More random things

It really is my intent to put up new posts more than once a week but this past week has been a blur of stuff - including some real live work (whoo hooo). I'll try to do better this coming week.

Hand therapy

The problem I've been having with my thumbs is called basal joint arthritis and I have it in both thumbs. I first discovered its debilitating effects was in trying to paint the bathroom and bedroom. My hands would ache and throb at the end of the day. I knew it was arthritis, in fact I'm surprised I've escaped the family curse for so long. But I didn't think I could do anything about it.

Talked with a woman getting coffee who had just had surgery for the same problem and I set about getting mine taken care of. I had cortisone shots in January (quite painful but worth it) and then I torqued my left thumb helping Erin take Lucy's crib apart a couple weeks afterwards. Now I'm embarking on physical therapy. The therapist first made me a couple lovely splints that I am to wear when I need to protect my thumbs or when they hurt. Nice, huh?

Actually the splints help a lot and I find that I miss them when I'm not wearing them. I'll start therapy Monday as my first appointment was for making the splints. I hope the therapy helps and I can have more cortisone shots in April but just knowing I can get help and that it is at least a solvable condition makes it nice. I don't want to start getting physically compromised by age so early!

Welcome back, Robin!

I finally saw a robin today. Yeay. I shouted as we were driving and Johnnie almost wrecked the car (joking here). I'm so excited. We've been seeing geese and ducks around for the past couple weeks and more than one friend has reported seeing a robin but until I see one myself, it just isn' real. There's plenty of winter left ~ we generally get at least one more rousing snowfall in March but at least there is hope. I don't care if these are robins that are hardier than most or that may never have left. It's a robin, it means spring is almost here and I'll take it at face value.

House in chaos

We had an interior decorator come over the other day. Believe me, we are NOT the type of people who use an interior decorator often. We had a woman help us with wallpaper for the kitchen and dining room years ago but otherwise just go on our merry way. But this time, we needed help picking out carpet color, wall colors and advising us on chair colors. Since the birds have departed, we have room in our living room and need more furniture. We're also getting rid of our 50 year old piano. It's in great shape but again, no one in the family wants it and it's never played so I want it gone. I don't need it sitting in the living room to remind me that I took lessons for six years.

So the decorator came over and helped us with colors. Annie the painter arrives tomorrow morning to paint our bedroom and closet. So we spent most of Saturday afternoon and evening taking our bedroom apart. The fun of doing this (NOT) is just about half of the fun we'll have disassembling the family room and living room. Those two rooms are next. But we want to get the painting done before the carpet goes down.

Now that the bedrom is empty, we may even carpet that while everything is out of there. We ripped out the ugly brown shag in that room the night we closed on this house in 1993, fully intending to put carpet back down someday. We've had large area rugs in there since then but as much fun as ripping a bedroom apart and sleeping in the guest room is, I doubt we'll do it again willingly any time soon.

So we slept in the smallish* guest room last night along withh the two dogs. Very clubby. With the prospect of staying in there for a couple weeks if we decide to order and do carpeting while it's empty. What fun.

*The guest room is probably a decent size but it has a king sized bed in it, a large plant and a big dresser. Add two 50 pound dogs and now it's over-the-top cozy.