Twists and Turns and wishing all a HAPPY NEW YEAR

My Mom made it through her rather tough cancer surgery.   A bowel resection of about 1/4 of her large intestine.  The doctors are wanting her to complete a blood test as they think this is an inheritable illness.   So it is something I and my siblings will have to look at regularly.   It took about three months for her to get the wind back in her sails, but Mom being the tough old bird she is....she has rebounded.  Two major cancer surgeries in a four year period, open heart surgery with quadruple bypass and valve replacement before that, septic gall bladder disease before that, diabetes onset before that.  Now Congestive heart failure joins in on the mix.

I had to return to work.  Had resigned my job to be able to be flexible enough to help with the post hospital stuff.   My job was as a temp so FMLA did not factor in and it turns out that leaving there was probably the best for me.   My stomach issues have really decreased, and I'm able to digest food again...yay!   I started a new job two weeks ago and I'm really liking it.  It is very busy work, but no customers yelling at me on the phone interrupting work every few minutes all day long.  Actually I don't have to answer a phone at all.  Just make pleasant outgoing calls.   It is part-time, and pays almost double what I was making on the hour at the other job.  I'm hoping this turns out to be the "forever" job.  Ladies in the office are super nice, bonus!!!

Cautiously, Journey is "better".    We have at least reached a completely recycled hoof and pasture soundness.   She also comes through the walkway (very compact and hard) to her stall without any sign of discomfort.    My fear is that temperatures will again drop, and if this is "winter founder" all might be lost again.     I have leg boots to wrap her up in, but no other way to protect from the frigid temperatures of mid to late winter.   I really want to get some ground work done and see how that goes, and then try slow trail rides, but we need hoof protection.  I'm so disillusioned with hoof boots.   Our trails lay wet most of the year, and I bet I have $500 in gloves and renegades somewhere in the deep mud of the Versailles State Park.

Journey is still without a farrier.  Have called far and wide and can't get anyone to come down to this part of the state.  My husband barefoot trims, and has her looking pretty good, but he is getting older and would like to hire out the work if we could find a reliable person (meaning show up, and reschedule before you leave), and not let the toes migrate ever outward in direction.   So frustrating!  Someone suggested taking her to Amish, but I have qualms about that.

My most recent painting "Call Me Red" is an angel painted for my spare bedroom.   You better like red if you are going to sleep in there!

Call Me Red, original, acrylic 2018 on stretched canvas.

I am thinking of painting over the mirror of the old wash stand with chalk board paint.

                                   And a hand twisted wire Tree of Forbidden Fruits.

All I have left to do is finish up painting the headboard of the bed and wait for springs and mattress to get here.      Then I move on ...to the guest bathroom.