karenmarie attempts to redeem herself in 2023 - part I

Welcome to my ROOTs thread of Two Thousand and Twenty-Three!

I’ve decided to start using the format I use in my 75ers threads.

My definition of ROOTs for purposes of this group is any book on my shelves by 12/31/2022.

The Good: Family, friends, kitties, books, in constantly-rotating order. Treadmill work has been iffy because of the ruptured Bakers Cyst I’ve been dealing with since October. However, I’m having a visit with an orthopedic surgeon on January 5th to evaluate for knee replacement surgery and, I hope, schedule it. Jenna’s home. She started a job in September 2022 and it’s turning out to be a very good fit for her. I love having her here and realize that this may be the last time we get this much time together.

The Bad and the Sad: Covid is barely contained. Ukraine is still fighting for its survival as an independent country. Women’s rights in the US are under continuing attack. Racism is alive and well and able to easily organize on the Internet. The haves keep wanting more and more and the have nots keep getting shafted more and more.

The Ugly: The Gang of Psychos continue to work hard to destroy our Republic. Even though I have always disagreed with most of their policies, at least they weren't right-wing nut jobs until you-know-who reared his ugly, evil, puerile head.

The encouraging: The overturn of Roe v. Wade has woken some folks up, even members of the GOP.

I’ll be 70 this summer. Like everybody else who gets there, I think “How did I get to be old? Not in a bad way, just a real way.

I am so glad I’m retired, and am beyond grateful that I don’t have to venture out to work to earn a living ever again. I paid my dues. Every day I don’t work is a cause for celebration.

I read and am a charter member of the Redbud and Beyond Book Club, started in 1997. We started meeting in person again last May. This book club year ends in April, with May to pick 11 books – one for each member – for the 2023-2024 year. I am President for our local Friends of the Library. I gave my resignation, effective June 30, 2023 at the July meeting. I’ll stay on the Board as Immediate Past President for however long the next President serves, then completely leave the Board and just stay on the Book Sale Team. The Book Sale Team meets on Tuesday to sort donations for the upcoming Spring 2023 sale.

I have been married to Bill for 31 years and am mother to Jenna, 29. The three of us live in our own little corner of paradise on 8 acres in central North Carolina USA.

We have three kitties. Inara, Zoe, Wash. Couldn't resist including Jenna with this pic of Wash. Until Jenna moved back home last July to regroup, that chair was Wash's, and he is not very happy when she is in it. He's not a lap kitty very often, but is now with Jenna and His Chair.


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The picture I used for our 2022 Christmas card.
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My ROOTs goal last year was 30 books, completely do-able given that I had over 2,000 books on my physical shelves and on my Kindle that were tagged ‘tbr’ – to be read at the beginning of the year. I only read 18 because I got caught up in, and am STILL caught up in, contemporary fiction, by which I mean romance. What I really mean by this is what my daughter calls smut and my friend Karen in Montana calls soft porn. What can I say? In addition to the explicit sex scenes, there are frequently, but not always, trigger events or family issues addressed. In moments of reflection, I think that I’m reacting to my November 2021 heart attack. *shrug* Regardless, it’s my subgenre of choice and has been since April of last year. Because of that, I am going to set a goal that is not challenging and not stressful. I do not count ROOT re-reads.
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New Year’s Resolutions – 2023

Health:

Lose a minimum of 20 pounds. Since my heart attack last year, I've lost 57 pounds.
Work out for cardio health 3 times a week when appropriate given knee and Bakers cyst problems.
If I can get approved, knee replacement surgery (ies?) and assiduously follow through with all PT and other requirements.
Reduce red meat consumption and increase salmon and other healthy fish consumption.
Continue low-sodium lifestyle and gradually work to reduce sugared items to 2-3 times a week.

Reading:

These goals are for my overall reading. As stated above, 10 for ROOTs is realistic given my current going down the rabbit hole of romance.
Read 5% nonfiction this year if continuing with startling numbers of contemporary fiction - i.e., romances, otherwise 10% if the romance trend tapers off.
Inventory all book shelves in house, ruthlessly cull that which I won’t read/re-read and which Jenna won’t want when I’m gone. ~123 shelves = 10/month.
Finish The Federalist Papers, Pilgrim, re-start and finish Run With the Horsemen, a gift from Peggy. There are 3 ROOTs right there!
Finish listening to The Ink Black Heart, started last November. I don't commute any more, and it takes much longer to listen to a book since I only listen to audio books in my 2012 Ford Escape SUV.
Read A Brief Introduction to the New Testament by Bart D. Ehrman with friend Karen in Montana. Another ROOT!
Maybe read Don Juan by George Gordon, Lord Byron, with Peggy.

