Mwahahahahahaha........Happy Halloween!!

Ummm....nope--definitely NOT Kansas....

Daily Reminder

Letting go of the outcome of every experience, focusing instead on our efforts, making them as good as possible, validates our trust in the ultimate goodness of life. Our frustrations diminish when our efforts, only, are our concern. How much easier our days go when we do our work and leave the outcome where it belongs.

*snickering* Uh huh--Mummy Meatloaf!!

And the fog starts to lift......

• Yes, I need new shoes--my foot is angled differently.  Seems the doc shaved and chipped and straightened my leg to an all new angle when the hardware was attached.  Lovely!
• I've lost an inch of height on the left side.  This means I can wear sneakers on one side and a one inch heel on the other and be okey dokey even! Unfortunately, I'm disallowed heels...crap.....  Oh wait....betcha they put the 'heel' inside the shoe and call it an implant!!!!  :-/
• I'm going to hurt worse.  PT folks are going to pull and push and twist and manipulate so the scar tissue stretches.  I hear tell that's a better alternative than having it torn courtesy of the surgeon.
• The ankle will hurt--shorter/longer muscles have to readjust to the new angle.  Taping it is an option.
• I CAN walk with one crutch.  I'm just chicken about doing that outside of the house and FOR SURE without the brace. Yes, I'll eventually 'get over it'.
• Correcting your stance and putting weight on everything differently means different things will hurt.  This morning I can barely stand on the left foot from the pain in the heel.  Oh joy!  Another bit that creates pain!!!
• When Physical Therapists tell you that you'll NOT like them....you can believe that.......
• ........Which is why they schedule you three times a week....cuz if some is good, more is better.  O.H.M.Y.G.A.W.D.D.D.!!

Razzle Dazzle at the Creek

Another reading......

We each vacillate between feeling confident on some days, lucky on others, and yet frequently scared on others. It's very human to vacillate. We need not be anxious because our emotions refuse to stand still.

Changing emotions are part of the process of normal living. And changing emotions reflect an involvement with the moment. Situations do touch us, as they should. They do invite responses, as they should. And our responses will reveal our emotional involvement, as they should. We can cherish the variety of our emotions. They enrich us. But they may also create problems, if they go unchecked.

We need to maintain a balance. Confidence, certainly desirable, can become overconfidence and thus complacency. Confidence needs humility to temper it. Fear makes us cautious, and that's good; but too much can immobilize us. Being in charge of our emotions makes them work for us.

Emotions can energize me and keep me involved with the moment. They can also control me. It's my decision to be in charge.

Fill 'er Up

Momentarily Empty Handed

Yup--nope.
No pumpkins were gathered up yesterday, despite going to the farm to snatch some up.  All the pumpkins were tucked in and resting, waiting for another day. Closed on Monday....LOL  And everyone was in the field, harvesting.  That didn't stop the brother in the tractor from offering to come across the road and let us pick a pumpkin or two out.  OH my gosh....like we were gonna hold up the process of getting wagons hauled to the dryers for two pumpkins?!  Gotta love that we live in smalltown midwest.
"Nonono....carry on, we'll come another day!"

Coulda just turned right, turned left and headed down the highway.  There's a stand by the road that sells them by the honour system. You put your money in the box and take your produce home with you.  Coulda gone further and went to WalMart--pretty sure they have a pumpkin or two!
Nope.

We buy our pumpkins from the folks who have the patch--and we buy our sweetcorn from the folks who have the stand...and that wasn't ME saying it...he-who-has-been-assimilated said it.  LOL  Made me proud...so we'll go back today--or tomorrow.  Or Thursday, even.  Or maybe all three days!!!!  :-D

Today's Reading

Real love pours itself out upon the object of its affection, without demanding any return. 

--Florence Scovel Shinn  

Loving another wholly, purely, with no strings attached promises ecstasy, and yet seldom do we dare chance it. Often we want the promise of love in return if we're to offer it. Our fragile egos are held tentatively intact by the slim gestures and fleeting words of love tossed our way. But when we bargain for love, we don't find it.  

Real love will forever elude us unless we put our own selves aside and unabashedly love the self of someone else.  Freely spreading the warm glow of love to others magically invites its return - another of life's mysteries.

