Happy Birhtday Lucas!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUCAS!!!!

I hope you have a marvelous day and enjoy your puzzles!

 

Toe Update

It's been two weeks since I broke my toe.  I went to the orthopedist today and things are healing really well!

A third x-ray showed that the bones shattered in the tip are knitting back together.  The nail is looking more attached and less bloody.  The bruising is finally dissipating. 

The doctor also had me close my eyes and tell him if he was touching my toe or not.  I was able to feel (or not feel, as the case may be) when he was touching it.  So, no nerve damage.  It will take a while for the nail to look normal, but I should have a normal looking nail.

this morning vs.

one week ago

I got an extra soft-cast shoe as a back up.  I am still to wear it whenever I am up, walking.  So stylish.  I see the doctor again in two weeks, and hopefully I won't have to wear the silly thing when we go to Copenhagen! But you know that won't be the case....

Happy Birthday, Dave!

Happy Birthday Dave! 

I hope that you have a marvelous day!!

A Little Bit Sad

I have had numerous texts and emails today, asking if I am okay.  Not because of my toe, but because my favorite band of all time decided (and rightfully so) to call it quits.  And it makes me a little bit sad.

R.E.M. was a fantastic band and I had all their cassettes, CDs, special issue records, interviews, compilations, posters, magazine articles, etc.--Most displayed on my bedroom or college dorm wall.

Once Bill Berry left in 1997, I was disappointed that they didn't hold true to their pledge of breaking up when one person wanted to leave, albeit reluctantly for health reasons.  I only bought a few handful of the other post-1997 albums. "Up" an ex boyfriend gave me; I bought "Accelerate" and listened once. I was in the grocery store and their latest was on sale--I bought it and listened to it in the car on the way home.

I have seen them 17 times.  I have all the concert t-shirts, still wearing them in face. The posters are rolled up though. The magazines have been recycled.  The CDs aren't specially displayed any longer.

The BBC had a nice, well, obit, for the band today.  
As did the New York Times.

And now I have to listen to all the albums again and again.  To Michael, Mike, Bill, and Peter: you were my Beatles and I love you and your music.  Thanks for allowing me to grow up with you, to learn more about the world and issues and humanity.

Compound Tuft Fracture

I have a compound tuft fracture.  I was dusting in the tv room, where a 4 lb hand weight was being used to counter-balance our dvd player, which hangs a bit off the shelf.  I dusted the dvd, picking up the weight.  I put down the weight, and it rolled off the shelf, dropped 3 feet, and squashed my left, middle toe like a grape.  I have never been in so much pain in my life.  Will was home at the time, but at 4 (I did this at 12 noon), he had to leave to go to Seattle.  At 5:30, I called a neighbor to come and walk Stirling with her dog Biscuit.  She came right over, saw my toe, and insisted on taking me to the ER.  Good thing that she did, since the toe was still bleeding, despite being elevated for several hours and time in ice baths.  Turns out that my bone was exposed during that time.  

So, tetanus shot and two lidocaine shots later (to numb my toe), the ER doctor jammed my dislocated nail back into the nail bed to prevent the nail bed from closing, cleaned the wound, and wrapped it, my foot, and ankle in massive amounts of gauze.  I have Percocet for the pain and Zofran for the nausea caused by taking the Percocet.  I am trying not to take any of that.  I also have a heavy duty antibiotic to prevent any infection in the bone.  Another friend dropped off a pair of crutches and that is how I have been getting around: crutches and a soft shoe for my left foot.  

I went to the orthopedist on Friday and he says that it seems to be healing fine and gave me a more appropriately sized bandage for just my toe.  I go again to him on Wednesday.  In the meantime, I have my foot up and trying to ignore the fact that it takes me forever to get anywhere: the loo, upstairs, the kitchen.  However, yesterday I walked around the block with Stirling sans crutches, so it was a good day.

Happy Birthday Brando!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Brando! 

Enjoy your presents and your cake!  

Wish we could be there to help eat your cake, I mean, celebrate with you!

 

Happy 80th!

Happy Birthday Edward!

I hope that you have a marvelous day and think of just how lovely your party was in July.

We love you! 

New Hallway Arrangement

Most of you who have come visiting know that the upstairs hallway was were the Indian tapestry hung until about 2 weeks ago. That is when I had the bright idea of moving it to the guest room. Moving it meant that the hallway was blank and bland. I had a solution, consulted with a friend, and then set about the project: hanging our own photos from our travels in the hallway. 

We had lots of matching frames: cardboard boxes with a Lucite cover-- super cheap but gives that uniform look.  We had purchased photo paper and I went through the 22,000+ photos I have and picked some of the ones I liked the best.  Course, it will look a million times better when we paint the hallway (a lovely mocha color; we just need the time to do it).

We have photos from Japan, South Africa, India, Kuala Lumpur (all four places Will has traveled without me), as well as Australia, Scotland, England, and Malta.  The best part about these photos is that we can change them anytime; for example, after we come back from Denmark in October, there will be photos changed out to make room for those from Copenhagen.    Very fun!