House:

Get the Parlour back under control by making a decision about each thing in the room and immediately following through properly: keep and store, toss, donate.

Inter-personal:

Be in better touch with family and friends. I tend to isolate when stressed.

General:

As Judy says, pay attention.
Express gratitude for what I have - family, friends, intangibles and tangibles - every day.

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2023. I have high hopes for familial stability with Jenna living at home and socking money away for the eventual move to an apartment of her own. The new normal for Covid will, I hope, be continued vigilance and an eventual regimen of yearly vaccines as we do with flu. With politics, who knows, but I hope the Democrats continue to keep the Gang of Psychos in check as much as possible and the world does not implode via Putin/nuclear/Ukraine, Kim Jung Un in North Korea ditto nuclear, and the Middle East with Israel and Iran ditto nuclear. See a potentially devastating theme here?

ROOTs read

1. The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith 11/1/22 2/11/23 audiobook 32.75 hours
2. 1066 by Professor Jennifer Paxton 2/14/23 2/28/23 audiobook 3 hours

Currently reading:

Pilgrim by Timothy Findley 6/20/22 486 pages hardcover 1999
The Federalist edited by Jacob E. Cooke 5/28/22 656 pages hardcover 1961

Welcome!

Great to see you back with us! Happy reading!

Hi Birgit, and thank you.

I'll be visiting threads in the next couple of days, probably not today. I'm hosting my Real Life Book Club today from 2 - 4 p.m., US EST, and need to bake a carrot cake and various and sundry.

>5 karenmarie: Yes, getting back into the swing of LT can be daunting at the start of the year. Have a nice time with your book club friends!

Hi Karen, Good to see you back here. Going on 70, hé I'm with you on that. I'll be 70 in March and had the same thoughts about it.

Wow! That's quite a list of goals for the year! Good luck with all of it, and happy reading!

Welcome back! Great to see you again! Hope 2023 is a good year.

Hooray, I'm so glad to see you back! Good luck with all of your goals, especially the health ones!

This afternoon I did the first big supermarket shop of the year. Both Pete and I have decided to go on diets/eat healthier, but of course we've both decided on different plans to suit our particular needs. I'm going to be eating vegan before 6pm, and he's doing keto800. So I ended up buying all sorts of interesting things which I hope will be the start of healthier eating habits, now that the Christmas food excess has (more or less) been eaten up. It was the most expensive food shop I've done in a while, so I hope we can get into a routine where we know what works and what we don't need to continue to buy.

I love that picture of you, Bill and Jenna - a fine, happy family :)

>10 Jackie_K:. Jackie, great food plans. Groceries are more expensive here then they have ever been, certainly vegetables and vegan products. I hope you and Pete will find what you like best soonish. That will help with the costs of doing groceries.

>11 connie53: Yes, same here. Day 1 today, I did pretty well, but have to say that the vegan cheese I bought really is vile. I'm glad I added avocado to it in my sandwich, I'm not sure I'd have been able to stomach it otherwise. I also think that I'm going to end up eating my body weight in nuts as a snack (to try and avoid chocolate).

>6 MissWatson: So many threads, here and in the 75ers, Birgit, so little time that I’m not doing other things. Sigh. Book club went well. There were 8 of 11 of us. Snacks and wine/sweet tea/unsweet tea/water. Good discussions of my book, The Book of Disappearance, a what-if book about Palestinians and Jews in Israel.

>7 connie53: Hi Connie! Yes, we’re both going to be 70 this year. It’s all good, right?

>8 rocketjk: Hi Jerry, and thank you. I figure if I keep my goals out and about, I’ll be more inclined to be mindful of them every day. I just starred your thread and will visit when I visit everybody else. Not necessarily today, mind you… *smile*

>9 rabbitprincess: HI RP, and thank you. I hope 2023 is a good one for all of us.

