Another Sneak Peek at Some of the Concrete Leaves I've been Working On. . .

I've been hard at work (before surgery. . .) out in the greenhouse, working on a variety of concrete leaves as I get ready for the November open house my sister in law Leona and I will be having.

Here's a sneak peak. . . 

And now I've added some in a slate color as well. . .

Getting Ready For Halloween. . .

It's rather far down on the 'To Do List' but I can't let this pass without a few pumpkins to keep my mums company. . .

If the kids want more they are going to have to pitch in. . .

Beautiful, Helpful, Big Boys

How awesome is it, when one of your big boys not only comes up with a great marketing idea, but is also willing to go the extra mile and carry it out.

Literally.

All 145 pounds of it. . .

I made this last year    (with a little help) and it's been hanging around in the back garden waiting for a place by the pond.

 Since that's not happening yet, Jess suggested that we put it in the front garden to let people know that I don't just do gardens. . .

I also do art. . .

Thanks Jesse!

My Recovery Nest

So here's a peek at my recovery nest. . .

Turtles and magazines (Gifts from lovely family members)

DVDs (One from a friend and 3 season's worth from myself. (Because I'm going to milk this" I can't do anything myself",  for all it's worth. . .)

Roses from mom. . .

 Flowers for my bedroom from Dorothy. . .

And books. We can't forget the books. . . .

These should do me for a bit. . .

*** Have to say. . . day two. . . not nearly as nice as day one. Here's hoping day three is. . .

Surgery Update. . .

I'm pleased to report. . .

Drunken stagger wore off fairly quickly. . .

There was no tongue dragging or drooling. . .

I only threw up once. . .

On a scale of zero to ten with zero being no pain and ten being excruciating, I would say my pain is hovering between zero to one. . .

All the staff at the Misericordia hospital were just lovely. . .

Nicole brought over a fabulous turkey pot pie which, although I can't eat today, smells delicious. . .

Holly made me white cheddar macaroni instead. . .

Crystal and Holly brought home a very large, beautiful flower arrangement. There are flowers to brighten nearly every room in the house. . .

And best of all. . .

The surgeon said I will likely be able to get back to a mostly normal routine in a week or two, not the six weeks I had been told!!!

Whoo hoo!

I'll be back to getting ready for our open house sale in no time!

Although the kids have threatened to sit on me if I overdo things so. . .

We'll see how things go.

Thank you so much for all your thoughts and prayers. So far so good!

We are hoping to get the results in the next two weeks. . .

And because the theme of this month's challenge was Beauty in the Everyday, (although things can't get a whole lot more beautiful than they are right now. . .)

A picture. . .

I've been using this as my screensaver. . . feel free to do the same!

Surgery Today

I go for surgery today.

I will be having my lymph nodes biopsied and a largish area around where the cancer was found ( on my stomach) removed.

I am to be at the hospital by 8 and surgery is at noon.

I have to be there early because I will be injected with a few dyes to guide the surgeon to the right areas to remove.

So here's the thing. . .

One of the dyes is brilliantly blue and can . . .

a: leave the area under you eyes blue.
b: leave your lip-line blue.
c: cause you to pee blue.

and

 d: Leave you with a bright blue tattoo should any of the dye be left behind during surgery .

But not to worry. . .

It usually fades within six months. . .

But not always. . .

Hmmm. . .

Then there is the uncertainty of how my body will handle anesthesia.

Some people throw up a lot.

The last time I had surgery I was 7 and had my tonsils out.

I don't remember how I felt afterwards.

All I remember was the lovely little nest my mom made for me in the front yard under the tree. A comfy chair, books, coloring books and crayons  and a few barbies. (and I'm working on creating a grown up nest for my recovery this time. . .)

And I remember the jello and ice cream. Lots of jello and ice cream.

The only recent experience I've had with the effects of anesthesia was when Jada was put under to remove bits of bark lodged in her throat.

I brought her home and she wandered around for hours with a drunken stagger, banging into walls while her tongue hung nearly to the ground.

And then there was the drooling. . .

Not a particularly comforting thought right now!

I think I'm going to enforce a ban on visitors for the first two days. . .

Because what if. . .????

After all. . . according to the pamphlet I will be consider impaired for 48 hours following surgery. . .

No drinking, driving, or making any financial decisions. I will be considered impaired for those 48 hours. . 

And you know what they say. . .

Never blog under the influence!


* I have pre posted a few days so that I can still meet my challenge of the 31 days while taking a day or two off to rest.  (although I will not be linking to Facebook  That can't be done ahead.You will just have to save my blog into your favorites. . . or become a follower. . . ;D )

The Beauty Of Family At Thanksgiving

Because my surgery was the day after Thanksgiving, it was my intention to skip over Thanksgiving dinner all together.

  I had so much I wanted to get done before hand, that I figured  a dinner was just not the best use of my time.

Then I came across a very large turkey in the freezer.  It had been there for a year. I decided that it was only sensible to cook it so we would have lots of turkey meat leftovers.
Just our family and mom.  Seven people.

Very sensible.

As it got closer to the weekend I thought of Rebecca, celebrating her first Thanksgiving away from home.
Since aunts can be a close second to moms in a pinch, I invited both her and Evan to come too. Nine people.

 Still a small gathering.

Chatting with my mother in law, I was told that Henry's side was going to keep things simple and have a soup potluck on the Sunday. All I had to bring was buns!

Whoo Hoo! Count us in!

The closer I got to the week end however, the more strongly I began to feel the need to have  a real gathering for Thanksgiving. . . so I also invited my sister and brother in law and their three boys.

13 people.

Still a modestly sized crowd, but, in a smallish under 1000 square foot home, that's about all I can manage for a sit down dinner. (well, if I worked at it I could probably add 5 more. . .)

So here it is, the Beauty of Family at Thanksgiving. . . and it doesn't hurt when you brother in law doesn't just like to cook, he loves to cook. . .

dueling whisks

Hmmmm. . . not what I expected when I handed the camera off to Evan for the evening!

close to 30 pound's!

a master carver

yes indeed. . . patience paid off when bacon started magically flying through the air. . .

a man who enjoys his job!!

cousins

almost time to eat!

that is a lot of turkey!

yummm!

She never gives up!

I hope you all had an  equally lovely Thanksgiving.