I’m Free

The doctor said I can throw away my splint.  For the first time in 3+ months I don’t have an arm in some sort of contraption.  The only snag in my doctor’s visit was that he had to dig out the 2-inch piece of monofilament stitching that the nurse left in me.  The nurse messed up.  The doc fixed it.  Unless I have some problem I’m not likely to have to go back to that doctor again.

We had planned to eat at the Hawaiian restaurant on our way home from Gulf Breeze but to our dismay it closes at 2 PM on Monday and it was 4:30.  We ended up eating at Fridays.

Penny Christy and I won our playoff game in fantasy football this week.  That means 3 of the 4 teams in the semi-finals are family.  I play Christy.  I don’t want to beat her and I do want to beat her.  It’s hard being a Dad.

We got a Roku video player and I set it up today.  It is pretty neat.  I signed up for a netflix free trial, and tested it out by watching a small portion of a movie.  The Roku delivers the movie with the highest quality our wireless system can handle – which is not HD – but still good.  I didn’t know if the movies would stop and start like videos do on the computer.  They don’t.  The delivery is smooth and the time from selecting a movie and beginning to watch it is only 2-3 minutes.  A nice feature is that you can pause and rewind the movie at any time.  So Penny and I will probably start having a movie night  periodically—pop some popcorn, light the fire and enjoy a flick.

Another Lowes Adventure

We did our normal visit to Waffle House this morning followed by a walk through Lowes.  On the back aisle of the store  Penny found a 48” general use cabinet that was damaged for $20. The hardware alone was worth that so I thought about getting it.  Then Penny pointed out a cart with 4 more cabinets on it all marked at $20.  We bought all 5.

My job today was unloading the units-they all were disassembled and in their boxes – each box being quite heavy.  The cabinets are made of fiberboard . Four of the cabinets have melamine laminate and 1 has nothing on the fiberboard.  I unloaded the boxes and brought them to the back yard 1/2 box at a time assessing what shape the panels were.  As it turns out the only broken and unusable piece was 1 baseboard.  One cabinet had obviously been assembled and fell apart.  It had some damaged dowel holes but nothing that can’t be used by providing a little reinforcement.

The final tally is 3-48” cabinets and 2-36” cabinets.  I’m missing some hardware I haven’t determined how much yet and maybe 1 panel from  a 36” one.  I’m pretty sure I can restore all 5 cabinets if I want to or integrate the panels and shelves into some other projects.

So kids, do you have a use for either a 48 or 36” wide by about 18” deep and 6 ft tall white cabinet? ( or something narrower made by modifying the panels)  I don’t have plans for the stuff yet.

I just couldn’t pass up all that material at that price.  Each cabinet listed for $229. I was pleasantly surprised to find all the panels and shelves in good shape and much of the hardware still in the boxes.

There's a gorgeous  full moon tonight and I couldn’t resist taking a picture.

1st Week of December

Winter cold has moved in here and the time for open windows is over.  I lit the fireplace this morning and warmed up the den while I made a batch of banana pecan pancakes for Penny and myself.

A good part of this past week has been occupied with our angel-tree activity.  This is one of Penny’s moments to shine.  I just turn her loose and she does what she feels is needed.  I do help in making buying decisions but this is mostly Penny’s  hard work.  This year we took an entire family, mom, dad, a 13-year old boy and 7-month-old twin girls. We delivered their Christmas stuff to the church today.

Penny also put my recent harvest of tomatoes to good use.  She found a recipe for tomato soup and the final product was fabulous.

Each time the weather gets cold I try to make a warm area for the outside cats.  Until this year they never used it.  This year Buzz has decided our backyard is a good place and he actually uses the warm area.  All it is is a small quartz lamp under a layer of bricks.  The light warms the bricks and the cat can lie on the towel on the bricks and stay comfortable.  Buzz spends a lot of time like this:

Slash has been showing up on the cold mornings and evenings to get some food.  On warm days he hangs around hoping to get fed every time He sees me.

Meredith was gone for over a week and the showed up on the coldest night this year.  I thought someone in the neighborhood was taking her inside but if that were the case she wouldn’t be out on the cold nights.

