Of Moose And Men
The Best Laid Plans Of Both Often Go Astray

Surgery went well. I’m exceedingly glad we chose to do a hotel 5 minutes from the surgery center, as that meant a normal sleep & wake up time, as opposed to the 40-60 minutes an uber would have taken in the morning (with all the necessary schedule adjustments to sleep, etc.). The staff were great. Had a slight issue with getting an IV going on my left arm, but they got it first go on the right side. Absolutely no recollection of talking with the surgeon afterwards, so I’ll find out more details about what they found when I see him on Monday. The only thing the husband remembered was him saying that my ligaments were a little strained as well, but those are strengthenable with exercise so I’m not as concerned there.

So far the nerve block is still mostly in place, not quite 24 hours later. That or (hopefully) it’s not going to be that painful. In any case, Tylenol is at the ready. Turned down any opiates/opioids, as I can’t handle the constipation they cause. It’s hard enough to use a toilet with the brace and crutches without also not being able to go, ya know?

The cats got some fun sniffing in on the brace, and thankfully they’ve seen crutches before so they’re not freaked out. Ezri is mostly hanging out near me and squishing the back cushions on the couch that she’s lying on; Benjamin is mostly in my office in his heated bed, unless/until it’s time for treats.

Excited to see that they’re working on Spaceballs 2 after 30+ years. The trailer was delightful, especially all of the factoids in the crawl. It’s one of my favorite films, so here’s hoping they let Mel run with it (perhaps not to the level of Blazing Saddles, but still, let the mensch do what he does best, please!).

I started situational telework early this week, and it was weird being at home all day. Couple of Teams calls, but those aren’t the same as just popping into a colleagues office and talking through something (or just shooting the shit). A lot of what I have to do as an attorney for an agency is managing relationships and small-p institutional politics and in-person time is a lot easier to handle that aspect. Even when the commute eats up 10 hours a week (though, frankly, half-time in the office – 5 days every two weeks – was plenty for managing that in most instances). I did write out at least one big research project, on the history of some of my small agency’s specific legislative authorities and limits for construction activities, which will be easier to handle at home without meetings or drop-ins. And which can allow me to get in some creditable work hours versus the full week of leave I have scheduled for next week.

But for today it’s reading, some crochet, napping, maybe some replay comfort video gaming.

The husband and I are prepping for our annual get-the-heck-out-of-the-DC-area-and-away-from-national-politics anniversary getaway to the Eastern Shore of Virginia; we take off tomorrow. Cannot wait to get back to the shore. Supposed to be pleasantly cool, and perhaps a little rainy (which will hopefully keep the more obnoxious tourists out).

Saw the orthopedist at the end of last week. Consensus was that the shot didn’t really help this time around, so he’s sending me to another doc in his practice to see about going in to clean up the tendon on the inside of the knee and maybe the meniscus, a repair short of a full knee replacement at this point. Here’s hoping that will help get it all settled down, as I’m very tired of limping and not being able to walk normally, much less do any sort of exercise.

Work has calmed down somewhat, and I managed to empty my inbox of emails before I went out on leave. In a way the past week has been like “convention drop” – where you’re so keyed up during a convention with all the energy that brings that when you get home and all that energy is done you just collapse and try to recover. My little work group has been delving into some of our backlog, as well as prepping for all of the litigation that has begun and is coming. Full employment, for sure, but I could do without the messiness of it all.

But anyway. Books for the weekend are picked out and ready to go. Cat stuff is mostly ready for the neighbors to check in on them. Just need to pack clothes and head out in the morning.

The lawsuits against 47’s crew and my agency in particular continue apace. Thankfully we hired another attorney last year partly to handle litigation tracking, so she’s been on top of all of that. One we got that was filed yesterday tried desperately to make overhead rates sound sexy, when they’re actually boring as fuck (but also very important to grantees). Litigation holds (on records) abound these days. Not that I’m in the habit of deleting any of my emails anyway.

Knitted a few more rows at lunch on the dishcloth. Keep this up and I might even be able to make these into Xmas gifts or something. Ha. As if I knit fast enough for that.

Finished The City of Blades by Robert Jackson Bennett today, second book in that particular series. Loved how he resolved the central conundrum at the end. I’ve become a fan of his books, from the Foundryside series to Divine Cities series. I have the Poisoned Cup as well, but the husband heard a recommendation to read it, so I lent it to him first. Will take a break and read the second book in Ken Liu’s Dandelion Dynasty next, before I turn to the City of Miracles. That is one good thing about the Metro commute – enforced reading time, and a lot of it, since it’s about an hour door-to-door (including time to/from the Metro stations themselves). And I’ve started putting books aside for our annual trip to the beach as well.

