Breaking News

I am sitting here listening to thunder. An occasional flash of lightning streaks by and I'm waiting for the downpour. Please don't tell me this is just a heat storm. We need water. Where are those rain makers when you really need one.

I have my little Toyota back in drive mode. I drove it in the winter but since last summer when the a/c went, I've left it parked last summer and until this past week when it finally has a/c again. I bought this little Toyota in July of 1990 when I moved here to Lafayette. I drove it to school and continued driving it till 1999 when I bought a Grand Marquis. I couldn't bear to get rid of the little Toyota so I kept it as a "spare". I drive it on errands around town for the easy parking it offers. No power steering but a short wheel base so you have to use a little muscle to turn the steering wheel; no electric windows but it has a 5 speed, a/c and a radio. That was plenty for me. When the 2010 autos come out this year, my little Toyota will be 20 yrs old. Happy Birthday to you! When I take it in to the mechanic, he is amazed at what good condition it's in. The interior looks new. It has had many windshields in the years I have unsuccessfully dodged rocks and flying road debris. Most of the parts on it are original. Tires and oil changes and an occasional windshield and brakes and it has served me well.

I'm going outside to watch the rain bounce off the Toyota..I hope!!

After the rain: YES! lots of rain. We might not get another shower for weeks but today it saturated the ground.

Life Lessons/Habits

Have you ever made a mistake? I know I have and I also don't know of anyone that hasn't. The great thing about mistakes are you can rename them. If it was a learning experience, one that you never repeat, then they can be called life lessons. I have a lot of these. Everybody has them. Those mistakes we make through ignorance or not paying enough attention to what we are doing. Those are life lessons. Those "oops, I'll never do that again". They can be serious foul ups or minor but if you learned something from them and do not repeat, then I call these life lessons.

Then there are those mistakes that some people continue to repeat over and over again and end up with the same results. Those are not mistakes, those are habits. This is your way of life. Things aren't going to get any better by repeating the same actions over and over. Calling them mistakes no longer are applicable.

Staying in an abusive relationship, continuing to believe in something that has proven time and again to not happen, spending beyond your means, and any number of mistakes that people endure for years and years are not mistakes but a way of life.

I am constantly confounded by friends and relatives that live in this mode. I watch and know that soon I will be receiving a phone call to inform me that "he did/she did or we did" and are now paying the price. You are expected to listen and commiserate with their plight. Forbidden are any comments that can be construed as critical of their actions and even gentle advice is unwelcome. It's never their fault; they don't see the outcome as any fault from their decision making. You smile and nod and know these people have never had a life lesson.

As the years speed by, their decisions and their outcomes eventually catch up to them. Lost homes, bankruptcy and limited earning power because of loss of health or age and suddenly they are trying to play "catch up".

I continue to listen and know that all I have to do is smile and nod.

18 wks Post Op TKR

Yep, It's Monday once again and time to post my UKP (ugly knee picture). Clinical report:

Not much change from last week. Muscle pain continues when moving from sitting/lying position to standing/walking activity. I want to do more swimming exercises although the next day the muscle pain increases. I have moved a dining room chair into the living room and I'm doing more flexion stretches using that chair. I would like to have the flexion measured by a PT and may try to get that done this week.

I am not restricted in much of what I want to do. I do lawn work, housework and clean the vehicles. I have no problems with walking or climbing chairs. I can even kneel down on that knee. I cannot sit lotus position. I don't have enough flexion for that. Maybe someday.

I'm off to do some early morning shopping before the temps climb back to 100 plus degrees which wouldn't take much climbing as it is about 88 degrees here at 6AM.

Later!

All Day Sugar

I cleaned up the background on this picture.

MJJ

Thursday morning I flipped on the TV to the announcement that Michael Jackson was in cardiac arrest (dead) and had been taken to the hospital. The 911 call reported him not breathing and the doctor doing chest compressions. I think he was dead at that time but no one was going to pronounce him. Later he was reported as being in a coma and finally reported as dead.



The airwaves are filled with reporting on his life and music. If that last court verdict had been a "guilty verdict", would all these accolades be forth coming for him? I'm wondering how much of that will start seeping out now that he is gone. This man was besides an awesome musician, a freak. An uncontrolled catered too performer. I listen to his childlike voice and wonder at our persistence to honor and celebrate people to whom our children will want to emulate. Do you want your child to aspire to be another Michael Jackson? Is fame and fortune that important to anyone? Speaking of fortune, he died without one. After all those albums, videos and money he earned, he had no control over his own spending. 400 million in debt? He ended up more broke then he was as a child in Gary, Indiana. How does one worship someone whose bad decisions ended up taking his life.

Was this doctor hired for him to monitor his drug use and keep him alive for and through the upcoming concert in London? Was he healthy enough to really do 50 performances?

Is this post too harsh? We shy away from being critical of the dead; something I've never understood nor ascribe too. I realize nobody is perfect; we all make mistakes, yadda yadda, yadda, but people that make these mistakes/decisions because they feel entitled because of their celebrity warrant no sympathy from me. Let a penniless person do some of the things these celebrities do and they would be locked up in some mental institution or jail. That's how I feel. Money and celebrity buys a lot of forgiveness.

Needful Things

Sister's knee: note the misalignment on the right knee. I had my knee replaced BEFORE it got this bad.

My Knee post op 17 weeks. The knee is aligned upper leg to lower leg. Sis, go get your knee done!!!

