Monday 30 April 2018

Best (and worst) of April

Omg guys, April was a BIG month for me. Honestly, I don't even know where to start, so how about we take a look at the 1-second-a-day video? Okay, let's do that:

Lots and lots of great stuff happened, and almost nothing bad! Let's break it down:

The good:
The she shed is growing!
We broke ground on my she shed on April 10, and seeing her grow is the most amazing experience ever. It's turning out quite a bit different from what I had planned for (doesn't it always?), but in the best way possible! Instead of having a little garden shed, it's a real little house, and it has the one feature I've wanted my entire life (and never had - until now): a wrap-around porch. It has a covered porch in the front and on the west-side, and a few days ago we had dinner on it for the first time! While we munched away on turkey wraps we watched 5 deer move gracefully over the pasture in front of us, and it was everything I've ever wanted. So magical!

We have two new mini-calves!
Last week I went outside in the morning as I always do, to say hi to the dogs and do the morning feed. When I walked up to the cow pasture, this is what I saw:
Two new babies, born on the same day! Since they are miniature Zebu-calves they are tiny, barely bigger than the corgi 😍They are both boys, we named them Ted and Bruce. They like to jump and run, they sleep quite a bit, and they started playing with each other. They are the cutest little creatures ever, I can watch them all day! 
Me petting Bruce (he is the smaller one of the two). 
 When the tail's up they're having a great time!


My book is out in the world!
On April 5, three big boxes filled with my books arrived, and it was one of the greatest moments of my life. Or so I thought.
I stared at them for a week, and then I scrounged up the courage to put them up for sale here on the blog. It took me quite a while to figure out how to do it, but thanks to Google, I did!

When the first order came in, I was so happy, I danced a little jig! And when ten more came in over that first weekend, I was sure that that was one of the greatest moments of my life. Wrong again.

Last Monday, I went to my old hospital for my very first book signing ever (!!!), and when my amazing former coworkers welcomed me with a lunch, and when staff came in on their days off just to buy a copy and to see me, and when people who've been retired for years came in to get a signed copy - I was sure that this was for sure one of the greatest moments of my life. And I was right. 
I felt so loved and supported, and I'm still overwhelmed with gratitude and joy. It was incredible!

My book has been for (pre-)sale for just over 2 weeks, and I've sold copies to England, Germany, 9 different states, and 3 provinces within Canada. It's unreal and crazy, and feels at times almost ridiculous (as in "is this really happening to me?"), but it is happening and I'm trying to keep the freak-outs to a minimum and the joy to a maximum (with varying success - it's a work in progress for sure).

The best part is when readers send me messages telling me that reading my book helped them in some way, or lifted them up, or entertained them for a few hours. That's all I ever wanted.
Below are just a few photos I've been tagged in - a big thanks to you guys who use my hashtag #letspretendthisisnormal or send personal messages! I really, really appreciate it. Group hug!

The bad:
Sleepless nights
As awesome as this time of my life is right now, it's also stressful. At first, I worried about how to set up the online store (I'd never done anything like it, and it took me longer than I anticipated), if everything would work out, and if anybody would even be interested. Then I worried about the books arriving at their destinations, convinced they would get lost in the mail and everybody would be mad at me. 
Now I worry about reviews (even though so far, they have been really positive - thank you!!), and also about money, because the she shed project is costing more than I thought. 
Still, I'm not complaining, it's all good stuff!

F*%^)&ing Lyme Disease
Overall, Rich is a lot better. A LOT. That's what we keep telling each other, and what we tell everybody else. However, his progress seems to have plateaued, or is so minuscule that we don't notice it. He still has the shoulder pain, and occasional knee pain, and he still has bad days. Granted, the bad days are less and less, but it does look like this could be his new normal. His mom keeps asking him if he booked his ticket for Germany yet, but he honestly doesn't know if he will be strong enough to go. He's way more easily exhausted than he ever was before, and when we have busy days with lots of people over, he needs days to recover. He is far from being "cured", and he may never be back to his old self.  
For now, we take it one day at a time, and are grateful for every good day he has. There are many of them, and they far outshine the bad ones.

And that was April! How was yours?

xo Miriam

March recap |  February recap | January recap

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6 comments

  1. So many exciting things!!!
    Those cows are ADORABLE and your Shed looks AMAZING AND OH MY GOODNESS YOUR BOOK.

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    1. It's been an overwhelming, but incredibly GOOD month!

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  2. Those calves are adorable! One of the greatest joys of agricultural life is seeing the baby calves running and jumping and playing in the pasture.

    I’m so excited for you that the book has been such a hit! I want to order one but will probably wait until it’s on sale generally to see if the price to ship to the US is a little lower than it is with the pre-sale option. Excited to read it sometime!

    I’m sorry that Rich’s recovery has plateaued. That really sucks. I hope this is just a phase and he continues to get better and better.

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    Replies
    1. I think his new normal (at least for now) is to rest a lot and take it easy. Since he's retired, that's easy to do!

      Come June, can get my book from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Books a Million. It's also available as e-book! Shipping from Canada is definitely more expensive than it will be from within the US, Canada's shipping rates are a bit silly 😑

      Life has been really good lately, spring on the farm is beautiful! 🌸🌼⚘🐞

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  3. Oh, so many lovely, wonderful things! I'm so happy for you.
    As for Rich...I am so sorry for all the difficulties you two have suffered with this disease, but you are both obviously focusing on the positive as much as possible (which is beneficial for both mental and physical health!). I'll remind you what I'm sure you already know, which is that recovery from so very many different types of things often fails to take a linear route. There are ups and downs and sometimes plateaus, but there is a very good chance he will come back again stronger soon, as his body continues to fight. Wishing you all the love and luck and good health!!!! Also: it's Lyme Disease Awareness Month!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for the reminder, and you are SO right Phoenix. Overall, he is getting stronger and healthier, and the setbacks are simply part of the process.
      Thank you so much for your encouraging words!

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