It's Fryday

 I have one more week to live with the current cast.  I have decorated it with words this time around.  Affirmations.  It says, "Heal, grow strong my lovely bones."  This fiberglass is so porous, it has taken about 17 coats of white polish to create a surface  fit to write on.  I bought a specia lfineline black nailpolish pen for the litterary effort.  No smudge, no smear.

To celebrate, and because I was headed in that direction anyhow, I stopped at VooDoo Doughnuts again.  I got in line just in front of a woman with 22 middle-schoolers in a summer day camp.   The noise level, as you can imagine, was toxic.  So when I got to the order desk, I asked for the first thing that came to mind - the cock-n-balls.  It's cream-filled, you know.


After meeting a friend for lunch, I made my way to the Sock Summit which is going on right now.  As I am not much  of a sock knitter, there weren't a lot of classes that appealed to me, and the off, odd classes I wanted had all filled up within about 30 miniutes of the area, and went quietly and blissfully insane for a while.  SO many colors!  So many soft things to pet!  So many pretty things people have knitted!  Oooooo!  I spent a mere $55 on some hand-dyed bamboo from Teresa Ruch, and came away feeling  highly satisfied.

Tomorrow, I will be doing book signings from  1 - 2 in Pioneer Courthouse Square along with dozens, perhaps hundred of other independent authors and publishers.  My publisher, Puddletown Press, will have a table set up at the book fair on the square, and I get to help!  Woohoo!  For the e-books, I will be signing bookmarks.  And we hope (oh so fervently) to have recieved our shipment from the print on demand press that is producing Sanna, Sorceress Apprentice in paperback.  Who wants a copy?

hydrangeas

 I took myself for a nice walk this morning.  since I live in a blue-collar neighborhood, everyone who is going to work has already left by 7 AM, and I had the streets to myself.  Well, yes, there were a few cats to give me the hairy eyeball as I passed, one grey-haired gent in sweatpants watering his blueberry bushes with a hose, and a stay-at-home granny enjoying a cup of coffee and a smoke on the front porch.  They all smiled and waved, except for the cats, but other than that, I had the entire morning to myself and could saunter down the center of the street with insousiance.

 The hydrangeas are in fine form riht now.  I wanted to share a few photos.  The range of color from pink through purple to blue just delights my heart.  I look good in hydrangea.

Then I took my c-pap breathing equipment in for a check-up.  The machine has a built in memory card that records how many hours a day I use it and how much pressure it needs to produce to keep me breathing.  Before the machine, my breathing was interrupted about 35 times an hour.  With the machine, I average only 7 interruptions an hour.  No wonder I don't fall asleep in front of the tv anymore.  I'm getting about 7 1/2 hours of solid sleep a night!   The gal who evaluated my performance is also a spinner, so we had a grand gabfest.  I bet, with this smaller cast, I could even start spinning again.

I spotted this dainty beauty on my walk today.  TBW, or anyone else, what is the name of this pretty flower, and is it hard to grow?  It looks so romantic!

So . . . Granny is visiting for a while and one day the 16year old granddaughter daughter comes romping through the living room in a very sheer shirt. "Sweetheart, you're not going out like that, are you? says Granny.  "Why, I can see your nipples!"

The damsel replied, "Oh gran, get with it.  No one minds if a girl shows off her rosebuds."

The next day,  Miss Rosebuds flounces into the living room and there's Granny, topless. The young lady shrieked, "Oh my God, Gran!  Put some clothes on.  My boyfriend will be here any minute."

Granny smiled and replied, "Oh, get with it. If you can show off your rosebuds, then surely I can display my hanging baskets."

Street of "Affordable" homes

Dh and I enjoy going to these shows of homes that the builders put on.  Not that we intend to drop five hundred thousand dollars (This is affordable these days?) on a new house.  We are perfectly happy where we are.  But we go shopping for ideas and inspiration.  Robin's egg blue is the new color, with bark brown.  And there was one lovely bedroom in ecru, oatmeal, and charcoal with a painting of a poppy over the bed, a red vase on the dresser, and on the nightstand, a magazine with a red picture on the cover.  Don't know how long you'll want to keep a June, 2011 copy of Home and Garden Digest on the nightstand, but it sure gave the room some punch!

