This year, I did not do the Beauty Blog Advent Calendar. I will host it again next year; but this year, there was just too much going on. This autumn I broke my ankle, moved into a new house, visited my mom after she went into the hospital with a fairly serious - but ultimately recoverable - condition. I packed my apartment while on crutches…I did it successfully, and without having to ask for much assistance; but it’s not a life skill I hope to use again soon. I unpacked at my new house while wearing a cam boot. I also repainted some very very brightly colored walls while wearing that same cam boot. I still have yet to really take a serious long walk around my lovely half-acre backyard…because when I did try, I found that the rather uneven ground (thanks, gophers) played merry hob with my still-healing ankle. But I have all of my books and movies under the same roof with me, after seven months of them (and quite a lot of other things) being in storage.

There are very few things about my new house that I don’t love. I love its location. I love the style. I love the layout. The things I don’t love - some of the paint colors, the previous carpeting, the window treatments - can all be switched out. I’ve already recarpeted and repainted about half the house. The blinds that I want to get, are honestly probably going to wait until next fall. I can live with the current shutters until then. I know that I have to replace the furnace next winter or the winter after that; and I know that the roof needs replaced in about eight years. The fence also needs replaced, and that quite a bit sooner. I’ll probably do that in sections. But I have a library/living room. I have a dining room. I have a large family/media room with a gas fireplace. I have a laundry room and a new washer and dryer. I have a two-car garage. I have a lovely master bedroom, a nice office, and a decent guestroom. And the cats love the hardwood floors, because they love the thundering sound they make when they chase each other around the house.

When my mom went into the emergency room and then quickly onto a ventilator, the family and her friends all rallied to help support her and my dad. We did find out that it was Guillan-Barre, which is apparently - interesting note - the only neurological condition that people recover from. Mom is an artist and loves to paint and color, so I’ve found several coloring books that have much larger areas and some coloring mediums that are easier to use for people who don’t yet have fine motor control. She’s still at least two months away from using these, but they’re ready when she is. Her age is working against her, as is the fact that she got one of the rarest forms of GBS. I’m also not thrilled about Medicare’s unyielding guidelines that may force us to start paying out of pocket for additional intensive-care/acute care stay time.

My ankle is still healing. I’m at the stage where I’m now being urged to wear regular shoes around the house, and wear the cam boot whenever I’m out and about. I’ve tried that a little already, and even when I do wear the cam boot, my ankle swells up quite a bit and I find myself having to take regular rest-ice-elevate breaks. I’m also looking into getting back into tai chi, because it’s good exercise but it’s low-impact and emphasises balance and smooth muscle movement.

I don’t know when I’ll get the site content migration finished. I do know that a lot of the structure is in place, but isn’t exactly the same as the previous setup. I know it’s going to take time. But when you want something done properly, sometimes you need to make time.

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