Boredom - and it has only been a week

After a week - my left foot no longer loooks like it belongs to the Stay Puff Man! It is starting to lok - in size - more similar to my right foot! Which is great, because swelling REALLY hurts!

But look how puffy that ankle still looks. Feels like someone just continually scrapes over it with rough sandpaper...I do know why my husband was thinking about Hawaii - it was because of the tropical sunrise coloration of my foot - yellows, greens, blues, lavendars....

Have no good idea of what caused the linear bruising across my toes - have some guesses - but frankly, I really dont want to know. It is a good thing I got my pedicure BEFORE we went away!!!

This side became much more colorful about 2 days after the injury...and yes, there is some residual swelling as you can tell from the sock line, but it is also the pressure of the boot on the sock (which I have to wear because of the scrapes on top of my ankle)

Poor Jack-the-Dog has no clue what is going on. He only knows that I am home with him all the time and he loves it - I do keep warning him that eventually I will go back to work. Oh, and he does not like my crutches at all!

Hey - I made it outside! Only one small-ish step to get back in! This is after I re-potted the geranium. And watching hubby clean the pool and plant some seeds that we had forgotten about.

Well, it was a lovely day out yesterday - car ride, shopping, out back. And I paid for it later. You know that feeling you get just before you get a cramp in your leg??? Well, I get those in my calf and my foot....and you know, they way to get rid of it is to stand on that leg??? Well, I cant do that so I just grin and bear it until the tylenol kicks in. And I also learned not to drink ice tea at night - because I desperately needed to get up at 0430 to make a bathroom...hobble. Very scary in the dark, on crutches. And then after that, I could not get back to sleep....guess the tylenol was totally worn off. About the time hubby got up to go play golf, I was getting to the point I could fall asleep again. And I dozed off and on and finally got up about 0930! Such luxury!

Photos & Bored Ramblings

Aren't these beautiful? My dear friend in PA, Amy, sent them to me. Ironic since it was not too long ago that I sent her flowers after she broke her shoulder! I was luckier than she was tho - she required surgery and is now partially put together with hardware!

Sexy isnt it? Hurts like heck to put on - and when my foot swells - but in between my ankle really appreciates it! When I asked why they make it only in black, the MD assured me that if I were someone like Paris Hilton I could probably order it in pink....I think black goes better with many different things than pink would, dont you?

Hmm, how to take a shower? Cant make it up all the stairs to the tub upstairs....so hubby came up with this idea! If it can make it thru different weather outside, it can make it thru a shower with a towel over the seat!! This weekend we will look for a shower seat...gosh, it makes me feel like an old old woman...

Ahhh, the sign to the infamous hike. Wish I had thought to take a photo of the place I fell, but I wasnt thinking too clearly at that time...

Isnt this awesome? Moose antler carving.....this is in the restuarant at the Narrow Gauge Inn...

A photo to show how low the water is in Bass Lake.

I thought turtles were slow and sure. This little guy was moving across the road pretty fast. By the time I drove down the road a bit and turned around to get a better photo, he was already gone!

I think this could have been drawn about my house. The birds are devastated that I do not fill their bird feeder often. But I only fill it when I know I will be home to keep the squirrels away so that the birds actually get something to eat! And yesterday, on my way out to the MD, there were 2 of them sitting in the front yard eating something....and I swear laughing at me when they saw the crutches - cause they knew I couldnt chase them!!!

Visited the MD yesterday. He agreed that it is such a clean fractuer I do not need casting. But he is more conservative than the MD at the Urgent Care and is predicting 6 - 8 weeks. I see him again in a month and have another XRay taken before so we (he) can check on the healing process.

I cried like a little baby yesterday when I wrote the emails cancelling our trips to Cambria and Napa. But we are still thinking about whether or not we can maeit to see Spamalot. I did find out that we can rent a wheelchair - and may be even have the insurance pay for it. No matter what, we will rent one. Otherwise I am really going to go stir crazy!

Yesterday was so exhausting. Getting up and taking a shower - going to the MD. Then later we went out to lunch and then started our search for the boot the MD prescribed to wear at night. Supposed to be one stop shopping and we ended up having to go to 3 different places before we got it. At one point I actually fell asleep in the car while waiting for my very patient hubby. He has been so wonderful thru all this - he says it is payback for all the times I took care of him - no matter what, I HATE HAVING TO BE WAITED ON!!!!!!!!!!!!

