Friday, July 1, 2022

Friday, July 1, 2022

Scott walked Elsa early this morning at 5:30 instead of six. Yvette had an early flight to catch to the mainland. She would be gone for a month. Her first stop would be in Portland to visit with her brother, sisters, and father, who all lived in the area. Her next step was to Colorado to visit her mother-in-law. Josh would join her at that point. After a week, they would drive to another location in Colorado, where one of her father’s brothers lived. They would be celebrating her paternal grandfather’s one-hundredth birthday.

  I left at 7 am for my 7:30 PT appointment with Katie. She saw a difference in my walk and my ability to lift my surgical leg off the ground when lying flat on my back. She was impressed. She said I heal quickly. She repeated what the other PT said. I rebounded like someone 20 years younger. When the first PT said it, I thought it was a laugh. She didn’t strike me as very sophisticated. She came from the foothills of South Carolina. That made me think of West Virginia. It brought up images of people who don’t take care of themselves; they overeat and don’t exercise. Katie said she has to persuade most clients to drink water, eat properly, and not sit endlessly. Her advice to me was to walk at least 5 minutes every hour. I set my alarm to make sure I got up and walked. Here I thought I wasn’t doing as well as others. It seems I was doing better than most people of my age if not people much younger.

 I had several chores planned after I left PT. My first stop was to drop off the medical equipment I had borrowed, the shower chair, raised toilet seat, and cane. I  bought a leg elevation pillow. I wasn’t going to use it. I contributed it to Jacqueline’s collection. I called her when I arrived and got no response. I unloaded the stuff in the carport. As I was taking out the last item, Jacqueline appeared. I told her I had washed everything and sprayed it with rubbing alcohol and parts of the raised toilet seat with Clorox. I assumed she would also sterilize it. She nodded. When she saw the leg elevation pillow, she said it was better than the one she had. She would use it. I was delighted she would benefit. She was recovering from a double mastectomy with some complications.

   When I left there, I continued south to Kelly’s house to drop off the books she lent us for Sidney. The front of the house is strange. There’s a garage and a gated patio. I opened that gate thinking it would lead to the front door. What I found was Kelly’s bedroom. I slid open the screen and put the bag of books inside. I decided to see if I could find the front door. I went around the side of the house. I called out. Her father was home. We walked together back to the side of the house, and he reclaimed the bag and took it into the living room. I texted Kelly, telling her I’d dropped them off.

  Then I headed back north to the bank. I thought I would be one of the first people there at nine am. Boy, was I ever wrong! The parking lot was packed. I didn’t want to wait on that line. I made a U-turn and continued on my way to Farm and Garden. I returned the empty quart Ball jar and bought two more quarts of that delicious honey there. Then I drove up the hill to the Food Basket to drop off the chicken ramen soup cups I bought and discovered I couldn’t stand. Then I went home. I had something to eat and went down for my late-morning nap. Three hours later, I woke up. Am I a good sleeper, or am I a good sleeper?

  I had nothing special today. I was facing that lackluster feeling I so dreaded. It felt like everything was too hard or too much trouble. Everything gets put off till tomorrow. Now, that’s not quite true. I did the day’s wordle puzzle and some NYTimes mini crossword puzzles, posted the public blog, and worked on the updates. I also did a little weeding.

 I admired the impact of the vinegar spraying Scott did in my backyard. I couldn’t do it yet. I couldn’t have managed the two-quart sprayer, no less the backpack. It was loaded because the gardener used it with a mixture of 30% vinegar and 5%. It’s supposed to be at a two-to-one ratio. The gardener mixed it at a one-to-one ratio. That killed everything it touched. However, you had to make sure it coated each leaf. If not, the plant found a way to hang on. Nonetheless, the backyard outside my bedroom looks lightyears better.

  I walked Elsa tonight. I didn’t go too far. She didn’t poop. Scott said she hadn’t this morning too. When I got home, I checked the lanai and the library for any signs of extra activity. No, it was all clear.  

   Because I heard a program on noir movies on Terry Gross earlier in the day, I watched Asphalt Jungle tonight, or I watched part of it and skimmed the rest. Whatever made me think I would enjoy the mental states depicted in noir movies. It’s so depressing—people at the end of their rope doing disastrous things to themselves and others.