Things that make me happy....

....the 200 treat bags all ready to be handed out to the cuties in costumes!

....the witchy hat with the ribbons. *cackling happily*

....carving punkins....tonight!  Woohoo!

....the Cardinals winning The World Series.  (it can happen!)

....singing the John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmitt song over and over and over again.  :-D

....the kiddos who bike past Studley the 8' spider every day.....screeching "It's the SPIDER....Auugghhh!!!"

....getting into the old, soft, worn to death and have holes in the pockets Levi's. 

Quilt Barn (lover) #63

TFTD

Let go of the fear. Feel it, and then breathe it out. Let go of the frustration, the overwhelmed feelings, and the panic. Quiet yourself. Then pick one task, one simple thing to do. Then focus on only that. Or go to your calendar and circle today. Today is the only day you've got, and today is enough.  

Action:  If you're working on a project, break it down into components, and work on one small part. Don't think about the rest. If what's overwhelming you is a flurry of tasks and problems, make a list, then pick one thing and focus on doing that. Then cross it off your list and do another. 

If you're going through a tough stretch in your life, don't think about all the days that loom ahead. Make whatever appointments and plans you need to make, then focus only on today. If you're experiencing something really tough you may want to break your days into smaller parts, such as hours, mornings, afternoons, and evenings. Don't think about facing anything more than that chunk of time. Then when you get to the next chunk, focus on that.

If the beast of anxiety starts roaring, quiet it by deliberately turning your attention to small steps.

Sliders

This is my spoon for all things ice cream and yogurt.

JUST for the record I do NOT like dairy stuff or the ucky film it leaves im my mouth...
And I don't like cold metal in my mouth.  Maybe people don't notice it or get that 'metal' taste...maybe it's all in my head.


I have no clue--but he-who-serves-me-ice-cream-and-yogurt-with-a-plastic-spoon asked me exactly why we were in need of buying plastic spoons called 'sliders' when we had red ones in the cupboard.

Ummm.... They look FUN!

Do we have 'slider' spoons now?  Uh huh.
And JUST for the record...they ARE serious fun!!

Cept for the pink ones....which is why I bought two boxes and tied up my pink ones to the box going to the sister.....WHO, by the way, tells me she prefers her ice cream with a plastic spoon as well.
OMG we're both seriously wierd!!  LOLOL

Three Days!!

Today's Thought

Practice being spontaneous. 

Practice having fun.  

The joy of living differently is that we finally get to experiment. We get to learn new behaviors, and we don't have to do them perfectly. We only need to find a way that works for us. We even have fun experimenting, learning what we like, and how to do what we like.  

We can let ourselves go a little now and then. We can loosen up a bit. 

We don't have to be so stiff and rigid, so frightened about being who we are. 

Take some risks. Then, take another risk. 

Pick out a movie and then call a friend and invite him or her to go along. 

If that person says no, try someone else, or try again another time. 

 Decide to try something, and then go through with it. Go once. Go twice. 

Practice having fun until fun becomes fun. 

It's "Make a Difference Day"

It's also "Howl at the Moon Day" , in case you have a slight interference with participating with the good works the first event is all about.

....I compromised!  I howled myself silly as I loaded up my handy dandy lawn buddy with the oversized flowerboxes that line the patio and shoved 'em into the garage and stuck 'em away for the winter.  Yup...all done whilest he was out and about buying groceries.  :-D. He-who's-been-doing-it-all still takes issue with me doing stuff.  I figured it "makes a difference" to he-who's-pretty-tired-of-doing-it-all-but-would-never-say-that.

Yeahyeahyeah...

I'll own it later...right noooooOoOoowww I'm all practiced up on my hoooOooOwwling and I'm gonna show off.

He'll be grateful, I'm sure.  :-O
Ooooowwwwwwww!!

The back bits

Daily Reading

 To love is to place our happiness in the happiness of another. --G. Wilhelm Leibniz  

To desire personal happiness is normal and healthy. Most of our plans, choices, and dreams about the present and future regarding jobs, relationships, and hoped-for achievements are geared to make us happy. 

It's never wrong to want happiness; however, to receive it at someone else's expense or to selfishly steal it from another will result in sorrow. 

And our greatest happiness will visit us when we least expect it - when we are attentively seeing to another's happiness.  

