Yoga?

On Fridays, I do a yoga workout. Well, stretching, really. I was off today, but I thought I should do the workout anyway. I got up, went into the bathroom, and put my hair up in a ponytail. The next thing I knew, I was in the shower. Ok, no problem, it's just stretching, I can do it after my shower. I got out of the shower, dried my hair, and went to get dressed. The first thing I put on was socks - which are completely unnecessary for yoga.

Oh right, it's one foot in front of the other

'On Saturday, I forgot how to walk down stairs.

You see, a friend invited me to go to Wonderland with her and her daughters. We were staying with her sister-in-law, and we got in around 11:30 on Friday night. Everyone was asleep, so we went to bed ourselves. In the morning, I got up, took a shower, meet the sister-in-law for the first time, and then fell down the stairs.

I knew immediately that I was hurt pretty bad, and it became obvious very quickly that my ankle was broken. My friend applied ice and a splint, and then we figured out that we needed to call an ambulance. The paramedics arrived, splinted it properly, and then carried me out to the ambulance.

Incidentally, it's weird to be in a moving vehicle while lying down. 

I got to the hospital and they transferred me to a bed there. I had X-rays, and they discovered that my ankle was dislocated and broken in three places. 

They put me under to realign it, then put a temporary cast on it. It felt much, much better after it was no longer dislocated, although it was obviously not great. 

In the meantime, my friend's daughters and their cousins were at Wonderland. Around 6, it became obvious that surgery was not going to happen, and the surgeon gave me three choices: transfer to another hospital for the night, then have surgery in the morning; go home for the night and come back to the Ajax hospital for surgery, or go back to Ottawa. We decided to go back to Ottawa, so we called the girls and asked them to come back. (My friend's brother had taken my car, so we needed the car, too.)

We left around 9 and had to stop to get a prescription fcr pain. It turns out Percocet doesn't help me with pain, but it does make me drowsy. I wasn't in too much pain, though, so it was OK.

We got back to Ottawa around 2 a.m. and went straight to emergency. They took more X-rays and told me to come back at 8. Getting into the house at 4 am was interesting. At one point, I offered to sleep in the front hall, but my friend and Wanda managed to get me onto my foot. 

We went back to the hospital at 8. I talked to the surgeon, and he sent me home until they were ready to operate. It was so much nicer to be at home. They called later on Sunday and said that they weren't going to operate that day, and that I could eat and drink until midnight. After two days of fasting most of the day, this was good news. 

Yesterday morning, they called and told me to be at the hospital at 10:30. They operated around 12:30, and Wanda picked me up around 5. A friend's parents also came to the hospital in case Wanda needed help, but I was pretty functional.

You know, I know some pretty awesome people. People have brought food, and a reclining chair, and a shower stool, and a walker and wheelchair. It's been really nice.

I have to sit with my foot up above my heart, so I am off work for two weeks. I expect I'll be bored at some point, but right now I'm spending a lot of time sleeping. I can't really concentrate on much, either, so little iPad games are all I can do for entertainment. Hopefully that will improve soon.

The small matter of a kitchen fire

On Sunday, I pulled the big cast iron frying pan out of the drawer. The outside of it felt greasy, so I ran some hot water and washed it. When I thought it was clean, I put it on the stove and started to cook.

I was busy getting things ready, but at some point I thought it was a good idea to pick up the pan. (Why did I do that? It's a mystery.) As soon as I picked it up, there were flames on the entire bottom and sides of the pan.

That's right, heat + fuel + oxygen makes fire. I set the pan down and the fire went out immediately.

Apparently the pan wasn't as clean as I thought.

That's why I should never leave late

For the last few months, I've taken the bus to work. It makes sense - it's faster than driving, it's convenient, and it's cheaper than driving and paying for parking.

But there are days ....

This morning, I left later than usual - just a minute or two, but enough to mess up my commute. As usual, that meant that the first bus was so full it didn't even stop.

The second bus was full, too, but it stopped, so the six of us at the stopped crammed into it. We skipped the next stop since there was no room left and continued down the road. At that point, the transit way is a lane in the side of a busy road, so we were zooming past the congestion on the road. 

