Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Cast Adrift



The recuperation continues.  Nobody cares any more and I'm bored myself with this injury.

The list of things you can't do with a cast is a work in progress.  You discover it as you go along.

You can't open many packages with one hand.  Worst of all, you can't open your vial of Tylenol 2 with a cast on.  It's a child proof bottle.  I have to get my 7 year old grandson with no broken arm to open it for me.

You can't slice, dice, or chop.  It's hard to pour from a heavy tea pot.

Washing anything by hand is nigh impossible.  One hand gets vair vair tired shampooing your hair. Putting toothpaste on your toothbrush is unbelievably tricky.

It's a skillful dog owner who can leash their jackapoo with one hand.  Sometimes I'm skillful, sometimes I'm not.  Scooping is awkward.

Writing hurts.  No way around it.  If I type with only my right hand, strange typos occur and my right arm ends us aching as much as my left.  If I type with both, the cast scrapes across the computer and weighs heavily on the broken part of my arm.

Driving I'm not attempting yet but Dear God, I can't not drive for six to eight weeks.

Reading--I'm sticking to quality trade paper backs.  Lighter than hard cover.  I just read Eric Walter's Safe Houses.  Pretty darn exciting.  I like the characters and the way they just keep solving the most impossible problems.  Thank goodness for books. And all kinds of different books at that. 

Monday, October 27, 2008

Sharon McKay's Book Launch

Saturday it was our privilege to join in the celebration of a new book:  War Brothers by Sharon McKay.  We'd already read about how she'd researched the story in an article she'd written for Hamilton Magazine about a year ago.

Launches are always such hard work for the author.  I think they mark the beginning of even more hard work to sell writing that should just fly off the shelves because it's good.  Sharon shouldn't have to put on a great meal for us all.

But it was delightful for us readers and fans.  I've already read War Brothers--what a contrast to Anne of Green Gables but the characters are that irrepressible and engaging.  How lucky to be born in an island of Canada and not Uganda. 

Congratulations to Sharon.  She's written a wonderful story with impact and hope.