Took some time at lunch to start another dishcloth, this one in the opposite colors of the brick/honeycomb pattern, so the white is the structure and the blue variegated is in the ‘windows’. Needed the break from catching up from being out for a week.

Overall not too bad playing catch up. We’re losing two more attorneys, though, and possibly a third. One’s last day was today, the other is going in a couple weeks. The third has been attending every retirement seminar the agency offers, so we think she’s close to making a decision.

Thunderstorms are currently rolling through. I do love that about spring in the south (and yes, DC is still ‘the South’, geographically).

Made breakfast (egg bake) for the week. Prepped some chicken breasts for the freezer (pounded to an even depth, salted for a bit, then wiped down for freezing) because they had a good sale. Sautéed some squash for dinner & leftovers. Not bad. Also remembered that if one is getting tired of banana bread that topping it with vanilla ice cream is a good way to switch it up.

Men’s knitting group was good. I’m at the point in this shawl where it took me almost two hours to do four rows. I don’t even know how many stitches across it is, but I have another 50+ rows to go, adding 2-8 stitches per row. It’s gonna be pretty, but man this is getting long.

Back to work after a week off. Hopefully my work laptop won’t demand the damned bitlocker key again, which seems to be happening more often these days (it’s happened now four times).

Work semi-emergency thing today so I had to get online and give advice, despite being on leave. Whee. If I hadn’t turned in my time sheet I’d switch an hour from leave to time worked. I’d make it by swapping time this upcoming week but apparently they’re checking badge swipes like we’re children, so it’s not worth the risk.

The husband and I went to go see Thunderbolts* in the late afternoon. So. Much. Fun. Best Marvel movie in a while. No McGuffin – no box/thing/etc. to chase after. Plenty of good character development, fun plot. 10/10. Loved it. Much needed after the rest of the week.

Gotta grocery shop tomorrow. Was in no mood for it today, so scrounged around the house instead. But we’re running low on staples, so I need to grab stuff. S’okay, have plenty of time, as I have nothing really planned for this weekend otherwise.

Mostly lazy day. Some packing, lots of video gaming, more packing, etc. Did a grocery run for snacks/drinks for the car so we’re not buying other (more expensive) stuff on the road. Filled the car with gas, pretty much all set. Dropped off keys with the neighbors to check on the beasties. Just need to pack the car and go at this point.

Have the work laptop with me as a just-in-case, though I don’t anticipate needing it. But given the rest of the craziness of the last three months (can you believe it’s only been three months?) I’m not taking chances. Another friend was told to make sure he’s in the office tomorrow, at a different agency, so who knows what that will entail. I’d appreciate it if we could get a moment or three of peace amidst 47’s dementia, but that appears to be too much to ask.

The husband and I have to head to the Boston area next week for a family funeral. Which also, unfortunately, means some suit shopping tomorrow because I don’t have one that fits at the moment. I am once again extremely grateful that the primary practice area for my small agency staffed up well before this administration and that none of them have left, so we have plenty of coverage while I’m out.

The cortisone seems to be more fully kicking in; walking is a bit more normal. But I still want them to go in and see what else can be done.

Easy dinner of eggs & rice tonight for me, mac & cheese for him. We watched The Gorge on AppleTV+, which started out really well, then quickly jumped the shark on the way over the putative gorge. We had fun complaining about how off the rails it went, so it wasn’t a complete loss.

Work was lots of drama today, all of it external to my office, but most of which I was in the middle of. I am forever grateful that I ‘grew up’ legally in a general law group, because I was exposed to a lot of nonsense that can go wrong with agencies, so I know how to spot a lot of crazy issues. And that was definitely at the fore today. Yes, I’m vague-blogging.

Consensus is that my agency’s budget request for next fiscal year is a mixed bag. On the one hand, major cut in funding. On the other hand, we’re still requesting funds, and they’re not proposing to roll us into another agency or abolish us. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

More knitting this evening with the first three episodes of the second season of Andor. Got through another four rows as those suckers get longer and longer. I can see why people like them, especially as they get more intricate. I can also see why people have to put in ‘lifelines’ that they can frog the work back to. This one isn’t that complicated, but I definitely tried to drop a couple stitches before I quit for the evening.

Long day reviewing existing things at work so the new group to cancel them. Whee. Kept having to impress upon career people that this was a vibe check, that we’re going to get sued, and so be it, we just needed to get through it and be done with it.

The husband continues to bake, this time a small olive oil cake. Very tasty.

Regular doc checkup tomorrow, and an appointment with the postal service to pay for and turn in my passport renewal. It’s well over due, so I have to go in person, and this way they can do the photo, too. Getting the little card as well as the book, first as a just-in-case it’s useful, and then as an added, more easily carried proof of citizenship. Because yes, I’m that paranoid.