Back in the saddle, literally and figuratively

As of Saturday night, the last hours of the end of February, I am back to taking care of all my prior responsibilities, i.e. house and barn chores. As compensation, if you will, I am also able to ride again, even if my inaugural post-stroke ride was just a modest walk around the arena after dark for awhile. But Stella was very good and I enjoyed the saddle time very much; it was so normalizing! And after just one short month from a subarachnoid hemorrhage that could have killed me. I am so thankful for God's undeserved mercy and grace, and for my guys taking up the slack.

Oh my; shearing is approaching fast!

OH! And as of a tele-visit with my doctor's PA Saturday morning before church – which I attended without consequence so that was great – I CAN DRIVE! And drive I will today – to work, and about half a dozen other places where I need to stock up on things. I also plan to go to agility class Thursday night and meet up with my cousin at Costco afterwards. Still, my best views are at home:

This cloud photo may seem modest, but if you zoom in there is a LOT of detail!

My toe is still limiting my daily step count; I'm hoping with time and continued protection with corn cushions and careful footwear selection it will quiet down. I have places to go and new shoes to wear! 😉

I haven't gotten any farther on picking up stitches in my Dala sweater yet. Since 'BS' (Before Stroke) I've been itching to knit a hat pattern I purchased: Melt the Ice, but haven't located enough red yarn in my stash. Actually, I'm itching to knit more than one, as my sister and some friends would probably appreciate their own hats, so I should either buy or spin a quantity of nice red yarn. But I was also recently inspired by a Melt the Ice hat Donna Schoonover knitted that wasn't all red; I could do that for at least one. (I can't comment on WordPress blogs anymore, unfortunately, so I hope Donna sees this.)

That's it for now from . . .

Two steps forward, one step back

On Sunday, the day after my last post, Brian escorted me out to the shop to watch him (and eventually Rick) work. I don't get it, but having me do so makes my son so happy. I took along my spindle and spun and watched (and even helped Brian a little by feeding that red tubing to him) until the linens in the shop dryer were dry. Then Brian carried the laundry basket and escorted me back to the house.

Rick had finally found my FitBit, which was removed at the hospital, and I charged it Saturday night. With moving around in the house and walking out the shop I got in 3,540 steps on Sunday, a far cry from my 12,000 daily minimum before my stroke (in fact, I got 19,395 steps the day OF my stroke!). I decided to strive for at least a few more steps every day in my effort to 'resume normal activities' as my discharge instructions say. On Monday I got 4,838 steps, and on Tuesday, I ventured out with Rick's old cattle-working cane and walked to the gate to pick up some packages there, put them in the garage, then walked to the barn to see the horses (it was the Lunar New Year and so the first day of the "Year of the Horse" – how could I not?), and got eggs from the hen house on my way back up. It all made me so happy, and I got in 5,924 steps.

this horse mobile hangs in our bedroom window

gorgeous cloudscape from our deck before I ventured out

the changing cloudscape when I returned from outdoors

I was surprised to see that one of the packages from the gate was addressed to me, as I wasn't expecting any of the things I had ordered (more on that later) to arrive yet. But when I looked at the return address and saw "TimPrint" and "Kentucky," I suspected my longtime blogpal and good friend IRL Sara. Sure enough, she sent me a card with a photo of her and Bea enjoying a beautiful sky in which she wrote such encouraging words, two sachets of loose-leaf herb tea, and some sheep cut-outs I can wrap with homespun and use as Christmas or everyday ornaments. A big mood boost at the end of a mood-boosting day!

My head and sciatica were fine with all the increased activity; I count that as two big steps forward!

Then one huge step back occurred. One of my toes, yes, a toe, objected. Stella stepped on this toe a year or two (or more) ago, and the middle joint has bent upward ever since; I suspect she broke it and it healed improperly. As a result most of my more structured shoes/boots bother it, so I wear my soft allbirds most of the time. A few months back I wore a pair of short boots that had heretofore been okay but they wore a blister on the top of that toe, making it even more touchy. I had worn my roomy chore boots to go outside Sunday and Tuesday since they haven't bothered my toe in the past, but on Wednesday my toe got very bothered – swollen, red, and extremely tender to the touch of even socks. I was worried that maybe it had gotten infected somehow, but my veterinarian husband and my nurse neighbor both thought otherwise and suggested I just hot-pack it. I've been doing that multiple times a day the last two days without much change, which has kept me inside with one bare foot; I only got 4,795 steps on Wednesday and 5,757 steps on Thursday (up and down stairs to do laundry and to get more spinning fiber). This morning Rick suggested sandals in passing, so I dug out my one pair of open-toed Keens. They work! The only problem is that I don't want to use them inside and outside, where it is muddy, then back inside; we don't wear outside shoes inside. So today I've been wearing them inside, where I appreciate the arch support, insulation from the cold floor, and protection from bits of debris (vacuuming is on today's to-do list). I might find a solution for that; in the meantime the 'one huge step back' has been slightly ameliorated.

