These are really busy days, but last night I had a lovely evening with my daughter Rachel. I made a fire in the fireplace and cooked our dinner, scrambled eggs with cream, my favorite white cheddar cheese by KerryGold, and mushrooms, with asparagus on the side and we shared a small bottle of pinot noir. Then after a nice relaxing visit we settled in to watch a favorite Christmas movie, The Family Stone, after piling more logs on the fire. It was such a lovely evening. After she left about 9:00 I walked Pugsley, got ready for bed, and we snuggled into our cozy chair here. He went to sleep in my lap and I turned to my embroidery and watched a documentary. Such a peaceful relaxing time.

Now I have almost finished the inner petals of the flower which I am doing in a soft baby blue. I think the outer petals are going to be a turquoise. I’m still deciding. I took my embroidery with me today to the Honda dealer where I knew I would have a long wait in the waiting room while they did an oil change and yearly inspection. It was a lovely way to pass the time.

It was a bit of a harrowing day because I finally got the man out to give me an estimate for the fencing work. I need this estimate to present to the insurance adjuster whom I hope to get out here next week after the tree people come on Saturday and give me an estimate. The thing is my back yard is really big and it was fenced in with a wooden privacy fence after I bought the house before I moved in February 1, 2010. The fence was broken in several places during the hurricane in September, wooden support poles broken or loosened, and the big double gate going into the yard is broken and will have to be replaced. Another fenced area inside the yard was completely destroyed and the double wooden doors to one shed were broken and need to be replaced, the other shed’s door was broken and the glass smashed in. Total estimate for all the work was over $8000. I nearly fainted. I have a $2100 deductible for my wind and hail insurance which you have to have here on the coast, a separate and costly policy over and above the regular homeowners policy. I will not likely get enough money from insurance to pay for the fence and I am at a loss. There’s still so much tree work that needs to be done. This is overwhelming. I may not be able to afford to have the fence fixed at all.

These kind of things, in addition to everything else that has happened this fall, are completely overwhelming. I’m not sure what to do but I will do everything I can. Right now I just keep putting one foot in front of the other. People in this town were terribly hard hit by the hurricane. We are all just doing what we need to do to get by. Nothing is a quick fix here. We are told it may be years to get through all of the post hurricane damage, and some things, for many of us, will never be the same.

This slow stitching is somehow saving me, helping me get through. I will fill in the flower. As I do so my mind moves around the design imagining what I might do next. I will keep on stitching. I will get through this.

I do have something I am really tickled and excited about. My best friend Jeff is getting me a very special Christmas present. We will go to pick it up a week from tomorrow and I will write more about it then. I am absolutely delighted and it will brighten up our little cottage immensely. I can’t wait to tell you all about it but I’m not ready yet. Stay tuned!

It’s time to take Pugsley out for a walk before I have my weekly talk with my dear friend Bekah. We talk every Thursday night for 2 or 3 hours and it’s one of the highlights of my week. Amidst all of the difficult, overwhelming tasks there are so many lovely things, dinner with my daughter, a very sweet gift coming from Jeff, and a talk with my dear friend. So much to be grateful for. And the Christmas lights are twinkling merrily, and quiet walks on these cold nights with my sweet little boy, looking at the Christmas lights up now all over the neighborhood is a treat indeed. So many gifts. Despite everything, all will be well.