RUG HOOKING BLOG

About Me

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I'm a mother of four grandmother of seven and great grandmother of three. I live with my husband in the house that we built with the help of my brothers and will have been married for 57 years this February.

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

LOOKING BACK ON 2021

 


                                                  

In retrospect, we have a lot to be thankful for in 2021 despite all the misery, twists, and turns that Covid inflicted on us.  We've all had to suffer some time away from family and friends, we suffered having our churches closed for a period of time and then reopened with restrictions and rules that were imposed on us, like no singing in the congregation and only one person allowed to sing away from the people.  Having to register our names and contact information upon entering the church. Funerals services were not allowed, making it difficult to show our support to bereaved families, visiting sick family members and friends in the hospital was not allowed and many businesses have had to close while Amazon sales online soared.  We've had to forgo our fundraising Spring and Fall suppers and caterings, Christmas parties, many organizations have had to suspend their meetings and fundraising. 

Even shopping for groceries became some kind of maze we had to learn to navigate. A few idiots couldn't follow the arrows on the floor to the dismay of others who gave them the evil eye, or the ones who wore their masks below the nose.  Apparently, they never went to health classes and don't know that the nose is part of the respiratory system.

One good thing that came out of this isolation is that we discovered how efficient meeting by Zoom has been.   It has been so much more efficient than meeting in small groups and I've made so many amazing like-minded friends across Canada, the USA, and as far away as Singapore and Bali.  

 Health care is now overburdened with the shortage of doctors and nurses and hospitals running at overflow capacity. Covid is hogging the news and the world has gone bonkers. Still, there are some silver linings in all of this. People are now washing their hands more often and covering their mouths and colds and regular flu have been less frequent.  School children have had to resort to online classes and people have had to work from home with a lot of adjustments. One sad side effect of Covid restriction is that drug and alcohol abuse have risen and also family violence and spousal abuse which is so unfortunate.

Personally, we have had our share of losses and gains. On January 4th, 2021 we lost a good mechanic employee and friend to Leukemia and several close friends and acquaintances, two nephews lost their battle with cancer, and a third nephew died after complications with diabetes.  We quietly celebrated our 55th wedding anniversary. We were spared a spring flood in 2021 and I'm so grateful for this after suffering two devastating floods two years in a row.


In the spring, we got an abundance of spring flowers and fiddleheads. I shredded a mountain of office papers but still, another mountain needs to be shredded.   I conquered a beautiful pattern for a baby blanket after many, many attempts. 

Madison, my brother's grandaughter went missing in May on her way to school early in the morning and was murdered by a pedophile. Her body has still not been found although, they have found her cell phone at the bottom of a lake, some of her clothing, and her blood in the back of the truck. My brother, her grandfather, was paralyzing slowly and needed a walker to get around until he was totally paralyzed from a huge brain tumor. He is now recuperating in the hospital in his hometown after very serious brain surgery and many serious setbacks. He is our Christmas Miracle.

I successfully grew sweet potatoes in our short season for the first time, and also successfully grew sweet corn and used cotton bags to protect the cobs from birds and worms. I had a bumper crop of rhubarbs,  green beans, carrots, peas, potatoes and tomatoes, and many other veggies. I made the best-bottled salsa from a recipe from Mennonite Girls Can Cook, and plenty of it. I went picking apples twice in the country and bottled dehydrated apples. Made tons of assorted pickles, jam, and jelly and sold a lot to raise funds for the church. 

My son has been alcohol-free for over 4 months and is doing very well.  We lost our good family doctor and now have joined the rank of people without family doctors. I'm sure I'm forgetting some important events but  2021, sure has had its up and down and for the record, there are still two more days to go.

I successfully went through a 21 day Daniel fast and gain spiritual peace and graces for which I'm very grateful. Being away from social media has freed a huge amount of time that I used for prayer and reflection and got things done around the house.

Since Covid started, I haven't had either any colds or flu and I hope I can keep it up but my little great-granddaughter visited a few days ago and she had a runny nose. I'm keeping my fingers crossed but I suspect it won't do any good. So far, I've survived 2021, like I said, there are still 2 more days left. 

Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment and keep thinking positive, it's better for your health.

