Perspective

Recently, I’ve had some things happen that were not what I wanted to happen.  I had a little fender bender…backed into a concrete pole.  Got everything set up to get that repaired.  A few days later, I got up from my desk chair and felt something pop in my left knee.  Talk about excruciating pain!  That happened at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, just before labor day weekend.  Called my doc the next morning and got into see him that afternoon.  I hobbled into the office.  He did some X-rays and found a torn meniscus.  He ordered me some Meloxicam (NSAID-non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) and made a referral to an ortho surgeon.   Now just waiting on a call from him (ortho).

In the mean time I was moving slower and slower.  Finally reached a point where I could not put any weight on my leg.  Used my hubby’s walker for a bit, but that just felt awkward.   I thought about bringing in a wheelchair, but my house is not set up for a wheelchair, nor are the hallways and doorways wide enough.  Ding! Ding! Ding! Light goes off in my head….Use Your Desk Chair, Dummy!  It’s on wheels and it will fit down the halls and in the doorways.

So how does perspective figure into all this?  Well, I’m going to tell you.  When you are suddenly thrown into a handicapped situation, you begin to realize that some things you are not going to be able to do or at least have to do differently.  Things that you would normally whip right through are now taking twice as long and you have to have help.  Taking a shower, for example, now requires a chair in the shower stall.  Washing dishes from a seated position requires a towel on the counter to prevent the water from flowing down my arms.  Cooking requires being extra careful reaching across hot pots and pans.  I’ve gotten better at balancing a cup and rolling the chair.  Simple things you’ve always done now require major thinking to figure out a new way to do them.

I have a greater understanding now of those who are permanently disabled.  I even keep telling myself if I ever get a new house it will be handicapped accessible, at least with wider hallways and doorways.

Living life from a chair, even temporarily, is one heck of an eye opener.

Life Gets In the Way

It is amazing how much has happened since my last visit/post to my own blog.

I went back to work.  Just weekends at a facility for developmentally and intellectually challenged adults.  It is a busy facility, but a very caring one.

Hubby’s mobility has deteriorated.  He uses a walker now. And has occasional memory problems, but I think most folks do at our age.  He already had another stay in a hospital due to his diabetes.  Such a wicked disease.

One of my senior cats passed away.  She was close to 20 and could not get around well at all.  Then she started having seizures. Poor baby.

My youngest attempted to hike the AT, but came down with the flu and had to come home.  He still plans to thru-hike it some day in the future.

Youngest is going to help us do a bathroom remodel around the end of March.  Believe me it needs it!  It will be converted to a shower only instead of tub/shower combo.  This will make it easier for hubby to get in and out of the shower.

Got a new cell phone.  Needed that.  My old one was getting a  little glitchy.

Oh, almost forgot!  Got a new car.  Needed one of those.  Was driving a 20 year old Toyota Corolla.  Traded it in on a brand new Kia Soul in white.  Not fond of those alien green ones.  I got it because it will hold hubby’s walker and a wheelchair if necessary.  I already know it will hold two recliners.  We hauled a large one and a small one in the back.  The back of each comes off, so you just put the seats in, then the backs.

Can’t think of anything else at the moment.  Will attempt to post more frequently, but you know life gets in the way sometimes.

Can Openers

I find I am in need of a can opener.  I am not a fan of electric can openers. They take up too much space and most are bulky and cumbersome to use.  Sometimes they drop the cans and the contents go everywhere.

For the last 10 years or so I’ve been using a manual can opener.  But it finally gave up the ghost.  So I bought another one.  It cut maybe two cans before it stopped working like it should .  Using it was killing my hands.  So I got another.  Same thing.

I got to thinking. Why are we still using can openers?  As a society we have been using can openers for over 100 years (this is just a guess), maybe even longer.  Why hasn’t the industry made cans that are all pull tab tops?

Cat food come with a pull top lid.  Soups come with a pull top lid.  Other products come with a pull top lid.  So what’s with the canning industry that they can’t make ALL cans with pull top lids?

In reality, can openers should be obsolete.

Vacation Plans

The other evening my oldest son came by to visit.  During his time here he brought up the subject of all of us taking a trip to Mount Vernon, VA around this time next year.  We were all excited about the prospect of a family vacation.

