Four Days Before Christmas And All Through The House…

It’s just four more days until Christmas, and I thought I’d post what’s been going on around our house…

First of all, the weather turned cold, so it finally felt like Christmas around here!  On Friday and Saturday nights, our overnight temperatures fell below freezing.  The bird bath was frozen, on Saturday morning, and the top of our daughter’s house, was white with frost.  Unfortunately, the arctic blast was short-lived, and our temperatures will be back into the 70’s by tomorrow.  It’s predicted to be 84 on Christmas Day!  So much for wearing long-sleeved Christmas p.j.’s.

Ed and I finally finished wrapping the last of our Christmas gifts.  We didn’t have many gifts to wrap, so I put it off as the next-to-the-last thing on my “to do” list.  It looks nice to finally have a few gifts under our Christmas tree.

The last thing on my “to do” list is to cook for Christmas, something I’m not really looking forward to.  It’s not much fun to cook when you’re not supposed to eat most of what you cook. Ah, the joys of growing older–not!

I don’t think I’ve mentioned that Ed went back to the doctor, last week, for a checkup, and discovered his “bad cholesterol” is up from almost two months ago, right after he had his heart attack.  We were shocked to hear this, since we’ve both been on the low fat/low cholesterol diet since his heart attack.  If his numbers haven’t improved by the next visit, they’ll change his cholesterol medication. (he’s already on a double dose!)

When I last blogged, I’d taken the tape off my face, and was about to have the stitches removed [from where I’d had the plastic surgery performed on my face].  On Thursday, the doctor removed the stitches, but replaced them with some type of “skin adhesive”, then  re-taped my face with steri strips.  I was a bit sad, but also a bit glad.  The steri strips make the scars not so visible, as well as making it easier to wear my glasses, since the “nose piece” of my glasses hits the affected area.  The bad part is the constant itching from the tape!  I have to leave it on until Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.  I’m praying the wounds will look better than they did when this picture was taken, last Wednesday.

We were supposed to attend our two oldest grandson’s birthday parties, this past Saturday night.  For the second year in a row, their party was postponed due to illness.  The little fellows can’t seem to catch a break around their birthdays!  We’ll be celebrating their birthdays on Christmas Eve, instead.  Hopefully, everyone will be feeling “fit as a fiddle”, by then.

‘Tis the season for Christmas plays, and three of our “grands” were in plays, last night, at two different churches.  Ed and I didn’t attend either play, but enjoyed seeing the pictures of them shared on Facebook, this morning.  Social media has perks!

our oldest grandsons

 our granddaughter

I have fond memories of working with our own children for Christmas plays of the past.  Ed helped create some elaborate sets, back in the day.  The one I remember most was a giant replica of a box of “Alpha-Bits” cereal.

Speaking of social media, after all this time, Ed finally signed up for a Facebook account! Wonders never cease.  He says he wanted to look at “on-line yard sales”, but, actually, I think he just got curious about all of the things the rest of us were talking about.  Anyway, my husband, of 43 years, is now my friend on Facebook 🙂

That’s about it for what’s been going on around our house, just four days before Christmas.  I’m going to try to post one more time, before Christmas, but in case I don’t, I’ll take this opportunity to wish everyone…

 

 

T’was The Week Before Christmas Hodgepodge…

Are you ready for Christmas?  Me either!  Ready or not, Christmas is right around the corner, but there’s still time to enjoy one last Hodgepodge before Christmas gets here, so let’s take a few moments and relax.  As always, thanks to Joyce, for being such a great hostess, to us.

1. What’s your biggest ‘first world’ problem?

Perhaps, mine should be “Due to recent facial surgery, my Christmas pictures are going to be really horrible, this year.”  See what I mean?

Instead I’ll say, “It’s having to drive our old car 1/4 of a mile [to Ed’s parents’ house] in order to retrieve our new car whenever we want to drive it.”  (We’re keeping it there so our cats won’t scratch it.)  This sounds pretty ‘first world’ to me.

2. Each year Time Magazine names a ‘Person of the Year’, someone who has ‘for better or worse…done the most to influence the events of the year.’ It was recently announced they’ve named Angela Merkel Person of the Year for 2015. You can read more about this year’s selection here. Your thoughts? If you were in charge, who would you declare Person of the Year?

