Not so good. I fell last night and I can barely move. Hit my back rib cage area in the night stand. Hurts to move ir use crutches.

Happy. Hope your knee replacement goes well.

Oh no Annie! That's terrible. Hope pain pills help (do you need to get the ribs checked out?!), and don't you dare make another move without help from someone else!!!

Annie - I'm so very sorry to hear about your fall. One of the toughest things about recovery is trying to get around when your mobility is compromised. Sounds like you really banged yourself up. PLEASE go slowly and be careful. I'm sure this just is the "icing on the cake" for this ordeal. I hope you can keep yourself occupied so you don't get all bored and frustrated. This is the time to concentrate on all those things you'd do if you ever "had the time".

People are trying to talk me out of the outpatient knee surgery even though I have talked to someone who had it and said she did well and everything I see online is positive. You HAVE to take control of your own therapy and push yourself to stretch that leg. I am only 2 miles from the hospital should anything bad happen and they can always medivac me to Duluth if it was something crucial. I do have the option of waiting until November and having it in the hospital but I have only been in the hospital once in my adult life - and that was for gall bladder surgery and the beds were uncomfortable and it was noisy and disturbing and it smelled funny and I could not wait to get out of there. I was supposed to spend the night but I begged them to let me out early so I went home the same day. And while this is not a factor at all, it is a 3 hour round trip drive for DH each day I'd be there if I was to have it in Duluth. We are just a bit concerned about getting me home the day of surgery but I will try both cars front seat and back and see what works. I ordered a raised toilet seat with arm bars as that is a problem getting up from the toilet. I had bunion surgery so I am sort of familiar with compromised immobility and know a bit what to expect. Since my butt is lower than my knees in the recliner, I may have to sit on the dining room chair with arms instead of the recliner. Might just take a drive over to the furniture store and pick out an armchair which I can use later on in the house. DH keeps sitting in "my" recliner anyway. It's made for someone with a shorter stature - is hard for me to get out of the other recliner and the cat has taken over the couch for the most part. Laura - when they talk about a faster recovery I think it's the method they use. Now they are making a vertical cut instead of across. This avoids many ligaments and muscles and makes healing alot easier and less invasive. My bingo partner was a bit scared when I said I was having surgery but he is going away 4 weeks after my surgery so I should be able to make it to the senior center without issue and cover for him while he is away on his month's vacation out of the country.

Hope the rest of you ladies are having a good weekend. We might go on the boat tomorrow for a while. Weather has been so wonky - DH was outside mowing and all of a sudden black clouds showed up and before I could check the weather - it started pouring. But only long enough for him to put the lawn mower away. 5 minutes after he came in the house it got sunny again.

We're supposed to go out tonight but I am debating. I am tired, don't really feel like it. Last night I fell asleep watching the Olympics. Woke up at 5:30am in the chair. I was really cold - no blanket on me and I had tucked my arms underneath my body in an effort to stay warm. My leg was hurting really badly from being cold, that's what woke me up. Lights were all on, door was unlocked Glad we live in a "safe zone" but still... not a good idea. I also left out more than half a rack of bbq ribs from dinner that I didn't finish. Was pretty mad at myself for not putting them in the refrigerator right away. Thing was, I didn't even realize I was nodding off. At one point I turned off the tv but fell back asleep before I remembered to get out of the chair

DH lost his wedding ring. Again. Lost the first one when he put it in his pocket when he was working at IBM. Then for our 25th anniversary we got engraved bands. I happened to notice that he was not wearing his ring again and asked him about it. He said he put it in his pocket when he was staining deck boards and it's NOT LOST, he just hasn't found it yet. I tried to go without wearing mine in a sign of protest but I am just too used to wearing a ring for the last 45 years on my left hand and it feels too awkward without it. Told him he had better find it

Anyway chicks, have a good weekend. Feel better Annie and Ceejay.

Going for a boat ride shortly. Then it's home to start making preparations for surgery. Lots I want to do / get done. I am also finding alot of good reading on the Internet in order to prepare me for this ordeal.

Hope you all are enjoying a sunny Sunday. Later ladies...

Hi Everyone.

I finally transitioned the AD's calendar to the other Admin.

This will help me a lot. I still have a lot of work but I expect to not feel so stressed as the AD was very needy and yet I had to work so hard to get answers out of her for a lot of things and she was always changing her mind.

We finally got some decent rain today. It is still very warm but it was nice to have a break in the weather this morning with the rain.

Anne: Oh my goodness you fell??!!! How are you doing now?

Happy: wow, kneww surgery around the corner!
I think there are some very positive things abour rhe the way you will do the knee surgey. The veritical incision sounds like a good thing.

I do think an overnight stay would be in order for me however if you feel comfortable coming home I dont see anything wrong with it. Will someone come to the house to get your physical therapy going after the surgery? I think I would need that sort of thing for the first 3 weeks or so.

