Green Grass

Friday found spring coming to New Hampshire. Temperatures soared into the 70’s and the sun shined down upon us!

Hubby has gotten the garden fertilized and also plowed the soil. I decided that despite the surgery I will still plant a garden! We will pick up our starter soil either today or tomorrow.

Once I am home from the hospital I will have Hubby set me up with a table, chairs, the soil, planters and seeds and I will get my plants going. As long as I have the plants going by the end of the month I’ll be okay.

So I went to bed last night and shortly after I did the rain began to fall and we had our first thunder storm. I lay there listening to the rain, thinking how nice it sounded after a winter of snow.

When I got up on Saturday morning, I looked outside and our previously winter brown grass had turned green! Yes, spring is here!

After watching nearly nonstop TV coverage of the terrorism suspects, on Saturday I used streaming TV to watch Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations” and “Love it or List It”. I simply need to get away from all the distressing news.

So, life is settling in to it’s usual pattern, and Hubby and I are enjoying the first hours of spring.

I Got A Friend

I was sitting here today, thinking about the weeks to come. The surgery, the recovery, and how my nose might look. As I sat in silence, I looked down, and this is what I saw:

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No matter how I feel, or what I am thinking, Anneliese is always by my side. She loves me, snuggles with me, and with her I know, I am never alone.

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It started when she was really young. I think she was about 6 weeks old when I fell in love with her and she with me.

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I mean, look at that face! How could you not fall in love with her?

As the years have passed, this little dog has learned to cuddle and comfort me, always be by my side, and despite the fact that she can be a real mischief, she is also as gentle as can be.

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And now, as I near my surgery, Anneliese has literally glued herself to my side. She truly lets me know, that no matter what, I have a friend!

Hope

A month ago when I saw myself after my initial plastic surgery, I was convinced I would be forever deformed. Looking at the swollen face, the draining incisions was not an easy thing to do on a day to day basis.

But then today, I looked at the pictures I’d taken and I noticed that I look so much better!

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The picture on the left was taken the day of my first plastic surgery. The picture on the right was taken today, a month later.

Seeing the improvement made me feel so happy! I actually feel like I have a chance of getting my face back!

I have hope! Yes, HOPE!!!

Preparing

I’m going to forgo the usual thirteen this week and just kind of ramble. Hubby and I are working hard to prepare for next week. What this means is stocking up on foods and drinks, getting all the laundry done, including sheets, and dog beds.

I’m going to have Hubby do the vacuuming while I dust, and then on Sunday I will wash down all three bathrooms.

I know that after the next surgery there will be a period of lying around and allowing my nose and face to heal.

You know I have had nightmares about moving around in my sleep and waking up to find my nose on my cheek!

Up until today I could hardly wait for the surgery to come about. Now that it will happen in a few days, I am starting to get a little nervous.

You see, I want to be attractive. I don’t want my nose to look like Michael Jackson. I want to have my old nose back! And I know that this is not going to happen. I’ll have a nose. A new nose. But it will not be the nose I have always known.

I sort of slapped myself today and reminded myself that I should be grateful for what I do have and stop whining. Look at what the Boston victims are going through. Yes, I have far less to complain about!

The next few weeks will be a challenge for both Hubby and me, but I know we’ll get through it. I just hope that after all of this, the rest of 2013 will be uneventful.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. April 15th is the deadline for Americans to file their state and federal income tax returns. What’s a job you do on a regular basis that could be described as ‘taxing’?

Cleaning the house. Especially vacuuming. You see, the dackels hate the vacuum and they bark, and chase me and it is a pain!

2. I’m participating in the April A-Z blog challenge, and the Hodgepodge happens to fall on Day O this week. In keeping with that theme…olives, onions, oysters, okra…of the foods mentioned, what’s your favorite O food?

Onion Rings! Oh, I just love good onion rings!

3. What is something memorable you experienced as a child that your own children (or future children/nieces/nephews) will not get to experience?

Playing outside free and wild, on our street. No one watching, climbing trees and playing in the dirt until I heard my Mom ring the dinner bell. You simply cannot do that these days. There too many sick people out there that will, for no good reason, hurt children.

4. Term limits for our elected officials…your thoughts?

Yes, yes, and yes! I think we as a country would be better off if we got rid of career politicians.

5. On April 18th, 1775, Paul Revere made his famous ‘midnight ride’…when did you last make a midnight ride? Perhaps the fate of a nation wasn’t hanging in the balance, but tell us where you were headed anyway.

You know, I’m such an old fart now, that I don’t go out after dark too often. Certainly by midnight, I am in bed sound asleep.

6. What would freak you out more…a mouse running across your floor or a big fat hairy spider?

Mouse. Here is a true story from when Hubby and I were first married. I moved in to his old farm house and we had an indoor shed where we kept the trash until trash day to avoid the bears. I walked out in my bathrobe and slippers to bring out the trash and I stepped on something that went crunch! I jumped back, saw a mouse and screamed! A friend of Hubby’s and our old white shepherd, Rex came running and when they surveyed the situation, they both looked at me as if I was a total moron. But alive or dead, I hate mice!!!

