Rolling With the Punches - Or Life Is Unexpected

Yesterday was actually a really excellent day, except for the end which was a bit traumatic. DH was in a good mood, and as he had promised, he went outside between football games and shoveled away the latest snowfall. We got another inch or two overnight, so I'll be shoveling my side of the driveway today before I leave for work. We'll need to get everything cleared up before tonight - we're dropping down into dangerous temperatures tonight through tomorrow with extreme wind chills. 

Starting tonight we'll be back in dangerous wind 
chills. I know DH will want to get the snow off the 
roof. He knows how to dress, but he's really bad 
about coming indoors after 10 minutes. The wind 
chills we will have tomorrow will require that, so I'll 
have to be firm with him. 

Last night, as the Kansas City game was reaching the end of regulation play, I felt a sudden pain just above my elbow. I was wearing my pajamas and a sweatshirt, so didn't think too much of it, but decided to pull off the sweatshirt and see what might have scratched me (although the arm had been against my pillow, so nothing sharp was in the area at all). My sleeve was dripping blood - never a good sign. I pulled my arm from my sleeve and after cleaning things up and applying serious pressure to stop the bleeding, I was finally able to put several compression band-aids and a waterproof compress on top of it. 

The cut or tear is approximately where the skin lotion 
is on the above photo. It's a jagged cut, but I really 
couldn't get a great look since it was bleeding too 
heavily. I'm unwilling to put new bandages on it 
until tonight, and it only hurts if I put it into direct 
pressure or contact, so it's not infected. I'll keep it 
wrapped up for the day and deal with a new bandage 
tonight. 

The only thing I can figure out is a tear. I had been working on my computer most of the day, trying to resize and organize more photos of antique trade beads for my upcoming Etsy website. Sitting at the chair this morning, yes - when I move in a particular way, it's putting pressure right where the wound is. Then, last night, I had my elbow against the pillow in a similar position. I think I literally pulled my skin apart - bizarre, but something that can happen with the "elderly" (age, maybe ... attitude, certainly not). Older skin gets thinner and can pull apart for no reason at all. This is a bit distressing though, to be sure. 

I have a couple of boxes of these 
from a few years ago, and I have one 
of them on now. They may work 
fine, after it's had 24 hours to 
start healing. I'll be able to tell 
much better tonight. Then again, 
I've never yet met any bandage that 
could hold on through swimming. 
I could put K-tape on over the 
bandage to keep it in place ... 
hmmm, something to think 
about. 

Being fond of caution, I decided that swimming and chlorinated water would probably be a poor idea today, so I grabbed a Tuesday swimming appointment and cancelled my Monday. So this week, if all goes well, I'll be swimming Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I probably should drop by Walgreens and see it they have an elbow bandage cover for the water. I have one for feet and ankles, but nothing for arms and elbows. I'll leave the wound bound until tonight when I'll pull the bandages and re-apply new ones. I'm sure it will heal quickly, but caution is common sense. 

KC won the game in OT, but only because the OT rules 
are horrid. The NFL OT rules MUST be changed. 
Buffalo never even got a chance to hold the ball in OT 
because of the current rules which are unfair to whichever 
team loses the coin toss. 

The football games yesterday were both really good ones, so all in all, except for the blood sacrifice, it was a fun Sunday. Today, of course, it's back to the grind. Have an excellent Monday and I'll be back tomorrow before I head out to the pool in our next round of extreme sub-zero temperatures and wind chills. Ugh! April can't come soon enough. Stay safe, stay warm and be kind to others today. 

It's Damned Cold Out - Shoveling Yesterday Was A Cold Experience

I ended up shoveling snow off the driveway and walks three times yesterday. I left the plow scree for DH, if he wants to deal with it today, he's welcome to it. The snow itself wasn't bad - I don't think we got much more than 3-4 inches total over the full day. It was the wind that was horrid - the wind was cold and the windchill is what will make a serious impact. I had on my hat and gloves, my parka and various sweaters, of course (as well as good snow boots), but my hands still got super cold despite the gloves. Over the years I've tried many different gloves, and I've still to find the perfect set. The hunt continues. 

