Busy Week in November

 

I've been creeping around my little place picking up little pinecones and decorations the cats have knocked off tables until I've decided to call the fall holidays over.  We're over the pumpkin spice candle and into the iced gingerbread cookies now.  

These cookies were a hit.  Our neighbor Wes is always bringing us something from TJs, and this box didn't last long!  The girls say it's the best cookie ever!

I also ordered this set of Swiss Mix flavored chocolate from Target for December after-school warm-ups.  It's packaged so nicely I hate to open it.

I'm getting myself psyched up for real winter and finding things that will make it better.  I even got some new warm boots for that afternoon walk.

I don't see any forecasts of snow any time soon, but it can't be worse than this awful week of rain and wind we've just had.  Just horrible.  I would have to leave 30 minutes early just to get a parking space closer to the school than my apartment and then sit there and freeze and listen to the wind while waiting for them.  I really worried about those big old trees dropping a limb on my car.  Traffic is then a mess, and we still got wet just getting into the car with all their stuff. 

We had sunshine yesterday though, and it was so welcome. 

 For the next four days, the kids get out at 12:15, and yesterday the book fair set up outside under the covered area for last-minute shopping.  Emily and Ryan had teacher-parent conferences, so I got to take them.

The had their little purses and were ready to go at 1:00.

That little moss-covered wall is impossible to resist, and the girls always have to walk on it.  I saw some of the landscapers this week, and they did mention that they're going to start working on our street this year.  Heaven knows, it needs work. I don't even have the wall in front of my unit.  It's just squishy grass.

The girls are passing by a daycare center, and I feel so lucky on two counts here.  I get to enjoy these leisurely strolls any time I want to and have for the past five years, and they are not confined behind those bars.  It's a great daycare center and much needed here, but I'm so glad I didn't miss this precious time with these girls.  Soon they'll be too grown-up to walk with me.

I'm not sure why I forgot to take any pictures at the book fair.  I guess we were too busy looking and greeting friends and making decisions on how to spend their money.  I even ran into a friend, Liz, who introduced me to her granddaughter as her "only friend in Snoqualmie."  She lives in Redmond and comes to visit her family on the weekend.

It was extra fun to get a chance to play together on the playground without a ton of other kids.  I love it that they enjoy playing together so much.  It's made first grade easier to adjust to for Katherine having a big sister there.

Their purchases were well thought out, and they were just thrilled at the things they got, coming in just under their designated amounts.

Graysen was thrilled over this chocolate-scented calculator.  Go figure.  She says one of her friends has one and it's cool.  It actually worked, but when we got home it didn't.  I was about to mark it up to a waste of money when I read that it was solar powered.  Oh, well.  It did work under a lamp though.  I think the novelty of it is enough for her.

And it's vaccine time for all of us.  Emily got her booster shot last weekend and had a reaction just like last time except much less severe.  Thank goodness she's over it now.

I got mine on Wednesday.  The Snoqualmie Valley Hospital is so close and has car vaccines, so I made an appointment and just drove in and followed the signs.

It wasn't a long wait, and it was easy as could be.  I drove into the waiting area and waited my 15 minutes and went home.   I had no reactions whatsoever to my two regular vaccines - Pfizer - but I got the Moderna booster, and when I took my Band-Aid off, I saw that I had what's called Covid arm.  It may have something to do with taking blood thinners too, but there was definitely a little knot at the injection site and some mild itching.  I'm glad I had read about it earlier and didn't worry.  I believe it's better now, and I'm all done for a while.

The hardest thing was letting the girls get their first vaccine.  It was a no-brainer for the adults, but letting those little girls get theirs was harder.  There was an event at Mount Si High School today, and Emily and Ryan took them.  They were pretty excited and felt like they knew what was happening and that they were doing their part to try to get rid of this horrible pandemic.  They again ran into friends and got lollipops, and when they just called, they were stopping at Starbucks for another surprise.  I feel like nobody cared enough about me!!

Our first polio vaccine way back in the '50s wasn't nearly as much fun, but it turned out to be a miracle drug.  We were lined up at school and walked to the health department where we got a sugar cube with the vaccine on it.  We may have gotten a lollipop, but probably the sugar was enough for us!