Hugs,

Julia











Thursday, December 23, 2021

WOW! DECEMBER IS FADING FAST AND I ALREADY GOT MY CHRISTMAS GIFT

  My 21 days of Daniel fasting is done and has been a true blessing in many ways.  Even when there have been so many twists and turns with covid related cancelations and frustrations and serious sickness in my family, my prayer life gave me so much peace and surrender that I haven't felt stressed at all this December. I have no power to change anything so I just surrendered it all to Jesus. 

I lost a few pounds just eating veggies, fruits, nuts, berries, and a little bread and some water, but I know it will probably come back on during the holidays.  It's been a long while since I last posted and I never know where to begin. 

I got the news that my brother Leo was transported to the hospital by ambulance when he became paralyzed and confused.  Leo is the grandfather of the 14 years old girl, Madison Roy-Boudreau, who disappeared in Bathurst on May 11 of this year.  She has been declared murdered by a pedophile but her body has never been found. Her phone was found at the bottom of a river, some of her clothing and her blood in the box of the truck. This has been an extreemly difficult time in his life.

Leo had been struggling with his balance and had to use a walker since May. Then, he lost the ability to sit and walk and kept falling and could not get up. Leo is one year older than me. They found a very large tumor on his brain, 3in X 2 1/2 in, the size of a big egg on his right lobe. The biggest brain tumor his neurosurgeon ever saw. Leo's brain was swelling, causing other problems which complicated the matter. 

After some delays to transport him to a larger hospital because there were no beds available because of a sudden increase of Covid cases, he finally was transported, and to make a long story short, was operated on. His very risky operation was scheduled to take 12 to 15 hours and was done in only 6 1/2 hours. After the operation, he was awake and talking and even ate applesauce. He regained the movement in his arms and in one leg but his brain was still swollen. They were going to put him in intensive care for 3 to 4 days but after the first day, they were considering taking him out of ICU.  It was a very risky operation but he surprised the doctors with his speedy progress. I haven't received any updates today. He was very lucky to get in surgery as they are canceling scheduled surgeries because of a spike in new cases of Covid. 

This was the best Christmas gift the family could hope for. There were a lot of prayers by many, many friends, and family and surrender to God's will for the outcome. We are all so very grateful.

The only Christmas decorations I put up were a wreath on the front door, a poinsettia, and a nativity. That will be so easy to put away come, Epiphany. 

I've been hooking a little on Mary and Child rug but stopped when I didn't like how the blue mantel looked. I started to dye more shades of blue but had to stop to get my Christmas baking done. So, it looks like  I'll be pulling most of the wool on the blue mantel and try again with more subtle shading. I also will be ripping out the darker blue marking in the baby's gown. It's just too dark.  The baby's upper lips also need some proper color and a little tweaking.



This first picture was taken in the day time


This one was taken at night with poor lighting.  I got a little more done in this photo.  I really don't like how the shading turned out so it's all coming out. I find this type of shading very challenging to do. I'll try with more subtle shading when I get all my wool dyed. 


I started crocheting a baby blanket using a new pattern. I can't sit for a long time because it causes my back to ache. I really like to crochet and find it relaxing when it's an easy pattern. 




No family again for Christmas this year but we will have a turkey dinner with all the trimmings which we will share with two households. I'll prepare some care packages so they will be well fed at least.  I've got my Christmas baking done, but I still have to make more meat pies to give away.  I made two a few days ago, one for us, and one for my son Vaughan. They turned out very tasty and quickly disappeared. George and I  are not exchanging gifts as we are old and have everything we need. It makes life easier in this time of Covid. No need to go shopping. The rest of the family gets money to buy something they can use.


Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone. Wishing you good health.  Stay well and safe and find something to be thankful for and then, we'll hang our new calendar and start all over again.

Hugs, Julia



Wednesday, December 1, 2021

I'M GOING ON A DANIEL FAST FOR 21 DAYS

 Good morning my blogger friends, during Advent, starting today, I'm going on a Daniel fast for 21 days along with thousands of other people with the Shalom Media so this means that I will not be on social media and will not be posting and visiting my favorite blogs. I'll visit at the end of this period. I expect great blessings from this time of prayers.

I wish you all a great December.

Julia