I hate to, but I’m going to opt out of this question.  It simply requires more energy and thought than I am able to muster today.

3. Do you have a nativity set in your home? If so share its history and how you display the pieces.

Yes, I have a nativity set–or three.  The one I’m displaying, this year, is a nativity set I found, last year, at a vintage store called “The Red Wagon”.  I fell in love with it when I saw it!  As mentioned, I also have two others.  One was purchased many years ago, when our children were still young, and has a wooden stable that plays “Silent Night”. The other nativity set used to belong to Ed’s mama.  Now that I have three, I take turns displaying one of them on our book shelves, each Christmas.  I’d show you a picture, but, apparently, my camera broke after taking that last picture of my face.  I’m serious.

4. Do you make an extra effort to give back in some way during the holiday season? How do you encourage those who need encouragement this time of year?

In years past, I’ve been involved in many efforts to “give back” , through school or church, not just at holiday time, but other times throughout the year. This year, not so much.  It’s been a difficult year for us, and, as a result, Ed and I have been more on the receiving end of encouragement and prayers.

I think the best way to encourage people is to simply let them know we care about them.  It can be as simple as a kind word, a note, a phone call, or a visit.  Thoughtfulness goes a long, long way to make someone feel loved and appreciated.

5. Who is your favorite person to shop for? Why?

My favorite people to shop for are my grandchildren.  Why?  Because it’s more fun to buy toys than anything else!  However, this year, I didn’t have a clue (or the energy) to know where to start shopping, so their parents helped me out.

6. What’s the last delicious thing you ate?

On Monday, I baked some gingerbread cake.  I enjoyed a warm piece of it, fresh from the oven, with a dollop of Cool Whip on top of it!  It was delicious.

7. The best way to spread Christmas cheer is… to be kind, courteous, thoughtful, respectful, helpful, and any other nice thing you can think of!

Random:

I’m almost one week out from the plastic surgery [on my face] to close the hole left by the cancer surgery.  I’ve given birth to a 10 lb 9 oz child [with no drugs], had a total abdominal hysterectomy, and experienced both neck and back surgery, and, believe me, this facial surgery ranks right in there with all of that!!!

As of yesterday, I still required [at least] Tylenol for pain.  The stitches won’t be removed until tomorrow, but Ed and I had to remove the tape from over the incisions, last night, because it was irritating my face so much.   At the moment, I look a bit like Frankenstein, and I cried when I looked at my reflection in the mirror.  I’m hoping [and praying] my face will improve, with time [and makeup].

 

Something About December 10th…

What are the chances I’d have surgery twice on December 10th?  You would probably say, “Pretty slim”, but, yes, it happened.  The first surgery, on December 10th, 2004, was a cervical fusion, to correct a herniated disc in my neck.  I’d suffered with neck pain for several years, then, all of a sudden, my fingers began to go numb.  My neurologist said I needed surgery, immediately, to preserve nerve function in my hand.  The surgery was a day procedure, which they put me to sleep for.  Shortly after lunch I was released from the hospital, and, although I wasn’t supposed to, I felt well enough to stop by K-mart on the way home!

My second December 10th surgery was plastic surgery, to close the gaping hole in my face left by the Moh’s surgery I’d had earlier this week. (An M&M would’ve fit perfectly in the crater left by the skin cancer surgery)  Yesterday’s surgery was performed in the surgeon’s office, and I was wide awake for every minute of it!  Unlike the previous December 10th surgery, afterward, I didn’t feel well enough to go anywhere except home!

My daughter had the same [plastic surgery] procedure done, last week, and had warned me how unpleasant it was.  She didn’t exaggerate.  The surgery, itself, was fine.  I didn’t feel a thing, once the surgeon finished numbing my face, but the numbing part was excruciating!

That first shot was given inside of my mouth, between my gum and my cheek!  The entire right side of my face immediately went numb, including my teeth.  (Think of the worst dental shot you’ve ever had multiplied by ten)  My eye immediately swelled shut, and I couldn’t see a thing for a few minutes.  This shot was followed by two more [in the face], which I felt, in spite of my face being numb.  I think one of the shots was actually given in the wound that was to be repaired.  While getting the shots, I held my eyeglasses case in both hands and squeezed with all my might!  The nurse noticed, and commented, “If that glasses case was alive, it’s not anymore!”