I'm feeling a little emotional after all that and praying that there will finally be an end - or at least a slow-down - in the disease and that these kids will grow up unafraid.  They have learned so much though in these few years and learned how to sacrifice and to bounce back from hardships.  

While not "blood kin to us," my brother- and sister-in-law lost a precious member of their family this week.  Chad Morris, Kathy & Alan's nephew, of Andalusia died last Sunday and will leave a big hole in their hearts.  So young, so sad.

Holidays are still hard for us too, missing Mike always and all our parents.  We'll just do the best we can and make it a time for being grateful for what we do have.  Our first vegan Thanksgiving - but with dressing somehow.  I won't miss the turkey myself.

And It Rains and Rains

I took this picture as I left to pick up the girls from school Friday at 1:30.  It's not dark and gloomy at all, but the rain is so hard that it soaks us through by the time we get home.  So miserable!

Before we do anything, we get all our wet things in the dryer and then turn on the fireplace and have hot chocolate.  Makes it nice and cozy.  This is the wettest fall I can remember since I've been living here.

Just around the corner and down the parkway is Snoqualmie Falls, a pretty big and beautiful waterfall, the thing that draws so many people to our area.  

This is how it looks on a normal day.

And this was taken yesterday.  It was posted on our community page by my friend Jaime, but I don't know if she's the one who took the picture.  

The girls had heard at school that we were in danger of having floods in the area, and they wanted to "go to the flood."  Luckily, we live on a ridge and are not in danger of much damage, although the low spots fill up pretty fast.  It's down in the old town of Snoqualmie where the river runs through the town that the real damage happens, and that's not a fun thing. There's an 89 to 100% chance of rain today and the next seven days - except for Wednesday - so I don't even want to think how bad things are going to get.  I worry most about landslides and trees falling.  I have to get out to go to OT on Tuesday and to get my booster shot Wednesday, but otherwise I'm not going to go farther than the school and library.

When we first get home from school and get dry and have snacks, we work on the girls' math homework pages.  It's nothing assigned but just some extra stuff we're throwing at them.  It's as much for me to keep one step ahead of them too.  That and reading some.  Given their choice, they would do something on some screen - a movie, app, game - anything - and it's so hard to find things that interest them as much as what they can find on a computer or phone.  

We went digging in the game cabinet when Carly got here yesterday and decided to finally get out one of my last year's Christmas presents:  Cat Lady Old Maid.  

It's enough just to look at these cats and their expressions but mainly their names.  Playing the game is secondary to just enjoying the cats.

We are pretty unconventional in our game playing.  Graysen and Carly sat on the floor, and Katherine and I sat at the table.  They don't mind the inconvenience of getting up and coming over to draw and discard.  We don't really keep up much with turns except for the one with the Old Maid.  She's the one who is always thrusting her hand in your face and saying, "Draw a card!"  After every draw, Carly will take her handful of cards and run into another room and lay them out to see if she has any matches and then come back.  I love it.

I ended up as the Old Maid, just as I planned!  I can actually see everyone's cards or notice how prominently they display the old lady, so I always seem to draw her, much to the delight of all the others.  It's the least I can do!

Layla's opinion of that game.

They later found an old tea set in the cabinet and asked if they could have a tea party.  I gave permission, and they just did it by themselves.  They only asked where the sugar was and got it out themselves and then wanted to know if they could add grapes to their "tea."  Water mixed with sugar and one grape in a cup.  Not your typical tea party.

When Ryan picked up the girls at 5:00, the sky was very interesting.  I was so glad to be headed inside for the night.  

I also ordered these picture hangers from Amazon a couple of weeks ago.  I'm sure you can get them anywhere.  I have a couple of pictures that are heavy, and these were promised to hold 45 pounds, not that mine are that big.  Emily and I spent a good bit of time placing and marking where I wanted the pictures, but Ryan hasn't had time to hang them, so I was looking for something easy enough for me to do.

Elise and Nathan came by for a few hours last weekend, and they insisted on hanging the pictures.  Using the markings and the Claw hangers, Nathan managed to place them perfectly in just a few minutes.  It seems like he just placed them on the wall and pressed hard with his thumb.  Amazing!  He used all five of them, so I'm going to get a few more and finish hanging the rest by myself.

