My Newest Footware

I am proof that garage/yard sales can be injurious to not only your budget but your body. Way back on June 21st I injured my foot. I was getting ready to purchase my items from a yard sale when I realized that there were more items in the screened-in porch. As I asked the lady to set my intended purchases aside for me, a man dropped a heavy piece of equipment (lawn edger?) on the bottom step and wandered off to the side yard with its tables of wares. I didn’t want to lift a heavy item but I also didn’t want to wait for him to return. I turned my body sideways to the flight of steps, lifted my right leg in a somewhat awkward position to step over the obstacle and onto the second step. As soon as my right foot touched the second step there was a terrible pain. I purchased my items and limped back to my car. I limped for the next 2-3 days (though I didn’t do much walking). The pain finally became a dull ache. The problem is that it never went away and occasionally there would be a slight stabbing pain on the side of my foot when I moved it certain ways.

 My foot really ached after walking the hills and steps of Old Quebec. When I arrived home, I called my doctor’s office, but the soonest I could get in was September 23rd. My internet reading makes me wonder if I have a fracture of the 5th metatarsal, but nothing showed up on the x-rays, but x-rays of the foot are often not very good for diagnosing problems. I am wearing a post-op shoe to immobilize and support the foot some. If that doesn’t help in 3-4 weeks, I will be referred to an orthopedist.

 

The strange thing is that my foot had no discoloration and minimal swelling. Most acute injuries do have bruising. Still, my foot is not “normal”, and I cannot do walking for exercise purposes without pain. Beware the dangers of yard sales.

 

 

 

Too Quiet?

So you won’t think I decided to stay in Canada, here are a few words. I am anxious to share my Quebec trip with you, but I have not found time to post the photos and write some descriptions. My brother-in-law died the day before I arrived home. He had been struggling with Parkinson’s for several years, the last 5 in a nursing home. The memorial service is tomorrow. My husband’s sister did make sure that we were notified by email on my Nook.

 

I knew it was to be very hot while we were gone. I didn’t ask anybody to water my potted plant on the porch; I had decided to just let it die as it wasn’t very robust anymore. I did manage to buy two small mums since coming home, and they now grace my porch.

I also bought some crocus bulbs on sale which I planted next to my back patio. I may have flowers next March or I may have just bought $4 deer food. I am pretty sure it was deer that ate my first attempts right down to the nubbins two years ago. One morning I had pretty little flowers, the next you could hardly tell where they had risen. Of course the squirrels may beat the deer to a tasty treat by eating the corms this autumn.

 

I have been busy catching up on laundry, grocery shopping, going thru the mail and all of those “fun” things one faces upon return from a time of being away. I did manage to edit my trip photos and get in on a special Walgreen’s photo sale which ended Sunday. Now I have photos from about half a dozen trips that need to be put in albums and labeled. Getting more and more behind; I may actually look forward to colder weather and staying inside so I can tackle this project.

 

Speaking of colder weather, we did have a few chilly nights recently. We decided to put the electric mattress pad on the bed. I have to say I was dubious of this concept when my husband wanted us to buy one. With an electric blanket you have warmth spreading over your entire body. With the mattress pad, only the body parts (side) laying on the pad gets any warmth. As it turned out, this pad only warmed up if you were lying on it. The rest of the pad barely got warm. If you changed positions, you felt cold for quite awhile. I need to dig out the receipt and see if I can return it . It did not meet our needs. Back to the electric blanket; however, we were going to put the electric on the guest bed as the one we had in there died. So I still need to shop for a blanket for our guests.

 

All of the blogs I read dealing with food and home decorating are showing off their autumn favorites. I will be lucky if I get any autumn decorations up before September 28th when my husband’s siblings and spouses arrive in Winona Lake for a reunion. Next week is shaping up a little less hectic, but we need to take our Prius to the dealer for a replacement of a brake booster pump (?) that is part of a recall. How is your autumn starting out?

Kindle Observations

This will probably be my last post for at least a week. I am busy organizing for my trip to Canada. One of the to-do things before setting out was to recharge the Kindle Paper White my husband is using and wants to take with him.

 

Our retirement village has 4 e-readers for its residents. When I first experimented with using the Paper White so I could help others to use it, I printed out a list of the titles (about 30 at that time—now we have more than 130) to post on the library bulletin board. I chose to do it by author. It wasn’t until I was ready to pin the list on the board, that I realized the KJV Bible I had loaded onto the device was listed with the author God. Somebody at Amazon has the right idea.

 

The website that I am using to find free Kindle books is divided into categories. When I clicked on the category Parenting and Relationships, I chuckled when a book on raising chickens appeared. How are you getting along with your chickens these days?

 

One of the books recommended by Road Scholar for those attending the Quebec tour is Shadows on the Rock by Willa Cather which takes place in the late 1600s in Quebec City. I was able to find a free epub edition which I loaded onto my Nook Color. I mostly have my Nook so I can check email and Facebook while traveling, but it was very handy to read this book on the Nook. I do like my Nook better than the Paper White because it has a colored screen. Something to think about before purchasing an e-reader. Happy reading to you no matter which media you use.

 

Pops of Color

Have you ever noticed how you can look at something multiple times and yet not really see. This afternoon I glanced out the window of my guest bedroom across the street and was startled to see a swath of bright yellow. How long had that been there? Certainly weeks, yet I had been oblivious. The sun had come out from behind a cloud and somehow lit up the flowers to make me notice them. I would have liked a closer shot, but I could hear the kids in their above-ground pool and didn’t want to disturb them.

As I crossed over and alongside my neighbor’s condo to get close enough, I realized that they have morning glories growing under their apple tree.

It’s true it has been hot, and I have not been roving around with my camera. I had noticed the crabapples turning red out my bedroom window, and also some of the bright flowers next to them. The beasts of the field and the fowl of the air will have a bountiful autumn and winter feast this year. The fruit is so thick on many branches that they bow to the ground and brush the earth.

These would have been hard to miss since I can see them out my bedroom and bathroom windows.

 Usually, I paint my toenails a light pearly pink or a beige sand, but last night I applied a brighter color. My last hurrah of summer I guess. I cannot get into black or dark purple though. Too Gothy for me. And bright blue also not my choice.

Magazines today talk of adding a pop of color to one’s house. I ordered some bright yellow throw pillows with feathery white butterflies scattered across them to put on my blue love seat. It allowed me to use up the credit I still had on Pay Pal from selling my friend’s deceased friend’s quilt tops. They should arrive by the end of the week; I’ll try to post a photo.

 How are you enjoying the Labor Day weekend? Tomorrow I go with my husband and his two sisters to a waterside restaurant in Syracuse for lunch; then he and I plan to go to the matinee showing of The Butler. Have you seen that movie? My thoughts are turning to September 8th, however, when I fly to Quebec.