sj, that is great.

Nora, fingers crossed on the house situation.

So, I'm kind of emotionally worn out. D is back at his place. He scooted up the stairs on his butt - not dignified, but his good knee can't take all the hopping.

Those of you who prefer to be the caretaker and are kind of strong and maybe a bit stubborn, is there a good way to support you without being annoying? I think I did okay, and he continually told me I was being awesome, but tips are appreciated.

Be casual about it. Don't force it. Don't nag. Don't make a big deal of it. Says the guy on crutches all the time, so it might be different for the temporary folk. And if he is hobbling, I strongly suggest getting forearm crutches [link] So much better than the regular style crutches. Much easier to use. And won't kill your arm pits. You can get them in most pharmacy type stores, and the adjustable ones are pretty cheap ($40 on Amazon! Wow, wish mine were that cheap... but then again, mine are custom cut, so, that's different)

go you , sj

sending out the feel better ma~~~

and so not the caretaker type. I spend a lot of time not saying things and thinking of funny ways to make someone do what the doctor said ( instead of actually duck taping some one to a chair)

Thanks for the input, omnis. Those are all things I was trying to do, so good to know my efforts were likely in the right direction. As for the crutches, we'll see how long he's going to be on them, but that might be worth looking into.

He was clearly trying to be grateful and not have attitude. It's just hard for him. Me, I like being of assistance and it feels good to tip the scales a bit back towards the middle, since I've been sick so much. And I told him that, but you know.

Those of you who prefer to be the caretaker and are kind of strong and maybe a bit stubborn, is there a good way to support you without being annoying?

Personally, I like just knowing someone's THERE if I need something. If I'm sick or injured, mostly I just want to rest. I don't like being fussed over, or constantly asked if I need anything or do I want this or that. If I want something, I'll ask for it. (Major pet peeve is a caretaker who won't bring me what I ask for, or who isn't actually available. If I have to scream or bang on the floor to get their attention, I'd rather be alone. I'm sure you don't go to a room on another floor at the opposite end of the house and play loud video games when you're caretaking, though.)

I have thrown crutches down the stairs and scooted down on my butt more than once. I never really got the hang of down.

Hell, I use them day in and out, and there are stairs that are just too damn hard to do on crutches (like the ones to the catwalks) and I will scoot down on my bum. I figure, one way or the other, I'll end up on the floor, might was well do it in a controlled manner, rather than falling down them. Circular stairs are just plain impossible, if they are super tight spiral. And escalators have twisted both my ankles (on different occassions), so I've learned to avoid like the plague.

Sometimes you just have to let them struggle, no matter how much you want to help. If they're not in danger of causing harm to themselves and if you know the injury to their pride would outweigh the help, let them be. I've watched Hubby catch himself as he gets out of chairs and grimace in pain, but I know the last thing he wants is for his wife to prop him up. Given that, he will sometimes ask for help if his balance is too off kilter and he just needs a bracing point. I count that as a win and I don't make a big deal of it.

Random hivemind question -more of a Jilli question - does anyone know of an online Swedish store that sells corsets? I know someone who is in Sweden and looking for an underbust corset.

askye, I don't know of anyplace specifically in Sweden, but Restyle.pl is in Poland, and thus may have better shipping prices for them than anyplace based in the US/UK.

My big sis came down to visit for the weekend, and she just left to go home. Now I haz a sad. I wish I saw her more than a few times a year.