The true meaning of life is to plant trees,
under whose shade you do not expect to sit.
Nelson Henderson
Not sure who Nelson Henderson is, but isn’t this a beautiful thought?
Beautiful thought
2
Aunty’s Googling day
Firstly, Aunty wants to share her current favorite granola bar – 18 Rabbits. This bar has been in Aunty’s purse for ages – carrying it around in case of hunger attacks while away from home, but never trying it – yet. During the very (very) long car ride to Google’s Mountain View corporate offices, Aunty needed something to eat and opened this stored bar without any expectations. It is rather flat (thus being easy to keep in purses), and “sounded” healthy, which meant that it might be not so delicious.
It is gluten free, certified organic, no refined sugars, and made with coconut, pecans, pumpkin & sesame seeds, cranberries, and whole grain oats. This particular bar was the Cherry, Dark Chocolate & Almond.
Normally, Aunty doesn’t like granola bars with chocolate because the chocolate isn’t very good and makes it more of a sweet snack, but this one was el perfecto. The dark chocolate was sparse and fine, the texture was chewy but didn’t stick to teeth, pleasant to the taste buds, and it made Aunty’s tummy happy, like a welcome guest and not like a bomb of grainy oatmeal. The entire bar was made with finely chopped ingredients all smashed together for easy eating . LOVE!
Aunty is now going to actively search out and buy another one for her purse.
Googling
#1 son (only son), the crown prince of the family, works at Google. He was always a computer nerd even though we didn’t have a computer at home until 1990. In this day and age, young people have a great edge over us old people – computers and such have made them smarter than us. Our advantage is that we are wiser.
Google recently sponsored a “Take Your Parents to Work Day”. It was like a huge college campus with a variety of free restaurant quality food in every building and in excellent food trucks. Free quality snacks and drinks in convenient locations. Recycle bins, personal gardening plots, ample parking, easy secured building entry and shuttle buses to the shop, demos and expos.
At the end of the day, we all gathered in a stadium that had a Harry Potterish canopy to hear about Google’s current and next phasing from co-founder Sergei Brin and CEO Sundar Pichal. They were very unassuming and nice! Loon is a Google project that brings balloon powered internet to remote areas. Nest is like having a personal butler. Medical tools for eye disease diagnosis to prevent blindness. Couldn’t remember all the other stuff they talked about but Aunty walked away with a good feeling about this company. It is a company that seems to want to help others and give us a more convenient life with self driving cars and free apps.
It ended with a queue of parents asking questions or making comments. Aunty refrained from joining that queue to avoid embarrassing #1 son. If Aunty had gone up there, she would have suggested gifting each parent with one share of Google stock (that would have gotten a standing ovation), making a “find my car” app so she doesn’t forget where she last parked, and having them hire Aunty to be part of their think tank with her non-techie point of view of what would make life easier and better for “maturing” people.
It was a full and wonderful day, under a cool cloudy sky. Aunty’s absolute favorite part of it was in the bathrooms. Every stall in every Google building had heated toilet seats and electronic bidets. Wow! Aunty was too chicken to try it out in case water squirted all over the place, so next time Aunty will bring a change of clothes and sit in the lap of luxury and enjoy.
Aunty is now old enough for Zippy’s!
Aunty has been waiting forever to be eligible for Zippy’s Senior Discount Card. Last week, on her 65th birthday, Aunty got her card!!! Woohoo!
With photo ID and an annual fee of $20, Aunty gets 10% off all food and drinks – dine in, take out, bakery, and free parking! (Actually, parking is free but it was a good way to end the sentence.)
Happy Birthday to Aunty
To tell the truth, Aunty really doesn’t like birthdays – going to them or having them. Bah, humbug!
And spending a lot of money on a little bit of food is really not Aunty’s style, so when the kids asked “where do you want to go?”, the answer was easy. Her favorite, Zippy’s Sushi in Kahala (there’s another one in Pearl City).
We sat at the counter (which got much smaller after the renovation) and Aunty ordered her favorite sushi – hamachi nigiri ($11.55). The very nice waiter said he liked the salmon skin, so Aunty ordered the salmon skin salad ($7.05), which came on a bed of iceberg lettuce. Both were very very good, and perfect for a semi-light dinner, with a little room for dessert. (Jalna, you would LOVE the salmon skin. It reminded me of bacon, yum yum yum.)
Daughter on the left got the 2 choice teishoku ($19.50) with sashimi and salmon.
