Stitches & not the sewing kind

Hi, I hope all is well with everyone today!

Had a doc appointment today - I'm happy to say that the stitches are now gone! Yay! Although it hurt a little. The specialist was getting ready to take them out & I told him that it's a sensitive area with me, so he layed the chair back because he was afraid I'd faint! But as he pulled each one, it felt like I was getting stabbed by pins. Ouch. I'm glad that they are out now though. Still have to remain in the boot for 2 more weeks at least - bummer. But all in all, I can walk in it some. So it's better than hobbling around with the walker a few days after surgery! As soon as it's approved, I'll start therapy, so I'm hoping for a quick recovery! Best of all, I can take a real shower now! I'll probably use the RV shower since it's easier to get in & out of. My friend's shower that I use is in a big garden tub & is hard to get in & out of.

Isn't this paper cute? It's what the podiatrist office uses on their chairs to prop feetseys on top of.

And they casted my feet....no, not for a movie, for orthotics baby!

No one needs to see this enlarged huh?

****OK, at the end of this post, I promise to show ya'll the stitches if you want to see them. But I'll save that for the last thing as some folks may NOT want to see that! I actually don't even want to see that...****

And tomorrow, I'll get my vacuum out & get the RV cleaned up. YES, it really needs vacuumed badly! I have a stick vacuum, but lately, it seems to be less effective & trips breakers, so it's time to get rid of it. So I'll be using my Shark, which I love, but I have to put my hand weights on the rugs or it sucks them up too. ;-)  I will be taking the RV over to Camping World on Friday for an estimate on the overhead damage from a few weeks ago. I'll be a happy camper once that job is done!

And I wanted to share a picture of a wonderful horse. Well actually both horses are cool, but check out how BIG this horse is! He's a Staffordshire horse. They both belong to friends of mine, Stacey & Cheri. Stacey stood under the horse so we could all see how big that boy is. And he's like a big puppy dog. He runs up to you & kind of scares you because he looks like he may not stop!

OK, now for the stitches...scroll down

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Just wanted to be sure that if no one wanted to see it, that there would be enough space for them not to view this. I don't like things like this myself. But it was kind of funny when I asked the doc if I could take a pic before he removed the stitches & the look on his face! He thought it was odd & well, I guess it rather is!

You can click on the photo to enlarge it, but not me! :-p

ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow!!

Once again, I'm thankful for having the RV to recover in. Everything is just a couple of steps away & way easier for me!

~As always, be kind to your pets, clean up after them on your travels & respect your neighbor~

Mommy Mirror & Recovery

Hi, hope all is well with everyone here. I've not posted in a few days, honestly, nothing much is going on. Just still recovering. Still doing minimal walking in an orthopedic boot. And a tallish tennis shoe on the left foot to help balance myself out, but at least I can do some walking! Foot swells if I do too much or if it's not elevated for very long. Biggest problem has been nausea! I do not do pills well, even with the help of taking prevacid, I still get nauseated. But maybe this is a good weight loss plan? I can eat ice cream with no ill side effects though, but I'm out of that now.

Feather has decided to test my foot today, Mommy, I want to go outside! OK, get up, put boot on, put shoe on, take her out. Oh I can't potty out here, it's too cold! Well you have to! Oh, ok, let me find the right spot....here?...no...here?...no...here?..Hey Feather, it's cold out here! Hurry up! Oh ok...here?...no...here?...no...uh oh, I'd better go, Mommy has that look in her eyes. OK, here's a spot, OK, I'm done, lets go in!! You have to do #2! OK, let me sniff...sniff...sniff....no, it aint' gonna happen right now. We're going back in! Half hour later, Mommy, I have to go potty. Ok, here we go again!! Same scenario, finally, poo,,er sorry, #2. 
This afternoon: Mommy!! OK, you are going out to the dog run this time! Several screams later, she's back in the RV, all snuggled into her mat.