In the master suites, they are still installing huge tubs, but they are no longer the jacuzzi jetted types.  And, though it seems like madness to me, the builders are still trying to sell us on outdoor living.  OK, it's July 25.  People are still skiing on Mt. Hood, a mere 90 minute drive away.  When I went to get the paper this morning, at 5 AM, I was greeted by thunder and lightning.  This is NOT an area where outdoor living makes sense.  Really.  No matter how many fire pits and uber barbecues and stylish lounge chairs are scattered around, it's still too darn cold!

Another thing that makes no sense is the concept of rooms that no one will live in.  The "sitting room" just off the front door which is too small for any social event, and wayyyy too fussy for comfortable lounging.  I guess it's where you would seat Queen Elizabeth if she ever comes to visit.  Take the plastic off the chairs, first. 

And these "Great Rooms" with the twenty foot high ceilings - a pain to heat or cool of course.  And who wants to sit in a great draughty echoing chamber for a comfy family evening?  The only thing I can see those rooms being used for is big parties.  And how often do you have 40 of your closest friends over for a pleasant dinner?

On the other hand, I saw many lovely mud rooms off the garage with masses of storage space.  And several builders have realized that it makes sense to put the laundry on the same floor as the bedrooms because that's where most of the laundry is created anyhow.

But best of all is coming home to our dear home with our comfortable furniture, and our dated but satisfying color scheme, and being so grateful that we are not in debt up to our eyeballs!

I can knit!

It's slow and awkward because the palm part of the cast gets in the way, but with the cut down cast I can now rotate my wrist enough to actually knit!  I am SO happy!

The doctor told me that it was ok to stretch and twist even though it hurt, because my muscles were not strong enough to damage anything.  I now spend a lot of time flexing, stretching and rotating.  Ow, ow, this is the price I pay to get my hand back and it is so worth it! 

The other benefit of the cut down cast is that I can now writhe into a sport bra.  I don't have to rely on DH to buckle me up anymore.  This, just  in time for the hot weather, so I can go for long sweaty walks without having to spend the rest of the day in a wet bra.  I suppose I could go braless, but that's so uncomfortable for me.  The girls, like a couple of Victorian Spinsters, are unable to suppport themselves.

after the cast

So I went  to the fracture clinic today, with my pink bling beguiling one and all.  I was going to hot-glue tthe bling to the cast, but can't find the glue gun.  Now notice how this cast has "Wings" cupping around my elbow?  They are there to prevent me rotating my wrist. 

I keep asking to see my x-rays, so the x-ray techs printed one off for me.  This shows the plate and screws.  I was wrong.  there are not 8 screws.  There are ten.  I am so tickled that  they gave me my own print!  You can sort of see the break just to the left of the bottom of the hammerhead shape

 AND, I am doing so well that they gave me a smaller cast that will permit me to rotate more.  I am thrilled! 

To celebrate, I took myself out to Voodoo Doughnuts.  See the little voodoo doll with the pretezel stabbing him?  This is only one of the many strange and delicious dough gods they offer.  They had to stop making the Nyquill do-nuts, but there are many, many more goodies available.  I bought a maple bacon bar, a Diablo Rex (devilsfood cake with chocolate chips and fudge icing,) and an apple fritter.  I passed on the raised, glazed dipped in grape KoolAid, but maybe next time . . .

Now my tummy feels ooky, but my mouth is still stunned by the glory of it all. Bacon on a maplebar - pure genius!!

Oh, the fibery goodness!

Dave Danniels f Cabn Cove fame is closing out his stock, so I threw myself on the sale while the selection was good and selfishly didn't do a blog post because his stuff is wondermous awesomesauce and I wanted to get mine first.  It has arrived, so you are all now free to descend upon his store like wolves upon the fold!

