Search Results for “ankle” – Page 3

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Bonjour de France! 🇫🇷

Jul 172023

We are officially on our summer holidays! ☀️🎉

Although, to be fair, it doesn’t look or feel that much different from our regular days since neither of us “work” all day long. Plus, M is always “working”, so even when on holiday he is messaging, fielding calls, etc.

Still, the environment has changed and we have plans to explore a bit more of France and some islands over the next couple of months.

Yet…it has a sort of odd feeling to it as well.

This week, M is in the UK on his own doing a mix of work and pleasure traveling. This means I am on my own in our place in Lorgues, but without the puppies. 🐶 🥺 It’s best for them that we were able to find a nice couple, we think, to house- and pet-sit for us. Despite that, I had this weird sense of anxiety yesterday when I dropped of M at the airport.

Perhaps, it was a little bit of residue from the last time he left me on my own as it resulted in my ankle-break. Perhaps, it is some premonition yet to be known. Or, perhaps, it is just a jumble of emotions that are brewing inside of me in quietly coping with different levels of stress as we prepared to leave for about a month.

This is the first time that we have left the dogs for such a long period of time. This is the first time we have strangers in our house for such a long period of time. This is the first time that we have started to live the life that we want in having a home-base, but still be free to come and go in our travels around.

So, I suppose it is natural that we/I have this anxiety. Possibly, M manifested his anxiety through work-stress while I have buried it within until now.

Yesterday, when I got back, I was exhausted. I just wanted to sleep without any disruptions or distractions. Although I had a dinner invite, I could not summon the energy to be sociable, try to speak French, stay awake. Even with a short afternoon nap that usually refreshes me for the late Mediterranean evening culture, I still could not find motivation. So, I stayed in – because I could! 🤪 I was in bed by 9 and probably asleep not that much later.

My sleep wasn’t great, but I was not awakened by anything other than my own alertness.

Thus, this week, I have planned to detox my body, reboot my physical health, and refresh my mind. I started this morning with an early walk and attempted a light job, which would be more aptly referred to as a fast-walk, but that’s OK. I prepped some lemon water, relaxed with my cup of coffee on the balcony, did some work, and am now already at the end of my to-do list for the day. Tonight will be my last solid food night for the week as I had already agreed to go out for unlimited tacos and rosé with music. Then, tomorrow, I go on my liquid detox of lemon water and smoothies to try to give my body a break from the booze and overeating.

To encourage myself, I have booked a couple of massages that also allow for a couple of hours at the spa as a way of mini-retreat treatments mixed in with a means of distraction from wanting to eat and of refreshing – one of my goals for the week.

So, I’ll be back towards the end of the week to let you know how it goes! 🙏🏽

~T 🔥🐉♋️

Escaping the Rain

Going Mental 2 Responses »

Jun 122023

How another week has gone by so quickly is one of those endless mysteries of life. 🤷🏽‍♀️ I thought that I would have more time to write or do so-called normal activities even with almost a week in France, but somehow that didn’t quite happen. 🤪

We hit the road late on Wednesday last week after I got back from Rome where I had what I thought was my last ankle check up for a while. Instead, I am going in tomorrow for a quick op to get one of the rods taken out, but more on that later in the week. In any case, although we don’t like to drive in the afternoons and evenings, we decided it was better to get to France and wake up with a full day rather than wait and waste a day driving.

Our main mission was to take the pups 🐶🐶 and see how they are in the yard as we will be taking them there with us for part of the summer and I’ll be on my own with them there for a few days. That mission was accomplished and Monty was able to show us all the holes where he can escape the fencing – they will be filled and blocked up. Unfortunately, Peanut was just on the mend as she had gotten bit by a viper 🐍 in our yard somewhere on the Monday afternoon before we went. Thanks to getting her to the vet, a blood test confirming the bite, and more meds, she is recovering. She still isn’t back to her full self yet, but she’s getting there. So, the upside was that she wasn’t as naughty so we only had to contend with one mischievous dog to complete our mission. 😬

Since it had been a while for M to visit and see our friends there, we made the rounds catching up with them. We also ate some delicious food and even got in a market day. So, it was a good trip even if the drive felt long on the return and the weather turned stormy ⛈️ in the afternoons after a misleading morning of warmth and sun ☀️.

Now, although I have unpacked and we are basically settled back home, we still will be on the move to some extent with tomorrow’s op and visitors coming for a few days. It’s all good though, this is not a complaint – just a reminder to myself that I gotta make schedules work for me as life moves fluidly around. 😁

~T 🔥🐉♋️

A Little Getaway (& More)

Going Mental 1 Response »

May 082023

When we first arrived in Italy some people recommended this thermal spa hotel in Viterbo, which is only an hour drive away. Since M and I had not really had much of a break together, I decided to book us in here for a night.

