Christmas Day snow

My daughter had left 2 hours before these pictures were taken. 

This is how much more snow we got since she left.

It was to the top of my Muck boots which are 15 1/2" tall.

 The girls don't care.

The boys never left their barn.

 The tracks left from my car 2 hours earlier.

 Her car is snowed in at the bottom of the hill.

It is front wheel drive, but could not make the hill.

 The cherry tree still has some fruit, and is 

still attracting numerous birds.

 Val's Kia, the tractor, Jerry's truck (which still looks the same 

today) and the snow slowly sliding, and curling, off the metal roof.

 Walking up the driveway after the tractor has gone up.

 Looking up to Pebble's and Bam's drive.

Jerry has gone up there to plow.

 The egg fridge.

We are at the start of at least 2 weeks of sub-zero temperatures.

This morning, 12/27, at 6:30 am it was 16 below.

As I write this at 10 am, it is up to 4 below.

There might not be any eggs in there for the next two weeks...

 Jerry coming down (backwards) the hill. 

The blade is on the back of the tractor.

Because my shoulder surgery was on the left arm,

I will not be plowing with the blade at all this year.

 Walking back down the drive.

Carefully.

Under all this snow is ice from the ice storm Saturday.

 The sun on the snow is brighter than expected.

Our version of a snow cat. Notice the short haired

(smart female) is inside staying warm.

Shoulder news

I don't believe I have Osteonecrosis of the humeral head , but pictured below is pretty much what I had done on the 11th.

http://eorthopod.com/osteonecrosis-of-the-humeral-head/

The surgeon, Dr. Karen Boselli at Concord Orthopedics told me after surgery that it was worse than she had anticipated. She had planned to put a smaller piece of metal over the top of the humerus where the torn rotator cuff had torn the cartilage off the top of the humerus. She told Jerry she cut more of the cartilage off to smooth it out and then use the bigger cap. I will know more on Wednesday when I go back for a follow up.

All in all, my experience at Concord Hospital was very good, EXCEPT for one thing that will need to be addressed. I was supposed to come home Tuesday, BUT apparently my last dose of pain killer was at 9 pm on Monday. 7 am Tuesday the LNA was helping me out of bed to use the bathroom when the nerve block wore off. My face flushed, my temperature went up and my blood pressure tanked. 66/33. The medication that was needed to help get my pain under control could only be given to me in tiny increments as that could further lower my blood pressure. Half an hour to an hour later,  I decided I need to try this again. Nope. This time the blood pressure dropped to 55/33. I was just going to have to try the bed pan. :( Mind you, through all of this I stayed conscious and talking to the aide and the nurse.

Needless to say, I did not go home on Tuesday. I felt like a vegetable most of the day while they nurses did their best to get my pain under control. I had a hard time focusing on much and simply slept through most of the day.

Come Wednesday morning, I was back to normal. I walked the halls with an aide and a cane. I met with both PT and OT and it was determined that despite Tuesday, I was doing amazingly well. I was home Wednesday afternoon.

I tried to sleep in our bed the first night, but I got stuck trying to get out. For 6 weeks after surgery I have to wear a sling with a pillow 24/7. The only time it can come off is when I am doing my exercises (leaning forward with the arm dangling doing circles or swinging it back and forth) and when I take a shower. At this time I am as snug as a bug on the couch.

I showed PT and OT that I could get undressed and dressed without assistance. And, unlike I was let to believe, I can get completely dressed. Saturday night we went out to dinner with friends and Jerry helped me by hooking my bra. That was a major accomplishment! It is the little things that make my day!!

I've put 4 dozen eggs in a bag and walked them up the driveway to the egg fridge. (Something I've got to do as soon as I hit publish.) I've let my chickens out of their house every morning. The hardest part is opening the dog kennel door one handed. But, I have figured it out.

I am walking around the house unaided, but when I go out in the snow I do bring the cane. At this point I can't afford to fall and undo surgery.

So, one week down with the sling and 5 more to go...http://www.getabrace.com/product-p/23-19.htm
Where the pillow is attache with Velcro to the sling was causing bruising on my inner arm and elbow. I found some sheep skin which I cut to size and placed inside the sling. BIG difference. My arm and elbow are very happy! A sheep skin is easy enough to find on a sheep farm.

Off to get off the couch and the computer and get the blood moving.

TTFN.

Mental health and revisiting old blog posts

I will be the first to admit I've not looked back on my blogs in a LONG time. Until I got this email.

Hello,

Quick question… I’m working on a free mental health project focused on educating people about various everyday topics, and I’d like to link to your site; specifically this page http://eweifarm.blogspot.com/2012/10/.

Are you OK with me linking to your site as a reference? There are no associated costs, and none of the content on your site will be copied or spoken of in a negative tone. Please let me know when you have a moment. Thank you.

Marie

To which I responded-Sure. If I can see your site as well.

This was her response.

Hello Cindy,

Thanks for the prompt response.

I am not exactly sure which article topic I will cover when I link to your site, but it will be published here: www.betterhelp.com/advice/. Additionally, you can be assured that I will not copy or take credit for any of the content on your site.

Finally, I know that BetterHelp is working hard to continue to educate people about mental health, and recently they’re trying to spread the word about this free resource with as many people as possible. Do you think you might be able to add a small link to your blog for BetterHelp?

If so, that would be great… even if there is an associated fee… just let me know and I’ll connect you with someone at BetterHelp. Thanks again.

Marie

The web site covers a wide range of mental health topics. As someone who suffers from a number of these, I  will be spending some time on their site learning what I can and if there are any different ways to cope with them better.

 https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/

And, when you have a moment, go look at the mentioned blog post from 2010. I don't know if I used any of the ideas I shared from other bloggers in 2011, but I will make more of an effort to do so in the 2018 garden and pantry.

Monday morning blog hopping