things

For a while there, I found myself regularly waking up at 3 or 4am and not being able to go back to sleep. I blamed it on the perimenopause that my doctor said I was not yet "in." Then, I had surgery and my body took every opportunity for sleep that it could get and I forgot what 4am looked like. Lately, I'm again routinely waking up at an unreasonable hour, laying awake listening to FH snore for a few hours until the alarm goes off. I'm thinking the next time it happens, I'm going to get up and see what happens. Maybe that's why old people are always up so early.

It's August. Every August I bitch about how hot and crispy and sweaty everything is. This year is no exception. I'm tried of summer. As a matter of fact, I was tired of summer before summer even began this year. Because I'm always hot, and again I blame that on the perimenopause that my doctor says that I'm not yet "in." As soon as I can comfortably travel there, I'm hitting the mountains or somewhere snowy. I don't remember the last time I was cold.

Speaking of travel, we're planning our anniversary trip and we had to pick something with the least amount of sitting so in case I'm still not able to sit for a while I won't be miserable. After considering several different options and eventually deciding they were too much, we narrowed it down. The ones we vetoed for now are still really great options, so we have several trips already planned waiting in the wings.
We decided to take the whole week off, since our anniversary is on a Wednesday this year, and also because we both have a lot of PTO since we haven't really taken any. (Most of my recovery was short term disability)
We're taking the RV to the beach for the first weekend, then we're flying to Santa Fe, NM for the rest of the week. Going to explore the cave dwellings, soak in some hot springs, check out the art scene, and relax at the pool in our cute historic hotel. Very much looking forward to that and hoping that I'm not too sore at that point. I've been very humbled by how slow the sitting/driving progress has gone. Right now I'm basically always sore. Ice packs are saving me right now so I'm thinking of getting some of those instant ice packs since they can go through tsa. Waiting for that day when the surgeon said I wouldn't notice the pain anymore...

This weekend I got into the river for the first time this year. Just to cool off, because treading water used muscles that I didn't think I should be using, and I hosed off when I got out to be on the safe side. It was nice.

3 months!

Today I saw my surgeon for the three month follow up.

Takeaways:

Driving and sitting for too long will hurt. It takes time. He said one day I'll notice that it doesn't bother me anymore and to be patient. Which means I'm also not cleared to travel yet and my boss does not care because I'm the only person in Houston right now and she wants me local anyway.

I have great strength and shitty range of motion. He said he wasn't surprised because the joint will be tight for a while. Apparently women have loose hips naturally and that can lead to issues long term so he purposely tightened it up. News to me! Also thanks? He said to wait another month before trying to stretch.

I can start trying to do some of the things I like, like yoga and hiking, but take it slow and listen to my body. Considering I was told not to stretch for another month, I'm thinking yoga needs to wait.

Then I asked him about my tendonitis and he referred me to a hand/arm specialist. Tennis elbow is such a cute name for something that hurts like hell. I told him that and he chuckled and agreed, he said he's had it before as well. The exercises have been helping so I'll see how that goes.

Currently icing both the hip and the elbow because both are sore. Honestly ice packs are underrated. They really help with inflammation and then I don't have to take pain meds that fuck up my stomach.

Other progress:

In the morning, I don't have a limp and walk normally without even thinking about it! As the day progresses and I get tired & sore, it comes back. Also walking on uneven surfaces, like in the yard, still requires concentration.

lessons in hosting

We host more overnight guests than the average person, here are a few lessons I've learned over the years:

1. People eat more than you think. In the past we've ran out of food because when I counted portions, I counted the way I eat. For example, chicken thighs. I'd assume that I'd need 1 chicken thigh per person. Wrong. Some people eat more than that. Sometimes they're on a keto diet. Sometimes they're really hungry. Sometimes that's their normal portion. So what I do now is I count portions according to the way I eat (or according to the package/recommendation), then I double it. That way we have no issues feeding everyone, including surprise extras, and leftovers is always a good thing when you've got folks day drinking and staying the weekend. Hungry? Go scrounge. Still got food left when people leave? Freeze it or send it home with someone.

2. Towels and water bottles WILL be abandoned. It's okay. We just buy double the cases of water and plan for extra laundry. The plants will get fancy water for a while.

3. Laundry. When it comes to sheets, I've seen it all. And only once have I had to throw them away and buy a new one. Body fluids, blood, food smears, sweat, barf... I don't actually handle the barf but that time the sheets were hosed off and tossed right into the machine. Most things get Spray N Wash and peroxide as a pretreat, and bleach goes into every whites load because that's the way it should be. If it sits in the laundry room for a week, who cares? It will get washed eventually. When it comes to big crowds when every bed is slept in and every towel is used, I truck it all to the laundromat and in 2 hours and a chat with a random old person, it's all washed and dried for about 20 bucks. 

4. If someone wants to bring something, a bag of ice or a case of water is always a good choice. We have a friend who always brings dessert. We have a friend who always brings a case of beer and enough food to feed an army, even though we don't request it. We have a friend who knows he's expected to bring bloody mary ingredients. We have a friend who never spends the night but we can always count on him to come help us with a project and he will drink the random beers left in the fridge and will 100% be staying late and fishing. There's are some definite established patterns with the regulars and I love that.

