Journals, new and old, and, gasp, shopping...

Pictures of the insides and of the covers of journals -- the Rehab Journal, a couple of gardening journals, one a Japanese handbound beauty, one a fabric covered one, and my favorite mulberry journal, created with mulberry paper, with leaves laminated onto the covers, and mulberry twig forming the front of the binding, made in Indonesia, a gift from a friend.



Today was a much much better day for HP, simply looking and sounding like himself, stronger, able to take one or two assisted steps using the leg that was the reason for the spinal surgery. Getting used to the pacemaker and not concerned all the time about it. His doctors were smiling for the first time in two weeks! general happiness all round.

I had picked most of our snowdrops,since the snow has melted off them now, and took them in to set in a glass where HP and the other patient in the room could enjoy. Other patient is virtually speechless, unable to move, very very disabled older gentleman, and when I held the snowdrops to his nose to sniff, he sniffed and said, oh, that's lovely! I really teared up then. Nice scent of spring for them all. HP loves flowers so he was thrilled with this little present.

So I figured I deserve 1. the evening off from visiting, was in there a lot today, HS will go in after work tonight, and 2. a trip to the Red, White and Blue thrift store, where I scored a nice putty colored cotton shift, a lovely very fine corduroy blue shirt, and off to Tarjay for a couple of white ts with elbow length sleeves, a first for me. And socks to replace the ones I wore out pacing the hospital corridors!

And I took a few pix of my journals, since I started a new one this week. At the library book sale, my favorite place for blank books unless I make my own, I found a jazzy little tall narrow book, yellow and purple, kind of 50s designed cover, completely new, for a big dollar. This has become my Rehab Journal, as an antidote to all the stress of the last few weeks.

First page introduced the series of um, events, that have cascaded over us. After that, left hand page is how I'm feeling and thinking, right hand page is what's happening with HP, without guessing at his emotions. I find it's handy to process this way. And the pages face each other, a metaphor in itself.

The others are a general pupose mulberry book, and two gardening journals, andyou'll see some of the photos I put in as reminders, as I go, along with tags from items I've bought, for price and source since you never remember even if you think you will.

And now I'm luxuriating in being able to just peacefully talk and think about nothing more pressing, pun intended, than clothes and journals and shopping and spring flowers. This is the best gift I've had in ages.

As is the knowledge that today, a lovely day at last, is my mother's birthday. She was born in 1895, but is still very much alive to me on days like this.