shuffling along ~ doing just fine

I've gone over and re-written this blog post several times. I finally decided that instead of ignoring the ugly parts and basically saying, "Oh, I'm doing fine." 
"Everything is just fine."
(the most ambiguous word in the English language), I'd be open and honest about how things are really going. 

Not that I am not truthful on my blog; just that sometimes it's easier to just paint a pretty picture and not leave yourself open and vulnerable. Well, hell, I'm vulnerable and at the mercy of others after having surgery anyway, so I may as well go all out. And be forewarned: this is a wordy post. Get comfortable.

Mind you, I do not want this to be a whiny, looking-for-sympathy post either. What I'm going through after knee surgery is nothing compared to....well, a lot of things. My several girlfriends that have cancer right now (mostly breast; one uterine) immediately come to mind. So does my cousin who recently had a kidney transplant.

It's now six days after knee surgery and I'm pretty much bored out of my gourd. I'm still on crutches, so have to rely on Brian to fix me food, help me shower, bring me a book or magazine (you can't carry anything when you're on crutches - though one time I carried a book between my teeth - you get inventive when you're on crutches) and do the housework and laundry. And, of course, since I can't drive - heck, I can't even get out my front door because of steps - Brian has to do the grocery shopping and other errands. Being at the mercy of another - even your husband - sure is humbling.

Since my leg has to be elevated a lot due to swelling, I spend a lot of time in bed surrounded by kitties and reading material. I've watched so much HGTV and Food Network to where if I never see another episode of Love It or List It, it won't be too soon. I've even watched the Price is Right several times. Talk about desperate! At least I'm not resorting to soap operas. Yet.

 I thought about starting a new series on Netflix, but nothing appealed to me. Plus, while the TV is on, I'm not really watching anyway. I'm usually reading or on my laptop at the same time. A Netflix series would actually require me to pay attention. So maybe lying around doing nothing sounds dreamy for one day, but after that...boring. Let me tell you, it sure makes you realize how "freeing" being mobile truly is. 

The first few days were rough. I had a fair amount of pain and one evening had severe nausea to the point where I hyperventilated. I'm assuming the nausea was from the pain killer (Norco). Another nasty side effect of pain killers and general anesthesia is constipation. No one talks about that - except for your doctor. They told me ahead of time to take Dulcolax. Which I did - three times a day. And still, it didn't help. I upped my fiber and roughage by eating prunes, apples, salad, flax and chia seeds and extra veggies. Still didn't help. It took five days before things umm..."moved along". Funny thing is, I've had two previous surgeries and this hadn't happened to me before, so I wasn't prepared for this little side effect. Just hoping this info helps someone else out there!
*Later edit: forgot to mention that drinking a lot of water helps, and so does coffee.

 I don't have pain anymore; just a lot of pressure, swelling and "uncomfortableness", as I call it. I get up every hour to walk around the house on my crutches. I'm able to put weight on my foot/leg to the point where I'm hoping to graduate to a cane by Friday when I see the doctor for my post-op visit. Then I'll be starting physical therapy next week. I've been doing a couple of very gentle PT exercises at home in the meantime.

Brian doesn't like to cook - it's just not his forte. But, we gotta eat. And there's only so much take-out we can rely on unless we want to eat unhealthy every day - which we don't. One dish he can handle is meatloaf. He did have a little help with suggestions from me, but he pretty much made it on his own by using both ground beef and pork, onions and celery, eggs, panko bread crumbs, Worcestershire sauce, parsley, seasoned salt and pepper. He then made a sauce for topping using organic ketchup (no high fructose corn syrup!), mustard, vinegar and a little brown sugar. He glazed the top of the meatloaves, wrapped them in bacon, then added another layer of glaze. He also made baked sweet potatoes. Dinner was delicious! PS - Brian's been pretty much a saint; although he's had his crabby moments, which I don't blame him. He's probably looking forward to going back to work. ;-)

Another thing I've learned is, that you will be surprised who checks in with you, who sends cards, who offers to visit. What's more surprising is, those whom you would expect to, but don't. I remember from other difficult circumstances in my life - the worst of course, being the passing of my oldest son, Philip back in 2009 - that the most thoughtful, generous people were the unassuming ones.

