So, what to say about 2013. Tim remained stable-ish. Had a bad case of disseminated shingles for Easter, but, other than that, his doctors find his labs/case boring, and we LOVE boring when it comes to cancer markers. I lost another MM friend in Oct. and my friend lost her mom in Nov. It still seems like I am constantly hearing of cancer diagnosis, including another within Tim's family. Prostate, this time. Getting old is not for sissies, as I have said before. Life seems to be pock-marked with illnesses and deaths. Gets harder and harder to find the joie de vivre between the tough times.
Another year is in the rearview mirror and I have not managed to kick myself in the butt and get my spare room and basement organized, something I am embarrassed to say has been a LONG time coming and still hasn't come. Seems just when I seem to find some time, something else comes up to take up that time. Our favorite tenant ever, Rose, is moving after 3 years so, right before Christmas, I was faced, and still am, with the task of re-renting an apartment. There are times I wish I could sell this rental. I LOVE the house and sometimes think it would be a good place to retire, but, it has brought with it some real stress these last 7 years. Our real estate market has not sprung back yet though, and selling it now would be at a loss, so that is not an option.
Life is pretty much cruising along as normal. Too FAST, of course. The years all seem to sail by but this past one seemed particularly fast. As is also the norm, I feel that we do nothing but move from chore to chore and are not making any headway on the old "bucket list." I'd like to do more fun things this year. Tim always seems to be working and I always seem to be trying to keep my head above water whilst drowning in an endless list of "to-do's".
Tim turns 50 on Feb 3rd. A HUGE milestone. Half a century. Wow. I am in the beginning stages of planning a combined party with his friend's wife for Tim and his best buddy. Hope that goes well. I think Tim, Liv and I will be taking a big trip to celebrate in the spring. Maybe an island or something. I'm trying to be excited for their sake but am not. Not crazy about flying and really not crazy about going someplace with sub-par healthcare when there is a health issue on board. I don't want to ruin this for him so I will suck it up, I suppose.
It looks like 2014 will see my older sister moving to Vermont. She is interviewing for a job there now and plans to put her house here on the market in the spring. This will be weird for us. We have all stayed within an hour of where we grew up and she will be the first to move away. She is the only one that lives close enough to me to be considered a "support system" too. She lives in the next town, whereas my other sisters and my parents are a 45 to 50 minute ride, so that will present an issue for us, but, it is what it is. Unfortunately, their VT house is not just a few hour drive so we don't expect to be able to see them much. It's not even something you would do for a weekend. At 350 miles, it takes us 7 and 1/2 to 8 hours to get there with pit stops.
Nothing stays the same. Sometimes that's good, sometimes not. Nothing to do but try to make 2014 a good year.
Happy New Year! May God's blessings rain down on you and yours in 2014!
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5 comments:
Changes in family structures are always a bit challenging, but no changes (or numbers going downward in MM) is usually good! I am happy to hear that all is going well with Tim as it is with my S-I-L.
So often when we are living day-to-day we are running from TO DO to MUST DO and catching up on all the didn't-get-dones before they overwhelm us. It is important to remember that some of these things are self-imposed pressures, and some come as part of the MM world which doesn't give us any choice.
May your new year find you with fewer HAVE TOs and MUST DOs and more WANT TOs! And blessed, good health!!
Denise,
Have you tried the cabbage casserole?
I didn't see it, Keith. Did you try to post it here?
Cabbage Casserole
1-large head of cabbage cut up
1-can cream of mushroom soup
1-lb sausage , homegrown is best
1-medium to large onion
As much garlic as you like I used the minced kind
so 3 Tbl spoons
Parsley, celery flakes, Thyme, basil and rosemary Salt and pepper to taste. I realize that is vague but I stop adding each when it looks like enough roughly 1/4 teaspoon
2 cups favorite cheese for topping
1-tube Ritz crackers for topping
Brown up sausage, onion and garlic
I cook up the cabbage separately and drain it
if you can stand the smell, if not, you can cook at same time just takes longer.
Once sausage mixture is brown either drain grease or not depending on taste
Combine all ingredients in large mixing bowl
place in large oil sprayed casserole dish
top with ritz crackers
Pour melted butter over top of crackers
300 over for cooked cabbage 45 min-1hr
325 covered dish for uncooked 1hr to 1-1-1/2hr
I cook the cabbage first to avoid adding water to avoid scorching/drying out
My first effort at emailing failed.
Enjoy
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