I Can't Complain ...

There were some hard moments in our week. The furnace went out and we were without heat for a few days. Getting someone to come out who knows how to deal with a furnace that has been converted from an oil to a biofuel furnace takes awhile. It was an easy fix and didn't break the bank. Thank goodness!

The great tree calamity is slowly working out. Insurance will cover it, but we have a really high deductible, so it is going to cost us $1,100 to clean up the mess and fix the back house. We are going to need the entire roof and some supports replaced. Still, it could have been so much worse.

Lastly, we had a grease fire in the kitchen this week. My dear husband was home alone and luckily right there. He grabbed the fire extinguisher and put out the fire before any real harm was done. The burner is ruined, but otherwise, it was just a big mess of foam that needed cleaning up.

Dean had the roughest week of all of us. He started the week being consumed by anxiety and negative anticipation about his Neurological, Psychological and Educational testing. He is having a very complete assessment over the next week that will take the better part of seven hours of testing. He turns 18 in the spring; and I want to make sure that we have all of the testing he needs to finish high school, launch into adulthood and get whatever supports are necessary. By mid-week, he was showing signs of a cold and woke up the night before the test with an extreme headache and all the symptoms of a sinus infection. I dosed him with medications, started up the vaporizer in his room and rubbed his back until he went back to sleep. Fortunately, he felt better in the morning and made it through the first four hours of testing. He even had a positive experience, since he liked the man who ran the testing. It took a lot out of him, though, and he crashed when he got home. He was in bed for the night by 8:30 pm. Hopefully, he will feel all better by the next day of testing next Tuesday.

Anne's Nutcracker schedule could make a person nutty. On top of it, there is an audition video to prepare with a late November deadline and Grade 6 Cecchetti ballet lessons to attend. She basically is in a whirlwind of dance, sleep, eat, work, dance, schoolwork and back to dance again. This Sunday is her only day off from the dance studio until Thanksgiving day. WHIRLWIND!

In my spare time, I have been embracing my love of French Country design. I have been dragging furniture around and bringing copper bowls, baskets and my antique kitchen utensils out of hiding so that they can be enjoyed. I have always loved French Country and have been pleasantly surprised to realize how much was in the house but not being grouped and lovingly displayed. A side effect of raising a child with severe RAD (as our Katie has) is learning to never let the child know you care about any item or it will be instantly destroyed. I had many casualties along the way, including dozens and dozens of books, many Hallmark ornaments, my favorite nativity (she literally ate the Jesus figurine), and all of my Grandmother's letters to me, just to name a few. Although she has been living out of our home for almost six years, it has taken me this long to realize that I could have pretty things around me again and openly enjoy them. It's amazing how long it takes to truly heal from trauma! It takes a really long time and we aren't there yet, but we are growing and healing all the time. In that vein, I just want to state that our Katie's well-being was always more important than belongings. Nonetheless, it is so nice to be able to say something such as, "I like how my painting job on the storage bin came out," without having to worry about a mentally ill child destroying it at the first opportunity in an an attempt to hurt me.

This spoon rack was made by my Grandfather.

We created a reading nook in our library.

A little dash of French Country.

I painted this little storage bin and am now so much happier with it.

Today is Friday and we have so much on the agenda. I  am going to let Dean sleep as much as possible. I hope to make it to the farmer's market to get apples for pies. I also hope to make it to the grocery store and make sure we have enough water stored away for our city's water shutoff at midnight tonight. They are doing some repairs to the dam and I am not sure how much of the weekend we will be without water. Anne has a full load of school to get through today. She is in a constant state of catch up. There are also many things to load onto eBay and WNC Yard Sale. I better get to it.

Lastly, Anne got to build a table and chairs at work this week.

But as this blog's title says, I really can't complain. Life has hard patches, but we are so blessed daily by the love of our family and the way everything works out in the end.

Blessings, Dawn