It might be time to look for a new pair of cold-weather 
mittens. I haven't had a set of mittens for a long time - 
I need to use fingers with my phone. But mittens are 
a LOT warmer than gloves, in general, and I've tried 
a lot of gloves with hope, but no success. 

I was as energetic as I could be, but enough was enough. When I shoveled the last time around 3:30 pm before my weekly chat with Aearwen, I was pretty determined that it would be my last time of the day. It was a bit of a relief to come in from the cold and have sheets to fold, straight from that lovely, warm clothes dryer - LOL. 

There's something wonderful about pulling bed sheets out 
of the dryer. They're so nice and toasty warm, newly 
cleaned, and smelling fresh. It's a total win/win, even if 
folding them properly can sometimes be a bit of a PITA. 

It was wonderful to catch up with Aearwen. We missed our usual call last week because of the holidays and my altered work schedule, so we had two weeks of news and chit-chat to catch up on. We never seem to have a problem finding things to talk about, and it's always a joy to touch base with a dear friend. 

On my walk towards Petra, I have now passed through 
Wadi Malaga on my way to Ras-Al-Feid. I've currently 
walked/swam 41% of my journey towards Petra. I 
allocated 70 days for the journey when I signed up, 
but I'll arrive long before then. I had no idea 
how quickly my day-to-day steps would (or would 
not) help me toward my goal. It's a lot of fun, and 
I can hardly wait for the next postcard and stop 
along the trail. 

Today, as I continue on my walk to Petra - LOL, I'm going to bundle up. It's only -2 F degrees outside, but our wind chill today is -20 F. That's cold, people, and I'm not a fan of being cold. I don't like the major heat and humidity of our summer months, but I truly hate the cold. Winter is a beautiful season, and I have all of the appropriate clothing necessary for the season, but I'd rather be looking at how beautiful it is from the warmth of my home - LOL. Hopefully Saturday will be warm enough for DH to pull the snow from the roof. He's certainly not going to be doing it today. 

I have my hood attached to my parka, my long scarf at hand, 
several different gloves to choose between, and of course, 
my snow boots. I'm set for the cold. My poor car will have 
to be parked outdoors for 11 hours while I'm at work, and 
Minion won't be happy about that. But, she's a trooper, and 
she'll manage. I'm quite sure she'll be happy when we can 
leave Winter behind us in a few months, but there's still 
a lot of winter left to live through before Spring. 

So, wherever you're at, please stay warm or at least, stay comfortable. Stay safe too, that's always a really good idea - LOL. I'm going to catch up on some computer work and then, in another couple of hours, I'll bundle up and head out to the shop. Have a lovely Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow before I head over to the pool for my Friday swim. Hugs to all! 

A Cold Year-end Wrap Up!

So here we are, the final blog post of the year. The Four-day End of Year sale we've been running has been doing quite well, although today might be slower because our wind chills are expected to be between -8 F to -30 F (-22.2 C -to -34.4 C). Yeah - that's COLD. I'm going to be dressed in angora today with a turtleneck underneath, and our furnaces are going to be working VERY hard. 

Yes, my friends, that -23 F area near the center is where
I'm at and where I'll be going in less than an hour. Ick!
I'm not fond of snow, and I'm fully capable of bundling
up, but I really am not fond of this deep cold. 

It's been a great year and I've enjoyed sharing it with all of you. I had fun classes at Bead & Button in June, carefully selecting my classes in January. I've had this year's catalog already open and the classes I am interested in already are marked. I'm ready to go on the 9th when registration opens, and I'll be paying off the bill until the show and then the show expenses until the State Fair opens, then those expenses until Christmas and then then whole debt ball begins again. I'm sure I'm not unique in this, but I really hate not being able to pay off my credit cards completely each month. 

The new patio was the next major step in our backyard project.
Next year we'll get the fireplace wood storage unit built and
maybe a pergola. 

We got a new patio, Sharon came to visit and share the Fair and Renaissance Festival in September, and we finally got a new storage shed erected in October while the snow was beginning to fall. I guess that was our hint that this year wouldn't be the mild winter we've had for the previous two years. 

During the summer, our outdoor 50-meter pool was open, and they
kept it open two weeks past Labor Day this year, which was
a cold run in and out, but absolutely fantastic for a great swim. 

