Christmas 2023

 

Another Christmas, alone.  Grey and wet outside, but at least to me it is preferable to snow.  I think after 40+ years in northern CA I got used to no snow, yet here we/ umm I mean I now live in MN.  Do I miss CA?  Nope not even on my worst day.  Best thing we ever did, moving away when we did.  Yet when Jerry decided it I thought he was kidding.  I am ever thankful he was serious.  Yet today again, Monday,   no sunshine  no sun since Thursday?  I know Friday was grey.  So I got a dose from my Happy light next to the downstairs PC where I am consigned to work online until the laptop that I so conveniently use upstairs is repaired or replaced.  I will set a nice setting for myself at my dining room table and dine on beef filet tenderloin, twice baked potato, asparagus and green salad and wine.  How I miss the hustle and bustle of Christmases of the past where I wore myself out into a tizzy cooking, baking, wrapping presents, decorating and all that over the top activity.  Life has changed and now this is my new normal.  

We can decide

I posted this on my FB today and since I am  just marking time this afternoon and having the inconvenience of using the downstairs PC I thought it a good time to post here to keep this blog alive.  Yesterday my laptop went bonkers,  when I tried to start her all I got was a black screen with computerized messages, "Boot drive not found."  etc  blah blah.  I tried running diagnostics which indicated the laptop passed.  I  unplugged and restarted her, nope, same junk.  

Well I can get by with my tablet and this PC so it is not the end of the world, but an annoyance.  So this morning I took her to the Geeks at Best Buy where she will get a once over and hopefully restoration.  If not I;ll buy a new laptop because it is convenient to have that upstairs off the side of the kitchen.  The rep at the Geek counter complimented me on my "positive good attitude" he said most  would be  upset about their computer.  I had to tell him, "well not me.  Not with what I've lived through, it's going to take more than a computer to dim any more Christmases' for me.  I've been thru worse."  

It's true lost Steve 15 years ago in December and Jerry 3 years ago in December.  I'm still surviving, and doing really well.  That come only from Grace of God and my deep rooted lifelong faith.  I no longer say, "Next?"  nor do I say "Hit me with your best shot."  That's already happened, over, done with.  

As this image portrays we can decide.  I have decided long ago to accept and go on ahead.  So inconvenienced, but I'll get by.  They sent me an email to pick her up Tuesdau at 12:40PM, so  that must be good.  

We have had a December with   very little snow and I am happy about it.  Though I dislioke our grey dreary days like yesterday, and today, it is better than shoveling snow to me.  Almost reminds me of Christmas in northern CA.  But not fully.   

I'll be at 8:00PM mass this Eve.  Lector again,  I haven't had a mass to just sit in the pews since maybe September.  Seems I am a full time lector.  I have trained others but they migrate to Sundays.  Well as my cousin reminded me, "this is Your Gift to share.  And it's as close as you get to altar girl."  Recalling my nerve back in the  50's at wanting to be an altar girl.  That was unheard of, no such thing, only altar boys.  It put the nuns and others on edge and made my grandma tell me, "don't argue with the sisters Patty." " I wasn't arguing, I was only asking a question."   That was not encouraged back there and then. Mom shrugged it off,  she knew me, she knew I ask whatever I think.  I was unfiltered., She blamed my grandma for spoiling me that way.  I had forgotten all about my stir that gave the family and beyond something to talk about until Lawrence reminded me.   Today we have altar girls too.  I was ahead of the curve.

UPDATE to keep active

 And so just incase I'd get a google inactivity flag, here I go with a nothing post.   It is supposed to be fall here, but we have a resurgence of heat, another hot couple days.  Today I was out back blowing leaves down the hill and shook my head,  I felt rain drops?  Looked up to the sky and realized this is what happened several times through the summer,  sweat from my head and brow!    This is October 2...proving to me I made the right decision not to move south into perpetual summer.  I do not like hot weather.  I like 4 seasons even though here the final one, the winter can drag on too long.  I hope we soon turn into crisp cooler fall temps before we plunge deep into the cold times.  I know I vowed this past winter which went on forever to not complain when it got warm, but this has not been a MN summer.  

Changes changes,  below is a photo of the side vintage hydrangea tree  on this day in 2016 and below it is a photo of it today.  It is  fading away.  Next year I have to have the landscaper get and plant a new one for me.  This year I put in a tree outback, Japanese lilac.  It will never replace the wonderful big old ash trees we used to enjoy before we had to take them down due to emerald ash borer.  The 2016 photo shows one old ash and the 2023 photo  below shows the new garden chain link fence.

 

  In August SIL came to visit from CO and raved about the side hydrangea which I know is looking older, more tired, just not as it used to be.  I found a photo of it August 2015 below.

And as blogger and maybe google are acting up that is it for this update for me

Don't want to be deleted by Google, so....

 Received an email from Google today that mentioned deletion of any account which remains inactive for 2 years.  Although I seldom blog here anymore, thought I should sign on and enter something.  Part of the notice:

"Therefore, we are updating the inactivity period for a Google Account to two years across all our products and services. This change starts rolling out today and will apply to any Google Account that’s been inactive, meaning it has not been signed into or used within a two-year period. An inactive account and any content in it will be eligible for deletion from December 1, 2023."

My book blog, the other blog I set up to track the books and authors I read had something bizarre happen.  All the photos and sidebar labels, photos there  were discarded.  I still do not know how that happened.,  Maybe when I didn't read one of these Google emails and just deleted.  Anyway I am so disgusted to have lost all of that from the blog which had been ongoing for several years.  No way can I reconstruct it nor do I have time to do so.  So now I  just try to post the book, author and very brief commentary about it and will go forward.  Most of my postings are on Facebook because that is where I have interaction with  people I know all over the country and some  outside the country too.  Blogging fell by the wayside.  

Yet when I read that today I did not want to lose this too.  So posting here and this should show my activity.  For now.