A few quick updates...

Bessie Jane arrived today. In an odd twist of fate, given the [likely] maker's maiden name -- Spurlock -- she was probably a distant relative of Jacob's. Yeah, Jacob, my quilty co-conspirator. Now, admittedly, when I bid on this quilt top on ebay, I felt confident in its quality, but I can tell you that when I opened the box today, I was delighted at its condition and quality.

More importantly, we have Tenzing's blood work back. I spoke with my favorite vet tech today, and he confirmed that Tenzing's blood work showed no indications that we should contact a veterinary cardiologist, nor should we put Tenzing on medication. How to translate this statement? It's not great that he has an enlarged heart (cardiomyopathy) but he is otherwise healthy and his body does not show signs of stress. If it's gotta be cardiomyopathy, this is as good as we could have hoped for.

As Justin put it, the best thing to do is what I intended to do anyway: take Tenzing home and love him and care for him. We know what to watch out for. It might cause problems soon, or he might go on for years without any other symptoms. With cats, there's no way to know, so just love them while you have them.

I finished Oregon Trail tonight. What a long journey that quilt top has had! She's simultaneously brand new and about 120 years old. She's getting one last run through the washer and dryer, because Tenzing has become remarkably possessive of it, and then it will head off to Oregon where, for her, life finally begins.

I'm pretty firmly in hermit mode these days. I go to work, come home, and pick out a sewing project to work on. I have several. Weekends are devoted to Jeff. I've not seen many people outside of work, and I'm not sure when I would manage to. I know that there's a world of socialization out there, but I just don't feel ready for it. Documentaries and sewing and NPR are about my limit these days.

My wrist injury is not a wrist injury. It is actually an issue with one of the tendons in my left thumb. De Quervain syndrome to be specific. You know you've been hurting for a while when taping your thumb to your hand doesn't feel constraining, but instead comforting and less painful. I've done my course of topical NSAIDs + resting and it is starting to heal.

I guess the moral of the story is this: I'm surviving. Is this the most awesome period of my life? No. Am I managing? Yeah, mostly. My GP and my counselor both have reassured me that they don't expect to see me bouncing up and down with joy and happiness; they feel the best I can hope for right now is to see myself slowly acclimating to this new post-accident normal, surrounding myself with hobbies and interests that bring me pleasure, and reaching out from time to time to help keep the loneliness at bay.