Happy May Day!

I used to assemble a May basket on the first of May, or my mother did, or a neighbour would leave one on our doorstep. Today I collected the flowers but placed them in a vase so they would last and not wilt.

It was a glorious, May-like day, couldn't have been lovelier. We spent the last night of April dining in style with our Friends from the North Country at our new favourite Concord restaurant.

This afternoon I returned to Concord for a meeting. As I departed, the Chap was walking the dogs along our road. They whined and fretted when I drove off in the Author-mobile. Perhaps they intuited that after my meeting ended I'd be returning to the lake cottage without them. Which indeed I did.

I'm here to continue my recuperation from last week's accident, which resulted in scratches, scrapes, bruises, sore muscles, and associated pain. I'm healing, but it requires a lot of effort and restraint on my part. At the Lodge I am constantly tempted to physical activity. Strolling my garden this morning I longed to go after the weeds but couldn't. I even had to be very, very careful picking flowers so I wouldn't re-hurt myself. I wanted to re-pot some houseplants but couldn't risk dirtying my wounds. Around the house are several tidying and scrubbing tasks that need attention. As it happens, I'm the sorriest excuse for a left-hander, all I can do with it is write and sew and knit and eat. My right hand--my strength hand and in many ways my more dominant hand--is the one that is more damaged. I've been struggling to do the simplest things with my left--comb my hair, brush my teeth, open juice bottles or refrigerator doors, pour wine. When I forget and use my right, I accidentally bang a bruise or re-open a cut under the bandages.

I knew I was headed for trouble when this morning I woke from a dream in which I was scouring the shower in our master bathroom. Which is something I dare not do--yet. Much as I would like to.

So in self self-defence I've come to the lake where there's no garden, not much in the fridge, and the shower (plus the rest of the cottage) has gone unused for the past 6 months and is in reasonably good shape. I brought my mandolin because I really should practise, and I think I can without doing any harm. I left Ruth & Jewel at the Lodge because here on the big lake there's no large fenced-in yard so they require a minimum of two walks a day. On leashes. Which I hold in my hand, often my right hand.

While I'm here I will be catching up on reading and writing and some committee work. Something else I can do that doesn't hurt at all (miraculously) is my ballet workout. Within 24 hours of the unfortunate incident I was back at it, and have been every day since.

There's less discomfort every day and the healing progresses, just not fast enough to suit me! I'm a highly impatient patient.