The weather improved and breakup began sometime while I was in hospital. Today it is snowing, but before that the roof of the house was about clear of snow and many roads were snow free. Todays snow won’t stick for long and hopefully it will be just enough to push us to a new snowfall record (we are about an inch short of breaking the last record).
The rosebush mound in the backyard should be snow free soon which is good news for the chickens. With breakup beginning their run will soon be a muddy uncomfortable mess and though they can escape to their nice dry coop they will still spend time outside bitching about the conditions. Once the rosebush mound is clear we (well, Scott) will improvise a run surrounding the rosebush and move them to the higher drier ground.
Scott and friends picked up mighty sandbags earlier in the week and got them installed in front of the garage door just in time. Water hasn’t pooled in front of the garage yet but I anticipate that occurring as the volume of melting snow is so high and drainage is not good. A hardworking young man we know has undertaken the mess that is our driveway. He has been working diligently most days to chip away our winters sins. Scott says there is a clear walkway all the way down the driveway now. Wow – substantial effort was required as the ice had grown appallingly deep.
Bing doesn’t like going out front right now and I don’t blame him. Breakup means the deep deep deep snow which previously held his weight easily has become very punchy. Punchy snow takes on new levels of unpleasantness when you’ve got short little corgi legs. He stands at the front door saying ‘No, really, I’ll hold it for a few more weeks, ‘kay?’
My favorite part of breakup made an appearance early this week, late last week. Our spring bulbs are up!
I’ll need to get help clearing the front garden bed. I was unwell with first trimester morning sickness last fall so didn’t clean up the fall foliage. Then Scott and I bought some yard and garden stuff at True Value’s fall sale and placed it in the front bed to put away ‘later’. Yeah, later is here now. It shouldn’t take long to do, but I don’t bend well right now and may not lift more than 10 lbs while the C-Section heals. Frustrating as its such an easy and satisfying job.
I was unable to visit Elizabeth Katherine yesterday. My gallbladder produced a mild flare up Wednesday night (mild enough I could acknowledge it and go to sleep anyway) and a more severe flare up began late Thursday. I’ve been keeping a food diary and am unable to identify what triggered the attack. Made a few doctor phone calls Friday as the pain had increased (though nowhere near as bad as the original attack). My surgeon was in surgeries all day Friday so couldn’t do anything for me then, however her office was able to squeeze me in Monday. So its been back to the Dilaudid for me with the doctor recommended back up plan of heading for ER if pain gets more severe than my ability to cope. Pain was present pretty much all of Friday. Today it comes and goes and perhaps is receding. I don’t like what the Dilaudid does to my brain capacity. At Mondays appointment we will try to convince doctor that I have recovered sufficiently from the c-section to perform the gallbladder surgery next week. Cross your fingers for me.
Friends Mel and Chris spent some time with Scott today working on a tv relocation plan. The contents of the marmalade room need to be moved to the living room still and the biggest hurdle has been where to put the tv. The living room is a little awkward between the (non-functional) fireplace on a slanted wall and a fairly large alcove kind of opposite but at an angle to it. We like our tv, quality and tube size are fine, however it is a tube which means its heavy and big, which hasn’t lent itself well to the living room layout. They talked over several option, including the possibility of throwing money at the problem to make it go away – break down and purchase a flat screen and mount it over the fireplace. There is a lot to be said for that plan. We’d preserve the seating the hearth provides during gatherings, and the flat screen could have a curtain or something over it so its not as intrusive as the tube would be. Plus it would be well out of reach of the inquisitive toddler fingers that will be here in our not so distant future. We’d still have to deal with getting rid of the tube somehow but thats what freecycle and craigslist are for, right?