Sunday, February 18, 2024

Handless


This seems to be the only damage in our flat from Warren's stay with Olga. He mentioned to Dave that our Solar Queen had "taken a tumble," and indeed her hand is broken off! We've had her more than seven years so I guess she's served her purpose, but I might try to fix her. It would be a tricky job -- and right now I'm hearing the announcer at the beginning of "The Six Million Dollar Man" saying, "We can rebuild him!" But there's no point in keeping her with a broken-off hand, as that is her raison d'etre. Stay tuned.

My body has no idea when it's supposed to be awake or asleep. I never quite adapted to local time in L.A. -- every night there I woke in the small hours of the morning, my body telling me that daytime had arrived. So I thought I'd be able to slip back into the London timetable much more easily, and maybe that will prove to be true, but yesterday I felt awful.

I even took a Covid test thinking I might be getting sick. It was negative, thank goodness. We can't be getting Covid now, with Dave slated for hernia surgery on Tuesday.

I think I just need to sleep for 24 hours or so.

27 comments:

gz said...

Looks as if she could be mended
Hope Dave is mended too, on Tuesday

Moving with Mitchell said...

Too bad about Solar Queen, but I’m waiting for the news that you “fixed” her. “The 28 Million Dollar Solar Queen.” (Yes, I actually checked the inflation calculator.)

I’ve read so many different ways to minimize jet lag. Nothing has ever seemed to make a difference. Uf!

Frances said...

Poor Queenie......I have never seen one of those !
Hope that you get your sleep and feel better soon.

Andrew said...

I kind of like Betty Battenberg without her waving hand. The once great waver can no longer physically do so.

gz said...

Just an added thought .
You can get homeopathic (I think) tablets in NZ and it says also USA called Nojetlag....they work. I stock up on every visit, ready for the next !

Yorkshire Pudding said...

The Queen has given you lots of fun. Perhaps you could just glue her hand back on and place her on a suitable grave at the cemetery - even though the number of walks up there with Olga has greatly decreased over the past year.

Chris said...

Poor lady! There a superb figure of Queen Victoria sitting on her throne in Southend on Sea (Essex) and she has been missing a hand for years!

Ms. Moon said...

Oh, poor dear Queen Elizabeth. Death will take its toll on a body.
And poor you! That sort of jet lag must be terrible. That was a very long flight from one point to a very distant one.
We are cheering for Dave!

Debby said...

"Steve Save the Queen!"

I guess I'd forgotten about Dave. Does it require a hospital stay or will they drop kick him out the door, American style, just as soon as he wakes up.

Debby said...

Oh...and if life follows art, and the queen is beyond repair, did you know that you can buy another. You have a choice of coats and one even wears a hat! But fix the old girl if you can.

Susan said...

I suspect a tiny bit of super glue will help to re-attach the hand. Jet lag is terrible and for me, it takes a few days to resolve. Thankfully you show no signs of Covid.

ellen abbott said...

too bad about the queen. she waved so much her hand fell off.

Marcia LaRue said...

Yes, super glue should replace the old girl's hand quite handily! Plus, according to that photo, she has cobwebs hanging from her coat hem! She needs a dusting off! LOL

Boud said...

God help the Queen! I'm not surprised about the jetlag. That was a lot of timezones to cross. I hope Dave's jetlag is better before his surgery. Will he get to leave same day?

Sharon said...

When I got off the plane in London back in October, I thought I had Covid too. I felt awful. On the trip into town I felt worse. When I finally got to the hotel, I took a short one hour nap and I was okay again and no problems the rest of the trip. Well, except I did sleep until noon the second day. I've never felt sick from lack of sleep before but I think that is what it was.
Too bad about the Queen!

Kelly said...

Thanks for the link back to see the Queen in action! I can see how trying a repair might mess up the mechanism. Fingers crossed! 🤞

Linda Sue said...

I see all sorts of possibilities for the queens hand- glue a miniature nest on it, a small pony, a dog, a cat, a torch ,a tiny mirror, or use sticky tack to change it every now and then. I see opportunity!

Red said...

Glue the lady's hand back on. Make sure you get some glue that's easy to work with.

Jeanie said...

You can fix it. A little E6000 and holding it in place for a bit till it sets up and Liz will be good to go!

I'm sorry you're feeling unwell. Probably the travel -- it takes its toll. We're going to have to kid-sit a five and seven-year-old a few days after we're back from England this spring... I'm not enthused.

Tasker Dunham said...

I cannot mend her digits, but can mend her digitally.

Yael said...

I have solar cats that have one of their arms broken, they will never be the same again. But still flap one arm on sunny days.

The Bug said...

I'm stuck on gz's comment because I thought it said, "Looks as if she could be demented." Which is a whole OTHER situation. Ha!

sparklingmerlot said...

I always found flying west to east far harder to adjust to. I hope you get back into the swing of things soon.

Ed said...

For years, I kept a bottle of superglue handy for such repairs. But I found it always to be dried up by the second use so I found some single use miniature tubes of the same thing and I've kept them in supply for the last decade. I have repaired many a broken item to ease one of my daughter's tears.

Margaret said...

I've always found going east way easier on my body than coming west but any hefty time change will do you in for a while. They say one day for every hour of change?

River said...

Seems rather appropriate now that the real Queen has officially stopped waving.
I hope your body clock resets itself quickly.

Steve Reed said...

GZ: Easier said than done! (In the Queen's case.)

Mitchell: Ha! I love that you researched the inflation rate. :)

Frances: They were quite popular for a while. They're still for sale even though the Queen herself has passed on!

Andrew: It's a shame, isn't it? "Betty Battenberg" -- LOL!

GZ: Thanks for the tip! I've never tried those!

YP: I took Olga there yesterday, in fact!

Chris: Oh, so there's precedent for this! LOL

Ms Moon: Yes, it does seem fitting that the Solar Queen should start to fall apart, now that the real thing is no longer with us.

Debby: I did check to see if they're still available, but I'm not sure I want to spend £25 on one! Dave will be kicked out that evening to recuperate at home.

Susan: They say it's a day for every hour of time difference, which in my case would be more than a week! But since I was there such a short time I'm hoping it subsides more quickly.

Ellen: Basically her role in life!

Marcia: I was hoping no one would notice how filthy she is! She's been on our windowsill for ages and I guess I haven't dusted her. Ha!

Boud: Yes, he'll be in and out same day.

Sharon: These long-haul flights really are brutal. I'd forgotten how hard they are.

Kelly: Well, exactly! If I glue the hand to the body so it won't move, what's the point?!

Linda Sue: I wish you were here to turn her into a work of art!

Red: I tried. I just couldn't make it work.

Jeanie: Oh, I forgot you're coming to England in the spring! It's a beautiful time of year to be here!

Tasker: Or you can appreciate her disability digitally, at least.

Yael: Yeah, things like this are not easy to repair!

Bug: She DOES look slightly demented.

Caro: People say west is harder than east, and I guess that's true. I seem to be recovering pretty quickly now that I'm back in London.

Ed: Single use tubes are a good idea. I find the same thing -- it's hard to use a tube of super glue more than once!

Margaret: They say that, but I'm hoping since I was only gone seven days I'll recover more quickly now that I'm back home.

River: It does seem appropriate somehow, if a little sad!