Recovering

This past week has been very nice.  Some days were rainy, some were sunny, all were spent resting and taking care of my body.  Walking outside on the nice days, and stretching, doing yoga, and working with hand weights every day.

I have managed to improve my arms' range of motion, but it's still limited, and some angles still hurt.

During this past week, I did a lot of coloring, and reading, and Jeopardy! watching.

I thought I would be lonely and bored, but I was not.  I made the best of what is to be my only vacation this year, albeit unpaid.

Yes, I am out of paid time off.  On the 30th, I received my last paycheck until 2 weeks after I go back to work.

Thankfully, there are a couple of internet fund raisers out there that have raised a couple hundred dollars.  That will help, and we have been prudent with the tax refund so far, so we will be okay.

I got two beautiful deliveries of flowers for my birthday, one from Margaret, and one from Dave.  They are still looking perfect all these days later!!

Dave and I went out and splurged (speaking of money *blush*) on a birthday dinner at my favorite sushi place.

Friday, I went along and we did all of the usual Friday errands.  I didn't get overly tired, but my body was sore from my earlier work out.  Instead of having date night, we came home, and I cooked dinner.

Then yesterday, we went out and did a couple of extra errands, got some potting soil and a few plants, and I spent most of the afternoon working outside.

It was heaven!!!

I potted, and re potted, and directed Dave where to dig holes to plant things in the ground, and pulled weeds.  I even got a little sun burn.

The only draw back is that I didn't do my stretching and yoga routine.  I did do some stretches, but nearly enough.

The only ill effect of the yard work is that my lower back is a bit sore from the bending and stooping.  Great exercise, though, and fresh air and sun.

Ahhhh.....

Grilled steaks for dinner, with a nice salad.

It also feels great to be getting back into cooking our own food again.  Made a brunch this morning that was oh so good....scrambled eggs, bacon, grape tomatoes, and a delicious orange.

Today, Dave will be mowing, and I am going to get out the dust mop and do the floors.  They haven't been done since Cathy was here, and I hate getting cat litter and other sundry detritus stuck to my feet.

Tomorrow morning is my pre-chemo echocardiogram mentioned in a previous post.  Then Tuesday is the surgical follow up/release to return to work.  Wednesday is my last day of medical leave.

It has gone by way too fast, if you ask me.