Field Trip

It's only 2:00pm, and already today has been a big day--my first real field trip away from home since last week (nine days, to be precise). My cold finally seems to be in remission, and the hip isn't feeling horrible, so I decided to venture out. We went all the way to Groton to go to Alex's high school graduation party. On the way home, we stopped to see Steve and Beryl since we were already in the area. We had a lovely time at both locations. Now, however, I'm done. Very tired. I didn't think a couple of low-key hours spent visiting friends would wipe me out quite this much. My endurance apparently has a long way to go before it's anywhere close to normal. Not sure if it's the cold or the surgery that did a number on that. Probably both. So, now I'm relegated to sitting on the couch watching a Wimbledon match from yesterday (of which I already know the result) while Robin slaves away mowing the lawn. I'd much rather be mowing the lawn.

The great debate is on with regard to how we shall celebrate the end of the era of my being able to read red text. We had hoped to have a gathering this weekend, but obviously that didn't happen. Perhaps next weekend. But of course, it's a holiday so many might already have plans (which, of course, is always the problem). Guess we'll see how things come together over the next couple of days.

Podcasting from Home

The Fuzzy Orange Cat's Idea of Using Wii Fit

Working from the Red Roof Inn

Well, it's been quite a day of excitement here. Ok. It really hasn't. Things are coming along with the hip--haven't touched a crutch since I came downstairs this morning, and I'm still alive to tell about it. This cold has got to go, though. I can't breathe at all, and it's driving me nuts. I knew I should have bought stock in Kleenex when I had the chance...

The Vet called this morning to tell us that Simon's blood work came back pretty normal for his age. Our thought that he's going to outlive all of us continues. He seems to know the news is good, and has been outside playing with his siblings for most of the day, which is unusual for him. Maybe he's just trying to rub it in that he can go play in the woods and I can't.

Quite a festive speaker phone conversation I had earlier with the crew. It made me sad to know you were doing all that whiteboard training without me. Ok. Not really. But I do miss our daily banter. Don't get me wrong--I actually really love alone and quiet time (as most of you know). But it's moments like that that remind me there is no substitute for the lunch table.

Just got off the phone with my mother-in-law, who insists on worrying about me (though she's not quite as adept at it as my mother).

Just had some friends stop by for a visit. They brought me rice pudding from the State Diner. The other night, another friend brought me 4 pints of Ben & Jerry's. I could get used to this...

Gee...

...this whole blogging thing is a lot easier to keep up with when you have nothing else to do. I should have tried this months ago...

Another day brings more fun. For those of you keeping score at home, that was sarcasm. The hip is feeling great, but the rest of me, not so much. It seems I have a cold now, though my fervent hope had been that it was nothing. Oh well. Can't have it all, I guess.

I am once again wireless, thanks to my other half's trip to Best Buy yesterday to get us a new router. And all it took was about 1.5 hours of telephone tech support from India to get it to work. But all is once again right in our computing world. And I've learned that if you ever want to call India, you should know that there's a 9.5 hour time difference (they're ahead of us) [for the sake of clarifying information in the spirit of the Info Wench, I'll include a comment here that there is always a 9.5 hour time difference, whether you'd actually like to call India or not]

It's been an exciting day for the kids. Simon got a trip to the vet first thing this morning for his semi-annual check-up. I'm told he did very well, in spite of having to have some extra tests we didn't have time to tell him about. He's such a good boy. Neko (the Fuzzy Orange Cat, that is) has spent her day going in and out. And Yoshi has spent his day sprinting across the yard chasing bugs and pollen. That's our little Einstein. Here he is during a rare moment of rest:

Gosh. With all of this excitement, I can't believe anyone can keep up with reading Fuzzy Orange Cat. I mean, really. It must distract you to no end, just thinking about what kind of riveting tale I will post next...

Lots of Sleep, a Shower, and a Dead Cable Modem

There's my day in a nutshell. Didn't wake up until nearly 8:00--unheard of for me normally. The cats were most appreciative of my movement, and were grateful to be let outside after what must have seemed like an eternity being trapped inside the house on a lovely day. After breakfast (which felt more like lunch to me) I enjoyed my first shower in a few days (which sounds pretty bad). Happily clean, I thought I'd find out what was going on in the world. Sadly, I discovered no internet connection. Nothing. Zero. Geez--it was almost like being at work :) After milling about trying to reset things for a while, I gave up and called The Man--Time Warner. They sent a very nice and knowledgeable technician out this afternoon, who discovered one bad thing after another--water in the line (which he replaced), woodchuck gnawing at the roadside connection (which he also replaced [the line, not the woodchuck]), and finally a modem that was kaput (which he didn't replace, since it was ours). So we're back up and running on our old modem, but the happy wireless house is no longer, at least until I can get a new router. Ugh. Good thing I don't have a whiteboard session here tomorrow...

Amazing

Well, it's over and done with. Friday morning, Dr. Clarke went in and cleaned up the tear I had in my right labrum. To make sure I never forget the experience, they actually provided me with 14 pictures of what the scope was looking at during the operation. Even though I think this picture looks more like the lunar landing than anything else, it's actually the inside of my hip. Happily, nothing but the small tear seemed to be wrong--ligaments and bone are all good, which means nothing more invasive will have to be done, and this should allow all my hip problems to go away!

While it was a long and uncomfortable day, all in all it was just fine. I got to the hospital at 6:45am, and was on my way home by around 1:00pm. The cats were fascinated with my crutches, and seemed to think I smelled a lot like the vet's office. They stuck very close to me all day and night. Interesting (yet not surprising) how they seem to know when we need extra comforting.

I am happy to report some already amazing progress. First, all the pain I've been in for months is pretty much gone. No shifting in my seat, no groaning, no nothing. Absolutely miraculous. Who would have thought this would work so well and so quickly. Of course, I'm still sore and it will be a while before I can do anything close to normal. But I can already tell that this was the right thing to do. I'm slowly regaining a normal gait, and think I'll be able to ditch the crutches in a couple of days.

Today has already been exciting for two reasons: coffee, and clean hair. Amazing what a difference the little things can make :) And for my excitement tomorrow, I actually get to take a real shower. Woo hoo!!

Welcome to My World

Welcome to Fuzzy Orange Cat. I figured that since I'll be home with her (and the others) for a while, I might as well do something to keep my mind from turning to complete mush. Of course, writing about me and my cats probably won't do much for my overall intellect...