A LITTLE MORE AUTUMN...

 

I have done a bit more decorating. 

 With each accomplishment, I find that normalcy is returning around me. 

 Stress is a frightening thing. 
 It can rob a person 
of all ambition and drive, 
 more easily than we
 could even think possible.   
But, in time,
 life around here is settling down
 and we are getting
 our "good vibrations" back.

I always like having the entry tell the story of what is going on at the Cottage. 

 I have so many boxes 

of fall decor packed away

 but it just seemed like too much work

 to pull it all out. 

 Luckily, when I put things away last year, 

for some reason 

I stuck a few things in places that were easy to get to 

and that is what I have used. 

 There probably is a similarity

 to last year's scheme but

 it does the job for now.

I love the "Witchy Woman" 

gifted to me by a dear friend.

I hurriedly put this arrangement

 on the parlor mantel 

at the beginning of spring. 

 Now, with the addition of 

a few colorful branches

 and some candles to warm it up,

it has taken on an 

acceptable version of autumn.

 

The game table in the sitting room 

looks so pretty with the sun shining in

and with the few leafy branches 

that are left over,

 I think it looks like just enough.

Maybe I'm learning...

...then again, 

maybe not!

At last posting I mentioned I had a surprise. 

 We had a credit card and I made arrangements with the bank 

to take money automatically out of our account to make the payments on it. 

 When it was paid off, 

I forgot to cancel those arrangements 

so the bank continued to do so. 

 I got a check from the bank

 for a good amount of money 

that I didn't know we had

 (I guess that is another shining moment of the golden years)

 so we treated ourselves to:

Our new couch. 

 I have always wanted a leather sofa so this is what we bought. 

 It is very comfortable and I like the color. 

 Hopefully it will hold up

 better than our last one 

but time will tell.

In the meantime,

 I am contemplating whether to paint the walls a different color or not. 

 We had the lighter color walls but were unhappy with them.  

Maybe with this different color couch 

it would look better.  

Then again, I absolutely love 

the darker, moody, jewel colors 

and wonder if maybe a dark navy

 and a different rug would be pretty.

The color we have on the walls now is pretty dark 

but my camera sees them as much lighter than they actually are. 

 If you have any ideas,

 please feel free to let me know.  

I find that decisions like this are hard 

for me to visualize.

 I love playing around with accessories

 but the basic scheme sometimes

 doesn't always compute.

I am also thinking of the walls
 as a little more creamy
 such as the same color as 
the background in the entry wallpaper 

and the carpet under the blue rug.
 What would you think of that? 
The same bright white trim 
is used in both rooms.
 I just don't want it to look bland 
as I do love color.

We have been having 

some wonderful weather. 

 Our leaves are not turning much yet,

 it has been too warm, 

but the breezes are soft

 and the sun is just warm enough. 

 I can't help it but my thoughts

 are turning strongly to Christmas

 and it drives the Captain nuts. 

 Hope all is well with everyone.

...xxoJudy...

Until next time ...Sweet Dreams

.

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INTRODUCTIONS AND UPDATES...

 

Tami, Tim, Jake and Jacenda

 came up this past weekend and brought with them,

 that little piece of apricot fluff 

playing with Bean.

  Robin's new little brother...

...and she is contemplating

 if this was a good decision or not!

Let me introduce you to Rugby. 

 He was a stray down in Santa Cruz and ended up at the shelter where Tami works. 

 Nothing much is known about his past life but we think he might be around nine months old. 

 He was so matted that Tami had him clipped and a lot of hair had to be cut off. 

 They put him through his paces with shots, a bath, and neutering among other things.

 He has the sweetest disposition and seems to love everybody and everything. 

 He and the Captain have already taken a few good walks

which is the reason that Tami thought he would be a good fit for him after his surgery.  

He wants to play with Robin so badly 

but true to her personality

 she doesn't want anything to do with him 

but that doesn't deter him at all.

Jake and Jacenda handed us their "save the date" invitation.  

They will be getting married next July.  

Jacenda showed Tami and me a photo of her gown. 

 It is stunning and it will be a day that we are all looking forward to.

Tim and Tami sent us this gorgeous arrangement of white roses for our anniversary. 

 Sixty-two years. 

