Shoulder Surgery has me stifled.

On June 3 I had another shoulder surgery.  This surgery was on the left shoulder and a true rotator cuff tear with other issues.  I've been off work for a month and have had my shoulder in the famous pillow sling for 4 weeks with a week to week and a half to go before even beginning physical therapy.  I have complained more about the inability to get a night's sleep than anything.  I rotate beds, pillows, locations several times a night and fall asleep wherever during the next day.  I finally got my first night's sleep and am so grateful for it!

I had hopes of beginning with classes again a couple of weeks ago but holding anything in my left hand for more than just a few minutes leaves me with my fingers swollen and my arm seemingly weighing 50 lbs.  So it has not been conducive to holding an object for up to two hours while I demonstrate painting techniques.  I have pulled out the scrapbooking stuff and have done about 20 pages and, of course, there's tons more to do.  It isn't what I'd rather be doing but it appears to be what I'm capable of doing on the creative front for now.

I have high hopes of beginning back with my beginner's class on July 12 and advanced on the 19th.  I have a mini vacation planned which will have us driving into town on the 26th.  We could have some choices for other dates during the week or we could simply plan on the Advanced Class meeting on the 2nd of August.  I think that will have the Advanced Class complete while the Beginner's will begin their final project, a mixed media project. Please drop me an e-mail if you have alternate suggestions. 

Can't wait to paint!

Post surgery report

Oh, the dreaded shoulder surgery is over.  Four more weeks in the sling, one more week before I can drive.  I'm doing well and needing no pain medications now. 


I don't know how much longer I'll be off work until I go back to see Dr. on Monday.  Hope to get my stitches out and get to drive on Monday.  Wish me luck!

Long time since posting

It has been a long time since I've posted.  So many things have happened but it seems it's about this time every night that I think about coming to the blog.  Then, I talk myself out of putting anything here because it is so late.  Well, I don't work tomorrow and I can afford to sleep a little later and so I'll see what time I get through with this post.  Humph?  It is 10:13 p.m. now.

The minor decorating is done on the house and I still have some work to do.  It has come to a stand still because I fell and I tore my left rotator cuff.  Smart, huh?  None the less, I'm not making the curtains I had planned for awhile and the surgery is planned for June 3rd with the next 5 weeks being spent in one of the dreaded pillow slings.  I know all about it as I spent 3 weeks in one with my right shoulder in June of 2009. I guess I'm just lucky that it is the left shoulder this time.

I managed a little trip to Frisco to see Brett, Kristy, Landry, and Jentri.  I wanted to say I'd spent a birthday with one of my grandchildren.  Seems my life over the past few years involved so much of my Mom's and Trent's care that traveling was so very difficult.  With some help from Garrett to come in and take care of Mom, I left to go for the closest weekend to a real birthday.  Landry is now 8 and the time there for his birthday was very special for me.  I also spent a Friday with Jentri.  We had a great time!  I wouldn't trade the time for anything.  I do wish I'd have had a working left shoulder though.

My biggest news is that we did get the information from the Sports Legacy Institute about Trent's brain and brain stem.  Brett, Garrett and I spent about 45 minutes on a conference call with Dr. Ann McKee, Dr. Robert Stern, and Lisa McHale, the family liaison.  Trent most certainly had Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy which was very severe.  In addition, he had Alzheimer's disease and indicators of Parkinson's disease.  Which came first, what was the foremost cause of Trent's death?  It was most certainly the Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). We gained new information and all of us will certainly be spreading information about the Sports Legacy Institute and its mission to protect others from this dreadful damage to one's brain.  I know I have much more to share as time goes by.  Please take an opportunity to spend some time on their website, Sports Legacy Institute.  At some point in the future, you will be able to go there to read Trent's story.

I guess that is where I'll leave you tonight.  10:45

The living room taking shape from the ground up!

Gee, it is amazing how when you change one thing in a house it just keeps going until it nearly changes everything.  I started with the flooring.  Love the hardwood but need a rug to go on top of it or I'll just have scratches that run from one doorway to the next.  The wood floor made the room darker yet. (I have no overhead lighting in the living room.) And so we have painted the room with Cork.  I love the color-it would look good as an element with any color combo. I had ordered a new couch for the den and the den couch has now moved to the living room.  I'm attaching a picture of the new rug and a picture of the living room in its current state of wait.  Can you see the things waiting to find a new area to decorate, etc?  How about overhead lighting?  I'm getting bids from electricians.  Maybe that will happen and help as well.

