I cannot believe I had every date except Jan 1 wrong, and no one told me. Haha! I do not want to relive 2023, thank you very much.

Today it was freaking cold. After we went out to breakfast, we ran a few errands, one of which was filling my car up with gas. After standing at the pump for a few minutes, my down coat sounded frozen. Although the actual temperatures were in the single digit negatives, the wind temperature had it feeling closer to -30. Brrr. The trees were still pretty, all coated in ice.

I’m thankful for another sunny day, for getting more cleaning done at home, for comfort food, and for more crafting time.

Oh, man. It’s getting cold now. But we had sunshine long enough to get everything shoveled and cleaned up outside and run a few errands. I’m thankful for that and for getting some things cleaned up in the basement that I had left out after Christmas. It feels good to start the pre-spring cleaning.

Snow! And lots of it. I’m grateful today that although I had to drive in the awful mess, I didn’t have any issues. I made it to and from work, as well as to and from the cancer center for my stupid, monthly hormone shot. I shouldn’t say stupid. It’s supposed to be helping me stay cancer-free, but the side effects are annoying.

Also, the snow is pretty. And Cooper experienced the deep snow for the first time. We got about a foot by dinner time, and he barely stood above it. He and Barley had fun trying to catch snowballs and chasing each other, and we had fun watching them.

I’m thankful for sunshine, pizza at our favorite spot, lingering Christmas lights, and sleeping pups.

Yesterday afternoon my shoulder started hurting, like it was pinched. I had trouble lifting it and the pain got worse. Sleeping was difficult. After taking pain meds this morning, it got a little better during the day. Thankfully, I already had a massage scheduled for after work. It helped but it didn’t take care of it completely. Grrr. Still. A massage is always a good thing.

We got a bunch of rainy snow today. It was forecast to be heavy and cause bad driving conditions, so a lot of folks stayed home from work. I ended up leaving early, hoping to avoid the worst of it, but I think I ended up driving home when the roads were the most crummy. Oh, well. I made it home without incident and got to enjoy how pretty the snow made everything. I’m thankful things weren’t as bad a predicted.

One day back at work and my cough returned. Grrr. I’m convinced that our offices have the worst ventilation ever. And there are still so many people sick…

I am thankful that Patrick is better today, especially since we may be trapped at home tomorrow due to a heavy snow forecast. I’m also grateful that he made my favorite kind of dinner—snacks! There’s nothing quite like crackers and cheese and dips and a big, warm pretzel for dinner. Mmmm.

It feels so good not to be coughing all day long. My chest congestion has finally diminished. I’m still blowing my nose more than I’d like, but I think I’m pretty much over being sick. I pray everyone else who was sick at work is also feeling better. I don’t want to start over.

Since I did a lot of cleaning yesterday, I spent the afternoon playing with clay. The folks who own the shop where I had a booth for the Christmas market encouraged me to apply to be a vendor at a Witches Market in October. It’s aimed at oddity items, so I’m hoping to make a couple of new things, assuming I get a booth. At least I have time to make stuff. I’m thankful for a crafty afternoon of getting started.

I was disappointed that my mom couldn’t come visit, but my sister and brother-in-law came to town for his family’s late Christmas. And they dropped off Christmas presents from my mom. They looked so pretty I almost hated to open them.

And one of them was this funky candle holder I saw and didn’t realize she bought while I wasn’t looking. Isn’t it fun?

I’m thankful for a little extra Christmas this weekend via my mom’s generosity. And I’m thankful that Patrick is feeling better today, and that I got the house disinfected.

I’m thankful today that while Patrick isn’t feeling well, he hasn’t been getting worse in the last couple of days. It’s probably Covid, so my mom isn’t going to come visit like we planned. Bummer. But there will be better weekends ahead. I’m thankful too that Emma made it safely to New York and her new apartment. I can’t wait to visit her there one day.