Meltdown

It's sorta a meltdown kind of day today. I'm obsessing about what the Dr. said yesterday when I told him I had pain in the muscles of my leg and his response made me think this was abnormal. I finally spoke with a friend this morning about it and she told me about her friend that has had this surgery. He told her he was in pain for the first year. His muscles ached most of the time. After that first year he felt normal once again related to the knee. I'm so grateful that my friend called and told me this. Sometimes you just need to hear how it "will be someday". Something to look forward too.



I also think the doctors just have no clue what his patients feel related to the after effects of this surgery. Mine was questioning me as if this was not normal; the pain in the muscles. Then I think maybe he was just worried that it was the sciatica and was ruling that out by questioning me. I worry that after another 6 months of this the pain will be a constant with me and then I'll find out it's something that is awry with the knee and it should have been addressed earlier. That's a worry. On the other hand, this could and I hope it is, a normal part of the healing process.


I suppose time will tell! I try to post on here my thoughts and feelings about this so I can come back later and reassess. Also it might help someone who has had this surgery and is questioning the same things I question.



I was trying to remember if I've always felt this pain post op. No. I didn't but I think it started when I started walking more and exercising these muscles by all the walking. That would be a good thing. No pain no gain sorta thing.


Carrie left this morning to spend the coming week in Lydia, La. with her dad. I hope she gets homesick and calls for us to go get her but I doubt that will happen. She has her little buddies there that are the same age as she so she never tires of playing with them. I know she will have lots of fun and thats' a good enough reason for her to be there.

It's time for lunch; I'm starving and even the salad I'm having looks scrumptious.

A Few Faces

The Last Visit

This morning I had an appointment to see the ortho doctor. He questioned me as to how I felt. No pain in the knee I told him but the muscle pain is still persisting. He suggested sciatic pain and questioned me as to where it was. I don't have pain in the hip which is where the sciatic pain would originate and I told him it never hurts there. The quads and hamstrings get tight and stiff and very painful each time I sit down and get back up and upon arising in the morning. I don't think everyone has this post tkr but I do know some who do suffer this. I'm going to give it another month or so and gauge whether I am improving and the pain is lessening. If not, I will make an appointment with him to see what can be done. I talked to an exiting patient that had just finished her appointment 2 wks post tkr. She was still using a walker and when I asked if she had muscle pain she said yes she does. She is expecting to return to work in August. I'm wondering if she will be pain free by then. She was appalled that I still felt pain at 4 months post surgery. I can only wait and see if it disappears one day in the future.

Carrie is in the backyard running through the sprinkler. We emptied out her pool. It's really too hot to have water in it. She wouldn't be able to get in because the water would be much too hot. Peg's pool feels like a hot tub of water. I'm going to stay out of it till it cools down with some rain. Rain? I've forgotten what a good rain shower feels like. We continue in our drought and record heat.

I got the Toyota back today. The a/c is blowing wonderful cold air finally. I'll be driving it this week to make sure the coolant isn't leaking out of it. A gasket was pinched and needed to be replaced. The guy that put in the compressor last summer failed to get this gasket in correctly. Instead of replacing it after I told him a day later after picking it up that it wasn't cooling, he started telling me it probably needed a dryer....etc. This is after he got his money, 900.00 and he wasn't really interested then in finding out why it wasn't cooling unless he could charge me more money. I was livid. That was last summer. This year I decided I would try having it fixed once again. I'm a bit nervous on how long it will cool so I'll be watching it this week.

I'll clean it up tomorrow. Wash, wax and buff it out. It's been a good car and is great as a spare to keep around in case my car goes down or daughter's car goes down.

I'm outta here to wash it. It's a little cooler right now.

Lbs.

17 weeks since I've had a smoke. It's getting easier. I occasionally think about a cigarette. I don't get cocky about my "non smoking" status. I'm too frightened that I'll light up someday. Nicotine some say is more devastating then heroin.

This isn't about smoking though. This is about the aftermath from not lighting up. I 'm sure my lungs are grateful that they don't have to deal with all that tar any longer; my receptors in my brain are doing what they were intended to do now but nothing in my wardrobe fits, unless it has a stretch band at the waist. My goal with my diet is to reduce my chest size. Some ladies complain about the size of their butts, waist, or legs. Me? It's my chest size. When I gain weight, I gain weight all over. When a lot of it is gained directly in front of you it's difficult not to take notice. I did take notice although my doctor wanted me to get through the nicotine craving and worry about my weight later. That day has come. A few weeks ago I started deleting things from my diet. I deleted chocolate. I was never a big consumer of sweets. Quitting smoking cleared my taste buds and chocolate tasted awesome! I'm giving it up. I'm quitting something else other then cigarettes. I'm quitting all sweets. Even my tea is sugarless with NutraSweet taking the place of sugar. No white breads and very little pastas. Along with quitting some things, I'm restricting the portion of most of what I eat. If the craving for a sweet gets overwhelming, I have a couple of tablespoons of that vanilla ice cream, or a mini bar of chocolate. I don't get those cravings often so I'll relent a little and move on.

I know that it takes about two weeks for any evidence to appear after doing some diet restrictions. I stay off the scales for the first two weeks. There is no point in staring at the same number when it's going to remain the same for those two weeks.

A few days ago, I crept on the scales and held my breath. Ah! 5 lbs! A start. A long way to go yet but some positive reinforcement that I'm on the right track.

