Update and love.

H. had a 2nd opinion yesterday and it was the best possible outcome - no surgery!!! She needs to soak it every day so the large scab will come off, and the bad news was that this doctor did not think her swollen finger would reduce in size dramatically. Which is disappointing since it is currently almost double in width. But no surgery that is wonderful

We also had a wonderful valentines day yesterday: we went to whole foods and made dinner at home - ribs, mashed potatoes, salad, and sundaes with fresh berries and homemade chocolate. The dinner was excellent if we do say so ourselves and we were so stuffed that niether of us could finish our sundaes... it was the height of yumminess.



These are the pussy willows that H. gave me - much better then roses - I think.
I hope everyone else had a wonderful day in whatever form you celebrate.

They've done it again...

Kitchen-Floor Conflict Intensifies As Rival House Cats Claim Same Empty Bag

MAPLEWOOD, MO—"It is beginning to appear that any long-term solution may have to involve deployment of the disciplinary squirt bottle," said one U.N. investigator.

Gettin' Crafty

So we have been inspired by design shows and we have gone crafty in our house. I wanted to share our efforts.

We needed new pillows for the bed so we purchased this great quilt fabric and made our own covers in sort of a modern quilt pattern:





AND our biggest and most proud accomplishment is that we rehabbed an old dresser and made a t.v. stand out of it. We recieved a wonderful t.v. for christmas by combining gift cards from best*buy (thank you everyone!!), and since then have been trying to figure out how to incorporate the large t.v. into our living room without it completely taking over. We had the TV on H's old 3-drawer dresser but realized that it would be better to have it lower to the ground. Everything I read said the t.v. should be at eye level. So we went to ikea on friday night to get ideas and also to look at chairs (because I think we need to replace the giant chair in our living room-but that is another story). There were tons of opitions but all in the $150 price range - which we were not too excited about...... so........ this dresser that previously had 3 drawers:

turned into this:



I wish we had better pictures of the before, unfortunetely we thought of that AFTER we cut off the two top drawers. Here is what we did: removed the top, cut off the 2 top drawers (that were always a pain to use because they stuck so badly and made H. cry on more than one morning), re-attached the top, and then attached the shelving we made to house the components. It was really great, we both were so proud of ourselves - I was mainly the measurer and planner and H. was in charge of the jig-sawing and various other production skills - it was so fun. I now have visions of chopping up other furniture to make it perfect. We found a green alternative to buying something new, and it was considerably cheaper-about 20 dollars in paint and new handles. Also I have found a website I am obsessed with. We ended up painting our new t.v. stand a deep purple, which from afar looks black or brown but up close is definately purple - It ended up looking realitively modern.


Also, for those who love surgical matters, here is Hazel's incision from being fixed. I am hoping this is the last of our surgery stories to be posted on the blog - I guess we will know for sure on thursday. Yikkes - I hope Hazel's was the last. 3 surgeries in 30 days is enough.

Hazel did great for her surgery (as it said on the bottom of her discharge papers-highlighted and with three exclamation points!!!) and she has not really been bothering the stiches, except in the beginning when I was sure was saying to herself...."what happened? I always have a furry belly and now I don't. What the ???" She looked so bewildered. It must be very strange to wake up and to want to clean up only to lick something that does not feel like any belly you have ever licked. She was so very cute. However...a word to anyone who wants to adopt a kitty... .don't rescue someone from the street - it ends up being very expensive because you don't get any shelter deals - it is cheaper to adopt through a kitty rescue-she is now in the 800 dollar range - but she is priceless.

Also I wanted to give a picture of sadie lovin on her. Despite her surgery she is a happy kitty, mainly because she loves her sisters so very much, and she has also discovered that she likes to sit in laps!!!

Please define "DONE"

Well, as most of you know, L and I have been recovering from our collective surgeries. While the actual surgeries are finished, the surgical procedures were just the beginning. Here is the truth that people may not tell you… surgery and subsequent recovery is HARD. And, frankly, it hurts. I think L and I both underestimated how long it would take to recover (Hazel is the only one who seems to be back to 100% after being spayed on 1/31). Even though laparoscopic surgery is far better and less intrusive that having a larger incision, it is still a big deal that takes a long time to recover from. L is still in pain when she sits too long, or has to lean over. And even though a pinky finger is the smallest of all fingers, putting screws and cadaver bone into it is a big shock to the little guy. I can’t straighten or bend my finger, and still have a large scab type thing that won’t go away.

This brings me to the current issue … I saw the surgeon today for a follow-up. The x-rays look good and the joint is now healed with all its new accoutrements, but he is concerned that the skin is not recovering more quickly. (Though he took some photos, I won’t favor you with them here.) He said that it is unusual for the skin to take this long to heal and said that we might need to consider a skin graft. Yes, you read that right: ANOTHER SURGERY. I have scheduled a second opinion, at his suggestion, and will see another hand surgeon on Thursday. I just can’t understand why my skin isn’t healing better. It scares me that there might be some larger health problem that is keeping my skin from healing. I know that I am prone to “worst-case” thinking when it comes to health issues (just ask L’s sister K who has explained to me at least ten times why every headache I have is NOT an aneurism). But really, why isn’t my body healing?

After the appointment, I went to Whole Foods and bought every supplement I could find that might have any impact on healing/growing skin. I just want to feel like I can do something to support my body and hopefully avoid another surgery. I will let you all know how it goes on Thursday. Hopefully I will get some good news.

Until then, L’s last post about being done makes me feel a little like George Bush in a flight suit standing beneath the “Mission Accomplished” banner.