Favorite Fantasy Series

I am enjoying visiting with Kai and Quinn the last three days of their spring break. Even though the tv and the video games do most of the entertaining, they still let me drag them to the library and out of the house for a few hours. We're headed there soon. The library is still one of my favorite places -- I just finished a Dresden Files novel, Side Jobs, by J. Butcher and a Mercy Thompson novel, River Marked, by P. Briggs --Both fantasy series that I just love. Mercy Thompson is a strong women who turns into a coyote and is married to a werewolf. Don't you just love it? One of the things I like best about these two fantasies is that any sex scenes aren't blow by blow descriptions (no pun intended). There are novels where I literally skip 5 or 10 pages of intercourse descriptions to get back to the plot. I don't need all the details to know where we're going. I also like that both fantasies exist in extremely well-developed worlds, full of fascinating characters woven into what seems to be the modern world. I can't imagine how the authors keep it all straight, but both Butcher and Briggs do so very well and create that suspension of disbelief that's essential to a good fantasy. Unfortunately, I am up to date on both these authors, so it's off to the library to find something new to read. Some day I am going to break down and buy a hand held device that downloads books, but I would really miss the trips to the library and the friendly people there.

Thanks, Food Network!

I hate trying a new recipe for an actual event. There's no way to know how it's going to turn out for sure.

My daughter Lisa asked me to bring a pasta salad to Jack's birthday celebration. Sounds easy, right? Except it just happens to be something I've never made and I don't have a recipe on file for. Sooo, Food Network to the recipe rescue, I hope. I used one from Emeril and made it last night so the flavors could meld together.

I cooked the pasta al dente as per Emeril's directions, but I'm afraid it's too al dente and that I haven't got enough other flavors in it, used sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, salami, provolone cheese, and veggies with Tuscan Italian dressing.

But what does it taste like today? Easy way to figure it out, taste it this morning. I'm afraid. If it's terrible, I can't start over. I suppose I could buy some from Kroger on the way to the party but I've already spent a lot on the ingredients. Second option, not taste it and just put it out -- scary! OK, I'll be back; I'm going to the fridge for a minute.

Whew, it's pretty good! Emeril was right; the al dente pasta soaked up the dressing and really has some flavor. Thanks, Food Network!

Focus!

Ok, I'm back to taking control of what I can actually affect and letting go of the rest. I still care a great deal about Japan's people and many others but I'm aware that I can only do what I can. I will figure out a way to help at some point.

Right now I am focusing on getting back to a schedule of physical therapy and work at the shop. I'll be going to therapy Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings and to the shop those afternoons with Tuesday and Thursday optional. I find it works better not to go straight home from therapy to rest but it's better to stay active or I am very stiff.

Projects that need to be completed are the Ohio University quilt for Jeremy, the OSU quilt for Jason, the graduation quilt made by Anita for one of my great nieces, and several others. Also I know that as soon as I settle into being back at the shop, friends and clients will begin to drift in with projects needing completion. I can't wait!

Survivor's Guilt

I am having a difficult time reconciling my safe and pleasant life with what is happening to the people in Japan. It's not the first time I have been bewildered by this dichotomy of normal life in my little house in Dogwood Lakes and what is normal elsewhere.

I find myself turning off the local news as I just can't care as much about budget issues and construction zones when I know thousands of men's, women's, and children's bodies are washing ashore in Japan. And adding to the misery of the survivors is the frigidly cold weather and the nuclear reactor failures.

I know it's not my fault that Japan is suffering or that women in many countries are virtually prisoners of their own cultures or that simple freedoms are denied to all members of some countries, but I feel some guilt. Here I am observing these horrendous events from my secure, warm couch, watching it all unfold on the tv.

I know there will be effects on our lives and the lives of our children and grandchildren from this. The ripples are small but they will grow larger much like the tsunamai already felt by the Japanese.

23 Ouches!

Say "ouch" twenty-three times; once for each staple removed today. It's a celebration however as the knee feels much more flexible without pieces of metal holding it together. Steri-strips now hold it and they will fall off and then the real healing process will begin. It's a good day!

