A Quiet Friday

I'm having a quiet Friday. Oh hell...the whole week has been quiet and I'm getting bored. I feel like another trip and then I think about going anywhere in this heat and a trip doesn't sound appealing. Is it August yet? The summer months have passed quickly this year. Another two months and the temperatures here will become comfortable again. We are finally getting some rain and that makes the temps drop a little and the humidity rise. I don't know which is worse.

I need to find something to do. I have plenty I could be doing but for some reason I have not the desire. That's what is missing and I don't know why. Maybe it's the heat that makes me sofa bound and glued to the television. Since the knee replacement I have become a couch potato. This is the most TV I have ever viewed in my lifetime. I'm expecting that to change as my leg recovers fully. I still wonder if that day will ever arrive. Time and patience.


Carrie is with her dad this weekend and as usual I miss her being around. I think I get more lazy when I don't have her to care for.

And this from a forum that I visit on knee replacements:
Hi Vikki, I had bilateral TKR on 12/31/08. I am now 7 months post op. I was miserable for the first 3-4 months. I also experienced depression and horrible insomnia. Thngs will get better. I started to turn the corner at the six month mark. The pain
will eventually start to lessen. The stiffness is stil there but getting a bit better. You will start to have more good days than bad. Hnag in there. It was a very humbling experience. It was the hardest thing I ever had to endure. I thought I was mentally and physically prepared. I wasn'y. I cried every night in the hospital for 3 1/2 weeks. Went back to work
mid April and started to feel better. I was in PT 3 times a week for 4 months. Never missed a session. I still have to ride a staionary bike for 30-40 minutes every morning to loosen them up. They are very high maintenance but hopefully worth it. I have been reading that it takes 12-18 months to fully heal
. I am 49. Good luck !!
When I read posts that reiterate how much time it takes to recover I let myself relax and not worry so much about my tkr and my progress. I am not at the 6 month mark quite yet and it might take longer for me as everyone seems to be different in their recovery.
I can say this. I'm so happy that I only had one knee that needed repaired!

La La La Laaaaaaaaaaaa

I feel like a different person. I no longer become anxious when I go from a sitting position to a standing position. I no longer break out in cold sweat at the thought of putting my right foot down to take a step. I would cringe and curse at the thought of having to get up to get something that I forgot to gather before I sat down. The phone would ring across the room and I would just look at it as I got up and hobbled painfully over to answer it at which time it would quit ringing and I would miss the call. Thankfully I have caller ID so it wasn't a problem calling back. I knew I wouldn't make it each time.

Now I can leap to my feet and move immediately. I owe this to a pair of sandals and the internet and a sister that complained about the same symptoms I was having.

My heel still is not painful. Any longer that is. I just don't go barefoot and I'm fine. I hate to keep harping on this but after hurting for the past 3 months, I'm ecstatic about this. We take so much for granted till something goes awry then we realize just how good we had it. As long as we can move around pain free, we take that as a given. Not so I'm afraid. At least for me it wasn't so.

I'm going to take a few ibuprofen and sit down to stretch the quads. I'm still aiming for continual extension!

Clipped

Carrie at the laptop.

Today Carrie got clipped. Her mother has been doing her hair. Usually I get that honor. I wash and then detangle it. I think daughter had enough of the wash and detangle in the past couple of days so she cut off a bunch of Carrie's hair. It doesn't look short here but if you look at her pictures from last week, her hair was down to her hips. This is quite the change but I think she looks fine. You can see where she got too much sun on her forehead and nose and she peeled. I should have been watching her more closely and putting the sun block on her more often. She didn't complain about the sun burn. She is such a pleasant little person. When she came by here today she thanked me for taking her on vacation. I told her we would do it again soon.

I'm still wearing sandals. No bare feet for me and I have no heel pain. How great is that? I have muscle pain in the quads but it's not a pain that makes you want to scream. I can live with that.

This blog spot site is weird tonight. It's almost impossible to upload a picture. It is taking three times as long as usual to get a picture on here. Ah, the last two just uploaded. I'm done!

After all This Time!

I didn't do a clinical knee report yesterday. It has been 5 months and 3 weeks since the surgery. I should have. Changes are noted and it's a change that is not related to the TKA. The pain I was having is not related to the TKA. What a revelation!

I'm so amazed. I have no pain this morning. Yesterday the back of my heel was tender and sensitive to pressure but no excruciating pain when I stood up after sitting for a while.

This morning I got out of bed and gingerly sat my right foot on the floor and stood up. No pain! It doesn't even feel tender or sensitive. My thick soled sandals were beside the bed and I immediately put them on before I took a step.

The pain is gone simply because I am not going bare foot. Just two days of wearing shoes all the time and the improvement is immense. I'm so excited. The worst pain I've had since surgery was in the heel. The quads and hamstrings do get a little painful from exercising but it is not a debilitating pain. The heel pain was debilitating.
I tried to wear a "boot" to bed last night to keep my foot in dorsal flexion but after an hour it was too uncomfortable. I may be able to bypass wearing it if I do the exercises and never go barefoot. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to stand up and not have to anticipate the pain from those first steps and for this I'm grateful.

I'm up early and I swallowed a oxycondone about 20 minutes ago. I'm going to sit on the floor and add weights to my knee. I haven't exercised it for extension for a week now and I notice
I don't have full extension and I'm limping again. I know that I will have some muscle soreness from doing this. Hopefully the heel pain won't return.

Not wearing shoes has been a lifelong habit of mine. Normally I walk inside and immediately deposit my shoes by the door. Changing this habit didn't take long. I actually have fear that jolts me when I realize I'm up and walking without shoes. I find those sandals and have them on my feet before I take more then 5 steps. It's amazing how pain can change old habits. I'm still amazed that just changing this one thing has caused pain free walking After All This Time.
I'm off to do stretches and cause more pain. This will be a good pain; an understandable pain.

