"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

I went where no one wants to go . . .

The comfrey poultices were working great on my ankle, so as I said we went to town and visited Mom.  However, I could barely get my fuzzy, comfy boots on (thought they had the most room).  

We also went to the grocery store, picked up chicken food, visited Daughter E, and went out to lunch with Daughter E and K.  I was exhausted and couldn't wait to get my foot up and iced.

I think I aggravated my ankle.  I woke up yesterday and it was so swollen.  I iced it and decided it was best to call my doctor to be sure what was going on.

I couldn't get into the doctor until Thursday, so I went to the urgent care where they have the ability to take x-rays (they are literally downstairs from where my doctor is).  I didn't want to go that route, but it was better than the ER.

I was so nervous, because I could hear people checking in asking for a covid test.  I made sure I stayed far away from anyone I could.  The nurse laughed when she took my blood pressure.  Yeah, it was high.  I told her I did not want to be there, and was avoiding cooties as much as possible.


(sorry for the bad photo, but it's hard to balance crutches and take a photo, ha ha ha ha!)

I'm now the proud owner of a boot and crutches.  Sigh.  My husband is not happy I cannot do my normal chores.  He however, got up at 4am and got me a bag of peas for my ankle (couldn't find the ice pack), helped me put my boot back on and made me a cheese omelet before he went to work.  

I normally, pack his breakfast, lunch and coffee.  It feels so wrong not being able to do the normal stuff.  I am not one to sit around all day either, so I will most likely be a cranky ol' pain in the rump today.  At least my ankle should heal faster now that I am under different circumstances.  Maybe I will actually read a book today.  I know I won't be drinking a lot of coffee, because that means more trips to the kitchen and that means steps to deal with and yeah....ugh...

At least Daughter K has kept her shoes picked up in the hallway after all of this.

I am however very glad I put an all-in-one meal in the crock pot yesterday morning.  As soon as my husband got home, he picked me up to take me in to town for all of this.  He dropped me off, and then went to Daughter E's apartment to fix her flat tire, and pick her up from work.  It all worked out, but so glad we had a meal when we arrived home after 7pm.

There is nothing "homesteading" about this post, but more so stuff I just can't make up.  Oh, yeah, I can't tend the hens either, so there are two people in the house that have to.

All in all, maybe they will appreciate me more after realizing how much I do around here.  I know my husband does, but maybe my daughter that lives here will realize it.

I can say, on a day stuck in bed with my feet up, I do miss Tiger's kitty snuggles.  I am glad he is with his Mom though.  She really needs it right now.

Hopefully, I will have something interesting to post tomorrow.  It's kind of hard to post anything when you've spent the day off your feet I suppose.

One last ditty here....my wonderful husband got up and made me a cheese omelet for breakfast before he went to work.  He is the best!! He was up at 4am re-wrapping my ankle and icing it with a frozen bag of peas, which helped me sleep like a baby.  He finally found the ice pack this morning for me.  I love him to bits!!


Monday, December 13, 2021

Making a Poultice Using Dried Comfrey

 

I didn't get any comments on if a poultice can be made using dried comfrey.  I did some research myself.  I found that if you are making one for the healing of a broken bone you can make a "tea" with the comfrey and apply the compress 3 times a day.

I decided to make a poultice for my sprained ankle.  I poured enough boiling water over dried comfrey, and blended into a "mash" using my blender.  

I then used a thin layer of cheesecloth and created a poultice.  day one I used the two poultices and iced and wrapped.  Day two it was much better but still a bit swollen (way less pain).

I am still applying a poultice daily, and yesterday was unable to get my ankle in my much boots to go to the coop.  Doctor Daughter K sternly told me that if it's not better "in 3 days" I need to get x-rays done on it.  However, the swelling has gone down each day so far.  The count down is on....

I was able to get on a pair of soft dress boots to head to town.  We needed chicken food, and made a trip to visit Mom.  She looks good, but hasn't had a doctor visit lately.  I do believe she has one today, but I'm not for certain.  We are keeping up on that via group email, and I haven't gotten an email lately, and Mom gets very confused.

We also made a stop at Daughter E's apartment.  It was our first time seeing the inside.  It's very cute to be honest, but small.  No wonder she said she won't buy a Christmas tree.  There is no room in her very small living room.  Tiger made his appearance and loved on me.  It was so good to see him, and to have to give me some kitty love.  I bet he is so happy there, having the entire place to himself.

By the time we returned home, I was so happy to get the boots off.  My foot was so sore from all that walking.