Enlightening Experience

The candles are lit. Flashlight in hand, we make our way to the living room where we got a roaring fire going in the fireplace. We settle in to read quietly for the next hour or so, in voluntary observance of Earth hour.
It is a peculiar feeling to forego the luxury of light when no power outage forces you to do so. We went about an hour of our evening with no electricity. Because it is done voluntarily, there is no ill feeling. We know we can stop the experiment at any time. When we finally turned the lights back on, we found the electric light harsh and unpleasant and decided to wait a bit more.
Because it was only an hour and we had control over the outcome (we can switch the lights back on in case of emergency), the experience was overwhelmingly positive. It also builds awareness on the luxury of electricity. It was sobering.
We are ready to do it again in a flash. Let's hope those feelings last.

What is it You Want?

1- I want the hurt to go away. I keep forgetting my leg is mending. I am reminded as I put weight on it, or twist it, or bang it softly against furniture or lift it in a certain way.
2- Purple Rain, purple rain. I just spent part of the afternoon going through UTube videos because I didn't know who sang Do Wah Diddy (Manfred Mann, so you won't have to suffer) and went on listening to their other great songs and from there, well, the afternoon was pretty well a goner
3- a Wii? We just bought one, after I had been lusting after it since last summer. A little detective work, a lot of running around, a dash of luck, and we were all set. Of course I can only play stationary, staid, very subtle games. Anything physical where I actually need to stay on my feet is Verbotten.
4- To win the lottery? 5-17-25-33-41-42 (I hope there is no typo)
5- A new puppy? I totally understand. I can't wait to replace our two beautiful, loving, perfect German shepherds with their equivalents. I can't wait but I will.
6- One of Macs sleek and sexy flat laptops - the Macbook Air. Don't you just love their tv ad with the laptop in an envelope? They rock!
7- (trying to get to 10) Peace on Earth? Sorry the link to that one is broken.
8- A year in Paris? Working on that one. All help welcome.
9- A little less logic, a little more creativity
10- (fill in the blanks)

...the hipbone's connected to the thigh bone...

I finally went to the Emergency room because the pain in my ankle was migrating to other parts of my body as it was compensating for the fracture. Yes, fracture. I broke my fibula. I always thought a broken bone would bring excruciating pain so I am glad to have learned that I can bear the pain of a broken bone (and even function somewhat) . If you like trivia, the kind doctor who looked after me said that the part of my foot that is currently numb should heal within 2 years. It seems that dead nerve grows at the rate of 1 mm a month.

I was shocked to hear I had broken a bone. It is my first fracture ever and I guess I suddenly felt vulnerable. I can't quite put a name on my feeling. In a sense I was proud that I bore the pain but in another it felt like I had mismanaged my body, allowing it to break.

On the cool side, I now wear something akin to a spaceboot - those winter boots that were so popular in the 70s? 80s? Anyways, they look futuristic and very techie. I will make all my colleagues jealous.

Looking Down

The best part of blogging is finding inspiring titles.
I found $20 on the ground the other day and I realized that doesn't happen to me much anymore. As a kid, it seems I was always finding money. I have a few hypotheses why this doesn't happen anymore:
a- Credit cards
b- People are more concerned with money so they keep an eye out for it
c- My vision is not as keen as before ; )

What do you think?

Bragging

Vicki left a comment in my previous post about the animals they have in Barrhaven (rabbits and skunks) so I figured I would treat you with another beautiful picture, this one of a barred owl (we only saw it once but what a treat that was). Yeah, I love living in the countryside.

Free Lunch

Somebody dropped three bales of hay on the road in front of our house. They were scattered and we didn't want the deer to start eating it on the road (they cross the road in that area) so we brought them back behind the house, and to our surprise, we had quite a few guests coming to eat at our buffet. All the snow this winter must have made it difficult for them - hopefully the free lunch will have helped. We are used to seeing their tracks but we never had a glimpse of them - certainly never when we had our two German Shephards. We took a few movies (of them running away) and a few pictures too but they are camera-shy so most of them didn't turn out as nice as this one.

They stopped coming as soon as the hay was gone and I miss them...

Love your crutches

Years ago, while living in Montreal, I sprained my ankle on an uneven sidewalk, ending my "career" in karate. Ever since, if I lose my footing, the same ankle always volunteers to get sprained. And so, yet again, I am immobilized because of a fall (always a stupid, avoidable fall). Yesterday, I did not mind missing work, but today I am already dreading the long day ahead. I am trying to make light of it and enjoy the moment. Actually, the pain has noticeably receded and I am feeling much better today than yesterday.
I am well cared for and I am starting to learn to use crutches. I also have plenty to read. I just want to recover quickly and enjoy the freedom of walking around the house. I took that for granted before Monday. The stairs were not a challenge, the carpets did not feel like vast expanses to be conquered.
Yesterday, I was rolling around the house in my office chair, noticing the hindrances underfoot. It gave me a taste of life if you are wheelchair-bound. Evidently, our household is not designed for wheelchairs... Anything left lying on the floor can hinder access to your destination. You can't jump over things or navigate easily around them.
At least this forced rest will give me time to think of things...