Getting Out Of The House. . . Vintage Inspiration

I have had a few busy days. . .at least they seemed busy to me. . .to you they would probably feel like  lovely, leisurely days. . . but it's been wonderful to realize that I have a little more oomph every day. . .

On Monday Henry decided to stay home with me rather than go hunting. ( I may possibly have been the teeenist bit cranky about the fact that he had already been gone for three days. . .)

I still can't drive and needed to pick up new, good quality paint brushes for a project I hope to get done before next week's bazaar (I have a table), so Henry agreed to drive me over just before lunch.

As we drove the sun hit my face and. . . I burst into tears.

Poor Henry reached over and took my hand. "I'm so sorry I upset you. . ."

"It's not you. At least. . . mostly not you. . ." I sobbed.

"This is the first time in a week I've stepped outside the house and now the sun is shining and I'm. just. so. h. h.  h. happy. . .!

As a result, once we were done, he decided to stop at home for Jada and my camera and head off to my favorite neighborhood for a walk.

It was fabulous! Slow. But fabulous!

We even went for a few groceries. I expected to be exhausted the next day but, no.
Holly and I walked a few blocks to Tim's for lunch and I got to feel the sun on my face again!

Which made me realize that I had better find a way to get outside regularly. It is harder than I knew to go from walking Jada for an hour most days to not going outside at all. (Unless it's really cold. Then I'm totally okay with staying inside.)

And I'm still not allowed to walk her so. . . I may just have to sneak out of the house to walk around the block once in a while.

Which I can. Because yesterday???  I was able to put both my socks and boots on. . . by myself!

Whoo hoo! Progress.

Now, lest you think that my friends have forgotten me in this regard I have to tell you that Joyce took me out for dinner two weeks ago and Nicole picked me up and brought me to two wonderful stores in the Highlands area the day after.

Of course, at the time I walked so slow I couldn't cross the street before the light changed.

The first time it happened I just thought we had crossed halfway thorough the light but, on the way back. . . well. . . It was quite clear that what I thought was a speedy shuffle was in reality not much more than a very slow mo shuffle.

Since I can't seem to go out without a camera in my hand. . .

I thought I would share my little adventures.

Apple Box Boutique

Chickies

I am so coming back in the spring!

And if I didn't think this lady likely costs $700 or more, I would totally get her. ( well, not really because I don't have any hundred's of dollars to spare, but, you know what I mean. ..)

I find her fascinating and she would probably get moved from room to room to room looking for the perfect spot to put her.

She might even live outside in the summer and inside in the winter.

I would  feel compelled to do something I am sure no real collector would do though.

Repaint her.

As Holly pointed out, with the paint peeling she looks as though her nose is missing. . . and who wants that???

Sigh. . .

I think I may have to go back and take some better pictures of her.

Even if I can't have her in person I can have her picture on the wall.

* maybe if I shoot her from another angle her nose will look a little better too. . .

Now I am off to bed.

Tomorrow is going to be another busy, fun day. (Don't ask about the state of my house though. . . sigh.)

Finding A Way To Work With My New Normal. . .

The original title for this post started out as Finding a way to work around my new normal until I realized that if this is my new normal ( at least for the time being), it makes more sense to work with it rather than around it. . .

I haven't been blogging regularly because while the tablet the boys bought for me is great for reading e-books, checking my favorite blogs or playing angry birds it is not great for working on as it doesn't have a separate key board.

I tried to blog on it a few times and I kept getting the wrongs words showing up, or not being able to see what I had written and, worst of all. . . .   there.  is. NO. SPELL. CHECK. on my tablet!!

Ideally, I want to work on my desk top. My new normal insists that my leg has to be elevated and the fact that  my computer is on a pedestal table means I have to sit sideways rather than pull up under the table.

My new normal also insists that I not put the keyboard across my lap as half of that lap has a rather large incision which, since my leg is unevenly numb,  means I can't feel which area to avoid. . .

So. . .

I have spent the last couple of days trying to come up with something that works and I think. . . I hope. . . I have found something that will consistently work. . .

How have things been going over here???

Last week. . . aside from two great outings. . .  beyond grumpy.

This week. . . after a visit with the doctor and the realization that it is going to take much longer than I thought to get even close to normal. . . oddly. . . a lot better.

It helped a lot that, when my two sister's -in law dropped by Sunday evening for a visit, one left behind a small manageable project and the other came by the next day and cleaned both my kitchen and the floors upstairs. . .

One of the biggest issues I'm struggling with at the moment is how little it takes to wear me out.

Tidy the kitchen and load the dishwasher. . . done for the day.

Visit the doctor and decide to go into the grocery store with Henry for a few minutes. . . toast for the next two days. . .

As you can imagine cleaning has fallen even father down my priority list than usual. . .

A bit of a problem when a clean pan or dish is needed for a meal. . .

Today every plate, bowl dish, pot and pan I own is waiting in the sink, discreetly covered with a dish towel ( or three. . .) as I chose instead to have a little fun and took pictures of my sister- in - law Leona's jewelry instead. . .

I have no regrets. . .

* don't forget. . . for the best way to check out theses pictures. . .click on the first one. . .

Well. . . I might have a few by dinner time tonight. . .

Although. . .  with Henry out of town hunting, maybe it's a takeout pizza night. . . because that can be eaten on a napkin. . . so. . .  no dishes required. . .

Yes indeed. . . tonight is going to be a Panago night.

