So Much to Catch Up On

 The past four plus years that I have been missing from the blog world have been a wild 

roller coaster ride for me.  In December of 2019 I entered the hospital and was in ICU for

weeks.   I was on a respirator and my lungs were drained on a daily basis.  I don't remember

much at all but I was not expected to survive.  Through the grace of God and the devotion of

my husband, I survived.  That was not the end of my journey however.  It was discovered that

I had kidney cancer and required surgery to remove my right kidney and three lymph nodes.  The  

rub was that I could not have surgery until I gained enough strength to withstand such an invasive

procedure.  So, into a rehab hospital I went.  I was 78 pounds, and so weak I was unable to sit up

or feed myself.  My doctor was very worried about me and checked on me several times each day.  

However bad my condition was, I had great determination to not only survive, but to thrive once

again.  I started physical therapy. My sweet husband visited me every day after work and brought

me hamburgers and chocolate milk shakes because I didn't like the hospital food and needed to put on 

weight fast.  By the end of January I exceeded the hospital's goals for me.  I was able to walk without  

a walker, feed and to bathe myself.  On February 10th I went to another hospital to have my kidney and

lymph nodes removed.  The surgery was successful, but one of the cancerous nodes had wrapped

around an artery and could only be treated with a type of chemotherapy called immunology.   What

Happened next I will continue in tomorrow's post.

Love,

Susan and Oliver

Hi Friends, I'm Back!!

 

So here I am again on my old blog.  I am going to give this blog a go

again, and frankly, it feels good to be back.  This is just a short post 

to see if everything is working fine.  Seems like old times. 💖

The Heart Healthy Lifestyle

As most of you already know, I have lived through two tough

years with serious health issues.  Thank the Lord that I have 

survived cancer and a stroke.  What this has taught me is

that despite my prior beliefs, I am NOT invincible.  I 

face life with a different attitude and have adopted changes

to help me live a longer and happier life.

In February, our thoughts are turned to the romantic 

side of our hearts.  Love, flowers and candy dominate

the days leading up to Valentine's Day.  We all 

enjoy every aspect of the holiday, but we should also

remember to care for our own hearts.  

So, for the remainder of this month I plan to

incorporate the tips I have learned on my own path

to better heart health.   The first tip I want to share

is the importance of managing stress.  I will admit that

I have not always been successful at doing this.  I

have been forced to deal with some pretty rough

patches in life despite my illnesses. In order to

preserve my health and be happier, I have been

focusing on changing my perspective and the way I

view things to shrug off the negative feelings.  The 

best way I have discovered is to stop everything and

breathe.  I found a wonderful app that I have added to

my iPhone called iBreathe.  It's a free app, and you

can set it to remind yourself to breathe and how long

to hold the breath and how many reps you want to

perform.  It's easy and it has helped me enormously.

So now, whenever I feel the stress creeping up, I

just stop and breathe.  It works wonders!

Love,

Susan and Oliver

 

A Basket of Hearts

 

A few days ago I was in a thrift shop I had never been to before.  I

found two baskets I liked, and one of them was this white wicker

one.  It was in perfect condition and only cost $1, so of course it 

had to come home with me!

It's really cold here, and once again we are about to lose all of

our ginger plants just like we did last year.  Really makes me

sad.

Love,

Susan and Oliver

Forever Cottage Core

I was cottage core before it became a lifestyle term.  It's no secret that I love the

old, well worn and well loved look.  In the Fall and all through the Winter

months this look just draws me in and keeps me snuggled.

 

This is the sitting room of our main bedroom.  This is my favorite

spot to sit and read or watch old movies on the weekend when

David is immersed in a football game or golf match on the

big screen TV in our family room.  

It maybe called Cottage Core, but I call it home.

Love,

Susan and Oliver

Thanks for All the Love!

I am overwhelmed by your thoughtful and compassionate comments regarding

my recent stroke.  It has been a scary experience, but I am so very thankful to

have survived without any permanent damage.  

Your kind words of encouragement are better than any medicine my

doctors can prescribe.

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!

Love,

Susan and Oliver

 

After the Stroke

After a very long absence from this blog, I am back.  Life has been filled

with ups and downs for me in the past two years.  I had a life threatening

illness, followed by cancer and all of the treatment that arises from that

dreadful disease.  During my cancer, my weight went down to 78 pounds.

People often talk about the difficulty of losing weight, but for those who

become so frightfully thin, the struggle to gain weight lost is very real.

The doctors advised me to eat, eat everything, and so I did.  No one was

concerned about the type of food I was consuming, just that I consume

lots of it.   

