Gardening and Observing Life in SW Washington

My goodness! A lot of nice folks came by after I shut my computer down yesterday. Not only fun Valentines graphics, but some good info about hip replacements.

As I mentioned before, my mother has had her knee replaced twice. The second time, 6 years ago, she had what I call a drive-by surgery: in and out and home in 28 hours. Cruising Regence Blue Shield's website, I see I can expect a 3-5 day hospital stay -- this is some really invasive surgery. That said, from what I'm seeing here, the recovery time seems to be not bad at all.

At first, I was really upset about needing a surgery that is effectively cutting a leg off and sticking it back on. Even so, it seems that after just a few weeks, things should be pretty good and getting better. And I'll confess now that part of my trepidation is a great aunt who had a hip replacement that went bad and she had to have her leg amputated. That was 40 years ago and she was around 90, but still, what a scary thought.

Sp: Thanks for sharing your family's experiences with hip replacements. Your grandmother had quite a time of it. Wow!

And Tacoma is not that far away -- about 1-1/2 hours from here. Well within range. And I do enjoy craft shows, although I do confess I always have to bring something home with me.

Seth's Blog makes an interesting and valid point about Meeting vs. Making. I've usually been one who "makes" deadlines and appointments. I plan to be early, so that even if something goes wrong, I can be on time. Plus, I absolutely hate any last-minute hurry-scurry; things go better and are more pleasant when you don't have to rush.

Quoting Ylee:
I can't add anything to your upcoming hip replacement, except to say that you are a "go-getter",IMO, and that your attitude will carry through this with flying colors! :)

That's the nicest thing anyone has said to me in a long time. Thanks!

WTS: I've always questioned with wisdom of someone who has had a joint replacement and then continues to ski or run marathons or other rigorous activities. But life is all about choices and if your passion is skiing or whatever, you make that choice with full knowledge of the price to be paid. I gave up walking any distance a couple of years ago and I do love walking, but gardening is my passion so that's what I chose. Now, it looks like maybe I'll get the walking back later this year.

Karen: I wonder about people having joints replaced in their 30s and 40s, especially as they are mostly the type who abuse their joints with extreme activities. If a joint can only be replaced twice, will they be wheelchair bound by age 60?

Snowbody! Long time! I do appreciate the long snowshoe hike. You must be all tuckered out after that. Is that Valentine made in your snow?

Snowbody: Have you found that when you "turn a regular day into something special" that the trek is an easy-going downhill in both directions? At least it seems so to me.

Be careful with that sled, though. From what I've seen on America's Funniest Videos, sleds aren't the easiest things to steer, although they do make for some good laughs for bystanders.

Sp: I don't believe I've seen Camerabag2 mentioned here or on other blogs discussing photo editors, so that's a good addition.

You're very happily right, "The collective knowledge of internet denizens is a wonderful thing when it can turn apprehension into anticipation :)" and most especially, the WUfriends in WUville. (and if that isn't an opening for a Seuss parody, I don't know what is.)

Gosh, the weather was decidedly February-ish this week. There was a marked chill in the air on Tuesday, with a high of 38F. Friday was the warmest day of the week, with a high of 51F, but rain returned. Saturday was downright windy-stormy with over half of the weeks 1.9 inches of rain.

You might remember we had a heavy, wet snow January 18, which resulted in a lot of broken branches on fir, spruce, and pine trees around the place. Since the snow melted, and in between rainy spells, he has been cutting off those broken limbs. Then he snips off the little twigs and side-branches, which will eventually go through the chipper to become mulch. What remains is a nice pile of 2-5 inch diameter limbs waiting for us to chainsaw them into 15 inch long pieces of firewood.

Wednesday was dry and partly sunny, so DH and I rearranged a couple of bins in the wood shed to make an empty spot to put green wood. The next nice day, we'll cut up that new batch of firewood and stack it in a bin to dry for next year. That task took less time than anticipated, so we went to work on another pruning project. I pruned some ornamental shrubs and young trees, some storm damage repair and some general shaping. Meanwhile, DH acted as my legs and hauled off the branches and twigs to the shredder pile. It was nice to make some progress on winter clean-up and spend some time outdoors.

