Bling

Sun's out but it's awfully frigid in our neck of the woods. Still, I'd rather see the sun than not. The yard looks like it's strewn with diamonds.

I've just begun the long, luxurious process of carmelizing several pounds of sweet onions which by day's end will be the main ingredient in a french onion soup. What better use for all those big prime rib bones I froze from Christmas dinner! The windows are completely covered over with condensation and the house smells amazing. This is the way to cook.

School starts tomorrow. Let the juggling begin!

I Declare

Furniture:
Rearranged

Heating pad, blankets and pillows:
All put back in their rightful spots

Laptop:
Just about to get hooked back up to the monitor in my office upstairs

Today I declare that the family room is no long a recovery room!

It sure feels good to feel GOOD!

Begin

School begins on Monday and oh boy...I'm just not ready. But just like Christmas it'll happen whether or not. I'm working hard at not beating myself up over this and I'm thinking about what the great Buddhist teacher Pema Chodron posted today. It bears repeating here.

BEGIN WITH KINDNESS TO YOURSELF

We are all in this together. So when you realize that you’re talking to yourself, label it “thinking” and notice your tone of voice. Let it be compassionate and gentle and humorous. Then you’ll be changing old stuck patterns that are shared by the whole human race. Compassion for others begins with kindness to ourselves.

Thank you Pema.

Moving Right Along

The temp is minus 1 and dropping.
Good thing we opted to cook pasta for dinner tonight...

Gonna be a three cat night for sure.

Pippa was an enormous help with course prep today,


when she wasn't busy trying to convince K that she needed more crunchies...


Healing is continuing right on schedule. My energy is still a little sub-par but it's only been ten days so I'm willing to cut myself a little break.
It gets a little better each day.
I have no pain.
It is truly amazing.

Snow Day

Finally a proper snow!

Too bad the snow shovel was stranded in the garage...with the door frozen shut.

Ken eventually wrangled it open and our friend Jen shoveled the walks and the patio. My contributions came from the kitchen...homemade hot cocoa and turkey soup.

Pippa provided us with plenty of entertainment and after wearing her out with her favorite twist tie game, she was finally ready for her close up.






I love snow days.

One Week Ago

One week ago: yikes it's gone fast...
One week ago: worried, scared, ready or not...
One week ago: wake up, get up, walk the ward, sleep like there's no tomorrow...
One week ago...

Here's to having it all behind me. Ahhhhhhh, I am still sighing in relief. I even felt energetic enough today to clear five huge loads of laundry from the laundry room floor, fold them and put 'em all away. Never mind the part about needing a nap after ward. I'm just proud I accomplished something more physical than scooping hard sorbet out of a pint container.

Tomorrow there'll be a trip into town and a visit to FOUND. It's been over a week.

Escape

This is the structure of my day lately...

Advil, probiotics, calcium...check.

I've seen more of this view than I care to admit

and even this view is starting to lose it appeal.

So today, I just couldn't take it anymore. I got dressed took off on a little walk.

Ah, the smell of fresh air, melting snow, dirt...but wait a minute. Hold on.

I know this anesthesia messes with your mind and all, but did I miss something?
Isn't it still winter?

Since it was 50 degrees today, there's only a hint of winter left to see

A former goldenrod,

and a hibernating grapevine...

Yep, looks like it's definitely still winter...time for a nap.

Choices

I think it safe to say I'm now all caught up on HGTV's House Hunters International and TLC's American Pickers. I'd still be watching TLC this very minute if the Pickers marathon hadn't been replaced by Say Yes to the Dress. And let's face it, when Michelle Duggar from 19 Kids and Counting starts appearing on the show, that's not a good sign.

So I skipped the obvious network channel choices. I'm just not interested in who your baby daddy is, whether or not Beyonce actually gave birth or what the weather is in Utica. I need entertainment, a diversion, and something fun and different to make the day just a little more interesting. So today I headed straight to the part of the dial I've never been to and here's what I learned:

• We get a gazillion channels. Seriously. I had now idea just how many until today.
  
• The variety of programming out there is staggering.
  

Here are a few shows I discovered today:

TLC ~ I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant: Freak show...need I say more?

MTV ~ 16 and Pregnant: Now here's a dilemma. They run this show at the very same time as "I Didn't Know I was Pregnant". What to do, what to do...

EWTN ~ The Holy Rosary with Mother Angelica: Riveting (if you're in a coma)

A&E ~ Storage Wars I'd love to like this show, but it's just too ridiculous for words. Their JibJab video on the other hand is definitely worth a watch.

TRUTV ~ Joren Van der Sloot: the Murder Trial/Casey Anthony's youtube video diaries: Suddenly CSPAN2 is starting to look good...

Next One Network: If you're a cowboy this channel's for you, especially the show "The Weekend Cutter".

Game Show Channel: The reruns are so old it's just like being home sick during junior high school days...wonder if Bewitched is on somewhere?

And these are just the highlights. There is so much out there and all of it appears to have its own show or better yet, its own dedicated channel...Golf. Fishing. Pidgeon shooting. I Shouldn't be Alive. Sea Turtle Odessey. FOX Soccer Report. Exorcism (on Planet Green no less). I Didn't Know I was Stupid (okay I made this one up, but maybe I should pitch it to A&E - you never know).

On the bright side, there is some hope out there at the outer ends of the dial. Today I found some interesting shows to watch on the SUNDANCE Channel on OVATION on BBC and on the Cooking Channel (a nice change from the FOOD Network and all those inane cooking competitions). The doc says I can drive, so tomorrow I'm determined to get out of the house.

There must be an errand that needs running...

How-To

I must be feeling better. I'm sick of HGTV and American Pickers, and the documentaries on HULU are actually starting to look interesting. It's sunny and clear today and if it were warmer I'd be out making photos. Instead I've been trying to make my way through the Dummies book that goes with my camera. I've also been perusing camera tips and tricks on youtube. Now, here's an interesting idea:

I'll get right on that...

Feet Up

Rest is the word of the day. It's only the third day after my surgery and even I can hardly believe how good I feel. There is little to no pain from the incision and only a hint of muscle pain and stiffness in the back of my neck and shoulders. Advil takes care of it. The swollen throat thing is really the most noticeable inconvenience along with a very low energy level.

I forget just how much anesthesia can take out of you. I'm basically going from the bed to the recliner and back to the bed, then again to the recliner and eventually to bed for the night.

Peter has taken over as main nurse cat on duty.

He doesn't quite have the finesse that Pippa has, but he makes up for it with pure love, affection and unbridled enthusiasm.

Progress

As you can see, I am getting plenty of attention from our Pippa kitten,
who has designated herself in charge of all Nurse Cat duties.

Lillie is in charge of keeping my feet warm. I think Peter is waiting patiently for me to return to bed upstairs. I am so incredibly happy to be home. Next on the agenda today, ditching those oh so fashionable hospital bracelets...

Grateful

Nothing like even the briefest of hospital stays to put things in perspective...just sayin'

I am home and settled now, and so grateful to be back in familiar surroundings. I've been sniffed and roundly remarked by all three kitties, fed a sumptuous pasta lunch cooked by my sweetie and even had chocolate pudding for dessert. This soft diet won't do anything for my waistline but it gets high marks in my book for comfort. I've got the most recent DWELL and Country Living magazines, a cup of tea and the most delicious sunshine streaming in through the windows. There is only peace and quiet here. No beeping machines, no needles, no more sleep interruptions to take vitals. Thank goodness. I'm glad to be on the other side of all of this and ready to move on, bed hair and all...