Oops

Curious?

Let's start out with some cuteness first!

Snuggles with Claude.

Claude deciding that the kitchen table is a good place for a nap . . .  

Sweet Alistiar:

Taking a little nap.

Sleepy Juvy:

And then Easter!

Here's my dress.

Isn't is beautiful?

I tried it with this jacket and didn't like it.

The jacket is the wrong color and it's too long.

This jacket is MUCH better!

It's darker (better contrast) and it is cropped so it hits right at my waist.

I carried my new round black & white straw bag.

I loved my outfit!

I also like the tradition of wearing new clothes

on Resurrection Sunday to celebrate the NEW LIFE we have

when we choose to join the Kingdom of Jesus.

Here's a drawing of me done by one of my students.

Check out my ferocious eyebrows!

 Okay . . . now for the story with the big black boot.

I was running on Tuesday morning as usual, when

all of a sudden I was on the ground in pain.

I had fallen off the sidewalk in an effort

to avoid a poor dead (and decaying) cat.

My ankle hurt the worst immediately (and still does),

but I also scraped up my arm.

I'm sore elsewhere, too, from the fall: shoulders,

wrists, knees, back, hips, neck.

My fall was probably quite a spectacular sight to see.

I was initially able to hop a bit, but I could not walk on it

and I was two miles away from home.  

Praise Jesus that it was only 6 am and Greg was still home,

so he came and rescued me!

I figured it was simply sprained, so I rested, iced, and elevated it,

but the bruising and swelling convinced me to go to Urgent Care.

I'm glad I did, even if it were just for this supportive boot!

It's not the cutest thing, but my ankle feels MUCH BETTER in

the boot than out of the boot.

Turns out that I have a bad sprain

and a tiny crack in the tip of my fibula.

strain = damage to muscles

sprain = damage to ligaments

fracture = damage to bone

I went to a Podiatrist yesterday for a follow-up,

and she said I'll be in this boot at least four weeks,

a smaller lace-up brace for a couple more weeks, and

I should be back to running in eight weeks, good as new!

Today is the third day after the injury, and supposedly that's

the worst day (swelling at max and adrenaline, 

which offers pain relief, has drained off).

I'm doing okay.  A little emotionally weird

and achy, but I have hope I'll be feeling much better soon!

I decided to enjoy the challenge of dressing around

a huge boot.

I still felt cute going to the Podiatrist

and I have been impressed and THANKFUL

for the excellent medical care I have received.

It's very swollen and the brusing is expanding, but not terrible.

My little toesies are puffy and blue, too.

Even the other side of my foot, away from the

main injury, is swollen and bruised.

The Podiatrist gave me some compression socks

(actually just a big squeezy tube she pulled of a spool

and cut off with a scissors), showed me how to use the

boot more efficiently, and answered questions.

After a shower (sitting down as much as possible),

I put on the compression tube . . . 

Then layer one of Greg's tall socks over the top.

Then I put the boot on!

And my ankle feels MUCH better

and I can actually sort of walk!

Though I have to admit that sitting down is better.

That's the story!

It's a reminder that *something* could happen at any moment.

Today is a great day for contentment and gratitude!

Minnesota Spring

Sadly, Greg's Grandma died a couple of weeks ago.
The funeral was this past Friday,
and we decided we needed and wanted to be there.




There was a huge snowstorm in Minnesota on Friday, and the roads
were not cleaned off quickly in the north!

Our flight was delayed twice - 5 1/2 hours in total -

unrelated to the weather.

The Mesa Gateway airport is teeny, but it has beautiful greenery in the

courtyard area.

The cacti were blooming.

When we heard about the second delay,

we decided to get some food.

There was a grill restaurant that had a reasonable salad - 

which I had with pretzels I brought with me.

Actually, now that I see it again, it was better than "reasonable"!

Eventually we got on the plane!

I bought some new wired headphones to listen on the plane -

and I got another pair for running.

I don't want the wifi in my ears/brain,

so while I run, I turn on airplane mode and use wires!

We got to Minnesota too late to get our rental car,

but a nice couple from Bemidji generously offered

to give us a ride up there!

Amazing.  Minnesotans truly are kind!