The surgeon then explained he was going to “rob from Peter to pay Paul”, which meant he was going to “borrow” some skin from my cheek, and use it to cover up the hole left by the Moh’s surgery.  He says, “you’ll never miss it.”  Ha! Sure I won’t.

The surgeon was extremely nice, and I didn’t feel a thing, once the shots took effect.  The entire procedure took under 30 minutes, but I left the office looking and feeling like I’d been “sucker punched” in the face.

The surgeon gave me two prescriptions.  One for antibiotics, the other for a pain medication, which he said he didn’t think I’d need.  Ha!  Apparently, he’s never had any plastic surgery on his face!  All I can say is, “Thank God for Oxycodone and ice packs!”  Those two things are what got me through yesterday afternoon and last night.  So far, today has been better, and I’ve only taken some “over the counter” pain relief.

I have a bit of “a shiner” today, and I woke up with a bit of “a smirk” on my face, due to swelling in the cheek/eye area. Ha!  My daughter says I look like “the Joker”.  Thankfully, an ice pack helps reduce some of the swelling, as well as the pain it causes.

Of course, those antibiotics I’m taking will be causing some more problems, in addition to the nausea I’m feeling.  I’m already “doubling up” on my probiotics and yeast control medications, in anticipation of what’s to come. Fun times!

The good news is, the surgery is behind me, and the surgeon says I should have “good results”.  (Anything would be an improvement over the hole that was in my face) The affected areas of my face are covered with flesh-colored bandage, and will remain covered until next Thursday, when the stitches are removed.

Today, I’m lounging around the house, and catching up on Hallmark Christmas movies. Meanwhile, Ed has gone to take our daughter, Brandy, to have her stitches removed from last week’s surgery.  Her face looks pretty good, nothing like it did last week, so I know there’s hope for me!

My daughter and I had our picture taken, together, last night, as a souvenir of our Christmas surgeries of 2015!  I don’t know about anyone else, but I think we’re about ready to ring in the New Year 🙂

still able to smile…

Wednesday Hodgepodge #247…

Here we go again, with another little edition of the Wednesday Hodgepodge!  It’s good to take a little break from our Christmas preparations, don’t you think?  Only sixteen more days until Christmas, though.  As always, thanks to our gracious hostess, Joyce, for another great set of questions!  Now, let’s get started with “The Hodgepodge”!

1. Many families have a story they love to tell every year around a holiday. Does your family have one? Are you the star of that story, or does another family member take center stage? Share your story if you want.

Yes, our family has a funny story involving ” Christmas panties”, but I am not the star of the story.  My late father-in-law is!  Here’s an excerpt from a previous post I wrote about the whole Christmas panties thing:

My favorite Christmas memory has now turned into a family holiday tradition.  Ed’s daddy was quite a character in his time.  He had a sense of humor and always wore a smile. 

One day he went to the dumpster to take off the trash.  It wasn’t unusual for him to return with a “treasure” that he’d find, at the dumpster, but on this one particular day he found a VERY LARGE pair of ladies underwear.  I mean, they must have been the largest size available!  Now I know some of you may thinking “gross”, but the panties were clean, and we all laughed and marveled at how HUGE those panties actually were! 

On the following Christmas morning(many years ago), I can’t remember who, but one of us received those HUGE panties wrapped up as a Christmas gift!

my sister-in-law with the Christmas panties (cir. 1980)

still clowning around with the Christmas panties (cir. 2013)

Every since that year we’ve passed those panties to someone different in the family every Christmas.  Whoever keeps the panties for the year writes a note to the new recipient before Christmas, and attaches it to the box, on top of the previous year’s message.  The box is now very old and has LOTS of notes attached to the top of it. Some of the messages are pretty funny!

It always brings a laugh when someone opens up the gift of the Christmas panties and reads the message on top of the box!  Ed’s daddy passed away many years ago, but he still makes us laugh every year, as we continue to pass around those Christmas panties.

Below is one of my all-time favorite notes attached to the box.  It was written by our [then] new daughter-in-law to our youngest son, back in 2007:

Brad, (2007)

Wow, the year has flown by!  It’s sad for me because now I have to pass these lovely panties on to someone new…but it’s worth it to see the look on your face when you realize that you now get the privilege of caring for them an entire year.

