Hot Diggity Dog

  I presented myself at the appointed time, thinking I was about to see my new scar and get the stitches snipped out. As I waited, I fantasized about all the things I would be able to do soon. I was even looking forward to doing dishes and giving my kitchen a good cleaning. Mostly I was looking forward to a shower without having a giant glove taped to my hand. I would be able to wash my hair with two hands! Simple things make me happy. The nurse cut the bandage away and revealed the top of my hand where an ugly sideways "V" was stitched together. My hand was a weird shade of purple and blue, and it was still swollen under the stitches. It looked like the cyst was still in place! The surgeon said it looked good, making me question his ability to see. Then he proceeded to palpate the bubble of swollen tissue and opine that it was filled with my blood. I wanted to swat his hand away because he was causing the shooting pain that had plagued me for 9 months. Then he rendered his v...

  I am happy to report that I am actually wearing clothes today! I have been living in nightgowns for the past week. Never, in my wildest dreams did I think I would be drowning in so much pain. The amount of pain pills should have been a clue. The surgery went well, according to what the surgeon told The Man waiting for my release. He said the cyst was only the size of a quarter. This makes me wonder how something so small can cause my hand and fingers to hurt so much. My right arm is bruised almost to my elbow and my thumb and first four fingers are still blue and now turning yellow at the edges. So, remember that I seemed to be on a quest to injure my toe as many times as I could before submitting my hand to be cut open. The laceration from the food processor hitting my foot has healed. No thanks to me dropping that shelf on the previous injury .... but wait, it gets better. During the night the toe began throbbing and was hot to the touch. No, this can't be a gout attack. Or thi...

  The laceration on my foot was healing nicely. The pain was almost gone, and I was feeling good when I hiked up my driveway to play in the shed. But first I wanted to address the voids in my garden. I planted some tall grasses last year and not all of them made it. I had a gap to fill.  I really wanted to go buy some shrubs that would grow rather tall. But I was not going on a shopping spree. So, I dug a clump of day lilies up and split it into five good sized plants that I planted in the spots left after I removed the dead plants. I am glad I did this first since the rest of my day went straight to hell. I moved everything to install the cutting table. The Man arrived with my table and we began the installation. As is usual when working with him, things did not go smoothly. For whatever reason, he has a problem accepting advice from me and pretends to not understand what I am talking about. This irritates me and makes me want to smack the back of his head. I don't, because I...

  We left home at 11 am and returned at 6 pm. It was a long day. We went to the hospital with its many towers and pulled in to see if any signs could point us to the outpatient pre-op area. That would be too easy and make sense. I went into the closest tower, the blue tower and up to the handy information desk to inquire. The sweet little old lady consulted the computer and said, "Oh, honey you need to go to the separate facility that handles the pre-op testing." I told her that telling the patient this on one of the many reminder calls and texts they sent out. My bad. She then began to tell me where I could file a complaint and went on to say that maybe I should tell them when I got there. We arrived at the facility that we had passed on the way to the hospital. The blue tower is the entrance I will need to take on surgery day, so at least I got some useful information. My primary had given the printout of my blood panel to give to them and I avoided a needle. I signed all t...

  The phone woke me; it was the surgeon's office reminding me that I have an appointment tomorrow for my pre-op. It was storming and the rain beat down so loud on the roof it dulled the sound of anything else. I went back to bed and slept until 11am. That is unheard of for me. I reminded The Man about the trip to Gainesville tomorrow and he left to get the oil changed. I was left with a quandary. Should I head to Wits End and continue my quest to organize, or should I get a casserole put together and ready for the oven and then go to Wits End? Wait, another option presented in my brain ..... should I stay and mop the floor, too? None of the above happened. I was being very industrious as I cleaned the kitchen and got all the ingredients to the counter. I noted that 1/2 cabbage in the crisper and thought I should throw together some slaw to go with our dinner/supper tonight. As you all know by now, I have precious little counter space in my tiny kitchen and am forced to keep small a...

  As my appointment for surgery draws near, my hand reminds me with shooting pains that this thing has to go! Despite that, I have been playing every day in my shed. I have both ends built in with work surfaces and now the fun begins as I begin to unpack all the stuff that has accumulated in there. I have discovered things lost and forgotten. I found the foot pedal for my favorite sewing machine (I now have 4 in various states of repair). One end of the room will be dedicated to sewing. All my thread is on the peg wall. Ribbons are on dowels waiting to be mounted on the ceiling above the work surface.  On the ceiling, you say? There is a 5' loft above each end. That means that I can touch the ceiling will little effort, so why not use it? There is 6' in the middle that will have my cutting table affixed. I am stingy about my space and will use every square inch! Under the cutting table will be the big clear plastic totes with fabric. I should be able to go three high with stac...