Barefootin, A Thing of the Past

Friday we got home and Saturday we spiffed up the lawn and washed all the beach towels. Here it is Sunday and since this is supposed to be a day of rest, that's what I've been doing. After finding out what was causing my heel pain, I dug through my closet for a pair of Dr. Martin sandals. These sandals have a nice arch and a thick heel. A Naprosyn and a pair of thick soled sandals and I'm all set to observe for the next few days any improvement in how my heel feels. I have to get used to always wearing shoes now. Going barefoot is no longer an option with the heel problem I'm having.
I'm doing stretches for the plantar facia along with all the other stretches I have to do for the TKR. Always something huh?

I'm out of here to rest; heating pad wrapped around my heel.

Silly Me

My sister called with complaints of foot pain and it's not on the leg afflicted with the bad knee which is her right leg. It's her left foot that pains her. She described her symptoms which match the same symptoms I have in relation to heel pain I have on my operative leg.

I have been blaming this pain on the effects of the TKR but as I spoke with my sister about this I realized I had this heel pain months and months before I had the TKA. This is not related to the surgery!
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20010201/467.html
Plantar fascitis! I did some research and I'm positive that this is the cause of my heel pain. The symptoms match my symptoms exactly. Pain upon arising from bed or after sitting for extended periods and standing to walk. The cure? Exercises to stretch the plantar fascia. I'm wondering now if I eradicate that pain will there still be any pain related to the TKA?
I'm going to start working on exercising that foot and wearing shoes with a better arch support. In England this is called "flip-flop" pain related to the lack of support to the arch of the foot from wearing this footwear.
I'm so excited. Maybe this is the answer to the pain I have been assigning to my TKR!
I'm going to observe for a while.

The Trip

Carries' sun burned face. Sitting quietly waiting on the dolphin show.



















Waiting!

Watching the dolphins

Every morning we would go down to the lobby so Carrie could sit at the counter with the aquarium and watch the fish and other creatures swim.

Thursday was another day spent in the sun and the pool. Too much sun for Carrie. Her face is reddened and her scalp is sun burnt. She went to sleep in the car before she got back to the motel. We carried her upstairs and put her to bed; she slept for 3 hours, woke up and looked like a zombie. She was unable to focus and wouldn't talk to any of us. She vomited and I went on alert. After a while she laid back down and went back to sleep and slept till 8AM Friday morning. I was worried about her and kept a close vigil but she awoke bright and happy.

We went to The Aquarium before we headed home. It is a mini Sea World where dolphins are trained, sea lions are shown, giant turtles, sharks and a lot of other sea creatures are on display. Carrie enjoyed this new experience. She screamed and laughed when the dolphins would leap out of the water. She watched closely as they were cleaned, petted and fed.

The boys enjoyed this also. At least it was something we could do for a couple of hours or all day if we wished much unlike the go cart rides or the other short time / expensive activities offered there. Typical tourist town!

At one time when families went to the beach, that's exactly what they did. Today the kids don't want to stay on the beach. They have to be entertained with all the "tourist" trades there. I'm still amazed that we drove 6 hrs. and the next day the boys went to a water park while the ocean was in plain view! Ted wanted to rent a go cart, a wave rider, a para sailing experience and it was a constant "no" to him and at 16 he would stomp around and pout. He's 16! OMG, even Carrie behaves better. I've already told him we wouldn't do another beach trip. A beach trip was exactly what I expected it to be. Stay on the beach or at the pool.

I'm wondering today if he looked at this as a fun vacation. He gets angry but gets over it in 5 minutes. I couldn't let his behavior go unchecked and had to call him on it. He needs to learn to get his feelings under control and he also needs to learn to appreciate what is done for him.

Carrie was easier to deal with. She didn't argue or demand a thing. She was happy to be in the water with other children.

On the way home she sat quietly in her car seat and only spoke when she wanted something to drink or eat. She is very easy to be around; not demanding or whiny. I took her directly to her house. She missed her mommy and kept telling me she wanted to see her.

Me? I was so happy to be home and out of a motel room that was shared with two teen boys and a 3yr. old.

I have to say, the boys didn't complain about the food or the living arrangements and that was a good thing. Everything that was packed in the cooler was consumed. We actually only ate out two times the whole trip and they didn't complain.

School starts mid August. Peak season for vacations will be over and all the little kiddies will be back in school and that's when I like to take a vacation!

Carrie's Swim

Off to the pool at the condo this morning. I thought the boys would spend today at the beach but both of them ended up staying at the pool all day.

We all were in the water most of the day and Carrie never left the pool. She would bob up and down in her float suit when she didn't have anyone to play with and watch the other swimmers.

The last hour of the day we met these ladies at the pool. A mother and her two daughters. The mother noticed my knee and wanted to know if I had a TKA. She wanted to know about it. I told her what to expect. A lot of hard work for a long time. She is nervous about having it done. Arthritis is her problem and it is painful for her to walk. The blonde lady is her daughter and she is the swim instructor that worked with Carrie for a short while before we left the pool for the day. I wish we had ran into her earlier in the day.

This woman used to be a lifeguard and she taught youngsters to swim. She met Carrie at the pool and was taken with her immediately. Soon we had Carrie take off her float suit and this woman taught her to swim. She had Carrie diving off the side of the pool, swimming to her, turning around and swimming back to the side of the pool. Progress! The other ladies in this picture are her sister and mother. They were having Carrie swim from one to the other.

More instructions!

She first taught her some swim basics. Then Carrie graduated to jumping in!

TED and TYLER in the hot tub.

