When I was in high school, I wasn't allowed to take art class because I couldn't draw and, therefore, didn't have enought talent to take the class. I often think of the favorite things I did growing up -- I loved to color, I loved to manipulate construction paper and later fabrics. But none of this qualified as art, of course. As an adult, I edged further into art with ceramics, kind of like coloring for adults. When I discovered quilting and all its diversity, I was hooked into color and pattern and wished I had been able to take art classes that might have taught me more about color theory, etc. But perhaps it's best that I have gone my own way, making things that I like and adapting patterns to reflect my tastes as well as creating original works.

I still think of not being able to take art in high school and know that it is still just for the elite that can draw. I am certainly not an artist but I would have loved taking many of those classes.

So Sad

The death of a six year old certainly puts the rest of the world into the proper perspective. Sadly one of Quinn's classmates was killed in an accident. The physical fragility of human beings especially children is never more evident than when something like this happens. My heart breaks for the family and friends of what was quite obviously an amazing little boy.

I think young children take these events in a different way than adults. I've been suffering from an overwhelming empathy whereas children mostly remain within themselves and haven't yet learned how to put themselves into that other person's place. I'm glad that's so; I wouldn't want to think of any six year old not being able to sleep for swirling thoughts or being suddenly overwhelmed with a bout of tears. Whatever my empathetic grief, I know the family is suffering far more. It's just so sad.

Twinges

Almost a year ago, I asked my two daughters and their husbands to help with cleaning out the garage as I had to get it emptier so that a new garage door could be installed. Over the years it had become a dumping ground for anyuthing either one of them didn't want to take home as well as things discarded but not thrown away by Joe and me.

So Lisa packed up or threw away all of her many college boxes; Laura took home her children's bikes and a few boxes; then they threw away stuff. I was not well enough to help at the time because of my knees. I think I was recovering from my first surgery. So there was no supervision whatsoever by me. That seemed like a good thing at the time as even the three steps to the garage were painful.

My first twinge came when I realized the old child's rocking chair had gone; my mom had bought it for Laura and it had been Lisa's. I got over it as it certainly wasn't of heirloom quality, and someone would fix it up and use it as it disappeared almost immediately from the pile of junk next to the driveway.

I really haven't missed much else until today. An entire box of flooring that matches the flooring in my house is gone. Not gone are the leftover shingles from the roofing that was done 15 years ago, the small pieces of wood that came from the deck in the back of the house over 20 years ago, at least 15 dried out cans of paint, a rusted bed frame, the bag of sequined stiletto heels and tap dance shoes. Sigh, go figure.

It's not that big of deal and I will find something to match the flooring. But I've learned my lesson. This is why I don't give up control easily. I still appreciate the help of my family but the rest of the cleaning out will be done by me. Which is ok as I now have two good knees and can do it myself. Ta Dah!

First Day of School, 2011

For nine days straight we have had our two older grandchildren. That's not a complaint really. When they don't show up tomorrow, Joe and I will be lonely for sure. Saturday and Sunday we also had 18 month old Jack. It was a lot of fun. The only downside is that it reminds me of how old I am. My greatest achievements are that I can get up out of a chair while still holding Jack and that I can keep Kai and Quinn occupied for nine days in a row. It involved 9 breakfasts, 9 lunches, 18 snacks, two dinners; we made cupcakes, brownies, and chocolate chip cookies. There were trips to several libraries and sewing at the shop.

It's probably a good thing that school starts tomorrow for them. They have their school supplies and uniforms all set. I really wish my girls had worn uniforms; it would have made things so much easier and cheaper! Both girls had enough clothing to carpet their bedrooms three times over and sometimes did.

Not having to buy new school clothes still bothers Joe. He's retired but still on that school schedule somehow and looking forward to substitute teaching again this year. He takes a bag of candy with him to school when he subs and rewards the kids when they behave or get their work done. I tease him that he better be careful giving candy to little kids, but I used to do it when I taught seniors, too. There's something about tootsie rolls that motivates even twelfth graders. This summer we've actually had a few neighborhood kids drop by to see if Joe has any candy around and he received several crayon drawn thank you notes. Somehow he's still got the magic and I'm glad he still enjoys subbing.

Movies

Today I am going to see The Help with my friend Denise. I'm really looking forward to it even though I haven't read the book. I wanted to but it's $16 in paperback and 450 people on the list at the library. A movie release will do that to a book.

Last week I went to see the final chapter of the Harry Potter series twice, once with daughter Laura and her family and once with Denise. I loved it both times!

Why don't I go to the movies more often, when I enjoy it so much? Partly because Joe doesn't ever want to go and partly because it's rather expensive.

I have, however, discovered a cheaper way to go. I don't hesitate to claim my senior discount even when it's only fifty cents some times. I don't get popcorn and I don't get a drink. I would love to get the popcorn but it costs $5 for a small. If I get the salty, buttered popcorn, I have to get the drink for $5. If I get the drink, I have to leave the movie in the middle and pee. So it's economy plus getting to see the whole movie.