Encouragement From Some Readers. . .

I have been having a pity party all weekend and Monday wasn't looking a whole lot better. Not for any large reasons just. . . dealing with the healing process.

The thing is, although I was told what recovery after surgery would possibly be like and I did all I could to prepare, what I didn't realize was. . . Deep down all I was really focusing on was whether they would find more cancer and what that would mean. . .

Being told I was cancer free was such a relief. . . and then the reality of recovering set in.

And it turns out that that was a lot scarier than I thought it would be.

 And I haven't even had complications set in. 

Just odd, painful, unexpected things that are part of a normal recovery.

 My nurse visited today and told me I was healing very well. . . She thought I would likely even have my stitches and drain removed next week!

Stitches. . .  maybe.  Drain. . . not for another month according to the surgeon.

So why was I sobbing like a baby in the shower this morning???

The nurse suggested that was a bit like a relief valve, and, I must admit I felt a lot better after my shower and her visit.

I decided to do something productive. All the beautiful flowers I had gotten in the hospital were looking rather tired. Just throwing them out wasn't an option, so I picked out any flowers that still looked fresh, found them new vases and spread them around the house to brighten as many spaces as possible.

Then Rebecca came by for the afternoon and we crocheted like little old ladies until supper time.

The day just kept getting better. The mailman brought a beautiful handmade card form one of my readers ( my cousin Chris) and she had enclosed a magnet with a very timely poem on it. ( And Chris? No need to feel stalkerish. . .I hardly ever comment either. . . ;D )

And to end the day?

Another lovely reader sent me this poem as encouragement. . .


STEP BY STEP

He does not lead me year by year,
Nor even day by day;
But step by step my path unfolds,
My Lord directs my way.

Tomorrow’s plans I do not know;
I only know this minute.
But He will say, “This is the way,
By faith now walk ye in it.”

And I am glad that it is so,
Today’s enough to bear,
And when tomorrow comes, His grace
Shall far exceed its care.

What need to worry then, or fret?
The God Who gave His Son
Holds all my moments in His hand
And gives them one by one.

Author unknown

Thank you Cecile!!

Tomorrow is going to be an even better day.

The Pathology Report Is In. . .

And it is truly a gift of grace. . .

No more cancer was found!

Henry and I celebrated by going to Joey's at Mayfield Common. I had tea and a fabulous apple crumble and Henry enjoyed a lovely glass of red wine with his sushi. . . .

I was finally able to let out the breath I hadn't realized I had been holding since this last surgery.

Timing when writing can be a funny thing. If I had written this post yesterday it would have been all sweetness and light. . . after all I am cancer free!

I spent yesterday in a grateful, peaceful haze, full to the brim with prayers and thanksgiving.

I woke this morning to the realization that I still have a long way to go. That things can still happen. That my life will never be quite the same again. . .

It would be so easy to write only about the good days.

But not very honest.

And more than anything I want this blog to be honest. 

I spent a good part of today feeling sorry for myself. I would look outside and see the beauty of the sparkling snow, the soft glow of the sun and feel absolutely terrible that I wasn't filled with joy.

But I wasn't.

So I prayed. . . and remembered just how many others are praying for me.

I reread the email sent by a lovely reader who shared her health struggles with me. One of the things she reminded me of is  that patience is needed. Healing happens over time and that's okay.

And right now?

Well it's pretty hard to stay sorry for yourself when two of your grownup kids plop themselves into chairs around you as you write a melancholy post. . . joking and laughing with each other, throwing balloons around or rubbing them on your head to make your hair stand on end and musing on the Christmas season to come. (they have offered to shop for this year's Samaritan's Purse shoe boxes, our traditional start to the Holy Season.)

And then there is the Taylor Swift Christmas CD that Morgan just brought out of storage. . .

Life is good.

And feeling sorry for yourself gets old fast. . .

Trying Something New. . .An Adventure In Food.

The kids all know how much I love my fancy bottled  root beer as well as all things natural, so Holly and Morgan brought home this ginger ale for me to try out. . .

I love it for the packaging alone. . .

Because nothing says special like awesome packaging!

Of course taste matters too. . .

I'll let you know how that turned out when I get up the courage to taste it. . .

Planning For Early Spring. . . By Forcing Bulbs Indoors

On the Saturday before surgery Nicole came over and we spent a couple of hours planting a variety of bulbs in pots.(Okay we probably spent less than an hour actually planting and the rest of the time chatting but hey, that's what good friends do!)

There is nothing like pulling a pot of daffodils or tulips from the cold room in late winter, placing them in front of a cool basement window and waiting for the day they begin to bloom and they are finally ready to move upstairs, beautifying a warm and cozy home while the snow is still flying outside.

I do it every year and every year it is just as thrilling as the year before. . .

 Every year it's a leap of faith  and that's something that's more important than ever this year. . .

Because I Also Need Food For The Soul. . .

While my sister Tamara and her husband Byron were visiting we got in the chance to feed the soul with a whole lot of beautiful. . .

First we checked out Hole's, and then, when that failed to really satisfy (and I feel like quite jerk for saying that!)

 

we headed out to Wellington Garden center.

They never fail to deliver. . .

 Our appetite was also thoroughly whetted for the upcoming Christmas display .

One way or another I will be back for that. . . with my camera!

Thanks for a beautiful day!

Love you Tam. (and Byron and Rebecca. . !)