Yesterday was a wash in a number of ways.  

I never did end up accomplishing any sewing - and didn't even get dressed in my boot and 'walk', instead relying solely on the scooter.  However I did take a shower and wash my hair!

Today will be a different story - I promise!

It's not even 8:00 and I'm already done playing on the computer, even finishing both Sunday crossword puzzles.

 Each Book Nerd block (I'll need 16 of them to border my reading panel) requires four sections to create the pages of the book. 

Yesterday I began working on section B1-B2 (anyone surprised that I chose the simplest one, with only 2 pieces?) using an  assembly line method.  It was very slow going, with my count only an anemic half-dozen to show for the day.

Naturally I am hoping to 'whip out' <g> the remaining ten for that section today.  I'd even thought that with a little bit of luck  maybe I'd even move on to the next section...  

 

However now that it's afternoon (and I haven't even started sewing yet) 

that end result IS looking less and like likely....

We got a lot more rain yesterday. The weekend was predicted to be sunny and nice (for a change!) but the visible section of the sky (from my spot on the couch in the family room) sure looked dark and threatening most of the morning. 

 Happily by later in the morning the sun had chased them off.

I wasn't able to watch ER for a couple of days because of difficulty signing back in to Hulu. Once Alex sent me the correct password (that third time's the charm!) and then I figured out how to access capital letters (because passwords are case sensitive) I figured I was on a roll - 

until (storm-caused?) buffering kicked in every few seconds and I gave up for a while.  

Good thing I still have a "fair" amount of reading material at my disposal!

I'm about halfway through The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek (which is okay, but I liked The Giver of Stars better) and will have no difficulty finishing it before I find a ride to the library to pick up the next book waiting for me, The Great Alone.

For a family in crisis it's the ultimate test of survival. Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam War a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job , he makes an impulsive decision: He will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America's last true frontier.

The second shipment (of another three packages) that Sandy mailed me included several copies of Mom's book (The Great Affair) as requested, as well as several of Dad's (A. Lincoln: The Man).

This book, however, was a surprise - and will come in handy should I decide to take Andy's Evidence class again one day.

Another quilt arrived tucked into one of the boxes the hand-quilted lap giraffe one I'd made for Mom with bright Laurel Burch fabric.   I'd include a photo, but can't seem to find one at the moment.  

Last evening, still warm from the dryer, I put it to use here when I snuggled under it to watch some TV. For years it'd lived on one of the chairs in Mom's aptly named sun room so parts of it have faded somewhat (so obviously it's a good thing those fabrics started out really bright.)  Here's a photo I found on-line of the Laurel Burch giraffe fabric line. 

Two more quilts still remain on the wall in the apartment, and will arrive in future mailings along with a some other goodies  - like some of Mom's (and my) counted cross-stitch projects.

The man and woman figurines are now living on the shelf right outside the kitchen, where I'll pass by and enjoy them numerous times each day.  They will always remind me of Mom and Dad - except for the fact that Dad, with his back issues/foot drop, never went barefoot.

Unless you count that one instance (in the 80s during one of my Spring Breaks from teaching) when Echo and I joined them and Cactus in their RV for a week-long loop tour around northern Arizona.  With 3 adults and 2 Australian Shepherds in the mini motor-home it was a cozy fit at times, but none of us minded having to step over our beloved furry friends blocking the narrow aisle. 

At  Canyon de Chelly we'd elected to hike down to see the ruins.

Hike the one public trail starting at the White House Overlook on the South Rim. Allow 2 hours to hike 600 feet down and back up the switchback trail to the White House Ruin.

When we got to the river at the bottom that needed to be crossed, Dad (definitely a city fella) was astounded to discover that there was no bridge ("of course there must be a bridge!") and we'd need to hike across to the ruin.  Mom and I were fine with that, removed our shoes, and waded right in.  At first Dad elected to remain behind, but once she and I had reached the other side he did change his mind and took the plunge. 

All of my photos from that trip (and others from pre-digital years) are on slides, stored in carousels in boxes - and which I haven't viewed in years.  I guess I really ought to have them transferred to a digital format so I could "take" that vacation again!

During that week-long trip we also visited a trading post on the Reservation (that someone had told me about) where Mom and Dad, shopping for a Navajo rug, would be able to buy one at a reasonable price.  The dirt road there was "beyond" a washboard, and even driving incredibly slowly it not only rattled our bones but caused Dad extreme concern for the fate of the motor home!

Physicists based at universities in Canada, France and England assembled a basic experiment to solve the washboard problem. They filled a round cylinder with sand, started it spinning, and ran a rubber wheel along the surface. Within minutes, a washboard pattern appeared on the previously smooth surface. It did not take long until the ruts became more pronounced. The wheel hit an uneven spot and pushed some of the sand past the spot, thus creating a new uneven spot. As the wheel circled, ripples and ruts grew. The only solution Morris and his researchers found was to drive very slowly. The bumps did not smooth out until the wheel traveled at less than 5 mph. “It’s impractically slow,” Morris said.

Once we (eventually!) arrived, Mom and Dad were thrilled with the vast selection of rugs priced at just a small fraction of those at stores in town, where the middlemen had jacked up the prices horrifically.  Choosing just rug was a tough decision, but for decades afterward they enjoyed their  Yei Bi Chei pattern purchase which served as a reminder of that wonderful trip.  

