Finally....meet Ty

He is 6.75" of recycled mink fur and looking for a new home :)  Learn all about adopting him HERE

A little delay

The bear I mentioned has been finished for a couple of days and I had hoped to list it by now.  However.......  my computer completely crashed Friday night .  It was bad this time.  The computer needed to be reformatted meaning NOTHING could be recovered . I lost everything from the past few months - since my last backup.  Again proscratination got the best of me.  To make it worse, the files I had backed up for my business can't be read.  So I am slowly reinstalling programs, rebuilding my mailing list, re-creating my hang tag designs etc.   Bear with me, I hope to have this sorted out in the next day or so.  Or, I may be shopping for a new computer :(  

Bear Therapy

I didn't realize how therapeutic making bears really is !  I have been working on one for the past couple of days and it just relaxes my mind so much.  It is the first bear I've made in almost 2 months.  Where did the time go !!  Watching the fur transform from an vintage coat into a cuddly , sweet faced bear is such a amazing thing.  I feel so lucky to have this job. 


Hopefully this little furry friend will be ready to look for a new home soon.  It  just needs an ear and some finishing touches .  

The big "C"

I saw my surgeon yesterday and it turns out my lump contained papillary thyroid cancer.  It is a strange feeling when you hear those words.  I know my eyes glazed over and I felt like I was in a dream like state for a minute.  But deep down I really believe I knew it was cancer.  The surgeon assured me I will be fine and it is the best kind of thyroid cancer to have ie; the most curable. 

After a lot of thought , I can honestly say  I am not worried.  Sure, I felt a little overwhelmed in the car on the way home , no one wants to hear they have cancer.   But my mind has been flooded with the positive things God has done through all of this. He really is so merciful !!  He knows where this journey is taking me and I just need to trust him even when I don't like it or understand why.   Life happens, it's not fair and even sucks sometimes but choosing to learn from it is going to be my outlook.  I just feel bad for family and friends that are concerned about me.

The best news is that the primary treatment for this cancer is surgery...... well I've already had it done !  And, the cancer was contained so likely it's all out of my body now.   I may need a radioactive iodine treatment in 2 months when I meet with the oncologist.  But, chemo isn't required for this type of cancer thankfully.  Fortunately, I will have 10 years of follow up scans regardless.

For now  I look forward to many more years of bear making.   I am itching to get back at it.  Onward and upward :)

Recovering

I was happy to come home yesterday from the hospital.  I am healing well , but still feeling a little lightheaded and sore.  My neck is quite bruised and swollen, but looks much better than I anticipated  It will take a while for my thyroid hormone replacement to get sorted out too.  Mornings aren't so great , but in  the afternoons I feel better.  Just need to wait a few weeks for the lab results, but the surgeon sounded postive.

I can't wait to start working on bears again. Hopefully soon :)

Surgery

For those of you that have been wondering, I finally got a call this week with a surgery date after waiting 11 months.  Yikes, that was a long time and a good lesson in patience.   On Monday I will begin my 2 nights, all expenses paid, room service stay at the luxurious hotel known as the "hospital".  In the meantime, I am getting lots of meals made ahead so I don't have to cook for awhile, and my family won't starve.  Yeah, I know they would be fine, it's just the mom in me that thinks I need to plan ahead.   It is such a busy time with school winding up, exams , proms and grad for both my kids.  It looks like the timing will work out so I can at least attend their graduations, and for that I am thankful.  And, they can be here to help me out if needed. 

Unfortunately, the partially sewn bears will have to wait awhile longer to be born.

Prayers are appreciated for a successful surgery, quick recovery and a good lab report .

HERE COMES THE SUN- it really does exist !!!!!

What more is there to say....the sun decided to shine the past couple of days.  And, it was really warm . Yay !  It is such a welcome sight after so many weeks of rain.  Ahhh....how nice to just sit in the lawn chair and soak up the vitamin D, or putter in the garden. 

 It also gets me inspired , so I went to work yesterday and cut out 3 mink bears.  I'm loooking forward to bringing them to life over the next week or so.  I also feel the urge to make something new- maybe from  mohair and maybe a whole new design.  Who knows.  Time will tell.