I usually wait till 10:30 for breakfast, which I now call brunch as it takes the place of having lunch. I don't expect this to take any less then 5 months. I'm giving it the same amount of time it took me to get here.
Wish me luck and good health!

Damn Scorcher

Another damn scorcher today. I don't envy anyone that has a job that takes them outside in this weather. How DID people survive without A/C? Oh wait. I know the answer to that. We didn't have A/C when I was a kid and I really don't know if any of our neighbors had A/C. Surely some of them must have huh?

Our cool air source was a huge fan reminisce of those huge fans you see in warehouses. Seven little bodies laid out in a half circle in front of this fan on a hot summer day trying to cool off. At night we flipped the pillow over for the cool side and a few moments of comfort. It didn't last long. The cool pillow soon became hot and it was flipped over again and again throughout the night. Windows were kept open; the screens keeping out most of the little flying critters dodging about in the night. Sometimes we would crawl out the window onto the roof and spend some time hoping for a breeze in the darkness while days not spent in front of the fan were spent in the cool water spots beneath the trees in a mountain stream. We survived those summers; I wouldn't want to do it again. I'm spoiled with air conditioning in the summer and a central heating system for the winter.
I shouldn't whine about the weather. I do have a/c in both the house and the car and I can be found in either of those places this summer.

I picked up everyone at the airport at the expected arrival time for a change. Carrie is spending the night with me while everyone else went to their home. She is wound up tonight so we are watching a movie before I plant her in bed. She hasn't stopped chattering since she got here. I'm tired and looking forward to my bedtime!

Monkey Farts

Last summer while on a trip to Ohio and visiting with my sister, she guided me to a flea market type store where we found lamps powered by electricity and containing a halogen bulb that heated fragrance oil held in a small dish above the bulb. Just my thing! I had to have one so I bought two of course. When I got back to Louisiana my neighbor came to visit and saw these little lamps. Tart warmers are what they are called although at the time I didn't know this. When it got close to Christmas, the neighbor came back and wanted to know if I could find them on the internet. I could and I did and for a much better price then what I paid for them in Ohio. We agreed to buy a bunch and split the shipping. This went well. They arrived and were given as Christmas gifts to her family and I kept the four that I ordered and put them in different rooms of the house. As time went on, I eventually ran out of the fragrance oil and had to order more. Since the shipping was as high on one bottle as two, of course I ordered 5 bottles of different fragrances. Those arrived and now I was all set with lots of the tart warmers and the oils.
Today another neighbor came to visit and saw the little lamps (tart warmers) and wanted me to find them again on the Internet. She wanted some for family and friends. (I'm thinking this could have been a profitable little business had I cared to order a case and then resell them in a booth here in town.)
I found the web site and have it shortcutted to my desktop. I'm ready now when she gives me the number of tart warmers she wants me to order.
While browsing through the fragrances I came upon the one in this link.
http://www.soytartmart.com/catalog/item/6941957/6694562.htm
I HAVE TO HAVE IT! I would love to be able to tell people what the fragrance is when they come to visit and ask "what IS that I smell?"
I'm also curious. What inspired the name? Who really knows what odor monkey farts emit and why would you bottle it? Is this a fragrance or an odor and is there a difference? I'm now scouring that web site for Buffalo Barf, Snake Shit, Dog Dung, Cat Crap and any other foul odor/fragrance connected with the animal world.
When I order the tart warmers, I'll add a bottle of this fragrance. YES! I will !!!

Ugly Knee 17 wks post op TKR

Clinically: It still hurts but mostly when I first stand up. That first 5 minutes of walking almost brings tears to my eyes. I just keep chanting "this will get better". I'm hoping I'm not chanting in vain.



Yesterday I didn't blog. I did "almost" nothing. I watered the lawn. I escaped back into the house. It was 103 degrees here!

The weather man/woman forecasts those temps all week long. OMG! This is really not normal for this time of year. The upside of this is that since we haven't any rain we don't have the humidity. I'm miserable when I have to go outside so yesterday after watering, I stayed inside and did nothing too. I don't think I can cope with another day of that so I'm off to Home Depot to look for paint.


4PM and later


I got my shopping done and stopped by to visit with a friend then back to the house. I think it was 103 with the heat index today. I've had enough of summer.

Tomorrow everyone will be back. I'll pick daughter and kids up at the airport but it won't be till late in the evening. Here's hoping this flight goes better then the last one.

Even F had trouble with his flight. He plane was turned around and returned to Memphis because of mechanical problems.
I'm just hoping there isn't a reason that I have to fly soon. I don't trust the airlines. Maybe they laid off the mechanics and substituted with stewardesses to save money. I don't trust them (the airlines). Too many cutbacks in to many industries during these tough economical times.
I'm off to get a nice cool shower.

102????????

