Out for a Spin

Steven out for a spin today on the DeltaWolf trike.

The Day After

There is the mystery of life
and the let-down after Thanksgiving.
No "Black Friday" here ... just rain.

That little plate is where the cat food normally goes ...
Of course, Presley thinks it is a great place to go for a snack.

The cat is on top the pile of boxes right next to me.
While Presley looks up hopeful of a treat ...
And he and the cat trade growls with each other.

Yesterday we sat outdoors with the neighbor's extended family
to eat Thanksgiving dinner.
It was a really pleasant sunny afternoon.
This morning we got up to rainy drizzle ... for the next few days.
My wife baked a turkey on Wednesday ... it's still in the frig -
We haven't touched it. We also have half a pan of cold pizza ...
In case anyone is up to eating more. I think we will go with a hot cup of Pero or maybe some Peppermint/Rooibos herb tea and grits for breakfast.

Lightly Iced

As you can see, the car was lightly iced this morning ...
I just had to scratch my fingernail through it.
I used my hand to sweep a swath off the back window ...
and my wife chewed me out for putting body oils and
body acid on her window. That's what I get for helping ...
:0)

The marigolds decided it was the end of the season for them.
Look at the sick, wet, frozen green of the leaves.

But the Rosemary which did so miserably during the summer ...
is looking pretty good.

Not so fast Bud!

That indistinguishable rectangle to the right of the garden box is the other garden bed ... 

that's where the sweet potatoes are residing.

Yesterday, 3 grandchildren came to visit ... and the two boys decided they needed to go bicycle riding with grandpa.  We rode the back streets down to the gas station convenience store (1/2 mile) ... back past the cemetery ... back to the Assembly of God church where we made several laps of the parking lot ... finally back to the house.  At which point, on grandson dropped out and the other insisted on doing it again ... only this time with a bit more challenge ... so we added in a little bit of hill.

Today Gpa is walking really slowly ... the left knee is saying, "Oh, you really had to do that, didn't you!?" ... the hamstring still has major tender areas ... 

Instead of me hurrying the wife along thru WalMart parking lot ... she was hooking her arm thru mine and trying to hurry me along ... the body was going, "Hey!  Not so fast Bud!"  Even getting out of the car is a 3-part exercise: turn and get the feet on the ground ... rest ... rock and tilt forward with hands on knees until off seat and "standing" on the ground ... gradually push upward until fully standing ... grab car door ... move out of way and close car door.

Maybe that was more than 3 steps??  It's taking more than 3 steps to get there today ...

and we aren't even talking about the left shoulder ... 

change of topic

We're going to go eat with the neighbor family on T'Day.

Short Season

It was in the summer when we planted these ...
so kind of a short season.
The big ones are only about 4 inches long.
There are more out there ...
this was just turning over one shovel of dirt.
The starts came from 2 sweet potatoes that we left sitting around so long they were trying to sprout under the table ...
So we cut them up and planted them ... just to see.
They do taste good!

Walking Sleep

I've got another one of those little hospital arm bands ...

They did the colonoscopy on me this morning ... that was after that self-induced diarrhea yesterday. By the time I got down to the last glass of GoLytely (colon electrolyte lavage) ... I just couldn't get myself to drink that last glass full. So it is still here in the jug if you'd like to sample it. Tastes kind of like a mix of salty-water and flat alka-seltzer (the unflavored variety). Only had to get up once in the night to squirt in the toilet. Then I coughed this morning ... and squirted in my underpants ... Before going for the colonoscopy. Once they had me turn on my side and shot the sleepy meds into my I.V. ... I was gone. Next thing I knew, my wife was trying to get me to wake up in the recovery room ... "Come on honey, you have to wake up and get dressed so we can go home." No thanks. Check back with me again in another 3 hours. But she persisted ... they wheeled me out and poured me into the car ... I was only half awake during lunch. I've been drifting in and out ever since.

I have achieved a hamstring milestone: - while standing on my left leg, I can lift my right foot off the floor to put on or take off my pants ... all without collapsing from pain & weakness in the left hamstring. My wife just noticed a huge bruise in my left hamstring area (inside of my thigh and wrapping clear around across the back of the leg) ... no idea what that is about. Of course we hadn't really been looking there for bruises ... so she saw it when I got undressed to put on the naked-back hospital gown this morning.

Guess I'm going to pass up the opportunity to fix that house for her. Someone else will have to do that and then sell it ... instead of her ... that's the latest word I got this afternoon.

Middle School Pageant

A couple of Middle School pageant shots ...
These two girls are both 12 yrs old ...