5. Some folks will invite themselves when they want to come over and some will wait for an invitation. Both are acceptable. 

6. We block off weekends for no visitors. At the beginning of the summer, we designate weekends that are open for guests and those that are not. That helps prevent burnout, mostly on my end. I can't handle people every single weekend.

7. Speaking of, if my social battery runs out, I simply go upstairs and take a breather. Everyone hangs out downstairs anyway so upstairs is kind of a refuge for those who need a break, and I've noticed several times someone taking advantage of that as I trot past them.

8. Schedule the maid for AFTER guests leave. The house will get dirty approximately 0.5 seconds after guests arrive anyway, so scheduling the clean afterwards is so much more refreshing.

9. Keep a bag of chicken nuggets in the freezer and some apples in the fridge. Kids are picky and I'm not trying to convince a 4 year old to eat chili or have a parent trying to raid my kitchen for an acceptable meal. Also kids go nuts over glow sticks and popsicles. And while you're at it, get a big variety pack of chips. They don't need to be name brand. They will get eaten.

10. Squeeze condiments for everything. Streamlines the whole process and virtually eliminates gluten cross contact. 

11. Delegate. If I don't ask someone to load the dishwasher, I will be the one doing it. If I ask, guess what? I will get several volunteers. Then the next time, they feel more comfortable pitching in without being asked. Psychology.

12. Buy extra toilet paper. And paper towels. And paper plates. I don't know how but the supply dwindles in the blink of an eye. It's like the water bottles. During the summer it feels like we buy them with every grocery delivery.

13. There will be messes. Embrace the chaos. There's no rules at the river. I've gotten really good at this one but FH's eyes still twitch and I have to remind him that it's fine. 

That's it for now. We have a couple of months left of summer and we're all booked up through October but our regulars will still come out for hot tub & fire weather. Some visits I'm looking forward to more than others, but overall let's bring on the fun!

sweetums

I'm drinking my dinner tonight.

Because. The latest stray cat turned out to be really cool. He was super sweet & cuddly. He also had a serious injury and a selection of other medically expensive ailments. I convinced FH to let him stay through the weekend, so I could try to find him a home. 

I did my best, but I was not able to find him a home.

He got a few days of food & loves, and I cleaned his wounds the best I could. He followed me around, hung out with the chickens, and sat on my lap for pets and scratches. He was so cool that he started to win over FH, and we had a brief discussion about keeping him.

Unfortunately, as cool as he was, the timing is just not right and we do not want any cats right now. My last cat was a 20 year commitment and that's not what we want right now.

So we sent him on his way, and it broke my heart, I'm sure it broke his too. (The cat, not FH. He probably thought he had found a home and I can't imagine what he was thinking as we proved him wrong.)

It would have been different if he was an asshole cat, but he was the sweetest. I really wanted a happier ending for him. In the end, we gave him a few good days and I did my best to set him up for a better future.

I'll never know what happens to him. But I'm sending the best vibes out into the universe.

kitties

I have a struggle.

Regarding cats.

There have been several stray cats that have wandered across our yard, and some are obviously feral but some are obviously not. I think people are dumping their animals out here because a feral cat will run from you but a dumped cat (or dog) will run toward you.

Now, if this were truly the Cat Distribution System choosing me, I would embrace it, but I can't care for every sweet little snookums that comes running up hungry and injured. It breaks my heart because I want to save them all but I just can't turn into the cat house, nor can I involve myself with trapping and taking these animals to the vet, etc.

I don't feed them, even though I want to, because then they'll for sure stick around, but I do show them kindness. FH chases them away because I can't be mean to them.

Now, if one of these kitties figures out that there are mice living under the deck, then that's not my problem. In fact, that's my solution. :)

hm, well.

Turns out the doctor was right.

Today I had to drive to the Woodlands, which according to google maps is 1 hour and 32 minutes away. A bit far, but it's under my self-imposed 2-hour drive time limit. Well, it turns out in real life and terrible weather and traffic, it took closer to 2 and a half hours. I did stop after about 45 minutes to walk around, and then again after about another 45 minutes, but by that 2 hour mark I was hurting. Those last 30 minutes were tough.

Once I got out of the car and made my way into the lab, I felt better. But that drive home, again, was tough. Tonight I'm really sore, it hurts to walk, it hurts to sit, and it's that weird pinchy hurt. This hurts worse than any physical therapy pain. 

HOW does sitting/driving make it hurt worse than walking around and doing lunges and going up and down the stairs ten times a day? The doctor said that driving/sitting/flying would hurt, but I honestly didn't think it would be this bad. 

At this rate, I will not be traveling for a while. Which is a bummer. 

Also I have to drive to Pasadena tomorrow which is a shorter drive but now I'm a little scared. I'm going to be spreading out my drives from now on. And maybe stopping more frequently. 

bath time

It's been 10 weeks since I was forbidden from taking baths. There have been a few times where I thought to myself, "I want a bath."

But it's been too soon, or the weather wasn't right. Then the surgeon said I could but I still didn't feel like things were healed enough and it wasn't worth the risk of infection.

Tonight was the night. I cleaned the tub (which wasn't that bad since FH had cleaned it out previously because he loves me) with soap and then with bleach to make sure no weird germs were there. 

And Oh. My Gawd. 

It was good.

I so missed this.