January 2009 Review

I usually think of January as cold, dreary and dull; days dragging and spirits gray as the skies. January 2009 has been so different from that. I have felt healthy for the most part with only a few fibromyalgia flare-ups. My mind and moods have been clear and happy. We've had some good heavy snow storms followed by days and days of sunshine. The sunshine reflects off the snow and fills the house with light.

Most days were filled with reading, blogging, watching TV and routine duties. There were a few days that stood out from the rest.

20 - Carpet was laid in my new library and we moved the furniture in. I am so happy with the results. Over the next few days I moved my books to the shelves and arranged and

rearranged them until I was satisfied. I was able to add some nick-nacks that we bought on our Newfoundland trip. These items had been stored away until now, so it was fun to open them and have fun memories rekindled.

20 - Steve & Verona had a girl from Moldova staying with them. The night before she flew back to her country she prepared a big meal for our families and some fo the Winklers. The food was very different that what we are used to. She prepared 3 different salads - one with bologna, carrots, beets, potatoes, corn; one with dill pickles and chicken liver; and one with corn, eggs, crabmeat. Each item was was cut to nearly the same size - a small little cube. She also fixed borcht and chicken noodle soup. The borcht was delicious. The flavor of the chicken noodle was very different from American flavors and I didn't care for it. Luda came to Vernal to work at McDonald's. She lived in the house across the street from Steve & Verona. When she was able to extend her stay in Vernal, she moved into their home.

23 - Annie had surgery. She had 3 lumps in her breast removed that were in stage 3 cancer. The doctors feel like she will be fine. She still needs to go through radiation and chemotherapy. We had all beens so concerned and are happy that she is going to be okay.

25,26 - Wayne visited from Virginia. Every January he has a dental convention in SLC that he attends. He is able to go skiing and visit family, too. Sunday evening Mom and her Vernal kids had a real good visit with Wayne. Monday night several of us went to Mom's to enjoy sloppy-joes that were left over from the Aug Petersen reunion. We enjoyed lots more visiting and a game of 6-dice.

30 - Mom took us to lunch at JB's. This has become an annual event to celebrate all the winter birthdays - mine, Verona's, Steve's and Shaneen's. This was the first year Myke was able to join us. We had some good food and some good visiting.