This & That

Life has been marching along at a pretty fast clip around here. One day the calendar says September and now here it is December already!

Andy is considered to be fully recovered from his surgeries at the end of August/first of September. It was a long slow road but by the end of October, we could definitely tell he was almost back to normal function. He was cleared to return to work in November and he has really enjoyed that! He had not worked since the tumor was discovered in late February and with surgeries and chemo, did not have the stamina required to do his job. He was also on lifting restriction for almost that whole time.

Now that he is working again, it is such a blessing to receive an extra paycheck! I was able to continue working the whole time Andy was sick which was a blessing. It was an exhausting time of course, but we made it through! My employers were wonderful in allowing me a flexible schedule so that I was able to go with him to almost every appointment and chemo visit. All of our bills were payed and even some money put in savings during this time. We thank God for His provision!

We saw the thoracic surgeon regarding the nodule that is still on Andy's lungs. His oncologist wants it to come out. But due to it's tiny size and difficult-to-get location, the surgeon is less than confident in his ability to find it at this time. Because this particular spot has really not seen any change in size since the cancer diagnosis, the oncologist has agreed to delay surgery and observe this spot closely for a 6 month time frame. After 6 months, we'll see if surgery is still needed. Of course, if it seems that the spot is growing at any time, a decision for surgery will be made. It is in such a  place that a biopsy is not a good option and the only way to really know if the spot is cancerous is to remove it and then biopsy it. So we proceed with caution. With the exception of the lung nodule, Andy is considered cancer-free at this time.

All of Andy's family was here for Thanksgiving. It was a busy time but went great. I think a good time was had by all! Our dog Willie certainly enjoyed the company of cousins and grandparents!

With Andy mostly recovered, I was able to spend some time on a few home projects that I had planned. First was finishing the massive hallway painting project. How long can it take to paint a hallway? Apparently, several months! With the hallway being completely brown paneling and everything we had going on, this took a while with a lot of starts and stops. SO MANY coats of paint and primer. Oh my word.

But now that it is done...I am LOVING it! This was one area of the house that made me feel a bit depressed. It was so dark and ugly. Now it is light and pretty. (I think so!) This isn't the easiest space to photograph but this end of the hallway going into the kitchen makes me happy. I light the candles in the early morning hours and it is just so cozy!

I also painted the front door a lovely red. And redid one of our flowerbeds with hydrangeas! These "small" projects have improved our home and given me great satisfaction.

Does anyone else feel like they need a break in between Thanksgiving and Christmas just to get themselves together? I do. ;-)During the week after Thanksgiving, I cooked and froze the fall pumpkins from our porch, packed up the fall decor, used up Thanksgiving leftovers and a pile of other tasks. I also started a pantry challenge to go through mid-December. Our freezers and pantry are SO full! A good time to use things up and save some cash!

Hopefully, Christmas decor will go up in the next couple of days. I would love to have some time to sit down and sew too. We'll see. :-)

Thanks for reading!