More pretty dresses ...
These girls are just 14 yrs old

Fall-en

The leaves have dropped off the pecan trees and most of the other deciduous trees.
You could say that "Fall" is here ...
Not much in the way of a pecan crop this year.
GOOD cotton & peanut crops.
But not many pecans.

You Might Be ...

On Crook & Chase ... Jeff Foxworthy said:
If you have a complete set of salad bowls ...
And they all say "Cool Whip" on the side ...
You might be a redneck ...
(groan)

up hill walk

This is the view from the front porch ... in the upper left is the shop (just right of tree and behind pickup truck) ... it's uphill from the house ...
Leaning heavily on my cane ... I walked up there the other day ... upon arriving I sat down for an hour or so until the pain abated ... it's a good thing that Daniel has a TV in the shop. I did manage (over the span of several hours) to get all three wheels mounted back on the trike frame (I had stripped it all down to spray paint it ... BH = before hamstring).
After walking back down the hill ... I spent another hour or two sitting in a chair reading ... and 2 Motrin for pain ... real speedy mover here. I think I'll make an attempt to visit the town library ... it's just 50 feet the otherside of the shed ... stock up on more reading ...
Have a good day!

Slow Rehab

I have 2 canes at my disposal ...

1) The one on the left was made by my sister using a hardwood dowel and a curtain rod end. It was given to me along with a cape and tophat (I still have them). 2) The one on the right I purchased in Germany when Kira was a baby ... it scared her. Anyway, it's a good cane for present usage. But this walking around with a cane is no longer fun or interesting. necessary. but not fun. I want to "Poof!" be better ... but I still hurt. I'm the passenger in the car ... not the driver. And we don't go anyplace where I have to walk very far. I don't know what it is about muscle usage ... but just slightly bending forward at the waist ... to wash my hands in the sink ... you catch your breath "Ah!" with pain in the hip. Don't even think about picking up boxes and looking through them. Do not lean. Lift and bend the left leg when trying to hunch down to pick up the newspaper. No leaning. If little things drop on the floor, you just look at them and say, "Oh well." and hope your spouse picks them up sometime. I can't imagine trying to fuel a truck or climb inside one at this point.

Hobbling Around

I've reached the point where I can straighten my leg out without pain. Getting up and down is still a painful problem. Can't sit on firm/hard surfaces with the left buttock. I did make it down and back up the steps onto the front porch once today ... had to go watch the Alabama vs. LSU game with Daniel. If I keep the left leg stiffly straight ... and don't try to bend the knee and lift ... then I can hobble around without the walker. In bed, I still have to keep it slightly bent ... and only sleep on my right side. But that is remarkable progress since Thursday!!

Thank you for all prayers in my behalf!

Ham-Strung !!

The grandkids were playing "Hop On Pop" ...

Then I agreed to go outside and play hide-n-seek ...

We played several rounds ...

you can be "safe" if you tag base before the one who is "it" tags you ...

So, on the last round I managed to escape the clutches of the wily Karina ...

and was running for all I was worth to make it to the base ...

at least 2 leaps ahead ...

When I felt a "pop" in my left hip area ...

and my left leg collapsed under me with EXTREME PAIN!

Of course I crashed into the ground ... rolled around seeking the LEAST PAINFUL position ... which happened to be on my tummy ... and waited there for the ambulance to come get me.

The Result: no broken bones ...

but I ripped that big muscle (Ham String) that connects up the back of the thigh, from knee to hip ... so I'm going around ... with a walker ... keeping the left leg bent to minimize the pain.

Given a blessing by a Bishop and a Stake President ...

The President said that he would pretty-much "cover all the bases" ...

and he did.

After it was over, my wife said to the Lord (in her mind) ...

"That covers everything, but what he is supposed to do for work?" ...

At that point,the President, who didn't know my occupation,

turned to me, shook my hand, and said "Keep on trucking!"

At which point my wife groaned ... "oh, you can't mean that!"

"Certainly you didn't mean it the way I took it ..."

And there you have it ... grins and giggles ...

I'm not going anywhere until this heals up.

:0)

Visit More Grandkids

We spent all Tuesday evening making "elephant ears" at the Boy Scout booth at the Peanut Festival.  We had a few left over, so we took them with us to visit some more grandchildren.

My wife was absolutely thrilled to see all the brilliant fall colors!

Brilliant son-in-law eating desert.

Granddaughter eating one of grandpa's Pringles "Extreme Dill Pickle" chips

Halloween is over and the jack-0-lanterns have been tossed ...

Art Show Opening

Tonight was the opening of Albert Dean's one-man show at the Anne Rudd Art Center. Since we belong to the County Art Association, we were invited for the opening ... lots of free finger-food ... always a great incentive to show up! Paula Dean Crean made the table covering.