Summer in Upside-Down America

Summer greetings, friends,

First, I want to mention how much I appreciate that two of my fellow blogging buddies noticed I hadn’t posted in a while and contacted me to ask if all was well. It had been over two months since my last post. Thank you so much, that means more than you know! When I finally got the all-clear on the surgery date everything happened so fast I just went for it. I didn’t even consider that anyone would even notice my absence.

Covid-19 caused my shoulder surgery to be rescheduled three times.  Luckily, I have tested negative for Covid as mostly I just stay home. The surgery was first scheduled in Seattle for late March, then again in early May, but then Swedish Orthopedic hospital itself closed for a month. Covid numbers continued to be high in Seattle, then dropped enough by late June that I grabbed a window of opportunity and had the surgery done. I’m sure glad I did, as after all the protests the numbers have spiked upward again. The food at Swedish Orthopedic alone was worth the overnight stay. Wowza! It was not like any hospital food I have ever encountered before. They had a true chef on duty.

I think my arm and shoulder are going to be good, now. The surgery entailed a full shoulder replacement and a plate with four screws attached to the upper humerus. The surgeon had to break my humerus in three places just to dig out the old plate and screws from the prior, botched surgery, as the plate had broken jaggedly in half. I have spent 3/4 of every day in a sling since the surgery, to make sure all the structures were well supported while healing was occurring. I am almost giddy to report I am finally comfortable with key-boarding and light tasks. It has seemed like a long two months.

Prior to the surgery, I made over 30 masks for all my local friends. Good thing, since we are still all wearing them! I had a huge stash of fat quarters of Batik fabric, which is tightly woven with such a high thread count that it is pretty ideal for mask making. Along the way, I took the time to straighten out and reorganize my entire fabric stash, a task sorely needed.

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It is difficult to wrap my mind around all the adult anti-maskers that have caused our Covid experience to be more volatile than it needed to be. I know that is certainly something you are familiar with where you live, too. And we all must deal with the rabid political climate as well. I am crossing my fingers we get a handle on both in the next few months.

The Course in Mediumship I bought pre-surgery continues to fascinate me, and I am loving it. I have learned so much! I decided I am going for full certification, though I have a lot of class notes to type up, so it probably won’t actualize until October or November. The next step is to join a practice circle to hone my accuracy rate and confidence. Then, guessing by the following fall I might know what I’m doing enough to begin doing individual sittings for others.

I haven’t had any other major accomplishments this summer. But I am very excited my arm will be able to keep up with the rest of me from now on. My husband and I are pretty introverted, so we haven’t felt like we were suffering much by staying home.

Tom has made some spectacular extras for us in his woodshop during the past few months. I inherited some wonderful antique English bone china from an aunt, and I have wanted a corner hutch in the dining room to house it ever since. Tom designed and built a wonderful hutch for me.

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Next, Tom built a very cool organic bench for our wrap around porch, using live edge maple he milled. That’s where we have our coffee on summer mornings. I feel so spoiled!

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In the end, this summer is the upside-down of all other summers I can recall, but, it has still been good.

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Sheltering in Place


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Hello friends. we find ourselves in the midst of a very strange spring season this year. The sun is shining, birds and bees are flitting around, and our favorite green friends are returning. All the while, Covid-19 is a dark, lurking shadow that lies beneath any of the joy or abandon usually associated with spring.  The good news is, the violet seeds I scattered last fall have taken are are now in bloom!  

Tom and I are in the shelter in place mode, along with most of the rest of the world right now. I am a homebody, anyway, and except for morning walks, I haven’t left our property since Feb. 29th. Though I have missed seeing my favorite people, in other ways I have truly enjoyed having an empty schedule. Our cats are supremely satisfied to have door-knob service people at the ready 24/7.

In between letting cats in and out, I’ve been making Batik masks for friends and family that needed them. I am a bit of a fabric hoarder, especially fat quarters and 1/2 yard pieces, because I am a quilter. I’ve made 28 masks, so far, and it has barely put a dent in my fabric stash.

Topped off at 30 masks! Then I ran out of elastic.

I am having a heck of a time with block editor today. Hope I can change it back!