Winter's Hold

Starting the week off......Woke up to heavy frost and a very cold morning.  There is much to do to prepare for tax filing next week. Very delayed this week because of my surgery and recovery and the extra paperwork involved with retirement and rolling over of 401k's, etc. I have amazed myself that all but one necessary form were at my fingertips and ready to be taken to the preparer next Monday. 

Teddy is happily off to school, and my day is launching with a quick trip to meet LM.....I left my phone charger at his house and he is going to bring it to me shortly. Invariably I leave something there on the weekend, but rarely my chargers. LOL

Today is a very special day in the life of my dear oldest daughter and her husband. This afternoon they will hold a re-dedication ceremony to each other. The ceremony will be held on their favorite beach near their second home on the Bahamian island of Eleuthera.  Although we are not there, we are beaming with happiness for them on this day, to mark their 30 years together. They've carved out a loving and enduring relationship.
A year ago, I took this photo of the beach where the ceremony will be held. We choose to think that cloud is a white dove!! The Atlantic was wild from a distant weather front when I took this photo, and I love to remember how warm and lovely it was that day. Wishing the same for our dear ones this day. They'll be accompanied by dear friends. Hope to have some photos later.

Wishing you all a great week, and wishing us a relief from the grip of winter....
On to preparing a roast chicken for this evening's dinner, and stretching out a little back issue.

Love and peace.........

Tea Parties, Stair Bowling, and Tug Boats

It is a very dark and dreary, rainy Saturday  morning at LM's house. Ms G is curled in a tight soft ball while we are slowly getting ready to go out for some errands. My kind of morning, and how lovely it is to be back in my usual routine of weekends at LM's house!  My new knee is now sturdy, well settled in place, and my walking has begun to return to normal. For a while there, my legs were tripping over each other, as they adjusted to a completely new gait and both being straight. 

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Granddaughter Samantha's 8th birthday was on March 1, and we finally got to celebrate it with a little tea party last Sunday afternoon. Teddy presided over the festivities, including all the decoration and inventing a new game to be played with his supervision! 

Here is the proud and very efficient party planner!!  Note the ladder....a new house is going up next door, and the ladder provides the perfect perch for observation by our resident "sidewalk" supervisor.
Alison and Sara planned a trip to the "Y" pool before the party. Below, Alison presenting Samantha with a new swim suit. They had a fantastic time at the pool. Teddy making sure his little stuffed owl, Owwy, gets in the photo!

In preparation for his new game, Teddy lined up all his little stuffed animals on the living room windowsill. When the game was about to start, the players were given instructions to pick one animal to be used in "Stair Bowling".......Teddy likes nothing better than organizing events and making sure everyone follows the rules he invents. 

LM picks the little gray squirrel, and Teddy and Samantha launch the game by throwing their animal up the stairs and keeping score by which stair their respective animal settles on. In the morning, T had carefully placed a numbered card on each step.  There was quite a bit of ruckus, for the duration of this grand event, and LM, with his adorable squirrel, emerged the winner. Not quite sure how the other participants took that news, but there appeared to be no riots following the announcement, so everyone happily came to the table for the tea.

Samantha gazing at the cake made by "Nana"

Pouring "tea"

Opening some gifts.....a simple day but one the kids really enjoyed.

My days often take me out to find a place to walk, as I need to exercise my new knee quite a bit. One day last week,  found me in my old stomping grounds near Town Neck in Sandwich.  This poor beach has been ravaged by the storms of this winter. It is mostly rocks now and off to the left of this picture there are homes hanging on the edge.Winter 2015 has taken a heavy toll. Straight ahead is the East end of the Cape Cod Canal at Cape Cod Bay. Just as I pulled up, I could see a tug boat approaching.

I drove around to the canal so I could get this shot of the tug....appearing to be brand new and sleek, passing by the Sandwich Marina. I live just across the canal from this point, and so enjoy being able to hear the horns of the many boats that pass through this area. There is also a train that runs along the canal, and those horns are heard several times a day.  Just some of life's simple pleasures and interesting moments.

Otherwise, I am back to doing a bit of creating....knitting washcloths, and beginning work on a new quilt.  It feels like I am re-making my life, and almost seems a bit wobbly as I realize that I am newly strong and able to do so much more than I have for many years. We shall see where this leads me.....there may be a trip coming to Canada in May, and who knows what other wonderful adventures there will be.

Love to all and may you soon be surrounded by the beauty of Spring flowers!!

Healing

My new knee is awesome, today it carried me through some housework - throwing open my bedroom windows to air out the room as I changed the bed, and scrubbing my bathroom before getting dressed and out the door to visit my new physical therapy office and do a little grocery shopping.  I felt amazingly strong and encouraged.  Slowly my day began to ebb away from me as bloodwork results came in from my doctor and serious stomach pain hit me once again.....I am anemic, and have some other major deficiencies that can only be addressed with more drugs. No matter what I do, I cannot seem to get ahead of the side-effects of surgery.  As soon as I eat, I am sick, and it is downright discouraging.....patience will work, I know. Time will heal things, but right now it hurts to feel so weak and threatened.

So now it is time to get my happy face and coat on and go to get Teddy at school aftercare.....we'll have homework to do and dinner to make.

My knee progressed so quickly but my body has not caught up with the after effects.....guess that is all there is. Tomorrow I see the doctor for yet more discussion about what course we will take to "fix" the situation. 

Foggy Thaw and Gratitude

The fog has crept in on its little cat feet and is beginning to thaw out the mountains of snow surrounding us here on Cape Cod. The streets are still difficult and dangerous to navigate (at least in neighborhoods) as the ice is so thick, and our beaches are littered with huge ice bergs, some as big as small houses.  It has been an interesting winter!  Because of my knee replacement surgery and recovery, the weather hasn't impacted my life too terribly, and I have enjoyed watching it all out the window.  Now I am out and about everyday in the sunshine and really loving my new lease on life.
Today I will visit the surgeon and have a check on the knee progress, then he should give me a script for out-patient PT and that will begin a whole new busy phase, and lift my spirits as we come in to spring. Yes, my spirit is a bit low....not sure why, but I've experienced this everytime I've had surgery and know it will pass. I am seeking out stores to walk in everyday as it is still too icy to walk on the streets.

The grass is exposed in areas, and I find myself thinking I may be able to have a little area to garden here. At the front of the house there is a high stone retaining wall and set in to the top are planters on either side of the front steps all the way along. I'd like to fill them with bright colors....I think we are already to have color after our submersion in white. We shall see how Jason and Alison feel about me taking over that part of their lovely gardens. It would be an easy place, as I can stand to do planting and weeding.

Love to all.......