Crickets

That's all I hear when I visit my own blog.

Update On My Knee

Yesterday was the first day I could walk without relying on the cane.  Since Friday my knee has gotten stronger each day.  Up until then it was very painful at times.   I never thought I would get to where I am now...hardly any pain at all.  Just a little twinge now and then to let me know it isn't quite completely healed.  

Monday I saw my family doctor and just to make sure that my self-diagnosis about my knee ligament was right I had him check my knee.  He turned my knee every which way he could and each time he asked if it hurt.  And all I could say was no.  Victory!

Doc thought it might possibly be a torn meniscus but I knew better.  My diagnosis was a very badly injured or possibly torn medial collateral ligament.  Had it not gotten better I was going to request an MRI but, knock on wood, I don't think that test is in my immediate future.  At least I hope not.

Last week at the grocery store I used one of their motorized scooters.  That was so much fun that I think I will do that again this week. 

This part of the country is still having low temps and we just went through another storm giving us another 3" of snow, some ice, and sleet.  Another one of those storms will hit us in a day or two again.  These storms are getting so old and I am so weary of them that when we do get one all I can do is yawn.  Same old same old.

Keeping Busy

The racing season has officially started.  I watched some practice sessions yesterday and a few other things.  More to come tomorrow with the Sprint Unlimited race tonight.

Between NASCAR and following Billy Idol's current tour I will be occupied for quite some time.

Billy turned 59 last November and he is still rocking.  I saw him in concert in Philadelphia back in 1984 and the next time he is playing this area I will be sure to try and get to see him again.

I finished reading his book, Dancing With Myself, and am re-reading it to catch the parts I may have missed the first time around.  He wrote the book himself; he did not use a ghostwriter and he did not have anyone help him.  It is an excellent read.

He also has a new album out titled Kings And Queens Of The Underground and I love every song on the album and play it constantly.  

Yes, I have always been a Billy Idol fan, and that will never change. 
 

One Shot At A Time

See that ligament running up the left side of the knee (to the left looking straight on)?  That is on the inside of my right knee and that is my problem child.  I can't recall exactly when the injury happened but it is a good two months that I have been experiencing on and off (mostly on) pain.

I can probably make a wild guess that the injury happened a few months ago when I semi-squatted down to be able to read a label on an item in the grocery store.  For the first time in my life I could not rise on my own accord and had to be helped up.  I may have stretched or torn the little bugger then already.

My husband also needed a shot in his one knee today (he has a replacement in the other knee) so we scheduled my first visit to coincide with his.  We even were able to be in the same examining room.

X-rays were taken of my knee and then the doctor discussed things with me.  He said the X-rays are clean, no arthritis; therefore, from what I described to him he thinks it might be a Grade III complete tear (could be a Grade II incomplete tear) of the medial collateral ligament.  I say Grade III rather than Grade II because the pain is greater and it has been going on longer for it to be a Grade II.

I was administered a cortisone shot and when I am finished here I will settle into my recliner with an icepack, 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off etc.  Results from the shot can take as much as 3-4 days till it kicks in 100%.  If it takes that long to get rid of the pain I have had, I will be patient.  Being unsteady on my feet upon arising from a chair or out of my bed (or even getting up from the john) and using a cane at times can be a bit disconcerting.

If the shot doesn't work then an MRI will have to be done.  I really don't want to go that far so I am hoping this is menial and has nothing to do with the bones in my knee or my kneecap.  Fingers crossed.

Have You Ever Done This?

Have you ever showed up for any kind of an appointment on the wrong day?

For the first time in our lives that happened this morning.

I knew days ago the appointment was for Tuesday and not Monday but my husband got it in his mind that today was the day.  He set his alarm last night for 6:30am and woke me up an hour later for his 9:00am appointment.

I should have checked the appointment card hanging on the bulletin board along with all our other cards, but for some reason I just followed along like a little sheep.  There is no explanation for why I did that.

Because of the bad weather we left an hour before the so-called appointment time.  Of course, the receptionist could not find his name anywhere and even said the doctor he is supposed to see wasn't in his office today; he was in the cath lab all day.

The receptionist then looked at tomorrow's appointments and sure enough there he was:  9:00am to see the doctor in his office.

I then visualized the appointment card and concurred with the receptionist that she was right and we were wrong.  We left the building.

So now we have to do this all over again tomorrow morning.

It's Snowing!

We are finally getting a substantial amount of snow with more to come Monday evening.  And the nice thing about it is we don't have to go out until Wednesday and that is only for groceries.

This past week we have been on the street, as they say in these parts, every day.  Monday my husband had two different scheduled scans done (always has both scans done once a year), Tuesday he had an appointment with his cardiologist to discuss something found on one of the scans, Wednesday was groceries, Thursday was an auction (I stayed home) and Friday was a visit to the hospital for a CT scan as a follow-up to one of the scans done on Monday.

