still here...

I thought I would take a few minutes and write a short post to let everyone know I am still here...alive and kicking...sort of!

First off I want to wish everyone a happy holiday whatever religion or lack there of you embrace!  We call it Snowman Day in our house because there are so many different beliefs in the works.  I quit trying to remember who is what and I just send out winter wishes to everyone.  My card this year!  The family all came home for Thanksgiving and while here pitched in and got the house decorated for the holidays...I have an awesome family!

I thank everyone for their interest and concern over my health and wellness issues....

I went to the surgeon on December 23 and was told my set back with the laminectomy and spinal fusion was due to me having broken one of the vertebrae some how.  I am fused L4-L5 and L5-S1 with plastic spacers in-between the discs...evidently sitting down too hard one day caused a spacer to slam into the vertebrae and crack it...it will heal but hurts like hell!  I can truthfully say I am sitting down rather gingerly to keep from cracking more!  I am still having memory issues and haven't been too good in retaining lately...doctor says it will come back...I am hoping so!

I started radiation therapy to a recurrent issue with basal cell cancer on my face.  Evidently they think that this might help and I started treatments a week ago.  The treatments are at Norman Regional Hospital Cancer Management Center five days a week for another 2 weeks.  The treatment itself is painless...unless you count having to get up and go every day.  While it is a low dose of radiation my system already being compromised by autoimmune disorders has decided to react with fatigue, headaches, dry eye etc.  Dr. Yeh assures me that it will go away as soon as the treatments are done.  

The girls at the treatment center took a picture for me to share and I want to point out that I figure it was meant to be because of all the purple!  

I haven't been doing much of anything exercise, craft, cooking etc because of not feeling like doing much of anything.  I try and push myself and I do get stuff done but...limited.

Anyway I hope everyone has a great week end and a happy start to the new year.  

WOYWW

Thought I would post a little post and share some photos.  I haven't been doing much.  Haven't felt like it.  I have problems right now but everyday I can see them getting better and better.


My desk...not much has been going on on my desk...

Not a lot going on as you can see.  I have some new dies and stamps from Stamp of Life that I got recently but haven't had the umph! to use them!  I joined The Stamps of Life card club in hopes it would stimulate me to make cards but...it is a work in progress.  Here is all that I have done since I had surgery...  I made 10 ATC to send to people in WOYWW in June and I can't find them.  I guess I will just have to break down and make more because I know I made them but didn't get them mailed out before I went to surgery and after wards I literally haven't been the same.  

These are the July tag calendars that I made for the Creativeblock StampersAnonymous group on Yahoo Groups.

These are the whole year!

Another group on Yahoo Groups had a 6"x6" calendar swap and I totally stole the idea off Pinterest using Washi tapes and papers I had from a long, long, long time ago!

 This card is the only really original idea in the bunch.  I received a pudgy unicorn from The Stamps of life and this is what I came up with!

 The following cards I made from kits that I have had sitting around that were from Stampin'Up!  I embellished and did some change ups but it is something I can say I made!

Okay I am going to call it quits for today.  I hope to be able to start making it back here weekly again.  

For those that emailed and wanted to know what was going on...I had the spinal surgery June 26, 2017 and things didn't go as perfect as I wanted them to go.  I had some issues with blood loss (3 units) that caused my oxygen levels to drop enough it has caused me to lose some memories and ability to think right...my doctor calls it loopy!!  I am doing much better today then 4 months ago but still forget where I parked my car etc.  I have some expressionary aphasia meaning I don't finish sentences or drop thoughts randomly.  Really hilarious some of the stuff that does and doesn't come out of my mouth!  I had already booked a trip to Croatia with my husband thinking all would be on the up and up but I didn't leave the hotel unaccompanied because I would get lost and confused...not a happy state but like I said I am better now and the pain is a lot less in my back! 

update and WOYWW

Hope everyone is having a great week.  I haven't been on the computer for one reason or another.  Really hasn't been on my list of things to get accomplished cause it hurts too bad to sit and think!
WOYWW friends I took a picture of my desk this week and as you can see nothing is being done at all...What is WOYWW?  check it out over at Julia's blog Stamping Ground and come play with us.
Okay my desk this week...

Not a lot to see just a few dies on magnetic sheets...as few bling bits and that is about it.  I haven't made any new anything in 3 weeks.  I thought I would have the ATC done before going in the hospital happened but that was a no go!  Promise they are on my list of the first things to get done once I am better!