Susan brought me those two pictures when she moved in August, and I really like them here.  I know I need curtains - or something - but I'm afraid the cats would mess them up jumping on and off the window sill.  I need to get some bird feeders out in that area to give them something to watch.

And the clothes hamper is a success.  When I opened it and saw the size, I was almost certain it wasn't going to fit, but here it is with an inch to spare.

I put a plastic bag inside to protect it from the damp towels and bathcloths.  I guess the wrinkles will disappear with time, but it's fine with me the way it is.

It blocks two cubbies, but they are empty right now while I'm still figuring out where to put what.

I like having my masks and lanyards on the top along with my glasses and the few necklaces I wear.  My little weights are on the next shelves along with the hair dryer and hair stuff.  Then the rest is reserved for extras from the bathroom.  The bathroom door is just to the right, so I've gotten one step closer to getting settled in.  

Pajamas and underwear are in a chest in the same closet along with some coats and hanging things, and all my hanging clothes and shoes are in the other closet.  It works!

Soccer tournament this weekend.  Graysen's team.

Katherine is like me.  A soccer tournament in the cold rain is not exactly where she wants to be, but she's cute anyway.

  

Extra Good Day

 When you have a week-and-a-half of rain and fierce winds, a normal day seems as special as the first day of spring, and that's what happened yesterday.  I don't think I even took a picture though.

My appointment with Liz at OT was scheduled for Tuesday morning, but after listening to the wind nearly blow the roof off all night and hearing of trees falling and power outages, my anxiety at driving, or even going outside, went through the roof.  Since I had been feeling lethargic and had had no sleep, I figured that was enough for a sick cancellation and rescheduling for the next day.  After talking to Liz yesterday, she had run into closed roads and traffic delays herself and was super late getting to work anyway.  She said there were a lot of cancellations, so I didn't feel so bad.  Well, I felt a little bad to cancel on short notice.

It turns out it would have been a little scary driving on I90.  I don't think Emily had any problem, but just about the time I would have headed home, the interstate closed for removal of newly fallen trees.  I felt a little better about my decision.  Luckily, no one was injured, but people were stuck in traffic for a long time.  

Yesterday, my appointment wasn't until 1:15, so we had time for some sunshine to appear, and that was so cheerful.  I'm getting more and more used to my car and am more relaxed traveling that 15 or so miles than I used to be.  I know I've had the car for 9 months or so, but I probably don't drive it more than once a week, if that, and just for short distances.  Someone mentioned the price of gas the other day, and I had to admit that I only fill up once every couple of months.  Sheltered life.  I even order food from Amazon Prime sometimes!

It was nice walking home from school too.  Katherine's retainer had broken, so she and Ryan had had to take a trip to make to get that repaired (and stop by Starbucks! and Mama's office!), so she was full of excited chatter.  I sure hope Graysen gets a special day soon, because she took it pretty hard, not getting to go to Mama's office!

We walked home with Wes and Carly, our upstairs neighbors.  They're always gifting me something from Trader Joe's since I don't get there much, and they do. For some reason, it's always something sweet, and he pretends he's only giving it to me to get it out of their house - and also for letting Carly join in the crew a good bit when the girls are over there- which is a pleasure, for sure.  I had heard about TJ's peanut butter cups, how good they were, and that was what he handed me.  Dark chocolate too!  That made a nice treat while the girls did their math pages, and then I put them in a really high hidden place where I won't see them.  So lucky to have sweet neighbors.

It was a shame to have to take them out of their hiding place to take this picture.  A real shame!

The girls had such fun together after being closed up for so long.  They ran and did noisy things for a while and then settled down to a very quiet and complicated-sounding game with chickens and turkeys and fences.  I love it when their imaginations just run wild, and there is so much laughing.

I could hardly stay awake for them to be picked up at 5-ish and ate something and went straight to sleep.  I slept from 6 until 11 and am up now for the night.  I might get another nap later.  It would be nice to stretch my sleeping time out for another hour or so, but I'll take 5 hours.

