Day 703

I got my ego bruised today.

We sat there in those metal folding chairs when the Marsing Disaster Auction started at 10:13 AM, waiting patiently for my quilt to show up. All day long quilts came and went for large amounts of money and it was just torture when mine didn't appear until the end. One of the very last items to auction off, at a time when most people had either left for the day, were tired, or were out of money. At a time when the auctioneers were trying to get things wrapped up for the day.

That's when the ego bruising happened.

The quilt I made this year for the auction, the one bigger and more colorful than my offering last year didn't go for much. 80 measly dollars. Ouch. In my head I knew it was no reflection on me or my quilting skills. But in my heart? Again, ouch.

After a bit of a nap when we got home, all is okay. The community got $80 that it wouldn't have gotten otherwise.

Goodbye, sweet quilt. I'm sorry I didn't buy you back myself.

Day 702

If you've been with me since the beginning you know I started taking pictures because of the cat. (The details can be found on Day 9.) So it is because of her - and because of you sticking around with me, encouraging me along the way - that I will be sharing some exciting news on Sunday.

Exciting, but scary. Makes me nervous to think about it. It's one of those if not now, when? kind of things. And for some unknown reason I've decided the time is now. I've been keeping it hidden and didn't even tell my husband until today.

I'll certainly need you close by, cheering me on. It's a biggie for me.

So please come back on Sunday - even Monday or Tuesday if you want - and find out what has me so terrified but excited.

Kitty is neither one right now.

Day 701

From Easter to Valentine's Day I think I've got things covered. Yesterday's Easter quilt is on hold because I'm getting things ready for Valentine's Day.

A Valentine tutorial, that is. Yup, time to start the tutorials again. They've missed me and I've missed them.

First one up will be this coming Tuesday. We'll be using these materials:

Come back on Tuesday to see what we have going on!

Day 700

The theme of my next quilt is starting to show itself.

Day 699

I had to get the taste of that cow stomach/feet out of my mouth/mind. Sure, I brushed my teeth, had breath mints, ate some breakfast and lunch all the while trying to keep my mind off of it. Never have we ever had anything at Alejandra's we didn't like so we weren't going to let that Menudo hang with us too long.

So we just had to go back tonight.

Maria (the cook) made us Caldo de Res, Mexican Beef Soup. Add the rice into the soup, squeeze some lime over it. Oh so good. Just look at the huge chunks of vegetables!

Then Cocktel de Camarones, Shrimp Cocktail. There must have been a pound of shrimp in that yummy sauce!

And lastly, we started on the ensalada (salad) section. Fajita Tostada, beef. Kind of like a flat fajita taco salad. Another yummy.

The variety worked. That icky cow stuff is at the back of my mind.

Day 698

Hubby's never met a soup he didn't like. Whether he makes it himself or orders it in a restaurant, no matter has gross it looks, he'll clean his bowl.

But today was different. Today was our eat-through-the-menu-at-Alejandra's day.

We still had two antojitos mexicanos (Mexican appetizers) to tackle.
Nachos Supreme, beef.

And quesadillas, chicken.

And then we started in the sopas (soups). Unfortunately the first one up was Menudo. Menudo, the soup made with cow. Cow stomach and cow feet.  While we both had several spoonfuls, we sure couldn't clean the bowl. Just knowing all the fatty, chewy chunks of meat were the parts of the cow usually thrown away was just a bit too much. Even for soup-loving hubby.

Day 697

That gunky snow-slush-ice-rain mixture in the road did freeze last night.

A big thank you to the birds for trying to break it up and keep us all safe.

Day 696

It finally rained last night. And that caused what happened this morning to happen. Because last night's rain froze.

I awoke this morning to hubby calling me from the back yard, asking to be let in the back door. He's been using the front door a lot nowadays - smaller steps, rails on both sides, easier for him to get up and down. I thought maybe he'd locked himself out or had his hands full or something else.

It was something else.

As he headed outside to take the mail to the mailbox across the street - and used the front steps, the ones not covered by the carport - he fell on the ice. Didn't even make it to the street. Didn't make it much past the bottom of the steps, even. The ice was so bad he couldn't get up. He scooted his behind down the sidewalk (he said it was pretty easy, being super-slick and icy) and around the corner to the carport. Unfortunately hubby is still pretty weak and can't get up from the ground. So more scooting he went until he got to the back steps where he could grab onto something to pull himself up and give me a holler.

No broken bones, not even bruised (maybe). Tomorrow will tell.

It's raining more right now. Just look at the mess of snow and slush and water in the road. If this freezes, they'll really be no going to the mailbox for some time.

Day 695

The elusive woodpecker has finally shown himself. That is I think it's a woodpecker. As I look closer, maybe not.

