good riddance, and other things

yesterday, finally, i got rid of the cast. i snapped pictures of the x-rays taken before and after the surgery...the first one shows clearly what the problem was, besides the fact the there was no soft tissue in between the ulna and radius...







after...the doctor chiselled off the weird growth (that grew there in just 18 months, after the firt surgery). the ligament (sutured into a pillow-like form) taken from my thigh is now approx where the arrow is, filling that carved area. another doctor called this procedure "ambitious attemp" and asked what the back-up plan was...not sure how i should take that.

my doctor says it will take 6 months to determine whether this works, or not. the other procedure discussed was a scheker DRUJ prosthesis. obviously, i'm hoping this will have been the last surgery on the wrist, but it won't be a surprise if it wasn't...







the scars are no worse than before. the latest on the left, the one on the right is from 20 odd years ago. mobily in the wrist is ridiculous, getting a fork-load of food into my mouth is an effort. i'm doing exercises to remedy that problem.







a new little shop has been opened in the sello mall in espoo, it is called toivo. they sell mainly local and organic produce, and baked goods from small local bakery.







they have jams, jellies, juices, pastas, beans, nuts and such. i got organic whole wheat spelt spaghetti, hulled hemp seeds and maple syrup. hope the hemp seeds won't get me into trouble...







i still can't get over that the flowers are starting to bloom in mid-november!







i'm waiting for snow for the full moon pics to be more dramatic.







eternal begger, the dog

my new wooden splint

yesterday it was time to remove the stitches from my wrist and thigh, and obviously, they had to make a new cast for the wrist. the nurses were discussing the options and they decided to try the latest invention in cast application (by a finnish company i might add) which is made of wood...







...wood? yep, i admit i had my doubts. they told me the cast is made of wood chips and biodegradable plastic, is non-toxic (you can either toss it into the compost heap or burn it) and pliable.

to start the application, a 4mm thick sheet of this OMNICAST is heated (60-65C), it's then pliable and you can cut it with scissors.







lots of hands here...once they got the measures and placement right, the cast was bandaged.







the onmicast website has good pics to show it was done. what i like is the facts that it took no time to harden (5mins with ice-packs, instead of the 30mins with tradiotional cast) and is so thin i can wear a regular jacket, and weights next to nothing.

the nurses seemed to like that this cast doesn't let out any toxic fumes whilst drying, is not messy and wet, and is quick to work with. the cast has been tested at helsinki university töölö hospital, which is probably the busiest trauma center in finland.







i wanted a pink "wrapper", but i guess i can live with this blue for 2 weeks...







i did take pics of the metal stitches in my thigh, but decided to save you from such an ungodly sight.

picking life up, slowly

9 days later...i have yet to finish the first book i started in the hospital (cornwell's port mortuary). it's not that the book is bad, i have had hard trying to pile pillows so i can read longer than 15 mins without...well, see for yourselves...







...and that is just for internet. luckily i only had to stay one night in the hospital (had hard time waking up...) it was kinda nice buzz, so i really didn't mind, and i wasn't sick at all, and i had that huge room all to myself for the night.

the good doctor ended up doing a re-hemiresectioarthroplastia et interpositio cum fascia lata DRUJ carpi l. sin. there will be a cast for total of 6 weeks, and i will have a 15cm scar on my left thigh (maybe it needs ink on it?)

the dog seems little baffled that i'm home all the time but don't take him on walks.







certain someone, well, he gets a bit confused at times but he's been cooking (will post about that later) and putting my hair on ponytails (i still have some hair left...) he actually went out today like this. complains that i give too many orders for him to be able to pay attention to everything!

this is it...

today is the day, as you read this, i'm hopefully under the knife. the wrist is finally being operated today. i'm quite ancious to find out if the good doctor has managed to get some bioabsorbable "padding" to be used inbetween the radius and ulna, or will he have to cut out something (ligament?) from my thigh...another scar here or there, i could not care less. just fix my wrist, please!

this time around i intend to make sure that i don't do anything to jeopardize the wrist whilst in the cast, therefore...







