Two months ago I had ear surgery and yesterday I had my 3rd follow-up visit with Dr. Cullen, the neuro-otologist who did my tympanoplasty.  This process has been more complicated than I anticipated, but began when, as a child, I had repeated ear infections.  My sister remembers me as a baby screaming in pain.  So, 59 years later in February 2013 I started  a series of persistent infections that caused me to use up all my sick leave at work.  Each one was progressively worse, and by March, while the infections did not appear obvious, a left-sided pounding began in my left ear.  After multiple doctors, including every doc in my primary care group, I saw an ENT who saw a hole in my eardrum.  There was "something" behind it, and he suspected a cholesteatoma.  This required a sub-specialist, and scans: CT, MRI and MRA.  All results were negative and the new doctor, Dr. Cullen, said I was a good candidate for a tympanoplasty.  He was not sure how much repair he would need to do until he got inside.  He could see from the scans that the malleous bone (the hammer) in the middle ear had deteriorated from disease.  He said he would build a new one using otologic cement to replace it.  It took two months to reach this conclusion and by April I was on medical leave. It was an anticlimactic end to my 18 year career with the Shawnee Mission School District, but my coworkers gave me a wonderful luncheon party the week before surgery in May.

One day post-surgery

On May 20 my sister, Jan Schiller, arrived from Florida to look after me for two weeks post-surgery, and on May 21 I went to the Overland Park Surgery Center for the all-morning procedure. The surgery was an incision around the outer ear to fold it out of the way.  A one-inch strip of hair was shaved behind my ear. Once the doctor got in he realized there was a sizable cholesteatoma and the eardrum was beyond repair.  He built me a new one out of some of my ear cartilage.  Amazing! He also replaced the malleous bone with a newly constructed model.  Both the middle and outer ear were packed with surgical packing, much of which dissolved over time, and Dr. Cullen neatly put my ear back together with a tight row of steri-strips and a pressure dressing. The outer dressing came off after 24 hours; after a week the doctor removed the tape and steri-strips revealing a tender, but neat and tidy incision, already beginning to heal nicely. The main thing was "The ear MUST be kept dry... No water in the ear!" I was also not allowed to lift or to bend over.

For 2 weeks Jan helped me wash my hair at the kitchen sink.  I was very sad to see her go and definitely missed her company when she left.  It wan then that I realized I couldn't pick things up off the floor without a deep-knee bend!

Celebratory farewell lunch 

Bill called my straight-postured stoop for using the dishwasher "The Tympanoplasty Dip." For the washing machine I used long tongs like a reacher.

Waterproof ear-gear

At the end of 3 weeks I was able to bend and lift, and I began using antibiotic ear-drops to loosen the packing in the outer ear. To wash my hair I developed a waterproof system of Vaseline covered cotton ball, covered then by Saran Wrap and a slit sandwich bag. Using folds and hair clips I was able to keep my ear dry, and definitely looking forward to being able to wash my hair normally again!

After one month I saw the doctor and he removed the remaining outer ear packing.  Bill was in California for family business and I asked when I could fly just in case I could join him.  He said I was free to fly!  So, within 20 hours I was on a plane to L.A.  Flying and changing altitude in general has always been painful for me.  I just grit my teeth, chew gum, yawn, take decongestants, and wait for the painful popping to end.  This was an amazing trip because in spite of all the fluttering and popping in my left ear, there was no pain - the first time ever! I definitely enjoyed my time in Manhattan Beach, California.

View from The Sea View Inn

And so, here I am 2 months post-surgery. Yesterday I got that much-anticipated clearance to get my ear wet!  I had a normal shower this morning - no ear-gear... It was glorious!  I am not quite done yet, there is still packing inside that dissolves ever-so-slowly over time leaving me with a metallic taste in my mouth. And there is minor tenderness on the top of my outer ear.  The eardrum still feels raw, tender and sore with some discharge now and then, all part of the healing process. I can tell that my hearing has already improved - another amazing outcome since I was at a 50% loss pre-surgery.  I will have another doctor visit in 2 months to check healing and hearing.  Overall, I am thrilled with the outcome.

College Best Friend

This is my friend, Mary, from Alabama.  We met in OT school in 1972 at KU back in the day when all the classes were in Lawrence and we graduated from the school of fine arts (so we could take ceramics and weaving!).  I took advantage of that taking another weaving class,  jewelry and textile arts as my electives.  Mary and I were notoriously cynical and snarky towards many of our more "sincere" classmates, but we also worked hard and earned our OT pins in the end.  While we went different directions in our specialty areas we have stayed close over the years, even more so since she moved to teach at UAB.  Since 2007 we have met nearly every summer in Estes Park CO where our families vacation.  We manage to overlap so we can do a day of crafts and/or a day of lunch/shopping in the touristy downtown.  

