10 Requirements for Having Surgery

Abrial, waiting to answer the door.

1. Freshly groomed standard poodles. Standard Poodles are the Official Greeters For Recovery and must look the part.

Delilah, wondering if Abrial will answer the door THIS time.

2. Fresh haircut and color for patient. Choose a color on the opposite end of the color wheel from green, in case this color appears around the gills. :^P (Picture pending because I can't figure out how to get it off my cell phone.)

3. Toothbrush and full tube of toothpaste. Use liberally when mouth is dry and yucky from pain medication, at least six times in a 12 hour period, causing Private Nurse/Husband to question whether surgery has caused a sudden swing to Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder. (It hadn't - it was the only thing that helped the dryness from the medication.)

4. Fabulous Floral Arrangements, real and not.

Nearest arrangement with gerbera daisies and irises, etc, is from my in-laws, Faye and Bill. The pink/lavender arrangement is from Aunt Louise and Georgia Lee. Aren't my flowers beautiful? They just made me feel so loved!

Tulips are my favorite flowers. These Flaming Parrot Tulips are exquisite! Thanks, Mrs. Faye!

This adorable arrangement is hand-stamped/embossed, cut out, and embellished with beads and buttons and is from my friend, Kassiah. She is SO talented! Thanks, Kassiah. These flowers will never die!

5. Funny Cards to make you Laugh Out Loud, causing Extreme Pain in Incision Site, necessitating #6.

This card is from my Aunt Caryl. It arrived right after my surgery. Aunt Caryl's comment: So fast? It wasn't supposed to be there until Monday when it didn't hurt so much to laugh! You can't see from the scan, but they've photoshopped in Queen Elizabeth. The inside reads "Hope You're Back on Your Feet Soon." The photo simply cracked me up!

6. Cushy pillows for behind head and over incision site. See #5.

Sorry - not my bed - not my pillows. Lacking cat fur and broken mini blinds in the background.

7. Pile of Books and Magazines, for making visitors think you are keeping your mind alive and not watching television during your recovery.

8. Laptop Computer, for keeping up with Support4Homeschool doin's.

9. Movie for Laptop Computer, for use after the visitors who think you're reading go home. (I got Love Comes Softly.)

10. Cat Investigators, to sniff for explosives in flowers, check for poison in your pancakes, and to act as backup in event pressure pillow for incisions cannot be found.

Here's KitKat, practicing the pressure pillow technique on Steve. He is wet because Morgan squirted him with the hose while "helping" clean the ferret cage. It was also Steve who was first to receive the Pancake Inspection from Stewart - yes, all four paws in the syrup. Libby has made herself official flower sniffer, but every time I pick up the camera to catch her in action, she jumps. I guess it is a covert mission. :^D