Still limping

But also, still improving. Note I can now describe it as limping with a cane as opposed to lurching.

My parents are amazing people. I had set up the incubators in the basement, but the time had come to remove the eggs from the turners (if they hatch their legs can be injured by being caught by the motorized turner). My parents came over and moved the incubators upstairs so I can reach them.

Passing the time while immobilized: Crochet projects - yes! The trouble is I can't read and crochet at the same time which leaves me looking for something to watch. It can't be too real and dramatic because there's too much of that going on all over the world right now. I watched Despicable Me last night. That's about the right level of drama for me. :)

I found Amazon/IMDB have shows that can be watched for free with ads. Fair enough; I can always hit the mute button for the commercials, but O M G, are people really getting paid to make those? I don't watch television so don't know if that is the standard for all ads, but all of these are either stupid or incredibly annoying. For example: after watching one for Alexa, I decided to never, EVER use it. Perhaps not the reaction they were aiming for.

On a related note; I've been watching an old sci-fi show called Fringe where the FBI is chasing down stuff straight out of a conspiracy nut's dreams. And then I read on the BBC that there are actually people who believe cell phone towers are spreading viruses...aha! I got it - those are the viewers the commercials are aimed at. Now it all makes sense. ;)

Foot extensor tendonitis

I have some good photos to make a nice post. Unfortunately, they are on my desktop so are out of reach at the moment. Soon, though, I will make that nice post.

I'm making this post so I have a record for the next time I get a symptom like this, I will remember it better. For the record: there was no injury to cause this. Monday my foot started twinging a little and by Tuesday it was full-blown pain across the top with swelling and redness. I can't walk, only lurch around. I've learned to plan everything around bathroom trips; changing out the ice pack, refilling my water, putting some snacks in a bag to take back to the chair I now live in.

Crutches would have helped and I have a pair, but as they are in the basement they might as well be on the moon. I am going to make some storage adjustments when this is over. I use a sturdy support to get to the kitchen, the only non-carpeted room, there I scoot around on my desk chair, then on to another support to reach the bathroom. Aleve helps with the swelling and an unlaced, cushioned shoe offers some stability.

Today was day 5 and it is measurably less painful. If the improvement continues, maybe I can take a shower soon! My neighbor has stepped in on the chicken chores and I'm grateful and happy to have her take the eggs.

Better soon!

Best laid plans

I spent much of the day moving poop. Perfect weather for it as it's still too cold to stink. Tomorrow was forecast to rain so I planned on resting and finishing up on Wednesday. But, those dastardly weathermen have changed their forecasts so tomorrow will be the last okay day before the rain and snow move in. Grumble, grump, kicks imaginary can.

On a brighter note, I saw a finch sporting lovely red feathers on his head. Another sign of Spring!

Weather causes mood?

Yesterday was nice. Wearing a heavy jacket, cleaning out some of the garden beds, even making a tiny start on cleaning the chicken coop. Today, back to winter coat; cold, rain, wind - all around yuck and my mood went crashing down to borderline depressed.

I can only hope the weatherman is right and tomorrow will show up with some sunshine. Just give me an excuse to go outside and muck around in some really ripe chicken shit. :)

Aaaaah

Three days since my leave from the hospital started and I'm already so much more relaxed.

I've been keeping an eye on work emails; funnily enough, although there were many attempts to guilt/shame me for inconveniencing them, now they are asking for volunteers to take time off.

The weather can't decide if it wants to rain, sleet or snow; so today it did all three. Definitely a good day to spend inside.

Not going to the store makes me very frugal with perishable foods. I picked through every grape to see which could be salvaged into a fruit salad. I also chopped up the last of the store-bought lettuce. I'm afraid there will be a sizable gap between eating the last of that and harvesting what I have planted so far.

One of the first things I did in my time off was to get out the hair clippers and try them out. I figured if I made a disaster that would give it more time to grow back before I returned to public. :) I learned it is very hard to cut the hair on the back of your own head and around the ears is tricky too. It looks a bit odd, but hopefully not too scary.

Other than that, I've been dreaming of the future garden, crocheting, reading and keeping an eye on the news.

Blurry

I'm feeling a bit off today as I transition back to sleeping at night...hopefully. Lol

I was lucky that it was just rain and fog when I came home so I didn't have any trouble with the roads. It's gotten colder now and, yes, the world is white again. Sigh. I tried to fill the bird feeders this afternoon but they were iced over and I had to bring them inside to thaw off.

Three more evenings working in the ER, then I suspect I will spend the first week just decompressing from the stress. I can not wait to be able to casually visit my parents, sit in the living room and just talk. I wish they had a couple nice cats though; it seems strange to sit without something warm and furry sprawled across my lap.

This morning after work I stopped at the grocery store; first time this month, but I figured since I'm already at risk at work I might as well go one last time before I start isolating. I dropped some fresh produce off in front of my parents' house knowing they will wash it thoroughly. What is this world where I wipe down each banana with disinfecting wipes???

Some of the produce was low in stock but others were plentiful. About normal for a small-town store. The bread aisle was half empty; I prefer homemade bread, but it did look strange to walk past. All the frozen items seemed to be there, so perhaps there hasn't been the panic buying here? I was too tired to bother taking a close look at anything else.

I wish I had looked for pepperonis; homemade pizza sounds nice.

Cheerier thoughts

A visitor earlier this year.

An early start on the lettuce.

Pansies for my mom.

I started the broccoli way too early, so they got moved to the basement.

And my support team, "Don't worry, Mom. I've got this."