I won’t lie; this winter has been a long grind. I distinctly remember choosing to go into this past winter with a willing attitude, embracing the snow and short days as a time to delve into spinning at my wheel, fiber and color blending on my drum carder, and maybe some knitting by the wood stove.
But you know what they say; “Life is what happens while you are busy making plans”.
Between record-breaking snowfall and Jer’s broken leg, my plans for a peaceful, creative and productive winter skidded sideways and went right out the window. Still, life goes on.
Even though it’s more than halfway through April now, every time spring (the wimp!) has tried to make an appearance, winter has pushed back with another snow dump and more frigid temperatures.
Until this past week, Mother Nature has sneered at my futile attempts to clear snow and ice from around my frozen-in-place motor home.
This shot was taken just ten days ago. Yes, in April!
It’s been a close thing. I usually already have her de-winterized and have started loading supplies by this time of year.
I have an appointment for this very thing (de-winterizing) next Monday and am still stressing over whether I can get her turned around on our alternately icy and/or muddy parking area in front of the house.
I was finally able to break the last of my canvas wheel covers free from ice yesterday – with the help of a couple gallons of boiling water and a hammer (hey, I was desperate).
This morning, with temps hovering in the 20’s, I drove Roada out from her winter storage spot and into the sunniest spot in the yard! She is totally blocking the entire yard, but it’s only until Friday or Saturday and will hopefully give the [finally] ever-strengthening sunshine a chance to melt the last ridge of snow on the roof that we weren’t able to reach. We call it her mohawk. It’s only about a foot wide, but runs the length of the roof. I sure don’t want that sliding off on our way to Anchorage this weekend!
MELT, darn it! Our first K9 Nose Work trial is literally a week from today. I plan on being there, de-winterized or not.
With hope flickering in an uncertain heart, I look towards the future. Well, at least the next month or so. I’m having difficulty thinking much beyond that.
But Jerry began out-patient PT last week and that’s a huge step forward.
This has certainly not been the winter I’d been anticipating. Do I dare hope for the summer I’ve longed for?
After my knee replacement in January, 2022, the entire winter and much of the spring revolved around recovery and PT, with the goal of regaining enough mobility to participate in my dog sports and camping. In other words, get on with my life.
I worked my tail off to meet my goal of attending my first K9 Nose Work competition the end of May, 2022.
2022 wasn’t my best summer ever; I wasn’t pain-free, and my balance hadn’t really rebounded as well as I’d expected as I continued working with my new knee and slightly changed stride. However, the dogs had a blast and I was happy to have seen my goals achieved. It was good enough and I expected it would keep improving with time and exercise.
Summer 2022 activities!
I’d been determined, all summer, not to allow my still-recovering knee to interfere with my fun. Thus, I threw myself not only into a regular exercise and stretching program, but also into a multitude of K-9 Nose Work, AKC Scent Work and Barn Hunt trials and practices, and fit in as much camping as I could before, after and between trials.
Needing to elevate and ice my knee most nights was a fair price to pay.
As summer wound down and fall brought its usual chill nights and crisp days, I was more than ready to settle into what I expected to be a quiet, uneventful winter.
I even resolved within myself to enjoy winter this year, which most of you know has not been my norm the past few years.
I was tired by the time September arrived. I looked forward to peaceful months of processing raw fleece, drum-carding beautiful batts of wonderful wool and other fibers, spinning to my hearts content and knitting. My winter was all planned out.
Winter started out wonderfully. I spent days properly sorting and organizing both my fiber storage room and my yarn and knitting stash.
This is just a small example of my yarn reorganization.
Once that rather daunting chore was satisfyingly behind me, I set about planning a variety of blending and spinning projects, looking forward to a creative and fulfilling winter of fiber and relaxation.
With an over abundance of snow outside, I was more than content to spend much of my days in my tiny bedroom fiber studio, was getting into a groove and feeling productive as well as inspired.
Then February 4th arrived and my quiet, low-key winter of relative solitude abruptly evaporated.
I won’t rehash the details, but needless to say, my spinning was on the back burner the whole first month as I became sole caregiver, chef and bottle washer (don’t ask).
Eventually, if only to save my sanity, I moved my spinning wheel downstairs, where I was able to squeeze it between the portable commode, lift-chair, walker and wheelchair. We do not have a large living room, so this took creativity and some major cleaning and rearranging.
Winter wore on, and because of the outlet spinning and some late evening knitting provided me, I was able to fairly cheerfully spend my days downstairs where I was needed to see to my mostly chair-bound husband.
My most important not-so-secret weapon? The Bose sound-canceling headset. Set to Quiet mode, I could listen to an Audible book, quiet music or even my own thought … while all around me, the TV was blaring, the dogs were periodically barking and Jer was (yes, along with the TV), watching and listening to a video or podcast on his computer.
This bombardment of high-volume noise was what had sent me running to the peace and quiet of my fiber studio in the first place several years ago, but now, since my presence has been required downstairs, I had to come up with a way to lower the non-stop noise level to something tolerable. Thank you, Bose!
So, out-patient PT has begun. Jer has been getting around better and better with the walker, although he remains confined to the main floor of the house. Now, if he’d just acquire some sort of motivation towards his recovery PT.
His last appointment with his orthopedic surgeon showed continued healing and he’s allowed more weight bearing. It’s been two and a half long months since the accident and my fingers are cramping with the effort to keep them tightly crossed.
