Hi friends.  What a long, long, week.

Bob ended up having surgery last Tuesday on his left groin area.   When they had cleaned out one area and sewed him up, they found no pulse in his foot!  They did an angiogram, found that his entire leg was blocked with clots, opened up his calf, then did a small bypass there.  His recovery from anesthesia was tough as they had to put him back under right before he woke up in order to do his calf. 

By Wednesday morning, there was no pulse to be found in his right leg!  After another ct scan, it was found that his right groin area was blocked...and they don't know why.   He had another surgery Thursday evening, two units of blood Friday,  and as of this moment, he is finally home.  He is getting injections of a blood thinner twice a day from a visiting nurse, as well as taking Coumadin, which he is expected to be on for a long time once the level is safe.  The specialist is baffled as to why all the new blood clots appeared while Bob was on a blood thinner.  His exact words were "I am extraordinarily bothered; people lose their legs over this"....

Our life has changed dramatically in the course of ten days, to say the least.  We have no idea how long he'll be out of work, or if he'll even be able to go back to work at UPS...the weight limit there is 150 pounds and with this artery issue and being on a blood thinner, who knows. 

I'll be going back to work tomorrow with a little trepidation.  My mom called today and asked if she could come here and sit with Bob, so knowing she'll be here is reassuring.  Funny, no matter how old we get, our moms are still our moms and I am grateful to have her.

And so, onward, putting my faith where it belongs...in His hands.

And now....raise your hand if...you've apparently lost the ability to get any photo to fit into your blog header.  I present to you...my very boring blog header. Crap.

Raise your hand if...you should be kicked out of Blogland, never allowed to return, for failure to keep up.  That's me, I'm raising my hand.

Truth is that until yesterday whenever I had free time, I was working on my selling blog, which is still a work in progress.  Then, yesterday, we got blindsided to say the least. 

My husband, Bob, had surgery 20 months ago to have the arteries leading to both legs replaced with artificial ones.  It was a long surgery (six hours) and a long recovery, but recover he did!  For the first time in years, he was out of pain and could walk endlessly.  Well, Thursday morning while making a delivery (he's a UPS driver), the pain hit him like a sledgehammer, this time in his "good" leg!  It got so bad that by noon, he was having to use both hands to actually lift his leg so he could back into the truck.  Of course UPS had "no one" that could go out and take over his route (don't get me started), so he worked until around 5:30, then headed home.  He usually gets home around 8:30 or 9:00, so it was a very early day for him.

Well, after a visit to the vascular surgeon Friday morning, it was determined that there was a blockage in the left artery, possibly a clot, and he needed surgery.  They admitted him last night, he's been on a blood thinner since then, and the surgery is scheduled for Monday morning or afternoon.  We are stunned to say the least.  And nervous.  And truth be told, scared. 

I spent all day there with him today and finally got him to walk a little.  The pain stops him in his tracks; he waits til it diminishes and starts up again.  Not good.  No way to live.  No way to be able to work either. 

So...we'll see what Monday brings.  We're praying they don't find any surprises when they get in there and that the recovery is a steady, short one.  We were planning on a getaway next weekend to Vermont;  one doctor says that if all goes well, we can still go, as long as it's to sit and NOT to ski.  I told him I am a professional sitter!   Let's hope that by this time next weekend, I am freezing my ass off in northern Vermont!

I'll keep you posted.  Stay warm...it seems as if everywhere is in a deep freeze! 

Snow Day

There is nothing like a snow day right in the middle of January to boost the spirits.  :)  As soon as I get motivated, I'm going to do some needlework (she said, as she realized that it was already 2:00 in the afternoon...any motivation best get here fast!)

Rose

Hi everyone.  I hope you are all safely at home with your family tonight, tucked in and content.

It's been a draining day here.  Earlier, we received the sad news that my son's first serious girlfriend (from about 14 years ago) died of a drug overdose yesterday.  It hit me hard...I've always had a soft spot for her.  I can still see her sitting at our dining room table, diligently working on her homework because she was "heading to college someday".  But life had other plans for her. She'd never had a stable upbringing and to make matters worse, her mom died of cancer when Rose was in her late teens; it seemed to be a downhill swing from there on. 

I can only pray that she is finally in her mother's arms where she always wanted to be.  Rest peacefully, sweet Rose.  You're safe now.

Back of the Barn Signs

Raise your hand if...you've been busy creating during this past week off.  Me, too! 

First of all, I hope everyone's Christmas and New Year's were safe, loving, healthy and wonderful, filled with family, friends, good food, and great gifts! (I admit it...I love the "getting" almost as much as the "giving"!)

I've been off from work since two days before Christmas and it's been wonderful.  I do so enjoy being a domestic goddess.  Anyway, today I went out into my cottage to mentally sort through things...lo and behold, four hours later, I had created four Back of the Barn Signs!  (how do you like the name I chose for my sign-making venture?)

This is a close-up of how much I distressed the signs. It's my favorite part...I actually put them down in the gravel, step on them, and go to town with the distressing!

Good advice...I gave two of these signs to teachers at school; they now hang in their classrooms!

I decided that I'm going to go a little easier on the distressing of signs with a "spiritual" message (I think).

  They all still have to be varnished and hangers added, but after that, they're done.



Oh yeah...I LOVE this gift!  Bob gave me this wonderful little "wood-stove" heater for my cottage.  It's actually electric, but I pretend it's real.  Talk about cozy.

 Getting back to the name I chose...Back of the Barn Signs.  I chose it because each of my signs is made to look as if you found it lying underneath the hay, next to the old tractor, way in the "back of the barn".  When (please note I said "when", not "if"; I'm working on being more positive) I display the signs for sale, that'll be my name. We shall see, we shall see.

Ok gals.  Off to shower and hopefully, truck shopping tomorrow.  I'm in the market for a "new" vehicle and am hoping for a Ford Explorer.  Wish me luck.  Stay well and warm!