Last night, we had a gorgeous sunset! Of course, who was I walking when I noticed it? Feather of course! So I hurry her up so I can hobble as quickly as I can to grab camera & make it to the pasture. Made it back there, most of the sun was already gone! Sunsets happen really fast here, don't blink! So I got what I could of it, but it was glorious a few mins before I got these shots. Click on the photos for bigger images.

So a few weeks ago, I picked up this cool gizmo. I have a gadget addiction, I love gadgets!

I have a smaller mirror that is attached to my rear view mirror, but unless one uses a magnifying glass, it's pretty worthless. This mirror mounts onto your window, much like a gps mount does. The mirror itself is 4"long by 2.5 " tall. Glass image that is. Cool deal. I like being able to get a quick view of what's going on in the interior of the RV while we're moving down the road, so this will help. Sometimes things fall & it would be nice to see if it's something that I need to pull over for or not. Click on images for a larger image.

While I'm at it, I might as well share my recovery area too.

This is my living area, with the jacknife sofa folded up. Note that I have a canvas organizer on the wall. That's been discussed in an earlier post, but it's really handy! Between my seats is a two step stool. The top step used to have my portable a/c on it, but that's packed away now. So I have a lamp on it, I love the soft lighting of lamps vs the bright 12volt lights of the RV in the evenings when watching tv. On the bottom step is an electric heater/fan. I really like this heater & found this is the most efficient space to place it. Last several years, I've used it in the kitchen area, but have found that the cab area really stays cold. Now that's helping to battle that problem area. Last year, I closed off the cab area - big mistake. That only aided in producing condensation in that space, so I won't be making that mistake again. It took several shampoos to get rid of mildew!

My space isn't very girly. I'm going to have to eventually get a better cover for the sofa. I don't like the sofa pattern, so I keep it covered. Plus when the dogs are hanging out on it, then it's an easy cover to wash. Oh & if you look real hard, you can see where my passenger seat turns around for extra seating in the RV. I really like that. The drivers seat turns too, but then, you are turning it into the sofa, so doesn't make much sense. Right now, it's piled with blankets & pillows until I can make it back up to my overhead bed to sleep in again. I do miss sleeping up there. I prefer sleeping up there on my memory foam mattress, but the air mattress on the sofa isn't too bad either. Kind of feels like those old water beds though. Remember those? I never had one, but slept on a few as a guest on other people's homes.

Sofa folded down with air mattress on top of it. The white thing in the corner is an air filter, the other thing my walker, which can now be removed from the RV :-)

And one more thing, I thought I'd share my fold up table that I got at WalMart last year. It really works well for my computer as I still like using a mouse & there's efficient space for a mouse pad, a drink, the remote control & a cell phone. So when it's in use, I just keep it beside the sofa.

I just placed it in front of my door so I could take a photo of it. I also love that round top stool that folds up too! It comes in handy for things as well & stores really well.

~As always, be kind to your pets, clean up after them on your travels & respect your neighbor~

Happy T Day!

Happy Turkey Day everyone!

What do I have to be grateful for? Wellll..not sure now after THIS photo session with Feather! So I will give ya'll a lesson on how to photograph your dog on a whim trying to make a headress & getting the perfect photo..

1. Take a snood (I make dog snoods for long eared dogs to help keep their ears cleaner & prevent them from getting eaten with their dinners) & go out & find some feathers on the ground. OK, no feathers to be found, but oh, pretty little leaves! Wow, we DO have fall colors in Texas...although the tree is still green & the only color are the leaves that have already fallen to the ground. No matter, they will work for my project.

2. Get your model dog  & place snood on her head. Take leaves & arrange them into the snood to make it look like a head dress.

3. Get dog to sit up so she can look into camera lens & pose.

4. Get dog to sit up so she can look into the camera lens & pose.

5. Perfect

6. Do not let dog shake head! You will have to replace the leaves if she does...

7. Now give her a cookie, that might help!

8. Now try to get her to pose again since the cookie thing didn't work.

9. Perfect.

10. Fix head dress again.

11. Give up & let the dog think she's done a marvelous job.

OK, really, I am grateful for friends, family & life it'self! And...Feather...& to think I was going to try this with one of the cats.