BETH ANN and KAREN

Proofing and Today

First of all, yesterday went well. The boys went to the water park as planned and Carrie and I went to Ms.K's condo for a day at the pool. Carrie did make many trips to the beach. Ms. K's daughter would take her along with her own two girls and they walked the private path to this part of the beach used by people staying at the condo. They would spend an hour or two in the waves and ocean water, then return to the pool for an hour or two then repeat this over and over during the day so about 1/2 the time was spend at the pool and the other half at the ocean. Carrie loved it. After a long day it was still difficult to coax her out of the pool.
We did get out finally and went to a grocery store to pick up more drinks for the cooler and a few food items especially her "banana sausages" of which she ate a can of them before getting back to the room.
We stopped at the water park and picked up the guys and finally back to the room where we could wash the sand off Carrie and hang all the beach towels and swimsuits up to dry.
That was a waste of time. Before an hour had passed everyone was back in their suits and off to the pool, sauna and/or steam room again. Don't these kids EVER get tired? I took this opportunity to get a nice hot shower and my pj's on.
When Carrie got back and I dressed her again in pj's, I had to spend the next 30 minutes combing the tangles out of her long hair. Today we will buy more hair ties and braid it. Spending 30 minutes trying to comb those tangles out is not something Carrie wants to go through again and it's certainly not high on my list of things I like to do.

I'm sitting here in the lobby again while everyone sleeps in. I'm not going to wake anyone up this morning. They can sleep in as long as they like. Today will be an all day beach day with a cooler of sandwiches and drinks. Tomorrow we will pack up and head home.

Usually at the end of my thrilling blogs I try to proof read which I think is the most difficult thing to do for the writer. I think we see what we think we typed; what we wanted to type. I just reread yesterday's blog and there it was. "espired" instead of "expired". Shaking my head, I corrected it and then proofed this bit of typing. Tomorrow I will see it differently so I'll have to reread and correct at that time.

Right now it's time for me to sit here and drink lots more coffee and watch CNN.

Almost 8AM

and everybody is still asleep. Carrie crashed early. It was barely 7PM when she nodded off and I tucked her into bed. The boys made multiple trips in and out of the room to visit the pool. Finally when the pool closed, they watched TV till they fell asleep. Today they go to the waterpark and Carrie and I will go visit my friend who is about 15 miles from where we are staying. We will just spend the day at the pool there and not go to the beach at all and for this I'm grateful!

I'm sitting here in the lobby of the hotel having my coffee and catching up on the news. Soon everyone will be awake and my quiet time will be expired.
I'm outta here for a while.

3 plus 1 6

Everything was packed and loaded except for the cooler which needed to be filled with the canned drinks for the trip. The plan was to be up and gone by 6AM. When that time arrived and everybody preferred sleeping to starting their vacation trip, I left them in bed while I finished loading everything and then their presence was required in the car. Carrie slept for the first two hours of the trip. All went well till Carrie and Ted started doing their sibling dance then I had to play referee for the next 4 hours. I kept reminding Teddy that she was three. It didn't seem to make any difference. Carrie knows exactly what to do to push Ted's buttons and Ted never knows when to stop and just step back and shut his mouth.

We finally got to Destin and to the beach until check in time at the hotel. Why do people go to the beach? Sand everywhere and in every crack and you read this right. Who wants sand in those places anyway? I dipped my feet into the water and noted all that green stuff floating around in the water. Seaweed? And is that something dead out there? What brushed against my feet? What slippery thing did I just stand on? Get me the hell out of here. Where's the pool? Thankfully I won't be doing the beach after this little visit. Carrie and I will hang out with my friend at the pool where she is staying and Ted and friend can go to the beach. It's much easier to keep track of Carrie in a pool. The waves sweep over her and knock her to her knees and then drag her back with them. I would rather monitor her fun at the pool. She has a special suit that has a material sewn into the front and back to keep her afloat and it works great. She dog paddles all over the pool and has a wonderful time in the water.

We finally got into the room and stripped off our clothes to get the sand out of all the cracks and crevices. Now I have gritty sand all over the bathroom floor and I have to crunch through that everytime I make a trip to the bathroom. I laid towels down on the floor to avoid the grit.

Everyone managed to find something to eat and then we went to the pool for a while. I'm ready to climb into bed for the night. It's nice and cool in here and I don't want to go anywhere tonight!

21 Weeks Post Op TKR

21 weeks! Aren't I healed yet??? No and I can tell that I'm not healed because it still HURTS! Muscle pain and I finally realized that the reason it was so noticeable was because I wasn't taking any Ibuprofen. So now I am. Again I'm grabbing for the bottle and swallowing at least 3 tablets which relieves the pain and allows me to walk without a limp. I'm going to start posting a report on the TKR once a month unless a major breakthrough happens or there becomes something special to report.

Today I have a doctor's appointment and tomorow I will be leaving early in the morning for a few days at the beach. I have a friend that I haven't seen in years and years and she lives about 18 hrs from here. She is going to be in Destin, Florida for the next week and that presents the perfect opportunity to see her. I'll have a 7 hr drive but that driving I'm counting on as being part of the good time. It will be nice to go somewhere; I won't hurry. I'll enjoy every part of this trip, even the driving to get there. I'm taking Carrie and Ted. They are both excited and Carrie every few minutes asks "are we going to the beach now?" She still talks about going to the Alamo and we did that this past January. That seems so long ago instead of only 6 months ago.

It is difficult to explain the time thing to her. I tell her she has to sleep two times before we go. She wants to do it right now. Sleep those two times. No, I tell her. It has to be two nights. She doesn't get it.
I plan on not spending time in the ocean but at the pool with Carrie. She is more easily managed in the pool then in the ocean and I don't like all the crreepy crawly stuff at the beach.
(I must make a note to get beach shoes! Woose that I am!)

I have clothes to pack and a cooler to fill. I'll be busy today and I'll be relaxing for a few days following!

Sunday Chicken Dinner

My parents would load all seven of us up and away we would go to Grandma's house for Sunday dinner. The Aunts and Uncles and their children would be there too. While we played outside with our cousins the women folk spent their time in the kitchen fixing the meal. I don't remember what the uncles, grandfather and my father did. I'm sure we didn't want to play in the vicinity of the adults. No supervision is a prerequisite to a good time.



I don't remember us ever spending time inside waiting; I don't think that was allowed. I don't remember running inside to get something to drink either. I do remember the obligatory fried chicken dinners. Big iron skillets covered the stove top with the chicken bubbling away in the oil. Golden brown and breaded chicken appeared on the table along with mashed potatoes, fresh peas, corn, green beans and biscuits. Gravy was always served made from the pan drippings of the fried chicken.

