Twas the Week Before Christmas . . . . .

 And all through the house - the dust bunnies are alive & well! It seems that no one is bothering to seek them out & remove them! I've asked Amazon to send me the latest Swiffer Extendable thingie with the disposable fluffy ends. I remember using them on the furnace in my old basement when I changed the filters so they should be good to reach all the windows & door frames here. I think they're multiplying  every time my new mini split fan comes on. I really prefer a wood stove but can't physically clean & feed one anymore .  .  .  .  sigh. 

Enough whining. My old client Ralph came by a few days ago with a big brown envelope & a box of chocolates. I have to laugh. Ralph has had both knees replaced in the last year & still drives, although he did give up his big truck. He's going on 94, in better shape than ME & is finally closing his company!! The big brown envelope is his final year's corporate tax info for me to file. The 'Little Grey Cells' will be working overtime over Christmas.

Knitting - Yes, I do have something on the needles! Working on a Top-down, garter stitch cardigan, in Briggs & Little single-ply sock yarn. Why??? Three reasons - Briggs & Little singles yarn is pretty beefy for sock yarn. At the time I wanted thick boot socks. My feet were always cold, even in slippers! And I got a huge deal at a sale. So I bought a lot. You know how it goes. The only problem with singles yarn is watching out for thin spots. There aren't many but they are there. I sometimes think I should've made a shawl instead since I would've been using it by now.

 

A Long Time Gone

Where oh where does the time go when you're old & wobbly?? It seems that I sit in the Recliner with an audio book & my knitting & the world goes on without me.  Could it actually be a whole year since I last posted anything to this blog??? Some things have changed.

My car is gone. I can still drive well enough but it got to be so much effort to wash, dress, medicate, haul equipment & get to the car that I was tired by the time I got into it. The last time I drove to the doctor's office, parked & got myself from the parking to the clinic & back - I was tired. It was all I could do to drag myself & the O2 bottle cart up the ramp & into the house. And it was two days before I could do much more than go to the bathroom from recliner or bed. That frightened me a little but it was also Winter so I don't go out if it's cold or icy. The poor car sat there for almost a year since I found it too exhausting to go out. Mike would start it up & drive around the block once a month & run the charger when the battery got too low but it mainly sat there. The student who mows the grass asked me about it one day .  .  .  .  I thought about it & gave it to him for a nominal sum. It's a good car, maintained but old. I loved the Voyager/Caravan!! I think this one is the 5th one I've owned. Gone to a new home - his first car!!! I hope they're both happy!! I miss her already.

I never thought I'd ever give up my car but my O2 intake falls quickly when I do too many things at the same time or have to stay on my feet too long. I thought about what would happen in an accident if I was separated from my oxygen.

Life goes on. DoorDash brings my treats. Amazon brings all kinds of things. And Mike, Ron & Ampy bring me fresh groceries. I have enough money & the mortgage is paid. My stash will out-live me. What do I have to worry about???

 

A Death in the House

 I am enjoying being able to go to the drive-thru lanes at Mcdonald's & Starbucks for a coffee & treat once again! My favorite Mcdonald's closed down & reopened on the highway while I was unable to drive. I don't like the new location at all - no trees to park under for one thing & only one way in & out & only from one direction. The City put them on a busy corner in the wrong place for a morning coffee & then put a cement curb in front so everyone has to circle the block twice to get in & out in the morning .  .  .  .

 It must really cut down the morning take outs since it's on the 'other' side of the traffic. I have to say that it's so much easier to go up to the Hospital location a couple of miles away. If I get desperate on a crappy day, I let DoorDash bring me my order! haha

Meanwhile - my computer is dying, sigh. I have to admit it's given me good service but it was built almost 8 years ago & I haven't updated much of anything in 6 years. Speed & computing power aren't really necessary when you're doing bookkeeping & simple taxes most of the time. I used to listen to Audio Books or radio while working & occasionally played Solitare, Mahjong or did a jigsaw puzzle on the side. None of those required a lot of power. So the old gal just kept on going. But, even UTube takes a lot of juice these days & the programs keep getting bigger & more powerful so I have to upgrade.

 

Two hours later .  .  .  .  .  BOOM

 

My computer made a hellova racket & died on me a few days ago. I was lost without it. No access to my bank. No DoorDash. No email. I don't even have phone numbers for anything, I do it all ON LINE. Luckily for me, one of my old clients has 4 kids & a housefull of cast off electronics. I am now the proud possessor of a laptop with Windows 11. The kids say it's obsolete but it sure is an upgrade for me!!! Course, I have a mouse, keyboard, back up drive & printer attached so it isn't really portable. But that's okay. I don't move my computer around anyway. The only problem now is that I may have lost all my pictures & some imported Audio Books that I can't get on Auible. Damn!

Knitting - I am still plodding along with my top-down, raglan cardigan. I am down to the middle of the Upper Arm!!! I can't knit for hours anymore but I can knit - off & on - for an hour or so without my shoulders & elbows burning. I think winding the skeins into balls is the most time consuming, energy eating & shoulder killing activitiy. I don't have a skein holder/winder although I do have a ball winder which is impossible to use without a skein holder. I've noticed my hands ache more BUT I have more strength in them. I actually opened a jam jar by myself for the first time in ages!!! So, I'm carrying on even though it hurts. I'm wearing my latest wristers every day. No socks on the needles yet but I have two new cotton washcloths in the bathroom. I may even use some of the Stash before I die!!!