Day 694

Snow day for me, late start and cancelled class for kiddo in college. Unfortunately for hubby his school district decided to have school.

Ice Storm 2013 is what the news called it. Lots of school districts closed, a 80 mile stretch of freeway closed in the wee hours of the morning. Part of it still closed late this afternoon. Good thing I have no where to go.

I wish I could say no where to go and nothing to do. But I can't. A big project at work has me working from home - in my pjs.

Of course I just had to do a little bit of fun stuff on a day off. A new project. (Actually an old project that was stuffed in my quilt patterns. The fabric had already been cut and just needed to be put together). It's a long way from being finished but can you tell what the theme is?

Day 693

This sure has been an exciting month. We bought our retirement home, daughter went back to college. Got my mom moved into our new place and daughter into grandma's old place. And hubby and I are eating our way through Alejandra's.

If you've been reading here a while you know we are fanatics of the hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant in Marsing, Alejandra's. While we go there at least once a week (sometimes more) we usually wind up having the same few items.

No more.

We have decided we're going to eat our way through the menu, starting with the first page. Every visit, something different. A fun adventure. First up on the front page antojitos mexicanos (Mexican appetizers).

Plates from left to right:
Taquitos, botanas, flautas.

Day 692

I'm sitting here proud as can be.

She's doing it again but this time with more motivation, more gumption, more enthusiasm. It isn't just because her parents expect it; it's because she wants it. This time around it won't cost us a penny. Probably won't cost her too much either since she qualified for grants this time. The girl who quit and joined the working world has decided it's the right thing at the right time.

Our daughter started back to college today.

She'll be busy. She's going to continue her regular job while going to school full time. I'm not sure we could be any more proud of her. She's not too many credits away from her AA in Criminal Justice and if the right classes are offered this summer, this coming August she'll have a certificate in her hands. And after that, who knows? Maybe more school, maybe not.

Good job, kiddo. We know you can do it and we're so excited for you!

(But not too excited about today's temperatures.)

Day 691

How'd you like to wake up from your recliner and see this staring at you?

Day 690

I've always loved the look of aerial pictures. But being I don't find myself flying anywhere these days, this picture is the closest I can get. If you squint, you might be able to mistake it for a dried up lake in an alkali desert.

Snow + Ice + Salt/Ice Melter = this picture taken of the cement on the back part of the carport.

Day 689

Looks like I've got some people joining me in taking cold weather pictures. Nancy sent this one of icicles on the roses outside her window.

And my contribution for the day? More of that freezing fog. Looks like snow from afar, but up close it looks like ice shavings.

Day 688

I know I need to stop but I can't. There are just too many good pictures this winter!

Day 687

While this is technically another cold picture (taken on another very cold day), let's pretend it isn't.

After all, it IS the sun.

Day 686

I can't stop taking pictures of cold things. Lucky for all of us, I'm only posting one of them today!

Day 685

This notice is to inform you that the request for benefits (for infusions) has been denied based upon our review of the information provided by (your doctor).

I thought the third time might be the charm. The insurance company would take pity on me, look at my lengthy medical records and my even lengthier list of medications taken over the course of the past few years, and render a favorable decision. No such luck. Three pre-approvals submitted, three denied.

Whatever.

I'm just gonna keep on keepin' on. Steroids are helping with the pain, but are coming with a whole slew of side effects. Again, whatever.

At least they help me enough to spend lots of time quilting. The local bank collects and displays quilts donated for the Marsing Disaster Auction, so if you happen to be in Marsing anytime before February 2, stop by and take a look at this big (56" x 56") beauty. Done by me. (Still not thrilled about the orange, but from afar it looks pretty darn good.)

Day 684

When you're young you think you're invincible. You will live forever, work forever, play, go out, do whatever it is you do forever. In my husband's case, he thought he was going to teach forever. He knew retirement would come someday, but no where in the near distant future.

But when you get sick, really sick like he was, your perspective changes. It changes who you are in the present, it changes how you look at the future. It shifts your priorities. Life becomes too short to squander it away. Too short to be wasting your time on things that no longer matter. Things like a big house.

At one point in our lives we had been dreaming of retiring to Arizona, but then figured retirement would come and go and we'd still be right here in Marsing. Sitting in our 4 bedroom, 3 bath house on a large lot with a rose garden, a vegetable garden, a shade garden, and a perennial garden.

With his illness came clarity. A new dream for retirement.

2 bedroom, 2 bath, very small yard. In a 55+ community in Boise.

Tonight we took a huge step (a leap, really) in securing a future where the important things matter. Where bigger isn't better.

Our new home. And a bonus for my mom - a place for her to live until we're ready to head to Boise.