Tuesday, August 09, 2005
NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER....1995
November 1st was going to be a critical time for the kid’s dad. He had some kind of artificial tubing in his left leg and a shunt became a problem and caused an aneurysm. There was also danger of infection. He was in ICU in a Texas hospital and the kids were all pretty concerned about him. The doctors felt they may have to amputate his left leg. George had been a smoker many years of his life and the vascular problems eventually showed up. He had several surgeries to try and correct the circulation in his legs.
This day was Grandma Strain’s birthday so I felt like he would rally on her day. We waited for better news. A few days later he had surgery and eventually went home and recovered very well. It took time but he was able to return to a normal life.
Jonathan came and cut out about fifteen trees in our back that were scrubby and too close together to ever make anything. Later he came back with a friend and they cut out the wood for heating and burned the brush. It certainly improved the looks of the back yard and down into the timber. He worked so fast and was so adept at what he was doing it was amazing to watch him. Jonathan loved being outdoors and especially in the woods. He is a true country boy.
We had snow flurries the morning of December 8th which soon came down in earnest. My supervisor called and said he wasn’t going to Eminence (a very crooked road off the US Hwy) and so I took a days vacation and stayed home. The snow made it hard to keep the birds fed who were flocking to our feeders. I always throw feed on the ground in bad weather so more of them can eat. We have ample feeders but when the weather turns ugly they don’t supply fast enough……..and then there are little guys who like to feed on the ground anyway.
To make good use of the day we decided to put our tree up. It took all day of going back and forth to the garage for the boxes. It turned out to be the prettiest tree we ever put up. It was just special that year. Becky came down on Sunday and I started my Christmas baking while it was so cold outside. I made pie dough for five pies, a coffee cake….two batches of chocolate chip cookies, two cookie pie shells to put ice-cream in later, made two bags of hash browned potatoes and a large amount of freezer biscuits. Becky pitched in and helped with all of it and we enjoyed the prospects of having a big start on holiday menus.
On the 14th , on our way to work for the day, we encountered about 40-some cars in the ditches and on the road that had run into each other in a terrible fog. It was so thick visibility was zero. Troopers were out working the accidents but there weren’t nearly enough to go around. I’d never seen such a jumbled pile-up of vehicles….before or since. I had made cinnamon rolls the night before to take to work so we could have them with coffee on our break. I was glad I had them along, we ate them in the car and had coffee from our thermos bottles.
Near the town where we were to work, we passed another terrible (and fatal) accident. A well-known local woman and her four-year old daughter were killed when she pulled out in front of a pick-up and horse trailer. The fog was so dense she never saw it coming. Folks in the Court House were in shock……..in a small town, everyone’s heartache is your own.
On December 22nd, we were surprised to find the Court House at Eminence was closing at noon…….we were really glad to have unexpected time off. It was George’s birthday and he was coming home so I wanted to fix a nice supper and all his favorite goodies. Long ago George decided cherry cobbler was much better than birthday cake so I always made that for him.
Christmas ended up just being the four of us, Bear, Becky, George and me. Jonathan called and had strep throat so he wasn’t able to come. We played a lot of board games and enjoyed good food and gift opening. It was nice but we were sorry Jonathan couldn’t be with us. We talked to John and Barb and Jennifer and her hubby……it was always fun to hear how everyone liked their gifts.
This year we would be able to see John, Barb and L.J. open their’s…..they arrived the day after Christmas. It isn’t often all three kids get home at the same time and especially over holidays but this year was very special……..as we would learn later. The day John’s left for home, it began snowing and L.J. was having a ball chasing the flakes and letting them fall on him. Not very often does a south Louisiana boy get to see snow. He loved it.
As the last car pulled out of the driveway, the snow kept falling and we came back inside to clear away the dishes and food. It’s always quiet when everyone is gone but the laughter and the hugs last a long time after. We took our tree down the last day of December and the New Year came in as we slept……………
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
This day was Grandma Strain’s birthday so I felt like he would rally on her day. We waited for better news. A few days later he had surgery and eventually went home and recovered very well. It took time but he was able to return to a normal life.
Jonathan came and cut out about fifteen trees in our back that were scrubby and too close together to ever make anything. Later he came back with a friend and they cut out the wood for heating and burned the brush. It certainly improved the looks of the back yard and down into the timber. He worked so fast and was so adept at what he was doing it was amazing to watch him. Jonathan loved being outdoors and especially in the woods. He is a true country boy.
We had snow flurries the morning of December 8th which soon came down in earnest. My supervisor called and said he wasn’t going to Eminence (a very crooked road off the US Hwy) and so I took a days vacation and stayed home. The snow made it hard to keep the birds fed who were flocking to our feeders. I always throw feed on the ground in bad weather so more of them can eat. We have ample feeders but when the weather turns ugly they don’t supply fast enough……..and then there are little guys who like to feed on the ground anyway.
To make good use of the day we decided to put our tree up. It took all day of going back and forth to the garage for the boxes. It turned out to be the prettiest tree we ever put up. It was just special that year. Becky came down on Sunday and I started my Christmas baking while it was so cold outside. I made pie dough for five pies, a coffee cake….two batches of chocolate chip cookies, two cookie pie shells to put ice-cream in later, made two bags of hash browned potatoes and a large amount of freezer biscuits. Becky pitched in and helped with all of it and we enjoyed the prospects of having a big start on holiday menus.
On the 14th , on our way to work for the day, we encountered about 40-some cars in the ditches and on the road that had run into each other in a terrible fog. It was so thick visibility was zero. Troopers were out working the accidents but there weren’t nearly enough to go around. I’d never seen such a jumbled pile-up of vehicles….before or since. I had made cinnamon rolls the night before to take to work so we could have them with coffee on our break. I was glad I had them along, we ate them in the car and had coffee from our thermos bottles.
Near the town where we were to work, we passed another terrible (and fatal) accident. A well-known local woman and her four-year old daughter were killed when she pulled out in front of a pick-up and horse trailer. The fog was so dense she never saw it coming. Folks in the Court House were in shock……..in a small town, everyone’s heartache is your own.
On December 22nd, we were surprised to find the Court House at Eminence was closing at noon…….we were really glad to have unexpected time off. It was George’s birthday and he was coming home so I wanted to fix a nice supper and all his favorite goodies. Long ago George decided cherry cobbler was much better than birthday cake so I always made that for him.
Christmas ended up just being the four of us, Bear, Becky, George and me. Jonathan called and had strep throat so he wasn’t able to come. We played a lot of board games and enjoyed good food and gift opening. It was nice but we were sorry Jonathan couldn’t be with us. We talked to John and Barb and Jennifer and her hubby……it was always fun to hear how everyone liked their gifts.
This year we would be able to see John, Barb and L.J. open their’s…..they arrived the day after Christmas. It isn’t often all three kids get home at the same time and especially over holidays but this year was very special……..as we would learn later. The day John’s left for home, it began snowing and L.J. was having a ball chasing the flakes and letting them fall on him. Not very often does a south Louisiana boy get to see snow. He loved it.
As the last car pulled out of the driveway, the snow kept falling and we came back inside to clear away the dishes and food. It’s always quiet when everyone is gone but the laughter and the hugs last a long time after. We took our tree down the last day of December and the New Year came in as we slept……………
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