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm ending my year down five pounds from the start and having been at the YMCA to swim 279 times. That includes today's swim, although I need to make a quick stop at the grocery store on my way to the pool today. I'm cooking Chinese-style mini-meatballs for the family pot-luck get-together tomorrow, and it turns out I need stuff - yeah ... different stuff for the sauce, and the meat too. LOL I won't get far without the meat. 

I've really loved spending this year interacting with all of you. I cherish my on-line friends and reach out to all of you six days a week throughout the years. I think this post will make post 2725 in my blog, so I guess I've been doing this for quite a while. 

Have a safe and happy New Year. I'll be back in 2018! 

So, I'm going to get my shopping list together, bundle up, and head out into the cold. I hope all of you have a wonderful, safe and joyous New Year, I'm already looking forward to sharing 2018 with you. I'll be back on Wednesday. Be sure to take a look at the Supermoon on January 2nd, if you can. It's one of three Supermoons in a row (one in December and two in January). Joie! 

Wrapping Up Christmas Gifts - Or Not

Yesterday was a day for the stocking stuffers that weren't. Of course, that leaves me to shop next week for stocking stuffers that actually can appear in DH's stocking. He was in a foul mood yesterday anyway, so I rationalized all of it with my putting him onto the "naughty" list. Maybe coal might be an appropriate gift anyway given our frozen temperatures.

At this time of the year, you REALLY DON'T
want to be put onto the "Naughty" list! 

I wanted to get him a set of snow goggles. I looked them up on-line and thought - OK, if it has "X" designation, I will know how much glare is cut down and I can make a reasonable judgment about whether it will fit over his eyeglasses or not. I was SO wrong. The models shown didn't have a glare reduction "X" designation, and I couldn't tell whether they would fit or not. They looked much more cosmetic than actually something to help to improve visibility in the snow. In short, the sporting goods store didn't get my money.

It was a great idea in principle. I know he would have
loved it, but unless you're there at least three times a
week, it's too expensive. Using the mug gives you free
beverages for the year in the mug, but we're only there
one day a week. 

The second thing I thought about getting him was the "Bottomless Mug" for coffee at Breugger's Bagels. We had been looking for indications of cost but hadn't seen anything. When it came up as $185 I thanked them very much, said, "I'm sorry. I had no idea it was that expensive," and left. I should have looked into a gift card instead. I'll check that out later this week or next week. I suppose if a person is getting coffee there several times a week, a mug like that could be an excellent investment since it equates to free coffee as long as the mug is presented. But not for DH who is only there once a week, on average.

Maybe I should have something like this. Aearwen suggested a small
notebook to jot down when/where I had hidden something. Of course,
I would have had to actually place the order! Sometimes I'm just not
quite with it any more. *sigh*

I then went home and started tearing apart all of the hiding places I keep DH's holiday gifts. I wanted to get them organized and start wrapping. The wrapping didn't happen, so I'll take them to the shop with me today and start wrapping over there. I was specifically looking for two calendars I had purchased for him (they are ones I get him every year). I usually order them in mid-summer since one has limited availability.

The Dragon Witches calendar is one of two I thought I had
already purchased. This one goes in our kitchen. It's where
we keep track of recycling and chiropractic dates. 

I found everything else I had purchased for him throughout the year, but no calendars. I started going through the e-receipts of each order from that vendor. Unfortunately it's a vendor I buy A LOT from through the year and it was slow going. I finally determined that I didn't actually place the order so I quickly went on to the website and placed it again. I should have them in hand by next week. If I happen to find them in the interim, I'll return the replacements, but I think they are actually MIA.

Oh goodie! This is our forecast for the next week. Of course, wind
chills aren't included in this. Drop those temps down another ten to
twenty degrees to accommodate the wind chill factor. ACK!!!
This is NOT what I needed this close to Christmas when we need
customers to come through the door! 

Same old/same old, but magnified - extreme cold, and a winter storm warning for Friday/Saturday with six-ten inches of snow starting at noon tomorrow. Combined with the wind chills, this one could be very bad. And, of course, we don't have a working snow blower. Spring cannot come soon enough! Enjoy your Thursday. I'll be bundled up in front of my TV tonight watching Project Runway.