Mmmm, Pretty & Tasty

Yum chocolate from fancy chocolatier, Christopher Elbow. The plain looking one was Bourbon and something... the one with the decoration was called "Persian" and had some nice spices in with the chocolate. I can still taste that one on my tongue. I'm saving the bar of dark chocolate with almonds for a desperate moment. :-)

Who U Calling a Bee-Atch?

Katja could care less! But come on, how could such cute softness be anything but?

Helpful Keiko

Keiko helping out while I do my PT.

A Lovely Day Out

I had a lovely afternoon out today. Originally the plan was to take in a movie with Kathleen but I just couldn't get into the grove of any of the movies listed. I thought, briefly, of just staying home and chilling on the couch, but I really wanted to see Kathleen, and that was definitely the right path to take. First, it was a lovely day in the city; a perfect temperature and clear blue skies. I picked K up and we took the car to be washed -- boy did my little Honda need a wash: I confess, I hadn't had it washed since my trip to Montana in September! Then we decided to go have lunch. I wasn't sure where to go, but I drove down towards Hayes Valley and, much to my amazement, found a parking spot totally by chance. I figured that was kismet. We walked along Hayes and went into the shops. Lots of lovely things but nothing really worth the money. I called Walker and we met up at Absinthe for mid-afternoon lunch. It was my first time there and it was just dandy. I had a great ham and cheese sandwich and for dessert, yum, chocolate pot de créme. Take me to paradise!

Oh, and gosh yes, I did do a bit of shopping while in those shops. Purchases: a cute little top for the little Gina-girl, a bright grass green umbrella just in time for rain later this week, a tote bag at 70% off from my favorite travel shop, Flight 001, oh, and some gourmet chocolates.

I'm home now and ready for a quiet evening. I played WoW for the first time in ages last night, so I may give it a go again tonight. Playing did make me pretty stiff, so if I play again I have to make sure to stretch my arm a few times.

Tomorrow it's off to the Humphries' household for the Super Bowl. It will be the usual crowd and I am looking forward to it. While I know nothing about football, nor do I care much for it, I'm going to root for the Steelers. They've got a tough sounding name.

Slowly but surely

I'll write more later this weekend but thought I'd throw this pic up that I just took while doing my nightly PT. No 90 degrees but it ain't shabby. At therapy we managed to get supination to 65 degrees! Still having quite a bit of pain but the meds keep it at bay.

Later: working hard on my PT, but frustrated because my wrist still hurts and is now starting to impede my supination progress. I'll discuss it with Dr. J when I see him Monday morning at the god awful hour of 8:30. Of course they schedule a follow up at 8:30 a.m. when I'm unconscious and unable to protest! I have no idea how I'll manage to get up. I can barely drag myself out of bed by 9:30 these days. Even when I go to bed early I can't seem to get up. Very frustrating, but I keep trying... have to get ready to go back to work full-time!

Company is always appreciated

Katja keeps me company - and warm, too - while I do my time in the rack.

Note Keiko' Experssion

... Complete lack of response to my exclamations of "Disobedience!".
She', like, "What?"

Master of Torture

I have come to the realization that orthopedic surgeons would make perfect Masters of Torture. Just think about it. They know all the bones of the body and how they relate to muscles, tendons and nerves. They have no problem messing around with the bones. They do it all the time, just usually when the patient is under anesthesia. Sure, I know that our new most awesome of presidents is, thankfully, working to close Guantanamo (and hopefully make more aggressive moves against the institutionalized use of torture expanded under W.), but just in case, we should keep these orthopedic surgeons in mind.

But perhaps I'm being a bit harsh. After all, when Dr. J tortured me yesterday I was soundly asleep and blissfully unaware of the pain he was inflicting upon my poor elbow. If I had been awake I am certain my screams would have been heard all the way to New Jersey and poor Dr. J would have been covered in bruises inflicted by my good arm and probably my flailing legs as well. When I woke up in the recovery unit (I was only under for about 30 minutes) my arm was a flaming mass of pain. One look at the nurse and he knew! He asks, "scale of 1 to 10?" No hesitation on my part, "7." I had to keep it in perspective with the actual dislocation which will forever be my measure for "10." It took several doses of morphine and some sort of anti-inflammatory before the pain was tolerable. I am currently having no hesitation in taking 2 vicodins (prescription says take 1 to 2 as needed for pain). Even now, the day after, my arm still hurts a lot. It sort of feels like someone grabbed me and flung me around while holding a vise-like grip on my wrist. Add to that my overwhelming anxiety about going back to the hospital and under anesthesia again, well, yesterday just was not one of my better days.

