by Judy Handley | Jan 4, 2018 | 2018 Life Logs |
2018 Life Logs, Day 4—Goodbye Christmas
Date: Thursday, January 4, 2018
Weather: Sunny, Back to Cold; High 26, Low 11 degrees F
Location: At Home with Patsy and Joe in Mt. Juliet, TN
Today was spent putting Christmas decorations away. And that is no easy task here. My sister loves her Christmas decorations, so they are everywhere—Christmas towels, Christmas coasters, Christmas decorations in the bathrooms, Christmas decorations on every surface and in every cabinet with a glass front, and a Christmas tree with a life’s worth of special ornaments. But somehow she got it all packed up and stored away today. I helped by bringing boxes in from the garage for her to pack, but I dared not pack anything as she has a special way of packing each item. Tomorrow I’ll have to figure out how to help her pack up the Christmas tree and then we’ll be done with that job.
We kept getting news reports here about how terrible the weather was today in Massachusetts, but reports from Cape Cod told me they got wind and rain, but no snow. But snow or no snow, the next two days at home look fiercely cold. Thankfully, it still looks like things warm up a bit on Monday for my return. I’m definitely hoping for that. Otherwise, my little Honda Fit that has been sitting in the Park ‘n Ride lot for two weeks might be frozen in place.
In addition to helping with the putting away of Christmas today, I also did a lot of online research into dietary recommendations for a person with advancing chronic kidney disease. My brother-in-law Joe has this condition, but somehow none of were aware of this until I stumbled upon some reports from his doctor. He has many other health issues, but this addition threw us all for a loop. Changing your diet to try and prevent dialysis is very important, so I am trying to help my sister figure this out. It is not easy as many things that you would normally eat to be healthy are restricted when your kidneys are not working properly. Many of the foods I have been encouraging him to eat are now on the ‘no-no’ list. So I am researching and learning this as fast as I can. I’m hoping to leave my sister with a food game plan for Joe.
by Judy Handley | Jan 3, 2018 | 2018 Life Logs |
2018 Life Logs, Day 3—Star Wars Continued
Date: Wednesday, January 3, 2018
Weather: Sunny and a Tad Warmer; High 33, Low 11 degrees F
Location: At Home with Patsy and Joe in Mt. Juliet, TN
On December 29, 2015, Mark and I were here in Tennessee with Patsy and Joe. It was considerably warmer on that day and we went to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Today Patsy and I went to see the new Star Wars movie, The Last Jedi, to continue the tradition. At one tense moment in the movie, the film just stopped and the lights in the theater came on. At first we thought this was part of the movie. But it soon became evident that it was a fire alarm and we walked out into the hall. Thankfully it was a false alarm and the movie continued, but it was an interesting addition to the total experience. Other activities for today were centered around helping Patsy sort through and organize boxes of photos and memorabilia. Seems like that is a never-ending process. I talked briefly with Jed and boys tonight. Heather was not home, but the boys were busily preparing for a snow day tomorrow. It was still cold here today, but a bluebird couple were busy preparing a nest in the backyard birdhouse. I guess the early birds get the birdhouse even if the worms are still in hiding. 
by Judy Handley | Jan 2, 2018 | 2018 Life Logs |
2018 Life Logs, Day 2—The Ninth Day of Christmas
Date: Tuesday, January 2, 2018
Weather: Still Sunny, Still Cold; High 26, Low 9 degrees F
Location: At Home with Patsy and Joe in Mt. Juliet, TN
“On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . nine ladies dancing.” The ninth day of Christmas also honors St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen from the 4th century. I’m afraid I’ve never heard of them before, so today I just celebrated those ladies dancing. I managed to spend another day in the kitchen experimenting with healthier food choices for Patsy and Joe. I enjoyed, and I hope they did, my lunch time muffins in a mug. These are gluten-free muffins made in a large coffee mug and baked in the microwave for one minute. They were fun to make.
My sister and I stayed up late last night watching an old favorite movie, Dirty Dancing. The late-to-bed night gave me a slow-to-start morning which developed into an unfocused day. I am hoping to regain focus tomorrow and help Patsy start to put away the Christmas decorations. We are treating ourselves to a mid-day movie, Star Wars: The Last Jedi. So to bed now to get ready for a new day—the tenth day of Christmas.
by Judy Handley | Jan 1, 2018 | 2018 Life Logs |
2018 Life Logs, Day 1—Day One of a New Year
Date: Monday, January 1, 2018
Weather: Still Sunny, Still Cold; High 22, Low 4 degrees F
Location: At Home with Patsy and Joe in Mt. Juliet, TN
My father always said that they way you spend New Year’s Day is the way you will spend your next year. So, I guess I am going to spend 2018 in the kitchen. Somehow Patsy and I managed to spend our entire day cooking. I made gluten-free waffles for breakfast, helped Patsy learn how to make a flourless chocolate decadence cake, and then fixed dinner for us and for Janet and Monica. When they arrived, they immediately herded us all outside to see the Supermoon. It must be a good omen to start a new year with a full moon. Tonight’s full moon is called the Wolf Moon and on the last day of the month we will have another full moon. It will be called a Blue Moon as it is the second full moon in one month. But it will most likely look red, not blue, in some areas, as it will be a total lunar eclipse, known as a Blood Moon.
I received an email from the owner of The Studio apartments this morning asking if he could turn up the thermostat in my apartment. I left it at 54 degrees, but he fears that might not be enough to keep things from freezing. So I willingly gave him permission to turn up the heat. It must be really chilly back home. And speaking of ‘chilly’—I checked the blog of my good friends Mike and Linda Stuart tonight. They are currently biking through Patagonia to the tip of South America and crossed from Argentina to Chile on the 30th, just in time for the new year. Linda, being the math teacher that she is, posted a great New Year’s greeting. I hope she won’t mind that I have ‘borrowed’ her greeting to post here. And wherever you are, stay warm.
