Snowy Days

Winter has arrived with a vengeance. We've had some snowy days recently. Son-in-law was supposed to drive up today and spend the weekend and come to MIL's memorial on Monday, but he ended up driving up last night. He stayed for a few hours in a hotel and then drove on, arriving about 7 am this morning. It was a good decision as it started snowing about 11 and hasn't stopped since. The roads are pretty slick. It saved us all a lot of worry that he missed the snowstorm and arrived safely before it. We are under a Winter Storm Warning until tomorrow.  We're supposed to get an additional 3-5 inches of snow. I'm not sure what the total will be but it's more than enough lol. 

I did manage to get out for a walk this morning before the snow. It was cold, but peaceful. 

The skies were very dull, but it was good to have a little walk before returned to the happy chaos of home. 

Last night Baby A made us all laugh out loud. She loves music, has since the day she was born. She was getting a little cranky, so daughter put some music on her phone - Ghostbusters - and she loved it! She was dancing and twirling around. It was absolutely adorable. She makes me smile so much. Her latest thing is saying, after doing something tiring, that she's taking a break. That is all my fault! When we took her out for a walk the other day, she wanted me to carry her, and she is getting quite big, so I had to put her down several times saying Nana needs a break. Now she's saying it! 

Children really are a delight. 

Days Drifting Along

Time seems a bit in limbo right now. Things aren't quite taken care of yet, and proper goodbyes haven't been said and it seems we are all just waiting. Thanksgiving is today. It was MIL's favourite holiday. She was always busy in the kitchen on this day, from early morning put in the turkeys (yes, more than one as she wanted everyone to have leftovers to take home) to making pies from scratch. Even when we told her to slow down and not make so much, she couldn't seem to slow down. 

I was tempted to just skip it. I sort of did. It's never been 'my' holiday, a Brit in America, but I did go along with the celebrations and had (over the years) eventually got the hang of making the from scratch gravy just the way MIL liked it. My daughter R came up just after MIL passed with Baby A to spend time with us and to be able to be here for the goodbyes. She is lucky enough to get a lot of time off work for bereavement. They have been staying with us. Our house is full, and it's taken our minds off things for a little while. Children always seem to make you smile when you don't really feel like smiling. R wanted to do something for Thanksgiving, so she picked up a meal from Costo, just needed to be cooked. It worked for them. It just made me feel really sad. Maybe next year will be a little easier. 

I haven't been out for many walks this week, though being in nature helps me feel a bit brighter. R had to bring the two dogs with her (hence why the house is bursting at the seams!) so I stayed in so she didn't have to bundle up the baby to take the dogs for a walk. It's cold outside. Snow is falling today. Luckily, it's not too bad. Up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan they have got a lot of it. I went out this morning as husband was home and could help with the dogs. It was cold, snowy and blowy but it did feel good to be out for a walk and even have a little cry by myself. 

The Beaver Lodge 

Baby A. She is getting so big and saying so many words. It's really quite fun to watch. 

Sadly, my mother-in-law, Nancy, passed away on Monday morning. We miss her terribly but glad she is free from pain. I've been taking a bit of time out, just feeling blah and a bit down. There are always such horror stories about MILs. I was so lucky to have her. She accepted me - sight unseen lol - and welcomed me into the family with loving arms. To our children, she was a really present Grandma in their lives, and they are lucky to have such good memories of her. Back in the day, when the internet was new, she had the first computer and was the 'cool' grandma who had all the games. She was the one who stood out in queues when they had certain things on their Christmas lists. She made them Halloween costumes and even clothes when they were little. She was really glad when my DD came along as she had two boys and her sister had no children. 

MIL was so talented. She was really accomplished at knitting, crocheting, sewing, cross stitch, quilting and beading. She loved doing all these things. She was also great at any kind of baking and cooking. All the pies she made for Thanksgiving were legendary - at times there was almost a pie person as she didn't want anyone to miss out on their favourites! She had so much talent and loved to share all her makes with family and friends. She was a wonderfully generous lady - which explains why most years there were a couple of non-family members at the Thanksgiving and Christmas table. 