I occasionally try to recreate this meal minus all but two vegetables and the biscuits. This doesn't sound like an impossible feat. I don't know why it never works for me. My chicken never looks like Grandma's chicken. It's not golden brown and the breading never sticks to the chicken. It's horrible looking; never like the pictures of fried chicken you see in magazines.
Every time I try it I approach it differently hoping for better results. This morning I dug out an old iron skillet and got the oil nice and hot before dropping the breaded chicken in. I covered it with an iron lid and later returned to turn the pieces to cook on the opposite side.
Again the breading fell off in chunks, the inside was pink and I know it should be moist but I don't think it is to be moist because it is raw! Some pieces are too dark and even those pieces are too pink on the inside. I do not like the chicken I cook.

Another failure. Popeye's Chicken is less then a 1/4 mile from my house and that is where I will be should I crave chicken again.

The Weekend

Saturday Morning:


Friday was not a great knee day! The muscles in that leg ached all day long and the limp was noticeable. I had to do some shopping yesterday and I was hoping the extra walking would help relieve some of the muscle pain but by the time bedtime rolled around I was more then ready to crash in bed and get off that leg. I don't think it ever got any better all day long.

Today I'm going to sit on the floor and put weights on it again which usually means pain in the muscles the next day. I would rather have the pain then the limp.



Maybe I'll go to the mall and walk it for exercise. At least it will be air conditioned and comfortable plus dodging the shoppers will be an added bonus.

...and in the news more on Michael Jackson. As I expected, the stories are flowing now that he is gone and all those that depended on him for a job are no longer obligated to keep silent to keep their jobs.
The worst part of this is what did those children see and what kind of life could they have had with this drugged up addict that flew all over the world to seek drugs. I keep thinking about Debbie the Womb that said "he needed to be a father and he would make a good father". The excuses they are now using for his addiction was the time when his hair caught fire? Oh wait...I've seen people with 3rd degree burns over 30 percent of their body that didn't have a drug problem when it was over! I do hope there is not a shrine to MJ. I don't think this is the person we need to be building shrines for. Before his death, his career was dead and had been for the past 10 years. I don't even remember his London concert dates being advertised here in the States. I'll save my worship for someone more deserving.

It's pouring down the rain. Sheets of water being blown sideways; the streets are full, the yards are soggy but I'm not complaining. We get a good 10 minute shower and then it's over. We need it. For one thing, it gets about 20 degrees cooler and that's just wonderful!
This is my daily post. I should have just kept it in "draft". It's not much of a report of anything except a lazy Saturday in S.W. Louisiana.

The Yearbook

Seven mouths to feed and never enough money for extras but everyone was healthy and oblivious of the lack of money. Never having had extravagant forms of entertainment, all seven soaked up the summers out of doors and the winters were for sled riding and snowball fights.

The children were ranged in size and age like stair steps. The older one was responsible for caring for the one next to them in age. Everyone had chores to make things livable. Laundry, gardens, cleaning and food prep was divided to boys and girls and as to what their age determined they could manage

As the years passed and the children grew older, they found part time employment to help out and ease the financial strains. They were able to make enough money to purchase school supplies and a few clothes. Class rings and yearbooks were something they saved for and their money was handed over when the time arrived to purchase these things. That class ring and yearbook were cherished. It had been purchased with money long saved by each of the seven.

Each year she took her saved money and bought her yearbook and at graduation she gathered all four yearbooks, packed them in a box and took them with her when she moved out of state. Occasionally she would find time to flip through them and wonder at the fate of the people whose faces would gaze back at her from those pages. Best friends, acquaintances and people she knew only by name and face were all captured and saved in her yearbooks. Her yearbooks were memories from the town she spent most of her youth in. Treasured books of her past.

One year while traveling, she had to store her possessions in an outbuilding. Oklahoma in the spring is notorious for tornadoes and spring storms. The outbuilding was old and fragile. The storms arrived that year and the little building developed leaks allowing the winds and rain to blow through. When she went back to gather her belongings she found total devastation. Water soaked and dried, the pages of her yearbooks were swollen and most pages were stuck together making it impossible to salvage her beloved yearbooks. She sat and mourned those yearbooks; she gathered them up and emptied them in the garbage barrels and walked away. She dumped her past in those garbage barrels and for the next 20 years she would occasionally think about her yearbooks and quietly and quickly mourn their loss.

Another 10 years passed and an old friend from her home town came to visit with her husband. When this friend returned to the town of their youth, she went to the high school and inquired about ordering yearbooks from past years. The person she talked to at the school told her they had a few extra yearbooks and strange as this may seem, she had the senior yearbook she was looking for, an extra. That yearbook was shipped by this friend to her for Christmas one year.

This yearbook enjoys a place on a shelf that is warm and dry and alongside the family photo albums and is easily reached in the event of an evacuation. At least once a year the yearbook is opened and enjoyed. She is grateful for this one yearbook and is thankful every day that she has a friend that would spend her time to track down, secure and mail something that meant so much to her.

Blissfully Ignorant

The place? The Mile High City. Known to most as Denver, Colorado. I lived in Lakewood but worked in downtown Denver. The Security Life Building is a high rise with a glass elevator and a roof top restaurant. The restaurant boasts a 360 degree view of the city; the glass elevator and the view of the city draws many visitors to the Top O The Rockies Restaurant.

