Insomnia

I've been awake since 1:48 a.m. The pain meds are causing insomnia (among other symptoms) for the second time since the surgery. I'm trying to withdraw without having the excrutiatingly painful withdrawal symptoms I experienced Sunday night, e.g. chills, uncontrollable shaking, nausea and insomnia. Those are the memorable ones. At least now I have time to write this blog. I guess you could say that's a positive side effect.

The surgery happened on Monday, July 13, 2009 at 8:00 a.m. at Beacon Orthopaedics Summit Surgical Center. I have a fabulous doctor, Dr. Cha, and innumerable fabulous nurses and the anesthesiologist. The days following surgery are a blur to me now due to my pain meds. However, I do remember going to Physical Therapy twice last week and once so far this week. Jon is the head of my team of therapists and, they are, of course, fabulous, too. I am so blessed.

What I do remember from last week are the wonderful meals we received from our dear friends and family. I appreciate all of the care and love that went into every morsel I ate.

Post-Surgery Update

It's been one week and one day since my shoulder surgery. I had surgery to repair a Labral Tear and remove a bone spur. I am just beginning to return to the "normal" world. This is the first day that I've actually been on the computer and we'll see how my shoulder reacts to all the typing I've done for the past 3 hours.

My Favorite Things

1. Textured ceilings in turn of the century buildings. Ok, actually this is my second favorite thing. Here's a photo of the The Palace Cafe, Hillsdale, Michigan.


My first fave is my darling Family. Here they are.



2. Road trips listening to great music with my family.

3. Wow - this is new territory for me - I don't know what number 3 is. So, let's say my third favorite thing is visiting Dowagiac, Michigan.

4. Hm, I like to listen to CD's (from Hillsdale College) of conservative speakers, e.g. Mark Stein, Victor Davis Hanson, et. al.

So I'm pretty new at blogging and you can probably tell. I suppose this info should be contained in my Profile but that's not happening tonight. At any rate, this is all that I have time to write so there. More to come tomorrow...

Woo hoo. I did it, Julie.

In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.

Margaret Atwood described our appearance and aroma by the end of Saturday after completing one of many phases of our gardening plans.



It all started with a plan when snow was still on the ground and the little seedlings were just waking from their slumber.

This is an example of the set up in the basement. I will try to post an example of how to start seeds inside before transplanting them. Or at least how we do it-we are not experts, just doing the best we can.

We started tilling the garden a few weeks ago.
Starting with a plot for Lettuce and Spinach.
In the meantime, the seedlings were growing up!



We finally finished the garden portion of our plans this weekend!



Visit our Flickr Page for many more pictures. We are trying to document as much of the process as possible. It will be nice to take a look back and note the changes of the plants and the yard.

snow drifts

On a cloudy Saturday morning, we began our trek to Rockford, Illinois. Bleary-eyed, I stumbled to the car, and Mark drove us out of the city. Our trip was mostly uneventful; no crazy drivers dampened our mood. Somewhere near Champaign, Illinois, we were greeted by icy limbs that bowed low to the ground in homage to us. Our bright red Scion passed between them like royalty on a red carpet. I was even wearing purple like a true queen. By the time we got to Rockford, the snow had thickened on the ground and was nearly waist high. Well, okay, I guess probably just about calf high. But still very gorgeous. About 2 hours after we arrived, a light snow began to fall. By bed time, the snow had covered the roads again, mocking the hard work of the snow plows earlier in the morning.

This morning, we awoke to temperatures below zero. But we, the hardy souls we are, decided to risk life and limb and go out for pancakes at the local Swedish pancake restaurant. I would have to say that it was worth it. We were so well fortified by the victuals that we decided to go buy new shoes. Fun times at Kohl's the weekend before Christmas!

Now its time for hot cocoa and eggnog. And maybe a Christmas movie or two.

Gregory Sylvester a.k.a. Big Greg

Thanksgiving was a remarkable day for many reasons. Unfortunately, it also marked the beginning of Grandpa H's unknown malady. From November 27 through December 4, he began to manifest symptoms including dizziness, slurred speech, and skin rash. As we watched in bewilderment and tried to decide how serious his condition could be, he became increasily unsteady as he walked and even began to talk in his sleep, very loudly I might add. At times we thought Grandpa H was talking on the phone with someone; it was as if he was carrying on a distinctly one-sided conversation with amazing lucidity in spite of the fact that his eyes were closed and he was obviously asleep.

Upon further investigation during an appointment with his cardiologist on Tuesday, it was discovered that Grandpa has been taking Benadryl for his itching. Let it be known that an 88-year-old should never take Benadryl because it can cause vertigo and delerium.

Tuesday, at his regular dialysis session, he was fairly unresponsive, in the nurse's opinion, after finishing his treatment. The nurse advised Greg & Nancy to take him to the ER and, thankfully, with her assistance, Grandpa's admittance was expedited. Grandpa is now resting comfortably in The Christ Hospital, having blood drawn and tested, and a CT scan performed. Grandpa's ammonia level is too high and his liver function is out of range. The CT scan is not specific enough to show if he had a stroke.

As of Thursday evening, Grandpa H had been moved to the Rehab Unit and will have physical therapy on a regular basis.  We don't know yet when he will come home.

In the meantime, Grandpa would enjoy cards, visitors, Hershey's chocolate, or a pastry or tea ring from St. Lawrence Bakery.

no news

I was examining the blog today for answers to all of life's troubles. Instead, what I discovered is that I look abnormally short next to my family. I think most of my insecurities stem from being required to look up to everyone. Literally, not figuratively. I may buy some stilts for Christmas so that I can experience looking down on people. Again, literally, not figuratively. Although I can't deny that I have looked down on people in my dodgy past.

Today I experienced another drawback of being petite. I'm in a foreign country, the land of Madisonville, sitting on a tall chair. As I sat down, I discovered that I was considerably lower than the desk, which can be very disconcerting. It took me several minutes to figure out how to raise the seat up. Now that I am properly level with the desk, I feel like a normal person.

But now the sun is shining through the sky light above me, and I feel illuminated like a Christmas tree. Or like King Arthur was illuminated when he pulled the sword from the stone.