When Brian went to Trader Joe's a few days ago, my favorite employee sent this bouquet of flowers home with Brian for me. He had remembered that I was having surgery and actually asked Brian how I was doing. Isn't that incredibly thoughtful?

And yesterday, I received two cards in the mail (one from a blogger friend), which totally made my day.

This book also arrived in the mail, but it was a present from myself. ;-) I'm sure most of you are familiar with the author, Elizabeth Berg. If you follow her on Facebook, you will know that she posts uplifting snippets of everyday life. Posts that make you smile and give a little pick-me-up. There were several FB readers that asked her to compile some of these short essays into a book. This is the result. I haven't read the book yet, but I plan to today. Even the cover makes me smile. I have a feeling this book would be a great gift for anyone who is feeling down or is physically ill. 

Now go out and make someone happy, starting with yourself. And when asked how you're doing, remember that the word "fine" is not in your vocabulary.

eating my words, weekend fun, and monday at home

In my Valentine's Day post, I spoke about how I don't receive flowers on Valentine's Day anymore ~ but that it didn't matter because true love was more than that. Turns out, the joke was on me. Brian came home from work with roses! I was so surprised, I blurted out, "For me?!"

The weather here in northern Illinois has been gloriously and amazingly warm the past few days, with temperatures in the 60's and lots of sunshine. Normal temps this time of year are 30 degrees - and we usually have snow, too. Walking around the yard, I spied tiger lilies already coming out of the ground. A month early. Exciting, yes - but also scary, as this warm weather won't last, of course. I'm afraid the returning cold will kill the emerging plants.

The middle of February usually finds me, my mom and aunt taking our annual winter trek to the antique mall by my house. It's a great place to spend a fun day while escaping the winter doldrums. Instead, we spent the day in another town that we love to frequent in the nice weather. We spent hours outdoors, walking up and down the main street, popping into our favorite shops and then having lunch at our choice Mexican restaurant. Of course, everyone else had the same idea and the sidewalks were crowded with young and old alike - and a lot of friendly dogs, too. 

 (me and my mom)

(my aunt and my mom ~ sisters)

I bought a couple of inexpensive things while we were shopping ~ found this cute teapot in a resale shop.

And bought this little ceramic heart in another shop (not resale, but only a few dollars). 

Today was a full day spent at home. I was going to run a few errands and then I remembered the kids were home from school today as it's President's Day. I knew the stores would be crowded. So, I decided the errands could wait until tomorrow. I don't have many days where I'm home the entire day, so this was actually a treat. I got a lot done in the house today, including washing the living room windows inside and out, and then cleaning the wooden blinds that cover the windows, too. I also vacuumed, dusted, cleaned bathrooms, did laundry, baked mostly-healthy brownies, made a veggie stir-fry, loaded and emptied the dishwasher twice, and brushed all three cats outside. I also did my yoga practice and PT exercises for my knee. (I have a torn meniscus.) Speaking of my knee, I'm finally going through with the arthroscopic surgery on March 1st. I was originally going to have the surgery in November, and decided to wait 'til the end of winter. Only nine more days - yikes! Though I'm at the point where I just want to be past it and on my way to healing. 

I had to move the spider plants that were on the ledge in the pass-thru to a safer spot. Mr. Monkey - sleeping on left - decided spider plants were fun to chew on. I replaced the spider plants with two different ones. For whatever reason, Monkey doesn't bother these. I'm probably being too brave with putting glass candle holders in the middle. Crossing my fingers that the cats will be cautious if they jump up there.

