Surgery Today!

 Preparing this on Monday so you can laugh on Friday.  Today is the thumb and carpal tunnel surgery.  It's to last 2.5 hours with recovery time in hospital 1.5 hours.  Dan will have a big book to read while he waits for me.  I don't expect to be posting for awhile but may leave some that I've prepared this week.

From Marilyn my source of everything funny:

Although not in the dictionary, it is reported that 
"Lexophile" describes a person who loves sentences such as, 
"You can tune a piano, but you can't tuna fish," 
and, "To write with a broken pencil is pointless."

The annual 'New York Times' competition was held and here are the year's best original submissions:

I changed my iPod's name to Titanic. It's syncing now.

 

England has no kidney bank, but it does have a Liverpool.

Haunted French pancakes give me the crepes.

 

This girl today said she recognized me from the Vegetarians Club, but I'd swear I've never met herbivore.

 

I know a guy who's addicted to drinking brake fluid says he can stop any time.

 

A thief who stole a calendar got twelve months.

 

When the smog lifts in Los Angeles, U.C.L.A.

 

I got some batteries that were given out free of charge.

 

A dentist and a manicurist married. They fought tooth and nail.

 

A will is a dead giveaway.

 

With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress.

 

Police were summoned to a daycare center where a three-year-old was resisting a rest.

 

A bicycle can't stand alone; it's just two tired.

 

The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine last week is now fully recovered.

 

He had a photographic memory, but it was never fully developed.

 

When she saw her first strands of gray hair, she thought she'd dye.

 

Acupuncture is a jab well done.

That's the point of it.

 

I didn't like my beard at first. Then it grew on me.

 

Did you hear about the crossed-eyed teacher who lost her job because she couldn't control her pupils?

 

When you get a bladder infection, urine trouble.

 

When chemists die, they barium.

 

I stayed up all night to see where the sun went, and then it dawned on me.

 I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. I just can't put it down.

Counting Down to Surgery - 1

 My last day before surgery.  I'll get a call sometime this afternoon to tell me when to report.  I may be the first or the second according to the nurse that interviewed me last week.  Apparently the doctor likes to get the complicated ones done first and there are two of us that qualify as such.

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Today is our 49th wedding anniversary.  To celebrate we are going to lunch at Simon Pearce Restaurant in Quechee, Vermont. Simon Pearce is known for glass blown pieces.  If I remember correctly there's a glass blowing operation under the restaurant.  We haven't been there in a very long time.  Last time was likely when Sarah was still at Dartmouth and she graduated in 2008.

A photo from their website.

Counting Down to Surgery - 2

 2 full days until hand surgery.

I've made a list of everything I need to do beforehand including stockpiling ice.  We don't have an ice maker!

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On Monday these appeared.

They're the first ones of all the ones I planted last fall.  Such a joy to see.

Counting Down to Surgery - 3

 3 full days before surgery.

I picked up the meds I'll need after the surgery on Sunday after church.  I didn't want to have to wait until after the surgery to get them.  I'll just want to get home afterward.

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Maple sugaring season is coming to an end.  We stopped by Mac's Maple in Plainfield, NH to do a taste test.  Yum!  We tasted fresh maple syrup and some aged in bourbon barrels.

We could smell sugar in the air.  That's steam coming from the sugar house.

Here's their large reverse osmosis machine that removes water from the sap before boiling thus speeding up the syrup production and reducing the amount of time and wood you need to make syrup.

As we were leaving more sap was arriving.

Counting Down to Surgery

 4 full days before surgery.

I'm getting very conscious of the things I'm not going to be able to do by myself with my right hand wrapped up.

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Saturday we came home from PA to more snow.

We went to PA on Friday to gather with Dan's family to celebrate his brother Don on what would have been his 65th birthday.  Don succumbed to lung cancer in July last year. He never married and had no offspring. He's especially missed by the youngest of the four brothers, Darren.

My husband, Dan is in the middle, Dennis #2 on left , and Darren #4 on right.

Ready to Laugh?

 

I think the next one is a bit dated.

Thanks Marilyn for sharing these.

In the Round

Have you ever done a round puzzle?

 This was my first and quite a different sort of challenge.  Several very tiny pieces, other pieces in very strange shapes and the green most of which I did last was difficult.  I persevered and met the challenge.