Catch your breath

I woke up yesterday very early.  The plan was to take Garrett's tile to him for his new house.  I turned on CMT and was getting ready while enjoying the country music.  This is a recent Carrie Underwood song/video that I think you should see.  Be sure to catch your breath now as this song took my breath away.  It hits close to home with me but I can't imagine that this one won't hit close to home with you in some way.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LraOiHUltak

Out with the Old

The living room is taking on a new life with the new hardwood floors.  I love my terra cotta-like walls, but with the warm, darker floor, I think I'll want a lighter, brighter color on the walls.  I painted some 3 x 3 ft. sections on opposite walls in the living room tonight.  It is impossible to tell what it will really look like when the entire wall is that color, especially in that poorly lit room tonight.  Tomorrow will tell the tale in the daylight.  Ben will be painting the walls for me in the next few days.  So, if you were a betting man, what color will I choose?

 

  

The colors are Dried Plantain (top), Chamois (middle), and Cork (bottom). The Dried Plantain appears to have a tint of green that I don't think shows from the scan.

Surprising Weekend

Well, I probably made a mistake some time ago, but it was a good mistake.  I had it on my iPhone that Brett and Chris were coming in next weekend.  About 6:00 p.m. Friday, Brett called to remind me that he was coming this weekend and could I pick him up at the airport at 9:00.  Good thing he called.  I would love having him for a visit anytime!  I think this really turned out to be perfect.  He helped me with several things around the house including getting the last of the Christmas out of the way and repacking the Christmas boxes.  We also purchased some shelving units for the garage in hopes of getting my garage more organized in the future and making getting to what I have more accessible. 

Another thing that worked out well was getting to the monument place and getting Trent's headstone and vase ordered.  The man said it wouldn't take long (couple of weeks) before they could have it ready.  They may not get to place it for awhile due to the amount of snow that we've had.  More snow is also on the way this week. 

Another good reason for Brett's visit to be so welcome was to have him here for the first Super Bowl game since Trent's death.  How do you know what is going to take you back?  Earlier today I sank.  Trent hadn't really been able to follow the game in quite awhile but the day started with (of all things) Face the Nation talking about the new rules and regulations regarding concussions and today's Super Bowl Game.  Brett being here made it easier to sit down to enjoy something our 'entire family' had always enjoyed.

A truly welcomed visit!

Floors Improved!

 

New Bedroom Carpet

New Hardwood Floor

Another View of the New Hardwood

Well, I finally have new flooring in the living room.  Poor Pugly has a diaper on when he's out and about.  Actually, we are all looking at the living room floor from a distance.  I have doggie doors up on both doors going into it. I didn't want water/snow on the floor be it on a dogs' foot or mine.  I'm waiting on a new sofa for the den before re-arranging the furniture and getting an area rug for the living room.  I am pondering a new paint color for the walls as well.  The dark flooring plus my terra cotta wall color make the room especially dark.  The room doesn't have overheard lighting either.  So, here is the new hardwood flooring.  What do y'all think?

Second day of Homebound in Snowy Town

 

Our Fluffed Dove

The birds are out today trying to get something to eat or drink.  I've had doves all morning at the pond trying to get a drink.  This one decided that he'd get close enough to get noticed.

There has been only light flurries today but travel is still very treacherous.  I've got to find a way to get over to Mom's to give her her pain patch before dark.  I am pretty sure that if I try to back out of my garage that I'll just fill up my exhaust on the van so I have a call into Rusty, a neighbor, to see if he might take me over there.  Mom keeps calling about unnecessary things, her mail, the dog and I'd rather that keep up and know she's okay.  

 

Last night I worked on this birdhouse.  The 4-H group asked the Golden Spread Chapter of Decorative Painters to help them with table decorations for an upcoming banquet of theirs.  Our job was to decorate 3 birdhouses by February 2nd in an easily replicated design that the 4-Her's could then make themselves.  I used paint, scrapbook paper, and scrapbooking border designs.  The 4-Her's will then sell the table decorations to raise more funds.  We helped last year by painting boots (about 40) for them and then they added flowers inside the boots.   I liked the idea of designing one that they could do 40 of by themselves. Now that this project is out of the way, let's see what other snowbound project I can get into.

Chaos can continue

It was a very busy week around here.  And the mess in my house is par for the course anytime that you even have a minor home improvement project.  Friday the crew that will be putting in the hardwood floors came to pull up the carpet.  The intent was for me to clean the concrete with bleach water to eliminate the residual 'pee' from Pugly.  When they pulled up the carpet, there was a black glue which had apparently held down linoleum.  The wood crew then told me I couldn't do the bleach wash because it would make it gooey and then the wood floor wouldn't stick.  I'm okay with that but-----my living room furniture is moved out to every free area I have in the rest of the house for the weekend.  Why does that kind of thing make me crazy?  Excuse me, crazier!

Classes for 2010

CAN'T WAIT TO PAINT!  

The time has really come to pull out the paints and the brushes.  The projects that had been picked for earlier classes are still in the plan.  The Advanced classes will begin on the last Monday evening in January while the Beginner's classes with begin the first Monday of February.  Please periodically check back as I will be adding information.

I received an e-mail today that the brushes have shipped from California.  I might have them as early as Monday.  I'll be posting and mailing a supply lists in the very near future.