One day I got very ambitious. I carried the ladder in from the garage, pulled out the vacuum and dust cloths and spent hours vacuuming the draperies, dusting the blinds, and cleaning the windows and the windowsills.
...and that was just the main floor windows... UGH!!! Lots more to go!!
BONUS: the newly-rigged valances matched exactly the other valances in correct placement. That was a worry for which I found myself very relieved when I saw the finished re-hung valances.
I thought I would want to wait for spring to clean the ultra-filthy blinds in the garage. But, one afternoon the weather had warmed up enough for me to work comfortably out there.
Sarah's son Carson had written his name (very big) on the inside wall of the window seat. It wasn't on the outer wall, so it wasn't visible at first glance. I had to get inside to take this photo.
He not only wrote his name (big) once, but (big) twice. This made me laugh so much because we have found Sarah's signature on various hidden spots in this house as well. Like mother--like son!!!!!
Carson's friend got in on the signature action as well. His name didn't take up nearly the space Carson's name(s) did.
Dr. Freedman does not want to take any chances with my recent "stage 3 kidney disease" diagnosis and referred me to a nephrologist. Yet another specialist!!!
One of the several valances I knocked off was the small one above the sink. This was another one that I was so happy it hung exactly even with the other valance after using the different kind of plastic holders.
It had taken me so long to wash every single slat of the longer kitchen window blinds as I was perched up on the cabinet bending over or kneeling to try and get the job done.
I was NOT looking forward to doing the small one because there isn't a good place to stand or kneel. Once the valance fell off, I decided to just pull the whole thing out and work on it at the cabinet. That was a good idea!!
Another good idea was to use baby wipes to wipe down each slat instead of a rag with soapy water. The baby wipes did so much better getting the greasy grime off than anything else. And boy did I feel accomplished after I got those disgusting slats clean and white once again!!!!
For some reason it never occurred to me to clean the blinds in the office until days later. I picked the day Glen went to the dentist and would be gone for a couple of hours to shimmy myself under the desk and work on getting those blinds cleaned.
Using the wet wipes and enjoying listening to an audiobook to make the chore more bearable--I finally was able to take a step back to admire the once-again-white blinds.
I spent a day cleaning all the blinds and windows on the upper level. I removed the cushions and lifted up the window seats in Sarah's old room to see if anything had been put in there. As I was pulling out some blankets to take to the laundry room, something caught my eye.
I had a telemedicine visit with my cardiologist.
Having a virtual doctor visit as opposed to an in-office visit has its perks. I like having Glen be able to talk to the doctor with me. A drawback is when Dr. Freedman wants to adjust my pacemaker and then I end up needing to go into his clinic inside the University of Utah Hospital anyway.
This adjustment has helped me be able to breathe a little better when I go up the stairs or walk up a hill.
I am still deciding if I like how it feels when I am not exerting. I have been doing a lot of that annoying thing of needing to fill my lungs frequently instead of my lungs just doing it themselves.
But, I also have not been noticing it as much as time goes on, so maybe my body is getting adjusted to the adjustment. Let's hope!!
That doctor's office told me I needed to go get more specialized blood testing done before my appointment with him, so off to the Farmington U of U Health Center I went. Thankfully, my blood got drawn with just one stick. HURRAH!!!!
I had a telemedicine appointment to meet Dr. Al-Rabadi, the nephrologist. He said he is not worried at all about my kidneys and wanted to reassure me. Just to be sure, he is having me get an ultrasound and more blood work to be done right before my next appointment with him in several months. That was good news!!!!
I get so excited these days when the doorbell rings because we get so few visitors. Usually it turns out to be a package delivery. This time--it was Joe Cowley, our ministering brother, bringing us a Thanksgiving treat.
Joe and Kim are so good to us. They were getting their deliveries made early as they were planning to spend the Thanksgiving week vacationing in Newport Beach, California.
We are jealous. Since we have now fallen in love with Southern California after living there for 3 years, we look forward to one day when we can go there again--on vacation.
