A BULLET DODGED ~ Elohei is Faithful

So ... when I woke up this morning, I really did not know what to expect; the last thing I remember before the sandman put me under last night, was the raging storm that was escalating and wailing like a banshee all around my house.

Truth be told, I was apprehensive about looking out the kitchen window to see what that flailing pole hanging from tessa’s roof last night had done, damage-wise.

(https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-day-started-so-good-and-went-bad-by.html)

When I did look … I saw that the pole was gone: my eyes immediately scanned my carport area before I pulled my coat and boots on to go outside to check for damages.

The rainstorm tore most of tessa's roof tarp and poles off her house. This mess is ridiculous.

No sign of the pole in her yard either ... it's just gone with the wind. The house and lot are a disaster zone.

My car is undamaged.

Elohei was faithful – my car and house was spared from the crappy neighbor's flying debris during last night's rainstorm.

I did not have to haul my Premium BadAss Card out, morph into a tasmanian devil and take a bite out of candy – painfully cutting her down to size; I avoided jail time 😉

However, last night; I did suffer an asthma attack due to the stress. But I had an inhaler at hand (a year old - I rarely use it), and a crisis was avoided. An asthma attack is scary to go through without Bob's calming presence – this is the 1st one I have gone through on my own. I know stress can bring an attack on – but I was still surprised when it came upon me : I knew I was concerned, but I didn't think I was THAT concerned.

This is another area of my life (recognizing and dealing with 'hidden' stress) I am going to have to pay attention to, and bring it under control before it manifests itself in an unwanted condition.

The storm really tore things up overnight ... I am thankful my property was not damaged due to candy and tessa's belligerence.

But I did feel bad for the person that did get the brunt of tessa's flying crap: it was torn off her roof - it flew off, and landed somewhere. Hopefully no one suffered damages from this arrogantly rebellious moron of a woman; and the crap off her roof dropped in an open field.

Feeling immense relief and heartfelt gratitude, I decided to test my healing a bit further: I have been hungering for a particular salad – a salad I have only been able to find in Castle Rock. Delameter Road (my route under normal conditions) is still a messy construction site, so I would have to go an alternate route; about an hour ‘round trip. I wasn’t sure my hip and leg could hold up that long, held in a stationary bent condition without any relief until I reached my destination.

But I wanted that salad: I would risk the drive, and hope for the best 😉

Heron Pointe to Columbia Heights via Pacific Way. 12 mins

Columbia Heights to Lexington - 6 mins

Lexington to Pleasant Hill Road - 7 mins

Pleasant Hill Road to Select Market, Castle Rock - 8 mins

1 hr round trip.

The drive was what I needed after being housebound for over a month: a relaxing country drive, a change of locale, and fresh air.

While I was out and about, I looked high and low for beef liver … there isn’t a store anywhere in town that sells beef liver!

An hour of relaxing driving. 

An hour trolling stores in vain.

And my hip and leg didn’t pitch a fit!

Salad for Supper; I got a few more salads … those will be enjoyed over the next few days 😊 

After eating, I finished up my mitts. 

I am very pleased with the way they turned out! 

MOD Mitts FINISHED!

Perfect ... exactly what I had envisioned.

Sorry … no pattern forthcoming until after the 2021 Bazaar season.

THE DAY STARTED SO GOOD: And Went Bad by Nightfall

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ms1MY9SP7f4)

There was a LOT happening in my small corner of the world, today.

First off, this morning – while there was a brief reprieve from the rain that has steadily been falling, I pulled some clothes on and jumped (okay – I actually walked/slid slowly) into the car; and drove to the lower end of Pacific Way Trail.

The goal was to make it as far as the first bend of the graveled trail … and then turn around, and come back home.

Dike Hike today.

Baker's Corner Breakfast Casserole.

Original 'goal' plan ...

When I reached the first bend … I was feeling so good, and moving so freely/loosely, that I decided to push the envelope – and go another bend.

I ended up doing this 5 x 😉

Decision to push on a little further.

I did this the entire dike walk ...

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7-8rfGGnd0)

Learning to use 'granny mode' speed.

Ducks congregating in someone's backyard pond ...

Fuzzy-wuzzy-woolly-bear-caterpillar. All along the 45-minute walk, I saw 5 fuzzy-wuzzies bravely maneuvering the foot traffic.

Fuzzy-wuzzy-woolly-bear-caterpillars will turn into Isabella Tiger Moths in the Spring, if they survive ‘til then.

I reached the end of this section. I would have reached it sooner if I could have fired up my foot jets; but I was doing the granny mode.

Tagging the gate ... Bob and I always did this. A silly carry-over from our youth.

