HOW MANY WAYS CAN YOU SAY THANKS?

I could think of so many titles for this post… some you would get, some would be inside jokes.
All would have been heart felt. 

If you read my blog you know I am injured. That is the only word I can think of.
 
I thought my ankle was better, now I think the injury was worse than I originally thought.
I have missed 3 houses and one today where they had light problems.
   
My ANKLE! I have iced it, kept it up, stayed off of it and all the rest.  I am good at none of the above, so my only alternative is to take a pain pill and sleep. Yesterday that is what I did.

Yesterday about 3 PM Head Elf Terri arrived…

and then Elf Liz ( who originally took me to the ER…and has been a constant encourager)

   Then Elves Robin and Sheri

   
Then my sweet neighbors, Mike and Shoni( and my new ELF)

Then my sweet friend PAM (who has to be the most giving person I know) arrived with hot soup, her special cornbread, and homemade brownies for everyone

All here to decorate my house..
This was the only year I had not decorated early that I can ever remember..
Always in October…
They were still here at midnight…get that…midnight..I slept through it all.
 
I knew if I were up I would be working.  What tree decorator can sit while someone else decorates trees.
 
I fix trees in restaurants and doctors offices as discreetly as I can.
 
The only two elves I even saw last night were Terri and Liz..
Liz needed my laptop for the Mickey display from last year and Terri and I talked for a minute when she first got here…


I could hear laughing.  It sounded like a great party I was missing (the jokes were probably dust they were finding)!


I could hear vacuuming around midnight…who stays at someone's house until midnight on the first day they have had off in a long time plus knowing they had a long tree day today and it was looking doubtful that I would be there.

My foot is swollen, its black,(I mean all of it)!
  
It is now coming up the back of my leg. NEVER again will I take an ankle for granted.

I am beginning to wonder if its broken and it was too swollen to tell the night I had it X-rayed.

I don’t consider myself a wimp. I have worked sick plenty of times over the  years, but the ankle has stopped me.

I can’t wear the boot.

I cannot find anything that stabilizes it enough for me to stand on it and you have to pretty much stand and bend to decorate trees.

Trust me I have tried to figure out a way.  And as hard as I tried I could not stand long enough to do it.


When I got up to get water about 1 AM  this morning there was not one big tree, there were trees everywhere…magazine worthy trees.


I had told the elves they could use anything in my shop…and there are trees everywhere…gorgeous trees, big trees, gorgeous mantle.

Every nook and cranny decorated.
 
From my couch I can sit and see 8 trees.(I promise pictures tomorrow)

I have been banned from getting up so I can’t really get any good shots.

My outside is not decorated this year…first time in 39 years, but if you can get past the front door, its winter wonderland..

To most people that would be nice and you would appreciate it. But that is not what it means to me.
  
To me it was the greatest gift anyone could give me. I don’t want that to come across dramatic. 

I was just so sad to leave beautiful homes everyday and come home to no trees.
 
I love Christmas lights and Christmas music.

I love Christmas cards and Christmas letters.

I love cold nights where the only light comes from trees and the fireplace.

I love trees, themed trees and old fashioned trees.
I love the smells of Christmas, children at Christmas, Christmas Eve services.

In my job many times that all blurs and this year it was getting very blurry.

Making it more special is that it was done by “tired elves” that had their own families trees to do, on a night they could have gone shopping, watched TV or done a million other things. Instead they served me. 

It was a gift I  will never forget. 

To everyone of you that helped last night a huge HUG and THANK YOU!

That friends is Christmas.

I have not bought a gift..that too is very unusual for me. I am depending on Mr. Online to help me tonight.
 
Don’t forget to comment here or on A Baby Changes Everything…My best giveaway of the year is this week!


Thanks for all the well wishes…If you have any suggestions for “speed the healing on a very ugly ankle”, please send them!!

Promise to be back with pictures tomorrow!


Must add one funny...they took all my everyday stuff up and in that was a brass urn with Annah's ashes...I keep them in a cabinet behind some books...They were gone...I panicked...Had they not known it was Annah and piled it in with a bunch of other stuff...Finally  found them with some candlesticks.  My sweet cocker spaniel of 17 years, my faithful friend, took a ride last night around the house. 

DO NOT MISS THE GIVEAWAY and A LAUGH

I just posted a great giveaway on the holiday blog…Do not miss it. 

Go here now and leave a comment and you will have two chances.  

Plus there are new pictures of another home we decorated. 


And now for your laugh of the day…Amanda found Jack like this today.


His RESPONSE was HE JUST WANTED TO BE RUDOLPH.

 

AFTER 17 YEARS IN THE TREE BUSNESS, AN ACCIDENT AND MORE PICTURES

If you missed this post, be sure and start there and see the beautiful pictures of the Hinton home.  This post will be full of more pictures of the same home.

 I guess I better share that I am
out of commission for several weeks. 

After seventeen years of no injuries, yesterday that changed.  We were at one of my longtime dear friends and clients and I had gone to the garage to put some empty boxes to take to the attic.  Just a normal thing we do everyday. 

We were about 50% finished with the house.  Somehow I missed the step that went down into the garage and in trying to break my fall ( I did fall) I turned my ankle or so I thought. 

I came back in the house, not in much pain, and went back to work on the tree.  I  casually said "Dang I fell in the garage" and at that point I had not even looked at my ankle.  We all looked at the same time and all felt instant nausea. It looked U.G.L.Y.

  It looked like I had a 10 pound tumor on my ankle and it was continuing to swell and turn blue.  Fortunately for me we were working at an orthopedic surgeons home.  He came home a few minutes later and checked it out...

I was still working on the tree and determined to keep working until he said I was going to the ER as in NOW. 

He called ahead to another orthopedist and he met me at the hospital.  Bill was thinking I might need surgery and maybe a pin put in...Not what I wanted to hear...

Long story short, it was not broken but a 4th degree sprain and some torn tendons and ligaments.

I have a soft cast to my knee for 10 days and then a walking boot for 3 weeks...Do the math! That means through Christmas.  We are down to 5 houses and the elves are totally able to do them...

I am going to work on one next week on a limited basis..I sure have new empathy for those on crutches...I really am horrible walking on them.  Today was the first tree I ever missed during a tree season. 

So I will be fine, I will be frustrated ( I cannot drive for a month) I will probably do things I am not suppose to, I will whine, I will do all my shopping online, and I will be so thankful when elves show up to decorate my house.  So that's the story and it is what it is.

Now enjoy more shots from this beautiful house. 

more pics:)

Now Move over To A Baby Changes Everything to see EVEN more GREAT pictures of this house.