Take It Easy

That's been my theme this week.  Thank you for your good thoughts, prayers, and well wishes this week. My discharge instructions weren't specifically for my procedure, but they were close enough. No lifting heavier than 5-10 pounds (the laundry basket was 15 this morning -- oops), do not drive for two weeks (What! The nurse who called the next day said that probably didn't really apply to me as long as I wasn't still taking the hydrocodone), and no vacuuming or lawn mowing (as I discovered this morning, that means riding mowers too -- I was exhausted and had to take a break part way through the job -- really!).   Rest when you are tired.  Got that down.  I slept a lot this week.  The worst part the first couple of days was my throat, neck, and jaw (they shoved an anesthesia tube down my throat and tilted my head back at what must have been an unnatural angle).  I did take the hydrocodone for a couple of days, though, because it definitely helped.  I've been down to Tylenol for the last couple of days (I needed to drive), and the pain's pretty manageable (but why does my left knee hurt when it never hurt before -- what did they DO with me once they knocked me out? -- don't answer that; I don't think I want to know).

The Good Stuff: 

• I'm still here, and with the post-surgical results I've been reading about lately, that's not a guarantee
• I think Lady is recovering from her mites (or whatever it was) pretty well.  I re-treated her this morning, and I did a precautionary treatment on top of Ajax's head yesterday in a spot that looked suspicious.  I'm watching all the cats for signs of irritation.  Lady goes back for her followup exam tomorrow.  Mr. L thinks she's worse, but she has no scabby areas, and the skin looks healthy.  She needs to regrow some fur around her ears.
• Even Rossie got her Revolution treatment this month.  I was dosing all the cats, and Mr. L managed to catch her, so I applied her dosage as well. She handled it pretty well.  Last night, I offered Rossie cheese, but she preferred to be scratched behind the ears instead.  I swear, she's like a socially inept kid who thinks she doesn't fit in but really does.  When she figures it out, I probably won't be able to get her away from me.
• I managed a slow bike ride this week, tracked on Lose It!, did my reading, and morning pages.
• I did a very little work on Cat Eyes this week.  It feels flat to me.
• The yard sale went okay.  We definitely needed to advertise (but I didn't want to in case I didn't feel up to doing it. In hindsight, I'd have advertised and dealt with the consequences).  Some stuff is no longer a hassle for us to deal with, and I think it will do the people who got it some good.

The Not So Good Stuff:

• I haven't seen Peaches since before I went to San Antonio last month.  I haven't seen Little Orange since January.  There's a new Tarzan-look-alike cat across the street.  Has there been a territorial shake-up?  Was Sneaky so friendly last week because she was lonely?  Was it because she was in heat or about to give birth (my bet is on the latter).  I haven't seen Sneaky all week.  My suspicions are that we have a new mama who cannot leave babies for very long and doesn't want to reveal her hiding place.  Food is disappearing overnight, so I'm hopeful she's sneaking away to get some when she can.  I don't want to get too nosy, because if she is under the house and I disturb her, she'll feel a need to move the kittens, and that would be less desirable. (On the bright side, we don't have a lot of neighborhood mooch cats eating the food from the feeder.)
• I've decided that M&Ms do not agree with me.  When I eat them, I feel sick.  In a way, this is a good thing.  I need to move them to the category of donuts (don't care about them, but when I eat them, I eat too many, so I just avoid them) and wine (a sure-fire way to induce a hot flash, so I've mostly cut it out).
• Time is flying by.  So much to do. So little time.  Arghhh.  It's an intellectual sense of foreboding, but I'm noticing it more lately.  Need to deal with it somehow.
• I feel like I'm going to have to deal with a psoriasis break out again.  Groan.

The Week Ahead:

• The standard, read, write, track, and exercise.
• Our community's annual clean up day is Saturday the 13th.  We can haul all kinds of stuff to the dump for free.  Last year, we took half the mattresses from the shop, and they just scooped them off the trailer.  This year, we want to take the other half and some busted up furniture, also from the shop.  We have to figure out how to do it without me lifting more than ten pounds at a time.
• I need a haircut.
• Try to build some stamina to get some things done, but I'll continue to rest as needed.