Kids on the right ordered the monthly special dragon maki sushi ($10.95) and the Chef’s special ($21.60) which came with assorted nigiri sushi, udon, and tempura (sorry, no pictures).
As we waited for the food to arrive, the sushi chef gave each of us a wonderful dish of deep fried battered salmon cubes in a cold vinegar ponzu sauce (SOOOO yummm!) and double bonus of some fish sticks that were cooked to crispy crunchy perfection.
Rosie’s John picked up the tab, saving money with Aunty’s NEW senior discount card, and Rosie treated Aunty to her favorite dessert – glazed donuts. With Aunty’s discount card, she saved 14¢ per donut – which doesn’t sound like much, but it was still – Wooohooo!
The best is yet to be
Becoming 65 is quite wonderful. Zippy’s senior discount, getting Medicare qualified (easy to do on the ssa.gov website), and also being eligible for a senior bus pass.
After a year, Aunty will be 66, and eligible for FRA – full retirement age social security benefits, regardless if Aunty has wages or income from other sources, WOOWOOHOOO!
It is great to grow older. It really is.
Aunty’s war on slugs
Aunty has been trying to grow vegetables from seeds. Carefully planting Manoa lettuce seeds, Chinese parsley, and red lettuce in small raised beds. Watering gently and keeping the surface moist. Looking for sprouts that haven’t shown up. Failure!
The next strategy was to buy starter vegetables from Koolau Farms for $1.49. Carefully breaking up the clumping sprouts and transplanting them in the formerly unsuccessful raised beds. Shade the transplants with a cut branch of mango leaves (neighbor Mrs. Fujitani taught Aunty that trick) and water gently, twice a day. However, after about a week, these would become sparser and sparser and start to disappear.
Why? Because of dang slugs. Brown ones, blonde ones, black ones, and African snails – ooojey slimey mullosc that invade Aunty’s garden at night and hide behind rocks and pots during the day. Creeps. AND they are the carriers of the very bad rat lungworm disease that has become a problem in Hawaii.
War! Humpf! Ho – What is it good for?
A slug free yard and garden. Aunty’s war on slugs is fierce, cruel, gross, and fun. Pal Cookie calls Aunty “sick”. Aunty calls her a wimp because just the thought of going out slug hunting at night will send her home immediately.
Slug bait is okay but they seem to have an innate sense of avoiding what will kill them. Beer in a pan doesn’t seem to work with the slugs in Aunty’s yard. Instead, Aunty now uses 2 relentless hunting methods that work.
Slow and torturous
The first method was taught by a sweet old neighbor, Mrs. Fujitani, who also taught her how to grow a garden full of great Manoa lettuce from seed. She would wait until dark ~ about 9:00 pm or later, and go out into her garden with bamboo skewers in hand, and a flashlight. Each slug would be poked all the way through the middle of their oojey bodies. The next one would be poked, pushing the first one deeper on the stick, and so on and so on until she had a stickful of slugs (see the opening picture of skewered buggahs). She would then insert the dull end of the skewer into the ground, and they would die in the sun and dry up the next day.
Faster and still torturous
Mrs. Fujitani’s method was good, but Aunty expanded her nightly hunts to the entire yard, and several times, the “harvest” included African snails, so Aunty discovered a new use for ziplock bags.
Latex examination gloves have also become Aunty’s favorite fashion accessory. Donning those on both hands, and holding an open ziplock (sandwich size is just right) and lightweight LED flashlight in the gloved dominant hand, Aunty would wait until dark, and shine the light on the grass, sides of pots, inside gardens, even on concrete. Each slug and/or snail would be picked up with the non-dominant gloved hand and popped into the open ziplock bag. Find, pick, pop. Find, pick, pop. Occasionally one or two of those slimey buggahs would try to escape, so the non-dominant picking hand needs to push them back in the bag.
It is very important that only one hand touches the slugs and the other holds the bag and flashlight so that the flashlight doesn’t become slimed out. After the bag is full or the hunt is over for the night, put down the flashlight, seal the ziplock bag up tightly and throw away in your rubbish can. Then, carefully remove each glove, starting with the slug gathering non-dominant hand and then the “cleaner” hand. Toss those.
Slime bagging tips
It seems that the slugs and snails come out into the open at night to socialize and party, as well as to destroy Aunty’s vegetable starters. They like wet or damp grass or concrete. So, water during the day before it becomes dark. You are preparing the canvas for battle.