Looking this over, a friendship that has spanned 40 years (!), our looks haven't changed that much! We have been through so much over the years, this page is a treasure to me.

Path of Life

Every decade, the path of life. 

This was the first layout I did for the class Twelve.  I have done over 60 so far and I plan to add them as I get feedback from my class gallery at  Big Picture Classes.  Sometimes after I photograph a layout I see ways to improve it.  In this case I later added gold ink to highlight my decades' path.  The color I chose for the topic "Me" is red because it is a bold primary color and if I don't consider myself #1, then I can't go any further exploring my family history and memories. 

I shopped my stash and found a box of "finished pages." It was from a class I took several years ago at The Scrapbook Page, a local scrapbooking store in Shawnee, Kansas.  It was actually a Christmas-themed page, but I like to think outside the box, and just focused on the background color being red.  I added photos and made a few modifications. I am liking the color themes and I can see how the ephemera can bring continuity to the project pages.  Combing through my photos and continuing to find new stashes in various places around the house punctuates my need to further pursue photo organization, i.e. Photo Freedom, with Stacy Julian's Library of Memories.  

Scrapbooking 12

I am pleased to be scrapbooking for myself again. I haven't done much in the past few years & am excited to be taking the online class Twelve from Stacy Julian. Today I completed 5 pages! Cool!

Farewell old friend

Today is a sad day for me. RIP my good old faithful companion, Rocky. Here's to a dog's life well lived & well loved by his people. Almost 14 years old, always grateful to be ours 1997-2011

Rocky came to us from Westlake Hardware Store where Dan was working before he was a senior in high school.  The Humane Society had a pet adoption and I was determined to rescue one of those abandoned dogs.  We still had Cody, the beagle, who was 10 & in bad health.  She was not amused by a puppy, so we kept them apart as much as possible.  Cody lasted one more year.  Rocky became my empty-nest dog.  Always there for me as each of the kids left for college, marriage, jobs.  He was such a good dog... There will be a huge hole in our lives for a while.  I was honored to have the privilege of Rocky in my life.  

Best friends

Today I enjoyed a wonderful day with my best friend from college, Mary.  We never seem to run out of things to discuss and places to explore.  To gain inspiration we are considering artist trading cards as a new form of creativity.  I am going to explore this further.

The rain did not dampen our enthusiasm for the day.  Carpe diem!

Day 7 New Year's Eve ~ Going home

Friday 31 December 2010


This was a travel day, so we were up early and ready to go.  We crammed everything into carry-ons again since we were worried about making it through Charlotte to connect to Kansas City in time.   One suitcase zipper on an outer pocket broke, oh well!  Our delightful breakfast maid, Shanti, said "Oh mama, you leaving today?! You come back, I take care of you!" with hugs and kisses on both cheeks.  So sweet!  Our concierge had arranged a car for us.  It turned out to be a Mercedes minivan - NICE!  Our Thai driver was very talkative.  He grew up in Paris, had never been to the US and hated museums.  After we quickly ran out of common ground it was a quiet ride to the airport in the dark.

The airport definitely looked more normal than when we arrived (deserted with abandoned luggage & chained exits on 26 December).  Bill and I both lost items in security that made it through previously: my very nice, and little scissors I had forgotten about - they were buried in my yarn; and a small container of body powder.  They were quite stringent, diligent and humorless.  ("These are forbidden," she said frostily)  Also, sadly, we lost a jar of fig jam that was too large.

Bill's POV:
The SwissTech made it through security from Kansas City via Charlotte and Paris and back to KC. Had it attached to my keys, no problem.
The fig jam I purchased in Paris, however, perished at the first security inspection. "Do you have jam?" asked the officious man in the blue blazer. I readily confessed.


It was a long flight, but still, much preferable to fly during the day (than overnight).  We enjoyed the in-seat entertainment systems with movies, TV, GPS to follow the flight (fascinating!) and live international news texts.  We read there was a major winter storm in the US Midwest, but that could mean anywhere from Ohio to Minnesota to Missouri... 


We made it through customs and security once again in Charlotte.  Bill's suitcase was thoroughly searched, probably because of the 5 Salt canisters he had neatly, but suspiciously, lined up along the edge of the main compartment.  He had to repack the entire contents.  We talked to Katie while waiting for our plane ~ it was Minnesota affected by the storm; she was snowed in at her in-laws home in Perham.  Fortunately, Kansas City was spared!  We had the most amazing weather karma on this trip!


After retrieving luggage and being shuttled to our car, Bill went to Hen House for deli chicken and salad.  So, at the end of a 23-hour day (being awake) we were sound asleep on New Year's Eve by 10:00pm.  