>10 Jackie_K: Hi Jackie, and thanks – I’m glad to be back, albeit with a much-reduced ROOT goal. My health goals are primary, as I’m still recovering from a should-have-been-dead-but-am-not heart attack and will be having knee replacement surgery on March 9th – see below. I’ve lost 58.5 lbs since my last annual exam before the heart attack, am having fun digging out clothes-that-now-fit-again from my closet, and am feeling pretty good about things.

Wow, good for you re the diets and eating healthier. Interesting that you and Pete have chosen different plans. I hope you can merge enough to keep the budget under control. Our grocery bill climbed significantly when Jenna came home to live for a while in July. I don’t begrudge the money at all, since she’s being so responsible about saving her money and wants to be able to move to her own apartment within the year. We’ll see how that goes, because it’s tough out there. She has a good job that will convert to permanent this month. I love having her at home and haven’t laughed as much in a very long time.

Thanks re the pic. We’re like any family, I think – good times, bad times, meh times.

>11 connie53: Grocery store inflation here in the US is ridiculous. So many things have doubled in price, and some even more. Our grocery store holds the line in basics-areas, mostly, but still.

>12 Jackie_K: Ugh. Vegan cheese. Nope. I’ve just started eating cheese again, trying to be responsible about incorporating it into my low-sodium lifestyle post heart attack. Be careful about nut consumption, calorie-wise, my dear, they get me in trouble sometimes. Why are you avoiding chocolate? Milk because of vegan? If so, do you also like dark chocolate?

...
After being severely disappointed with the ortho surgeon in my normal network on a January 5th visit in which he told me I was not a current candidate for knee replacement surgery even though two other people in-network said I was, I went to the ortho surgeon our friend Carl went to. The timing was amazing - called them on Monday the 10th, had an appointment on the 12th where he took something called Rosenberg x-rays which proved the bone-on-bone knee problem (in addition to the ruptured Bakers cyst I've been dealing with since October), and I'm scheduled for the surgery on March 9th. I've already got a schedule of pre-op appointments, hospital predmission testing, and required "hospital joint class". These folks are kind, caring, AND efficient. I especially liked that the doctor said "I'll take good care of you." Completely unlike the cold, unempathetic, and dare I say it? misogynistic Bad ortho surgeon.

>13 karenmarie: Good to hear that you found a nice and efficient surgeon to take care of your knee replacement. That gives so much trust and peace going into surgery. I've had an injection with corticoïde last Tuesday and that works amazingly. No pain walking and cycling anymore. I can get 2 more of them this year, if needed. Surgery is a solution after that period. Sometimes people are doing fine for months with the injection. For now I prefer this. Surgery is a bit difficult living alone with no help in the house.

>13 karenmarie: Good to hear you are in competent and sympathetic hands for your surgery.

>14 connie53: Thanks, Connie. I had cortisone shots 4 times last year, in January, April, July, and October, with the hope that I would get off the one drug that was preventing me from having elective surgery. That drug is Brilinta for the stent I got in November of 2021, and that I had to be on a year according to my cardiologist. Off the drug in November, onto an 81mg aspirin instead, and I'm going ahead with the surgery. I hope the cortisone shots do as well for you as they did for me last year, lasting months at a time.

I hope that when you do get around to the surgery that there are home health services that can support you.

>15 MissWatson: Yes, thank you, Birgit.

>16 karenmarie: I know there are. My friend wants to come over too for a few days, maybe the first days after surgery. But that is something I will tackle when I know if and when a surgery is planned and that could be a year from now.
My first knee surgery was really easy. I could go up the stairs with crutches on surgery day and had a speedy recovery.

>13 karenmarie: I'm so pleased to hear you've found a surgeon you're happy with and confident in his care. I'm keeping everything crossed that the surgery goes ahead and you get a new lease of life!

Happy 2023, Karen! I've missed your thread and went looking today to see if you'd started one. Love the cats and Jenna, and your family looks so calm-happy in your Christmas picture :) Good luck with your goals and knee surgery, you've already done so well with health and lifestyle!

>17 connie53: Hi Connie! I'm glad you had such a quick and successful recovery. I'm hoping for the same.

>18 Jackie_K: Thank you, Jackie! Less than a month away now.

