Hello, are you preparing for a small and pared down Holiday? I hope not too lonely or feeling isolated. I haven’t had a lot of DIY or house stuff to report. We are just working away busily from home, taking care of our son, and doing some small clean up of the yard for winter, which can be pretty slow to arrive here in temperate Northern California. I started to prune my climbing roses, and have cut back most things that need pruning, such as our grape vines in the side yard. We have two ‘table grape’ varieties; one is very happy and prolific, the other is sort of smaller- but they both made several hearty clusters of grapes this year, and we had fun picking and eating them and hey, no smoke taint a la Napa this year, 2020! I’m also drying out my fabulous begonia tubers and thanking them for another fantastic year of blooms, even though I got them in hanging pots and a few planters late this year, they really came into their own in Sept/Oct. when we’re in our warmest days. I’m also starting mini-African violet leaf cuttings, a tiny windowsill project that’s going surprisingly well!
Otherwise as far as projects and focus go (beside some career things in the works!!)…..
I guess I’ll confess even though I am not totally comfortable sharing IVF & fertility stuff , yesterday we did a frozen embryo transfer! After a planned date in early November was pushed off because I ovulated, this timing seemed better, as we know who the next president will be, I had the week off to relax, and now we can just rest around enjoy this (weird) Thanksgiving. This embryo is ours from a procedure in 2017, and we used one from that cycle to have our 2.5 year old son. That procedure and pregnancy’s was pretty easy and chill, and of course resulted in a healthy live birth. It was a HUGE relief yesterday to hear from the embryologist (yes, that’s a persons job!!!) that the thaw had gone well and hopefully the transfer ‘sticks’ and the little thing decides to make a home within me. Fingers and everything else crossed.
It’s definitely a strange time, but I will know soon enough if it worked, and my pregnancy is progressing, so for this week we are just as I said, planning some walks and small projects like getting rid of clutter – which is a continuous process- taking things to Goodwill, and my husband will be cooking. He makes his extravagant pasta salad (never a tradition in my family, but a Thanksgiving dish his family loves). He’s also making mini-Shepard’s pies for all family members to take home, since the gathering will be outdoors. I am being UBER lazy this year and ordered a pumpkin swirl cheesecake from a bakery.
What projects are you working on to keep sane and soothe your mind as this pandemic rages on to give you something to look forward to each day? Have a Happy Holiday, and be safe!!
Melissa Winning 