The stuff of life...

It's been busy here. Most of it good busy, or at least merely the stuff of life.  The stuff that can be tedious and time consuming, but basically innocuous.  

I now consider myself officially a senior citizen.  Turning 65 next month, I had signed up for Medicare in January, and just last week finally got signed up for my medigap (supplemental) insurance.  It feels like I have stuff to say about that, that I think could be helpful to a newby such as myself.  But the main thing I feel compelled to note here is that I am old.  

No offense meant to those of you older than me.  Getting older is the best earthly option we have, so there is no point in complaining.  I'm happy with the tribe that is mine.

A busy week topped off nicely last night with new(ish) friends joining us for dinner at our place.  About a half hour before they arrived it occurred to me to cut some daffodills from the side yard for the table.  These flowers are planted in a spot where I can't see them easily from the house, and since they'd been in bloom for over a week, I figured I might as well bring some inside and enjoy them for a few days.

After cutting a bouquet's worth, I was surprised their absence was barely noticeable in the clump of flowers left behind.  I made a mental note to do this earlier next year.  It seems to me growing flowers outside should come with the added perk of bringing some inside to enjoy.

And then, to make the evening even more special, our guests brought a beautiful bouquet of flowers.  

Two bouquets!  I had a quick flashback to last summer when I was healing from surgery and for weeks I enjoyed fresh flowers from friends. I have learned to appreciate the wonderful benefits of fresh cut flowers.

For supper, I made lasagna. In truth, it wasn't the best I've ever made, but it wasn't so bad that I felt I should apologize.  It was that awkward level of not-my-best, where the guests have no idea that I've made better, but for me to say anything about it would just make everyone uncomfortable and feel like they have to assure me it's delicious - which I would find humiliating.  There was no way around it but to just kept my thoughts to myself and accept that they'll never know I've made (and probably will make) better.  

I'm happy to say my less-than-stellar lasagna did not stop the conversation from flowing.   We talked non-stop from the minute our guests arrived at 5:30 'till they finally decided they were whipped shortly after 9:00.  While they are our age, they are working folk; we're retired and relaxed, so they naturally wore out before we did.  That said, I got a charlie horse in the back of my leg about the time one of them said she was starting to fade.  Jumping out of my chair, I grabbed my leg, trying to quickly figure out how to get the spasming to stop.  No movement or stretch I made standing there helped, so seconds later I excused myself saying  "I'm so sorry, I think I've just gotta walk this off".  

Like a limping horse out of a paddock, I left the room, circled the kitchen island, then limped into the laundry room, torn between laughing with embarrassment and crying from pain.  What a sight I must have been - bolting to my feet in the dining room and taking off like I did.   The others, acting like it was the most normal thing in the world (bless them), gathered what remained of the dishes and took them into the kitchen.  Then they put their coats on and we said a fairly quick goodbye at the front door.  As they were walking to their vehicle in the driveway, my leg finally relaxed.  I called out to tell them my leg settled down and I was fine - not even sure if they could hear me.

What a ridiculous ending to their first evening at our house.  On the positive side, I suppose we now have a funny story between us.  I just wish it wasn't at the expense of my pride.

Spring...

The weather has been telling us it's spring for the last month, but the calendar assures me it doesn't actually arrive until next Tuesday, the 19th.  I seem to remember not that long ago spring would appear on the calendar weeks before the weather would concede to its arrival.  The last few years it seems just the opposite.  We feel the tease of coming spring weeks (this year, more than a month) before the calendar confirms it.

All sorts of plants have been growing for the last few weeks, but today I finally snapped some pictures.  When I started taking these pictures two years ago, I didn't realize what a nice record it would prove to be.  

For example, in this post on April 22nd, two years ago, I can see that today's asparagus patch is producing a whole month earlier.  Even with last year's early spring, we didn't eat asparagus until the middle of April.

On Monday of this week, there were just a few small spears:

By Friday, this had happened:

I didn't get a picture of the whole patch, just the spot where there were a number of spears growing.   Our nights are supposed to dip below 30 a couple of nights this weekend.  If that doesn't ruin these spears, I think we'll be eating asparagus come Monday!

In the same vein, my various plant pictures are probably more for my record than for your enjoyment, but humor me as I post what's growing here.