It was such a great idea – good job me!

We arrived in the late afternoon, got to our suite and then headed out to these pools (pic is a view from our room). They were indeed warm and felt therapeutic to body and soul. We had a nice dinner and caught up with each other without distractions of the pups, phones, TV, etc. The next day, we had a hammam and massage, which was very relaxing and calming.

It was a much needed moment to reconnect since my fall. So much of our focus has been on my ankle or scheduling life around physiotherapy, and so on. Therefore, it felt good to be just together without worry about all those other things.

We felt we would go back again for a day spa since it is so close, but we might not need to pay to spend the night as it is close enough to drive there and back. Anyway, it was a lovely little getaway.

Then, since I had been given the green light to drive and to go away, I decided it was my turn for a solo trip. I hit the road on Saturday morning and made the drive to France.

It wasn’t too bad with the ankle. I didn’t really need to stop more than twice, which is my normal amount anyway. I listened to my audiobook, podcasts, and enjoyed the beautiful weather for a long drive. I felt as if I was returning to myself again.

So, I’ll be here for another day and then heading back on Wednesday. It has been a great time spent for myself with friends and putting small personal touches to the apartment.

And, with that, I close with a smile and now it’s off to bed!

~T 🔥🐉♋️

It’s May!

Going Mental No Responses »

May 022023

Well, another month is beginning. With almost ten weeks of life on hold, I am looking forward to returning to a more regular and familiar routine. Although I have managed to mostly maintain my positive attitude and patience with myself, M and the slower pattern of the days, I am eager to pick up the pace little by little.

Last Friday, I went to a new mindfulness group session that was conducted in mostly Italian. I had asked about joining a group almost a year ago, but when one started I couldn’t attend due to scheduling, etc. So, I was pretty excited to go and also to test out my Italian skills. It turned out to be an amazing time on many levels. One satisfying part was to realize my Italian listening is pretty good given I’ve only studied on DuoLingo. Another was to join a group where I could meditate in a peaceful energetic space – unlike at home most of the time. The best part was getting a reminder that baby steps are good. With small steps, I can assure my stability and assess the ground. If I move too fast, my feet and ankle are weaker plus I cannot fully sense what is underneath me to keep me safely on my feet.

So, while I am making really good progress with the ankle and will be hopefully returning to basic yoga soon, I still need to remember to take a pause, smell the new spring flowers, enjoy the rainstorms, and take those baby steps.

Happy May and to the month ahead!

~T 🔥🐉♋️

Finally Spring!

Going Mental 1 Response »

Apr 262023

It was a late winter and the colder temps have lingered much longer than we either expected or wanted. Both M and I are sun seekers. ☀️ We thrive in warmer temperatures and sunny climates. While I prefer the temperate warmth, M enjoys the more sweaty ones. 😅 So, we agreed that we will not be spending another mid-winter period here because the cold and rainy days do not suit us. However, we are still left with a delay in the spring weather this year.

Thankfully, I think that we are nearly to the point when Mother Nature flips the switch to begin heating up the outside so that we can bat away the bugs and sit by the pool working on our tans. It has been a bit grey and wet today, but we enjoyed a beautiful mild weekend. The wisteria tree was in the town of Todi, not too far from us, where we met some new friends for lunch. So, with the various spring blooms coming out in their full colorful glory, we stop to enjoy and sigh relief that the cold is on its way out.

Another plus is that while my ankle is on the mend, I am not feeling as if I am missing anything yet since early spring pollen flurries usually keep me indoors anyway. By the time all of that passes and the temperatures are suitable, I shall be fully walking 🚶🏽‍♀️on my own two feet! 🤞🏽

So… finally SPRING!

~T 🔥🐉♋️

Happy Spring Equinox 2023

Going Mental No Responses »

Mar 212023

For many years, I had no real interest in the cycles of the seasons. When Japanese people and Japanophiles would say “I love that Japan has four seasons”, I would roll my eyes 🙄 with disdain at such a cliché and trivial statement.

With the forced time to sit still with my thoughts, I have discovered that perhaps I was being a bit too dismissive, or dare I say immature and arrogant 😬, about what these people may have meant in their words. To be fair, I may be attributing too much credit to them now in my moment of softness. 🤪

Still, today, during my brief meditation (trying to build myself back into the routine of it), I listened to the birds singing, our pups squealing and barking as they ran in the playground of our woodlands, and felt the warmth of the spring sun warm my face as I centered on my breath and the healing of my ankle. In the listening, I heard a whisper of appreciation in the consistency of the seasons.

Often, I can control my pain tolerance by impressing upon my mind that all things are temporary. Pain cannot last forever if we maintain a strong and healthy body. Illnesses come and go. Even people can be passing through our lives. In accepting the fleeting reality of life, we learn to appreciate the current moment. This is one of the main teachings of mindfulness meditation. It is also somehow one of the most difficult concepts to embrace with regularity and efficacy.