While I was rearranging stuff, I changed the decor in the nook above the microwave. Keeping it real with the pans left on the stove.

With spring weather on my mind, I've picked up flowers at Trader Joe's the past two times I've been there.. I know I've said it before, but their flowers are the best. They're inexpensive and they last a long time. This little bunch is leftover from the original bouquet that was 1-1/2 weeks old. Still going strong.

And here's another bunch that's five days old. The Wintry Blend coffee hasn't been used much lately. ;-)

These are the mostly-healthy brownies I made. I tweaked Nigella Lawson's flourless brownie recipe seen here by using 3/4 cup organic pure maple syrup instead of processed sugar. Guess that was a mistake because even though these look good, they don't taste so great. They're very grainy because of the almond meal. I bet the almond meal would've broken down more by using the granulated sugar. However, I don't eat processed sugar (as much as possible)...so I put the brownies in the fridge and will eat one here and there if I have a chocolate or sweet craving. 

Wishing you a joy-full week!

christmas in the kitchen

One thing I hate about running normal errands this time of year is that everyone is Christmas shopping....so, traffic is insane, stores are crowded, and lines are verrry long. Even on a Friday. The positive? I didn't encounter any crabby people at all today, like I usually do when out in public. Quite the opposite. I saw a middle-aged woman helping an elderly woman who was parked in a handicapped spot, with putting her groceries in her car and taking the cart back to the cart corral for her. In another store, two older ladies were shopping together and laughing. The one said to the other, "See? I needed to be with you today. You always know how to cheer me up and make me laugh." Made me smile while I was shopping. All the store clerks were in good moods, too. 

I put a little of that Christmas spirit (which we need year-round) in my kitchen with decorations here and there. Again, nothing fancy. Just casual, festive and home-y. That kitchen wall will be going bye-bye next month. We're having an eight-foot pass-through cut out in this wall. On the other side of the wall is the living room. The wainscoting and blue walls will be leaving, too. In the meantime, I'm enjoying the display space for the Santa mugs and Christmas glassware.

I recently bought this trio of tealight holders at Crate and Barrel with a 15% off coupon. Good thing is, I can use them year-round, not just for the holidays. Makes a simple, pretty centerpiece.

 

Reindeer plates and a vintage Marshall Field's crock (both found at Goodwill years ago) on top of the fridge...

Touches of red and white in the china cabinet...

On the wall to the right of the china cabinet, more red and white...

To the left of the china cabinet, my favorite red and white winter mugs came out of storage...

as well as a milk glass piece that's perfect for holding Earl Grey tea bags.

I attempted to make a coffee and tea station on a tray on the kitchen counter, but it turned into more of a catch-all station!

If you're a coffee drinker and have a Trader Joe's near you, I highly suggest this limited Wintry Blend coffee. I normally don't like flavored coffees, but this one's delicious. From the Trader Joe's web site:

It begins with a blend of quality Arabica coffee beans from a variety of locales, including Sumatra and Guatemala. (There are others, too, but telling you where all the beans originate might just give away the secret to our blend, and well, we wouldn't want to do that!) The beans are roasted to a smooth, medium-dark Vienna roast. But since this is no everyday coffee, we didn't stop there.  After the roast comes the intriguing part, the part where whole green and red peppercorns, fresh whole cloves and chunks of sweet cinnamon are added. The coffee isn't flavored; rather, it's spiked with spices. When the beans and spices have been combined, the blend is given a good grind, making prep a snap, and ensuring the spices are evenly distributed throughout.

 I buy several containers of this coffee so that it lasts me all winter, because it's always sold out right before Christmas. And if you're a tea drinker, I suggest trying Republic of Tea's Comfort and Joy flavor. Between this and the Wintry Blend coffee, it's hard to decide which one to have each morning! I found the tea at World Market, but you can also order it online. The cute mugs were purchased at Kohls years ago. The one that says "Nice" on the front says "Naughty" on back. I'm a little of both ~ how about you? ;-)

More snow is coming here this weekend - they're saying 6+ inches Saturday evening into Sunday. And then the bitter cold will hit on Tuesday, with daytime temps in the single digits and below zero at night. These frigid temps don't normally happen until January. I guess that's what we get for having a warmer-than-average November!

