Progress??

Things are moving foreward. I think my leg is getting better. The times when it feels ok are lasting a little longer so I have hope that this is moving in the right direction. I am not a big fan of this not being able to move and do as I used to be able to. Never thought I would be happy just to be dealing with the osteoarthritis only. That seems very weird to me but I would be very happy to just go back to dealing with that.

I have made some headway this weekend. I got groceries, I used the "order it on the internet and pick it up at the store" method but it worked wonderfully well. I will definitely do it again. Plus I did not have to try and walk around the store or stand in a checkout line. Wonderful. My neighbour mowed my lawn for me, so nice of him, no payment required even. I have nearly finished the laundry which is good because nearly every item of clothing was needing to be washed.

Today I made a big pot of soup, roasted a pork tenderloin and made a pot of porridge. Now I have stuff for lunches next week. I hate making lunches and I struggle with knowing what to make and having stuff in the house to use for lunch. This week I will have avoided that problem. Hallelujah!!!

I worked on the puppets, I tried, again, to get the kitchen cleaned up. I don't know what it is with this room and me but we have a battle royal going on every week. Well I do know what it is, I can't stand as long as I need to to get the job done. Can you tell this situation is getting me frustrated??

I had to let The Nurse know today that I will not be able to attend Cirque de Soel with them in June. I was so looking foreward to going but the more I think about it the more I can't see it happening. I could not walk a long way from the parking lot, I could not stand and wait in line for a long time. I can't stand long enough to pay for something if there are three people ahead of me.  If there are stairs to walk up without handrails I am hooped. So rather than end up in a situation that I can't deal with, I decided to pass. Doesn't mean I am not miffed about it. I really really really wanted to go.

So my mood today is as gray and dull as the weather today. Feeling just a little sorry for myself today. I will get over it but right now its a pity party, table for one!! Things are getting better its just going too slow for me.


Toodles,
Linda

Things is Gettin' Better

So I think that things are getting better in as much as things have not got worse for the moment.The car is all fixed and paid for. Savings and credit cards have taken a beating but at least things are paid for.

It was wonderful to not wake up to the alarm clock this morning. Three day weekends are fabulous. I slept in late and when I did manage to get downstairs I promptly got a ticking off by a certain someone who really really wanted his breakfast!!

Got the three of us fed and watered then the two furry ones went to find comfy places to sleep the day away and I watched a bit of tv before I got going on the housework.\

My week last week went from only having one night with something on, to having a full, busy week.
One very good plus this week is I was quilting again!! that brace did its job and I can once again hold a needle and do my happy thing.

Was helping the Banker finish a quilt for her sister-in-law. The sister-in-law's mom passed away before she could finish it and The Banker volunteered to do it so it could still be given as a wedding gift to the grandson as intended. I was more than happy to help and over the moon to find out I could quilt again. SO HAPPY. Now I am looking to the list of quilts that I have planned to make with mouth watering anticipation!

The Banker, bless her heart, is a bit of an energizer bunny. Once she gets going she has a hard time to stop. She very kindly dug up my flower bed for me. I had asked that she only do a portion of it because the other part was my hosta bed which had matured very nicely. I even sent her a text with pictures of where to start and where to stop. Once she got going......

She did the whole thing. Hosta la Vista baby. I was stunned but its worked out for the best. I had intended to add more hostas so now I can re arrange them. The Banker came back and we dug some of the old hostas out of the green bin and replanted them. They are showing signs of life so its not all lost. She did a lovely job of it but my poor hosta bed!! It will be fine in time, She felt so bad. I was a tad upset myself at first but now I am looking at it as a fresh start.

I have been trying to get some housework done around here but it just seems I am spinning my wheels. I work and work and don't seem to make much headway. I did get a few things done, but not at all what I had hoped to.no yard work at all but I managed to make a double batch of laundry soap.

I got going on a mosaic star for one of my work mates. I turned this:

Into this over the last two days:

It has to dry completely and get its back painted then its good to go to its new home. I hope to deliver it tomorrow. I rather like it. If I had more red tiles I would be tempted to make one for myself for the shed. I like the red, grey, white combo.

I also had a Pinterest moment in my kitchen on Saturday. here is the before:

During the Great Shed Purge of 2017 I found an old rake with a broken handle. Gave it a good clean and now we have the after:

I am tickled with the result. It looks good in the kitchen. Now if I could get that damn room clean again.

I finally got the oars given away. I was hoping to use them myself. I have always wanted a cabin but I am thinking that dream is just going to remain a dream.  I passed them onto a friend who actually has a cabin  and can use them as a decor item. One more thing out of the house.

Now I have laundry soap again I have a lot of laundry to catch up on. I still want to get the kitchen done and then tackle the living room. My sciatica is still giving me grief, The pain killers are slow acting and they are living up to their reputation. Standing and walking are not something I can do for long periods of time. I have to sit to wash a sink full of dishes. Its so frustrating but not much I can do to change it. I can not stand long enough to get around the grocery store so I may have to hire one of my friends to do a grocery run for me one of these days. The corner store only carries so much.

This too shall pass and I will be able to hobble about as I did before. Right now I am going to sneak in a quick nap, then finish kitchen, keep the laundry going and get the living room done before the day is done.