Youngest did mention that he may be hiking the AT during that time, but may be able to meet us there.

A year should give us time to save up for the trip expenses and boarding our dog.  May have to get her used to being boarded, but we shall see.  I know our vet boards dogs and at least she would be around folks who have her health record.

Also, may have to rent a wheelchair for hubby.  He walks with a cane now, but only for short distances.  He would not be able to hold up to a tour through several buildings and acres.

Another thing is photography.  I’ll probably still take my 2 cameras, but I also want to experiment with my iPhone.  I will definitely need to get a selfie stick so I can get all of us in one shot.

I’ve checked a few places to stay while we are there.  Gives me an idea of accommodations.  We’ll definitely want something with a kitchen so we are not eating out all the time.  That gets old and usually involves way too many calories.

That also means I will need to get my bohunkus in gear and put some effort into working out.  May need to start using some weights.  May need to build up some strength if I am going to be pushing a wheelchair around.

Anyway, lots to think about; lots to get done in the meantime.

Attention: BAR Trucks and SUV’s

parking

Just because I drive a small car, does NOT mean you have the right to run your BAR truck up my tailpipe. (1) I am in the right hand lane. (2) I am doing the speed limit (3) If you want to go faster than the speed limit, move your  ass into the left hand lane where the other speedsters are. (4) You can then go as fast as you want, fight with other idiots driving BAR trucks and SUV’s, run off a bridge or up a tree. I don’t care. Just leave me alone.

Oh and don’t get me started on your lack of parking abilities.

Been Busy Since I Last Posted

We have been busy these past few months.  Had to get a few things done.

We got a handicapped parking hang tag for hubby as he can’t walk long distances or stand for extended periods of time.   Comes in handy when we have to go shopping.  Just an FYI, we only park in a designated spot when we are together.  If I am alone, I park in another spot and leave the handicapped place for those who need it.

One of my cats had kittens, her first litter and hopefully last.  She had them in the bed next to me. So that was extra work I had to do as far as cleaning goes.  They are now almost 8 weeks old.  She had 3 initially, but one was stillborn.

Towards the end of March, I planted a garden.  Actually 2 small gardens near my blueberry bushes.  One with a few vegetables and the other with herbs.  Some I planted in pots.

Veggies – bell pepper, beans and tomatoes

Herbs – parsley, cilantro, basil, sage, mint, sorrel, rosemary, thyme, oregano.

The black thing you see is a soaker hose snaking its way through both gardens and the blueberry patch.

I keep the areas covered with leaves and pine straw that will eventually decompose and fertilize the gardens.  I also use vegetable waste, coffee grounds and egg shells.

I use a homemade bug killer on the plants when they are not blooming.  It’s made of Neem oil, water and dish detergent.  It is effective, but once the plants start producing buds, I have to be extra careful with it so as not to kill any bees.  We need our bees.

Well that’s what we’ve been up to.  Hope your last few months have been productive.

 

 

 

Hubby Now Has a Cane

Yesterday we had to go out to the VA clinic as hubby had an appointment with the prosthetic department.  They issued him a cane due to the weakness and pain he has in his right leg (old wound from Vietnam).

They showed him how to use it and watched him walk with it for a bit before letting us go on our way.

I did ask about getting a handicapped parking permit for him as it will make it easier for him to get to and from buildings, such as the VA or grocery store or even a restaurant.  Was told that the DMV has the necessary forms that he will fill out part of and then his doctor will take care of the rest.

He’s learning that he now has to do things one handed, which in some cases will require more than one trip to accomplish a task.  This will make his independence a little more challenging but I am all about him keeping as much independence as possible.

So here’s to learning new ways of moving and maintaining independence.

 

Lined Flip Top Mittens – Fingerless Gloves

Oldest was working out at a local high school yesterday in very cold weather, at least for this part of Florida.  He called me after he finished, complaining of the cold.  During our conversation he told me he had lost the fingerless linings to his mittens.    I offered to make him some flip top mittens with fingerless gloves as the lining.  He loved that idea.

As I began to knit the ribbed cuff of these mittens, it crossed my mind that I did not want to knit 4 cuffs!   So I got to thinking, “how do I knit the flip top mitten and the fingerless glove inside of each other?”  There had to be a way to do this.