Iam doing my best to rest up because tonight is the awards dinner for my son-in-law who is accepting the award for the Berkeley Officer of the Year! I am only praying there are no steps at this place....

And congrats to the Chabot College School of Nursing Class of 2009 who are recieving their pins tonight! Wish I could be there - I am so proud of all of you - you have worked so hard!

Memorial Weekend

The summer after we moved back to CA hubby found out that I had never been to Yosemite. This from the person who is old enough, and lucky enough, to have seen the Fire Falls there. So we found this offer to stay at a campground outside of Yosemite free as long as listened to their sales pitch. Which we fell for. And enjoyed altho the partners who made up the sales team of this time share had their differences, and what started out fantastic ended up not. But we belonged and we joined at a time when the down money was put into a bond so that after 15 years you could decide to stay members, and the would get the money - or not, and you would get the money. Needless to say we went to Bass Lake many a time over the years.

And when it came time to make the decision - it was easily made since all the reasons we bought into it were long gone.

But we still love the area. Instead of going up several times a year we usually only make it up there once - over Memorial Day weekend.

And now we stay at this lovely place: http://www.narrogaugeinn.com/. And we love it. The rooms are nice - the setting is lovely - the restuarant is fantastic - and it is equidistant from Yosemite and Oakhurst. (Altho we usually dont go into Yosemite over a weekend holiday).

So we went up Friday. Got up there noonish - hubby played golf and I wandered thru the thrift stores. Came up pretty empty handed until I ran across a new place which is actually more of an antique cum gift shop.

Picked up hubby and went to NGI to check in. They were very full this weekend and this was the first time we had trouble getting reservation. So the first 2 nights were in one room - a lovely, quiet, queen, on the 2d level. Then Sunday we were moving upstairs to a lovely king, with no stairs to climb. Stay tuned....you will find out the importance of this...

Went to Chukchansi Casino - ate at the buffet and while hubby went to the slots, I found a lovely place to sit and read. Wandered out at one point, saw hubby, told him to enjoy, that I would be back in my spot (and I showed him where it was - VIP [Very Important Point]). I thought it was odd when the lovely sunset came and went, and no hubby. He finally showed up and was beside himself! Turns out he had come part way down the hall and didnt see me (when I went back there, others were there and I had to take a different seat). So he started looking for me - stalking outside the ladies room - went out to the truck to see if I was there - looked thru all the outdoor seating, etc. Guess he had me over head paged a few times, but there were no speakers were I was. He was about to give in and contact authorities when he finally did the sensible thing - came all the way into the area to look - and there I was! In the chair reading - hadnt budged all that time!! But it really shook him up!

Saturday was garage sale day and Peddler's Fair in Coarsegold. Slim pickings altho we did find out about 2 great hikes we decided to do on Sunday. Went and saw Angels and Demons (luckily I read the book long enough ago that I could not nit pick it) and had a lite dinner at Ducey's on Bass Lake. Boy the water level is way down....not sure if that is the reason, or the economy, but it was definitely not as crowded as usual.

Went back to the motel and had a couple of drinks at the bar. I even had a taste of a martini!!! I usually detest martini's but this was a pear martini and pretty tasty! Planned to have one before dinner SUnday night....ha ha ha

So the next day, Sunday, got up bright and early to go on the first hike, down Lewis Creek Trail to see the Corlieu falls http://www.yosemitehikes.com/not-yosemite/lewis-creek/lewis-creek.htm. Got partway down, and well, there are 2 stories here, mine and hubby's. Since this is my blog, you get to hear my side!

Hubby was ahead of me and he grabbed onto a bush. When he let go it bounced back at me. I went to grab the bush so it didnt hit me, but also to hold onto it. At that point both of my feet slide out from under me - to the right - and into one of those little gulleys that rain leaves behind. And I landed with my feet under me and stuck in rocks, leaning back onto my backpack (this is where my husband describes me as an upside down turtle, which I dont remember at all). He also said I started yelling - I remember cussing! All I felt was severe pain in my left ankle. No pop, no crack, jsut severe pain. And what was the first thing I did after dumping the backpack and getting my foot out from under me??? Handed hubby my camera and told him to check it and make sure it wasnt broken!! That was so dumb - cause he doesnt know how to work my camera!