Doing for others - perhaps shopping for a friend who is ill or aged, maybe offering child care to an overworked parent, or cooking a surprise meal for a lonely neighbor - will never fail to heighten our own pleasure. 

Down stream

Poor cool sneaks.....

Bit of a quandry with the cool sneaks I own.  *sigh*  The left shoe's in GREAT shape.  NOTsomuch the right one.  I scuff my foot as I crutch along--and that right foot's been bearing all the weight for 11 months.     I have right shoes that need to find the trash bit and left shoes that are in great shape.  Makes me sad really.....my cool Rocket Dogs did well for me the first 'weight bearing' go around.  *sigh*  Ohhhhhh.... *sniffle*  Yes-- he-who-inspected-the-sneak-when-he-brought-it-to-me told me it was ready for the trash bin (aka garbage can--he still talks funny).

So....The above photos are end result of talking with the sister last night AFTER the Cardinals won game 2 of the series...
Chooze shoes got ordered.  LOL

I shared the cool find--she ordered the gray.  And talked me outta the black ones for the moment (strap probably required at the moment)....and talked me outta the blue.  LOL  And I ended up with with the flowery white ones cuz they'll go with just about anything.  AND they were on sale.  AND my big foot ruled out some of the choices.  AND we're gonna actually see how they actually wear before we put a few more pairs in our closets?  What'supwiththat?!  Sheeshhh....
Yes, she's the one with the 'good genes' and the 'practical/responsible' genes.

*rolling eyes*
OH!  Speaking of genes.....I slipped into a pair of Levis yesterday.
As in JEANS......as in the Levi's I've not been able to wear for 4 years cuz they fell off me. Haven't croaked from 'death by food' but clearly I've put on a piece of weight that everyone around me has told me I really, really, really needed on me.

k.......This is getting a bit weird......sleeping without the brace.  Walking inside without the brace AND putting on Levi's.
*humming theme to Twilight Zone*

More from the Fairy

Throughout our life we've been influenced by other people's behavior and opinions. Many of us were influenced by very poor examples in earlier years.But all around us are people who are healthy, loving, and honest. We are invited to emulate their behavior.

Acting As If can help us develop new behaviors. We may not feel very comfortable reaching out to a stranger or making conversation with someone we've just met, but we can do it. And in time, with practice, we'll discover we've added a positive dimension to our character, one that influences the lives of other people who struggle just like us. All of us, Acting As If in positive ways, offer wonderful examples of behavior change. We reinforce our own changes, and each other's, every time we are thoughtful before we act.

Ohohoh...ofcourseIneednewshoes!!!!

Seriously....
ME!!

And I might haffta get two pair.
Flat.
Rubber soles.
Mismatched.
SOLD!!

Rollin' in Harvest

Note to self:

Wean yourself from the brace
Begin weight bearing as tolerated
Start Physical Therapy for range of motion and pain management strategies

k.....This doesn't mean you whip off the brace, slap on a pair of levis (which you've not worn for over three years cuz they WERE too big.....*growling*), slip on the sweatshirt and go cut back the plants on the patio AND go for a walk up the street and back with both shoes on your notsohappy feets (they ain't used to this!!).
This results in he-who-freaks-out......FREAKING OUT while he pretended to be happy to see bits of it.  You'da thought it was a national crisis.  Oy.......

OMG I am so anal some times.  Cuz we all know--if some is good...MORE is better!!!!!

k......It also doesn't mean you try to manipulate getting into your car.  ALMOST got caught doin' that one.  Can you  imagine how that would have exploded into a global crisis?!

I'll give it another try when I'm sure the coast is clear.

TFTD

"It should go without saying..."

Let's stop there. Maybe it could go without saying, and maybe you wish it would go without saying, but it never should!

The most common source of miscommunication is quite simple: people regularly fail to realize how little they are actually communicating. In other words, we're saying a lot less than we think we are.

When we assume that other people know what we’re thinking, and what we are expecting of them, we do them a real disservice - and end up causing frustration and conflict. So the next time you catch yourself thinking, "I didn’t specifically say that, but it should be obvious", STOP.  Nothing is ever obvious unless you made it obvious by spelling it out.

The Pie Section

It's in the file cabinet.

