Drunken Christmas

Monstermustdie is so drunk that I don't know if we can make it to meet friends for brunch tomorrow.

Christmas in Atlanta

We made the 6-hour drive down to our old neighborhood in Atlanta on Christmas eve to spend the holiday with friends and family.  We split up our stay there between Staying with friends Cindi and John on the first two days before house-sitting for Daniel and Sam later in the week.
We returned to North Carolina on December 29, leaving early in the morning. I wish we had stayed until the afternoon of the 30th but MonsterMustDie was in a hurry to be home. He had already had enough of the city. I could see his anxiety rising as we crossed I-285 going into Atlanta and he did not relax again until we were back in the house.
I tried to get together with my friend J, who lives out of town in Conyers while we were there but was not able to meet up with her or visit her new home in Conyers. Every attempt did not work out. That does not mean I'm not extremely grateful for the time I had to visit. This was my first trip home in a long time and, if I am lucky enough to stay employed here, the only time I will ever have to travel will be the week after Christmas from now on.
I got to see a lot of friends. I got to have dinner out with my family. I shopped at the Buford Highway Farmers Market on my way out of town to pick up some treats and I stopped in one liquor store and got one bottle of very nice brandy that I can't find in the entire state of North Carolina and its ABC stores.

snow

We are still edging back into a normal schedule after being shut down here in North Carolina from the snow this weekend. This was the most snow I have seen since we moved here.
Everything was closed down Sunday. The studio was closed Monday but the dress shop was calling everyone, including me, trying to find people to show up for work that day. I suppose the corporate office in NYC saw snow days as no excuse to close doors and stay home. They just don't get it. Plus, people who work in retail usually have old tiny cars that could not make it over snow banks and ice walls like pickup trucks and SUVs the size of tanks attempt to do. I must remember to just stay parked uphill in my driveway next time, rather than parking on the street as if I can drive out of the neighborhood, because there is no getting out of our street in my car anyway. The county snow plows did clear the main streets around us but left walls of snow and ice to either side blocking all of the driveways and side streets.
I made it into work a couple of hours late on Tuesday with MonsterMustDie driving me to work in his slightly better car after he finally negotiated parking lots, hills, and streets to circle back around and pick me up in front of the house. He'll do it again today and by tomorrow I should be able to make it to work as usual. He learned to drive in the midwest and lived a number of years in Ohio as a young adult so he still has good winter driving skills. I am not a snow driver. I hate driving even in good weather and clear streets.
Speaking of parking on the street, I now remember that last time it snowed and MonsterMustDie parked on the street, his car was broken into and windows were smashed. Luckily, no one tried to get into my car but I would have stayed parked uphill next to the back door if I'd remembered that.

Clearly, I need to get tall boots and better outdoor clothes if it snows like this again, although by the time it does, if it does, the shops will probably be filled with sundresses and beach gear.

What I learned today

Mudlarking
A mudlark is someone who scavenges in river mud for items of value, a term used especially to describe those who scavenged this way in London during the late 18th and 19th centuries.

Things are better today.

The doctor took off my tape and gauze yesterday and I got to shower and wash my hair last night. Hooray! I still have white threads from the gauze patch stuck to my chest where they glued me shut.

Cat Burglar

Today at work,  several people said I look like a cat burglar in my black knit cap and turtleneck.  I haven't been able to wash my hair in the shower since my surgery last Tuesday so I'm finding different ways to cover my greasy head.
They taped me shut with a small gauze pad at the top that I can't get wet.  Today is my postoperative consultation and I hope I get a more solid schedule on my postoperative care.

Update: The doctor removed my tape and gauze bandage, revealing just stitches and glue... with a few shreds of the gauze attached. He said I can stop babying the wound now and take a shower without fear of getting the surgical site wet.

Post Op Holiday

So today my GI issues are still going on despite two doses of imodium. Monstermustdie drove me to the hospital to be tested for a bacterial infection. After finding what desk to check in at, get processed, and wait, I was taken to a small filthy bathroom to leave a sample for the lab. They said my test results will probably be ready by Monday afternoon. 

