BUSY DAY

I spent the day canning chicken.
Trying to empty out the freezer to fill it with a pig.

I forget how much I love to can from year to year.
I also forget how much work it is.

Ready to process.

Two double canners. 

Getting ready to go in a jar. 

I ended up with 65 pints of chicken.
I love having this stuff on the shelf.

Now I go to work for the next 4 days. 

The ER may be more restful. 

We have had some worrisome patients. 

I know one + Covid patient and another few that I am convinced and waiting for results. 

I have mixed feelings on all of this. 

My bigger concern is the economy. 

Not sure Idaho should be shut down like New York. 

I’M OVER IT

I would say I want normal life back but I don’t want the old normal.
I want a better normal.
I have loved seeing people reconnecting with what really matters.

I’m tired of the empty shelves and panic buying, but I have also seen incredible kindness and giving from friends and strangers to one another.

My work has been disrupted. The ER has been quiet so much so that our hours are being cut.
Between that and Howie being laid off my stress level has been through the roof.

We will be fine. Thank goodness for no debt and plenty of food storage but there are so many that can’t say the same.

I miss normal.

I have taken care of a covid positive patient and another that I swear would be a positive. But tested negative. Younger man admitted and is now on the ventilator. Waiting for a second test to come back. False positives and negatives do occur.

I miss my kids.
Saturday we drove to Utah to see Matt and family and Lynsey who drove from Denver.
It felt good.

This has definitely put things in to perspective for me. There is so much fluff in life. Things that don’t matter.

I hope my perspective stays.
I hope that things that matter are the important things.

Like these two little miracle babies. 

They are perfect. 

Beautiful daughter-in-love Tara. 

  

They have a beautiful home and have made us feels so welcome. 

The twins and Lillian in Aunt Lynsey’s lap. 

This is just what I needed. 

My soul is fed. 

APRIL FOOL’S

Nothing is a joke today.

Apparently we had an earthquake yesterday.
Epicenter was about 5 hours away from me.
I was working in the ER. I didn’t feel it.

And this morning I drove to work.
It was a blizzard.

 I just feel like we are being punked. 

March was like living in the Jumanji movie. 

ORGANIZING BUG

While Howie was off recovering from this latest knee surgery I planned on doing some reorganizing.

It has been therapeutic.
And all this was before I found out he was being laid off.

 

 I decided to get last years fruit out of the freezer and made jam. I’ll do that tomorrow when it thaws.

I checked seals on jars and cleaned things up. 

We got a new upright freezer last week. 

It was good to get the food out of a chest freezer and 

organize the cow. 

This is stuff we do use. 

And so is this. 

Several years ago I realized how awesome it was to have amazon deliver 

toilet paper. 

These days I am thankful!!!!

I’m thankful for church leaders who have taught us for decades to store food and necessities. 

We never know when we will need it. 

I also planted some seed to put in the garden 

Because of a short growing season I plant hardy plants. 

I look forward to watching tomatoes and peppers grow. 

 

BECAUSE I NEED HUMOR

I know that we are not the only ones in this mess. 

And we are in this mess together. 

But my level of anxiety increased by leaps and bounds. 

Howie was laid off today until this Covid thing has resolved. 

Who knows how long? 

He’s our health insurance carrier. 

He’s between knee surgeries. 

Trying to take a deep breath and remember who is really in control. 

IT’S A THREEPEAT

And here we are again.
Hopefully this time will be the charm.

5 months of fighting an infection in the new knee and we were losing.

So today they did an explant.
Removed all the components of the joint.
He now has a temporary spacer and in 6 weeks to 3 months we will
return for the knee implant.

SOME MUCH NEEDED R&R

Last post was an update about Howie’s knee.
Well, after 7 weeks of IV antibiotics it seemed like it was reinfected.
So the doc put him on oral antibiotics for four months.
Hoping this would work.

It didn’t. It’s progressively gotten worse. We aren’t even waiting for the 4 month mark.

So he goes in on Friday the 20th to take out the joint.
Wait for 3 months.
Then put in another one.

He’s tired and discouraged.

He hasn’t been to CrossFit for months and months.

We decided not to cancel our trip to Denver to see kids.
We needed it.
We took our youngest daughter with her baby.
So we are surrounded by lots and lots of babies.
All girls.

I love this picture. 

The monkey is the same monkey that we had in the NICU

to use for size comparison when they were 1 and 2 pounds. 

And the empty box is highly entertaining. 

  

Lynsey and Candice 

I’ve decided my children are out to get back at me.

My daughter Lynsey
Has daughters: Lexi
                         Lucy
                         Lilly
My daughter Candice has
                         Lillian
My son Nate has
                          Locklyn
                          Leighton

Today while trying to get attention of one of the granddaughters
I said “whoever the L” pay attention.

It’s been so fun to have this diversion.

We leave to go back to Idaho tomorrow.
And I’ll go back to work.

It’s been crazy in the ER.
People’s hysteria is nuts.
People have been stealing masks, gloves and hand sanitizer.

I’m less that excited to have Howie in the hospital during this time.
But we have no choice.
I already have plans to self quarantine from him.



*taking a deep breath”

WHEN IT RAINS.....

At the end of September Howie had his second knee replacement.
All went well.

Until 4 weeks later.
He ended up with a septic joint.
Infection that landed in the new joint.

So on the 28th of October he had another knee surgery.

Now he has a PICC line and gets IV antibiotics every 8 hours for 6 weeks. 

The insurance approved me to be able to do the antibiotic infusions. 

In the midst of the not so awesome stuff. 

Awesome stuff happened. 

My baby girl had a baby girl. 

Lillian was born on November 12th by cesarean section. 

 And because I was unable to get any time off work at all my sweet daughter in law came from Utah
to take care of us all. 
She does Howie’s infusions while I’m at work and is taking care of Candice who came to stay to recover. 

A whole couch of beautiful girls. 

And my oldest granddaughter holding my youngest granddaughter.