[Written 8 February 2016.] Today marks the four week anniversary of me botching an ice-slippage landing so spectacularly that I broke multiple bones in and around my right ankle. Time moves both fast and slow. So, how are things? Well, they’re not bad, but not fabulous either. I keep hopping around on my left foot (withRead more
[Photos from Sunday 7 February 2016, posted online 8 February 2016. It’s a nice day out!]
With cream-puff day (bolludagur) looming, it was time to make cream-puffs! Anna and I made the puffs themselves, while Finnur and Anna did the filling and topping.
We used the following recipe, re-posted from here, and translated to English:
4 dl water
160 g butter
250 g flour
0.25 tsp baking powder (some recipes use salt and no baking powder)
5 eggs if molding with spoons, 6 if squeezing out of a tubePut water and butter in a pot, and bring to a boil, melting all the butter. Meanwhile, mix together flour and baking powder. When the water and butter start boiling, remove from heat, and mix in the flour and baking powder. Stir vigorously with a spatula until the dough is smooth and consistent, and does not stick to the pot.
COOL the dough well, you don’t want to cook the eggs when you put them in! Put one egg in at a time, stirring it well into the dough. The end result should hold its shape pretty well. If it’s liquidy, you’re probably in trouble.
Mold with two spoons and put on a baking plate. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 210°C (200°C if using blow). Do not open the oven until the puffs are almost done, or they may deflate.
So, with that out of the way, here are some photos! (12 photos total)
The end result. Yum!
[Photos from 03 February 2016, posted on 05 February 2016. No more melty-snowstorm.]
I expected to get more done on the blogging front but a) my brain was hijacked by a new book series, which I’m having a very hard time putting down, and b) we had parental meetings this week, and my energy levels are apparently good for “one thing per day”. Also, going to the school on crutches was So. Much. Fun! (Not!)
The parental meetings at school went well. Both Bjarki and Anna seem happy at school, and are generally doing well. Anna is actually doing extremely well, scoring 9-10 out of 10 in every single subject. Her teacher describes her as even-keeled, and we struggled to find stuff to talk about.
Bjarki is reading fast, as he’s already achieved a reading speed two grades up. When he’s interested, he also understands what he’s reading. We see this in him as he’s now storming through Harry Potter (he’s on book #3). He’s also started to become a little more interested in interacting with the boys in his class, when up until now, he’s mostly focused on boys a grade below himself, possibly because two of them live on our street. He still has his strengths and weaknesses, but is definitely moving forwards.
Overall, both teachers sounded very positive, so that was good.
So yes, I’m made it out of the house lately, but now I’m back on the couch. Here, have some photos! (5 images total)
The couch is where it’s at!
Now that life has slowed down to a literal crawl, I’m trying to fill in some of the blogging gaps from last year. So far this January I’ve worked my way back past Christmas, and then I got very confused, because posts belonging to July and forward were still arranged by when they were written,Read more
[Photos from 28-31 January 2016, posted online 4 February. Lots of snow coming down, with wind. Oh fun!]
Since I’m stuck on the couch, this blog is stuck on the couch. Deal with it.
Yes, here follow more photos taken from my corner on the couch. It mostly just the kids, but we did entertain Saturday dinner guests, which was nice. The biggest news was probably Anna winning a bronze medal in Shot Put (kúluvarp) in her age group, during her first track and field meet ever. (15 images total)
Thursday 28 January 2016
Bjarki, hunched over a screen of some kind.
[Photos taken on 27 January, posted on 27 January 2016. Good sign?]
I got Finnur to hand me the big camera, and took a few photos from my permanent position on the couch. Yes, I’m booooored! Only 8 more weeks until I can fully step on my foot.
Yesterday morning I went to the hospital and the nurse removed all the sutures. I took before photos (nothing much has changed), but she didn’t want me to photograph her working, and then the doctor came to chat, so I have no photos of a suture-free foot.
Instead, I now have a “walking cast”, meaning I’m allowed to put the foot down, but not put pressure on it. Four weeks from now the cast will be removed, and then I will be allowed to put my foot down a little, but not fully. Apparently there’s a screw in there which I can break if I’m not careful, and if it breaks, they can’t fully remove it. Oh joy!
