TIME TO CATCH UP WITH THE SMEALS

 

Christmas 2025

It's been a while since 2019, when I posted my last blog post that wasn't about a vacation that Christie and I took.  So much has happened since that time, it makes my head spin, and that's not particularly a good thing. 

I now have a full-time service animal. Han Solo, who is part Australian Blue Heeler, Great Pyrenean Shepherd, and Black Lab mix. I can't say enough about him. He keeps me on the straight and narrow mobility-wise. I am very thankful to have him. 

In 2022, my daughter found a new job and moved back home to Norman and in with me, in August, three years ago. Christie interviewed for a position with the OU Foundation and got the job.  She had to finish the work on her townhome to get it ready for sale, pack, and move in less than a month.  On the bright side, her townhome sold in 4 days.  She was so happy that it didn't take long to sell.  The downside was having to leave all the students she was working with.  They still called her even after she left the position.  If you aren't aware, she worked for the OU Academic Recruitment Office in Kansas City, MO.  I'm sure there's some fancy name for it. Her territory was Missouri and Kansas.  She did quite a bit of traveling, meeting with prospective students.  

With her new job, she still travels quite a bit, meeting and working with OU Alumni and helping with their alumni clubs. As a perk of the job, she took me to an OU-Texas game a couple of years ago, which we beat Texas.  As a special treat last year, she took me, her sister, and her nephew to the OU-Navy game.  It was a great weekend, and we enjoyed ourselves and had a lot of fun.

I love having Christie home with me. She helps me a lot. Since she has been here, she has demoed the built-in cabinetry with the old gas cooktop, then installed a tile backsplash in my kitchen.  She installed a new floor for me in the kitchen as we bought a new refrigerator and gas stove, and decided that the kitchen needed an update after 60 years.  I got tired of not being able to cook or bake in the Italian oven that I bought in 2017.  What a waste of money. It burned everything, or didn't cook it at all.  The temperature settings were 200, 300, 400, and 500 degrees. No in-between settings at all. You had to guess the temperature. I didn't dare bake a cake or cookies. Besides, it was only 17 inches wide on the inside. Therefore, I had to use European baking pans if I could find them. So, it took twice as long if I wanted to bake a batch of cookies. And the rack on the inside wouldn't hold a turkey larger than 10lbs, or the rack would collapse. What a mess!

My new gas range is an LG, as is my refrigerator. I have always had built-in stove tops and built-in ovens. This is my first free-standing range since I moved away from home in Tulsa, and I love it.  Where the old oven was, we are turning that into a pantry.  The very bottom will be for my pots and pans + lids on a pullout shelf. The next four shelves are for my foodstuffs. The color scheme of the kitchen is slate blue on the cabinetry below and soft white on the shelves on top, with an open-shelf concept.  Christie installed a small cabinet next to the stove, and we had a wood cutting board top made by Grant McDanile installed. We are taking a portion of the door opening into the kitchen and widening it. Refrigerators are so big these days that they stick out past the door frame.  We will be moving the China Cupboard in the dining room over to the other side of the door and putting in a coffee bar in the dining room.  We removed the 89-cent stick-down tile and carpet in the living room and replaced it with new flooring, waterproof vinyl planks. Dog proof! Easy to maintain. Unfortunately, we discovered they don't make that flooring anymore, so it will have to be all ripped up and a new floor installed. 

I've had four new Anderson windows installed. It makes Christie's bedroom look much bigger. And we can actually see out of them. The old windows were casement windows. I had 6 Anderson windows installed in 2019.  We have 3 more to go and a door to be installed. Most likely will do that in 2-3 years. We're going to make one of the windows in the living room into a door leading out to a patio on the northeast side of the house.  We will be able to cook dinner out there in the evenings and enjoy eating outside in the shade.  My patio on the west side of the house is used in the mornings for breakfast and coffee, to do some reading, and to enjoy a morning fire. There used to be a large tree in the neighbor's yard that gave the patio much-needed shade in the afternoon and evening, but it died when we had a terrible drought and then a major, prolonged freeze the following year. Unfortunately, it had to be taken down. So that side of the house gets burned out by the sun in the summer. Hard to enjoy a meal when the temperature is 110 degrees. 