I think I've mentioned a few blogs I read and how much I enjoy people with taste and style since I don't have any of my own.  I don't have a house any more with free reign to decorate, but I do use some of the ideas when I make little changes, especially in organizing and making the most of my small spaces.  

A lot of them have posts on their favorite things, and I am influenced by hearing their reviews - which is why they're called influencers, I guess.  So, I thought I would mention a few things I've bought lately, mainly from Amazon, that have made my life easier.  

1.  One of my favorite things is this appliance sliding tray.  One of the most aggravating things about a coffee maker is that top opening for pouring in the water and usually an upper cabinet keeping the lid from opening all the way.  I have a double Keurig-type and regular brewing side-by-side appliance, and it was no fun pulling it in and out every single time.  Then I saw that there were little rolling platforms for putting your appliances on that allowed them to be pulled in and out smoothly.  I'm always late to the party on things like this, but I got one and give it a mental thumbs-up several times a day.  

Of course, now that I've decided to share it, this particular one is no longer available.  There is a similar one with a storage shelf underneath, but I don't think I have that much room!  Anyway, there are many other brands and types in all shapes and sizes that will do the trick. Mine was the Everie brand.  It's just such a satisfying feeling to fill your cup with water, smoothly roll the whole deal toward you, pour that water in the top with almost no spills, and smoothly roll it back into place. Back when I still kept my big mixer out on the counter, it would have been nice to have one for that.

2.  Another favorite is this vegetable chopper.  

When I was ordering the Purple Carrot vegan meals, half the preparation was chopping the veggies.  I had to put the deliveries on hold while my wrist heals, but it got pretty tiresome chopping all those different vegetables.  There was always some sort of onion and always garlic and usually a carrot.  Then there were mushrooms and cauliflower and who knows what else.  I have two food processors, a small one and a large one, but I don't enjoy getting them out every day.  I studied ALL those choppers and combinations of choppers and settled on the FullStar one.  It's a game changer.  I just have to make about 4 cuts of a regular onion, throw it on the chopper thing and press down.  Same with carrots.  Mushrooms are my favorite though.  Seconds is all it takes for chopping those things! Satisfying! Maybe one day I'll enjoy a cutting board and knife but not right now.

3.  I'm pretty much bored with talking about those two things, so I'll skip to something I ordered yesterday, and we'll see how that turns out.

A laundry hamper.

Before I moved, I had a walk-in closet and room for a big wicker laundry basket.  Here, I have two skinny closets across the hall from each other.  Seems like a lot of wasted space, but maybe that's to make it wheelchair accessible, which I won't argue with, given my luck lately.

I filled them up pretty quickly and am happy with everything but lack of a place for dirty laundry.  I've been sticking it in an old laundry bag on the floor of the closet, but that's an extra step I don't enjoy, and it looks messy.  I'm hoping this fits between a storage unit and the door.  If not, I think it's cute enough to stand in the bathroom.  

4.  I'm getting the girls some things for Christmas as I hear them mention them, and they have pointed these things out and ask about them almost every day.  They don't know I have them sitting in their little Amazon boxes in the garage.  I'm the one who saw them and asked if they liked them.  Did they ever?!  It took an agonizing time to pick out their favorites, but Graysen chose a calico cat and Katherine a mermaid kitty.  I couldn't make a decision myself if given just one choice!

This site is a good place for seeing all the choices, and the price is cheaper than Amazon, but there is still the postage, which makes Amazon Prime the best bet but maybe fewer choices.

And they love these things.  Don't ask.  Modern kids aren't satisfied with bubble wrap any more.  This set offers plenty of popping and fidgeting and sensory things.

5.  And I got them this Lego Advent Calendar.

They have a cute one at their house with little knitted mittens and hats that has a Bible verse and a chocolate for them every day, but I wanted a fun one for here.  The one I enjoyed making for them is okay, but there's no fun in putting in a boring cloth ornament every day.  It was more for my fun in making it.  

Sweet baby!  It sure was tempting (and probably still is) to go up and down the stairs knowing there was a chocolate inside the mittens and hats.

I've whiled away most of the night and hear it raining again.  I guess I'll try for another nap.