On the 10th Day of Christmas...

On the 10th day of Christmas, my recovery gave to me: a bumpy, red, itchy rash all over. To be fair, it was probably the meds. I'm now off all pain meds and taking Benadryl, plus an antibiotic, until I stop scratching! 

So here's how the song goes for me these days: 

On the 10th day of Christmas, the season gave to me...

Ten bumps and hives

Nine marks where I've scratched

Eight alarms on my phone for meds

Seven new prescriptions

Six exercise walks

Five kinds of healing teas

Four socks  almost finished

Three friends a-visiting

Two additional prescriptions

and a new bottle of Benadryl for me! 

If you've been playing along at home for any time, you may remember that I am super prone to side-effects. So prone that I make my Sweetie read the info sheets, so I don't feel like I'm just "manifesting" a reaction, but I'm only allergic to a couple of things...well maybe a couple new things, now too....lol!

I think I'm also allergic to Sweetie saying, "Stop scratching!"

The good news (and this really is good) is that I'm not in much pain. I've had zero pain meds today (my last Gabapentin was at 10pm last night), and I'm doing ok!

So you take the good, you take the bad, you take 'em both, and there you have... whatever you have. Good is still good, and this will pass. In the meantime, I'll just be over in the corner scratching and hiding from anyone who tells me to stop it! 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit (don't scratch!) in Good Health! 

Have a Hap- Hap- Happy New Year!

Because of my surgery, we did not get to see our son and his family this year for Christmas. I'm happy to say that our daughter and her family did make the trip out to visit her brother, and this picture was one of the fun memories that she sent to me from "Kansas, she says, is the name of her star!" I added some details, and we all wish you the happiest of new years for 2026!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Ready or Not...

Christmas 2025 is in the books, and 2026 looms large ahead! I am thankful this year, 5 days after back surgery, that I was able to do some fun things this week! From a nice Christmas visit

to having Christmas dinner with our daughter and her family (and the boys' gingerbread houses),

to casting on a pair of new Christmas socks (Must Stash Yarn in the colorway "Bumbles Bounce"),

to fun cards and greetings from friends!

New gadgets made this possible, and helped me to manage my pain along the way...

TENS unit. I've read the how and why it works, but I've had too many narcotics to explain it to you. Also, it's purple, and I'm sure that helps. 

My back brace is nothing compared to Joan Cusak's neck brace in 16 Candles! Whew!

...I have even managed a few chores along the way, including getting the lights off the tree, 

and I've finished the first Bumbles sock!

So all in all, 2025 has been a good year, despite some hard losses. We've lost friends who were way too young, family members we thought we had more time with and friends who have been like family for decades...we will mourn for them all and pray for those left with holes in their hearts. Please Lord, help them find their meaning and worth in You and in Your Son, whose birth we celebrate every Christmas. 

I've often heard that Jesus is the Reason for the Season, and I'm thankful to Pastor Paul of White Flag Church (from St Louis, we livestreamed their Christmas Eve service on Wednesday) for reminding me that I am the reason for the season, and YOU are the reason for the season. Jesus came for sinners, you and me included, so that we could be connected with God in Heaven forever. Yes, so much to be thankful for! 

Am I ready for 2026? Am I ever ready for a new year? I guess it doesn't matter, because ready or not, here it comes! Let's see what it brings together.

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

PS-If you want more details, I had an L3/L4 Laminectomy, with the removal of a synovial cyst on my spinal cord.  The benign cyst was putting pressure on nerves leading to left hip and leg pain, and the recovery has included some pretty intense nerve pain in those areas. But this is just a blip in my lifetime,  and I should be "right as rain" in a few weeks. Prayers and good thoughts gladly accepted, thanks! 

Merry Christmas! (2025)

I've spent the last 3 days trying to remember how I felt 3 days post-hysterectomy and 3 days post hip-replacement, and I'm still not sure I can pull up those memories. But I did manage to heal from both, and I'm sure I'm on the right track to recover well again. Hopefully I'll forget this pain, too, and God is still so very good!

Today I am thankful for modern medicine, ice, my TENS unit and my sweet hubby. Couldnt get through this without you! Oh, and Jess. She's also been a peach. 

I hope your Christmas is good, and that you find the light and love of Jesus today. Thanks for stopping by, and Merry Christmas to you while you Knit in Good Health! 

The Ginger-what?

I know you've been waiting, and here is the post you will wait for no more:

Welcome to the Ginger Hood!

Despite the fact that I have a job that gives me a decent break for the winter holidays, I am feeling the pressure to do all the things before Monday, my first official day off. (More about that later.) For now, let's just say that this has been a productive week, from the baking (last Saturday) to the construction phase (on Thursday) 

to the decorating that we did today, 

it's been another, banner, Gingerbread House Year, and the 2025 Ginger Hood is officially in the books! Which is your favorite?

Whichever house is your favorite, I think my favorite moment of the day was when my daughter tried to draw a tree on her own tongue, for fun...does it look like a tree???

Except, when you ask that question with a tongue-ful of icing, it sounds more like, "Huz ick houk yike a heay???," which I did not understand at all, lol!!! I made her eat the icing, ask the question and re-draw the tree for that photo, and I am not sorry!

After the candy was all on the houses, we sent that sugared-up crew home, with their houses, plus a house and candy for their cousins that they will see over winter break. All I have left now are a few, tiny, starter homes displayed on the table. 

Very pretty, and if you visit me in the next week or two, you may even go home with one!

I'm preparing to have more visitors than usual in the next few weeks, because I'll be sidelined following a medical procedure on Monday (I said I'd get back to it, didn't I?). A little back surgery...as little as back surgery can be, I think, because I should be home the same day...and it boggles my mind a bit! But they say that there's no place like home for the holidays, so it should be all good!

I know that God is in control of this, and of all things, so I am as calm as can be expected in the face of a procedure that requires general anesthesia. Still, if you are the praying kind, or the "sending good thoughts" kind, I'd welcome all you've got. I'll also welcome visits in January, as long as I am up to it. I anticipate being off of work for the month, and on limited activity...so if you're coming to see my clean house, please make an appointment for some time in March. (Sweetie will be my housecleaning hero, but he will also be busy caring for Pretty!) But if you're coming to visit and maybe watch a Hallmark movie, I will welcome that warmly from my recliner. 😘

That's about all I've got, except to wish you a Merry Christmas! The next time we talk will likely be December 27, just 5 days post-surgery! I hope you are surrounded by love and finding joy in this winter holiday season, friends. 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

PS - I've finished another pig...we have pigs in abundance at Pretty's house!