Judy's surgery began at 7:50 am on September 1st.

Earlier this summer she started to experience extreme discomfort, constantly feeling full and bloated even on an empty stomach. Her appetite radically diminished and after a month without any relief, she checked in with her doctor and an ultrasound was scheduled. A 10 inch wide tumour was found on one of her ovaries. From there she was subjected to a battery of tests which led to surgery 6 weeks later... 

My brave Mom minutes before they took her into the O.R., both of us giggling about the head cap they put on her. Three hours later, the Surgeon called and said the operation was a success, however the tumour looked "very worrisome". We would have to wait almost a month before the results would come back, but at least the operation was complete and Judy was on the road to recovery.  

And boy, did she recover quickly! This was her just 4 days after surgery, back home and sitting up, all *sparkles*. I brought these sweet homemade gifts over from our friend's kids. This picture makes me so happy. :)

Since then, we have received the results of the pathology and to the amazement of the Surgeon (and us), the tumour was benign. They also took biopsies around the area to test and everything is clear. It's really the best case scenario; it feels a little like a miracle!

The whole experience has been quite extraordinary. All of our family and friends gathered around in love and support. There was so much light and compassion during that scary stretch and I feel closer to my Mom and to our wonderful network of friends and family than ever before. Journeys like this shift your perspective, change your priorities and sift out what is truly important in life. And then to know that it is all going to be okay, there's a tremendous amount of gratitude on the wings of that news.  

Mom's surgery was scheduled at the same time Chris, myself and his family had planned to drive to Benito, Manitoba to lay Chris' Grandma's ashes at her grave site. I had to decline to stay with my Mom, but they sent us a photo the night before surgery from Swan River - 

Cheers to Judy! And to Grandma Mable!

While waiting for the news, we consciously tried to live each day in the moment instead of projecting into the anxiety of the unknown.  For me, I always find the best way to do that is to spend time in nature, so often in the mornings, I went out into the park to watch the trees subtly change and enjoy the softness of the fall sun - 

Below, the tree line at the river's edge at the beginning of September and at the end of September - sublime:

Chris and I went on an outdoor "sketching" date too - 

We plan to make this a regular thing to work our creativity in a different way. I hope one of the side effects will be better control at the torch. :)  

One morning, we went for a walk along "Accidental Beach" to find out what all the hullaballoo was about... still don't know, but it was rather quiet that day.

Before September closed, we also made our way onto the river for our last canoe trip. We wanted to bid farewell to the old Walterdale bridge (the small one) and hello to the new one (right behind) - 

It was a stellar day with the calm water, a vibrant blue autumn sky and yellowy orange river banks -

And it isn't September without a bratwurst picnic (or three). Fun times in the forest with Mom, Chris and my sisters, Pam and Nancy - 

Our neighbours have also been growing peppers and earlier this summer we decided we should have a chilli cook off this September using each of our own peppers. We had such a fun night, capped off with a fire and Chris and my chilli narrowly beat out our neighbours' so a rematch is in the works next year -

One other highlight this September was a chance to meet up with my dear friend, Tricia who lives 3 hours south of here. We picked a gorgeously sunny day and met halfway in Red Deer at the Heritage Ranch for lunch on the patio followed by a long walk with little Sully, her sweet boy.

Can you tell I took advantage of the fall weather? Secretly, I was feeling guilty about spending more time outside than in my studio, but I did manage to get back into the swing of things and I'm really excited about a new line. Here's a sneak peek at a recently made necklace - 

I've been focusing on "magical" hearts, it just seems fitting right now and we are calling these Unicorn Hearts as a reminder to believe in the extraordinary. If you like this, there are more in the works.

xo ~ Carrie and kisses from Mickey too. :)