It’s been snowing most of the day.  Dennis had to plow snow until noon because they day shift was short handed.  He came home and napped, then went back for his regular night shift.  It was 34 most of the day, so the snow never accumulated. this is what it looked like when I got up this morning (about 7 AM).I’m sure it snowed a couple of inches, but it never accumulated.  It’s just a slushy mess right now.  The real fun will begin when the temperature drops below 32 (it’s still 34).  

I’ve been a total bum today.  All I’ve done is make cards and watch TV.  I reheated the turkey/rice soup again for supper.  I’m hoping to be a complete bum tomorrow.

For several reasons, including previous commitments and possible bad weather, Martha decided to host her New Year’s Eve Party tonight–and end it by 10 PM.  We had a good time–lots of good snacks…some healthy, some not so healthy.  I had some of everything.  We caught up on each other’s lives since before Christmas and then played Mexican Train.  A good time was had by all.

Since the first week of my vacation was complicated by eye issues, today I finally started on the projects I intended to get done before Christmas.  Even though Christmas is over, I made some Christmas cards.  They will be fun to have next year.  I also made some Thank You and “hello” cards to have on hand.  Tomorrow morning I will finish up with the cards and move on to Jax’s stocking.  I might also look through the ornaments on the tree and put some of Matt’s in a box to take to him next time we visit.  Tuesday I will cut out the final strips for the quilt for my mom, and maybe do some sewing.  Also take down the Christmas tree. I’m trying to put things away more organized and boxes labeled correctly.  

The weather forecast sounds like we are in for some snow tomorrow afternoon and on thru the night.  It might start with freezing rain or a “wintery mix”.  I will probably hold down the fort here at home; Dennis will be plowing snow or putting salt on roads.  What a way to start 2013.

Some years I make resolutions/goals and some years I don’t.  I don’t think I’ll make resolutions this year.  They would be almost identical to the ones I’ve made in years past.  Eat healthier. Exercise more.  Be a better Christian/person. Then I throw myself a bone–read at least one book a week.  

but it might be a 3 dog night.  Dennis got sent home at midnight, then it started snowing in the wee hours of morning.  I guess they called in the day crew.  There was a dusting on the ground but it was still snowing when I got up to let Lucas out about 7 AM.It stayed gray and miserable out most of the morning.  Dennis napped watched TV most of the morning.  I puttered around the house, picking up and doing laundry.  Made some lists, tried to get focused & organized.  About 11 AM I gave up.  We went to Rolla and used the last of the remaining $$ on a couple Panera gift cards to have their “pick two” lunch.  I had a cup of tomato soup with 1/2 a grilled cheese sandwich.  Dennis had their onion soup and a turkey sandwich.  It hit the spot.  Then we went grocery shopping.  We were out of a lot of basics and stocked up on soups we can take to work on days there are no left-overs to pack.  Big Lots had a good variety of Progresso soups for $1.25 a can, so that worked out quite nicely.  We even found a big enough dog bed for Lucas.His old one was faded from being washed and the stuffing was rather flat, from several years of use.  We can use the old one just for when we board him.

I vaguely remember talking to someone (at a party no doubt) about the best glue for crafting type projects.  E-6000 is the name. It comes in a tube and they are serious when they say use only in a well-ventillated area. I suspect Hannah and I both have suffered some brain damage from not following those instructions.   

Dennis and I were on the road back to Columbia about 7 AM.  Arrived at Mason Eye Institute about 8:50 and by 10:30 I had my “walking papers”.  When the contact (lens) bandage was removed, my cornea was almost completely healed, and looking good. So I just have to use the antibiotic eye drops a few more days, then just the “usual” morning and night Muro 128 drops until there is another problem.  I made an appt. for 6 months…which I have permission to reschedule for 1 year, if all is going well.  That’s an appointment I’d love to reschedule.

To celebrate, Dennis and I had another meal at Five Guys Burgers & Fries.  It was good.  Who knows how long it will be before we get a chance to eat there again. We ran into some snow flurries on the way home.  It was 36, gray and very cold, but the snow melted as soon as it hit the ground.  It was still snowing when we got home.