~As always, be kind to your pets, clean up after them on your travels & respect your neighbor~



Today only -- $5.00 Snuggies! And Pretty in Pink

First of all, I just have to tell ya'll about this great find!! Snuggies for $5 each. Yep, that's right, $5 each at the Dollar General Store!! Today is the last day, so if you are reading this in time, rush off & get one, two or three! Or more! I bought 5 ;-)    To think I paid $19.99 for ONE at WalMart last week - grrrumble. I'll have to keep it, I've already washed & used it. However, the material is different on the two, so I won't complain much.

The snuggie I bought last week because it had cute puppy dawgs on it. It is plusher though, but sheds! Yep, it sheds! Washed & dried it, but stuff is still sloughing off it.

Today's bargains! Only $5.00 each! Wow, so these will be Christmas gifteys!

This is the one that started it! I went to the Dollar General to get some toiletries, but I have this thing for gadgets, so that always leads me to the "as seen on tv" aisle!

But look a bonus! A cool little booklight came with this one. Hmmm, buy the $5.00 Snuggie, keep the book light & give the Snuggie away for Christmas - yes, that's a deal!

Book light unboxed. Cute little gizmo, it's going into my sofa side remote control pouch.

Another cool gadget that comes in handy that I bought at the DG last summer. They were clearing them out for like a buck, so I bought one. It has two razor blades on it. One in the mouth part & one where that blue tab is. You push the blue tab out & you can slice through packages with that. I use this gizmo often!

Too bad I couldn't report this find sooner on the Snuggies, but I hope someone reads this today & if they want one, they can find one at the DG. But otherwise, they are still cheaper than WM's by $10. Their regular price is $10.00

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OK, so an update on my wankle surgery. Went back to the doctor today (Dr Bryan Lee in Houston) & he took off the surgery bandages. The stitches look good! No problem there. A nice straight suture area, but the stitches shall stay in till next week. No one could take me, so I drove myself there. I had only started walking again (with the aid of the big fat boot) last Saturday, so was concerned about trying to drive today. It was not a comfortable thing to do. My foot tingled & kind of hurt when I got there & of course, I can't drive with the boot on, so I put my brace on instead. Once he took off the fat compression bandage, it almost instantly felt better. So I think it was actually the bandage restricting my foot that caused it to feel so weird when driving. The drive back was much better with the lighter, less restrictive bandage on it. Next week, I go back, he will remove the sutures & fit my feet for orthodics. I am guessing that will mean once they come in, then I'll be able to wear tennis shoes again instead of the boot and/or the brace. I can live with that!! I've been in the boot & brace off & on through an entire year + a few more months, so this will feel like freedom! (Oh, a bluebird just landed in front of me. Darn, they take off to fast for a photo!  )

Last weeks surgery bandages

This weeks new lighter bandage - pink! Last time I had ankle surgery, I had to be in cast twice! One was purple & the other was orange - fiesta time!

My foot still somewhat swollen, but not as bad as it was last week.

So I'll get there, I'll recover & gain my life & freedom back again!! :-)

OH, I almost for the most important thing of this week!! The insurance company approved the repairs to the overhead cab on my RV! YAY!!! He didn't even blink an eye! He said he's seen everything & believes something hit my cab area to make it pop & rip like it did  -- so YAY!!

This means I'll have to drive the RV to a RV repair shop to get an estimate, so that's doable. He gave me 3 weeks to get that done, so that's a generous time frame. He knows my driving is limited right now, so I hope to be able to drive the RV next week to get it in for an estimate, then hopefully, all will be agreed upon & I can get Ellie's forehead fixed!

As always, be kind to your pets, clean up after them on your travels & respect your neighbor.

