Cat Sitting, Flat Tire, Chandeliers, and Pregnancy Update

Back in late October and early November, Sean and Ashley had to have their floors redone. They brought their cat Rowan (they often call him Ro Ro) to our house so he wouldn't be in the way or get out. 

 

They also have a cat named Ollie. He's a big, orange tabby and is/was a stray in their neighborhood. He's now their indoor/outdoor cat. He comes inside in the evenings and sleeps inside with them. He's a sweet boy and loves Sean to death. Follows him around, sleeps on or near him, meows at him. They don't know how old he is, but he appears to be older.

 

Rowan (also an orange tabby) is their wild child. They found him outside the church doors one day a year or so ago when he was a kitten. They tried to find him a home, but no one they knew wanted him and then they fell in love with him.

Anyway, we kept him away from Milo and Loki for awhile (Rowan had also come here a month or so before that while their floors were being checked), but then we let him roam the house. Just when Rowan and Loki started warming up to each other and were kind of starting to play together, it was time for Rowan to go home. He didn't warm up to Milo because Milo is a lot to take lol (and Rowan's never been around dogs before), but maybe he would have eventually. Milo loves playing with cats.

 

Rowan on my bed.

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I had written in my post "2023" that I hurt my arm when we were in the mountains on October 18th and that it had gotten worse. I ordered a couple braces from Amazon (one for carpal tunnel and one for tennis elbow) that arrived on December 29th and they really helped. My arm hardly ever hurts now.

 

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On January 7th or 8th, Charlie noticed that my rear driver's side tire was going flat. I think he said something about a belt or something coming loose inside of it?? Yesterday, he went to the tire store and bought two tires for the back of the car. He wanted to replace all four, but that was going to cost over $1000 (yikes!), so he just bought two for now.

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When I went to the church last night to clean the sanctuary (I also check lights, thermostats, and make sure doors that should be locked are locked throughout the building), I saw that they had hung three new chandeliers in the foyer. Before leaving, I took a few pictures. I flipped the light switch on and was nearly blinded. lol They probably won't have to turn them on on sunny days.

The closed doors on the right are the sanctuary doors. The opened door is to a hallway where the bathrooms, nursery, daycare, a side sanctuary door, and gym/Spanish church are. The closed door to the left is the utility/cleaning supplies room. The glass door (a set of two French doors) lead to what will be a patio area. The wooden structure on the left is the cafe where you can get cookies, cakes, drinks (coffee and water), etc.

 

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Ashley and baby seem to be doing well so far. She's about 27 weeks pregnant now. She had her gestational diabetes test this past Thursday, but hasn't gotten the results back yet. She'll probably get them tomorrow. I had GD with Kelly, but didn't really have any issues with it. I still ate chocolate (my biggest craving when I was pregnant with her), but didn't overdo it and my numbers stayed good.

2023

1. What did you do in 2023 that you’d never done before?

 

I can't think of anything.

 

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

 

I don't make new year's resolutions.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

No.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

My aunt Wanda - my mom's oldest sister. And my friend of over 24 years, Sis (Phyllis).

 

5. What countries did you visit?

 

None. :-/

6. What would you like to have in 2024 that you lacked in 2023?

Fewer hits/problems.

7. What date from 2023 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

August 15th - when a storm hit us, brought down our trees, and damaged my car.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

It seemed like we were hit with one thing after another. Nothing horrible, but it felt like a lot of little and medium-sized things. Thanks to God, I didn't have any moments of crying or screaming. lol

9. What was your biggest failure?

No failures that I can think of.

 

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

 

I somehow hurt my right arm on October 18th when we were in the mountains. I was winding my camera strap around my arm so that if I dropped my camera, the strap would keep it from hitting the ground. That was over two and a half months ago and it hurts worse now. It stopped hurting a few times, but the pain always comes back. First, the pain was only on top of my forearm. About a month and a half later, my upper arm also started hurting. Not long after that, my wrist started hurting. I recently got a carpal tunnel brace and a tennis elbow brace from Amazon. A sleeve-type brace should be here by the end of the week. That covers from a little below the elbow to a little above the elbow. If my arm isn't better in a couple weeks, I may have to go to the doctor.

Oh, and apparently I'm now (as of late winter/early spring) lactose intolerant. That has not been fun.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Groceries, clothes, shoes, books.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

No one I can think of.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

14. Where did most of your money go?

Bills (including doctor and hospital bills), my car, and groceries.

15. What did you get excited about?

Church.