Irises

Daylilies

Clematis

Egyptian Walking Onions

I remember, the first spring we were here, I was going to dig up these walking onions and do away with them.  I am so glad I didn't.  They provide entertainment all summer long as they produce new bulbils on the top of their green stalks and then fall over and those bulbils eventually produce new plants.  We've given away a bunch of these plants the last two summers.  I think I'm going to be a little stingy and let these replenish this year.

Somehow, I missed until this spring that this is a forsythia bush.  

Forsythia blooms make my heart happy.

And these Daffodils bloomed on Wednesday.  

Yes, I was watching that closely.  

They're not pictured, but I noticed that the sedum was growing in February.  And this week, the Bradford Pears and I think a Maple tree are budding out.    

For weeks, we've been serenaded by birds from early morning to evening time. It's nice to be treated to green growing things now too.  While our winter has been nothing to complain about, and even when I don't quite feel ready for it to warm up, spring always feels like a gift.  

~~~~~

The blossoms have already appeared in the land;

The time has arrived for pruning the vines,

And the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land.

~ Song of Solomon 2:12

Current knee diagnosis...

I really thought I was going to get in here sooner to report on my doctor's appointment last Friday, because after the appointment I felt pretty good about things.  For example, according to the x-ray I only have mild knee arthritis (and it would not be causing this kind of pain), and my overall leg strength is good I'm told.  And the best part - the doctor believes physical therapy will resolve this present issue.  

It all seemed like such good news that I didn't complain when the doctor said he didn't want to give me a cortisone shot.  I hadn't even asked for one yet when he told me this.  I'm not sure I had a choice in the matter, but with all the good news I wasn't too troubled about him not offering it.  But when the pain flared up again later that evening, and by that time I knew a PT consultation was going to be a week and a half away, I started to feel frustrated and resentful that all he suggested for pain relief was Ibuprofen or Aleve.  They don't even take the edge off when the pain is really bad.  I've mostly stopped taking anything altogether, it's that unhelpful.

I'm not a big medicine taker, but I've been frustrated several times now (after two surgeries last year and now this) when I've been in serious pain and all that is offered is less than effective doses of prescription and OTC pain medicine.  I just don't understand how some people who are looking for a "fix" can seemingly easily get their hands on pain medicine through illicit means, and someone who is honest, and experiencing real and terrible pain, can't get the medicine that might help them endure more easily.  It's maddening to me.  It's depressing and discouraging.

Insert deep sigh of exasperation here.

Having gotten that off my chest, I guess I'm coping okay.  Discouraged and depressed at times, but okay I guess.  Do I have a choice?

The diagnosis I was given by the doctor is patellofemoral pain syndrome.  It's actually pretty common I now understand and PT should help resolve it.  Having gone online to find advice on how to cope with the pain and help it heal (since I'm left to my own devices until PT can begin), I'm now thinking there is another possible issue that may be causing my pain.  The good news is PT should still help if my issue is something different from what the doctor diagnosed, or if I have more than one thing going on (which is entirely possible, and maybe probable).  

Edited later to add:  At my first PT consultation I was also diagnosed with pez anserine bursitis.  I know, it's a funny name, and if you look it up and see what it means (and why it got its name) you'll think it's even funnier.   Before PT, as I was looking through videos for exercises to help what the doctor  told me I was dealing with, I found this condition and thought it better described my pain than the doctor's diagnosis did.  The good news is PT should help it, and will hopefully help me not get this aggravating condition again, or have the tools to get better if it does flare up again.

So I'm prescribed 6 weeks of PT (to begin 4 weeks into my present struggle), and if that doesn't resolve the pain, there will be next steps.  While I've grown frustrated with the medical establishment (for reasons beyond not getting adequate pain relief), I do encourage anyone who's like me - someone who puts off getting something like this checked out - to get it checked out.  The thing that hurts might just be fixable.  I've dealt with this knee for over a year now, and after I've read how these kinds of issues can end up creating chronic problems, I do wish I hadn't put off seeking help for so long.  Therapy is going to be a bit of a drag, but I'm hanging onto hope that soon I'll be headed in a direction that will provide more lasting relief than I can get on my own.

Pain aside, I had some nice distractions in the days following my doctor's appointment.  Last weekend held a birthday celebration for middle son (which saw me limping, but very happy to have everyone together), and Monday I actually felt good enough to drive a bit of a distance to visit a friend. I'm so glad I did.  It was a beautiful day to sit out on her deck and take in the view of the woods behind her house.  The scenery and the laughter shared over anything and everything was very good medicine.  Then over the rest of this week, the pain has been off and on, sometimes causing me to sit with my legs up, interspersed with periods of activity like cooking and laundry mostly.  This whole experience has been up and down, both physically and emotionally.  

At the risk of sounding downright whiney (if I haven't already), this waiting time is very hard. I just want to feel all better already.  I want to do some yard work or clean windows, something outside when the days are beautiful.  And we've had so many beautiful days this late winter.  I want to take long walks - both for the physical exercise, and for the emotional benefit walking would be.  And getting a full night's sleep sounds gloriously indulgent, yet impossible.  I'm trying to find ways to manage this waiting time so that discouragement is held at bay.

One of the things I've been humoring myself with is what some call zen-doodling.  Others call it meditative or slow drawing.  I used a gridded drawing like these to make a cover for a birthday card for middle son:

And I'm a little obsessed with this fun wave pattern:

Yesterday, I took another stroll around the yard and I see more evidence of spring:

and a mole, I suspect:

Glad to have seen the hole early.  Hub has found moles pretty easy to get rid of once we discover their presence.  We only had one or two last year and he was able to catch it (or them) with a contraption a neighbor loaned us.  It may be time to buy one of these for ourselves.  It looks wretched (and it is for the poor mole), but it does work.

That's all for me this week, I think.   I don't plan to go on again about my knee until I'm either improving, or have to face a different plan.  I hope you're doing well - physically, mentally, spiritually.   Wherever you are, I hope you stay safe, warm and dry in this unpredictable, changing late winter weather!