Hunt every night, if you can. The first night is the biggest catch.
Make it a contest between friends – who can catch the most slugs. Count and laugh – one slug, ah ah ah ah, two slugs, ah ah ah ah (just like Count Dracula from Sesame Street) but don’t be surprised if your friends decline and go home instead.
Make sure the bags do not have a puka or opening, or your rubbish can will have them crawling all over the next day (very gross, very gross, especially in the big grey bins that the City and County provide to us.) Sometimes, Aunty will put the bag in an empty plastic bottle with screw on lid as an added precaution. They are stinky while they are dying.
The best night to go slug hunting is after a heavy rain. They really come out to party and your bagging fingers will be busy and the bag filled up in a very short time. If you are feeling victorious and want even more of that feeling, go out again a couple of hours later when it is even darker and catch the latecomers.
If your neighbor asks you what you are doing, be honest. It is better for them to think that you are weird than for them to think you lost your marbles (and are looking for them).
How to pick a good ripe watermelon
Amy Lynn Andrews is a blogging guru that Aunty follows. Sometimes she has excellent non-blogging tips.
Recently, she shared Shareably.net’s article about picking the perfect watermelon. This was great for Aunty who usually doesn’t buy watermelons because of the risk of getting a lemon – a non sweet or juicy bulky green globe that nobody wants or eats.
The 5 key factors to picking, according to Shareably, are:
- a yellow rather than a white field spot (where the watermelon lay on the ground). Field spot? Aunty never heard or looked for that.
- lots of webbing – the ugly looking brown lines that indicate how many times a bee pollinates the flower. Ugly lines are good? Aunty used to think they were junk.
- boy melons are longer and watery, girl melons are rounder and sweeter. Ahem, well, we all knew that, right?
- not too big, and not too small, but juuuussst right. Sounds like Aunty Marialani from Rap Replinger’s video.
- brown tail means it was on the vine longer, thus riper. Green tail means it was picked too early. Aunty has never seen a tail on a watermelon – but now shall check them out.
MAYBE Aunty will buy a watermelon again. Or did she miss the season already?
Wisdom is Wasted on the Old
Bill Bonner has a newsletter than Aunty subscribes to. He owns Agora Publishing – a very affiliate based newsletter business – sometimes there is overkill in how many links that we are introduced to, but his insights are usually spot on and sage, so Aunty pays attention.
His Bill Bonner’s Diary post today started off with:
POITOU, FRANCE – “My father told me to plant trees,” said a neighbor last night.
“It was right after I bought this place. Of course, I was young… I was busy… I didn’t have time to plant trees.
“Now, I tell my sons to plant trees while they’re still young. So they can enjoy them later.
“Funny, as you get older, and the less future you have available, the better you know it.”
It went on to talk about the trillions of dollars of government debt (all the QE – quantative easing money that the Federal Reserve started printing beginning with President Bush and beyond) and how the younger generation will have to pay it eventually. Or, there will be a collapse in the system.
Too heavy for Aunty. For, what can the average person do? The ostrich head in the sand shows up.
He then went on to talk about buying with debt – borrowing and using income to pay off the debt later IF all goes well.
Which brings to mind those trees that should have been planted when we were young. Didn’t our parents tell us to save our money? To eat healthy, cover up from the sun, exercise, work hard?
And what did Aunty do?
Spend like crazy, borrow constantly and use credit cards to their max. Eat deliciously wonderful junk foods, go out in the sun without hat or sunscreen, sit and squander time.
Aunty has had to pay the price for not listening when she was younger.
Aunty emailed Bill Bonner, “Youth is wasted on the young, and wisdom is wasted on the old.”
However it is never too late to make changes in our lives, no matter how old or young we are, right?
Post note: Aunty just finished listening to Deepak Chopra’s “The New Physics of Healing” CD, borrowed from our local library. Most of it was WAY above Aunty’s understanding – quantum this and fundamental that.
However, what was fascinating was how influential the collective belief of our communities and culture view old people. For the most of us, getting old is an undesirable downhill slide into physical and mental deterioration. In a few specific societies where getting old is something to look forward to, with the collective belief that oldsters are more functional, with bigger roles affording more respect and admiration, there is no physical or mental deterioration, but vibrant lives well into their 100s.
Perhaps, that is why, when we are with others who look good and enjoy life, we are ageless. When we live each day without worrying about what doesn’t matter, we still have time to plant trees.
