Listening to Ella Fitzgerald

Resting with my legs elevated after PT and taking it easy, as for some reason my leg is super swollen today. I tried the bike today and started bleeding just a bit from my incision, so the surgery coordinator said to take it easy and dial back activity. At PT, Peter (my therapist) agreed, and he massaged that part of the quadriceps muscle that got pulled on Sunday, and it feels better. He also worked some vitamin E oil into the scar from the first surgery. I was surprisingly at 86° flexion given all the swelling. The extension had worsened to 1°, which wasn't surprising. I did have some spotting through my sleeve when I did my flexion test, so I bled just slightly. It was a good session with my therapist and two students following him on Wednesdays.

Afterwards, I dropped off the nerve block pump at the post office and returned some library books as well, thanks to Brenda, and came home, got some water, and elevated that leg on a wedge pillow for a couple of hours to see if it'll help. It did earlier.

Frustration

It's been really dreary outside, and I've been listening to Ella Fitzgerald on Pandora, so I haven't done much more than my regular PT exercises, taken my meds (well, I'm working on that right now), dealt with the pump (only because it was necessary) and ate a banana. I'm ready to crawl back into bed. I have not done the ROMTech after the frustration of last night. I did not finish my fourth session or attempt my fifth one...instead I need to see if they're open on Sundays and they can help as my feet keep falling out of the pedals whenever we increase the pedal radius. I kept hitting the stop button but it would reset the session and I would lose my progress instead of starting back up so I know I'm doing something wrong. Unfortunately there is nothing on the machine or the website that is the same as the setup instructions given by the rep, just a specifications document on the machine and a brochure for why you have your doctor prescribe it. I may just Google it for YouTube or such rather than rely on the company, but really, not all of us process auditorily well. Why not just give a stupid information sheet, either on paper or online? Have they never heard of a FAQ? But I do want the acetaminophen to kick in before I start that, so maybe 10?

I don't know why I was so tired

I slept a couple of hours, waking up around close to 8 pm. I really needed that, apparently. Now I'm up and I've connected my television to the wireless router so I can watch Netflix and also listen to Pandora. I have an Ella Fitzgerald channel playing now ('As Time Goes By' from Casablanca is playing right now, even though that's Dooley Wilson), so it's very mellow in here. I may talk with a friend on the phone later; I'd called and he was just getting out of the shower, so I told him that I didn't have anything pressing but if he'd like to call me that's fine, too. I've still got the windows up, so the blinds are open. I'm looking around the room. So much to do. So not wanting to just now. I think I will water the plants again (I did just a few days ago, but they're already dry). Also, I need to do dishes and then gather laundry and have it ready for tomorrow. I don't know if I'll get the fish tanks taken care of today, but I need to soon. And I think I will straighten up the living room so it doesn't look so cluttered, which is a bit of a challenge. The books are all on shelves, for example, but there are more books than there are really meant to be, for example. And I need to take the air mattress out of the living room (I thought I might have a guest) and back to the bathroom, where it normally stays. So basically, I need to work on some little things that will improve life around here. I think one of the Habitica challenges puts it as 'Personal Management', the daily stuff that you have to do to have a good environment.

It's a challenge to deal with my stuff--not only am I basically a hoarder, although I've de-hoarded a lot periodically throughout the years, but also my apartment is only 750 square feet. But I was recently looking at apartments for someone else and that's bigger (and cheaper) than a lot of places in Lexington. I'm paying $550 a month, and that's on the low-end of a one-bedroom fee, for a larger apartment with a lot of storage, and all utilities except electric. We have a pool, tennis court, fitness centre, basketball area, laundry, and they just opened a fenced-in dog park the other day. They're making a lot of improvements here lately, too. I'm starting my thirteenth year here, soon. And while we don't have balconies or patios, we do have a large porch off our building (ours is a little different than the rest, which makes it great for getting pizza). Plus there's the windowsills for plants. :) I'm on a long lease, which gives me a break on the rent. I think the standard fees are $555 for a one-bedroom and $655 for a two-bedroom. And pets just require a pet deposit and $20/month (not for each pet, but for any dog or cat), and I see some pretty big dogs here, so I don't think there's a poundage limit. It's a quiet neighbourhood in east Lexington and very convenient to a lot of stuff--shopping, hospitals, etc., plus I have a ten-minute drive to work every day. So I'm happy here.

Okay, enough about the apartment. Time to work on it, with Billie Holliday and Natalie Cole in the background--and of course, Ella. :) Good night, if I don't blog anymore tonight.

I wish I could figure out

why my laptop can do a Google search, but refuses to connect to any actual websites? My firewall just got updated; maybe that's it. But it's damn annoying.

