Straight up, I’ll tell you that I’m cranky. Several yellow jackets attacked me, I lost my balance. Fell with all my weight on my left knee against the cement edge of the pool. Then I flopped onto my hip. Total score: two fractures in my tibia necessitating a leg brace with compression wrap. Minimal movement, ice packs, pain killers, crutches. And a scrape on my right ankle, bruise on my elbow.

Eight weeks.

Then six weeks of physical therapy.

There goes my whole damn summer. I’d just finished physical therapy from my right hip replacement five days previous and gotten back to hiking, biking, and swimming. Now, not till the fall.

So, yeah, I’m cranky.

And in case you haven’t read my grumblings on social media or seen my boo-boo pics, here ya go:

Here I’m taking a break from the brace. Oh yeah, I have a sensitivity to latex, which the compression wrap has, so that’s irritating my skin. Had to cut off a leg from silk long johns I used for skiing (like THAT’S ever happening again) to put under the wrap. I spend most of my day like this.

We’re All In This Together

Like Clark Griswold says in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, no one’s leaving this pity party, we’re sticking this out.

I have a few other complaints while I’m on a roll:

*Reading a book and the sentence was: “he slewed his head away”. ??? What the heck does that mean?

*Same author used the word ‘sudded’ instead of ‘soaped’. Is that a saying in a different region of the country? (She’s an American.)

*WHY are so many people saying “we were sat” when they mean “we were seated”? I really bugs me. Don’t use it.

*And STOP with the outdated expressions. The younger market has no idea what you mean when you say ’till the cows come home” or “throwing the baby out with the bathwater” or “hanky panky”. I avoid words like “dear” as in, “Hello, dear” unless it’s an older character. No one I know 60 and under addresses anyone as ‘dear’. Even my mother, in her 80’s, doesn’t use it.

Looking At The Bright Side

I feel a little better having vented. Another good thing is that two millimeters more compression on my fractures and I’d have needed surgery, so I avoided that. Since I’m mostly over my sulk, I’ll get back to some serious writing again. The pain has lessened so regular aspirin and ibuprofen are all I need. Ice cream helps too. I’ve sent out four queries: three novels, one short story.

That’s all the positivity I can muster.