Toodles,
Linda

One Step Foreward and Several Backward..........Such is My Life

Some days I just feel like the universe is not overly fond of me. I realize that things go well and things go whackadoodle in everyone's life. Worse things and better things. But once in a while things go whackadoodle in my life and I think.......REALLY........what is this suppose to teach me. When one rides as close to the ragged edge as I do, some lessons are not very clear. At least not to me, so I then think, give up trying to teach me, I am JUST NOT GETTING IT!!! GIVE UP.

My fridge is on its last legs and I need to get the tires changed out on my car. The winter ones need to come off and the summer ones need to be put on. Was counting on my income tax refund to help out with this. Did not happen, whole lot of mistakes made on my part and I ended up paying and then asking for a reassessment. This year, because I dipped into my investments, I ended up in a higher tax bracket and looks like I would need to pay again.This does not fix the fact that the fridge and tires need to be dealt with. (We are not talking about the shingles, the windows and the carpet in my room those are a problem for another day)

So out comes the credit card that I have been working at paying off, was so proud of making progress on it, and I made an appointment to get the tires switched out. Now I have two sets of tires and this will not be an expense I need to deal with for awhile. Right now its not one I needed but its done and over. My credit card is not a great as it once was but to quote my Mom "At least I could pay for it"
Even better while I was at the garage they mentioned some work that REALLY NEEDS to be done, the cost of which caused me to faint. Not literally but in my head I passed out, threw up and burst into tears, all at one time. Lets just say I hope the fridge has a lot more miles on it yet.

I should have known, my cars have always done this at income tax time. Apparently no one told this car that Canada Revenue is not handing out refunds to me much this year.

I did get a notice from the nice tax people that I am getting some money back, I don't have to pay anymore, THANK HEAVEN. I am trying hard to be very grateful that this mess is cleaned up and its going to be help with the new car repairs but the refund is not even half of what I need, therein lies the struggle with being grateful. ARRGH ..............cars, they are a blessing and a curse.

So today I went to a walk-in because my good leg is making me nuts and I want the pain to stop. Let me say I do not like to go to the Doctor, I have a long history of dealing with them and being treated like I am wasting their time. I finally caved in today and went because I just want these nonsense to stop. Well. the one Doctor that I have completely no use for was the dude on duty this morning. SERIOUSLY??? This is the Doctor that I saw at the start of my cellulitis extravaganza. He did not even want to give me three days off because it was only a slight infection. What was I fussing about. He grabbed my leg and squeezed it and I regret now that I did not kick him. He gave me amoxicillin which works as good as skittles.  My slight infection ended up with me being in hospital for 44 days and off work totally for 7 months. Oh yeah, I was going to deal with him again with my leg pain. NOT, I got back in my car and went to work. So what was the lesson in that?? Did nothing to make me feel better about going to the Doctor, not even a little bit.

So have we had enough of this little pity party? I have. Lets look at some positive things. I got the crib sheet made for Teddy Bear's granddaughter this weekend

Making this I found out that my sewing machine will zigzag again!! It must have just needed a rest. I am not going to try and figure out I am just thrilled its working again.

The Banker is going to dig my flower bed for me, as I can't right now. I am going to plant hostas all across the flower bed. They grow nicely and seem to thrive in the bed. I want the yard to look the nicest with the minimal amount of work required.  

I am going to go and pout for a bit.

Toodles,
Linda

Not much to say for myself

So we finally had a lovely weekend, perfect for getting out and getting the yard in shape and I was not up to the task. My good leg had developed a burning pain, which feels like sciatica and so standing for any length of time is less than pleasant. Can't shift my weight onto my bad leg so it presents a bit of a pickle. I am less than impressed but it is what it is.

I did manage to get a wee bit done before I had to give up and go back to sitting. When I say a wee bit. I meant a very wee bit.

The remnants of last years peonies, The bows, the nasty old winter wind blew off the veranda and just general detritus. I found my clippers, my broom  and did my best.

Snipped, clipped and then all the garbage bagged up it is a start.Thankfully my neighbours have children and some of them like to earn some money. Their daughter came over and volunteered to clean up my back yard for me. Her brother had originally wanted the job but I suspect that was more his parents idea than his, according to sister he decided he didn't want to do the yard but if I wanted to hire her, she would have a go, She did a fantastic job. Dad gave her a hand and together they got it looking far better than I ever would have. I need to put all the do-dads back in the proper places but its so nice and clean now. Money well spent!!

The tulips are coming up, the leaves are starting to show on the trees. My flowering bush at the front, the third one planted since I killed the dogwood, has little green buds on it and I am so excited!! It survived the winter and is showing signs of life. What more can I hope for.

Until my leg smartens up and lets me stand for more that 5 minutes at a time I am continuing on with the puppet production. I am going to get going on quilts again and I have some things that need to be painted. I also continue to poke away at the sewing room. I have been going through the extra boxes that end up in there on the floor, stuffed with things that just need to be put away. once those are done I can start on the storage bins.

Had my first coffee on the veranda this year, oh how I enjoy that. Too bad the veranda is still wearing all its dust and dirt from the winter. Never the less it was wonderful. All these things will be done, one step at a time.

Toodles,
Linda