What’s new?
Since returning to Salt Lake City after seven months bicycling around the country, Pat and I are adjusting to a more stationary life. Some of that transition has been good, some bad. Some parts have been smooth and other parts not so smooth.
Since my collision with irony and a manhole cover on October 28, I’ve been trying to heal. The road rash is nearly gone. The broken finger (ring finger on my left hand) is splinted and doesn’t bother me much. The broken rib on my right side was extremely painful for a couple weeks, but is now much better. All the things that would bring me to my knees in pain before — laughing, coughing, sneezing — are now possible with only a small grimace. I can even manage to carry things in my right hand without too much pain.
My left forearm continues to be quite painful though. It seemed too painful for a simple bruise, so I had another set of x-rays done early last week. Sure enough, the radiologist spotted a hairline fracture just below the elbow. So, now I’m trying to cope with a marginally useful right arm and left arm with a splint running from my wrist to my shoulder. I hope the weather stays nice because I can’t even begin to get a warm jacket on!
Last Wednesday (11/15) was my first day back at work. I’m only working half days, but I am back at work. What’s it like going back to work for the first time since January? It’s like being a new employee without having to learn everybody’s name. Even the simplest things — like logging on successfully, retrieving voicemail or filling out a timecard — are a challenge. I knew how to do these things before so it should come back to me quickly.
The last bit of news from me is about a new addition to our family.
Yep, we’ve become a two-dog home again. We’re long-time members of Intermountain Therapy Animals and the staff there occasionally sends out notices about dogs in need of new homes. We saw a notice about Pearl in mid-October — just before we arrived home. We didn’t think much about it because we were still on the road and we thought a dog like Pearl would find a new home for sure.
Well, the subject of Pearl came up in an ITA meeting I was at a couple weeks ago. She sounded like a very sweet dog with lots of therapy dog potential. Pat and I talked about it and we decided to go take a look and introduce Truman to Pearl. Well, we all hit it off so well with Pearl that we couldn’t resist. That was about a week and a half ago.
Here’s a video clip I put together of our two dogs, Pearl and Truman, playing in the back yard:
