Another year.......

.....has come and gone. And I am SO bad at blogging. I just don't seem to find the time anymore! But I am going to try and do better!! 

Jamie and Oliver

The boys started 2nd grade last Tuesday and they really love their new teacher, Mrs. Wilson. I have volunteered to host a book club in their class, it won't start just yet as everyone is settling into the new routine and getting into the habit of sitting still and learning again!!

Summer seems to have been both long and short! How can that be? I think while you are in the midst of it, when the boys are looking for things to do and are starting to get bored with everything then the summer seems so very long. But from this side of it, now they are back in school, it seems to have flown by.

We went bowling once a week, took in some new movies and ate out. We went on picnics, play dates and every week visited our local library to participate in their kids program. Through that the boys got to meet llamas, critters, rabbits, crabs and spiders. They told stories, took part in the annual reading club, watched magic shows and did crafts. I am not sure how I would cope without our local library!!

I got a fair bit of knitting done, and managed to fit my part time job in there also! There were many days when the laundry and dusting were completely forgotten, but we all had fun, and that's what counts at the end of the day isn't it?

Raccoon print on the pool wall

It's been a very long, hot and dry summer. The lake in Palmer Lake has completely dried up and the annual 4th of July fireworks were canceled due to the fire danger. We were on standby to evacuate due to fires but luckily did not have to leave our homes. This summer I saw a bear wandering down the street in broad daylight, a mountain lion spent some time sitting in my neighbor's front garden, and I have been woken by the raccoons running over our roof at night. We also found a raccoon paw print on the boy's pool one morning!

Occasionally now, there is the hint of autumn in the air, cooler weather is on the way and I am ready for a change.

It's been a while......

I just checked out my blog and I haven't posted since February! I can hardly believe that, and yet a small part of me can. There have been a few times when I thought I should add a post, but I was too busy, too tired, about to go out, had to work, had to do nothing......that kind of thing!!

So now it's Memorial weekend, the unoffical start to summer and it's windy as hell here and a little chilly at times too. Despite that I just got back from a fantastic afternoon at my friend Racquel's house. She had family and friends (that would be me) over for a barbecue and I discovered her husband Chris is THE best cook ever. He should own a restaurant, he really should. The food, ribs, chicken, grilled pineapple, sweetcorn and more were absolutely delicious. I tried to leave the house with the leftover ribs but got stopped on the way!!

And even better than the food was that the boys just disappeared with Racquel's kids for the afternoon and I was able to relax and talk and laugh and had so much fun!

The boys finished first grade on Friday so are now off school for the entire summer. Right now I am not sure what I am going to do with them for all those weeks, I have some projects planned, some playdates planned and just have to hope we all get through it unscathed!! They are 7 now, love to test us both, love to argue as they know EVERYTHING of course but I love them to bits and it does my heart good when they want to sit on my knee and cuddle because I know that's not going to last for much longer.

I finished working at the school at the end of February, but very quickly a friend offered me a part time job working from home doing some accounting for her. I love it! I make my own hours and it fits in really well with school, vacations, holidays, appointments and sick kids. Plus the extra money does mean I have the ability to buy some yarn now and again (more now than again) as knitting still features big in my life. In fact I have discovered that if I am not knitting something, I am a little bored and fidgety!!

Two in one day!!

This has been running around my head for a while.........

.......we are many things to many people. We have many titles in life, not just our job titles. I have been trying to think of all the things I am and have been:

Wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, great aunt, cousin, friend, grand-daughter, niece, neighbor, customer, daughter-in-law, sister-in-law, step-daughter, baby, toddler, child, teenager............

.........I am certain there are more, but I can't think of them right now!

WOW!

It's been a long time since I posted.

Life has been chaotic since my dad died. Often we had a difficult relationship, and we lived so far away from each other, but I miss him. Didn't expect that at all. Not sure why, but I didn't. Because of all the strokes he had in the past his speech was minimal, so we didn't talk much, but it's different knowing he is not there anymore.

Chuck was ill while I was in the UK for my dad's funeral. He didn't cope too well I guess. I think juggling work, the kids and the house was too much for him. I kind of lost it when I got home, I expected him to have done better and to find the house in disarray was very upsetting for me. There is still a lot to be sorted out, but we are getting there. And while the house may not have been the way I would have wanted, the kids were well and fed!

I have resigned my job at the school. Two hours a day, I didn't think that would be a problem for me, but standing for that length of time is just too much. Especially playground duty in the cold and wind. I am back on steroids for my pain, my rheumatologist wants to start cortisone shots in my knees to enable me to manage stairs better and my vitamin D levels are so low I am taking 150,000 units a week for the next three months. I am not yet sure when my work replacement will be found, but right now I am looking forward to resting a little and getting to grips with the housework and all the other things that have been sadly neglected over the past few months.

But in between everything else, I am still knitting! And still find it relaxes and de-stresses me. I have finally finished my 'obligation' knits, so am free to knit what I want, although it's often hard to decide what that may be!

So sad...............

...............my dad died this morning at 8:30am GMT.

I am flying back to the UK on Monday.

RIP dad, we will all miss you!

I am waiting...............

I have been thinking on this today. We all spend a lot of time waiting.

Waiting to see the doctor

Waiting in line at the grocery store

Waiting at a stop sign or traffic lights

Waiting for Christmas to come

We are a patient people!

But the waiting I am doing now is causing me much stress and is very, very difficult. I am waiting for my dad to die.

I should explain that he had a massive stroke on Sunday, so massive there is no chance of his recovering. The right side of his brain was so severely starved of oxygen and permanently damaged that the doctors are not treating him. He is effectively brain dead. He is on oxygen and IV fluids only. All his medications have been stopped, so we are waiting to see what happens, to see how long his frail body can hang onto life.

My stomach is 'funny', I am sad and stressed, just waiting. I want to be in the UK right now, but I have to wait until he has gone, then book a flight home for his funeral. So very sad and so very hard to do.

Time for change............

................I need a new photo, but would need to put makeup on first!!

I got my hair done today and I was SO ready for a change. So ready for something different!

And I got it! My hair stylist Erika is the best ever. No matter what I say when I go in I always, always come out with a fantastic hair cut and a fantastic color and I have never, ever disliked what she has done.

I can go in to the salon - as I did today - and say "I have no idea what I want, but I want something different. You can do whatever color you want, whatever style you want, anything!" She loves it!

So my shoulder length, blond-ish hair is now chin length and deep, dark red!!

It looks great, although it will take some getting used to after so many years of being blond!!

Thanks Erika, you are the best!!