Friendsgiving + Thanksgiving

We liked Friendsgiving enough last year that we decided to have it again! We hosted it the weekend before Thanksgiving. All the good food and dessert were present. The rules are, we get to do it our way (bring ANY food we want), and we share leftovers. It's SO disappointing to go where the feast has been prepared by ONLY the host and so you don't get to contribute and you leave empty-handed—no leftovers and those are the best!

WE got the memo about striped sweaters.

To walk off the meal, we strolled down the street wrapped in Mom's quilts. It was TOO cold. We didn't get very far before everyone decided to turn around and stay full.

We played games into the night. (Marla, Lex, Pre-surgery Adam, Lysha, Reed, Nick, Stacy)

As it turned out, our Sister in-law decided NOT to host Thanksgiving this year (half the family goes to Kansas anyway.) So, Adam and I ended up hosting a second Thanksgiving just a week later with his parents and sister, Heather. 

THAT celebration was a lot of work. Because of Adam's surgery I ended up setting up, cooking and cleaning up by myself (on top of taking care of him.) I was EXHAUSTED. It was a good weekend but quite a challenge. And I completely forgot to get photos! But Adam did take a couple when his parents tried on a $400 cowboy hat that the CEO of the company purchased for him as a thank you. His dad looks great in it.

Don't worry. I made sure to send them home with PLENTY of leftovers. It made my heart happy.

Adam's Surgery to Repair a Tear

Lifting too much weight in a weird way can rip tendons. Adam learned this while shuffling a poorly loaded stack of windows (not of his doing) in the back of his truck (they are so heavy.) He heard a couple of snaps like a rubber band come from his left arm and that was it. His arm was useless and in pain.

At the ER we were referred to an orthopedic doctor who helped us take steps to recovery very quickly. After an MRI, we found out Adam tore his distal biceps tendon (where the tendon attaches at the elbow.) This kind of injury is rare, can only be fixed by surgery and must take place within three weeks of the incident before it heals wrong. Full recovery is expected in four months.

Below, Monday, November 21st at Baylor Scott White Trophy Club, Adam awaits surgery. He was nervous about being put under. They gave him something to relax and as they were rolling his bed down the hall he began to giggle, so he was just fine.

Above, the nurses shaved his arm and the doctor signed his bicep so as not to operate on the wrong arm. Can you see the bruising? Ouch. 

The doctor reported that everything went well. Scar tissue had already started forming so he cleaned that up too. After returning home, Adam has been staying in our guest bedroom (below) so I don't bump his arm at night. Plus, the room has a TV so it's a convenient setup for the situation.

We've been keeping him on strong pain meds (he feels so good when he's high) and his arm elevated and iced.

If you would like to see how the distal bisceps are repaired, click here or on the image below. (Start watching at minute 2:11)

I do have video of Adam coming out of it, it's not necessarily funny, but I wanted to have record of it anyway.

She's Not a Huntress Yet

Mr. Moon finally talked me into hog hunting. I usually scrunch up my face at the thought because the weather is either too hot or too cold—but that excuse wasn't going to hold any ground this time. Adam generously gifted me his old camouflage garb to keep cozy and my own gun. So, I squeezed into four layers of clothing and secretly hoped we weren't going to see any hogs that night (because I was feeling too lazy to gut one.) And we didn't see one. So my very first "hunting" experience was lovely.

(Above: Adam, Anna, Nick)

I enjoyed Adam's company in silence, and we watched: two young buck play-fight and graze until it was too dark to decipher them from the trees, long single strands of spider web gently float and sparkle past the blind, and finally the appearance of a night sky full of stars. And when Adam got too cold—we went home.

Italy: Teasers

We took most of October and went to Italy with some friends! Two days in Rome, then ten days cruising, and several more we spent literally zig-zagging all over Italy. I took over 5,000 photos. So, obviously THOSE are going to take some time to get through. So, here are a couple of teasers in the meantime. 

 This is what looking down is like in Italy:

We lost ten pounds just before the trip—and found them again in Italy:

Advent Tree 2022

This year, Irie is old enough to receive an Advent Calendar so she can count the days until either cousins come into town or until Christmas day. It's up to her.

The girls in Utah count down the days until we get to see each other, and that's fun.

The blue tree matches the Christmas decorations at Irie's house and the red tree matches the holiday decor at Zuki, Malaika and Zania's house. I enjoyed making two different calendars but it probably won't happen every year. (It's twice the materials! A detail that I hadn't consciously considered.)

The trees were a little tricky. As easy as drilling a hole is, I couldn't seem to manage a perfectly horizontal one. ALL the branches ended up tipping a little to the right and drove me crazy. But I don't think Irie will mind—she was more focused on the "ball" on top.

The pouches are made from PAPER NAPKINS! I cut them and sewed them up just like one would do with fabric. Now they can be ripped into when the time is right. (And now I have the remaining holiday napkins to don my table for the next 6 years.)

I created a tutorial for the trees here.