We have this weekend and all of next week to do absolutely nothing other than groceries on Wednesday.  We don't have to see a doctor until the following Monday.  

Here it is, the 24th day of January, and already the appointments are stacking up with doctors, tests, etc.  And the older one gets, the more there are.  

But for now, I will take these next nine days and languish in them as if I were working and taking a vacation.

And for now?  Bring on the snow, baby...

Knee Problems

Just what I need ~ knee problems.

As if the problems my husband has had with his knees since 2005 isn't enough.  Back then he had his first replacement.  Three years later in 2008 he had another replacement on the same knee.  And then in early 2011 that second replacement was found to be apart and his surgeon had to go in and replace one of the parts.  He decided then that there would be no more cutting into that knee.

After all that he is still complaining of pain in that very same knee.  Plus his other knee has been bothering him for a few years.

In the beginning of February he has an appointment to get another shot in the "good" knee.  The last shot he had was a year ago.  I will be accompanying him, as I have an appointment ahead of his with the same surgeon.

Yes, after all these years of saying I would never get a replacement done after having gone through what my husband went through, not physically but just having to live through it with him, I am now getting a payback.

I have been nursing my knee since late last year trying to hold out until this year because I knew I would have different insurance.  I will try everything in my power before I ever consent to a replacement though.  That word is not in my vocabulary when it involves me.  No way.  

Up until today I have been able to get around without much pain but as of right now I have had to resort to using a cane.  Something else I thought I would never be doing.

I am sort of looking forward to my appointment because I want to know what is going on with the knee.  It came on suddenly and I didn't twist it or have any falls.  If I fell now I would never get back up because I have no strength in that leg whatsoever and I cannot put pressure on it either. 

Never a dull moment in this household.

Unknown Phone Calls

I hate telemarketers.  I never answer their calls.  They never leave a message.

I am sure all of you are well aware of these people.  I like to call them bast-y nastards.

One of them just called.  I recognized the name on my ID.  It seems the same few keep calling several times a day, day after day.  Never-ending.

I keep a whistle by my phone and just once I would love to be able to blow it into their ear on the other end visualizing that person jumping ten feet out of their chair.  But there's never anyone there.  All I ever hear is a dial tone.  And that's immediately after picking it up.  I never say anything. I just listen till the dial tone tells me someone just wasted my time again.

Why do they call just so I can hear a dial tone?  Do they get their jollies off by doing that?  I know they are robo-calls mostly and a whistle does nothing but make me feel somewhat better.  But, if they want to reel in a sucker, then why isn't anyone there to talk to me?  No, I don't want to talk to them either so the feeling is quite mutual.

Telemarketers...I just don't understand them.  

Good Lord It's Only 8° Outside

When was I picked up unknowingly and transported to one of the coldest places on earth?  I have no memory of such a trip.  And yet, here I am...8 freaking degrees outside.  And it is supposed to get colder over night into the morning. 

Our wind turbine has been quite busy these past few days.  The wind is what adds to the temperatures being a lot colder than what they actually are.  So if it is currently 8° outside that must mean the wind chill temperature is in the minus bracket.  I am so ready for that isle in the Mediterranean.  Or anywhere that boasts warm air almost year round.  Putting up with this polar air every year is working on my last nerve.

The only time in my life that I can remember liking snow, wind, ice, sleet and all that ugly stuff that comes with it is when I was young and too dumb to realize it was that cold. Usually we had to be dragged back into the house by one of our parents.  Kids back then just didn't seem to mind the cold.  Not like today ~ most of them prefer staying inside pushing buttons on all kinds of gadgets.

I went out today to get some groceries with my husband.  I would have loved to stay home but we were out of a few things and I needed food for the cats. I wouldn't care if I never had to go out again until the temperature rises to 40° and above.  Spring, my friends, cannot arrive soon enough for this woman.

Goodbye 2014

2014 was not a kind year for us.  My husband went through a lot this year starting at the end of May all the way through mid-December.  More tests than I cared to think about.  But, hopefully, that is all behind us now.

I started taking some of the Christmas decorations down Friday.  The rest will come down this weekend, including what is outside.  I have to make a better system for storing them in the basement because everything was a little scattered when I was looking for things this year.  That's because I wasn't in the mood to put them away properly last Christmas.

This, I think, is the earliest the decorations are being put away.  I usually wait until after January 7th which is Russian Orthodox Christmas.  My husband is Russian.  His mother was from Ukraine.  The other half of him is German.   Quite the mixture.  

