Boring!

My life right now, that is.  I'm sort of stuck in limbo, waiting for my arm to feel better, my exercises become easier to do, to regain the ability to sleep in my bed, to get back to work, and on and on.  It's so depressing, people. 

I did walk up to the store today so that was something out of the routine.  And I finished this sock while watching a Miss Marple movie on PBS.  That's how exciting my life is :-)

Road Trip

I tagged along with Steve yesterday when he had to deliver an order of t-shirts.  I tried not to laugh too hard when he told me the shirts were for the "Fairy Congress", which looked about as silly as you might imagine.

Nonetheless, it was a beautiful drive up to the Methow Valley, and we had a nice time.  I've never been up to this area, but would love to go back!  Just not to the fairy party.

First Session Done

I survived my first physical therapy session!  It was actually much more pleasant than I had anticipated, and not as painful as doing the exercises on my own at home.  My therapist Jonathon (or Justin Bieber as I like to think of him, he looks like he's about 12) is very nice and reassuring that I'll get my arm back, but it's going to take time.

USA!

Yay, USA is into the second round of the World Cup!  Yesterday's game was quite the nail-biter.  I miss having a kid in soccer!  I'm hoping Liam will get to play on a team this year, so I can be a soccer grammy.

Sadly, the Azzuri (Italy) looks to be going down in flames, the first time they haven't advanced since 1974.

The Grind Begins...

I got my first physical therapy appt. set up for tomorrow.  I'm nervous, because I'm pretty sure it's going to hurt :-(  I also have a list of exercises I'm supposed to do 5x a day.  So far, they are really difficult.  It's hard to do ANYTHING with this darn arm, but I'm going to have to force myself if I even want to be a lefty again!

Good News!

The doc says surgery is not necessary!  Basically, he said that there wasn't going to be enough of a benefit gained re range of motion so recommended physical therapy instead.

I have a set of exercises I am starting, which I'm a little nervous about (ouch!)  But glad there's not going to be surgery on the arm.  Let the healing begin!

New Socks!

Slowly easing back into knitting (I can manage a few rounds/rows at a time, thus staving off complete boredom during recovery from broken arm).

I'm using the yarn I dyed with madder & fustic, and a pattern stitch I found in an 1884 knitting book.  It's an easy lace pattern called "Peacock Tails". 

Orange You Glad...

I finally wound the yarn I dyed the day I broke my arm :-(  I used some natural dyes (madder and fustic, plus alum mordant) to get this pretty peach-y/orange color. 

Finito!

Finally managed to get knitting needles in hand(s) and finish a pair of socks.  These are The Sock Knitters Anonymous May 2010 Mystery Socks, designed by Cookie A.  Love the color "Clara Barton"!  And now that I can manage a bit of knitting, I won't kill myself from terminal boredom.

The Fellowship of the Vuvuzela

Such a Good Girl!

My Katie is such a good daughter!  She took me out to dinner last night and to the nail place to get my toenails painted.  Since I can't clip my own nails, it was really nice to get them done.  I'm pretty sure the nail people were talking about how grossly hairy my legs are, since shaving is also a challenge :-)  But I feel much prettier now!

GOOOOOOAAAAL

WHEW!  USA made an amazing 2nd half comeback to tie Slovenia 2-2!

CT Scan Finally!

In my (evidently) never-ending quest to heal my broken arm, I had a CT scan this morning at Katie's clinic.  Luckily, it was a quick procedure, because it really didn't feel too good.  I go to the doc next week for evaluation...

My outing on the bus yesterday went great!  I'm one of those nervous bus riders who is always scared I'll either miss my stop or pull the 'stop' cord and get yelled at by the bus driver.  But no yelling and no missed stops :-)  Though it's not the fastest way across town, it definitely works well for the one-armed.  I went to the library and picked up Seasons 2 and 3 dvds of "Mad Men", so I'm all set for today!

This and That

Nothing exciting going on here, folks.  Jon is filling in for me on the nanny front; word on the street is that Mikey is none too happy with this change in leadership and may be planning a prison break.  I'm pleased to report that  the family penchant for nicknaming is going strong with Jon in charge.  Mikey is currently going by "Minky" and the big brothers are sometimes known as Frank, Ira and William Tankovitch (3 idiots from Idaho charged with hate crimes).  Jon himself goes by the handle Johnny Bravo.  :-)

Still waiting to get scheduled for my CT scan on the arm, as noted this is dragging on 4EVER.  Steve mentioned several times that 'they are going to have to re-break your arm'  when they finally get around to surgery.  Thanks, Mr. Good News.

