I HAVE COME TO A FEW MORE CONCLUSIONS!!

PHEEBS MADE IT OUT TO THE DRIVEWAY TODAY BUT I DIDN'T

A magical morning sunrise with a touch of pinky-orange mist riding atop fairytale shafts of giggling sunbeams wandered laughingly through our tall pine trees to start my day off on the right foot. (literally:))  If only it had lasted.

 COULD THIS SHADOW BE THE REAL SPIDERMAN IN OUR OUTDOOR PORCH LAMPSHADE

With the iPad jingling me awake at 4 a.m. I popped my pain pill and reassuredly drifted back to sleep knowing I wouldn't be woken up later by a grinding pain in my right hip.  I was off to a good start.  Much better than a week ago.

 HEY WAIT A MINUTE, IT'S TOO EARLY FOR RASPBERRIES

 OKAY, SO THEY WERE JUST TINY LITTLE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

Had it not been a cold wind driving the windchill factor to below freezing today I would have taken Pheebs for a walk in our driveway.  Saturday's high of 23F is not doable either but Sunday and Monday we will be back up around 40F with sunshine so Pheebs and I plan to be outside doing laps around the house:))  Wednesday, Kelly and I will be back at the Sarnia Hospital for a post-op check-up with the surgeon whereupon he will take my stitches out.  The day before on Tuesday, Kelly will drive me to my first Physio appointment in Exeter, Ontario.  I hope they go easy on me and don't try to bend my leg around behind the back of my head:((

OUR SQUIRREL CORN SUPPLY IS GETTING LOW BUT I HAVE MORE IN THE CARPORT

TWO PEANUT BUTTER JARS FULL OF CORN KERNALS

With a list of errands, Kelly and the Subaru slipped up to Goderich early this afternoon.  I kept myself busy with my exercises, a load of laundry. and another deck Safari with Pheebs.  Not very many front yard photos to find but I did scrabble together a few.  I also washed my hair in the kitchen sink and never even hardly made much of a mess.  I surprised myself.  Found time to make a coffee and a smoothie as well.  Needless to say, my hip is definitely on the mend.   

 'NO DAD, I AM NOT GOING TO LET YOU TRY GOING DOWN THESE STEPS WHEN MOM ISN'T HERE'!!

Being 11 days out from surgery now I have come to a few more conclusions.  Hypothetically speaking, 'what if my other hip at some point in the future also developed severe arthritis??  Would I make the same decisions about where and how I had my right hip surgery done.  I would answer that question with a resounding 'NO'!!  And, here's why.  First, a few observations since my surgery.  It seems the United States, in regard to hip surgery, is far ahead of Canada.  Kelly's sister Becky had a pain-free knee replacement as well as a pain-free hip replacement.  She said in both those cases the anesthesia person injected the operation site previous to surgery with pain meds and freezing.  I never had any of that and it's no wonder I woke up in the recovery room in 'excruciating' pain.  Becky also said that the Physio people had her up and walking after both surgeries and she went home the same day.  She also said that right away the Physio people came directly to her home the next day and the physio program continued on from there.  There was no waiting a week or two to begin physio.  Also, there are two ways to do hip surgery.  One is called the 'Lateral' approach which I had done through the side of my hip with muscles being cut.  The other newer one is the 'Direct Anterior' approach which is done from the front of the hip and is not as invasive.  Muscles are not cut doing it this way.  Also, next time, if I couldn't have it done in the States I would choose London's University Hospital over any of the other smaller hospitals doing this.  I could be wrong here but I would have more confidence in University Hospital not making the mistakes that were made in my case at Sarnia's Bluewater Hospital.  I don't mean to knock the hospital, the surgeon, or the nursing staff, but I for sure would have a big bone to pick with the anesthesia guy and his unprofessional attitude!!!!  

 I AM COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS TO WHEN MY WHEELBARROW AND I CAN TEAM UP ONCE AGAIN FOR ANOTHER SPRING YARD CLEAN-UP

 IT WASN'T EASY FINDING COLOR IN OUR FRONT YARD THIS AFTERNOON

Al's Music Box:)) In The Early Morning Rain sometimes styled as "Early Mornin' Rain," is a song written, composed, and recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. The song appears on his 1966 debut album Lightfoot! and, in a re-recorded version, on the 1975 compilation Gord's Gold.  Lightfoot wrote and composed the song in 1964, but its genesis took root during his 1960 sojourn in Westlake, Los Angeles. Throughout this time, Lightfoot sometimes became homesick and would go out to the Los Angeles International Airport on rainy days to watch the approaching aircraft. The imagery of the flights taking off into the overcast sky was still with him when, in 1964, he was caring for his 5-month-old baby son and he thought, "I’ll put him over here in his crib, and I’ll write myself a tune." "Early Morning Rain" was the result.  I also like Peter Paul and Mary's version of In The Early Morning Rain as well.

A Blast From Our Past::  An All Round Nice Day At Our Congress Arizona House 

 OUR BACK YARD'S SOUTH END AT OUR CONGRESS HOUSE.....I THINK WE HAD AN ACRE HERE

 LANDSCAPING OUR CONGRESS HOUSE, PHEEBS DUG THE HOLES IN THE HARD GROUND AND I PLANTED ALL THE CACTUS PLANTS....WE HAD 3 SAGUAROS RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR HOUSE WITH TWO OF THEM OVER 12 FEET TALL AND ESTIMATED TO BE ABOUT 150 YEARS OLD

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Bill was short of money and was out looking for a job. Pastor Nelson offered Bill $500 to buy paint and paint the church. Well Bill went out bought some paint and started painting the church. He discovered that he was using more paint than he expected so he added some thinner to the paint. It still covered but not as well as it did at first. Bill was still using more paint than he wanted to use. The paint was too thin to cover well but Bill still kept on painting. All of a sudden there was a bolt of lightning and a loud voice from the sky proclaimed, "Bill!!"......."Repaint and thin no more."

 I was raised as an only child.  That got on my brother’s nerves.

How do you get a man to do sit-ups?  Put the remote control between his feet.

 "Frank, if you have 20 dollars and Bill takes away 14. What would you have?” said the teacher. "A fight!” answers Frank.

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