Fire up the grill ...

... and throw on some memories.

Just found this photo of my grandfather the other day. Doesn't he look the happy grill-master?

"How do you take your steak? Yeah. You'll take it medium-rare and be glad about it, bub."

I'm happily installed at Sharon's for a week or so. What a day. Feel like I moved my entire house. But I'm looking forward to spending quality time with my sister ... and picking her brain for some good childhood memories.

OK ... Isn't that just the cutest apron? I love this picture.

Speaking of ... when I did the Casa al dente post last month, I mentioned photos of that house. I guess the photo I found is not so much house as me (on my 21st birthday - with my Dirty Dancing hair). I know I have another pic of the interior somewhere - but maybe this will keep you occupied for a while. (Oh! Nurse Lizz just called. She's back at school all safe and sound.)

Perfectly balanced meal

Tangerine, pomegranate, pear, cheese and popcorn. Yup. A perfectly balanced meal.

See? Three kinds of cheese even. And cookies for dessert. Calcium, Vitamin C, antioxidants, fiber ... we're pretty well covered, wouldn't you say?

I'm going to get used to this new schedule. Sleep in until 8:30 (or 9:00), breakfast in bed, naps, reading, watching movies, more naps, dinner served in the living room (fashionably late - after a loooong late-afternoon nap).

Snifffffffff ... a crustless green onion quiche is coming out of the oven now for New Years Eve brunch. Oh, my nostrils are in heaven. I am so blessed!

My Christmas Break

For those of you who haven't already seen these and commented on Facebook ... here are those non-gory photos I promised yesterday.

This is post-surgery. The doc said I had a bimalleolar fracture. And no ligament tearing as I was initially told. So that's good news!

Now going back to the ER, here's my ankle right before I went off to X-ray. I made Sharon take photos. It doesn't look so bad, does it? Just a tiny little bump. Whaaa ...? Not supposed to look like that? The X-ray tech wouldn't tell me what she saw in the X-rays, so I asked if ... there were more pieces and parts than were supposed to be there. She glanced furtively around the room and whispered, "there are more pieces." Oh.

And here's a close-up of the medial surface. Just a tiny scratch, eh? Still, the abrasion and swelling here impacted the procedure. If you want details, please post questions in the comment section below - or e-mail me.

Not this leg! The other one! Part of the pre-op package is a sterile pen to write on the body parts the surgeon is to leave alone. The nurse only marked my left ankle. I was thinking I should write a big "No" on my forehead. But I didn't.

My yellow-orange Oompa-Loompa leg post surgery. How the heck do you get that gunk off?? Ew. I so need a pedicure.

Word is I'll be released today for the long recovery at home. I learned how to use crutches yesterday and then got my own fancy set. Did you know crutches have lots of auxiliary uses, too? Oh yeah. But thanks to my new tools I can go to the bathroom all by myself. It's like I'm two all over again.

So many lovely visits and calls and messages yesterday! I am truly blessed to be so loved. Thank you, everyone!

I just had ice cream. Not my idea - my feisty 77-year-old roommate suggested it when the nurse was in here. I thought about it for about two seconds and said, "Sure! Why not?!" We both are all messed up on our sleep schedules. Do you think Lizz will bring me Chunky Monkey or Whirled Peace at  4:30 a.m.? When I was pregnant with her I used to get up in the middle of the night and eat nonfat yogurt with honey and granola. I don't think they had the ban on honey for expectant moms back then.

Hey, "Non-traditional uses for crutches" and "weird things pregnant ladies and/or patients do in the middle of the night" might be fun topics for Shiny Things. Hmmm.