Tuesday, May 31, 2016

A GREAT WEEKEND...










Good Morning from the porch!

This is what 
the early morning sun looked like today.

 We are enjoying
 such beautiful weather now,
 but before long,
 the heat
 will return.





A wondrous view
 to happen upon
 on the way home 
from the 
office.

We spent 
the Memorial Day weekend
at the kids.

 The garage sale
 was very productive
 and Tami raised enough money 
to put her over the top 
for her breast cancer walk in July.

  We all went to dinner
 on the wharf 
to celebrate her birthday 
and had a 
wonderful meal.

Shame on me! 
I took my camera 
but neglected to take
 any pictures.

I scored 
a few great finds 
at the garage sale...






...a large steel orb 
that will have a special place
 in the
 back yard project...






...a vintage Pepsi Cola carrier...






...and this 3-D art piece. 
 Although it is very interesting,
 I won't be using the art
 as it is definitely not my style, 
but I will be painting the frame 
and using it in another
 up-coming project.






The kids 
gave me this beautiful lantern 
with candle 
for Mother's Day. 
 It is another piece
 to trade time between 
the back yard project and
 the Cottage.






I picked up this wreath 
at JoAnn's last week
 and plan to embellish it 
with my growing stash 
of dried 
sun flowers.






Hope you all enjoyed
 a fun filled Memorial Day weekend 
and our special thanks
to honor the many 
who have served 
to keep our country free 
and to keep America 
as great
 as it always
 has been.


...Judy...





Another view 
from the 
road home.


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Tuesday, May 24, 2016

BEEN THERE? DONE THAT?...










See this shelf? 

 Decorated for the upcoming holidays 
and looking so smug...

is it possible 
that something so unpretentious 
could be responsible 
for a smidgen of pain and suffering 
and a whole lot of 
well-wishes?






Over the past two or three weeks
 you have sent so many caring inquiries 
about the problems 
concerning my foot
 and I can't tell you
 how much I appreciate
 each one of them.






As I told you last week,
 the swelling had gone down
 and the pains had stopped 
and a visit to my primary doctor 
showed nothing wrong. 
 The foot was fine
for a day or so after that visit
 then the swelling
 came back.





I tried to think 
what I had done differently 
that might cause the problem to return 
- then it hit me - 
I had just re-arranged the shelf.






As you can see,
 the sofa sits directly 
under the shelf.

 Short of moving the wagon,
 pulling the sofa out from the wall 
and dragging the ladder in,
 it is much easier 
to just stand on the sofa. 
 What happens
 when you stand on a squishy sofa, 
without shoes,
 and try to reach up high?...






...your feet tend 
to rock back and forth
 and you end up on tippy-toes
 much of the time.

 This may not seem 
like such a bad thing 
and it certainly wasn't 
for my good foot,
but the bad foot
 isn't used to bending
 and hasn't been 
for about seven years.

 When I have the support of shoes, 
I don't walk with a limp,
 but I find it very uncomfortable 
to walk barefoot,
 so I tend to keep the foot stiff
 when I do.






I thought back 
and the last time
 I had rearranged the shelf
 was the day before 
the original pain and swelling started.

 Ha, ha, 
have I just diagnosed 
my own problem?






Yesterday 
was my appointment with 
the vascular surgeon 
who had removed the toes.

 He checked the foot over, 
said it looked very good
 with no signs of trauma or infection. 
 He used the doppler 
to check the pulse
 and I could hear it loud and clear, 
so the blood flow 
is excellent,
 and he checked all up and down
 my leg 
and found nothing 
to be concerned about.

  He said he didn't know
 what might have caused it
 and asked if I had done anything 
out of the ordinary 
and I told him my theory.

 He thought it could be a possibility.

 So there you have it 
and now I promise
 no more talk
 about my toes
 or lack thereof.






Now 
since you have seen the culprit,
 in all its glory, 
here are a couple of other spots
 that are ready for 
their patriotic duties...


















We are off to the kids on Friday.

  It is Tami's birthday 
and she is having her annual garage sale
 to raise money for her
 breast cancer walk
 in July.

Who knows what I may come home with...




"You ride shot gun, I've got this!"

Kai 
is ready for a road trip
 and spending time with
 Rosie and Cruzer.






Have a
 wonderful and fun filled 
Memorial Day.


...Judy...






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Thursday, May 19, 2016

THE GARDEN GATE AND BEYOND...









Thanks to all
 who have been so caring and concerned
 about my foot. 
 I appreciate all your kind words.
  
I do have an appointment with 
the original doctor that operated 
on Monday, May 23,
 and will hopefully have
 a definite diagnosis after that.

 In the meantime, 
I can tell you 
that I had my annual physical
 with my doctor yesterday
 and got very good news
 about my overall health,
 so I am very pleased about that.

  She looked at my foot
 and said it looks
 really good and healthy 
even though there is still 
a slight bit of swelling. 
 She seems to think 
that it isn't neuropathy 
as that seems to manifest itself
 with continuous pain 
and I am not experiencing that. 
 She thinks it might be 
scar tissue pressing on some nerves,
 but she is not a specialist
 so is glad I am seeing 
the vascular surgeon.



  
Imagine finding a butterfly that looks exactly how my tummy felt!


I had a slight attack
 of the old flu bug
 on Monday 
so have been laying low 
for the past few days. 
 The doctor said
 it is a viral thing going around
 and I am feeling much better today
 so that is the reason 
I am writing a little later this week.

Now on to the good stuff:






The flower of the moment: 
 Valerian, 
or as introduced to me by my grandmother,
 the Garden Gate flower.





It is 
what is blooming 
in the garden now,
 in great abundance,
 I might add.






I remember 
this old-fashioned and simple flower, 
from my youth,
 growing in my grandmother's garden.

  It was there 
that I learned the names of flowers, 
not by their scientific names, 
but by a fairy-tale image 
that the words
 from her lips 
conjured up.

"All the names 
I know from nurse:
Gardener's Garters, Shepherd's Purse,
Bachelor's Buttons, Lady's Smock,
And the Lady Hollyhock.

Fairy places, fairy things,
Fairy woods where the wild bee wings,
Tiny trees for tiny dames -
These must all be fairy names!"

Robert Louis Stevenson







When we first planted the garden, 
this flower was not on the landscape.

  It did grow somewhere 
in a neighbor's garden 
and the next season
 it grew in another neighbor's garden 
and following that,
 in another neighbor's garden.

 Eventually 
there were brightly colored blooms 
appearing up and down
 the neighborhood 
but the majority of them 
seem to have settled
 in the Cottage's garden, 
evidence that it is truly
 a fairy's place
 filled with 
fairy things.





I hope you enjoyed your time
 looking through 
the garden gate.


...Judy...






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