This healing is going to take a while. Just when I think I'm feeling pretty much free of severe pain, a cough or sneeze brings up some sharp, intense, eye watering pain, which seems to stir everything up again for several hours.
I'm out of bed a lot, but only to shower or take a fifty or sixty foot or so walk to the kitchen or bathroom and then back to bed every hour or so. Reading and TV watching is pretty much the extent of my activity for now other than 5 minutes cooking myself some breakfast farina or cream of wheat.
The masochist in me keeps watching cooking shows, when all I'm able to eat right now are soft foods. I never thought I'd be sick of pasta but after a few days of various, pasta and noodle entrees I'm ready for a change, so tonight I'm just going to have a baked potato and maybe a softly cooked green veggie on the side.
Watching these cooking shows is proving costly. I taped the new Martha Stewart cooking shows on PBS and after watching her show on frying, I decided to bite the bullet and buy myself a tool I've always wanted - a stainless steel French mandolin - a great slicing tool to cut various shapes of veggies. She was making home made potato chips and fries - the sort of thing I'm about four weeks away from being able to cook and eat; but at least I'll have my super duper mandolin ready to go once I'm back on a normal diet.
When I told Jim I treated myself to a mandolin, he thought I was talking about another musical instrument to join the two dulcimers I've yet to master. Maybe in another week I'll be able to sit on a chair or sofa and re-introduce myself to these dulcimers.
This mandolin won't produce any sounds, but it will produce some evenly sliced waffle and other fries as well as other veggies for tempura dinners, soups and stews.
I'm out of bed a lot, but only to shower or take a fifty or sixty foot or so walk to the kitchen or bathroom and then back to bed every hour or so. Reading and TV watching is pretty much the extent of my activity for now other than 5 minutes cooking myself some breakfast farina or cream of wheat.
The masochist in me keeps watching cooking shows, when all I'm able to eat right now are soft foods. I never thought I'd be sick of pasta but after a few days of various, pasta and noodle entrees I'm ready for a change, so tonight I'm just going to have a baked potato and maybe a softly cooked green veggie on the side.
Watching these cooking shows is proving costly. I taped the new Martha Stewart cooking shows on PBS and after watching her show on frying, I decided to bite the bullet and buy myself a tool I've always wanted - a stainless steel French mandolin - a great slicing tool to cut various shapes of veggies. She was making home made potato chips and fries - the sort of thing I'm about four weeks away from being able to cook and eat; but at least I'll have my super duper mandolin ready to go once I'm back on a normal diet.
When I told Jim I treated myself to a mandolin, he thought I was talking about another musical instrument to join the two dulcimers I've yet to master. Maybe in another week I'll be able to sit on a chair or sofa and re-introduce myself to these dulcimers.
This mandolin won't produce any sounds, but it will produce some evenly sliced waffle and other fries as well as other veggies for tempura dinners, soups and stews.
Those mandolins create plenty of sound, when you nip the end of your finger on one ! Hope you are still allowed to laugh.I went through the same routine last year after the motorcycle wreck. It's no fun but it will pass eventually. Good Luck.
ReplyDeleteI know that can happen Dennis because I've gotten a few knicks with my old poor mans slicer that I mainly use to make cucumber salad because I can push the holder up close to the blade to get those nice thin slices.
DeleteJune, I've just become enthralled with a series of books by Eliot Pattison--the Inspector Shan series. Set in Tibet under the Chinese take-over/suppression. Wonderful. I think you'd like them too. Enjoy your convalescence! With wishes for a speedy recovery. Gay Judson
ReplyDeleteThanks Gay. My reading right now is just email and Facebook. Our son gave me a book to read, but I'm finding that my attention span right now is pretty dismal, probably because I feel so tired and sleepy much of the time.
DeleteGet well soon June! I love reading your blogs and feel for you - been through 3 adominal surgeries in the past two years. Rice pudding, mushy peas, smushed well cooked carrots, puree'd stew are all your friends now.
ReplyDeleteSusan Mast
3 surgeries - how difficult that must have been! Thanks for the food suggestions. I like rice pudding but haven't made it in years. Maybe Jim can find some pre-made at the store until I'm able to stand a bit longer in the kitchen. I was told casseroles would be okay but I'm not able to spend that kind of time right now on food prep and my husband can't cook at all. Well, maybe he could scramble an egg and do toast; but I can't have bread yet either.
DeleteSomething a friend of mine reminded me of last summer. The scar may react to the cold and wet weather of winter and you may feel some pain even when you think it's healed. I went through that last winter, but at least I knew what it was. My scar still gets itchy, even a year later, ugh surgery, not fun is it?!
ReplyDeleteMandolins make yummy veggie chips!
Not fun is right Tracey. At least with my hip replacement surgery a few years ago my diet wasn't restricted. I wonder what causes the scar to get itsy??? Maybe you can make it better by rubbing some vitamin e oil on it once or twice a day. That can also help the scar heal better. I tried that years ago after a hysterectomy. My way of testing it was just to use it on half the scar and that half of the scar faded and other half was still red. I never did have any itching; but that surgery was over 36 or 37 years ago.
ReplyDeletePS: Great idea about the veggie chips - a new thing to do with all that zucchini! LOL
ReplyDeleteI do so enjoy your blog and am happy to hear your recovery is progressing so well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the well wishes. Glad you enjoy the blog. Sometimes you write and wonder if anyone other than my family and old friends are reading it.
DeleteJune, The attention span thing may be sleep related but I have a suspicion that it is anaesthetic related. That stuff stays in your system for a couple of weeks, When I had my appendix whipped out in a hurry a few years back the surgeon did come by the following day and had one piece of very good advice: Don't make any life changing decisions for at least two weeks - you brain needs that long to get over the anaesthetic. I asked work to send me some documents to read when I got home but sure enough I found that I just couldn't keep what I'd read in my head properly.
ReplyDelete