Of course, it is more fun to watch a movie with someone even when it's at home. Joe and I watched the third Bourne movie last night on tv. He was in his lair and I was in the living room. We were just far enough away from each other that he couldn't pester me with questions that I would have no way of answering if I hadn't seen the movie before. The last movie we watched together in the living room was Knight and Day which was called an adventure comedy. It wasn't a laugh riot (code for really bad movie at the Whyte house) and we actually enjoyed it. This film came via Netflix which I am probably going to drop since we don't watch enough movies at home to make it worth the money.

When going to the movies at a theater, I am lucky that often Denise is up for going to a chick flick accompanied by lunch. I am definitely going to attend more movies even if I have to go by myself.

Enquiring Minds

I went to Krogers today and while killing time in the check out line, I checked out the Enquirer to decide whether or not to buy Joe one. He loves to read the National Enquirer and I break down and buy him one about every other week. Almost always the cover page tells all. Is it an issue about everyone's cellulite or their sexuality? Are we concerned about who's having a baby or who's getting divorced? Several other similar mags had cover pages of Jennifer Aniston's being pregnant, but not the Enquirer so who's right? If the Enquirer doesn't have it, it can't be true, can it?

Poly-Stupidity

Number one among the things that are so stupid that only a committee of men could have thought them up is polygamy in the 21st century. Originally, I'm sure plural marriage had a practical aspect. The more members of the family, whether wives or children, the more workers in the fields and in the house. Non-Mormans even practiced a form of it. Every time I look at the over 100 year old cemetery in Dawes Arboretum, I see evidence of it. One man, four wives who died one after the other, and about ten children, some who died at birth or in infancy. He had his plural wives in a straight line but his intent was the same. Ok, 100 years ago, 200 years ago, I get it.

But now? Marriage is one of the most difficult things people do. When I was working full time, I often joked that I needed a wife to help out at home. But honestly, the dynamics of such a relationship are crazy. It's hard enought to keep one wife happy, according to Joe who actually didn't always do such a great job at that. But right back at you, JW. It's almost impossible some days to keep that one husband amused. I certainly would never have wanted plural husbands, but you notice that's not the recognized way of polygamy.

Back to that 21st century committee of men. That group was made up of perverts, abusers, control freaks, and just plain stupid. I am so glad these men are being prosecuted and found guilty.

Family Reunion

Every summer my brother and I gather our families together for a day of fun and games. This past Saturday we all met at Tuscora Park in New Philadelphia. Tuscora Park is totally family friendly with rides aimed at younger children, playgrounds, a pool, and lots of open space for running and kicking balls. Bill's family always outnumbers mine even when not everyone can attend. All nine of the Whytes were in attendance but Bill's possible number with 14 grandchildren will always win. Not that we're competitive or anything. Ha!

The first contest was the card game Spoons. I suddenly noticed that many of the younger family members and my husband had gathered around a table to play. One at a time the participants left the game with a disgruntled expression, none more so that Joe. One of Bill's grandchildren was the winner.

The second tournament was Scrabble, played with partners, and by the look on Joe's face, these kids had been practicing. That was won by Bill's granddaughter Kelsey and her boyfriend, both students at Kent State. Joe was again unhappy as he didn't approve of their Scrabble dictionary nor words such as "qi."

The last game being more physical, I had to count on my children and granchildren to redeem the Whyte name. Throwing a bean bag at a board with a hole in it seems simple enough but the scoring was complicated and I never did quite figure it out. My last hold out in the tournament was my son-in-law Jason but he lost in the finals. Again Bill's family won!

Where was I in all this friendly fire? Talking to people I don't see as often as I'd like, playing kickball with our grandson Jack, laughing at all the others, and enjoying the wonderful food. As well as the traditional hot dogs and hamburgers, we had a southern influenced picnic with baked lima beans, cheesy grits, pickled cucumbers and onions, and deep fried okra! Bill brought his deep fryer from home and fried up the okra right there. It was wonderful.

I look forward to next summer's picnic! Maybe I'll have to work with my family for a bit of revenge in these tournaments, but I'm sure Joe will still be complaining about the Scrabble tournament even then.

Hi!

I haven't written for a while, lots of reasons but none very important; the topics that have come to mind just felt too mean-spirited some days to share.

It's been a normal summer with physical therapy finally ending, occasionally watching the grandkids, and complaining about the miserable heat. This week Joe and I have been grandkid watching with a schedule of the 11 year old in the morning and the 6 year old in the afternoon. They've been attending an Arts Mess Camp and having a lot of fun. It's been a gas hog with going and coming but I don't mind as we've been eating packed lunches at a gorgeous little park in Granville where they can run around for a bit before either going to camp or home to hang out with PapPap.

I've also managed to get several quilt tops finished for the Heart of Ohio Quilt Show which will feature some of my quilts in October. I only have two to finish: one is in process of being quilted on the longarm machine and the other is still in pieces. That one may not make it to the show.

I've started a schedule of knee exercise at home, 25 minutes of stationary bike, and 5 minutes of stretching and bending the left knee which never has gone much pas 90 degrees of bend. My goal is not to allow it to lose any bend and to hopefully gain a few degrees. I am also trying to get back into a regular schedule of quilting two or three quilts a week which I have a better chance of doing than getting my knee to bend.