Laura: i think staying at work and missing the hot offsite outing sounds like the sort of things I would do.

I didnt meet my weightloss goal during Anne's challenge eithier. I kept yo-yoing. So i will leave my ticker where it is and have set my goal for that first 10 lbs for end of September when I have my blood work at the doctor. I need to look up the date but I think it is something like September 27.

Ceejay: sorry to hear about the shingles. How are you feeling?

Shad: does it feel great to be home!

Dee:I like your Halloween Challenge. How are things coming along with the house? Do you have it up for sale yet?

I have some house cleaning to finish so I better get a movr on!

Happy. Hope your knee replacement goes well. My ankle surgery

My ankle no longer hurts. My back and rib cage hurt a lot. Barely can get around on crutches. I will survive. Dinner has been brought to us for the past 3 evenings. Chikfila 1st night. Church meal 2nd night and Olive Garden tonight. Yummy.

No personals cause I am posting from phone and lost my first post earlier.

Loves and hugs.

Happy your knee surgery goes as well as my ankle did.

Happy
When is you knee surgery scheduled? I would definitely ask for therapy.

Annie
Bless you girlfriend. I know that fall against the night stand had to hurt. So nice of friends, family or church members to bring in food.

Susie
Yea, for you to get the transitions done to the other AD. Now you can feel a little sigh of relief.

Laura
How are your work outs going?

----------
You know having the shingles hasn't been that bad. I did have a light case of them. However, I don't want them again though. They were very bothersome.
I have had a lot of anxiety lately due to the packing and getting things ready for the move which has brought back my
panic attacks. I took one of my meds last night and slept till 11.30 a.m. this morning. But I didn't have any palpitations.
More later

Good morning all,

Yesterday was a gorgeous day. We picked up friends and spent the day on the water. I had chopped up a bunch of fresh fruit and we had some cheese and crackers for snacks. Afterwards we stopped in the restaurant/bar for an evening meal. They switched out DH and my meal and we didn't notice it at first. When I figured out what had happened DH had already put a ton of yellow mustard on my sandwich and had heavily ketchup'd and black peppered the french fries. Then after I was done eating, I noticed that he had put off to the side the small cup of bbq sauce that was meant for my sandwich. So the meal was not so great. But the boat ride was fun and enjoyable. When we were in the sun it was warm - almost too warm but then when the sun would go behind the clouds it got cool enough to put a jacket on. I can see now how we will have to adjust like this in the days ahead as it gets rather cool overnight and takes a bit to warm up coupled with the wind on the water being somewhat chilly. I think my boat season will come to an end on Sept 8 I think DH will get a friend to take it out of the water shortly after that - it's too hard to do everything by yourself when it comes to docking the boat and I probably won't be able to be steady enough until mid-October at the least and by then although I was looking forward to enjoying the color season along the water - we might have an early fall. I took notice of several of the trees along the shoreline with bits of red already.

Talked to my sister yesterday. My Mom is freaking out about knee replacement as day surgery. 2 of my friends (one of which is a retired nurse) also tried to dissuade me but those two are pretty strong in their opinion that theirs is the only way to do it. He is still trying to get me to go to his surgeon instead. I have a "pre-hab" appointment on Wednesday. We'll see what they say and what they give me for post op therapy when I meet with them. One place in California where I was doing some reading said that you get a visit from a visiting nurse and from a physical therapist at your home after surgery - I'm hoping they will do the same for me. I still have the option to schedule in hospital surgery if I desire, but am leaning towards outpatient.

I need to stop at the hair salon today. I purchased a bottle of product that I forgot to take with me last week at my appointment. I left a message for the owner who called back when I was out. She seems to insist that I took the product with me. I'm going there today after a stop at the farmer's market. This is going to be awkward as I also need to reschedule my September appointment as that is right after my surgery and I won't be going anywhere for a while. The thing is, I want to switch to the younger stylist who did my hair the last time. My current stylist whom I have been seeing for a few years now is the owner. She has a lot of emotional problems and when she gets in a tizzy as she is now, our hair suffers. She tends to babble away and hacks off most of my hair. This time she was upset again and I made it clear that I wanted to leave my hair a bit longer. Now that I am home, I see that she barely cut it at all. It looks like I need a fresh cut and I just paid over $100 last week to get it colored and cut. I also wanted to change the color but she said she didn't have time for it. My hair is very blah - has no body and just lays there. When S cut my hair the last time, it had lots of body so I know now that T just doesn't do as good of a job although she is great at coloring. So this will be awkward trying to go back to S - they are at the same salon. T is always there so it's not like I can come in when she's not and just re-book. T will just freak out if I tell her I want to switch stylists. And there's no other salon to go to. First world problems, eh?

