Life Lately

Winter in New England



Snow is falling upon us once again.  This will be our third "storm" since the almost blizzard at the beginning of January.  I'm not sure how much we're going to get as we always seem to sit on one of those line between total snowfall predictions and if the storm shifts, which is inevitable, our total snowfall changes.  Sleet and/or freezing rain is expected later as well with this one.

School today continues as usual because, as I say to the girls, "we live in New England."  The last storm we had was forecasted to drop less than two inches of snow in our area.  At five o'clock that morning, we received an automated call from the school system announcing a two hour delay.  The storm  must shifted.  We ended up with about six inches.  Yes, quite a shift.  The snow was wrapping up when I dropped the girls off at school and the main roads were mostly clear.  The back roads were still in rough shape.  The girls were concerned I wouldn't be able to pick them up from school.  "Stop worrying.  I grew up in New England."





This is always a tough time of the year for me.  I don't particularly enjoy winter and as soon as I can (which realistically won't be very soon) I'll be spending winter months in Florida with the rest of the snowbirds.  Monday morning, for a few seconds, it felt like spring.  I looked out the kitchen window and the sun felt brighter than normal.  Emily last night at 4:45 commented, "Wow, it's still light out."  How sad is that?



The Periodontist

You guys know that I have a top front tooth that's an implant.  I've had it for about 20 years now and it's been fine except for the gums.  A gum graft was done when the implant was put in place but the graft never really took.  The gum in front has receded so much so that my dentist was concerned.  Thankfully, it's well above my smile line so I'm the only one who can see it.  For the past four years, whenever I went in to have my teeth cleaned, I was told to make a consult appointment with their affiliated periodontist.  I never would make that appointment though.  For many reasons.  I can point to my anxiety and then there's the fact that my implant felt absolutely fine to me,  I was also concerned that I would be pushed into getting work done for cosmetic reasons.  And the pain.  The thought of future pain.  This implant was as result of trauma (bicycle accident) and I suffered through so much painful dental work, I never want to deal with it again.

When I had my teeth cleaned over the summer, my dentist was visibly annoyed (I should add in here that I LOVE my dentist) over the fact that I still had not made an appointment with the periodontist.  So I waited a few months and made an appointment.  I struggled with anxiety a few days before the appointment but that morning I was finally ready to get it over with.  And wouldn't you know that when stepped out of the shower, they called me to reschedule due to a death in the family.  (I couldn't by upset over it considering the circumstances.)

So I finally made it to the rescheduled appointment and to my shock, he does not recommend any gum work at this time.  Because it's a front tooth, he said that they may actually make the gum area between my two front teeth worse by trying to fix the area on top of the tooth.  He also showed me how to read an x-ray and pointed out the location of the bone.  It's pretty low, which is awesome.  He said if it's that way after 20 years, I shouldn't have a problem.  The bone structure was also a concern for my dentist.  When the implant was placed, a bone graft was also done, in addition to the gum graft.  More pain.  That appears to have worked out well, as opposed to the gum graft.

I am so happy to not have to deal with any dental work in the near future.

Sewing  

I have a long list of sewing projects, some requested, some my own ideas.  Before Christmas, Allie had asked for a holiday skirt.  This one was a little tricky because she didn't want a twirl skirt.  I had sewn a small, straight skirt for her before and found that it wasn't the best for winter months.  The fabric was so lightweight that it bunched up against her leggings or tights and didn't really hang right.  I decided to experiment and lined this skirt with minky fabric which made it heavier and warmer.





I also finally made Emily's library bag.  I have a list of other bags to make as well.



Tap Class

Okay, so I've only been to two classes so far but I love it.  There were two older women in class last week who hadn't been there during my first class.  Apparently, they skipped a month or two.  Anyway, at the end of class, one of them asked if I was new and then said, "Oh, good.  Now we won't feel so bad."  Well, you may not but now I do.  In all seriousness, I think I'm doing well.  It's only my second dance class ever in my life.  (Forget that I was a cheerleader and we choreographed our own dances.)  And I looked around last week during class at what everyone else was doing and I didn't feel so bad!  
 
Glasses

One down, two to go.



We knew this day was coming but it really isn't a big deal.  She only needs to wear them to see the board at school right now.  If the girls follow in my footsteps, which it appears they will, then glasses (or contacts) will be needed more frequently.  Better to know now than to pass the written exam for your learner's permit and then fail the eye exam.  No permit for you!