Quick Flooding Update

Well, the river is still rising. The current has really started to move. The KATY Trail picture may not look appreciably different but the base of those trees are six feet below the trail and the normal river channel is another fourteen feet lower. The trail at this northern point might get wet, but it is already underwater a quarter mile from here. Note our new, this year, picnic pavilion appears to be in the middle of the river. It is usually more than fifty yards from the river bank which drops down about twelve feet before you can get your feet wet. The Canadian geese seem to be enjoying the expanded riverfront...

Lull between Holidays

Happy Holidays from Emma & Wendy!

It has been a long semester of school... fingers crossed I will graduate in May 2016. I continue to work at walking, all the while marveling at the skill of my surgeon and the incredible blessing of finding him. I was unable to return to my job since I worked at a shipping company and the extreme package lifting combined with compression weight was not recommended for my new ankle. I am a bit anxious anticipating the finances of this "retirement" & as a student in the new year. Ducks in a row (I hope), I will find a job with my shiny, new degree in hand. My internship assisting in an ESL program went well and allowed me to get a sense of how I would do as a teacher. I got favorable reviews and frankly enjoyed the experience; all positive signs!

We celebrated a small Christmas, managed a group effort on decorating and the paper tree was/is beautiful. I believe any "tree" becomes a magical vision once decorated and the paper tree seems to prove that theory. Christmas is not one of my favorite holidays considering I have worked so many of them and the obligatory consumerism has created a holiday event rather than a meaningful experience. So I have modified my Christmas activities, I shop August to October, we eat out on Christmas Eve at a local Thai restaurant, and we only do a few gifts apiece with lots of chocolate. This seems to be an easier approach that we are all comfortable with, then Christmas Day has become a brunch smorgasbord with quiet music.

This year we were snow-free, but WOW did it rain! Locally, we received ten inches of rain and the Missouri River came up fast. Flooding is underway in areas close to the river. We are a couple of miles uphill, so no flooding here except the small stream running through my basement.This is the Lewis & Clark Museum and Boathouse which I frequently use as a flooding marker. See this post a couple years ago  http://dustoffurthinkin.blogspot.com/2013/06/local-flooding-of-missouri-river.html 
that was shallow flooding... this flood is several feet in swirling depth.
The river isn't slated to crest until Thursday, so I'm thinking that the water will be over the KATY Trail by then. I have heard the levee at West Alton is being breached. I hope everyone has evacuated, cuz this is fast moving, cold, really cold water. So do we believe in global climate change yet? I surely do.

Squeezing it all in...

Oh wow! Time flies and there is so much to do! School has started off with a lot of reading and many more papers than I would have expected for "fluff" classes. I have got all my major requirements completed, so this and next semester are strictly broadening my horizons with electives.

I am still off work on disability and am exercising through twice a week physical therapy. Quite a work out! All those leg lifts I did while wearing a cast helped I suppose, but there are a lot of muscles that were quite content on their siesta. It's ouchy now that I am challenging them. How is it that the lower back can get so weak? Anyway, I am done with the walker except for my first few morning steps to the kitchen to boil water for tea. I use a cane outside the house, but walk, without one in the house. Three months of hopping one one leg has really sapped my endurance...

The internship teaching English and literacy is going well. I am putting in about fifteen hours a week in the classroom and more time finding resources and prepping lessons. I am juggling my school work and my students' as well.

I did finish this Mushishi Yarn shawl for Val though. I expanded the Lonely Tree pattern off Ravelry to add about nine more rows. This was a math challenge, but fortunately the project turned out well. It's her "thank you for helping me through the ankle surgery" gift for her birthday. We got it blocked today. I think it looks pretty good and I am glad she is excited about it.

So, here's to fast typing and getting everything done & exercised this semester.

The last fun read

School starts for me at university tomorrow. I have printed off my syllabi and coordinating hours for my senior internship. All the summer reads are in the library book bag for return. The autumn season is starting, temperatures are cooling and school work resumes.

I have just finished the last pleasure reading book of my summer of recuperation. The book, Lost Luggage, written by Spaniard, Jordi Punti is a fascinating story documenting the complicated lives of orphans. The main character, Gabriel Delacruz, is an orphan who fathers four sons named Christopher by four separate women living throughout Europe. Ultimately, he abandons his sons and they are raised by their mothers. While this seems cold-blooded, Gabriel is an extraordinary character and the four Christophers unite to search for their father. A well written text that explores the effects of Franco on Spain and the myriad psychological traumas people endure throughout their lives. Punti is a perceptive, as well as creative author who creates a believable and well-written literary effort.

Putting one foot in front of the other

The new sneakers

A week and a half ago the ankle doc said, "Start walking, in good sneakers and oh sure, you can drive too." Yee-ha! I clump out of his office with my boot and walker, making mental lists of all the stuff I can get done before school starts, and I am thrilled to become a less needy member of my family team. This is going to be great!

Well, wow... my foot sort of hurts stepping out in my old sneakers and boy, does it swell up with this new activity. Let's just say when I wear yellow anklet socks, my right ankle really does look like a tennis ball. I also can't quit the aluminum walker, I sort of tip over and my right leg gets a bit wonky without the support. This is all slightly disappointing for my impatient, ready-to-be-over this recovery phase and on to real-life stuff mindset.