~~~~~~~

Early days of autumn...

The Pampas Grass blows regally in the breeze

Asparagus seed balls turn a beautiful shade of red...

And other things start showing themselves in the asparagus bed...

...like thistles - Yikes, these got big!

And I have no idea what these blue berries are.  Any ideas?

These sedum (planted on the east side of the house) started out so tiny in the spring, but have overgrown the area they began in:

Next spring I think I will divide these and plant some on the south side of the house and see if the color changes with full sun, and maybe dryer conditions.  We've never had Sedum (also called Stonecrop) before.  Given they got no attention all summer, I'm calling this a completely effortless plant.

I think I took this picture of the garden a week ago:

The dying tomato and squash plants have all been removed, and all that is standing today are yellow brittle cucumber plants (on the far right, front), the Kentucky Wonder pole beans in the back center, and a Marconi Giant Pepper plant (front and center).

At this point, I'm hoping the remaining Marconi Peppers will at least begin to turn red so I can bring them inside to finish ripening before we get some cold weather this weekend.  Every other day I'm able to harvest enough green beans for a meal (though I clean, cut and freeze them, usually).  I'm ready to just let the remaining seed pods dry out and then see if they are harvestable for planting next spring.

Editing this post just to be clear that I am not doing the work of removing dead plants.  I'm not doing anything I can't do one-handed.  While I give some direction on what is finished up and can be pulled, Hub is doing the actual work of cleaning up the garden.  

 

While autumn is my most favorite time of the year, and I always look forward to putting growing things to rest outside (even in our smaller in-town yard I looked forward to cleaning out the flower beds and pots, and cutting things down), I have to admit having only one reasonable-working hand puts a damper on my enthusiasm for the season this year.  I'm not complain' (much), just explainin'.

I hope you're enjoying your autumn wherever you are!  Or your spring if you're in the southern hemisphere!  The two most wonderful times of the year...  😊

After a rainstorm...

About the time when the daylilies were fading this summer, I realized sunflowers were growing in front of them from seeds dropped by our feathered friends feeding at the birdfeeders.  I decided to let them grow and enjoy the show.  

While we temporarily removed the bird feeders for a few months since the birds really weren't needing the seed, it was a fun surprise to watch nature unfold outside our bird-watching window while the birds were finding their food elsewhere.

Finding joy in little things, I have enjoyed watching a different view of the cycle of nature this past year.

I sure like low maintenance...

I've had a lot on my plate over the last several weeks and am looking ahead to more of the same into the next month, so anything low-maintenance and pretty gets special mention.  

For a plant that went completely neglected all spring and summer, this clematis certainly didn't seem to hold a grudge.

Late in the spring it treated us to a beautiful flush of purple flowers.

Then it seems like I remember looking at it about mid summer and noticed the blooms had all died off.

Then just last week I noticed new blooms and all these wonderful seed heads.

While I love when something so pretty is low maintenance, at the moment I look forward to paying this plant a little more attention next summer.  

We'll see if I actually do...