A New Experience

11/365

On Tuesday, I flew to Hawaii.  I had a new experience. I decided to take advantage of my "handicapped" post-op status and ask for wheelchair service.  It wasn't because I didn't think I could walk between the terminals, but I was concerned about the timing.  Since I can't walk at my usual pace, I didn't want to take the chance of missing a plane, especially since my last changeover was to a completely different airline and I had to go through security again.

It's a good thing I took advantage of the complimentary service.  

But I have to say, it was difficult to accept the attention, knowing full well that I could have done the walking myself and should have done some of the walking myself.  So each time I was delivered to a terminal, I still walked around, sometimes aimlessly, sometimes looking for a bathroom or some food.  

The trip back to NY will be different.  No chariot will await me then.  

Almost Done

10/365

About 7 days ago my daughter asked me to make a Renaissance vest for my grandson.  It's almost done--it just needs a hem.  

I'm not doing it.

(the ribbon looks kind of funky in the pic, but that's just the flash reflecting off the ribbon--it's all solid red and looks really good)

My grandson was going to come over this afternoon and try it on.  I would have taken a photo.  But, alas, it snowed and the roads are really nasty, and it's not worth him driving here tonight just so I can take a photo.  So I'll have to wait and hope my daughter remembers to get a good pic and send it to me.

I'll be on my way to the airport tomorrow morning to catch my flight to Hawaii.

Aloha

Thankful Thursday

9/365

Every little bit of progress/improvement is welcomed and enjoyed.  The date on this Thankful Note is a mere 2.5 weeks after my surgery.  It was such a kick when I was able to walk without the cane.  Gave me hope and encouragement.  This is not to say that I wasn't limping or getting tired, but just that I was getting a little stronger each day.  Remember, it's all about giving thanks for the little things, as well as the big things, each day.

Again, I didn't want to post without some images.  I didn't think that an image of a cane would be all that exciting so I found some images from my archives.

  The following two images were made when I spent some time in NYC with my daughter this past summer.  I believe the image of the votive candles was taken in St. Patrick's Cathedral.

The building is just one of the bldgs in Manhattan.  

Just For the Record...

8/365

Today is Wednesday.  Just for the record, it's been exactly 4 weeks since my hip surgery.  I've come a long way since that day.  I feel like I'm being patient about my recuperation, but once in a while I succumb to a wee, little bit of self-pity and curiosity about what I'm going to be able to do once I'm completely healed.  But I have to kick those thoughts out of my head as quickly as possible.  I mean, really, it's only been 4 weeks.  And except for the fact that I'm not jogging a 5K, I am doing just about everything I want/need to do right now.

Now....having said all that, I'm in the middle of a sewing project.  My daughter, who is the co-advisor for her son's Junior Class, has organized a fund-raiser in the form of a Princess Tea, slated to take place in Feb.  The teens need their prince/princess outfits.  I guess it's up to each of them how/where they get them.  

My grandson is going to be....hmmmm, don't really know, but he decided he wanted to wear this Renaissance Vest.  And guess who gets to make it??  Moi!!  Counting today (since it's only 8 am right now), I have 7 days till I leave for Hawaii.  So why not throw a sewing project into the mix?  I guess it really isn't a problem, since I usually wait until the day before I leave to do my packing....drives my other daughter crazy--she packs for her trips a week in advance. 

Anyway, I would love to have made the shirt to go with the vest, but daughter didn't want to spend the money, and I'm glad they opted out of it.  Add the shirt into the mix, and I might just be feeling stressed.

oh my gosh

Oh My Gosh.....

7/365

Well.....my best intentions of creating a Thankful Thursday post every Thursday have already gone awry.  I really marvel at myself...that I can forget something that I really want to do so quickly.  So, today is Friday, but here's my Thursday Thanksgiving.

Well, let's think about this for a minute.  My Dr. is probably fairly close to my age and he still Crews and is on winning teams every year.  I know this because of the photos he has all over his exam room walls.  I'm jealous.  I'll probably never be able to do something like that because of the position you need to be in--knees bent almost to the chest.  My PT told me this morning that some Drs say that hip-replacement patients can never, ever, EVER do that kind of motion again.  Some even say that bending over far enough to tie your shoe is something you should never do.  "Invest in elastic shoe laces" they say. 

 Oh.        My.     Gosh.    

I would say, "what have I gotten myself into?", but honestly, the pain before the surgery is something that would send a person over the edge if it continued, so I guess this is a small reasonable price to pay.  

Anyway, my Dr has told me, at least a dozen times, that I have NO RESTRICTIONS on my activity.  I guess a doctor and a PT have different perspectives on rehabilitation.  Who's right?  I don't know.  I'd like to believe it's the Dr.  But for a while, at least, I'll go with the advice of the PT.  I'm not in the market for a dislocated hip, thank you very much!

This next image has absolutely nothing to do with my Thankful post.  I just hate to create a blog post without an image.  This is one that was taken this past summer when my friend and I went to Saratoga Race Track.  

I Had Plans...

6/365

It began snowing during the night, and continued for most of the day today.  I think there was some accumulation, but the roads seemed to be okay.  I had plans for the afternoon, but you can never tell ahead of time what will happen with the roads, so I opted to stay home.  I actually got quite a lot done, so I'm glad I made that decision.

