you ever hear the saying 'the third time's the charm'? it isn't.

it's just a way of saying that you've tried something twice and failed and you're too stubborn or stupid to quit and move on.

i’m feeling very fortunate that (except for the stubborn part) this traditional phrase didn’t apply to the third major surgery, that i had this summer. after two and a half years of limping around in constant pain, and not feeling up to traveling… we both knew that something wasn’t quite right… after being referred to a surgeon who specialized in ankle joint replacement surgery, and after strenuous contemplation and letting go of my resistance to having yet another surgery… off i went to the most expensive overnight in a hotel, oops, hospital,  where the surgical team sawed and drilled to replace the bone and cartilage with cobalt chromium, titanium and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene that is now comprising my ankle joint. and, it worked like a ‘charm’! 

it has now been five months since the surgery, and although i am not dancing – yet – i AM moving around pain free, and making plans for a few trips next year! watch out, we might be coming your way!

at the time of the initial interview with the surgeon, he suggested we get travel cancellation insurance for our november trip to maui. shortly after that purchase, we got the opportunity to rent a condo in january, which we immediately signed up for! the surgery and healing went so well, that the doc agreed to our november trip, and bim and i made the easy decision to go in both november, and again in january. 

(find some more pix here: https://bim.smugmug.com/Hawaii/Maui-2019 )

we are feeling very grateful that we still have a house to live in. some of our neighbors in sonoma county were not so lucky during another extreme fire season. i think most of us are still in disbelief that these extraordinary weather events will become the new normal.

we spent an entire day packing up things from our house, using a list that we compiled during the fires two years ago. at the top of the list was - a case of wine! we learned a lot about what was important in our lives (not our ‘stuff’). we got the mandatory evacuation order at 4am, after a sleepless night; said goodbye to our house, left lots of cat food around the house, finished packing the car and were driving through the very dark roads ( no power, no lights) of western sonoma county by 5:30 in the morning, arriving in san francisco about 7:30 am. 

 we made our way to our favorite french café, feeling as if we had returned to civilization; lights, heat, power, flush toilets, and only a hint of fire-smoke.

 sonoma county evacuated 190,000 people over the course of 2-3 days.  and PG&E shut off the power to thousands more.

the evacuation order for our area was lifted after four days. we packed up the car, and joined the masses driving on 101 north to repopulate sonoma county! we were so happy to return home, and to share that appreciation with all of our wonderful neighbors.

 we wish you a holiday season 

filled with laughter and friends and lots of love.

and a healthy, joyful new year!