… that a full day of writing comments on student performance is not the right thing to do when you have a partial cast on your left hand.
-Even if you only use your left index finger to type a, s, d, e, r, and c.
October 27, 2009
I Should Have Known
October 23, 2009
Picture Puzzle
I’m bored stiff!
That’s why I cooked up the idea of posting a picture of a typically Swedish item for you to guess on.
These things can be seen outside most apartment blocks, although I think they are not being used as much today as what was the case maybe 20-25 years ago and even earlier. I took the picture because I liked the wave pattern in the snow – but what is it?
Use your imagination and give it a whirl – there’s a small prize in it for anyone who can guess what this contraption is used for.
October 20, 2009
Progress Report
Yesterday when the doctor laid the cast, I thought it looked sort of puny since it really is no more than a strip of Plaster of Paris held in place with elastic bandages. At 2 AM I was relieved that’s all it was, because I had to go back to the nursing station and have them loosen it as my fingers were beginning to look like little sausages. Another piece of luck was that I managed to pry off my rings yesterday – otherwise they would have had to be cut off. That in itself would have been worse than breaking my arm, since I wear a ring made from Mammoth Ivory and my mother’s wedding band…
X-Rays this morning showed a fairly clean fracture and it seems the doctor was able to pull the bones back in place properly. I’m still waiting for a call from the Regional Hospital where an orthopaedic surgeon is going to evaluate the X-rays during the day. I hope he will come to the same conclusion as they did here… I’m hoping to go back to work in a day or two – at least to perform part of my duties. Tomorrow we’re slated to have meetings with the Comptroller for the county which should be no problem. Most office work is OK, but maybe I should stay away from the hallways for now. I do heal fast and I have a high pain threshhold, so my guess is that the first 48 hours will be the worst.
This year I went with a different kind of bird feeder – one that isn’t quite as accessible to the squirrels. This way the birds eat from the feeder and Squirrel picks up the stuff that ends up on the ground.
October 19, 2009
Laid Low and Then Some
Overnight I was struck by a bug of some kind – so in the interest of not giving whatever it was to my co-workers, I stayed at home today. In the early afternoon, Loki really needed to go for a walk and off we went.
Minutes after taking this picture, I slipped on the icy road and broke my left wrist.
A cast for four weeks will really cramp my style – but mostly I’m mad at myself because I failed to put on the proper shoes for this type of weather and road conditions.
October 2, 2009
My Left Arm
… was left in the room where the course was held – I forgot my calendar!
… and today I missed an important meeting because of that.
August 27, 2009
Wouldn’t You Know…
I went out this evening to pick some mountain cranberries for my uncle who can’t get out in the bush himself. So what happens?
I see a loon not even 5 meters from shore!
I left the camera at home since I had my hands full with the berry picker and a pail + Loki on the loose – so no picture of the loon. The one above is the only one I have of the berries – better ones will appear in a day or two!
This one from the other night at the lily pond. This tree was already broken off once before when a storm this past winter did a number on it again – but it still has branches full of leaves. Amazing!
August 22, 2009
Father and Son
I’ve been looking after Loki’s father for the last few days and we’ve been walking along the shores two evenings now.
Raikko just loves digging up rocks and then either carrying them in his mouth or moving them around with his nose. Loki thought it looked like fun, but Daddy was not amused when he wanted to join… In fact, he gave his son a good talking to and really put him in his place!
Yesterday Loki was attacking the foam along the shore but unfortunately I didn’t manage to get a picture of him with a white “beard” of the stuff.
I’m hoping that Loki will learn a thing or two from his Dad – and not just the bad stuff. Raikko is mostly well-behaved but sometimes he forgets that…
In other news: I managed to sprain my ankle AND twist my knee yesterday…. I stepped wrong while taking out the garbage and landed in a heap with the contents of the bag draped like garlands all over me. As this was around 9 PM, I don’t think anyone saw me (no one came to my rescue, at least) and it took some doing, picking up myself and the garbage while in pain.
Excruciating pain, I might add.
This is the same ankle that got mangled during a softball-game about a hundred years ago and the knee that took the brunt of a skiing accident almost as long ago, and the rest of the evening was spent with an ice pack on my knee and a package of frozen mixed vegetables around my ankle. As the saying goes – “poverty is the mother of all inventions” and I couldn’t think of anything else that would wrap nicely around my ankle!
Oh well! This too shall pass!
August 19, 2009
June 29, 2009
Summer Heat
… is not something we’re exactly spoiled with. Normally the temperatures are such that it’s handy to have a shirt or even a sweater handy most of the time. Well, lo and behold – we’re into our second week of gorgoeus hot weather, and I’m just about ready for a really good, rainy day!
I know, I know… in 6 months time I’ll be wishing for some warmth – just like everyone else.
June 16, 2009
Post 367 In Which I Blush
Shortly after I had posted yesterday’s picture on my Swedish blog, I got a comment from a good friend who is also a former primary school teacher. She could inform me that I was wrong regarding the name of that beautiful flower which I erroneously identified as Tar flower… There are indeed certain similarities between the two – the colour is almost the same, but the petals do not look the same. Also – the name is self-explanatory both in Swedish and English, as the plant is very sticky to the touch and it will actually catch flies… at least small ones… (Picture courtesy of flickr.com/photos)