I got a lot of uses out of them; they’re very versatile.  Here are some examples:

1.  a tablecloth at a picnic with my family; as you can imagine, they were quite envious.

2.  an area rug for the living room.

3.  a tent when I kept my nephew and nieces, and they wanted to pretend to camp out.

4.  a blanket for Brett and me before we got the new heater

Probably, the most beneficial use was the one I’ve never told anyone.  I took them to Atlanta in October to the [Naascar] race-and thus began the tradition of holding them near to me during each race.  We all know the success the Lowes team had this year!  Maybe the # 9 team will have some luck in 2008.

Christina (and the #48 team)

2. Are you afraid to speak your own opinion?

These days, yes, I am afraid to speak my opinions. I hesitate to offer an opinion, most of the time, unless I am talking with a close family member or friend.  It seems the art of “agreeing to disagree” is fading fast, so I usually just try to keep most of my opinions to myself.

3. Pantone has announced the color of the year for 2016, and for the first time have chosen two shades-rose quartz and serenity. Hmmm…did you know serenity was a color? You can read the thought behind their selection here, but essentially it’s blending the warmth of rose quartz with the tranquility of a very soft shade of blue. So what do you think? Are these colors I’d find in your home or wardrobe? Will you add something in these shades to either place in the new year?

No, I didn’t know serenity is a color.  Although, I think the colors are pretty, neither of them would match any of the current decor in our home, so I wouldn’t be using them there.  However, I wouldn’t be opposed to adding something in either of those colors to my spring wardrobe!

4. If you could be in a Christmas carol, which one would you choose? Why?

I’ve always loved the Christmas carol, “Winter Wonderland”, so I’d choose that one.  We live in the south, where it rarely snows, so having a “Winter Wonderland” would be a rare and wonderful treat for us.  In all of my 61 years, it’s only snowed once during Christmas!  It was wonderful, and the snow lasted for a couple of days.

photos from an old scrapbook~our children playing in the snow

5. December 9th is National Pastry Day. Will you celebrate? When did you last purchase something from a bakery? What’s your favorite treat that falls under the heading of pastry? Do you make it yourself or buy from the professionals?

Pastry!  Oh, be still my beating heart!!!  I will not celebrate, because such things are not on my current diet, but I’d certainly love to!

I don’t know if this counts as pastry, but I purchased 1/2 dozen doughnuts from Krispy Kreme several months ago, when I had a doctor’s appointment in Savannah.  Until then, I hadn’t had a doughnut in a long, long time, but my back was hurting, and I needed some “comfort food”, so I gave in. (It was worth it!)  My favorite “pastry” is a raspberry danish that I used to purchase from Sam’s.  I don’t know that I’ve ever had danish from an actual bakery.

6. When it comes to holiday decorating, I tend to go a bit overboard!  Just ask anyone who’s been to our house at Christmas!  

7. When did you last laugh so much it hurt? Explain.  

I remember it like it was yesterday, even though it was 15 years ago.  Ed, our youngest son, Brad, and I were on vacation at Panama City, Florida.

One night, we found a “like new” 3 gallon bucket, that had been discarded, beside the dumpster in the Walmart parking lot.  Ed and I use buckets a lot at our house, so we put the bucket in the back of our mini van, and headed back to our motel room.

The “strip” was crowed with cars, and traffic moved slowly.  About five or ten minutes into the trip, we discovered why the bucket had been discarded–it reeked of the smell of dead shrimp!  Apparently, someone had used the bucket for bait, then threw it away after fishing.

However, we weren’t about give up our “precious find”, so we placed the “smelly bucket” on the top of our mini van, and continued on the journey back to our motel.  Traffic was moving slow, so the bucket sat on the top of the van with no problems.

People began giving us strange looks and yelling to us, “There’s a bucket on your roof!”  We even got stopped by some cops.  The whole situation got so bizarre, we all got tickled.  I laughed so hard, and so long, I totally wet my pants, so I’m sure I was sore the next day, too.

Ed washed out the bucket, at the motel, and we brought it back to Georgia with us.  We laughed about that night on “the strip”, for many years–every time we used that bucket!

Random:

I have some good news and some bad news.  First of all the good news–

I’m “officially” finished with my Christmas decorating!!!  Yay!

