Strawberries on a Warm Day and More Talk

There are fresh, local, sweet, strawberries everywhere this time of year. On Sundays, there's a farmer's market just around the corner from our home. In takes just a few minutes to hold a quart in my hands. We eat them plain, but really, they are so good with added sugar on top of a sweet biscuit with just a dollop of whipped cream. Sigh.

However, rather than indulge in a sweet shortcake, I made this card, using Beautiful You by Altenew and a sentiment from The Stamp Market's Bows For You.

The striped paper is from a digital collection from the company formerly known as Pink Petticoat. It closed up shop, but I was delighted to see that the owner/artist has reopened under the name, The Lovely Studio. Gorgeous designs. Just wish the designs were stamps!  I lightly watercolored right over the striped paper.

MOOD WHEN DONE = Happy to be back stamping. Between health stuff and traveling, I've been out of the loop for way too long.

Speaking of health stuff, it's official. I've turned into someone who pretty much just talks about her health. Mike and I are trying to have "medical talk free days," because, honestly, I am so boring that even I am tired of the subject.

Nevertheless, here I am on the blog talking about it anyway because that's what this anxious person does. The short version is that the medication I took in order to avoid heart surgery ultimately did not work. Surgeries are scheduled for August.

The boring version (warning -- log off now) is that the surgeon will remove a piece of my heart that is blocking some of my blood from going to my lungs. This should make it possible for me to walk without being short of breath. No guarantees that it will be successful, but I am very optimistic. (Or else why would I do this?)

A few days later, there will be a "small procedure" where they'll remove the defibrillator that I had put in last year and put in a pacemaker (and possibly another defibrillator -- I just can't go there right now). The pacemaker is necessary because the first surgery will block the electrical current on the left side of the heart and, since I'm already missing it on the right side, my heart will be unable to beat without a pacemaker (there is some mechanism to keep it going between surgeries). Do I trust medical device companies to keep my heart beating? I'm shocked that my MISTI is still working, so what do you think? Eeeek.

Ok, my mind just wandered into a million other medical facts, so let's end this NOW. I'm thinking some strawberry shortcake would be a great distraction....