16. What song(s) will always remind you of 2023?

There was a big conference in late July and another big conference in September and great songs were sung. I've been listening to those songs a lot. Covenant Keeping God, This is Freedom (Ain't No Rock), Anything Can Happen, Praise (I think it's originally an Elevation Worship song), Worthy/Worthy of it All, He's in the Room (originally done by David Jennings), Anything is Possible, Fear is Not My Future, Heaven.

I also loved the song Lion by Elevation Worship and Worthy by Urshan College.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

i. Happier or sadder?

About the same.

ii. richer or poorer?

Poorer because of the cost of everything going up.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Pray, read my Bible, go walking at Hagan Stone.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Sitting.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?

We were home, as we are every year. Sean and Ashley came over. Mom came over for a little bit. I cooked fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, black eyed peas, corn, and crescent rolls. We also had pecan pie, chocolate silk pie, and chocolate chip cookies. We had Christmas movies playing while Charlie, Sean, and Kelly played a board game. Ashley and I sat and talked.

21. What was your favorite TV program?

Loki season 2 (fantastic!), Daryl Dixon, Secret Invasion.

22. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

I try not to hate anyone.

23. What was the best book you read?

I finished two books. I wouldn't choose either as the best I read.

24. What was your greatest musical discovery?

None that I can think of.

25. What did you want and get?

Clothes, shoes, books, car stereo, car speakers, laptop, back-up camera, Loki on the throne Funko Pop.

26. What was your favorite film of this year?

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, Part 1

27. What did you do on your birthday?

Nothing. Got some presents, ate some cake.

 

28. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2023? 

 

Classic, preppy, feminine mostly. Pretty, flowy skirts, denim skirts, shirt dresses. But also some utility/military-style jackets and vests (a few military style and others not), and biker/military-style boots in the fall and winter. And, of course, beautiful dresses and tops and skirts with heels for church on Sundays.

29. What kept you sane?

Prayer, church, and faith in God.

30. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Tom Hiddleston.

31. What political issue stirred you the most?

None.

32. Who did you miss?

No one.

33. Who was the best new person you met?

I don't recall meeting anyone new.

34. Tell a valuable life lesson you learned in 2023.

Can't think of anything.

Books and Movies of 2023

This will probably be my shortest ever "Books and Movies of ..." post. I only managed to read two and a half books (I won't count the book I read half of - The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes) because I kept falling asleep when I tried to read. I finally gave up trying a few months ago (early fall, maybe), but I picked it back up a few days ago. I haven't picked it back up since, but I'll keep trying.

Anyway, I'm not going to rank the two books I read. I was going to, but I couldn't decide which one I liked more. I gave them both 3 stars at GoodReads.

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt and Home: Surviving the Evacuation #7 by Frank Tayell. 

 

The first wasn't as good as I was hoping it would be. I had heard that it's a great book, but the only parts I really enjoyed were when the author focused on the octopus. The woman who cleaned the aquarium was okay, but I really only enjoyed her scenes with the octopus. (Sorry, I don't remember anyone's name.) I really didn't like the other main character.

 

The second is part of a very long zombie apocalypse series. There are currently 19 books, but each one is pretty short. Usually no more than 300 pages or so. I think Tayell is writing book 20. Home wasn't the best of what I've read in the series, but it's good. I enjoy the world overall and a few of the characters.

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I watched 8 movies for the first time this year. Four were new/newish, the rest were older. I didn't love any of them, but none were terrible.

1. Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, Part 1

2. Love and Monsters

3. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

4. The Last Samurai

5. The Dig

6. Summerland

7. Seven Kings Must Die

8. Love at First Sight

Dead Reckoning had some great moments (I especially enjoyed the funny moments), but I do not like when the bad guy is A.I./a computer. I think because it's not a real, flesh and blood, human enemy. There is a human enemy, but he works for the A.I. :-/

All but the second Mission Impossible movie are great movies. I've watched them a few times. This M.I. movie (#7) would rank either second from the bottom or third from the bottom for me.

My ranking of the Mission Impossible movies:

1. Rogue Nation (V)

2. Ghost Protocol (IV)

3. Fallout (VI)

4. III

5. Dead Reckoning or MI:I

6. Dead Reckoning or MI:I

7. II

Seven Kings Must Die wasn't terrible, but it was disappointing. It's the conclusion of the Netflix series The Last Kingdom (based on a book series), which I love. It was rushed (I forget how many books they tried to cram into a less than 2-hour movie), characters were missing, and the personality of a character I loved was changed. They really needed another season or two to do the story and the characters justice.