...i've got myself a few books to pass the time (there is some more coming from amazon). i've warned certain someone that he has to cook (we'll see how that goes!) and i've decided that i will go out to eat once a week, just to get out of the house (and not have any excuses not to shower and wash my hair...).

i'm trying the hardest not to think how tedious and challenging it will be to manage everything for the first few weeks with the cast up to my armpit. i'm hoping the anaesthetist doesn't mess with my head and i get to go home sooner rather than later. i seem to get a very bad hangover reaction to certain drugs they use for the narcosis...

i'll be back in a few days, once i'm sure i've worn off the mind altering funny drugs!

few pastas, cake & mystery plant

so far i've managed to go thru the pics from manchester (close to 500...) but not sort and edit them for posting. they will appear, one day.

on thursday, after getting home from taking my bro to pick up their car from the airport and getting rid of the cast, i was very hungry and decided to try to duplicate a lemon-cream chicken pasta that i had on the ferry from stockholm to helsinki. the shop across the street at my apt didn't have the kind of chicken i was hoping for so the dish ended up being very different. i also got fresh pasta (which i never do) to go along with the sauce. obviously, you need a lemon...







the shop did have parmesan cheese, though, good cheese always helps...







in an ideal case i would have browned chicken filees, then removed them from pan and made the sauce in the pan. this time i lightly browned the chicken strips, added the cream and the juice of one lemon and let cook for 10 mins. i would have used some of the peel as well but couldn't locate my grater... at the end i added 2 tsp of sugar to balance the tartness of lemon (honey would have done the trick as well). meanwhile, i had cooked the pasta which i added with the parmesan to the pan and mixed well.

served it to myself with some arugula. it was even better reheated (as usual, i made way too much just of it) later at the shack







this would be the start of another pasta dish. i had just arrived at the shack and we were both quite hungry. there was something i call survival food (easy to make, keeps for ever, but isn't something to be eaten on a regulatr basis) in the pantry, namely a pasta parmesan in one of those bags that you just need to add water and cook for a few minutes. there was some ham in the fridge so i chopped it fine and added to the pasta mix. the knife is my souvenir from manchester to myself...







the dish wasn't that appealing but removed the hunger, for a while







yesterday we had been invited to one of the neighbour's for dinner, so for lunch i made something easy and ligther as i knew dinner would be lamb. i started with one whole wheat baguette cut in half, one side got mayo, the other red pesto







then some lettuce, mozzarella and serrano ham







then some fresh basil, sliced tomato and ground black pepper







close the lid and bite on...







i wanted to bring something for dinner and saw that as an opportunity to tackle my arch-enemy, cranberry vanilla coffeecake, i made one and a half batch. this particular cake has caused me more grief than any other cake and i've decided that i will bake it as many times as it takes to perfect the recipe (luckily there is plenty of cranberries in the freezer, still...). i have also figured out that the "finely chopped" cranberries need to be drained a bit to get rid off of some of the juices...







also, spreading the dough is rather particular. you miss a spot around the edge and all juices run to the bottom of pan... not good







adding the crumble







baked beautifully...







well, one of the two cakes was perfect and i wish i would have taken pics at neighbour's of it. the cake that remained with us wasn't perfect...see the top layer is much thicker than the bottom...it really should be the other way around. not that it affects the taste in any way, it would just look so much nicer!







yesterday, after coming back from walking the dog, we noticed something weird looking pushing up from the ground...







on closer inspection it was the rhubarb. never have i seen it being this strange color (or maybe i haven't paid attention to it...)







this is how the wrist looks now. the scar isn't that bad and will definitely be smaller and not as noticeable as the one on the other side of my wrist







ps. i just noticed that deb from smitten kitchen has baked the cranberry vanilla coffeecake...if you check her pics of the cake you'll see that the american cranberries aren't at all like ours...i'm certain the reason my cakes don't turn up as even as deb's did is in the cranberries. at least that's my defence and i stick to it!

final cast

finally got rid of the huge cast yesterday and got this tiny one. it seems that i've also gotten rid of what used to be my left bicep. i must admit it wasn't that huge to start with but now it's nonexistent







ok, the picture isn't that sharp but you get the idea. i had been positively surprised as so far there had not been much pain to speak of, just little discomfort with swelling. i'm afraid that the pain will start now when there is more movement. my elbow is rather stiff, but that was to be expected not being able to move it for almost 4 weeks, i'm sure physiotherapy will take care of that.

this little red number will be removed after two weeks... although i'm not sure it's still red at that time...

new cast & veggie bake

first, let me tell you, they replaced the cast on my arm today, there will be pictures of the raw flesh later... now, don't say i didn't warn you!

this next picture was taken yesterday around noon... it's the end of march... shouldn't it be spring already? however, i'm still convinced that spring, and summer eventually, will come. i'm more concerned as to how certain someone can manage the wait for his new harley...







my ability to drive is not probably very high on the list of things you need, or even want to know but i will thank, again, my choice of transmission in my car all those years ago. there is no way i'd be driving a stick shift with this package. anyway, before my drive to my brother's i figured i needed something to support my arm, so i grabbed one of the pillows on my couch... a bit too fancy a fabric for a car, but the shape is perfect. i'm pleasantly surprised that my shoulders are doing fine despite the cast, i guess being a good patient and doing my exercises actually helps!







