We’ve been hibernating since the very first snow fell in early November, except we clearly didn’t stop eating and live off of our fat. My Loving Spouse handled the snow, all the while muttering, “I can’t ever remember the snow starting this early, Bad British Word.” I was ‘handling’ fevers, headaches and fatigue which quickly turned me into the Queen of napping.
For Thanksgiving, Number Two Son, My Loving Spouse and I decided to ‘step out’ and dine at the fancy resort in the nearby town. We ordered the family Thanksgiving dinner, but then the chef showed up at our table.
“Are you the one who’s allergic to garlic?” She asked me.
‘Ahh, yes‘, I said apologetically.
“You can’t eat that.”
‘How much of it can’t I eat?’
“All of it, except the pumpkin pie.”
Visions of chicken nuggets passed before my eyes.
“I’ll make you something else’, she generously offered, which is how I ended up eating Thanksgiving Trout.
December brought more snow and cold. It was extremely cold over our break from school. I’ve never lived anywhere with a minus.
This is the day I cleaned the refrigerator and then spent the rest of the day by the wood stove, reading and perfecting my nap. It was too cold to do anything else.
Christmas Eve brought us many regular traditions, Christmas Crackers, food and church. We returned from the Christmas eve service to fresh snow and 3 out of our 4 ‘frost-free’ water stand pipes frozen, right, they’re not supposed to do that. The only one working was the one farthest away from the water tank. We hauled the frozen hose reel into the house to spend the night near the wood stove.
Christmas breakfast became Christmas brunch. Cooked every year by Number Two Son, he’d gone by work to discover a burst pipe, so as he was sopping water up, we were doing our best to get water out.
I came to accept the unique Christmas decorations called ‘pumpkins frozen to the porch’.
…and we might have had a nap.
…and we are blessed…
by the birth of our Lord and more importantly our Savior,
and grateful beyond measure for health.
(Should you have the weird symptoms I was experiencing fatigue, fever, headache, painful to chew and stabbing pains in the temple don’t wait for ‘it’ to get better, as it could be GCA and your eyesight could be at risk).
Hi Ellen
Your story reminds me of living in Hyde Park New York when every liquid beverage container burst in the garage it was so cold. Spent the holidays with local family in San Jose. Southwest sabotaged all our travel plans. Only dealing with the welcome deluge of rain we have had over the past 3 weeks. I hope you are feeling better. Good friends like you are scarce.
Lovely to hear from you, a very happy new year. Sorry about your travel plans, glad you’ve weathered the rain.
Hugs and love,
Wow! What a wonderful chef to fix you a feast you could eat safely. I can’t imagine the cold you are experiencing. And you have to go out in it! Brrr. Dreaming of warmer days for you and glad to hear your health has improved! Many good wishes for a warm and delightful 2023!
Thank you, dear friend!
Glad to know you’ve ‘thawed’ a bit and recovered from any misery.
Always watching the sub zero temps in Chicago & Wisconsin… now I have
to check Washington! Good thing you don’t have EV vehicles to NOT work, too! Take care and Happy New Year!
Shelley
Happy New Year to you and Les!
It has been quite a season, quite an experience.
many blessings to you
Wow so cold! Cold here too but not like your area! Hope you are feeling better and that everything will thaw out soon!
Thanks Heather, I am feeling very well. We’ve warmed up to just under freezing and it does feel ‘warmer’, just not warm.
Cheers,
Oh my goodness! Hope the new year is treating you much better than the end of 2022. The Thanksgiving trout looked delicious! All the very best until we meet again. ❤️ from 🇨🇦 Leslie
Leslie, Thank you so much, 2023 is off to a lovely start, so great to hear from you.