Avocados, Bananas, and the Olympics
What do these 3 things have in common? A friend named Wandaful. She is a wonderful (hence her nickname Wandaful) person and a sharer of useful information. The first 2 are super useful tips for preserving Aunty’s favorite perishable fruits. The last is eye candy for the senses.
#1 Avocados
One day, Wandaful came by and gave Aunty 3 perfectly ripe avocados from her Sam’s Club bag of 6. Aunty loves to eat bacon avocado sandwiches but didn’t have bacon in the refrigerator at the time.
Wandaful’s great tip saved the day. She said to wrap each avocado tightly with plastic wrap and store them in the refrigerator until ready to eat.
Indeed, it worked, exceptionally well! Here are the avocados after 1 week, then 2 weeks. Perfect and not over ripe OR dried up!!!
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- Wrapped in Saran wrap
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- Still perfect after 1 week
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- Still perfect after 2 weeks!
#2 Bananas
Have you bought a bunch of bananas and have them ripen all at the same time, and end up throwing away the blackened over ripe ones after a few days? Waste money.
Wandaful suggested putting the just right ripe bananas in a brown paper bag (okay….that’s what to do to hasten the ripening process of green bananas). However, instead of keeping them out on the table, put the bag in the refrigerator. Aunty tried this for 2 weeks. It sorta worked. Both the table top control banana (single one that soon became black) and the refrigerated bunch of bananas were still good to eat, though the black one was a bit mushier. What might have been a big factor is that these were Apple bananas which have a MUCH longer shelf life than regular bananas and remain firm even though they look rotten.
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- Just ripened Apple bananas
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- After 2 weeks with control and refrigerated experiment
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- Sorta successful, both are still edible
#3 Visual eye candy
Wandaful sends Aunty an email about checking out a special Japanese artist by signing in on Google. Huh? How does one sign in to Google? After Aunty’s confusion, she sent the name of the artist – Eiko Ishioka. This is a neato lady that passed away in 2012. She did strange and fantastic media art. Aunty took exceptional attention to the Beijing 2008 Olympics opening ceremony of 2008 Chinese drummers that Eiko art-directed with its physically staggering optics and performance.
Behold and enjoy: [Aunty’s update: to view, click on “Watch on YouTube” and the video will open and play.]
Jalna’s husband’s crispy skin pork bake
Picture from Jalna’s blog of Wendell’s Pernil
Jalna’s blog just kills Aunty sometimes. She makes us laugh, feel whimsy, and then, SO hungry when she posts her husband and son’s cooking results.
A few weeks ago, she shared Wendell’s Pernil – a Puerto Rican pork recipe . The picture of the crispy skin pork jumped out and begged to be eaten. Jalna assured Aunty (during the funeral picture taking day) that it was indeed ONO (delicious) to da max.
Last Sunday was the first Sunday of the month. Each month, Aunty has her 1st Sunday dinner for family and friends at the house. Wendell’s Pernil was going to be the main dish. Luckily, Times Super Market had ONE 8 lb. picnic pork shoulder (looked kinda gross and weird because of the skin), and Aunty’s old spice cabinet didn’t have dried oregano so she substituted with Italian seasoning.
It was easy – even for Aunty – who is still regaining her strength in her hand after her broken arm incident. The marinade seemed like it was too sparse but it was actually just right. Aunty should have let the skin get crispier (it would get stuck to Aunty’s teeth instead of crunching into pieces) but everybody at dinner seemed to love it. Pal Wandaful took home the big bone to make jook. It was a fall off the bone success!!! Mahalo, Jalna and Wendell!
Ingredients
8 pounds picnic pork shoulder
12 minced garlic cloves
1 1/2 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
3 tbs olive oil
3 tbs white vinegar
8 tsp salt (or 1 tsp per pound of meat)
Directions
Wash the pork shoulder.
With a sharp knife, make 1-inch deep cuts into the pork.
Using a mortar and pestle crush garlic, oregano and black pepper together. (Aunty just smashed ’em)
Add olive oil, vinegar and salt. Mix well.
Spoon some of the garlic mixture inside the small cuts around the pork and spread remaining all over the pork.
Place pork in aluminum turkey pan (skin side up) and cover with aluminum foil tightly.
Refrigerate for at least 8 hours. Turn it in the marinade.
Bake at 325 degrees for about 5 to 6 hours.
Remove aluminum foil and bake at 375 degrees for another hour or until the skin is crisp.