Unpopular Opinion

Anyone who know me, knows that I really don't care about college or pro athletics. I've written before about my loyalties and what they're based on. So I was tired of hearing about Jim Tressel a month ago and now it's going to be headline national news for a few weeks more. I know it's heresy but he's only a football coach, not a saint, not a hero, and certainly, not to me, a good role model for athletes of any age. He screwed up and should just disappear. His athletes certainly thought what they did was ok by the coach if he knew all about it.

If society didn't idealize sports figures, maybe kids wouldn't think that the only thing they want to be is a college or pro athlete. I think athletics is a wonderful activity for all children, but too often the competitive spirit overwhelms the beneficial aspects of healthy activities.

I don't want to argue with anyone but I just don't care what Tressel does. I think he betrayed his team and his school and made lots of money doing it. Now the young men that he betrayed will have to pay for it as well.

Just My Opinion

There used to be an old "what if" game that I played with my friends. If you could push a button and one person would die whom you did not know, and you'd inherit a million dollars, would you push the button. I always answered "No."

But if I could have pushed the button on Bin Laden myself, I would have in a minute because the inheritance is the safety of hundreds, maybe thousands, of people whom he won't be able to torture or murder. I understand the jubilation of many people. Perhaps it's a bit tacky to celebrate in the streets but Bin Laden's been called a malignancy which indeed he was and one that needed to be cut out of the human population. There's some reason for joy in that he has been eliminated. Of course, in a perfect world there would be no executions of the murderous and inhumane. But in a perfect world there would be no murders, no tortures, no hunger, and so on.

Our world isn't perfect; our decisions aren't always right, but I think this was the best possible outcome for right now. Would I have celebrated in the streets? Perhaps not, but I understand it.

Going for the Gold!

As I've written about before, part of recovering from total knee replacement surgery is physical therapy which is often difficult and sometimes painful. My therapy at LMH Tamarack has been made much more bearable by my therapy buddy, Cindy.

She and I have both had two TKR surgeries, with Cindy being a week ahead of me. Having bonded over our first knee, we were pleased to be scheduled at the same time with our favorite PT Dave after our second knee. Cindy and I have decided there should be an Olympic event for synchronized physical therapy. From leg lifts and knee stretches to squat lifts and toe lifts, we work together to get the most from our exercises and inevitably someone notices that our timing is pretty darn good.

We encourage each other when one of us (usually me) is frustrated by slow progress and also give each other moral support when one of us is white-knuckling during those knee bending exercises with Dave. Next to a great physical therapist like Dave, I think everyone should have a therapy buddy!

Favorite Fantasy Series

I am enjoying visiting with Kai and Quinn the last three days of their spring break. Even though the tv and the video games do most of the entertaining, they still let me drag them to the library and out of the house for a few hours. We're headed there soon. The library is still one of my favorite places -- I just finished a Dresden Files novel, Side Jobs, by J. Butcher and a Mercy Thompson novel, River Marked, by P. Briggs --Both fantasy series that I just love. Mercy Thompson is a strong women who turns into a coyote and is married to a werewolf. Don't you just love it? One of the things I like best about these two fantasies is that any sex scenes aren't blow by blow descriptions (no pun intended). There are novels where I literally skip 5 or 10 pages of intercourse descriptions to get back to the plot. I don't need all the details to know where we're going. I also like that both fantasies exist in extremely well-developed worlds, full of fascinating characters woven into what seems to be the modern world. I can't imagine how the authors keep it all straight, but both Butcher and Briggs do so very well and create that suspension of disbelief that's essential to a good fantasy. Unfortunately, I am up to date on both these authors, so it's off to the library to find something new to read. Some day I am going to break down and buy a hand held device that downloads books, but I would really miss the trips to the library and the friendly people there.

Thanks, Food Network!

I hate trying a new recipe for an actual event. There's no way to know how it's going to turn out for sure.

My daughter Lisa asked me to bring a pasta salad to Jack's birthday celebration. Sounds easy, right? Except it just happens to be something I've never made and I don't have a recipe on file for. Sooo, Food Network to the recipe rescue, I hope. I used one from Emeril and made it last night so the flavors could meld together.

I cooked the pasta al dente as per Emeril's directions, but I'm afraid it's too al dente and that I haven't got enough other flavors in it, used sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, salami, provolone cheese, and veggies with Tuscan Italian dressing.

But what does it taste like today? Easy way to figure it out, taste it this morning. I'm afraid. If it's terrible, I can't start over. I suppose I could buy some from Kroger on the way to the party but I've already spent a lot on the ingredients. Second option, not taste it and just put it out -- scary! OK, I'll be back; I'm going to the fridge for a minute.

Whew, it's pretty good! Emeril was right; the al dente pasta soaked up the dressing and really has some flavor. Thanks, Food Network!

Focus!

Ok, I'm back to taking control of what I can actually affect and letting go of the rest. I still care a great deal about Japan's people and many others but I'm aware that I can only do what I can. I will figure out a way to help at some point.

Right now I am focusing on getting back to a schedule of physical therapy and work at the shop. I'll be going to therapy Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings and to the shop those afternoons with Tuesday and Thursday optional. I find it works better not to go straight home from therapy to rest but it's better to stay active or I am very stiff.

