Another Tree Bites the Dust

Albino and his crew arrived this morning early and cut down the tree. I couldn't watch! Now a spot that was once a wall of greenery and trees is completely open. By  the time two branches either fell or were burned off, what was left was pretty strange looking, so we just has the whole thing cut dow. The grey/green eucalyptus on the right hand side below him is our main hope now for screening the view of not so great house. It popped up as a volunteer and has grown to about  six or eight feet .

Last night was the most painful night I've had since I can remember.My whole leg from the knee down felt like it was on fire. I laid awake trying to get comfortable and finally got up, yelping when I put weight on my leg. Spike was concerned, but John never stirred. I was convinced the wound must have gotten infected but  I lifted the dressing and looked at it and it  looked  ok. I rummaged around in the medicine cabinet until I found an old bottle of codeine pills, took one and finally fell asleep on the couch at about 4am. 

Now Matt has just arrived for the weekend and Tim is arriving tomorrow to celebrate Dana's birthday. I said I would make Ottolenghi's clementine cake because Dana loves it, and I think Jim will help with the cooking. It will be nice to have them here and I'm pleased to say that some support socks I dug out of the drawer seem to be helping a l lot. I'm baffled how something that was so painful last night now feels quite manageable, but I'm certainly not complaining.

Service may be limited over the weekend, but thank you again for all your kind words of support.