No, the reading book is not in the hall--which is where I JUST about chucked it to.

Didn't.

Figured it would just mean one of us would haffta pick it up.
Odds are it would be me.  After ten years of living with a 'reading book chucker'--he pretty much just walks around it.....and me.
He's gotten smart like that.


It's in the file cabinet.  :-/

He'll have noooo clue there's a landmine in the study.
Poor thing.

On the other hand, gimme a couple hours and I'll have forgotten the book is in the file cabinet.


It's in the file cabinet!!!!!!!!!!!

(Yup---one on top, one on the bottom...that'll work.)

Daily Reading from the Fairy

When we acknowledge occurrences with appreciation, 

essences of freedom and peace await us.

So, allow what’s happening to be fully experienced. Even things that appear 

uncomfortable - or not fun - are all part of the tapestry and threads of you...

All events are light showing up in various forms and frequencies. 

No one is misbehaving, nor betraying, nothing is broken and there's 

no such thing as "obstacle" or "stuck." 

Those are only coping expressions. 

There’s really only life unfolding.

Mostly Sunny. :-)

...oh yes....there was snow..

....and yes, there was disappointment along with things to celebrate.

I get to take the brace off, unless I'm working on weight bearing.  That's a bit freaky.  I  had a very brief period where that was allowed....and then that odd noise happened.  Other than that (maybe a few days), that left leg has been stabilized by a brace...or a cast.  It's progress that I get to, even if it's freaking me out right now.
And I get to start physical therapy...well, it's not like I had a choice.  He prefers we do the PT over knocking me out and shoving my leg to a 45°/60° angle.  I think I prefer this route as well.  I can't imagine waking up after that happened.  OMG...  I don't have an acceptable range of motion,  not one that's acceptable by him or me.  I might get 15°…  Obviously notsogood.  PT ordered....not yet scheduled by me.  I'm buying time to wrap my head around all this.  It's just what I do.

Who knows if I'm healing.  Nothing is evident on the xrays.  I was banking on hearing that there was growth....I didn't get that, but I did get permission to weight bear as tolerated.  Bearing weight stimulates growth .... so I'm told .... hasn't yet done that for me.  Doc tells me it's normal for this bit of the femur to take longer to show signs of healing.  It's the distal femur...I know that's true.  He was pleased the 'hardwear' was still as it needed to be, nothing had shifted or broke...and 'NOW IS THE TIME TO FIND OUT IF IT WILL HOLD UP.  If it's going to break or not stand up to the weight, let's find that out now."  
Wellnow....doesn't that sound like a whole lotta fun....

And I didn't need to be concerned about whether or not I was 'ready' to return to work.  That won't happen until the range of motion improves and until I can bear weight without the support of a brace.

I'm not happy...mad, I think, or maybe it's disappointment or self pity.  Probably some of all of 'em knowing me.  I had this unrealistic expectation.  Go figure.
I was thinking putting it here would help me sort some of it through....and it has some.  The rest, I think, is probably about finding a level of acceptance and celebrating the small victories.

Fairy Diddy

We are never more than one grateful thought away from peace of heart.

oh...andofcourse....

That "20% chance of isolated snow flurries" has now turned into "80% chance of snow with accumulations of a trace to 2"..."
And is this on/around the time I'm suppose to be enroute to get me first set of xrays since surgery....at the doc who's an hour and twenty minutes away?!

K.... I shall now go laugh hysterically--It's close enough to Halloween....people will just think I'm practicing....

Uh huh..... Whining!!!!! 
Pfffttttt...

...ack...

So I cut back the buddleia's in their pots and tied up bundles for garden waste day, all this from the wheelchair with breezes making it 'feel like' 32 degrees.  I wanted a plain ol chair, but he-who-wasn't-thrilled-about-it insisted the wheelchair was smarter.
In all fairness he did warn me about that leg with the metal getting cold... He did NOT warn me about pulling skirts that get stuck under the stupid wheel to the skirt eating wheelchair....BAD PLAN.  Unless, of course, you WANT the hole in the skirt as justification for browsing for a replacement , online, while you try to thaw out your frozen left foot only to discover the "ache" that apparently will be around for a while.

Uh huh...who'da thunk that cutting back buddleia's was such a costly undertaking.