Projects that need to be completed are the Ohio University quilt for Jeremy, the OSU quilt for Jason, the graduation quilt made by Anita for one of my great nieces, and several others. Also I know that as soon as I settle into being back at the shop, friends and clients will begin to drift in with projects needing completion. I can't wait!

Survivor's Guilt

I am having a difficult time reconciling my safe and pleasant life with what is happening to the people in Japan. It's not the first time I have been bewildered by this dichotomy of normal life in my little house in Dogwood Lakes and what is normal elsewhere.

I find myself turning off the local news as I just can't care as much about budget issues and construction zones when I know thousands of men's, women's, and children's bodies are washing ashore in Japan. And adding to the misery of the survivors is the frigidly cold weather and the nuclear reactor failures.

I know it's not my fault that Japan is suffering or that women in many countries are virtually prisoners of their own cultures or that simple freedoms are denied to all members of some countries, but I feel some guilt. Here I am observing these horrendous events from my secure, warm couch, watching it all unfold on the tv.

I know there will be effects on our lives and the lives of our children and grandchildren from this. The ripples are small but they will grow larger much like the tsunamai already felt by the Japanese.

23 Ouches!

Say "ouch" twenty-three times; once for each staple removed today. It's a celebration however as the knee feels much more flexible without pieces of metal holding it together. Steri-strips now hold it and they will fall off and then the real healing process will begin. It's a good day!

Good days have a whole different meaning after a surgery. This time I have more muscles aches and less actual knee pain. The muscle aches come from exercise such as walking all over the offices at the doctors, from the treatment room, to the xray lab, to the exam room. No biggie for a normal knee, but this one is only two weeks out of surgery.

All positive reports today and I am ready to start outpatient physical therapy on my left knee as soon as I can be put back on Dave's schedule at Tamarack. I feel so lucky to be going back to work with someone who I think recognized how hard I worked on the right knee. Not being an athlete, I often chuckled at some of the things he said, but I tried to get my knee where it needed to be and he helped me with preparing the left as well as helping the right to heal. I started to look forward to those physical therapy sessions and that's saying a lot for a real couch potato. It seems strange that I should discover physical exercise at the age of 66.

Pathetic Accomplishments!

It's 10:35 am and I have been awake since five am. What I have accomplished is in pathetically small increments. I wake up at 5 to take medicine for pain and go to the bathroom; then since I am awake, I put my left leg on the passive exercise machine which is up to 97 degrees of bend. After a while the pain subsides and I doze off and on with the television on for company. At 7 am I take my leg off the machine and get up.

After teeth brushing and other ablutions, I head to the kitchen to make a three mug pot of coffee and two pieces of toast which along with a yogurt will be breakfast. I balance it all back to the den along with the walker and set up my breakfast table. Joe always offers to help and I always say I've got it. I'm going to pay for that one of these mornings.

Breakfast accomplished, I turn on the computer and check my email and facebook. By now it's about 8 am and time to change the dressing on my incision. First I take off the white compression hose which is a little hard on the right knee as it doesn't bend quite enough yet. After cleaning the incision with alcohol and putting on new gauze bandages, I put clean compression hose on and get dressed. This time the hospital sent home two pairs of hose so I've really appreciated having clean ones each day. Because I don't like to put any more pressure on my knee, I've been wearing shorts and sweats which I have cut off to the length of long shorts. I don't think my daughters were very impressed with my shear work but it makes wearable some things that otherwise would just hang out in the closet. When I feel a bit better, I plan to actually hem them so I can wear them around the house and for work this spring.

By now it's 10 am, time to take pain medicine again and all the other regular meds I take. If I force down a large glass of water with the meds, there's no stomach ache. While I'm drinking the water, I decide to write in my blog. It's 10:35 am.

Top 5 Differences

Comparing Surgery #1 to Surgery #2:

1. There is no nausea, but I haven't much of an appetite yet and am eating about half of three meals a day. Joe did his steak dinner tonight (Previous Post-Manic Joe) It was great but I'm just not that hungry, not necessarily a complaint.

2. I am minding being confined much more this time. I feel almost well enough to drive and that's undoubtedly part of it. If I weren't taking narcotics for pain, I would probably go for it. Once the staples are out and I can switch pain meds, I'll try out the wheels.

3. Speaking of the staples, they itch and I want to have them taken out! It will happen on the ninth! I haven't counted them yet, but I remember how much it hurt to have them taken out, and I don't care.

4. Watching television 24/7 sucks. Last time I fell asleep a lot more.

5. I am going to end up with very little in home physical therapy. As soon as the doctor writes a prescription for out of home, I will change and go to the Tamarack location. It improves the whole body health far more than the in home therapy, and since I don't need the in home nursing this time at all, it's best to move on.

Quiet

The house is peaceful this morning. Not that there's a party going on here every day, but Joe is a noisy guy sometimes and he always wants his way. Today he's subbing at the local middle school and I am home alone for the first time since surgery. Ahhhhhh, quiet.

Our latest squabbles have been over decisions about my treatment and the fact that he thinks I make mean remarks back at him when he critiques what I've already decided even if I haven't discussed it with him. I warn people that I am a cranky sick person. With Joe it's just a matter of whose opinion is more important, his or the cranky lady who's taking between 6 and 12 percocet a day for pain?

