Outside

 On Monday night we had a serious windstorm. It left a big mess in the yard and a tree down on the neighbor's power line. 

The power line is restored, a crew has been hired and is coming on Saturday to clean up the large Madrone tree, and the last two days Tom has been busy cleaning up the yard.

Today the sky was blue and the temperature reached 63 degrees, and I spent 40 minutes outside, doing laps on the driveway and walking around the yard taking photos. Using my trekking poles, I am not yet very stable, but it was great to be outside in my garden.

A couple of purple crocus with silver cyclamen leaves.

Snowdrops finally got to open up.

The white Hellebore is a bit battered but a strong survivor of deep freezes, rain, and wind.

The pink Hellebore is later and not so battered.

Tom'sgreenhouse is full of geranium cuttings and overwintering tender plants.

Tulips are up.

Winter blooming hardy cyclamen are blooming.

Primroses persist.

Daffodils are in bud.

Cleaned up and dry, it's like today was suddenly a new season. 

My House Is A Rehab Clinic

 Now a month past my knee surgery date, my physical therapy exercise list has grown longer, and our attempt to duplicate the clinic setups to do them has become more extensive.

While I am not sleeping in bed yet it is the station where three times a day I do my "supine" exercises, things like Isometric quadriceps, Gluteal sets, knee extensions, and Heel slides. I use my fabric cutting board as a slippery surface for heel slides.

My old, hand me down stationary bike has been moved from the garage to the dining room for twice a day work outs. I'm up to 15 minutes a ride.

Furniture has been moved to clear an indoor walking path that circles through the downstairs.

In the kitchen painters tape has been put down for the "Lateral Back and Forth Shuffle Agility Ladder" and Walking on Line exercise.

The mirror, usually in the garden in summer, is for monitoring leg position for the squats with walker support and the step ups on a platform Tom built.

In the kitchen I use the pantry door for "Standing Lumbar Extension" and the counters for support for Standing Heel Rise, Knee Flexion, and Hip Abduction.

At the kitchen table I do seated Knee Flexion Stretch, Seated Knee Extension, and the worst, the 5 minute Knee Extension Stretch for leg straightening. 

On the table you see the clip board with my checklist charts and directions. Most of these exercise are done three times a day, and I keep myself honest by using the checklists. So far I have made myself do them every day. 

In between, I ice and elevate three times a day, walk and bike and help prepare meals. 

My days are busy, but I get to sit and watch TV in the evenings, after my third set of PT, of course. 

More About Me

 

Hopefully at sometime in the not too distant future I might have something to post about besides myself.  However for right now my days are centered around all the things I need to do to take care of myself and get stronger. 

Yesterday, Thursday, I got outside to walk the driveway with my trekking poles. That's new. I feel unsteady, but it's coming along. Today I used the poles to go to physical therapy in the afternoon, and now I have even more exercises to do. I also joined in Friday morning breakfast again. 

Yesterday I got our income taxes filed and accepted by the IRS. That is now off my list. 

The next four or five days will bring us heavy rain, which means no more walking outside for a while. I'll do laps around the house and ride my stationary bike, not very satisfying, but I need to keep moving. At least I can read while I am on my bike for up to 15 minutes at a time.

I started a new book, James, as told by Huck Finn's slave companion, Jim. So far it's rather intriguing. I confess I have never read the original books about Tom Sawyer or Huckle Finn.

Now it's time to go ice and elevate, my favorite times of the day.

See you later.

Things Are Looking Up

 Too much terrible news out of our nation's capitol. Too many days of dull sameness trying to rehab. Too many uncomfortable digestive system issues. Too many nights of poor sleep. I was feeling down, down, down.

Today I had a 1:00 therapy session with one of my two PT therapists. I was not looking forward to dragging myself there again.

Cathy was the first PT therapist I saw almost 15 years ago when I started dealing with physical problems, then with my back. She looked at my knee and said I needed to get that fixed. But it wasn't hurting me and there were other parts that needed attention first. 

We didn't get along well, I think becasue she was frustrated that I wasn't easy to fix, and I switched to Erica later. Both of them have seem me through two spinal fusions and two hip replacements. Cathy came to realize my complexities. I'm no easy fix.

Today I saw Cathy. She studied my charts and reports. She praised me for my progress and acknowledged my hard work and determination.  She introduced me to two new exercises that she decided I was ready for, guided me through them and praised me when I got them right. She shared that most of her patients my age would have given up by now. I told her my mother didn't raise any quitters. We talked about graduating from the walker to treking poles, and agreed that I should practice in the house before trying them outside in a week or two. My stability is still not great, but I have a goal. 

Then on the way home we stopped at the neighborhood park where there are paved walkways. The sun was shining, and the deep chill was gone. It was my first walk outside and it made me feel so much better. I only did a quarter of a mile but it felt great. 

For now at least, I am restored. 

Some Days Are Diamonds

 Yesterday was a beautiful day, and a good day. 

I got enough sleep, made it through my shower without feeling faint, did some of my PT to loosen up, and made it on time to my twice a week physical therapy session at KP in Burien. My substitute PT therapist was pleased with my progress, my effort, and my attitude. 