7. I love it when people ask me if I am Hubby’s daughter! It doesn’t happen as often as it did when we were first married, but I always loved that. He, of course, did not!

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I am just sick about what happened at the Boston Marathon. There are to words to describe how I feel. I hope they catch the people who did this quickly.

Back To Life

It’s a sad day when one starts out having to pray for the innocent people who suffered and the two who died during yesterday’s bombing at the Boston Marathon. I lived outside of Boston for a few years, so I am really familiar with the area. Two of my eye surgeries were done at Tufts New England Medical Center, where they brought some of the injured.

One of those killed was an eight year old child. Out to watch the race with family. Now life, cut short. Heart breakingly short.

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Getting back to the struggles of my usual life after the warm and wonderful wedding is like being slapped by a cold fish.

When we arrived home on Saturday night, I raced to my laptop to download pictures from my camera, so I could send them to my sister.

But when I turned things on…nothing. By this I mean that we had no Internet service. Now, our router is dying and will be replaced soon, but this was different. Me, and every other Metrocast subscriber had no service. It seems some drunk, on their way home from a bar, had hit a phone pole and taken down all the wires, and my Internet service!

Now, I am as sympathetic as any other person will be when some one has an accident, just not a drunk driving accident, and I am equally unsympathetic when said drunk driving accident interrupts my Internet service!

An hour later, service is restored and my pictures are quickly uploaded to Facebook, where my entire family can enjoy them.

On Sunday night I fell asleep early and was in a deep REM sleep dreaming when I moved my arms around and smacked myself in the nose. Needless to say I woke up instantly and have been in pain ever since.

I can, however, happily report that my nose graft looks very healthy and pink. I think the skin is actually firmly rooted on my nose and growing there

As I mentioned, the router is dying, and on Monday I had to have my service provider help me revive it, yet again. I am hopeful that the new one I ordered will arrive within a week and then my cousin will come up with his girlfriend for a weekend of visiting, computers and cooking.

Hubby and I have decided that tomorrow will be shopping day. We will go and stock up for the next few weeks. After all, a week from today I have the next part of my surgery and become a normal looking person again!

Yay! Just one more week!!!

What I Did This Past Weekend

Miss Marple 2

Our host is Gattina. Come join us and tell us what YOU did this past weekend! After all, you never know when you will need an alibi!

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The wedding of my niece and her fiance consumed the entire weekend. In only good ways, really, but exhausting. On Sunday Hubby slept until ten o’clock in the morning and I lay down at 2:30 and slept until 5:30.

Yes exhaustion from our drive down in a raging ice storm on Friday, the wedding itself on Saturday morning and the reception Saturday afternoon, and the drive hone after. Yes, Sunday was the day that Hubby and I collapsed!

I have to say that my niece’s wedding was the nicest wedding I have ever been to. It was the gentle and loving union of two beautiful souls.

Ethereal. Yes, that is a good description of the day. Jinny was like a fairy Princess and Ian her handsome and loving Prince.

As they took their vows, he held her with such tenderness, and as they came by us after they were pronounced man and wife, the smiles on their faces was indescribable.

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The other wonderful part of our day at the wedding, was spending the afternoon with our other family members.

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Here we are, me, my sister Mel, cousin, Larry, cousin Janet and my mother.

So different in so many ways, and yet, so alike too. A shared history of love and laughter.

Family Time

Saturday was the wedding of my niece Jinny and her fiance, now husband, Ian. It was a beautiful wedding due to a significant amount of planning, but also because here were two young people who are very much in love and are soul mates.

God bless hubby, for driving down on Friday in a bad ice storm. I was a wreck until we got got far enough south for the ice to turn to rain!

We drove to the hotel, and stayed at the Hilton Homewood Suites for the night. What a great hotel, and we both slept like babies.

The next day was the wedding. It was just perfect and so was the reception. Here are a few pictures for now and I will write more about the wedding tomorrow.

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My sister Melodie

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Jinny & Ian

Many years ago our family was blessed when a little girl named Jinny arrived from Korea. She was 4 years old and the most adorable child.

We all fell in love with her and as she grew our love grew with her.

Jinny met a wonderful man a few years ago and today we are attending her wedding to Ian. She is wearing a traditional wedding Hanbok gown, something like this.

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I am so happy for my niece and God-daughter, Jinny and her new husband, Ian.

God’s Blessings on you both!

Friday Fill-Ins

Friday Fill Ins

And…here we go!

1. Right now I’m sitting here with Greta and Arnie watching TV.
2. Being 15 minutes early for everything is my well known quirk.
3. Are you happy ?
4. They cut off the cancer first, then they are starting the plastic surgical repair!
5. That’s why I look so very odd.
6. NCIS is one of my favorite tv shows ever!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to going out to eat with Hubby, tomorrow my plans include going to my niece Jinny and her fiance, Ian’s wedding and Sunday, I want to rest up from it all!