KNEE UPDATE and hopeful a new beginning for 2026

Here I am 4 months out from knee replacement surgery!  I am very very pleased with this out come even if it isn’t a totally symptom free knee at this point.  And I accept the fact that leg exercises - and many other kinds of exercises will be necessary to recover and then maintain for the rest of whatever years are left to me.

Wow - that last statement sounded down.  It isn’t.  Seriously, I am so very grateful to have made it to 78 with all my faculties and now a renewed energy thanks to medical science.  So the statement whatever “years I have left” are just a nod to the reality that I made it to an older age and a desire to make those remaining years as positive and healthy as I possibly can.

Our Christmas was wonderful!!  My family celebrates on Christmas Eve.  That frees up Christmas Day for my daughter-in-law and my son to visit with her family.  And this year my daughter brought a date - a man she has been seeing for almost a year.  It was a full house and it was joyful.  And, of course, there was my grand daughter.  You can’t be too down when it is Christmas and she is around.  I can honestly say that my typical Christmas sadness (due to loosing both parents around the Christmas holiday) never entered my mind the whole evening.  It was wonderful to have such positive memories to replace the old sad ones that previously lingered through this season. 

Now on to 2026!  I am now focused on a few simple desires for this year.

1. I need to return to blogging.  I miss it when I don’t blog.  Blogging reminds me of all the things in my life I am grateful for.  I tend to ignore gratitude when I am not blogging.
2. I need to cluster our medical appointments better.  My husband and I have a lot of those.  I attend all his because he is blind so everything is double for me.  In the past I would limit appointments to one a day.  Doing that ate up our whole month.  Going forward I plan to group appointments into one week of the month.  We will see how that goes, but it is a goal. 
3. I need to focus on my health overall more - not just my legs.  That includes cooking better options and exercising more than just my legs.  Getting into some kind of walking routine will also be a focus.
4. I need to feed my knitting/crochet/weaving part of my life.  And if I make point #3 happen, point #4 will happen too. 

Notice - these are not resolutions or goals.  It is simply what I desire to do. And actually they are what I used to do before my knee became the focus of everything in my life.  Having harnessed the knee pain has made so many other things possible!  A perfect example?  This Christmas I made Christmas cookies!  It has been years since I did that.  Maybe a decade.

And I have so many fiber knitting plans.  That creative spark seemed to die out earlier in 2025 when so much of my life was centered around pain and how to live with it.  I will put together another post on just those plans.  

Other posts are perking in my brain again.  More to come. Promise.

Thanks to those who return time and time again.  I don’t deserve such faithful readers - but I am totally grateful for them

Picture a Prairie Dog

I seem to have fallen into another blogging slump.  

I guess my writing mojo just becomes dormant with some regularity.  

I have come to see this behavior as "learning" and "accepting" things about myself

 rather than a fault or lack of consistency!

Ha!  

How's that for talking my way out of something
 I characterized as a failure
in the past!

The slump is not over, but as I trek a round reading and commenting on the blogs I follow, I realize that connecting occasionally with my own blog is probably a good idea.

Like the Praire Dog that pokes his head out of his hole to take a look around ... this post is my head poking out.  Consider it a mini update and an indication that I still live!