So, I bought new sneakers; I had them fitted at a specialty shop, explained my situation, and spared no expense. Thinking this will be the magic bullet solution to my ambulatory challenges. Well, it wasn't, but it did help. My foot feels better and I am certainly styling in these colorful, light-weight, technologically wondrous shoes, but realistically only time and practice walking on two feet will create improvement.

The key word being practice. I sort of threw myself into coping with life outside the house, using my new sneakers, and rolling along with the walker. I set up my senior communication internship with the local English Language Acquisition program, meeting with the director and lead teachers. Explaining repeatedly the temporary-ness of my disability and trying to impress them intellectually, while not letting the walker silently scream, "incapable" by its presence in the room. Happily, I got the internship.

Thrilled with my success I had to really admit that now I was afraid... of driving. I hadn't driven since May! I had become someone chauffeured. I had coached my youngest to drive and finally get her license this July, but that did little to give me confidence in my skill behind the wheel. Anyway, I finally had to do a test run, I threw the walker into the passenger seat, got my temporary handicap tag and took off. Thank goodness, driving is like riding a bike, you don't forget and since there is just a little pressure needed from the ball of the foot, I am fine. No need to clear the roads folks, driving, unlike walking is something I am good at.

So while I have figured out some of my limitations, like grocery shopping and long hikes, I seem to be making sure and slow progress. I start school again next Tuesday and have a full week interning. I bought a stylin' purple flowered aluminum cane at the pharmacy though, and have been practicing in a hall at home... It's all about baby steps.

Cast free!

I have two feet again. I am still hopping, but allowed to put 1/4 of my weight on my new ankle. So yes, the walker is still part of my ensemble, and now with a heavy, protective black boot. Slow progress, but progress all the same.

Last weekend I had my first moments of actually feeling... bored. It has taken almost two months, but it happened. I think it is easy to become dispirited while isolated from normal daily activities and friends. Since I am currently unable to enjoy the usual ambulatory freedoms biped folks experience, my accessible world has shrunk. This experience has certainly opened my eyes to  those "invisible" issues regarding handicap accessibility and transportation, the number of lonely hours during the workday and the discomfort of asking for assistance. It is difficult to feel useful and dependent simultaneously. So my boredom begets some fretting and anxiety, and then a little sadness happens to spiral down my mood.

I took to the sunny porch yesterday and watched the hummingbirds flitting throughout the garden. They climb inside many of the gladiola blooms, as well as sipping from all three feeders. There are also two youngster hummers that hatched this season. These immature Ruby Throats are sleek with white bellies and chests. They are very curious about people and repeatedly were "humming" about a foot away from my face.

I have started listening to audiobooks, simulating someone reading me a story. My daughter chose the Dresden File series for me from the library. Jim Butcher writes this fantasy series set in present day Chicago, overrun with wizards, vampires and many otherworldly creatures. Not usually my favorite genre but the audiobook narrator, James Marsters has a fabulous voice which makes for wonderful listening.

I am also completing some older, unfinished knitting projects, such as this lace scarf out of Frog Tree Alpaca. The pattern is Dutch and called Gull Wings from Harrisville Designs I have been toting yarn and a half scarf around for years; I think 2010 is when I cast it on and it needs to be done. Fortunately, the scarf still looks good, even though I found some fiber breakage on the outside of the skeins. At least I have a head start on holiday gifts!

I am hoping that these new pursuits will help discourage the insidious effects of boredom and an aimless worry-mode.

Cast 2.0

I am sporting a different color right leg now, and it is much more comfortable than my green cast. I looks bigger because it is, but it's weight is more evenly distributed. I don't wake up with my right hip throbbing in  pain anymore. I am still hopping and non-weight bearing, but I may be getting a walking cast next week. I am sure I won't be allowed to strut out the door and resume my life, but maybe, just maybe I'll walk out into the garden...

We are still having weekly torrential rains and the ground is so saturated an occasional local tree, simply tips over. The amount of precipitation we have had since May is record-breaking. Consequently, I continue voracious reading, and some knitting between hopping around the house or library/restaurant.

I have noticed spicy foods, really knock back the boring, and mundane "blahs" that accompany my ambulatory limitation. The local Thai kitchen has been cranking up the chilies in my usual favorite, yellow curry, and combined with the dish's turmeric, it is a tummy full of sunshine! Smiles for all after a shared meal here.

My latest read was The Garden of Evening Mists, by Tan Twan Eng. A compelling work of fiction woven around history at the end of WWII in Malaysia. Japanese gardening, art, and tattoos have a role in this book short-listed for the Man Booker Prize in 2012. I highly recommend this read.

As a "thank you" for my oldest daughter for all her help during my incapacity, I am knitting her a scarf. She had knitted a cabled purse for me a couple of years ago for Christmas (see the post here http://dustoffurthinkin.blogspot.com/2014/02/projects-with-sticks-string.html ) and there were two skeins left over. The yarn is a lovely Rowan Chunky in shades of blue, and green, with a bit of cherry and mauve. The pattern is from Gardiner Yarn Works, called One Night Stand, designed by Leila Wice and distributed by Cascade Yarns in 2009. Rowan yarn is a pleasure to knit. This project is knit on size 10 needles and is 7" wide. I've got about 32'' in length from one skein of yarn so far...