In hindsight, I wish I would have more carefully monitored my diet,

but I did not.  In fact, it was unusual for me to eat a diet so rich in

calorie laden, fat filled foods, but alas, I did it.  

Also during the height of my cancer battle, the Covid pandemic hit,

and because my husband was employed in the oil and gas industry,

when the price of oil dropped to $0 per barrel, he was laid off from

his job.  This was very stressful for me.  We were facing an unknown

future on all fronts, so it seemed.  The co-pays for my cancer

infusions were staggering.  My beloved little Yorkie Bentley had died

at age 14.  In my mind, things could not get any worse.  

In typical fashion, I covered up my heartache.  I did my best to be upbeat.

I didn't fully convey the heartache and anger I felt about the cards I

had been dealt.  

On October 5th, just three weeks ago, I learned that there didn't 

appear to be any hope of my husband returning to his former job.

I was devastated.  We had given up everything back in Idaho to

move down to Texas expressly for this job.  Now it was over and

we are stuck in a small city with few good job opportunities.  I was

angry and afraid.  I started to sob.  The kind of heart wrenching 

sobs one gets when it appears that all hope is gone.  I went to 

sit down in a chair in our bedroom.  That's when it hit me, a 

stroke that left me paralyzed on my left side.  I went to the 

emergency room by ambulance.  I was given the clot buster

drug, and then air lifted to Houston for treatment at the University

of Texas Medical Hospital's stroke unit.  I recovered and could 

return home.  I'm on meds and a very heart healthy diet.  I was

one of the lucky ones.  Now I have choices to make.  Where does

life lead me now?  Having faced death twice within two years,

it is a very important decision to make 

Love,

Susan and Oliver

 

New Additions

 

I have a lot of garden clean up to do, but I thought I would just stop

by and share some photos of the new additions to my

breakfast room.  This area has been decorated and redecorated

more than once, but I was tired of how it looked, so I

added a couple of pretty plates and a copper mold.  Ya'll

know how much I love copper!

So now I am really loving this spot.

I also changed out the milk glass pitcher for a red

transferware one.  I'm loving this one too.

Well, off to the garden.  I am hoping that the live oaks 

will stop dropping their leaves soon.  I will be bagging

more leaves from beds today.  My azaleas are blooming, 

but nothing like their usual splendor.  The freezing temps

were tough on them.  I lost my Mexican Heather and looks

like my Carolina Jasmine too.  So sad.  More later ....

Love,

Susan and Oliver

In the Kitchen With Susan and Oliver

In our house, the kitchen is always an active place.  Lots of meal prep,

sitting at the breakfast bar drinking coffee and doing crosswords,

Oliver always nearby.  Since we spend so much time in here, I have

decorated the kitchen with things I love.  Lots of copper, lots of

baskets, pretty plates.  It's not sleek and utilitarian, rather cozy and

well loved.

As in other parts of the house, I love setting up vignettes.  

Happy little spots displaying things I love.

Have a wonderful weekend.  Enjoy the favorite niches of

your own home!  

Love,

Susan and Oliver

 

My Health Update

For those of you who are curious about the state of my health ....

I am happy to report that I am feeling great!

I am working out with weights three times per week, and I am

back to walking 10,000 steps per day.  I have gained all my

weight back and am sleeping well.  I have learned not to get

too stressed out about things, and to just focus on the positive

as best I can.  I will admit that the pandemic was a bit of a

struggle as I was still receiving immunology treatments and had

lab work and treatments at the hospital every two weeks.  Now I

am in remission and God willing, I will remain that way.

The prayers and support that I have received from all of you

have been such a blessing and I do believe that they have all

contributed to my current good health.  

So while my posting has been spotty, my plan is to resume

chatting with you all more frequently.  Thank you for all of 

the well wishes and prayers.  I have been touched by your

kindness.  I also want you to know that although I have been

able to read your comments, I have been unable to reply for

some unknown reason.  I am working on resolving this glitch.

Love,

Susan and Oliver

 

Cozy Quilts

I have loved quilts for a very long time.  I never tire of them.

I admire the time and the love that goes into the creation

of each one.

As a consequence, I have them all over the house!

I hope y'all are having a cozy Sunday.

Love,

Susan and Oliver

 

Today is Oliver's first Birthday!

It's hard to believe that my baby boy is one year old 

already.  He has grown into such a good little dog and

we are so very proud of him.  He will be having a 

hamburger with a candle in it for dinner.  

We love you our little one.

Susan and Oliver

 

Too Warm for Hot Chocolate

It really doesn't feel like hot chocolate weather, but then it

rarely does in South Texas.  I love the idea of it though.

Christmas is one time of the year when I am not willing

to part with tradition.  Are you?  Or do you like to

shake things us and take a modern perspective?