 Where did all that time go?

How do you celebrate 62 years of marriage?  

Pack a picnic, sit by the pond at the fairgrounds and watch the ducks.

Now for an update on the Captain's and my health saga. 

 He is doing so well 

and is chomping at the bit for his next appointment in November,

 hoping the doc will release him to do normal activities again.  

I went back to the retina specialist yesterday

 and got my second eye injection.  

It has been a month since my first one

 and the doc was impressed at how much better I was after only one injection. 

 It was such good news

 and I am feeling so fortunate that the treatments are working well.

I will be back next week with a bit more fall decor

 and a surprise that I hope you will like.

Take care and thanks so much for all your support.

...xxoJudy...

"I am so happy to be home".

"I guess it is OK but 

I'm not losing any sleep over it".

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WELCOMING FALL...

 

It has been a long, hot summer

 and it can't be over with too soon for me.  

With that being said, 

I absolutely know that I will be complaining about cold, winter weather soon enough 

but, right now,

 when I walked into the kitchen this morning 

and saw that The Captain had lit the little red stove and I could feel

 the beginning of its warmth, 

this is perfection for the moment.

This sight is just enough 

to put me in the mood for

 a small amount of fall decorating.

  I plan to do some, as I just can't let this beautiful season get away from me. 

 It won't be like times past 

when all the bounty 

was brought out of hiding 

and each available surface was covered,

 but there will be enough

 to make the moment count.

I am so happy about the way 

that the wisteria is covering

 the top of the gazebo

 with no trees to grab on to.

 Since it was cut back so far, 

I don't know if it will bloom 

next spring or not

 but I can't help but have visions of

 those beautiful purple blooms 

dripping down over the Secret Garden, 

at least I certainly hope so.

The Captain is doing very well

 after his surgery. 

 He was told that

 he couldn't drive for six weeks

 but after his two week check up

the doc said he could start.  

They didn't have to adjust

the device very much 

as they seemed to get it just about right

 at the time of surgery.  

Tami stayed with us after his surgery 

so she could drive us around 

until the doc released him.  

He still has to wear his sling at night,

 just in case he would move 

his arm over his head, 

but has been able to take it off 

during the day. 

 He is getting his strength back and has been taking short walks each day 

when the smoky air allows it. 

 It has been bad again this year 

and the reprieve we had from the hot days was sitting on the porch at night, 

but the smoke lingers so we haven't been able to do that for awhile.

  A storm is expected so hopefully that will help with the fires

 although the wind picks up

 before the rains come 

and then the threat of lightening 

is stronger too.

I mentioned that I thought I was getting a cataract on my left eye 

and driving was scary

 when I first noticed it.  

That was during the time when the Captain was having his symptoms 

and he couldn't drive

 so I was the only option.  

Lines were a little wavy

 but when shutting my left eye, 

I could get us to Point B from Point A. 

 I wouldn't recommend it though!  

It was so helpful when Tami took time off to come and help us. 

 I went to the eye doctor and what I thought was a cataract,

 turned out to be macular degeneration.

  I am now going to a retina specialist

 and having shots

 put into my eyeball once a month.  

Yes, you read that right! 

 A shot in my eye! 

 I have never been able to put eye drops in my eyes myself. 

 Anything having to do with coming into contact with my eyes has really scared me my whole life. 

 Whenever I had my hair dyed, I was always petrified that some 

would drip down in my eyes. 

 It has always been my worst nightmare and now the doc is telling me

that he wants to give me

 an injection into my eye.  

I think I must have been in shock because I felt that what had to be done

 would be done! 

 He put drops in that numbed my eye, 

stuck some kind of an instrument on it

 so that I couldn't blink 

and shot away.  

I felt just a very little nudge in my eye

 and it was over. 

 Actually, the drops were the worst thing.  

As I said, I will go back once a month 

for the rest of my life. 

 It has been two weeks since the first treatment and I can see a bit better.  

Of course, the real test will be when I go back in October

 but he said they have good results with the treatment.

Well, I just wanted to update you on what is going on around here 

and to show you a bit of fall color.  

Thank you all 

for your concerns about our health 

and I always appreciate

 hearing from you so much

 and try to keep up with what is going on with you as best that I can.  

Will talk to you all again soon. 