All was not in vain, however. This morning I went to do a "gentle" rendition of my physical therapy exercises (per my therapist's recommendation) and there was noticeable improvement in flexation (straightening of the arm) and supination (turning the wrist outward so palm faces up). I can definitely straighten my arm more then I could yesterday. And supination... well, for those of you who have seen how much I was able to turn my wrist outwards will be happy to see the improvement. For those who haven't, before and after pics...

Before... on my own power, approximately that much...

Now, on my own power, this much... and I can do more in the rack device I'm using to improve supination. In fact, I was able to move the rack thing's dial out another notch.

I wonder where all that broken up scar tissue goes. Does it float around in my arm like a whole lot of flotsam and jetsam or does it just sort of disappear slowly? Hmm, there could be some sort of parallel to life in that statement...

So, I suppose I should be glad I listened to Dr. J. I know the pain will fade and if I keep up the PT work the benefits should speak for themselves...

Oh, and did I mention how much my freakin arm hurts? LOL.

OMG WTF JHM

Oh my gods what the fudge Jason has Michael!!!!

Yum Kale Soup

Managed 45 minutes on the rack today for the first time. Might have over done as the arm has been unusually achy today.

The day started out lazy as I went to bed late and therefor slept late. But I had to get to PT today so I showered, tortured myself, putzed around on the Mac (messed a bit with Facebook) and then headed to the PT appt. I managed 10 degrees supination today finally, which is a big deal. Hopefully it won't take as long to get to 15 as it did to get to 10.

I then took a good walk over to the Walrus Arms for dinner. Cheryl made her lovely and tasty Kale soup (pictured below) and we will, shortly, have fruity turnovers for dessert.

One more day before my return to work. I do feel a bit anxious about going back, even though I am sure I'll be fine.

Update:
Walrus Arms Review
Quality of Service: 4 stars
Quality of Food: 4 stars
Quality of Liquor: unable to assess, will require future visit

Torture Hat Complete

Finished my therapy hat last night. When I started the hat I could only manage a few stitches at a time, but it improved over time. By the time I finished I could manage knitting for maybe 5 minutes at a time. Next attempt will be socks.

The hat design itself started out as a simple seed stitch pattern but it looked a bit boring so I added a ridge just by doing a few rows of purl and then moved into a straight stockinette. I knitted an inch or so around before starting to reduce. When I finally got to the end I wasn't sure how to finish it off and ended up doing several inches of I-cord and then ending it off with a little leaf made with simple increases and decreases. I figure if it doesn't look good on a head it will make a nice tea cosy.

Ouch!

My arm in the supination device.

Blogger Slackness

It's been a while since I blogged so I will try to update a bunch of things today.

Sunday I had a house full of afternoon guests. My slacker bro came up to hang with me and then SP, Gabish and Joe came up as well. We chilled out, ate a lot of Chinese food, and then everyone went home :-) Expect me... I was already home, duh!

Monday, Joe (who was visiting from Texas), called me, as agreed, at 10:00 a.m. to plan some time sight seeing before he had to fly home the next day. SP had been sick with some awful virus so Joe ended up spending most of his vacation (plus the extra week) taking care of her. Much to my surprise, not only did he call me at 10:00, but he was already outside the apt! Talk about ready for the day. Being that I had, uh, just woken up when he called, I wasn't quite ready yet. But Joe's a patient guy. He came in, had some tea with me, and we chatted while I did my morning PT exercises. Then off we went for a drive around the city. We stopped at the Palace of Fine Arts first. It's undergoing a lot of construction, so we couldn't walk all the way around the pond, but that is a worthy sacrifice since the place was in dire need of repairs! We then drove down the crookedest street (Lombard) and went up to Coit Tower, drove through North Beach, along the Embarcadero and then over and around the city via 280 to Glen Park and up to Twin Peaks. It was a beautiful day, so the views every where were awesome. Then we had cheesesteaks for lunch and Joe took me to PT. All in all, a good day, though too short... I hope he'll have more time to do some serious sight seeing when he is back next time!

Tuesday Mr. Perry came up and we had lunch and got mani and pedis (it was Mr. Perry's first such indulgence and he seemed to enjoy it much) and then I got some sock yarn at Alteier. Yes, I'm going to give socks a try after I finish this little hat I'm working on. I found an online sock tutorial I'm going to give a try.

Wednesday I was a slug until 5:00 when Major's called and asked if I wanted to go to Stonestown with him. He had Abs with him so the three of us had a nice evening together. It was good to get dressed and out of the house! I don't like being a slug for so long. When I got home I then went next door to Amy's and we watched the second night of American Idol. Fun!

Today I had PT and my appointment with the chic from the Dynasplint company for my fitting. The supination device is quite the contraption. Let's hope it helps!