Surely the thermometer must be wrong. It canNOT be 102 degrees in mid June. That's August weather. I drove through my neighborhood this morning and gazed at the brown burnt lawns and the flowers in some yards that nobody had bothered to water. Some neighbors are watering their flowers and not their lawns. We are getting crispy here. No rain forecast. How can this be? The northeast is soggy from all the rain they have had. Usually we don't have droughts but I'm afraid we are in a full drought.
Thursday I decided to water the lawn a little. I dragged the water hose across the lawn, adjusted the settings on it and turned on the water. I watched for a few minutes the arcs of water as the sprinkler waved the water through the air. Satisfied that all was well, I disappeared into the house for the next 10 minutes then back out to move the water to another crisp area. When I exited the house a man dressed in the uniform of the utility company was standing in the yard. He said "I'm going to have to cut your sprinkler off. You are not supposed to be watering on an "odd day". He told me he was going to write me a ticket but since I showed up, he wouldn't but would just turn the water off. I thanked him and wondered just how much of a fine you get for watering on "odd days". I'm also wondering if some nice neighbor felt it was their civic duty to report my watering antics. I've never seen the "utility patrol" in the neighborhood in the past. I really didn't even think about "even" and "odd" when I positioned that sprinkler and hit the water "on" switch. I was thinking about the brown color of the grass. I promise officer, I will water on "even" days. Are we done here?
It's going to be a long summer. The Gulf waters must be heating up; hurricanes favor these conditions. Usually our hurricanes come in August but with all this heat we might be in line for some early ones. Another thing I dislike about the summers here. I have to say, snow never kept me inside but hot weather will. I have an aversion to sweat. I have an aversion to work and sweat. I do as little as possible outside in these temperatures.
I'm wishing my life away, but I can't help counting the days till October!

Grill Me Some Alligator Please!

Peggy called this afternoon with an invitation to go swimming in her pool. Her husband was going to throw some alligator on the grill. Gosh, I hated to pass up that alligator (said tongue in cheek) but I made my excuses and plan on spending the rest of the afternoon in the air conditioning. You have to be careful when you go to Peg's. I always ask "what's cooking?" or check around the garbage can to see if there is a hide, head or feet I can recognize as something I really don't want to put in my mouth. I don't like "exotic" type food. I classify any meat that isn't found in the local grocery store as "exotic".

It's hot! A nice cool Chef's Salad for dinner and I'm done for the day. A bubble bath before bed. some flexion exercises and a movie on TV and I'm good! This has been a "do nothing" day. I'm good with that too.

Chores

As soon as the neighborhood fellows left for work this morning, I started mowing the lawn. Not much to mow but it was looking scruffy. We have had no rain and high temperatures for the past couple of weeks so the grass is busy burning instead of growing. I'm watering it a little today and hoping it rains soon. I don't remember this heat being the norm for this time of year.

Yesterday I spent most of the day in Peg's pool. Of course today my leg is sore more then usual and I'm sure it's from the exercising it.

I spoke with Carrie yesterday. Her comment was "I wanna go to Nana's house". 4 more days after today and they will be headed back. This 7 days will fly by for them. Since I have no one around, I made it to get a pedicure and a haircut yesterday. I now have orange glo toenails. It's a summer statement thing.

I have nothing planned for today. I may go browse some stores but my main goal will be to stay out of this heat. This is not my favorite time of year here in the south western part of this state.
I usually count down the months till October when it starts to cool off a little.

It's shower time and I'm outta here!

6AM Phone Call

Really the phone rang around 5:30AM. Daughter was calling from the airport in Atlanta. She had stayed up all night to watch over Carrie and Ted and she sound exhausted, pissed off and disgusted with the airlines.

Her flight leaves at 7AM for a duration of two hours. 9AM she should be in Pittsburgh and shortly thereafter she will probably find a bed and sleep all day. The Trip from Hell!

I know there are worse flights. I've been on a few of them and I've done my share of sleeping in airports. You are at the mercy of the airline industry and I don't like it. Thankfully they weren't held captive in a plane sitting on a runway for 8hrs! That should be illegal.

I have all day to myself. First thing will be a pedicure and then a hair cut. I'm off to get an early shower and get dressed and before I do anything, I'll wait for a phone call from daughter from Pittsburgh.
10AM Pennslyvania time
Ted just called to let me know they were at the airport waiting on step mom to pick them up. I'm done.

Major Confusion

Today is the day everyone leaves. This is their trip. Their vacation. Why am I feeling pressure? I get a email requesting pictures. I find my external drive and start through digital pictures (can you leaf through digitals?). I have printed out a stack of pictures for step-mom in Pittsburgh.



I bought an extra suitcase and let them use it. Mine weren't enough for a "three people trip". I kept Carrie last night; got up and got her bathed and her hair done. Ted still needs to be delivered to his Mom's so he can be included in the packing of his clothes.



4PM

To the airport only to find that the flight has been delayed an hour. While checking in, we were informed that now it would not be leaving till 8PM. This flight was scheduled out at 5:50PM. I envision the plane sitting on the tarmac with mechanics running around trying to find out why it won't fly. This is a flight I don't want to be on. If you have to keep delaying it for mechanical reason, don't rush on my behalf. Just cancel the whole flight and send me out on a different plane the next day.
We made a run to McDonalds to get sandwiches for the kids then back to the airport where I dropped everyone off curbside and came home. Daughter called me later to say the flight wouldn't be leaving till 9PM.
Actually the flight didn't leave till 10PM. The excuse was there was a spill on the runway in Atlanta and they had to close some of them.
Daughter was given a voucher for a hotel and food in Atlanta as she missed her connecting flight because of the late arrival. She finds out her voucher is for the Hilton downtown Atlanta. No shuttle to the hotel so it would cost her 100.00 for a cab there and back to the airport the next morning. They ended up staying in the airport overnight. She was angry! Then the airlines wanted to charge her again for her baggage because the staff in Lafayette gave her the wrong ticket to clear her luggage for the remainder of the flight.
I tried to tell her to reschedule her flight. She didn't want to do that because all the flights were booked up for the next day. That's where she made her first error. It was all downhill from there on.
To be continued I hope!

