Good News & Bad News

I am sitting in front of the computer with a ginormous mug of tea.  This is, in fact, part of the good news - it has been a very busy day so far, including a meeting with the Administration of the Hospital before work.  I have a few minutes now that I have collected J from the bus stop & fixed her a mango lassi before I need to fetch L from Basketball practice.

On arrival home from work, I noted 3 men standing around our cistern manhole.  It seems that since the Well Driller has been unable to drill, he has temporarily replaced the pump in our current well (that has always recovered and produced adequately during the winter), so we are once again on line with Poplar Ridge water!  (And just in time too...it was my turn to haul water this week!)

The first thing that I did when I came inside was flush the toilets.  Although we will lighten the water rationing, I don't think we will abandon our conservation altogether.  In fact, when I told JP and J the news, JP said that he wants to continue collecting the shower water (we run it into a bucket until it is warm enough to stand under, and then use that water to flush toilets), and J said that she will probably never take a "regular" shower again.  (And then she burst into song, singing "You've made a Mennonite out of me!"  to a "Mulan" tune.)

Unfortunately, when I took Stella outside after all of the well water excitement, I noted a dead hen in the chicken yard.  Over the past 3 months, I have been systematically checking the hens as we have some very poor layers right now.  I have put one hen at a time into solitary confinement (it's actually quite cozy, with nest boxes, roosts and her own food & water - just no outside access for a couple of days) in the other side of the chicken house for up to 4 days.  If she lays 3 or more eggs in that time, I band her right leg with a white band, 2 or less gets a black band, and 2 and/or soft/ugly eggs gets a blue band.  This one had a black band, which means that she would be one of the half dozen that we planned to butcher and eat yet this winter.  I've actually noticed a hen acting strangely - sitting in unusual places - for the past couple of days, so I'm assuming this was the same one, and I'd rather not eat her if she was sick anyway!  We will be getting new peeps in the Spring, and the rest of our old hens will "retire" to our freezer by next Fall regardless.  It may seem cruel, but it's our way of being self sufficient, and these ladies (although I find them delightful to watch) are by no means pets.

My neck wound is healing up very nicely.  I have gotten tired of wearing scarves when I am out in public, and both my patients and the general public have been kind enough not to comment on my uncovered neck.  I am still unable to sing, which is a bit frustrating.  I sound like an old hound dog if I try to sing along to Pandora or the radio, so what used to be fun is now kinda embarrassing.  I think it will improve with time, but I'm not known for my abundant patience.

I don't know if I mentioned that our cooktop died right before Christmas?  This one was just a month older than 2 years.  JP ordered a new one right away, and that arrived just a couple of days later.  Dad helped us figure out that the last 2 cooktops were wired wrong.  That may partially explain why we've already gone through 2 in 9 years!  Our past induction cooktops have been fabulous and one thing we really liked about them was the rapid heating.  This one however, is taking close to 8 minutes to boil a quart of water, when we were used to 2 1/2 minutes in the past.  I'm not sure what the issue is, but it's a little disappointing - maybe not bad news, just "meh."

We still have no gas in the house.  Luckily we are able to do without for the time being.  We are not using the furnace, as the outdoor wood burner is supplying all the heat we need.  There are 2 gas burners in the kitchen for "emergencies", but we haven't had any lack of electricity emergencies lately (knock on wood!)  The water heater is also fueled by gas, but we have a back up system that is electric.  It seems that the gas people will be out in the near future to replace the regulator, so this should also soon be a problem of the past.

And the final bad news is that I have effectively squandered my "free time", and I must close and head out after L.  Here's wishing you a January that is not bleak, and filled mostly with good news!

Merry Post-Op

Here we are on the cusp of the new year, and I am finally getting around to posting about all the happenings on and off the ridge over the past couple of weeks.

My thyroid surgery went well on the 22nd.  I had a drain in immediately after surgery, and they needed to check my calcium serially to determine that I didn't have parathyroid issues, so I stayed overnight.  The surgeon was in bright and early the following morning to pull the drain and report that the calcium levels were ok, so I was able to head home by 10:30 or so.

I didn't have very much pain, but it was uncomfortable to eat and swallow for a couple of days.  We decided to go ahead with Christmas dinner with my parents on Christmas day:  beef tenderloin, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, tossed salad with mandarin oranges and cranberries, and a flaming plum pudding for dessert!  The girls enjoyed opening their presents in the morning.


It took a while to get pictures...

Girls & Stella in their Christmas jammies

 We ventured out on Monday for me to have blood drawn again at the Hospital - still ok.  I see the surgeon back next week.

L turned 11 on Tuesday.  She helped me make the ice cream on Monday (Chocolate Hazelnut), and the cake on Tuesday morning (Tres Leches.)  We went out for Indian food with my parents that evening, and then returned for cake and ice cream (delicious) and presents.  I think she had a good time!