Happy 5th Birthday Chloe!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHLOE!!!  

I hope that you have a wonderful day and enjoy your cake!

 

Kitchen Help

What should we make?

I was in the kitchen the other day, trying to decide what to cook for dinner, when a little Spud came over to help. She had lots of suggestions on what to do make with the bowls.... none of them really edible.

How about a bowler instead?

 

What about a chapeau?

got a mop?

When none of her cooking ideas were accepted by the chefs panel, Spud decided instead to clean the floors.  They were awfully dirty-- this happens when you have a dog.  Seriously, look how guilty Stirling looks: she knows she makes my kitchen floors a mess. 

"What? I am just helping out," they both seemed to say

Happy Birthday, Mom!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! GRANDMOTHER! MOMBO!

I love you and hope that you have a marvelous day!

XXOO

The Office Reveal

Remember this? Well, my office looks like that no longer!  It is very exciting.   I finally finished hanging up (most) of the photos this week and have set up my desk again.  It is nice to have two rooms upstairs completed now.  Both have been transformed, but I have to say that my office is my favorite (so far). It could be that the ceiling is now smooth as opposed to cracked; or the walls aren't beige but a lovely celery green; or that all is fresh and clean!  I am going for the green walls as the main reason. 

with curtains that my sister made for my other condo, moved here

Wanna Come Stay?

The guest room is finally ready!  Now that the photos and pictures are hung and everything is dusted, wiped, mopped, and vacuumed, I can reveal the final outcome! It looks amazing: so fresh and clean!  We are thrilled with the way that it turned out, especially considering how much replastering we had to do.

We also rearranged some of the photos so that the room actually looked decorated vs the "empty nail-throw up photo" look.  I had to wash the Indian tapestry from the hallway since it was covered in plaster dust on top of years of regular dust.  Once I took it down, it was decided that it would look fantastic in the bedroom. (Stay tuned to what I did in the hallway!)  It is such beautiful fabric that seemed to be hiding in the darkness of the hall. No longer!  It is the centerpiece of the bedroom now!

 

I have even managed to find a place for one of Will's mini trees that he has growing for years now.  Tucked away in the corner, getting plenty of light from the new windows, and still not blocking the door into the bathroom.  Perfect! 

Now that all is back in place, the room is ready for guests!  Just don't ask about the en suite... that will be an entirely different project to tackle.

Unexpected Overnight Guest

I am a very light sleeper.  Always have been, always will be.  When I was little and my parents were out for the evening, I would wake up when I heard their footsteps on the stairs as they were coming up to check on us before taking the babysitter home.  It is to the point that I have to go to bed before Will if I am to get any sort of sleep. 

So, when I hear barking outside, coming in waves every 20 minutes, there is no way I will be able to sleep.  The other night, this is just what happened: I am going to bed, Will has followed me up, and as we I am about to turn off the light for the night, I hear our neighbors dog, Angus, barking.  And barking.  And barking. I have been hearing him since 10 pm, and at midnight, I realize that he has been left outside.  Stirling is going crazy since she can hear the barking and knows its Angus. 

I went outside to the neighbors' gate and called Angus' name.  He came running and leapt into my arms.  I brought him inside, gave him a bit of water and some food, and up to bed we went.  He immediately dove under the bed and made himself comfortable.  The next morning, I returned him to the neighbors, who were mortified that they had left him outside.  They have three kids and bedtime for them is a bit crazy.  They have apologized repeatedly and thanked us for taking care of the dog since they hadn't heard him barking.  No worries, we don't mind.  We think it's funny. Angus isn't any trouble either.

And then, last night, as I am going up to bed, I hear the barking outside....  guess who spent the night with us again?

Happy Birthday, Jeremy!

My brother is 40 today.  I can't believe.  Nor can my mom.  Nor Jeremy, really.   I wish him the very best today and for rest of the year.  Not everyone can have a brother as lovely as I have-- one that didn't mind constantly winding up my swyngomatic so I would stay quiet. 

Happy Birthday, Jeremy!  I hope that it is the best!!

My Red Giraffe

I have a thing for giraffes, ever since I worked with them at the Louisville Zoo (now nearly 20 years ago... ack!).  I have stuffed animals, statues, stationary, magnets, pens, pencils, handbags, books, photos, paperweights, jewelry, teapots, coffee mugs, stamps, stickers, socks, t-shirts, ... I think you get the idea.   I love their grace, quietness, demeanor.  They are just amazing creatures. 

I recently moved on from my job after working with the same folks in two different organizations for 12 years.  That is a long tenure in administrative work this day and age.  As a present from a dear friend-- the same lovely lady who drove Stirling to us-- she found me a red giraffe with green hooves and ears.  I am not sure anything could have been better.   He is displayed on the window ledge in the front hall and makes me smile every time I see him. 

Because he is beautiful.  Because I love giraffes.  Because of the memories of time spent with a high school boyfriend who worked at Red Giraffe video.  Because he has green hooves for no good reason.  Because Marian gave him to me.  Thank you, deary.  You are marvelous-- as is your giraffe.