Susan,

Best of luck to you. It will be a bummer to not play for a while but I'm sure that it will be for the best long term. I haven't had carpal tunnel surgery. But have had 3 spinal fusions and wasn't limited from playing but had a restriction on the weight I could lift for a month after surgery. So no lifting electric guitars especially Les Paul's!!! So when I felt like it I played acoustic and then bought a really light hollowbody.

You will be able to use your time productively. You've already thought about watching lessons and writing songs. Use the time to study theory. I wish I had done more of this. Listen to a lot of songs that you will want to learn when you are back to playing. One of my jam buddies gave me an ipad full of blues songs.

We'll all be thinking about you.