He eventually helped me up (was able to get me to stop cussing and crying and whining) and we hobbled down another 20 or so feet to a flat area (which he later told me was right above the falls I heard but never saw). And I could barely walk. So he tore off a huge branch - and between that and his hand, I somehow made it back up to the truck. Not sure how long it took - long enough to get bitten to death by bugs - but it was very slow going. I could only take 1 - 2 steps before I had to stop. And we passed a lot of people going down - thank goodness none of them were there when I fell!

Headed into town and stopped at the first drugstore to get cold packs. When I finally took my shoe off - wow, was it swollen! I think we both knew it was broken but didnt want to admit to it. He kept talking about going to the Urgent Care but I didnt want to admit I needed that.....until finally he said to me "And what would you advise someone to do if they were in your place right now?".

In all the years we have been going there, we have never once visited the Urgent Care. It is a very nice place, staffed with very nice people. Again, I walked in ....but after they took the Xray and the tech told me to not place any weight on that leg....then I knew for sure it was broken. Yup. 2 spiral fractures of my left tibia.

And every time I told the story of fallink hiking, I intercepted this look at my Croc sandals! And every time I told them I wasnt wearing them to hike in - they were what I put on after I got my shoes off! But I still had to admit my sneakers were not the best ones to hike in....about a month or two ago hubby and I talked about going to get hiking shoes but never did. Wonder if they would have saved my ankle? Guess we will never know...

I was gifted with this lovely black walking boot to help protect my ankle (which hurts like the dickens when my foot swells up) and a pair of shiny new crutches....and an excuse from work for the next month and 1/2. Which also means canceling our vacation plans....hmmm, walking around Hearst Castle??? Taking the dog on walks on the beach?? Yeah...no.

So looks like I am holed up in the house for the next 6 weeks cause CRUTCHES SUCK BIGTIME!!! And why would you give them to someone who is already a proven klutz!!!!!!!!!

We did drive out that afternoon to see where we would have gone for the 2d hike. Beautiful area:

http://www.yosemitehikes.com/not-yosemite/nelder-grove/nelder-grove.htm. After that we went to see Night At The Museum II.....along with at least 2 other people on crutches and lots of people telling me they had just gotten off of them and never learned to use them right. No never mind what the Chinese Year is....it must be Year of the Crutches!!!

Now the best part was - while we were gone they moved us from the one room, which would have require going down stairs - and trying to sleep in a queen bed with this broken ankle with hubby when we are use to the spaciousness of a king bed ....to the upstairs room which meant: 1. no stairs 2. just a few doors down from the restuarant and 3. a king bed!!!!

Did hobble over and had our excellant dinner but I made sure I only had one glass of wine....didnt want to have to make a fool of myself and crawl back to the room! And I had planned to try a full pear martini that night....

Lots noisier next door neighbors tho - and it was so hard to sleep! Wide awake at about 0500. So we left a bit earlier than we had planned. Got home in time for hubby, daughter and family to go out and look at the planes at the airport (WWII type planes) and then they are taking the boys to play miniature golf. Needless to say, I am homewriting on my blog and erasing junk emails!

And loving my new best friends - tylenol and ice!

Goodbye Spring...Hello Summer

Today was officially my last day with my nurselings. And altho we had a very good semester, and I enjoyed them all, I am glad. Even tho they arent 12 hour days - doing my 2 12 hr shifts at work + my 3 days with them every week is just tiring. Of course, this means going back to 3 12 hour shifts/week and I am sure I will complain about that soon enough!

They gave me the loveliest card - and a pink miniature rosebush that I have already placed outside! And one of them gave me the most beautiful Swaroksi Breast Cancer Ribbon charm in honor of my Bras For The Cause Walk!!!! They almost made me teary!

I am a little teary knowing that I will not be able to go to graduation next week. I had so looked forward to it - it is such an accomplishment to see how they mature into nurses thru the program. But that same night is when my son-in-law is getting honored as Berkeley Police Officer of the Year and I had to choose family over students!