Good days have a whole different meaning after a surgery. This time I have more muscles aches and less actual knee pain. The muscle aches come from exercise such as walking all over the offices at the doctors, from the treatment room, to the xray lab, to the exam room. No biggie for a normal knee, but this one is only two weeks out of surgery.

All positive reports today and I am ready to start outpatient physical therapy on my left knee as soon as I can be put back on Dave's schedule at Tamarack. I feel so lucky to be going back to work with someone who I think recognized how hard I worked on the right knee. Not being an athlete, I often chuckled at some of the things he said, but I tried to get my knee where it needed to be and he helped me with preparing the left as well as helping the right to heal. I started to look forward to those physical therapy sessions and that's saying a lot for a real couch potato. It seems strange that I should discover physical exercise at the age of 66.

Pathetic Accomplishments!

It's 10:35 am and I have been awake since five am. What I have accomplished is in pathetically small increments. I wake up at 5 to take medicine for pain and go to the bathroom; then since I am awake, I put my left leg on the passive exercise machine which is up to 97 degrees of bend. After a while the pain subsides and I doze off and on with the television on for company. At 7 am I take my leg off the machine and get up.

After teeth brushing and other ablutions, I head to the kitchen to make a three mug pot of coffee and two pieces of toast which along with a yogurt will be breakfast. I balance it all back to the den along with the walker and set up my breakfast table. Joe always offers to help and I always say I've got it. I'm going to pay for that one of these mornings.

Breakfast accomplished, I turn on the computer and check my email and facebook. By now it's about 8 am and time to change the dressing on my incision. First I take off the white compression hose which is a little hard on the right knee as it doesn't bend quite enough yet. After cleaning the incision with alcohol and putting on new gauze bandages, I put clean compression hose on and get dressed. This time the hospital sent home two pairs of hose so I've really appreciated having clean ones each day. Because I don't like to put any more pressure on my knee, I've been wearing shorts and sweats which I have cut off to the length of long shorts. I don't think my daughters were very impressed with my shear work but it makes wearable some things that otherwise would just hang out in the closet. When I feel a bit better, I plan to actually hem them so I can wear them around the house and for work this spring.

By now it's 10 am, time to take pain medicine again and all the other regular meds I take. If I force down a large glass of water with the meds, there's no stomach ache. While I'm drinking the water, I decide to write in my blog. It's 10:35 am.

Top 5 Differences

Comparing Surgery #1 to Surgery #2:

1. There is no nausea, but I haven't much of an appetite yet and am eating about half of three meals a day. Joe did his steak dinner tonight (Previous Post-Manic Joe) It was great but I'm just not that hungry, not necessarily a complaint.

2. I am minding being confined much more this time. I feel almost well enough to drive and that's undoubtedly part of it. If I weren't taking narcotics for pain, I would probably go for it. Once the staples are out and I can switch pain meds, I'll try out the wheels.

3. Speaking of the staples, they itch and I want to have them taken out! It will happen on the ninth! I haven't counted them yet, but I remember how much it hurt to have them taken out, and I don't care.

4. Watching television 24/7 sucks. Last time I fell asleep a lot more.

5. I am going to end up with very little in home physical therapy. As soon as the doctor writes a prescription for out of home, I will change and go to the Tamarack location. It improves the whole body health far more than the in home therapy, and since I don't need the in home nursing this time at all, it's best to move on.

Quiet

The house is peaceful this morning. Not that there's a party going on here every day, but Joe is a noisy guy sometimes and he always wants his way. Today he's subbing at the local middle school and I am home alone for the first time since surgery. Ahhhhhh, quiet.

Our latest squabbles have been over decisions about my treatment and the fact that he thinks I make mean remarks back at him when he critiques what I've already decided even if I haven't discussed it with him. I warn people that I am a cranky sick person. With Joe it's just a matter of whose opinion is more important, his or the cranky lady who's taking between 6 and 12 percocet a day for pain?

So it's nice to have a day of quiet -- Just me and the tv and the computer with the blinds open to let in the sun. I may get a phone call from the physical therapist to start today and that's the most excitement I need.