The New Year celebration

The last Sunday of the year Jerome was at his parents' house caring for his dying father. I was having a light lunch and the power went out. It happens in the countryside and in bad weather. Ya never know for how long. Soooo, I got out the old phone (the one that you plug in to the wall for phone line, not electricity. Everybody should keep one on hand) and called the electric compay. I know the number by heart: 800-477-4747. The recorded message said that yes, there is a power outage. The recording couldn't even tell us what to expect in terms of how long. Hmm, 2 hrs? 2 weeks? No clue. So, into emergency mode: candels and matches, flashlights, wood for the stove, Pot of water to keep heated on the stove, battery operated alarm clock and radio. All that great stuff that I buy from Emergency Essentials really comes in handy. And that beautiful wood buring stove Jerome hooked us up with last year? Yep, lovin' it now. (I'll learn to post pictures and have them on hand so that you can see not only the beautiful stove, but the fabulouse marble and slate tile work the the men in my life did.)I am thankful for it. Monday: Glad to go to work. Kirstynn, being my neighbor, was out of power too, so she felt my pain. Actually, I wasn't having much pain. We take benefit of the day-light hours and set things of for easy function in the dark. It's dark at 5:30, so we went to the pool. Entertainment, exercise AND a hot shower. Jerome stayed in Dearborn to care for his dad. Kirstynn went to her Monday Girls' Night and Nora slept in my bed with me and we watched a movie until the battery died. I think the power came on the evening of the 31st. Again, I refer you to Kirstynn's blog, December 31st. .

On the afternoon of New Years' Eve, Jerome and I went for a Couples Massage. It was a well-deserved treat. The Om Spa in Dearborn that really does it up nice. OM Spa... Ahhh, another shower!!! New Year's eve was once again Jerome's turn to spend the night with his father. I decided to spend the night too, Pauline was there of course and Aunt Theresa was there too. It was not the average New Year's Eve celebration we would normally enjoy, but it was necessary.

New Year's Day was quite fun, though. Their little house flooded with family, neighbors and well-wishers. It was really nice to see so many people that we love. We went to celebrate MARLEY'S FIRST BIRTHDAY. It's always a party withthose kids, but when BIRTHDAY is involved it means CAKE too, and Alison did a killer job on some ooohhh so yummy foods. See Alie's blog dated Jan 12.

On January 2nd Jerry took his final breath. Kirstynn posted on that event from her perspective. Jerome and I left for a couple of hours to have a long-planned dinner date with a co-worker. We made it a short evening and returned to find the house again, still filled with family. Matt and Alie spent their "date night" there and more family was there as well. The following few days were of course the viewing and the funeral. (I know it isn't right to compare for better or best, but I must say, Chuck Staub spoiled it for everybody who I know who will ever die from his death onward. I'll post more about that later too, so you're gonna get 2 years worth of stuff from me this year.) Once the funeral events were over, we were able to take our winter get-away to Florida. That's the week it was in the 50s in the Sunshine state. So, you see, this is a glimpse of the chaos that I am growing from by February 14th. That's my target date for being "on track". You'll see how that works out for me.