Monday, Monday!

It is a bit cloudy and rainy today and the perfect time to catch up with what's Going On!

This was all the Valentine's decorating I did this year.  The red heart was made by my Dad many years ago and is very special to me.

I took balloons and a little candy to the Grands and enjoyed a few hugs.

Scout has discovered my watercolors and is very interested in painting.  We will do much more soon!  I have some brushes and paints just for her.

Winter has been so dreary that I wanted a little color so found this cute pillow cover on Amazon.  I love having lots of pillow covers so I can change them out for seasonal and holiday decor. 

Annie has been napping with me most every day.  I'm healing well and slowly and I do mean slowly getting my energy back.  I went to WalMart with my Mom one day and made the mistake of walking instead of taking one of the riding carts.  I was more then ready to come home and it took me two days to recover.  However my Mom did buy me this for Valentine's Day!

I love Flamingos and this cute girl just jumped in my cart and came home with me.  I've named her Rose (Pink in French).  Along with my Flamingo pillow covers she makes a sweet corner on the couch!

A little trip to Trader Joe's was fun and this little Hyacinth plant was only $2.99

I can't wait for it to bloom!

So not much else going on.  

I've binged watched several shows on Netflix and Amazon Prime.  Read at least 3 books and slept a great deal.  Healing is hard work.  

Wishing you Joy!

Linda

A Weekend In Downton Abbey

What to do on a weekend with nothing to do but stay home and heal.

How about a trip to Downton Abbey!

No I didn't get to travel to England but I did have a marathon of watching this wonderful production from Masterpiece Theater.  Oh yes I've seen all the episodes in the series and I've even watched most of them at least twice, but I felt like I needed a 'get away' and this was it.

Maybe someday I'll get to really visit

Highclere Castle

Of course watching Dame Maggie Smith brings many smiles and outright laughs.  Such an amazing actress.

In fact the whole cast is excellent and draws you into their lives!

 Marriages, Births, Deaths and so much more in this series that covers 12 years from 1912 until 1926.

So many things to love but of course the costumes are truly amazing.

Several years ago there was a traveling exhibition of Downton Abbey costumes and it came to The Biltmore Estate.  This estate was built by George Vanderbilt and it is comparable to the style of Downton Abbey.  

A group of my friends and I went and had a grand time.  I blogged about it here.  No photos were allowed inside but I found many photos online that I could share.

So back to my weekend at Downton Abbey!  I've enjoyed submersing myself in this lovely show.  It's given me a lovely trip back in time and I might even have 'acquired' a British accent!

If you somehow missed Downton Abbey I encourage you to watch it.

Also one of my favorite quotes comes from this show!

I wish you many memories! 

Healing!

Thank you for all your well wishes and prayers for my surgery.  It went well and now to heal up and get on with life.

Right before surgery selfie! I think I had some sleepy drugs onboard already!

  The Surgeon did find 3 hernias instead of just one and told Sara that 2 of them were caused by my gallbladder surgery 18 months ago.  I am hearing it is a possible complication from laparoscopic surgery.  I'm wearing a lovely 'binder' to keep that from happening again I hope.  The healing will take 6-8 weeks.

I pulled out my collection of white pottery and I'm enjoying it in the cubbies and in the bookshelf.

I have a few other white pieces that are on other shelves but I forgot to take a photo.  Whoops! 

I pulled out the blue glass and sheep for the other cubbie.  I see some of this leaving my possession soon.  I am still in downsize mode.

In some very sad news, my Mom's cat Sam crossed the Rainbow Bridge.  

He was 17 and had been sick but hanging in there until the Friday morning of my pre-op. Mom called and said we had to take him now.  Our wonderful Vet helped us take the next steps and we are thankful for her compassion and kindness.

We all miss him.  Mom most of all.  

One of my favorite photos.  

Tiger said he was being a cat and hanging out with Sam. 

 We miss you old boy! 

So it's been a hard couple of weeks here at A La Carte.  My daughter Sara has taken great care of me!  My Mom has been cooking and checking on me several times a day.  I'm still in some 'pain' and a bit of discomfort but it gets better everyday.  The worst part is not being able to do much.  Lots of watching TV and trying to read (it's been putting me to sleep though).  I'm taking it easy like I'm suppose to and letting the healing happen!

Wishing you all JOY,

Linda 

ANSWERS!!!

Finally some answers!