Black, gray and white duck: seen on the way back to the car.

Backtracking the graveled trail to the car, I came to the conclusion that my body is developing a brat complex; it wants to run my life, and will kick up a fuss if I try to do what I want with my body …

My body is taking revenge now when I override the pain warnings ...

I need to discipline that brat and get it under control!

When I got back home, I got back to work on the mitts I have been designing and crafting since the 19^th of this month.

MOD Mitts. Working on the finger portion. (https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2020/12/finding-joy-in-mundane.html)

Almost finished ... tomorrow, for sure.

Due to the walk this morning that cut into my designing/crafting time, they will not be completed until tomorrow.

I’m okay with that: as long as they are finished for my New Year walk with my SIL, I’m in no rush.

As I was throwing clipped yarn ends in the garbage, and bagging the garbage for the outside trash cans … a movement in my peripheral vision, caught my attention.

Immediately I was concerned.

Then, the concern morphed into straight-on pissed.

For a few red-hot moments, I let my thoughts entertain the vision of steam rolling up the street, dragging candy’s fat ass out of her house – and beating the living hell out of her.

I was that pissed.

The action would be justifiable.

But I don’t fancy spending Christmas in jail.

That house next door has been an eyesore, and a constant bitch from everyone in the Park: and candy does not enforce the Park Rules in regards to that rotting rat hole.

It is clear the place needs to be condemned and removed. Houses like that one, are not to be in this Park – Park Rules.

Yet, every year, it stays.

And gets worse.

A few weeks ago, tessa hired a sloppy roofer to come lay tarp over the entire length of her roof: obviously the roof is leaking, which means the inside must be a slimy mess – like the outside.

The rainstorm racing through here is literally tearing the tarp … and the poles that are supposed to keep the tarp laid down … off the roof.

That there is even tarp over the roof, is against Park Rules. The shoddy work was a disaster waiting to happen, from the get-go.

It’s a dangerous mess.

If that pole rips free, there is a good chance it will hit my car.

And more flying crap could damage my house roof.

I am seriously pissed at how far candy has allowed this deterioration to escalate.

tessa’s rat-hole is the only house in the entire 800+ Park that looks like this; and candy turns a bind eye to it … while slapping everyone else with citations for piddly “offenses”.

Bob was killed by the stress candy brought to our front porch August of 2018 – over ridiculous pettiness that was proven bogus.

This is ridiculous.

But this … this obvious offense, next door … she totally blows off, and bitchily ignores.

In the vid, the slimy black mold is clear to see – and candy’s lie that “it was professionally cleaned” is also very clear to see.

This whole mess is not okay.

Everyone in the Park has walked past tessa’s house gawking at the mess, and the tarped roof.

I KNOW candy has been hearing other tenants grumbling and complaining about the eye-sore.

I'm scared to go to sleep while that thing is hanging and whipping in the wind.

Unacceptable!

This is not acceptable.

Heron Pointe is generally a well-maintained Park; except for the rat-trap next door, that belongs to candy’s Park pet.

I am seriously pissed right now.

And if my car or house is damaged because of candy’s refusal to bring her pet to heel … I will hire a Lawyer and sue the hell out of tessa, candy, and the Park owners.

I woke up in good mood this morning

The good mood held, until 4:15 PM.

All the ‘good’ dissipated when night fell.

I don’t know what I will see tomorrow morning, but I know what will happen if the worst happens: candy’s cherry-picking “rules” will be flipped, and the bitch will come out in me like she’s never seen before.

I don’t relish that side of me … and for the better part of 44 years, she was dormant – but I’m not afraid to call her to the forefront when she is needed.

Hopefully the pole will drop to the ground without damaging anything of mine: and the tsunami me will not be awakened.

I really miss Bob in times like this.

FINDING JOY IN THE MUNDANE

It was just an ordinary day.

All of my days, lately, seem to move into another without much fanfare.

I showered; padded down the hallway … turned the radio on, put 8 eggs on the stove to hard-boil … and changed the color of my nail polish before getting back to work on my mitt’s design, started yesterday:

Beginning Mitt's Body; I am using scrap yarn ... if these turn out as expected, I will make some for the 2021 Bazaar Season with new yarn 😉

(https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2020/12/inspiration.html)

I hope to have them completed tomorrow 😊.

Normally, I would work on them straight through the night if need be to get them done (new original designs always gets me too excited to knock off work early in the crafting process) – but my leg is still not 100%, and I need to pace myself a little wiser so I don’t screw up my healing process.

So, now, I sit and work on my design for an hour … then, I get up and move around for a bit to relieve that sciatic nerve and keep my leg/foot from cramping.