So it's nice to have a day of quiet -- Just me and the tv and the computer with the blinds open to let in the sun. I may get a phone call from the physical therapist to start today and that's the most excitement I need.

I'm Awake!

Ok, I kind of fell asleep there. But again I will be trying to blog each day about my recovery. Tomorrow physical therapy begins! I suppose parts of it will be easier and parts of it more difficult; just like everything else. I feel sleep lurking.

5 Days

It's been five days since the surgery and some things have gone much better.

First of all the nausea that I experienced from the anaesthesia the first time was pretty much totally missing as was the amnesia. I remember going into the surgical room and being put on the table and I remember waking up in the recovery room, talking to someone I knew. Lyla is a friend from Garden Club and quilting so that was fun. I went to my room and was alert and knew what was going on. All good things. I wasn't near as amusing to Joe and the daughters but it was a great relief to them that I was so much more aware. My first walk was from one side of the bed to the other about 5 hours after surgery.

As I understand it, the left knee wasn't nearly as bad as the right had been and the length of the surgery was much shorter, recovery too. Even so, I had this little problem of falling asleep unexpectedly--talking, sleeping, watching tv, sleeping. Not much different from my normal Thursday afternoon-evening. However, it is best not to fall asleep with a full glass of ice and pop in your hand. I ended up with a change of clothes and bedding from that.

During my first stay in the hospital, I became over confident and fell reaching for the walker. This time it wasn't my fault. My second walk was to the door of the room and back; all went fine. My third walk was to be much longer and I asked to go to the bathroom first. One PT put a higher seat on the toilet for me and the other one walked me in to the area and I turned around to sit down. The extra seat collapsed under neath me as one leg wasn't correctly attached. I tried to stop falling but ended up on the floor with my walker on top of me and the other PT on top of the walker. I gathered a crowd immediately and didn't get to use my line (I've fallen and I can't get up.) We walked back to bed and that was that. I just couldn't seem to get very far in these walks.

My last walk before dismissal was a ride to the thereapy room where the steps are. I had to be able to go up two steps to get into my house from the garage. It's been difficult to retrain myself as to which is my good leg and which is my bad. For control I have to use the good leg going up and the bad leg going down, the reverse of what I've been doing. At the hospital it was scary but ok. When we got home, it was the hardest part of the experience.

Here I Go Again!

Joe and I will be leaving the house at 5:30 am to arrive at Mt. Carmel East by 6:15 for registration for my second total knee replacement. Being the first surgery of the day is great in some respects as it will be over much earlier and that's better for Joe. I will probably sleep through most of the day again but it was hard on Joe not to even get me to my room before five in the afternoon. Also I am hoping not to be so entertaining as I was the first time. I have talked with various medical people about my reaction to the anaesthesia and hopefully it will be better.

Of course, the best thing about the 6:15 start is there is no time to get nervous in the morning. We'll arrive and things will get started!

Wrestling, Barbaric or Character Building?

My 11 year old grandson has wrestled for his school this year for the first time. He has not been successful, losing every match but working hard in practices. I only went to to one meet, later in the season. As I watched their warm-ups, I was surprised to see Kai's flexibility as he did front and back somersaults and then a back bend up from the floor. Obviously he had learned some things in practice and was stronger than before. The matches started and I felt it was a little barbaric as the boys groped each other and some left the mat in tears. Kai struggled mightily but lost his match that day.

Today he came home from his last team meet and announced that in his very last match, he had pinned his opponent. The huge grin on his face was all it took to make me like wrestling very much. His coach complimented him and reminded him that all his hard work had paid off and that he deserved this win. Wrestling will never be my favorite sport, but I think it's been character building for Kai. To work hard and never win is always harder than not working and winning easily. It was great that he got the reward at last!

Jewelry Gene

I believe that the desire and ability to wear jewelry well is genetic and it skipped me.

My mom and her sisters had tons of costume jewelry and a very few expensive pieces. Mom would wear huge chunks of color on her ears and it must have been uncomfortable as her ears were never pierced. She would add on a matching necklace and bracelet with her bright make-up. She looked good and it made her feel good to add that jewelry to her ensemble.

When my Aunt Karla passed away, she left behind two suitcases full of costume jewelry. My daughters and I were invited to choose a momento. The girls' eyes were so big; they were enchanted with the overwhelming display and dove right in. I picked one pair of earrings, knowing I might never wear them.

When I do wear jewelry on some special occasion, it will be a pair of old earrings from my mom's stash. I still have much of it and I love to go through it. The girls, on the other hand, graduated from huge boxes of costume jewelry to several good pieces that they started collecting from high school on. I'm not sure if my granddaughter Quinn has the jewelry gene or not yet. At the age of six, she loves to give herself fancy manicures and have her mom paint her toenails, so I'm thinking probably, "Yes, the gene moves on."

The Other Side

I glanced through some of my earlier blogs and decided that I may be giving the reader a somewhat exaggerated picture of Joe. I am not lying about anything but also I am not writing about the good qualities near as much as I am poking a bit of fun at his more interesting bad qualities.

So for the record:

Joe is an excellent PapPap and has a wonderful relationship with his three grandchildren. He plays games and has tons of patience as well as having great care with their needs.

