I have decided that for now, I’m going to put myself first and invest time in ME, and making the life around me the way I want it to be. So here’s how I have been doing that.
New limb cover!
First excellent thing that happened this week is, on Monday, my new limb cover arrived! I have paid for this myself (with a little help from Dad in the way of Birthday money last year). It’s made my a Canadian company Alleles. They don’t usually do custom covers but did, specially for me. We customised one of their standard designs with red/ white/ blue details.
This incorporates both the NZ and UK flag colours. to complete my dual nationality theme they put a Kiwi flag on the side! You can see my Union Jack detail on the socket through the holes in the cover if you are up close!
The running blade and running!
I am also. continuing to work on the blade. This week I decided to screw what I looked like. I also decided to slow the heck down, as this is a piece of advice I would give a client if they asked! I think I need to teach my legs vascular system how to keep up, so going slower is working better. But learning to run on a blade is every bit as challenging as you can imagine: it’s a body part that is actually nothing like the shape of an actual body part. It is in fact mind blowing ot difficult! But – I like a challenge!
Tiny gestures from strangers
One day this week I went out for lunch with a friend.
What an amazing thing happened! This is what I was wearing and this is the wee note I found on my car when I got back to it afterwards. I have no idea who Natasha was but this made my day!
Putting myself first – making an effort
Dressing up and making an effort is something we should do more often. I felt a bit down later in the week, I had nowhere to go that day and it was a day off. But so what, I put another dress on and made an effort with my appearance, because I can! It sure did make me feel better!
Valentines!
But.. the biggest news this week was a surprise valentines delivery!
These flowers smell amazing, are still on my kitchen window ledge going strong – but I have absolutely no idea who my secret admirer is!!
Cycling
I’m still cycling, but frankly it’s taken a bit of a back seat this last week because I have been doing some Reno! I’ll get to that in a moment!
Decorating
I have decided to decorate my house. This isn’t something I have ever done before on my own, never mind as an amputee. It’s a thousand times harder and more tiring than I ever expected! I had to like – pretty much do nothing else but that!
Buuut… I’m pretty stoked with the result. I did it all single handed. This includes:
- Moving furniture out / in again
- Soft furnishings/ styling
- Colour choices
Now, I didn’t have a clue where to start. But, I know that the outside walls in the office (the smallest room which is why I started here!) are scrim and sarking.
Scrim is essentially sacking that has been stapled to planks or horizontal thin wooden strips (sarking.) It has been plastered over to form walls in the late 1800s and early 1900s before plasterboard was invented.
So, like shit was I going to be ripping any paper off these walls! Hell no! But.. I had no clue where to start. But… I knew who to ask.. mitre ten! (here’s why!) Do watch the ad, it’s actually really funny!
So off I went to my local store and spoke to the lovely Phyllis. She told me I needed to cover the walls in pigment sealer before I start painting. Loaded with stuff off I went home.
But… I didn’t plan for how hard it is standing on step ladders with a false leg! So.. back to Mitre ten to ask another lovely lady what a safe alternative would be. Here’s what I upgraded to.
Anyway.. it took me a few weeks to actually get through painting it all with pigment sealer – and then 4 coats of the paint colour I had chosen!
Popped in to Spotlight to get some wall art, ornaments and soft furnishings to finish it all off and here’s how it looks. I have to say I’m pretty bloody proud of myself! Absolutely no help whatsoever!
Before
After
My mate keith
Needs your thoughts and prayers again, he’s back in hospital.
He fears they may have to take more of his leg (above the knee) which is devastating news for him.
Anyway, I have failed to catch up with him in person lately so I posted him the T shirt I had made for him. Hopefully one day soon we’ll be able to have a proper selfie together. Thinking of you and sending you love and hugs, Keith.