I hope I can get out walking at some point during the upcoming week, when the rain slacks off. I am glad to be losing weight (and noticeably, too), but I need to tone my thighs. It will take time to work back up to the milage I was walking before my leg went bum, but I’m slowly working back into my walking routine.

In this also, I am learning to pace myself.

I am not used to being reined in … so it’s another ‘adjustment’.

Anyway …

I was listening to the radio, working my design out and jotting notations down as the work progressed; when a particular song came on and my thoughts took me to a place in time, when every once in a while, Bob would come dancing into the room – grinning, and wiggling his eyebrows at me … and I join him while we laughed and cavorted with each other to the backbeat of the music filling our surroundings.

I really miss those spontaneous moments.

And I knew I couldn’t entertain those thoughts too long without being sucked under.

This was a good time to stop where I was in my unfolding design, until tomorrow.

I also had to shell the hard-boiled eggs and put them in the ‘fridge.

Mitt's Forefinger Hole. MOD

Hard Boiled eggs.

And wouldn’t you know it: when I logged into FB … someone had posted a video of a couple dancing in their living room!

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5mGevMW6Rg)

Obviously, I was not going to be able to get away from those triggered memories; so, I just rode the wave until it played itself out.

I am grateful for the memories: I was loved, and loved deeply by a good man who was faithful to me and our marriage.

I had joy … I still have joy. 

I am grateful I am finding enjoyment in designing/crafting, again.

Designing and crafting brings me joy. 

I don’t need a lot to have a happy life 😉

INSPIRATION

Tentative plans were made weeks ago to go walking with my SIL after Christmas – that time is quickly approaching.

It will be chilly, if not downright cold … so I will need to make a new pair of mitts: I woke up this morning with a semi-formulated design in the forefront of my thoughts. 

This is an exciting development!

I haven’t had any real enthusiasm for creative designing in a while; so, this want to get busy with this formulating design is encouraging 😊

In my life ‘before’; I could literally get lost in drafting and crafting my designs, for hours on end.

And Bob was a good sport about it. 

He also knew that once the creative aspect of the design was in play, my thoughts would stay locked on the design’s concept until I was satisfied with how I was bringing it into being – I would be basically worthless at anything else until the urge to “get it right” was worked out.

Bob knew how to fend for himself; he didn’t marry me so he would have someone to take care of him – he knew how to cook, clean, sew, do laundry, clothe himself, ect.

So, if I was deeply engrossed in bringing one of my crafty designs to life, he left me to it; until I reached the place during development, I felt I could knock off for a while before getting back to it.

Then, there were times, he’d come to where I was working, and gently say, “There you are – I miss you.” And I would look up, and if I was at a point where I could safely stop without losing track of the design concept, I’d smile and say, “I’ll be right with you.” I’d put things away for the night and we’d watch a movie together, or work together on the jigsaw puzzle we had set up on the table; holding hands and talking about everything/nothing … the way lovers do. We were sharing our lives with each other – that was enough. And sometimes, he’d track me down, and I’d still be working the concept of my design out; and I’d beg for a few minutes more before putting it aside and joining him.

I miss those times.

This morning, when my feet hit the floor, I thumbed through my pattern books until I found a foundational pattern for what I had in mind: I will tweak the original pattern to design what I have in mind. Then I sorted through my yarn stash to find the colors that would work (I will be using 3 different colors); then I made a cup of coffee and got busy.

When I opened the pattern book, I had to take a few deep breaths before I did anything else: tucked inside the pages were the 2 hand forms I had traced of Bob’s hands …

Hand forms I made of Bob's hands for knitted mitts.

… which I had used to make him a pair of winter mitts for our walk with Precious (our beautiful wolf) at Riverside Park in Lexington. With my eyes wide open, staring at those posterboard forms, I could see Bob so clearly walking the trail with Precious and me.

2006 - October. Bob & Precious watching the new bridge get built in Lexington that would acess the freeway.

I quickly put the hand forms out of sight before they sabotaged my current mitt plans. People think I sit around all day/every day dwelling on my life with Bob … but, that is not true: I am actually actively moving forward in reshaping and building a new life – but it is impossible for Bob not to be part of that: his memory in everywhere, and in everything.

I got up and turned the radio on; and took a big gulp of my coffee.

Then I refocused and got busy.

Beginning my inspired design ... mitts’ cuffs.

I still can’t sit for extended lengths of time, but I got further than I thought I would when I started 😉

Where I left off tonight - I'll pick up here tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I will be deviating from the foundational pattern, and working on the actual design I have been inspired to work out – if my design concept goes as planned, I am going to be very happy with the outcome.