 Hope the fall days ahead will be good to all of us.

...xxoJudy...

I hope to get back to painting soon.  

Here are a few doodles that I managed to do at the beginning of summer.

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THE REASONS...

 

Our poor crepe myrtle tree

 blooming after last winter's storm.

 It is a shadow of its former self.

Hello everyone. 

 I hope you are all well and have a little time to spend with me today. 

 It seems like I have been away for a long time but, 

on the other hand, 

it seems like just yesterday that we last spoke. 

 I will try to bring you up to speed and explain why I have been absent for awhile.

The trees that we had cut down are coming back like crazy. 

One day they were gone and the next they were back.  

They look so pretty and innocent with their soft green leaves,

 but we will have to put something on the roots to get rid of them for good.

As far as we know this story started sometime last summer. 

 The Captain and I had just finished dinner after a day of working in the garden. 

 He went in the kitchen and called out to me.  He was hanging onto the counter for dear life

 and said he felt like he was going to pass out. 

 It lasted a couple of seconds and then he was fine.  The next morning we called his doctor 

and because it was so hot and he had been working out too long, 

we just thought it was dehydration and a dose of too much hot sunshine. 

 He seemed fine after and for the few months that followed.  

However, earlier this summer it happened again.  This time the doc ordered further tests: 

 #1: Lots of blood tests which all came back totally normal.

  #2:  An ultra sound of the carotid arteries, which also came back good.

  #3: A CT scan of the brain (which was a long scary wait for results) 

but that also didn't show anything out of the ordinary. 

#4:  A stress test which was normal. 

 He had a doctor appointment and was checked over pretty well and seemed fine.

  In the interim, he had episodes off and on.  Each time I threatened calling 911,

 he was adamant that he felt good right after and his blood pressure was also good each time. 

 The doctor had also ordered him to be seen by a cardiologist

 and I made the appointment but the docs were so backed up that I couldn't get one until two weeks later.  

 A week ago Saturday, he had another spell

 and I put my arms around him, patting his back and telling him to relax. 

This was what I did each time as there seemed nothing else that I could do. 

 He fell backwards to the floor, hitting his head on the way down on one of the cupboard knobs, 

blood was all over the floor and I fell on top of him.  It took awhile for us to untangle and get up

 and we then walked into the sitting room. 

We sat down on the couch and he had another one

 and he said to me that if he had one more we would go to the ER.

 He did have one more after a few minutes and we went in the car 

which I thought would be faster than calling an ambulance.

They took him in immediately and started hooking him up with more wires than I had ever seen. 

 Two of the technicians consulted and immediately called the cardiologist on duty 

and they took him to the ICU 

and scheduled him for a pace maker

 the following morning. 

 On Sunday morning they performed the operation 

and he was up and walking in a few hours and came home that night.

He is doing really well although complaining about the things he can't do.  

He still gets pretty tired and lays down a few times during the day. 

 He can't get the wound wet for awhile and he can't drive for five weeks. 

 He hasn't had to take anything for the pain more than Tylenol up to this point.  

He says he is feeling better

 as each day passes. 

 He is disappointed that we had to cancel his appointment to pick up his new hearing aids 

but just had to postpone it another month.

Tami came up immediately and was such a big help. 

 Without her, I don't think we could have coped completely. 

 She and Tim are coming up again next week and plan on doing yard work 

and driving me to my eye appointment, which is another story in itself.

  After his appointment on Thursday, 

we may have a few more answers

 as to how and what has happened 

to someone who was always so healthy 

and any heart problems were the furthest thing from our minds.

There won't be anything special going on around here for awhile 

so I won't be having anything new to show for it.  

I am looking forward to autumn, if only to get out of this hot weather,

 so I probably will still be AWOL in blogland for awhile longer anyway. 

 I will be keeping you updated every so often on his progress.

  Take care everyone and I apologize

 that I haven't always been good lately when answering your comments

 but I appreciate them all so much.

...xxooJudy...

Tami cut his hair. 

I have been cutting butchering it since Covid.

 He says he has been de-Goliathed but we all like it. 

If you are familiar with the TV show Breaking Bad, 

you will understand why I have been calling him Walter White 

(shown here with Nurse Ratchett Robin).

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