Week 21 - My New Knee

My surgery week was finally here! But first I had one last work day to get through but everything on my to do list was already done so I was ready to go.

I had a space meeting first thing on Monday and a demo that afternoon and spent the rest of the day documenting what needed to be done when I was out. I made rhubarb upside down cake to take to knitting, which would be the first sugar I'd had in 6 weeks. I had taken out a candy bar to have at lunch but couldn't do it. Knitting was fun and the dessert was delish. My last work day was done.

I had taken Tuesday off because Dottie was flying in and I needed to pick her up at the airport. Her flight was due in at 10:39 and I was there a bit early. Her flight came in but she wasn't coming out so I called her to tell her I was at the curb. Well, she was on her way to the airport in Indiana! She had changed her flight and never told me. OMG! I was not happy but decided to make the best of it so headed south to Aldi, stopping at Honda afterwards to ask how to get my money back. Because get this - 8 days after my transmission died, Honda extended the transmission warrantee to 150K miles so I could get my money back. Yay! They gave me the  number to call and a copy of my paperwork. Then I called Darla to see if she could do lunch and we met at Virginia's Cafe, which was lovely. Dottie's flight was due at 4:00 but I'd done all I had to do in Lincoln so drove back home. I went back for Dottie later and after dinner I packed and set multiple alarms. I had to be at the surgical center at 5:30 so we had to be up early. 

I slept fine. I really wasn't nervous at all. We were there on time and Dottie was allowed to stay with my while they did the IV and prepped me for surgery but was booted out when they rolled me out of pre-op. My surgery was at 8:00 so she went to Starbuck's and the French bakery for treats. She brought me coffee and a pain au raisin when I was back in my room. I was only allowed one visitor for the day so she was it. She left after a bit and I spent the day streaming and knitting between being poked and prodded by nurses. They wouldn't let me get dressed but did let me put underwear on under my johnny for my walk down the hallway. I was in the very last room, which was past a couple of offices and was an odd shape. Oh well.

The OT and PT people came Thursday morning and I was discharged before lunch. Dottie drove me home and the sitting/knitting began. I had my first real PT on Friday at 10:00 and it was like old home week seeing all the PT staff again. I made it through just fine. I was taking all the pain meds, doing all the icing like the good patient I am.

By Friday night it was hot and muggy but when I turned the AC on, it wasn't blowing cool air. I called Ed and the AC guy Ed knows but only heard back from Ed. Being the trooper he is, he came and tinkered a bit and did a temporary fix then got the AC guy on the phone and made an appointment for Saturday morning. I went to bed feeling better but Saturday was going to be a busy day.

The AC guy was there first thing as was the arborist who was taking down the enormous tree in my neighbor's yard that was over my roof. He was in and out explaining what he was doing and cleared a few things off my deck in case branches came down on my lawn. Then the tech came to drop off my bike, which is a new post surgery thing that my knee doc prescribes. It was bedlam in my house! When they all left, the peace and quiet was a treat.

I can't tell you what the rest of the weekend held. I was pretty doped up and didn't do much - sitting, knitting, icing and doing my bike 3 times a day. Dottie kept me fed and medicated. All good. It would all be downhill from here. Life is good!

Week 20 - The Final Push

It was my last full week before surgery and it was jam packed. I had a mix of the last things on my to do list plus lots of pre-surgery medical stuff, including the all important weigh in. The scale had been stuck for a few days despite doing 600/900 calorie days so I was a bit worried but there was nothing more I could do but hope.

I started Monday with a phone orientation with the surgical center then had a dentist appointment and my pre-surgery physical and weigh in on Tuesday morning. Everything went fine, including the weigh in. I came in .2 below the BMI the knee surgeon wanted me below. Good enough. I'd lost more than 18 pounds in 5 weeks. After a big training for business managers at UNO (the Omaha campus of University of Nebraska), I happily headed to Ashland for a celebratory dinner at BW's with Lori and Andrea. I started with my favorite Vanilla Bean Blonde beer, Brussels sprouts and tot-chos (nachos over tater tots) for my main course. I wasn't going to eat sweets until the following week but just to eat yummy, flavorful food was a treat after dieting so intensely for the past 6 weeks.

Wednesday was the last full work day of the week because we had the All Staff Conference on Thursday morning and all day Friday. I had more demos of forms I'd created and slammed to get a few more things done. I taught my last training of fiscal year 21 on Wednesday afternoon then had my monthly Ripples meeting, which I usually enjoy but was distracted this time. Maybe subliminal stress? Not sure but after that I drove to Lincoln for the last swimming with Anne and Rene. I had been using Anne's guest passes but she had rejoined Campus Rec so her gym membership was lapsing. It was perfect timing for me and I needed the swim after such a busy week.

Thursday morning was the keynote and some panel discussions at the All Staff Conference, which was all done via Zoom. I then slammed through a few more things and at the end of the day, I drove to Lincoln for a get together at a bar near campus for one of the accountants who was leaving our department. We sat outside and it was wonderful to see my work friends in person. Last summer was the last time I'd seen most of them. 

Friday was full of break out sessions for the conference and I enjoyed most of them. Helen brought lunch over and we chatted over Mocha C's chicken salad then I had vet appointments at 1:00 for the cats. I was only able to catch 2 of the 3 so took them. The vet is still not letting anyone inside so you wait in the parking lot and they come and get your cats, do their thing then bring them back out. Just after I got there, I watched them put down a farmer's dog in the truck parked next to me. I talked to the man while they went inside to run his credit card and barely held it together. When he drove away, I burst into tears and was such a mess that I forgot to have them put the flea stuff on the cats, which I didn't remember until I got home. But they gave me the shot for Gansey (the one I couldn't catch) and all the paperwork I needed to register them. I was home in 20 minutes and back to conference sessions. I had made it through my last full work week and had crossed lots of things off my list.