I loaned my minivan to Jon so that he could drive the boys around to their various appointments, classes etc.  Today, I'm going to attempt to take the bus to the library to pick up dvds of seasons 2 and 3 of Mad Men.  Not sure how that's going to go, but hoping no one will bump into my arm or otherwise scar me for life by talking to me.

Still not able to knit, which is beyond hideous.  I have literally always had a knitting project in hand every day for the last 40 years.  It's really weird and boring to just sit and watch tv without knitting.  I am not a fan.  On the other hand, my left wrist feels really good since I'm giving it a rest from knitting, typing, etc. 

Things that are really hard to do one-handed/right-handed:

• cut slices of cheese for my morning bagel
• carry anything larger than a piece of paper
• use a fork (I am not good at eating without spilling even at the best of times)
• open a jar, wine bottle, pill bottle, etc.
• fold laundry
• blow my nose
• put on deoderant
• shave legs/armpits.  I went 2+ weeks without shaving, NOT pretty!
• dry my back after bath/shower
• wash hair
• floss! I need to get some of those 'pick' kind of dental floss things bc it's impossible to use floss w only 1 hand
• use nail clippers

The list could go on and on.  Thank your two hands today, people!

That is all.  Life is pretty dull here, folks!

LOLOL

Katie and I laughed our a**es off last night during the Tony Awards, watching Giantess Katie Holmes loom over tiny Harry Potter.  Girl, that dress is 2 sizes too small!

LOVE THIS GIRL!

Pam tells me "Tatum had her first “Reading Club” meeting last weekend at our house. Completely her idea -- made the invites and everything even before asking :) She had five girls over and they each had to bring their favorite book. She bought everybody a notepad to jot down notes and said they needed to use them throughout the summer to write down books they enjoyed to discuss in meetings to come :) So stinkin’ cute!!
Next Wednesday her school libarian is hosting their meeting after school -- TOTALLY arranged by one Ms. Tatum Narode :) the girl works magic.

Still Broken

I was hoping for better results at the doctor's--
along the lines of 'its a miracle! you are cured!'  Alas, I'm not.  I need a ct scan and then the doc will decide if I need a plate to put my birdlike bones together again.  Rats.

Progress

I took a shower and got a tshirt and shorts on all by myself.  Underwear next!

ONE GOOD THING

ABOUT THE ARM: I AM DETERMINED TO WATCH ALL 3 SEASONS OF MAD MEN WHILE I'M DOWN FOR THE COUNT.  LOVE THIS SHOW! OH AND I GET TO TYPE IN ALL CAPS AT YOU ;-0

The Humerus Report

I am still waiting for the swelling in my broken arm to go down, so the orthopedist can evaluate the break and decide if I need surgery...

How'd it happen?  I got up from my swiveling office chair to do something, and as I stood up and took a step forward, my foot got caught in the dangling cord of my mouse.  Next thing I knew, I was flying through the air, then landing HARD on the floor.  I knew right away I had done something b.a.d. as the pain was intense.  I also hit my head on the wall when I fell, but that was minor compared to my arm pain.

I managed to get up after a few minute of laying on the floor whimpering.  Neither Pia or Katie was close enough to get home to help.  I decided to risk embarassment (cuz I could've been wrong!) and called 911.  The fire dept sent out an aid car and a fire truck.  Since Steve showed up around then, they decided that I could get down to the ER without having to go in the aid car.

We headed down to Sacred Heart, where we waited, and we waited, and we waited...3+ hours after we arrived, I finally got into a treatment room, where I finally got some pain killers (yay).  They give me orthopedist name.

Ortho office doesn't want to see me for 10 days, so I'm toughing it out till next friday.  I can knit a tiny, teeny bit for a few minutes at a time.  I can read.  I can watch tv.  Everything else HURTS.  And I have the mother of all bruises on my left arm.

That's the latest on my broken wing.  It sucks, this is NOT how I had planned to spend my summer vacation!

OUCH!

This is Katie, posting for Lavs - she broke her arm today!  Aaah!  The left arm (her 'good' one) - which, for now, means no blogging or knitting!!!  :O


We're off to see the orthopedic doc tomorrow (hopefully) and will keep you updated...

Going Green

Sort of.  I'm reading "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan (and I recently finished his book "The Botany of Desire), which is making me at least think about the food I eat.  And it's not a pretty thought.  I've really gotten too far away from eating good food, and into the land of "it's fast, it's frozen, and/or it's portable".

So I've decided to be a bit more conscious about my food choices this spring & summer.  Today I started things off by buying a little box of organic cherries.  They are from Cali, so not the best choice (I'm going to try to buy local as much as I can), but they looked good!  And at $4.99 for a boxlet, I'm going to make sure none of them go to waste!