It takes a really long time for a broken bone to heal

Yesterday (Friday, January 19) Mike and I traveled to Little Rock to see Doctor Nicolas at UAMS.  He didn't do much more than unwrap the surgery so he could have a look at it.  He removed about every other staple in the foot long scar Mike has down the front of his leg, rewrapped the knee in the same old splint that Mike came in with and told him he needs to come back next Friday again to have the rest of the staples removed.

Today, Gary came to replace the gutters along the back side of the house.  Mike has had to stay in bed, so Sonny and I are here to help as much as we can.  We made frankengutter using a lot of the old pieces and all of the new pieces Mike had gotten the day before he broke his leg and if I say so myself, it looks pretty good and I think it will withstand a pretty big snow sliding off the roof if we have any more of that this winter.

Meanwhile I am busy catching up with the bills and the phone calls and the things I've left undone.  Mike is getting a little better every day.  A home health evaluator called Friday morning while we were leaving for Little Rock and told me that the physical therapist who would be taking Mike's case had the flu.  I think the evaluator is going to come out to visit us on Monday, but maybe she is just going to call Monday to talk about when she can make an appointment.  Mike is able to get out of bed and walk to the bathroom and is much better at picking his heavy leg with the fiberglass splint on it using his other leg to lift.  Ten days down and another thirty or so days to go.

Mike's niece Crystal and his brother Danny have been wonderful about calling Mike regularly to help take his mind off his healing process.  I am a mess myself, my mind keeps wandering.  I sometimes think about how many birthdays there are to celebrate at the end of January.  My niece Katie will be three  on the 22nd.  My youngest brother Bryan's birthday is on the 25th, my grandson Craig celebrates his 24th birthday on the 27th of January and my nephew Gary has his birthday on the 28th.

All those birthdays help to make me think about other things than that my daughter Eva will have been gone for a year on the very last day of this month.  I think I have prepared myself for the sad thoughts about Eva's death, but when I least expect it my thoughts are all of her and how sad it all is.  Eva's father was adopted and never knew his birth parents.  His adoptive mother and father are both deceased and although they adopted an older son, Eva was never able to find her uncle again after her grandmother died.  She always remembered that her maiden name was Miers, but now that she is gone, it looks as if the name Miers went with her.  I gave her all the things I had from my first marriage for her to remember her father and her grandmother and I don't know where any of that is now.  I do understand now, why Eva was so insistent that her father be remembered....for without Eva to keep his memory, he would be gone.  Eva left behind two wonderful children, both of whom are parents.  She had a granddaughter and a grandson when she died and a few weeks ago another granddaughter was born--a most beautiful baby girl that I know Eva would have loved and held and cuddled the same way she did her first granddaughter 4 years ago and the same way she held and loved her grandson three years ago.  The thought brings a smile to my face.  I am the great grandmother and I love Eva's children and their spouses and her grandchildren.  Now I understand why Eva did her best to keep her father's memory alive  and I will keep Eva's memory alive for all of my own life the same way!

Tonight after Gary finished working, Sonny was too tired to cook supper and he told me how to make his meatloaf.  I put a couple tablespoons of chicken bullion powder and a little water, two eggs, two thirds of a cup of oatmeal and about a pound and a half of hamburger in a bowl, mixed it thoroughly with my hands then  filled the 12 cups of a rubber muffin pan with the meat (the middle ones had the least meat because Sonny says they don't cook as quickly as the outside cups), put the muffin pan into the oven at 375 degrees for ten minutes. I made a glaze--of a tablespoon of brown sugar, a couple teaspoons of ginger and a quarter cup of ketchup and when the ten minutes was up I glazed 8 of the little meat loaves.  I left the glaze off of mine since I don't eat sugar.  Back into the oven for another 18 minutes, I set a timer and started some macaroni and cheese to make a meal.  (Then I started writing this blog...and it's time for me to go finish supper now!)