4 months TKR!!!

Happy Birthday TKR! It's been a full 4 months. Am I happy? Some days I'm ok with it and some days I wonder just why I had this done. I remind myself of what the options were and I realize once again it was a "have to" not a "want to" that inspired the knee replacement.

Pain? Usually constant but in varying degrees. Sometimes it's just stiffness that needs to be worked out in the muscles; sometimes it's pain even into the groin. Leg muscles extend that far so that is normal to feel some strain in that area.

The gr. grandparents of Carrie that I visited on Saturday were very encouraging. He has had both knees done and he thought I was doing great with my walking. He also said "it's only been 4 months" "give it more time". That seems to be the mantra of late. I keep hearing people say "more time". I have no other choice.

Tomorrow daughter and Ted and Carrie leave for Pittsburgh. I'm guessing I will be seeing them off at the airport. Today I will make sure Carrie and Ted get organized for the trip. Daughter waits till the last minute and amid much screaming and confusion the packing will be done. That's just not my style. I like to be a little bit better prepared then that.

I'm outta here to get started!

Relative To

I returned the borrowed stuff back to Carrie's gr.grandparents. We sat around talking for a while and soon gr. grandma asked if Carrie might like to go to church with them. They are Catholic so they have many options on going. This was Saturday and apparently that is when they go. I guess they just skip Sunday altogether and if I'm ever inclined to grab onto a religion I'm guessing I would have to choose Catholic just for the opportunities open to you on when you can attend. I think they must hold services 7 days a week just to get everyone. A good Catholic is a tithing one.

Anyway before the visit was over, Carrie was agreeing to spend the night with them and they were so excited to have her. I had misgivings about leaving her overnight but I left and came home only to call a few hours later to see how she was doing. No problems. She was playing with her cousin and having a great ole time. "Out of sight, out of mind" must be her motto. I could have been crushed that she didn't miss me but I'm willing to share her with the grandparents. They don't get out much and having her there was entertaining for them.

Ya just gotta love relatives....as long as you can keep a lot of distance from them. Most of mine live "not close". I've found that if things go wrong, usually can and will mutually exclusive, they will. And when those things go wrong, relatives need someone to blame and what better person to blame then a relative! I've observed relative couples that are humming along grandly and suddenly one discovers the other is lying to them; one breaks a promise and on and on. How am I to blame? Why not take out your anger on that person. Is it because they are embarrassed that you know too much about them? Are they embarrassed because yet another disrespectful action from their significant other and they are allowing it to go on and everyone knows? I have no clue. The best reaction is no reaction. Nod and smile and pretend you didn't see/hear a thing. Yes, I like lots of distance. It's easier with lots of distance. Oh, and the ones that get offended because someone was critical. I don't think its' a matter of being critical. I think it's a matter of not agreeing; of not catering too or not being sympathetic enough with them and their situation. Watching someone make the same mistakes or choices year after year and never learning from past mistakes shaves away any sympathy through the years then you get accused of being critical.

That's my take on it anyway. Distance is a good thing!

Options

Two options for today. I could go to Peg's and hang out in the pool with Carrie and Ted. I could drive to Lydia and return some borrowed items to Carrie's gr.grandparents and let them enjoy some time with her. They don't get to see her often and they are always thrilled when she gets to go visit them.

Option 1, the swimming thing. I wish it were more of an option but I don't think hauling my sun burnt body back out into the sun and fun of pool time is wise. It (the sun burn) still is a bit painful. It's better but still tender.
That leaves Option 2. If I do go to Lydia, I'll leave around noon. I plan on going back to sleep for a few hours. I got up early early this morning. F (hubby) had to be taken to the airport to catch his flight to North Dakota. You almost can't get there from here. He has a 3hr layover in Minnesota. I think he flies to Memphis or Atlanta, then to Minnesota then to Minot, N.D. It will take most of the day just to get there and that's flying!

Right now I'm watering the lawn. We are in a drought. I won't have to mow the grass for weeks. Nothing is growing but soon it will be turning a nice shade of chocolate if it doesn't get a little water. It won't get watered often or long because of the drought situation here.

I need a haircut and a pedicure. That is also an option but I'll probably save that for next week.

Daughter and kids are leaving on Tuesday for Pittsburgh. A visit with her dad and for the kids a visit with Grandfather. They are way past due for a visit.

It's time to move the sprinkler. Two more moves and I"m done then I can hopefully go back to sleep for a few hours.

Colors Of June

I just finished watering the flowers. We haven't had rain here for weeks now and each morning I try to remember to water the flowers. The worst part of this is winding the water hose back up on the reel. I hate doing this. It's like washing silverware. I don't mind doing dishes but I hate to wash the silverware.

When we were all children and it was my turn to do the dishes, I would always be in trouble for leaving the silverware in the sink and I still dislike doing them. Some things never get better.

I'm watching all the legislation and regulating of cigarettes. Do they actually think this is going to deter the young from smoking? I'm still amazed when I see a really young person lighting up. Back in the day when I started, there wasn't any warnings on what it did to one's health. Today everyone is bombarded with that information and the young continue to light up. 20 per cent of the population smoke! I was amazed when I heard that this morning. I know that it seems every where I look I see people smoking. So what was so bad about me smoking? Ok, now I really need to stop that train of thought. I smoked a LOT. I have to remember why I wanted to quit and now think it might be time to change subjects. I'm joking with ya. I really don't want to start again. I would like to be able to wear those two closets of clothes though. In time. Patience is a virture. I don't think it's one of mine though.

