Saturday, August 26, 2006

The TOE

Well, it's time for an update to this post. I't been almost three months since my hunk of a man, decided to rebuild our patio cover.

Judging by the picture above...alot has changed in three months.

Obviously this project has taken longer than expected, taking on a veritable life of it's own. But my husband has the patience of a saint (duh...he married me, didn't he?).

Of course the summer he decides to take on this project, is one of the hottest on record in Los Angeles in years. It hasn't been easy keeping the diet coke stocked.

Every evening after slaving away at the office, my husband comes home to a home-made turkey sandwich, lovingly slaved over by moi. He then goes to work. Painting beams of wood, measuring, sawing, hammering away.

Slowly but surely, a new patio cover is coming together. All of my worries about him falling or breaking some part of his body were, of course, unfounded...

NOT!!!

Just as it was beginning to look like we were out safely out of the "contsruction" woods...this happens (in the words of Mr. Cruisin', as he describes his calamity in an email to a friend)

So there I was installing the last joist...
I position one end of the 12' joist on the outer beam and walk the other side up the ladder while it is on my shoulder.


Put a 6x8" block on the top step of the second ladder to hold the house end of the joist up and then get off the ladder and jack the joist the remaining 2" into place.

Perfect!!!. I can do construction!!! I could be on This Old House!!!

Quickly, I grab the steel joist hanger, manage to get 5 out of 6 screws in when the 6th screw flies out of the screw gun. No biggie, scurry down the ladder to grab more screws.


While I am down, I guess I can move the second ladder out of the way now that the joist is secured.

That is about the time the train left the tracks. I forgot about the 6x8x10" block of wood previously mentioned.

Newton's laws of gravity and physics are immutable and the inevitable happened. I see the block falling and pray to a higher source that the block doesn't deflect it's trajectory and go thru the slider window.


The higher source hears me, lets the block hit the third rung and land on my left foot. I guess something or someone had to pay the piper on this one. I figure it won't be that bad because I didn't go thru the slow motion thing that normally occurs during normal disaster...

HA!!! You know, it is true, one can see stars when injured if the impact is great enough. Strangely, after a couple of minutes, the second toe next to that ugly little one on the end goes numb.

Great, now I can finish in comfort. About and hour later, I take off my shoe and sock and see that my toe is the color of a ripe eggplant and approximately doubled it's normal girth.

It looked like an eggplant with a toenail on it.

So, there you have it. A broken toe...there's nothing to do for a broken toe but grin and, well, bare it.

All I can say is, thank goodness purple is my favorite color.

22 comments:

Regina said...

An eggplant with a toenail on it- hmmm... no eggplant parmagiana for awhile for this lady!
At least it was just a broken toe, crusin-mom! I came home and my hubby was limping around like Igor. He blamed it on too much gardening... yah, right...
Great post, dear friend... hilarious as usual.

Regina said...

Oh, I forgot to mention that picture of that gorgeous hunk o' hunny- where can I get his phone number?!;)

Stacey said...

OUCH! Hope Mr. CM's toe is feeling better soon. Loved the picture. Hee hee!

Baleboosteh said...

HA!!
All I can say it thank goodness I'm not having eggplant for dinner!

Wendy said...

Poor Mr. Cruisin! And maybe he should guest blog - I love his note to the friend!

Jack Steiner said...

Ouch.

the only way i know said...

OUCH! No fun!
Take good care of your man - lol
I bruised my toe kickboxing once - it healed after 6months... so good luck!

cruisin-mom said...

RCJ: Yikes, i'm may not be eating eggplant for awhile either. Hope your husband is better. Yes, I love that guy in the pic!

Wishing: yes, our barbque is available...no eggplant, thank you very much.

Stacey: thanks :) He is wearing a very fashionable thong with a sock, since he can't get his shoe on.

Balaboosteh: I don't anyone who has read this post will every eat eggplant again.

Wendy:I've been begging him to guest blog, since he's the funniest person I know...but to no avail.

Jack: you said it!

Mia: not sure how long it takes. I just know there's nothing you can do for it.

towik: Oy, six months!

HOH: I wish I could play nurse...Mr. Cruisin' is the type to never complain and just move on!

Ralphie said...

Sounds more like one of those japanese eggplants.

Doctor Bean said...

Wow, he's funny and smart. His intelligence is demonstrated by refusing to take up this blogging thing (and marrying you, of course).

Hope he feels better soon.

Anonymous said...

Niiiicccceee photo. I bet Mr. Cruisin' appreciated what I'm sure is a highly inaccurate representation of him. Hope his toe feels better soon!

cruisin-mom said...

Ralphie: my thoughts exactly.

Doc: LOL! He married me...Brilliant guy!

E.K.: everyday Mr. Cruisin' asks me why I chose that pic. (I thought the guy was kinda cute, in a big old ugly teddy bearish kinda way)...of course that's not what Mr. cm looks like...remember, he's the guy who looks like Paul McCartney :)

Jack Steiner said...

He is wearing a very fashionable thong with a sock,

He better be careful, they arrest people for wearing that kind of stuff in public. ;)

torontopearl said...

Is playing "footsie" out for a while?

Claire said...

Bleaurgh! That broken toe sounds lovely....not!

cruisin-mom said...

jack: you should see him swing a hammer in his "thong" :)

T.P.: I thought you wrote "is playing Tootsie out for awhile"...

Claire: you said it!

Neil: for you...a personal showing (maybe my husband will even wear his thong for you).

wishing: Awwwww, what can I say? thanks:)

kasamba said...

Oh no!!!!
I just had a broken toe about three months ago and it still hurts when it rains!!!!!

(And boy, you've fed him well since the other photo!!!)

Hope you had a great summer though!!!!

cruisin-mom said...

kasamba: glad you're back..missed your comments. 3 months and it still hurts when it rain? Luckily it never rains in California ;)

PsychoToddler said...

Did he use galvanized nails?

cruisin-mom said...

Geez, he looks and sounds just like my husband!

Post-Denom Jew said...

he should be drinking water, not diet coke...diet coke is full of preservatives that don't rehydrate...just a tip

cruisin-mom said...

A.M.: thanks for that tip! I know, you are so right about that. Oh well, at least he isn't downing beers while standing on a ladder!