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- sparse looking marinade on gross looking skin
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- on the table after the 1st round of eating
Your next 5 years
Aunty subscribes to over 40 websites for daily email updates and newsletters. These vary from healthy cooking, beading, real estate, retirement planning, etc. The majority of Aunty’s subscriptions focus on financial gurus letting subscribers know what they THINK may happen based on current and past factors.
Most of them are gloom and doomers. The economy will collapse, we are in a bubble, sell everything and move to another country, get ready for the survival of the fittest, etc.
Some are believers in getting into the stock market for the long haul – buy now and hold forever, just make sure that you only buy top quality stocks. Some believe in buying real estate. Some believe in buying and storing away gold. Some are absolutely sure about bitcoin.
Who is right? Probably every one of them. The trouble is, we don’t know what will come first or happen until it happens. So we plod on, hoping for the best, planning as best we can, or choose to just keep doing what we always do.
The post it note
Aunty has a little post it note on her laptop. It asks, “What would I do if I only had a week/a month/ a year/5 years/ a life left to live?” Then, it asks, “How can I design my routine this week to align with these answers?” Allow 10 minutes per answer.
This post it note has been staring at Aunty for over a year, each time the laptop was opened. It requires 50 minutes of sit down and write answers, so Aunty would look at the note, and then ignore it as emails were checked, Drama Fever shows were watched, games were played, or checking things out on the amazing world wide web.
A break in time
After Aunty broke her arm, it was really quite nice. All chores, commitments, and activities stopped. Friends and family brought food, became chauffeurs, and Aunty had an excellent excuse to not have to get up and fetch things or clean up. Daughter #1 became a very capable and caring housemaid/cook/nurse aide. Aunty would play HOURS of Candy Crush Saga with her right hand or watch Korean dramas nonstop without feeling any remorse of wasting time. Ha Ha! That was fun.
Aunty’s 5 years
Even while wasting time, that post it note kept asking, “What would I do if I only had a week/ a month/ a year/ 5 years/ a life time left to live?”
So for now, Aunty has thought about the 5 year time line. If Aunty only had 5 years left to live. Hmmm. For starters, Aunty wants to be in excellent health – no aches, pains, disease. Vibrant independent living. Active in thinking capacity (no Alzheimers for Aunty!), financially set up for life, having a clutter free home (via the Mari Kondo Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up), a joyful garden, 2 chickens to lay fresh eggs, an understanding with the children about who gets what and how, and having freedom of time and space to create and create with all the beads, fabrics, and supplies collected over the years.
Planning for the near and far future means doing things rather than putting them off. The end will be our memorial service.
A funeral picture
from “Miss Granny”
Aunty thoroughly enjoyed a Korean drama movie, Miss Granny. She was a crotchety bitter old woman who had a hard life. She went to a photo shop to have her funeral picture taken. In Korea, during the memorial service, the deceased’s picture is framed and set in a horizontal flower wreath. Rather formal, usually flattering, plain backdrop, headshot. Something like a passport photo, but better because it is flattering by choice.
So, Aunty reached out to her favorite photo blogger, Jalna, to take her funeral picture next week. Friends have been invited, but Aunty’s friends think she is weird so no takers – yet.
This will also be a time for pictures for Aunty’s new website design (taking forever but it shall be happening). Jalna’s work place and photographer friend Leslie (check out her unreal Africa photo trip) will be coming to help, so already it shall be a fun day.
Having a funeral picture and updating HonoluluAunty.com is part of Aunty’s 5 year plan.
Choose YOUR what if and work on it
“What would you do if you only had a week/ a month/ a year/ 5 years/etc. left to live?”
Aunty probably has at least 20 years left and has been mulling over how she wants her life to be. Maybe it is morbid, but doing what needs to be done now will make it easier for the ones we leave behind.
Earlier this year, Aunty had EDTA chelation done. This was once a week for 10 weeks at her doctor’s office (excellent Dr. Takemoto-Gentile) to remove heavy metals and detox. A friend thought it was dangerous and put a bit of fear into Aunty’s psyche.
So, one week prior to starting the treatments, Aunty thought a bit about what to do if there was just a week left for Aunty. It was cleaning up the garage that had so much junk in it, one couldn’t walk to the back wall. Strange choice but it felt good. (The garage is still a mess but less of one.)
Turns out, the IV chelation was great, safe, and the side effects were better health and talking to the doctor every week.
