AuburnChick's Adventures

I’m feeling a whole lot of sad right now, y’all.

The loss of my sweet friend’s husband threw me into a tailspin last week.

I have cried a lot recalling fond memories of him. My heart is hurting deeply for his wife, left to pick up the pieces of her shattered heart.

Sigh.

That same day, as we were firming up plans to visit our son and his family for the weekend of the 4th, he shared that there will be a dark cloud hanging over their heads because they scheduled their dog to be put to sleep the week after the holiday weekend.

They recently found out that their little fur baby has bladder cancer, and further testing showed that it’s advancing very rapidly. Because they don’t want him to suffer, they’ve made the very difficult decision that all pet owners dread.

My daughter-in-law brought this little pup into their marriage. He’s a sweet boy and gets along well with our dog, which has made it easy to travel back and forth and bring the fur boys with us.

Sigh.

And then there’s the accident we missed witnessing firsthand last Thursday morning on the way to work.

The Mr. has been driving me back and forth ever since my shoulder surgery. Normally, when I drive myself, I leave between 6:45 and I because parking is an issue. With us playing “Driving Miss Daisy,” I’ve been taking advantage of the extra time (and it takes longer to get ready since I’m one-armed), so we’ve been leaving later.

Thursday, we left a lot later- as in I was barely going to arrive on time to clock in.

We were five minutes away from my building when we saw this at one of the intersections:

One of the things I love about where we live is the sound of the train passing through.

The tracks run through the middle of town. There’s no way around them. I have to cross them to and from work.

Unfortunately, about 10-15 minutes before we were to pass through this intersection, someone’s car got hit by the train.

We, along with many other cars, had to find an alternative route. I texted my boss that I was probably going to be late.

The train stretched on and on.

We finally found the end of it, and the Mr. deposited me at work. I even managed to clock in on time.

I wasn’t the only one in my office who’d had to take a detour in.

Later that day, I read that a young man from another city had lost his life in the accident.

I don’t know the specifics on the accident. All I do know is that a family started off their day learning that their loved one was gone forever. I’ve received phone calls like that before, and the pain is devastating.

Sigh.

I know there’s an ebb and flow to life, but the valleys sure do stink.

They are reminders of our need to press into God more.

I do not know how people get through tough times without having a personal relationship with Jesus.

Through all of the topsy turvy seasons of life, God is the only steady presence we can rely on.

And so it is with this sure knowledge that I lift up prayers of comfort for my friend, Barb, and my Rooster boy and his wife.

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Hiya friends!

Last Friday, the Mr. went to dinner with a friend, so I took the opportunity to stroll around the house looking at my plants.

Y’all, my hostas are looking amazing!!

That’s a side of the house I rarely visit, so I was quite shocked to see the progress they’d made since I posted about them last month.

Here’s a photo from that blog post – just so you can compare. The third plant down grew so much, and wait until you see the last hosta in the line.

This entire flower bed has clay beneath the mulch. Planting the hostas was a BEAST of a job. The Mr. dug every single hole, and I supplemented with extra soil and fertilizer. We didn’t think they’d last long. The last plant in the row looked like it was gone forever.

Here’s what I saw Friday.

Forgive the weedy grass growing around it. My bum shoulders have rendered me a pathetic gardener of late, but I’ve already told the Mr. that this situation must be remedied immediately before my poor babies are choked.

Anyhoo, let’s focus on the positive.

Look how big she’s grown, and she’s even got a flower (with more to come).

Here’s what she looked like in May.

But God . . .

What a beautiful reminder that no matter how tough the situation, God is still there, and by His will, life will grow and even, if you allow Him to work, bloom into magnificent beauty.

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It’s this guy’s birthday today!

As you can see, he’s a big Auburn fan.

We love watching our Tigers play – preferably during the evening though.

He’s loved our fur babies with a fierceness that surprised me after he once declared, “Only one dog.”

He’s my wedding date . . .

And the person who arranges fun adventures.

He takes care of my accident-prone self with the protectiveness of a papa bear.

He loves our grand babies well and buys me plane tickets because he knows that my heart can’t take too many weeks away from them.

Happy birthday, Mr.

When I’m able, I’ll bake your favorite cake, so that we can celebrate properly.

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I just found out that the husband of one of my best friends passed away yesterday, and I’m absolutely devastated.