Note to self:  Do NOT pull skirts that get stuck under/in/around the wheelchair.  Just sayin'...

The Pumpkin Choir

More!

Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. 

It will not lead you astray.

...uh oh....

I have to figure this one out.  Himself, trying to be the helpful soul, offered that the doc might let me retun to work, part-time with limitations.  Now, the first go 'round I was trying to manipulate that at every turn.  This time....let's just say I had some thinking about that.  And it wasn't happy, excited thinking.
What's up with that.
Last time I had to be slowed down at every turn cuz I had people concerned about safety and healing...and I kinda made faces and kept whining to get back to the workplace.
I have a metal plate screwed to my bone in a number of places.  It's undoubtedly wayyy more stable than it was for the prior 9 months when it was nonunion.
So how come I THINK I'm not ready to go back to work?  How come I THINK I'm not safe/stable enough to return?  And how come not going to work isn't an issue this time around?!
Yep...probably overthinking it...and really, how much of this is about my mush brain being....mushy still.  *sigh*  Dunno, but something ain't right if I'm not chomping at the bit to get back there to do what I do.
Maybe it's the fuzzy brain.
Maybe cuz I'm still dealing with pain?
Maybe it's that I have all that surgery to protect?
Maybe I'm comfy and lazy.
Maybe I'm a big chicken...snow, ice, winter!
Maybe I need to come back to this after the appointment and quit worrying?
I like that one best.

Heaven in a cup(cake)

OH my gosh---one of THE best cupcakes I've had in my lifetime.  Pumpkin--with decadent cream cheese icing that wasn't sickly sweet but perfectly creamy.

It was my prezzie cuz I've been a good girl! 

And that wee witchy hat the gourd is wearing....THAT was my prezzie for being.....ME!  

I love 'em both!

I'm gonna try to be good more often.  

NOT cuz I get prezzies, mind you.

k....maybe SOME cuz I get prezzies.....  :-/

k.....being good for the sake of being good is cool.

But so are prezzies.  :-/

Today's Reading

Learn to let yourself be guided into truth.

We will know what we need to know, when we need to know that. We don't have to feel badly about taking our own time to reach our insights. We don't have to force insight or awareness before it's time.

Yes! Maybe the whole world saw a particular truth in our life, and we denied it - until we were ready to deal with it. That is our business, and our right! Our process is our own, and we will discover our truths at the right time, when we are ready, when the learning experience is complete.

The most growth-producing concept we can develop for others and ourselves is to allow ourselves to have our own process. We can give and receive support and encouragement while we go through this process. We can listen to others and say what we think. We can set boundaries and take care of ourselves, when needed. But we still give others and ourselves the right to grow at our own pace, without judgment, and with much trust that all is well and is on schedule.

When we are ready, when the time is right  - we will know what we need to know.

No, they don't eat 'everything'.......dangit....

Daily Reading

What is our security based upon? This is a vital, bottom-line question.  

Security is a basic need of all humans. But as with all quests, if we look for the object of our search in an area where it cannot be found, we court certain frustration and failure.  

Many would base their security on outside conditions. That is building our house on sand. Beauty passes, fame is fleeting, wealth can quickly evaporate, and health is fragile at best. 

What then is safe to count upon?  Only one security cannot be taken away, and it resides within. Security based on our own belief in ourselves, in our ability not only to cope and survive, but to celebrate life is the only security that lasts. 

As hard as it may be for us to learn that we can trust themselves, it still is the only lasting security. 

Treasures

TFTD

When we make a person-to-person telephone call, we want to be connected with one particular person. If that person is not in, we make no connection.  Are we taking time to make person-to-person connections? Or are we seeking situations with groups of people so we don't have to be open and honest with just one person? 

We all need at least one person with whom to share confidences, laughter, tears, hugs, plans, and dreams. If we don't have this special person, we are like one bird in a nest: safe and warm, but isolated and alone.  We can be around people every day and still be isolated and alone. Being around people doesn't necessarily mean we're making connections with them. To truly share ourselves, we need to open the doors to our lives and let at least one person in. Just one person can make the difference between isolation and connection.  