My ancestors on my father's side all the way back to my 5th great grandfather who came to America in 1754 were German.  From my mother I have Scottish, Welsh, English, Swiss, and German blood flowing through my veins as well.   I guess, though, that I am more German than anything.

When I was growing up it never dawned on us to ask who we were or what we were.  Being German back then wasn't something one boasted about due to the war so our parents never told us.  I think I was in my late 20's when I learned I was, in fact, very German.  I still don't know if it's something to be proud of or not.  I traced the Swiss ancestors back to the 1400's and could have probably gone farther but I got tired of writing all those dates down.  One day I might continue.

I don't know how I got onto this ancestor thing.  Oh yes, Russian Orthodox Christmas.  Back in the day when we had a Christmas tree it would stay decorated until January 7th and be taken away the next day.  Not any more.  We stopped having a Christmas tree when we adopted our cats.  It was a good excuse for me not to have a tree and to decorate it because that job always fell on me.  And it was me that had to undecorate it and put everything away.  That got old very fast.  So I thank my cats for coming into my life and sparing me of a chore I never cared for.  Don't get me wrong, I love to look at decorated Christmas trees...as long as it isn't me having to put it up and take it down. 

So here's to a great 2015.  We hope.

 

Hip Hip Hooray!

Ho Ho Ho ~ Happy Holidays To All

It Doesn't Seem Right

No, it doesn't...and that is how warm it is going to be on Christmas Day for our area.  And I must not forget about all the rain that is coming either.  As if Christmas isn't a downer in the first place, then we get slathered with rain and warmth instead of cold and snow. 


My husband is patiently waiting for that white stuff.  His truck and plow are waiting alongside the garage all ready to go.  I keep telling him that because he bought that truck we won't have any snow this year.  He gets mad when I say that.


So here we are finally.  Christmas week.  It will go fast.  The day will go faster yet.  And then there will be Friday.  My daughter and her fiancé will be here that day and we will celebrate Christmas together.


Let's back up and talk about Christmas being a downer up there in that first paragraph.  I don't mean a downer as in being depressed or anything like that.  What I mean is when people reach a certain age and don't have any grandchildren there really isn't anything to get excited about, is there?  That is what I mean.


Christmas comes and Christmas goes and so it goes.  Just another holiday for the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer.  But the little ones sure have a helluva time, don't they?

I Almost Made It

I almost got through this Christmas season without having to send out any cards.

And then today three came in the mail.

Dang it.

So I went to my card supply and decided I had better reciprocate or I would feel guilty as all heck if I didn't.

I promised myself that this year would be the year that I put my foot down and would not send any cards.  

I wrote two more out just to be on the safe side.

Last year I sent all of seven cards; this year I am down to five.  Two friends and three relatives.  

I tried to ignore the entire situation although I did purchase a box of cards a few months ago.  Anytime I see Christmas cards with a cute cat or two I buy them because I am a sucker for those.  Kittens get me all the time.

I have been whittling down my card list for years now and I have come to the conclusion that there is no end to it.  As long as others send out cards we are kind of obligated into returning one to them.  

Why do I feel so guilty if I don't send one back?     What will happen if I don't?

For years now I thought the art of card sending/swapping was a silly thing to do.  You send me one, I'll send you one and vice-versa.  We have come too far into the 21st century to be doing such an inane thing as sending out Christmas cards. 

The funny thing is, you can send them to people year after year and then one year you don't send certain people any and the following year you don't get one from them either.  See what I mean?  Silly. 

Finally After 5-1/2 Years

Back in April 2009 my husband and I went to a place that sells vertical blinds.  We special ordered white linen lace for our bay window that faces the front of the house.  I was so glad because I would finally be getting rid of the special-order drapes that were hanging there.  I can't remember when they were first hung but I do know that it is longer than I care to think about.


Today I can proudly say the vertical blinds are gracing my bay window.  My husband asked me a few days ago what I wanted for Christmas. I told him I have Christmas all year round and could not give him an answer.  I am going to assume he finally decided to hang those blinds as a Christmas present for me.


And listen, I am a fantastic nagger and every once in awhile I would bring that sore subject up about those vertical blinds asking when he was going to hang them.  But it always fell on deaf ears.  I don't know how he could stand hearing it from me all the time because I was getting tired of hearing myself talk.


So Merry Christmas to me!

Some Things Never Change

Remember this?

Five months later and it's still there:

Anyone want to bet it will still be there in another five months?
 

Nasty Day Today

Cold, damp, dreary...and lots of rain all day.  The kind of days I detest.  It's these days where I like to stay home, curl up with my book, and stay nice and cozy.


But we had to go out today...there is a thing called returning items for credit.  We had to take a second item back to the hardware store because when the plumber was here, he hooked us up with some good stuff for our tub and shower and what we bought at the store was not needed.  It wouldn't have worked either.