Here you see three luscious hand-dyed merino rovings in Black Cherry, Buttercup, and Yankee Ikat.  The two white cylinders contain spice blends - the Taste of Cabin Cove.  I already gave the third collection of seasonings to DH.  I will be baking with the Provence blend (with lavender!) and I know he'll be using the more savory selections in soups, stews and sauces.

The Summer of Spinning totebag somehow got included in the package as well.  What a treat! 

And here is some of Dave's luscious handspun yarn.  The blue and white is Yankee Skycat, and the pink/blue/green is Spring Garden.  Oh lordy I yearn to knit!  You will notice at the bottom of the right side of the photo some knitted stripey glory.  Dave, the uber generous, also stuck in a pair of wool socks made from his very own custom dyed yarn.  Oh, I do love hand-knit socks, and I do so hate to make them!

And being the awesome guy he is, Dave even sent a gift for the kitties.  But Pepper has claimed as her own and refuses to share the nifty box with the crinkly paper and the fascinating SMELLS!  The other cats are interested, but Pepper has hunkered down in the box, spread her cat fat widely, and hissed at anyone else daring to investigate.  Do you suppose she might be catching whiffs of that devilishly suave Boston cat, Dusty?

At least I walked

MJ came over at 6:45 on her way to work and we took a nrisk stroll around the neighborhood, then had some papaya and yogurt.  She went on her way and I started laying out framed works of art to go up on the walls.  When I had everything arranged just the way I wanted, I ran into a stone wall, metaphorically speaking.  No way in hell I'm going to be able to hang these one-handed.  Well, crapolla!

So DH has a big project all set out and ready for him, and I have a wad of frustration to work off.  But I did get a good walk, and I've spent many productive hours on the laptop, so things could be much worse.  I AM getting things accomplished, although it's still a bit slow.

Wonder if I can bake cookies one-handed?  I'll have to think about this. I can open eggs one- handed, but can I scrape the bowl?

By the way, the cat bite is clean.  Whew!  I've had blood poisoning twice from cat bites.  Not fun.  And the cat has forgiven me.  I was dishing out cat food at the time, of course.  He's always my best friend when the cat food can is opened.

The old cat is done with her pain meds but she's not getting her car keys back until she takes her antibiotics like a good girl.  It's a rodeo twice a day, and half the time she holds the pill on her tongue till she has fooled us into thinking it was swallowed.  Then she slinks off somewhere shadowy and spits it out.  Then I follow her and poke it back in . . .  It's a war of will and I'm running out of ammunition.

We be cool

Things continue to be unusually cool and wet in our valley.  Yesterday,in one day,  we got as much rain as we usually get for the entire month of July.  We are looking at 75 degrees as full-on summer, and without a little more sun, even the sweet 100s cherry tomatoes won't ripen.  I know things are cruely hot in the rest of the country, and, as a five foot tall lady once told me, looking up at my 6 foot height, "It's a damn shame our natural resources are so unevenly distributed."

Quiet weekend for us, followed by a quiet Monday for me.  Candy, our old cat on pain meds is pouting because we took away her car keys.  We had to take away her cell phone, too, or she would have rung up 800 numbers and fallen asleep listening to the elevator music they play when they put you on hold.  Cats on drugs- I swear.

Fly, our second oldest cat, came in from outside, ate, then crapped on the kitchen floor.  I snatched him up by the scruff of the neck in mid-dump and carried him to the door, him bitching at me the whole way.  Before I could get the door opened with the broken wrist, he managed to twist his head around far enough to scrape my hand with his teeth.  Oh swell - just what I need! Blood poisoning in my one good hand.  I washed with soap and glopped on the neo-sporin.  Wish me luck.

necessary warnings?

Our old cat has a sinus infection. Along with the antibiotics, they gave us pain meds for her. On the bottle it says, "May cause drowsiness."

WTF?


Cats sleep 20 hours a day anyhow. DH read it and said,"So she can't drive the forklift?"

True, that!

There's an older Asian lady pumping gas at the station I usually frequent.  She's a kick, and we have developed a mutual appreciation society.  She was working when I stopped by yesterday.  "What'd you do?" she asked, pointing at my cast.
"I was helping my husband move a bed into the house and I missed my footing going up onto the porch.  Broke my wrist."
"Mmmmhmm," she said, nodding wisely.  "would have been cheaper to hire someone."