I met David and his wife when we moved back to the Florida Panhandle in the early 2000’s. Our boys attended the same middle school and played soccer together – both in middle school and on a travel team.

In fact, I’m pretty sure I first met David’s wife (my future BFF) during one of the first middle school soccer games our boys played in. She quickly made an impression on me with her energy, and I decided I wanted to do life with them.

As the years went by, our families grew closer. Before I started teaching I subbed for David and his wife, who taught at our kids’ middle school. I remember David walking into his room early on a day I was subbing and watching him teach his class.

He was incredibly patient and explained concepts so well. He ruled his room with an iron hand, but his discipline was based in love, and the kids knew that.

When I was preparing to take my General Knowledge Test to become a certified teacher, the math portion freaked me out. I called David and asked if he would help me study since that was the subject he taught. I showed up at his house on the weekend, a wad of Kleenex in my hands (I’d been crying from stress), and listened carefully as he calmly walked me through several practice problems.

I remember at one point him leaning back in his chair and saying, “I have no idea how they got that answer.” He assured me that there wouldn’t be hard questions like that on the test despite my worries.

I never saw him fret.

Ever.

Even after he had to rebuild his home after Hurricane Michael destroyed it.

It was the second time he’d rebuilt that house – Hurricane Opal had flooded their home several years before.

Even when they lived in a camper in their driveway for months while he put their home back together, he was steady as could be, and I don’t think I ever heard him complain.

He and his wife were in our small group at church. We shared many, many meals together. His quiet faith did not waver.

Ever.

He loved his family and friends steadfastly.

I will never forget this amazing man – his southern drawl – his easy take on life.

Please pray for his wife, their children, their grandchildren, and their community. His passing is already being felt by all who were honored to know him.

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Hello, friends! I always look forward to Wednesday. Not only does it mark the midway point of my work week, but it’s a chance to reflect as I answer Joyce’s fun questions and visit new areas of the blog world to see how others answered them.

Let’s get started!

1. What does adventure mean to you? 

When I see or hear the word “adventure,” I immediately think of participating in an activity that may be new to me – something that might ask me to step outside of my comfort zone – visit a place I’ve never been to before. An adventure evokes a feeling of anticipation and fun.

2.  What are your thoughts on tipping? What businesses or service providers do you regularly tip? Do you resent being asked if you’d like to add a tip? What about when a suggested amount is presented? 

I am all for tipping, if the circumstances warrant it.

Dining at a sit-down restaurant where someone takes my order, and it’s made especially for me. – where someone checks on me to make sure my water glass is filled up and things are to my satisfaction. I am more than happy to tip in this case.

We don’t do fast food much, but when we do, I’m not about to tip. Sorry not sorry.

I believe that other service-oriented personnel, such as hair stylists, nail techs, food delivery and Uber drivers should be tipped. We’ve even tipped movers who transported and unloaded our home’s furnishings. These people work hard, and I want them to feel appreciated.

With that said, yes, I do resent being asked if I want to add a tip.

Last year, we were buying a few trinkets from a souvenir shop during a trip with friends. I was absolutely aghast when the shop worker gave me a pen to add a tip. “Um, no. You rang up my purchases. That is it.” The request was extremely tacky.

If a suggested amount is provided, I become rebellious – unless the number provided lines up with what I’d planned on tipping anyhow.

3. I scream you scream we all scream for ice cream…do we? Is ice cream a favorite treat at your house? What’s your favorite flavor? Regular, soft serve, gelato, sherbet, or some sort of non-dairy version of ice cream…what’s your pleasure? 

I have had a milk allergy since I was pregnant with my youngest, so I have missed out on real ice cream for over thirty years.

Thank goodness for recipe creators who have figured out how to make plant-based ice cream that tastes like the real thing.

I can’t have oat milk, so mine needs to be made with almond, cashew, or coconut milk.

Did you know that Kitchen Aid has an ice cream bowl attachment that you freeze and make ice cream with? Yep. It works amazingly well!

For store bought (i.e. the lazy woman’s go-to), this one is my favorite at the moment and one we stocked in the freezer in the days leading up to my recent surgery. It went down so smoothly and eased my sore throat when I got home from the surgery center.