The clouds were right again tonight so I went beach walking at sunset. It was chilly, 43 degrees, and the sunset was a good one.  Here are a couple pictures:

Fall Tomatoes

My Fall tomato experiment was useful this year as a learning experience.  We picked a bunch of tomatoes today and had some good fried green tomatoes.  The tomatoes look good but they are not flavorful.  I planted late and the cold weather came early.  So we picked the best ones today and put them in a brown paper bag to ripen. At least this year’s summer tomatoes were a success.  Next year I start earlier for the Fall crop. Here’s what we picked.

There are at least twice as many green ones on the vine but it’s supposed to go down into the 30’s tonight.  I’ve got the plants covered but I’m not planning on more harvest this year.

A Long Weekend I’m Thankful For

Karen just called to say her family has arrived home safely after visiting with us.  It was a nice visit. We did all our usual holiday traditions – turkey and muggin (Penny did a great job this year, but she always does); visit the beach; Harbordocks; shopping; lots of just together time.

We did not do any early morning Black Friday shopping but did get to take advantage of some discounts later in the day at the outlet mall.

Penny made a great breakfast on Thursday and we ate out on Friday (Mother Earth’s)  and Saturday (Waffle House).  Sophie is into spelling words and as we entered Waffle House she spelled it, “W-A-F-F-L-E…”. We haven’t  seen the kids in about 2 months, which is a long gap for us.  Two months ago Sophie was just beginning to write in a legible manner.  Now she can write everything using both capital and small letters and if you write out something she will copy the words almost perfectly. That to me is an incredible advancement.  She is learning rapidly in school.

We went to the beach twice, Thursday evening and Saturday afternoon.  I didn’t get any good pictures on Thursday because Sophie wasn’t in a cooperative mood. On Saturday it was quite windy but not cold and we had a good time.

Proof it was windy – airborne kite surfer

We went to Harborwalk to show Karen how much the area had changed. The wind was uncomfortably strong there so we didn’t stay long.  It was time for Harbordocks  anyway.

Lucy seemed to enjoy Harbordocks the most, pointing out boats and birds and looking at us in the mirrors.  She is in a very cute stage right now and with her small stature and pretty face she can get her way with me very easily.

Poor Tim seems to have come down with a cold here and Sophie had some stomach issues, probably due to all the peppermint candy she ate on Saturday.

I took the girls for a long walk in the school yard.  The balance beams were a big hit there and both girls made “syrup”  out of dirt and pine needles.  We played on one of the old monkey bars in the schoolyard and I explained to Sophie that I played with her Mother on these very bars when she was Sophie's age.  That confused her somewhat.  She doesn’t have a good concept of that many years passing and how things change.  She only has 4 years of experience.

making syrup

The Feagins left and Penny and I settled in for a nice afternoon nap to the drumming of the rain outside.

Week In Review

Last weekend was taken by our marriage prep work.  We had a couple over on Saturday and Pre-Cana on Sunday. We only had to spend an hour with the couple on Saturday.  They were very well-adjusted and seemed to be communicating well.  Penny and I didn’t have our best day at Pre-Cana.  We were both off for whatever reasons.  My hand was hurting so we left  when we completed our responsibilities there.

Monday I had a regular doctor’s appointment.  My weight is again approaching 200 lbs and my blood sugar was a little high.  That’s not good.  I’m paying for the lack of activity due to my thumb surgeries without the lack of eating.  Otherwise I’m doing OK. 

Thursday was cast away day.  I went to Gulf Breeze and had the cast removed from my left hand .  Now I’m wearing a removable splint.  We once again took advantage of the trip to eat lunch at the Hawaiian restaurant we like.

The incision on my left hand looks uglier than the one on my right.  The palm on that hand also had some nasty bruises on it.  So It wasn’t my imagination that this hand has been more painful.  We also went through a different routine at the medical center and ended up spending the whole afternoon there.  It was crowded because the next Thursday is Thanksgiving and we were seeing the pre-holiday rush’

This week also saw Christy’s plant in our front yard in full bloom.

 

The cats only showed up sporadically this week with Slash being the only one out there more than 1 day.  The cat next store has been out there patrolling the area and keeping them away.  There also is a big possum and raccoon visiting the feeder.