Meanwhile, I'm glad that MonsterMustDie is not having the same problems I am having. I would hate for him to be sick as a result of my visit to the hospital.

Clostridium difficile
One of the most well-known HAIs, C. diffcauses inflammation of the colon, and symptoms can range from diarrhea to life-threatening colitis. Antibiotic-associated diarrhea is the most common symptom, following medication ingestion that eliminates good bacteria from the intestine along with the bad. The bacteria are transmitted via the fecal-oral route, most commonly being transferred from an infection site to another patient by a healthcare provider's hands. C. diff is resistant to many routine cleaning products, including alcohol-based hand cleaners, so it is able to survive in clinical locations for extended periods of time. C. diff can usually be treated with antibiotics, but in some cases a stool transplant may help restore bacterial imbalances.

Thanksgiving + Surgery

I went in for breast surgery on Tuesday. MonsterMustDie took the day off work to transport me to the Surgery Center and back home. I took a shower and washed my hair just before going, knowing I won't be able to was my hair for several days afterward just because I have to keep the surgical area dry and I can't lift my arms.
Everything went fine. I was kinda put off by the casual sanitary conditions there. The nurse, Janey, tore off tape for my IV and laid it on the footrest of the chair I was in until she was ready to use it. The arms of the chair in the prep room were sticky. I don't want to consider myself OCD about cleanliness - far from it, probably - but this was a medical facility.
Oh, well...
They sent me home with a Spanks-style tube top over my chest and a small ice pack over my left breast. I also had to purchase electronic leg compression devices that I wore home and will have to wear to sleep in for the next 9 - 10 days.

Wednesday morning before work, I managed to give myself a shallow sponge bath in the tub with my hair tied up and about three layers of plasic wrap around my chest to try to keep it dry. I'm planning to wear my hair tied back all week in a pony tail while I'm at work. I wore an old athletic bra-top, that was probably inadequate support, to work under my turtleneck sweater. It seemed like it would work okay but by the end of the work-day I was experiencing some discomfort. I ended up trading it in for a regular bra to sleep in last night. This morning, I woke up with immediate liquid bowel movements that I hope will cease as soon as everything is empty. I took an Immodium and am hoping for the best result because this is the worse day for GI troubles.

Today is Thanksgiving and I'm planning to make a mushroom tart with some beautiful wild mushrooms I got at the Farmers Market. We are invited to Karen and Bob's house in Greensboro for Thanksgiving. We're also bringing roasted vegetables and braised greens as a last minute thing. MonsterMustDie did not believe the tart and a small batch of sweet white turnips was enough.

This instead of That

The appointment I had for a biopsy of a cyst became a consultation instead of undergoing the procedure.  Rather than doing a biopsy and afterwards taking out the cyst regardless of what the biopsy shows, they are going with just the removal the cyst. This will be done under general anesthesia and MonsterMustDie has already made arrangements to take the day off to transport me.  That gives them a much better sample than a needle biopsy would, so why do two things instead of one. My doctor told me that he feels confident that it is totally benign but it won't go away on its own and might be a problem later so he wants to remove it.

painful bits

This morning before work, I have an appointment for a needle biopsy on a cyst in my left breast.
Nearly 30 years ago, I had a biopsy followed by a cyst removal in the right breast. Not looking forward to this procedure at all.

Also, my feet and legs hurt more than usual this morning.

driven to distraction

I can’t seem to get anything done tonight. That is all.

fashion statement

Now that the weather is cooler, I've been wearing my old skull sweater to work in the morning. Yesterday, one of my co-workers told me he'd like to have a jumpsuit made out of the same knitted fabric as my my sweater.

Redeemed

MonsterMustDie did nothing last week for our anniversary or my birthday.  Today, he took me to lunch at Crafted and gave me a belated birthday tiki cup and American Gods DVD.

I've felt ill all day. It finally occurs to me that it is probably from the change in the weather and the wild ups and downs in barometric pressure.

the promise of sleep

MonsterMustDie worked all night on the project for the Mill Collective. He got home at 5:00 a.m. just in time for me to wake up for work and for him to fall into bed for a couple of hours. Then, he gets up and does it all again today to finish everything in time for the Market.