We put the lights on our Christmas tree last night, and 

I spent most of the afternoon decorating it.  I'm not

finished yet.  I was initially thinking that I would keep

everything simple, but I have tossed out that idea.

Hopefully, tonight I will be finished and then I 

can just sit back and enjoy the scene.

Lots of Love,

Susan and Oliver

 

I Miss My Grandmother

 Throughout the year I get along okay.  I miss my parents, my grandparents,

my aunts and uncles on a regular basis.  The holidays are tough ones for me.

I never had brothers and sisters, and I have never had children, so my parents, 

grandparents and my aunts were the only family I had.  Sometimes I really

want to talk to them.  I miss their laughter and wise advise as I navigate

through this world alone.  I love my husband, and we have a good 

marriage, but I still feel lonely during the holidays.

Love,

Susan and Oliver

Holiday Decor Promises I Have Made

Every year I promise myself not to go over the top with the

Christmas decor.  Well I have done it again.  What can I say,

I am weak!

Loads of Love,

Susan and Oliver

PS: Spam comments or nasty ones will be removed at my

discretion.  

Another Day of Happiness

First of all, let me say that this is an old Christmas photo of mine that you

may or may not recall from years ago on this blog.  I brought it back 

because I liked it.  Pure and simple as that!  This is part of my 

"Be Happy" program.  It's a totally self imposed program to just be

happy without pressure.  It's one where I choose to ignore the craziness

of our current society and just escape to my own little world of

good cheer.  So far it's working out really well!

Loads of Love,

Susan and Oliver

 

I have been away far too long.  The thought of blogging has seemed

daunting to me.  Since my illness, and now my recovery, I have

looked at life in a very different way.  Instead of trying to keep up with 

the standards that other bloggers have set, and my own previous

standards, I have decided to treat this platform as a daily diary.

A stream of consciousness if you will.  

What I have learned from facing death is to only be concerned 

about two things ... treating others kindly and to be true to 

myself.  No pretenses.  No efforts to follow trends, or compete

with others.  You will come to know me as I am.  Life is meant to

be enjoyed and shared with others, even in this age of Covid.

I hope that you will come to visit.  

Love,

Susan and Oliver

 

Oh Happy Day!

I am so very happy to tell you that the bandages on my right leg have been removed  

          and I am now on my way to a complete recovery!

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Oliver

 

Susan and Oliver Down the Rabbit Hole

I just want to escape from all the mania in our country today!  I wish that Oliver and

I could shrink ourselves down for the day and play in the land of miniatures!

I feel like we are headed into a full scale abyss, so I may as well grab Oliver and

go down the rabbit hole.  

The world above this rabbit hole is one filled with contradiction.  Do this, but I don't

have to do it.  Do as I say, not as I do!

Tear down all the statues and deface every monument, every grave stone

in sight!  

Destroy property, and allow citizens to be terrorized in their own cities.

Wear a mask, now don't wear a mask ... but wait, put that mask back on!

Candidates who can barely string two words together.  Don't worry about

the fact that they don't know where they are.  

Don't visit your elderly parents in assisted living, not even if they

are on their death beds.

Hide!  Hide in your homes!  Hide in your basement!

Don't notice that China is amassing an enormous naval operation.

Don't look at that ~ look over here!

What happened to all those missing children on the milk cartons?

Were they all sent to a private island visited by the rich and

famous???

For heavens sake, don't get a haircut, or work out in a gym or

go visit a favorite restaurant, or spend time with family and

friends!  

How could life down the rabbit hole possibly be any worse than

the one we have been living right here above ground?  Lewis Carrol was

a very intuitive man.  

Take care my dear friends.  Be safe and be happy any way you can

because it's a crazy world out there.

Big Texas Hugs and Lots of Love,

Susan and Oliver

Life With Oliver

This little guy has totally changed our lives for the better.  We were

so very sad after Bentley passed away.  Then came Covid, and then

my husband was laid off from his job.  David works in the oil business

and oil went down to $ 0 per barrel.  

Then Oliver came into our lives.  From the moment we brought him 

home, our hearts were filled with happiness.

This tiny little peanut with the big personality changed everything!

He's been growing and he is now 6 months old.  He had his first haircut, and

his last Parvo vaccine from the Vet.  He now weighs 3 lbs, 4 oz!  Trust me,

that is 3lbs, 4 oz of energy and fun.

He's still teething, so he is busy chewing on toys, and sometimes

our hands.  We forgive him though because he's just so darn cute!

He's my baby!

Thanks for stopping by to see us.  If you were here in person,

Oliver would give you a big kiss!

Love,

Susan and Oliver