My left hand is doing OK.  My right hand is now working nicely.  I can do everything now that used to cause pain without pain.  I thought that my brain would remember how painful certain actions were and make me hesitate.  It doesn’t work like that.  I now pinch open hangers, button buttons  and do all those formerly painful actions without really thinking about it.  The brain just knows that the pain will not be there.  I still have pain in the right hand but it is from the surgery and becoming less and less each week.

Slow Heal

My left thumb surgery has proven more painful than the right hand.  It’s not all that bad just not the same as I remember the other.  Add to that the fact that the right hand still hurts some from the surgery on it and that is aggravated by the additional use it is seeing as the good hand. 

I’m intentionally not doing much.  There isn’t a lot I can do anyway.  So I’m letting my hand heal and napping when my body wants to.  It’s a tough life.  It doesn’t leave much to write about though.

Post Surgery–Left Hand

So far this surgery has gone easier than the last – I think.  The nerve block is still in effect. I’m just beginning to get feeling back in my hand but I still can’t move my fingers or control my forearm.  the old noodle arm is back.  I’m not having any pain yet but I’ve been taking the pain medicine at regular intervals and the pain pump is turned on.

I don’t remember anything about the surgery this time.  I had a different anesthesiologist and I was out before they did the nerve block.  I woke up and the nurse said that I was all done.

I had a cup of ginger ale, got dressed, and was wheeled out to Penny waiting with the car.

Now I’m waiting to see how much pain comes along when the block wears off and the pump runs out of juice.  It’s better this time because my right hand works  with little pain and I can do one handed things easily.  It’s weird though that I still try to use the left hand—it just doesn’t do anything.

Penny is once again doing a great job taking care of me.  She is making sure I don’t do anything I shouldn’t and that’s a good thing.

Getting Through the List

Happy Halloween!

Knowing I will be out of commission for a while again beginning Friday I’m trying to do what I can to prepare while I’ve got 2 hands.

Of course, I’ve got a list and I’m making progress.  The problem is each day comes with some additions to the list that I didn’t think of or didn’t anticipate.  The good news is that somewhere along the line I thought my surgery was on Thursday when it actually is on Friday—so I gained a day.

I try to keep an eye on the sky this time of year for good sunset cloud conditions.  Yesterday was a good day so despite my list I drove to the beach with my camera hoping for a good sunset.  I’m glad I did.  The sunset started slowly and looked as if it was only going to nice and not spectacular.  But after the sun dropped below the horizon its rays light up the bottoms of the clouds and turned everything a beautiful glowing red.  Here are a few pictures.

We picked the first tomato from my fall garden (not counting the one Kathy picked) and had BLTs.  The tomato didn’t have great flavor but it was still better than store-bought.  I made a plastic “tent” to cover the tomatoes and basil to keep them warm.  The temperature has been dropping into the 40’s this week and although the fruit will ripen the good flavor won’t develop if they see low temperatures.  I counted the tomatoes that are growing and I got 95 – with a quick count.  I figure if I can keep them warmer I might get some to harvest that might develop better flavor.

                                        see all the tomatoes?

It is nice to be able to do things with my right hand without experiencing the severe pain.  Here is a list of common everyday tasks that I can now do with little or no pain:

-plug and unplug electric cords.

-use shop clamps / use a screwdriver

-fold socks / squeeze hangers open / do laundry

-tie shoes / pull on socks / button things

-pump gas

squeeze Ziploc bags shut / pull them open

-open jars / kid-proof lids

-tear open sweetener packets / pull open a bag of chips

I can also snap my fingers again.  The thing is I’ve done every one of these tasks in the last 2 days.  It is nice to not have to consider the pain penalty before I do something and I’m surprised at how quickly my mind has adjusted to it.  I still have pain from the surgery but it is a different type of pain.  It is slowly abating.

Oh,  and today is the 42nd anniversary of Penny and my first date.  Happy anniversary baby….

Left Hand

My right hand is now out of the splint and the doctor said everything is right where it should be.

So we went ahead and scheduled the surgery for my left hand.  The date turns out to be on Karen’s birthday.

We watched the Blue Angel’s practice from the Pensacola Lighthouse today and it was awesome.  Here are some pictures I took.

 

Lighthouses

We spent a nice weekend in the Port Saint Joe area.  We climbed 3 lighthouses and looked at another.  We joined the Florida Lighthouse Association.  We are not as fascinated with lighthouses  as this may sound but it is a fun thing to do.  The group meets in Jacksonville next year so we have an excuse to visit K&T.