I have set a goal for myself today. If I surpass that goal, I get a gold star. I think I'll start working on that goal right now. It's nothing earth shattering but pertains to organizing and the only way I get things done is to set goals for myself. I'm competitive maybe?

Later. I'll be back later.

Never Done

My sun burnt back is still red and painful. Wouldn't ya know it. Just when my new bras arrived and I was excited to try this new brand but judging the merits of a new bra on bright red raw skin is not a possibility. How can you tell if it's comfortable when just wearing anything close to your skin makes you want to winch and cringe away from that touch. I did struggle into one and wore it for a whole hour before I resorted to none and a loose pajama top. Yesterday I stayed in a gown all day and today will be a repeat.

When we went to the pool, I had SPF50 along with me for Carrie. She had a tan going and didn't even burn; Ted has been out in the sun a lot so he didn't burn. I never thought to put some of the sun guard on myself and now I'm paying for neglecting myself. Always something!

And a thought here. Two people live in this house. How can it possibility need to be cleaned so much? Yesterday I got a lot done but today I still had stuff to do. It's those things that don't need done often. Carrie's nightlight bunny had to have all the batteries replaced. She mentioned to me last night that it wasn't working and I needed to fix it. "not tonight, Carrie. go to sleep."
She came carrying it to me to take care of this morning so I had to find the small screw driver (took forever to find it because it doesn't get used often) and the batteries eventually got changed. Maybe that's why it takes me so long to get anything done here. It's all those interruptions that slow me down. The vacuum cleaner bag needed changed and the shampooer needed cleaned out and stored. I think laundry must be a daily chore. How do Jon and Kate plus Eight ever keep up? Every time I see a family with three or four kids I imagine all the laundry they must have to do. I shutter.

As I sit here typing, The Usual Suspects is on the AMC channel. It's one of my all time favorite movies. I'm done with the housework stuff for today and I'm going to sit right here and watch this movie. To hell with housework. It will be here tomorrow.

I'm Toasted

I remember when "I'm toasted" meant something quite different then being sun burnt. My shoulders, arms and chest are a nice beet red color and oh so tender.

Last night after all the pool exercise, my leg muscles were screaming at me. I'm guessing this is because all that kicking in the pool exercised muscles and we all know what happens when old out of use muscles get exercised. It's a good thing. I just wish it didn't hurt so damn much. This morning, no pain! I was surprised that the muscles were bunching up but I gingerly stood up beside the bed this morning expecting to be grimacing in pain. Pleasantly surprised, I could walk without pain.



Carrie was exhausted from all the sun and activity and it's 8:30 here and she is still asleep. Usually she would be up by now and demanding much attention. I have had many hours now of quiet and time to blog.



Ted and his friend stayed all night and were up till 2AM. and this was after I had told Ted to not stay up all night because I would be getting him up early the following morning. He and his friend are convinced that this house is haunted. They came racing into the living room last night telling me a ghost was communicating with them. I let them tell me all about it, nodded and smiled with exclamations at the appropriate places. I'm not buying any of this but why rain on their little imaginery parade? I should have sneaked outside and pecked on their window. They would have been squealing like little women! I'll put that on my list for the next time Ted and his friend spend the night. I might even get a flashlight and do some flashes of light into the room from outside. The more I think about this, the more this sounds like fun. Maybe those novelty stores carry some things that moan or make ghost-like noises?

I plan on having everyone back to their homes by 9AM. I plan on being childless and lazy today.



I'm watching the news and the death toll in Acapulco, Mexico rise from the drug wars. Police killed and police stations peppered with bullets and when I mentioned a few years ago about vacationing in Mexico my hubby looked at me like I had lost my mind. It has escalated since that time to an all out war and this is the cheapest place out of the states to vacation. Our dollar is at least still stronger then the peso. Ah well. I will have to count my Colorado trip as my vacation this year.

10:00AM
Everyone was up and dressed by 9:30 and when their mother arrived, we went to Burger King for some greasy fast food breakfast which they all prefer to a home cooked breakfast. It was amazing to see how fast everyone moves when you tell them it's Burger King for breakfast!
10:51
Everyone left about 1/2 hr ago and I went tearing into the bedrooms to get the beds made, clothes to the laundry and whipping the sheets off my bed for the laundry. I'm almost done and then a shower and to the store for milk, bread and eggs. Hubby should be home around noon so I have an hour to finish up and by that time I'll be ready for a nap.
.....and so far, that's MY day!

Oh damn. I'm still in my P.J.'s and need a shower. I'm behind and I'm gone now. Still lots to do!

A Fine Tuesday

We spent all day at the pool. Most of the time was in the pool but the kids did spent some time on the 4 wheeled ATV. There was a big field for them to ride in and ride they did. Carrie was strapped in to the back seat and safe and she loved it.

Regarding the pool, there was no way Carrie was ready for water over her head. It took a bit of coaxing and trust building but eventually she hit the water. Before the day was over she was leaping from the side of the pool into the water and telling everyone she was in the deepness. We all have sun burned faces and shoulders and pleasant memories. That's what it's all about.