He calls his daughters almost every day (maybe a bit too often but they call him back) and is incredibly proud of them.

I often hear him hooting on the phone as he talks with his sister or brother in Steubenville or his sister in Columbus. He and his sister Barb have a deep personal relationship with Reader's Digest and have to talk over each issue.

He has a great sense of humor and often sees the comedy in life.

He is an excellent counselor and teacher. All the kids love him when he subs and he brings home notes that say, "You rock, Mr. Whyte!"

Ok, good enough for now. Let's not give him a big head.

Electronics Killer

Joe is a killer of all things electronic or even remotely high tech.

We have had a new garage door opener for three months and in that three months, his remote opener has died three times. The first time I think he demagnetized it by carrying it around in his pockets. The second time I don't know what happened, maybe he was still carrying it around. But the company replaced both of our openers and reprogrammed the whole system. Now he keeps it in his console as it must be out of sight or someone might steal it. Whatever! This third time they suggested to him he try to reprogram it himself and to look for the red button on the opener system in the garage. There's no red button on the box that I can see. So he'll have to call them again and hopefully they'll help us fix it without starting to charge us. Oh, and yes, I have an opener that has had absolutely no problems.

When I had my first knee surgery, I purchased a second laptop for the house (My other one is at the shop and used for business.) and signed up for internet access at home so I could keep up with all the fun stuff I do, like this blog. Now that it's there in the house, Joe wants to do email. It's a slow process educating him. He's very impatient and he pounds on the computer and inevitably every time he touches it, it freezes up. Honestly, I think it's someting in his chemistry. I don't know if that's even possible but if it is, it's him. I think he could bring down the whole internet so if it goes dark, be aware that it's Joe's fault!

I think he's also killing the dishwasher. See my earlier post.

Food Network

One of the more masochistic things that I do is watch the Food Network. For a person who is doing Weight Watchers it seems somewhat counter productive.

I watch "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" and want to go to every joint that Guy goes to and eat all the food just as he does. Even when he's tasting brains or kidneys or the spiciest carnitas, I want to take a bite right along with him.

Then I watch "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" and vicariously enjoy every bite the chefs take. Maybe it is not so terrible if I don't actually eat anything but just watch other people eat it. That's it, I'm a food voyeur. Especially when they are eating my favorites, like chocolate or ice cream or probably just about anything edible. So maybe it's not so masochistic, but is more like therapeutic as long as I don't get up off the couch and head for the kitchen.

HGTV

I'm watching too much HGTV again.

I want to be able to do all those repairs and construction things, but I think I'm overly ambitious. Maybe twenty or thirty years ago, I could have done these things but I'm not sure now that I can.

One of my goals in having my knees repaired was to enable myself to be able to get out in the yard and do some of the gardening again. Also I want to be able to paint a room again and do many of the things I used to do. Maybe that's why HGTV is so seductive to me. They make everything look simple and easy enough for me to do.

It's doubtful that I'll ever be able to install a new shower in place of my old tub or turn my basement into an income suite, but this summer I'm definitely planting some flowers in my front bed.

Fact vs. Selective Memory

I don't want to argue about proven facts any more.

Surely, it's a proven fact that washing dishes by hand is more wasteful and less hygenic than using a dishwasher. And there must be proof somewhere that eating lying down in bed is bad for you and that you shouldn't eat two or three large bags of snack food in a week, all by yourself. Also, isn't there a study somewhere that says the more you lie around, the less energy you'll have. And I know I read that having hobbies and having friends is good for your mental and physical health.

Our latest spousal quibble is about the dishwasher because he doesn't believe that it gets the dishes dry enough. When I empty it, the dishes are so hot I can hardly handle them and the only things wet have indentations on their tops which end up holding some water. Not good enough for him, so he has decided to wash all his own dishes by hand because that's what his mom did, so it must be best. My mom did too, but she loved her dishwasher when she got it and didn't balk at a little science to help her out in the kitchen. Actually so did Joe's mom love her dishwasher. But he has a selective memory which won't allow for that.

New!

New favorite food: Greek yogurt. It is so rich and thick and with the addition of fruit and a sweetener it only takes 1/2 cup to make a great snack or dessert for 60 calories not counting the fruit.

New favorite fruit to add: Blueberries! (A close second is pineapple chunks.)

New favorite toy: Caller ID on the shop phone. Joe is now annoyed that I can know it's him before I answer the phone. He's afraid I'll snub him and not pick up. Hmm. Nope, can't do that now that he's realized I can. I like it though as I can ignore some constant irritations such as telemarketers wanting to sell me insurance, security systems, etc.

New favorite pictures of Jack: Mom and Dad had professional pictures taken and every one is cute, but the ones where Jack fights with his hat are my favorite.

New favorite activity: Rehab. I am shocked to admit that if I could go to rehab every day, I would. Those days I feel much more energized and get more done at the shop. I definitely will find a physical activity for after rehab.

New favorite quilt pattern: Disappearing Nine-patch. We'll be demo-ing this at the Retreat for the new Mercantile on Main (New favorite Quilt Shop), formerly Vac Shack.

New favorite activity to watch at the house: Quinn received a silver scooter for Christmas, and she and Kai have been zooming around Gramma's house with its laminate wood floors ever since.

