The first 15 days of December have been a wild ride!!!! Steve was scheduled for his second surgery of the year, a brief 30 minute tail bone removal. Piece of cake after his major back surgery in July. The odyssey of this has been long...I am talking years he has had tailbone pain and been miserable. Not only does it limit what he is able to do, what he can do is always with pain and that makes him unhappy and grumpy and who can blame him.....it is not easy on the wife either. We have been to numerous neuro's and had over 2 million dollars worth of tests, MRI, treatments such as epidurals, etc., and all kinds of trial treatments, all to no avail
After a very long search we finally found the most wonderful Neurosurgeon who agreed after Steve's successful back surgery that he would just remove the tailbone as it appeared mobile when he examined him, however test after test revealed there was no abnormalities.....well, with his tailbone anyway :)
Dr. said that we would only need outpatient and would be in the center about 1 hour max. I planned accordingly. Dr. also said it was not a 'home run' as this type of surgery has a lower success rate; however, he felt this was a last resort option since we have exercised every other viable one.
Surgery day was upon us....I tried to keep things lighthearted and upbeat and even had him laughing as they wheeled him away.
I waited with the other families in the waiting room for over an hour and expected to see the surgeon at any minute....after 1.5 hrs I checked in at the desk and they called back and said he was still in OR. So I waited another hour....now 2.5 hrs into a 30 min procedure. They offered to go back to the OR and check for me. She returned and only said 'Dr. will be out to see you'...my heart sunk. It seemed like hours until he appeared, but it was just about another 45 minutes. He called me into the private waiting area and I braced myself....he had about 10 pictures in his hand and was showing me all kinds of things that made no sense to me but he was so excited and gave me a huge hug. The net net is that Steve had an undetected FRACTURE and when he opened him up the bone was just 'flapping around'....Good news, this will for sure cure his pain; bad news a much more involved surgery and recovery.....and recovery has been hard, believe me. He can't sit AT ALL....he can only lay in bed and get up for a few minutes every few hours.....I am exhausted running and doing but it all has to be done. He can't even ride in a car, sit in his chair, nada! Of course we had trouble with our rentals, trouble with a real estate contract, etc., etc., etc. The days go fast but they also drag by....it's difficult, however, will be worth it once his surgery pain is healed. What a journey!
Before his surgery we decided we were not going to full on decorate; only half of what we usually do. He was able to bring in these tubs with 'half' of our stuff so this was a good project for me to do while being a housebound care giver.
I love how my snow scene turned out in the living room.....the soft lights are nice soothing....my little Horeb is magical....
It's just as pretty in the natural light of the day as well.....
I put only part of my Tropical Beach Santa stuff in the bathroom....usually all decked out....
I put my nativity and crèche on the dining room table this year....the glass box I kept it in for years cracked and broke, but I like this crèche I found at the Antique Store just as well.....
Steve wanted the Snowman Collection out this year so I put it in an area I thought he could enjoy; unfortunately he has been upstairs in bed most of the time. We only put up our Travel Tree (that contains ornaments from our travels) and not our big tree. It is plenty and I love that Brody calls it our 'Moving Tree'....it is bright and pretty when lit up.
I put some random things on the mantle, no major theme this year, and used one of my vintage tablecloths on the family dining area with the boys Santa Dishes on the lazy susan...
I only venture out an hour a day at max and was able to shop for and make some holiday gifts for a party I am going to tomorrow....it was a fun project.
I wanted to make a Vintage Christmas Wreath with my vintage ornaments, however, they were not in the boxes that came down and I did not want to go digging....I did find my vintage package decorations though and sorted through them.....
I made two wreaths, but only got a picture on one....it was fun to play around with these things and find a permanent home for them after them being tucked away since I was a little girl....yes even then I could not throw anything away!
We were delighted to hear that my mom will be coming for the holidays so I put this little tree up for her in the guest room and around the tree skirt I put the little ceramic bell figurines that were ours when I was little that she gave me when she moved years ago....
Brody loved rediscovering the Christmas set of Playschool Little People.....I don't want to think about the day he will out grow those!
On a quick drive to La Costa to take care of something I came across and Estate Sale. I only had 15 minutes and had to park way down the street...but this place was a McMansion and had room after room of treasure. In a way I am happy I was pressed for time as I am sure I would have brought home way too much. I am more than pleased that I scored on this vintage globe made of leather and hand drawn continents....it is priceless to me.
Then another day I made a quick trip to Escondido to deliver some Christmas Cheer and stopped by one of my favorite Thrift Stores and scored all this for $5.00!!!!! Vintage blow mold Halloween decoration, wonderful folk art turkey (don't judge) and this vintage silverware chest.
This chest needed some love.....Steve was able to help a bit and it was a good project for him to work on....not too big and not too much work needed. I removed the hardware....
He gave it a quick sand.....
Then we stained it dark cherry to match our master bathroom cabinets.....
It turned out really really nice!
It is just perfect to hold all my earrings, bracelets and headbands that I use often....it was a happy day!
The next day was an unhappy day.....these arrived on my doorstep...18 years of my professional life in these boxes...still can't tell the tale of this...too many lawyers involved...maybe soon....cold I tell ya, cold.
And then later that day my day got a whole lot better when this BEAUTIFUL arrangement arrived from two very special and important people in my life!!!! It makes our house smell like Christmas and is as fresh now as it was the day it arrived!
I can only imagine what the next 15 days have in store.....hopefully a bit slower than the first 15 and that involves more healing!
