Hey Babe!
Had a pretty good night sleep, though I needed an oxy at about 4:00 a.m., and I forgot to bring them to bed with me, so I had to get up and get those so I could get back to sleep. Then I slept through until DeDe woke me with a phone call to check up on me, and I'm glad she did because it was 8:45 and the PT guy was coming between 9:00 and 10:00! So I jumped out of bed, managed to have a quick bowl of cereal before he got here. He got a little lost and had to call me, but once he got here, it went smoothly. We signed all the paperwork and he went over some of the lighter exercises he wants me to do over the weekend, then next week someone will come to give me three more sessions, then two the following week. I'll be seeing the surgeon by then, and they'll decided what kind of additional PT I need, or if they trust me to keep doing it on my own, which would be my preference, of course! The PT guy was amazed that I could already bend my knee to about 110 degrees, when the goal was only 90! I love that the PT comes to me, that saves me having to try to get a ride from anyone, since I'm not allowed to drive while I'm still taking the heavy drugs. Spent the rest of the day taking walks every hour, and by the last two walks, I was just carrying my crutches, not using them at all, so that bodes well. The rest of the day I did my exercises, iced my leg all day (Rick brought me two coolers full of ice, as well as another bag!), watched a little TV, though I kept dozing off through most of it, then finally wrapped my knee in cling wrap and took my first shower since Wednesday morning. Chelle drove all the way out to the hospital to pick up my discharge papers, which we forgot when we left yesterday, I am so incredibly grateful for this amazing circle of friends that have been rallying around me in my time of need. You know how I hate to ask for help, but now that I've had to, I'm a bit overwhelmed at the incredible response I've had. Incredibly heartwarming! Of course, they all know I would do the same for them, but still, I'm not used to being so pampered! Anyway, it was a great day, and it will only get better from here! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Sweetie!
Surgery finally done!! Following their instructions to a T, I got up at 3:40, took a shower (again) and used their special soap, dressed in my scrubs, leashed up Lola, and sat out at the picnic table by 4:10 waiting for my ride. Jo was a little late (and a little cranky, obviously not a morning person! Love her anyway!) and arrived about 4:30. We had just enough time to drop off Lola at her house before heading to West Marion Hospital. We arrived at 5:25, so we made it by my 5:30 deadline, yay! Got signed in and proceeded with the prep, until they took me into surgery around 7:30, the first patient of the day apparently! I woke up in recovery, I think it was around 10:30, feeling a bit lightheaded but otherwise, in good shape. I did have some pain in my knee, which surprised me only because the last time when they did my right knee, the nerve block was so complete, I couldn't feel my leg at all for about 24 hours. Not the case this time, but I actually liked it better, I could feel my leg, and the pain was about the same as before the surgery, so it's only going to decrease from here, which will be great. During my pre-surgery interview, though, they discovered I lived alone, and apparently their protocol insists that I have someone with me for the first 24 hours. Since I hadn't planned on that, the best option was just to stay in the hospital overnight. I didn't really want to, but it really turned out for the best. I got the good drugs and had great room service, and they fed me more food than I would eat in three days, so I probably gained weight while I was there. The night nurse, Darlene, did a great job of combining overnight visits, so I ended up with only a few interruptions, and slept great in between, so I actually had a pretty good night sleep (with earplugs, of course). In the morning I had visits from the PA, the surgeon, occupational therapy, physical therapy where I got to take a walk with a walker and had to take some stairs to prove I knew how to get up and down them. Everyone was impressed with my progress, but really, it feels just about the same as what I've been dealing with for several months now, so no problem. I was finally discharged at 1:00, and DeDe arrived early, and we left just as soon as that was done. I packed up and then got wheeled downstairs while she got her truck. Stopped at Jo's to pick up Lola, who appeared nice and exhausted, then got a call that we had forgotten my packet of discharge papers! Fortunately, my other friend Michelle has offered to go pick them up for me tomorrow. I'm so grateful to have a circle of friends so willing to help! Ranger Rick is going to bring me a cooler full of ice tomorrow, which will help me get through the weekend. I took two walks around the camp loop this evening, have done a few of my exercises, and kept the ice machine on the whole time. I'm supposed to keep it on, so I have to refill it with ice and put it up in my bedroom somewhere. I don't recall doing that last time, but it certainly won't hurt. Took my last bunch of pills, no shower tonight, heading straight to bed! Good night, darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
After a few last minute changes in my plan for today, I headed down to town to do my shopping, first to Winn-Dixie to get a wide variety of nectars (Walmart here doesn't have much), then to pick up my mail, then to Walmart, where I made two excursions, because the baskets on those motorized carts don't hold very much, so it took two rounds to get it done, then finally, to Tractor Supply, where I had made my order while sitting in the Winn-Dixie parking lot, and it was ready just as I was finishing my Walmart run. Picked up a bunch of horse feed (not that I'll need it right away, but I wanted to stock up on everything), then headed back to camp. Got everything unloaded and put away, then sat down for a minute to take a break. Then I got the phone call I've been waiting for, informing me of what time I need to be at the hospital tomorrow. Turns out I'm first in line, so I have to arrive by 5:30! Which means we need to leave here by 4:30, which means I have to get up by about 3:40 so that I can take the final required shower with their special soap. I called Jo, who is supposed to be my ride, and offered to drive down if they can just retrieve my truck at some point, but she insisted she'd rather get up and come and get me, so she's going to have to be up early as well. Sigh... Well, at least that means I should get home fairly early, and maybe I can get right back to my normal sleep cycle if I can stay awake during the day. Anyway, after speaking to my care team, (Jo, DeDe and the Gralds), I hooked up the little horse trailer, loaded up the bobos and got them moved over to Michelle's, where they'll be staying until I'm mobile enough take care of them myself. Got back a little after 4:00, had a nice salad for dinner and settled down for a VERY early evening, with intentions of getting to bed by about 9:00, if possible. Can't wait to get this done!! