With This Many Crowns, I Should Be a Princess

The saga of dental difficulties relating to the replacement of the bad crown on one of my upper incisors is finally, mercifully, almost over!  

It all started in 2012 ... yes, five years ago.  (I told you about it at that time in THIS post.)  Summary of the saga is:  faulty crown extracted, bone grafts (twice) trying unsuccessfully to get a good substrate for dental implant, crown prep for three-tooth bridge with a not-so-awesome temporary, one gum graft, and a lot of healing time allotted in between procedures.  In addition these difficulties, last summer I left the dentist that has been caring for my teeth for 30+ years.  Her practice grew too large and impersonal, and I felt like a source of income instead of a patient.  It was time for me to move on.

Fast forward to October of last year:   Went to my periodontist for an evaluation and asked him for a recommendation for a new dentist.  Without hesitation he had a suggestion ... told me that he thought that it was a great match for my personality and that I would be happy there.  Turns out that I am happy ... very happy, as a matter of fact.

Dr. Dana Culda practices general dentistry, and specializes in prosthodontics and cosmetic dentistry.  She evaluated the condition of ALL of my teeth, and came up with an awesome plan.  In addition to finishing the bridge on the one side of my upper arch, she recommended that I crown the three teeth on the opposite side.  Her recommendation was based on the fact that those three teeth had decades-old composite fillings whose margins were failing, which led to decay in places that no amount of dental hygiene could prevent.  Doing all of this work at the same time would result in the best possible aesthetic outcome.  My husband and I talked it over, and we agreed to proceed with Dr. Culda's plan.

This is the model of what my teeth will look like when they're all finished.  Even though it's a lot of work, and expense, I'm really excited to get on with this.

Yesterday was the big day ... a VERY long appointment to prep my teeth for their new look!  Here is the bed-head, no make-up, unedited Before photo ... the first time I have showed this ... and the last look I had at that stained temporary bridge on the left and my natural teeth on the right.

This morning, my mouth is sore but fine.  Dr. Culda is a perfectionist, and she took incredible care to make sure that each tooth was prepared perfectly, that impressions were perfect, and that my temporary teeth are as perfect as possible.  Want to see?  (Scroll down and prepare yourself for another bed-head, no makeup selfie.)

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

I love this more than I can adequately express in words ... even though my upper lip and nose are puffy and sore, it's an incredibly-huge improvement!!  

In three weeks, I have an appointment to try the final bridge and crowns.  I can't wait to finally be finished with this ... especially because having beautiful teeth again is going to be the amazing outcome!

In the Kitchen Window

I often stand at the kitchen sink, staring out at the view toward the back of our property.  From here, we see the Greenhouse, Shack, Garage, my trusty pick-up truck, and the Barn.  (I also see lots of soggy ground, because we got a whole bunch of rain yesterday.)  What I don't see, however, is much of the garden ... weird, I know.

Looking down onto the windowsill (which is 12" deep) is like my own private game of Seek & Find ... you know, those photos where the idea is to look for certain objects in a composition of lots and lots of items.

I see:  three orchids, a spiderplant, a vacuum-type wine stopper, two thermometers, a whole bunch of paintbrushes, a toothbrush, two paint stirrers, nail clippers, and a cactus.  This assortment appears to accurately represent the mess of stuff that also accumulates in my brain ... seemingly unrelated stuff that all has a common theme.  In this case, it's stuff that I use (paintbrushes, nail clippers, wine stopper) along with stuff that needs to be here (all of the plants).

(Notice that two of the orchids have flower spikes!!  They're Cymbidiums, impulse purchases from Trader Joes, and they reliably rebloom at this time each year ... despite my ignorance at how exactly to properly care for them.)

In winter, staring out the window is how I get most of my exposure to outdoors ... it's too cold most days to do as much outside as I would like to.  This window, and the one in the dining room further down this wall, have my favorite views.  

What's your favorite place to stand and stare out the window, and what do YOU see?

Winnie's Gotcha Day

Three years ago, a friend shared this photo on Facebook.  As soon as I saw it, I knew that this tiny, geriatric little dog was supposed to be ours.

Winnie's appearance has changed a lot since then.

Day one with us.

A recent photo.

What hasn't changed is her feisty attitude, and amazing spirit.

Barking at the doorbell.

Surveying her yard.

Reluctantly modeling her Christmas sweater.

I credit these changes to good food, lots of love, and giving her the chance behave like a dog.

Leaving the spot that I swept for her, to go poop in the snow.

Barking, again.

Walking at Hollywood Cemetery.  "Stop taking pictures and come on, Mom."

Rolling on something 'fragrant'.

I never saw myself as the type of person who could have a little dog.  Winnie changed this, with her big dog personality in that little dog body.

Happy Gotcha Day, Winnie!

(As I was gathering these photos, I was amazed at number of sweaters in Winnie's wardrobe.  All of these are knit from a pattern that I designed, available for free HERE.)