Mystique stands guard from the lanai.

That's what we call these little screen rooms here in Florida. I don't know why since that is a Hawaiian word and we are no where near Hawaii. But we do. So there you have it. Next time you look the door and trim will be green.

craigslist

I found this wicker furniture on craigslist. That was a deal. Then I blew it buying new cushions but I like it all a whole lot better. Here is before.

Here is after.Flip it over and the flowers are stripes. I love it.

New birdies a comin'.

This time she is in my hose hanger upper thing. I hung a towel in there to dry and it has been confiscated as part of the nest.

Mommy. Babies to be.

Arm use.

I have almost total use and recovery of my right arm. The tough part is lifting it. And lifting things. No strength yet. Moving side to side is easy. I can almost reach around my back. Almost. OK, I can put my hand on my hip.

If you think it's easy try putting your arm into a sling for a week. Tight up against your torso. You'd be amazed at what you can't do.

And watch Rome. It was excellent. A little bloody in parts but a fabu production. Thanks to the Thomas' for turning me onto that.

Sutures removed.

I got to see the video of the surgery. You can see the full tear, the partial tear, and all the little frays. Then you see all the tie downs and bolts. Pretty amazing.

New therapy exercises were assigned. No need to sleep with the sling on any longer. One more week and it's back to work. Watching season two.

CARNIVORE!

This week I craved meat. Lots and lots of meat. I think it's a post surgical thing.
Thank God for Fresh Market. I got ribs, spiral cut ham, meatballs and a steak. That's more meat that I usually eat in a month.

Surgery - Part Deux

Rotator cuff surgery in four one inch incisions. That's it. At least for me.

Check this link.

It's done by remote control while the doctor looks at a flat panel monitor. Out came the spur. He cleaned up the crud in the area and then did the drilling, anchoring, and tying. Pretty darn amazing.

Received via SFCC Alert system to cell phone - Message 1

SFCC received unspecified bomb threat. College is open. Use caution check work areas report anything suspicious to SFCC Police.

Received via SFCC Alert system to cell phone - Message 2

SFCC has ended operations in response to an unspecified bomb threat today. College is open. Thank you for your attention and cooperation.

It's a good day.

I have total use and CONTROL of my right hand again. Not my arm but a hand is a good start. And I'm off pain meds enough to concentrate on a movie. Time for season one.

Friends rock!

My friends have done day sitter service, meal delivery service, and general calling and cheering up service.

They were here almost 24/7 the first four days.

They brought Satchel's, Chan's, and Fazzoli's and laughter.

They made this whole thing pretty darn easy.

Surgery - Part Un

The radiant pain that ran down arm to my elbow then onto my thumb is gone. That fast.

When the doctor called this afternoon he said that was because when he took the spur out and cleaned out the scar tissue (impingement) it released the tendon that was pinched. Voila, no more pain in elbow or thumb. I like it.

Add this to the list; a long handled but very soft bristled shower brush. Unless you are way more ambidextrous than me. Even then you just can't stretch the way you need/want to. Get the brush.

Oh...that doctor was right about the pain.

He warned me that when the nerve block wore off it would be a killer. He was more than right. For 24 hours I was numb. Then the hurting began. WOW. That's all I've got to say. That and thank God for JoAnn's determination to stay the night.

Here come Tari and the kinders.

It's time to leave for the OR.

My bed is fresh and opened and ready for me to jump into as soon as I get back. The wastebasket/towel is next to the bead (for you know...just in case). The bedside table has a glass of water with a straw, a notebook and pen (keep track of what time you take the pain meds), a couple of hard candies and a candle and lighter.

You may want a pair of reading glasses and a magazine but my house is little so I left all that out by (as JoAnn calls it) the command center in the living room. For me it is bed/sleep or couch/up. The two rarely overlap.

There are fresh towels in the bathroom. Every convenience I can think of for myself has been attended to. Why not? It's a long week ahead.

Pre surgery prep.

Really, trust me on this one. Now a veteran of two total knee replacements I think I've got this stuff figured out pretty well.

Things to do those last few days before surgery include getting a haircut, a manicure and pedicure, cleaning and washing the car, bathing the dog, cleaning the bathroom one more time and putting clean sheets on the bed.
I also recommend buying a few new jammies/nighties and robes (this one learned from Pam). For the first four or five days, at least, by the time you get up and showered and breakfasted you are about ready to go back to bed and nothing is nicer than clean, fresh jammies everyday when you are in them all day.

Get yourself a stack of favorite magazines too. Sometimes that first week of post anesthetic makes focusing on a book tough. Magazine articles are doable.

Get a book or two for later on and rent some long series movies like Rome, The Tudors, or a season of something like the Sopranos or Sex and the City.

And lots of cash. It's good to have on hand. For ordering a pizza. Or for buying for friends who deliver. They are worth their weight in gold.

Must haves on my list also include a hand held shower head and a shower chair.

In the kitchen you can't miss with Folgers Coffee Singles, assorted tea bags, and instant soups, lunches and whatever else you can make with boiling water. Stock the freezer with a few Marie Callendar/Stouffer microwavable meals and the pantry with popcorn and you are good to go. Oh yeah, and get lots of juice and pop. For some strange reason (I'll blame anesthetic and meds) thirst seems insatiable post surg.