Judging people

Judge not, lest be judged....several years on the internet seems to have soured some people. I don't know quite why, but some folks get a reaction to hurt others by mentally abusing them. Some take it to the level of cyber bullying. This goes from children, to adults, even to our senior citizens. I don't understand this kind of mentality. Nothing has personally happened to me lately to want to write this post, it's just observation from reading forums. I'm on many dog & RV forums. It seems some folks just have to kick people before they are down & once knocked down, the kicking continues. I am on one wonderful list of women that have come out to tell their stories. The list is amazing because I just never see anyone sitting in judgement of them. Yet, I've seen some of these women reflect their problems on the other lists, only to get smacked with a baseball bat (so to speak). Why is human nature like this? Why is there a need to hurt others or just simply shrug someone off because one can't be bothered to offer a kind word? You know what? Someone's father had passed away recently, in her blog, she asked for in lieu of flowers, please do a kind deed in her father's name instead. I'd like to look at this as my kind deed in her father's name. I'd like to see the world view other people's problems with an open heart & a kind word, rather than a shrug & an it's your problem attitude. Even if no one can reach out & help another, a kind word can still go a long way. Where is our compassion to mankind here?

So today's blog isn't about myself, my RV lifestyle, nor my recent surgery. I want it to be about mankind & to remind others to be kind. To offer a helping hand or a kind word when it's needed. To be a better person for it. You will be rewarded within yourownself if you do so. (although the old saying of "no good deed goes unpunished" seems to have just screamed at me ;-}  )  

Hugs to you Sheryl, I'm thinking of you.

(ain't for city gals blog)

OK, post over, I'm going back to my normal life now -- have a great day everyone!!

As always, be kind to your pets, clean up after them on your traavels & respect your neighbor.

Getting the boot - more recovery in the RV

Welcome to Tanya & Jool! Tanya doesn't appear to have a blog, but if you do, I'd love to read it & share your url. Jool does have a blog - she's a Texas Gal & is checking into getting a Casita. I like those, they are really cute & easy to tow. Here is her url  http://joolsjaunts.com/  Good luck Jool & I like your little Boston Terrier, Gracie. Am looking forward to reading more of your blog in a bit.

So I got the boot today! Really. I did. Yep, really....

What? Not quite what you thought? ;-)  I was finally able to put this thing on & do a little walking today! Yipee! Since last Wednesday, 11-16, I've been using a walker in the RV. That was not working out very well since I don't have a slide, then I used a stool by placing a pillow on it, then placing my right knee on that & shuffling around so I'd not walk on my right foot. First day I tried the boot, it hurt. 2nd day I tried it, I puked. 3rd day I tried it, I could feel a pull on the stitches, so I quit trying. This morning, I finally felt like my old self again! Got up, took a sponge bath, brushed my teeth, brushed my hair (with a different kind of brush in case anyone was wondering), got dressed in real clothes instead of jammies (yay). Got my air mattress off of the jacknife sofa & lifted it to the overhead bed area. Folded the sofa back up & then put the boot on & was scared, but took my first few steps since the surgery! Went outside & walked a little bit too, then took Feather out to potty her. Then walked in the house & visited with my friends dogs & the rest of my dogs :-)  Yay, I can walk again! But must be careful not to over do it or I'll be back in pain again. Foot still swells twice it's size, so I had a friend take me to Walmart to get a real ice pack instead of the temporary hospital one. I got an ice pack bag kind of thing & it works way better. Had some words with a WM employee. He was gathering the shopping carts. I started to move a cart that was full of rugs, was irritated that they blocked off the electric carts as I needed one. His comment was, none of those work. I said, well I need one. I asked him if he could find me one. His comment, no. I said I just had surgery & can't walk, I need one. Again, he denied my request & walked off. So I told him I was reporting him then! And I did! They have people greeters at the door. She went off to get the manager, she was not happy about the cart guy either. The manager located me an electric cart & apologized profusely. I hope the cart boy gets in big trouble for this! I got my meds & other things & left. Thanking the people greeter lady as I left. I'm still grateful for my RV to recover in! It's the best place to be :-)) I can't wait till I recover & get my life back. I don't know what's in the future for me yet. I will have to find a job to save some money with & maybe I'll head to Pa next spring/summer to be with family up there for the warmer months. I may save money towards getting a bigger RV, selling Ellie ( :-{  ) because a bigger one would simplify my life a bit more.
In the meantime, I will be expecting an adjuster to come assess the damages I recently incurred on the exterior part of the over head cab. I sure hope it can be covered & fixed by them. For now, it's pretty protected by the elements, but not driveable. But then, I can't quite drive yet anyhow!