Update; I wrote this blog post almost two weeks ago. Although Jerry still blows off doing his daily at-home PT, which irritates the heck out of me, the leg continues to mend. He is mostly walking, albeit slowly, with a cane now, and drove the car for the first time last evening when I tempted him with dinner out at a nearby restaurant. 👍
The 2023 season’s first K9 Nose Work trial is less than two weeks away. I sure wish Jerry was as motivated to regain his full independence as I was at this time last year!
I am truly not sure if I put this here meaning it for Jerry, or for me. Either way, it seems an appropriate ending thought.
My husband, Jerry, has been approved to begin the slow process towards full weight-bearing on his injured leg! It’s been a long seven weeks since the accident and I’m thrilled this approval has come sooner rather than later.
They have also graduated him into a lighter leg brace. It still has plenty of side support, but is much lighter and without the bending restrictions the bigger brace had.
Jer, leaving the orthopedic surgeon’s office with a big smile. I hope he’s still smiling when we head off to our-patient PT in another ten days.
Now that the healing has been coming along pretty well and X-rays show the knitting of the fractures are on track, it’s time for Jer to buckle down and DO his strength building exercises.
This is not something I can do for him, and I’m finding it difficult to maintain my cheerfully supportive attitude in the face of his non-compliance.
If he continues procrastinating, it is only going to be that much harder on him when he gets to out-patient PT in early April and they expect him to be at a certain level … a level he is sadly no where’s near since his idea of “doing his exercises” consists of “I did them while you were gone/in the other room/knitting/etc.”
Seriously? In his shoes, I’d be SO antsy to be up and about. I remember how hard I worked last winter to do just that. He’s not in pain at this point. He just needs to put in the effort to rebuild strength and range of motion.
Even so, my spirits are improving with each day of ever-extending daylight hours. We just passed Spring Equinox, which means … well, it means it ought to stop snowing any day now. ☃️
While I wait for Spring, I’ve done a lot of spinning. This has been my saving grace during Jerry’s recovery. The wheel occupies my hands, feet and mind on days when I most need the distraction.
I’ve spun up nearly 30 ounces of creamy natural Polwarth into soft, squishy sport-weight yarn.
I’m planning a dye project and am hoping it comes out as I have envisioned it in my head. I usually dye or blend fibers before I spin, but this time I’ve done the spinning first and now need to add color.
And then there are evenings when it seems all I can do is sit back on the sofa, with my wheel in front of me, my headset on quiet-mode to block out the never-ending sound of the TV, and just treadle – without even bothering to set up a bobbin.
I’ve also started knitting myself a pair of fingerless mitts to match a hat I spun and knit up last winter. I pulled the dark, smoky teal Alpaca hat out to wear last week and realized I still had two balls of matching yarn upstairs in my stash. Waste not, want not.
It snowed again last night, but not much. Temperatures continue to slowly … oh so slowly, rise.
It’s that time of year; when it’s above freezing and warm enough to melt some during the day, and then the puddles freeze into solid ice at night, leaving icy conditions for the unwary walker.
I continue to scatter road salt on icy patches near the front porch to keep an ice-free path to the car.
In the meantime, I’m keeping my eyes open and watching the willow trees near the house. They could burst out in pussy willows any time now.
Happy Spring! Hey, it may not look quite like Spring yet, but I know it’s out there. 🌷☀️🪴
Each morning I awaken, knowing I’m one day closer to Spring. 🌷☀️🌱
I witness the dawn shatter the last dregs of darkness, freeing the silhouette of the eastern mountains and throwing the sun’s rays across the valley.
I revel in the knowledge that seeing dawn at all will soon be a distant memory, not to be given another thought until next Fall.
Jer’s broken leg is slowly but surely mending, although the pressure put on his arms and shoulders while hopping across the floor to the bathroom is taking a toll. I wish he’d reconsider using crutches.
Still, mending is happening. He has permission to “toe-touch”, which is helping with his balance. He is allowed to sleep with the brace off. Patience is required. Spring will come and with it, healing.
We are hoping his appointment next week will produce the hoped for verdict of “weight-bearing as comfort allows”. It’s not guaranteed, and we may be overly hopeful in wishing for it too soon, but hey, it’s March! I’m feeling hopeful.
Our new Samsung washing machine was delivered yesterday and installed by our much-appreciated handyman, Jared, first thing this morning.
All our appliances are currently working! Yay!
Jared also spent forty-five minutes clearing deep, hard-packed snow from around my RV, making sure to clear the exhaust so I can resume running the engine, and dug deep channels for melt-off to better evacuate what is left in the area. This would have taken me hours and hours – if I could have managed it at all.
“Roada” is once again visible!
Clearing around “Roada” was essential this year if I’m to have any chance of making my late April de-winterizing date. The RV, while stored in a safe place, is also stored in a shady place – and is often the last area in our yard to completely melt off. It needed help!
The snowfall this winter has been challenging, in so many ways. With Jerry out of commission, we had to hire out the job of plowing our long, winding driveway. Our good friend, Jake, owner of Knik Landscaping, referred us to plow driver, Bob. Having such a reliable professional taking care of our driveway was a huge relief, especially with home healthcare and in-home PR coming and going.
I am SO HAPPY to see snow starting to melt in sunnier areas as our March sunshine gains strength. ☀️☀️
On the back side of the house, the strident chittering of Western Red Squirrels in the spruce trees beyond our back deck is a sure sign of impending Spring. Maud and her cohorts are solitary by nature most of the year, so hearing more than one can only mean courting has begun – and we’ll be welcoming baby squirrels in another month or so.
What do you think? Is the snowman half full or half empty?
De & the Dachsies - Our Rambles 