I realized the timing of my surgery means I will miss the next cooking class - this one is on garlic and I love garlic. It's going to be held at our local high school and it's after hours so I don't know how DH is going to find the right classroom. He may give up in disgust and walk out before he finds the class. (He will go in my place). I also will miss the first session of yoga in the fall I guess there is never a good time to have surgery! I think I will be able to get into the UTV with assistance of a small step stool so I can still go for a ride to enjoy the autumn colors in October. At least I won't have to worry about slipping and sliding on the ice and snow.

DH is working like a mad man outside helping with the decking. They delivered the boards for the deck today and he is staining all of them. He lost about 20 pounds so far from working and sweating and looks good. He wore an old favorite t-shirt he found in the garage and I was surprised it fit him. He said that's all well and good but once the weather cools and he is less active he will gain the weight again - he does like to eat. I gained about 3 pounds 6 weeks ago or so and I am having a terrible time getting it off with not being able to move around that much. I can see why the doctor said that despite my weight, I should consider getting the knee replaced as being restricted in movement is not going to help anything. I am supposed to have my first meeting with this doctor in the weight loss program through the other clinic the day before my knee surgery. I'm thinking I will keep the appointment, tell him what is going on and see what he recommends. I can also decide if I like the program. It's just that my first 30 day results will not be so stellar!

I was really tired after all that fresh air last night - haven't been in the hot tub for about 4 days now. Decided to go to bed instead. Woke up at 6am today with a headache but decided to get out of bed as I have lots to do today.

Anne - I'm glad to hear that your ankle does not hurt so soon after surgery. I thought for sure that would bother you for a while considering they did bone work. But... sorry to hear that your fall is making up for it pain wise. I hope you can keep yourself from becoming too restless. You are on the mend now, the worst is over and it's all about being patient right now. Bask in the joy of not doing that blasted Wednesday spreadsheet! Rest up and heal well!

Ceejay - I'm glad you had a light case of the shingles. Where did the rash pop up? Seems like if you get it on the abdomen that's the worst for pain. DH had it on his face like me but his shingle pox were really deep and he has 2 big pox scars on his face even though he was good about not fussing with them. Are you considering getting the shingles vaccine after this passes? I decided to skip it and take my chances for the next time. There are risks with the vaccine also and it's not foolproof. I'm sure you will have a big list of to-do's piling up as you get ready to shut things down and close this chapter of your life.

Susie - hooray for finally being able to transition that extra work to someone else. Poor someone else though Bummer that you didn't make your challenge goals for this month - but hopefully you will be able to give yourself a little more personal time now that you don't have to chase after the other AD. I think we all will be refocusing although there's alot of chaos in all of our lives right now.

Better post this and see if anyone else came on since started typing.

Morning all.

Ceejay – I’m sorry all the moving stress has brought on panic attacks and shingles. Has the new work schedule been a problem for you? You're working longer days now, right? I’m glad the shingles haven’t been too bad for you. Take the time for some deep breathing/meditation. === I haven’t been doing workouts for the past several weeks. I need to get back to it. My hamstring pull is still somewhat painful, so I’ll have to take it easy or skip lower body work altogether. Today I had the alarm set early to get up and exercise, but I ended up hitting the snooze button…

Annie – Glad the ankle doesn’t hurt, but please take it easy until the pain in your back/ribs eases up! Yes, you’ll survive!! Keep the meals-you-didn’t-have-to-cook-yourself coming!!

Susie – Glad you transitioned away the calendar of the difficult AD. The same workload will seem much lighter I bet! --- Good idea about making your WL target/timeline coincide with your doctor's appointment. I’ve been putting it off, but I suppose I should make an appointment with my doctor for my annual physical. Maybe that will motivate me to be more serious about WL. I am currently overdue on my annual physical, gyn exam and mammogram.

Happy – How was the boat ride? Re the knee surgery – my friend D stayed overnight, and it seemed the big thing required for her discharge was doing the stairs. (She lives in a bilevel house - can't get anywhere in that house without doing stairs.) D bought a recliner with a lift in it. Part of her therapy was a leg-bending machine. D had a vertical incision also. Must be the new norm?? === Don’t worry about the bingo. Your recovery is more important! === Isn’t it awful falling asleep in front of the tv - such a struggle to get yourself awake enough to get to your bed! I’m sure the ribs were fine – unless you were worried the scent would attract a hungry bear! == I hope DH finds his wedding ring.

==

I had an alright weekend. Friday night was dinner at my SIL and her sister’s place. Dinner was tasty since my nephew, who is a culinary school graduate, cooked dinner. Grilled steaks and asparagus, caprese salad with heirloom tomatoes, and fabulous mushroom sauce for the steak. And yummy baked potato “boats” filled with whipped cheesy potatoes.