Now I'm just home chilling. Apartment is nice and clean thanks to Monica's bi-weekly visit this morning -- nothing like walking into a clean smelling and looking apartment.

Look For It...

Special Bellhops guest, Khoma-licious, of the Clan McFluffypants Forest, currently residing in the abode of the Slacker Bro. Khoma likes to instigate all sorts of mischievousness, has a keen nose for yarn and likes to test his balancing skills by jumping on top of the flat screen telly.

Visit to Lucy's

My cousin, Tamara, took me up to SR to visit Lucy this afternoon. We had a really nice time. We had lunch at this nice French restaurant (okay, the best freakin' pumpkin soup ever!), then did a run to BB&B and Trader Joe's. Ended the day with a visit at Lucy's place (got some PT done while I was there) and then had a smooth and uneventful drive back to the city. All in all, a good day.

Did the switch to the new pain meds today. I tried to go with just 1 tablet (prescription calls for 1 to 2 tablets as needed for pain), but 1 just didn't cut it, so had to take another. I see how it goes over the next few days and see at what point 1 might do it...

Watching Contact on the Roku box right now. I love that film, even though I've seen it a gazillion times. I just find it to be a chill watch.

Just heard about a remote iPhone app... will have to check it out and see what it's all about...

Silence is NOT Golden

So, despite all the CUTE pictures of the girls and my general interesting ramblings, my readers have been SILENT. Hey, I live for your comments... you're killing me here... I mean, granted, only, like, 5 people read this blog (and I might be a bit generous with that number), but still, 5 is WAY better then 0 and it means I could get like 5 comments... help me out here peeps...

Special Offer: Feline Recliner

Available for a short time only! Are you a descerning feline who wants and expects the best in luxury products? If so, this custom recliner is just for you. Two long, well padded human legs provide stable support. Lined in soft, warm velvet-encased down, this recliner will give you hours of comfort.

Stretch out or curl up. Sprawl across for a nice muscle massage. The choice is yours! Order now before it's too late!

(Quantities limited. Extended warranty available for an extra fee.)

You Want Some of This?

Look, unless you want some of this I suggest you back-off, buddy. And I ain't joking.

Another Day...

Supination still only 5 degrees. It seems certain now that I will have to use some sort of rack-like torture device to push the arm further. My PT doesn't think it's the muscle but more the bones. Sigh.

I took cabs to and from PT today and had nice conversations with the drivers - the ride there was about politics, and the ride back was family and health. Nice gents. PT not so nice, but I just breathed deeply and let her do her thing with my arm.

Decided to give a different book a go. This time I'm trying "Size 14 isn't Fat, Either", by Meg Cabot. I read her first one, "Size 12 isn't Fat", which was a lot of fun. The series features Heather Wells, a former pop singer who's now working as an assistant hall director at a NYC college in the Village. She finds herself in the center of some murders and, in a charming and sweet manner, ends up working to resolve the crimes. So far it's keeping my attention and making me laugh, which is a good thing! In case you don't recognize the author, Meg Cabot wrote the Princess Diaries series.

Finally got my new computer speakers and managed to get them and the subwoofer all hooked up. Sounds good. I'm glad I got them and they weren't that expensive.

Gave WoW a try today. I could probably do some low level stuff, but anything my level will be hard because I can't really move that fast on the keyboard yet. Might have to play with the Slacker Bro for a while or expect to die a lot.

Waiting on my dinner... Chinese from "Joe's Excellent Chinese Cuisine". Think I'll watch some movies.

Flick: Slumdog Millionaire

So, my friend/neighbor and I went to have a New Years Day coffee this afternoon and decided we'd take in a flick. After pursuing the options via my little iPhone app, Flixster, we opted on Slumdog Millionaire. Neither of us knew anything about the film, though Amy thought she had heard good things. The brief description sounded appealing and fun, and the timing was right, so we decided to give it a go.

It was a really good film and not at all what we expected. First of all, I wouldn't exactly call it fun, per se. The premise is that a young man, who grew up in the slums of Mumbai, has made it to the Indian equivalent of So You Want to be a Millionaire, but how is it this came to pass? So the film unfolds with the telling. As you can imagine, growing up in the slums of Mumbai doesn't necessarily bring out the laughs and fun -- though there are some truly wonderful moments as we witness, in an almost voyeuristic way, how this boy and his brother survive. All I have to say on that is if you ever visit the Taj Mahal, keep your shoes with you. Anyway, the film has intense moments, tender moments, love, loyalty, faith, hope and despair all piled in together. I highly recommend the film.

In terms of reading, still haven't done much. You'd think being at home as much as I am these days I'd find time to read, but my efforts so far haven't been very rewarding. I can only seem to keep my attention on the book for so long before I fling it down. Maybe I'll try another book...