A Fresh, New Start

Hi everyone -- I hope you're enjoying sunshine in your part of the world today!  I can't tell you how glad I am to finally have sunshine again; it lifts my spirits considerably.  From what I can gather, a lot of people were sick during the holidays; it seems like so many people had bronchitis.  I hope everyone has recovered completely.

My dad came home from the hospital on Monday evening, and we're all relieved and thankful.  Your prayers are much appreciated.  We finally got an answer about what really happened that evening he was taken to the emergency room.  He had received a blood transfusion the day before, and apparently, he had something like an allergic reaction to the blood and his body was trying to reject it.  It was a very frightening time for all of us.

I've never talked about this on my blog, but my father has a serious blood disorder which he was diagnosed with about 15 years ago.  He sees an oncologist and takes very strong medicine to try and keep his platelets regulated.  This often causes his hemoglobin to fall too low, requiring a blood transfusion.  He's never had this sort of reaction before, and we certainly hope he won't again.  He has also been on kidney dialysis for the past two years; he does this at home every night, and my mom is responsible for taking care of all that.  She has a huge responsibility, and she handles it all so gracefully.  My sister and I do our best to help, but she doesn't ask for help very often, so we try to find little ways to make her life easier.

So now you know most of the story; there are other smaller health issues, but these are the two biggies.  Writing this blog has been so therapeutic for me -- it helps take my mind off my worries, and I've met some wonderful friends along the way.

I'm always pleased to begin a new year; do you feel the same?  It's a fresh, clean slate, and I'm sure we all hope we'll be able to write some good things on our slates as the year goes forward.  Some things I'll be posting about soon -- Mr. Duncan turned two years old, on Sunday, January 3rd.  That's so hard for me to believe; time goes by so much faster than I realized.

I shared with you at the end of 2015 our guest bedroom all dressed for winter.  

 I have so enjoyed working on this room, and my next step will be to get new curtains with some of my Christmas money.

Hal and I also toured this magical place on January 1st, and I'll be posting about that soon.

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Mr. Forest Manor gave me a new Kindle Paperwhite for Christmas, and I do love it.  When these first came out, I swore I'd never have one.  Never say "Never" folks.  My husband's co-worker found one in the pocket of an airplane seat a few years ago, and gave it to my husband.  Hal gave it to me, as he already had a Nook.  It was one of the older models of Kindle, but hey, it was free.  I didn't use it for a long time, but once I tried it, I was sold on the convenience.  I'm starting to find that it hurts my hands to hold a paperback book for any length of time now, and these Kindles are so easy to lay on a table, the arm of a sofa, or your lap.  Plus, I re-read some of my paperbacks, and after awhile, the bindings start to wear out.  In addition, the new Kindle Paperwhite has a built-in light, so you can read in bed at night without a lamp or overhead light.  These will never replace real books for me, but they are easier on the eyes and hands.

 

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The Hubs and I are also hoping to learn French this year.  I took four years of French in school and really enjoyed it, but if you don't use it, you lose it.  We'll see how it goes.  ;)

I haven't made New Year's resolutions, but I have set some goals.  How about you?  Is there something you'd really like to accomplish this year, or maybe just do differently?  I'd love to hear from you.  Thanks so much for your visit, and have a great week!

Denise