by Sylvia McNicoll | Oct 28, 2008 | Sylvia McNicoll
The recuperation continues. Nobody cares any more and I’m bored myself with this injury.
The list of things you can’t do with a cast is a work in progress. You discover it as you go along.
You can’t open many packages with one hand. Worst of all, you can’t open your vial of Tylenol 2 with a cast on. It’s a child proof bottle. I have to get my 7 year old grandson with no broken arm to open it for me.
You can’t slice, dice, or chop. It’s hard to pour from a heavy tea pot.
Washing anything by hand is nigh impossible. One hand gets vair vair tired shampooing your hair. Putting toothpaste on your toothbrush is unbelievably tricky.
It’s a skillful dog owner who can leash their jackapoo with one hand. Sometimes I’m skillful, sometimes I’m not. Scooping is awkward.
Writing hurts. No way around it. If I type with only my right hand, strange typos occur and my right arm ends us aching as much as my left. If I type with both, the cast scrapes across the computer and weighs heavily on the broken part of my arm.
Driving I’m not attempting yet but Dear God, I can’t not drive for six to eight weeks.
Reading–I’m sticking to quality trade paper backs. Lighter than hard cover. I just read Eric Walter’s Safe Houses. Pretty darn exciting. I like the characters and the way they just keep solving the most impossible problems. Thank goodness for books. And all kinds of different books at that.
by Sylvia McNicoll | Oct 27, 2008 | Sylvia McNicoll
Saturday it was our privilege to join in the celebration of a new book: War Brothers by Sharon McKay. We’d already read about how she’d researched the story in an article she’d written for Hamilton Magazine about a year ago.
Launches are always such hard work for the author. I think they mark the beginning of even more hard work to sell writing that should just fly off the shelves because it’s good. Sharon shouldn’t have to put on a great meal for us all.
But it was delightful for us readers and fans. I’ve already read War Brothers–what a contrast to Anne of Green Gables but the characters are that irrepressible and engaging. How lucky to be born in an island of Canada and not Uganda.
Congratulations to Sharon. She’s written a wonderful story with impact and hope.
by Sylvia McNicoll | Oct 25, 2008 | Sylvia McNicoll
So another tempting bottle of wine arrived courtesy of my long time friends Cheryl and Lloyd Lunan. Note the cute label. This is Lloyd’s own brand. My bottle of tylenold 3 is coming to an end so I’m almost ready to enjoy a glass.
Today I’m typing with two hands. I hope the cast doesn’t
scrape at the computer too much. The actual keyboarding is not the issue. It’s the weight of the cast dragging down on the sore parts of the arm.
To entertain me through this week, I read Anne of Green Gables. It’s her hundredth birthday in November and Elizabeth McLeod is coming to speak at our CANSCAIP meeting on Lucy Maud’s life. Gillean O’Reilly, my programming partner, challenged me to read it again as an adult.
Anne sure is a wonderful character but it’s hard to believe her inventor suffered from depression. I loved the part where Anne breaks her ankle as a result of a dare and talks about how mad she is at herself. Spoke right to my heart.
If I had money, I would sue myself for being so stupid as to not wear wrist guards rollerblading.
Note to publishers: You shouldn’t make books so heavy, it’s hard on healthy wrists never mind broken ones
by Sylvia McNicoll | Oct 22, 2008 | Sylvia McNicoll
It’s like my birthday and everyone says poor me. Also it’s the time of year when all the literary shortlists are announced and mostly I’m not on them. I’m invited to help celebrate everyone else’s success.
So this arm break is most timely. I’m having a pity party. My friend and author of Grave Danger, Gisela Sherman,made me a wonderful lasagne. And see here my friend Eleanor bought me an inspiring red wine.I wanted to sip it with my pasta but I’m taking Tylenol 3 with codeine. That might have put me into a coma. Wonder what kind of prezzies my buddies would come up with then.
Okay, I am inspired. I will wean myself from the painkillers so that I can enjoy the wine. I should also mention, my daughter Robin bought me yoga pants so I could dress independently.
Thank you Gisela, Eleanor and Robin. To the the rest of my devoted blog
readers: Go out and buy Last Chance for Paris. It’s the only way you can ease the sting of lost nominations, broken limbs and careers.
by Sylvia McNicoll | Oct 20, 2008 | Sylvia McNicoll
Things you can’t do with one hand:
Hook your bra closed.
Button your jeans,
Perform a three stroke alt click save to desktop on a Mac notebook. In order to download this photo, I had to twist around and hurt my sore wrist.
But just see how beautiful. My friend Lynda sent me this edible arrangement. There are chocolate apple slices and strawberries with nut and coconut sprinkles.
With one hand, I was unable to capture Mortie leaping for the yellow smilie face star balloon attached to the arrangement. Then suddenly, pop, Mortie was gone. The smilie face deflated.
Mortie’s hanging around the top floor of the house way far away from Smilie on the bottom level in my office,
The other thing that’s hard to do is to keyboard and eat delicious dark chocolatey fruit. My white keyboard has brown smudges. I’ll lick those off when I’m desperate.
Thank you Lynda!
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