Welcome to Christy's Kitchen!
A friendly place to sit and chat

I started to write a blog on Wednesday, which was my birthday, and wouldn't you know that right then my computer decided to restart for updates??  Ha, oh well.

Yes I had my birthday and now I am another year older.  I was blessed by many happy birthday greetings and calls from family. Birthdays are a little sad since my family is scattered but I tried to stay positive.  It's been busy at work, big project going on so have had some stressful days but it's all good.

I went to Florida last month to visit my brothers and their families in Sarasota.  It was a great little break and time to get some rest and refreshment after a difficult summer.  Now I am thinking ahead to when we can go to visit our kids in Colorado!  I miss them so much.  Rob has returned to Southern Calif. to live and find some work.  There is a special young lady in the picture now!  So after spending the summer in Denver with Dan, and working, he has gone back.  Another time to learn to trust God with my kids, for this mom.

We started a job on the kitchen on Labor Day weekend, then things got really hectic at work so we didn't finish it yet.  But hopefully this weekend maybe we can finish it up.  Also with the terrible heat and drought we had this summer, my flower beds all went to pot and are filled with weeds, so that needs some attention.  I don't have chickens now so the barn also needs a good cleaning and weeding so I can get ready for some new chicks sometime.  I miss them.  A couple died, and another few dissappeared thanks to a neighborhood dog and also prob. a coyote.  I didn't want to get more when we were having that awful heat, so just haven't gotten back to it yet.

That's about all the news from this Hoosier for now.  I will try to keep this better up to date, but I think I always say that!  I am thinking about making this a place where I can post pictures and videos for my grandkids to watch what is going on with their grandparents!

I am so far behind on Xanga, can't believe it's been since Sept. since I posted anything.  I guess it's the facebook that keeps me away since so many of my Xanga friends are also on FB, so I keep up with people that way.  Then when I come over to Xanga to catch up on other people, I just never seem like I have time to write something because it seems like there is so much to catch up.

Ok, since September I have started working at Fanimation www.fanimation.com  I had to quit working at Wild Birds Unlimited last May, it was just too hard on my knee. I had knee surgery Sep. 2010, then did a lot of PT and exercising etc, but now the arthritis in there still gives me problems.  Fanimation is a ceiling fan company owned my brother in law Tom, and Ed is the VP, our nephew Nathan is the Pres.  It is a great company, and I had hoped I could work there someday too, but had pretty much given up on it.  They have a great staff there.  In Sept., one of the managers resigned to go to another company.  It changed things up a bit.  At that time, Ed told me he wanted to hire me to be his assistant. I couldn't believe it.  But he has taken on more things, and he trained me to do a lot of administrative type things for him to free him up for everything else he does.  I have been doing a lot of projects for other people, so it's always interesting and fun. I also get to help with the Antique Fan Museum that we have at Fanimation and I am catching the collecting bug I think.  There has been a lot to learn, and also adjusting to going into the office every day, and trying to find some kind of new pattern and schedule to my life.

I wrote last summer about my mother in law Cynthia who had a stroke. She has been in the nursing home since last summer, first in the rehab part, then in a regular section.  She really didn't progress and she is totally bedridden, paralyzed on the left side, and in terrible awful pain. So she is on a lot of pain meds and other things.  Latest on that is that about a couple of months ago she started getting help from Hospice right there in the nursing home.  Just trying to keep her comfortable and out of pain as much as possible.  She is getting weaker all the time, but we just don't know how much longer she can live.  I've been grateful for this time to be able to spend with her and try to heal some hurts from the past years, because she had estranged herself from us. 

Also my sister in law, who has handicaps, has always lived with her mom, so it's been a big change for her.  But she has a very nice apartment there at the same facility, and independent living type set up, where she eats meals in a nice dining room, it really is nice and she is close to Mom,  and when Mom is gone she will be more ready to adjust to that.  We had a crisis with HER, Mona, too, when she fell at work and broke her knee cap!  She had to have surgery and rehab then went on quite a while, and she has had to quit her job, but I think it's for the best.  She is doing some volunteer things at the nursing home, and has adjusted pretty well.  It's been a LOT to deal with for our family, and esp. Tom who has done most of the mountains of paperwork for things with Mom, and with Mona with lawyers, disability, on and on. 

So, my life has been filled with working, then finding time to visit Mom every few days, and find time to go work out at the gym, which has suffered.  So it's been interesting trying to figure it out!

We went to visit our kids in CO in October, then they came out here for Christmas for two weeks.  Our grandkids are growing and they are wonderful, I miss them so.  Rob will graduate from college in May, so making plans to go for that.  Hoping to figure out a way to see the kids in CO before that though.  It's so hard being long distance Mamaw.

That's my last few months in a nutshell.  Ready for spring and Bluebirds!  I was given an award from Indiana Bluebird Society for "Bluebirder of the Year" for 2011.  I don't feel like I really deserved it but it's nice and I accepted it in honor of the oldtimers who taught me and guided me so much.

Happy spring everybody!  God bless.  I'll try to be more regular, and post some pics.