Surgery, Dawn & Kira, Naomi & Drought

Andy went to the doctor today, 3 weeks after his foot surgery. Progress is being made, the pins were removed today from his 2 toes. So what exactly did the surgery entail? Several things: a bunion was removed from the big toe and 3 screws put in. We're not sure why screws were needed but it was a long and ugly incision to implant them. Those screws will remain permanently. Another part of the surgery corrected 2 toes that were bent. The one toe was a result of being broken years before and it was affecting the toe next to it and making it crooked, too. So the toe that was broken was re-broken with a pin inserted to hold it in the proper position. The toe next to that one was twisted to the proper position, then a pin inserted in that one, too, to keep it straight.

So the prognosis today was: he can get the foot wet now. He can also put some pressure on the heel of the foot. But he will need to continue using the crutches for a little longer. I know he's getting tired of sitting around, but it's all for a good cause. Hopefully, when the healing is complete, he'll be able to walk without pain.

Over the weekend, I got a call from Dawn who told me that Tommy would be away Monday through Wednesday for work. She then asked if she could join us for dinner any night. Of course, we wanted her. So Monday evening she came over and I fixed her favorite dinner: spaghetti. It was like old times except that Kira was with us, too. She adds a lot of interest to dinner time!

Naomi's birthday was Tuesday, so I went grocery shopping in the morning to pick up a few items for things I was going to bring along to their house later. I made turkey burgers, brought rolls, and made a Caesar's salad. We left around 1:00 to drive up to C & C's. We enjoyed an evening picnic on their "new" patio. Fortunately, the heat wave hadn't hit yet, so it was a very pleasant evening outside. Naomi is a joy to give to because she is so dramatic when she opens her presents. Each present is the best she's ever gotten or exactly what she wanted!

On Wednesday, I thought it would be fun to go to Chipotle's with Dawn and Kira, since Tommy was still away, and Andy was also occupied. (He had a dinner appointment.) Well, I didn't do a very good job of taking into account Kira's inability to sit still for very long. That girl is a ball of energy! So it was an interesting dinner. It really was an "eat and run" affair! I looked at the clock as we left the restaurant and it was 5:42 pm. We hadn't even left the house till after 5:00 and it takes 10-15 minutes to get there. We certainly weren't there very long. Dawn was prepared with food and books and toys for Kira, and they worked for a little while, maybe 2 seconds! Then she wanted out of her restraints. Well, after eating we went back to our house and played a little with the toys and dress up clothes.

Wow! Is it ever hot! I was happy to get most of my gardening done before the heat wave hit us. It's looking good in my gardens - weed-less and the bushes are now trimmed to a less shaggy look. But the lawn is so brown...we desperately need rain. I am careful to faithfully water the flowers but our property is so huge, it would be impossible to keep all the lawn watered. It seems early in the season for it to be so dry. Hopefully, we'll get rain soon.