laura takes on the blender

It's great to be home. I am in a cocoon of love. Near this post you can see one of the beautiful "papel picado" banners that Molly made -- it hangs over the bed and says "health" in Chinese. The other banner, which I face from the bed, says "paula" in the same bright and cheery colors.

Next is a picture of a teddy bear that Gail Moorhouse made from one of her own alpacas. Gail is Paul Bunyan's younger and more vigorous sister. She and Tim live up, way, way up in the Maine woods, and do everything by hand, including building a nice ladder to the moon. They make the rest of us look like slugs.

Laura is determined to learn how to make the smoothies I am drinking these days. Here are the ingredients I scrawled for her before she headed downstairs: bee pollen, beets, flax seeds, sesame seeds, green tea powder, vitamin C powder, protein powder, celery, carrots, parsley, magnesium/zinc/calcium liquid, distilled water. The rest she can play with. She added an apple and a banana. It was a delicious success. Beyond the nutrients in the smoothie, I am hoping it will Do the Trick to get my hydraulic system back up and running. That's code for "I haven't pooped since surgery, and am not happy about it." In fact, though I am peeing plentifully, finding the exact muscles that open the floodgates has been a challenge post-surgery -- it's a bit like that trick where you try to move your foot clockwise while drawing the number 6. Your brain is like, what exactly are you asking of me?

Kevie was stern about my stern smoothies when he was here for Thanksgiving. He lectured me about the importance of eating stuff that tastes good. Kev's an interesting blend of ascetic and hedonist. He's lived on bugs (a story that is beyond the scope of this blog, but will remain in family lore), requires very little to be happy, but believes that smoothies should taste good. I like that idea, but am someone who embraces a particular mindset, memorizes its melody, and then can add jazz. First we start with beets and parsley, then maybe we add the banana and apple.

Laura is upset with me that I'm not taking more pain medication. I'm relieved that I don't need it that much (right now the itching is worse than the pain). They send you off with plenty of prescriptions, like door prizes. It's like, "And don't come back until you wake up for your follow-up appointment next week."

I can sure see how someone who is vulnerable could get hooked on pain meds. At the very least it's interesting to see how long you can keep your eyes open when they are trying to close. I found that pain medication meant that I'd be sitting there and then I'd notice, "Oh, my mouth has fallen open again." So for someone who wants to check out for awhile, pain meds must be a pretty effective way to get outside the loop where the rest of us are.

I really want to be Here. My main worry is that this week, with Laura and me mostly holed up in the house drinking beet smoothies, will go by too fast.

Visiting nurse should be here soon. Have tons of questions for her, and hope she is Nice. I only want good energy under this good roof.