Pool time and Chicken too

Phone calls were flying around here yesterday from Wyoming to hubby. They told him to head to location, called back within the hour and told him not to leave yet and called again a little later to tell him it was a "go" and he could leave. A few more phone calls much the same as above and finally it was agreed he could leave around 4AM this morning.

Carrie spent the night and around 10PM it was time for her to settle down for her big sleep as she calls it. While I was reading her a bedtime story the phone rings and it's Wyoming again. Sheeze. Can't these people get it together a bit better then this?Now he has to leave at 2AM and it's already midnight. He slept for a couple of hours and away he went. He should be home again tomorrow evening; a short job.

I didn't even roll over when he left this morning. I remember him mentioning "g'bye" and I think I muttered something and then I was back to sleep. I awoke again when Carrie was standing beside my bed scolding me for sneaking out of her bed after she went to sleep. I reached down and dragged her up onto the bed and tucked her in, said goodnight and rolled over for another hour or so of sleep.

At 5:30 I figured it was enough sleeping so I slid out of bed and to the kitchen to start a fresh pot of coffee. I got my first brew of the day and settled on the sofa to watch the morning news in blissful silence. No one here or at least the one here with me was asleep still so I could enjoy some quiet time. All of 5 minutes later I hear the little feet scuffling down the hallway. So much for my quiet time. Back up and to the kitchen to fulfill her request for chocolate milk and we settle down on the sofa again. I'm hoping she nods back off for a while. During this wait, she drinks her milk, puts on a movie, brushes her teeth, gets into my purse and selects the brightest reddest lipstick and draws a huge ring around her lips that barely misses the lower edge of her nose. Eventually she climbs into the big chair to watch her cartoon movie and there she slips into sleep once again. Did I mention she snores? Cautiously I increase the volume on CNN and catch up or rather watch the rehashing of yesterday's news.

It's 8AM and already 80 degrees. Today should be a scorcher. I may pack everyone up and head to Peggy's house. Peggy lives in the country around a little town called Breaux Bridge. If you take your own towel, you can hang out at her pool and since she has been calling me for the past week to come exercise my leg in her pool, I may just do that. I'm going to take a big casserole of Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas, refried beans and Spanish rice to her house. She cares for a cousin that has muscular dystrophy and who lost his home and all possessions when Galveston got hit by that hurricane. Jim has been requesting Mexican food so I'll take him a treat.

I'll have to make a trip to the grocery store to get what I need to finish the chicken enchiladas. Have I mentioned we planted about 6 jalapeno pepper plants and now have enough peppers to supply a farmer's market? Those things multiply quickly. Next year, two plants only. We have been roasting them on the grill, spreading them on a cookie sheet and freezing then then bagging them and back to the freezer. This way we can pull a few out of the frozen bags as they are frozen individually. I know you were on pins and needles waiting for this information.

Before I bore myself to tears and you along with me, I'm signing off. I could go back and erase most of this but what's done is done. If you have endured this long, you have my blessings!

(making a list: sunscreen, suits, towels and corn tortillas)

15 weeks Post Op TKR

I can see more definition. Yes, it's still a bit swollen and doesn't match the other knee but it's getting there. I'm having less muscle pain and I think it can be attributed to the fact that the muscles in the quads and the hamstring are almost stretched to where they need to be. I still have a degree or two to go but it's almost there so less muscle stretching equals less muscle pain.

I guess I could have titled this "ugly knee 15 weeks". I'm growing a little more fond of it now. There were times when I cursed that knee and I'm sure there will be more of those times ahead. I still am working on flexion now that I have the extension almost to where it should be. Flexion is painful also and I use the stationery bike for that. I might have to move that bike into the house as it's heating up here and pedaling on the patio gets uncomfortable in the heat.

I'm washing the cars today and I have to take the Toyota in to get it inspected and put a new battery in it. Always something huh? I'll get some other chores done while I'm out.

Until then..........

Out and About

Jefferson Island and the Rip Van Winkle Gardens
http://www.ripvanwinklegardens.com/
I haven't been to Jefferson Island for a couple of years now and this was a nice Sunday drive.

Auto Erotic?

Let's see how many hits this post gets from that title.

Saturday morning and I have a lot of things I want to get done today and none of them are interesting in the least bit. Bath room floors need to be cleaned and if I'm doing that, I might as well attack the tubs and toilets. Sorting clothes and making a trip to the Goodwill store is another funless chore. Funless? Now I know that IS NOT a word but I'm going to leave it right there anyway.

How bout that David Carradine? Sis just told me that his death wasn't a suicide but an accident. Auto erotic. Sex kills? In some cases it does. Do you think the cause of death was in his obit? I know this isn't funny but surely he had heard of other cases of auto erotic and death. I suppose when you're gone you're gone and what is said about you can't hurt ya but it must be a bit embarrassing for the family.

Things to do :-( and the sooner I get them done the happier I will be. Truthfully, I don't mind cleaning. I would rather clean then cook. Hubby won't clean but loves to cook which makes for a great relationship. He will help me clean if we are going some where and he knows I won't leave till the house is clean.
I'm gone!

I trusted you, You Bastard!

I went shopping today and walked with the extended knee. I'm still off a few degrees on the extension; the limp is minimal but the muscle pain can be major at times. I'm hoping the pain won't be a continual thing.

My afternoon was reserved for a nice nap. It's hot and humid; it's a normal summer day in southwest La.

