It is snowing. We don’t get much snow here. Maybe once or twice a season.

It started falling not long after I got up and began the morning pet chores. Feeding, doling out medication to Charlie, changing their drinking water, cleaning the cat box.

I clean it three times per day. Even though it is far back in a closet, I don’t like the idea of a litter box smelling in my apartment.

Routine, as you know, is my dear, dear friend.

I am sitting here now watching the fairly good sized flakes fall outside the French doors.

I hear a bird chirping out there somewhere. Always worry about the birds when it’s cold outside.

Ivy is watching it snow as well, comfy and warm in her cat tower. She has the perfect place to view the white flakes falling and gathering on the tree branches.

The snow has covered my potted rosemary plant. It survived last winter. Hopefully it will survive this winter as well.

There are chives in the red pot on the left. I think mint is on the right. I sure like being able to step outside and snip chives to serve with my meals.

Chives are milder than onions but still has a bit of a bite that I like to season food with.

Hands/Fingers Update:

The palms of my hands are still quite sore from the shots where they put the needle in. They are bruised looking.

My doctor called in a steroid pack and that has done more to help than anything. The left thumb is still clicking and the other fingers are still catching during the night.

But once I began the steroids the pain and swelling that was keeping my fingers stiffened all the time has lessened.

I doubt I’ll go back for more of these injections. If they make me this miserable for days I don’t really want to try that again.

Driving is hard because I have to use my fingers instead of gripping the wheel with my fingers and palms. Makes things awkward and a bit dangerous.

I had a Shipt delivery on Friday so I don’t need to go out after I picked up the prescription from the pharmacy on Friday afternoon.

I’m going to talk to my physical therapist this week about possible exercises for my fingers. I’ve also ordered one of those cushions to rest your wrists on while you type. Maybe that will ease the nerve pain I’m also always experiencing.

What I’m Currently Reading:

I began reading “Searching For Sylvie Lee” by Jean Kwok last night.

It begins with a mystery. Sylvie, the successful older daughter of the Lee family, flies to the Netherlands for one final visit with her dying grandmother. And then she vanishes.

Amy is the sheltered baby of the Lee family. She’s too young to remember a time when her parents were newly immigrated and too poor to keep Sylvie. Seven years older, Sylvie was raised by a distant relative in a faraway, foreign place. And she didn’t rejoin her family in America until age nine.

But what has happened to Sylvie? No one knows where she is. Amy and her parents are distraught and desperate for answers. Sylvie has always looked out for them. Now, it’s Amy’s turn to help. Terrified yet determined, Amy retraces her sister’s movements, flying to the last place Sylvie was seen.

But instead of simple answers, she discovers something much more valuable: the truth.

Sylvie, the golden girl, kept painful secrets. Secrets that will reveal more about Amy’s complicated family.

A deeply moving story of family, secrets, identity, and longing, Searching for Sylvie Lee is both a gripping page-turner and a sensitive portrait of an immigrant family.

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I'm Brenda, creator of Cozy Little House. I live with my cat, Ivy, who keeps me laughing. I graduated from journalism school with a degree in professional writing and won awards for feature writing. I practice gratitude and enjoy my solitude. The glass is always half-full.

15 Comments

  2. I don’t know if you addressed this and maybe I just missed it, but didn’t the doctor refer you to a physical or occupational therapist for exercises? And what happens after the steroid treatments wear off? You can’t keep taking steroids. Ugh, this sounds so awful.

  3. Hope you are feeling a bit better and can enjoy the beauty of the falling snow.
    Read about cortisone flare.
    An occupational therapist is the correct person to see . Ask your doctor or PA for a referral.

  4. Several years ago my husband got a cortisone shot and experienced severe pain. He went from there to visit his mother in a nursing home. The doctor happened to be there, and said, “ Didn’t he tell you to take aspirin?” That helped.

  6. Glad you used Shipt as it is one less chore your hands have to deal with. Ivy looks like a princess on her tower regarding her kingdom. The snow is beautiful and the apartment looks so cozy and a sweet place to hibernate in for awhile. I hope your medical team can help you with your fingers and hands. I’m glad the steroids are brining you a measure of relief. Do only what you gave to and take care of yourself. Try to stay well & be safe.

  7. We got some downbursts of the big wet heavy snow flakes here in SE Wisconsin yesterday, but nothing accumulated in my area other than some frozen over roofs when the temperatures dropped below freezing last night. We got rain. As the front passed through my region it did not move far enough to the north to bring any significant snow and cold. For now. Winter is just beginning here, and since it’s “late” around here this year I sure hope that doesn’t mean it will be dragging into mid to late April before the ground starts to melt like what happened a few years ago. I hope the steroids and maybe some PT work to solve your finger issues quickly.

  8. Wishing lots of healing thoughts for the pain in your fingers. I’m sorry you’re struggling. Ugh!
    Your large and fluffy snowflakes are beautiful. Sitting inside your warm and cozy home is the best place to be.

  9. Glad to hear that your fingers are feeling a little better from the steroid medication! I hope they continue to improve so you won’t need anymore shots! Beautiful pictures today with the snow!

  10. So sorry that you are having a bad time with your hands Brenda. I do hope you will be able to get some relief with exercises. Those injections sound awful.
    Surprised to hear that you have snow. Here in Southern Ontario we have only had one snow fall and the weather was warm and sunny on Friday which was a nice surprise. This is not usual weather though for this time of year.
    Give Charlie and Ivy a hug from me.

  11. Your snow is beautiful. 64 degrees here today so no chance for snow. I just look at me tree and the fireplace on my TV and pretend it is cold and snowy outside. Once Christmas has passed I will be happy for milder weather. xo Laura

  12. Brenda, I have had trigger thumb a couple of times…the shot worked immediately the first time and I was referred to my hand doctor’s occupational therapist (they are the ones who deal with hands and fingers), but I went to a physical therapist and they didn’t really know what to do. So after a while, my thumb triggered again and I went back to my hand doctor, got the shot…it didn’t immediately help but also was able to see the occupational therapist and I went a couple of times to see her—she was marvelous and taught me some exercises when my thumb starts clicking, and these exercises work for me. Trigger fingers/thumbs really hurt and I feel for your pain. Good luck getting past this. Regards,
    Charlotte Hutcheson

  13. So sorry about the trouble and pain in your fingers. Have you considered activating voice controls on your devices? That way you could type much less. There are also adaptive devices for people with paralysis that might help you type without using your fingers. The snow is beautiful – I’m jealous! Have a peaceful Sunday.

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