Wild Iris

I love this place. It's one of the few remaining feminist bookstores in the country. They have expanded and reorganized and have lots of cool books and gifts.

This week I bought some kind of organic dog shampoo. We were out of Baby Dog Baby Powder Shampoo so why not try something different?

I also got this.
It's the double shot and you can get one here. You make a French press coffee in the mug AND store another shot to make later in the hidden compartment in the bottom of the mug. Perfect for the office.

Visiting Live Oak.

For some strange reason I needed to make a trip to Live Oak. I stopped for lunch at Camp Weed to meet with the Executive Director and the Operations Manager. Pretty cool place and I may go back to camp. Then it was onto Live Oak proper. First I logged a couple of benchmarks; the cupolaand the reset were among the days find.
Then it was onto the Dixie Diner for coconut pie and coffee. And orchid display. Who knew? Better yet was the purse display. That was hard for me to pass up but I held firm and moved on.

Next stop was the gigondo Florida Sheriff's Boys Ranch which turns out to be the largest and saddest thrift store I've ever entered. Moving on I passed this barn of recycled aluminum that wins the award in my book. Last stop of the day was the hippo. While I was taking the photo they lured me into the gardens where tho' I longed for the godfatherI only bought the globe.

Sunflower seed thieves caught!
Under cover of darkness, I saw that rabbit snacking her way from the front yard to the back, heading for the garden. I believe she is the one enjoying parsley, carrots, and beets...the tops anyway. Which then stops the growth of the bottoms. She has left me the lettuce and spinach. Now she has a friend...hubby? If only they weren't so darn cute there would be hassenpfeffer for dinner.

Need a moose head?

Mulch Mountain


It's taller than my shrubs....what was I thinking?

More Hostel in the Forest.

Bubble jar in front of our room. I really wanted to steal it.
Mushroom 1
Mushroom 2 Cool mound of sticks and stuff. Sort of like an igloo. One mans garbage (mine) is another mans art (someones). There was a lot of that around. Things someone thought was art but looked like it should be cleaned or burned to me.

Jekyll Island - 2nd stop is the beach.

While I find another cache Jocelyn and Isaac enjoy the water and sun.
Doesn't Isaac look like he just planted the standard at the top of Everest?

The added bonus was the 1:32 scale Tritan missle on display in the convention center. It's a little hard to see but it's black and red sitting on the red, white, and blue tablecloth.Then it was off to the fishing pier where Jocelyn spotted the second benchmark of the trip.

Jekyll Island - 1st stop Earth Day Nature Trail to find Isaac's first cache.
Low tide means mud flats.Isaac makes the trade.Bones on the trail.

Arriving at the Hostel in the Forest.

OUTDOOR shower. I thought they meant outdoor. They meant OUTDOOR. As in O U T D O O R. Nary a implication of being hidden from nature.

Crystal clear water. Composting toilet - which is really an outhouse with lots of straw and sawdust which oddly eliminates the outhouse aroma.
Owl en route to glass housewhich is the one place that doesn't seem to photograph well. It's a large eight sided dome of entirely glass walls. Even the dome roof has a half a dozen glass panels. It is really quite spectacular to sit up there in the trees and rest and relax.

There are lots of other folks photos are here.

Off to the Hostel in the Forest.

Traveling the sort of back roads we stopped for lunch at a boat ramp in Yulee named for Melton O Nelson. Jocelyn stumbled onto a benchmark and we found a modern day archaeological site containing broken eyeglasses, and empty deodorant container, beads, and fishing line.

Like a Mr. Clean commercial.

Who knew the driveway could be so white and sparkley? Not moi. Before on the left; after on the right.

Ready-Made Honorable Mention

My usual junk assemblage. There I was browsing my afternoon away. This magazine was only one stop on my tour but as it turns out my entry had won honorable mention.

Gone Baby Gone.

New babies.

Two out of three so far anyway. I've been waiting patiently for over a week sot it's a good day.

Buy of the day,

I do love an estate sale. Or yard sale. Or thrift store.
I thought is was a laundry basket (the basket separates from the wheeled stand) but research proves it to be a bassinet. No matter, it will be holding geraniums on the porch very soon.

First the gunman, now the bomber.

Today we had a bomb scare on campus. I never believe anything so while there was all this yelling and running going on around me I was still blabbing on the phone. By the time I realized they were serious they were herding us like cattle to the softball field. The campus was evacuated by about 11. We went out to lunch. Did a little shopping. The usual evacuated day off stuff.

The funniest part was when we got to what we thought was the softball field and this guy (ball player in uniform) came by to tell us we were not on the SOFTBALL FIELD. We were on the BASEBALL FIELD. Like anybody in that whole group knew the difference or even knew we had one of each and were on the wrong one. Evidently no one but the team and hey - their game was canceled due to the turn of events - knows this information. I mean really, they were out there grooming the field like it was going to be game on.

After a lot of griping about the sun and the heat (like anyone could do anything about it) they opened the concession stand. I asked for a vodka tonic. They gave me a Sprite.

Life used to be so dull. Only hurricanes scored us a day off.

NOT the express lane.

The EXPRESSO lane.
Tomorrow I'll skip the picture taking and try a shot.

DAD gets an update.

Before.

After.