Later in the afternoon, I decided to get my camera out and take a few shots of the great weather we've been having.  I stayed inside and shot through the window, even though I really wanted to go out and walk around.  I figured that wouldn't be the smartest thing for me to do.  Today is the 3-week-anniversary of my hip surgery, and it's coming along very nicely, thank you very much, and I don't want to jeopardize the progress by being foolish.

Anyway, of the 6-7 shots I took, this is the most acceptable.  I love the little dot of red from the taillight in what, otherwise, looks like a bw image. 

It felt good to have the camera in my hand again, and it felt even better to want to have it in my hand again.  It's been a long time ...

Day 20---Yum

5/365

Well, today is day 20 since my surgery.  I'm feeling really well, getting around without the cane some of the time, but still a little limp.  PT said not to walk without the cane until the limp is completely gone, but, well....you know how that goes.  Gotta "do it my way".  Not really, it's just that grabbing the cane to take two steps across the kitchen seems kind of silly.  And then there are the times when I get up and take off and then remember that I should have grabbed the cane, but, oh well, I'm almost where I want to go, so I just keep going.

I can do almost everything I want/need to do, except put on my left sock and shoe.  I'm supposed to wait 12 weeks before I actually do that action--bending over that far on my left side.  And I'm two days shy of three weeks right now.  Nine weeks to go until I can/should do that! Yikes.  But I WILL OBEY.  I want to get well and if that's what it's going to take, then so be it.  Once I'm in Hawaii I'll be wearing flip-flops most of the time anyway...

Anyway....a few days ago I found this yummy sounding recipe for Butter-Cream Scones on a blog.  They sounded soooooo good, and I really love scones.  So I made sure I had all the ingredients (the only thing I didn't have was heavy cream) and thought I would whip these up some day.  "Some day" didn't happen until today.

I basically just took them out of the oven, so I haven't tasted them yet.  And dinner is in a short time. I will wait, as difficult as it will be, to have one as my after-dinner treat.  I'm hoping they taste as good as they look.  

 Thankful Thursday

4/365

This is my first Thankful Thursday Post. 

Here's a recap of what I'm doing:  Every day I'm going to write down one thing that happened that day for which I'm thankful.  That's really hard to do, because on any given day I'm thankful for an entire slew of things.  But I thought this would be especially helpful for those times when everything seems to be going wrong and it's hard to imagine that my life will turn itself right-side-up again.

Then on each Thursday morning I'll pick out one piece of paper and write a post about it.

I began this on Jan 1 which was Tuesday, but skipped that first Thurs and waited until this Thursday to do a post.  I don't know, it was just a random decision...

So....last week, only 9 days after my hip replacement surgery, I had the energy, and the gumption to go to my photo meeting, which was a really good thing because cabin fever was rearing its ugly head and I was feeling a serious case of depression settling on me.

My husband drove me because I still wasn't feeling brave enough to drive myself.  (the date on the note indicates that it was only 8 days after my surgery)

It was a good evening.

Did The Driving Today

3/365

The is the 11th day since my surgery.  I was feeling pretty good.  I had a long phone conversation with a friend this morning, during which time I walked around my house.  Definitely walked more than 5 minutes--felt great when I was done.  I think I hit on a new strategy--when I need to do my walking, just call someone who can spare some time, and go for it!  

We were invited to my sister-in-law's for dinner this afternoon, so we left a little early in order to stop at a couple of stores first.

I drove!!!

It was a little uncomfortable, but it was also an hour or so before I was scheduled to take my pain med, so that could have had something to do with it.  A little slow/awkward getting in and out of the car, but very doable.  The trickiest part was reaching out to pull the door closed once I was in the car, but my cane came in handy for that.  Where there's a will, there's a way.

A Short Walk

2/365

This post is really more of an experiment than anything else.  I was playing around with the settings for my blog, and decided that I wanted to begin posting my photos in a larger format.

But here's the story behind the pic.

I'm supposed to be walking regularly.  But really, walking in the house is pretty boring even though my house is long and roomy.  Yesterday I put on my headset and listened to music while I walked for about 12 minutes, which made the process a little less objectionable.

Today is Friday, and every Friday several of the local people meet at the country store for breakfast. I knew the roads would be okay, so I walked up to the store this morning.  (It's only between .1 - .2 miles) Wow!!!  was it ever good to get out and get some fresh air.  

I was going to drive into town at some point so I could do some walking around the Mall.  I called the PT just to see how far/long I should be walking by now.  She said, "oh, maybe about 5 minutes, or as long as you can walk before getting tired".  hmmmm  I decided I didn't need to drive  20 minutes to and from the Mall, just to walk 5 minutes--which I had already done by walking to the store.  

Glad I saved myself the trip today, but believe me, tomorrow I'm breakin' outta this joint!   

Crazzzzy Feet

1/365

Yesterday morning I found a large box on my back porch.  I knew I hadn't ordered anything to be delivered, so I was scratching my head about what was in the box.

I found this Cookie Bouquet.  

Leah sent it to me.  How appropriate.  Especially the one that looks like a flip-flop (or "slipper" as they are called in Hawaii).

FYI--they taste as good as they look.

Thank you, sweet baby girl!