One full week of work down and we’re on to week 3 of the new year. Which feels the same as the old year, still. My mom is out of her house, and now officially “homeless”. She and my sister stayed last night at the condo she’s been offered temporarily by a friend, but are leaving tomorrow for my sister’s home in North Carolina for about 3 weeks. I’ve had text conversations with my sister, but haven’t really talked to either of them, other than to update them on what’s going on with Anders’ mom, since they had so much to get done before the closing yesterday. Hoping to have a catch-up phone call tonight, but I know they were planning to see Martin as well today, before they leave. It’s very weird to think that the next time we go to the States, it won’t be to that house.
Anders’ mom is slightly better, but still bedridden, weak and tired all the time. Since we can’t go visit her, we are getting very limited info on how her recovery is going. She HAS managed to call us twice in the past two days, but Anders says she doesn’t sound like herself, and it’s clear she’s got a long haul to recovery. He and his sister both had COVID tests this past week, despite the fact that his mom was 11 days past her positive diagnosis on Monday when they were there, AND they were in full hazmat gear before going into her room. His sister’s came back negative, and his results will probably come tomorrow, also negative, I am sure.
I texted Karin last night, as I was just settling into bed, to tell her that every single night, when it’s getting late, I automatically start wondering what time she’ll be home, and then realize all over again that she doesn’t live here anymore. She said it’s weird for her, too. I never had a home-I-grew-up in, since we moved so much with the military. My kids weren’t born in this house, but Martin was nearly 5 and Karin just over 3 when we moved here…so it’s basically the home they grew up in. She still has stuff here, of course, and so does Martin.
My brother still had stuff at my mom’s, which is now in storage with all HER stuff. I didn’t think I had anything left at my mom’s, but it turned out that she never got rid of my wedding dress, which I left in the States with her, when we moved to Europe, with strict instructions to sell or donate. She also apparently had my childhood collection of Madame Alexander dolls that I thought she’d given to my sister years ago. I hope both of those went to charity this time, since they weren’t worth anything and my sister certainly doesn’t need more stuff. 😀 We all have a box or more of things that my mom was getting rid of, that we need to figure out how to get. Who knows when that will happen, since traveling anywhere any time soon sure doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen.
All this makes me hesitate every time I see something I like online…I’m not shopping at all, really, and I don’t want to acquire more things. I don’t NEED anything. This house is full of stuff as it is. Who knows when Karin and Martin will get ALL their things out…probably not for awhile, seeing as how Karin is still in transition mode, and Martin, who is planning to move home to Sweden sometime later this year, will probably be living with us again for awhile. He has plenty of things THERE that he needs to deal with as well.
It’s been really cold here the past week, under 0. It’s currently -5C. But the sun was shining today and I went out on the porch and photographed the frost patterns on the windows. So pretty! I also filled the bird feeders, took the recycleables out to the bins, ironed the Christmas tablecloths and sewed up a ripped pair of workout pants, in addition to walking for 25 minutes on the treadmill.
We also got a HUGE box of groceries delivered: a trial run of HelloFresh, that I was gifted by a friend. We chose the “classic” menu with 5 recipes for 2 people: halloumi tacos are on the menu for tonight. We also have Chicken Kiev, pan-fried lemon salmon, soy-marinated chicken something and pasta with zucchini and tomatoes. Anders had been wanting to try one of these dinner/recipe services for awhile, so when this opportunity came up, I jumped at it. I don’t think we need it, but he likes to cook, and is always on the lookout for recipe ideas. Since he’s cooking most of the time, I’m certainly not going to complain! I wasn’t expecting a huge box, though…I guess I thought they’d show up with two grocery bags! 😀 The recipes look (and sound) yummy, so it will be fun to see how it turns out and if we continue.