When we pulled out of the parking lot, I said it was too nice to just go home. We turned right instead of left and drove over to Seahurst Park to just sit and enjoy the view. It was too cold and lacking the even paths I could walk on, but it sure was hard not to just get out of the car and go.

This is an arm of Puget Sound with the snow capped Olympic Mountains in the background. Directly behind that big driftwood log is the mountain called The Brothers. It is somewhat special to me because a couple of summers ago Jill climbed it with her brother Jake. 

It was good to get out and away for just a little bit.

Somedays are stone.

These are lyrics from a Joh Denver song, in case you are wondering. "Some days are diamond, some days are stone, sometimes the hard times won't leave me alone".

Today has been a bit rocky so far. But Jake is stopping by soon. I'm going to get out to get a haircut this afternoon, and tomorrow, Friday morning, I am hoping to make it out to breakfast.

The weather is changing. Clouds have covered the blue sky. There might be a bit of snow before we have a gradual warm up, which will bring rain. The weather forecast calls for showers and a few sun breaks. Normal February weather. Maybe by the time I am ready, there will be a chance to walk outside. A diamond day.

Happy Valentine's Day. Be loved. Spread love.

Love

 It's February, Heart Month. 

As we turn our attention, in however limited amounts, to the heartless actions coming from the Trump administration, we hurt for those who are being damaged and threatened by those actions. It's going to be a rough road for a long while to come, and whether we still have a democracy, a government of the people, a government that cares for people, here and around the world, is in doubt. 

What can we do? It's easy to feel helpless. We can pay attention, donate to causes, demonstrate, call or write to our representatives in Washington DC, and we can show love to one another. 

It's easy to hate right now, easy to blame, easy to be discouraged and grumpy. But if we work to show kindness, cheerfulness, love, we feel better too. 

Find a reason to laugh, to make someone else smile and laugh, be kind to yourself and others. As I recover from surgery I have to remind myself of this.

Recovery is coming along well enough. As I deal with little discomforts I have to remind myself of how far I have come in 18 days, a long ways. 

Tom bought me grocery store flowers and I arranged them for the kitchen table. He pulled out the February table topper and place mats. Beauty helps.

Anyway we can, we will find beauty and spread love.

Renewal and Recovery

 Here on the west side of the mountains, coastal Washington state, renewal doesn't have to wait for spring. I can see things blooming from my recovery recliner, and now that the latest snow has mostly melted, I sent Tom out to get a few photos. As you know, I've gotta' have photos for my posts.

Witch Hazel

Hellebores and snowdrops.

The weather forecast calls for a week of cold nights and sunny days. Sunshine in my windows. I'll take it!

My recovery is progressing. I still have frequent trips to Physical Therapy, where I get new exercises to make me hurt, but progress in my knee flexibility is good. I have to deal with nerve pain in my calf from back issues that can be more painful than my knee, and long term issues with my hip flexor on my surgical leg cause restrictions and pain also, so it's a battle, but I am a warrior. I saw my surgical PA on Friday, had x-rays and an evaluation, and everything looks good. 

None of this is much fun, but I work to keep my spirits up. I'll watch the Super Bowl tomorrow for something to do. The commercials might be entertaining. I've decided to root for the Eagles. We birds of prey need to stick together. 

Chickadees

 My friend Jan, of the breakfast group, sent me this most exquisite card featuring a chickadee done in the art form of Quilling.

Quilling is an ancient art form using tightly coiled narrow strips of paper glued and arranged into designs and images. This card was made by an artisan in Viet Nam.

Chickadees are a special favorite of mine. They flit and flutter to the bird feeder outside my window. Not gluttonous, they land on the feeder, take one sunflower chip, and fly back to the maple tree to eat it, and then return for another. I try to tell them that they should just hang out on the feeder like the finches, bush tits, sparrows, and pine siskins do, but they have their own way. I don't hear their "chickadee-dee-dee" call much in the winter but they are vociferous in spring and summer.

Of course I have a chickadee collection, a small one, on a wall in my kitchen.

There are few more around, as people know I like them and give them to me as gifts. Eventually we'll find a frame for this card and hang it up too. 

Half Way Through?

 It's Ground Hogs Day, the mid point of winter. Whatever critter sees or doesn't see his shadow, we still have six weeks to go, but that means we've already made it half way. 

It has been snowing here all morning, but since it has remained just above freezing, there isn't much accumulation. It it freezes tonight we will have ice. My teacher daughter is really hoping for a late start in the morning, but not a missed day. She doesn't want any more days added to the school year. :-)

My recovery is progressing slowly. Lots of time propped up in my recliner, elevating and icing, is bringing the excess swelling down. The pain is moderating, except when I have to do my PT three times a day. Tom is a wonderful care taker.

When Tom went out to the street to get the newspaper this morning I sent my phone with him to take some photos. 

Snow on the driveway.

Snow on Hellebore

on snow drops

on cotoneaster berries. 

Snow on the roof and the fir trees

Snow on Winter Jasmine

Not much snow on the streets

Snow on maple

on the garden deck

Hardy cyclamen really are hardy

Tulips pushing up. Now that it is colder again they will get slowed down. Six weeks to wait, at least. 

Primroses seem undaunted.

And so it is we will also persist, and be patient, and continue to grow, if only in spirit.