We will be going away this weekend! Our first trip this year! Our last one was cancelled because someone (who shall remain nameless - and it wasnt me!!!) got sick. So I cant wait. But it is killing us - now that we have our next vacation all planned out - we are seeing some of the greatest Hawaii deals ever!!!!! Oh well...

Look at our garden! Got the raised bed finished and hubby planted the plants last night while I was finishing student evaluations. Not sure the placement is what I would have chosen (I did make him seperate the 3 corn plants from each other instead of planting them all in one...) but cannot complain when someone else does all the work! All I did was cart and carry the bags of dirt over to be put into the planter (and watched out for that little grey mouse that was hiding under them!)

OK??????

You have to read this article and look at the photos.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1181368/A-close-knit-community-Meet-ladies-whove-spent-years-stitching-entire-Kent-village.html

Now - that is some accomplishment! And artistic and very well done.....but......

Mother's Day

There is nothing better than being woken up early on Mother's Day - after a 6 mile walk the day before when you have done a very embarrassing belly flop onto the sidewalk - to HAVE to get to OSH to make sure that you get the FREE Mother's Day orchid corsage!!!

Of course, it was gratifying to know that I was able to actually get out of bed...but considering I was not able to fall asleep until sometime after 1 AM and then be woken up before 0730...well....just wait until Father's Day!!!

And yes, we did get the corsage....and then also went to Home Depot....what were we doing? Getting stuff together for the raised garden bed he is going to build next weekend for me...

Then we went over to what is becoming traditional - my oldest daughter does a brunch for everyone - even tho she should be taking it easy and celebrating Mother's Day herself! But it is always excellant food - and we enjoy her in-laws - and of course the chance to see the boys so it is wonderful. This is when I found out that mimosa's did not bother my split lip but sparkling water did!


Thanks to his new girlfriend, even my son made it this year! Much to the absolute delight of his nephews - here is Connor getting a SuperMan ride (even tho it killed his shoulder and his allergies were killing him - UncaJohn was not about to disappoint his nephews!!!!!)

And here is the smallest one....the one who looks at everyone else who is walking around with absolute envy! He is learning to walk already - and I know he is going to be a little hellion as soon as he is 100% mobile. Even tho he was snotty and congested and not feeling good - he was still a little sweetheart!

The crazy one in the red shirt? Oh thats just Jack....wearing the cap I knit him to match his blanket....even tho it was in the high 70's that day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And even tho the hat barely fits him anymore!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Those are the roses from my son. They look gorgeous against the wall - you cant tell it here, but the wall is a deep gold/yellow color. They are beautiful.

The daughter who does the cooking - also gave me a Border's gift card, and some yummy body butter and lip gloss!

And hubby gave me a lovely necklace with a saying from Eleanor Roosevelt on it - wonderful woman whom I do admire. So intelligent and strong - didnt matter a whit that she wasnt beautiful - she made such an impact on the world. And oh yes, she was quite the knitter too....What does it say? Well, I would have to take it off to remember exactly and my hand is still not working well enough to make that an easy task!

And then to top if all off.....we went to see the new Star Trek movie. Wasnt that a wonderful present? Yeah, not the movie that I would chose to see. But hubby was so supportive about the walk and all this weekend, that I felt he deserved a treat too (even if he is still laughing at me about the fall - I know it is killing him that he didnt get to witness this one!). Besides, it was a way to sit and veg for awhile - which wasnt a great thing becuase I really stiffened up while sitting there. I think when I fell I twisted my back. But today, my back is fine but the muscles in my left upper arm hurt!!!!!! I guess the body parts are taking turns complaining to my klutzy self!

Bras For The Cause Walk

This walk was awesome - silly - exciting - and I cant wait to do it again next year!!!
They estimated over 400 walkers - the preliminary totals (they said donations keep coming in for about a month afterwards) was well over thier goal of $100,000! Our team was the 3rd highest, and we collected over $4600! Thank you - thank you - THANK YOU to all who donated and made this possible!!!!

The walk was marked with pink ribbons and home made signs that were touching and silly! We were monitored by volunteers on motorcycles - in cars with silly signs - and a limo in case you needed assistance. The walk seemed longer than the 6 miles I have done before - but I think it was partially due to going from daylight to nighttime as well as all the stop lights we had to stop at!

