IN WHICH THE SPINSTER TAKES A WALK....SORT OF.

 

It took me longer to get my shoes on than it did to make it down the stairs and into the parking lot for a three and a half minute walk, but...

I did it....Slowly, and without my scooter contraption, but I put one foot in front of the other for three and a half minutes and felt the warm breeze on my face and probably looked like a mafia widow in my all black get-up with hat pulled low and glasses covering much of my head, but like my Jersey Boy said: "It's three and a half minutes more than you walked yesterday", so I'm feeling pretty happy at the moment.

Time for a damn good cold brew, a water refill, and a little reading time before stitching.

Cheers, Dearies! And Happy Monday to you!

PROGRESS

 

Hi, Dearies!

I put the final stitch in the upper motif last night, so now it's on to the big sheep hill and bottom border! I am just so in love with this piece, and have promised myself to have it framed rather than put it in the fuppy box.

Small setback due to some low hemoglobin, but all will be well as soon as I can get some iron. My kidney team is arranging an infusion, so I'm in good hands...nothing to fret about.

The sun is shining, the birds are tweeting sweetly, and I finally have laundry sploshing away in the contraption. I'll have my cold brew and a shower this afternoon, and will be good as new!

What's going on in your little corner of the world?

 

SNICKERS, HEATH BAR, OR BUTTERFINGER...OH MY!

 

SLOWLY...BUT GETTING THERE

 

OK, BETTY. I FINALLY TOOK THE DAMN CHRISTMAS TREE DOWN.

 

Here's an important safety tip if you happen to be seven weeks post major surgery. If you do something reckless like decide to sit on the floor, have a plan for getting back up before you do so.

(I'm slowly chipping away at my to do list, and today was the day I was determined to get the Christmas tree put back into its bag. Thanks to a lovely Dearie who gifted me an amazon gift certificate, I was able to find what I think is a pretty good replacement tree so that the corner won't look so naked.)

(Thank you again, Dearie!)

Down I went to unplug things and de-dust and generally tidy up, when it occurred to me that it was going to take a minor miracle or a major forklift to get me back up. I sat there for several minutes before I confessed to my JB that I might be stuck, but I suddenly remembered a video I saw on the YouTubes about this very thing, and before I knew it...I was safely and painlessly upright once again.

(Crisis averted.)

I am now happily under the blankets with Snoopy, and as soon as my afternoon damn good knocks the cobwebs away I'm going to try to stitch a bit before making dinner. 

Happy Friday that has felt like a Saturday to me all day! If you're having the same blustery weather we are, batten the hatches! 

FINALLY...ONE I CAN COMPLETE!

 

 

 

...especially with freshly laundered sheets and blankets and after a wonderful shower with all of the "good" soaps and shampoos!

SATURDAY PLAN

 

Good morning, Dearies.

Well, I had to give myself a stern talking-to this morning already. For the last several days I have been fretting myself into a snit over this and that, and I sat down to drink my damn good with a thousand little shouldlings buzzing around in my head.

"Enough!", I bellowed loud enough to scare the neighbors.

This is probably the one time in my life when it is absolutely positively certainly and without doubt OK for me to do nothing but R.E.S.T.  And instead of fully embracing that fact, I allowed that dastardly part of my tiny little brain a moment to pipe up with all of the crap he felt I should be doing instead.

(I really dislike that little bas$#@* and wish he'd go haunt somebody else's house for a while. Mine is all full-up with all of his colleagues that tell me I should be eating better or drinking more water or taking better care of my skin.)

Phooey on all of 'em, I say!

So I am going to sit here on my big fat heiney today and enjoy my new book, enjoy my Blessing Sampler, and enjoy the last season of The Crown that I have been bingeing, and everything else can just...wait. Critical things like the bathroom and kitchen are clean enough not to warrant plague, and one more night on flannel sheets isn't going to kill anybody. I have healthy things to eat and lots of water to drink (thanks to a dispensing gizmo that prevents me from having to lift the bottle onto the cooler), and my JB will call from NJ to check in later this afternoon, I'm sure.

I'm getting there, I promise. But, as many of you know, old habits die hard, and in my head I am still capable of having a Spinster Saturday...clean the house top to bottom, run a week's worth of errands, and then still have energy left over to dine and dance the night away. Forget the fact that I was 20 when I did that, and now I'm a month away from 60...that stuff is ingrained deep deep inside.

So, I hereby announce a new mode of Spinster Saturday! Stay in your jammies, drink damn good or your bevvie of choice with impunity, and do absolutely nothing but rest and do all the things you love! Let's get started!

WHADDA YA MEAN IT ISN'T?!

 

 

AMEN

 

TRUE STORY

 

 

IN WHICH I BECOME A...POOTER

SPINSTER, KNOW THYSELF!

 

THE STATE OF THE SPINSTER STITCHER UNION...

 

My fellow Dearies...

Today has been a good day thus far. I had a good long sleep and finally hauled myself out of the big girl sleigh bed after 11am! My JB was out and about for appointments and errands, and just as the coffee maker was sputtering its last bit of damn good into my big huge cup, he arrived home with good reports and a few bags of provisions.

After a wonderful hot and soapy shower and hair wash, I was off to visit with Dr Eskapalli...my kidney doc, who was anxious to hear all of the exciting details of the last month.

Can you believe it's been a month?! I was kind of feeling a bit behind schedule a few days ago, but Dr E assures me that a normal person (without all of my other issues) normally needs at least twelve full weeks to get this far, so I'm feeling a little better about being so "lazy" these last several days.

But in the spirit of keeping you up to date, I will tell you that my recovery progress remains slow and steady. I am becoming more and more confident taking care of Louie, and thanks to patience and excellent nursing while in hospital, I think I've learned what to look for in terms of trouble signs.  Pain is still an issue, but more and more a minor one, and I have weaned myself down to taking two Tylenol before bed instead of every six hours.

I've lost a fair amount of weight and continue to do so, and despite being free to eat "anything that sounds good", I am, for the first time in my life, consistently making good choices and have reduced my portion sizes considerably. I'm concentrating on protein, and am very very slowly re-adding fresh fruits and vegetables as well as higher fiber foods.

Energy-wise, I am still nowhere near my old self, and my ability to stand or walk for any length of time is really really limited, but I have a wonderful set of exercises to do for both upper and lower body, thanks to visits from physical and occupational therapists.

My greatest challenge right now is mental. (I know. Surprise surprise , right?)  My stupid to do list has grown arms and legs and is now learning to growl at me from various corners, and I spend a lot if time mulling all of the shoulds that just aren't getting done. CS2 is in desperate need of a deep clean, I am woefully behind in keeping up with bills, paperwork, correspondence, etc., and my poor skin and hair are definitely looking more Swamp Witch than Suburban Spinster.

(But...baby steps. I have to remember that at no time did one single doctor or nurse refuse to care for me because of my split ends or epic winter leg hair and post-menopausal beard/mustache situation, and last time I checked, not one visitor has recoiled in horror when coming in to check my blood pressure.)

So tonight I will have a light dinner and will watch a bit of something easy while Rich ushers the Notre Dame men's basketball game versus Duke. I'll put the game on for a minute or two to see if he's on camera, and then I'll head to bed early for another good sleep.

I am still so very happy and grateful and humbled by the love and prayers and encouragement that surround me. How did I ever get to be so incredibly blessed with such a beautiful life?

AND THEN...SHE STITCHED