I'm still hurting, but taking ibuprofen and sitting rather than walking have kept it bearable--I actually got a lot done today, and I made headway on the referrals. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning at 11 am; it was the quickest they could work me in. I hope I just strained something and it'll work itself out soon.

I've been listening to the Linkin Park station on Pandora. There's nothing like alternative metal/nu metal to totally stoke the fire when you're annoyed already. I think I need to switch the station over to Loreena McKennitt or Ella Fitzgerald.

I wish I could stay up some more, but I am hurting, and I took some medicine for it, and while it hasn't kicked in yet in terms of the pain, I'm feeling sleepy. I have to get up early tomorrow, so I think I'll go take my contacts out and go to bed. At least I did get to see 'Heroes Reborn' tonight. They've done an excellent job with it. Tomorrow, as Scarlett said, is another day.

It is 3:30 on a particularly gorgeous autumn Sunday afternoon

and I am unexpectedly at home, as Brenda called earlier and couldn't play the game due to being sick. So I've opened the windows (even the bedroom one, which took a screwdriver, but that should be fixed this week, as I finally had them put in a work order when I paid my rent Friday). The sun (which we haven't seen in days) is streaming through to the plants, and there is a light breeze. I am eating some of the string cheese I brought for the game. So far today I have:

1. Done my laundry.
2. Worked my way through my Sunday cleaning list at my friends' house.
3. Gotten two back rubs from a friend who was thankful for my help with cleaning and knew my back was bothering me.
4. Listened to my friend's Ella Fitzgerald albums.
5. Checked dogs over for any issues after they got into it over food (which I missed, thankfully)--now they're being separated till they cool off. These two have never fought before and one is very submissive, so it was a surprise, although of course any dog can go off it it feels another is encroaching on its food. They're normally separated for that reason, to opposite ends of the room, and unfortunately one butted into the other's space. But they seem to have relatively minor injuries, thankfully. It doesn't help that they're both terriers, which means they become absolutely focused, even berserk, when riled.
6. Watched a little 'Golden Girls' with a friend. My God, I really am Rose, and that is absolutely terrifying. I would probably be the smartest person in St Olaf, but I'd still fit in.
7. Worked on a friend's feet and back, which were bothering him, and fixed him food, not in that order.

On the agenda for the rest of the day:

1. A nap. Yes, definitely.
2. Listening to some '80s alternative music on Pandora.
3. Reading some more of Hollow City--I only have three days left on my checkout.
4. Watching something fun either on DVD or Netflix. [It was Galaxy Quest. What a fun movie to watch again. 'Never give up, never surrender!']
5. Watering the plants, inside and out.
6. Putting some more water in the fish tanks (before they get low).

Notice I haven't mentioned cleaning in awhile--I've kept the house neat and orderly since the last real cleaning push. I've washed dishes and taken out trash as needed, the latter even during the rain, as well as kept the bathroom neat and cleaned it when needed. I've made my bed every day for the last two-and-a-half weeks. So I'm building better habits, at least for now.

Okay

I've cleaned out a closet, washed dishes, cleaned the kitchen except for policing the fridge and mopping, cleaned the bathroom except for the tub (which frankly I'm waiting till Monday--it scares me) and mopping, worked on the living room, taken out two tubs and a bag of recyclables and one bag of garbage. There are still some things on the table and the loveseat I haven't quite found a home for, but most of it has either been put away or thrown out. I've watered and fertilised the plants as well. Oh, and I've kept meaning to get a black ink cartridge for my printer and just haven't had a chance to go out when I've had the money and as I was straightening up I found one, unopened, in an actual correct place, but something else was placed over it. And, I decided where to put the bookshelf--exactly where the friend who is giving it to me suggested, alongside the loveseat opposite of the other. I realised there was, indeed enough room to get into the living area. It'll be a little book-lined corridor about three feet long. I also took one of the wire carts I have and am using it as a corral for library books and other media. Now I'm burning some lavender incense and listening to the album 'Portrait of Ella Fitzgerald' that one of my co-workers gave me years ago for the holidays. Here's a sample:



(I'm not sure if this is the same version--I don't think so by the sound--but 'It's Only a Paper Moon' appears on the album.)

I'm starting to get sleepy now, and of course tomorrow comes early (4:30 am). But I'm going to try to read a bit of The Help before bed. Amazing what happens when I stay up one evening. :) Good night.

Remembering Ella Fitzgerald on her birthday

This delightful animation from BBC4 features Ella in a duet with Louis Armstrong. Classy. You just don't quite get music like this anymore.

Via Maria Popova (@brainpicker).