Arggh!

I checked our bank balance on line this morning, just because; I sometimes do that. And my heart plummeted as it said we were overdrawn almost 300 dollars including the overdraft charge. Immediately, I was sure I had screwed up and not written in a payment or check or had messed up simple arithmetic.

I added "Bank" to my list of errands and stopped there to transfer funds from another account to cover the overdraft. All taken care of but now I'm wondering what I messed up on. At the shop, I took time to double check from the account on line to my written ledger what had happened. Aha! One of our bills had been taken out twice! Wow! It wasn't my fault!

I had Joe (whose name is on the bill) call and complain and they are putting the money including the overdraft fee back into our account. Of course, it wasn't the bank's fault either, but at least, it wasn't mine, and the money is back!

Sports Fans

Yesterday, the Steelers won a football game that ensures them a place in the Super Bowl. I am very glad they won but I don't really love football. I do love when my family and friends are happy so I have always rooted for whatever team would make them pleased. I live among some diehard sports fans. It isn't just my husband (who has two shelf units full of t-shirts and sweatshirts, all with logos of some kind, and an entire top of the hall closet full of logo'd hats.) His favorite teams are the Pittsburgh Steelers and Notre Dame. I actually shopped in his shelves this morning to find a great Steelers sweatshirt to wear to rehab to impress my physical therapist.

Also there are the younger fans. Laura and Jason like Tampa since they lived there for three years but they also like the Steelers. Their college choice is Ohio State Buckeyes. You might think it's my son-in-law who's the biggest fan and he does play in a fantasy league and he loves his sports, but Laura is right with him. She has favorite announcers and referees. I never knew you could even know who the referees were. Kai at eleven knows more about the pro players and where they went to college than his PapPap does. So far Quinn is oblivious.

Lisa and Jeremy root for the Bengals since Jeremy grew up in Cincinnati but also have to support the Steelers as Joe has engrained it into his daughters that the Steelers rule. They too love Ohio State Buckeyes. Jack, at 10 months, has several outfits to keep him appropriately loyal but many are Ohio University.

Joe, Laura, Lisa, Jeremy, and I are Bobcats and always want them to win. We admit that Jason attended Ohio State but he lived in Athens for a year and I think a little green and white might have migrated into his psyche.

I never really care who wins a sporting event -- I only want the people I love to be happy -- So I root for whoever they do! I am totally fickle and capable of rooting for both sides if necessary.

No Thank You!

What is so hard about saying, "Thank you," for men, particularly the one I married? Although, yes, I grumbled about it, I transferred some money from my savings to our checking account to cover his pharmacy bill, and no thank you. Now he's also picking up a prescription for me, and when I get it from him, I will have to bite my tongue not to say, "Thank you."

In the past three months at various times, I have thanked him for doing my laundry, making dinner for the two of us, helping me in and out of the car, driving me places, going to the grocery store, and other mundane chores that normally I do with no thanks whatsoever. I will admit that each year I do get a mushy birthday card, Christmas card, and Mother's Day card with lots of thank you's. So three times a year, he manages to say, "Thank you," without opening his mouth.

He's also incapable of saying "I'm sorry," which is a whole other thing. I think it's a male-female deal but still very irritating.

Counting Down to Surgery

It's on. The decision is made. My second total knee replacement will take place on February 23. It's a bit sooner than I thought I wanted to do it, but I think the longer I put it off, the more nervous I will become about it. I will be able to do rehab right up to the day of surgery which will enable an easier recovery and rehab of the left knee. Also since it's the left, I should be able to drive sooner.

I decided that it really didn't matter what the weather was like as I have to stay in for the first three or four weeks anyway. Also Joe is fairly well trained right now so I'd better take advantage of it and not have to totally re-educate him as to what help I need.

So five weeks and counting!

A Bit of This and That

At the end of every rehab session, Dave puts ice on my knee for 10 minutes and then heat for the same. It's great and really makes my knee feel capable of walking out the door without my cringing at each step. But most people enjoy lying flat on a table in a dark room while doing this. Not me, I prefer to sit in a chair and out in the common room. I am a daylight person.

And I'm nibby; I want to know what's going on and maybe even comment on it. Today I had a conversation with a woman who's four weeks behind me in rehab and is planning on having her second knee done in February. It was interesting to compare notes about different doctors and procedures although both our doctors are from the same large practice in Columbus.

Monday I have my last follow up appointment for my right knee and more or less my first decision-making appointment for my left. I would like to wait until April 6th for this surgery, but I don't know what the doctor will propose and I don't want to do major damage beyond what's already done by waiting too long Actually I would be willing to have it as early as February 23rd if I could actually have it on that exact date. That would give me a month to recuperate before Jack's first birthday. I would miss some Guild events in March but that would be ok as long as I could be ready for Jack's birthday. I can't believe my baby grandson will be a year old. He gets cuter every day!

New Recipes

Having been back on Weight Watchers for a little over a year and having lost a significant amount of weight, I am finding myself bored with the same old food and having cravings for sweet stuff, always my downfall. I've been trying to come up with some new recipes to keep me satisfied and yet healthy. Since Weight Watchers now gives no points for most fruits and veggies, I have been trying to add more and more of those.