The bad news is, I had a terrible time decorating that last tree!  Most of the lights stopped working, and what should have taken two hours to complete, ended up taking an entire afternoon!  We ended up throwing three strings of lights in the trash!

In other good news– my dermatologist’s office called me on the day I was decorating that last tree (on Monday) and asked if I’d like to come in the following day (yesterday) for my Moe’s surgery, instead of waiting until January 19. (Someone cancelled.)  I jumped at the chance to get the surgery over with because, frankly, I’ve been dreading it!  More good news– she was able to get all of the skin cancer on her first try!

The bad news is–although my skin cancer was only about the size of a tiny pimple, I’m left with a deep, gaping hole right beside my nose that’s about the size of a dime!  Whoa!  For best-looking results, my dermatologist recommended having a plastic surgeon close the hole, which I will do tomorrow morning (Thursday).  After watching my daughter suffer for three days, following her own plastic surgery [to close a gaping hole of about the same size as mine], I am not looking forward to Thursday.  Hopefully, all of this will soon be a distant memory.

Miscellaneous Monday…

Hopefully, this week will be a little less eventful than last week.  I began last week by having to be at the doctor’s office at the crack of dawn, to have blood drawn.  That’s never a great way to begin a new week, and the rest of the week seemed to go downhill from there…

On Monday night, our youngest grandson, Evan, came down with the stomach virus.  Ed and I were supposed to go over, on Tuesday evening, and take Evan and his daddy some supper, because Jennifer was working late.  Needless to say, we changed our plans.

Next, we found out that our daughter-in-law, (and neighbor) Christina, had come down with the virus, as well.  A couple of days later, Evan’s daddy and Christina’s husband came down with the virus, too.  With all of the virus germs spreading around, we decided to postpone Ed’s birthday party for a while.

On Thursday, I had an appointment with a dermatologist, whom I’d been referred to by my primary care physician, concerning a scaly patch on the bridge of my nose.  My doctor told me the dermatologist would probably freeze my nose or give me some kind of cream for it.  My appointment was at 9:30 in the morning, and we live over forty-five minutes away.  What was I thinking to have accepted such an early appointment?  For sure, it wasn’t about having to get up at the crack of dawn again!

The dermatologist took one look at the scaly patch on the bridge of my nose, and told me it was pre-cancerous, and would need to be frozen. She also noticed a tiny growth in the crevice of my nose, about the size of a pimple, and asked me how long it had been there.  I told her I didn’t know.  She told me she would need to do a biopsy of that, as well as a small spot just below the base of my neck that I’d shown her. This visit was turning into a bit more of an ordeal than I had planned.

Can I tell you how bad it feels to get a shot in the crevice of your nose?!  Can I also tell you how badly it feels to have someone freeze your nose with spray?  The shot at the base of my neck hurt, too, but was a piece of cake compared to the face!  When I left the office, my nose felt like it was on fire, literally!  (Ed explained that freezing is a burning process, it just uses cold instead of heat.)  The day after the process, my face looked like I’d been punched in the nose!  Four days later, it still looks that way.  My eyes are swollen, and my  nose keeps oozing this gross, clear stuff out from under the huge scab that’s forming…  Now I know why the doctor asked if I had any important plans immediately coming up before she froze my nose!  Now, I have to wait for the results of those biopsies.  I’d appreciate prayers that my biopsy reports come back good.

Ed’s 66th birthday quietly came and went…on Friday the 13th!  The only bad luck we had was having to postpone his party with family because of the stomach virus.  I cancelled the order for a large birthday cake, and opted to make him a small German Chocolate cake, instead.  I bought some six-inch cake pans to make a cake that was just big enough to make about eight slices, because German Chocolate cake isn’t listed on a “heart healthy” diet, but– a man should celebrate his birthday with his favorite cake!

If all goes well, our family will be celebrating Ed’s birthday, together, a week later than we originally planned.  It’ll be a good excuse to eat cake again 🙂

Ed’s been a little more tired than usual, lately. I’m hoping it’s just his body getting used to all of his new medications.  Those blood pressure pills really seem to zap his energy because he feels fine until he takes those.  Some mornings he takes a mid-morning nap, and that’s fine with me. Lord knows, I’ve had plenty of those kind of days, too.  I hope his tiredness will eventually pass, and his energy will return.

