infestation

We had the annual Chosen Sisters Christmas party the other day. I had bought pottery medallions from the artist down the street and converted them into necklaces. I was going to find nice antique chains but that was hard. I bought a bunch of findings and chains at a craft store. Aside from the necklaces, I was able to repair some broken jewelry with my new supplies

Disgusting right? This mess was found in the attic above a spare bedroom. Now all gone and the damage repaired.

My version of a buche de noel that I made for the moms. The cream filling had chopped up amarena cherries in it along with cherries on top. I made the 'bark' by raking  through the molten chocolate on top. I used a flourless recipe which made the cake especially fragile but it worked out

Just where am I going to wear all my designer dresses? I wore it to the Chosen Sisters party, a bit much. This is an Escada costing $1200 at one point. Still pricy even though vintage.

I liked this self contained amaryllis . All it needed was light. It is about half of the size it would be if it grew in dirt but no muss, no fuss. I wish I got one for my friend who can't have soil in the house but loves plants

One of the Moms gave us all framed Motawi tiles (a local artisan)  Looks good in my breakfast nook

Two summers ago, a wet spot appeared in the corner of a spare room on the ceiling. A leaky roof? Shingles looked fine but I thought I saw a stream of insects flying in and out, too far up for me to identify them. I also detected a constant hum in the walls. Steve thought this was ridiculous. He heard nothing (he is fairly deaf). Why would the ceiling be wet? I said from the moisture in their collective breaths, which he also thought was ridiculous. When winter came, the wetness dried up leaving a stain and the invaders did not return the next summer.

A week or two ago I was cleaning the room and notices a net of dust and debris coming from the ceiling. As I tried to clear it away with a feather duster, I poked a hole in the ceiling and a bunch of insulation and hornet paper fell all over everything. How could the ceiling collapse so easily? There was no drywall left. Only a thin layer of paint had been holding up the mess. Apparently hornets can eat drywall (but draw the line at eating latex paint)

A New Year. We had a whole list of things that need fixing around here which last week we finally got around to having most of them taken care of. New bathroom fan, new garage door opener even though we don't have a car now to put in it but bonus, it has an outside keypad to open the door which the other one strangely lacked, and bonus, new drywall for the ceiling once that disgusting nest was removed.  One (or two things) that remain non functional is the electric spot lighting outside, both front and back. . I suspect rodents have ate through wires but my work person refused to tackle it. I put up solar spot lights but they aren't as reliable or bright as the electric. 

Why are we down to one car, which being in the middle of nowhere really is a pain sometimes? On Christmas Eve, a herd of deer pelted the side of Naomi's car breaking through the passenger window. I thought most of the damage could be repaired but the insurance company said no, the repairs would cost more than the car is worth. They will give her a fairly good sized settlement which is almost enough to buy Josh's car from him. But he needs his car for a few months so in the meantime she has ours. Alternatively we could give her one of ours cars and she can use the money later to replace it in a few years. We would have to buy a new car now. Maybe we will anyway as both of our cars are old.

So far, 'winter' has been relatively warm so I've been even able to bicycle. Almost 60 one of the days last week. But the crappy weather is certain to return. This is my least favorite time of year and I have no escapes planned. Can I hold out until March? I continue to study Italian though I will switch over to Dutch soon.

Last week I visited a friend in an isolation wing of the hospital. After being questioned about my health, I had to gown up, disinfect myself wear gloves and a face shield and promise not to use any facilities outside the room (nor could I use my friend's bathroom). A simple infection in about anyone else turns into a life threatening illness in compromised people just like that. She was released. As she can not walk more than a few feet without going into severe oxygen debt, I spent a day last week taking care of her. I have been visiting the kids and the grandbabies yesterday taking Allie to the park on a beautiful sunny day.

And our annual Mom's party was fun. As almost everyone travels at Christmas and has completely different schedules, January would have to do. One of the mom's got an unexpected present for Xmas, a grandchild in the making that she had been told previously would never happen.  So happiness for her.