THIS IS WHAT I WAS GOING TO BLOG TODAY:
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Every week is not created equal. Sometimes they seem that way when things go along in a routine fashion. Each week holds a surprise or two. When you're retired it happens and I love it - but even that begins to be the same. . .
This week is different. My husband is having hip replacement surgery. Many thanks to all who keep us in their thoughts and prayers.
There are many things I am thankful for this week.
That my husband is healthy. Not only in body, but in every way. He didn't have to fill out the medication form because he doesn't take any, just supplements.
He has many friends, several of them close friends. They consist of close relationships made over the years: neighbors, co-workers, and church/civic friends. They share their sorrows and joys on a regular basis.
He is a great father, his two daughters and their husbands and grandchildren love him. He is a gentle but strong, honest and wise, patient and loving parent, grandparent and husband.
Spiritually he is strong. He knows Whose he is and where he is going, because of a belief that the same Jesus Christ who died on the Cross for every person, loves him and lives in him by faith.
Hope Orthopedics here in Salem is regionally known and nationally recognized as a top provider of excellence in joint replacement care. It consists of 12 orthopedic surgeons who join together in 2005 to make this medical procedure more comprehensive and cost effective.
The hospital is 10 minutes away from our home!
Dr. Sewell who will perform the surgery, was born and raised here. Two of his teachers and other family friends are among our friends and acquaintances. It helps to know that he holds to high standards ethically as a bonus to being an expert in this field.
This surgery has been around awhile so has become routine. We can't but think how life would have been like for us if we had lived prior to the ability to have his hip replaced.
No matter the wonderful advances of science or the expertise of medical surgeon and staff, all healing comes from God. We expect a great outcome in Him!!
Got the walker. Got the cane. The sheets are clean. All bedding is washed. The family room shampooed. The area rugs are up. Need to do the dog. . .
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As it turned out, through a miscommunication about medication, my husband did not have surgery today. He got as far as pre-surgery pain meds, needles in his arm and leg pumps to keep clots from forming. We praise God for his protection. We know it is for a reason.
All the facts remain the same as I wrote here, a little more washing here and there will need to be done. We've had the dry run - we anticipate the real deal. We wait to hear when the new surgery date will be.
One of our favorite places to stay on the coast is in Newport, Oregon, right across the street from the Donald A. Davis City Park and Vietnam Commemorative Walk. This memorial was thoughtfully and beautifully laid out on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean with a walkway with seating all the way down to the shore. My husband and I have enjoyed this scene and beach for 20+ years.
My entry to this month's challenge is a necklace which says "Mystery in Binary" spelled out in binary code: https://www.etsy.com/listing/101255377/mystery-in-binary-necklace-ebwc. It consists of oval pearls, the 'on' buttons and black bugle beads, the 'off' buttons. 
New Years
One of my husband's favorite things to do is to go crabbing with everyone we know. Through many of these beach picnics and crabfests I am very familiar with the anatomy of these beautiful delicious crustaceans. But interpreting a crab into a beaded jewelry item was not something I had given much thought to until now. Their main body is a broad oval, with a slightly raised bumpy rim. My mind kept putting two tiny beaded ovals together for the base and proceeding from there. When the thought of using two oval glass pearls as a center, the beautiful little crab charm came together.
It has been a long time since we have found a glass float wash to shore. It seemed a simple shore, find an appropriate 'float' bead and put a net around it! In a stash of vintage family heirloom beads I found one I would use for a glass float. I was most surprised with the difficulty of getting my 'net' of beads to fit around this bead. Many nets were made and torn out before this feat was accomplished.
Then came seaweed. They or something very like them are frequently depicted in beadwork. I researched to find what kind it is I see waving about just off shore in the ocean and seaports and could not believe how many types of seaweed there are. One website sold prints of ancient drawings of these that were exquisite. The research was great fun but I decided to do a ragged and non-symmetrcial specimen from my own imagination.
All through the other 4 charms I kept thinking of a starfish. Starting something with five points was throwing me a little. My experience with doilies and other bead work made me think it would always turn out round in the end. Finally my experience with picot edging came into play and with a combination of sewing and tear out I was able to accomplish a very life-like starfish - what I mean is he or she is not perfectly symetrical but looks like he or she is moving.
Next was placing the charms on my peyote stitched backdrop. The crab, starfish, glass float and kelp are 'at sea', with the starfish finding the nearest rocky tidepool and the kelp nudging up to shore. The seaweed has freshly washed over some exposed boulders.
Closure was a hurdle I would think about as I progressed through the other elements. I had thought of an anchor and rope of beads but when the ocean wave did not work elsewhere it became part of the closure. In the anchor charm I reinforced the point of the anchor is with a metal finding. It is flexible enough to roll up when brought through the wave.