 

On Wednesday we watched Star Wars episode IV in tribute to the late Carrie Fisher.  Consequently we have watched the next 2 episodes over the next 2 days!  We had our friend, C, out for the day, and the girls spent several hours playing with their new chess set.  Snow was forecasted, so JP put the snow plow and chains on his lawn tractor, and hauled water again.

 

Speaking of water, the well drilling men were out for a couple of hours on Tuesday afternoon.  Apparently the water pump on the rig had frozen, and they were waiting for parts.  Once they arrived, they fixed the rig, and fired it up momentarily...haven't seen them since...

We got about 3+ inches of snow overnight last night.  The girls, Stella & I spent a couple of hours playing in it this morning. 

J and her Snow Totoro

 

L and her Snow Fort
 

It is cozy here in the house, sipping cocoa and watching Star Wars VI.  We have plenty of water, and plenty of wood, so we are set for awhile...not that we are snowed in, the temps are due to rise into the 40's tomorrow!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to you all!

Regrets

Lately I have been regretting that I ever had this surgery on my hand.  I assumed that I would bounce back quickly and without issues, and that hasn't proved to be the case.  My recovery has been very slow, and less than a week after I was given free reign to garden 2 handed, I had a major set back.  I went back to see my surgeon this week, and it seems that I have now developed tendonitis in a different part of my thumb.  There is a lump the size of a large blueberry in my palm that is exquisitely tender to touch...meaning that anything I hold in that hand causes pain.  Again.  He injected it with steroids, and promised that it should "feel pretty good" by the weekend.

Sigh.

I normally would be manically gardening by this point:  broad forking, digging, weeding, sweating, and loving every minute of it.  Of course, my hand would REALLLLLLY be hurting while I did all of that too.

Sigh.

After work today I decided to take the dogs for a walk since I missed exercising this morning.  I walked through the woods, and kept an eye out under the trees for morels (didn't see any!)  It was sprinkling when we got back, and let loose once the girls got off the school bus.

I may not be able to garden right now, but I can still appreciate what is growing!  The Redbud looks like a pink cloud through the trees.

The ferns are beginning to unfurl.

 

This striking Jack-in-the-Pulpit was growing on a path that JP routinely mows, so I moved it to my flower bed.  More and more of them come up every year!

 

My shade bed is extremely colorful right now, with 2 varieties of bleeding hearts, and Heuchera 'Tiramisu'.

 

This has been an extremely busy week, and luckily the girls have a half day tomorrow, so we can start our weekend early.  I am counting on the surgeon being correct about feeling pretty good, and have asked JP to get a truck load of mulch for the flower beds.  I regret not having done it already!

Released

I returned to see my hand surgeon on Friday morning.  He proclaimed my hand "healed", and said that I no longer needed to wear the hand brace.  "Now don't go home and roto-till the garden!"  he said.  I tried to get a list of specific no-no's from him, but he basically said that I can't really damage my hand, but depending on what I do, it might hurt.  If I would continue to wear the brace, he informed me, my hand will just continue to get more and more weak.

I have noticed, and been a bit concerned about how small and withered and pathetic my left hand has been looking during its short periods of time out of the brace lately.

I arrived home on Friday just in time to receive a box of 6 replacement fruit trees for the orchard, as well as 3 red raspberry bushes and 25 strawberry plants (also replacements.)  I figured that was a sign for me to try out 2 handed gardening once again.

As much as I wanted to plant EVERYTHING on Friday afternoon.  I did not.  I paced myself, and planted the raspberries and 2 trees on Friday.  I filled several buckets with compost that has been on the pile for over a year...lovely, dark, fine soil it had become too!  This went into every hole that I dug and around some of the other established trees as well.

Saturday I planted the remainder of the trees, and hung 3 loads of laundry out to dry in the sunshine.  The girls had a friend over, and spend the entire day out in the sunshine drawing in chalk on the driveway, and creating a music video.  JP got the riding mower working, and mowed for a couple of hours.  Saturday evening, I have to be honest, my hand was painful and swollen.  I put an ice pack on it for awhile, and took Aleve.

By Sunday I was feeling good enough to plant the strawberries.  JP and I got out the hammocks.  The girls rocked in the hammock and sang at the tops of their lungs.  It clouded over and the wind picked up.  The girls got out their kites, and we flew them for close to an hour until the rain seemed quite imminent.

 

We retired to the house, and snuggled up for a movie together, while the rain came down.  Sadly, the chalk drawings are a thing of the past!  I took Aleve again, but the hand is not too bad today!