She was definitely one of a kind and I am going to miss her!

The Colours are Beginning to Fade

Just a post today about my morning walk. I have been enjoying them alone. My walking friend is off on another holiday. I must admit that I probably wouldn't have been good company this week. The colours at Asylum Lake are beginning to fade. It's still been quite beautiful, but the leaves are starting to fall and soon everything will be grey and dull. Poor husband had cleared the back garden of leaves last weekend but more have fallen so he had to do them again. You couldn't see the grass for all the leaves that had fallen! He just ends up putting them at the very back of the garden. 

It's been rather quiet in the mornings. I'm not sure if it's because (once again) the sunrise is getting quite late or because it has been rather chilly. Either way, I quite like it. There is less interruption to just sitting in my usual spot and listening to the sounds of nature. 

The Beavers' Lodge

The field was looking rather dull today. 

Fallen leaves along the trail

I spent the rest of the day trying to get the house picked up a little bit. It's driving me a little crazy. I really need to do some major sorting but for now I am sticking everything in the craft room. Probably not a good idea in the long run, but for now I just want a clear space where I am. I really haven't felt like crafting at all. 

Today MIL slept the whole time we were there. I'm not sure she can hear us, but husband and I told her about some of the good times we remembered and the holidays he enjoyed as a child and special times. I'm hoping she can hear us and knows that we are there and love her. 

Thursday

The snow is gone - for now. I'm not sure whether that is good for bad. It's pretty dull out there right now. Thank you so much for all the comments and good thoughts. I am still behind though I am trying to keep up. I got onto my blog and started to catch up with the blogs I read and, well, I made comments but apparently, I wasn't logged in and a few of them were anonymous. Sigh. Well, the thought was there!

I am trying to make lists to try to keep a little bit on track with things. For now, the decluttering has been put to the side to be continued at a later date. I'm okay with that right now. 

For the last couple of days MIL has been mostly sleeping. Yesterday, she had a few waking moments and (mostly me) chatted uselessly about things, but today she was mostly sleeping. We let her sleep and spoke a bit when she was awake. I held her hand to let her know I was there. The aide/workers at the place are just lovely. One worker checked in on her while we were there and even though she wasn't assigned to MIL today she fed her ice chips. In passing she mentioned that she just liked to treat all the patients like family as they could be her sister, her mother, her auntie, or even herself. I'm so glad MIL was able to get into the place she is in. 

Getting out for walks is, as always, an escape. I find walking and photography a great way to escape for just a little while. I am not a morning person, but I do get up early in the morning. Asking me to talk to anyone for a couple of hours isn't an option though, but getting out there when no-one else is around and all I can hear are the sounds of nature is just such a wonderful escape. This morning as I sat, the geese were quiet until the sun started to rise and then they started squawking and getting ready to take off, the sound of their flapping wings overhead a chorus to my ears. There were at least four beavers out this morning - two playing, one bringing in large branches for winter food. It was just lovely. 

Bit of another depressing post. I'll have to find something a bit lighter tomorrow. Thanks for the comments, good thoughts and such. I do appreciate them. 

Snowy Days

We've had a couple days of snow. It's sticking to the grass and a little to the roads, but nothing too bad yet. I have managed to get out for some walks. It's been quite cold so there haven't been many people around. I really enjoy days like that even though my hands and feet don't always like it! I had to break out the handwarmers yesterday and today. Luckily, I had a couple pairs left over from last year. I have ordered some more. I consider them money well spent. I thought about not going out but I really need the time in nature right now, enjoying the calm and not thinking about life. 

Mother-in-law is not doing well. She has mostly been asleep when we've been going by. Yesterday, she didn't wake up at all. Today she woke for a while, but most of the day she's been asleep. I did ask her if she was comfortable and pain-free and she said yes, so that's good. It's just hard to see her fading away. I'm glad she's not in pain. The place she is in seems like such a lovely place, providing a calm, dignified space. There isn't a lot of noise, or moving around and everything (machines, bags etc) are tucked away. 

