Slowly but surely (?)

This foto is from May, when I was still quite swollen and in a lot of pain.  Today, as August is turning into September, the swelling is gone and I only feel a little twitch of discomfort.

"Only a twitch" provided I avoid several types of movements that involve gripping and twisting, and lifting anything more than about 15lbs tops (the cat is 13!).  It's still quite easy to aggravate and takes a few days to settle back down if I do something stupid.

Sigh.

I don't know what this means for the garden next year (or, ever). I've had some ideas about how to manage my work differently, both in terms of time and tools -- but even that is contingent on me being well and with some strength returned.

Fingers crossed -- on my left hand.

Ow-ie

So... turns out you can get tennis elbow even if you don't play tennis. You can get it from doing a whole lotta yard work, especially with the repetitive motions involved in weeding, pulling up blackberries, and wielding hand shears like a ninja.

So... I'm not going to be working in the garden for two, possibly three weeks. And I need to rethink my work pattern so this doesn't happen again.

UPDATE May 29:  So, 3 weeks is looking more like 3 months. I'm in physical therapy now and making great progress, but I have to accept that the risk of re-injury will be great this year.  Gardenbooty has ceased for 2015.

I can still do a few things with my left hand only and my boyfriend is helping with the absolute necessities. My hope is that the fantastic progress I made this year will mostly hold and in 2016 I can pick up where I left off, but with a different work pattern. No more 3-day weekends.

More mugwort

Sunny days

This weekend I:

• Weeded herb bed
• Worked on herb bed's border
• Continued work on removing blackberries down to the grandfather roots
• Weeded & mulched the fern/hellebore area
• Continued to weed & mulch the North fence strip
• Worked on the walk between the two raised beds
• Continued weeding peony area
• Continued weeding crocosmia bed
• Continued wedding sidewalk strip

April's Over May So June

Tasks this weekend:

• Weeded Russian sage on back garage strip
• Weeded walk between the back beds
• Considered how to mulch strawberries since I have no straw, hmm
• Worked on triangle beds
• Weeded garage strip
• Continued removing boxwood
• Considered iris bed
• Worked on digging up blackberry roots
• Worked on weeding and mulching North fence strip
• Planted one parsley in herb bed
• Emptied two worm bins into compost pile
• Readied one bin to be used again (the other will be cleaned for recycling)
• Planted two sweetpeas
• Weeded two raised beds - decided one is for tomato, the other?
• Planted two bachelor buttons

Organized. Bona Fide.