October has gone by in a blur. The last half was taken up with Jim's surgery and recuperation. Much of the first half involved getting ready for it.
I mentioned on a couple of Friday's Fave Fives that he went in for one surgery, but was discovered to have an undiagnosed hernia in his abdominal wall with some of his intestines poking through. Thankfully they weren't in there tightly, so his digestion wasn't affected. But, by God's grace, another surgeon was available and willing to repair it while they had him open. Plus she was familiar with and a great fan of the robotic "arms" the original surgeon was using. We were incredibly thankful everything was able to be taken care of in the same operation.
Recovery has been a good days-bad days experience. But that's probably how it usually goes.
This recovery time takes me back to pandemic loneliness, with not seeing anyone and watching church via Facebook Live. It had taken me a while to get used to socializing in person again after restrictions were lifted. And to get used to our current church being a bit busier than we're used to. But I find I do miss people after all. 🙂 Thankfully we do have texts and emails and Facebook, and we have had people checking in with us and asking if we need anything.
Since the Covid pandemic began, we started having a family costume party on Halloween night. All of Timothy's usual trick-or-treating places (the zoo, the mall) were closed then. But we enjoyed it so much, we've kept up the tradition ever since. We won't be able to have it this year yet, with Jim not feeling up to it and Timothy being sick. But we going to try to in the next couple of weeks.
Our fall color finally came in, I think a bit later than usual. I have not been out much, but I've seen enough to be "filled up" and ready for the drabness of winter.
We've had a few cold days, but it's been unseasonably warm lately. However, we're due to have nights in the 20s this week.
Creating
I don't usually make cards in October, since we're past "birthday season." But I did this year for Pastor's Appreciation month as well as a few friends going through various trials.
These were for the two pastors. I ended up making a similar design for both.
The "Thank you" message was embossed with the Cuttlebug, and the bigger leaves were cut out with the Cuttlebug as well.
(Don't tell anyone, but just between us, the smaller leaves on the corners of the "Thank you" on the second card were put there to cover up a decorative corner-cutting punch that didn't turn out right. 🙂 )
And these were for a couple of friends who lost a loved one.
I made these four the same day, so I kept them relatively simple.The wording on these was made with a stamp.
This last one was for a friend recovering from surgery (his was the same day as Jim's). I had time to play with it a little more.
I ended up liking this one the best. I wished I could have gone back and touched up the others a little more---but I had already mailed them.
And I liked the little leaves (made with punches) on the corners so much that I used them again, even without a mistake to cover up. 🙂
Watching
We're trying out a couple of new TV shows that seem pretty good so far. It seems like every time I mention a TV series, though, something objectionable comes up on them right after.
One movie we saw that was pretty good was Return to the Hiding Place. It was based on rue events during WWII. One of the young men hiding out at Corrie ten Boom's place was a teenager named Hans Poley. He was a student who had defied an order of the Nazis, and Corrie was his mother's friend. He got false identity papers and joined the Dutch resistance, sneaking out at times to help them.
Reading
Since last time I completed:
- Aftermath by Terri Blackstock, fiction, audiobook. An explosion at a concert kills a young girl's friends and traumatizes her. Meanwhile, police are tipped off to pick up Dustin Webb, and they find explosives in his trunk. But he didn't put them there. He calls a long-ago neighbor who is now a lawyer for help. Very good!
- Chasing Shadows by Lynn Austin, fiction, audiobook and print. This book follows the lives of three women in the Netherlands in three different venues of WWII: a young Jewess, a Resistance fighter, and a farm wife on the home front. Excellent.
- Made for More: An Invitation to Live in God's Image by Hannah Anderson, nonfiction, Kindle. Just finished this weekend, not reviewed yet.
- The Rose of Winslow Street by Elizabeth Camden, fiction, audiobook, also just finished and not reviewed yet.
I'm currently reading:
- Be Exultant (Psalms 90-150): Praising God for His Mighty Works by Warren Wiersbe
- Elisabeth Elliot: A Life by Lucy S. R. Austen
- How to Write a Sentence and How to Read One by Stanley Fish---though I have not really read this lately, having gotten distracted by the next one.
- Someday Is Today: 22 Simple, Actionable Ways to Propel Your Creative Life by Matthew Dicks
- Far Side of the Sea by Kate Breslin
I'm also going through Jen Wilkin's Abide Bible study course on 1, 2, and 3 John with a ladies' Bible study at church.
Blogging
Besides the weekly Friday Fave Fives, Saturday Laudable Linkage, and book reviews, I've posted these since last time:
Writing
This month has not lent itself to much writing. But I did send an entry to Lois's Remembering Our Parents site about my mother-in-law, here.
Our writing critique group decided that, instead of starting a new round of presentations and critiques and then stopping for the holidays, we'd go ahead and take a hiatus now through the end of the year. And though I'm grateful for the extra time, I'm missing our bi-weekly meetings already. We still keep in touch via text, though.
Looking ahead
Hopefully Jim's recovery will progress through the next few weeks. I need to schedule some medical appointments for myself before the end of the year. But I don't think there's much else on the horizon until Thanksgiving. Hopefully November will be a restful month.
How was your October?
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