Our weather was cold on Friday and Saturday nights, and I liked it!  In fact, we actually had our first frost on Saturday night.  The cold weather is supposed to be short-lived, however, with temperatures back up near 80 by mid-week.  It was nice while it lasted.  Unfortunately, the mosquitoes will be back out in force, again.

These days I’m keeping a food journal of what Ed and I eat for each meal.  This helps me keep track of what we’re eating, and helps me decide what to cook (or what not to cook).  Ed’s only allowed 3 eggs per week on his diet.  I guess it’s a good thing the daylight hours are short, and our hens have begun molting, so egg production is down!  Our 9 hens have laid almost 1700 eggs since January of this year!  “Our girls” have earned a well-deserved rest!  (FYI: We didn’t eat all of those eggs, we shared with friends and family.)

It’s shaping up to be a busy week around the house.  I’m going to get a head start on my Thanksgiving cooking, and put it in the freezer.  So many delicious dishes, and none of them are really “heart healthy”–but Ed has the hospital dietitian’s permission to enjoy Thanksgiving–in moderation 🙂  Which reminds me, since I’ve joined Ed on his diet (which is really supposed to be my diet, too) I’ve begun to lose the weight I gained while I was laid up with a bad back all summer. Hooray for that!  Ed’s weight, however, has stayed the same.  Hooray for that, too, since he’s already thin.

Have a great Monday!

 

Friday Fragments…

It’s a little late to be posting Friday’s Fragments, but I’m going to do it anyway.  I’m desperately trying to get back into the habit of blogging on a more regular basis. It’s hard to find time.

We’re only two days away from the two-week anniversary of Ed’s heart attack.  I’m hoping and praying every day that goes by Ed will become stronger and healthier.  He seems to be getting better each day.  Thank God he’s only recovering from a heart attack/stent, and not open heart surgery!  I often find myself thinking, what if….  I’m so thankful he survived!

I finally got the Halloween decorations packed away, and the Thanksgiving decorations put out.  I’m so thankful I didn’t go “all out” for Halloween, this year.  It’s almost as if I knew something was going to happen, before it actually did.

I’m tired of 80 degree weather in November!  Where oh where is fall?  Some of our trees are putting on new leaves, and the grass will need mowing again, soon, if things don’t change!

Today, I purchased the turkey for Thanksgiving.  I bought a 19 pound turkey!  If anyone had told me, twenty years ago, that it would take a 19 pound turkey to feed our family, I would have laughed!

Ed and I finally made our way to the ‘tag office’, and purchased a tag for our new vehicle.  Because we put this vehicle in both of our names, with mine listed first, the tag will be due in my birthday month.  The other two vehicles will be due in Ed’s birthday month. Talk about being confusing…

Ed and I have been eating “healthy” for nine days.  So far, we’ve eaten three bags of ‘ready-to-eat’ salad, a carton of grape tomatoes, one cucumber, and a head of lettuce!  Salad is still good, but not as good as it was nine days ago.  Thankfully, grilled chicken is still quite tasty 🙂  For the record, 1% milk looks (and tastes) like 99% water and 1% milk!

As if Ed and I haven’t had enough things to deal with, this year, we now have added one more thing to the list!  During Monday’s checkup, I mentioned to my primary care physician that I  have developed a ‘scaly patch’ on the bridge of my nose.  I wondered if my glasses had caused it, but wasn’t sure.  He checked it out, and has referred me to a dermatologist to rule out skin cancer!  The reason I became suspicious, in the first place, is because our daughter was recently diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma on her nose.  She currently awaiting an appointment for Mohl surgery to remove the rest of the cancerous cells, to be immediately followed by plastic surgery on her nose.  (And in case you’re wondering, no, we’re not sun worshipers.  Just unlucky, I guess.) No matter what, I will never forget 2015, as long as I live!

On a more pleasant note, tomorrow, we will be attending the birthday party of our youngest grandchild, Evan.  Here’s a picture of Evan, taken on his actual birthday:

 Evan actually turned two on October 30, but his party is being held tomorrow.  Time has passed so quickly!  There’s no way he should be two already!!!  Evan’s a busy little fellow, so I’m sure he’ll enjoy his birthday party tomorrow.

That’s about it for this edition of Friday Fragments. I hope everyone has a blessed weekend!  Go out and make it a good one.