"The closer you get to the meaning, The sooner you'll know that you're dreaming..."

Finally...

I have the X-rays from my hand.  They're pretty cool!  I have decided, though, if the doctor recommends surgery, I am going to politely decline and ask about an alternative solution.  I don't think I would be happy not being able to hold Chuck for any length of time and no matter what anyone says, you never completely recover 100%.  So...we'll see what he says on Monday.  Also, on top of wearing this brace, I have torn the thumbnail away from the nail bed on the same hand and it doesn't seem to be getting any better.  I have painfully learned just how often I use my right hand since my entire life I viewed that whole arm as just a decoration which holds stuff for my left hand.

Let's see how well this works (all of those little metal things were my bracelets - that were cut off not long after these were taken)...

Well, if it seems to be real, it's illusion
For every moment of truth, there's confusion in life
Love can be seen as the answer
But nobody bleeds for the dancer
And it's on and on, on and on and on....

They say that life's a carousel
Spinning fast, you've got to ride it well
The world is full of Kings and Queens
Who blind your eyes then steal your dreams
...it's Heaven and Hell

And they'll tell you black is really white
The moon is just the sun at night
And when you walk in golden halls
You get to keep the gold that falls
It's Heaven and Hell

~Black Sabbath

"Workin' for the man ev'ry night and day..."

Okay...

Here are the highlights of the weekend adventures with Pappy and Mara.  Emily needs to come home more often...

Love gone wrong...sadly

 Wing-ed rat...creepy glowing red eyes - staring at me...

The cat that we realized wasn't a cat - but a ripped window blind...

Everyone thought it was a beautiful day for a stroll in the park...

I see you...

 St. Elmo's without the fire (thankfully)...

This one's not doing too much "rollin' on the river"...

Goodwill creepiness x's 2...

First ice cream of the season (I almost couldn't finish it!!)...

 I love trees...

" Though it's cold and lonely in the deep dark night..."

So...

Shenanigans going on at work this past week or so.  They removed my supervisor without so much as a howdy-do.  The company I work for has a policy in which they will remove people from their posts but they will not inform anyone as to why.  So...here we go.  More overtime to cover the missing person - as if 7 days a week weren't enough already.  Now I get some 12 hour days in there, too.  Whatever happened to job security, where a company took care of it's associates, treated them like people and not just a warm body to fill a position?  I don't feel quite as stressed at this post, but it always seems like we are "out of sight, out of mind".

Anyway...this dumb brace is interfering with my relationship with Chuck.  I am having a difficult time maintaining a cuddling embrace on my main man's sturdy little body.  The result - a couple of barely in focus photos of the Phlox and Azaleas in the front yard.  (Well...maybe if I had put down my 10lb. purse and 20lb. backpack, too...)  It will just take a little time to adjust - I hope.

I can't decide if the colors are so ridiculously blown out here or if it is just my computer (or eyes).  I mean, the Phlox are a bright pink variegated and the Azaleas are a shocking magenta/fuchsia and the early morning sun makes the color explode but the photos look like they are strobing off the monitor.  I don't know...maybe it's just me but every time I take a photo of these Azaleas it looks wonky.  I threw a B&W one in there, too, for comparison - meh.  The last one kind of make the stamens look like little glowing fiber optics.

Get Along, Little Dogies...

So...

You know I'm hurting a little when we spend the whole day treasure hunting and I only manage to shoot 27 photos...total.  Hopefully, this situation will improve and my thumb will recover adequately. 

Nevertheless...here are today's gems.  Pure silliness - all around.  At least we're enjoying ourselves.

Pinecone = free range...

Why, yes...it does.  Very, very much...

And Pappy, scouring the booths for his Raylan Givens look (I think he needs a chin strap)...

"Yer a persistent cuss, Pilgrim...."

No words....

Lil' devil...

And my own little Pancho Villa..

Now I know it's spring...Dogwoods are blooming...

And what's with all the IHop-ing?  That place should be my mortal enemy!!  Filled with all that "Devil's Blood"...

“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.”

So...

This has been a particularly boring week.  I mean really boring.  The only significant bit was my appointment with the hand surgeon.  The reason I can no longer hold Chuck comfortably is because I have osteoarthritis in my thumb.  

First, the P.A. lady was wriggling my thumb around making it hurt, then the Xray chick was moving it in weird positions (I told her it hurt and when she did it again I said, "I can reach you, ya know...").  When the Doctor came in he had the P.A. cut off all of my bracelets and then HE dug in.  Yikes.  O.M.G.  He actually made me cry...not by the diagnosis but by repeatedly "manipulating" the area where the pain originates.  No lie...it hurt my heart.  I remember him saying something about wearing a soft splint for 3 weeks and coming back for a steroid injection in the joint but I can't really be sure.  I was in a daze staring out the window, cradling my poor arm and trying to keep the snot from running down my face.  I know I made an appointment (and that nice lady gave me some tissues) so I guess we'll see in 3 weeks.  I requested my xrays be added to my patient profile online so if they do it I'll post them on here....they're cool looking.

Well...here are all THREE (weak) photos I have.  The first is from the stormy night and me taking photos of the diamonds on the door.  The second is from more thrifting adventures and the third is Mr. Peepers - eyeballing me while we waited an interminable amount of time in Taco Bell's drive-thru.  The person two cars ahead of us must have ordered something exotic (come on...it's freaking Taco Bell!!).  I think they had to go out back and kill the tacos for their order or something.  Geez.  As you can probably tell...I am an Immediate Gratification Queen - of the drive-thru.

While visions of Sugar Plums danced in their head...

So....

It was a weekend of adventures.  We went: thrifting, Saturday driving, visiting, IHOP-ing, Sunday driving, more thrifting, Taco Bell-ing and Kroger-ing.  Somewhere in there I worked and slept a few hours.