At least  we were until we caught up to a cyclist. He was in the bus lane (since the bike lane was covered in snow) and he was probably going fast for a cyclist. He was not going fast for a bus. We crawled along behind him for two blocks, until we stopped to let people off and he got ahead of us.

And that's the kind of thing that happens when I leave the house late.

Limping along

Last Wednesday night, we had freezing rain. Basically, the entire city was covered in ice.

And then it rained.

Naturally, I slipped in the way to work. Luckily, I didn't hit my head, but I was pretty sore. I managed to limp to the bus stop and go to work.

I was still sore in Friday - to the point where I was wondering if I should go to boxing or, if I went, whether I should skip. I ended up going and skipping, didn't hurt, so I did that, too. It worked, too - I wasn't sore all weekend.

And then I did a strength workout on Monday. I've been sore ever since. I'm not even sure if it's a muscle issue, or a tendon, ligament, or even bone. I hope whatever it is goes away soon, though.

Am I the only one?

Every year, I buy new jeans in the boxing week sales. This year, they are skinny leg jeans. They're comfortable and they fit well, but I cannot for the life of me figure out how to take them off without ending up with them inside out in a crumpled ball. 

Friday, for example, I wore jeans to work. After work, I rushed home to change into my boxing clothes. I pulled off my jeans and put on my shorts - but it's February, so I wanted to wear my jeans over the shorts. I turned them back right side out and pulled them on.

I drove to boxing and took the jeans off. Yup, inside out again. I turned them right side out again and went to class. When class was over, I put my jeans on and drove home.

Anyone want to guess what happened when I took them off to shower?

Halloween, just a few weeks late.

On Halloween, my Pathfinders built and ran a haunted house for the local community association. We prepared in advance, and planned to start setting up at 8 a.m. on Saturday.



On Friday night, I went to boxing and stopped to pick up supper. For some reason, I didn't protest when they handed me two drinks in a drink holder. I set it on the seat and drove home.

When I got home, I went to pick up the drinks and managed to flip them onto the floor. The lid of one came off and it spilled.

I went running to the house, and by the time I got there, I didn't have my keys. I banged on the door and Wanda let me in. I grabbed a towel and went to mop up the car.

Still no keys.

I ate, showered, and left to go pick up some supplies for the haunted house. (I had to borrow Wanda's keys, because mine were nowhere to be found - but it was dark, and they were either in the car or on the ground, so I figured I'd find them in the morning.)


On Saturday morning, I got up and got ready for the day. I went outside to search the car and the walk, but there were no keys to be found.  My co-leader came by to pick up the pre-assembled walls, and I went to move the car off the driveway - and there were my keys, on the top of the steering wheel.

I never put my keys there - well, not on purpose.

We went to the community centre and started assembling the haunted house. We finished in the nick of time before it opened at 1.

It turned out well, and it was really popular. We had about 50 kids go through it over the course of the event (some of them up to 10 times).

It looked creepier with the lights out.

The Saga of the Soap

Sometime last year, I was walking through the dollar store and I saw some soap.

Now, I don't normally buy soap at the dollar store, but it smelled nice and it was a big bar of soap, so I thought I'd give it a try.

I didn't start using it until fall - probably October or November. I was pretty excited to try it, because I really liked the smell.

It really did smell nice.

Well, at least until I got it wet. Then it smelled like death.

(But it was a really big bar of soap.)

After a couple of days, it only smelled a little like death, so I kept using it.

And kept using it.

And kept using it.

In fact, it's now May and I'd say there's probably 1/3 of it left.

It was a pretty good deal.

Except for the smell.

Habitually

Back in July, I hurt my foot. (I was sitting on a stool, and my foot slipped. The top of my foot slammed into the rung of the chair. It was bruised, but I could walk without any pain, so I didn't worry about it.

And then, a month later, I helped a friend put together 13 bookcases. After that, it started hurting when I walked. I got it checked out, and the verdict was that it probably wasn't broken, but even if it was, they'd just treat it with a tight shoe. I started wearing an ankle brace that supported the middle of my foot, and whenever I wore proper shoes, I used some arch supports that made it possible for me to walk without pain.

And then it snowed, and I had to move the arch supports from my boots to my shoes (and back again) every day. I decided I needed another pair of arch supports.

I have high arches, so I wasn't able to find any commercial supports, and had to look into orthotics. I made an appointment and went in for the assessment, and one of the things she said was that my left shoulder dips down when I walk.

Normally I carry everything on my right shoulder, so I decided to try carrying things on my left shoulder, 

It turns out my left shoulder is not up to the job. My purse, laptop bag, gym bag, whatever I'm carrying, is constantly dropping to my forearm.

It's comical, really. One or more bags starts dropping, and I start waving my arms around, looking, I'm sure, like I'm fighting invisible ghosts. And then one drops, and the rest follow, and I'm suddenly carrying everything on my forearm, with my laptop bag dragging on the ground.

Force of habit is a powerful thing.

Crumbling down

Yesterday, I got home from work and thought "man, I forgot how cold the tile floors get in the winter".

Then I sat around for a while, and decided to check the thermostat. It was 11.5 C. The thermostat was set at 19. I could hear the furnace working, but there was no heat coming out of the vents.

I turned the heat off and on. No luck.

I went downstairs and turned the switch on and off. No luck.

I called the furnace company, and was debating whether to have them come out after hours. I checked the thermostats again. It was 12 C. That was odd, but I attributed it to the fact that I'd just finished cooking. I decided it could wait until morning.

I went to take the garbage out, and couldn't get the back door open - the knob turned, but the door wouldn't open. I initially thought the door had swelled enough to stick, but after a few minutes, I realized that the handle was turning, but it wasn't actually doing anything. 

I went and got a screwdriver so I could take the handle off. I got the inside knob off, then walked around the house to take the outside handle off. The problem was that I couldn't get the middle of the knob - the part that holds it in the door - wasn't moving. I stuffed a rag in the open hole for insulation and went to bed.

When I got up, it was 10 C. I called right away, and was told someone would be here between 10 and noon. He got here a little after 10' and it was 9.5 C. (If the house loses heat at that rate, I figure it broke no later than Monday.)

It took him a little while to figure out that the problem was a blocked vent - it was keeping the fan from blowing air onto an sensor. He pulled out a piece of wire and got the vent open.

It still didn't work.

He went outside to check the gas meter - walking all around the house, because the back doorknob was just a rag-stuffed hole - then came in and turned the switch off and on again. This time it worked.

The house started heating up, and there was much rejoicing - especially since it was under warranty.

Tonight, I took another stab at the doorknob. It took three screwdrivers, a pliers, and a mallet, but I finally got the door open. After that, it didn't take long to get the old knob out and the new one in.

Now there just the floor-flooding dishwasher to deal with.

(The sad part is that I was fine without heat overnight, but if it had been the Internet that was broken, I wouldn't have been so calm.)

The car is fine (but my brain is broken)

The old car had keyless entry, but at some point over the past 13 years, the remote had broken off the keyring, so I carried it separately.

Here's how every trip in the new car has gone:

1. Walk towards car, use key fob to unlock the vehicle.
2. Open the back and put bags, etc. inside, keeping keys in hand.
3. Reach into pocket to get the key fob to unlock the door.
4. Remember the key fob is in my hand, and the door is already unlocked.
5. Get into driver's seat.
6. Drive to desination.
7. Turn off lights.
8. Remember the car has automatic lights, and turn them back to "auto" position.
9. Reach down to pop the trunk.
10. Remember there is no trunk.
11. Wonder what side the gas tank is on. Decide to check immediately upon getting out of the car.
12. Get out of car.
13. Use the key fob to lock the car.
14. Go to the back to get bag out. 
15. Realize it's locked. 
16. Unlock the car.
17. Get bag.
18. Lock the car.

 I can't wait until I need to get gas, because I still have no idea where the gas tank is.

Zzzzz

I've mentioned before that I wear a nightguard. Even though I'm so weird about not putting it in my mouth until I'm lying down and ready to go to sleep, if I wake up in the middle of the night and it's not in my mouth (because I fell asleep before I was ready, or because I took it out in my sleep), I have to put it in in order to go back to sleep.

So when I woke up at 2 a.m. this morning and didn't know where it was, the first thing I did was reach out my arm to see if it was on the edge of the bed.

