Tag: holidays

For Sanity’s Sake

by eileentroemel, posted in Life

I’ve got three more days of work before I have eleven off.  I swear someone has slowed time just to torment me.  I really want it to be Friday so I can get started with the time off.

With a long long long list of stuff to do, I cannot decide what I want to do first.  There are commitments for the holidays but I’m hoping to be able to have a couple days to do only what I want to do.  Let’s be real – write.  I want to work on writing.

I’ve got Wild Magic 2 in the edit phase which I need to enter the edits I’ve done on the computer.  Do a read through and then probably print out and edit again.

Seven Sisters – working title – is also in the works.  I want to finish writing this so I can move it to the editing pile.  Sequels are pushing at me.  One is a longer one which will take time but the other will take a little more plotting out – maybe.  Generally I don’t plot things out because I never end up where I’ve plotted things.

As well as the writing projects, I have piles and piles of photo albums I need to work through in order to get them online for the family.  I’m talking hundreds I think and probably thousands of photos.  I will not be scanning every single photo but I do want to get the family pictures and a sampling of mom’s photography.  After the albums are done, we  have the same amount of slides which we will have to deal with.

Now I know all of that won’t get done over my time off but I want to make a start.  I’m hoping I can make a dent and do a few a weekend or something like that.  I’ll have to set up a system.

The holidays are approaching.  I’m not interested. I don’t know any other way to say it.  When I think of the holidays it makes me sad.  This leads to grumpy.  I’m trying not to think about it but… In a good year I have issues at the holidays and this has not been a good year.

I’ve been working on Christmas gifts / holiday items for crocheting.  I got a number of them done but I have two skeins of yarn I want to make up – mostly because I have a bunch of crochet patterns which I want to publish and these skeins will fit nicely with them.  I also think I have people who may want them.

Now if they don’t take them, I will be doing a City Market at the Whitewater Library (I hope) in January (and possibly other months).  I can always put them on the table to sell for that event.  I think though they will get snapped up before then.  I have one more pair of slippers to get done before Christmas day.  I need a break from them though as I did a bunch.  I find them tedious and annoying.  For some reason, I can usually only do about half a slipper at each sitting.

Right now I have to get pictures of two projects – can’t talk about the one as it’s a gift.  Once I get those pictures, I need to ship the one out.  The other gift will be hand delivered.  I LOVE how the two projects turned out and can’t wait to share the patterns.

Family Holidays

by eileentroemel, posted in Life

The middle daughter is home.  The presents have been received by the other two daughters.  Everything is ready for the holidays – I think.

Friday night will be video holiday with all of my family.  I’m looking forward to seeing their faces when they open their gifts.  I’m sure I’ll hear corny jokes, laughter, and all the other things which go with family gatherings.

I miss the times we would spend together playing games, watching movies and so on.  However, they are in Georgia and we are in Wisconsin.  Ken can’t get off around a holiday and Virginia is working every day except Friday.  We will adjust and adapt while we make the most of the time we do have together.

Saturday Ken will go to his family.  I don’t know whether I will go or not yet.  It depends on my sinus issues and the weather.

Sunday is my family gathering.  I’m not sure whether we are going or not – for the same reasons above.

Tonight Vicki and I will be clipping coupons, checking the rebates, and making a list for batch cooking.  At some point we are going to make some large batches of food for the freezer.  I’ll have to pay bills in order to figure out how much we will have to spend on groceries.  We’re going to make a list of where we’re going and what we need to pick up.  It will be a busy day on Friday.

Since I have off, Vicki and I will spend the day running errands, shopping, and getting ready for the family thing Friday night.  It will be a very busy day.

Next week will be full of cooking, crocheting, and spending time with Vicki.  I’m hoping to finish a few projects for her (writing up the patterns of course).  However, we’ll see what trouble we get into.

Indoor Activities

by eileentroemel, posted in Crochet and crafting, Life

It’s in the negative numbers outside.  I’m up early(ish) and have done a search for my daughter on knitting patterns.

Yesterday I managed to finish one more gift and make a good start on another one.  The plan today is to finish the gift and move on to another project.  I’m hoping to make a good start on the second project I have in mind but I’ll see how the day goes.

Ken will be watching football all day.  I’ll hibernate in the living room to watch West Wing while I work on crochet projects.  It’s too cold to do anything other than stay inside and keep as warm as possible.

The week will be busy but I only have four days of work this week.  I’ll be off for eleven days and I’m hoping to finish a couple of projects.  My daughter and I will be working on batch cooking for a day or two.  We’ll do video chatting with the girls in Georgia for the holiday and gift exchange.

My hope is to get a few projects done for my daughter while she’s here.  There are projects I want to work on which she needs to be here for so I can make sure things fit appropriately.

During our lovely frigid weather today – crocheting, West Wing, and quiet.  Doesn’t sound like a bad day to me even if the temp outside wasn’t horrible.

Holidays

by eileentroemel, posted in Life

The turkey was barely cold before the shopping frenzy started this year.  Vicki actually talked me into going to an insane number of stores.

The nice thing – we used coupons to save money.  We used our apps – Ibotta and Checkout 51 – to save money.  While we did some spending, we reduced the price as much as possible.

I need to get working on afghans.  I have a queue of five right now – more I’m sure if I look at my list.  However, before I can crank on the afghans, I have to finish the holiday gifts which I have two or three left to do.

I’m going to have a number of days off between Christmas and New Years.  I’m looking forward to the time but the holidays are always a struggle for me.  It surprised me this year how annoying I found holiday music – even songs I enjoyed previously.  I’ve also been super annoyed with the Christmas commercials which started right after Halloween.

