Lettuce Pray

 

Oh Deer!

Sitting at a desk working on my laptop and look what I saw.  This sweet little deer looks like he is looking right at me!   Since I was inside and behind a window I doubt that the deer saw me, but it looks like it maybe was,

What a sweet face and a nice touch of the wild in my own domestic, suburban back yard.

 
 

Baby and Bird and Knees, oh my!

 

 

 

 

I knitted a pumpkin hat for Galileo and here he is modeling it!  He is not very fond of hats, but he let his picture be taken before he complained about it too much!

 

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Then there's this picture of a blue jay.   I am not crazy about blue jays, but this one was on our deck and was so pretty that I had to take this picture!

        

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And last but not least, my knees.  I had total knee replacement surgery done on my left knee in 2019.  I know it's been a while. but I am finally getting my right knee replacement surgery at the end of this month.   

 

I have so much pain right now that I can't wait to get it over with.  But, I remember how hard the recovery was last time and I am not looking forward to that.  So much to think about!

 

Here's an x-ray of my knees.  You can see the hardware in my left knee and the bone on bone arthritis in my right knee.  Getting older is not a lot of fun sometimes!

 

 

 

Jimmy Carter is 100 years old

 In my lifetime the two best US presidents have been:  Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama.

 

Eisenhower

Nixon

Gerald Ford

Jimmy Carter

Ronald Reagan

George Bush

Bill Clinton

Barack Obama

Donald Trump

Joe Bidden

 

 

 

 

 

I'm so confused

 The other day I started on a cross stitch project.  I have not done cross stitch for a while (years?) and had not realized how tiny the fabric and the stitches are.  I have to use a magnifying glass to do the work.  Really!  I actually bought a light/ magnifying glass combo so I can see what I am doing.

And knitting.  I knitted a cute pumpkin hat for Galileo and cannot wait to see him in it.  

Meanwhile, I have been working on a sweater for myself that I keep getting confused by.  I have taken rows out and re-knitted them and still am not sure if I am doing it right.   And I am an experienced knitter. 

 

Then, in the spirit of the season I decided I would like to knit tiny pumpkins.  I am about 15 rows in and I am still not sure if I've got it right.  I think I am going to pull some of it out and switch to larger needled.  

And I have some yarn and a pattern for a scarf I want to make for a friend.  When will I get around to that project?

In May I bought a pattern and some fabric to make a dress for my daughter, Courtney.  I cut it all out and carefully packed it in my suitcase and took it with me to Maine.  I was planning to sew it while I was there.  There's a perfectly good sewing machine in Austin's house- where I was house-sitting.   Did I do anything with it?  Nope.  The fabric and pattern et all are now sitting in the basement here, on the table next to my sewing machine.   

 

 

 

 

We have a wonderful, large basement with a great sewing/ crafting room.   I have scrap-booking stuff sitting on a crafting table.   Sewing machines.  Lots of yarn.  A TV.  But I rarely ever even go down there. Why?  I dunno.  

Below is a picture of a part of the space that has my crafting things.  Picture was taken when this house was still the model house. (Nick is the picture).

And now I have to get ready to go out.  There's an activity at the library on how to use a serger (sewing machine.  I have one and I love it, but maybe I will learn something new.

 

 

Baby love

First born, Courtney & Me 1978

 I was so thrilled when Courtney was born. I was thrilled each time I learned that I was pregnant and so happy with each of my babies.  

I know that the kids have heard me say that they were all planned and wanted.   I don't know if that meant anything to them or if they just thought "okay there goes Mom again".   I am sure I have repeated many things.  It's part of living and loving.  Sharing thoughts and experiences.   

Each birth was different and I remember the details.   I am not 100% sure I recall everything correctly as they happened, but I recall MY memories and feelings.   

There was fear, anxiety, wonder, joy, pain.   

And now they are all out of the house.  There's that whole poem about giving them roots and wings.  I love and respect them and their choices.   I know that they are all adults and have their own lives to lead.   I know that I cannot be their life blood any more.  

I wonder if they realize how much they were dependent on me and on my body for life and sustenance.     Maybe that is why they are so independent.  They had a strong bond and strong footing.

And now I have to sit back, bite my tongue and let them fly.   

My Facebook post today September 19, 2024

 

This is deeply personal, so be kind to me.

 

When we had been married about 5 years, we were very happy to learn that I was pregnant with our first baby. At around 20 weeks, I got up one morning and found that I was bleeding. I went to the hospital and learned that the baby had stopped growing a few weeks earlier and had died inside of me. This was 1977 and we were living abroad. There were no ultrasounds or anything like that.