The second thing I did was knock it onto the floor. I turned on the light and didn't see it, so I got up and moved the bed slightly ... and knocked the plugs for the light and the clock radio out of the wall.

FYI, it's dark at 2 a.m.

I managed to get the light plugged in again, but the clock radio just didn't cooperate. The plug was a little bent, so I tried bending it back with my fingers.

No luck.

I got up, found a pliers, and straightened the plug.

Still no luck.

I had two choices:
1) Figure out how to plug in the alarm clock, or
2) Get my cell phone and figure out how to set an alarm on it.

I picked up the alarm clock and went into the kitchen, where at least the plug-ins are high enough to keep me from having to bend over. The plug didn't work.

That's when I figured out it was upside down. I flipped it around, and it worked in the kitchen, and in the bedroom.

I cleaned my nightguard and went back to sleep.

How was your day?

Yesterday morning, I started the car and noticed that a light was on.

A red light. Specifically the battery light.

I've mentioned before that I have underground parking at work, and I have seen tow trucks trying to get cars out of the second level (where I usually park) before. It's not a pretty sight, so I made a point of parking on the first level.

And backing in.

I called and made an appointment to bring the car in today, and then hoped for the best. 

I had boxing last night, so I left early (in case the car didn't start). It started.

It started after boxing, too. 

And this morning, it started again. I started driving to the garage.

Half way there, the radio turned itself off. (Yes, I probably should have turned it off earlier - I didn't think of it.) 

When I was a few blocks away, the speedometer started waving like crazy, and the airbag light started  flashing. The signal lights started seeming ... drowsy, too.

By this point, I was very, very close.

More specifically, I was at the red pin, and I was going to the green pin. The only thing in between was a strip mall. 

And a red light.

The car stalled. 

Luckily, two bystanders pushed me out of the turning lane, and CAA was fast.

The lawn still needs mowing

It's Wanda's job to mow the lawn.  Usually, she does it without being prompted, but she hasn't gotten to it for over a week. After she left for work today, I went out to do some gardening and noticed that the lawn was getting excessively long, so I decided to mow it. I took off my gardening gloves and pulled the lawn mower out of the shed.

My lawn mower has a button to prime it, but I find it more effective to just turn the whole machine on its side for 10 seconds or so. I did that, then noticed the lawn mower bag wasn't properly attached.

(That wasn't a surprise - we don't normally leave the bag attached when we put the lawn mower away.)

I picked up the bag and a mouse ran out and hid under the bush.

I picked up the bag from where it had fallen when I screamed and jumped back, and tipped it to make sure there were no other mice in it.

Then I looked at the grass and noticed the two baby mice.

I couldn't leave them unprotected - particularly since I was about to mow the lawn - so I put the gardening gloves on and put them into a yogurt container, which I then put under the bush in the hopes that the mother mouse would find them.

I attached the bag, started the lawn mower, and ... it started to rain.

The lawn still needs mowing.

Not How I Like To Start My Mornings

Yesterday morning, I went out to the car and put my boxing bag and laptop bag in the car. (My gym bag was already at work since I didn't make it to the gym on Tuesday.)

I got in the car and, turned the key, and ... nothing happened.

I tried again. Still nothing. Basically, it was acting like the battery was very dead.

I popped the hood and examined the battery. It was still there.

I went in the house and called CAA, then I called work to tell my manager I wouldn't be in for a while. I couldn't work from home, because I'd left my laptop at work.

I called the garage to see if they could fit my car in. I consulted OC Transpo to see how to get from the garage to work.

I ate jelly beans and mentally rearranged my plans for the day.

After about twenty minutes, I got a call that CAA was five minutes away, so I went back out to the car.

It started.

CAA arrived and I told them it was going. I called my garage back and they suggested it might have been ever so slightly out of gear.

I went to work.

It has started without a hitch every time since then.

But I still bring my laptop home every day.

This is why you should make a list

There was a bake sale at work today, and I had said I'd bake for it. I made a few things that were actually baked on the weekend, but decided I'd make Rice Krispie nests (with jelly bean eggs) the night before.

So yesterday, in other words.

Now, I box on Wednesdays, which means that when I get home, I am carrying my laptop bag, my gym bag, my boxing bag, and my purse. Totally manageable.

