I spent my energy hours this morning making myself a salad for lunch.
When I was in Phoenix the weekend before last we went to the Olive Mill, and I bought a bottle of their most wonderful Meyer Lemon Olive Oil.
We had lunch there my last day, and it was a wonderful treat. I had been using Pat's assortment of oils to make salads for us with vegetables sauteed in the oil. They are amazingly flavored unlike any of the infused oils I've tried to make myself. We're still working on the Costco roasted chicken we brought back on the way home from the hospital.
Yesterday I pressure cooked the chicken carcass to make broth, then pressure cooked vegetables which I then put in the blender. I love creamy soups, but don't use dairy, just thicken the broth with flour, and so I have a nice hearty, creamy vegetable soup awaiting me for dinner.
Today I seem to have a good amount of energy. I won't count on it tomorrow, but it's getting a little better every day.
They have a well-deserved bad rep. I'm not the typical person when it comes to food. I believe in fresh, simple, ingredients. Somehow this is not possible at the VA hospital. The vegetables are canned or frozen. I was on a salt and sugar restricted diet, and wasn't even given salt substitute!
I don't eat canned fruits, not even the ones I can for my family. I do can our peaches with a low sugar syrup. I prefer tart, crisp, apples. Lindsay and Dale brought me some fruits, oranges, crisp apples, and Dr. Kaufman stopped for a visit with a most welcome basket of Starbucks instant coffee and a wonderful whole wheat pecan cranberry bread. I didn't exactly starve, but was more than ready to get back home. I got my CPM machine up to the requisite 90 degrees so that I could be released!
Monday, my discharge day, my lunch tray was graced with a fresh salad...first one of my stay. The predominantly iceberg lettuce looked a little wilted, but I had been deprived. I opened the diet French dressing, and it was such an awful artificial color that I couldn't do it. Dale moved the tray, the dressing spilled on the bedside tray table and stained the faux wood. It spilled on the floor and stained the linoleum when Dale tried to wipe it up. Also stained the plastic lid to the linen cart that it happened to get on. And they think I should ingest this? Thanks but a little lemon or lime juice would have been preferable.
I'm backwards chronicling my surgery and few days at the hospital. The surgery went fine although with a few hiccups at starting my IV by anesthesia again. The ASU (Ambulatory Surgery Unit) nurse that stuck me for a type and cross match had no trouble, and thanked me for bringing my veins. Unfortunately anesthesia didn't fare so well, and bruised my left arm up before just going for the antecubital vein on my right.
Shortly after starting the IV, they must have really snockered me, because I remember slightly the femoral block they did, but nothing after that until I woke up in the same place (pre and post anesthesia are in one place). I don't remember getting wheeled to the OR or if I moved myself onto the OR table or anything. That's probably a good thing.
Next thing I remember is being in a room and asking where my husband was. The assessment by the surgeon and resident was that my knee was a lot worse than it appeared on x-ray...so I should have something good to work with now!
You'd think by now, my method of doing quilt bindings totally on the sewing machine would be old hat. Last week I decided to try out my zipper foot on the machine. I like to top stitch my binding very close to the folded edge. Sometimes, I wander off that edge, and have to go back to get it right. The zipper foot gives me much better visibility at hitting the target, and has made an already enjoyable task even better. If you do your bindings by machine, you might want to give it a try.
This is the last of my current load of quilts, another from Carolyn's blocks that Pat put together. Lindsay and I are delivering them today. I have five or six left to quilt, smaller ones, that maybe will let me ease back into spending some time standing after my surgery.
I just finished reading Making Art Every Day, by Debbi Crane, and I'm inspired. It required a free membership to Cloth, Paper, Scissors, in order to download the article, but very much worthwhile. I've printed it out to refer to.
As I begin my 58th year--yes, I had a birthday yesterday, I want to challenge myself by doing something creative every day. I haven't decided what form this challenge will take, but I think it will be very rewarding. I feel I need the discipline, without excuses. I think we only find out what we're capable of if we push ourselves.
I did finish another donation quilt a couple of days ago. I have another one quilted which needs to be bound today. Then I need to get myself together for my trip to Phoenix on Thursday. It will be a most welcome break before my total knee replacement surgery.
This was another top from Carolyn. I hope all my friends that have donated to this cause are happy to see their cast offs going to such a good cause.
This was the view outside my window early this morning. We had snow all day yesterday along with wind that created this lovely cornice off our front porch. At least there was some clear sky visible along with a lovely moon. Yesterday we watched it snow all day long. I'm hoping we have a break before the next storm for the roads to be cleared by tomorrow when we have to go to town for my preop appointment.
Caught up with all the Lost episodes, and when I thought the story couldn't get any more convoluted, they've added yet another dimension with new characters. Where will it all end?
On my design wall is Jackie's king quilt started. Had a duh moment yesterday when I realized I had cut the unpieced squares at 12 inches, without a seam allowance. Fortunately I have plenty of the fabric. She and Justin liked this preview, and so I'm plodding onward.
I got my Mimbres Bend completed. It really isn't wonky at the top, just a result of the holder upper. I used wool batting, and it has a nice fluffiness and weight. I still need to label it and the Frida quilt.
Dale decided he liked Frida in the proper orientation, and tucks the long bottom in at the foot of the bed. We don't have as many cover issues with it tucked in at the foot. Someone insists that I push all the covers over to his side, and that they then gain weight and start falling off. Well, I've noticed that this happens even when I sleep in a different bed. Draw your own conclusions!
The bargello quilt is another donation quilt top from Judy H. I tried out the Anasazi pantograph on it before using it on my Mimbres quilt.
If I can get another one quilted, I'll have six more quilts to take to Dr. Kaufman when I go in for my preop appointment.
I've started on the king size quilt for Jackie's wedding present. I'm working with homespuns for the first time, and am not loving it. I'm sure the finished product will result in a cozy quilt, but uggghhh making enough twelve-inch blocks is going to take some time, and did I mention I'm going to be laid up healing from a total knee replacement?