It was in this awareness of the coming of spring that I acknowledged the passing of winter. The past two days were chilly and grey, which affected my mood. Being aware of its effect, I did my best to stay upbeat, but it was difficult. Luckily, I could hide away in my room, take naps and escape with my crime TV shows. Then, today, the sun returned lifting my mood in celebration for the Spring Equinox.

In Japan, today is a national holiday. It is one of the few countries that celebrates “nature” as a reason to break up the regular routine of life. While other places might have a period of spring fairs or celebrations, they are not days off.

So, perhaps there is something to appreciating four distinct seasons. Or, perhaps, the main point is to appreciate that somewhere like Japan takes time to notice and celebrate them. Most importantly, though, we can learn to appreciate, notice, and celebrate as individuals no matter where we are.

Therefore, today, I feel positive with warmth as the spring season begins.

~T 🔥🐉♋️

Surgery ✔️ – On to Recovery

Creative Meanderings 1 Response »

Mar 102023

Well, two weeks later, it’s done.

I was gone from my room for over nine hours, and the docs said it took more than four hours to put my ankle back together through three insertion points. There was some talk of recreating ligaments and pulling of the skin, which explained the very uncomfortable pain I felt the next day.

However, two days later, I have yet to have any more pain medication and rocked my first crutches walk down the hallways. I imagine it is my determination to get home as soon as I can that is pushing me through.

The foot is still rather swollen – especially when it has been down a bit for a walk – and my blood pressure is low from lying on my back for 17 days, but there is hope on the horizon.

No specific dates or days can be given for recovery, but the next phase is a number of weeks with no weight-bearing activity. So, that means more time in bed, but in my own bed with a mix of sitting up, lowering the leg, and keeping it lifted, etc.

Overall, my spirits are good. I had one day straight after post-op when I questioned my sanity, but after a second day with less pain and doing nothing but watching, I felt motivated today to make more progress.

Will keep updated here on how things progress.

~T 🔥🐉♋️

New Month, New Plans

Going Mental 3 Responses »

Mar 012023

Well, if you don’t follow me on social media, then you’ve missed the exciting news of me dislocating my ankle and breaking the leg bones surrounding the area. 🤪

It’s been 9 days now since it happened on a walk with the pups, who decided to take me with them on a scent-run. Only problem was that my legs could not keep up and apparently, my ankle was not in the flexible mood. 😬 So, after a few screams and choice words breathing through the pain, I managed to crawl to a signal with my phone to call a nearby friend and M in the UK who called the previous owner (L) of our house because he lives closer. With the help of L, I got an ambulance and taken to the ER at Orvieto Hospital.

Unfortunately, or fortunately 🤷🏽‍♀️, the orthopedic ward was closed due to C19, so I had to be transferred to another hospital, which was in Spoleto – almost 2 hours away. Before being transferred, they popped my ankle back in place – ouch! – and put on a temporary cast. I was told I was definitely going to need surgery. The fall happened just before 5pm, I arrived in Spoleto at 11pm with the belief that I would undergo surgery quickly.

Three days later, I had had no surgery, gotten a new cast that required a painful further adjustment of the ankle, been fed some interesting food, and no clear idea of what was happening. The doctor aggressively questioned me about where I wanted to have surgery – as if I should know that when I didn’t even know why it hadn’t happened yet!

In the end, we clarified that surgery had to wait and so I could get it done in Orvieto with a stay at home in the meantime. Happily, we checked out of there!

While on the road, I was informed that I should check into Orvieto the next morning for scheduled surgery on Tuesday.

However, the owner of the yoga studio I have been attending is an orthopedic physiotherapist and recommended a private clinic in Rome. She said I would get decent care through Orvieto, but the follow up care would be more challenging that I could avoid through the private clinic. So, luckily, I was able to speak with the doctor in Rome before we went to the hospital in the morning and decided to go with the private option instead. That was Saturday.

On Sunday, I checked in and here I am still as I write this post. The quality of care if excellent as I sit in my private room, have a small team of nurses, regular visits from the doctor(s) to check the status of my ankle – still no operation as swelling must be at a low before they feel it is optimal -, regular options of my menu, and that always desired yet never fully appreciated element of time.

So far, I have been keeping myself busy enough, though my positivity waxes and wanes more than at the start. Two weeks in hospital with another likely ahead does not make a happy and content me, but nothing else is to be done.

Instead, we now focus on new plans since most of what we had organized has changed. Even after surgery, I will be bed/sofa-bound for at least a month and then many more months of physiotherapy, etc. before it will be back to “normal”. So, it is one day at a time and literally, step-by-step.

