Good late morning everyone! Happy Chanukah! I enjoyed my early morning watching a doe and her two yearlings I think they are as they have no spots anymore. Amazingly Nina, aka Ms. Barks A Lot just watched them, no barking at all. They were enjoying a very nice breakfast of white oak acorns and a bit of grass in the neighbor’s yard. It was a great start to a new day, my cuppa, peaceful, quite and in the high 40’s without a breeze! The deer moved back into the woods as the sun came up. Smart they are, as the wind also picked up. Our wind is now gusting to 27 mph and the real feel is 30 with actual temp being 40 dF. Colder weather will be setting in. I imagine the folks up North are having chillier weather than we are with the arctic blast that hit recently.
It also leads to a great reminder to slow down and appreciate our surroundings, especially during this month of different celebrations. In my old career, I saw many people overextend their budget, in purchasing gifts, please try hard not to as it leads to an enormous amount of stress. No one needs added stress, we have enough as it is if we are members here. This is a pretty good budgeting strategy albeit a little late since we should’ve started much earlier. Before I ruptured and could handle money, crowds, etc, I actually started shopping sales at the end of the holiday season as prices were much better, also on the sales days at the stores I planned to shop for a special person. BH never knew what I had allocated to spend on gifts for BH because I saved a portion of my allowance. This year we have agreed on a certain amount that we are supposed to comply with. I’m pretty sure BH will over spend a little bit. I need to remind BH of a present already purchased that I think BH forgot about…We also tried many different gluten free dishes for a friend that ate into our holiday meal budgeting more than usual. We do have those flours so we can still make gluten free items for our get together on Christmas Eve. We also use one credit card for just about everything through the year and it has a very good points system. So good in fact that the folks at the bank tell us not to ever get another as the return I guess its called is not near as good. It’s all I use since money exchange is difficult for me now. The only down side is I no longer get an allowance so I can’t sneak in BH’s gifts. Oh well, life is ever changing and new methods need to be learned to adapt.
There’s my musings and a warning not to stress out. Sometimes the best gifts are those of our time. Put down the electronic devices and enjoy one another’s company, reach out to old and new friends over the phone or try writing a nice note in cards sent out. Let’s reach out now to our newest members!
@Jen2372 is up in Colorado. Jennifer had a basilar tip aneurysm rupture while on vacation in Mexico. She was able to fly home where her aneurysm was coiled and she spent 3 weeks in ICU. She recently had more coils and a stent added. That’s simply amazing Jennifer! Hope you share more of your story!
@Jfarri2025 is over in California. Joanna shares she was diagnosed with an aneurysm Nov of this year and received a pipeline emolization device (PED). Joanna had retired early to care for her mother who has dementia. She has always worked in the health care field and is trying to get back into either a county or state job with the Employment Development Department. That’s a lot on your plate, come talk to us Joanna!
@CiaranL2025 is over in Ireland. Ciaran’s aneurysm was discovered in Dec 2024 and has recently had a flow diverting stent placed so currently recovering. Ciaran shares brother had ruptured back in April 2024. Hopefully the brother survived the rupture. I’m sure members can learn a lot from your story Ciaran and hope you too share more!
Finishing off with @MaggieMagsMaggie also over in the North East UK. Maggie has been diagnosed with a left side 9 mm paraophthalmic aneurysm and a right sided M1 aneurysm in relation to the anterior temporal branch. Coiling procedure is set for January to treat the larger one, the smaller is going to be watched as it’s apparently in a more difficult place to reach. Maggie shares she’s a Mam of 5, Grandmother of 5 soon to be 6, very happily married and works at the NHS! Busy, busy, busy with all those family members I bet!
We would like to invite each of you to start a new topic under General tab by clicking on the “+ Add New Topic” box, give it a header and type the body so we can get to know you better. If you see an existing topic, jump in, if its one of the older ones I haven’t closed, I’ll let you know and close it no worries.
Stay warm! Be kind to yourselves and others. Find joy and beauty in the little things…most of all have a great week y’all!