International Buy A Nun... (Updated x4) (and bumped!!)

...A Book Day!

Update IV:

Time's running out!  Get out there and buy that nun a book, dang it!!


 Update III:

Got this from the Sister to whom I'd written:

Thank you so much, Lee. I can identify some Sisters who will be thrilled to receive the books.

Sister Kathryn

Update II:

My book club has notified me that two of the books I've requested have been mailed.  No word back from the convent, tho...

Update:

 Didn't hear back today, and since the day is next Tuesday, I went ahead and ordered books that I've enjoyed and though the good nuns might also.  Here's my e-mail:

Hello, Sister,

 

As the 'official' day is next Tuesday, I went ahead and picked out four book to be sent to directly you for distribution.  They will probably be arriving over the next week or two, which is a function of how the swap club works.  Each book will be coming from a different member, so arrival is a function of how soon each member gets to it, and how far it has to travel.

 

I wound up ordering three books that are favorites of mine, and one similar but different from a series I have read from.
 

They are:

 

A Letter of Mary, by Laurie R. King

The Dante Club, by Matthew Pearl

The Tao Te Ching, by Lao Tsu, translated by John C. H. Wu

The Best American Short Stories 1997, ed. by Kenison(?)

 

I hope you all will enjoy them!

I wondered what books to get, and who to give them to.  I suddenly realized/decided that I wanted to send them to the nuns (or the order, anyway) who taught me in grade school.  I've managed to track down the "Mother Ship" convent in California, and sent an e-mail off asking what books might be appreciated.

So, if you know (or knew) a nun, buy her a book!

(This seems to be a word of mouth/blog thing, so pass it on!)

Friday Garden...

...Saturday version.

This is petty much what the whole back yard looked like, only times elebenty, when I got home from the hospital six weeks ago.  And I was in no shape to do a damned thing about it.  This, by the way, is the kitchen patch.  You can see some sage amongst the wild growth.

The good news is, one of the sweet basil plants had a good enough hold to be taller than the weeds.  I harvested some once before I left, so there's more to dry and use!  (I put some fresh leaves in a Subway Meatball Marinara sandwich - yum!!)

Most of the tomatoes looked somewhat like this:

That said, I got about 25-ish lbs, and put up about 12 pints of salsa roja for tamales and enchiladas.  Here's what two of the Early Girls look like:

I also have two "wild" tomato plants.  This one is an Early Girl, based on the shape of the fruit:

No fruit on this one, yet, so it's a mystery:

 
Not terribly successful with the melons.  Got these, and two more that are in the fridge.  I figured out that planting melons and tomatoes together is a Bad Idea - too much competition for water, so the tomato plants dried up and the melons didn't do much.  Next year, separate beds!  (Tomatoes and peppers together seemed OK, though.)

Tomatoes and peppers:

 Garlic and onion - about zero garlic, and the onions are kind of stunted.  I'm thinking that maybe I didn't plant them deep enough.  Garlic was fine when I got home, then poof! - nada.

I planted Thai Hot Pepper seeds, which seem to be doing OK (the bush in the upper-right).

Another angle on the onions and peppers.

The Rosemary was getting choked out by the weeds, so I potter her.  This will let me take her inside for the winter.  One of the nursery people I spoke with told me that we are right on the edge of the zone where Rosemary can winter successfully.

Blackberry is OK, but fruitless.

 I'm still getting some tomatoes and peppers, so I may do a little more canning.  Spent a goodly part of the day cleaning the yard up - pulled out the watermelon plants - roots were a bit entwined with the tomato, hence my conclusion about the water.  Trimmed out as much of the dead tomato vines as I could, so the plants don't look so ragged.  I'm pleased with the results, and pleased with what I learned about tomatoes and melons.  All in all, a good, productive day.

...about that garden!

Two weeks in hospital/in-patient rehab is NOT conducive to a neat, tidy garden.  We had enough rain to keep everything from drying up and blowing away, so that was good news.  The bad new was the rain also watered the weeds.  I was surprised we didn't get another notice from the city.  (They check to make sure weeds aren't over 6 in tall - the ultimate HOA!)  And I was in no shape to really do much of anything.

I did pick about 20-ish pounds of tomatoes, which got turned into frozen puree and 15 pint of red sauce.  The Bell peppers and serrano peppers went into the first 3-jar batch.  Simmered some chicken in it - not bad!  The rest is my chili recipe, without meat - I'm thinking tamales or enchiladas.

Anyway, it's winding down - a few more tomatoes and peppers here and there, a couple of watermelon, but not enough to get excited about.

Next year, I'm thinking fewer tomatoes,  more spices.

Check Up III

Back to see the surgeon today.  I was told I can now lift 20 lbs (I kept a straight face).  The best news is that I can take real showers, even swim if I wish.  And I can take one of my anti-inflammatory drug per day.  Took one when I got home, walked the dogs, and could feel a difference by the time we got back.  Right now, my hands don't hurt for the first time since the surgery!!

I signed up for another four weeks of physical therapy.  It's helping tremendously, and yet I feel that I need more than another week and a half.  Yesterday, Jeff brought out a balance board, at which I just pointed and laughed.  I have no real sense of balance, which is why I body surfed instead of using a board.  My left foot has roll, pitch and yaw, although not quite as much as my right.  Just got to get the left calf stretched out a bit more.  All in all, Dr. S. is happy - he told me it sometimes takes patients two years to recover to the point I'm at.

I am a happy camper!

Latest and Greatest...

...Unorganized Hancock:



Proud dad story at Sippican Cottage.

Adventures in Physical Therapy

It's been about 2 1/2 weeks since I was discharged from the rehab hospital.  I made an appointment at the local outpatient clinic of the same company.  Got there Tuesday AM for my intake evaluation, only to find that they don't participate in the county medical program, thus ending the interview rather quickly.

I went back to the same company as the hospital where I had the surgery, knowing they did take the county's program.  They got me in this morning (at 7:15 - ugh), and I did the paperwork, was evaluated, and given some exercises to do there, and at home over the weekend.  I also have appointments for several weeks out.

The therapist said that my hip flexibility was better than most people my age ( quite a bit, based on what he showed me).  I can only attribute that to Sue at Mindful Movements out in H. B., who taught me stretch and Pilates for many years.  The thing I learned from her that will serve me the most is how to isolate and use any given muscle group.  It makes the exercises I have to do a lot more effective, since the idea is, for example, to work on my lower back, and not my glutes at the same time.  With this particular exercise, it's common for people to use the glutes, and it takes practice and attention to keep them relaxed while working the lower back muscles.

The thing I miss most is the voltaren - the anti-inflammatory that I take for the arthritis in my hands.  The tramadol and valium just don't put a dent in the ache.  Dr is afraid of infection (?), which is why he is holding me off them.  See him again in a couple more weeks, so maybe that will change.

Second Post-Op Visit

Got the last of the staples out today.  Healing well.  Got a better idea of what was done and where the cyst was in all of the mess.  The soft tissue is being held together with dissolvable sutures, which sort of go away as the soft tissue heals.

I meet with the out-patient Physical Therapy people Tuesday, for (yet) another evaluation.  I expect that the work there will be more challenging that the work at the in-patient clinic.

The whole mess should be "optimal" by Christmas.

Yay.