So what is going on with the this week?  Well I started having a lot of pain on Wednesday  night...That kind of pain that makes you moan and whine about everything!  I couldn't stand up without bladder emptying, forget passing gas, or even just sitting or lying down in one spot more then a minute or two at a time.  My doctor ordered an MRI of my back on Friday and then since it kept getting worse my dear hubby loaded me in the car and took me to the ER on Saturday.  They told me the MRI showed some abnormalities...could be blood, could be serous drainage, could be an infection so we drew lab and while my white count and CRP were elevated they would have been with just my having had surgery.  So 4 hours later and tons of drugs later...(none of which worked) they sent me home to follow up with my dr. Monday or Tuesday.  As luck would have it I had an appointment with the osteopedic surgeon about my knee on Monday so they check it all out.  I then was told I needed comeback the next day and see the neurosurgeon...

Turns out that this new procedure seems to have issues with serous drainage postop cause they peel muscle off bone etc.  The PA and Dr. said all the people having this procedure done from now one would have drains posted to prevent all the spasms etc...not much help for me right now but...got given the word on new meds and how to take them so I came home and crashed for the day.  I am about to go back t bed cause I have another appointment tomorrow at 2pm!  Hope this gets better sooner then later.

Hope everyone has a great week and I will talk at you more next week...hope that I will feel better enough this week to make a few visits...

WOYWW and back surgery

Sorry I haven't been around or posted the past couple weeks...it has not been a good time for me at all!  I had surgery on my spine last Monday week and I think I am getting better and something comes along to knock me down again.  Haven't been able to do much in the way of crafting and really haven't been on the computer much!
Here I am all decked out in the surgery garb prep...guess all the color coordination is on purpose to make you cheerful for the up coming event!

   My Cheering Squad whilst I was in the back...they tell me they actually had a good talk with the real Santa while I was under the knife...hmmm...wonder if they shared the drugs out there!

This next picture is post op...OMG!  Had I known that a MIDLIFF surgery was so painful I might not have had it done!  In layman terms it was a spinal fusion and laminectomy with screws and plates.  Evidently they had something go south with the drilling of the first screw and broke out the anterior portion of the vertebrae and had to drill another hole to put a screw and plate into...OMG!  I am not for sure if I ended up with 2 or 3 screws but according to the doctor he wasn't real happy with it all.  The nurses evidently screwed up and didn't give me the meds I was suppose to have gotten or the ice pack machine to my back or I really bruised something horribly.  The bed I am in here was faulty and the mattress ended up trashed after they took me out of it!!

The laminectomy and spinal fusion ended up encompassing the L3-4-5 Lumbar vertebrae!  OUCH!  Want to see the OP site  Not pretty...

 Could have been worse but...with ice packs and meds it might have been less!

I didn't get the swap ATC done before this happened so hopefully they will be done and in the mail this next week.  Take care and see you again soon with pictures of my desk!

WOYWW #419

This week went by pretty fast...WOW!  Seems like I just got done with posting last week and it is already time to post again.  I don't mind though cause WOYWW is so much fun!  What is WOYWW...check here.  Julia started it 8 years ago and has kept it going through thick and thin!  Thanks Julia!

My desk this week...don't know what happened to the desk picture but I have already deleted it from my phone!  Oh well...next week

Busy making cards this week trying to get caught up with card and ATC swaps.  I am not posting pictures of ATC's I made till I hear that the people I sent them to actually have received them.  I only shipped off 6 and for some reason thought that I needed 10 so I can still swap a few more.  I can show you pictures of the ATC's I have received this past week!  All are beautiful...thank you!

Twiglet, Wipso, Shazsilverwolf, Clair

UPDATE:  
Went to the mail box today and lo and behold another ATC has shown up!  WOW Andrea!  You are awesome!  I love the ATC pocket on the left, the tac, and the card  it all fits into!  Thank you for the awesome stamps and die cuts!  I will definitely use them!

Some cards I made this week!  I am all caught up I think!

a sketch challenge card!  

a graduation card

a double apron/curtain fold card

a sketch challenge and colors blue, brown, and green!

blue, masculine, circles Challenge card

Male Birthday

another green, brown, and blue challenge!

flowers, handmade embellies!

I have totally caught up on all my swap and challenge commitments now and it really feels good.  I have been spending time every day doing some kind of work in my craft room.  Makes me feel better knowing I have accomplished something!  I actually made two more but I evidently didn't take a picture so I hope someone does when they get them

The garden is growing well...we have harvested potatoes (20 lbs), onions (15 lbs), garlic (+/-3 lbs), and I am not sure weight wise how much in cabbages (6 green and 1 red), Kale, and Chard.  We have put many packages of both in the freezer and will put more in as it grows.  If you would like to see more pictures of the yard and garden check here...

