Witty & Wise Ties, Trivia & Lies
Y’all can see the Divine Miss Grace is related to me. She was all bows-up as Minnie Mouse for Halloween. She rocks her Bow Ties o’ the Day like a pro. President Travis and President-ette Collette are obviously still teaching Gracie The Way o’ the Bow, and I am one proud grand-aunt.
I have spent most days in my pajamas since my surgery. I guess you could say pajamas are the designated, official uniform o’ My 2021 Pancreas Surgery Recovery. Likewise, this bandage tie is the official Tie o’ the Day o’ My 2021 Pancreas Surgery Recovery.
FYI Y’all are well aware of the padded section of bandages. Well, my bandage tie has padding in that spot too. It is thick and cushy.
I chose to wear a painted wood Bow Tie o’ the Day and a leafy Face Mask o’ the Day for my first solo trip to the grocery store since surgery. Of course, I picked up some ice cream. I also spent a significant amount of time perusing the Christmas candy aisle, as you can see here. My shopping powers are somewhat limited for another couple of weeks, since my doctor has forbidden me to lift anything more than 10 pounds yet—including a bag of groceries that already has a tub of ice cream in it. I was disciplined about buying Christmas candy: I can honestly say I did not buy more than 10 pounds of it. But if I feel the need, I can always make another 10-lb candy run tomorrow. I’m so bored from sitting around recovering that it’s a very real possibility I will do exactly that.
Long-time readers of TIE O’ THE DAY might remember that I presented a few scar updates after my first surgery, three years ago. Over the past couple of weeks, I have had requests from some of these over-inquisitive souls to see the scar from my latest—and final, I hope—gutting. The horizontal scar on my belly is from my first operation, and it measures just over 5 inches. My newly acquired scarry, scarry incision runs vertically from my belly button to my sternum and measures in at a whopping 7 inches. Note: I definitely prefer getting tattoos over getting scars.
Recently, Skitter has been suffering from fame withdrawal. She hasn’t been the star of any TIE O’ THE DAY posts since before I went into the hospital. It’s been weeks since she has basked in the limelight of her internet fame. Oh, it has been a tragic time of isolation for the poor little canine. Skitter’s soul needs the spotlight to again shine upon her fur, so I told her she could have this post. For her photo shoot, she slipped into her current favorite Tie o’ the Day, which happens to be her candy corn Halloween tie. The Skit is 2 cool 2B 4gotten! She is truly a star-caliber attention hog, and she has sorely missed showing off for y’all who are her fans.
You would think I’ve had my fill of all things medical right now, but that isn’t the case. Just for more punishment, on my way out of the hospital, I asked if they could give me my annual flu shot. They were happy to oblige. And then, a week after I was discharged, it was finally time for my COVID-19 booster shot. I slapped on my wood birdies Bow Tie o’ the Day and drove myself out to the Legacy Events Center vaccination drive-thru in Farmington to get my arm poked with my booster. Other than a sore arm the next morning, I had nary a side effect. It was so good to be out in the world on my own again—for an hour. After that, I needed a long winter’s nap for the rest of the day.
My hospital room had a sweet and calming view, 24/7. No view is swell enough to make a person want to stay in even the finest of hospitals, however. From the first moment I arrived, all I wanted to do was get out. On the 6th day of my stay, the doctors shut down my epidural, so I could get used to the pain I would be feeling for the near future. In a matter of hours, my torso went from being numb and number to being on fire with blazing pain. It was not fun. My belly was a hunk, a hunk o’ burnin’ OUCH. I did manage to eat a hospital last supper of Cardiac French Toast, which I liked more because of its name than its taste. And on the 7th day, I put on my pajamas and an orange spider/white spiderweb Bow Tie o’ the Day, and then I high-tailed it for home as fast as Suzanne’s car could take us.
