Monthly Archives: February 2012

Shoulder Surgery No Big Deal!

I’m back…sort of.

Still one-armed and will be for about 2 months!

The  rotator cuff was torn in my right shoulder but when they opened up the site, it was the “missing tendon” that got their attention.  The surgeon showed me the arthroscopic image of the shoulder joint sans tendon.   Very interesting…

Sometime during the last 18 to 24 months, the  tendon went on vacation without me!  So my recovery and physical therapy will take a bit longer but I am totally up for that.

Now for the big story.  You know all those people I told you about who felt compelled to tell me their particular horror story about shoulder surgery?  Well, I am here to say it was no big deal.

Okay, the first 4 days were a bit of a blur – thanks to vicodin.  But wearing the Iceman 24 X 7 and taking the pain meds on time really kept me pretty comfortable.   Surgery on Tuesday and by Saturday, I was starting to wake up and pay attention.  Sure, there was some pain but it was totally manageable.

In fact, within one week of surgery, my arm hurt less than it had for over a year!  Now, 2 weeks and 3 days later, I am in physical therapy, doing my “passive exercises” and beginning to feel that I will be fine.

Am I being careful? You bet.  The sling is off about 6 hours a day (twice a day for 3 hours each) but ONLY inside the house.  I do go out to get the mail but even  with two arms and two legs and in good weather, our driveway makes it an adventure.  One-armed, it’s more like climbing a mountain!   shoulder surgery and the driveway.

Still, I am glad to be on the mend.  And glad to be back in my office, at my desk, hacking away at the keyboard!

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Shoulder Surgery Sidelining This Writer

Tomorrow the rotator cuff and tendons in my right shoulder are undergoing a bit of surgical repair.

I’m pretty sure that a couple of good landings off my horse helped to do the damage but I have ignored it until my right arm is slowly but surely starting not to work very well.  So, off to the O.R. we go!

As soon as people learn I am having rotator cuff surgery, they feel compelled to tell me just how bad it will be and how excruciatingly painful.  It’s a bit like the horror stories people share with you when they find out you’re pregnant.  Who really needs to know that labor can last 36 hours, that heads can be huge and having babies can cause so much pain?

But tell they do.  So, I am facing surgery with fear in my heart and sneakers on my feet.  Wonder how far I can run in a day?

Anyway, I will be sidelined for a couple of weeks, doing one armed living and wishing I had stayed on the horse instead of sailing over him!

I hope to be back in mid to late March.  Until then, I’ll be reading(my favorite Olympic sport) and thinking but not writing.  But I will be back!

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Project 365: “Fearless” Quilt Honors Rosa Parks

I am old enough to remember the courage of Rosa Parks and her quiet, considered grace.  I am old enough to remember the fight for desegregation and for civil rights.

I can praise the men and women and children who helped liberate our country from an unimaginable constraint based solely on color.  I cannot imagine having the skill and talent to create this wonderful tribute to Ms. Parks and all the doors she opened for all of us on that bus ride she took in December of 1955.

Thanks Craft Gossip for sharing this amazing work of art.

“Fearless” quilt honors Rosa Parks · Quilting | CraftGossip.com.

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Filed under Education, Inspiring People, Project 365, World Changing Ideas

Barnes & Noble vs Amazon – Who loses?

Publisher’s Weekly is carrying an interesting article about the decision by Barnes & Noble not to carry what it calls, “Amazon published books.”  Books A Million  has apparently joined the B&N boycott, saying it won’t sell Amazon-published books either.

The article’s author also reports (anecdotally) that independent booksellers are joining the list of bookstores that won’t carry books published by Amazon.

Not a new battle but once again, a battle in which authors and readers lose while the behemoths of the book world do battle in the center ring of the publishing circus.

PW Tip Sheet: This Has All Happened Before.

The comments below the article are interesting and enlightening.  I would love to know what you think, too.

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Project 365 – Margaret Roach & Fedco Founder Talk Seeds

Of all the people whose gardening wisdom I follow, here are two that I most admire and trust.

Margaret Roach is the author of two books I proudly own – A Way to Garden: A Hands-On Primer for Every Season which I have had for years and and And I Shall Have Some Peace There: Trading in the Fast Lane for My Own Dirt Road.

Both books are about gardening — the former of plants and trees, the latter of a human being.  Both remain on my coffee table, in view and in reach.  Both steady my nerves, wipe some of the stress off my soul and help me come back to ground.

C.R. Lawn’s name is new to me but his work in organic gardening and market growing is not.  C.R. Lawn is the man behind Fedco Seeds.  If you are an organic gardener, you know this company.

Fedco Seeds has been selling organic, non-GMO seeds for more than 30 years.  As a cooperative, “profit is not our primary goal,” according to their site.  Sure, they sell seeds, but what Fedco is really in the business of doing is cooperatively finding, growing, and sharing seeds, trees and knowledge with gardeners around the globe..

Margaret Roach was generous enough to share her interview with this legend of organic gardening; I wanted to share it with you as these two are among the 365 people and organizations who, I believe, are changing the world.  Enjoy!

giveaway: vegetable-garden tips from c.r. lawn — A Way to Garden.

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Filed under Book Reviews, Gardening, Inspiring People, Project 365, World Changing Ideas