Denis is working through more intensive physical therapy sessions now that the staples have been removed from the incision on his back. He has added incentive because he was told that, beginning July 1, he has to start paying $288 each day that he's there. I told him not to get wild and crazy with his therapy sessions because I don't want him doing himself any sort of injury. Better to be a tad cautious. Cautious but determined. And this said by a woman who can't wait to get him home!
Monday was a treat this week. Tucker has cut our hair for several years now, and she came here to the house to cut mine. Good gravy-- it felt like my head was five pounds lighter when she was finished! I mean, look at that pile of hair she's sweeping up on the kitchen floor. (No, that wasn't an indoor blizzard...) I'm still feeling light-headed. (No comments from the peanut gallery, please.)
When she was finished beautifying me, she went to the rehab facility and cut Denis's hair. Later when I asked him if she'd cut off his ponytail, he responded, "Yes, dammit!"
Even though I can't see him myself until he comes home, it did my heart good to have Tucker go to cut his hair and deliver a care package. (I put a little extra in the bag besides the items he'd requested.) And seriously-- bless her heart for doing this for us! Throughout this entire ordeal, I've felt like a weird Beatles/Tennessee Williams hybrid; alternately singing "I get by with a little help from my friends" and then being forced to rely "on the kindness of strangers."
When a nurse called to tell me that they'd found Denis's watch and that I could come pick it up, I replied that I didn't have a clue how I was going to get there. The nurse said, "A friend or family member" and hung up the phone. All righty then! I'm not mad at her-- what's the point? Most people take it for granted that everyone has family members or friends to help them take up the slack. Guess what? That's not always true.
But Denis and I are getting by, thanks to some wonderful people like Tucker (and Justin and Mary Jo...).
Enjoy your summer, and enjoy the links!
►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄
- Early modern medicine, poison, and apothecary: on the range of cures, effective or otherwise, available in the seventeenth century.
- Why do we forget books we've read?
- Young people are discovering a hot new writer-- Agatha Christie.
- The birth of the Hardy Boys.
- Furry friends and fiendish plotting: On animals in detective fiction.
- LGBTQ book sales surge in the U.S., especially in YA. (Hmm... I wonder how well all those book bans are working?)
- The bane of a reader's bookish existence: She can't read non-fiction in print.
- How are smartphones used in mystery novels?
►Book Banning & Censorship◄
- The Palm Beach County (Florida) schools chief has asked teachers to pull books and materials ahead of a new law going into effect July 1.
- Ken Paxton wants Texas to defend Llano County officials who are being sued for banning books. (Hopefully, the Great State of Texas has better things to do.)
- The Kurt Vonnegut Museum will be donating 1,000 copies of Slaughterhouse Five after its being challenged in Florida schools.
- A Minnesota police group has criticized the use of a children's book in an Edina school.
- Books are still a hot button topic at the Littlestown Area School District (Pennsylvania) board meeting.
- Discussion over LGBTQ+ books at the Abilene Public Library (Texas) continues.
- The Nampa (Idaho) Banned Books Fan Club hosted a read-in on the school district lawn.
- Nearly 100 people attended the Vinton (Iowa) Library Board meeting to discuss the library director's resignation.
- A controversial book has returned to the Evans (Iowa) Middle School curriculum.
- Cody (Wyoming) schools voted not to ban the novel The Color Purple.
- "Censorship is a slippery slope." The Ashland (Ohio) Public Library Board rejected the call to remove five books.
►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄
- A Renaissance masterpiece was found hanging in a 90-year-old woman's London bedroom.
- The wreck of a long-lost royal battleship has been discovered off the English coast.
- The face of a wealthy Bronze-Age Bohemian woman has been revealed in a stunning reconstruction.
- A silver coin featuring a famous Viking king has been unearthed in Hungary.
- An ancient treasure trove sheds light on a mysterious Chinese kingdom.
- The Mackinac State Historic Parks archaeology division has uncovered two artifacts.
- Researchers say that the Black Death origin mystery has been solved 700 years later.
- How did thousands of frog bones end up buried at an Iron Age settlement? More from Live Science.
►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄
- Dolphins have different whistles based on their environment.
- Animal magic: Why intelligence isn't just for humans.
- Seals use their whiskers to help hunt in the deep ocean.
- Hundreds of little blue penguins are turning up dead in New Zealand.
- A group of polar bears in Greenland is adapting to life without sea ice. More from Smithsonian Magazine.
- In Iceland, cats face curfews and bans aimed at curtailing their murderous ways.
- A police officer in Massachusetts dropped everything to help some baby skunks in need of a rescue.
►Fascinating Folk◄
- How Vivian Maier, the enigmatic nanny who took 150,000 photographs, found her place in history.
- Surprise, surprise: the Béguines, a medieval women's movement left out of the history books.
- Gillian Flynn is the real Gone Girl.
►The Wanderer◄
- Fires in Arizona are sweeping through a land rich in ancient sites and artifacts (and one of my favorite places to explore).
►I ♥ Lists◄
- Seven attempted assassination thrillers.
- Six iconic characters every reader should know.
- Nine Appalachian crime novels.
- Great literary fiction about the lives of criminals.
- Five cozy mystery series for DIYers and fans of HGTV shows.
- Fourteen awesome animal bookends.
- Eleven must-read Filipino Sci-Fi books.
- Get the ten best audiobook narrators in your ears.
That's all for this week! Don't forget to stop by next Friday when I'll be sharing a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure.
Stay healthy. Stay cool. And don't forget to curl up with a good book!
Oh, there's nothing like that great feeling after you get a good haircut, is there, Cathy? I love it! And how nice of her to also go and cut Denis' hair (even if he didn't want his ponytail cut). I hope he continues to do well at rehab, and that he's home soon. In the meantime, I'm going to check out that Chinese treasure trove. And then the battleship.
ReplyDeletePonytails are a running joke for Denis and me. He's basically bald, but what hair he does have grows so fast that I like to tease him that I'm going to start braiding it. It had been so long since he'd had a haircut that I wouldn't be surprised if he had been wearing it in a ponytail. And his beard! If he hadn't lost so much weight, he'd make an excellent Santa by now.
DeleteOh my goodness does it feel good to get a haircut when it's been a while! So glad you have Tucker in your life. Good for you for not getting mad at the nurse who assumed you would have someone to come pick up Denis' watch. It is so much easier to get mad, but much more freeing to let it go and get on with life. Have a good weekend!
ReplyDeleteFor the nurse to be so abrupt, I figured she was just having a bad day, and we all go through that. Life's too short to sweat the small stuff.
DeleteI do love a good haircut and I'm happy that you got to get yourself shorn - ha! And Denis as well. As to the watch, etc., well, Cathy, I'm sorry I don't live in Phoenix - I'd be happy to be your delivery person. Sigh. Take care and hope your reading is fabulous this weekend.
ReplyDeleteWe lucked out with his watch. Denis had an appointment with the spine surgeon at the hospital where the watch was left behind. The driver who transported him there very kindly took him up to the nurses' station on the floor he'd been on, and now Denis has his watch back.
DeleteThe next OMG! moment came when Denis called and told me he'd lost his wallet. After a few seconds' panic, I got a clear vision of him not taking his wallet out of his pants pocket the last time he'd worn those pants. That led to an APB put out on his pants and shoes, and huzzah! Wallet (and pants) were found. I must be getting pretty good when I can locate lost items when I've never even been in the building! LOL
Great links as always. The fact that young people are learning to appreciate Agatha Christie gives me hope for the future. Best wishes to Denis and to you on his continued recovery.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dorothy!
DeleteWhat a kind person Tucker is, and how nice of you to praise her so publicly. If I lived closer, I'd volunteer for pickup duty to help out. I hope you and Denis both continue to heal well. Now I'm going to decide which link I want to click on first :)
ReplyDeleteAs far as I'm concerned, "rotten apples" get far too much press, so it was a no-brainer to give Tucker the kudos she so richly deserves. In the dark days when this all started, she also picked up a prescription for Denis when we had no way of getting to the pharmacy.
DeleteFortunately, we don't often have this "pickup and delivery" hassle. We did this week, and the caregiver who comes each Friday was able to deliver Denis what he needed.
Glad that the lost belongings were found. The APB worked. And glad Denis is well into his physical therapy. I hope you found a way to shop in person. There's gotta be a car service or cab service that can accommodate a motorized scooter and not strand the passenger.
ReplyDeleteIf I had my 4-wheel electric scooter, I could go to Target, but there are two problems with that. (1) It's too hot to sit on a scooter and travel the sun-blasted concrete and asphalt for that distance, and (2) the aforementioned scooter is currently parked in the hospital morgue at Abrazo Central. I have yet to figure out a way to get it back where it belongs. But I will.
Delete