Sunday Sling

I thought I'd dress up a little for church today and made a beautiful sling out of a scarf! Sadly, nobody noticed the sling, but only asked about my arm!

Mom came over and brought a real Sunday dinner after church, complete with juicy ham! The leftovers alone are going to make Ed's job easier this week.

I went without pain medication today, which made me much more clear headed. The arm doesn't hurt much unless I move it or bump it. That's progress!

Cat Door and More

Ed helped John put a cat door in a basement door yesterday. That way their cats can get to the litter box without having to leave the door open.

The humans loved the door. The cats had a more guarded reaction!

In the afternoon we went over to Mom's house to help her with redecorating ideas for her house.

We didn't make any decisions on the house, but Ed and I got a nice chicken pot pie from Annette to help cheer us up from my broken wrist! It did the trick, especially with the fresh apples and caramel sauce!

Silver Linings

Being sick is a pain! I'm exhausted trying to "manage" the pain in my arm! On a happier note, I've enjoyed Ed's cooking the past few days!

Who knew he could make such a mean omelette? I guess watching the breakfast chefs on all his business trips has really paid off!

Wrist Surgery

This is a pre-op photo of my hands. Guess which one got the treatment yesterday!

I have to admit I was s little emotional going into the ordeal. As the anesthesiologist explained about the nerve block, he mentioned that it is not guaranteed and that sometimes they get the wrong nerve, I started to cry a little. Then when he poked around under my armpit I started to laugh and cry hysterically. I felt like a crazy person.

The good news is: the operation was successful and the doctor was very happy. I now have a really nice plate in my wrist!'

The bad news was: it really hurt afterwards!!!!! The nerve block only served to numb my arm so that it kept bonking me on the head when I tried to move it!

By noon Ed had me safely ensconced on my own couch and the pain became more bearable. My healing angel (on the ice pack) was very comforting, and Ed lined up all my pills and made sure I took them at the right time. At least I feel like I'm finally on the road to healing!

Mabel Therapy

I am having surgery on my wrist tomorrow, so was happy Brittany and John let us watch Mabel tonight to keep up my spirits!

She was especially cute, babbling and cuddling with Grandpa! She even tried to give Coda a kiss! (All her kisses are open mouth!)

She let me read her a bed time story and rested her cute little arm on my cast! She's giving me courage to go under the knife tomorrow!

Broken Wrist Ear Warmers

I have become very sedentary since I broke my wrist, but found a way to knit with the easy loom, anyway. By the end of the week I was able to actually almost guide yarn with my left thumb and forefinger!

I finished this ear warmer tonight, and was very proud of myself!

This is ready to keep me warm while walking this winter. Hopefully, I'll be outside again before the spring thaw!

New Day, New Doctor

We met the orthopedist, Dr. Stock (not Spock), yesterday. We were able to schedule surgery for Thursday, so wish me luck! He said I probably won't be playing the banjo by Christmas, but we're hoping for a Christmas miracle! If it heals well I might be able to play some simple chords on our next Christmas album!

Belated Brittany Birthday

Finishing off all the celebrations for Brittany's birthday month, the Nuttalls had a belated birthday dinner for her last night. We gave her a 3 foot long key to shut off her sprinkler system!

Dinner was my favorite--taco bar, with homemade pico de gallo and tomatillo dressing! Mmm.

Brittany got to wear the birthday antlers.

The Nuttalls have a special birthday song, which Ed and I really need to learn so we can add to the fun.

Mabel loved the cake and the candles. She thought it was all about her!With two sets of grandparents in the same room, she gets an awful lot of attention!

Dinner and a Farm

We joined Brittany, John and Mabel for a fun day with the Stevens cousins, Eli, Lacy and baby Calvin.

We started with a great Vietnamese, vegan meal at All Chay in Salt Lake City. 

We used Calvin and Mabel as an excuse to visit the kid-friendly Wheeler Farm.

Mabel saw a sheep,

a pig,  

and a horse!

It was a beautiful day for a hay ride!

Ed and Brittany lassoed steers!

We enjoyed walking through the hay  maze,

Calvin and Mabel picked out pumpkins that were just their size!

Ed was happy that I had a broken arm so he got to hold Mabel more!

Mabel fell in the gravel and bumped her forehead. She and grandma have matching owies!

My arm felt much better today, and I was grateful to be enjoying life again,despite being somewhat jealous of all the two-handed people I saw!

He Loves Me!

Ed fixed the spare bathroom for me this morning so it would be easier to take a bath. The sides of the master tub were too steep for me to rest my broken arm on.

The bathroom off my study had shower doors with a rail that made it hard to rest my arm, as well. 

So Ed surprised me and went to the Internet to find out how to get the doors off! This is something I am definitely going to enjoy for the next several months! I love you. too, Ed!

Gee, That's Swell!

We went back to the hospital yesterday to have them release the pressure on my splint. I woke up in a lot of pain, mostly caused by the swelling in my wrist and the tightness of the splint. Both the orthopedist and my primary care physician had selfishly taken Friday off from work, so only the emergency room would help us!

My poor fingers looked and felt like sausages! The doctor cracked the splint open and the relief was immediate!

We went out for Cafe Rio therapy afterwards, which also made me feel much better!

Fall Break!

Coda and I were hiking in Lambert Park yesterday morning when I tripped on a rock and fell straight forward. I thought I had  probably sprained my left wrist. I didn't know I had a rock in my headband when I took this picture!

When I got up to continue my walk I realized it was much worse! The pain was so bad I had to sit down again!

Amanda was talking to me through my earbuds and called Ed to come get me. I couldn't make it back to the road but was able to bushwhack to a construction site where a  very sympathetic man with a pickup truck drove me home!

Ed took me to the emergency room where I writhed in pain for the next few hours. I couldn't stop from shaking no matter how many warm blankets they put on! Even the morphine barely dulled the agony!

They were unable to set my wrist, as 

I not only broke the ulna, but also shattered the radius. I'll have to wait till next week to have surgery done! In the meantime they used Chinese finger torture to straighten my wrist, then pushed really hard on my bump, and bound me in a cast!

Brittany and John came up to find our loyal dog who had wandered off into the sage brush when I fell. Luckily, the construction crew had tied her up when she wandered up to the road.

I slept the rest of the day till Mabel came over to cheer me up! Brittany brought dinner up to help Ed who had a lot to do yesterday in addition to waiting on me! He even did a load of laundry!

I'm happy to be able to sit up today without feeling nauseous! I'm happy that my arm doesn't hurt if I hold it completely still!

I wish I could type with 10 fingers!

Hair Cut

It has taken me months to getting around to finding a new hairdresser. I finally chose Celeste, at Eight Zero One in Alpine, because she was the closest in location of all the recommendations I got from friends.

I was glad I did! Not only did she do a great job cutting and weaving color into my hair, but she also gave a wonderful scalp massage along with the shampooing! That alone will keep me coming back!

Gardening and Goats

I made a few goat friends yesterday at the gardening class sponsored by the Relief Society.

We met at Cori's house, where she showed us how to make a compost pile. Her's was very nice.

She had a beautiful vegetable garden with a 7 foot fence to keep the deer out. She gave way snippets of herbs and pieces of kale still growing in the garden.

She even shared some of the herbs with the cow and goats next door.

She had an equally impressive flower garden full of perennials, many of them still in bloom. I'm hoping to get some ideas for my flowers next summer.

It was fun to see how they incorporated the original homesteader's log cabin into their modern house, and how they used a portion of it for their garden shed. It was so warm and inviting!