1. I am fine.  Not moody or depressed or over busy.  Just not blog inspired.
2. I am still knitting like a banshie.  Christmas is coming and my gifts need to be completed.  Next year - if I am crazy enough to insist on knitting for Christmas - I am NOT going to use those fingering weight yarns no matter how alluring or temping the project appears - sport or worsted weight knits up so much faster.  Pictures of finished projects will take their place in their own blog posts at some point in the future.
3. I made another trip up to Long Island with my sister to visit my mom's friend who is 94 years old.  She is still mentally pretty good and the trip was great fun.  She is plagued with some medical issues, but her brain still seems to be working just fine.  This trip left me pondering if I could choose only one life status in my very senior old age which would be better: mental alertness or physical well being.  A remarkably few people have both in their 90s so it stands to reason I won't be one of the "very few."  In fact, if personal family history is any kind of predictor, I won't have either one.  Could it be a kindness to one's self to not mentally know your are physically failing - rather than witnessing the total disintegration of your physical self - while your alert mental self watches?  Ugh! That is pretty depressing now that I think on it.  Better start pondering something else - like when does "Dancing With The Stars" return to TV.  I feel better all ready!  
4. My grand daughter continues to grow in leaps and bounds.  A joy to all my senses!  These first two years in a child's life are just miraculous.  Looking back one year ago - the changes are amazing.  It may be time for another grand daughter post.
5. My exercise mojo has its ups and downs as well.  My left knee (surgery 2017) gets cranky at times.  The heat here is brutal - thank you Climate Change.  And my very expensive (but old) walking shoes don't seem to be giving me the support I need anymore - resulting in sore feet if I am standing too long.  I can fix the shoes and will do so this month.  Just wish they didn't cost $150.   The weather should break positively starting next month - and if I ice my knee before and after walking, it is manageable.  I even re-joined the senior gym so I could use the treadmill (which I hate with a passion.). The facility is air conditioned, new and cheap by gym standards so my excuses are pretty few for not going.  So "struggle" is the right word to describe my efforts to stay reasonably fit.
6. Eating wise - this is my absolutely favorite time of year.  Produce is flavorful and abundant.  Some meals I just eat vegetables.  So good.  And my very favorite is corn on the cob and tomatoes.  I think I could live on just those two things alone.  Throw in a few garbanzo or kidney beans and it would probably be pretty healthy as well.  And coffee.  Need my coffee.

So ... there you go!  All caught up on my boring life!  And just to clarify ... boring is A-OK for me.  I have lived a long enough to have had my share of "events."  I discovered that is better to figuratively live in the middle path of life rather than to soar high and sink low.

Back again when my mojo returns or a "prairie dog poke out" seems appropriate.

Apparently ...

Self discoveries are always interesting.

I am a person of 'routines' ... apparently.

When one routine 'hits the skids,' it avalanches into other routines and then I am doing pretty much nothing ... apparently.

And then when I notice that nothing is happening, despite a long to-do list, it leads to a lot more nothing getting done since the world didn't fall apart when I did nothing ... apparently.

Oh yes, I am still feeding myself (and my husband) but meals could not be called 'cooking.'  Soup, sandwiches, salads, pan frying, left overs ... easy stuff.  I am still knitting - three projects are in the works.  Since knitting has not dropped off my radar - I know I am healthy and emotionally fine.  The house gets marginally cleaned of dirt and clutter.  I could probably do "clutter," but my husband couldn't because he is legally blind.  He could probably do "dirt" because he is legally blind, but I couldn't because I can see.  Ha!

But things like exercise and blogging and dieting - things that require a routine to build on - those routines seemed linked together some how and when one of them falls - they all fall!  As a result, there are fewer blog posts, Hersey's Chocolate Bars with Almonds are a viable food group and walking to the lounge chair from the bedroom comprises almost all of my exercise ... apparently.

*sigh*

I have been reading my Kindle, listening to my Audible library and binging on Netflix and Amazon Prime TV shows.

My latest binge TV is The Sopranos.  It is pretty good.  Like The Godfather series of movies, I find myself hoping that the Soprano family (at least the wife and kids) does well and that no harm comes to them.

My latest Kindle completions are:

AWOL on the Appalachian Trail by David Miller

and

Wolfhunter River (Stillhouse Lake Book #3) by Rachel Caine

Both books are excellent.  Check out the story summary on Amazon if you are interested.

My current Kindle read is:

Cold Waters by Debbie Herbert.  

Too soon to tell if this will be good but I have passed my "80 page" mark which means I care about something in the story enough to finish.