I didn’t do much of anything on Saturday, just pulled all the chicken off of a rotisserie chicken and bagged it for the freezer. Also some laundry and other puttering around the house.

Sunday I met a friend at a local forest preserves and we took a walk. Just a slow walk, so it wasn’t a problem for my sore hammie. Afterwards was breakfast – turned out to only be three of us. But it was nice to chit-chat. After that I stopped at the thrift shop. All the clothes were half off. I bought a few t-shirts and a pair of jeans for myself, and a like-new Michael Kors dress shirt for bf, all for under $8. I have a bunch of crew-neck t-shirts that are from charity events and volunteering and I find the neckline uncomfortable, so the t-shirts I bought are v-necks (2) and a scoop neck (1).

We didn’t end up visiting bf’s mom on Sunday, so we are going tonight.

That’s about it for me. TTFN.

Well I was smart this time and saved my post as I was trying to log back in or I would have lost it again.

I just figured out my social security benefit as we are trying to decide if I should file early. While it seems like the difference in monthly benefits is huge between claiming it early and waiting until age 66, I calculated it over the long run to age 85 and honestly, having the money now and investing it I can certainly make up the difference between waiting until full retirement age. It's not as much as one would think or what the articles would have you believe. In fact, they are encouraging people to wait until age 70. I think it's a ploy because they are diddling with our money - and yes, it is my money as I have paid into the system for the last 40 plus years. So I think I will be filing on my next birthday in April. Take the money while it's still there as I am concerned that if I wait they will figure out a way to reduce the benefit - just like they have done with our corporate pensions.

No one else checked in so I will get busy at home here.

Yep, there's Laura right after I posted.

I told the doctor that I have 7 stairs to get into my house from outside but once I'm in the house every thing I need is on the first level and I'm hoping the first few weeks I won't have to go anywhere once I get back into the house. I already know that those stairs are going to seem like Mt. Everest ESPECIALLY going down. I'm just hoping they will be completely done with the deck by then - DH thinks so. I am skeptical. I think / hope they will give me a cold therapy machine as well as a leg bending machine to take home with me for recuperation.

As for bingo, normally I would not be concerned with it during my recovery (much like the thrift shop will have to go on without me ) BUT in this case, I had made a commitment to D that I would be available to take over for him on bingo nights. He booked a European vacation for a month based on that commitment. So I feel responsible to show up. If either he or I can't make it, they will have to cancel bingo and that is lost revenue for the much needed meals on wheels program. If I am too bad off, maybe they will have to do so anyway but I am going to try my darndest to be there. It's personal motivation too!

Your dinner sounded quite delicious. Yum! I made a caprese salad for the boat yesterday with the small grape tomatoes and mozzarella "pearls" the small balls and boy was it good as those tomatoes are so fresh tasting. Nice score on the deeper discount clothing at the thrift shop. I have tried to reason with the people there that we should mark down stuff that has been sitting a while but they don't want to hear it. As for the t-shirts - I have not tried this yet but some of the crew necks on our shelter logo shirts are a bit tight and people have simply cut out the crew neck bound collar. It doesn't seem to adversely affect the shirt and you can cut a v slit if you want - it just rolls the fabric a bit. Still, I like a traditional v neck anyway. If for nothing more than no matter how much I "blot" I always seem to get makeup on my white shirts. How nice that you could enjoy a nice walk in the woods - mosquitoes are not a problem?

Ok, time to get cleaned up and off to the farmers market. See yahs.

Happy – Just missed your post. I’m glad you enjoyed your boat outing yesterday. Too bad you won’t get to enjoy more of the boating season. I hope dh can at least continue outings with someone else. === My friend D also had a visiting nurse and a PT person in home after her surgery, along with that machine I mentioned. === Oh gosh, what a PITA “breaking up” with the owner stylist and having the other one you want working in the same salon! This might be a good time to go natural and grow out your hair… you can braid it and be a hippie. --- Too bad you will miss the cooking class. At least you will still have your overnight trip on the island, right?

Back hurting. Doc appt tomorrow.

Annie
I'm glad that you decided to go to the doctor with the recent fall.

Happy
My shingles were on my left hip. They have scabs on them now and still itch but not as bad as last week. Don't blame you for taking your SS early. There's not much difference at all and I tried to explain that to my siblings but they wanted me to work.

Laura
I really don't have much of a schedule. The last 2 days I've been on vacation. And today and Tuesday. Then I go in and work 4 hours Wednesday and Thursday. After that it's Monday through Friday 8 hours. I'm ready to be done.
-------
Went to the revenue office this morning and got my driver's license renewed for 8 years. I didn't want to be illegal during my stay in Arkansas. Just one of those things.
I'm trying to get back in the mood to do some more packing but I'm as nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof that is high on drugs. I can't seem to settle down.