In the "adventures" department, that was the same trip when mild-mannered Cactus was attacked on the Reservation by a stray dog, bitten near his eye while he was simply taking care of business at a rest stop.  Though the bite itself didn't look too bad, it was still worrisome because we were doubtful that the stray had received any of his shots (and with no collar or ID of any sort we had no way to check.) Thus we needed to find a vet and get Cactus some treatment - not an easy task to accomplish in the middle of nowhere.

Time to get off of the computer and be at least somewhat productive. Some of what came out of the 3 packages yesterday still remains on the living room couch since I can only carry a little bit at a time.

Before I could finish with that today a package from Marilyn was delivered.  Naturally I'm a tad curious as to its contents because she texted that I should "open it alone in a closet behind closed doors."

So guess what's next on my day's agenda?  

And while I may have piqued the curiosity of my readers, just hope that after I've satisfied my own I'll be able to mention the contents on my blog.  

Knowing my sister, it could be almost anything!

Sewing again - although my 'driving' foot let me know (in NO uncertain terms!) that it is not ready to get back into the game.  

So I'm using my left foot, which turned out to be easier than I expected.

That, incidentally, was the movie we watched the evening of September 1, 1990.  Just as it had finished and the credits started rolling my water broke - and we were off to the hospital for a 'busy' night!

I had a good cleaning and check-up at the dentist today.

Merlin wasn't so lucky; poor baby had to have a lot of teeth pulled today. 

 

Alex took a bunch of photos of Brownie today,

but so far I haven't found the one I'm looking for.

Alex 'probably' lost more points <g> when he gave Brownie a bath around dinnertime last night.  Alex's plan is to take the photo today, so will hope Brownie doesn't find the need to investigate a mud puddle when Mary takes him for a walk this morning. (Cat #2 is having his teeth cleaned, so she's coming by this morning after dropping off Merlin at the vet.)

I've unlocked the door so I won't have to get up to let Mary in.

Last evening Tom and I watched a program on NOVA (Forgotten Genius) about chemist Percy Julian, an African-American  born in 1899.  I'd never heard of him - and found his story fascinating.

My foot hurts this morning even though I haven't even resumed walking yet today so I'm not feeling terribly encouraged here... though did get very happy news yesterday about Elinor's recent PETscan after she'd seen the doc on Tuesday for the results.

The news is very positive.  All the tumor activity has declined again and her oncologist is very happy about the results. Elinor and Richard will visit the surgeon in Denver on February 19 to find out if surgery is the best next step.

Alex brought in the motion camera yesterday to see what it'd gotten - which turned out to be birds and cats (hadn't realized how many different ones visit our yard despite Brownie!) and of course one curious brown dog.

Brownie was thrilled when I got him 'dressed' this morning 

because he knew that meant he was going somewhere.  

But (not surprisingly) he was considerably less thrilled when he discovered that Alex had taken him for the dreaded nail trim.  On the plus side, Alex redeemed himself later by escorting Brownie on a walk in the afternoon, when Brownie reportedly "peed on everything."

I've done better today walking around the house; there's less pain since I'm using my heel instead of the front part of my foot.  While I do miss having the use of both hands (I definitely need one crutch) at least I don't have to worry about navigating any steps.

I got a little better at walking yesterday (translation: used counters and walls to aid in taking weight off of my foot when walking from "here to there", and also figured out that it helped to put the brunt of weight on my heel.)  This YouTube clip was also helpful:

weight bearing tips

I'm still using the scooter for midnight bathroom trips, and to head into the kitchen to start my day in the morning. While I haven't yet tried walking today, I am about to head back to the bedroom to get dressed in the boot.  Naturally I'm hoping for improvement (as in less pain) over yesterday, because 

I did try to drive yesterday - thought a run to Walmart (less than a mile from the house, and virtually all on residential streets) would provide a good test.  It turned out to be an incredibly abbreviated test since I never made it out of the driveway; just braking backing out of the garage into the driveway told me all I needed to know, and meant that driving is still NOT back in my skill set. Sigh... 

Because it is definitely not be worth the risk if I would need to step on the brake going any faster than coasting out of the garage!!!  FYI I would have been at this very same intersection: 

This morning [Jan 26] at approximately 5:35 AM I was walking my dogs and was hit by a lifted red Chevy truck with very tinted windows. The truck was pulling out from Wescott Drive onto 43rd Ave. My dogs and I were heading north down 43rd Ave and as we approached Wescott drive we saw the truck sitting waiting to turn onto 43rd Ave. He didn’t go so I was assuming he was waiting for me to cross so my dogs and I started to cross the street. I’m sure the person was on their phone and obviously wasn’t paying attention, but they decided to go when my dogs and I were literally right in front of the truck. The truck knocked me down and was so close to running over one of my dogs but thankfully I let for of their leashes so they were able to jump away from the truck. I wasn’t able to get a license number because it just all happened so fast and they took off right after they hit me. I called 911 and made a police report. Just want everyone to be careful out there. I’m going to be sore but thankfully we are all ok. Just can’t believe someone could hit a person and not even ask if they are ok. 😕 There are some very crappy people out there. Everyone stay safe out there!

Tom picked up my RX later yesterday when he ran some errands (we'd tried to do that on the way home from the doc on Monday, but unfortunately the drive-through was closed for lunch during that half hour) including one to the post office.  So Emily should have her Bana earrings soon, and now I need to pack up Bana's remaining earrings for Bekkah. 

 

Alex has offered to take Brownie in for his nail trim this week, and I'm thinking that we should tack on a bath "as long as he's in the neighborhood."  Still waiting for a clean pooch so Alex can take Brownie's official portrait for my artwork gift.  

This dog pic that floated across FB yesterday reminds me of a wet Brownie!