It feels odd to use my left hand again.  I played 4 Square with the girls on Friday evening, and realized that I was doing it one handed without thinking.  I still stop and think before picking things up, not sure if I can do it with my left hand.  It is very weak, and I can't hold things very well between my thumb and fingers.  The entire side of my thumb down to the wrist is still numb, so it feels strange to touch and hold things.  Certain movements/actions still hurt, yes, just as much or more than before surgery.  I'm hoping that this is still recovery type pain, and not lasting pain though.  Overall, I'm glad I overcame my fears and had this done.  I'm looking forward to many more years of 2 handed, (relatively) pain free gardening!

The Great Unveiling

Today I got thrown headfirst back into the Real World.  Last week is something of a blur, with surgery, lots of pain medications, and lots and lots of Netflix.  I am still frustrated that I cannot do, or it is difficult to do many things that I usually take for granted.

This morning, after dropping the girls off at their schools, I had 2 patients in the Hospital to see before driving up to the next city for a follow up appointment with the Hand Surgeon.  The nurse cut my cast off before the Surgeon came in, so I got a good look at the graffiti.

Including the signature of both the Surgeon and Anesthesiologist.

I saw the Dr. for about a minute and a half.  He pushed on my thumb, which pre-operatively would have made me wince, but is no longer painful.  "It's fixed!"  he said.  I am now in a small, neoprene splint, with instructions to do my own hand therapy 3 times a day.  I return to the surgeon in 4 weeks, unless I have problems.

Hip Hip Hooray!

Off the Pain Meds

I am happy to report that I am typing with 2 hands today.  I can't say that I'm doing exceptionally well at it, but even with all of the corrections, it is faster than 1 handed typing!  I haven't had any pain meds for over 12 hours now.  I'm not completely pain free, but not much worse than pre-surgery at this point.

I did some internet research this morning (I know, bad idea, but I did try to stick to reputable sources) to find out about recovery, since that part was a bit vague to me.  Basically I was told that I would wear this un-removable splint for 1 week, then a different splint that can be removed for showers for 6 weeks, followed by Occupational Therapy "if needed."  The literature I am reading mentions splinting with heavy activities for 3 months, followed by strengthening exercises.  That is a bit disappointing, but I need to wait and see what happens (not one of my strong points.)  I am trying to be very careful not to jeopardize my recovery in any way...DEFINITELY do not want to go through this surgery again!

I am also noticing that I still have some numbness in my fingers, especially my thumb.  This worries me a little bit because I know too much!  I still have a lot of swelling, so I am chalking it up to that and the tight splint for now.

I found a YouTube video about my type of surgery, watch it if you dare.  I also found this drawing, which I think is a good representation of what they did.

We are taking things a bit easier than normal this weekend.  I would typically change the girls' sheets today, which includes running ALL of J's bedding through a hot dryer, and vacuuming her mattress because of her dust mite allergies.  We are skipping this week, allergies be damned.  I just don't think I could do it, even with help!

It is raining outside, and scheduled to continue all day.  We have Flood Watches and Warnings again.  I might attempt to tackle a pie (with J's help) in honor of Pi Day, 3.14.15,  then again, I might just sit around.

Enjoy your weekend, and have some pie!

Sleeping With Sponge Bob

I feel like I turned a corner overnight in my recovery - I woke up with my hand feeling sore, but no longer the throbbing, bone-deep, constant ache of yesterday that was coupled with flashes of severe pain if I would bump my fingers or thumb.  I waited to take my afternoon dose of pain medicine yesterday, so that I could drive J to her guitar lesson without being "under the influence", and ended up having a really uncomfortable evening.  So...this is a relief!

My fingers are still swollen & bruised - look like sausages.

 

I have to sleep with this contraption called a Carter Pillow, which keeps my hand elevated.  It looks a lot like Sponge Bob Square Pants!

 

Things I can't do:

- type
- put in contacts
- fasten a bra
- tie my shoes
- put up my hair
- do zippers, including ziplock bags
- multi-task

Stella seemed pretty happy that I was home and being a couch potato all day!  She snuggled up beside me on the couch.  Today I may venture out after some groceries.  Woo hoo!

Where's the Bear? #17

Guess whose ever so discerning nose sniffed out something nasty to roll in?  The bear is giving me a hand with Stella's bath, since I am one handed these days.

New Visitor

We've been having a rash of errant critters on Poplar Ridge since the weather took a turn for Spring-ish.  They must be getting "twitterpated" like the animals in Bambi!  My parents' dog flushed a raccoon out of Mom's flower bed last week.  JP dispatched an opossum that was feasting on cat chow last night on our veranda.  This evening, we watched this little "kitty" nose around under the bird feeders and then try to get into the garden!

I still can't feel my left arm from the elbow down as a result of surgery today, and typing one-handed is making me weary!  T Dawg over and out.