Some mornings if I was lucky enough to get to work early because I didn't become ensnared in any traffic jams or delayed because of an automobile that had connected metal to metal with another, I would ride the glass elevator to the Top O The Rockies and enjoy the view. Quietly I stood in front of those windows and gazed out to the mountains on one side, the city on the other. I liked this quiet time. I never took anyone up there with me; it was a special time and something I enjoyed doing alone.
One morning as I was standing there admiring the pinks, greens, blues and yellows that looked as if they had been layered softly atop each other with a distinctive line between each color I realized someone was standing beside me. I thought he was enjoying the horizontal rainbow of colors. I barely acknowledged him till I heard him say "a shame, all this pollution, huh?"
I turned to look at him, nodded my head and walked away. I never went back to the Top O The Rockies again to stand and look at the pretty colors that I didn't realize were pollution gases.
It's all in how you look at things. I was blissfully ignorant for a while. Then the bliss along with the ignorance was gone.

Thursday Pool Clean

The last time Carrie used her pool was weeks ago so it was emptied and dragged to the side of the shed where it lay in a crumpled mess with little insect critters using it for a home. Mold and grass clippings clung to the floor and the walls of the little pool; it was neglected.

Last night Carrie came to stay the night and informed us that she wanted her pool filled with water so she could swim. We told her "in the morning, not tonight" and well, the morning arrived and she didn't forget. I went to the side of the shed and tugged the nasty thing out of it's place where it was flung in carelessness.

To the middle of the yard, bleach bottle and detergent in hand, I used a long handled scrub brush to move the bleach and soap around in the pool. Carrie sprayed the remains out while I held the pool over my head to let it drain. She got all angry when I used the sprayer and accidentally sent a stream of water all over her. She's getting in the pool soon so what difference does it make? She hates her face getting wet. I had to apologize before she would have anything to do with me.

The pool eventually filled with water and Carrie hesitantly climbed in. I saw her shiver; the water fresh from the tap had not gained any solar heat. It was chilly. Playing in the pool was a shorter length of time then cleaning it. She is wrapped in a towel and on the sofa watching Toot and Puddle. So much for outdoor in the humidity fun. She tolerates the heat as well as I do; not at all.

Now? A request for breakfast so I'm off to the kitchen to fulfill her request. Her nap will be at noon; I smile as I think about this. A break. The princess will be asleep and I will be doing just what ever the hell I want! I spell relief "nap time".

Air Fright

If I was notified today that I had won a million dollars and I was expected to catch a flight to Zurich to pick up the money, I would have to pass. Me? Get on a plane? A plane that might blow a hole in the roof as a car might blow a tire? A plane that might land in the Atlantic instead of wheels down at the airport in Zurich?
Watching the news this morning, another plane down in Iran? Is that where it was? I'll have to tune in again and verify that. Meanwhile that Air France flight and the other airbus flight that went down shortly after the Air France flight is my notification that I am NOT getting on a plane to go anywhere. Keep your million dollars. I don't want it unless of course you can direct deposit. I'm frightened. Who is checking these planes? Do you graduate from a employee flipping burgers at McDonalds to an aeronautics engineer?
I envision myself in that plane that developed that football size hole in the roof. I would have been waiting to be that person that you always hear about that gets sucked out of the plane after more of the top went missing. I get nervous just sitting here thinking about it. I can almost hear my hysterical screams right now.
What has happened to all the safety checks? Cutbacks? Please, you can cut back on help building cars but please, not on anything to do with a giant piece of metal hurtling through the air at 35,000 ft with 300 passengers cringing in their seats. Maybe 299 of those passengers wouldn't be cringing. I would be #300 that would.

I don't anticipate the need to catch a flight anywhere but should that happen, they will just have to wait till my 4 wheeled ground laden vehicle arrives.

Before all these latest crashes, I was a white knuckle flyer. I took deep breaths, kept my eyes closed and when not closed tried to keep my imagination in check. Little movies always running in my head during the flight with scenes of devastation; a disaster movie enhanced by all those Airport movies I watched years ago.
I'm thinking that it's more dangerous now for a terrorist to board a plane and try to hit a target here before it falls short and lands in the ocean. I'm more frightened of the flight then the terrorist.

Old Tyme, My Time

On a tree lined backstreet away from the main drag and all the chain restaurants is an old building with windows that are painted shut, old wooden floors that couldn't by the largest imagination be considered level and a window air conditioning unit that fights a losing battle to keep this uninsulated building comfortable and just below the sweat level for the diners.

A large hospital sits across the street and the University is close by. The University students crowd in along with hospital personnel to pick up a PoBoy. To Go orders are carried out in huge paper sacks picked up by one employee that has volunteered to go for the food from their job.

Although it's shabby, warm and out of the way, this is my favorite place to go for a PoBoy. My favorite sandwich is the Oyster PoBoy. This place doesn't skimp on the fixins' that go on these sandwiches. Their specialty sandwiches weighs more then a pound and is served on a fresh French bread baked by the local French bakeries here. We had this sandwich last night and only ordered one and shared it along with the slab fries that come thick, fresh and hot and served in a bowl. The sandwich had gravy dribbled over the 4 kinds of meat and the two different cheeses between those slices of bread and it was awesome. This place offers the best food and an atmosphere that is typical Cajun country.

The walls of this building are cedar wood and covered with pictures and we are talking of the snapshot variety, unframed and unadorned. Sales posters, old menus and hand made artwork donated by children covers most of the wall space. Occasionally an area will have an awards certificate; one of the many awards for best food garnered by this little sandwich shop.

If you come to visit, chances are this is one of the places we will escort you to for your chance to enjoy the best PoBoy in town.

Last night I was a happy diner. I dined at Old Tyme!

5 months Post TKR

OMG. Has it really been 5 months since I started this journey with this prosthetic knee? Sometimes I find that very depressing. Shouldn't I be all healed up by now? It's been 5 months damnit! That's when I feel like giving up; not doing another day of exercise on it. It's times like this that I question my decision of even having it done. What WAS I thinking? I have to remind myself of the choices I had. None. It was only a matter of time before I would be unable to walk at all. Bone against bone and grinding away at the upper and lower leg.

It's time to calm down and rethink this. It's time to remember what others that have had this surgery have said. "It takes a full year to recover". I'm not even half way there yet. When I think about it in those terms, I feel as though I'm doing better then expected for 5 months post op.

