It's Feeling Like Fall!

Hey, all!

Things are humming along here. I'm still going to physical therapy twice a week. Also, still having issues with my lower right leg and foot. I had a doctor's appointment and he says it could take at least two years to get back to "normal". That was discouraging. Since nothing I do seems to make it better, I've decided to just try to ignore it. That works better some days than others. But, hey, we all know I have a stubborn streak that rears its head sometimes! I am not giving in to this. So, anyway, life goes on. I'm going back to work tomorrow. I actually spent a couple hours at the office on Saturday cleaning out some piles and sorting through things so all would be ready. I appreciate the volunteers that covered things there while I've been out, but there were some things they couldn't handle.

It has cooled off here and has been in the 60's during the daytime and in the 40's at night. Thanks to our new increased attic insulation, I think, we have not turned the heat on yet. But the system is getting the annual check-up this week so we will be ready. We're still getting rain. Golfer is going to have to rent a baler if he can't mow the grass soon! Due to the large amount of rain lately, there has been a population explosion of mushrooms, toadstools, and other fungi around here. And while some of our neighbors have fairy rings in their yards or small Smurf villages, this is what we got! Quite impressive! It was prying the bark off the tree, so I went out with gloves and tools and removed it. It must have weighed about ten pounds.

I have slowly tackled some traditional "Fall cleaning". You know, window washing, extra mopping, stuff like that. I have started the Christmas shopping and will soon start on the annual letter. This year's ought to be a doozy after the Summer we had!

Golfer is in the process of having some major dental work done but is still playing golf as much as possible. Some rounds have been rather muddy lately.

So, all in all, life is good and on it goes. Stay safe! More later.

It Was a Magical Week!

Hey, all!

Golfer and I just returned from a week's vacation with Bikini, Brief, Boxer, and Bloomer in Orlando, Florida! There had been lots of advance planning for this trip. Bikini found a house we could rent for the week that gave us lots of room and a pool! I had to get permission from from my doctor and physical therapist to travel. Basically, I can try to do anything I feel like, but was told several times to NOT ride anything that was bumpy, jerky, twisty, etc. Well, that ruled most things out, but Golfer rented me an electric scooter each day so I could keep up and have a place to sit while I "people-watched" while everyone else was riding things.

In case you're wondering, it was school break week for the kids. Their school starts August 1st in Georgia. And I think they saw different friends almost every day!

We had park hopper tickets for four days at Disney parks and tickets for one day at Universal. There is way more to do there than a person can do. I especially recommend Epcot. The Planet Earth ride was great!

Golfer and I took one day and went to Kennedy Space Center. Great place! We took a bus tour around the site. Golfer rode the launch simulator. We saw the Star Trek exhibit, too! One of the bus drivers told us that it was a "high activity" time for the wildlife. The Space Center is a wildlife preserve. Said we should watch out for gators - did not see any! We did see a huge eagles' nest. They estimated the nest was about 800 pounds up in a tall tree! The driver said the pair of eagles had been back to the same nest for about ten years.

The main event at Universal was going to Harry Potter World! The Butter Beer was delicious! Golfer and I had lunch at "The Three Broomsticks". I did not get to ride anything there in Hogsmeade, but it was lovely. I did do a little shopping at the Owl Post. We saw a dance performance by the Beau Batons' ladies and the Durmstrang guys. Very good! Bikini caught the performance of the singing frogs and said it was good, also.

The weather was HOT and HUMID the whole time. And I mean take-a-step-outside-the-door-and-be-drippy-wet hot and humid. There were thunderstorms several times, but they really only caused us a problem on the first day. And we got absolutely soaked then! Had to go back to the house and dump the water out of our shoes!

And one other interesting note - it was love bug season there in Florida. Love bugs are long, little black bugs that "hook up" and then fly around together. They land on and in everything - you, your car, your food.... ick.

So now we're home and getting caught up and back to normal, if there really is any such state. The groceries are bought, the laundry is done, the mail has been read, and the house is cleaned. It was a magical time. And let me add that some days when you hear someone say to you "have a magical day" just one more time, you want to scream! That's the standard greeting at Disney.

Stay safe!

Still Plugging Away

Hey, all! I hope all is well with everyone. Golfer and I are doing okay. I'm still going to physical therapy three times a week. Some days are better than others. I see my doctor the last week of this month.

It's sunny and bright here right now, but the TV weatherman says a front is coming with wind gusts up to 35 -40 mph and thunderstorms later today. Then tomorrow it will be only in the 60's, a sign that Fall is coming. Although here in Virginia we often go straight from using the A/C to using the heat and vice versa. Golfer is out mowing the grass right now and cleaning up the yard before it gets wet.

I've started our Christmas shopping! Because of the issues I am having with my right lower leg and foot, any shopping trips are fairly short and so far are confined to places where I can go and park right in front of the store. But so far, so good!

Golfer and I saw "Contagion" this week. Very good movie, but sort of creepy. Just wanted to get home and take a shower after! But it does an excellent job of explaining how an epidemic gets started and spreads.

Nothing else going on right now. Stay safe!

Happy Friday!

There really isn't too much new going on here, but I want to get back into the habit of posting more than once every couple months! So --- HI!

I had physical therapy yesterday and had some increased pain last evening and during the night. I cannot shake the fear I have of the extreme pain coming back. Every time there's a new twinge and pain, I worry. This was not the first time it's happened after a PT session though, so I know there's a connection. The therapist is very good and very patient. Everyone there keeps reminding me that I'm a special case since I had two major things going on within a very short time and the therapy for each thing works against the other. So I have to be careful about what I'm doing. Things are better this morning though.

The golf course is open again after the hurricane, so Golfer is getting to play this morning. I'm happy about that.

