Better

46°f, clear. No rain in sight for the foreseeable future.

Larry's "poutin' house", at the edge of the woods. He sometimes uses it as a deer stand, but that's about it. Who has time to pout these days?

I am happy to report that Larry is much better, and is up and busy. He is still drinking the Pedialyte and has little appetite, but definitely over the bug. Which, we learned, is going around. I am still hoping to avoid it. There is no way I can rush to the toilet right now!

Yesterday was a bad day for me with my knee. Perhaps it was lack of sleep,  or maybe all that nighttime busyness, mopping, etc. Whatever it was, my knee was miserably painful all day. I have heard that there will be good days and bad days, so I guess it's to be expected. Last night, I took a couple OTC sleeping pills that my son uses, and slept 4 hours straight.  Pain brought me awake, and finally in desperation I took a pain pill and slept another 3 hours. What a blessing! Today I was able to do my PT and I feel like a human again.

In reading your blogs, I know there are some of you dealing with hurts too--Granny Marigold's foot, Quinn's shoulder-- and those are in some ways more difficult to manage than my knee. 

And then I think about Barb and Lisa, both affected by the terrible floods in North Carolina. That disaster has left me stunned and horrified. I cannot imagine how people are coping after losing loved ones, homes, livelihoods,  even their whole communities. I read where rescuers hiked in to get a man whose back was broken in a landslide. It took them 3 hours to get him out. Can you imagine his pain? And the weariness of the rescue crew? 

In my own neighborhood,  a younger neighbor had a stroke on Friday, and is in very serious condition. Another is worried about her 10 year old son, who has cysts in his lungs that must be removed. And even my own Larry has 2 blocked arteries; he has yet to learn what the VA will do about that.

So yes, I should not complain about my pain. I chose to do this. I have a comfortable, warm home,  good food, and a husband who is now trying to do the right thing. I have family I can call on if needed. I am surrounded by good neighbors. I am fortunate, and need to remind myself of that every day. 

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

What a Night

42°f at 7 am, clear. 

I may have been bored yesterday, but that sure changed around 11pm last night.

I took my melatonin at 10, and had just fallen asleep when I heard Larry get up and run for the bathroom. He was so sick! This continued until about 5am. Every half hour or so he was up and sick. Poor guy.

And of course I was up too. I could not help him, which was hard. But I put on a mask and cleaned and disinfected each time, opened doors and turned on fans, trying my best to drive out any scattered germs. Because right now the last thing I need is to sick like that. It feels odd to be so self- centered about it, but I must be. Will I avoid this awful bug? I don't know, but I did the best I could. Today Larry slept and drowsed until 2pm, waking only for some water and dry toast. Son Derek just dropped off Pedialyte, Gatorade, orange juice, and bless his heart,  some Lindor chocolate for me. What a sweetheart! 

I did manage to feed the dogs and the cat, and Larry is taking care of the rabbits and chickens now. Odds are he will go right back to bed when he's done. I hope so anyway. And right now I am going to try to take a nap.  I sure can use it. But first, a few pics I took from the porch and deck on this beautiful autumn day.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Bored

It is strange to admit, but I'm bored! After 2 weeks or so of pain and foggy brain, it seems like I am coming back to the surface.  There is still pain,  especially at night, but nothing like the last 17 days.  So, progress! Today I focused on in-home physical therapy,  and used a comfrey salve I bought from a local lady to relieve pain. The salve does seem to help.

I asked Larry pick me a couple roses,  since I could not get to the garden. Where in the world did the purple one come from??? I swear I do not recall planting it, and this is surely the first time it has bloomed. Such a heavenly scent! The orange one also has a lovely scent.

So I cleaned house a little, sat on the porch, read a little, tried to nap and failed. I hope I sleep well tonight---still in my old recliner, but I don't want to disturb Larry all night with my getting up every couple hours. The melatonin seems to work pretty well, thank the heavens, and I can get some deep sleep in between perambulations around the house to ease my leg, which tends to get still if I stay in one position too long. I am not using the cane in the house, but still using the walker at night for safety.

What else has happened? Well, granddaughter Kate, her husband and baby came to visit yesterday, 

and brought a delicious lunch with them. Kate picked up the ingredients and made big Italian subs, with a side of Amish potato salad which tasted very like my potato salad, only sweeter. Baby J was a darling, loving on the dogs and our cat and exploring the chicken house. He is 18 months and is a sturdy little guy.

Today I have waited all day for a neighbor who was supposed to pick up a few bushels of apples we got for her, but she never showed up. Larry grabbed the opportunity of this sunny, warm day to put Thompson's water seal on the front porch steps and handrail, a tedious task that really needed to be done.

I played around taking a few photos of my fall display of (mostly) Early American Pattern Glass on the buffet. I do love the colors and patterns of this old glass.

And that is all the excitement for this Saturday. 

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.