Oh, The Wee Things

They just make me HAPPY!!!!
The banner--I think I'll put it on a lampshade.......hanging light in the coffee nook?  Oy....yet to be determined.....
But that wee bat....I added a velcro bit to the back and I'm wearing it on my brace's strap!

I told he-who-asked-what-I-was-doing that I'll be cheesing it, askin' people if they "wanna see what's under my skirt"  :-D

k.......
ummm....HE suggested MAYBE saying it in a different manner.
Pffffft....  FINE.


I'll only ask that in his company with a few select people....like the doctor or the nurse.....LOL  .
I soooooooooo adore watching him turn six shades of red.  Hahahaha

Ah yes......another reading......

People who fight fire with fire usually end up with ashes. --Abigail Van Buren  

How did we get so convinced that our way is usually best? That surely didn't come from a lifetime of constant success. 

How did we get fixed in our thinking on a given issue? Not from a track record of first exploring all other alternatives.  

This rigidity probably helped us survive childhood. But now it's a wall that isolates us. It closes our minds off from ideas that are more in keeping with where we want to be. And it closes us off from people whom we would like to be with.   

Take note of others who are not so fixed in their thinking. They don't pass judgment or criticize quickly. Their tranquility is obvious.  Their openness lets them hear more from others, and appears to be one of the ways to knowledge, change, and growth.  We might want to try that and discover that listening to others is a blessing, not a burden. 

Things that make me happy....

....the surprise gift of a lap full of leaves, courtesy of the wind and the tree out front.

....the wee Bug picking out the gourds that wanted to come home with me.

....he-who-was-ify  actually biting the bullet and letting me GO to the pumpkin patch.

....the old, tattered sweatshirt that's kept me warm forever.  (NO I don't WANT a new one!!!)

....discovering I can pull on a pair of slacks--they go over the brace!  Woohoo!!

....my fuzzy duckie sock.  It just makes me happy!!

....the cute boy scouts that come to the door selling popcorn.  The little boogers.  LOL

Out the Window

TFTD

 It's awesome, the power we each wield in the life that unfolds before us. The inclination of our thoughts invites that which we encounter, which is that which we expect to find. What we can become or experience is limited only by our imagination. 

Our dreams shine like beacons in the dimness of our minds.  Just as our thoughts can nurture positive experiences and outcomes, negative episodes might be drawn to us, too. We can be sure, though, that we use this individual power to create the flavor of each day as it's met.  

Our attitude is the by-product of our thoughts. It is in our attitude that we discover strength or weakness, hope or anxiety, determination or frustration. Alone, we determine whether our attitude will be loving or jaundiced.  The breadth of personal power is awesome. 

Today will be what I choose to make it. No more and no less.

A Bug and Her Pumpkin

.....but first a game of twister.....

....and a friendly feeding of the goats....and THEN...

PUMPKINS!!!!!

:-)

Wooohooooooooo!!!!

Singing Fairy Reminder LOLOL

You've got to get up every morning with a smile on your face, And show the world all the love in your heart, Then people gonna treat you better. You're gonna find, yes, you will, That you're beautiful as you feel. --Carole King 

There's magic in behaving the way we want to be, even though we don't yet feel it. The behavior seems to lead the way. The attitude, the mental state, follows. 

 Many days we may not get up with love in our hearts for our family, our friends, our co-workers. We may, in fact, want them to show their love for us first. But if we reach out, give love unconditionally, focus on another's needs, love will return tenfold. And the act of loving them will lift our own spirits. We will know love; we will feel love for ourselves and the many other persons close to us.  

The attitude we cultivate, whether one of love or selfishness, inferiority or superiority, will determine how the events of our lives affect us. The principle is so simple. If we meet life with love, with a smile, we'll find love and something to smile about.  

My attitude will make this day what it becomes. Meeting it head-on, with love, will assure me of a lovely day.

LOL Thank you, Reading Fairy!!

Lord, I pray to stay uncomplicated and do well these simple tasks:

If I open it, I will close it.

If I turn it on, I will turn it off.

If I unlock it, I will lock it up.

If I break it, I will admit it.

If I borrow it, I will return it.

If I make a mess, I will clean it up.

If I value it, I will take care of it.

If it will brighten someone's day, I will say it.

Amen

The Goodies....(...she's a good little punkin picker!!)

The Clever Barn