As I grow old[er], time seems to pass more quickly.

These days, the days/weeks/months seem to blend into each other, and time is flying by.  One day it’s October 31 and I’m all excited about it being my last day of employment, and the next thing I know it’s near the end of the following February!

So, what happened in between?

Thanksgiving and Christmas came and went, pretty much without incident.  I received enough Amazon gift cards for Christmas that I was able to stock up on my books without dipping into my meager savings, and I’m happy to report that I haven’t had to touch that savings account once since I retired.  Guess I planned that pretty well.  (Of course, it helps that hubby is the one who buys the food and household necessities, and since he’s still working, he’s also been paying for any necessary household repairs and appliance replacements, as well as Puppy Cody’s vet bills.)

As for the books, not only do they keep me happy, but when I’ve finished with them, I pass them along to a friend whose elderly mother still loves to read.  Once she gets through them, they are donated to a local women’s shelter for enjoyment by its residents.  Win-win for all!

That women’s shelter is also the recipient of the majority of my crochet projects.  I made a dozen adult hat/scarf sets to help keep the residents warm over the winter, and then learned that they are in need of infant hats because quite a few residents are having babies.  So, that’s my current project.  I’ve already made half a dozen, using the yarn that was donated by another friend when her sister passed away.  Each time I start a new baby hat, I think about that sister and hope she is looking down and pleased that her yarn is  being used to care for others.

Crocheting kept me busy, and somewhat saner, during the past few months when it’s been too cold, and often too snowy and icy, to go anywhere.  Not that I even want to leave the house most days.  Driving takes gas, which is expensive, and except for medical appointments and occasional grocery shopping (to pick up items I don’t want hubby to choose for me), I really have nowhere special to be.

Well, except for January.  January was the pits.

January started off well.  There was the delayed family holiday get-together that first Saturday, which as usual was lovely.  We so seldom manage to see everyone at the same time, and it’s especially wonderful for me to watch my three girls and their significant others enjoying an evening together.   Growing up, those girls all claimed to hate each other; I’m so glad they became friends as adults (just as I predicted they would, but who ever listens to their parents?).

January took a turn for the worse when Puppy Cody got sick.  She didn’t act sick and didn’t seem to be in any pain, so it was a complete surprise one day when I started to brush her teeth and noticed what looked to be an angry red abscess above one of her fangs.  Her regular vet prescribed a course of antibiotics and anti-inflammatories, but the swelling never decreased, and the vet was uncomfortable with pulling that particular tooth, so Cody had to see a canine dental specialist.

Fortunately for us the dental surgeon is only a short drive and was able to get Cody in for surgery within only a few days.  The tooth came out, and Cody seemed to enjoy her new soft diet – the canned version of her very expensive prescription food, and of course, the cans were twice as costly.  But we were ok with that.  She recovered fairly quickly, and we only had to wait for the biopsy results.  The surgeon didn’t seem concerned, so we didn’t worry about it either.

January saw some bad Buffalo, NY weather.  We were lucky that the worst storm didn’t hit until after Cody’s surgery.

So, Cody got better and then one of my daughters needed foot surgery.  Since her surgery was on a Monday (exactly one week after Cody’s procedure, go figure), the plan was for her to come to our house on Sunday everning after a dog-sitter arrived at her apartment.  We didn’t feel it would be a good idea to have a second, younger dog in the house while Cody was recovering from her own surgery.

Fate decided otherwise.

A major snow storm hit the weekend before my daugher’s scheduled surgery.  Driving bans were due to go into effect, and it was apparent that no one would be going anywhere over the weekend.  My daughter decided it would be better to cancel the dog-sitter and just drive herself – and her dog – to our house on Monday morning prior to her surgery.  We concurred.  I spent the snowy weekend preparing for human and canine guests.

The snow fell and fell (we got 3 feet at our house, but that was better than the 7 feet or more that landed just a couple of miles away).  Finally the snow stopped, the roads became passable, and the driving bands were lifted – all except for the city, where my daughter lives, and the suburb where we live.  Late Sunday night, she and we were still under the driving bans and beginning to worry.

Fortunately, her surgery was rescheduled for a couple of hours later, and the driving bans were finally lifted on Monday morning.  She got her procedure, came home with us, and spent the next week being coddled by Mom and Dad, while her dog snuggled up in bed with her.  I was happy that the little dog doesn’t like snow, because I really wasn’t looking forward to chasing an 8-inch dog through 3 feet of snow.  Even Cody had issues with that much snow.

The week passed quickly, daughter and dog went home, and life returned to normal.

Cody’s biopsy came back as cancer – but the surgeon is fairly confident that he got the entire tumor out.  I guess only time will tell.  I’d much rather she, hubby and I all die of old age – like, really old, many years down the road.

One exciting thing that did happen in January is that I learned two separate educational institutions picked up a couple of my photos for their own online publications.  Does that make me a “published photographer”?  Whether it does or not, it certainly makes me feel special.

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods.  Hugs to everyone who has stuck with me over these many years.

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Images by Cordelia’s Mom/TeddyRosalieStudio