Puzzling will continue until weather warms enough to get out and garden.  Oh, wait.  May be difficult to do one handed.  My surgery to fix right thumb and carpal tunnel is the 31st.  I'll wait and see.

The New Car

 Delivery of the new car came earlier than promised.  Always a good thing.

When the electricity came back on Wednesday of last week, Dan had an email from salesman that car being delivered that day and we could come on Thursday to pick it up.

We did.

Meet our 2023 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid.

It fits well in our barn garage.

We are still learning about all the features.  There are so many safety features now.

We think it's our next to last car purchase if it lasts 10+ years as the Mazda did. 

Hello Spring!

 Signs in my NH yard.

Can you see the tiny green shoots of crocus?

Daffodil easier to see.

This is the bed on south side absorbing the warmth of the sun.

Another patch in the grass next to the deck has daffodils peeking out from melting snow.

Snow retreating where the sun shines warm.

And inside the amaryllis is almost spent but

look below.  Is that another flower stalk or leaves?

Spring comes slowly in NH as we've learned.  I'll enjoy it all.

Town Meeting

 Saturday was the annual town meeting.  A major issue was up for vote: whether to accept the gift of a closed store once money is raised by donation to completely renovate it as a library and community center. No cost to the town except for maintenance once completed.  The issue came up at the 2021 town meeting and an exploratory committee was formed to study the two options. One being renovating the existing library which is not ADA capable, has no water or sewer, has limited street parking, no room for meetings and has to remove a book when a new one arrives. The second being move the library to the closed general store providing more space, handicap access, bathrooms, a full kitchen (already there), lots of meeting space, parking and outside green space. 

You'd think the decision would be a no brainer.  The old library was built in 1910 so it has historic significance and that's what the opposition to the move emphasized.  They claimed it could be renovated but said nothing about how it still would be small, parking would remain the same, there would be four levels to the library with the major collections in the basement. In my mind those opposed are against change and are unlikely to be patrons of the library.

It was a big deal in our town and more than 500 people, half the registered voters, gathered in the school gymnasium for the town meeting.  The issue was the second item on the agenda after approving the town budget.  The warrant was not presented by the selectmen which is usual but was a petition.  The petitioners got to have the first block of time to present.  It was very well done and included the architect's presentation for the store.  Then the opposition presented by reading statements only.  No presentation.  Then more open discussions and questions ending with one woman who wrapped it up by saying that no one wanted to see the old library demolished.  That the building would find new life with another purpose once the new library is in move in condition. There are other buildings in our town which have been repurposed.

The comment period went on for 90 minutes then the vote was called by secret ballot.  We were all given little yellow slips with yes and no boxes.  Then we had to get into a line depending upon our last names A-K and L-Z.  The voting and counting of votes (three times) took another 90 minutes.

The move to the new library won but I had no idea it would be a 12 vote margin only: 268 to 256.

Once the  results were announced a motion was made to restrict any reconsideration of the issue.  This passed by voice vote. Word had passed through the crowd that the opposition was planning to bring it up again in expectation that after voting people had departed. Some had left but the result was set.

Now a non profit has 5 years to raise the money needed for the renovations and furnishing of the space. If unsuccessful then the owner of the building will rescind the gift and put it on the market.  We are all hopeful that we can pull it off. Dan and I plan to donate what we can.

Before meeting started.  We arrived early to get softer seats and save two for Emily and Matt.  Day care was provided too.

Gym filling up.  It was standing room only.

Lines for voting.

Waiting for results.

The count.

Old Library

Proposed renovations

Laughs

 

And for my Canadian readers:

Day After the Storm

 We have lots of snow so I'll only share two photos from Wednesday morning. Snow amounted to almost 18 inches we think.  We lost power on Tuesday night at 7:30 while I was on a church committee Zoom call.  It was a cold morning to get up with no heat but we had the good news that our woodstove would be installed.  It was and as we got the first fire going in it, the electricity was restored at 12:30 pm.

Those are the bird feeders looking like ice cream cones.

It was a wet heavy snow as evidenced by the weighed down hemlock limbs.

This morning we noticed the shadow of the new stove chimney and the smoke on the barn roof.

It's the perfect sized stove for our great room space and makes the room so much warmer.