Sidelined

I spent nearly all of yesterday on my feet - walking Alex to school, picking him up after (with Julia in tow), and then reorganizing and cleaning my kitchen (to make room for the newest KitchenAid member of the family - see yesterday's post), and then making pizza dough and sauce and prepping toppings to make pizzas for dinner.  10 pizzas.  Well, okay, Alex and Julia each made their own pizza, so really I only created 8 of them.  I took the last two pizzas out of the oven just before nine. 

Today, my left ankle has siezed up and I can't walk.  I can, however, hobble.  And I've perfected this one-legged sideways heel-toe-heel-toe zig-zag maneuver that is actually faster than trying to put weight on my foot and FEELING LOTS OF PAIN and pausing to do a sort of speeded-up "heh heh heh" Lamaze breathing thing while I wait for the pain to subside, and then repeating the process all over again as I make my way from one room to the next.

I actually scooted down the stairs on my butt this morning.  And in the process, I discovered a great multi-tasking workout for arms and leg (eventually legs, but not today) as I support my own body weight and kind of crab-walk down the stairs.  Really works the triceps!

It's a circus around here today.  Or at least it's my very own freak show.

And you'd think I'd be so grateful to have an excuse to just SIT and type or read or watch cooking shows, or whatever, but actually I'm having a hard time with it.  Because I SHOULD sit, I don't WANT to.

~~~

I'm back.  Never missed me, did you?  I actually went upstairs to look in the deep, dark recesses of my closet to find a couple of old purses/handbags/pocketbooks/whatever you want to call them - for Julia to use.

Right now she's got one that I received at my bridal shower - it's kind of formal, and it's something you have to carry in your hand or maybe looped over your wrist, as opposed to something you can sling over your shoulder and have your hands free.  I'm all for having as many hands free as possible as I go about my day.  So I gave that one to Julia (the strap is too short for me but just about right for Julia, who is considerably shorter, and also hasn't developed a preference for bag styles yet) and another one that I think my sister gave me or I bought because it reminded me of my sister - it's just a simple fabric envelope-like bag on a long thin fabric strap, and the bag itself is embroidered in this cool, offbeat pattern.  It's really nice - actually, and I'm thinking that since my current little bag thing is going to fall apart soon, maybe I should get this other one away from Julia now, before she does something to it.

She actually went for the larger, shorter-strapped bag first.  She looped it over her head and one arm, like she sees me do, and struck a mature-woman pose (in her Disney princess underwear - I think she's featuring Jasmine today) and said "Don't I look like a grown up girl who's going shopping?"  I told her yes and suggested she go show this look to Daddy, because he'd be so proud.

I like to mess with him.

She came back a bit later and removed that purse and went for the other one.  Too formal for everyday wear, I expect.

And then she came over to the couch to tell me - in her best motherly tone - that she was going shopping, and not to worry about "that big boy" in the kitchen, because "he's all growned up."  And then she tilted her head and gave me a June Cleaver smile and said "Just like you are, dear." 

And off she went.

~~~

You might be wondering why just doing stuff on my feet all day would affect my ankle so badly.  I don't know.  I think I have a habit of standing with all my weight on my left foot at times, and I just don't realize it as I'm doing it.  But also, it's most likely due to a lack of good arch support, plain and simple.  Much as I rebel against it, I really should wear my sneakers when I'm on my feet a long time.  Problem is, I don't WANT to.  I'm much happier (at least initially) going barefoot (hence the name of this website) and wearing shoes when I'm not even going to the store or a restaurant or something is just...it's hard for me. 