Clinically: The knee is stable. No shifting of the femur and tibia. The leg is aligned and firm. There is no pain at the knee. The pain is in the hamstrings and the quads and only upon rising from a bed or from a sitting position. More of the swelling has disappeared and the knee is beginning to take more shape with indentations around the patella noted as in a "normal" knee. The scar is mostly invisible but for the two inches directly above the knee that remains reddened and thick. I can walk for increased distances now. I can climb stairs without pain although I do note a weakness still in the muscles and I use the railing for support.

Most days I can get full extension. I still have to pause when I stand up and leg the leg extend and straighten on it's own. I can feel those last few degrees reach full extension from the weight of my leg pulling down on the knee. It's a weird feeling to be sure.

Flexion remains at about 120. I can live with that but I would not be adverse to getting more flexion. I'm once again putting weights on my knee for the extension. I won't be doing it often. Once a day for a few days to stretch the quads. It's been an especially depressing week. Because of the weights on the knee, the muscles this week have been sore and tender. I haven't wanted to walk much and I have to remember why I'm in pain.

I've been laying around too much lately. I need to get up early and walk a few blocks before the temperatures rise and it's too hot to be outside.

Later, Sunday Afternoon

The higher power that controls electricity granted us a pardon today and the breaker did not flip off so we had hot water all day. Dishes were done in hot soapy water; I just had a nice warm shower with no surprise of a cold drench toward the end of the shower. It's a good day!

Tomorrow we will concentrate on fixing the breaker/switch problem and if that fails I already have a call in to an electrician. Home ownership is a wonderful thing, no?
I always thought that when retirement time marched into our lives (we are not quite there yet) and we had the house paid off and no vehicle payments, we would be in for some smooth sailing. We do not have a mortgage and the vehicles ARE paid off. Flawed logical.
There are taxes, insurance on both house and vehicles and those ever increasing utility bills and upkeep/repairs. Then add cable, internet access and phones and of course one has to make those dreaded trips to the grocery store and I'm wondering just how most families manage month to month. That might explain the use of credit cards that our population believes in.
Today is a day to be grateful for just having hot water and I am.

Solar Sunday

Cloudless, bright and hot Sunday. I stepped outside this morning to have my first cup of coffee; it wasn't long before I crept back inside to sit in a/c heaven. It's early and it's hot.

Today, hot might be beneficial. The hot water tank located in the attic cannot deliver hot water. The breaker needs replaced and until tomorrow when one can be found to fit the fuse box in this house, the only hot water or warm water we will have will be heated passively by the hot attic. A quick shower in tepid water and water heated on the stove to do dishes will be manageable. I thought about filling Carrie's pool and letting solar rays heat it up and using it for bathing.

I don't consider being without hot water a big delima; now if was the a/c? Now you're talking a disaster! I can survive quite well with lukewarm water but not so with uncooled air.

I'm off to have a refreshing cool shower and enjoy the a/c!

A Subtle Warning Prince Charming

She wasn't the prettiest girl nor the petite cheerleader type. She was a large boned girl with red curly hair; corkscrew curls that tended to bush out and with skin so white it glowed, she stood over 6ft tall. She has struggled with a weight problem for most of her life and has never been a tall willowy sort.

Well read some say because she had plenty of time to read. No men in her past to distract. She wasn't the type of girl to attract men; dating was non existent. Movies and books had been her life.

The years went by and she busied herself with her education and when she worked, her jobs were menial low paying jobs. Eventually she got her bachelors degree; she is now mid thirties and decided since Prince Charming was still missing from her life to continue on with her education and acquire her master's degree. Going back to school in her late thirties with her new laptop and online access for the first time in her life, she was complacent although she still had hopes of meeting that special man. She had plans. With a masters' degree she could move to a foreign land and teach. She could start repaying the massive student loan debt she had incurred. In two years her life would restart with a career in teaching in as yet an undetermined country. She would start looking for that job position as graduation drew closer. That never happened. Instead she stayed in the small town where she received her education. Things changed. She decided to wait on someone and for over a year she waited. She worked in coffee shops, as a motel housekeeper and a ticket taker at a theatre. More menial jobs to support herself. She still waits and the reason for this waiting is as follows.

Eventually while online she struck up an acquaintance with a fellow. Unfortunately he was from another country; distance should have been an issue but since our heroine had no other options in her life, she pursued this man. On his part a friendship developed; oh her part she was smitten. While professing friendship, she flew to his homeland under the guise of visiting some relatives but stopped by to see him; a visit based upon their mutual friendship he was told. He presented well. He worked at a university although he wasn't an educator but a research assistant. She told friends and family he lived in a little house in a small village on property owned by his parents. In reality he lived with his parents. He had upstairs living quarters with shared kitchen/dining with his parents. An only child, he stays close to his parents.

She rented a room close to his home while she visited. All at her expense. She flew home after her two day visit with him.
She quit smoking (he doesn't like smokers). She quit being a vegetarian; he wasn't. She took up hiking or tried. She started Yoga exercises. All these things he did and she was going to make herself over into someone with the same likes. They would have these things in common. From an atheist she morphed into a Catholic; nothing to stand in the way of a marriage to this Catholic. She didn't want any obstacles or anything that could be used as a excuse to hinder a marriage proposal.

Back home and an online romance eventually flourished. Web cams were utilized; was this romance or just a ploy for an online sexual partner? By accident she discovered this mild meek appearing male had another side to him. He was enamored of his own reflection; he loved pictures of himself. These pictures he took himself and often. His favorite pictures of himself were in different poses of undress and usually a close up of his maleness; some quite suggestive of a gay proclivity. His following on his web address was mostly gay. He professed to be bi curious. She accepted this. She had no other choices in men and was willing to take what she could get.

She had met her soul mate. They were going to be always truthful with each other. Scorn and judgements were heaped on other couples relationships. Hers was going to be always open and non critical with each other. Trust would be a treasured commodity with them. They would be special.