Here are some lighthouse pictures.

The Port Saint Joe area is beautiful.  It has tons of water access and pretty scenery.  We stayed at a B&B and enjoyed it thoroughly. Penny, Kathy and I took over 300 pictures each.  Here are a few.

Tuesday we go to the Pensacola Lighthouse.

Winter Already?

We’ve had a few days now of pleasant, somewhat warm weather for October. That all ends tonight with a strong cold front rolling through.  The forecast is for temperatures in the 30’s Thursday and Friday mornings.

Penny and I are busy catching up with the house.  I’ve been out of commission with my thumb surgery and Penny has been busy with quilts so now we had a lot of catching up to do.

The birds have completely quit eating from our bird feeder.  This coincides with the regular appearance of Milk and Slash.  It appears that those big male cats are excellent bird deterrents, whether we want that or not.

Slash now lies at the back door in the morning and evening and just stares at me until feeding time.  I think he’s trying to guilt me into feeding him more.

Tomato Caterpillars

I’ve been neglecting my garden due to travel and other priorities.  Today I made time to try to catch up.  I fertilized and tied up the tomato plants and in doing so found 4 caterpillars feasting on my plants. 3 big ones and 1 small one with a load of wasp eggs on his back.

                        Damage done by the caterpillars

My dad used to have us kids inspect his tomato plants and find any caterpillars.  They are not always easy to spot because their camouflage works nicely.  They can’t, however, camouflage their poop and we often found the caterpillars by locating a pile of droppings and looking above that area on the plant.  We were “green” pest control.  We weren’t that smart about the caterpillars.  We, of course, would kill the caterpillars (or feed them to the birds that I kept in the rabbit coup).  We made sure when we found one with eggs that we killed all the eggs, too.  It wasn’t until I was an adult that I learned the eggs were actually from a wasp that preys on the caterpillar.  The eggs hatch and eat the caterpillar.  So I took the caterpillar with the eggs and put it on a volunteer tomato plant that is growing across the yard from my garden.  He can eat there until the little wasp larvae hatch and eat him.

My tomatoes are doing great.  I didn’t count them but there are about 50 tomatoes growing.  They range from the size of a pea to a large apple.  A couple of the large ones are beginning to turn red.  I need to put the bird net up soon.

 

                              The 5 tomato plants

We didn’t lose any cats when we were out of town.  in fact the new guy, who I’m calling Milk (thank you Christy) because he looks like he’s got a milk moustache, let me scratch him on his head while he ate.  Now there are anywhere from 1 to 4 cats out there in the evening.  They all don’t get along yet sot dinner time can get tense.

My hand is healing nicely.  This week I could use a scissors and pinch open clothes hangers without pain.  That’s encouraging news indicating the surgery worked.  I looked at my arm today and I’ve got a framer’s tan with a light area on my forearm and hand where the splint is.  At least it shows that I’ve been getting outside.

Deliveries, Family and Hobbies

Friday we headed over to Jacksonville, stopping at High Springs on the way to deliver the bookcase to C&C.  We got to Jacksonville in time for dinner and some time with Sophie and Lucy before they went to bed.

Saturday Lucy had a birthday party to go to and Penny and I did our usual Target walk-through.  Saturday eve we watched the girls while K&T had a date night.

Penny made pizza with the kids for dinner and it was good.  Sophie and Lucy were good helpers.

Sunday was church followed by Famous Amos.  Sophie told me to stir my grits to make the orange (the butter) disappear. Both girls got chocolate milk.

Monday we headed down to Debary to the Nelsons.  Penny was going to help Meme make a quilt for Nathaniel.  They got right to it.  I wasn’t needed so I wandered out and explored the area.  I visited Lake Monroe, drove along the ST Johns river and then headed to Harbor Freight to look for bargains.  We all went out to a Mexican Restaurant for dinner.

Tuesday (today) I spent the morning acquiring a song for Meme and Tommy and trying to load it on Meme’s i-phone.  I think I succeeded.

After lunch I went to Blue Springs State Park and took pictures.  The highlight there was seeing a 6+ foot gator.

Tomorrow we head home.