And yes, I realize how trivial this is.  I'm feeling trivial at the moment.  If you want substance today, look elsewhere.

~~~

While I was polishing up all my beloved KitchenAid workhorses yesterday

(and here they are, all lined up nice and pretty)

 

the kittens were doing this:

 

 

(Yes, that's Softie in mid-leap.)

Oh, how they loved that loud crinkly brown packing paper.  They played with it - in it, on it, under it, around it, between it - for hours.  It gradually got pushed and pulled down the little hall and into the music room - one long sheet of brown paper stretching from here to there.  I redirected the paper into the living room, just because the music room actually has important valuable music stuff and if it done got broke, Bill would be cooking the kittens in the deep fryer.  NOT REALLY!  We don't have a deep fryer. 

Anyway, by the time Bill got home, the paper was all in the living room and heading for the stairs.  He had a student coming over, so he put an end to the fun, but the kittens were deep in slumber by that point anyway.

~~~

For some unfathomable cat reason, Softie and Scratchy love Bill's footwear.  Shoes, sneakers, sandals, and - as you can tell - slippers. 

Five minutes after I shot this, Softie was sleeping. 

~~~

Okay, I think that's enough to bore you with for now.  Time to do my one-legged softshoe routine into the kitchen and get some lunch.

Comments

[chocolatechic]

Pink...pink...pink!

I LOVE it!

And your kittens are just adorable.

[Jane M]

Just curious, how come you have 2 Kitchen Aid machines? I know 1 is a lot bigger with a bigger bowl, but I was just wondering. Oh I have the same food processor, just an older version. I looooooooooooove it! The juicer feature is fantastic. I've never tried the whip. And I rarely use the smaller work bowl which fits inside the bigger bowl. It just all makes a mess and too much to clean.

[chocolatechic]

And I am also very sorry about your ankle.

[Jayne]

Jane M, I've had the white mixer for years and years, and it's held up extremely well. I do a LOT of baking, particularly around Christmas, when I follow my late mother-in-law's tradition of baking and sending out a lot of traditional German cookies to family and friends. At first I got another bowl for the 4.5 qt mixer, which helped speed things along if I needed a separate bowl for, say, whipping egg whites. But then when the 6 qt model came out, I just thought - I could do larger batches and cut down on some of the time in making all these cookies. (In addition to the 6 German recipes, I also do a variety of other cookies to send out, too.) And so I got one. I got a black one because our other appliances in the house are black, and I wanted it to fit in with the decor, such as it is. For a while, I just put the smaller one away and took it out in November, but now I keep them both out and use whichever one is appropriate to what I'm baking. I'll do double batches of bread or pizza dough or cakes sometimes, and the bigger one is perfect for that. I use the smaller one for single batches of things, or for whipping moderate amounts of egg whites or something like that.

And I'm a bit nutty.

[Rachel M. PTA]

Just to help with the going up and down the stairs thing so you don't kill yourself (I'm a physical therapist assitant). Always remember the following: "up with the good, down with the bad" or if that's confusing "the good go to heaven the bad go to h...(you get the point)". When going up the stairs, go up with the good leg then bring the bad leg up, and when going down the stairs, try leading with the bad leg first and then the good leg. If you have an ace wrap in the house I would recommend wrapping it up. Also, if you do get a chance to "sit", elevate and ice it for 15 minutes.

But I just wanted to let you know I love your website and I tried the chicken and gravy recipe and my husband just loved it! Now if I could only just make lemon pepper chicken that would be fantastic. I think my oven is cursed. I've tried everything and it always comes out awful.

And the kittens are just too cute! Good luck with the ankle!
Rachel

[Shannon]

hi there...i've been lurking your blog for the past month or two and I have to say -- I've really been enjoying hearing about your exploits. I have a brother and sister kittie set too...they're about 7 months older than yours but I can relate. And yours are so adorable! Your bread looks so delicious it tempts me to try a starter myself. And after the last few posts...I am just itching to get rid of my workhorse Cuisinart and get a snazzy pink Kitchen Aid model. Anyhow...I'm really enjoying your blog, so thanks for sharing!

[KT]

Haha! My kitties LOVE boxes with brown paper... and shoes!! Hope you feel better!