Now meet Adeline

Our second great granddaughter was born in 2018.  Victoria's baby sister Adeline joined the family on February 18th and what a delight she is.

And once again, when we get together, I hold the baby, every chance I get.

Because, as I might have mentioned, I looooooove holding babies!

Meet Victoria

Five years go by oh so fast!

One highlight of 2015 which I had not documented was the arrival of our great granddaughter.    Natalie's stepdaughter, Alexis, gave birth to Victoria on May 17, 2015.
I met the little angel later that month.

And at Christmas time, of course, I held her for as much of the visit as I could.

I might have mentioned that I looooove holding babies.




     

Getting Ready for Christmas

Such a busy season.

The Advent Calendar is filled and counting down the days. (Drawers 1 - 7 have already been emptied and reversed.)

My Village is assembled and bringing me much pleasure each morning and afternoon.  This photo was taken a couple of years ago and as usual, it's never the same two years in a row so it looks different again this year.  There's been a few additions, one highlight being a marching band.   

And of course, the Creche is awaiting the arrival of its special guests.  It actually sits empty now, since the guests don't arrive until the 24th.

 Christmas is such a busy, blessed season.

Yet another surgery coming up

Here I go again.

On Thursday, October 8th, I will undergo yet another hip surgery.

Yep.  I know.

I've already had two replacements.  The left in January 2012, and the right just a year ago.

So where does a third one happen, you ask.

Well, the right hip has to be redone -- it's called revision surgery.  

You will recall that I did really well with the right hip arthroplasty.  My recovery was without incident and I sailed through the rehab physio sessions.

All was right with the world.

Until it wasn't.

I enjoyed the benefits of the replacement until about March of this year, when I started to experience difficulty in my groin.  I put it down to fatigue and figured it would pass.

Well, it didn't pass.  It worsened.

And it worsened until I had to seek medical advice.

My physiotherapist advised me to see my surgeon.  That appointment was still months away.

My massage therapist had the same advice.

My family doctor encouraged me to try to get an appointment with the surgeon sooner rather than later.

No can do.  I would simply have to wait my turn.

When my turn finally came in June, he wanted to rule out infection so he ordered blood work and a hip aspiration, during which he also allowed a cortisone injection to help alleviate the pain.  I had three days of blissful pain-free activity.
And it's been downhill since then.

My next visit with the surgeon, during which he told me there was no infection, he suggested that the prosthetic could be loose but the only way to tell is to go back in.  He wanted to take a wait and see approach, to perhaps allow the cortisone shot more time to work.

At the next follow-up visit it was clear that I was declining and his examination told him that in all likelihood the ball had not adhered properly to the muscle.  He would have to revisit it.  But this time he can't go in "on the dotted line."  He has to make a new incision, this time towards my backside, to allow him to have full access to the unit.

I'm told that revision surgery is a more involved, longer surgery than a straight replacement.  It's also a longer recovery, and takes longer to rehab.  And I will have significantly different restrictions for a longer period of time.

Oh, I am so not looking forward to this.

My failed experiment

So, a couple of weeks ago, I decided that I wanted to show my support for my beloved Toronto Blue Jays.

And how would I do that, you ask?

Well, obviously, I'd dye my hair Blue Jays blue.

So plans were made with my hairdresser to ensure that she would have the appropriate colour in stock and an appointment was secured for Friday morning.

"You know it's going to be, ummm, vibrant?" she asked.

"Yes," said I.  "I want to make a statement."

"As long as you know that it can't be dyed out once you do it.  It has to be grown out and cut off to get rid of it," she cautioned me.

"That's fine," I answered.  "The way my hair grows, I'm not at all concerned.  Push comes to shove, I'll shave my head again."

Finally, the day arrived and I was oh soooo excited.

I sat in the chair and she applied the dye to my hair and we watched as the colour looked very much like what we both expected.

We sat and chatted while we waited out the clock.

And then she washed the dye out, and sat me back in the chair in front of the mirror.

