Four Days out from Hip Installment #2

It's T-Minus Four days as I write this.. my sister is dusting and vacuuming - items which I can't really thoroughly do on my own, and which have needed doing for a while, as friends have gotten busy with work, school and impending holidays.
It is for two-fold great reasons, aside from the obvious "Let's clean the house" ones.
It will be doubly important to have it clean when I come home from surgery, and she has developed some allergies to many things, dust and cat hair being high among them. And,  here I have a home that has gotten dusty, and cats with the most ridiculous amounts of fur.  ..
It is ch much better now, and more comfortable. I have a hard time making it clear that this is not how I CHOOSE to live. Disability has made it impossible to properly tidy, dust, vacuum, sweep and mop on my own.

SO all should be much better for her after this - I am pleased - I don't want her to feel miserable through this month.

We pick at each other a bit, as sister can tend to do like no other, but we work through it and our hope is that as we get more used to each other's habits and needs it will calm down.

Backing up a bit to catch up that last few days...

Wednesday was my last day of work for the duration. It crept up on my poor boss - Monday she was shocked to hear it - but not in a bad way. It just went very fast. And slow, of course, but here it IS.
I wasn't able to get all the things accomplished that I would have preferred, as I was awaiting information from others, who were very very busy... but that's life.
It will get done either before i get back or after, and nothing will catch on fire.

driving away Wednesday started (Well, continued) a chain of small realizations...
"I *think* this will be the last time I even need my walker at work - the morning routine of
" Arrive at work, park in the disabled spot by the door, call Robin ( the very willing and helpful  receptionist), unlock the back hatch, Robin gets the walker ("buggy") out and brings it to me, puts my purse and bag on it, opens the front door, in I go, Robin calls the elevator for me... "Thank you's and have a great day"s are exchanged"...

this routine should - I think - be done. I may need the cane... I truly hope that by the time January 6 (projected return date) rolls around, I will be truly ambulatory and walking on both of my own feet, unassisted. I dream of it.

Wednesday evening Toni arrived back in town, we took five double-loaders full of both of our laundry to the laundromat, went for a very unusual fast food foray to Jimboy's for very tasty tacos, and got it done. We came home, put laundry away, and made gluten-free  dinner rolls which turned out all right, and eventually made to to our beds.

Thursday, yesterday, was of course Thanksgiving. We ot up, I showed Toni how to use the coffee maker (She doesn't drink it, but I'll need her to make a cup a day for me, most days), made a bot f breakfast, and made the cranberry sauce. We puttered, showered etc. and got off to the Day at our brother Christopher's house in the next town, in plenty of time to visit with our in-from-out-of -town niece, Michele and her lovely family, husband  Matthew and wonderful, sweet baby Avery, who is 17 completely adorable months old. The meal and dinner were splendid, all gluten free ( hooray - at least five of us are GF) and company was great. Later, joined by more extended family, desserts were well-indulged. We finally made it home near midnight. My time of night, but Toni is an earlier night girl.

I had sat in a dining char the whole day, because all the furniture in the world seems to be about a foot to low for getting up from. A ridiculous style, in my estimation - I see no use for it, and it's painful and impossible to rise from for most people. Oy. So I was very sore when we arrive home, festooned with bags of leftovers. We eventually got them wedged into the refrigerator, watched a bit of telly and off to sleep.

Then up today, and at it for cleaning (with a stop for me to cut all of the hair from around the roller in my vacuum cleaner. Between my 3+ foot long curly locks and the cat's five-inch fur, it was pretty well immobilized, This is a common occurrence in my vacuum cleaner.

Now we are preparing to head back to visit the family one more time - it is the first time TOni has met wee Avery, and I haven't see her aside from Skype dates since last Christmas. She and her parents are precious to us, so it's lovely to visit!

We'll come home again, to stop at the grocery store for most of the final pre-op food needed...
try to clear some space in the fridge, get it all organized and ready!