Then my Audible library (which was over 60 titles and now is down to about 7) is currently filling my ears with the following:

Curse of the Pharaohs by Elizabeth Peters

This is the second in a 20 book series that can be called archaeology adventure and romantic mystery with Amelia Peabody.  This is an older series of books that were hugely popular maybe 15 years or more ago and continues to have a dedicated fan base even to this day.  The stories are fun and the 'clean' romance story line adds grace and enjoyment to the story.  But the real star of the Audio versions is the narrator, Barbara Rosenblat.  She handles all the accents, genders and ages of the characters with Oscar level performances. Years ago I read or listened to this series - and I have decided to do it again (rare for me to re-read anything.). I highly recommend this series.

But the wagon train of exercise, blogging and healthy eating have been pretty much stalled.

I am here now hoping with baby steps to get back on all those wagons again!!

Retired Knitter's Corner of the World

Boy, when you don't blog daily, stuff backs up.  Hard to know if any of this stuff is of interest ... but no matter.  Here is an update from my corner of the world ...

The Year of House Improvements
After years of putting off, and putting off, and putting off  - we have finally decided to do more than just clean the house!  It started in the spring with trimming the yard and mulching.  Mulch makes everything look better.  And then a new front storm door was installed today.  Coming up we are replacing 3 bathroom floors and some window screens.  Let's not forget the defective bathroom mirror upstairs that has to go, and the light over the kitchen sink that was cheap and ugly (and new) when we moved in 28 years ago - and has not improved with age.  Finally the aluminum siding is DIRTY and GREEN (neither color is light gray the siding was born to be) so a pressure wash is in our future.  Who knows, if I get on a roll this year I might do some of next year's things - interior house painting, 28 year old carpeting that needs to go, kitchen cabinets that have out lived their usefulness.  We put so much stuff off for so long that we are now facing change after change after change.

This year I added some color to my simple uncluttered external environments.  I have bushes, trees, mulch and some brick.  That is it!  Simple, uncluttered, easy to maintain.  But I love nurseries.  I love picking out plants, putting them in pots, watering and fertilizing them, pinching off the spent blossoms, talking to them over the morning coffee - I haven't done this for awhile but it lifts my spirits.  After my frustrating Mother's Day ... I needed a little spirit lifting.  But I do feel sorry for these small gentle blossoms because they were adopted by the killer of green things ... just saying.

The Mother's Day that wasn't ...

Mother's Day was an "up and down" event for me. It was Sunday so that meant church with mom, which was an "up" because it is so important to her.  And lunch with her at Assisted Living was an "up" - the food there is great.  But her allergies were making her miserable - a "down," and I discovered her allergy meds were discontinued at some point in the worst allergy season in years - a "great big down" for both of us, and her legs seemed to freeze up at times making her very unsteady - another "down" that worried me quite a bit.  Then there was the sour "icing on the cake" -  I discovered that a beautiful hand woven wool shawl (shown in the picture) I made for her a few years ago had been accidentally machine washed and dried by the staff.  It was now a napkin!  You can't machine wash and machine dry wool.  Big fat "no no" unless you want a felted napkin.  Mom loved that shawl when I gave it to her and she enjoyed it mostly during the winter months when she would get cold.  She doesn't know it is gone.  Reduced mental functioning has saved her from this disappointment.  I was, however, upset enough for both of us. By the time I got home my kids were on to other commitments - that was OK - I was focused on getting some of mom's medical issues corrected.  And I had the company of my kids earlier in the weekend.

My daughter ordered me a FitBit Pedometer for Mother's Day which will come in June and I am totally excited about it.  And my son and daughter-in-law made a lasagna for our Sunday dinner before they left for the evening.  That was totally yummy and I didn't have to cook. Big thumbs up on that!!

I guess the ups and downs finally balanced out this Mother's Day.