I didn't stop by and pick up Carrie today. Yesterday while she was here as usual she played her imaginary games. Her Poppie was captured by her and she was holding him prisoner in the big chair. Poppie was begging for help and she turned and looked at me and said "no, TeeGan, you can't help him". TeeGan was my imaginary name for that day. I said "ok, I won't help him".
I got up to walk to the kitchen and stopped by their chair and tickled her till she let go of her captured Poppie, then I let loose of her and kept walking into the kitchen. I heard her loudly say as I walked away, "I trusted you, you bastard!". After I picked myself up off the floor I moved to another room to laugh. Later we had a talk about words that Princesses don't say and "bastard" was definitely one of those words. I think she may be watching movies that aren't produced by ole Walt. Her mother likes to rent movies and they have movie night once a week. Carrie might be picking up lines because that is how it sounded when she said it. Although we laughed about it, a reality check was in order.

Dinner was a combined effort tonight. I made chili rellenos, he made the refried beans and I made the Spanish rice. I love Tex-Mex food and would rather go out to eat it but there isn't any real good restaurants here for Tex-Mex so we do our own. The downside of cooking it yourself is the mess it makes. Stuff to be grated, chopped, mashed and fried. A big mess. I'm also the bottle washer so I got to clean up the mess.

I'm done for today. A cup of coffee in hand, it's time to curl up on the sofa beneath the fan and watch the tube.

Hobble No More

Carrie came to visit. She was not happy with our long vacation. When I talked to her on the phone while gone, she would end up in tears and begging us to come home. In her short little life of 3 years old, she has not spent more then 2 days without seeing us and she expects that schedule to continue.

Hubby will leave again soon (think weekend) for another job. I don't think I care to go on this one. It's in Monroe, Louisiana and I didn't leave anything in Monroe. My last stay in Monroe was at a Holiday Inn and I think it was beneath the train tracks. It was winter, cold and damp and the weatherstripping around the exterior door was gone. Daylight could be seen around all four sides of that damn door and the gusts of freezing air that roared through left a jet air trail . Ok, that might be a little bit of an exaggeration but I could not get that room warm so I stayed huddled in a blanket with towels stuffed around that door to block some of the air flow. It just left a bad mental picture of Monroe for me.

I'll stay here and get some things done and catch the next trip he makes but that also depends on just where he goes.

I got up this morning, stood and let my leg extend then recruited the muscles to get it to full extension and it worked! It's so much less painful to walk without a limp. I don't limp now and I'll be walking more. I still awake with the aching muscles in my thigh and calf but soon it disappears. I'm okay with this. Just as recent as this trip to Colorado, I couldn't get my leg to full extension without putting weights on it. When walking from the truck across the parking lot to the cafe, I was slow to get anywhere. I limped and my pace was miserably slow. With full extension, this means I can move faster and pain free.

Summertime and fresh veggies. Now, that's summer! My neighbor bought me some fresh tomatoes from her dad's garden and some yellow crook neck squash. I really like tomatoes and these squash so I was appreciative of this gift. Squash and scrambled eggs with sliced tomatoes is the BEST breakfast and also it's healthy and in line with my diet. Yeah!
I have to go now. It's time to plate up my breakfast!

14 Weeks and 1 day post TKR

Yes folks, it's that time again. Time for an ugly knee picture complete with post.

Today I stood and took all the weight off my right leg and let it dangle all the while feeling it lengthen as the knee extended but this time it was a bit different. It extended fully because I could use some muscles to help it extend. It was straight! I was thrilled. I should try this a couple of times before I post on this. It might not happen again. Maybe it's a fluke? Anyway this shows muscle improvement. I'll take it!

I really need to work on getting more flexion now. Still at about 110 on the flexion. I can climb stairs without a problem both up and down. Muscles still need more strengthening. Pain is only when I am off my feet for an extended period of time (sleeping) and lasts till I move around for about 5 minutes.

I was reading a message board yesterday about all the problems many people are having post tkr. I hurt, but I don't think my pain is abnormal nor incapacitating. It is uncomfortable. It frustrates me. It annoys me. It is getting less painful. I'm not complaining. I feel progress; at least today that is how I feel and that is subject to change instantly!

A link to a forum on total knee replacements.http://www.topix.com/forum/health/knee-replacement

Belief

Home once again. We finished up with an 8 hr uneventful drive. I'm back in swamp land and it's hot. We unpacked then called Carrie to let her know we were home.

I've been catching up on the news. I'm trying to reconcile how a "right to life" stance can result in a killing by a person with those beliefs. How does that work? I understand your beliefs based on your religion. I think you have all the right in the world to not have an abortion. I think you need to realize that that only applies to you. Your religion, your belief and your right. Now keep your religion and your beliefs to your self and let the rest of the world have their rights to believe as they wish. That's only fair.

I'm appalled at the murder of this Dr. yesterday. Late term abortions are not usually done because a women has finally decided she doesn't want a child. They are done because the fetus is damaged; incompatable with life; unable to live outside the womb, etc. etc.

I don't even want to believe how incredibly stupid some people are when they hear the word "abortion". I used the word "aborted" when talking with a women here that lost her child early in the pregnancy and the fetus was found to be horribly deformed. That woman was highly incensed. Aborted? Even the sound of the word to the woman bought her Catholic upbringing full steam ahead.

Enough. I have had enough of this conversation.