Undeterred and unapproached by any males prior to this man she was unwilling give him up. Unwilling to to pursue any other avenue for a relationship with another male, our woman proceeded to pursue her man.

She traveled to Europe to be with him on a Christmas break. He made no offer to pay for her expenses. She paid for her ticket although she was barely existing on her meager pay from both jobs she held. He provided a room for her in the house where he lived with his parents. This was her first introduction to sex. Could she be comfortable knowing only a floor separated her and him from his parents? She had no choice but to accept this arrangement. She was low on funds; the plane ticket was charged and he did not see a need to spend money on a private place for them.

They made day excursions to the little villages but never visiting any of his friends. She didn't meet any family members nor any of his friends even after they became engaged. Odd. He didn't want to show her off?
3 weeks flew by during which time his mother grew tired of the house guest arrangement and offered a cold shoulder to her son's lover. His mother only warmed up when it was time for her to depart. Eventually the Christmas vacation was at an end and she flew back to the states with an engagement ring and his promises to meet her for Valentine's day. She was lonely but with the promise of a February meeting with him, she settled into her job and life to await his visit. The pregnancy test showed negative. Another reason to be unhappy. She would have to wait till his next visit. In February she would try again to conceive.

Meanwhile, her parents vacationed abroad in his country and upon their daughters insistence they set up a meeting to visit with their daughter's love interest. Three times he cancelled the meetings that were planned. Mom and Dad eventually flew home never getting to meet this man.

February and Valentines day came and went.


He didn't show. He had a very good excuse. He was trying to find another job so she could join him in their own apartment that he would rent for them and live in after their wedding. Of course the job interview was conveniently scheduled on the time he was supposed to be visiting her in the States. She was distraught but another meeting was planned. He would visit at Easter. She again settled down to await his arrival. The day before his plane was to arrive, he called with another excuse. Now you may think this is two times he has disappointed her but the May of the previous year for her graduation was the first trip he was supposed to make to the states to celebrate her acquisition of her master's degree.
She made plans to collect him at the airport, attend her graduation to meet her family and friends and then a driving trip for a few weeks alone together. Everyone was waiting to meet her Prince Charming. He didn't make that visit either so we are at 3 no shows for Prince Charming. She wonders what her friends and family think. With each planned visit she has announced to family and friends and each time he has cancelled. She becomes overly sensitive to any remarks made relating to him. Assessment of the situation is not welcome. Family is accused of being negative; of interfering in her life. Her anger is misplaced but better to be angry with family then to place the blame on her Prince. That relationship must be perserved at all costs. He is her first and last hope for marriage. She accepts all his excuses. Does she still trust? Trust that he will do as he promises? Only she can answer that question and no one will suggest to her otherwise for fear of her wrath. It becomes difficult to have a conversation with her. So many subjects are tabu. Forbidden is asking anything about her relationship or her future. Meddling, nosey, stalking and controlling her life are some of the adjectives she uses to describe anyone questioning her future. We remain quietly observing.

Her life has been put on hold since her graduation. She was not going to commit to a job in her field but chose instead to wait on her Prince Charming to start a life with her.

At this time the wedding planned for July was also postponed.
Our woman's biological clock is on fast forward. 40 is just a year or two ahead. A baby is desired. Does he desire the same things? When all the meetings were ignored, she finally realizes he will never come to the States to meet her family and friends or to get married.

She does the only thing left for her to do.
She buys a ticket. Again she pays her expenses. Wouldn't this be a clue that he isn't all that into her? She plans on leaving the States to meet him; to convince him to marry? Will he be there when she arrives? Will he call before she boards that plane with an excuse once again on why this won't be happening? Will she return empty handed or at least pregnant? No home, no clear future, no savings but a wish to have a child regardless of how difficult the future would be. She wants what she wants and she will not relent.

Beware Mr. Charming. Her life has been on hold waiting on you to become a part of it. It might be a mistake to let her down. Many hours and much work by her has been invested into this relationship. She is now a carnivorous, yoga, hiking, non smoking Catholic. Obsession is a mighty force. Murders have been committed by people determined to not take "no" for an answer. Just ask Steve McNair the football player that paid for his lies with his life.

Who is more to blame? Her for not taking all the obvious hints he has tossed her way or him for not being HONEST!


To be continued?

Ali G

Do you know who I'm talking about? The first time I watched Ali G I actually squirmed in my chair. I had no idea that the people, the stuffy elite English people, did not know who Ali G was. I myself didn't know who he was either. I sat and watched them answering seriously his off the wall questions and I wondered why these people were sitting there trying to answer the sillest questions he would pose to them. They thought he was a serious journalist. I just thought he was weird but I wasn't told that he was a jounalist as the panel he was interviewing were not told he was a comedian. They were being polite. They knew they were being filmed and they thought this was serious stuff.

I wanted to get up and turn the channel. I was uncomfortable watching. To this day when I hear Ali G's real name, Sacha Baron Cohen, I start grinning and from there I go into an insane little giggle just thinking about some of his antics.

I watched his character Borat and became a fan and this month his new movie hits the screen and I am going to see it as soon as I can.



I can be thankful I will never be one of his targets. I would be mortified as I'm sure his previous targets have been.

What inspired this blog was that the biography channel just did an hour documentary on him.

I often wonder if people know how intelligent comics are. I think that to be quick with a comedic response requires a high IQ. Actors and actresses are given a script. Learn the script, say the lines and with some talent in doing this, success is yours. A comedian usually has jokes written for them but in an interview you can see their genius with their off the cuff answers, the quickness of their responses. The sad thing about them is they sometimes have problems with depression. Odd in that their job is comedy.

Thankfully all the MJ coverage is winding down. They still haven't buried the guy; I'm sure they are trying to work a deal where they can put him so they can charge an admission fee to see his grave and memorabilia. I'm cynical. Joe already did an interview and was paid 200,000.00. I listened as he answered the question "who do you think should raise the kids?". His answer: "Katherine (his mother) and me. We will make sure they are fed.........". He went on with other things but the "make sure they are fed" was so weird. It's almost as if they were little animals. Well hell yes you will feed them. That's the least you could do. There is a lot of money resting on their little heads. Feeding them would be a marvelous idea! I have had way more then enough of The Worship of MJ. If I had all the money he spent on drugs, I would share it with you and we both would be rich! Nuff said!