Yesterday, though, Wanda went straight from school to work, and she'd asked me to stop at her work to pick up her school bag.

Let's see, that means I was carrying Wanda's school bag, my laptop bag, my gym bag, my boxing bag, and my purse.

Oh, and a sub, because I'd stopped at Subway.

And it was garbage day, so I had to bring in the green bin and the black box.

And a it was CSA day, so I had to make a separate trip out for the cooler.

I finally got inside. The first goal was to eat - which I did - and then I emptied my lunch dish out of my laptop bag and my gym clothes out of my gym bag and my work clothes out of my boxing bag.

Then I emptied the cooler, and finally it was time to start the nests. I picked up the cereal box to get the recipe, and discovered the box was almost empty.

I gave up and went to take a shower.

While I was in the shower, I debated the wisdom of going to the grocery store. It was late, but I'd already bought the marshmallows, and I wanted to make the nests. Besides, I had to return some laundry detergent - or try to, since I didn't have the receipt.

I decided to go.

The store accepted the detergent for return, even though it was my mistake (thanks, Metro!) and I bought the cereal I needed. By the time I got home, it was 9:30.

The nests were in the muffin tin by ten, and I added the coconut straw and jelly beans this morning.

That's when I ran out of Saran Wrap.

I have an inflatable neck pillow that I bring with me when I fly.  Naturally, I packed it for  my trip to San Jose.  However, once I was actually on the plane, I couldn't find it. 

I checked when I got to the hotel, and couldn't find it then, either.

Once I got back, it showed up in my purse very time I pulled out my wallet.  I finally took it out Friday night.

On Saturday morning, I got up and started breakfast. I noticed that it was snowing, so as soon as I finished eating, I slipped on some shoes and went out to find my phone. I walked onto the driveway, and immediately slipped.

I caught myself, took another step, and lipped again. I fell backwarsds and hit my head.

I lay there for about 20 seconds, then rolled over ahd tried to get up.  I fell the first time, but the second time I succeeded. I went tthe rest of the way to the car and found my cell phone immediately.  I carefully walked back inside.

I knew I was hurt, so I found my first aid book and looked up head injuries.  It was pretty convinced I needed medical attention, so a half an hour later, I was at the hospital.

I didn't have to wait long, but I was fine with waiting - I didn't feel the need to read or anything, as I was content to just sit there.  (I could have used my neck pillow, though, because I really didn't want to keep my head up on my own.)  After about an hour and a half, I saw the doctor and was told to go home and do nothing - no TV, no interenet, no reading.  Basically, the treatment for a concussion is to avoid thinking whenever possible.

I spent yesterday lying on the couch.  I was hoping I'd feel better today - and I do, a little - but I spent today lying on the couch as well. (I took a shower and then needed to rest for an hour before I had the energy to get dressed.)

Of course, tomorrow is Monday, and I'm supposed to be at work.  The best case scenario is that I work from home -  I don't want to go in to work and then be too tired to get home.

Man, I hope I feel better tomorrow.

Slow deductive reasoning

Just before I left for work this morning, I remembered my cell phone needed charging. I pulled it out of my purse and confirmed that it should be charged, so I decided to charge it on the way to work.

Then I went to work.

When I got to my desk, I went to grab my cell phone (it doesn't get reception if I keep it in my purse, so I leave it on the desk during the day) and ... no cell phone.

I went back down to the car. No sign of it.

I figured it had fallen out of my purse at home and, since I wasn't at home, there wasn't much I could do.  I called Wanda (because you can't text without a cell phone), but she was on her way to school, so she couldn't check for me.

I talked with Wanda again mid-afternoon, and she said she couldn't find it.

Great.

Before I left work, I called my cell phone and it went right to voicemail.

I wasn't sure whether that meant the battery had died or that someone was using the phone. Regardless, there wasn't anything I could do.

I came home and called it again.  This time, it rang before it went to voicemail.  I walked around the house, hoping I'd hear it vibrating. (I keep it on my desk during the day, you might recall.)

No luck.

I logged into my account online to confirm that no one was using the phone to call Hong Kong or some equally expensive place.  So far this month, I've used 4 minutes of calling.

Probably not being abused by someone who snatched it off the driveway, then.

I decided to try looking for it again in the morning.

