Quick update

Hi everyone,

It's been a busy few months back at work, in the field, and in the garden. We are currently up to our eyeballs in tomatoes, and have been racing against the clock to get tomatoes processed and the garden weeded before Surgery #3. 

For those of you who haven't heard yet, I finally got the thumbs up for my reversal surgery. This means that the abscess that developed when my anastomosis leaked has healed sufficiently to support reconnecting the plumbing.  

The date is set for September 24th - one week from today! I am told to expect a few days in the hospital, two weeks of major recovery, and then 2-3 months (or more) for my GI tract to sort things out and get into its new groove. As with everything, every body is different, so time will tell what this one wants to do.  

We expect, and hope, things go much more smoothly this time (no pun intended...ah, the return of poop jokes). And, while I'm not really excited, per se, to undergo surgery again, I am looking forward to being pieced back together again, and facing this next phase of healing.  And if I have learned one thing in all this, it is that the body does heal. Quite amazing, really.

For fun, I'll share a few photos that my friend, Rachel, sent me from a hike we did on her recent visit.  Enjoy!

View of The Gorge on a hike with Rach

Visiting a sailboat - I think I should have one of these, someday 

Triple Falls - a well-earned treat

Ponytail Falls

A little late-season garden panorama.  That's our 400 s.f. garden plot. It's hard to see, but note the giant piles of debris that need to be hauled to the compost.  Those sunflowers are taller than me! There are only about 5 tomato plants left standing...there were about 15.  What can I say - I get a little overzealous.