Giving Thanks for Family

We really were not intending to celebrate Thanksgiving today, as my brother, Sam, and his family, above, are hosting a huge family "Thanksgiving" party at their house next week when many of my dear siblings and other family will be home after many years. Sam and I are the only siblings who have remained in MA where we grew up. Jobs and marriages have taken the others far away but we remain in very close contact and love each other very much, so having 5 of us together next week will be amazing! There will also be my children and their cousins together after many, many years.

So even though we have the other party coming up next week, we could not leave Dad alone at his assisted living home on a day that he always prized to celebrate family. We shared a nice dinner (well, I could not eat much because my mouth is still healing) and then I took Dad for a ride to his beloved Nantasket Beach. He enjoyed seeing the high surf today and it was quite sunny and warm.

LM is having a great time in NJ and we have been on the phone frequently today. I miss him beyond belief. It is just so nice to have someone like him to love and to feel the love returned.
I feel so so grateful!

Oh, Oh!

I am in the not so good graces of Ms Graysea. Last night I went out into the cold front hall to say goodnight to LM, she followed me, I didn't know it, and she got trapped there all night as I came back into the house without noticing her presence....At 6am I heard the plaintive screaming. Really unhappy little friend. Ah, the life of a cat is not always easy. She has been curled up in her comfiest spots today. I am sure it feels good after 7 hours on a cold tile floor!

LM is in New Jersey tonight. He will be there until Saturday and it is a weird feeling to be apart. We both were feeling sad about being so far away over out favorite holiday but way before we began dating, LM made a promise to be in NJ for Thanksgiving, and he is a man of his word. I almost feel a bit disoriented without him but, at the same time, I have a deep feeling of contentment and of being loved. He never leaves me wondering about how much our love means to him.
My mouth is continuing to heal but eating is out of the question. Talking becomes easier each day and I know things will improve when the stitches are removed late next week. I will miss out on Thanksgiving dinner but I will still enjoy the company of my Dad, my brother, his wife and son. We will all eat at the assisted living residence of Dad. So many wonderful things to give thanks for!!

I am not being very productive with my knitting or beading these days but life and love are just in the way. I am sure I will settle back in. Too much fun to pass up right now. Those pasttimes sustained me in all the years alone.

Today is my daughter, Sara's birthday....43! She and the baby have been sick this week and hopefully they are on the mend to be well for our big family gathering on Dec 1.

On the Other Side

Four days post surgery and I am amazed at how well things went. Lou was with me every step of the way and brought me home to his loving arms and held me as I slept off the anesthesia. The pain has been surprisingly minimal and the new teeth feel like they will settle in nicely once the incisions are healed. I cannot eat right now so am depending on liquids for sustenance. Hunger is a ferocious thing!! I was able to return to work today, and, although very tired, I was able to talk well enough to do my job and be around all my dear friends.
It will be tough to by-pass all the wonderful tastes of Thanksgiving but there are other times. The holidays are bringing on some sadness......for Lou his first year without Lillian, for Dad the anniversary of Mum's birthday and passing.
Time to sleep and reflect on the gratitude I have for Lou's love which got me through the weekend, for granddaughter Samantha having her first two teeth and being such a sweet natured child, and for having Dad with us to celebrate another year.

Shifting Focus from the Inevitable

Today I am trying to distract myself from the fact that I will have surgery tomorrow....trying to keep my focus on the loving man who will be by my side and bring me home, on the family party which will soon reunite many of my loved ones at a belated Thanksgiving gathering on Dec 1, on the fact that this is most likely the LAST surgery to repair the disastrous side effects of radiation 12 years ago. I will have a rebuilt jaw and new teeth when I am done. This cannot possibly be worse than the first procedure which re-built my sinuses and top jaw a few years back.
It still has my stomach in an uproar and I cannot wait for it to be over. Today I am enjoying some foods which I can chew as I will be on liquids for an unknown length of time.
I am sure Ms. G will take good care of me as well.
Stay tuned!

Sidetrips

On the way to completing a birthday dinner for a dear friend last evening, I managed to end up in the ER!! Thanks to a box of plastic wrap and its very sharp serated edge (the box began to drop from my hands and in the process of catching it, I slammed it hard onto the counter with the sharp edge exposed to my left hand). I turned the dinner party into what looked like a massacre with copious, seemingly unstoppable bloodshed . My dear calm LM sped me off to the local fire station where they stemmed the bloodshed and recommended that I get to the ER for stitches. Amidst terrible hard pain, I was held in the arms of LM's sweet love and comfort while a physician's assistant in training ably sewed up the large, deep gash in my hand. The pain kept intensifying and the powerful Vicodin they handed me at the ER became mandatory if I were to get any sleep. WELL, that I did! LM lovingly tucked me in to bed, cleaned up the entire kitchen and quietly went home. I finally woke up 17 hrs later and it has taken me 7 more hours to feel halfway normal. The hand is throbbing at a dull roar and I think I will survive but I know one thing for sure - I will never use the plastic wrap without remembering Bob's birthday celebration!! At least we got to enjoy the dinner and yummy apple pie before the massacre!

Sisters et al

My talented and inspiring sister-in-law spun the pictured yarn and made these beautiful sox. To see more of what she is creating, visit http://www.spinnifer.blogspot.com/

I have 3 wonderful sisters and 3 fantastic sisters-in-law. Each, in their own way, have inspired me to create and grow. I really feel they are my best friends and I am so very grateful.

Life is returning to normal here after hurricane Noel dealt us a heavy blow last weekend. We were without power for 24 hrs, lots of tree damage, wires down, flooding and beach erosion. Two houses were destroyed on the outer beach. The winds were very frightening at times. LM was with me and we managed to get to my boss's house to tend to his dogs....I house sit for them each Fall weekend as their son is starting quarterback at Yale and they travel to the games (so far undefeated....GO YALE!!) Saturday evening was the worst and we sat in the darkened house waiting for the gusts to ease out.Finally after many hours it became still. WHEW. LM and I have both lived through very severe hurricanes in the 50's and 60's here in coastal New England so we knew the potential. It was sort of fun but then having no heat got old very fast!