Snoopy Painting!

Timmy has a newly discovered love of art. We searched the internet and downloaded coloring sheets for 100 great masterpieces in galleries around the world. With his coloring pages in hand, he spends hours studying and trying to replicate the Great Masters. Zooming in on the images on the computer, he does his best to copy the colors and the shading that each artist used. Of course, it is a little harder to do shadows with Crayola markers instead of oil paints, but that doesn't stop him from trying!

Using his love of art as inspiration, Scott and I surprised Timmy with a trip to the painting studio on Saturday. We joined the class and we each created our own Snoopy Thanksgiving masterpiece. Timmy, paint brushes in hand and concentrating on the instructor, was truly in his element. He worked throughout the two-hour class, painstakingly following each step and trying to replicate the instructor. At the end of the class, he was delighted with his work. 

I suspect that more art classes will be in our future.

Walking Day

 19 years ago today I took my first prosthetic steps. My journey to limb loss has been riddled with so many anniversaries and reminders. This is an occasion I embrace and celebrate as the moment I took my first steps into my new life.

Happy Walking Day to me!

New Fridge

 Tuesday ended up being quite eventful. In addition to voting and honoring my Dad on what would have been his 75th birthday, I was provided with the opportunity to hone my appliance repair skills. (Spoiler alert: they are very limited.)

I woke up on Tuesday and noticed that the creamer bottle felt warm when I grabbed it from the fridge. After checking, it was clear it froze up (again.) Since this isn't my first rodeo with a frozen refrigerator, I quickly cleared the shelf and positioned the hair dryer onto the fan in the back of the appliance. I drank my coffee while the hair dryer was running in the fridge, providing a good 30 minutes for the ice to fully melt.

I poured another mug of coffee, turned off the hair dryer and mopped up the mess. After I closed the refrigerator and taped it shut, I turned on the turbo cool button and walked away. I was confident that the issue had resolved, just as it had only a few weeks ago.

I checked the temperature later in the afternoon and became alarmed when I realized that it wasn't cooling quickly. After monitoring the temperature throughout the evening, it became clear that the appliance was broken beyond my defrosting abilities. After researching our options, we purchased a new refrigerator.

Yesterday our new refrigerator was delivered. Although it is always frustrating changing out a fridge, I love our new appliance. We weren't planning on having to change refrigerators, and while I'm frustrated with the situation, I am delighted with the result. I love my new fridge!

Vote!

I have been dreading today for months. Am I the only person who is in anxious knots this Election Day? I'm already looking forward to tomorrow, then the hate filled candidate commercials are automatically replaced with ads selling coffee, candy and cookie dough mix. Holiday commercials are far more palatable to digest.

In addition to Election Day, I am also honoring what would have been my Dad's 75th birthday. Sigh. I miss him but today the loss feels especially profound. I am sure that I would have planned something memorable for his birthday.

I can't help but find my mind wandering, contemplating what life would be like for him if he had survived. One thing is certain- I know he would be so proud of all of his grandchildren. Happy Birthday Dad!

And don't forget to vote!

 

Costume Dance

 We had a fantastic, albeit quiet, weekend at home. On Saturday I alternated between playing outside with the kids and working on some lingering work projects. After dinner Robby got ready for his dance while Scott and I devised a plan for the evening because we wanted to minimize driving. We settled on dropping Robby off at the dance and heading to the mall to window shop and get ice cream.  Killing time until the dance was over felt like a better option than driving back and forth all night.

It has been a long time since Scott and I leisurely walked a mall. I am fairly sure we haven't done it since the pandemic. It was surprisingly fun just walking around and watching people. Timmy seemed to enjoy himself as much as us as he made a lengthy Christmas wish list in the toy store. 

Yesterday we worked in the yard, clearing the leaves and trying to prepare for the winter. We finished the yard work approximately 5 minutes before the storms rolled into the area. The heavy rain and winds scattered more leaves all over our yard. Sigh. The annual leaf battle is officially in full swing.

 

Vodka

 TGIF!

Yesterday morning, as a special treat, I allowed Timmy to take my new water bottle to school. Clutching the oversized iridescent bottle, he was over-the-moon skipping into his classroom. When I picked him up that afternoon, his teacher met me at the door with a smirk.

Timmy, very proud of the new bottle, excitedly shared it with his classmates and teachers. After showing his teacher, he confided in her about the contents. "Don't worry. I didn't put vodka in it. It is filled with plain water today."

Just to clarify, we are not vodka drinkers. I don't have anything against vodka, it is just not something we enjoy. We have never had vodka in the house, nor have we ever consumed it in front of Hamlet. Of course, trying to explain our innocence was only going to contribute to my looking guilty.

Today is a virtual school day, so hopefully I won't have to explain something else to the teacher. I'm looking forward to the next few days. Another beautiful autumn weekend is on the horizon and I plan on making the most of it. 

We have made family plans to spend a significant amount of time outside this weekend, cleaning up the yard and preparing for winter. With crisp temperatures and bright skies in the forecast, I think I chose the perfect weekend for our Fall Clean-Up. (Of course, I'm sure that my plan will be met with complaints and groans.)

Update

Things are starting to settle down after an exciting Halloween. Timmy is extremely proud of his obscenely large bowl of candy on the kitchen counter, often taking it down to sort and organize his treasures. Over the next few days the spooky decorations will be removed and replaced by turkeys and Santa. After all, we only have 51 days until Christmas!

A lot of you have reached out to ask for an update, so I thought I would take this opportunity to fill you all in on my brother. He is in a long term nursing facility because he is battling a wound infection. He has had the wound vacuum attached on and off for nearly a month but the infection is stubborn. His pain continues but I'm sure the infection is contributing. At this point, he is in a waiting and healing pattern. Until the limb heals, there isn't a lot we can do to help him.

Thank you for your caring and your prayers. Both are much appreciated.