4. What’s your ‘back in my day, we____________________ ‘ story or saying? 

Back in my day, we didn’t overthink our baby’s sleep habits. We asked our mamas and friends, and we might have read What to Expect the First Year. Ultimately, we used our God-given intuition, and our kiddos were fine.

5. Somehow this is our last Hodgepodge in the month of June. Next week’s Hodgepodge lands in July. Wow. Sum up your June using three adjectives. 

Because June has been all about my shoulder surgery, my three adjectives are related to that: anticipated, painful, and restful.

These words seem contrary, but they follow the progression of the month.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I just finished this book:

It must have been a free book I downloaded from Prime’s First Read offerings one month.

This is a lovely book that depicts two people who meet while visiting their loved ones’ graves. The friendship they forge as they navigate the turbulent waters of grief is unexpectedly funny while simultaneously tender.

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Happy Tuesday, y’all!

I thought I’d share what I meal prepped for my first week back at work.

By the way, here’s me, yesterday, all ready to rejoin my sweet coworkers.

I cooked two dishes Friday afternoon after my doctor’s appointment.

First, though, was a late lunch in the form of a smoothie. I make a similar version of this, but this new-to-me recipe, posted by one of my favorite recipe creators, asks for tofu to bump up the amount of protein. It was delicious! I sipped on it while I prepared the other dishes.

The first was African Coconut Chicken Curry. Joyce had posted about it last week, I think.

Thank heavens for the Mr., who has a lot of experience serving as my sous chef given the number of surgeries I’ve had over the years.

I veganized it by cubing up a block of tofu, draining it, and frying it up after liberally sprinkling the cubes with salt and pepper.

I made a pot of rice to serve the curry with. What a flavorful dish!

Since the Mr. was in chopping mode, I got him to go ahead and chop up a couple more things for a second dish I wanted to prepare – Creamy Tomato Soup.

This recipe is in the cookbook pictured below – a longtime favorite of mine.

This recipe came together very quickly with a minimum number of ingredients.

All of that cooking made for a lot of dishes that needed to be washed up. I did every single one of them, using my left hand.

We had run the dishwasher earlier in the day, so it was still full of clean dishes, which is why they needed to be hand washed.

When Super Sis and I were growing up, we took turns with the dishes. One of us washed while the other dried. It was the cause of many an argument because we never could remember who’d gotten the best job – the washing. Our mom finally had to post a chart in the fridge to keep us straight.

We took pride in our stacks of clean but wet dishes. The Mr. is forever telling me that it’s not a contest to see how high I can stack them.

So, what are you eating this week?

Do you meal prep?

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Friday, I had my first post-op appointment with my orthopedic surgeon.

My surgeon has the BEST bedside manner, y’all. I count him and his staff among my many blessings.

I thought I’d share details about my surgery during Friday’s visit.

First, though, look at my shoulder.

No more stitches! I had one incision I was a tad nervous about because it had a knot, but it smoothed over as soon as the nurse pulled out the stitch (which hurt coming out, by the way).

The steri-strips will eventually fall off on their own.

I am not allowed to scrub my shoulder (nor would I want to), but it’s now okay for my shoulder to get wet. Now, I’m not going to soak in a pool, but simply running soap and water down my arm is allowable.

The doctor had visited me in the recovery room after my surgery and gave me two sheets of photos. I took them with me to Friday’s appointment and asked if he would describe each one.

He’s a saint, let me tell you, and acquiesced to my request.

Photos 1, 2, 4, and 5 are of my labrum BEFORE he repaired it.

He said it was shredded. He said you can see it from the way the wispy tissue was floating around.

Photo 7 is my labrum and the socket AFTER he released the bicep muscle from the labrum.

The bicep muscle was then attached to my humerus bone with an anchor. That’s not in the photo, but it is why I have a long incision down my bicep. He always fixes that injury with an open incision.

I’m not sure, but I think photo 8 is of my rotator cuff. It seems to look a little like the rotator cuff photos in the next grouping.

Before I leave the first group, though, photo 6 is of the section of arthritis, which he smoothed over. I didn’t even know that could be done.

Here are photos 9-16.

Photo 9 shows a complete rotator cuff tear.

When describing photo 10, my doctor referred to it as a subscap tear. Here’s a link to read more about this kind of rotator cuff tear.