It was quite stormy late Friday and into Saturday. Although the brunt of the storm hit south of here, we did get wet and there were a few gusts up to 25 mph. Charlie, my long-tall-big cat, just couldn't stay inside where it was warm and dry. He had to get out and patrol his territory, right on schedule, regardless of the weather. Then he came in, spiky-hair-wet on his top half, dark-muddy-wet on his bottom half and head-butted my leg, demanding to be dried off. Which, of course, I promptly did, being his well-trained human.

Charlie on a drier day

18 pounds and 38 inches long, from front toes to back toes, when stretched out on the floor

I posted this reminiscence as a comment on Proserpina's blog about dancing. And then I thought it might add a bit of fun to my blog, as well. Maybe you have a fun childhood reminiscence to share, as well?

When I was 7 or 8, my dad acquired a Jew's Harp. Whether it was a purchase or a gift, I have no recollection. What I do remember, and quite fondly, was him playing, singing, and doing a little Buck Dancing jig. And me laughing and jigging right along with him.

It was good foot-stomping music something like this:


With some Buck Dancing like this:

Pros: You know how I love pansies!

Ylee: When I was looking for videos to go with #62, I was amazed at the variety to be found. I always thought of a Jew's Harp as being hillbilly-style country, to go along with washboards and fiddles, but apparently they are all over the world: India, Cambodia, Bosnia, etc. Amazing.

Poppy: 18 seed catalogs! And I thought the 10 I got were a lot. I'm impressed.

Yep. Charlie is one cool cat. He is with me whenever I'm outside and even chases dogs away from time to time.

Ggrrl: That pretty cat you saw the other day probably was a young birman. They are born white and gradually darken on face, tail, and legs. In many respects, they do look like a long-haired siamese. And they're as good-natured as they are beautiful.

Skye: Another mouth harp player! The more I learn about you, the more I'm impressed with your creativity. I do hope you'll teach your children music; it will benefit them all their lives.

Reno: If you make it to the southern Oregon coast, please add an extra day or two to your trip. While that section of coastline is gorgeous in its own right, Gold Beach offers something truly special: Rogue River whitewater jetboat trips. Fantastic!

Sandi: A heat wave! Yippee! I know you'll get out to enjoy it, even if the soil is frigid. It's such a treat to get a day or two like that in the middle of winter. Love that pot -- the way the maker joined together several smaller pots. I shall look forward to an "after" picture with herbs.

SP: Glad I sparked some fond memories. Charlie only ever bites furries (as in voles, rabbits, unwelcome cats), never humans.

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I started a few seeds in the spare bedroom yesterday: tomatoes, peppers, basil. Just enough for my mother and for eating fresh. Later, I'll start a couple of flats of annuals, and that's it. No big garden this year, but I don't see any reason to be totally deprived, either. The rest of the seeds will keep until next year.

Bogon: My daffodils are stalled at 1.5 inches high. And we, too, have a cold front bringing a slight chance of snow. I have my doubts.
I've seen on the evening news where folks in your area are golfing and going to the beach, having all sorts of unseasonable fun. Don't pack away your sweaters quite yet!

Ylee: A seed catalog? col! (that's my abbreviation for chuckle out loud) Somehow I don't think that'll be much of a temptation for you. But I could be wrong.

Bogon: With humidity dropping, you should at least not have to deal with snow while visiting your Mom.

Puget: Snow?! Not unheard of, but certainly unusual this time of year. No sign of any white stuff here, at least so far.

Sandi: Ah, Travel with Sandi! Can't think of a better way to wake up this morning. I'll be right over.

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Family was here for an early dinner yesterday, arriving at noon. My parents don't like to drive after dark, so they generally don't come to visit when the days are shortest. Yesterday was their first visit since November 7. As an added bonus, Brother and fiance were able to join us. Everyone had a good time and, leaving at 4:00 my parents should have been home by 5:30, with 20 minutes to spare before sunset.

Mom brought their tax paperwork, so I'll prepare their tax returns in the next week or two. I still haven't finished our bookkeeping for last year, although it's getting close now. It's now been 10 years since I last had a true tax season and I don't miss it at all. Doing 3 sets of tax returns is a pleasure; 200 was just hard work.

With gas prices soaring, it's time to enjoy the "other roads" close to home as weather permits. Have a good weekend!

Bogon: Free fun, if only for a little while, is good.

Sandi: Not kind; just the facts ma'am.