If the partial solar eclipse was not a shiner for us here in Eldora yesterday because of clouds, I got my own shiner today...
No, this isn't makeup...but if you want to use this as a template next Halloween, feel free.
I had that 10 a.m. appointment at Boulder Housing Partners to go over how my contact there had come up with the rent figure she had provided on Friday. The second story landing of the building in which they are housed is an open metal grid. It faces the west so was probably designed to allow rain and snow from the prevailing weather fronts to fall through. I've been to this office numerous times.
Today, after mounting the steps and as I walked toward the front door, the sole of my shoe caught in the grid, I pitched forward full out, hit my right brow bone and cheekbone on the steel that frames the glass entry door, partially caught myself with my right arm and hit my right knee. I've never been knocked out and wasn't today, but was momentarily stunned. I think I now know how those birds that fly into a glass window feel. In fact I kind of felt like I had those little birdies flying around my head like you see in the cartoons of people who are supposed to have been knocked silly.
I gathered myself together, got up and went into the offices. The flesh on my brow bone puffed up instantly. Everyone was very solicitous. The office manager provided me with an ice pack and took an incident report, someone else gave me a cup of water.
The woman I was supposed to meet with was running late. I think it was almost 11 a.m. by the time we conferred and I could tell the ice was having a positive effect on the swelling, but my eye was turning black at the same time and my right arm was really starting to hurt. They urged me to seek a medical opinion so, after discovering one of the most painful things I'd done so far was to insert my keys into the ignition and put my car in gear, I drove to my doctor's office. She was out and her receptionist recommended I go across the street to an urgent care facility. I did that at around noon, I think, and spent the rest of the afternoon there, filling out paperwork, waiting for two hours, meeting with the doctor and getting x-rays of head and shoulder.
Head is hard. No sign of a fracture anywhere, but I have a chip out of my shoulder bone and it's going to take about three weeks to heal. Great. I'm due at the apartment building tomorrow at noon to sign my lease for immediate occupancy and can't lift a darn thing with my right arm higher than my waist.
I was given a sling, but took it off almost immediately because it was pulling on and hurting my neck and was doing nothing to ease the pain when I tried to raise my arm. I think I must have done some damage to my neck...it was hurting badly when they had me in an extreme position taking one of the x-rays of my cheekbone...and will have to make an appointment with the chiropractor with the understanding that he not go anywhere near my right arm. Guess there's no doubt I've met my deductible after today!
In the meantime, I was given a prescription for some pain medication, which apparently makes one very sleepy, so I'll only be able to take that at night, and I'm supposed to keep ice on anything that hurts and here I am with no refrigerator. I'll have to see if anything is left of that chunk of ice in the cooler. Otherwise, I always find plenty of sleep is a good idea. I feel very fatigued right now.
I keep wondering if this was a sign from the gods. Because the rent, I discovered on Friday, is not just based on a percentage of my Social Security, but also includes an imaginary amount I might earn editing and a portion of my third of the value of this cabin I'm living in now! They consider this an asset, and even though it doesn't put money in my pocket that might help me pay the rent, HUD requires them to include it in calculating the rent. Well, that sounds like government. I'm sure it will do no good, but you know me...I will write to HUD about this stipulation because it makes no sense and it will make me feel better to point this out. In the meantime, as my brother, said it will be the ramen noodle diet.
If I can make it out of bed tomorrow, I'm at least going prepared with everything to take a hot shower in my new digs! More later, Teddee
Yesterday I took some updated documentation to Boulder Housing Partners needed in order to finalize my lease on the one-bedroom "senior housing" apartment that it appears I am definitely getting. I hesitate to get too confident until I actually sign the lease and get the key as it has been such a long and convoluted process.
It was cool enough that I was able to take Dixie along and she was one contended dog...
She stays alert until I actually get in the car and say, "O.K. I think I'm ready." Then she heaves a big sigh of contentment and settles in for the ride. I'm hoping to be able to continue to spend quite a bit of time up here at the cabin, but know I will miss the day-to-dayness of the experience. This apartment building in Boulder is a "no pets" building, so there won't be any chance of my having a dog or cat there...or a fox. Maybe a hummingbird!
Prior to leaving, I had responded to an e-mail I had received from the Wild Bear Mountain Ecology Center in Nederland indicating it was starting to offer some adult workshops, the first being yesterday evening, topic "Introduction to Essences" by Eric Bresselsmith, www.originaltradegoods.com
I decided to go, even though the $20 was not in my budget. Eric distills and distributes essential oils from conifers of various types. It was actually more of a lecture and at the end, included in the $20, we got to select a hydrosol spritz, captured, if I understood, from the condensed steam during the distillation process.
I selected the white fir. It smells medicinal, but I found it a comforting fragrance. The essential oils were for sale at $30 for a small vial, but I really couldn't afford even one of those. Eric is going to return with his "still" in mid-June and, if it isn't too expensive, I might sign up for that. Participants actually get to help collect and prepare the conifer needles and sit through the distillation process.
This morning, feeling as if I were working in a small airport because of the hummingbird traffic, I got the trim, that I'd had to remove in order to get the old hide-a-bed out, nailed back into place on both sides of the cabin door...
This piece that I broke off is a little crooked, but it fit back together just like a puzzle piece. Most of the nails had been bent when I removed them and, although I can remember my Dad hammering nails out straight again so they could be reused, I just made do with the few straight ones I had left. I think the person who had originally installed this trim had gone a little overboard anyway. If it looks as if I'm not going to get a new door put in the south end of the cabin because of getting the apartment in Boulder, I'll get a few more nails of the same type and drive them in before winter.
For right now, it will do and I can remove the blue painter's tape I had been using since Tuesday to keep the mosquitoes out...
I also did a better job of screwing in the door hinges, using a combination of long and really long screws because, although I could see that my brother-in-law had used the extra long screws in order to reach sound wood, this door jamb is so rotten, I just didn't have the strength to screw those in in all six holes.
I've been having trouble figuring out how to keep a screw driver head in the chock of my cordless drill. I had no trouble last year when I used it to screw in those roofing nails, but when I hung that coat rack, it wasn't working (or rather my mind wasn't working) and I haven't taken the time to figure out what I'm doing wrong. It would be nice to use tools so frequently that these things came second nature, but I seem to need a tutorial every time I undertake a project.
I'm facing the same issue with the weed eater, which I bought last year. I need to put a new string in and haven't a clue, although I do have the printed directions for that so it's just a matter of sitting down and reading them. I can't believe how fast the weeds are growing. This was the growth between the flagstones on May 11...
This is today...
My neighbor just came over and volunteered, not only to take the hide-a-bed to the dump if I can't find an alternative, but to take anything I need to move from the cabin down to the apartment if I get it! Teddee