I had every single one of the symptoms, which my surgeon had attributed to my labrum after getting my MRI results, which initially didn’t show much of a rotator cuff tear. I’m going to sound like a broken record, but I am SO GLAD I pushed for surgery so quickly. There’s nothing like putting eyes on an injury.

Here’s a diagram I found online of the muscles of the shoulder. I found it helpful when I got home and looked it up because there are a lot of moving parts inside the shoulder.

Is it any wonder why I had been in so much pain? Yikes!

Photo 11 shows the rotator cuff after he repaired it.

He described how the procedure worked. After seeing the torn tissue, he scraped back, looking for good tissue. He had to keep scraping back. The official term for this is debridement, which is the removal of damaged tissue. I had seen the word on my surgical papers but now fully understood what it meant.

Since there wasn’t enough undamaged tissue left to build on, he completed the tear, which was already at 50%, and repaired it from there, putting it back together with an anchor.

Photo 13 shows the rotator cuff before the repair, and photo 14 shows it afterward (it’s kind of fuzzy because of the blood that leaked into the cavity).

So much ouch in that. I’m so glad I was dreaming all of the things while all of that was happening.

But there’s more!

Going back to photo 12 – my doctor removed a bone spur. I think he shaved it down.

Photos 15 and 16 show where he also shaved down part of my collar bone.

I find it amazing that I’m doing so well considering all of the crazy stuff that was done to fix my shoulder.

It’s also no mystery why they say that shoulder surgery is one of the most painful.

I asked my surgeon how to avoid these kind of injuries in the future.

He said that rotator cuff injuries typically happen from eccentric movements – the negative contraction when your rotator cuff is trying to slow down the motion of your arm. It’s when the muscles are lengthened while under tension.

It’s why pitchers often have rotator cuff injuries, as well as people who brace their falls by holding out an arm.

Honestly, I don’t remember him telling me how to avoid this. I think that’s where the physical therapy and strength training come in.

He said that it’s rare to re-injure a labrum after the type of repair we did – bicep tenodesis. Because the bicep is relocated to the shoulder bone, it’s no longer pulling on the labrum, which is what leads to a labrum tear.

That information gave me a lot of peace of mind.

I go back for my next follow up in a few weeks. I’ll be monitored closely for several months until the doctor is sure that our goal – full recovery – has been met.

I really appreciate your patience with all of these posts about my surgery. This is incredibly helpful for me as I process all of this. I want to have something to reference later because the smaller details will slowly fade from my memory.

I like looking back and seeing how God carried me through each trial in my life.

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And just like that, it’s Sunday!

The Mr. and I had stayed home from church the past two weeks and had watched each service from our living room.

Today was our first week back.

The worship songs lifted my soul, and I had to make myself stop swaying because the motion hurt my arm.

What can I say? When the Spirit stirs you, it’s hard not to physically move in response.

The message, about waiting for God, was so relevant to me.

I’m a control freak. Not being in control of a situation makes me anxious. Trusting God in the wait time is a lesson I keep having to relearn.

For such an avid student, I sure can be stubborn and slow sometimes.

After church, I got down to the business of cleaning Gambit’s water tank and bowl.

The Mr. did the heavy lifting for me, and I took it from there.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way, and I am one determined person (I think I might have used the word “stubborn” above).

That’s all I’m doing today besides watching more of the College World Series and some reading.

I don’t have a preference for who wins. I should be rooting harder for LSU, the SEC team, but I honestly don’t care.

I’m ready for a change in sports. Bring on Wimbledon!

I hope y’all are having a good day and that the upcoming week finds you productive but not frazzled, joyous and not fretful, full of faith that God’s got you in the palm of His hand.

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The Mr. is not one for sitting still too long, so it wasn’t a surprise when, upon waking up and getting dressed, he asked the inevitable question, “Got anything you want to do today?”

I looked down at my pajamas and said, “Not really.”

But he decided to do laundry, and I wanted said pajamas washed, so being that I was getting dressed anyhow, we decided to get out and about.

My eyeshadow work needs some practice still.

The first stop was the dreaded Walmart for air filters. I cannot stand Walmart, y’all. I can’t tell you the last time I actually walked into one. One female customer was very rude and cut in front of five of us waiting to check out. So brazen. Grrr.

The next stop was to the library to drop off a book I finished last night.

It’s a biography of a female American spy who helped organize French resistance fighters during WWII and later worked for the CIA. It was an excellent read! I gave it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

Then, we popped down to town to grab some Toomer’s Corner lemonade. I’d been craving it, and the Mr. was happy to accommodate my request.

I carried it with me to while we perused a few local shops but didn’t make any purchases.

Then, we headed over to Little Italy, which is a hop, skip, and a jump from campus, where we ordered lunch. This place is a favorite haunt of both college students and locals.

The Mr. had to cut my sandwich for me. Eating with my non-dominant, left hand is still a challenge.

Oh, and an aside. Why do people loudly talk about their private business in restaurants or other places? I heard the life story of a mom of a high school student, who was eating lunch with her mom, and her mom’s boyfriend/husband.

I don’t do drama, people, and I don’t even like to listen to it, but this was unavoidable given the open seating in the restaurant. Good grief.

The Mr. ran into an ABC store on the way home to grab a bottle of bourbon. I don’t drink the stuff, and he has plenty, but I don’t complain because he knows he can’t say a word to me about anything I buy given the closet full of bourbon bottles that he keeps stocked.

After a quick detour to Kroger to use some of our fuel points to fill up my car with gas, we headed home.

I’ll be taking it easy the rest of the day. Today’s outing was my longest since my surgery, and I can feel it in my shoulder.

I’m pretty sure it’s going to rain soon – I just heard thunder. A little rain shower will be lovely accompaniment to the snoozle I have planned.

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Good morning, friends!

Happy Friday!

It’s 8:30, and I’m sitting here enjoying my last weekday home during what has been a blissful and restful week of recovery.

I’m struck by the beauty I’m sitting in the midst of.

No, it’s not a clean house. This surgery and the caretaking involved has left us with dregs of energy and little motivation to pick up after ourselves.

I’ll spare you a photo of my infamous kitchen island. Trust me. It’s bad. Real bad.

The beauty I speak of is the clear blue sky peeking through my living room windows. After a week filled with cloudy days and thunderstorms, my sun-drenched back yard is a welcome respite.

So is the cup of tea I’m slowly sipping on, along with the presence of my beloved Gambit beside me.

Oh, and I am extremely happy that Gambit decided to let me have my lap to myself. He stretched out across my lap last night while I watched TV.

He had never done this before. We could not believe it. He even snored the whole time.

The Mr. is still snoozing – a blessing for him because he’s up a lot in the middle of the night with his Crohn’s.

If you know, you know.

It won’t be long before he arises, though, and we get down to the busyness of the day . . .

A bath for me, which is akin to bathing a toddler, except that I don’t splash water everywhere.

An attempt at making my face presentable for the day because makeup is everything for this getting-older face of mine.

A round of at-home PT exercises while my arm is still warm from my bath.

I’m. So. Excited. 😜

A follow-up appointment with my surgeon where I believe my stitches will come out, and he will pull my arm up and out, and it will hurt despite him telling me that, “It looks good.”

Yeah, buddy. It might look good on the outside, but it doesn’t feel good on the inside. 🤣

An afternoon of meal prep, if I can get the Mr. to acquiesce. He balked and actually wore gloves to cube my tofu yesterday (before we realized that I’d left off an onion from the grocery list last week and had to delay cooking the dish I’d hoped for).

Surgery brain. If you know, you know.

I think I’ll start a new book – on my Kindle – today. I’ve got several preloaded thanks to the ability to check out books from the Amazon Kindle bookstore (don’t ask me how because I can’t remember) and free monthly downloads from the Prime First Reads offerings each month.

The Mr. is eating dinner with a friend tonight. Our friend’s wife is on a trip with her mom and sisters, so I told the Mr. to make it a guys’ night. I’ll stay home and watch more Survivor. I recently began Season 2 (The Outback), and I’d forgotten how much I dislike Jerri, how precious Tina’s accent is, that Amber was on this season – the Amber who married Boston Rob years later, and the eye candy that Colby provided that season.

If you know, you know (and if you don’t, you should).

So yeah, that’s my day in a very big nutshell.

Oh my, but the Mr. has awakened. That’s my cue to end this post and get moving.

Y’all have a fantastic day and weekend. Please pray for me as I mentally prepare to return to my regular routine on Monday. I’m excited to return to my people at work – we are truly a family – but I will miss sleeping in each morning and moving about at a slow pace.

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