It was chilly, but not cold.

It was dreary and I was hoping for more snow

(though no one else was!)

When we stopped at a gas station,

it was snowing a little bit - hooray!

There were flurries for the last bit of the trip up to Bemidji.
It was magical.
Look at those gorgeous frosted trees!

It was still snowing when we arrived.

It's been years since I wore my winter coat,

and I LOVE IT!

Snow makes me happy.

Greg's Mom is a thoughtful lady,

and she made us some tasty food.

Greg got a melted cheese sandwich.

She had some vegan cheese (Chao brand) for me to try,

and I was impressed by the taste and texture (though the ingredients

weren't great),

Here's a squirrel's track across the deck!

And look at the little domes of snow on the pillars.

Snow makes everything pretty.

 In the morning, I was able to see icicles.
I can't remember the last time I've seen icicles!

They started melting immediately and all of them fell off before long

because it was warm (in the 40s).

Greg's sweet Mom made us tater tots in the morning

and we assembled a wonderful smoothie.

What a delicious breakfast!

We got dressed for the funeral.

Greg looked very handsome. 

I had never worn this dress before,
and I am excited to wear it again.  It's lovely.

It's twirly, too!

We needed to take more photos of and in the snow before we left.

The sky was bright blue and clear. 

Off we went.

After the funeral, we went to the graveyard
for the burial.
Greg looked like James Bond.

You'll see in this photo a practical Minnesotan

and a high-heeled person who no longer lives in Minnesota.

I was somewhere in the middle.

We went back to the church for a nice lunch.

There were corned beef sandwiches on rye
with sour cream and potato chips.
Just like Grandma used to serve on Christmas Eve.

Greg's family is wonderful becasue they always have gluten-free options,

fruit, and veggies (as well as potato chips!)

With a few sides, I'm well-fed!

We went to Target to get some hair and skin care stuff . . .
we decided to share a suitcase and then realized that we only had
40 pounds (instead of 50) . . . so lots of things we could have taken
got left behind - shampoo, conditioner, face wash, make-up remover . . .
And it worked out just fine!  I'm proud of us.

The snow in the Target parking lot was piled up high!
This amount of snow was from ONE SNOWSTORM.
All the rest of the snow from winter had already melted;
this snowstorm was a biggie!

Then we went to the grocery store for a few things.

I was getting pretty worn out by this time, so I was glad it was quick.

I loved being out and about in my pretty lace dress 

and my polka-dot coat!

We had a little rest at Greg's Mom's house and then went over to Greg's Aunt Marj's and Uncle Andy's house for a farewell Grandma dinner.

Aunt Susie made this beautiful unstained stained glass hanging in their porch.
Wouldn't want to block the gorgeous view!

I re-learned how to play chicken foot dominoes,
thanks to Brandon (left of me) - thanks, Brandon!
You're a patient and encouraging teacher!

Those of us who are gluten-free got to go through the food line first

to avoid contamination.  I was excited by the fruit salad and potato chips all over again.

We had a great time catching up with Greg's family members.

I got to spend some great time walking outside in the beautiful

chilly snowy starlight.

The next day we had a slow morning and had time to go to Giovanni's Pizza

for Greg's favorite pizza!

Again, the snow in the parking lot was piled up high.

Greg's Mom and me.

There's the gluten-free version!
I love it that they pile on the toppings.

There's Greg's!

Greg was taking this photo . . .
but his Mom forgot to smile!

 After lunch, we went across the street to spend some time with Paul Bunyan
and Babe the blue ox.

We've never gotten a great photo with them, so I'm pretty
happy that we got at least this one.
I would've prefered no sunglasses, but it's always sunny when we're there!

We even got some photos with Greg's Mom!

That's Lake Bemidji in the background.

We drove down to Saint Cloud with Greg's Uncle and Aunt, Leo and Lori

(thanks!)  Greg's Dad and Step-Mom (Rick & Karen) picked us up there.

We were happy to spend some time with them!

This is Crystal, the fluffiest cat.

We had some Moscato - yum!

The next morning, Rick drove us back to the Saint Cloud airport
so we could fly home.  There were no delays and everything
was efficient.

We are happy to be home!