I Feel a Blog Coming On

That's what I told Suzy the other morning-- I feel a blog coming on.

Here we are, home from the hospital 5 days, how come I haven't posted more? Lazy, maybe, but the mornings are my first Internet time. It's only been a day or two that I've even been interested in reading email, and I'm slowly returning to blogland, wherever that may be. In the morning, usually, Suzy has her recovery time, with an icepack on her back to relieve pain and wake up the morning senses. In the morning, I read emails aloud, visit five cartoon strips that we follow, then move to blogs, which again I read aloud so we can share.

It's different now. Suzy settles me in, she makes breakfast instead of me, and we do read the emails and a few blogs each morning. We don't get to all of our regulars that we follow, but we try to get to some of them.

Also now, of course, is the 3-day-a-week visit to the Marquise de Sade, my physical therapist. As I've told a few, she is a very attractive young lady, but she's already added two painful exercises to my regimen. My first visit, she measured my two extremes for knee range of motion. She said I had a minus 9 for straightening the knee. In the hospital I was told I had about one degree to go, now I have 9? Actually, it's been years that I haven't had a 100% straight knee, so I only have 9 degrees to go. Whoopee!

Then on flexing the knee, she measured 100 degrees. That's ten degrees beyond a right angle, just about what I'd had in the hospital, but 30 degrees away from where she and I want me to be. That's why I have the two new exercises: to fold my knee back another 30 degrees! Ouch!

So what do we do every day? Exercises. Lots of exercises. Suzy will be joining me, but she'll be doing back exercises to eventually help her spinal problems. We'll do two sets of exercise daily, each of us trying to out-scream the other.

Other than that? Three meals a day, but using food prepared ahead or purchased for easy preparation. There are still dishes to do, but we are using plastic dinnerware and paper plates, so it's only the cooking pans that need cleaning. This evening, Tuesday, Suzy made a batch of her special spaghetti with meatballs, so there'll be pans to clean. But I've been told not to "stand too long in one position" which we interpret as "not any longer than it takes to wash the day's dishes."

We also made cookies today! Last time we visited Papa Murphy's Pizza, I was given a pint of cookie dough in honor of my birthday. Instead of heating the oven and the kitchen for a few cookies, we prepared a batch of dough for Cranberry - Oatmeal - White Chocolate cookies. Yumm! The quality test had to be conducted on both varieties, so it's back to the diet again!

In the mornings, we love to watch the birds and rabbits around our bird feeders.

From 2010 Post surgery

Mr. Desert Cottontail
Yes, the Desert Cottontail seems to like the bird food, as two or three of them are often seen nibbling around where we have scattered seed. For birds, we have the Silver Cardinal, that blogger Ray in Gleeson has called the Kazoot-Kazoot because it's real name is Pyrrhuloxia; the Curve-Billed Thrasher, the House Finch and the Black Throated Sparrow.

From 2010 Post surgery

This is the Black Throated Sparrow

Oh yeah, of course there is the Gambel's Quail. Haven't seen last year's Roadrunner this year -- maybe later this summer.

This is the Silver Cardinal, or Kazoot-Kazoot. He's quite a guy!

From 2010 Post surgery

Here's the Silver Cardinal hiding in the feeding bowl. The other bird is pot metal!

From 2010 Post surgery

This is the Gambel's Quail. Actually took the picture last year.
In the evenings once in a while we sit out in our glider and watch the parade. Starting a little after 6:30pm. we often have several of our neighbors strutting by with their pooches, or just with each other. There are also ones and twos passing by in golf carts. Some are looking around to see who else is out, some look straight ahead, concentrating (I guess) on their own destiny.

From 2010 Post surgery

While we sit comfortably on our glider in the evening.....

From 2010 Post surgery

....Mr. Desert Cottontail  takes a rest too!

Now it's two days later, seven days out of the hospital. My knee flexion is up to 110 degrees -- only 20 more to go. Suzy's therapist is a whiz, has her feeling some better after only two visits. Unfortunately, he's a "traveler" and will be here only one more week, but he will leave detailed instructions a to his course of treatment for the others who will be here when he's gone. And he has her applying heat to her back rather than ice.

And I'm becoming a street walker!

From 2010 Post surgery

I can see by this picture, and I've been able to feel it as well, that I need to lower the hand grips.

One more thing to make life easier. A few weeks ago we installed some hanging planters, one with strawberries, the other with flowers that are supposed to attract hummingbirds.

From 2010 Post surgery

From 2010 Post surgery

From 2010 Post surgery

But these planters are supposed to be watered every day. We asked Dale, our neighbor two doors up, if he would water them while we were at the hospital, but he has continued the job every day since! Good neighbors, good friends, part of the RVing family, and definitely part of ... Our Life on Wheels!