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Had a great night sleep last night, thank goodness, making up for the bad night last night. After my usual chores and breakfast, I finished off pressure washing the sections of the trailer that I didn't finish the other day, then fixed the seat controller in the truck. Somehow it had been jammed in such a say that the slider to move the seat back and forward would only move backward, so last time I drove, I could barely reach the pedals. Turned out to be an easy fix that only took me a few minutes. Spend most of the day reading, then watching an old movie, Solomon and Sheba from 1959. I've been saving up some of the longer movies and watching them when I have a whole afternoon to kill, and today was one of those days! My knee is getting worse, I really had a hard time walking today. Settled down for a quiet evening, having my tea and will be off to bed soon! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Babe,
I decided early that the task of the day would be to get the pressure washing done. Right after breakfast (and a quick trip over to Val's for a laser treatment) I started on the water tank on the truck, and did a very thorough job, which included moving the tank and clearing out all the hay and junk around it. Some of the hay had been trapped in the corners so long it had turned to compost. Meanwhile, the guys from J&S Trailer came and looked for the leak in my slideout, but all they did was squeeze a little sealant along a couple of seams, and I'm pretty sure it's more than that, but we'll see after it rains later this weekend. I gave the truck a quick rinse, then I moved to the trailer, starting with the skirting around the hay, then moved down along the side to the back. I had to take a break for half an hour, my knee was screaming at me. Then I went back and did the back of the trailer. Not the completely thorough job I had hoped for, but I did move everything from side to side, and washed the padding really well. I still need to go through my filing cabinet at some point and clear that out, there's a lot of junk in there I can get rid of. Not perfect, but a heck of a lot better. Needless to say, my knee was beyond screaming at that point, so I quit after that, about 2:30, which was more than enough. I still have some work to do sorting stuff out, but I'm a lot further along, so I feel satisfied. I started my pre-surgery routine today, so I'm well and truly on my way! Can't wait! Relaxed the rest of the day, ready for bed very soon! Need my knee to feel better by tomorrow, Jo and I are going riding, and it will be my last ride for at least a month!! It will be worth it, though, when my knee starts getting better instead of worse. Good night, my sweet! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie!
Happy Anniversary to me! This is the five anniversary of my personal Independence Day, when I left Tennessee after selling the house and going on the road permanently. Hard to believe it's been that long, but am grateful for all the wonderful things I've seen and done since then! Today was another day of work, work, work. I was up on the roof by 9:00 working on trying to finish off all the sealing. I scraped around the skylight, and found rusty screws, of course, so I had to spend quite a bit of time cleaning off the roof and both sides of the skylight base, but I managed to get it done. I started getting ants a few days ago, and I discovered that one of the places they were getting in was through one of the rust screws on the skylight! Explains why I've seen ants in the shower lately. I also sealed the last little strip on the roof by the attic, and the satellite antenna attachments. I thought that would just about finish it, except for a strip at the very front, but then I discovered another trail of ants coming in at the top of the refrigerator, and realized I still had that and the vent to do. Another day, though, I was exhausted by the time I came down six and a half hours later! Whew! Good news, though, the insurance company has approved a partial knee replacement, so the schedule is still May 7. They didn't approve a full knee replacement, which was merely applied for as a contingency if there was too much damage, but after looking at my MRI, the surgeon feels that the partial will work well enough. Good, I've had experience with those! Of course, by the end of the day my knee was screaming at me, and I'm not supposed to take ibuprofen (only acetaminophen) after tomorrow, but I may take a couple tonight if it hurts too much. I don't have any Tylenol in the house, though I think I may have some seven year old Panadol from New Zealand, which is the same thing. On my grocery list! Finally settled down for the evening, ready for bed! Love you, darlin'! Good night!

Hi Darlin',
Started the day after chores up on the roof again. I finished most of the roof seam, except for about the last 14 inches, because I didn't want to open another tube of lap sealant for such a short section. I can finish that when I do the rest of the small stuff, and the sunroof. I tried to strip back the coax on the radio antenna, but it's so short, and I really don't have the right tools, I decided to wait and see if I can get the trailer repair guy to do it for me, assuming they show up tomorrow as promised. Headed out to the hospital after that. Happy to report that I passed my pre-surgery exam, including the EKG, with flying colors! None of that nonsense like we had last time, thank goodness (which, frankly, I think was a money grab on the part of the Cleveland Clinic...just staying). The RN was very personable and helpful and we had a nice chat. I also called the surgeon's office and spoke with the gal there, they only just resubmitted the notes from my visit, with amendments, late this afternoon, so hopefully the insurance company will see the error of their ways and get me the approval we need to proceed with the surgery. Such a bother! Stopped at Walmart to pick up a couple of pre-surgery prescriptions (a special body wash and some antibiotic cream), and a tomato cage for my new tomato garden. Got back to camp and rested the rest of the day. That's my life at the moment, I do one thing and that's all I have the stamina for. Hopefully, we're almost done with that cycle! Anyway, settled down to a quiet evening, hot tub, shower, tea and soon bed! Good night, baby! Love you!