Watch out world, she's back! I drove us to the market yesterday and walked all over with just a cane. It sure feels good to be mobile again. Tomorrow we get more X-rays, and we see the MD on Wednesday. I jumped the gun on weight bearing, it feels right.
Have I told you lately how much I love my internet? :) I love doing chores while listening to something interesting.
I have always enjoyed doing this with certain radio programs. Many a dish has been concocted during CBC's Sunday Morning. But now we have podcasts. Joy!
Done today: Prepared the garlic for storage indoors. It has been hanging outside since harvest in August. At the time I ran out of energy to clean it after a few bundles. Chris just hung the rest up with dirt clinging to it. I was afraid it would be hard to clean later and keep less well as a result. Thanks to the long September drought it was a cinch. A gentle brushing removed all dirt without damage to the bulbs. This is one well-cured batch.
This was the entertainment:
http://www.extraenvironmentalist.com/2012/07/28/episode-46-recovering-environmentalists/
I found this one because TED introduced me to Dmitri Orlov. And Dmitri Orlov gave an interview to the people on this site.
Thought-provoking interviews that take their time. Good stuff.
To give a brief idea: the surf on Facebook today tossed up a picture of Tar Sands destruction with the caption: If this is good for the economy, we need a new economy. AMEN.
We are still not driving, but we are making good use of the community bus. On Monday it is available in and around the village all morning, and it goes to the Nakusp Hot Springs right after lunch.
I left the wheelchair home this time in favor of the walker, another small milestone. We took the bus to town just before lunch, did our grocery shopping and stashed the selection in the coolers of the store.
Then we took the bus to the Hot Springs for an hour of bliss.
I was very careful making my way from the dressing room to the pool.
It was cool enough to enjoy the warm water, but the sun still has real warmth. Picked up the groceries on the way home and made a delicious batch of gado-gado.
And now I am going to retreat early to bed in the company of Caius Merlyn Brittanicus. I am working my way through Jack Whyte's epic retelling of the Arthurian legends, sans magic.
A good read though I do get tired of battle scenes, the characters are a bit one dimensional, and at some point the author seems to have lost track of the genealogy of his own characters. Nevertheless, a worthwhile read which is yielding food for thought regarding times of collapse.
This post is duplicated from the garden blog. It is sort of half life and half garden progress.
YEAH! I made it up to the big fenced garden with my trusty young helper. Outside on the uneven ground I use the walker and put my weight on my arms instead of on the right leg. In the house I can now walk around as long as I wear the Zimmer splint. The wheelchair still serves for 'long distance' travel such as the long hallway between bathroom and living room. "Let pain be your guide" was the sensible advice the doctor gave me when I went for the 6 week check-up. I just needed to know if this was a "Don't do this yet!" kind of pain, or if it was telling me to get off my butt already and get in shape. It was the former. The leg and I are working out constructive compromises.
Michelle followed behind with the wheelchair so I could sit down just in case. I hobbled all the way up, and then sat down inside the garden. I watched her weeding the double row of leeks that was about to be smothered. They will keep growing well into fall and even survive winter. They could do with a top dressing of COF, but first we have to make a fresh batch. Chris was up there too digging potatoes. I couldn't help myself. While he was gone to get a snack I just had to grab the fork and dig up a few plants. I also yanked out a few weeds in the carrot square and removed the bottom two thirds of the Brussels sprout leaves. The next day the leg told me in no uncertain terms to take it easy OR ELSE. So I did.
When Michelle came again I stayed below and she got to pick apples from the volunteer trees. Apart from the fact we don't like to waste food we need to get them before the bears come around. It is a good thing I could not see what she was up to. It turns out she had climbed into the trees to shake them from the top. No wonder we have such a bumper crop! There were two more pails. M. took one home and one is in the kitchen. These are not great for fresh eating and they don't keep well. We will be busy the next few days juicing and saucing.
Too bad my sister is not here this year, she makes a mean Dutch style apple pie. This was her handiwork.
I have never understood the expression "easy as pie".
As happens so often when summer is off to a late start, September is trying to make up for lost time. So am I.
August was quite nice but I was too tired to do much about getting outside.
I am still not allowed to bear 100% weight on the injured leg, but as long as I don't overdo it and wear the Zimmer splint I can get around a bit.
The view above is what I see when I drag the zero gravity chair onto the ramp that makes the dwelling wheelchair accessible. I can do that myself now, yeah!
I get to lay back, smell the phloxes and bask in the mellow late summer sun. Heaven.
I am cooking our meals again and juicing daily. The Omega 8004 doesn't roar, it purrs. It is fast, thorough, easy to clean and reassemble. It can do other tricks too, like grind meat and make pasta. We will play with that in winter.
Today was a glorious day. We enjoyed the weekly market outing in the sun. We got home around 1. A week ago that would have been it for the day. Today I rested till 2, then made miso soup for lunch and put the groceries away, rested some more, and made a simple but sustaining meal. Buffalo burgers with pesto, tomato and cucumber from the garden, salad with tomatoes, green beans and onions from the garden, corn on the cob from the market. We had it on the deck at a set table with our good friend Beverley. It was the first time since June that I had done anything like that. It sure feels good to be more myself again.
This was probably the last truly warm day of the year. The forecast calls for some rain tomorrow, with a return to sun but cooler next week. Whatever the future holds, this day has been well and truly milked. I have said that before. But then, it is something to strive for daily, isn't it?
