On Feb. 12 Ed went out to help Alison, Mason and Emma unload the car after they arrived for the kids’ week of vacation with us. He slipped on the ice, fell into the rhododendrons and broke his tibia and his fibula. Surgery followed and since then a looong recovery. He’s still in an “air cast” and can’t put any weight on his leg. He had a lot of pain the first three weeks or so and has only in the last few days been able to get comfortable at night. So we’ve stayed close to home except for many trips into the medical center. He goes in next Monday and we hope the docs will let him start putting a little weight on the leg. It’s his right leg so he can’t drive. It’s surprising how much time caretaking consumes although that’s much better now.
While all of this has been going on I’ve been working on two projects. For years I’ve been trying to make pants that fit so I’ve been sewing up test pants, ripping them out and trying again–over and over, more times than you’d want to know. The other project has been a very large painting of clouds which I’ve been painting, scraping down and repainting. Both of these activities have been more than a little obsessive. I think I’ve just needed a distracting problem to work on but now that Ed is improving I think I’m coming into the home stretch with both and can move on to other things.
I’ve always said ice is the one thing I don’t like about Vermont (well, maybe the black flies as well).
Andrea Doughtie, Rural Painter 