Business as Usual

Well, that week simply jetted off into the blue; I could have sworn it was only Thursday, & here it is Monday again.

The usual abundance of activity around here, with a couple new adventures thrown in for giggles:

 

Our friend J has been by several times to consult with Chris & share a meal; he hopes to be in his new home before Thanksgiving, but is dealing with a bit of fear over taking such a big step all on his own, so we’re doing a bit of distraction therapy by putting him to work with our sprinkler system.

d

In a flash of unexpected maturity & insight, Sam has cut back both karate & tennis lessons to one evening a week so he can assume soundboard duties for Wednesday night Youth services- but I’m still having to drive him to & from for the time being.

c

I had my first appointment with the orthopedic specialist; after examinations, range-of-motion measurements, & more x-rays, she sent me home with stronger pain meds, a referral for 4 weeks of physical therapy to help with the strength & flexibility issues, & a return appointment in October. It’s looking about 90% certain I’ll be having some form of surgery on my elbow in the near future- a portion of the end of my humerus (upper bone of the arm), where it impacted with the lower bones during my fall, is deteriorating due to a lack of blood supply, so measures will need to be taken to prevent further damage.

a

I was able to offset the testosterone-overload of last weekend by indulging in a number of girly activities & playing dress-up this weekend; I attended the annual “Quilts in the Trees” show at my favorite nursery Saturday morning, spending three hours wandering around, taking photos, having a tea & petit fours break, a bit of shopping & a lot of planning for the next quilt project & planting season. The rest of the weekend was spent at Ravenswood, performing my docent duties; Saturday was a special event, the annual Applefest, where the public was invited to pick & taste test our heirloom varieties, press cider, play games, & tour the cottage- hence, my presence for 3 hours. I ended up returning to work the regular fourth-Sunday open house, since there were two docents unable to come; otherwise, we would have had to close for the day, & that would have been unfortunate- we had two large parties make special trips out to the Estate- a Red Hat society group from the Bay Area, & ten ladies from one of the local retirement homes on a chartered bus. They each seemed to have a wonderful time- the Red Hat ladies were particularly excited that the croquet team was there en mass, hosting their arch-rivals from Ardenwood- & made very generous donations to the Preservation League, in addition to spending oodles in the gift shop, so I count the abuse to my poor feet as naught against the vision of animated faces & expressions of appreciation.

b

I’m off to spend some time with my Sketchbook project; I have it clearly pictured in my mind & most of the elements completed- I just need to concentrate on pulling everything together & committing it to the page, always the hardest part for me. Help me out by doing a little brainstorming on my behalf over the next assignment: “Starry Night”, which should include something mysterious….

 

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