Fall

Fall came today. All at once. One minute the leaves are green and beautiful and on the trees, the sun's shining, the birds are chirping... Today the leaves all got blown off, the wind's whippin' around, we had a hailstorm last night, and it's downright chilly! Yup, it's here.

Surgery - Again

So yesterday, I had a new surgery, this time kidney stones. I had a ureteroscopy - a fancy term for a camera to go through my bladder, up my ureter, and into my kidney to take a look around and then lazer-blast the stupid things that keep causing me pain, because they wouldn't pass on their own. They also put a stent in that goes from my kidney into my bladder to allow the pieces to pass through, without doing further damage to my ureter.

Basically, the docs say that I've had at least a couple of stones for a few months. My newest specialist (a specialist specialist) - a urologist who specializes in kidney stones, says that the UTIs that I was experiencing almost constantly the last couple of years back in California could have been caused by kidney stones. Evidently, the little buggers are pretty porous, and can harbor bacteria, even when given antibiotics, making a UTI very hard to really get rid of. I just keep thinking, "Why did my CA docs never bother to try to figure out why I kept getting UTIs almost every week?" Once again, I am praising God for sending us to the Great White North, for the healthcare I have received. Have I mentioned I'm VERY grateful for my healthcare here?

On the upside, today I am recovering from the invasive procedure fairly well. Last night, Jonathan had choir rehearsal, and since he runs it, he couldn't get out of it. So, my very kind and wonderful friend/sister Emily offered to come over and "babysit" me while he was out, since I wasn't allowed to be by myself! Have I mentioned that I am VERY grateful for the friends that we've made here?

Between this surgery and the laparoscopy, I've had almost more pictures taken of my insides these days than of my outsides! Someone said to me I should put those on our next Christmas cards: "Greetings and Merry Christmas from Lindsay's internal organs (oh, and Jonathan says hi, too)!"

Mom and Dad were able to come out again a few weeks ago. I think they've decided to make this their summer home! :) With the lake a few blocks away for Mom's fishing, and the golf course at the end of the street for Dad's golfing, we're like a summer camp for my folks! Mom even got herself a fishing pole and is storing it in our garage! I guess maybe we should track down some clubs for Dad! We had a great time, and best of all, our friends have gotten to know them. It's so nice to say something about friends here to Mom on the phone, and she not only knows who I'm talking about, but asks about how that person and their family is doing! Likewise, our friends get a kick out of something we'll tell them that Dad said, because they can visualize him telling one of his funny stories! Now that they've all met each other, it's really made our new friends here seem even more like family. It will be exactly 2 years that we've been here on Sunday, but life finally seems to be getting to a place that feels normal and more like home.

Maui, Sweet Maui

Yeah, I know this blog is supposed to be about Wisconsin, but a girl's gotta take a trip every once in a while, right? We celebrated our anniversary last month, and decided to visit our favorite place - Maui! Since we were celebrating ten years, we decided ten days would be an appropriate amount of time. It was wonderful! We stayed at the place we always stay, which made it extra-relaxing. No surprises, great beach, great location, and quiet for the most part. (Don't get me started on the noises that are a part of renovations...)

Anyway, we always try to do at least one new thing when we visit, and this time was no exception. Jonathan really wanted to bike down the volcano, Haleakala (a 24-mile ride at super-speeds...), and I wanted to try a zipline for the first time! We decided to do both. I thought the zipline would be the thing that scared the bejeebers out of me, but the super-sonic bike ride past cliffs on the 10,000 foot volcano is what just about did me in! I could go on and on about the trip, but suffice to say it was a wonderful time, and gave us the renewal we needed after these past few tumultuous years. Coming home to OUR house was just the icing on the cake...










So content... So relaxed...

Quick Update

So I've got blisters and I'm tired, but I'm happy. I got to go work on a Habitat for Humanity house today! Last week, I was proud of myself for making curtains. Curtains, nothing - today I built a HOUSE!

I'll write more soon, and include pics from our vacation!

You Know You're in Wisconsin...

...when you go to your doctor at the hospital, and in telling you how to get to the clinic within the hospital, the receptionist ends with, "...and then turn left at the cow."

I kid you not.

Hmmm...

Now, I can't say for certain, but I'm pretty sure that maple trees aren't supposed to grow on your roof...

Last Day Of...

So last Thursday was the last day of school for a number of the middle and elementary schools around here. On Friday morning, I was getting ready for work, and I had the bathroom window open to allow fresh air into the house. The bathroom faces out toward the bike path that goes behind out house, so it's not unusual for us to hear bits and pieces of conversations as people go by. That morning, however, I think I heard my favorite piece, and it came from a laughing group of boys, probably in middle school or so: "Freeeeeeeedom!!! FRRRRREEEEEEEDOMMMMMMMM!!!!" I feel ya, kid!