I had a D&C to remove the dead baby and tissue (no I don't know if it was a boy or a girl). That D&C kept me from developing an infection and possibly losing the ability to have more children. Or it could have even killed me. Losing that baby was devastating, but I am happy to be alive.

I am grateful that I was able to get the medical care I needed. I have been able to have five very wanted pregnancies and five wonderful babies- all grown up now.

In many of the states in the US now, I would not have been able to have the procedure- D&C- it would be considered an abortion. And I might not have lived.

This is one of the reasons I am pro choice. A women's medical care should be between herself and her medical provider.

Oh, and by the way, I am a grandmother now too!!!

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Here are some of the comments:

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•  I also had a D&C after I spontaneously miscarried, and continued to bleed for a long time. I totally support you.
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•  At my 12 week prenatal check up during my first pregnancy it was discovered that I had a molar pregnancy, so had to have a d&c. My second pregnancy was a healthy baby girl. During my third pregnancy I once again found out during my 12 week exam that the baby had died. I did not spontaneously miscarry, so had another d&c. I'm so concerned that young women don't have the healthcare i did 35 years ago.
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•  There are so many reasons why this care needs to remain easily accessible.
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•  In the late1980's I experienced a miscarriage at 11 weeks pregnant and was already in maternity clothes. This followed the SIDS death of my infant son Paul in 1986. I wanted my daughter Ann to have a sibling. Kept having miscarriages and D&C's until I successfuly carried my premie Carrie in 1989. I was 41 yo and was hospitalized 6 wks with bleeding before she was born 6 was early. The D&C's allowed me to keep trying. They preserved my fertility. I don't know if a doctor would do it in Idaho today.
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•  I agree, Nancy. After 2 healthy babies, I had an ectopic pregnancy and my tube ruptured. I was bleeding internally so emergency surgery was performed. If that had been denied, I would not be here today. I too love being a grandma
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• Me too, sort of. My first pregnancy ended at 9 weeks after bleeding for 5. Doc said he couldn't say for sure that the pregnancy would be okay, and I wasn't willing to end it, just in case. 2nd pregnancy went fine. 3rd pregnancy--I started bleeding again at 5 weeks. This time doc did a blood test and compared it to the first--no pregnancy hormones at all, so there was no way that baby was going to make it. By this time, I had a 2 1/2yo, a relatively new job (with no leave built up), and no hope, so I had a D&C--and they found nothing. It was awful making the decision to have that procedure, even knowing there was no hope. It makes me so angry when folks--especially clueless men--talk about abortion decisions being so casual for women to make, and that they are made just on a whim, like deciding to try a new brand of toothpaste. No woman in the position of even considering abortion as a solution considers it so lightly, and I don't think you can go through such without it profoundly changing you. I don't know that the consequences of me not having a D&C back then would have been catastrophic for me, given the pregnancy was over, but it may have helped prepare my uterus for the next pregnancy. MY body, MY decision!!!!!!!
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•  In 1982, I suffered a miscarriage with twins in the 28th week, the first baby born was a perfect little girl weighing 2 lb who's lungs were not developed enough. The 2nd girl weighed just 11oz and had probably died at 18 weeks from a twisted cord; her decomposing body was poisoning both myself and the first baby. Would today's legislators considering prosecuting the doctors, hospital staff and myself because the first baby died also? How many legislators even realize that 20% of pregnancies end prematurely and medical care is required.
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• I am overcome by the emotion coming through these personal stories. It is why we must fight to maintain rights over our own bodies.
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  I had a trip to the ER on a Saturday night, a vacuum extraction there, plus a d and c days later in his office. Later, I became pregnant with our last baby.

   

   I have two stories of tubal pregnancies. One was a friend who suddenly had terrible abdominal pain. Her husband finally convinced her they needed to go to the ER, and as she was walking downstairs, she felt a pop and instant pain relief. Thankfully her husband insisted they go. Her tube had ruptured and she would have bled out if they had not done surgery. The second was a friend who had IVF. Fortunately, with IVF they do serial ultrasounds after an embryo transfer and they knew the embryo had not implanted in the right place. Being only days after implantation, they could give her methotrexate to terminate and she would not lose a tube. I’m guessing in a lot of states right now, the first case wouldn’t have surgery until the hemorrhage was critical and I’m unsure what would happen with the second. Scary stuff.

 

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added later

* I had to have a D&C the next day after a stillbirth at home. In some states they would have preferred to have my preschooler lose his mother and leave my husband a widower, because apparently i have no value as a human being. The ignorant, mostly male elected officials have no right to make that decision. It's a grotesque overreach of power.

*Medical care is nothing politicians should play around with.

 *This was posted by a man:    Thanks for sharing this tender story. These stupid male politicians who are making these drastic decisions for women's health need to get kicked out of office....

 

 

 

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