My Crafing Life ...
I treated myself to a new set of Interchangeable knitting needles by Knitter's Pride - LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these needles.  Go out and buy them.  Buy them even if you don't knit.  :-)  I started a new shawl for mom right away using these needles, and I love the feel of them.  I am using the same yarn as the woven shawl for mom's new shawl - except I added a strand of purple yarn to boost the color.  I am pleased with the product so far. But the knitting list has got to stop growing.  Here is my 2013 list:

• Mom's shawl - 10% done
• My Autumnal Cardigan: - 40% done
• My daughter Leaf Lace Shawl - 0% done - but working on the guage swatch 
• My cousins' Faery Ring Jacket - 0%
• My son's Dr. Zoidberg hood and mittens - 0% done

My Walking World ...
Walking is going ok - in a not-so-ok sort of way!!  :-)

Ok ... in that I am not giving up, and I am walking at least a few days a week, and I am getting my step counts up, and I feel better now than that day several weeks ago when I went for the first walk and felt like death!

Not-so-ok ... in that I am not yet walking 5 times a week and I don't reach 10,000 steps every single day.  But I hit 7,000 to 8,000 steps a day most days.  That is better than the 4,000 to 5,000 I was doing.

So this post is the iceberg of my life - the pieces that are showing.

Hope your corner of the world is treating you well.

You guys will understand!

I have a tale of woe.  I must share because you guys are the only ones who will understand.

In November I stopped walking.   You know how this goes ...

walking every day,

feeling good,

 feeling energetic,

 ready to attack life.

Normal response for a logical, intelligent, enthusiastic person in this situation ... ?

Quit walking, of course.  

OK, not normal or intelligent, but it is what happened.

Now, today I took my first walk in 5 months.  Here is the blow-by-blow of how it went.

• Stepped out the door in my new expensive walk/run shoes. 

(Yeah!)

• Plugged in my new audio book to keep me company. 

(Double Yeah!)

• Weather ideal. Cool, clear, perfect.

• 100 steps out, my left big toe joint began to hurt. 

(Toes in obvious shock!)

• 10 minutes later the toe pain stopped. 

(Toes finally noticed the new expensive new shoes.)

• Left heel pain starts.

  (Really?

Heel pain in my $150 dollar shoes

 and my $400 prescription orthotics??

 Seriously???)

• Pain resolves in about 5 minutes. 

(I should think so!!)

• Nose starts to run.  Allergies.  But I am prepared. I have tissues.

• Tissues have blood in them. I have a nose bleed.  

(Is this a joke?)

• Headed back home.  Walking in the front door, the toe is fine, the heel is fine and my nose bleed dries up. 

(Good, because I was out of tissues.)

I can hardly wait for tomorrow!

I have lots more body parts that don't want to cooperate.  

PS - Not blogging.  Just sharing.

:-)

So ....

Hard to know where to start.  Hard to know what to say.

I find myself in an odd position ...

I wouldn't call it a "blog fade," but it might be a "blog cliff."  I sort of feel like I fell off of a cliff back in February when I suddenly stopped blogging.

I have spent some time trying to sort out in my mind why I am not blogging.  I asked myself a bunch of questions.

• Are you giving up your blog?  No, I don't think so.  That doesn't feel right.
• Are you going to blog in the near future?  No, I don't think so.  I am not really inspired to do so.
• Do you know why you are not blogging?  Not completely.  I get ideas for posts, I take pictures ... but it stops there.

So here I sit trying to figure out why I am not doing more of this thing ... this thing that I am doing right now.

What I do know is that over my life time I have a habit of over committing ... and then dropping out ... and then creeping back into stuff again ... until I over commit again ... then drop out ... and ... and ... and ...  It is a lot like going in circles.

Been there.  Done that.  Seem to be doing it again!

I kind of feel that I am busy enough right now.  The priority stuff gets done and the rest seems to have fallen off my radar.  *sigh*

Anyway, I thought I would drop in just to say hi!  Everything is alright here.  Life is full and busy.  I miss being here, I really do, but I can't seem to get my act in gear just yet to write.

So ... I am off again.  Not blogging yet!

Take care all.  I'll check in again when my head is more connected to my neck!!

Cheers.