Since we were out and about today, I decided to try and make a day of it so we went to one of the pet stores I like to visit.  I walked into the store with nothing in particular in mind to purchase and left there with almost $40 worth of things, mostly food for the indoor and outdoor cats.  I got away fairly cheap this time because whenever I go into that particular pet store the cost is always much higher than that.


The kind of weather we are experiencing today wreaks havoc on my body.  When I tell you just about everything aches, I mean everything aches.  My knees and legs have started acting up within the past month and I don't know why.  Someone said I need more potassium in my system because my muscles are not working as they should in the lower extremities.  So I loaded up on almonds (an ounce per day), bananas, and potatoes for baking...one of my favorite foods to eat.  I know there are more potassium-rich foods out there and I will research that later when I have more time.


Tomorrow is Sunday.  That means football.  Yay!

Full Speed Ahead

The week is halfway gone and I have been trying to get the inside of the house decorated for Christmas.  I was able to do the outside a few days ago.

Our cold water handle for the tub and shower started dripping ever so slightly awhile back.  I would collect the water in a cup and use that to rinse the tub after I showered and also shampooed my hair.

Last week that drip developed into an almost non-stop drip.  I kept up with it though.  And then a few days ago it went crazy and buckets were called to duty.  Meanwhile we went to one of the hardware stores to look for new handles and whatever else was needed to put a stop to that incessant dripping.

The first kit we brought home did not work and so we had to return it for credit.  The second kit was much more sophisticated but my husband ran into a different problem; one that he could not fix.  That will have to be returned as well.  Tuesday evening he called our plumber.  He came out to fix the dreaded drip on Wednesday.  

Instead of three knobs we now have just a lever with a plate behind it.  The plumber installed a new tub spout and the water diverter is on the end of that.   He had also installed the stationery shower head but when my husband saw that he told him he had better put the original back on or, as he put it, my wife will have a fit.  Yes indeedy I certainly would have had a fit.  I like the handheld apparatus because it also helps to clean the walls of the shower and the inside of the glass doors as well.  You can't do that with a stationery shower head.

One headache behind us.  Wednesday is our normal grocery shopping day but my husband has a doctor's appointment in the morning and there are a few other things we have to do before we end up at Cracker Barrel to eat dinner.  So that day is fairly shot.

Friday we will do the grocery shopping.  It will feel out of sorts for me to do that on a Friday because I am so used to shopping on a Wednesday for my food.

Eventually a day will open up and I will be able to decorate for Christmas.  I just hope it's not the day before.

No Football Today

Here I sit and no football to watch.  One of my two teams, San Francisco 49ers, has their bye (off) week and the other one, NY Giants, is playing the Jaguars who have won one game and lost the other ten this season.  That game isn't televised.  I hope the Giants win that game because they aren't doing so well this year and have to concentrate on getting things together.

I usually watch the Philadelphia Eagles games but they just played this past Thursday and aren't scheduled to play until next Sunday.  And I like to watch the Dallas Cowboys just to see them get beat and for no other reason.  No other teams command my attention except the Washington Redskins and they aren't doing so well either.

The temperature is currently 40° but it is supposed to get warmer than that today.  Tomorrow is going to be nicer as far as a higher temperature is concerned.  Today is quite dreary and when I look out my window all I see is gray tree branches and white snow and it looks so cold.

I really hate this in-between-the-holidays time of the year.  As Thanksgiving approaches I always get somewhat gloomy.  Back in the day when my parents were here yet both Thanksgiving and Christmas were something to look forward to.  The entire family (siblings and their kids) would gather around the table and sit down to a magnificent feast my mother was well known for...that is no longer the case.

My parents brought us all together (I have two siblings and I am the middle child) but now things have changed.  My sister lives in California and does not associate with me for some reason or another, and my brother lives not too far away and does not associate with me for some reason or another.  I have reached the point where I really don't care anymore.  It is what it is as they say.  So be it.  I tried in the past to connect with both of them and have given up.

I don't look forward to Christmas for the same reason.  There is one holiday however that I anxiously await:  New Years Day.  Now that is something to look forward to simply because it leaves both Thanksgiving and Christmas in the dust.

(I tried to post a photo but Blogger is playing games)

Snow Is Coming To Our Valley

The temperature Monday was 70°.

There will be rain today.

It is supposed to snow Wednesday.  Possible total of 8 inches.

And on Thursday there will be some damn fine eating...and football, too.

So we will go from excellent to bleh to yuck and back to excellent in just a few days' time.

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all.  

Eat to your heart's content ~ stoke that furnace ~ because winter is knocking at the door.