Mt. Rainier and Lenticular Clouds - Dec. 2008 copyright: JMM

October 1, 2017

And I Thought Summer Was Bad

Sorry I haven't been around at all or visited anyone's blogs.  The last time I posted was August 31st about the worst summer ever.  My hopes for September were dashed on September 1st.  


My mom had a medical incident that resulted in her being sent to a rehab to determine if she can go home and be able to take care of herself.  She's 90.  With that came a lot of paperwork, phone calls and me having to run two houses while going over there to pick up mail and check on the place.  

We had a cool full moon on September 5.

Followed by pouring down rain on the 6th.

One good thing did happen, however, I got my first Harry Potter Loot Crate.  Very impressed with the stuff!  High quality items.  I signed up to get 3 total crates.  They come every other month, so my next one is in November.

Locket Horcrux

Honeyducks candy erasers (cauldron cake, chocolate frog, sugar skull, jelly slug)

Wand pen.

Stationery set

And the best one, this awesome Ravenclaw scarf.  You can pick your house when you sign up so that they will send specific house related stuff.

Then the absolute worst thing happened.  Russell got so sick that he was hospitalized on September 11.  It was terrifying....his heart was in bad shape and I truly believe he was possibly hours from a fatal heart attack.  The local hospital had him for about 2 days when they transferred him to Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River.  I'd never heard of them till that day and as it turns out, they are in the top 5% best cardiac hospitals in the country, and it's true.  The care he received was top notch. Long story short, he had a triple bypass and valve replacement but they had to get him strong enough to survive the operation.  I have never cried so much and so hard in my life, and if it wasn't for my friends and stepdaughter, I don't think I would've been able to cope.  We drove down early the day of the operation and my friend Annette met us there and stayed with us in the waiting room.  It was a long, nerve wracking day.  When the nurse approached the door with a huge smile on her face around 2:30, I knew he had made it through.  Post-op recovery meant 10 more days in ICU and step-down, and he finally came home on the 29th.

Val found this outside Tobey hospital, near the entrance.  She told me to take it, so I did and put it in my purse.  I kept it there the entire time he was gone.  Gryffindor colours too, I might add, for my brave, strong hubby.

I would spend 6-7 hours a day in his room, watching TV with him and stitching.  I finished this owl project in just about 20 days...maybe less cause the visiting hours in ICU were much shorter.  I put the last French knot on it in his room, about an hour before he was released.

He has a long road ahead with recovery but so far, so good.  

I'm generally not a fan of candy bars but I couldn't resist getting this Snickers bar.  There were all different sayings on it but I felt 'hot mess' summed up my month. 

In other crappy news from September, found out one of my cousins passed away from a sudden heart attack.  She was alone when it happened.  Bobbie always read my blog to keep up with what I was up to since she wasn't interested in Facebook.  I deeply regret not keeping in touch more this spring and summer.  

Val & I got addicted to these cheese sandwiches that were sold at a coffee stand in the lobby.  The cheese is called  Sao Jorge, or Saint George' and it's Portuguese.  Fall River has a huge population of Portuguese people so there are lots of markets that carry the food.  I headed to Portugalia Marketplace one morning before going up to see Russell.  It's right in the downtown area.  I got the cheese and some rolls and went out to my car to put the rolls in the trunk.  Stuck the key in, turned, aaannnnnd *snap*.  I'm standing there holding half a key...the IGNITION key too, I might add, feeling a giant wave of panic wash over me.  I freaked out.  I had to call AAA and thank god they found a locksmith who could come out, fish the broken piece out and make me a new one on site.  I was at the market place a good 90 minutes before Atlantic Locksmith showed up.  I was weeping...all the stress of the month and now this.  The locksmith was so kind.  He felt so sorry for me that they knocked some money off the bill which I appreciated.  

First day of fall came and went.  No decorations are going up this year.  Just way too tired and it's too daunting of a project, no matter how organized I try to be about it.  We have lots of fragile every day things and they have to be dusted, wrapped and packed into the bin once the fall/Halloween things come out. 

Pretty moon on the 26th

We had a really cool sunset on the 28th.  It was seen all over the Cape and the pics I saw on Facebook were stunning. 

The clouds were really unique




From this particular angle, I was imagining that this is what Jupiter would look like from one of it's moons.



And so I bid September good bye and good riddance. Here's to better days!

20 comments:

  1. Poor JoJo. I hope October makes up for September.

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  2. Oh, my goodness! You have had a bad month. Sorry. Of course, it was worse for Russell, good that he is on the mend!
    Cute cross stitch. Never heard of a Harry Potter Loot Crate - my world is smaller than yours. Beautiful cloud pictures.
    Well, now it's a new month, I hope things brighten up for you!

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    1. Thanks Sharon! He's home and that definitely makes things better.

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  3. Hang on, breathe, and here's to October bringing you autumn joy! So sorry to hear how difficult September was for you xoxox

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  4. I'm so glad Russell is okay!!! Hopefully you will never have another month like this last one.

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  5. So sorry to hear what a rotten September you have had JoJo. I am not terribly surprised about Russell's heart problems, but I am sorry you both had to go through all that. I hope his health will improve and that he will take care and eat wisely. Love the sky pictures.

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    1. Thanks Jo. I am trying hard to get his eating under control and stay that way. Neither of us saw this coming though, not at his young age. I thought maybe he'd need stents but the open heart surgery shocked me, and the fact that he might not survive cause his heart was in such bad shape absolutely blindsided all of us. Thank god he made it.

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  6. Here's to a full recovery! Live the Harry Potter stuff, can't wait to see next box. Lovely photos of clouds.

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    1. Thanks Anne! I have 2 more crates coming, November and January. Can't wait!

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  7. Sunrises, sunsets, and pretty moon pics. Good to pause and appreciate those.
    Best of luck with your mother. Oh these super seniors
    And big health recovery for your hubby. And take care of yourself too. That will help him also
    You are not alone. Big blog hug
    Ever onward!!


    And enjoy that Harry Potter loot. Very cool

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    1. Thanks Joanne! Trying to take care of myself too....trying to eat healthier with Russell so he doesn't feel alone.

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  8. Anonymous12:37 PM

    I wish that I had words to express how much my heart aches for all you've been through, JoJo. You're one strong person and you've endured so much already, I'm hoping and praying that October will be a much better month for you. I'll hold you and Russell in my thoughts and prayers. Much love to you both.


    Elsie

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    1. Thank you Elsie. That is very greatly appreciated. I'm so grateful to have him home again. The first night he was home he dozed off and his snoring was music to my ears.

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  9. Anonymous3:08 AM

    Omgosh Joanne. I don't know how you didn't melt away from all of the stress. Man.. Good bye and good riddance to September is right! Here's to a much calmer, healthier, peaceful, October. Big hugs n' lotsa' love from Idaho. <3

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    1. Thanks Karen!!! I don't know how I got through it either but I was trying so hard to be strong for Russell. Never would've gotten through it if it wasn't for my friends.

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  10. Gorgeous gorgeous pix... Hope your mom is doing better. I am praying for her. hugs, lj

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    1. Thank you! She's actually doing really well and is home with 24 hour help. It's my hubby that's still not quite out of the woods yet! But he's much better too.

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