Let's try this again...

The beginning of October brought a revision of my DRG stimulator. The L4 lead was completely replaced and the generator was moved to my
left hip. Fingers crossed that no leads dislodge
and surgeries are behind me until the battery
 on this bad boy goes kaput. At the one week post-op mark I learned that I was going to have  to adhere to the strict restrictions for the full six weeks rather than the potential two weeks that was originally targeted. No bending, no twisting,
no lifting for that long means no driving, no laundry, no picking anything up off the ground without a grabber tool. No PT as well which I really hope doesn't set me back on my road to increased strength. Thankfully, the recovery period thus far has felt better this time around. I credit the two months of PT that helped to build up my strength, flexibility, and Range of Motion.

This past year I have been going to Paint Night taught by a friend of mine. It is one of those step by step classes. Often, I follow the plan with occasional changes to some colors or adding some extra foliage or even glitter for some pizzazz. The scheduled October painting was actually a repeat of a previous painting that I did so I opted to go off script. We had a pic of a suggested painting that was really cool but since it was October I wanted something moody and dark. This is what I came up with using just three colors. One of the other regular attendees brought some glow in the dark paint that seemed cool and so I ended up adding glow in the dark glitter to my painting. When it glows it looks like faint stars. breaking through fog. I put some bats in there and voila I have a Halloween painting that isn't a blatant holiday painting. I didn't go crazy trying to perfect every aspect. I went with the less is more concept which has always been tough for me. It is simple but shows growth in my ability to create art. I find it very relaxing and with my decreased mobility I can still make this happen. I have been so thankful.

Roughly 18 months ago I joined a book club which has really helped
me during this past year of health issues. This was our last book and
it was fantastic. Any book that makes me cry is definitely worth reading again. I have really appreciated all of the different genre that we read. I have pushed through books I never would have selected myself and even set a reading goal for myself. My goal is 20 books which I may or may not make but I am still way ahead of what I had been doing in past years. I still love television more than reading but I really do enjoy attending our evening review sessions. Sometimes we do thematic food to go with our book. The other folks in the group are really great and I thoroughly appreciate their takes on the reads. Sometimes I agree with their reading and sometimes I don't. All in all it has been a really great experience though and I feel that I have grown as a person


The kids are still pushing through school and their other activities. Girl Kid 2 heard back on her Girl Scout project and she was approved for her Silver Award. She was so thrilled and so am I. She and her best friend worked really hard and the work continues. They have been facilitating getting kids into various youth based organizations and supplying them with required materials. It is something that was important to them that they help kids find a place within their communities. Next up is starting the high school level programming and then her Gold Award. Super proud of that kid.

That is it around here for now.