With my vision no longer blurry, I managed to balance the checkbooks and pay bills when we got home. I even did a bit of reading.  Dennis decided to take a nap.  

I decided to reheat the cheddar broccoli soup and make cornbread for supper.  About that time, Dennis got the dreaded phone call from work.  He was to report to work at 7PM…to be ready to plow snow tonight.  We had time to eat supper before he got ready for work.  Not too long after he left, the power went out for a few minutes.  I now have candles lit in a couple of rooms. The temperature dropped below freezing but it is no longer snowing.  

I think I’ll watch a few episodes of “Dark Shadows” and go to bed.  Nothing worth watching on TV.

today we celebrated Christmas with Jax, Matt & Sara…or Joyeux Noel.  It was lots of fun.  Jax is walking, but if he wants to get somewhere in a hurry, he drops to all 4′s and crawls.  Sara was at work when we arrived, so we kept an eye on Jax while Matt folded laundry and fixed Jax’s lunch.  After eating, Jax showed us all his new toys and kept us entertained until he gave up and took a nap.  He woke up a little after Sara got home.  We then exchanged gifts.  Jax liked his wagon but the living room was a bit small to really try it out.  It was too cold to take Jax outside.  We got a photo of the 3 of us, but Jax was wanting to get back down and play with his toys. 

Food today was high in carbs and calories. Breakfast at McDonalds–I had their biscuit & sausage gravy (should have had a parfait).  Ham & cheese sandwich & chips for lunch (while Matt fed Jax).  Stopped at Dickey’s BBQ on the way home for pulled pork, mustard potato salad and fried onion “tanglers”.  

The snow all went south & east…along with the blowing winds.  It was just cold today…some sunshine.  Dennis went out to work on the van and it started and kept running.  Hmmmm.  We plan to take it to Springfield tomorrow, I think.   

Lucas had a shampoo and a slight trim–he’s keeping his hair longer during the cold weather.  I think the Almanac is right with the Dec 25-31 prediction–snow showers and cold.  We have another chance of snow on Friday, then again Monday.  It sounds like “typical” Missouri winter weather.  

I cooked down the turkey carcass this afternoon.  Did some laundry.  Read a little in The Passage.  It reminds me of S. King’s The Stand in many ways.  Both have government/military developing viruses that cause the “end of civilization.  Both have an old black woman as a sort of leader–Auntie in The Passage & Mother Abigail in The Stand.  The Passage is spanning a lot longer time frame than The Stand, but I suspect it will end up with 2 camps, good vs evil.  Both also have some sort of “mind reading” going on.   L. eye bothers me a little when reading or focusing on “close” things.  Computer also bothers it.  I spent a little bit of time cleaning house.  For supper I heated up the turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes & gravy and rolls my mom sent home with us.  Good stuff.  

Once again, I’m heading for bed early.  If anyone asks what i did over the break, I can honestly say I slept a lot.

We headed to Salem Arkansas to spend Christmas with my parents Monday afternoon, in spite of a minor setback.  We got the van packed, hopped in,  & turned the key.  The van started….and died.  Over and over.   Plan B.  Find empty rubber tubs (formerly used to store Christmas decorations but currently empty) and put gifts &  overnight bags into them.  Head for Arkansas.  

We had potato soup for supper and went to Candlelight Christmas Eve services.  Opened gifts. Got my parents to pose and smile in front of the Christmas tree.  Sat around and talked about all kinds of things.  Had a good time.

Christmas day.  My dad getting ready to carve the turkey.  Along with the turkey: mashed potatoes & Gravy, dressing, green bean casserole, asparagus, rolls, pecan pie, fruitcake and cookies.  Only Roy & Mary made it to my parents house due to illness and fear of snow/freezing rain.  Dennis first skyped with Hannah–carried the laptop around the living room and we all got to chat with her. She got to see the tree and the new ornaments Grandma got this year.  Then we skyped with Paul and he got to chat with everyone.  He wasn’t as interested in all the ornaments…just a look at the tree. Mary took photos of me & Dennis holding the laptop with each kid but for some reason when it was time to download those photos from my compact flash card (yes, my camera is OLD–probably the first digital SRL Canon made, over 10 years ago) they were corrupted (along with the photos I took of Mary and other events during the afternoon).    This is the 2nd time that has happened in the past few months.  I’m now looking for a new card…I don’t think it is the camera.  I’ve been using a 2G card and have another one that has only 512mb that I can use in the mean time.  

