February 2026

February 1 - we woke up to 11.5 inches of snow.  It was beautiful with the sun shining on it.

Thank goodness we kept our snow shovel from our days in Utah.

I spent some time finishing up Jill's dress for her.  It turned out really nice.  We hemmed it, put a placket in front to mitigate the low V and put a tie on the back to keep it from falling off her shoulders.  I think it turned out really well.  

While I was working on the dress, Steve and Val were trying to get all the ice out of the gutter outside Avian's window.  We were worried that the weight of the ice would tear the gutter from the roof.  The eventually got it to melt enough with salt and then were able to chip it out a bit.  

February 2 - Val helped a friend move.  I was worried about the slippery roads, but they got everything moved without incident.  

February 3 - I GOT MY KNEE BENT TO 105 DEGREES AT PT!!!!

The scar is looking really good!!

 This was also day 2 of school being out due to snow days.  I was able to stay at home and enjoy the warmth.  The roads are still really slick in some parts of the county.  

February 4 - The snow and ice is finally starting to melt a little bit.  Toni Hanline, from church and work, stopped by for a visit.  She is contemplating having her knee done as well and wanted to ask some questions.  

February 5 - Liz Grindstaff came to visit for a bit.  CMS was back open so Val got to go back to work.  

February 6 - I got my knee to 1121 degrees.  I am pushing myself hard because I want to graduate from PT sooner rather than later.  Steve had a great day at work and got a lot of little things done that were weighing on him.  

February 7 - I cleaned the downstairs while Steve visited a warehouse that was recommended by some friends.  I didn't go with him because I am still not really solid walking around in crowded places with a lot of people.  Val went to work to make up some of the hours missed during the snow days.  I watched the Olympics for a little bit and then we took Val watch shopping for her birthday.  She wanted some watches that were a little more feminine than the ones she has been wearing.  That night Val babysat for a neighbor and had a great time.  

February 8 - We made it to church - barely.  The roads are still slick in some places.  Back at home I finished the bears for my coworker and we watched the Superbowl.  Seattle won over New England.  

The teddy bears I made for a teacher at school.  

February 10 - Avian called and was feeling homesick.  We had a good, long chat and they felt better by the end of the call.  I miss them so much.  If I wasn't recovering from knee surgery, I would have been in the truck to Savannah to visit them.  

February 11 - Steve and I helped Nick finish packing up everything at his sold apartment.  HAPPY 24th BIRTHDAY to him.  

February 12 - We were to Nick's place by 8:00 with the moving truck so we could get all his things loaded into the truck.  Ari and her friends Micah and Daniel came to help.  The guys unloaded everything at the new place while Ari and I finished cleaning up the old place.  We got almost everything out before leaving to go to the new place, which is REALLY nice. The bathrooms are luxury compared to the old place.  The kitchen is going to be a place Nick LOVES to cook in opposed to tolerating the small space.  There is a nice eating nook and Ari has a gorgeous table to fill the space.  Nick's patio off his room is usable in this apartment as they are on the 3rd floor and he can leave things out there without fear of them getting stolen.   I stayed at the new place to meet the cable guy while everyone else went to Ari's house to load up the last of her things.  While they were gone, I folded Nick's laundry and helped organize his closet.  Steve and Nick stopped at the old apartment to close things out and pick up the Titan.  They also had to get the moving truck dropped off.  All this was done during rush hour and took longer than they expected.  When they finally got back to the apartment I was completely exhausted and in pain so Steve brought me back home.  The others went to dinner at a wings place just down the street from the new place.  It was a 12-hour day, but I made it.  I am so excited for Nick in his new place with his new roommate.  Things are looking up for him. 

February 13 - Val went with Steve to Nick's apartment to drop some things off and to get a tour. 

February 14 - Steve helped an old co-worker for Lowe's days, Roderick, in the am while I got the bathroom and floors cleaned.  

We went back down to Nick's to help them get more settled and unpack some of the boxes so they could move around more easily.  I put his clothes away while Steve and Nick drove the truck to get Ari's bed, which is the only thing they were not able to get on moving day.  We helped them get everything assembled.  The apartment is getting settled a little more each day.  

February 16th was a holiday and Steve did not have to work so he drove to Savannah to spend the day with Avian.  They had a great time going to lunch at Jalapenos and spending some time on Tybee Island.  It was a much-needed day for both Steve and Avian.  

Back at home, Sandra drove me to my PT appointment in the morning and we went out the lunch that afternoon.  Mo came to visit Val and they went shopping and then out to dinner.  Steve took an extra long time getting home because there were multiple accidents on I-95 and he had to find an alternate way home.  I got to watch some Olympic history in the pairs skating competition.  Japan took the gold and Georgia got the silver.  Neither country had ever won a medal in skating before.  It was so fun to watch.  

February 19 - Val is 27 and got to attend a restraint training class all day.  She can now safely restrain children if the needs arises (which it will).  I got to 125 degrees at PT.  No more cane and I can start to practice driving again!

We had shrimp linguini and apple crisp for Val's birthday.  The US women's hockey team won gold!!

February 21 - our taxes are done for 2025.  

February 22 - The US men's hockey team won the gold medal.  We finally had time to go to dinner to celebrate both Nick's and Val's birthdays.  We went to Mi Pueblo because Mr. Tokyo's had a 2 hour wait.  

February 23 - Cindy visited and I helped her finish the baby blanket she has been making for her daughter.  I also had a really good PT re-eval.  I am making excellent progress.  

February 24 - Steve is really stressed at work.  They are giving him a lot of new projects and he is adjusting to it all.  I went to Dr. Kirkus for my post-surgery follow-up and was cleared to return to work on the 25th.  

February 25 - I returned to work and made it through the day.  I have a new morning carpool duty - the elementary school bus duty.  I get to be inside and make sure the kids are safe from 7:15 to 8:00 when we load the buses.  Steve enjoyed a quiet day at home just getting work done.  

February 28 - I cleaned and shopped and took dinner into a family in the ward.  They are dear friends and his cancer has returned and it is not looking good for him.   Val went and got her taxes done.