Life Update And A Thank You

 Hey guys.  Just dropping in to say 'hello'.

This past week has been a doozy.  The only thing I have done craft wise is make 4 quick and easy baby hats.  They are on their way to the NICU my niece works at in Las Vegas.

Here is a quick run down of my week.

Monday - Called the vet to make Enrique an appointment for anal gland expression.  Put MANY blankets away that had been removed from their cedar chest (Josie needed the chest)  so I could make the bed they were laying on.  Cleaned the guest bathroom's bathtub.  Washed two loads of laundry. Helped with Funeral arrangements.

Tuesday - Got Enrique to the vet and to the groomers (groomer for nail trim).  Took the evening off and went to a baseball game with Jay and Tiffany. (we won!)

Wednesday - Finally folded all the laundry I had done and put it away.  Had lunch with Josh's best friend along with Stacie and Josie.  Jay and Tiff came by for a visit to make sure we were doing ok.

Thursday - Spend 7 hours shopping for appropriate clothing for my son, Josh's, funeral. Yes, I know I go to Mass weekly, but we attend the Saturday evening Mass and it is a bit more 'relaxed' than Sunday Mass.  I did find what I was looking for at Dillard's and it was 75% off!  I got my steps in for the day. My feet and legs were done by the time I got home.

Friday - Relatives started arriving. So did the worse rain storm in over 7 years came.  Our airport actually shut down for over 5 hours because of the severity.  We saw horizontal rain coming down.  Our home received over 2 inches of rain in less than 2 hours.  Flash flooding was every where and there was loss of life as well as a lot of property damage.  Two of our guests were not able to come into town because of flight cancelations.  Two other parties were caught in this state wide storm while driving in for the funeral.  It was a very nerve wracking time for me.  Everyone arrived safely thought.  Thank God!

Saturday - We had the Funeral Mass.  There were around 200 people there!  Josh had touched so many people.  The love.............I can not even describe that feeling.  After the Mass about 100 of us headed to his favorite sports restaurant.  Joe and I finally headed home around 5pm.  I was emotionally spent, my eyes were swollen from crying yet my heart was full with seeing how many lives Josh had touched.

Sunday - For some reason I thought it would be an excellent idea to host an open house for family and very close friends.  Our son, Jay, smoked an 16 pound brisket, I made a 7.5 pound pork loin into green chili, our friends Jenny and Tim brought fruit, cheese and cookies, our daughter made Spanish rice, Joe's sister brought potato and macaroni salads.  By the time it was over, everything, other than the green chili were GONE!  We had 25 people in my humble abode.  I ran out of places for people to sit!  Yet, it was fantastic.  We opened the doors at noon and the last person left around 7pm.  By the time Joe and I got it all cleaned up and the house put back together it was 9pm.  Exhausted again but, my heart was once again filled with all the love poured out to us.

Monday - Josh was interred at our Catholic Cemetery.  About a dozen of us came to the service for the interment.  Afterwards, Joe and I took everyone out for a lunch at our favorite hangout.  By 3pm everyone had left.  Joe and I were finally alone for the first time in 4 days.  Neither of us were up to doing anything other than sitting and watching TV for the evening.

Today I am going to catch up on laundry,  The baskets are over flowing!  I have thank you cards to write also.  There will be some sourdough baking happening as my sourdough starter has been in its little fridge for several weeks and needs a bit of love.  I have plants to figure out where to put them so they will live.  There is green chili that needs to be frozen for future use.A busy day to keep my mind busy.

I do believe I am going to take a bit of a break from blogging in YOP for a while.  The last 2 years have taken a toll on me and I need some time to find me again.  I also want to be 100% available to my immediate family.  We are all suffering in this loss and need each other as we navigate our 'new' normal.

A huge thank you to all of you who have offered prayers and messages of encouragement. This crafting/blogging community is awesome.  I offer much love back to all of you too.

Until Next Time.....................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!! Now go and hug someone near and dear to you!