloves. Eureka! I found a pair I haven’t used for over 10 years. They and my NY coat kept me warm.
Why was this a pleasure? It shows the world’s best neighborhood is working as it should. We always help each other whenever possible. I had to be at the house and dressed by 9 for a man to do a routine check on the heating system. I could not have walked at my usual time. It was easy to help Joyce. Goodness knows, she has helped me many times, and I could need more help in the future. Oh! If only everyone in the world had lovely neighbors!
I want to share a website that I think is fantastic. It’s https://stoppingup.com/ Ross Viviano is a landscape photographer. Some of his photos were taken in the area where I live, and I am particularly fond of them.
I met Ross when he came to see niece Chrissie when she last visited me. They are friends, and he lives nearby. She told me he was a photographer, and I simply took her word for it. Big mistake! I didn’t look at his website until now. His scenes are marvelous, as fresh and crisp as all outdoors. I drank in the beauty, going from one photo to another.
I have one of his local waterfall scenes in my bathroom! Chrissie had the idea of having a shower curtain made using one of his photographs. She knows I decorate my bathroom more often than the living room, and this is wonderful. I enjoy it from the front and the back, with and without sounds of falling water. The shower is small and does not show off the photograph as it should be seen, so I plan to move it to the main bathroom soon. I want everyone who comes in my house to see it at its very best.
I used a candlelight carol service as a yardstick! As I rode to the service with another church member, I realized I hadn’t been inside the church for a long time, because I now attend regular services there via online streaming. The last time I was there in person was for the same gathering a year ago. It was marvelous to be among familiar people that I often talked to when John was alive and driving us to church.
After the service was over, I realized there was a marked contrast between last year and this. I had no hesitancy in crossing the room to speak to people before. This time I couldn’t see faces clearly. I hung back. Because the people are friendly, they came to me and greeted me warmly. They’ll never know how much I appreciated that. I had read that losing an ability causes older people to withdraw, and now I’ve experienced the beginning of it.
Many women’s voices don’t carry well. Because of that, I couldn’t understand the announcements. I followed the crowd and asked people around me what was said. There is a growing distance between me and the rest of the world. It’s no wonder I feel more comfortable standing by someone I know who will interpret for me.
My best comparison between last year and this is that I don’t think my brain is failing nearly as quickly as my eyesight and hearing. As soon as people came within arm’s length, I could have told you their first and last names. What a relief that was! I may not see you or hear you easily, but given half a chance, I’ll call you by name.
As I was walking, neighbor D stopped her car to chat for a moment. She commented that it was going to get very cold – eleven degrees! That didn’t shock me, since I had walked a day or two ago at that same temperature. 11 F is -11.667 C. I said I would watch it and be ready to do my tap dance – dancing around the house setting all the cold water taps to drip water. Just a steady drip will prevent the pipes from freezing and bursting.
We never did that in New York, because our pipes were in the basement, along with the heating unit for the house. It wasn’t exactly warm down there, but it was never below freezing. In North Carolina there are vents scattered around the walls in the crawl space beneath the house. It could get quite cold, because the heat pumps are outside and not adding heat to the air. D said they will run a small heater in their garage under the house. That will keep their floors from being quite as cold as mine. I think a mug of pumpkin spice hot chocolate will be my reward after doing the tap dance.
I added the photo above just because it looks cold. Lise and Toke took it on the lawn at Biltmore.
Daughter Lise and friend Toke did a number of repairs around the house. They replaced batteries in smoke alarms, enlarged holes in the burn barrel and moved it to a new location, brought in the Christmas totes filled with decorations, and helped me change solar lights from pumpkins to red stakes.
Major move for the burn barrel
We all worked on the family jigsaw puzzle.
Finished puzzle
Lise took a photo of my new togs – penguin nightshirt, candy cane tights, and warm fuzzy socks.
I needed warm clothing and was glad daughters Lise and Kate convinced me to buy thermal underwear. I wore the top and bottom walking in snow the day before Lise left. I think it was 19 F (-7.222 C) when we walked. The day after Lise’s departure it was 11 F (-11.667 C) when I went out and 12 F when I returned. I saw a notice from the alert system that Haywood County opened a temporary warming station to assist those affected by a recent power outage. Brrr!
I failed to get a photo of Lise with neighbor Cindy when Cindy drove us to the airport. I think my brain was cold. Lise texted me when she was boarding the flight from Amsterdam to Copenhagen. I presume she got there safely and is now at home.
We had a great Thanksgiving celebration, although there were only three of us. I took one photo. Toke was at the stove, and I asked Lise to stand with him. He was making a Danish dish which translates as Brown Potatoes. That is a humdrum name for something I would describe as fancy caramelized potatoes. He boiled the small potatoes the day before, and I think he peeled them then. The next day he browned them in butter and sugar, shaking the pan from time to time. The result was marvelous.
For the foodies – our menu included roasted turkey breast, stuffing, gravy,Toke’s potato dish, green bean casserole, acorn squash filled with spiced apples, Connie’s grape salad, pumpkin cheesecake, and pumpkin pie.
Because Toke’s airplane was too late to make the connection to Amsterdam, he spent an extra night here. That gave us enough time to finish the annual family jigsaw puzzle. Blogger Linda Schaub (Walkin’, Writin’, Wit & Whimsy) chooses photos from my blog and has them made into a puzzle. Her choices are superb, showing people closest to me throughout the year.
My name is Suki, my human is a writer, and this is about my world. The world according to Suki The Cat. My humans smell funny, look weird, and I can't understand a thing they say, but they feed me, so hey, what are you gonna do?
Mehrling Muse 