Lookin’ on the Bright Side Always Pays
Here I am, back on the couch. My renewed hip pain has led to my right leg swelling to an uncomfortable size, and I feel like these two little throw pillows elevating my lower leg by four inches are somehow going to help. You see so many pictures of people relaxing on their over-sized chairs and sofas, with their laptops balanced perfectly on their curled legs. There’s probably a mug of coffee or a glass of red wine somewhere nearby, usually on the floor. They’re always smiling and they look so comfortable. That is a perfectly accurate description of how I’m not sitting. This is basically how this whole evening…
You Know I’d Never Talk About the Weather
Right now it’s 58°F and storming, which means I can’t open the windows. I can’t open the windows for multiple reasons. First, I’m terrified of lightning. I’ve gotten better over the years, but I still can’t allow drafts when there’s even a trace of thunder. It started in 1994 when lightning struck our house, which wasn’t uncommon, but this particular time it shot through the electric lines and hit my aunt who had been holding the refrigerator door. She was pregnant and had to be taken to the hospital to be checked. Everyone survived. I also got to experience ball lightning because of that event, which I didn’t realize was…
On Wobbly Knees
Well, that was fun. Not long after my birthday, back in March, I woke up from having fallen asleep on the couch unable to walk properly. It started with a tightness in both my calves which felt as if I had run a marathon on my tip-toes. Then, because I was hobbling around, my knee started to hurt. Then, because I was hobbling even worse with my new injury, my right hip started to hurt. When the pain hit my hip I was no longer able to walk without crutches. It took months for things to improve. Right now I have a renewed hip pain because I’ve been walking slightly…
Oh, Lookie There, I’ve Got a Bite
Recently, I’ve spent all my free time tying flies for fly fishing. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for years, even though I don’t fly fish. For Christmas, Brian gave me an Anvil Atlas rotary vise and I’ve been hooked, figuratively and sometimes literally, ever since. I haven’t spent a lot of time following established patterns, so I don’t know if anything I’ve made would actually catch a fish, although we used to fish with hot dog pieces, so I’m pretty confident “these dogs will hunt.” I’ve considered selling them at shipping cost to those who do fly fish, just to see how they fare, but I may wait until…
Good Things Just Keep Comin’ Our Way
Friday afternoon, December 23rd, Brian commented that he had “just a tickle annoyance” in his throat. I probably repeated, “Are you sure you’re not feeling sick?” two dozen times, worrying that yet again we would be ill over our vacation. No, he wasn’t getting sick, he assured me repeatedly. Saturday morning, December 24th, I rolled over, smiling, ready to announce that there was just one more day until my sister and her family would open the huge box full of glitter and presents we sent, but before I could get beyond my smile, he said, “I think I might be getting sick.” Do you ever want to face-palm another person or is that…