I remember seeing a video on YouTube about knitting socks, one inside of the other, on double points.  So I went on a hunt for this video.  Turns out there are 5, but I only needed a little information–  how to knit the two pieces yet keep them separate.  Once I found that, I was good to go.   That is until I actually got to the point where I wanted to join in the yarn for the liner and attach it only at that point.

All I had to do was knit with the outer yarn and the inner yarn at the same time for one round only.  From that point on,  I followed the instructions set forth in the video to knit the two pieces at the same time.

This is my progress so far.

So the mittens will have a single layer cuff and double layer hand/finger body.

I’ll post more pics as I progress on this project.

ETA: I had to add a 5th needle just for the thumb gusset.  That one needle had way too many stitches on it and I was dropping them.  Got tired of retrieving them. The safety pin shows the location of the thumb gusset.

 

So far:

The fingers are done.  The gold/orange waste yarn is where the opening will be.  Once the top is done, I will go back and remove that yarn and have live stitches to work with when knitting a neat ribbed section for the opening.  Then the last thing to do will be the thumb.

Well, LOL! Maybe not the last thing.  I will have to make a second mitt.

Lots of Things Going On

I haven’t posted in awhile.  Lots of things going on in my life.

Developed a sudden intolerance to wheat products.  Have no idea where that came from.  I don’t eat a lot of wheat products to begin with.  But after eating a sandwich one day,  I developed some severe joint pain. Weird! huh!

Initially I thought that was just a one time thing.  I didn’t eat wheat again for a few weeks. Let me say I have pain in my knees routinely due to an injury that happened last year.  So I have good days and bad days.  That is the reason I felt this was just a one time thing.  Any way, I ate  wheat again and got up the next day with severe joint pain.  What The “F”????

So I decided I better try gluten/wheat free, because I really do like being pain free, at least as pain free as possible at my age.

Learning to cook with gluten/wheat free products is a whole ‘nuther story.  I do have to say that the products are way better than they used to be.  Thank goodness for that.

Another thing that happened …..I developed a rash on my back .  Sometimes it itched and sometimes it didn’t.  Of course I checked everything on the internet that it could possibly be and started eliminating anything that could be causing it.

First thing to go was my statin med.  I’ve had problems with it before.  But the rash didn’t go away.  Then I thought maybe it was caused by bed bugs.  I washed everything and cleaned the mattress and box springs, checked and sprayed for bugs, etc.  Still did not go away.  (No bugs, BTW)

Then I thought it might possibly be scabies (mites), but it didn’t act like scabies. No constant, 24/7/365 itching, no head to toe rash.  I used every cream, solvent, soap, etc. available, including homemade ones.

Got on the internet again looking for things that could cause a rash.  Read that in most cases it is caused by laundry detergent and/or dryer sheets, especially if the rash is concentrated in areas where your clothing comes in constant contact with your skin.  You know…at your waist, bra, etc.

So here we go again, washing everything (without laundry detergent or dryer sheets).  I am using two aluminum  foil balls in the dryer and they work pretty well  to keep the static down.  I will be using some Castile soap in the laundry in the future since it is very gentle.

Oh, the concoction I am using for the rash is a mixture of Neem oil, Tea Tree oil, Olive oil and Vicks Vapor Rub.  Yes you read that right, Vicks Vapor Rub.  It seems to be working.  The rash is going away….slowly.  The only drawback is that you stink for a few hours.

So I am hoping this all works to get rid of the rash.  Will let you know if I am successful.

 

LISTEN UP STATUS QUO POLITICIANS!!

Stop harping on President Elect Trump not being qualified to hold the office of President! 

No One Is!!

You’re afraid things are going to change.  Your “cushy” job and extravagant salary may be changed.  You may actually have to work for your money.

You’re afraid the “good ol’ boy” network you are a part of will be dissolved. The perks at the expense of the American people may be a thing of the past.

Get Over It!!.

The majority  of the American people have voted for change.  They are tired of paying for your “freebies”.  They are tired of you voting opposite of what they elected you to vote for.

They are tired of the Obamacare fiasco and terrorists being able to slip into this country under the guise of refugee.

It’s time to pull your head out of your ass and start working for the American people instead of for your own selfish means.

‘Nuff Said.