Here's hoping...

[gerisullivan]

...the rest of the week doesn't get any worse.

While running an afternoon's worth of errands, I slipped on ice in the Rite-Aid parking lot in Palmer. Actually, I wasn't running, I was shuffling along really quite slowly and carefully, 'cause, y'know, it's icy out there.

Bam. Point of impact: my left knee, which seems to be my default point of impact whenever I fall. In recent years, that's been once or twice a winter, though I may have gone through one of them without falling at all. Five years ago, I spent the whole winter falling, something like five or six times, and once with the sort of pain that today's fall seems to have brought on. Needing to use an ice pack when it's cold out is cruel and unusual punishment.

One of these days, the knee is going to say "enough!" I hope it's not this time. So far, it doesn't seem to be, but it's still Not Fun.

More Not Fun awaited me at home. All that ice we've been having? It appears to have torn the gutter off the side of the garage. Or, more precisely, half-torn. Which means there's an unsightly mess, with half of the gutter still attached, a twist in the middle, and the rest of it dangling down to the ground. I've been putting off the call to s Mr. Gutter to replace the one in back that I lost a few years ago. A quick look at his website this afternoon confirmed my impression that the repairs will probably cost a little less than the amount of the deductible on my homeowner's insurance, so I'm not inclined to file a claim.

I wish the damage weren't visible to anyone coming down the driveway. I'm not inclined to try removing it myself or even to have Mr. Gutter remove it until there's something less than a foot of snow and ice on the ground underneath. Leaving it hanging there does not appear to put the garage itself at any further risk; the shabby appearance is just an embarrassment. It's affront to my sense of pride, which tends to be distinctly shaky on the home upkeep and improvement front as it is.

The day wasn't all bad, far from it.

One of the stops on my errands run was at Turley Publications to proof Sybils & Spaceships, the chapbook of Jo Walton's poetry that I edited for NESFA Press in time for her GoH appearance at Boskone 46 next week. The proof looked good; the finished chapbook should look even better. I'll post a link to ordering information as soon as the chapbook is available. Folks coming to Boskone will be able to pick it up it in person. $12 (and discounted at the convention, IIUC). 44 pages plus cover. Tasty, tasty. It's an honor to work with such good material, and a delight thanks to its creator, who is an utter pleasure to work with. Thanks, papersky! I look forward to handing you your author's copies next week!

Onward, with something of a limp.

Comments

[lauriemann.livejournal.com]

Ouch, Geri, sorry to hear that. Hope the knee is better soon.

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

Ouch! My sympathies; as you know from my posts during the Christmas-New Year holiday up in Oregon, I understand weather-related troubles. Lisa reports that at least half of that broken lean-to structure on which the giant tree limb fell was actually salvageable once she cut the branch into small enough pieces to haul away. She's waiting for the local hardware store to order in sufficient PVC pipe of her specification to rebuild the frame, but replacing the tarp is going to be expensive.

[smofbabe.livejournal.com]

Ouchie! Hope the recovery goes quickly and with as little swelling and pain as possible.

[galacticvoyeur.livejournal.com]

Very sorry to hear about your fall on the ice and the ice situation in general around Toad Woods!

Gutters... why does it always have to be gutters...

In the greater scheme of things, I wish I had better news, but Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow today and I'm afraid you're stuck with 6 more weeks of this crap.

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Lisa up in that tree is one of my recent mental images in the "see, here's what competent homeowners do" area of my brain. Competent homeowners also call in professional services to handle stuff like that when their own skills don't extend in a particular direction. I used to scramble up the steep roof at Toad Hall in Minneapolis to smear sealant around the base of the chimney. These days, I don't have anything taller than a 6' step ladder, much though I could use a 16' or 20' extension ladder.And there's just no way I'd go up on even a 6' step ladder that was jammed into a snow bank, which is why the gutter is going to hang there awhile.

I'm glad a lot of the support pieces for the lean-to are salvageable, but, yes, large, sturdy tarps run into real money in a hurry.

[elaine-brennan.livejournal.com]

Oh, ouch babe. I finally surface from stomach bug-itis to this sort of news? Maybe, like the groundhog, I'll crawl back into my nest for a while.

Take care of yourself!

Ouch!

[lsanderson.livejournal.com]

Hope you feel better soon. Lottsa vitamin C helps with bruises.

[debgeisler.livejournal.com]

Ow, ow, ow! Maybe you should get ya some of these. In the meantime, hope you're better!

[catelynn.livejournal.com]

Feel better soon

[readsalot.livejournal.com]

Ow. I hope your knee feels better soon. I bought a pair of Yaktrax this year, and they have been very helpful on icy days, but I know full well that the amount of ice in Somerville doesn't compare to what you have in Wales.