Take care everyone & I hope ya'll are having a great day!

A photo of Feather.

PS, ya'll would have been laughing at me yesterday as I crawled on my hands & knees fixing the darn carpet runners if you could have seen me! Hate those things, but dislike dirty carpets even more.

As always, be kind to your pets, clean up after them on your travels & respect your neighbor.

More Post Surgery RV Recovery/RV TV/Cleaning Mini Blinds

So there's not much for me to do right now. Can't walk yet, tried to go out with the walker. Managed to get out the door, take a few steps, realized I wasn't strong enough to go far, so came back in & crawled back into bed. The doc said I could walk a little bit with my boot, gave that a try & puked when I tried to get it on. So I guess I'm not ready for that yet either. Feeling nauseated off & on, that could be the meds though. Plus I get that way when I get hurt anyhow. But again, the RV is a nice place to recover! It dropped into the 40's last night, & I prepared ahead of time by placing my electric heater inbetween my cab seats. So it was easy to reach over & turn it on. The heater keeps the RV in the 60's. So that along with the electric blanket, I was pretty comfortable last night. I miss my babies though....they did some talking this morning & I do know their voices of each one.  No one sounded stressed while they were being tended to by my friends, so that's good. In the meantime, while I'm not drifting off to sleep, I've decided to work on some photos that I have stored in the computer. And I thought I'd share my views with ya'll today too. No mountains or river beds. No beaches, just good old fashioned country land with cross fencing. Too bad the horses aren't over in the field. I do like watching them, they must be in a different pasture.

The view outside of my big picture window. You can see how badly the drought has scortched the land. Not much mowing to be done this summer!

My view of the kitchen from the jacknife sofa. I chose to decorate my kitchen with red items & red peppers. I just love looking at my cute little kitchen! I also like the soft lighting that the lamp gives it in the evenings.

Ice bag on my foot again to keep the swelling down. And a view of too many messy blankets!

My TV set up. I got lucky, found this TV at WalMart about a year ago. Could not resist it. It was on a clearance sale, they had sold all the boxed models, so they sold me the shelf model for $100. Good deal! I think it's a 21", not sure, but I don't think I should get out of bed to measure it ;-)

Has a great picture. Of course, that didn't show up in the photo against the camera's flash. I had to hook a DTV box up to it & have a DVD player under it as well. I am a TV person & generally have it on even when not watching it for the background noise. I bought an extension arm for it & my brother in law installed that for me. That way when I travel, I can simply pull the tv back into the cabinet & close the door.

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OK, so I cleaned my mini blinds the other day & took a picture while cleaning them. I've never found a good way of doing this, then found these wipes & thought I'd give them a try. Good deal! Was way easier than the way I used to clean them. And I've been told that the orange wipes help keep the dust off of them longer. I keep my windows open a lot & there's construction next door, which creates tons of dust.

Look to the side of the blinds by the toaster oven where I cleaned. Big difference! I do recommend these wipes. Sure made this job easier.

OK, now back to some photo editing...this happened the other day. This bird is insane. Plus the owner has to remember to start locking his cage while they have boarders in the house! Sweet Stanley, the Borzoi didn't even care. Nor did the two Afghan Hounds that were sprawled out on the other sofa. Amazing that they left Nikki alone! He's a lucky bird.

His tail feathers were even resting on Stanley's back! Yikes! Glad that the dogs simply ignored him. I think Nikki is grinning too....crazy bird.

As always, be kind to your pets, clean up after them on your travels & respect your neighbor.

I wet the bed...adventure in wankle surgery

First of all, welcome to M. Farnsworth! You don't appear to have a blog, if so, please state so & I'll add your url here. Glad to have you along!

An view of some amazing clouds over my RV the other night.