She's so right!

My friend Mary Lou was moving to a smaller place and had to downsize some of her china, so I designated my house a china orphanarium, promised to love it, use it and wash it by hand.  But I was going to be out of town when /mary Lou could drop it off.  So our mutual friend the awesome Rpse came to the rescue and let Mary Lou store the china in the back of Rose's van.  Then I broke my wrist and weeks vanished from my ken.  One morning I woke up saying, Oh my gosh, the china!  Rose is in my writing group, so we mad contact on Wednesday, and she put the china in my trunk.

 Today, I carried one piece at a time untill I could lift the box one-handed.  And here is Mary Lou's orphan china being displayed and loved!  Isn't it pretty?  I think my favorite is the plate, dessert plate, and cup and saucer hand-painted with  strawberries.

 Mary Lou is a champion packer and did not stint on the paper.  When the pile of paper began moving, I thought I was losing my mind.  Then it began to purr.  Evidently, Pepper thinks it's great fun to be burried in crumpled paper. Hot laundry is even better, but crumpled paper is so wonderfully noisy!




I was downtown and caught, quite by accident, a drum and marimba performance by percussionists from Chamber Music NorthWest.  Pachelbel's Cannon in D in the Marimba is mind-blowing.  There was a drum solo that sort of sounded like something Stravinsky might have composed on a particularly staccato drunken evening, and then, be still my lucky heart, my favorite dance troupe, Body Vox, performed.  It was freaking awesome!To celebrate, I bought some beaded fringe for fracture bling.  It's shiney! The lady in the ribbon store laughed when I asked her to tie it on for me.

I took my wedding ring to the jewelers today, but the nice young man suggested I wait.  "I could fix it and size it for you now," he said, "but about two weeks after you get your cast off, you'll need to have it sized down because the last of the swelling will go down and the ring will fall off."  So sometime in August, I'll be getting my ring fixed.  Who knew?

The cabinet

 The file cabinet, assembled and filled.  I spent the whole of yesterday sorting through files, and shredding masses of crap.  Electric bills from a house I no longer own.  Credit card receipts from a bank that has been sold twice, changed the name once, and had all their data hacked so they had to issue everyone new cards.  14 year old checks and pay stubs. Christmas cards from strangers.  (If you sign, "best wishes, J & T." don't be hurt if people don't remember who you are.)  Then I  went through the multiple copies of manuscripts that I have, saved one of each, and took the rest out to the garden.  I have found that if you pull weeds and lay paper on the bare soil, about two inches deep, it makes the weeds feel unwelcome. 

So one corner of my officce is shaping up quite nicely.  Love the roll-top desk!  Hides a multitude of sins.

So one corner of my office is shaping up quite nicely.  Love the rolltop desk.  It hides a multitude of sins.  The big basket is a catch all which will be sorted about twice a year or when it overflows - whichever happens first.

Tease me all you wantg about my new offiicewerks.  For most of my adult life I have made do with bricks and boards, and leftover, secondhand, Goodwill rejects because I am too cheap to get anything better.  But DH wants me to have nice, and gee, nice is worth celebrating!

So, does anyone want a sturdy, ugly, 5 drawer metal filing cabinet?  Low mileage - last owned by a little old lady who stored a lot of useless paper in it.  All you have to do is come and pick it up.

The new file cabinet is here

DH spent 2 1/2 hrs assembling my new file cabinet, bless his wonder-husband heart!  It's a sturdy, handsome piece of furnitire, and watching him put it together has raised my respect for him even more.  He reads directions!  He identifies each piece and counts the screws before he begins.  He used a hand operated screwdriver because power tools will strip the screw holes.  He patiently took it one step at a time and never had to take something apart because it was put together backwards or upside down.  And unlike me, he never once needed to cuss.  He can build or fix anything!  I love him more than chocolate itself!

Today, I get to spend the day sorting through the old files.  Actually, this should keep me busy for several days.  Which is just as well because my car is in the shop and it's raining.