I mentioned ordering some things. Indeed, I felt I deserved some 'retail therapy' in honor of surviving a stroke and the Year of the Horse! While still at OHSU I ordered three tops from Coldwater Creek, pictured below in screenshots from their website. I was hoping a horsey top would arrive in time to wear for the Lunar New Year, but was disappointed. I also took advantage of a sale on 'Muddy Mats,' getting three in a color that goes nicely with our great room wall color. These might help with wearing my sandals inside after outdoor outings if I do my best to stay out of the messiest of areas. I also ordered two pairs of shoes from PoshMark after another close friend turned me on to that app. I was looking for styles that might work with my sore toe once it quiets down; being comfortably shod is a huge priority for me. Eventually I plan to sell some stuff on PoshMark as well; I think it may become a replacement for eBay for me.

When I'm sitting, I'm often spinning and listening to an ebook (currently Chosen By A Horse; recommended!). Still spinning away on the navy top with my three Dovekies. I'm contemplating plying it with some Inglenook Sticklebatts I purchased, spun thin. Oh, and when my head is feeling truly alert I work on running my needle through the stitches of my Dala sweater just below the arm holes, which is where I want to rip back to. I figure picking through the stitches like this is far easier than trying to pick up fine, black, loose stitches after ripping back without a lifeline.

That's the post-stroke report from . . .

Caps, clouds, and near-catastrophies

Squeezing in one last November post while the photos are fresh.

the last colorful leaves near the front door in yesterday's sunshine

Yesterday afternoon Rick and I took the dogs for a walk. I noticed several different 'textures' of clouds and kept stopping to take photos of them. We passed the place where I saw the magnificent Amanita mushrooms a week ago and found a couple, then noticed other kinds of fungi along our route and took photos of those, too. Look up, look down; there's beauty all around!

But there can be danger, too. There is a place along the road that has two big Great Pyrenees inside what I would consider an inadequate fence, based on how I've heard they can jump. They always run up and down the fence, jumping against it and barking ferociously at Poppy, who trash-talks right back while we keep to the far side of the road and hurry by. Yesterday, one clambered OVER the fence and raced across the road towards Poppy. Her harness has a sturdy handle on top so I scooped her into my arms and turned my back to the LGD, screaming for Rick's help. He worked hard to block the dog from getting to us until the owner ran out and grabbed the dog's collar. (Fortunately it showed no interest in Leo, who was still on the ground.) I probably burned more calories in those long seconds than I burned on the rest of the walk!

While knitting away on my sweater during a much quieter period yesterday, I noticed a dropped stitch . . . many rows down . . . in the colorwork yoke. I think it speaks to my maturity as a knitter that I didn't panic, I didn't rip back, and I didn't put it in time-out. After analyzing the situation, I laddered the stitch up, first on the right side of the fabric and then on the back side, until I could return it to the left needle where it could be knit together with another stitch of the same color to maintain the correct stitch count. I was very pleased with myself. 😊 The eagle-eyed might notice a slight tension difference in that horse, but fortunately it's on the back and not the front of the sweater. Oh, and I did finish the colorwork yoke tonight!

That's it for November from . . .

Creature photo feature

First, assorted photos from around our place that have been hanging out in my 'blog photos' folder. Second, a few photos I took at the agility match Sunday. Finally, some photos from my first visit to the State Fair; I went with Rick Sunday night to do his vet check rounds (and enjoy a raspberry milkshake!).

rams Sanson and Bench, who'll get no satisfaction this year

a little newt near our front door

an unfortunate location, destroyed when I let the ewes out

new to me, a German Pinscher

a Frenchie who did amazingly well in the heat

and a Schipperke who didn't (wouldn't move AT ALL)

Poppy cooling off in one of the wading pools

a screenshot of my flying Decker (see the jump standard at right edge?)

dressed like this in the HEAT 😳

I am drawn to 'blue' cattle

I couldn't believe the chicks gathering under mama in the heat

sunset over state fairgrounds

the view from the ferry on our way home

and my mileage at the end of a long day!

That's it for now from . . .