Brisingamen End Of Year Note, 2022 (February)

Again, I was in the kitchen cooking.  The electrical flickered.  The lights dimmed.  And there was a huge bang in the basement.  We honestly didn’t know what it was (and still don’t) but our garage door stopped working.  Luke looked it over, tried fixing the fuses/breaker and such, but no use.  The door worked – but we didn’t have power running to the door.  Currently, was swap an electrical cord back and forth to open the doors.

            I was bummed about the garage.  It really almost sounded like one of Lucas’s saws started on their own – but Catawba-Lynn works with Lucas in the shop, so he makes sure they are locked and/or unplugged.  I checked – the saw it sounded like was unplugged.  Lucas and I sat in the living room puzzled.  He looked up possible reasons for the garage issues and I worked on finishing a crocheted blanket I was making 100% for me.  I crochet blankets for babies in the family and for friends.  I’ve crocheted blankets as wedding gifts.  I crocheted the family blankets for Yule one year and handmade scarves for everyone the next.  I make plastic canvas toys for Catawba-Lynn, I crochet her dresses and matching dresses for her dolls, and Halloween costumes.  I like my yarn crafts.  But I hadn’t made a blanket for myself since high school. 

I crocheted a plethora of green and brown squares – my colors – and sewed them together and the crocheted some more around those squares.  This blanket was (is) big.  And comfortable.  And beautiful.  And I wrapped my feet in it and hugged it.  I was just about to finish it.  I made myself a blanket.  And Jude walked over and shit on it.  I still had two feet left to crochet on the last loop around – and that old putz of a dog forgot where he was and shit on MY blanket!

Justine had an Adventure Aquarium pass for the New Jersey aquarium and invited Catawba-Lynn and I to come along at a discounted price.  It was awesome!  I had decently high hopes for the aquarium (I mean, I had to pay for admission, pay for parking AND pay to cross the bridge to New Jersey – it better be good) and it exceeded my expectations!  Hippopotamuses, sharks, turtles, horseshoe crabs, penguins – there is quite an array of creatures at the aquarium.  And again – a lot of hands-on educational activities.  Excellent layout.  I really enjoyed it.  And obviously, so did Tawbs.  (Karabas – this is one of the few places we paid to go to this year). 

Two days later I took Sessrumnir down to Delaware to play with 2 of his brothers.  Such a sweet time.  Catawba loved watching puppies play.  Three little brown puddles rolling amongst themselves.

A handful of other fun and creative things happened throughout the month.  We went to friends’ house to play Outfoxed (with the kids) and Mysterio (Lucas has tried buying the game several times now). 

Catawba-Lynn and I joined a friend on Valentine’s Day to have a fully themed classwork day. 

I found free pallets on Facebook Marketplace and decided I was going to be creative and independent.  I took Catawba-Lynn to go pick those up.  Luckily was lived close-ish, because by the time I got them to the garage, via the VW, they were falling out of the vehicle and practically dragging on the ground home.  (They are still in the garage.  Creativity has taken a back seat to Yule Boasts).  I tried setting up an office in my kitchen.  I was hopeful I would use it, but no, it just got cluttered.  But Scott – the bookshelves are still being used.  They are filled with books and crafts and Legos.  I made a massive amount of banana avocado muffins – some of which we shared with Luke’s co-workers.  When avocado prices drop to around $0.50 a piece, I purchase a lot of them – close to 20 or so – and I bake these awesome muffins.

The weather out here is “nice” in February – no snow.  Warm.  Consistently in the 50’s and 60’s with an occasional dip into the 30’s.  I was trying to think of fun ways for Catawba-Lynn to utilize the backyard.  She loves playgrounds – but she likes the rarity and newness of them and the fact that there are kids at them.  A playground in her backyard will not hold her interest.  The newness will wear off and there will not always be someone ready to play.  “But what about an obstacle course?” I thought.  “One that she can move around and easily change?”  I found and purchased three large wooden dowels that she can roll around and climb on.  They kept her interest throughout Spring and into Summer.  She asked to play with them again just last week!

Also, as a family, we went to the Philadelphia Home and Garden Show for inspiration.  However, we are kind of stuck as we still don’t know how we want to utilize the backyard.

With the help of Justine, I scheduled Catawba in swim lessons at the YMCA.  I was trying to make the Yule Boasts happen!  And lastly for the month – literally – with 10 minutes left to spare in the month – I signed Catawba-Lynn up for a zoo summer camp.  I could already get into the Brandywine Zoo for free due to the reciprocity it has with my Milwaukee County Zoo pass.  But there were a couple of freebies and discounts that came along with the Brandywine Zoo pass, so I bought it.  Early, discounted summer camp registration was the most important perk for me.  I was excited to do this for Catawba-Lynn and it was going to surprise her!