Knitting just isn't working.  I need to be able to cock up my wrist, and that ain't happening for weeks yet.

how to show a girlna good time

DH and I had a date today.  We started out with breakfast at a little place called Hash.  I had aeblskiver with maple butter.  The little bowl of watermelon was perfect, and the pot of tea was just as it should be.  We had a  seat in the window and enjoyed watching the passing scene - people walking their dogs, people walking their kids, people taking their Mercedes Benzez out for an  airing.

 Then we headed on down town to walk along the Esplanade (the city park downtown that covers both sides of the river.)  Here is DH at the monume t to the battleship Oregon, for you history buffs.

The  grass in the park is pretty beat up right now after the three day long Blues Fest over the 4th of July.  But grass is persistent.  It rises again!  This is on the west side of the river where the city core is.  The esplanade runs about a mile along the river on both sides, with access to 4 bridges as you go.  We took the full loop.

 This is a view of the city core from the East side where the freeways and warehouses are. 

This is looking south toward the Hawthorne  Bridge.  It's a purdy city, ain't it?  We strolled and lollygagged along, took about an hour to make the loop, then spent another couple hours loitering through the Saturday Market(an artisan's market that runs ever Saturday and Sunday from Memorial Day through New Year's)  And finished off with a leisurely lunch at a restaurant with riverside tables.  I was a glorious, gracious, wonderful day.  Just in time too.  Tomorrow it's going to rain.

andnow for the next stage

 Things were pretty busy at the fracture clinic when /i got there.  Youngsters had gotten their casts wet during our last warm spell, and the fungal growth had become evident.  Working men had hand and wrist injuries, and several old fogies like me were in for post op checkups. The other old fogies and I were all in good moods, so the waiting wasn't onerous.  Finally I got in and had my cast removed.  The med tech immediately scrubbed my arm with antiseptic, then left me sitting while he helped someone apply traction.  my arm looked so frail and withered.   Well, it's been immobilized for a month, poor thing.

I took advantage of my waiting time by gently stroking and inspecting.  The skin, having been deprived of sensory stimulation for two weeks, was just atingle with thrills.  This must be how a newborn feels, suddenly assaulted with sensory input.  No wonder it takes them weeks to focus! 

After a while they sent me alomg to X-Ray.The x-ray tech let me see my pictures which was really cool of him.  I have a plate about three inches long in the underside of my wrist, held in with about 8 screws.  I remarked that the doctor really screwed me over, and the tech, not knowing me, choked a bit. 

                                                                                          Then back to central casting.  They wound up with three of us old fogies at adjoining stations, and we all chatted and laughed like old friends while waiting for our replacement casts.  The med techs said that we were the happiest patients they had seen all week.  One woman was warnedabout Tylenol overdosing.  "If you get too much," the tech told her, "your liver will fall out on the floor."  "I'm keeping my legs crossed from now on!" she told him.  Her cast was green and purple.

Mine is pink!  It's smaller than the sugar tong splints and allows a lot more finger and thumb movement. And, I can hold a knitting needle!  So I am off to ladies' knitting today (second Saturday of the month) andi may even be able to DO something!  YEEEEEEEEEEHA!

Summer slacker

I have been so lazy. A little writing, a little book moving, catching up on everyone's blogs and facebook comments.  I can't knit (It's the angle of the wrist I can't twist) so I have put myself into lower gear and am learning to sit with my hand quiet. The cool overcast we have been enjoying is conducive to reading and naps.  I never would have thought that a broken wrist would dictate what I read, but I have to limit my literary intake to books I can hold open with one hand.(and I can't wear post earrings, or panty hose.  I ought to shave my legs but wotthehell.)

For some reason it had never occurred to me how much our bones shift around inside the muscles and tendons.  I had this notion that a cast would immobolize the whole structure.  All it really does is limit certain movements.  The splint slides up and down quite a lot, which really helps with the itches. 