It was a successful 1 week exercise and rather an easy one. If Aunty were to do another “what if” for a week long time frame, it might be handwriting individual aloha letters to the kids. Maybe finally painting a couple of the window sills that are starting to peel and flake. Definitely clearing all the papers and miscellany from the desk. Rearranging pots and plants and trimming trees.
For right now, Aunty has the great excuse of a broken arm, but it is healing up so quickly, Aunty’s days of Candy Crushing for hours and hours will be over. It will be full steam ahead again soon.
What would you choose to do?
Aunty’s Quite Wonderful Broken Bones
See this cute little doggie? His name is Toshi. He is our daughter’s 7 year old Sheltie, and he is dangerous for old ladies who try to keep up with his running while walking on uneven Kaimuki streets. That is how Aunty tripped, flew forward, and broke 2 bones in her left forearm recently.
As Aunty struggled up, holding her dirty misshaped wrist and battling shock, Toshi was not concerned and of no help. This dog is far removed from the hero dog that he looks like – Lassie – the problem solving smart dog we all grew up admiring on our black and white TV screens in the “old days.”
Since no one was home, Aunty drove, one handedly to Kahala Urgent Care just before they closed for the night. The entire staff was sooo nice and efficient, washing and wrapping Aunty’s many wounds, taking an Xray, being seen by a real doctor, putting the entire elbow, forearm and wrist in a splint, and sending Aunty home with discharge info and instructions to see an orthopedic doctor asap the next day.
Not choosing the emergency room
Why didn’t Aunty go to Queen’s emergency instead and have it possibly taken care of in one visit? Aunty heard that after 6:00 pm, the ER staff is made up of the rookie doctors, because Queen’s is a training hospital. No rookie (deceivingly known as “resident doctors”) for Aunty. Also, their triage admission process is agonizingly long and requires sitting, waiting, moving, sitting, waiting, on and on.
Kahala Urgent Care was close by, uncrowded, and they did a great job of stabilizing Aunty’s arm. It was also SO reasonable in price, HOW do they make money?
Dr. Atkinson and Thelma
Aunty called the first name on the list that Kahala Urgent Care recommended, Dr. Robert Atkinson at Hale Pawa’a Building on Beretania Street, (808) 536-2261. Thelma answered the phone. Thelma! A really nice young woman with an old fashioned name. We hit it off and Aunty went in that day to see Dr. Atkinson. Surgery was scheduled for the next day in the same building, on the 6th floor.
The 6th floor was top notch, clean, excellent nursing and operating staff, bright and modern, with a state-of-the-art operating room. Aunty’s surgery went well, and a good friend took Aunty home to recover with a partial splint and a bandaged arm. A follow up appointment for a hard cast was scheduled in a week.
Tammy and the Beautiful Cast
Aunty’s hand was still swollen and her wounds were still raw and open at her followup appointment so with a gentle suggestion from Aunty’s newest pal Thelma, Dr. Atkinson directed Aunty to see Tammy of the Hawaii Hand & Rehabilitation Services located in an adjacent office on the same floor (so convenient that the Xray room, rehab, casting, and doctor are all on the 7th floor!)
Tammy is a pretty Okinawan looking young woman who really knows her stuff. See her picture with Aunty? She followed Aunty’s coaching about angling her body, bending her elbow, and pulling back her face from her ears the way that Jalna shared in her photo shoot tips. She looks good, yeah?
What impressed Aunty the most was how she “made” Aunty’s HOT pink gorgeous cast out of a flat sheet of plastic, expertly fitting, shaping, cutting, forming and adjusting – into a work of art that Aunty is SO happy to wear! It is hard, super light weight, easily removable (Aunty was worried that she would get itchy in a regular hard cast), and comfortable.
Tammy went through a worksheet of hand exercises to speed along recovery and mobility.
Aunty is ready to hit the town
Aunty is going stir crazy at home as well as watching the weeds in her garden laugh and grow. Aunty’s wounds are almost healed with the application of Anti-Infection that kills ALL bacteria on contact but can cause screeching pain at first. Aunty has also been on her BEMER machine (a future post) and using its infrared light attachment directly over the largest wound.
These therapies and the excellent care that the above fine professionals have provided, along with the help and food from friends and family have made this latest journey of a broken arm quite wonderful.
Aunty has cancelled some of her previously scheduled commitments, is taking it easy, and has a really good reason for not working at projects that have been put off anyway.
Life is good, even with a broken arm.