Yeah, it’s New Year’s Eve here still, but it’s time for an update, I think. Please excuse my tone; I’m feeling really down at the moment.

2024 was painful, in more ways than one. I had surgery in March to remove all the reproductive plumbing (growing fibroids had filled the unused spaces and were clinging on the outside.) Then I loom knitted two really nice afghans within four months. One was a commission from my mother-in-law and the other was a Mother’s Day gift for that same mother-in-law. The continual, repetitive motion messed up my right shoulder; it’s still not healed and probably needs more diagnosis.

I added a new physician to the roster after I went to the hospital with a possible cardiac event. Subsequent testing didn’t turn up anything substantial, so I decided to go back to the YMCA and get some exercise. My preferred spot wasn’t yet an official YMCA site but was scheduled to become one in October. I don’t like the Y location my husband goes to, so dropped out of exercising for the two weeks the upgrade was supposed to take.

Then came Hurricane Helene.

Truthfully, we didn’t suffer as much as western North Carolina did, but we had big trees down everywhere. Our power was out for a week while the power companies prioritized gas stations and schools before strictly residential neighborhoods. The Y was closed for weeks and staying home seemed to be a better option, letting my husband use the car as the bus system wasn’t running.

At the end of October, I fell in the shower. Thought I’d busted my tailbone. I called an ambulance because, for once, I had the car so my husband couldn’t come get me. No broken bones but wicked deep bruising that took forever to heal. During all this mess, I ended up with a wound in my foot, deep in a recurring callous. My podiatrist made it worse, causing my whole foot to become inflamed and infected. A visit to urgent care brought a referral to the hospital’s wound care center, where I’ve been visiting weekly since the beginning of December. (I will be firing my podiatrist!)

And in December, my lovely, sweet mother-in-law’s health began to deteriorate. In one of her clearer moments, she asked that all her children (and their spouses) be with her for Christmas. There was no way I could go; I started out wound care in a cast and boot, then upgraded to just a boot. Both were open-toed. Neither would do well in snow. So we made arrangements for my husband to fly up by himself. I would stay home and celebrate Christmas with our children and local relatives.

On December 14th, my mother-in-law passed away.

I last saw her in March, when we traveled north for her birthday. Through phone calls, I was a long-distance witness to her decline. Even at the end, when she was in rehab, the plan was for her to go back to her apartment and have hospice come in. That never happened.

So, when my husband went north for Christmas, it was also for her funeral and burial.

I will miss her. Maybe later I’ll post all the things she did that made her such a wonderful mother-in-law, but not right now.

Changing topics a little. My local sister-in-law and niece are hard to shop for, so I’ve resorted to making gifts for them. Last year I made my SIL a drawstring jewelry bag with pockets inside it. My niece got an afghan much like the I made for my MIL. (With three months between the completion of that gift and the start of the next, my shoulder was fit enough to knit.) This year, I quilted. First up was making a long table runner in shades of blue and light gray. I’d never bound a quilt before so I learned something new. For my niece, I quilted an envelope throw pillow sham, using the traditional log cabin quilt block. She loves purple and dragons, so those were worked into the whole. I’m quite pleased with the way they both turned out!

However, the constant use of my sewing machine pedal created a problem with my right hip, locking up the muscles or pulling tendons–I don’t know which. The pain subsided after I stopped sewing but recurred when I took up a personal project. For now, the machine is put away until wanted again.

On the plus side, I managed to get a little writing done, including a fanfic for the fandom’s Tumblr Secret Santa and a drabble for Flash Fiction Friday. And Christmas was great! Son #1 was home, bringing a cardamom bread experiment. The Girl took time from her schedule to take her dad to Charlotte to catch his flight, then picked him up on his return. She went from Charlotte to Raleigh and picked up her brother, bringing him here, then returning him home after the holiday. She also put my husband’s largest Christmas gift together for me. (More board game storage.) Son # 2 stopped by at my request to haul boxes from the garage and to clean the litter boxes so his dad didn’t have to. We ate pizza, celebrated my Son #2’s birthday, and gave marvelous gifts. Our children went in together to buy me a new recliner (a fancy electric one) and a new computer tower for their dad. (Son #1 says it’s because Civilization 7 comes out in 2025 and he wants to play it with his father.) My handmade gifts were well-received.

Now my husband is home and has a couple of days off to recuperate from his trip. And I’m trying to put my feet up to help the wound heal.

I can only pray that 2025 is better for us… and for you, my friends.

Happy New Year!