Today I see Dr. Schweitzer.  I'd better start writing down my questions.  How big is the plate and the screws?  How many screws?  Where's the incision?  Is it ok if I slide my cast up and down to scratch the itches? Should I be doing any exercises to retain some strength?  What shall I do with all this awful, nasty left-over oxycodone?

Hope your summer cuts you a little slack.  It's important to stop, breathe, and appreciate our many tender blessings now and then.

bad grannies

 The Bad Grannies have been at it again - asking young men to flex for the blog.  I do appreciate a neat little keester. 
Yes, I know I should be posting this on Wednesday, but life is uncertain.  Enjoy the scenery while you can.














Speaking of scenic keesters, here's one of my favorite.

We have been taking it easy this weekend, slowly moving thing back into the house from the garage.  We must have a ton of books!  And the old 3rd hand file cabinet finally gave it up, so we ordered a brand new, classy lookig beauty with drawers that open all the way so youn can get to stuff clear in the back!  I'm so excited I could squee!  I'm the one who has to keep track of this stuff, so it's a treat to have nice tools!

On Sunday, we were sitting on the back porch, enjoying a cold beer (my first in about a month, and it hit me hard!) and I said,"When you were young, did you ever think you would wind up spending 4th of July weekend, sitting quietly in your backyard with a cat on your lap, a cold beer in your hand, and your old wife  beside  you?"  And he said, "I think it's the best thing that ever could have happened to me." 

Is it any wonder why I'm goofy about him?

that's what she said

So we're in the grocery store yesterday and the dear young checker asks, "Ooooo - how did you hurt yourself?"

 I replied, "Took the half-pipe on a skateboard." 

"Really?"  her eyes were wide.

I gramaced. "I used to be good at that stuff."

She patted my hand and said with full approval, "Well at least you didn't break it doing something dumb."

(squints grinning into the sunrise)

Can you believe it?  The Fourth of July weekend will be warm and sunny for all four days!  Young women are wearing short-shorts and tank tops, strolling around the neighborhood in their flip-flops and giggling over their iced lattes while the boys stand stunned by the sudden exposure of "flesh." Boys in warmer climes are innured by constant exposure abd the familiarity pall.  They never have the heady rush of  seeing the drab girl next door suddenly show up with legs and breasts and possibilities!  So that's what was under those cargo pants and sweatshirt.  A lot of fifteen year old lads will spend the next few days trying to conceal/deal-with  importunate errections.

In spite af my age and infirmities, the sap is rising in my veins as well.  Wonder if I can still trip my husband and beat him to the floor?  This needs thought.  Don't want to risk HIM breaking a wrist.

TMI?  Sorry for the overshare.  Sunshine does this to me.

MJ came over yesterday and helped me.  She folded laundry 9impossible to fold fitted sheets with one hand.  Then we stripped wallpaper in the dining room.  There is one wall that has had anice, neutral bamboo print for at least 17 years, and I want to paint it red.  S we commenced to peel.  The paper has a vinyl surface and peeled in big sheets with no scraping or struggle.  Under it we found an artifact!  The previous wallpaper was still there in places.  It was a green printed mural of a fountain and formal garden with trees and a few tiny people strolling about.  I think about the woman who had that dining room and how proud and elegant she must have felt.  What bright Easter and Christmas feasts must have been held there!  Even my empty china hutches  were affected.  It was as if they sat up straighter and put their napkins carefully in their laps.

But I want a nice Tuscan red.  I want people to feel warm and embraced, to laugh and relax and be happy.  To linger over the table, nibbling at the leftovers and talking, communicating; to enjoy one another!

Next time we get together, we will consider wallpaper vs  paint.

While we were stripping (wallpaper) I had one of those ADD moments when unrelated things fall together and an inspiration assaults you.  I had found, in the process of packing and unpacking, some pink ribbons.  We had hung a mosquito net canopy over the 4  poster guest bed.  I held it in place on the posts with rubber bands.  Then light went off!  MJ has two hands to tie ribbons and pink ribbons tied over the rubberbands will be perfect.  And they are!  The guest bedroom is getting fluffed to a fare-thee-well!  Photos tomorrow if Blogger allows.