I saw areas of Pleasanton I had never seen before! People sitting in the front yards to cheer us on - one fabulous lady in the front window of her house that was waving at everyone - with so much enthusiasm it jsut made you grin wider and walk prouder!

El Luche Libre was there....

And Super Stud won the men's costume prize....yes there were quite a few men walking in bras (should I say 'bros"????). And the Training Bra Prize (for the younger walkers) was actually won by a young man!!!!!!!!

And look - I won a door prize! A beautiful pink (Pink Promise) rose bush!!!!

And hubby and son-in-law and grandsons turned out to watch my daughter and myself walk (she wasnt on our team, but she walked with us) as two different viewing sites!! That was neat too!

And all my worries over my fellow team mates was for naught....I was the one who ended up with the battle wounds. Yes, as humiliating as it is, I admit it, I was the one who fell. Luckily my whole team was way ahead of me when this happened, and it was jsut my daughter and I....and lots of strangers!!!! who got to see me faceplant!

Two sections of sidewalk were under repair. And they were topped with lumpy, bumpy, uneven asphalt. And somehow, as my husband predicted would happed, I fell. Must have been quite a site - even one of the Pleasanton Community Officers who were patrolling the walkers, sped up, flipped a u-y and came back to check on me. Total humiliation.

I got up - knew nothing was broken - not too much bleeding - checked my teeth!!!! (cause I am sick and tired of the dentist)......scrapes and abrasions on my mouth, nose, and forehead (the moth is the worst and is quite colorful - only hurts when I drink sparkling water!!!) - and a pock marked, bruised knee - both my hands with cuts and bruising. My rings were all ok - altho one finger is so swollen I cant get the ring off yet!! and my camera was fine.....but boy my glasses took a beating - all bent and scratched up.

My poor baby looked quite abused too....my right hand is still swollen - and the worst thing is, I cant close my hand enough to knit!!! I am truly suffering....LOL!!!

But you know what? Knowing what the walk was for - seeing Survivors there walking and volunteering - I know that my bumps/bruises are only temporary and I thank God for that (altho that evening I laid in bed knowing I have been lucky so far but one of these days I will break something - they didnt call me Miss Grace for nothing while I was growing up)!

And yes, my family is still laughin at me....

Happy Week!!!

Happy Teacher's Day!
Feliz Cinco de Mayo!
Happy Nurse's Day!
And Happy Mother's Day!

I think that covers just about everyone I know!

Was home jsut 5 minutes when there was a knock at my door - and I was handed these beauties!

Thank you Katie, Eric, Owen, and Kaia! They are beautiful - I love you!!!!!!!!!!

Busy Day

After taking yesterday off - and then having the meeting cancelled on me - I worked 8 hours. Whew! What a day! Non-stop. Picked up lunchon my way home at 4 PM.

Then haircut (YAY!) at 5 PM. And she was in a chatty mood so slower than usual.

Got home, and ran out the door with hubby to drive to #1 grandson's school to see the kindergarten put on the Three Pigs Opera! It was cute and funny - and now, I forgot to grab my camera! Bad grandma!!!!

Bras For The Cause Walk

See that banner up there? How many days until walk? Mothers Day - 1.
So what did I do last night?
Cut a 3" long slit into the bottom of my heel.
Can I put weight on it? NO!
Does it hurt? YES!
Will I be able to walk 6+ miles on it come Saturday???? I BETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Photos

Was going to enter this one in the Fair but I forgot and had glass put on it...

It is still wrapped up, but I will be entering this one in the FairWas

I swear, I am begginning to hate these guys....

Cant enter this one in the Fair becuaese the year is cross stitched on it....

Or this one either becuase it has a year on it too!

As you can see, did some spring cleaning awhile back and ran across a bunch of unframed cross stitch. Waited for a little while and then Micheal's had a 60% off framing deal, so I took 4 of the items in to be framed. That is such a process - deciding how and what and all. But the person who helped was wonderful and I am really pleased with how everything turned out! Already have 2 of them hung up!

Now if only I could find my glasses with the transitions lenses that I need for the walk next week....