now would be a good time to skip two pics... if you don't want to look at what was revealed today at the hospital...quite a lot of padding in there







shortly after this picture, and after watching the stiches being removed, i asked if i could lay down...although, if you absolutely must pass out, hospital would be the perfect place to do it in







ta-daa! the new streamlined version of cast, it might even be possible to get a sleeve over this







now that i've grossed you out, here's what i cooked, well baked for dinner







chopped







with olive oil and dried thyme







50 mins in 200C oven, so sweet, so jummy, and there's plenty left for lunch tomorrow. i haven't quite decided if i like these better hot straight from the oven or cold and mushed on a rye sandwich...

i survived

what was supposed to be a in and out visit to the hospital on friday ended up in me staying there for two nights. i guess some of the anesthetics i was given before/during surgery made me rather sick (i'll spare you the details), and i was out of this world close to 30 hrs.

i was told the surgery went very well, the surgeon fixed a ruptured something besides the obvious problem of osteoarthritis (or something to that effect). again, i'll spare you the details.

the cast they put on my arm isn't small, or lightweight. don't you just love the hospital green?







i'll be getting rid of the huge cast in 3 weeks, but will get a smaller one for few more weeks. typing with just one hand isn't going too fast right now, but i think i'll be posting more regularly in a couple of days. it's not like i have anything else to do with my time!

small wonders, and pancakes

got a letter day before yesterday from the hospital telling that my surgery is scheduled on march 12th!!!!!! after first being told that the waiting line is 6 months, then being told that it would probably take place sometime late march, early april, i'm ecstatic that it it's happening this soon.

there was a zillion things to plan and think about and i'm not a person to figure out plans up to D if i don't know even the approximate details or dates. i just plain won't plan anything, feel it's a waste of time and energy (could be that i'm just lazy...). had some leave scheduled in mid-march but was told yesterday that can be moved ahead so that i can have my leave before the surgery. now i can get a move on things that have been "waiting for the day" (like the pile of clothing going to salvation army).

also, i had a trip planned in mid-april, it seems i get to go as the first cast will be removed by then and the second cast will be considerably smaller and lighter. not sure what'll happen with rehab that was supposed to be the last week of march. there are good things going on, gotta be careful not to jinx it...

this morning, as a celebratory breakfast, made american pancakes for us (certain someone was home as he got his H1N1-shot yesterday and was feeling poorly). not sure where i got the original recipe (probably martha's) but over time it's become quite streamlined, this serves us two

1½ cup all purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
½ tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
2 dl sour cream
1 dl milk
2 tbsp melted butter

first mix the dry indredients, then add the wet, mix but stop when still slightly lumpy. you might have to add ½ dl milk if the batter looks too stiff. as i use non-stick pan i don't use any butter for frying, pan on medium-low heat. usually start by putting the pan on stove to warm, by the time batter is done, pan is heated and ready to go







on the very same day that i read isle dance's entry on goji-berries, got to taste some that a colleague brought to work. went and bought some myself and brought a bag to the shack as well. certain someone has picked up a habit and is using the berries in everything. i mean everything, it's a bad picture, but you get the idea. personally, i think the you'd need much more berries to counter-effect the amount of butter he puts on his pancakes...







ps. we're getting more snow... where will it all go when spring comes? spring will come, right?

down

down would be the word to descibe how i'm feeling at the moment. went to see the surgeon about my wrist on tuesday morning. she took a look at my x-rays, said "oh! no wonder you're hurting" and placed me on the list. i have to wait at least 6 more weeks before the operation. yep, i know that's nothing, some people are on the list for 6 months. bet those people aren't going to work on painkillers, still feeling the pain. pain that, how shall i put it, well, isn't making me any nicer as a person.

sorry, had to get that out of my system. could be that someone can't make their surgery and they call me next week on a day's notice... (not really that optimistic...)

anyways, my shift started at noon on tuesday and i had a couple of hours to kill after the doctor's. as a revenge i went to a cafe to have breakfast, croissant and a cappucino are quite ok, right? i think that for someone like me on a morning like that, also a macaroon was in order. might i add that it was the very first macaroon i've ever eaten







not sure if i liked it enough to try and bake some myself







today at the shack i did like i was told to do "dinner from our reserve supplies". dug out frozen broccoli, green beans, snap peas and shrimp, sliced a shallot and a carrot, grated some ginger, cooked some rice noodles and took out these







on a hot pan sauteed the onion, ginger and carrot first, then added the slightly thawed items, threw in some of each of the sauces, mixed well, added the rinsed noodles, mixed again and voila, dinner in 15 mins