Updates: Good, Bad, Happy, Sad
So, it's a perfectly LOVELY day here. The sun is shining, the sky is blue, and for once there is actually almost no wind. (Still a breeze that blows every so often, this IS Oklahoma after all, and we haven't suddenly been transported to the doldrums - but it's mild and pleasant.)
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Do you want to hear what my month of March was like? No, you don't. You really don't.
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Okay, fine. I'll tell you.
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Let's just say it started with my sister's scheduled reconstructive jaw surgery. Supposed to be 36 hours in the hospital, wound up being nearly eight days, and involving a 5am 911 call, ambulance ride, and eventual blood transfusion. (For any of you people with medical knowledge - she was down to 7.7 blood count and no one knew it. Hence, the passing out.)
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Other "highlights" include both my other siblings being sick during all this (I served LOTS of "meals" of juice and yogurt while Momma and Sis were at the hospital!) a friend's out-of-town wedding that same weekend as well), a lot of (continued) drama with my maternal grandmother in Louisiana and the adult children trying to decide what to do with and where she's going to live, the garage flooding (and tainting all the dog food, rabbit food, etc stored in there), and a couple tornadoes coming through town.
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(None of them came to close our way - although I WAS awakened one night at 2am by the alarms going off. Twice.)
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Turns out that apparently no one in my mom's room or my older-younger sister's room (both windowless due to renovations and additions the previous owners made) can hear the tornado sirens going off when they're asleep.
Nice to know.
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On a much more serious note, on the Monday following the flooding and prior to the tornadoes, my 18-yr-old cousin died suddenly. He was visiting a friend in Florida for spring break and his parents got a call that he'd been taken to the ER. Barely an hour later they got another call that he was gone. I can not even imagine what that must have been like for them. I was in shock for several days and we really weren't even that close. We still don't know what caused it, but he's had serious health problems for many years (including Crohn's disease since he was 10). I stayed home with Older-Younger Sister, since she was still recovering from surgery/blood loss while the rest of the family drove down to Shreveport for the funeral.
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A silver lining is this tragic happening seems to have encouraged my mom's family, who haven't been that close as a whole, to change that attitude and start looking for ways to spend time together and talk together and build relationships. A group of us are already planning a trip to Gulf Shores in mid-May.
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Changing the subject to better news: My mom is going to be one of the breakout session speakers at the annual statewide homeschool convention this year. We have also already reserved space for our second annual women's retreat this fall. (And for the record, last year we referred to the event as our "first ever" NOT our "first annual." That is a major pet peeve of mine.)
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I've been doing "catch-up" things this weekend. Post office, bank, laundry, mopping, etc. I need to get my oil changed and some yard work, too.
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I'm also baking bread. Challah. Just for the heck of it. I've never tried this recipe before. Someone posted it and recced it. Was it one of you guys? I don't recall.
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Speaking of, the second rising should be about done. It's time for me to go braid the dough.
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'Bye!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Do you want to hear what my month of March was like? No, you don't. You really don't.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Okay, fine. I'll tell you.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Let's just say it started with my sister's scheduled reconstructive jaw surgery. Supposed to be 36 hours in the hospital, wound up being nearly eight days, and involving a 5am 911 call, ambulance ride, and eventual blood transfusion. (For any of you people with medical knowledge - she was down to 7.7 blood count and no one knew it. Hence, the passing out.)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Other "highlights" include both my other siblings being sick during all this (I served LOTS of "meals" of juice and yogurt while Momma and Sis were at the hospital!) a friend's out-of-town wedding that same weekend as well), a lot of (continued) drama with my maternal grandmother in Louisiana and the adult children trying to decide what to do with and where she's going to live, the garage flooding (and tainting all the dog food, rabbit food, etc stored in there), and a couple tornadoes coming through town.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
(None of them came to close our way - although I WAS awakened one night at 2am by the alarms going off. Twice.)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Turns out that apparently no one in my mom's room or my older-younger sister's room (both windowless due to renovations and additions the previous owners made) can hear the tornado sirens going off when they're asleep.
Nice to know.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
On a much more serious note, on the Monday following the flooding and prior to the tornadoes, my 18-yr-old cousin died suddenly. He was visiting a friend in Florida for spring break and his parents got a call that he'd been taken to the ER. Barely an hour later they got another call that he was gone. I can not even imagine what that must have been like for them. I was in shock for several days and we really weren't even that close. We still don't know what caused it, but he's had serious health problems for many years (including Crohn's disease since he was 10). I stayed home with Older-Younger Sister, since she was still recovering from surgery/blood loss while the rest of the family drove down to Shreveport for the funeral.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A silver lining is this tragic happening seems to have encouraged my mom's family, who haven't been that close as a whole, to change that attitude and start looking for ways to spend time together and talk together and build relationships. A group of us are already planning a trip to Gulf Shores in mid-May.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Changing the subject to better news: My mom is going to be one of the breakout session speakers at the annual statewide homeschool convention this year. We have also already reserved space for our second annual women's retreat this fall. (And for the record, last year we referred to the event as our "first ever" NOT our "first annual." That is a major pet peeve of mine.)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I've been doing "catch-up" things this weekend. Post office, bank, laundry, mopping, etc. I need to get my oil changed and some yard work, too.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I'm also baking bread. Challah. Just for the heck of it. I've never tried this recipe before. Someone posted it and recced it. Was it one of you guys? I don't recall.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Speaking of, the second rising should be about done. It's time for me to go braid the dough.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
'Bye!