Funny how life can change in a single moment, but alas that is for another post. Here’s to the new month and new plans ahead!

~T 🔥🐉♋️

Mongolia July 2019

General, Meanderings Abroad No Responses »

Aug 092019

It had been a while since Mom and I had taken a mother-daughter trip, so with life starting to return to normal, we made plans to reinstate them. With lots of options, we decided on Mongolia.

Many people gave us quizzical looks respectively whenever we mentioned where we were going as it is not a common travel destination – yet. However, this sort of made the journey even more exciting.

We booked an 8-day tour with Amicus Travel Mongolia focusing on being able to see Mongolia’s annual Naadam Festival towards the end of it.

Our tour started in Ulaanbaatar, the capital city, with just one night in a hotel before meeting the rest of our group and a driver, who took us all to the airport in the morning. Then, we were left to our own devices to figure out where to check-in and catch the morning flight to Murun (Moron as spelled on our boarding passes – was that a hint?!). Luckily, there were five of us together, so we figured it out. It was a short flight and then we met our tour guide and driver for the first three days of the tour.

A rather long and bumpy car ride took us toward Lake Khuvsgol in the northern part of the country which shares the waterway with Russia. It was a beautiful area with green mountains, herds of animals, untouched lands and fresh air. Actually, just the scenery reminded me of Trillium Lake at home in Oregon, but the Blue Pearl lake is called such for a reason. The water was rather chilly, but it was gorgeous to see.

We spent two chillier nights in the Ger camps, experiencing how the local nomads might live in these homes. It was a bit like ‘glamping’, only less glamorous.

During this time, we visited a reindeer herd and explored the area with a visit to a couple of local families’ homes.

After a couple of days of this area, we then headed back to Ulaanbaatar for another night in a different Ger camp outside of the city area and compared the differences in herded animals as well as culture of the people.

We also experienced a bit of the spiritual side of the country in visiting temples both in and out of the city.

Of course, the highlight was seeing the festival with all its competitions from ankle-bone throwing to archery to horse racing to wrestling and the opening ceremony.

We toured the city and saw highlights as a close to the tour.

On the whole we enjoyed the trip. It was fun to see a completely different and fairly unknown country. While the history is rich with stories of Genghis (Chinggis) Khan, there is little known about its current status in the world.

With that said, I do not need to visit it again anytime soon. I might be interested to see its development in another 20-30 years since it is indeed a developing nation. Also, much of the tour was spent in a car getting from locations, which is not as fun. It reminded me a bit of the tour I took in Turkey.

As for recommending it, I’m not sure. I think if one has an interest in Mongolia or seeing a still fairly untouched country, then it is worth it. However, don’t expect the food to wow you or to be overly impressed with the tourism industry.

Click on the pic to see all trip pics!

Still, I’m glad I got to do another trip with my mama and to revive the travel bug in me! Now, the real question is, where to go next…? 😛

~T 😀

State of Emergency

Going Mental No Responses »

Apr 302017

In high school a close friend of mine’s boyfriend was in a serious motorcycle accident. He was the brother of another close childhood friend. I was going to my girl friend’s house when her parents told me about the accident and that she was down near our local store.

I went and picked her up; took her to the hospital and waited with her to make decisions that could not be waited on until his parents arrived to make due to the severity of his injuries. Luckily, he made a fairly full recovery and leads a happy life (as far as I know) now.

During that time, though, I went into ‘calm’ mode and never got emotionally involved despite my friend’s tears and worry. Her dad asked me if I thought about being a doctor as I had a good head and bedside manner. I said I had thought about it, but the years of schooling turned me off….

Often I can judge people according to a question of: “Would I want this person to be on a lifeboat with me?”

Those who get panicky, become overly aggressive, whine or only state negatives would immediately be thrown off my boat. Having level-headed, calm and proactive people are the type of people I like to have around me in times of trouble.

This weekend, one of our yogimates hurt her ankle as she stepped off a sidewalk suddenly. She swears she heard a snap and the pain was initially immediate. While it was likely that it was just a short-term pain and discomfort, she needed to go to the hospital to get an x-ray and check it out just in case it could have gotten worse. She had been with someone at the time and was in that person’s car, so it seemed best that that person take her to the hospital and be with her.

However, in the end, I went to the hospital to be with her because the other person reacted so strongly and negatively, which ultimately affected everyone during the day in the training class.

Of course, everyone is human and responds to emergencies in different ways. It is not a fault per se if someone takes on stress and does not know how to cope accordingly. However, I was reminded again of the gift of being able to emotionally detach, remain calm and take care of a situation. It is later that I cope or am affected.

In the end, all was fine. Our yogimate’s ankle is fine though she is being careful with it for a few days. <3

Still, in a state of emergency, I have a clearer idea of who could stay on the lifeboat! 😛

~T 😀

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