Happy New Year 2011!

Day 6 Being Tourists

Today's objectives: Relax, do some shopping & enjoy our last full day in Paris.

We pretty much "hit the wall" after the last several days of metro & museum hopping.  We thought about going to Versailles, but it would be better viewed in the spring or summer when you could walk the grounds.  We saw a representative room in Musée d'Orsay and we got the idea of the grand opulence we would expect to see.  Another idea was to find a shop where Julia Child frequented, E.Dehillerin, and even figured out what route to take...  But, we were bushed!  We crossed Pont Marie to  Ile de la Cité and walked around Notre-Dame.  It was our first and only sunny day and there were huge lines around the cathedral.  We passed on that crowded venue and strolled to ...

...La Conciergerie (where Marie Antoinette was jailed) and Sainte Chappelle adjacent.  But again, there were lines around the block.  So, we just waled around the island and saw the sights from the outside.  It was cool and brisk, but beautiful out.  We enjoyed the views of the Seine - the boats, the bridges and the Louvre (across the river), and all the charming buildings: window-boxed, balconied apartments as far as the eye can see.  Simply lovely!

We stopped for deli "pizza," hung out in the hotel and did some shopping.  The pizza was a thin crust LOADED with tomatoes, veggies and a little bit of cheese.  

So much just screamed TACKY Paris and/or were overpriced, naturally.  We got a handful of Eiffel Tower keychains and some chocolates from the store next to the hotel.  

I was after the winter scarves, all the rage in Paris for men and women.  Bill, shopping with me, said "Buy that one," after I fingered half a dozen in one store.  Clearly this was not like shopping with a girl.  I also picked up a matching reversible TOC! set, a looped, double-sided fleece head/neck wrap that can be manipulated into different configurations, plus fingerless gloves.  By the end of the day all we wanted was a scoop of the very popular Bertillon ice cream, heavenly.  

We kept passing this very snooty store with jersey & lace wraps... it drew me in and I succumbed to the urge and bought one.  SO Touristy!

Bill's POV:

12/20/2010 Ile de la Cité, shopping on Ile St-Louis 

Pretty much hit the wall with walking and rich French cooking.  Lines at Sainte Chappelle and the Conciergerie were quite long, so we opted for shopping and a quiet day without much in the way of food.  

Day 5 Musée d'Orsay

I woke up the morning of Wednesday 29 December and said "We haven't seen the Eiffel Tower,  Arc de Triomphe or Place de la Concorde (site of the guillotine)..." So, we got ready for a day of sight-seeing after another beautiful breakfast served to us by the delightful lady, Shanti, who called me Mama ("Mama, you like?): pain au chocolat & raspberry conserve, fresh orange juice, coffee & cream, and more!

We hopped on the Métro and headed out to Place de la Concorde, which is a huge square and where you can see all the sites by standing and turning around 360 degrees. You can look down the Champs-Élysées through the Arc de Triomphe. The Ferris Wheel of Paris (Grande Roue de Paris) is also there, but it was so foggy all day you couldn't see past the base of the Eiffel Tower.

We walked the length of the Jardin des Tuileries, that must be beautiful in the spring & summer, and crossed the Seine to ...

... Musée d'Orsay
 

The art is in a renovated train station - It was all so beautiful I came close to tears ~ a glorious hall with an enormous gilded clock at one end.  It was filled with art by Renoir, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Degas, Rodin... Amazing!!  No photos were allowed, but we had each taken a couple before we realized this.  I bought a souvenir book as a remembrance.  

After we toured the museum we were quite thirsty & hungry, but the museum restaurants had very long lines so we took off walking, ending up at Brasserie Terminus Nord where our 30€ lunch included my "Coke" for 6.90€, which is around $10! All we could do was laugh... The bread and cheese was so wonderful, though, and it was such as fun, bustling cafe.  It was the best Coke I've ever had :)

Since we were right across from the Louvre, we crossed the river and went back to find da Vinci's painting The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne.  I thought I looked for it diligently during our 1st visit, but was sad to discover it is not currently being shown.   

 We then got completely lost in Sully, in the Medieval Louvre and huge Egyptian collection. We were up and down stairs over and over...  We were completely DONE!  We had a lemonade, then, thanks to Bill's cane, we got a ride in the coolest open-air elevator up the Pyramid to exit (check out the video!).  Bill's lift & cane helped us line-jump every huge museum cue.  As the week progressed, the crowds got larger (closer to New Year's Eve).  I mastered the "concerned wife" look to avoid any disgruntled non-believers...

For dinner we returned to Le Flore en L'Ile for a repeat of French onion soup, bread, cheese and wine.  We are not tiring of that repast!  Relaxing and lovely end of the day.