Kale, Cabbage, and Chard

I canned 7 pint jars of green beans and potatoes.
Learned an interesting lesson yesterday...Chuck and I picked these green beans...he had planted two rows green and two rows black beans....the interesting thing I learned was black beans can't be picked and used for canning!

Black bean are tough and stringy and have to be left to ripen like peas...okay we will wait!

the garden and life...

Decided I would do a separate post about the garden this week instead of adding all these photos to my WOYWW offering this week.  I spend a lot of time outside in the summer and it is always nice to be able to share it with everyone!  Today I went out and took a bunch of picture of what is growing and blooming around here!
I have taken a whillion...yes whillion photos so I probably won't talk about each one...this first group is from the front wildflower garden Chuck has planted in front of the wall...the big bush behind the wall is my flowering and fruitless almond bush!

Looks like a jumble of stuff and it is at this stage.  He plants the perennials and they come up helter skelter in the spring.

Cosmos...love the purple and white ones.

Shasta Daisies

Yellow?

blue spider wort

purple spider wort

June 13, 2017
What the flower garden looks like today!  Just month later it is really in its glory!  There are so many flowers in here that I just didn't take enough photos...ahaha!

Galardia

A huge sunflower that came up on its own!  6-7ft

These Shasta daisies and cosmos have been blooming continuously since March...Beautiful and prolific.  The sunflower was almost pulled out but Chuck decided to leave it in to make me happy.  It tends to take over but it is so pretty and just one isn't a big hassle!

How about bee balm?  A really pretty purple!

Mexican hat!  I love it the way he has the rudbeckia, marigolds, and the Mexican hat all together here!








By the front door it is a little more restrained and contained.

A welcome pot of flowers!

A mixed flower pot. 

by the front door...I got these pots years ago.

The backyard is more prolific!  The vegetable garden is really going strong...

Chuck is the mastermind behind the garden this year!  In past years I did a lot more but being not to well at times has dumped it all on his lap.  Luckily he really enjoys doing it.  A few years ago we put in these raised beds and we found we could plant earlier and later in the year and alternate what was put where.  The corn as you can see is coming along nicely despite its strange growth rate this year!

A couple of different views of the garden...

We have a total of 6 raised beds that vary in size from 6'x6' to 8'x8'!  You would be surprised what all you can grow in a garden that size.  A lot of good stuff!

Artichoke

Two of our favorites we are watching right now is an artichoke that is beginning to produce and some tomatillo plants.  Tomatillos are a funny plant...we have 3 in garden and only one is starting to produce...Tiffany a friend of ours said that hers hadn't started production and she read that you had to have more then one plant to pollinate correctly...she only has one plant but will get another soon.

We have scattered some veggies among the flower planters on the patio and deck...check this out...

the flower planter on the back patio...

a wooden deck that is falling apart but an integral part of our outdoor life...the big pot on the right end has two artichokes but they are alot smaller then the one in the raised bed and not sending up a flower!

This is a view walking from the overhang of the house past the gazebo.  We have tomatoes and peppers scattered all along the walk...

a sweet pepper plant

tomato

bell pepper

tomato

               

The tree in the corner is a Bradford pear...We are now being told not to plant them cause they are a soft wood trash tree that takes over if left to grow.  When I bought it I was told the things didn't fruit but guess what...They do...just fruit we can't eat but the birds do.   I guess the best I can compare it to is Kudsu in the southern states.  Their fruit looks like this...

The birds really seem to love these things...the flower is a beautiful white flower that comes before the plant leaves out!

Okay the last pictures are of the swimming pool...I love my pool and spend a lot of time out here in the summer evenings...  The swimming pool was put in 30 years ago and has always been a place the family and friends hang out!

My deck chair...so relaxing with a margarita and a beautiful sunset...

This is Homer JR...he is the second pool sweep we have had since the pool was put in.  His only job is to whip around the pool and keep everything in suspension so the pool pump can filter it out.  He has a little bag that picks up leaves.

 My daughter Heather surprised me with a couple gifts this week...she knows how tender hearted...and grossed out I am by finding dead critters in my pool so she sent me a couple gizmos that help them out...
This little gizmo has a ramp that the smaller critters can crawl up and out of the skimmer to safety...hopefully I will see less spiders and bugs...

This is a frog pad where the frogs jump up on the floating pad and can climb to safety on the mesh ladder!

 Okay enough of this...will bring updates as things evolve!