Third Friday in February

With each passing day I am delighted to note that the dark of winter is beginning to lose its hold on our little corner of the world.  Sunrises are just a little bit earlier as I return from my morning workout.  Sunsets are just a little bit later and longer.  Hope springs eternal.

The east coast has had historically high snow falls, but we in the Midwest are still pretty dry.  We've had erratic temperatures, everything from -10º to 64º, and hardly a day without wind.  What little snow we've had has mostly blown away.  I found one day in each of the last 3 months when it was warm enough to carry buckets of water out to our newly planted trees.

There were only a few hours of one day last December when we had enough snow to x-country ski.  After testing the new ice rink in the HayMarket, I decided to try some skating lessons.

I'm really enjoying the skating!  If I can get through six weeks of lessons without getting hurt, I'll consider them a success.  My teacher keeps telling me to hold my body and head up tall and smile.  "Skating is all about smiling!" she says.

My TeamMate, Maria, and I created a Valentine bouquet.  We used buttons from Aunt Joy's button box, some florist wire, and some pipe cleaners to make button flowers.

On Valentine's Day, Rusty and I stayed home, but tried something a little out of the ordinary for dinner.

Broiled lobster

Steamed mussels

The food was yummy!  And the day ended on a perfect note.

Full moon, as seen from our bedroom window.

The day after Valentine's Day we reserved a table for three at Billy's Restaurant.  Three:  Me, Rusty, and Rusty's propped-up knee.

A little apricot torte for dessert.

I was totally surprised and delighted when I saw this picture on Facebook on President's Day.

President Ruby Caviezel!

Boredom has set in...

Rusty's knee seems to be healing very well.  His walking isn't 100%, but for only 18 days post-op, it's pretty good.  He uses a cane when he leaves the house, but otherwise he's on his own.  His activity times are very limited and he needs to have his leg elevated much of the day.  No long car trips for at least another month, and no flying for two months.

This means we are homebodies now.  We are going nuts!  We mainly go to doctor appointments, physical therapy, and to Walgreen's to fill prescriptions.

My big excitement for today was going to the gym to lift weights.  There I saw a woman (early 50’s) who amazed me.  She had very large, full breasts, but despite her vigorous activities, her boobs never moved.  I swear they must have been frozen, although she was sweating, so that would indicate otherwise.  I did my abs workout on the mats, which are located by the windows that overlook the pool area.  My eyes nearly popped out when I saw a naked man standing near the pool!  Well, he was an elderly, overweight man wearing wet, very-faded, pink swim trunks, and only appeared to be naked.

Tonight we will be watching The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, or at least the hound group.   And tomorrow we're planning a big outing to Menard's to buy some furnace filters.  Woot!  Woot!

Table Legs and Rusty Legs

If you were to visit our house today, you would most likely need to stand on your own two legs, as we are in a rather disheveled state.

Pre-knee-surgery, Rusty finished building both the table base and the table top.

Rusty is carefully applying glue to the tenons of the table legs.

After quickly assembling all four glue joints, some final adjustments are necessary.

Double-checking to make sure all legs are true.

We now have a table base, completely assembled, sitting in the dining area.  In our seating area we have a very large table top, covered in blankets for protection, awaiting its attachment to the base.

Some finishing coats have already been applied to the base.  Once Rusty is capable of lifting and moving a large table top, it can be placed on the base and its finishing will begin.

In the meantime, other than the countertop, there is no place to sit and eat.

Rusty's knee surgery happened on January 23rd.

Pre-op and feelin' pretty mellow.

Doc said the knee was bone-on-bone and really needed replacing.  All went well during surgery.

Rusty does leg raises in physical therapy, the day after surgery.

Before the pain block was completely worn off, Rusty could bend 105º

Rusty awoke from surgery with severe hiccups.  The hiccups and constipation seemed to be a bigger issue than the surgery, but of course he had lots of pain killers for the knee.

As expected, Rusty came home on Sunday, three days after surgery.  Hiccups were still a big problem.  All of the rugs have been removed from our home so that they don't present a tripping possibility.  Chairs have been arranged so that it's easy for Rusty to have an elevated knee.

By Monday evening, the hiccups and upper esophagus were causing him a great deal of discomfort and anxiety.  It seemed as though nothing, not even medication, could make its way down. Rusty felt certain he had some type of blockage.  So, we headed to the ER to find out what needed to be done.

They told Rusty he was an excellent patient as they put this tube up his nose and down into his stomach.

X-rays were taken of Rusty's chest and stomach.  They determined that although his iron levels were very low, there was no blockage; which gave us both some relief.  However, the hiccups continued.  In fact, they were to continue for another five days (10 days total)!

On Saturday, the tenth day after surgery, Rusty seemed to have his worst hiccup day ever.  Between his hiccups, gagging, and difficulty breathing, I began to emotionally lose it as well.  It all seemed so much like what I witnessed with Frank over 7 years ago.

Rusty did get a change in pain medication on Saturday morning and by Sunday morning the hiccups had disappeared!  Hurrah!

Friday Rusty saw the Doc for his post-op visit and to have the staples removed.  Doc says everything looks good.  Rusty's been going to PT 3 times a week and doing his exercises at home on the other days.  We believe he's on his way to continued recovery.

Cabin fever and boredom have set in.  We are both anxious to be active and having another exciting adventure.  Multiple trips to Walgreen's to get more prescriptions filled is not that exciting.

I've been ice skating once a week to get prepared for my upcoming lessons.  Next Saturday I begin a six-week session of ice skating lessons.  I just need to be careful not to injure my knee...