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 I had only one pain pill yesterday. Good thing, too because I only have 4 pills in the bottle now! It is almost like that surgeon knows his stuff.

Trying to avoid that needle aspiration, I have been very inactive. But life goes on, you know, things need to get done. The kitchen remains my biggest nightmare. The Man is not detail oriented. He does the dishes but leaves the drains and sinks nasty. I am beginning to think he is wiping the counter with sugar water. They are sticky and look gross. If only I could wring out a sponge or dishcloth with my big sausage fingers ....

Yesterday I decided that the sheets on my bed needed to be changed. I approached The Man as he sat in his recliner staring at his phone. "Do you think you could put sheets on our bed? Since I have pulled the dirty sheets off, it has to be done, and I am unable to manage it without two hands." He was eager to please and went into our bedroom to take charge of the situation. 

He told me that he could handle it and to go sit down. I didn't, of course. I stood silently in the doorway watching as he just sort of looked lost. Poor guy was clueless, having led a sheltered life. You need to remember that not only was he raised in the south where "good" wives would never expect their husbands to do domestic chores; his mother's theory on having children was that they did not ask to be born and should have everything she could provide for them.

I showed him the little label that indicated which way the sheet should go. He grabbed the corner by the elastic and proceeded to try to shove it onto the mattress. I told him to stop and showed him how to lift the corner and put his hand at the top of the seam and slip it over the corner. I will just say that he is easily frustrated with a task he does not want to conquer. I stood supervising and offering suggestions until he growled at me and I left him to it as I laughed my way to the recliner. He can be very entertaining. I slept on clean sheets last night. Were they nice and taut, as I like them? No, but my injury has left me easier to please.

Into the kitchen I went and laid out the celery and onion that needed to be chopped up. Leftover rotisserie chicken needed to be deboned and chopped. He did all that and I took it from there. I sauteed the veggies, added some garlic and dumped it in the pot with a box of chicken broth and the chopped chicken. I let it simmer and later added some Chinese dumplings from the freezer. Best meal I have had since the last time I cooked. His idea of a meal was frozen crap dinners. Salisbury steak was one such dinner. It smelled and tasted like dog food, or what I imagine dog food tastes like.

I have been worrying about our old girl, Toni Louise for some time. She definitely has hearing lost, like her master, The Man. She was house trained when she came to live with us and was very good about letting us know when she needed to go out. Lately, though, she doesn't quite make it out in time. She always looks like she expects to be scolded for her accidents, being very distressed that she peed on the floor. I diaper at night. We have a routine, Toni and I. I put her on the bed, and she stands as I pull her tail through the hole and then pull the velcro tabs and attach them on the back of the diaper. A matter of seconds and we are done. She gets and good hug and kiss and then I help her to the floor.

Unable to diaper the dog, I employed The Man. If you thought his bed making skills were funny, it pales in comparison to his diapering skills. He keeps a running dialogue with Toni. "Come here, girl, let me get your diaper on." that just prompts her to hide under the bed. He drags her out and places her on the bed. He uses both his hands as he tries to make the diaper make sense to him. This prompts her to attempt an escape. He yells, "Stand still, girl, you know how this works!" Prompting me to think that SHE does, indeed know, he is the one that doesn't. He grabs her tail and attempts to shove it into the hole. Her tail is long and quite fluffy, and I hold her tail and make the diaper hole slide onto her, not the other way around. Then he uses both hands to get the first vecro adorned tab up to the back. Since he didn't leave a hand on her, she lies down, making it impossible to get the tab on right. As he yells at her to "stand up" he pulls one side up and over her hip, pretty much locking her leg to her side. Then he wonders why he can't make the other side meet the back velcro strip. Toni is a loving and patient girl and adores him, but her eyes look beseechingly at me for help.

Ten minutes or so later after he has removed the diaper and made another attempt or two, she is ready to go to the floor and get in her bed. All the while Eddie and I are watching and laughing. Bo no longer sleeps with us, preferring his favorite companion Kevin, the cat. They have created a nest under the bed. Before my surgery I pulled all of their bedding out to wash it. I found some lost items there. Two rugs, a small pillow, one of my nightgowns and a lot of my socks came out.

At least I am not bored all the time.