Getting bored and getting out

I am more a woman of action than a woman of leisure. The forced downtime of stroke, sciatica, and then angry toe has me going a bit stir-crazy, but I'm reluctant to aggravate the former or latter (the drugs I'm on seem to have kicked sciatica's butt – yay!). I did go to two doctor's appointments prior to this week thanks to friends who drove me, and was ready for a good nap after each. Because of that, I decided to stay home from church again last Sabbath because there was a memorial service at 3:00 we needed to attend, and spending basically all day away was just too much. As it was, after the memorial service I rode with Rick to treat a patient; I fell asleep on the drive home and went to bed to sleep some more once we got home. On Sunday afternoon Rick had to check on the same patient, and I agreed to ride with him again. Afterwards we stopped at Costco, then the Italian deli where he has bought the heavenly cannoli; they didn't have cannoli but we got delicious paninis and even more heavenly tiramisu that we ate in the truck. I got home without needing to crash, probably because there was little human interaction (besides my husband) or other activity that took much brain power.

After taking it easy on Monday, I tackled working a few hours at the office on Tuesday. I rode in with Rick, then my boss gave me a ride home when I was done. There was work I could have done on the clinic side, but that had to wait for another day; it amazes me how fast my brain tires post-stroke!

Wednesday was sunny and dry, so I decided to walk down to the barn and turn the horses out in the arena. I don't know if/when the guys have turned them out since my stroke, so I decided to lead them out one at a time. Lance and Stella were both very well-mannered on lead, but clearly needed to let off steam once released. By the time I decided to pull out my camera, Lance – turned out first – had mostly settled down to grub any green stuff.

I've been enjoying some "dessert spinning," luscious Inglenook Fibers “Frost Moon” sticklebatts made up of all kinds of fibers + glitter. After spinning nearly a pound of black wool last year plus eight ounces of dark navy last year and this, I needed something light and bright and fun! The December fiber snacks were a daily diversion, but I also put pressure on myself to keep up; there is no pressure but pleasure with the sticklebatts.

The pressure comes from other responsibilities. I need to do the clinic payroll tomorrow, but first I must bring my payroll ledger up to date after talking my husband through the bare bones for January's payroll. While in town tomorrow I'll do whatever office work I can, so I need to vacuum today while I have time and energy. Boring stuff, I know, so here are some pretty pictures made this week to end on more interesting notes:

Poppy, standing alert on my chest

Even the best nursemaids need a break

My first time cooking since the stroke, a well-received curry

A lovely view from the deck

That's it for now from . . .