I’m going to attempt to be less of a bah humbug but I’m making no guarantees.  Ken told me the neighbors were all putting out their decorations.  All I could think was what a waste of money.  I know I’m a humbug.  I try to keep it to a minimum but still… it affects me.

In an attempt to look on the bright side, I’ve been enjoying how November hasn’t been as gloomy.  We’ve had great weather which is a bit unusual for us.  It’s been pleasantly cool but still nice enough to enjoy.  The days haven’t been too gloomy – though today is.  I’m watching the low clouds move across the sky and thinking they look like snow clouds but I don’t think we’re quite cold enough for snow yet.

December is fast approaching, work is slowing down from frantic to crazy.  I’m looking forward to about eleven days off in a row at the end of the month.  I’m hoping to get a lot of crocheting and organizing done.  In the meanwhile, I’ll work on not being grumpy with people about the holidays.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

by eileentroemel, posted in Life

No, I’m not going to start spouting about a Clint Eastwood movie but the title seemed appropriate for all the things I want to talk about.

Vicki made it safely to Wisconsin and we’ve had a good visit with her.  I missed my other girls this holiday but know they had other responsibilities and obligations.  Ken’s family Christmas was good.  I have to say two of his nieces have done a great job raising their daughters – Tara and Marcia.  Their daughters were friendly, polite, and welcoming.  The behavior of these four girls reassured me that not all of our society is going to hell (see my post about Are you the One on MTV).  I had wonderful conversations with many of his family and enjoyed the time we spent with them.

Christmas day, Vicki and I organized my craft room.  It was nice to stay home and not have to drive anywhere.  We got all the yarn sorted into the shelving and baskets I wanted them in.  Vicki stole many skeins of yarn I had purchased but I won’t complain.  By the end of the holidays, I had two new scarves that are amazing.  The one I’m thinking of adding a button to and making into a wrap or shawl.  It is GORGEOUS, soft and warm.

Friday we ran all over the place.  We went to Shopko, Woodman’s, Joann Fabrics, Sorgs, my mom’s, my work, the university for Vicki to get her id and we picked up a friend.  We returned home to order supper and video chat with Virginia and Stephanie while everyone opened their gifts.  It was a twenty-first century holiday.

While at my mother’s, I found out my great aunt had passed away.  Her visitation is tomorrow night so I will be picking up my mom and sister to go to it.

Saturday Vicki and I cooked.  I miss cooking with her.  We worked together in the kitchen with me chopping and prepping and her cooking.  We made turkey meatballs for her and us, beef meatballs for Ken, and she made lasagna for us.

Sunday Vicki went home.  This always makes me a little sad.  My friend came over who lost her significant other in November.  She has been so busy, she hasn’t had time to grieve.  We talked at length about the death of her loved one.  I reminded her that she is going through the natural and normal grieving process.

After my friend left, I opened my email to wade through a day’s worth of emails.  I was thrilled to see an email from a friend.  Unfortunately, that email included the sad news that her husband had passed away. They just celebrated their anniversary with a renewal ceremony.  He’s been in pain and struggling with depression.  Within the last year, she lost her father to illness.  She’s having a rough time.

My heart breaks for my friends who are struggling with the losses in their lives.  Their grief is heartbreaking.  The loss they feel is sharp and painful.

Death is a demanding beast and it seems like I’ve been to a lot of funerals and memorials lately.  It is difficult to express the sorrow and compassion you feel for people and sound sincere.  I’m sorry for your loss is lame.  But what else do you say?

Sorrow and joy seem to go hand in hand this season.  It is a balance of emotions I guess but not in the way I think is healthy or positive.  For those who are grieving, I send them love and positive energy in the hopes that it gives them a bit of comfort.  In my experience, sorrow and loss is only dulled with time and patience.

Solstice

by eileentroemel, posted in Uncategorized
The girls are back in Georgia with their 50+ degrees for temperature and much milder weather.  Wisconsin got hit last night with a snow storm which includes snow, rain, and crappy roads.  I look out my window and see cruddy weather.  Yet I’m not discouraged by it.  It is just weather and if we wait a bit, it will change. 
The gray, gloomy day makes me want to curl up in front of the fireplace with my laptop and complete quiet.  I’d love to be working on my story and ignoring the world.  This time of year though the world seems to think we should all gather and celebrate.  The weather seems to be saying hibernate but society demands we gather.
Today is the shortest day of the year.  It is meant to be a time of letting go.  Winter allows the world (at least in the northern regions) to rest from the growing season.  It also allows us to rest.  In our ever moving and constantly busy lives we rarely take time for ourselves.  This is the time of year to do it.  The weather certainly seems to be encouraging us to snuggle in for the duration.
Darkness, physical darkness, dominates this day.  When most people look at darkness they attach a negative label to it.  Darkness to them represents evil.   To me though, darkness represents time to reflect on what is within me.  It is a quiet peaceful time meant to hear that inner voice.  To let those deeper questions surface so they can be examined and maybe an answer found. 
For some people this is the time when they catch up on sleep, snuggle in to do nothing, go skiing or snowboarding.  For me it is a time of reflection on where I am now, where I want to be next year, what I’ve accomplished, what I want to accomplish. 
The older I get the more I appreciate these quiet times, the time to let go of the expectations of others so I can focus on my own expectations.  It may sound selfish but now instead of putting my family’s needs and desires first, I am looking at my own.  It is my turn to be first in my own life and work towards my dreams. 
It’s funny how dreams are.  I know that there are people out there who want to do big things. I don’t necessarily.  I want to tell good stories.  I want my daughters to be happy.  I want to lead a quiet fulfilled life.  Not big dreams but definitely worthwhile…
Happy Solstice…