Month: December 2011

Ron’s first and most extensive foot surgery was yesterday. He was “under” for three hours for an Austin bunionectomy and second toe arthroplasty. These were intended to correct hereditary problems that contorted his foot so badly that it was incredible to me that he could walk at all.

He’s been in tremendous pain, even with heavy medication, and nauseous from the anesthesia.

He tried to navigate between the bedroom and the bathroom with crutches, but it was extremely difficult for him.

So, this morning, I set about to get my hands on a walker, either renting, buying or getting the doctor’s order for one that would be covered by Medicare.

Turns out, one of the local thrift shops, run by the Society of St. Vincent dePaul, GIVES AWAY walkers because “it’s the right thing to do.”

I am still flabbergasted by this. The walker I brought him has some rust (I think it was kept outside because when I put it in the truck, some ice fell out of the legs), but it works perfectly well.

I stopped off to get a roast chicken at Stop & Shop. These are on sale for $5 on Fridays, along with loaves of Italian bread for $1.

This was supposed to be lunch, but Ron hasn’t had much of an appetite.

I heated up corn chowder last night, oatmeal this morning, and a couple different kinds of jello, applesauce and tapioca tonight.

I think Ron is sleeping now. I propped up his hurt foot, took his temperature and fed him an OTC med that stifles nausea.

We had no idea what to expect. It isn’t until we left the hospital that they told us the first 48 hours are bad and the first week is the worst.

Ron is remarkably uncomplaining, and I am hoping he’ll be much better tomorrow.

Although we had a tree in Milton, we never had outdoor Christmas lights; unseemly.

Having never been in the habit, then, I enjoyed seeing other people’s displays, but never put even a single bulb outside. That is, until this year.

This was Ron’s second Christmas on Cape Cod and his first as a permanent resident. That must be the reason why I wanted to put up a string of lights on the clump of small conifers by the driveway.

Ron likes the idea of LEDs, and he generously bought a big string of them at the Osterville Stroll. I picked up a couple more at an after Christmas sale this week. They are frightfully expensive and emit a distinctive blue light, very different from the yellowish glow of the old style lights.

Ron also bought an outdoor plug that accommodates up to three extension cords. So, we’ve been able to string lights on the inkberry bushes on either side of the stairs.

I am quite delighted with this and very happy we set these up.

Our new dentist was able to squeeze Ron in for a year-end exam and X-rays today.

Tomorrow, Ron goes in for foot surgery, a very long overdue procedure. Fingers crossed that he will find it easier to walk once he’s healed.

Did a little cooking (poached eggs, chicken stew with dumplings and pretzel brittle) and some laundry. Watched “This Week”, “Chain Reaction” and “Sixty Minutes”. We took a drive over to Popponesset to see the beach.

Except for a very used tool chest, we didn’t buy presents for ourselves or for Fluffles, although I did retrieve the cat bed Ron got for him a while back, and Fluffles is really enjoying it.

Yesterday, we took a joy ride to find Joan and Tony’s new house on Rexhame Beach. We stopped at FarFar’s and the French bakery in Duxbury and Savers in Plymouth.

I distributed the gifts to our favorite people outside the family today. It was great to get this done. We are finished with Christmas prep.

Ron got his leg brace today and so far, so good.

He needs to wear it an hour longer each day. He thinks it will help him.

Yesterday afternoon, I introduced Ron to Sid Wainer.

He said he’d never seen a place like it.

I tried to find the fish markets afterwards and ended up driving for about 45 minutes through different neighborhoods, ending up at the on ramp to Route 6 near the First Unitarian church. I was very pleasantly surprised to see how much money has been invested in the city.

It is snowing now.

We brought the 14 foot extension ladder to Dixon so that Ron could clean gutters.

That gave me the idea to climb as far up as nerve permits to see the view.

I’m not sure much is going on within eyeshot of the roof, but I’ve been curious about this for years. This is the best time of the year to check out the bird’s eye, since the deciduous trees are pretty much stripped.

The problem has been that we haven’t had a clear day without wind for quite a while. It’s either calm and overcast, or, like today, clear and very windy.

I’ll post some photos once I get up there.

I’ve had dreams with the same theme for months: I’m in an unfamiliar place with no money and need to get home.

Last night, I dreamed that my a-Dad, a-mother, sister and I were standing at the foot of a highway on-ramp. A-dad pointed to the ramp and yelled at me, “Get out of here! Get out of here!”

I walked up the ramp, which led to a city street with trolley tracks. I had very little money, maybe a dollar and a half. I was in a Black inner city neighborhood and felt myself to be in peril, although no one really bothered me.

I tried to catch a trolley heading out of the neighborhood, but the driver closed the doors before I could reach it. Incredibly, I was able to grab a couple of handles outside the trolley and road it in that way until it stopped.

I got on the rear doors and was confronted by a couple of big-mouthed passengers who complained that I had to pay a fare.

I walked up to the fare box where a leering conductor and his pal gave me a hard time about the fare. I kept asking how much it was and they wouldn’t tell me right away. Finally, they smirked that it was $3.

A kind woman gave me enough money to ride the trolley. She cautioned me to be careful where I got off, since the trolley was going through some tough neighborhoods. For some reason, I thought we were in NY City, although I would guess it’s been decades since they’ve had above-ground trolleys.

I woke up at that point and had another dream about being unfairly accused of stealing and defacing merchandise.

We’ve been “whooping it up” with Christmas activities including the Mashpee Christmas parade, two strolls, Osterville on Friday and last night, Centerville, with Emme and her friend Alex. We also viewed the lights at Heritage and the Cape Codder. Highfield later this week.

Baking two cakes today for Peter’s birthday, one with a gluten-free mix for Bonnie.

Ron and I spent Saturday afternoon working on Emme’s furniture. We brought the old to the transfer station and set up the bed that used to be in our second bedroom and the desk from Savers.

She loves the new setup and her much less cluttered room.

I finally went on Audubon’s annual guided tour at Ashumet. Missed it the prior two years and was delighted to be able to participate this year. Learned a few interesting facts about our own holly trees.

We mailed Christmas cards and set up Emme’s snowman so it can be seen from the front of the house.

Even though I’ve barely scratched the surface of what it can do, I love the Cuisinart that Ron bought for me.

Last evening, we were in a hurry to attend a meeting (more on that below), so we opted for a “heavy” salad. The Cuisinart made it possible to put it together in minutes: lettuce, salami, cheese, carrots, celery, olives, apples, sunflower seeds.

The garden lights, which have been fading or non-functional, just needed new batteries. We picked up a couple of packages of rechargeable NiCMs yesterday which are working great.

The meeting included 45 minutes of nitpicking about a mission statement and goals. For example, there was a debate about whether to “Terminate” or “End” wars, either “ours” or “all” of ’em.