Success!

My daughter took this selfie shortly after leaving recovery.  It was about a five hour surgery to replace her damaged heart valve and repair the aneurysm.  She is sleeping a lot.  I'm so happy that the surgery was a success and she's sleeping which means she's not being kept awake by pain.  I'm doing laundry today, will pack the car tomorrow and leave for Reno the next morning.

There's a new restaurant in Bend called Sen.  It's by the same people who run the ever popular Wild Rose and the new location on the Deschutes River couldn't be more gorgeous.  It's a little pricey but super delicious.  We ate lunch here to celebrate.

I met with some of the Knitterbugs for an spell of knitting on Wednesday.  Bend is still colorful though we're supposed to get hit with some weather that will change things right after I leave.

I just finished Delaney's latest sweater in time for my trip.  It's Cascade 200 superwash, hand-dyed by a friend just for her.

The yoke is reverse stockinette which I think is effective with the variegation.  Since Delaney's family isn't vaccinated I won't be able to see her until after I leave my daughter's.  As a surgical patient they are going to be very strict with her quarantine.  I hope to spend the morning with Delaney’s family, leave for Bend after lunch and spend the night in Klamath Falls.  I don't know how long Chrissie will need me so haven't set a date to return.

Ian and I were both leaving the house at the same time and I was so focused on who was going to back out of the garage first I almost missed our visitor.  He's a big boy!

 

Autumn is my favorite season

Delaney is absolutely taken with this New Yorker issue and studies the cover at length.

She points to the bubble and names the contents, then goes back and names the people.  She and her parents are the family in upper left corner.

PlayDoh is such a mess and I regretted buying it as soon as we opened the first container.  Tomorrow is her last day so I dug it out for one last time.  She loves it.

She was on a roll and would have opened every single color when I got the idea to place the Amazon toy catalog on the table and it was an instant winner.  Winner, winner, chicken dinner!!

With her daddy's help she made me this birthday card which I will treasure until it's in tatters.

Tuesday was my birthday but since we were babysitting we went out for my dinner on Monday.  The tradition has been for all the family to go out to dinner on the birthday but we are shrinking already.  Grandson Logan and girlfriend moved to Kalispell this month and Son Matt, Julia and Delaney will be back in Reno this Sunday. 

I'm moving too - back into the world of adults after 2 1/2 years of being focused on a baby.  Wednesday was my book group and I hosted.  Kathi brought me these flowers which she said she instantly thought of as "Sharon colors."  They are gorgeous!  We had seven for our book discussion, first time to gather indoors since Covid hit.  We were so happy to be together again that we talked for three hours - yikes!  What did we read?  The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.

I love the colors of autumn and I love that our yard is beautiful.  It's also successfully blocked from maraudering deer.  There's plenty for them to eat outside the fence, which these guys were doing when I left for my walk Wednesday morning.

I am walking with friends in places other than my neighborhood now and our walk Monday along the Deschutes River was spectacular.  Ian bought me a pair of walking sticks to protect me from taking another header.  I'm stunned at how many people I know who have been injured while hiking.  My cousin tells me that it's called FOOSH - fall on out stretched hand.  Yep, that's exactly what I did.  One MRI, two x-rays and three doctor visits later, I don't want to do it again.

My root project piece is finished and due this Saturday.  It's a simple pencil rendering and when I see the lovely pieces by other participants I feel like using mine to start the wood stove.  But if you don't enter, you don't get to play.  I remind myself that I couldn't get started until the splint came off my hand.  Lame excuse :-)

If you are of the praying kind, I sure would appreciate prayers for my daughter Chris on this coming Thursday as they replace a heart valve and repair an aneurysm.  I will go down to be with her on the 26th since I won't be able to see her until she's released from the hospital.  We've compiled a list of campy movies to watch together in her recovery, starting with Galaxy Quest.