Temporarily blogging on Facebook

 I hope I didn't loose any of you in my absence. It just seemed easier to write a few things on Facebook than tax my brain writing a blog post. Anyway... that's my excuse for not posting here for almost two weeks. I wish I could say I've been on a wonderful vacation to the Bahamas or published my first book... but I didn't. Sometimes life slows you down to a crawl and sitting with your foot on three pillows and an ice bag is mandatory. Having someone dig bad things out of your foot tends to take all the fun out of EVERYTHING.

But... I'm healing... I'm walking without a walker... I'm wearing the beautiful and fashionable black shoe that comes with the operation and yesterday... I got all the stitches out. Yes, I did. Now my foot looks like a beat up cat... without whiskers. I'm walking on my heal, mostly. Someone said it's called "chicken walking". Good description.

So thanks to everyone who emailed, called, stopped by, wrote comments here and on Facebook. It did make a difference. It wasn't that big a deal, having my foot operated on, so it is fun to have someone write and say, "Stop whining, you weeny... ". I had a good laugh over that. If you can laugh, you will probably recover. Either recover or pass on to the next life with a smile on your face.
None of this was that serious or life threatening. They were causing pain, growing bigger and interfering with my ability to walk and hike. Thank heaven for modern medicine. They have "fix its" that really help the quality of life issues. I don't know where these Morton's Neuroma's came from... but it must have been from some lesser known ancestor of mine. Someone that I didn't know at all. A latent gene or blip in my DNA. My mom had 'bad feet' but hers were about arches and bunions...and, in the end, neuropathy from Diabetes. So I have very little to complain about.
I did get a card in the mail, from a blogging friend that was just the sweetest.

 And she wrote the "thinking of you and hoping you'll be back to walking the beautiful trails soon" inside the card... with a broken hand. That's got to be above and beyond the call of duty. Thank you Jojo.  I think the beautiful little vintage handkerchief is for those days when we all need to have a good cry and blowing of the nose... but I don't want to mess it up because it's so pretty... so I will use Kleenex instead and keep this for special occasions.
My sister sent some magazines and candy... bless her heart. She knows me well.
She has a new dog, a rescue German Shorthair named Stella. I can't wait to recover and go see Stella. I have some photos in my new phone, but I haven't figured out how to download them to Picassa. I will figure it all out and then... you will get to see this beautiful dog.

Oh... the little eggs on the porch ? They hatched. One of the babies thinks the camera is "mom".
"Hey, mom, where's the food." What amazing little creatures they are.
The heat went away for a few days and now it's back. This is Summer in the Foothills. I love how it smells out there... even in the heat.
Carl and Cutter are taking their "just before lunch" nap.
The Prospector just left to get ANOTHER tattoo.
I need to do a post on his tattoos sometime. You'd be amazed.
Things are going well. 

Spring is Slowly Coming..., Have Hope.

This post is for all of you out there that are wishing for sunshine and warm weather. Have hope......

There will be blue sky and flowers.
The sun will shine again and the snow will melt. Have hope....

.., and for my dear friend "C" who lives in Sacramento, CA. who is on her 4th. day in the hospital after a knee replacement. I wish you all the hope and love that I can send from all of us at Three Dog Farm.
Your daughter has come to feed and comfort you. Your home awaits and your sweet kitty, Max, is patiently waiting your return.
I know that you will recover fast because you are a survivor and a "tough old lady". This operation will make such a difference.
I will see you soon. Until then, I send my love and a little bit of Spring.

Clouds and Sunlight

These are pictures of my sister and I. We used these sweet stand-ins to show the story of my sister's ordeal. Sis is not going to be photographed for a while, by her request. Both little dogs were given, by me, to her many years apart. The little puppy is her's from many years ago when (as a little girl) she found it in her stocking at Christmas. The yellow hound was brought to the hospital with me when we picked her up after the operation; a week ago last Friday.
Sis was released from the hospital two days after she had a Craniotomy to remove a tumor from the left-front of her brain . They do not let you stay long these days and want you up and walking around if at all possible. She had a half-circle scar from the top of her forehead to her left ear and her left eye was swollen shut and very black and blue. She had a horrible headache and couldn't talk too well. The doctor wanted to know if there were arrangements for her to recouperate with as little noise or disturbance as possible; especially in the first 48 hours. So we decided that the best place for her was her condo in Pacifica and that's where she and I went for a week. Her husband came everyday with food, get-well cards and flowers from friends and family.
The first 48 hours were scary and I was reminded, again, how much our bodies can suffer recovering from modern medicine's ability to keep us from death.

Each day was long and nights even longer for Sis. The pain was extreme until about the 4th or 5th day. I fixed her food and made her drink WATER. I made her as comfortable as possible. She slept a lot the first few days and then..., slowly, she felt a little better. I read her a Mary Oliver poem on a card I made for her and waited for the clouds to lift.

By the 7th day Sis was doing so much better. Her eye was open and she could see out of it but it still didn't work with her right eye,yet. That will take more time. Her headache had subsided and she ,generally, felt better. I drew this picture of her on the kitchen blackboard with the beginnings of a smile. The clouds disappeared and the sun showed it's reflected light across the room from the suncatcher in the window.
On Friday, we packed up and went home. On the way we stopped at the hospital to have the stitches taken out. All went well and the doctor said a biopsy showed that the tumor was, definitely, not malignant. Such good news. Such very, good news.

We returned to Sis's house, in Lafayette, 9 days after the operation. It was filled with people and dogs, movement and noise. (This is what LIFE sounds like.) Everyone was glad that she had returned and, even though she was tired, she was glad to be home.

Life changes. What was normal is, now, a different normal. and , as Mary Oliver says, each of us "....just happens to be where (we) are in the universe...".
I believe that we all have a purpose; maybe more than one, and with good intentions and a kind heart, we will do the thing that needs to be done..., and life will become less a mystery.

So, as I drove home, yesterday, I thought again of the words in the Oliver poem and I finally cried tears of relief for my sister.
"...good morning, good morning, good morning.
Watch, now, how I start the day...
in happiness, in kindness."
and with a great sigh of relief I added..., in thankfulness.