In 2020, I had two major surgeries. Neck surgery on my birthday. March 17th, the day they shut everything down due to COVID-19. My 5th, 6th, and 7th cervical neck bones had totally slipped out of place by a lot. I have a lot of hardware stabilizing my neck.  It's been a long road to be able to turn my head to the left again.  I never regained my singing voice, as they had to go through my vocal cords for the surgery. 

On the 21st of July of the same year, I had major lower spine surgery to open up the pathway to the sciatic nerve canal and to stabilize my L6, L7, and L8 vertebrae. Lots of hardware back there.  You don't want to know how much a medical screw costs. I have 6 of them. My walking gait as of today still isn't right. However, I can now fix a meal and be on my feet for a good hour before I need to sit down and take a break.  Before the surgery, I could only stand for about 5 minutes at a time. Made it tough trying to do housework. 

In 2021, I had carpal tunnel surgery on my right hand. Thankfully, that was an easy recovery. 

In 2020, I joined the Catholic faith. I don't think I have ever been happier in my faith journey. I've gone through a Women's Discipleship course, which was a 9-month endeavor, and now I work with the St. Vincent DePaul group at church, helping the poor and displaced find shelter and help with their utility bills and rent.  It is such rewarding work.  I am also on the Bereavement committee, helping to provide meals for families after the service. I help prepare food every other month for a noon meal for the homeless at our local shelter. Every other month, I also help with fixing an evening meal for our homeless neighbors who shelter outside. I have attended several women's conferences, as well as two Discipleship conferences and two ACTS retreats, one as a retreatant and one as a staffer. Each time I find something more to rejoice about. The Spring before last, Christie came into the church, and I got an instant Godson when I sponsored a young man who was coming into the church and had yet to be baptized. He didn't have a sponsor, so I volunteered to be his sponsor.  He is a very nice young man who was on the OU Wrestling Team. He graduated and is currently getting ready to go into the military. 

This past Spring, I went in for LifeLine scans and found out that I had a totally blocked right carotid artery to my brain. There is nothing they can or want to do about it.  With it blocked, there is no danger of a massive stroke. Then I had a heart stress test and found out that the left lower chamber is not pushing out the blood effectively enough. So I am on a beta blocker for that. Even though I already have low blood pressure. It really makes me tired. They wanted to put me on a statin, but I can't take NSAIDS due to a condition I have. So they have me on a different medication to block the cholesterol before it enters my bloodstream. 

Christie had surgery on her ankle to repair all the damage that was done while playing soccer and other sports this past Spring. The surgery went well, and she is doing great. The recovery time was six weeks before she could begin physical therapy. Physical therapy has gone well, and she is starting to run again.

We had family in for the Thanksgiving holiday. I made the best smoked turkey breast ever.  I brined it in buttermilk and seasonings.  It was so moist and tender.  I don't think I will fix it any other way ever. I finally found the secret to great dressing. It was totally spot on.  Mother would have been so proud. Another outstanding dish this year was my cranberry sauce. I know how to tweak it for next year. Don't get me wrong, it was great this year, but I can make it even better for next year. We have yet to widen the door frame, but we did install the coffee bar in the living area for the holiday. It was a big hit. It frees up space in the kitchen for other things, such as an area for baking.

Christie got the lights for the house up last night and the tree in the house up with a light display that is totally fun. No ornaments needed. 

As you can see, I have been busy these past few years, and this is only a small portion of what has been going on here at the Smeal household. 

I hope life is treating you well, and your year was a good one. 

Christie and I wish you a wonderful and blessed Christmas and a fabulous New Year. 

Blessings to you!