Thanks for the comments. Now I just have to figure out what I want. Luv the selection process and just love all the weird, little things she has. Brooke - That is one gorgeous masdie. I've kind of sworn off them, but who knows what the future will bring. Kevin

I am copying & pasting GREAT NEWS from Lynne's hubby, Tom that he posted on Facebook today! Keep those prayers coming, Holiday-ers! Jeanne S. Update 1/11/13 ~LYNNE IS HOME!!!~ Finally, after 24 long, arduous days for both of us, in our own different ways, this hospital ordeal is over! We have to thank Lee and Daniel for the use of their car today so that Lynne could have a more comfortable ride home than our car would have allowed. Lee drove me up this morning, in the fog, mist and rain. As always seems to happen, nothing happens fast in the hospital setting. The pump equipment for the wound vac that Lynne was sent home with was supposed to be at the hospital around 9. At 10:15, they called me to say they were on the way to the hospital with it. Turns out what they delivered was the exact same unit as what she had in the hospital. Definitely not lightweight and portable. More like large and bulky. We'll learn to make due for now, while they decide if the large unit is what we'll be using for the next couple/few months. The pump that runs the TPN nutritional bag is much smaller and more portable, but thankfully, with the feedings for just 12 hours overnight, we won't bee too concerned about mobility except for an occasional bathroom break. We got to the hospital around 11:30 this morning, and were back home around around 4. Meanwhile, our niece Tracey had come over to the house mid-afternoon, not knowing what time the home supplies would be delivered. She had no problem catching up on some recorded episodes of House Hunters while waiting for us to get home. Our daughter Dawn showed up a little after 5 to welcome her Mom home and add to the merriment. Lynne did surprisingly well getting up the few steps into the house, and was just happy to walk into OUR house and straight to the recliner in the family room - the chair she has decided will be her main 'nest' (for now). That's also where she feels she will be most comfortable sleeping at night for the time being. The home health nurse got here around 5:20, and spent a good deal of time going over a lot of paperwork with Lynne, then quite a bit of time checking everything out with Lynne. The supplies arrived right at 6:00 and the Home health nurse then spent a lot of time explaining all the 'stuff' that was in the 2 boxes. Pretty much everything Lynne will need for the next several days. Antibiotics, the nutritional feed, saline and heparin, bandages and tape and batteries and swabs and wipes. We watched as the new smaller pump was hooked up and packed away in it's tote bag, and tonight's feeding had begun. The antibiotics that she gets each night is self infusing, and only has to be attached to her PIC line. I had my first test a short while ago, without anyone here. That was simply to disconnect the antibiotic line, then flush and give the line some heparin. Tomorrow evening will be the real test, though. The home health nurse will be here around 6 again, but I will be the one doing all the work while she watches. I hope I remember most of what she showed me tonight, and do it right :) We have 2 different appointments up in Chapel Hill next week; one on Wednesday and another on Friday. Lynne is hoping that by then she'll be more mobile and stronger, and we can make those trips in our own car...which gives us more charge of our own lives. Until then, we'll slowly, very slowly adjust to this new beginning of another journey. For Lynne, she's so thrilled just to be sitting in her own recliner, in her house, currently with one cat curled up next to her. For me, for the first time in 24 nights, I won't have to go to bed with 2 phones laying beside me, hoping and praying that neither one of them ring during the overnight hours. For us, once again, we're "Celebrating the Day". Thank you once again for all your support, care and concern. As we venture out into this new unknown, we're so happy to know so many have been with us the whole time. It is appreciated, more than you'll ever know.

I checked Lynne's Facebook page and her husband Tom is still doing all the posting on it. Also he'd taken photos of some of the Fall decor that HE did for her this year. And sounds like he'll be doing most of the Christmas as well. I know how Lynne loves to decorate, and Tom said she's taught him well :o). She is getting better, they get out to places and improvement is continuing for her. But very slowly. She was in the hospital and rehab for the better part of a year and its been a long road "back". I don't know any details of why Lynne can't post yet herself, but hopefully she will be able to soon. Tom sounds like a very special husband and you can tell he loves her dearly. I posted to him that we were all thinking about her and sending prayers, and asked him to tell her that. Also told him if he kept decorating so well, we'd be drafting HIM to come over here with us. LOL hugs, Karen

Thanks again everyone, I really appreciate you taking the time to look and your kind comments. Kitchen Detective .. I'm very, very sorry about your hen, I hope she comes home!! Linderhof1208 .. they are Annabelles. I think they probably aren't getting enough light with the huge maple trees we have in our front yard. I figure I'll give them a couple more years, then relocate if I need to. I'm crossing my fingers it works out, they are getting so big and so pretty. Flyleft .. I'd love to relocate to the NC mountains, we spend a lot of time there camping. When the girls are grown and in college my DH and I will probably build a cabin up there. I can understand what you are saying .. it was hard for me to move to NC at first. It was totally different from where we grew up. We moved to a very small southern town where things don't change much and there is not a lot of 'outsiders' moving in. We had very small children, my DH was starting a business and working all the time, we had no family down here# We bought the last ugly house in a pretty neighborhood. I kept telling myself .. this is it, bloom where your planted, ect. Year by year it became easier, with a lot of work we made a home here. The kids grew, do wonderful in school and have loads of friends. I think I grew a lot as a person for it, but it wasn't easy! *LOL* Newdawn, I love Asheville and Boone too! This is what the house originally looked like. It had so many years of crackled paint layered on it we spend a whole summer stripping the wood clapboard siding. One loooooooong, very hot summer sitting on scaffolding in the NC sun, thought I'd die! *LOL* scraping : The first go round on the outside of the house was a 'cheap and cheerful' update, plus we had to fix things that had been left to rot. This allowed us to go inside as address basicalyl every room. The original windows could not be saved and we had to cut down the front columns and build boxes under them .. I'm surprised they were still supporting the roof of the porch. After a good portion of the inside was done, which was a mess in it's self .. it allowed us to do the recent update and put some of the original details back on the house, and also some new .. like new shakes in the same pattern as the original shakes, new straight columns like the original, the original front door. We also put in a brick walk to match the brick patio. As far as the inside .. it was a mess too! Things like this : Went to this .. well after a lot of work! *LOL* From this : To this :