Been a Minute

First. I am doing well! My mother-in-law is adjusting as best she can. There is still the aphasia to contend with. It makes conversation interesting. To be homest, I have no idea how much she understands. There is very little short term memory. Once in a while, there is a flash. She will be present. Comment about something that actually relates to what is happening then, disappear again. Just my own personal opinion, and I understand how little weight that carries, but our daily life resembles what people with dementia exoerience. If that is our new reality, well, we will continue ro work with what we have. We went through ome massive renovations. Our basement was deteriorating rapidly. We had to make a decision on how best to proceed. It was decided to lift the house, destroy the old foundation, and pour a new one. We spent a good month in the clouds waiting for the cement to settle.

We were quite the neighbourhood attraction.
Luna was always present to supervise.

Now we are waiting for the crew to install the heat portion of the heated floors. So far, it feels like the main part of renovation is waiting. For people who are used to making decisions and then taking action, this waiting is the most difficult. For a time, I was working weekends at the nursing home, while going to school, looking after mom-in-law, and started to work as a bookkeeper for an acquaintance. I was afraid to let anyone down. I loved what I was doing at the residence and was grateful to start remote work as a bookkeeper. After all, it s why I am in school. But, a decision needed to be made. I was spreading myself too thin. I didn't have time to do any of the things I really enjoy like paint, draw, knit, and the odd time bake something. I put in my notice at the residence and I just experienced my first weekend home since February. The dogs were estactic! So was the husband. I started working on a few things. These are just a few things I remembered to photograph:

Some baking:

Someone wanted a Black Forest Cake for their birthday. I tried to accomodate!
And I have been knitting. My current work in progress are Bouton d'or socks.

And cross stitching. To ease back into the process, I have been working on a kit from Innocent Bones, Wheel of Fortune.

To cap off our summer adventures, Jackie had the unfortunate experience to be sprayed by a skunk. How we managed to a oid this for the last eight years, I'll never know. It happened in slow motion. We went out for our final nightly routine. I was not paying attention. Charlotte went blasting through. The skunk was probably wondering what the f... was that? When she has to go, she has tunnel vision. There is only one thing she focuses on. I am thankful because I do not think I could have managed the two of them covered. Jackie was not so lucky. She herds by instinct. She tried to herd the wrong kitty and was rewarded for her efforts. Three showers, a few weeks later, there is still a hint of the spray. This is a smell that will be burned in our mememories.

I hope you are all doing well. There are still a lot of changes happening around the world. Some are downright terrifying. I try not to dwell too much or I will end up losing myself in that darkness. I'm just trying to enjoy the little things. Make string pretty. Put some amrks on a page and chill with the family. Stay safe everyone!