There really isn't a lot else to say. The rest of every day going ons don't really seem to matter right now. We are just plodding through life, trying to support MIL as best as we can. 

I have blogs to catch up on. I have that planned for tomorrow. 

Weekend and the Dreaded S Word

The weekend didn't quite go as planned. I did get a few things done but nowhere near as much as I had hoped. The time just seemed to have flown by! I have worked out my menu for the week so that's good. I still have to write the shopping list though. Not so good. I sort of sorted through the pile I wanted to. It's slightly smaller but not as sorted as I had hoped!

As for the dreaded S word, yes it did snow. Not too much, but enough to stick to things. The roads - touch wood - seem clear for now as the ground is still too warm. We're supposed to have snow showers until Tuesday. I am hoping roads will be clear enough that I can get out for a walk in the morning. It's going to be cold though 20F/-7C. I'm not quite ready for it!

The photos were taken with my phone so they seem quite dark!

In the Garden

Husband built a mini snowman while we were out lol. It was rather dark and dingy all day. I would have liked it better with a bit of light! I am not liking these darker days. 

End of the Week

It's been a busy week. I feel as though I'm running behind on everything. Hopefully over the weekend I'll get a bit more on track. Usually, I take the weekends to just relax a bit but there are some things I want to get done so that I can start off next week on good footing. I will do some relaxing and fun things. 

On Thursday night I attended a Zoning Commission Meeting for our city. Not something I've ever been to before. To cut a really long story short, at one end of the place where I walk is a plot of land that the owner wants to get rezoned to commercial to (potentially) put a carwash there. The local community doesn't want it and The Asylum Lake board that I'm on has been trying to help rally people to write and attend the various meetings. The Zoning meeting was a big one. It was really well attended. The main room was filled including standing room, the overflow room was full and there were people in the hallway. When it came time for comments the queue was around the room and out of the door! The meeting started at 7pm and got done around midnight! It took that long for everyone to be heard. I couldn't stay longer than 9pm but watched the rest on the Youtube channel. 

The Zoning Commission voted unanimously to deny the zoning request but unfortunately that's not the end of it. It has to go to another committee that can (stupidly!) be able to overturn their decision. It really seems to me that these people who work for us really don't want to listen to what we say. This is the third time he's applied for rezoning within the last 4 years! People were quite angry. 

I'm really glad I went! The next meeting isn't until December 1st, so we've got a couple weeks to plan. 

It's such a beautiful place. Lots of people spoke of how walking there has got them through some tough times. It certainly helped me when Mum was ill and after she died and walking there helps me now. It's lovely to walk and enjoy nature and not think about all the bad things in life. 

Not sure of other plans for the weekend - apart from playing catch up - the weather forecast is calling for the dreaded S word. I hope they are wrong. 

Do you have plans for the weekend?

Back...Again

Took a longer break than I intended. Life. It happens that way sometimes. 

Update on Life

I did go to daughter's. Had a lovely time. Baby A is getting so big and saying all kinds of words. She is really just delightful!

She dressed up as Bluey for Halloween and had a lot of fun. Daughter lives in a really small town and a few of the shops were open for Trick or Treat. She had a lot of fun walking from shop to shop and getting treats. There weren't that many of them, but just enough for her! Later in the evening, she went to a couple of neighbours' houses. Daughter and SIL have a lot of children coming by and Baby A helped hand out the sweets to the other children. She was really quite good at it and had a lot of fun. 

Update on MIL - not so good news. She ended up getting an infection around the feeding tube and was taken back to hospital. She decided to opt not to get another one. She has been moved to Hospice Care, end-of-life care. She is just tired and has had enough. It's a difficult time. We are visiting her daily and taking photos and videos of Baby A as well as video calling. The place she is in now is lovely. She seems quite comfortable. 

I have blogs to catch up on. Lots of them. It will probably take me days!