>19 detailmuse: Hi MJ! I'm glad you came to visit, glad you love Jenna and the kitties. Thanks re my goals and my knee replacement surgery.

1. The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith
11/1/22 to 2/11/23





From Amazon:

The latest installment in the highly acclaimed, internationally bestselling Strike series finds Cormoran and Robin ensnared in another winding, wicked case.

When frantic, disheveled Edie Ledwell appears in the office begging to speak to her, private detective Robin Ellacott doesn’t know quite what to make of the situation. The cocreator of a popular cartoon, The Ink Black Heart, Edie is being persecuted by a mysterious online figure who goes by the pseudonym of Anomie. Edie is desperate to uncover Anomie’s true identity.

Robin decides that the agency can’t help with this—and thinks nothing more of it until a few days later, when she reads the shocking news that Edie has been tasered and then murdered in Highgate Cemetery, the location of The Ink Black Heart.

Robin and her business partner, Cormoran Strike, become drawn into the quest to uncover Anomie’s true identity. But with a complex web of online aliases, business interests and family conflicts to navigate, Strike and Robin find themselves embroiled in a case that stretches their powers of deduction to the limits – and which threatens them in new and horrifying ways . . .

A gripping, fiendishly clever mystery, The Ink Black Heart is a true tour-de-force.

Why I wanted to listen to it: I tried twice to start the paper book, couldn’t get engaged, then started listening instead and was enthralled. Of course it took me 3.5 months to listen to it since I spend so little time in my car.

If you’re looking for a quick ride through this sixth installment of this series, don’t bother. If you’re looking for complex plot lines, complex alibis, and complex character studies, this is the book for you. As with Galbraith/Rowling’s Harry Potter series, there are so many plots, subplots, characters, and scenes that you are almost overwhelmed. However, by the end you learn who Anomie is and are able to go back in your mind to all the people she/he isn’t, and figure out their roles in this macabre dance. And, once again, the personal relationship of Cormoran and Robin teeters on the edge of more yet doesn’t deliver.

The most fascinating and complex part of the entire book is that moderator and group chats on the online game of The Ink Black Heart are used to help develop and break alibis of all the people who may be Anomie. This is the part that turned me off with the physical book but really intrigued me with the delicious audiobook read by Robert Glenister. There are also other social media accounts using peoples real names and alibis and a secondary plot of a terrorist group that may or may not play into who Anomie is and who is attacking and murdering people.

This is a long meander through Robin and Strike’s lives, the lives of the people in their agency and the people directly and indirectly involved in the murder of Edie Ledwell and the attack on her partner. Anomie is evil and controlling. Who can he/she be?

Six word review: Social media and a serial killer.

>21 karenmarie: This one definitely isn't a quick read - at times I had to take a step away because of the social media nastiness. Overall, though, I enjoyed it and I always enjoy spending time with Robin and Strike.

>21 karenmarie: We have the same feeling about this book, Karen and the same number of stars too.

>22 Caramellunacy: Hi Cl! Agreed - the social media stuff was vicious, especially the baiting and misogyny. I loved it, and **very serious spoiler** I can't wait for the next book since both Strike and Robin realize they're in love with each other even though she's going on a date with Ryan Murphy.

>23 connie53: hi Connie, and glad we agree about this one.

...
Jenna took me to my knee replacement surgery pre-op appointments with the hospital and the surgeon's office on Wednesday. Both went well. No surprises, just gotta figure out a schedule when to stop various medicines and vitamins prior to surgery. I already have my PT lined up. They want me to start PT on day 3-5 after surgery, 3x a week, for 6 weeks, so got that nailed at a PT recommended by 3 friends and only about 12 minutes from the house. My surgery is March 9th.

>21 karenmarie: Good review, Karen. I think the Cormoran Strike books just got too complex for me to really enjoy, so I stopped after the third or fourth one. I enjoyed the characters in the early ones but never felt like I quite grasped exactly what the heck was going on!

>24 karenmarie: I'm glad you have a date for surgery now, and a plan for rehab. Onwards and upwards!

I'm sure I'm a terrible person, but watching JK Rowling descend into her extreme anti-trans rhetoric has put me off reading, or watching, anything to do with her. I am baffled by how someone so admirable could be so radicalised.

