the knee bone's connected to the...

Cabin fever!  I've been apartment-bound for almost a week.  I strained my quad at the gym and, since walking was painful and ill-advised, spent several days with my leg propped up, anxiously prodding it for sore spots. A few weeks ago, I'd signed up for an adult dance class that started this week and I hated to miss, so when I'd passed from sore to tender, decided to take the risk of going.  Bad idea.  A fascinating (and painful) anatomy lesson:  one of the jobs of your quad is to keep your kneecap in place. If your quad is compromised, your kneecap is at a much greater risk of sliding all over the place injury, especially if you are doing a lot of jumping.  By the end of class, my quad felt fine, but my knee was agonizingly pained.  Two more days of healing later and I'm pacing the apartment, looking outside (sunny and 75 degrees), and trying to keep myself occupied.  At least the cats are entertaining.  I bought this hammock-like contraption that hooks onto any window...

It holds up to 50 pounds, and the Amazon review page shows delightful customer photos of two cats curled together in the hammock.

So far, the cats have politely taken turns, but I'd love to catch a cuddle!

I'm a terrible invalid.  I've greatly missed our daily walks.

Just last week (the night before the injury), we had a wonderful one, seeing some chattering crows...

...and even a barred owl in the woods.

I'm hoping to, at the very least, resume the daily walk tomorrow.  Meanwhile, I've had a lot of time to plan the remodel on the house we're hoping to get.  My room-by-room analysis has been challenging and time-consuming, two absolutely welcomed characteristics this week.

-Rip up the carpet and put down light-colored bamboo flooring.
-Remove all pendant ceiling lights and fan and install recessed lighting.
-Paint walls (including paneling) Benjamin Moore Paper White.
-Paint bookcase Benjamin Moore Pale Smoke. 

Etc., etc.

If we do get the house (which we're hoping to know for sure by this time next week at the latest), we will be ready!

Have a great week!