The first recipe I tried was my own twist on rice pudding. I took 1 cup of brown rice, added one 60 calorie container of sugar free vanilla pudding, topped with 1 cup of blueberries or drained pineapple. I mix it all together and yum! It makes a great snack or lunch.

Then I watched Aartie's Paarty on the Food Network and she made some great things. Breakfast this morning was Pumpkin Oatmeal, basically a can of pumpkin, 2 cups oatmeal, 4 cups water, and pumpkin pie spice. I added some Splenda brown sugar and fat free milk when I ate it and it was a nice change.

Last night's vegetables were also Aartie's -- a combination of tomatoes, onions, artichoke hearts, and chick peas. I couldn't season it as she did as I don't have any Indian spices in my pantry. I am not even sure I would like them, but I used the ones she recommended that I did have -- cumin and paprika, and my tomatoes were already seasoned with oregano and basil. I have to say it made a party in my mouth compared to the usual green beans!

Both of her recipes are four servings so I got out the plastic ware and divvied it up for my personal stash. Lord knows, Joe won't eat any of it. As far as he is concerned, this house is totally empty of food in spite of the fact I stop at Krogers almost every night on my way home.

Brrr!

I can't seem to get warm any more. It may be that the temperature is 4 degrees above zero when I hop out of bed at 7 am. Or it may be that I'm just getting more sensitive to the cold with my metal knee. Or some of it is I'm an idiot.

I have been especially cold at the shop in spite of having the heater turned as high as it can be. There is no heat in the bathroom so I've been keeping that door closed except when I leave when I open it so that the pipes won't freeze.

Today I skipped the heat part of my rehab as it was almost 11 am and I try to open the shop by then. So 12 minutees of ice at physical therapy in Newark, and then I was on my way to the shop in Hebron, about a ten minute drive. At the quilting studio, I just couldn't seem to warm up and got to thinking that I didn't remember having this problem last year. Hmm. Of course! I had a small space heater here at the shop last winter. Wonder what I did with it. Hmmm. On the bottom shelf in the bathroom of the shop, there it is, with the cord neatly wrapped around it.

It's much warmer in the shop now and I can take it into the bathroom when needed and not freeze my buns as I have been. Idiot!

Impulse

Sometimes I talk before I really think. I can get myself into trouble but sometimes it turns rather great. A while ago in a committee meeting I had a brain fart and came up with an idea for a raffle quilt for my guild's show. Since Heart of Ohio is celebrating 20 years, I suggested we make a sampler quilt using all the block of the month patterns that had been done over the past 20 years of the guild. Of course, once I suggested it, I was in charge of it. That's the trouble part. Fortunately, one of the members had all the patterns in a notebook, but I spent hours scanning the designs and choosing a single pattern from the 12 months of each year. Then two members of the committee and I spent an afternoon choosing fabrics for each block and making kits. Each kit was handed out to a member for completion.

The great part is that it is going to be gorgeous. After discussion, the committee decided to freshen up the designs by using bright batiks. Now that the blocks are coming back in, they are wonderful. I've decided to use the remaining fabrics to frame each block with a complementary color and perhaps use black as a final border. Originally I made it clear I would piece the top but that I didn't want to quilt it. I am holding firm to that decision because I still have another knee surgery to get through but it would be fun.

A Few Updates

A few updates:

Joe found his teeth. He waited until the snow melted some and walked the driveway and yard next to it. He found them in the grass right next to my car so he had had them in his pocket and dropped them when he pulled out his keys. I doubt that he learned his lesson about shoving his teeth in his pocket. But I am very glad he found the partial.

I finished my first quilt since the surgery! TaDah! It's a quilt of my own, a town square design with a border fabric of blue houses which inspired the whole quilt when a friend and I found it in Craft Cupboard in Berlin, Ohio. It's almost colonial looking and I love it. Now I need to get it bound and then it's going to my nephew and his wife -- they've only been married 3 years so not too bad.

Rehab continues and I can tell that the muscles in both legs are improving. We're working on functional stuff, like going down the steps without worrying about which leg goes first. Right now if the unoperated leg goes first, I'm possibly in trouble as the right leg still has pain in whatever muscle that is and then if I'm not holding on, I could fall. So new exercise to develop that muscle and, of course, new pain.

Back to Almost Normal

Although I am still going to Rehab and working hard on getting my knee back into shape, life is closer to normal because I am also going back to work at the shop, aka Heavy Metal Quilting.
My right knee is officially straighter than the left now so the surgery worked in that the right knee is getting stronger and will eventually be better than the left in all ways.

Therefore, I am also back to work. Today I quilted half of a queen size quilt and worked on paper work. I discovered that I haven't been paying an electric bill for the past two months. Since I haven't been in consistently for the last two months, I hadn't balanced the check ledger for the business since the end of October. I knew I had enough money in the account for the basic bills and didn't really worry about it. When I called AEP, they said there was a glitch somewhere but right now I had a credit. I have a feeling I will get billed soon, but it was nice to know I hadn't done anything wrong myself.

My goal is to work 4 days a week for a while and then probably up it to 5 unless I really like only working 4 days. Before this, I usually worked 6 days a week even though I only posted 5. My knees are making me more aware that what I want to do is just as important as what I think I should do.