Rolling on...........

One week after the epic snowstorm, this is what the yard looked like on April 22.  

During the blizzard I refilled the bird feeders twice a day; I was very glad we had enough seed on hand so late in the season. All of the birds suffered though; and there were casualties.

 

Now, another week later, there are still snowbanks in the yard, though I finally saw my first crocus open today. The daffodils are just starting to break the ground, it will be sometime before they are in bloom.  I'm actually glad they weren't flowering when the storm hit; this way they won't be flattened out by the weight of a snowbank.  

Needless to say, we haven't accomplished a thing outside to speak of.  This was the year we were hoping to get our projects done so we did not put up the greenhouse for the first time in decades.  Our good friend has a perennial greenhouse business and the snow destroyed two of his hoophouses entirely, flattening them to the ground.  When I saw the mess at his business, I was very glad we didn't have ours up, too.  I do miss my plants, though.  Carl and I have a spent a few days helping him with the reconstruction.

Since working in the garden isn't possible, I was working on some spring cleaning and organizing the last few weeks.  The house is going to need some major renovations and, after much procrastination, as in years and years, we decided to seek the opinion of a remodeling contractor we met at a showcase of new homes/remodeled homes tour in March.

I had asked other contractors in the past, but most of them weren't very interested in the job of making a silk purse out of a sow's ear.  The consensus seemed to be we may as well tear down the house and start over.  But when we met the contractor I hope will do the work for us, his attitude was more optimistic.  He came out to the house two weeks ago and went over our list of things we'd like to do, took a bunch of pictures and measurements and said he'd be in touch.  

Remodeling a house is a big step to take, but we'd both like to live here for the rest of our lives, if possible.  As long as so much needs to be done anyway for maintenance, we feel this is the time to take the plunge.  And a big plunge it will be, that we know.

Though I haven't heard back from the contractor, I remain cautiously optimistic he hasn't forgotten about us (or decided to hide from us) and I continue on with the cleaning.  The roof is going to be coming off, so the attic and forty year's worth of stuff needs to be dealt with.  This is when you find out how much junk you really have, and it's not pretty.

And this is where Carl and I clash.  How silly to have to argue about nothing more significant than junk.  We made it through the stash of gloves in the hall closet without incident, but there are some much bigger problems coming up and well, they have to be dealt with.  

But, another fly in the ointment: On Sunday morning, I was rushing to the back door to open it for Carl who was carrying packages in.  Halfway to the door, I kicked a chair leg by accident.  Being barefoot, the pain was excruciating.  You know how most of the time you can 'walk it off'?  Well, I tried, but it wasn't working.  There was no broken skin but the pain was intense.  

I took some ibuprofen and sat down for the rest of the day with my foot elevated, defrosting frozen vegetables one bag at a time.  Carl went over to work on the planters at his Dad's shop and I felt guilty leaving him to work all alone.  I could barely put any weight on the silly foot, but I thought it would just take some time.

Monday morning we all were up early to meet with the land surveyor for Joel's new house.  I could gingerly put my Birkenstock clog on and as long as I didn't flex my foot too much, it was bearable.  Later in the morning we went to our greenhouse friend's house to help dismantle the old greenhouses.  My foot wasn't great, but as long as I limped along a little, it was doable.

The next day, I decided to get some plant therapy and went to bug my other greenhouse friend, Brenda, at her business.  It was wonderful to be in the middle of the glorious blooming plants and soak in the beauty while the snow was still on the ground outside.  

I was carrying some flats to and fro when suddenly my foot started to ache a little and then a little more and then a LOT more and finally, I realized I was done for the day.  I made my apologies to Brenda and headed for home.  Stepping on the brakes in the car sent jolts of pain up my leg.  By the time I got home, I was hobbling.

Great.

Still optimistic, I headed back to the recliner and the frozen vegetables thinking surely this will pass.  I'll be better in the morning.

But I wasn't.  By Wednesday morning, my foot turned black and blue and was swollen more than the first day.  Finally time to make an appointment for an x-ray.  

"Well, I was right," the nurse practitioner said as she gazed at my x-ray.  "Here, take a look, see that diagonal line on your little toe?  There's your fracture.  I knew when I saw the bruising in your foot that you had a break, I just wasn't sure where."

Drat.  I'd been hoping for a sprain, though I know sprains aren't any fun, either.

"I'll send the films over to the orthopedic surgeon and let you know what they recommend.  The good news is it is not dislocated, so you shouldn't need surgery.  Six to ten weeks from now it should be much better.  I'll need to see you May 10 for another round of x-rays just to make sure it's still aligned.  Keep wearing stiff-soled shoes and stay off of it as much as you can.  Remember to keep it elevated when you're seated."

Drat again!  Six to ten weeks.....and spring is here.......and I'm hobbling.

I saw an ad on Craigslist for a knee walker and immediately contacted the seller.  Carl and I drove twenty miles to the man's house and picked it up that very night.  The model I bought was an all-terrain unit.

Introducing the All-Terrain Kneerover

  (And yes, the 'lovely orange flooring is on its way out (if the contractor returns, that is, though he told us that orange is now back in style again.)

Anyway, in the meantime, Carl's dad wasn't feeling very well, so I made a trip to the nursing home on my new scooter.  I felt right at home motoring down the halls with my contraption, though it surely does get a lot of attention.  Resting my knee on the seat, I can take the weight off the sore foot which is a relief. It does go over the lawn pretty well, too. 

Today is Friday, and I'm still pretty much off my foot.  I do get up and cook and do dishes, but the 'kneerover' helps.  My only complaint is the house is small and the Kneerover is big, resulting in a lot of Y-turns, back and ahead, back and ahead...oh well.  

I really didn't see this injury coming, but then, do we ever see any injuries coming?  If we did, we'd avoid them.  

 I just wish I had a better story.  

Kicking a chair is so lame.