I had spinning in Fremont on Saturday, which was fun. We ran our errands before spinning so were home relatively early that afternoon. I had a few things left to do in the yard as well as my regular chores. Lorri had dropped off tomato and pepper seedlings and I had a few more perennials to plant and hoses to set up. I plugged away at these over the rest of the weekend and got it all done. I felt pretty good going into my last day at work and felt ready for my surgery. Just 2 more days to go.

Week 19 - Checking Things Off

Connie left first thing Monday and since it was the first business day of the month, I got busy with reports. Cleaning was done so it was time to tackle the rest of my list. I was super productive all week but still made time for some fun.

Lorri invited me over for lunch on Tuesday but since I was a week away from my weigh in, I brought my own food. It was lovely to visit over lunch. Then Lori came over on Wednesday for tea in the afternoon. She'd gone to Aldi to get me cushions for my deck chairs. There's one right by her house so she was able to go early. There wouldn't have been any left by the time I could get there and there weren't when I stopped after swimming that night. So not only did I get my cushions but we had a lovely tea break on my deck. Nice.

I got a haircut - my first since my pre-Christmas crew cut - and called the kid for my first mow of the season so the rest of the week was spent in my yard. First up was containers. I plant lots of containers on my deck and driveway so got busy with those in the evenings after work. I didn't have enough plants for them all so on Friday after work, I went out and tilled (by hand), composted, planted and mulched (with grass from the mowing) two of my three empty veg beds - the squash and bean/cuke beds. That left just one bed for tomatoes that I'd plant later.

I called Lorri on Saturday to see if she wanted to go to Viaduct Gardens for some plant shopping. My favorite greenhouse closed at the end of last year so I was looking for a new one and Viaduct had been recommended several times. We went and I was able to fill all the gaps in my plant inventory. We got home early enough that I decided to power through the last containers and ended up spending the rest of the day finishing them all. I was dripping with sweat so went in for a shower and dinner. I was done working for the weekend.

Sunday was a true day of rest. I spent the day streaming, knitting and recharging. I had some sore muscles after all the work I'd done and was so happy with all I'd cross off my list that I wasn't stressed about taking a day off. And I needed it. I had another weekend yet before surgery but what was left was doable. I am so good with a deadline. : )

Week 18 - Cleaning and Connie

Connie was coming at the end of the week so my mad house cleaning was moved up a couple of weeks. That meant I went into high gear early in the week and got the entire house ready for company. That took the major cleaning off the list for right before surgery so was the icing on the cake of seeing Connie.

I was powering through stuff at work too - lots of training and demos of my new database. I also had house taxes due, which I dropped off after dark one night after finishing some cleaning. It was worth going out to cross that off my list. The week flew by and I got the final cleaning done during my lunch hour on Friday. Connie arrived just before 5:00 and the fun began.

The weather was going to be hot on the weekend so I suggested we walk at the dam first thing, which worked for Connie since she'd been in the car all day. It was gorgeous and we walked the entire dam and back. I was totally gimpy so was slow but we chatted the whole time and it was lovely. After dinner of egg roll in a bowl, we chatted for hours before heading to bed. Connie and I never run out of things to talk about.

The plan for Saturday was to head to Lincoln to meet up with Connie's daughter, Rachele. They were getting pedicures but there was no point in me getting one so close to surgery so I was running errands until they were done. First stop was Honda, where I picked up my newly repaired car. That was $1,600 out of pocket. Grrrr.... From there I stopped at Darla's to drop something off and then I was going to hang at Anne's until their toes were done. But on the way to Anne's, I drove by Rene's community garden and she was there so I stopped for a chat. When I got to Anne's, her friend Kate was there so I sat on the deck with them. It was a lovely morning with friends.

I met Rachele and Connie at Copal, which is one of my favorite restaurants in Lincoln. I was SO good. I did eat some chips and salsa but only had half of a quesadilla appetizer. I was determined not to blow my diet. When we finished lunch, Connie and I did some plant shopping at Urban Trails and then drove through campus. Connie has been gone so long that there were lots of new buildings to show her and the gardens were beautiful. Then it was home for more chatting, streaming and dinner. I miss hanging out with Connie!

We were back to Lincoln on Sunday for the farmer's market in College View. It's small compared to the downtown Saturday market, but the Husker spring game was Saturday so doing that market wasn't an option. I didn't buy anything but we had yummy lunch from Daffodil Catering. I got such a small portion of rice and meat that the owner said it was a sample and didn't charge me. I was killing my diet! Connie and I hit Menard's for flowers and Starbuck's on the way home. Then it was back home for yet more hanging out. Nice.

Connie had wanted to stay longer but I told her I was not willing to take vacation time so close to being out for the better part of a month for surgery and since I was working from home, I needed her gone on Monday so Sunday night was our last together. It was wonderful to see her again, even if it was only for 2+ days. That's all I ever stay when I visit her so it worked for me just fine.

Like I said, I miss Connie. She was my go to for running errands together and just hanging out. It's hard to believe she's been gone from Lincoln for 12 years. She was still in Nebraska for a couple of years after that but 100 miles away in Peru. Still, I saw her a lot when she was still in the state but now it's more like a couple of times a year. Maybe I'll see her more when I retire. Just 3 more years!

And since I didn't take a single picture while Connie was here, here's a pic of my amaryllis that were in full bloom while she was here.