All About Nothing

It's Thursday already? Where did this week go and what did I do during this time. In two words, NOT MUCH. I did get up this morning and put on my paint stained work around the house clothes and mowed the yard. I couldn't finish by doing the back. Out of gas. Three large gas tanks and all of them empty. How does that happen? I did do some weed eating around the flower beds in the front. Ah well, I'm going to get showered and dressed and let F (hubby) finish. It was so dang humid when I got up this morning that I could not see out the windows. They were fogged up.

Carrie spent the night and the first thing she requested when she got up this morning was "where's Poppy?". Since he got out of bed she has been following him around. I finally was able to get her dressed but only after her Poppy said he was going to change clothes so they could go fill the gas tanks. Off they go with her belted into the back seat of the truck.

I'm outta here to get a shower. Just walking outdoors makes one feel sticky and doing yard work just tripled that feeling.

Elvis

For some reason I fail to understand, I do not remember Elvis's funeral. Oh, I remember the announcement when he died but I must have had other things to do then sit in front of the television and watch the funeral procession and services. I started thinking about Elvis's funeral while watching the Michael Jackson memorial yesterday. Curious person that I am, I went to You Tube and did a search on videos of Elvis' memorial and I found this video which I have embedded. The wonderful thing about this video is who is interviewed at the end of the video. Watch and see....SURPRISE!



SO? Was it really Bill Clinton or just a look alike?

Surely you Jest

Today in the local paper was an announcement and one that I was interested in. Dora The Explorer Live! was performing at the Heyman Conventions Center right here in lil ole Lafayette. The Heyman hosts musicals and theatre productions and I've always thought that some day I might like to go see a performance. Hot dang! Dora! Oh, not for me but for Carrie. She loves Dora and I could just imagine her sitting there in the audience watching her favorite character in full adult size on a lit stage. For those of you that don't regularly watch Dora on the television, she is a charming animated little girl with a dutch boy hair cut and huge big brown eyes and she always has her backpack over her shoulders. She even has a Backpack song that her little fans sing constantly. (I find myself singing this song then looking around to see if anyone has heard me). This also makes for great marketable items. Carrie has her own backpack just like Dora's. Carrie has Dora underwear, blanket, chair and on and on. You get the picture. Dora is a great money maker.

She usually has her friend Boots with her. Boots is a mischievous little monkey that gets her more into trouble then out. Boots and Dora go on many adventures and all the while they are tempting fate they are teaching lessons in the alphabet, circles and shapes or the Spanish language. Dora is a good thing; a learning thing and Carrie as well as all little people her age love Dora. Oh, if your child is a boy, they have that covered too. They have Diago for the little boys. Yep, they have underwear, blankets and chairs for Diago too. Never a missed opportunity for commerce.

Now I'm all excited. August and Dora will be here and performing. I hurriedly typed in Ticketmaster.com to see about purchasing some tickets online. After a few mouse clicks I was there. I scanned the seating and picked the area I wanted to be in and hit the "purchase tickets" icon. What????? How much??? No, that can't be. Surely they jest! 382.00 per ticket? 22.00 TAX, 68.00 for the fee to purchase online? I just sat and stared at the computer screen. Two tickets wouldn't break my bank but I still wouldn't pay this much for tickets. I had no idea. I just was not expecting the price to be this much. I backed out of the site and resumed breathing. Carrie will have to settle for watching her Dora on the Disney channel and not life size.

I'm wondering who pays those prices for a 3 yr. old who will probably never remember seeing them a few years from now? It might take me a few days to recover from the shock; I might have to find a theatre showing a good matinee movie to entertain Carrie. It won't be with Dora and Boots.

Endings

The funeral with emphasis on "THE". I'm watching the funeral procession and later the memorial will be displayed. It's almost over. Over a week of saturation from the media of his life and music. Soon he will truly get to rest. The remainder of his career will be a money making venture by his family. He will be supporting them even after his death. The work horse will continue to provide. I find it odd that the family members have been so emotionless. Did HE cloister himself away from those family members? How many family gatherings did he attend? Was he so addicted to drugs that it was his main concern during the last years of his life?





Gary, Indiana wanted him buried there. Some wanted him buried at Neverland. A tourist attraction that would have boosted their economy. A shrine could have been built there to entice vacationers to visit. That didn't happen either. It just seemed like everyone wanted a piece of him as soon as he was gone. How sad to be so rich and famous that this is the concern your loved ones exhibit.



I just finished watching the memorial at The Staples Center in L.A. I was impressed with the service. The family service at Forest Lawn Cemetery was short, maybe less then an hour and then he was moved to the Staples Center for the memorial.



It will be interesting to see what the next few weeks will bring when they announce the results of the autopsy. I'm sure the results are already known but were not announced until after the funeral.

Is it our ages? Is that why it seems that everyone from our generation is passing so quickly in the last year? It has been at least 6 people in the past month that have passed. McNamara, Farah Faucett, M. Jackson, Gail Storm, Ed McMahon, Bea Arthur from the Golden Girls, and the others I can't come up with at this moment but I know there were more.

It's getting scary out here!

Photo Op

19 weeks Post Op TKR

This is the view I see when I look down at my knee. I like this view better!

Clinically: I'm again putting weights on my knee while sitting on the floor. It goes close to zero on extension. I still have pain in the quads and hamstring after sitting and lying down. This continues for about 5 minutes of walking then it's gone until I sit down again. I'm also still working on flexion. Not much change overall except the flexion is getting incrementaly better.

My sister looks at these pictures and thinks my knee looks gross. I on the other hand am not at all worried about the looks of the knee. I think in time more of the swelling will disappear and it may never look like the other knee but I'm more focused on action and not on appearance.