"Oh my God!  That's not Blue Jays blue,"  I exclaimed.  "My hair's purple!"

I don't know who was more disappointed.  Me for not having what I expected.  Or my hairdresser for not coming through as promised.  She was clearly not happy with her supplier, who had assured her that she had been sold what she needed to get the job done.

Suffice to say, in time, my head will likely be shaved.  Again.  Like I said, fortunately, my hair grows fast.

Not quite the statement I had wanted to make.

But a statement nevertheless.

And it is only hair!

My baby is 40 !

Today marks my little chickadee's 40th birthday.   (Yes, I can admit to having a 40 year old daughter, although I myself am still only 29!)

My daughter entered the world at 1:16 pm on this date back in 1975, and what a terrific addition to this world she has proven to be.

She has become a truly marvelous young woman of whom I am extremely proud.

She is a terrific daughter and a fabulous mother.

But most of all, my daughter has become a wonderful friend.

She was an early talker, and has been bending my ear non-stop ever since.  In her early years, I can remember wishing she had never learned to talk, she did so much of it!  Now, I look forward to her telephone calls, and miss the days that we can't fit one in. (The calls don't happen nearly often enough now, what with texting being such a popular mode of correspondence.)  One would think we'd run out of things to talk about but somehow, that never seems to happen.

She was an adorable toddler ...

... who blossomed into a truly stunning young lady ...

... and matured into a beautiful woman, inside and out.

She fills my heart with love and pride.
Happy 40th birthday Natalie, my beauty queen daughter!

 

I'm 65!

Yes I am.

And I embraced my new age.

Today.

Now, I qualify for O(ld) A(ge) S(ecurity) payments from the government.

We had a fabulous party to celebrate my joining the OAS Club.

 

Family and friends joined us in the dining room of our favourite local pizza haunt to mark the occasion.    

 

And on this special occasion, we seized the opportunity to "recreate" a favourite photo of me and my little chickadee.  We felt it was time it should be updated.

As MLC summed it up in a Facebook posting to her cousin, "Well neither of us had the right outfit, mom's glasses are significantly smaller, I have way better hair...and we were laughing far too much. So, there's a picture, I just don't think it would be immediately obvious that it was meant to be a re-creation."
Nevertheless, it is our recreated photo.  And one I will treasure.
Tomorrow, I go back to being 29!

Yikes, it's been a long time

Have I really not posted here since mid-February?

Wow!

I have an excuse.

Sort of.

You see, our lives were turned upside down last fall when John was diagnosed with what was believed to be liver cancer.

It took months of back-and-forth medical appointments to nail down the diagnosis.

It was liver cancer.

But it was totally treatable.

His surgery happened on February 25th.

We were told it was a four hour surgery, with a five day hospital stay.

Turned out to be an eight hour surgery, with a 17 day hospital stay.

I'll post more about the long, tiring ordeal later but suffice to say that he is now home and recovering quite nicely, albeit too slowly for his liking.  (The good news is they got it all, there's no sign of any further cancer, and he requires no other treatments!)

The wound re-opened at each end so we've had to be going to the local clinic for dressing changes every second day.  He's just graduated to every three days because, finally, they are starting to close.

The nurse predicts it will be another month before they are fully healed.

In the meantime, John still fatigues easily.  I've explained to him that as long as he is still having to heal that wound, his body is using all its defenses toward that healing.

In time, his energy will come back.

The other good news is we celebrated his birthday on Monday -- his 83rd.

For some reason, dyslexia sets in every April around this household!

This year, instead of a birthday pizza outing, he chose a breakfast outing.  Putting candles in his eggs was a challenge but I managed to turn his plate into a celebration anyway.  (The blue thingy plays "Happy Birthday" as lights dance along the letters.)

And of course, that day was also opening day of baseball season so we spent the afternoon watching our Blue Jays ball club beat dem damn Yanks on their own turf!

What more could a birthday boy ask?