Stay warm and cozy...until we talk again.

xoxo

sunshine thursday

 Today was one of those perfect spring days that you wish would last forever: brilliant sunshine, nary a cloud in the sky, and topping 70 degrees F. I made another trip to the garden center, this time picking up herbs (two varieties of basil, tarragon, parsley, dill and lavender), zinnias, petunias and dianthus. I got everything planted in pots except the lavender and tarragon - those will go in the backyard herb garden - and the zinnias. Not sure where I want them yet. There is still so much gardening and yard work to do! I don't mind though - I love working outside in the nice weather. I've waited all winter for this.

I cut some lilacs off my lilac bush and brought them inside to put in little vases. I didn't do so earlier because their intense fragrance makes my allergies go insane. Now that they're fading (makes me sad that they don't last long), they're not as fragrant.

 I had a bouquet of yellow flowers from Trader Joes, so I divided them up and used some on top of the secretary desk in the living room...

and in a little blue bottle of top of a stack of books.

More yellow flowers went on the kitchen table...

and on top of a cake plate near the kitchen window.

The cats were in all their glory this morning with the sunbeam and catnip.

 Even as the sun sets, my gardening chores are done, and the catnip is put away, Zippo finds the sliver of the setting sun on my desk that faces the backyard.

Hope you're enjoying flowers and sunbeams, too!

winner winner soup dinner

 The Trader Joes store that I frequent had a Souper Bowl contest where you had to pick one of their boxed soups (they gave you the choice of Latin Black Bean, Butternut Squash, or Red Pepper and Tomato) and submit ideas for "jazzing it up". I submitted a few ideas for each one. Guess who won?! Yours truly.

They had me come into the store today to have my photo taken with the employee who's going to be demoing my soup "recipe" the weekend after next. 

They also presented me with a big bag of groceries!

There were nine different soups, a french baguette, oyster crackers, croutons, and a big bouquet of purple and yellow tulips. I was so touched and grateful.

The tulips are beautiful and so spring-like ~ as the winds howl outside and the temps dip down to -20 tonight with the wind chill factor.

So, which one of my ideas won? A simple one: adding their soy chorizo to the Latin Black Bean soup and topping with a swirl of sour cream. After talking to the staff today, I learned that they indeed were looking for simple, not complicated or lengthy. They said most of their customers want exactly that. This soup recipe will also be easy for them to whip up at the demo station. One of the employees who's a chef, told me that another person who had entered the contest actually added 15 items to one of the soups! He said that would defeat the whole purpose of their soups; that you wouldn't even be able to taste the soup if you added 15 other ingredients. They obviously weren't looking for transformation - just some embellishment. 

Happy weekend, everyone. Stay warm and eat some soup!

deals to be had all over

Driving past our local library this weekend, I saw these chairs at the curb. I told Brian to turn the car around and I jumped out to give the chairs an inspection. Fabric still in good shape? Check. Frame still sturdy? Check. Sink into a well-worn hole when you sit down? Umm...yes. Heavy enough to practically give your husband a hernia as he tries to load them in the car? Another yes. Perfect for a college student and his roomies (after you text him to make sure)? Affirmative. Free is good.

While visiting said college student this weekend, I ran into the nearby Goodwill while Brian and Tim were working on Tim's taxes. I found this vintage child's cup for just 79 cents! While I think it's adorable, I have no room to display it and it's not going to be used, so it will go with me to my favorite antique consignment shop to be sold.

At this same Goodwill, I also found a set of brand-new queen-sized flannel sheets and pillowcases from Target. With a 20% off scratch-off ticket, the entire set was only $8! The bedding is in the wash now and will go on my bed later. 