COVID-19 is running rampant in the state of Utah. As if we haven't been separated enough already from our families for the past many months, the governor clamped down again on us the two weeks before Thanksgiving.
Rebecca kept telling me all along that their family was not going to come to our Thanksgiving dinner because they did not want to risk getting us sick. They also had a frozen turkey in their freezer that needed to be eaten.
When we saw turkeys at Costco, I thought we better buy one to get ready for the holiday. I debated whether to get a large turkey or not. Were we going to have any family here or not because of Covid?? It was a debate. But I was sure both Ben and Rebecca would be joining us that day.
After I bought the big thing, I felt like I had contraband inside our home and that we were breaking the law.
I thought there would be some way we could get together on that special family day of the year. This gave me an idea of how we could all be safe together.
Thankfully the governor eased up a little, but still urged everyone to be as safe as possible on Thanksgiving.
During the renewed Covid scare and the continued uncertainty of this pandemic and everything else going on in the world, it was a welcome reprieve to hear a message from our prophet the week before Thanksgiving.
I enjoyed seeing President Nelson's daughter Sylvia's response (sibber5) to this message from her father. I also enjoyed her post a week later of them watching his message. It's fun to think of someone we know being the daughter of the prophet.
President Nelson gave an invitation for the next 7 days for all of us to flood social media with daily posts of what we are thankful for.
It was such an inspired invitation and has really helped boost everyone's morale with positive posts of gratitude.
We did our Costco shopping on Monday and dropped off the things we had bought for Rebecca. Bonus for us was when we got to see Brooke who was home from school in quarantine.
Good thing she didn't get Covid from whatever classmate had it. She is very excited to go back to school next week after her 2 weeks' absence.
I was sad they weren't going to be here because I thought it would be way more fun for Ben and Haley to have them here.
But, the holiday cooking must go on whether for 2 people or more. I bought a small turkey and I now sigh each time I look in the freezer and see the large turkey just mocking the fact we couldn't all get together this Thanksgiving.
Rebecca asked if I would share two pieces of our pumpkin pie with them--one piece for Dallas and another piece for a woman they know who is in quarantine by herself and was craving a piece of pumpkin pie.
Rebecca made a special request that I include sugar in this year's pies. One year, many years ago, I made the mistake of not putting in the magic ingredient of sugar. Apparently when that ingredient is left out, NO ONE wants a piece of pie!!
I got all the ingredients laid out so I would not forget anything.
We were hoping all our friends and family members were having a lovely Thanksgiving Day wherever they were holding their individual feasts.
Meanwhile, creative Brooke was helping her mom decorate their apple pie to look like a masterpiece!!!
I spent the day before Thanksgiving making the pies and sweet potato casserole. Glen took care of cooking the turkey, carrots, mashed potatoes and gravy on Thanksgiving Day. Doesn't that look like the perfectly baked turkey????
Our Thanksgiving guests arrived. Kade is always nervous at the very beginning because he thinks his parents are going to leave him. See him eyeing me warily???
It didn't take him long to warm up to us as he almost instantly went into the kitchen and started taking out the popcorn-making supplies.
We had Ben's family sit at one end of our kitchen table and we sat at the other end to try and "social distance" from each other. It continues to make me crazy that we can't be loving and close with our family members.
Kade consented to eating some potatoes before he went back to the popcorn cupboard.
I must say the teeny preemie baby has sure put on some pounds since we saw him last.
We're so thankful he is a healthy little (getting bigger all the time) guy!!!
Later in the day, after Ben's family had gone home, Rebecca's family arrived to drop off some salad and a piece of apple pie and to collect the pumpkin pie they had requested.
It was so nice having the Goldens here again--if only for a few minutes and wearing masks the whole time (except for popping a piece of candy in their mouths now and again).
It was a quiet Thanksgiving compared to many other years. But it was a good Thanksgiving as we have been thinking so much lately about how very much we have to be thankful for.
Prayers and thoughts of gratitude all day long for our dear loved ones and the many blessings we all enjoy each and every day.
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