And then, seconds after Wanda took the car to work, I realized that if it had no reception (and thus went right to voicemail) when my car was in the underground parking at work, but did have reception when I was home and the car was on the driveway, it was probably in the car.

I guess I'll see if I'm right in the morning.

Sigh

Every spring and fall, there are camp clean-up days for the local Girl Guide camp.  I try to go if I can.

Today was one of those days.  I had to be there at 8:30 (In the morning, On a Saturday.),  so I got up and got ready.  When I got there, I was assigned to a site.

(The camp has 15 or so sites within it, so a bunch of groups can be up there at once.)

On our site, we had five things to do:

1. Chop up felled trees and stack the logs in the woodshed.
2. Fix the drain on the outdoor sink.
3. Find and uncover the grey-water disposal pit.
4. Fix the front steps to the building.
5. Fix the back steps to the building.
6. Fix the railing on the bridge to the next site.

Hmm, that's six things.  OK, we had six things to do.

We started with #6.

That task involved the following:

• Tear down the current railing.
• Pull out the nails from the old boards.
• Cut 20 new posts.
• Put notches in 20 new posts (4 got one notch, 16 got 2).
• Attach 20 new posts.
• Brace 20 new posts.
• Add top rails.
• Add lower rails.

 It took ... I'm not sure exactly because no one had a watch and cell phones don't work there, but I'd say it was about 5.5 hours.

About 5 hours in, I made a mistake.  I was sitting on the edge of the bridge, leaning out to attach a brace. I had the cordless drill (being used as a screwdriver) in my left hand and was holding the board with my right (dominant) hand.

The drill slipped.

I lost half the fingernail on my middle finger, and prompted a discussion about where the nearest first aid kit was.

It's nothing serious - just an annoyance - but it makes it tricky to type or drive. On the way home, I kept accidentally turning on the windshield wipers with the top of the gauze on my finger. It also prompted a stop at a drug store for those bandages that go over the tip of your finger, and for more gauze as I have already exhausted the entire supply in the house.

(I currently have gauze wrapped around the finger and taped down. I'm hoping to move to the bandages by Monday, when I have to type for work.)

But it's amusing to say "the drill slipped" when someone asks what happened to my finger.

What I Did on my Christmas Vacation

I was back in Saskatchewan for Christmas. It was lots of fun, even if my niece wouldn't let me bring her dog back to Ottawa with me. (She's mean like that.)

It was a good trip - Christmas shopping with my niece, laser tag with the extended family, mini-golf, hanging out with the dog, making my niece watch The Muppets, building a treasure box, seeing friends and family, and eating my year's allotment of cookies.

(As an aside, taking a dog for a walk makes you realize how incredibly interesting the world smells.)

Boxing Day

On Thursday, my mom had to take her car in. Since we'd otherwise be marooned at home, my sister left her Prius for us.

My mom went to the dealership and said she'd call if she needed a ride. Half an hour later she called, so I got the key fob and put on my coat. Kasey the dog wanted to come too, so I grabbed her seatbelt and we went out to the garage.

That's when I realized the Prius was on the driveway. I closed the garage door and we got in. I buckled Kasey in the passenger seat and put the key fob into its slot. I pressed the "Power" button and the radio started playing.


So far, so good.

I put the car into "R". Nothing happened.

I pressed the emergency brake. Nothing happened.

I pressed it again. Still nothing.

I pressed "Power" again. This time, the dashboard lights came on. Back into "R", still nothing.

The dog was staring at me by this point, wondering why we were in the car if we weren't going anywhere.

I called my mom's cell. She didn't answer.

I started looking through the owner's manual. The answer was on page one hundred and something - you need to have your foot on the brake when you press "Power". This time it worked. Finally, we were on our way, Kasey standing on the seat beside me despite repeated suggestions to sit down.

The roads weren't great, so I took it easy, but at one point, I had to hit the brakes. Kasey slid off the seat. I reached down and picked her up by her harness, but I was losing speed fast and didn't know why. I found the hazard lights and turned them on and then put the car back into gear. Luckily, that worked and I was able to get back on my way.

We got to the dealership where mom was waiting, which Kasey explained was the most exciting day ever. (To dogs, every day is the most exciting day ever.)