We headed home before 3 PM because Dennis is scheduled to plow snow tonight.  I’m not sure if we’ll get snow.  Yesterday it was all over the news, how many inches we were getting.  Tonight the forecast has changed, and we may not get any.  The system went to the south and east of where it was originally forecast.  We did get the cold though. And winds.  Dennis is at work, waiting for the snow, so he can plow it (or get sent home because the snow was cancelled). My Aunt in Searcy AR had freezing rain all afternoon.  

I plan to go to bed early and see what the morning brings.

I said it first but it was just for the humor.  I’ll wait until after Christmas Eve Candlelight services, when we all open our gifts.  Opening gifts to and from each other (family, select close friends) on Christmas Eve has been a tradition in my family.  Back in the olden days when I was a kid, it was at my great-grandmother Weathers house.  After eating, the men would play dominoes, women would clean up & gossip chat. The kids would all run around until it was finally time to open the gifts.  Since there were so many of us ( & several generations), we drew names and had a gift exchange.   Later on the large Christmas eve gathering was at my Granny’s house, and then it rotated a while, ending up quite a few times at my mom’s house.  Then, as the family got more and more scattered, the big get-together fell apart.  Kind of sad.  But at least we have a small family gathering on Christmas eve., and my dad’s relatives come to my parents house for Christmas noon-ish gathering.  With medical and military members of the family, there’s not even a guarantee of having any time off around Christmas. So we skype and celebrate on non-traditional days.     And thus NEW traditions are born.

Last night we had a nice visit with Beth.  She brought gifts for us to take to Jax on the 27th.  Paul wasn’t able to leave his post to make the trip.  Thank you for keeping us safe, Son.   Our visit was short but hopefully we’ll get another glimpse of Beth before she has to go back to CA on the 27.  

Yesterday was abnormally warm–definitely in the 50′s.  This morning was frosty & not supposed to warm up much today or tomorrow.  Snow is in the forecast for Christmas evening.  Dennis may have a long day on the 25, if he’s out plowing snow that night.  The joys of working for MODoT.  

the nice thing about corneas…they heal quickly.  Since Friday night, I’ve gone from zero vision L. eye and blurry vision R. eye and pain, to barely swollen L. eye, still blurry vision, but R. eye is seeing just fine.  It “just” feels like something in my L. eye, which is annoying, but not painful.  I didn’t go outside in the sun, but wore my regular glasses inside today (wore my sunglasses most of yesterday, inside).  Both eyes are still red and irritated.  

We had baked potatoes with finely chopped ham, cheese, sour cream for lunch.  I made broccoli cheddar cheese soup for supper. I also baked cookies (white chocolate chips/dried cranberry/macadamia nut) this afternoon.  It was nice to see well enough to follow a recipe. 

In our house, there was a tradition that whoever said “Christmas Eve Gift” first, got to open a present that morning. My mom said it first almost every year growing up.  It will just be me & Dennis in the morning…so I have a good chance.  LOL

That’s what’s happened today.  Even though I’ve had this problem with my eyes before, I forgot how limiting blurry vision, discomfort and photosensitivity can be.  I did some cleaning and a couple loads of laundry.  Can’t read.  Computer glare is barely tolerable in small amounts.  I can tell that the cornea is healing though.  Less discomfort and not quite as sensitive to light.  No reading, sewing, working on crafts…which is extremely frustrating.  I watched “Four Christmases” on TV–cute with a lot of famous name stars in it.   I managed to cook supper–macaroni & cheese, left over cornbread and black beans.  

Now it’s time to go to a dark room for a while.