>26 Jackie_K: I boycott Rowling's books for the same reason. Unfortunately I can't un-read Harry Potter, but I have not picked up any books she's written since.

>26 Jackie_K: I never heard about that!!! I'm flabbergasted.

Good to hear the surgery is all planned and the PT schedule too. I will make a note of the surgery date.

>25 rosalita: Hi Julia. Thank you. They are definitely complex, and keeping up with them is always a challenge. It’s one I’m happy to have but certainly understand your not wanting to continue. I frequently drop series, too, for one reason or another.

>26 Jackie_K: Hi Jackie. Me, too. Whew! Yes, onwards and upwards.

You do you – not wanting to continue with Rowling is certainly understandable although I have to ask, are there other authors you boycott for their political/social beliefs? Just curious, because although I abhor JK for her transphobic rants and absolutely cannot understand her or tolerate this aspect of her, I don’t want to stop reading her books because they’re just so damned good. I have never NOT read an author because of their political/social beliefs that I can remember, at least not after at least trying them. I do boycott books ABOUT politicians who I abhor, mostly US Republicans, and that includes their memoirs or autobiographies. *smile*

>27 rabbitprincess: Hi RP! See what I asked Jackie above - I have to ask, are there other authors you boycott for their political/social beliefs?

>28 connie53: Hi Connie! Thanks re the surgery and PT all squared away. And, also see what I asked Jackie above - I have to ask, are there other authors you boycott for their political/social beliefs?

>29 karenmarie: Thanks for your response Karen - I was a little worried after I posted that I could be read as being judgmental of you, which I don't feel in the slightest, although I suppose I am extremely judgmental of Rowling herself. I really hope you didn't feel judged, and I'm sorry if my words were ill-chosen (and I'll change that to 'I'm sorry that my words hurt' if that was the case). You're right though, 'you do you' - what other people choose to read is none of my business. I know what I wrote could be interpreted as virtue signalling, which wasn't my intention, but I do feel particularly strongly about JK Rowling and sometimes I might open my mouth/type a response which might be better kept to myself, or expressed somewhere else.

You've really got me thinking here. I'm with you in not wanting to read *about* certain people (eg I got 2 or 3 chapters into Fire and Fury and had to stop because I just felt so icky), and if certain politicians (on this side of the Pond as well as your side!) produce books I will have no guilty feelings whatsoever about not reading them. So I suppose that's a boycott of books by people with certain political beliefs. I'm trying to think if I've consciously boycotted books by anyone else who isn't just an objectionable politician - I think to be honest because I feel like I already have so many books waiting to be read, it's quite easy to just ignore books by people I disagree strongly with because there's only so much time and I know that I'm not going to change my mind by reading them. With JK Rowling, I think because her transphobia is so relentless and nasty, I find it really easy to just think 'you're not getting any of my money', and I don't feel at all bothered by that (I doubt she will either, to be honest). But I've never read anything by her, and I do wonder if I'd feel more conflicted if I had more of an emotional attachment to Harry Potter or Cormoran Strike and their worlds. I don't know.

I know that there are books on my TBR pile by authors who I have subsequently discovered, since buying their books, that they have views which I find troubling. I think as I have the books already I'll probably read them eventually, but I won't be going out of my way to get any more by them. I suppose that might be seen as a boycott, although like I say, as life's so short and there are more than enough books in the world, I don't feel like I'm making a particularly conscious stand - does that make sense? For sure I'd not ever buy or read books by known racists, for example, and wouldn't dream of apologising for that. But for most authors, who aren't so in your face about their prejudices as JK Rowling is, whether my gut reaction to not read their book is any different to my gut reaction to not read some random book in a genre that I don't enjoy (I don't know, Fifty Shades of Grey or something), is something I've not really thought about before.

Sorry to ramble - thank you for reading my essay! :D It's an interesting subject for sure, and it's good for me to be challenged! (now I've got to go back to work now I've just finished lunch, so there's another challenge...)

>30 Jackie_K: Hi Jackie. I do not feel judged by you, as I hope you do not feel judged by me. I appreciate your thoughtful response, although frankly I’m stunned by But I've never read anything by her, and I do wonder if I'd feel more conflicted if I had more of an emotional attachment to Harry Potter or Cormoran Strike and their worlds. I don't know.. Has A ever asked about the HP books? I think she’s probably getting old enough now that they might show up on her radar from her schoolmates, perhaps. Will you let her read HP or not let her read HP? And if not, would it be because of the nature of the books or the rants of the author? Just curious.