OK, so for the subject line...well, I kinda wet the hospital bed..but not really...but yes. My IV dripped all over it & the bed & I were soaked! I thought it was just getting colder & colder! I have small veins, they can't hook up an IV in the normal place in my arm, so they have to go into my hands. That HURTS! Ouch. The nurse promised it wouldn't, but I knew that would be a lie. I've had it done once before & it hurt then too! My last Wankle surgery, they did ligament repair, but a different podiatrist & a different location. That location, they knocked me out before they took me to the surgery room. I'd prefer it that way in the future! Yesterday, they started me off on an IV drip behind the curtains on a bed, then once the specialist arrived, they added an antibiotic to my drip. Came in, explained things to me, I visited with the doc for a little bit, then off we went into the surgery room. Scary place, very, very bright! Now I know why people see angels, it might be the lights! A big intimidating in there. They rolled me onto the surgery bed & intubated me, then I went bye bye. I remember waking up on a bed back behind the curtains again, a nurse trying to dress me & my friend Judy standing there waiting on me.
They were giving Judy instructions as I could not comprehend a darn thing. On the drive home, I slipped in & out of conciousness. It felt like a roller coaster ride--weeeeeeeeeeee, wait, we're gonna get killed..weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.....are we sliding sideways? It sure feels like it..zzzz...weeeeeeeeee. Yea, lots of that going on with my groggy head. Then I got sick, grabbed the pukeo bag, it was clear. OK, that won't do! I'll only get sicker, so I opted not to get sick after all. :-p
Got back, Judy got my walker, I got to the RV door, crawled up the steps while she laughed at me, crawled into bed & zonked out. Was in & out of sleep all night last night & more of that today. This is one heck of a way to get some much needed rest huh? But again, I sure love my RV! What a great place to recoup in! A few hops with the aid of the walker to the bathroom or kitchen, then back to the bed. My RV is a ClassC & I usually sleep in the overhead bed, but for now, the sofa is laid out with an air mattress on it. Comfy...like a cloud...zzzzzzzzzz  Lots of blankies, I can open the big window beside me for fresh air, I bought a recovery snuggie. OK, bought it because it has pics of little puppy dawgs on it. My first snuggie
;-)  Bought recovery jammie bottoms & I must say they are quite comfy!
Doc said I could do a little walking in my boot, but I quickly found that I can't quite do that yet. I bought a walker a few weeks ago in preparation for the surgery as I had a death wish with the crutches last time around. So today is the day after my surgery & in about 4 weeks, the doc said I should be well on my way to my normal life again...whatever that is?

Don't blame me, one of my friends made me do this!!

My puppy snuggie since my real puppy dogs can't be with me right now. I'll probably be using it later this evening. Beautiful day today. 66 degrees inside the RV & temps will drop tonight. I also have an electric blankie that I love this time of year. Perfect weather to be stuck in bed at least!

btw, the check out clerk kept petting my snuggie. I almost told him he could have it if he wanted it & I'd go get another one! hmmmmmm methinks he has a snuggie fetish

My recovery jammie bottoms. I have the other pair on that I bought. So warm & comfy! I think I'll just wear jammies all the time now.

My pillow props. The neck pillow is a memory foam pillow. I've found this pillow invaluable for placing my foot on top of!

Big fat wankle. There's a big incision from my heel to me wankle bone - or so I'm told. I put a big fat sock over my tootsies because they got cold.

My hospital sock on my left (or other right) foot. Funny that they have treads on both sides of the booties. I guess if you walk & your foot flips upside down, you still won't slip! Wonder if that happens a lot?

And lastly, me ice pack.

Nite all, thanks for reading & thanks for your concerns. TexZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzyn

Oh & it just dawned on me that some of ya'll probably don't know what the heck I'm talking about with this surgery stuff. I got Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome from a work related accident in my right ankle. This would be comparable to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in the wrist. So my friend Pam accused me of typing too much with my toes...which would also explain my typing.

As always, be kind to your pets, clean up after them on your travels & respect your neighbor.

(I miss being with my babies right now, in a few days, I can walk again & go see them though)

Oh & a couple more cloud photos: