Finally! I'm allowed out of bed!

...And I sort of wish I was back IN bed.

Recovery is certainly not what I expected. Finally, the doctor allowed me to move around as much as I want and I thought, "YAY! I'll be able to get some things done for myself now! I can tidy up, I can deep clean my kitchen and bathroom, I can just do circles in the living room on my scooter for the sheer joy of moving!"

Except moving isn't really that joyous. I'm still completely non-weight-bearing and will be until x-rays at the end of the month give me a yay or nay. Everything from the midcalf down on the surgical side still vaguely looks like it belongs to someone else and was transferred to me, as opposed to being my own repaired ankle and foot. What's worse is that it feels like it belongs to someone else. It's slightly numb any time it's unelevated, and if I'm up for long, it's a pins-and-needles feeling. This is not a bad sign - I'm told (and I also Googled) that this is all completely normal. As well, being up for more than five minutes leads to the whole lower extremity turning purple and swelling to grandiose proportions.

So, yeah, being up and around isn't all it's cracked up to be.

But on the bright side, I can go to my door and open it to breathe in the fresh air. (Due to steps I can't get outside without help.) I can play with my cat, who probably thought I'd completely abandoned her. I can get things done about 5-10 minutes at a time and I try to space these intervals out throughout the day. I don't have to depend on help for every single little thing and that is so nice after being utterly dependent for an entire month. I can even cook for myself now if the hands-on time and prep time are low. (Thank goodness for my crockpot and air fryer!)

So, while this is quite a process, things are moving in the right direction. I'm incredibly thankful that I was able to have this done and to be on the road to recovery, as long and bumpy as that road might be.

I've been spending time working on Grace's story, and I feel like I'll be able to finish before the end of June. When it's finished, I'll still be putting chapters up on Saturday Shenanigans, but I'll also offer it in Kindle and paperback format on Amazon for those who want to skip ahead. I cannot begin to tell you how much your feedback has meant to me throughout this process. My first novel is only happening because of you.

Another recent creative endeavor has been my latest puzzle book in the American Dreamer series. I did a book of American Military History word search puzzles. I learned so much researching it and created this in honor of our veterans and active military. I think that if you're a history nerd like me, you'll really enjoy this one!

My landlady/neighbor/friend has been a rock throughout this recovery, bringing in my mail and such for me, and just checking in. Yesterday she brought me fresh blueberries and two glorious heirloom tomatoes from the local farmer's market. That taste of summer was exactly what I needed to feel more connected to the seasons. If summer had a taste, for me it would be a ripe, juicy tomato.

All in all, I feel incredibly fortunate. I'm in a good place with good people around me. This longterm injury is repaired and healing. I get to do work that is meaningful to me. Life is exactly as it should be.

Love,
Daisy

Having something to eat isn't guaranteed.

We're facing threats to our food supply from many different angles: supply chain breakdowns, drought, food facilities being ravaged by fires, skyrocketing inflation, and outright shortages. No longer can we live in the comfort of unthreatened abundance. We're learning exactly how delicate the system really is.

Prepping and putting back supplies is incredibly important but what we're seeing now goes beyond that. You have to be able to produce and acquire more food. You have to be able to put back your harvests to eat during the winter. You have to be able to prepare items that once were as convenient as popping open a can or little plastic container.

You need a paperback copy of How to Feed Your Family No Matter What, our Organic Prepper anthology with ALL of our content about food. You'll get more than 500 pages of content that are all about food when you can't just go to the store and buy whatever you want.