May 22, 2012 I'd Do It All Over Again

Eight years ago today, CB and  I got married.  It was the best wedding ever (and I should know.  I'm a professional bride).

We got married at Friendship House in Wamego.  We were surrounded by our family and Luke got to sign the marriage license as a witness.  He proudly walked me down the aisle and opened the champagne when it was time to party.

Over the years, we've had some great times, wonderful trips and lots of laughs.

After the last 6 weeks, I bet CB wishes he would have done a more thorough medical background check on me, including, but not limited to knee x-rays!

I love you, Curtis.  Thanks for loving me back,

May 18, 2012 Perfect Intersection

I went to a continuing legal education seminar in Lawrence today.  Because I am still without wheels (other than the ones on my walker), Luke drove me.  We got to the venue (The Oread Hotel across the street from KU...an amazing hotel with spectacular views) early so we drove around campus.

When I saw this street sign, I knew I had to have a picture.  We live on Lilac Lane and CB spends a lot of time on Jayhawk Blvd.  so I thought this was a good representation of my husband and me!

Back in the olden days when I was in the county attorney's office, Luke used to go with me to an annual CLE.  We typically would get a hotel room and Luke would hang out while I was in class.  He knew his way around the hotel within moments of check in and he got more out of a hotel stay than anyone I've ever met.  If he needed me during class time, he would walk back and forth past the open door until I noticed him.  We had a great time!   One year the CLE was 3 days after Luke had all 4 wisdom teeth removed.  Nothing was going to prevent him from joining me on our annual CLE trip, so he packed his bags (suit and ice)!  We spent a lot of time looking for places that served soft food.  We found an all you can eat buffet whereupon Luke ate his weight in mashed potatoes.

It was shortly after that the all you can eat buffet went out of business.

I do not think the two are related.

May 15, 2012 We've Been Flocked

Look what landed in our yard!

The last time I saw this flock of flamingos they were grazing in my mother's yard.  What a surprise to find them in my yard when I got home from work.

It's a fund raiser for Relay for Life sponsored by a local bank.  One of the flamingos has a note around its neck telling us to call a number, make a donation and provide the next address for the flock.

I love that all the birds are facing one direction, but there's one rebel on the back row who is looking to the right.  There's one in every crowd, right?

May 14, 2012 It Was Like Mt. Everest

Today, I climbed the stairs.  For the first time in 6 weeks.

This is the view from the summit.  Weather at the summit was similar to the weather on the first floor.  I did take a stroll around to check out the scenery.  It was much as I remembered but with a little more dust.

My ascent was assisted by CB who walked in front of me and Luke who brought up the rear.  If you look closely at the photo you will see that 2 pictures are gone.  They were there when I started up the stairs.  Luke picked them up as I passed.  (Me and my walker were a little wide for the stairs.)

While I was upstairs, I slept (as in SLEEP) with my husband.  Didn't want to waste the trip.

I'm nothing if not an incurable romantic.

May 13, 2012 Mother's Day Luke Style

 CB took Luke and I to breakfast at our local greasy spoon for Mother's Day.  CB is headed to a dinner with his mother and family and later today the Smith girls (and families) are going to my mother's.

After breakfast, CB took Buddy for a walk and Luke took me for a drive.

To the cemetery.  No.  I am not kidding.

He said something about it  being a nice day and a drive in the country would be fun.  But, we still ended up in the cemetery.

When I brought it to Luke's attention, he acted all surprised.

Still.

After we tootled around the cemetery (Oh. Yes. We. Did.), we drove around the countryside admiring the scenery.

Even without the walker, I am officially old.

May 11, 2012 Congrats Emily!

 Before I tell you all about my amazing, smart, committed, compassionate niece, I must vent a bit about today's footwear.

The 12 year old (okay, she might have been 13) sitting in front of me at my niece's pinning ceremony was wearing these shoes.  I couldn't take my eyes off of them.  How in the world does the poor child walk?  If she were to fall, she'd hit the floor from a distance of 7 feet.

Oh, and the shoes are ugly.

Now, about the important event of the day:  my niece, Emily, graduated from practical nursing school today. I got to go to her pinning ceremony which was really nice.  Emily came to the nursing profession on the same route Luke took to college....sort of the long way around.  But, as we know, not all who wander are lost.

When Emily begins her nursing career (which may be Sunday afternoon when she trims my toenails - - one other thing they don't tell you about when you get a total knee replacement, that you won't be able to bend over to hack away the talons on the end of your toes) her patients will be very lucky.  Emily's personality lights up the room, she is quick to laugh and has a level of compassion that runs deep and wide.

She has talked about being a Hospice nurse and we discussed the honor it is to help someone slip from this world to the next with dignity and love.  Emily would be a wonderful companion for someone making that journey.

Whatever she does, Em will do it with gusto and with all her heart.  Isn't that exactly what you want in a nurse?

Oh, and she also decorates cakes.

Isn't she amazing?

Isn't it clear she's my niece?

Love you, Emily!

May 3, 2012 BEND THAT KNEE

This is sort of hard to explain, but I'll try.  Hang on and enjoy the ride.

It is imperative that my knee bend to 90 degrees by tomorrow.  IMPERATIVE.  If it doesn't, then I could have to go back to the hospital for a fun event called "manipulation".  That's where I'm put to sleep and the doctor forcibly bends my knee thus breaking up the scar tissue that has formed since my surgery.  Apparently, it sounds like firecrackers going off when the scar tissue breaks.

Manipulation is no fun at all.  Questions?

On Wednesday, my physical therapist said that I needed to bend my knee and bend it now.  I got a new exercise to do - - called a wall slide.  I lie on my bed, put both feet on the wall and slide my right foot down causing my new knee to bend.   It hurts like hell.  Like hell on steroids.

I am do to this every hour while I'm awake.  What fun!

I feel like I made progress today....I hope so anyway.

Won't someone get out a compass of some kind and measure the degree of the bend in my knee?  I think I am clearly at 90 degrees.

Clearly.

May 2, 2012 Big Deal

You can't tell from this picture but I shaved my legs today.

This announcement is blog worthy because it has been a month since any attention was given to my legs and the hair that grows thereon.  My choice today was to either braid it or shave it.

Yep, I decided to shave it.  Braiding requires too much upkeep.

I am wearing shorts without apology this evening.

Check out that incision!  I'm a healing machine!

May 1, 2012 Pick Up Your Shoes

Remember when your mom would yell "Pick up your shoes!  They are in the middle of the living room floor!"?  Yeah, I remember those days, too.

Why were my shoes in the middle of the living room floor anyway?  Why didn't I just kick them off at the front door like a normal kid.  Why did I wait until the middle of the living room floor to lose my shoes?  Could it be that I was just running through the house so  fast that I ran right out of my shoes?  No?

Does it make you wonder what happened to the rest of my clothes?  Okay, we won't go there.  Too late?

I laughed when I looked into the living room today.

There were my shoes.  In the middle of the floor.  I think that they ended up there because I took them off while sitting in the recliner (which, buy the way, I can get out of all alone now.  HUGE!!).

But, that begs the question of WHY are they still in the middle of the floor?

I don't know.

Yes.  I do.

No one picked them up.

It wasn't going to be me.

I'm crippled, you know.