Shut Up, Just Shut Up, Okay? Or, Not For the Squeamish

Once, when we were on a jet taxiing out to the runway, the pilot came on the intercom and explained that we were going to just sit there for a moment because we had made such good time out from the gate that they had burned less fuel than they expected and we were too heavy to get off the ground. After we had lumbered down the runway and into the sky, the pilot explained that we wouldn't be able to climb to our optimum altitude until we had burned up more fuel because we were still too heavy.
Today Karen had her procedure. The doctor stopped by to explain how it had gone. To avoid a risk of infection, he hadn't wanted to go straight in by the original incision, so he came in from the side, he said, but then he had to be sure and avoid going into the abdomen, or puncturing the spinal column, so he just took a long needle and he knew he was getting close when the end of the needle ran into bone.
The only abdominal consequence was that it sort of turned my stomach. And other than that, the blood patch seems to be working. She needs to remain in bed for one more day, and have the doctor look at it on Friday, and then Saturday, I'm going to rejoin the workforce outside the home.