I’ve gotten rid of books that I’ve come to consider objectionable since reading them – specifically male/female romances with non-consensual sex as part of the plot.

I appreciate your rambling!

>31 karenmarie: Hi Karen, thank you so much! I don't feel judged at all!

The HP books came out during my mid-20s, loads of people I knew were into them, and they were always something I meant to read but just never quite got round to. The Strike books never appealed to me because of the genre, I've just never really liked crime/thrillers (plus they are way too long!!). A hasn't asked about reading the HP books yet - she's aware of them, as some of her friends are already really into them (I think they have Potterhead parents!), but she's not expressed any desire to read them herself, yet. I'm pretty sure they're in her school library, so if she started reading them from there I wouldn't stop her, but I have decided that I won't buy them (Pete isn't keen on them for other reasons, to do with being a working class kid at Cambridge University, and so he's really bothered by the whole muggle/"chosen" thing). It's not the nature of the books I object to, it's absolutely the rants of the author which just seem to be getting more and more bullying and vitriolic. If A does decide to read the HP books then I will ask her about them, and talk about the author if I think it's appropriate, but it's not something I'm going to encourage if she doesn't show an interest, when there are so many brilliant kids books being published.

Sounds like a good plan for if or when A shows an interest, Jackie.

2. 1066: The Year That Changed Everything by Professor Jennifer Paxton

2/27/23 2/28/23





From Amazon.com:

With this exciting and historically rich six-lecture course, experience for yourself the drama of this dynamic year in medieval history, centered on the landmark Norman Conquest. Taking you from the shores of Scandinavia and France to the battlefields of the English countryside, these lectures will plunge you into a world of fierce Viking warriors, powerful noble families, politically charged marriages, tense succession crises, epic military invasions, and much more.

Your journey starts in the 10th and early 11th centuries, when power in England and Normandy was very much up for grabs - and when the small island nation was under continuous assault from Viking forces. Professor Paxton helps you gain a solid grasp of the complex political alliances and shifting relationships between figures such as Emma of Normandy, Cnut, and Edward the Confessor. She also recounts for you the two seminal battles that pitted England against the Scandinavians and the Normans: the Battle of Stamford Bridge and the Battle of Hastings. Throughout the lectures, Dr. Paxton opens your eyes to continued debates and controversies over this year and offers her own take on the Norman Conquest's enduring legacy and the fascinating results of this epic clash. By exploring the year 1066 – what led up to it, what happened during that fateful year, and what changed as a result - you'll gain a sharper perspective and a greater understanding of everything that would come afterward.

Why I wanted to listen to it. English history, The Great Courses, and wanting nonfiction after my epic listen of The Ink Black Heart caused me to pull this off my shelves.

Professor Paxton has a beautiful speaking voice. She’s articulate, clearly loves her subject, and you just know there’s much more behind the scenes in her researches that she’s condensed to six 30-minute lectures. Claimants to the throne, court intrigue, battle strategies of the 11th century, William the Conqueror’s ways and means of winning at the Battle of Hastings AND his roundabout way of truly claiming England… fascinating stuff.

Six word review: More than the Battle of Hastings.

Hi Karen - you'll be a couple of days post-surgery now, I hope you're recovering well and being well looked after! Thinking of you, my friend.

Good morning everybody.

Woke up pain free and after a walker-aided bathroom trip it still only went to 3 on a scale of ten, where it still is. I'm waiting for the IV toradol, an nsaid, to kick in. Just had some juice and I'm nibbling on some graham crackers. BP is still a bit low at 97/58, but not dangerously so.

You all filll my heart with gratitude and happiness.

I'll be back later today (I hope) for another update, if not Jenna should be able to text Peggy who can update here again.

So glad to hear you're relatively pain-free! That's excellent news.

>36 karenmarie: Oh, that is great news. I hope recovery will be smooth and pain-free.

>36 karenmarie:. Good to hear you almost pain-free, Karen.

I have been thinking about you and the surgery the last couple of days. I hope the pain subsides soon and you can move around pain-free completely.

