raloria

I'll admit, I didn't have a big plan for Christmas. Part of me was hoping against hope that my cousin, K would end up inviting us to celebrate with her husband and the new baby. Yet it didn't surprise me much when she didn't. And of course, we didn't hear from my other cousin at all. So much for family.

So mom and I were on our own.

I decided it was NOT going to go down like Thanksgiving had...being an ordinary day. So I insisted that we dress nicely and after a late breakfast I went over to the house (mom thought I was just picking up our daily delivered paper) and picked up some board games. We ended up playing them all day and into the evening.

With Christmas music playing in the background on the computer, we started with Yahtzee and played 6 games. I threw a Yahtzee 5 times! Mom said my dad must've been helping me. ;) He was so great at board games. Next we played a game of Sorry!, but I think I've outgrown that game. It's so tame and boring. We moved on to Monopoly and played that right up until we had to fix supper.

For supper we had smoked ham, cornbread dressing, and carrots. Simple stuff, but we had some issues heating up the ham and as it turned out it was a bit rubbery. Other than that the meal was alright. Later on we each had some pie - cherry and pumpkin, respectively.

After supper we played a game of Scrabble. I think playing Words With Friends online really helped me. We then wrapped up the evening by watching "White Christmas". All in all it was a quiet, but fun Christmas and mom said she really enjoyed it. So it didn't matter that it was just us and didn't matter that there weren't any presents exchanged (we just gave cards to each other). We had a good time all on our own. A new kind of Christmas for sure, but it worked. It was certainly a huge step up from the past two years.

Might have known I couldn't have a nice, quiet Sunday. No, that's asking for too much.

( Time for more family drama...Warning! Long contents within... )

It's kinda like old times. No heat in the house tonight. Yep, in my aunt's house where mom & I are currently living.

( Real life happenings... )

For those keeping track, mom & I have been living here 4 months. Temps are warming, but still not enough (or consistently) for it to be warm enough to work on cleaning out our own house. Soon, we hope. I still feel like a gypsy from time to time...living out of suitcases and plastic bags. We both miss our home.

We're officially on baby alert. Cousin K's due date was Tuesday (10th) and we're still waiting for a call or text that she's gone to the hospital.

What is it with me and trees?

We just heard a big creak and crack and boom! Sure enough, the tree on the other side of the kitchen window has fallen over and is leaning on the roof here at my aunt's house. Pretty sure it's leaning out right above where I'm sitting here in the dining room. Peachy. :(

See...the house next door has been empty for over a year. And lately the guy back behind my aunt's house (he's Asian, that's all I really know)...anyway, someone from that house, I'm sure of it, has been going into the backyard next door and slowly cutting down the trees. Months ago I caught this guy back there, hacking at a tree near our backyard. He was using a little hacksaw and a crowbar of all things! He was being sneaky about it too, cause once he saw me he ducked down real quick behind the fence.

Anyway, he's been working on this tree by the kitchen window of my aunt's house. He did it back before the snowstorm in January and sure enough...the next night a big limb from that tree ended up falling on the roof. He eventually cut it down the rest of the way and somehow pulled it down off the roof.

Just yesterday (Friday) we could hear and see him doing it again...and here we are with what's left of the tree leaning on the roof!!! If he wasn't over there...trespassing and cutting down trees that aren't his...we wouldn't be having tree trunks falling on the house!!!!

I realize they're desperate for firewood ('cause we're thinking that's their only form of heat - that they don't pay for heat like we do) but enough is enough! I'd call the authorities but I can't prove who it is, I'm only speculating. I've never actually seen where the guy comes from, but I know he's old, with white hair, and is Asian. Plus, I know the guy in back of my aunt's place burns firewood A LOT. We often smell it in the house here and the other night when mom & I came home from supper it was so strong that I was nearly choking.

Anyway, since it's dark we can't see much right now. We'll have to wait until daylight to see what kind of damage has been done. Last time we couldn't see any outside damage, but that was just me and my cousin, K looking from the ground in the backyard. And that was a smaller limb than this one. This is the big trunk of the tree...basically all that was left to fall. I can only imagine there will be damage to at least the eaves this time. Grrrrr. >:[

:: All plans have been made for my aunt's final farewell. There's a viewing today from 3 to 6 p.m. and then the funeral is Friday at 2. I really dislike viewings (as do my cousin, K & her husband), but I need to go there for mom. *sigh*

:: Been having 2 songs going thru my head over the past few days: "Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think)" by Guy Lombardo and "The Old Master Painter" by Phil Harris. My aunt always loved the Guy Lombardo songs and she even had me print out the lyrics for her.

:: Mom hasn't been sleeping well (she's nervous about doing her taxes this year w/out my aunt, who's been helping her since my dad died). I've been getting almost too much sleep, always oversleeping my alarms until I wake up around 11 a.m. or noon. It's like I can't sleep enough. *sigh*

:: I know going to the funeral will be an emotional day, but so far the hardest thing has been telling the close-by neighbors the awful news. It's never easy and I'm still feeling numb so I'm afraid I come off as if I don't care.

:: Been thinking of my aunt a lot over the past few days and what all we leave behind when we die. You know what they say..."You can't take it with you when you go", which is true, but you know all those things, even though they're only "things" are still a part of the person. All the things in this house were my aunt's...or my uncle's. And now they're gone, but their possessions remain. It's like they're still here...sorta. I dunno...I'm just rambling here.

I've been meaning to write, really I have. Finally got a chance to rest and relax and it's gone to my head. Been lazy for a couple of days and really not doing anything substantial online at all.

So I'll try to keep this brief and just hit the main points to catch you up.

Friday, auntie was moved into an adult care home. It all fell together pretty quickly. We had to wait all Friday afternoon for the ambulance to come and move her there, but that's another story.

( A quick catch up... )

It's obvious to just about everyone that my aunt doesn't have much time left. I'm not even sure she'll make it to the end of this month, honestly.

( A tough day... )

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I just haven't had the motivation to share anything.

I really can't remember much over the past several days. The bad weather has really kept us locked in the house and has kept away a lot of visitors.

( Let's see what I do remember... )

Another long day in the books and as what's fast becoming the new norm, I'm dealing with it on practically no sleep.

( Sleep? What's that?... )