I only pop into Goodwill once in awhile now since I'm really trying to reduce what I bring into my home. A couple of months ago, I found this set of retro plates which will also go with me to the consignment shop for resale. For me, it's a great way to make a few extra dollars.

The one thing I really can't pass up when I'm at Goodwill is quality apparel that one of us truly needs. On the same trip a couple of months ago, I saw this Land's End barn coat in Brian's size for only $7.99. I grabbed it off the rack before someone beat me to it!

Brian loves this coat. Not only does it look good (cool plaid lining, too), but he said it's warm and comfortable.

Speaking of the brand-new Target flannel sheets that I found at Goodwill (above), did you know that Target donates their merchandise to Goodwill? I don't know how that works...if it's close-out or clearance merchandise that didn't sell, or what. In the past, I've gotten a $50 lamp (Target price) for $13 and a $180 (Target price) chair for $35. Anyhoo, these were the latest Target donations that were in the store a couple of months ago - just so you can see some of the bargains that are to be had. I need new bar stools...these would've come home with me if they had've fit in my car. Perhaps my next car should be a SUV. ;-)

I didn't need this ottoman, nor would it go with my furniture, so I didn't buy it. Again, just to show what you can find at Goodwill. And no, I don't work for Target or Goodwill, nor am I getting paid to mention either of these stores. I'm simply a fan.

On to other stores and deals, have you been in Aldi lately? Did you know they now carry an organic line and and keep upping their selection? They started out with just a few canned and boxed items and now they've extended it to some produce, dairy and bread. Again, I don't work for Aldi nor am I getting compensated in any way for mentioning this store. Just passing along information about good bargains. 

Organic, cold-pressed coconut oil is only $4.99. If you're not familiar with the health benefits of coconut oil, do a Google search. There's a wealth of info out there! 

Not organic, but cold-pressed, extra virgin olive oil (which is another healthy, "clean" oil and perfect for making salad dressing) is just $3.49.

Organic, steel-cut oats are $2.79.

 Talk about a healthy bread! This one rivals the "famous" Ezekiel Bread, which is a bit pricey. I don't remember the exact price ($2-something, I believe), but Ezekiel Bread is $4+ in other stores.

Now, my best deal of all this weekend turned out to be free steaks! We were grocery shopping at Trader Joes and my favorite employee was at the register. He's one of the managers who's been there for years. I hadn't seen him in awhile, so I expressed how nice it was to see him and that I had assumed he had been transferred to another store, or had quit. He told me that he was there just about every day and said he didn't know why I haven't seen him. 

Mr. Manager continued chatting with us as we were checking out and then he told me to go back to the refrigerated meat section and to pick out a couple of steaks! He said, "It's on me." I stood there with my mouth open as other customers started lining up behind us at the register. I said, "This isn't coming out of your wallet, is it?" He said, "No, no! Now run back there and get yourself some steaks." I couldn't believe my eyes when I got back to the meat section. There was filet mignon, rib eye and top sirloin. At $12.99/b., the sirloin steaks were the least expensive, so that's what I grabbed. I didn't want to be too greedy! I got back to the register and Mr. Incredible Trader Joe's Manager didn't even look at which steaks I had chosen. He simply took the package and stuck it in my bag. We profusely thanked him and walked out of the store still in a state of shock.

The funny thing is, I don't even normally eat steak. I haven't had a steak in many years, simply because steak doesn't appeal to me. My sister told me to freeze them for her, ha ha. I told her I was willing to try them. ;-) Even though I'm usually a good home cook, since I'm not familiar with steaks, I'm not sure what would be the best way to cook these. In a cast iron pan with butter? Would this cut of meat be best as a steak sandwich or served "as is"? Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend ~ and that perhaps bargains were to be had by you, too.

Linking up with Thoughts of Home on Thursday #1.