I have some laundry running and got the bed changed. We did some cleaning yesterday so things are pretty well under control.

I actually just got home from my first solo shopping trip. I took a walk through Wal-Mart! I only go there early in the mornings when I do go because I don't like crowded places. It went well. I had a couple things to look for. When I replaced our dishes last year, I picked the simple, classic white Correlle line. Wal-Mart sells the major pieces individually. Good thing, too! They do not bounce when dropped on our tile floor! It was time to restock a few pieces. On the way home from there I went by the ATM and the mail drop box. So for me lately, I've had a busy morning.

Golfer did the yard work yesterday. Things are looking pretty good, but it's been a hard Summer for the grass. Too hot and either too little rain or too much. But it's green and neat and the new landscaping that happened around the time of my surgeries looks nice. McDonald Garden Center did a good job. Golfer has kept the geraniums out front watered and they look good. Usually they are still blooming past Thanksgiving around here.

It's getting cloudy and a little dark. I think it's supposed to rain later. I hope everyone has a nice long weekend! Stay safe!

Working My Way Back

Well. Hello. Yes, I am still here and still living, although it's been questionable at times these last many weeks.

In my last post I wrote that I was home and recuperating from my knee surgery. Things pretty much went down the dumper from there. The knee rehab was going well, but I developed the absolute worst pain I have ever had in my right leg from my hip down to my toes.

After several doctor visits, an ER trip, x-rays, MRI and such, I was admitted to the hospital for pain management until my doctor could do the surgery I needed to remove bone spurs in a couple vertebrae. The nasty spurs were severely compressing the sciatic nerve and causing the extreme pain. Surgery was delayed due to the blood thinners I was on following the knee surgery, but eventually happened.

Right now, my incisions have healed in both places, but I do not recommend that one has two major surgeries within three weeks if they can avoid it. It is not pleasant. I have been released by home health care and have started outpatient physical therapy. Recovery is slow going. I am a little better each day, but still have pain and numbness in my lower right leg and foot. We are told that it will take a while for full recovery because the nerve compression was so severe and there is still swelling and inflammation in there. But I am plugging away at things and do my exercises every day and try to obey all the rules. They say my left knee is doing very well.

During all of this Golfer has been absolutely wonderful. There was a span of time when it was all I could do to get myself to the bathroom and back to bed. He took over everything and did a wonderful job! Thanks, and I love you, Golfer!

Bikini came for a week to help us and Nurse J is always just a phone call away. So we had them for back-up!

I am going to name this period of time "Our Summer of Discomfort". Besides the personal pain I've been in, we've had some interesting things going on around here. The Dismal Swamp is burning and there have been many days when the wind was a certain way that our air quality was awful and stunk.

Then we had an earthquake. Over the years, Golfer and I have experienced tornadoes, some flooding, blizzards, and hurricanes but this was the first earthquake for us. We did not care for it!

The latest thing was Hurricane Irene. We made all the preparations and did all the things we should. ( I should clarify that and say that Golfer did all those things) We lucked out here and did not have any major problems. Others in the area were not so lucky and are still without power. Ours just flickered a few times. The back yard was a mess with some downed small branches and many twigs and leaves, but no major damage to our house. We did cancel a planned trip to Myrtle Beach though. And I cannot believe that the swamp fire is still burning after all of Irene's rainfall!!

So, life goes on. The list of things that I would like to be able to do grows longer every day. But I know that I must pace myself and not overdo. I do not want to ever do anything that will bring back that pain.

I hope everyone is well and happy. Stay safe!

A Day Late, But Happy Birthday, Bikini!

We'll just say the lateness is due to some slight drug haze. :)

I am home and doing okay. The physical therapist has already said I can go without the leg brace, but I am still using the walker. I'll be happy when he says I can move on to my quad cane. It's difficult sometimes to maneuver around the new furniture and freshly painted woodwork and not ding any of it. But I know from experience, it is all fixable if I do. So on we go. Golfer is doing a great job of taking care of me.

I have to be on the motion machine several times a day to equal four to six hours. The pain meds make me sleepy and tired, so I often nap while I'm on the machine. I have exercises to do every day, too. My incision seems to be healing okay. I wasn't really expecting it to be so big this time, but I think it's even a little longer than the first one.

At the moment I'm doing some desk stuff and catching up on emails.

We're just plugging along here. Nothing exciting happening at the moment, unless you count the service calls for the sprinkler system and the dish washer. And now that the leak has been fixed in the dishwasher, the laminate flooring can be repaired where it got wet and warped. Geez. Fortunately, it's not a very large area and we had kept the extra boards from the installation.

That's all from me right now. It's been hot and muggy here in Virginia. But it's Summer, so can't complain.

Stay safe!

Hey, All

Hope all is well with all of you.

I'm just sort of hanging out around the house today doing odds and ends. You know, a little laundry, a little cleaning, packing my bag for the hospital, etc.

Our area seems to be stuck in a time of "scattered" storms. There was a big one the evening of the 4th and it cancelled a lot of fireworks scheduled for the area. A small storm came through the area this morning and cut short the round of golf that Golfer was trying to get in. I felt bad about that since he's going to miss a few rounds while he's taking care of me after the surgery.

He got a picture taken with his camera of the crown molding.

And here's a picture of our new lamp. (see the last item on my last blog post) This replaces the tall lamp that looked like a man's necktie. At least that's what it looked like to me. I had really liked it. This new one coordinates well with some of the artwork and the colors in the room. And hopefully it will be up to the task of coexisting with healthy, active cats! The previous one was not up to the challenge! And let me just say that Hermione is being watched like a hawk! She has to re-earn my trust!

So that's how it is here. Not a lot of news, just wanted to say "hey" since it will be a few days before I'm back on the computer.

Stay safe!