But yes, photos from the couch. Here you go! (16 images total)
My new cast, with detachable sole.
[Photos from 16 January to 21 January 2016. Life continues.]
Now that my world has dwindled down to the bed or the sofa, there are precious few things to photograph. But here are a few anyway. (7 images total)
Early Saturday January 16 2016
Finnur being tested for sleep apnea. The test came back totally negative (no signs of sleep apnea), although I maintain his breathing quality varies between nights. For better or for worse, this was a good night, but that has thankfully been the trend lately.
[Photos from Monday 18 January 2016, posted on 21 January 2016. Beware!]
On a calm Monday morning, Finnur drove me to the hospital, where I was scheduled to get a new splint on my foot. The one that was there was the one they put on post-operation, and it got split open and then patched up when it was time for me to go home. As a result, it was very bulky and heavy.
But, since my foot was out in the open I used the opportunity to photograph the incision sites, and count the stitches. There were 15 on the outside, and 8 on the inside.
Since this is my blog, I’m posting the grisly pictures of my foot, but they are under the fold. (6 images total)
So to repeat THIS POST HAS NASTY PICTURES OF MY FOOT. BEWARE!!!
Og á íslensku: MYNDIR AF SLÖSUÐUM FÆTI, MARGIR SAUMAR!! VARÚÐ!!!
Waiting my turn. The ER was thankfully rather empty. See how bulky the splint was?
[Written on Friday 15 January 2016, accident happened on Monday 11 January 2016. Ouch!]
I (Hrefna) fell as I was walking towards the entrance to my workplace this Monday morning. I slipped on some newly snow-covered ice, but as I was about to land, my heel slid off the ice onto the hard surface, so my lower foot stopped moving, while the rest of me fell like gravity intended. As a result, I dislocating my right ankle, and broke multiple bones around it.
A lot of people were arriving for work at that time, so help arrived immediately as I screamed, and a coworker called an ambulance. It arrived 5-7 minutes later (although I have no idea, I was in a lot of pain), and I’m very thankful for the many coworkers who stayed by me, talked to me, held my hand, gave me support, and brought a blanket out to the parking lot.
In the ambulance, they managed to drug me enough that I don’t recall them popping the foot back, but I came to as we arrived at the hospital. Once there I got more meds, and got put in a temporary cast, so they could take x-ray images. Once those had been analyzed, I was drugged again, and a doctor realigned the foot (both upper pipes were broken), and another temporary cast was put in place. This one felt “right” and the worst of the pain went away. Still, to be sure, they took a second (smaller) set of x-rays.
I got transferred up from the ER to orthopedics, where I waited out the day. The day really went by fast, and shortly before 4 pm I was rolled into surgery. There a plate was installed, and some 9 screws. The plate will probably never be removed, but the screws might come out after a year has passed. There is one special screw though, which will be removed after 10 weeks, after which I will be allowed to put some weight on the foot again.
Since it was a open fracture, I had to stay in the hospital for two days, getting intravenous antibiotics. Oh, and the good painkillers, which they don’t give you at home! But yes, I’m home now, slowly getting better.
This is me today (11 images total)
What a lovely sight!
This is the first day I’ve had the mental stamina to open a laptop since the accident. I guess that means I’m getting better?
Anyway, some photos. Be warned that there is some BLOOD two images down!!!!
[Photos from 4 January 2016, posted online 27 January 2016. Finally got the big camera into my grubby hands!]
My brother, Pétur, and his wife, Signý, are both doing their masters degrees at the University of Bournemouth. They decided to come home for Christmas, and freshen up on why living abroad isn’t such a bad deal, with all the light, and warmth, compared to Iceland!
As always, the holiday went by in a blur, and all of a sudden they were about to leave, and we’d hardly seen them! We managed to coax mom, Pétur and Fannar over for dinner, but Signý was busy writing a paper. Aw shucks! But I did remember to take a few photos to prove they were here! (7 images total)
Bjarki envisioning Fannar being in a lot of trouble soon!