Hi Karen, just wanted to pop in to see how you're doing. I hope your recovery is going swimmingly, and you are good as new! :)

I just realized I haven't posted here. Sorry - I'm doing well and will come back tomorrow morning for a bit of detail.

Well. Tomorrow has become a week and two days later.

Let's see. 4 weeks and a day after March 9th surgery. I'm in PT, 3x a week, doing quite well, and attaining all the bending and extending goals on time or early. If you don't do this stuff early, you may limp and/or have other problems forever.

I had 39 staples, which were taken out on March 22nd. The tech lied - I asked him if taking them out would hurt and he said "I've been told it's only a little pinch." Well, it was 39 BIG pinches, but I had my big girl panties on and only whimpered and flinched a few times. He put 12 Steri-Strips on and said they'd all eventually just fall off. I'm currently down to three, and joke that I'm shedding like a snake. We occasionally find one on the floor...

Unhappily, I did not realize that pain from the Bakers Cyst would continue for quite a while after the surgery, still being filled because it had ruptured last October and because of surgery. On the 22nd when I got the staples out, my calf was seizing there at their office so at the end of the visit they sent me to the hospital (literally 5 minutes away) to get a Doppler image of my calf, looking for a blood clot. They didn't find one, but my Bakers Cyst was almost as large as it was last October. I sent the surgeon's office an email, confused, wondering why the Bakers Cyst was still an issue, and that's when they told me about it needing time to collapse and not ever be an issue again since it's the arthritis that causes it to inflame and etc. They put me on a heavy duty muscle relaxant and NSAIDs - something my cardiologist had authorized for post surgery but wants me to keep at a minimum because of my heart issues. Sigh. So I took them 'til the 4th.

I'm down to Tylenol for pain, from oxycodone and tramadol and meloxicam. Finally seeing some upside to the night-time pain and stiffness. Back to an 81 mg aspirin daily for my heart as per my cardiologist's recommendation.

Still using a walker, will possibly graduate to a cane, at the PT's discretion, next week or the week after. No driving yet, but probably within 2 weeks. I'm still sleeping downstairs in the Library, where we have a queen-sized sofa bed. Not bad - sleeping surrounded by some of my books! The kitties have been attentive. Left to right: Inara Starbuck, Zoe Rose, Washburne Ryder.



Jenna is taking excellent care of me, Bill is Uber-ing me to my PT appointments. We're using the grocery store shopping service/curb-side pickup, but I have actually hobbled into the pharmacy and to the last day of our Friends of the Library Book Sale on April 1. Bill took me over 1.5 hours before the end of the sale. Jenna was volunteering that day - came out to bring me in, stood with me as I found a $5/bag's worth of books, made me sit down until she was done and I had paid for my membership and books, then escorted me to a bench and brought her car around.

I still haven't visited any ROOT threads recently and apologize to all - I'm barely keeping up with a few threads in the 75ers.

>42 karenmarie: Oh my goodness, you've been through the wringer there Karen! Don't worry about visiting threads, you've got far more important things to deal with (and we're not going anywhere :D ).

I didn't know that about Baker's Cysts either, so I've learnt something - I thought they'd drain it and that would be it. I'm glad to hear that your painkillers have reduced significantly though, even if it has been a much longer process than originally thought. Well done to the 3 kitty nurses who look like they're doing an excellent job (I'm guessing that Washburne Ryder is the Charge Nurse, from that slightly intense expression!). And I'm so pleased that you still managed to make it to the FoL sale!

Here we are all well, A has had a couple of riding lessons and is now obsessed with horses, and Pete is continuing to slowly gut the kitchen and (I hope!) put it back together, although I'm expecting that will still take ages. I'm now resigned to kitchen stuff in the living room and spare room and hall, and walking past crates of tinned food and herbs etc. I've just finished one of my part-time jobs, so once the school holidays are over (1 week down, 1 to go) I'm looking forward to going back to swimming a couple of times a week and doing a bit more writing in my spare time. So we are muddling by :)

Take care, and keep on resting and exercising and reading!

Take good care of yourself, Karen!

Reading this about what happened and I can only agree with >43 Jackie_K: and >44 MissWatson:.

Keep good care of yourself, Karen! Read and enjoy!

Since this is part 1 going to search for part 2.