Bill's POV:

Place de la Concorde - Orsay - Brasserie Terminus - Louvre

Site of execution by guillotine!  Could not tell about its past.  Orsay is a stunning collection of Impressionist era paintings and sculpture.  They did more in sculpture in marble than I had known, mostly with classical themes.  Cafe was a classic busy and crowded place, very good,café crème in a soup bowl (size large for an American?). Louvre was a maze of Egyptian artifacts.  

Day 4 The Latin Quarter

Tuesday's objectives: See the Rodin museum, the Church of the Miraculous Medal & find La Maison Du Chocolat for the Chocolate & Pastry walking tour

December 28 we thought of Colin - Happy Birthday from Paris!  On this day we were all over the Latin Quarter, the Left Bank - it is huge! We took the Metro and learned how to change lines, following the signs by color, number and destination.  We started our day at the Rodin museum which has The Thinker in the garden and The Kiss inside the hotel that was his home.  He was a prolific sculptor and a master of sculpting the human body in marble. I must admit, while I admire the artistry I am not a huge fan, whereas this was a touchstone moment for Bill who loves sculpting and it was a big reason for him to even be in Paris.  My summary comment... marble porn.  OK, that's a bit strong, but some of the sculptures I had never seen before and I found myself imagining how these erotic poses came to be...  Anyway, he is hugely popular and did some amazing work.  For someone with zero depth perception (me) it is unfathomable how someone can create works of art from hunks of rock.  

Bill's POV: 

Musée Rodin, Metro ride to Varennes Station.  Rodin was clearly a prolific sculptor and designer.  Elise said he was a dirty old man.  Probably so.  His sculptures are certainly a departure from the classical styles at the Louvre.  

We next took the Métro to the area close to where the Chocolate & Pastry Tour start ~ a gift to us from Dan & Ann.  First we went Le Bon Marché, a large Nieman-Marcus-type department store (nice restrooms).

Then to Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, the church of St. Catherine Labouré ~ a beautiful chapel with a simple gift shop run by the convent nuns. Lovely.  

Then we went to La Grande Epicerie ~ a fabulous grocery store.  It took a while to find a simple bottle of water, plus a sandwich to share & some take-home goodies.  We were too cold to wait outside for the tour, so we slipped into a little restaurant for coffee - perfect.

Bill's POV:

From the Rodin museum, we took the train to Sèvres-Babylone.  We walked to Le Bon Marché, a department store, a bit pricey. From Le Bon Marché, across the street is the chapelle Notre-Dame de la Médaille Miraculeuse.  This is the convent Saint Catherine Labouré joined and the site of her apparitions.  Next stop was La Grande Epicerie, for sure the most interesting grocery store I have ever seen.  We bought a sandwich to share and 5 Sel Gris as gifts back home for the kids (and two for us). 

Pastry Tour:
2:00pm (14:00) We met our group outside La Maison du Chocolat ~ Not quite sure what the guide's name was ~ He was très French, so his English was with a heavy accent.  He was quite knowledgeable about the area and the various shops.  I lost count, but we sampled or took samples with us of chocolate éclair, infused chocolates,...

...sourdough bread and shortbread cookies, ...

 

...AND macarons, which are all the rage here in Paris - light & airy cookies with a filling to hold them together.  Wonderful!

The neighborhoods were quite urban with upscale shopping and fabulous architecture ~ buildings, now mostly apartments ~ from the 1800s.  There was one "Where's Bill?" moment when he disappeared from the group, but then caught up with us having slipped into a jewelry store to buy me a bracelet... or, perhaps just to warm up, but the bracelet was a sweet surprise.  

We also saw an historic hotel: Hôtel Lutetia and Saint-Sulpice church, one of the churches from "The da Vinci Code" movie.  Quite an experience all 'round.  Thanks, Dan & Ann!

It was a cold, misty Paris afternoon, but we again managed the Métro & gratefully came "home" to Hotel de Lutece ~ a welcome, warm site to rest our tired feet! 

We enjoyed a lovely dinner at Sens'o Italian restaurant, a delicious 3-course dinner.  It was a big food day!

Bill's POV:

The pastry tour started across from a café where we had café crème while waiting.  La Maison du Chocolat seems to be one of the more famous of the many chocolate shops in Paris, a great place to start the tour.  From there we went to a bakery.  Across from the bread shop, I stumbled into a jewelry store called Metal Pointu's.  The bracelet I bought is metal with a bit of Oriental marking on it, 32 Euros, a gift for Elise.  From there, we went to Pierre Hermé a maker of "Macarons." These are a sort of cookie and candy combined to make a very nice treat.  They are available in many flavors.  They look like little bitty hamburgers.  Since the weather was cold and had become drizzly, we headed to the Saint-Sulpice Métro and went back to the hotel.