If you are a regular reader of my blog you know I have been having pains in my mid-section on and off for months.  My Doctor's have been relentless in running tests and trying to figure out this pain.  Good news was no cancer or masses.  I do have a hiatial hernia and so was referred to a surgeon.

random photos just because

The surgeon said my hiatial hernia which causes reflux and is controlled with medication was not causing my pain.  BUT...I have a Supraumbillical Ventral Hernia. What?? This is a hernia that is right in my midsection above my belly button.  When it pokes through it presses on the intestines and can (and does) cause great pain!  So the solution is surgery.

While not thrilled that I must have surgery I am so hopeful this will stop the pain I'm looking forward to it.

It will be done out patient at the hospital.  I go for pre-op tomorrow.

I was curious what might have caused this and discovered that my laparoscopic gallbladder surgery which included an incision in my belly button might have weakened the area.  Then last Dec/Jan/Feb I had the cold and flu to end all colds and flu. It included coughing that just took forever to get better.  That was most likely a contributing factor in the weakness of that area along with too much belly fat (just keeping it real here).

I am scheduled for surgery on Jan 19th.  Sara will be with me and take care of me Friday and over the weekend if needed.  It's outpatient surgery so how bad can it be ... right??

I've been missing the Grands as they have had some colds and I can't get sick so I haven't seen them in a few weeks!

They are both well now so hopefully this weekend I can get some Grandma love! 

In other news, my Mom had cataract surgery yesterday on her left eye.  It went well and now we are on the eye drop regime.  Good thing I live next door as it is 4 times a day the first week and no way could Mom get them in her own eye.  We are hoping for good results and will schedule the right eye in the future after we are both healed up!

Thank you all so much for your concern, prayers and well wishes during this last six months.  I'm so thankful for all of you.

If you would keep me in your thoughts and prayers on Friday Jan 19th I would be so grateful.

Wishing you all Good Health!

Linda

Looking Back at 2017

January found me downsizing again and doing a pretty good job of it.  I also started gathering supplies to start watercolor classes!

The craft room continues to be an ongoing project for January 2018!

February was hard.  I got sick with a cold/flu and didn't seem to be able to get better.  I did find some time to start watercolor classes online and found a new passion.

March seemed all about watercolors but I did stop in a few thrift shops and found a little favorite to share

This adorable nativity which joined the others for Christmas this year. 

April is Birthday month around here.  Both Tiger and Scout were born in April.

They turned two and six!  It's been a great year with them and boy have then grown since then!

May was super busy with a church rummage sale which I helped set up and run.  

As I continued my downsizing I donated many vintage items to the sale.  It was a fun but exhausting week and much was sold.

Annie Belle and I became closer and she helped ease the pain of missing Charlie!

June brought a birthday which I tried to ignore this year and more watercolor.

Started to see real improvement in my paintings.  I also continued my downsizing as I realized I no longer wanted to decorate for every holiday!

July was a fun month as I was able to plan a little trip to the mountains with my friend Carter.  It was my Birthday trip so I indulged and bought myself a few presents...vintage of course.

All Pink!  This was also the month that started my health issues.

I ended up in the ER with awful pains in my lower quadrant and was afraid I had pancreatitis.  It wasn't and so I was sent home.  The pain has come and gone since then and I've been having lots of tests and Dr's appointments trying to figure out the cause of this. Answers soon I think! 

August wasn't a very good month.  Hurricanes, floods, racial violence and I lost my beloved mother in law. 

She was a great lady and is missed by all. 

September found me blogging only once.  It just seemed a busy month with nothing much to say.  My health issues were starting again and I had lots to deal with. 

October and results from my MRI were pretty good.  No stones or masses.  Additional tests scheduled and the discomfort and pain persisted.  I made some dietary changes which helped a little.  Still life goes on.

These two kept me smiling! 

November and another month where I only posted once.  

More tests ruled out cancer and other bad things.  Still no diagnosis but an appointment with my Dr cleared me to take the trip to Texas at Thanksgiving with my Mom.

December!  A month to relax and enjoy the holidays and family.  I downsized more Christmas decorations and it made me feel so good.

I did not get a cold or the flu and was able to enjoy church activities, family fun and a visit from daughter #1.  The Grands were so excited this year about Christmas.  I was truly blessed! 

I find that I'm happy to say goodbye to 2017.  Not the worst year of my life but not a good one either.  Health issues were my main focus for the 2nd half of the year and I'm ready for some answers and solutions to this pain and discomfort.  I've been so thankful for my blog friends this year.  You stayed with me and encouraged me to keep blogging even when weeks would go by and I felt like I had nothing to say.  It's amazing the friendships we've made without ever meeting in person!

I don't make resolutions but I do set some goals.  I'll share that with you in my next blog post! 

Wishing you JOY,

Linda