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Oh, Somerville was quite the mess the last time I was there! (That was during and right after the Arisia storm.)

Jane Yolen told me about Yaktrax two winters ago. She loved hers and I've looked at them on line and in stores several times since. But I haven't tried them yet.

I have no idea if I would wear them when running errands like I did today -- would wearing them inside stores work? Or would I have to take them off and put them back on again before going back across the parking lot to my car?

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Tempting. Seriously. Maybe I could even turn them into the next fashion thing.

[drpaisley.livejournal.com]

Poor dear! I do sympathize, given both my long-term knee issues and my recent tumble. If you get high-quality bruises, do post the pics.

Get better soon, and enjoy Boskone.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

Ow! I'm so sorry, Geri, I hope it gets better soon.

So, what if people who aren't going to Boskone want the chapbook?

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

You have to take them off, which is why I have a pair I've never worn. Very few stores have chairs at the entrance so people like me can fiddle with footwear. I did once take them with me to bookgroup and put a chair right inside my door so I could snag it and sit there if it snowed, but no snow.

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

We are the knights who say "knee". You're not alone; get better.

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Thanks. And thanks for the Yaktrax info, too. I've read that they're slippery on clear surfaces and downright dangerous on tile (which I have in my entry).

The chapbook will be available for online ordering from NESFA Press after Boskone. I'll post the link as soon as the info is up. Presuming we don't sell out, that is. We think we've ordered enough for Boskone and Anticipation, too, as well as online orders. But it's really all arm-waving and guesstimates for now. Time will tell us whether or not they're on spot.

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Chuckle. We are the knights who say "knee" and step carefully. We are the knights who say "knee," step carefully, and fall anyway. We are the knights who say "knee"....

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Thanks, and commiserations right back atcha. IIUC, you were the one with the scary bad bruise....

My knee just looks a little pink and puffy; it takes landing on my rump to turn all sorts of lurid colors. The pink is from the fact that I managed to skin it against my jeans even though it felt like I went down straight. I wasn't wearing one of my usual pairs, but rather one made of thicker (and apparently rougher) denim.

Boskone is looking pretty darned good. Wish you were going to be there making it even better. Miss you! It's been too darned long.

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

[papersky.livejournal.com]

I'm looking forward to seeing it! And I hope your knee is entirely recovered by then.

Knee

[markiv1111.livejournal.com]

I am very sorry to hear about your knee, but glad it did not get in the way of that wonderful phone conversation last night. And let us hope that this particular bout of bad luck does not include a third incident.

Nate

[huladavid.livejournal.com]

Ow, ow, ow! I've been having a festival of fall over the last couple of weeks--or more accurately a festival of twisted ankle. Always the left one.

I hate having to shuffle like ol' Grampy Dave when walking. Grumble, grumble, grumble, and you kids get off my damn lawn.

[readsalot.livejournal.com]

I have been able to wear them inside stores, though they feel awkward, and they're very slippery on metal surfaces, so you have to be very careful of metal runners in doorways. The rubber-band part is strong enough that I wouldn't feel comfortable trying to put them on while standing up, so I find it awkward to try to deal with them without having something to sit on.

[thirdworld.livejournal.com]

That blows. I hate falls. You'd think a store would put salt down or something to protect customers. I always seem to land on my ass. My first experience with an American winter saw me fall hard on my ass, twice, but oddly my worst falls have come from just plain wet and slippery, once in a bath and once on stairs. I hope it heals up soon and that there are no more falls for you this winter... hell, ever. I really do feel you on this one. I also have a gutter out and I'm going to have to try and fix it, but ours is hidden in the back. Odd alignments.

*hugs*

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Dang! That all sounds like a pain in the ... well, all sorts of places.

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Thanks! That's just the sort of information I was wondering about.

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Many thanks.

In related news, I've seen reports that Lifelode was delivered to the NESFA Clubhouse today. Whee!

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

The store/shopping center in question had spread lots and lots of sand/grit and quite probably some melting agents, as the ice was pitted. But it was one of those days that was warm enough to melt a thin layer of water over the ice. Even with the grit mixed in, it was remarkably treacherous.

Okay, I'm wryly amused that we both currently have gutter problems. Odd alignments, indeed.

[wild-patience.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear -- either would be no fun, but two together is adding insult to injury. Here's hoping your knee and your gutters heal quickly. (Oh, if only houses could heal like bodies!)

[redbird]

They are also a disadvantage on some other hard, smooth surfaces, such as subway stairs.

[redbird]

*sympathy*

It seems to be a bad few days for this: people who don't usually have snow and ice do, and more of those who live where this sort of thing is common are slipping on it.