It was a beautiful day today, Father's Day. After gifts were opened and supper eaten...cooked perfectly by son #2...the rain came. I love sitting under the protection of the overhang on the front porch and listen to the gentle rain.

I sit here.....

And this is the view from here.... Poppy...isn't it beautiful?

Double peonies beginning to open I love June...the garden is bursting...the weather is perfect (most days)...no wonder my grandparents named my mother June, born on a perfect sunny June day. Even today with my boys all grown up, I remembered today, the joy I felt in June...beautiful early summer days that were quiet and lush...a time to savour before summer holidays!

Free for all Friday
TGIF
Friday the 13th


I just learned that the Italians view Friday the 13th as a lucky day! I'll take that view over the "others".


I just won the bidding on a singing bowl on eBay. The sound is beautiful and deep...I think this bowl was listed as a "G" - Throat Chakra sound...it's a lovely sound and gives me goose bumps and is calming...........all at the same time. I have been bidding on bowls from this site for a few weeks now and always, the prices went way too high, especially when you factor in almost $20 to ship...but yesterday was my lucky day.

Happy Friday.

On another note....I was thinking about the dangerous, exciting and exhilarating things our (grown-up) kids do that scare us. It's the job of parents to worry FOR-EV-ER I think. L's daughter treks through PNG and travels to exotic areas of the world - Thailand, Cambodia, etc. ON HER OWN!! LM's son is back planting trees deep in the interior of British Columbia and then heading to Spain to learn Spanish and teach English. We worry constantly about our kids and up until now I thought I was "SAFE". That feeling lasted until my son #1................just bought himself a motorcycle!!

I pinched this photo from a blog I frequent http://www.bohemiangirldesigns.com/ and it made me think of my best friend. Here's "boho's" picture:

The theme around blogland on Thursday centres on love....and the picture above of course made me think of my bbf...here we are, oh about 45 or 46 years ago:

....and now..well, last year at TIFF:

I would love to drive 3 hours to squeeze my best friend's butt!

Thank You Leslie my best bud! What a wonderful gift.

You may look at this spade and ask "what is so wonderful about this tool?" Well, for starters, look at where my hands are. A typical ordinary spade would have a long pole only and you would grasp the pole one hand above the other, place your foot on the spade and dig in. But, in that position you must twist your body to get around the spade. Not so with this dandy lime green handle. Also, one can use the strength of your arms as well as the big push from your foot to get into the dirt. It's brilliant. A fabulous tool for anyone with back problems and me with tender new knees.

Thanks and hugs to you.

Knitting...well I'm finishing up some socks...um, really, I'm finishing up one sock and then I have to do the other one!

The scarf...and it's a secret...I don't think Sab visits here...is for her grad. I think I had confirmation tonight that she loved the softness and the colours; when she saw the project laying about. It's cashmere and silk and to touch it is Divine.

Hahahaha very funny...new glasses....new hair way to short....and a picture way way to close.

Some pictures from around the back...........I love the lushness of this season

Jack..................................and................................the chicks birdbath

What will become of me now? "BEFORE" I was going to be a t-shirt. But, I really didn't think this shape was going to work for me; so...........

I bought a used copy of "Becoming Jane" and I pulled that whole t-shirt apart and this is what I got........"After"....just waiting for an inspiration.

Snowdrops...this photo was taken about mid-April. I want to photograph this same little spot of the garden as it changes over the season.


May 4...the snowdrops are all but little whispy bits now and the tulips have taken over. I can see a little fern beginning to uncurl. Who will put on the next show in this little spot? Wait and see. Today I "graduated" from physio knee class. 7 weeks of intense work and my knees are doing just fine. The left knee is fabulous, the right...well at times it gives me a bit of trouble and doesn't quite feel like my knee. Of course it isn't completely a real knee...it is difficult to explain the feeling...heavy, dull, empty, like that portion of my leg doesn't exist. Like the feeling of numbness AND sensitivity to the skin around my knees...these are all feelings that other patients are familiar with. How can something be numb and sensitive at the same time??? I don't know.

A milestone! Look at the flexion in that knee and the straight hips. Dare I say the stairs are becoming easier??

It's spring...the grasses are Irish Emerald green everywhere...tulips abound around town...too warm days too early have settled into a comfortable spring temperature....I love the spring even when the bird bath is frozen over each morning...there is such promise this time of year.

My knees continue to delight and impress me. How wonderful is the power to forget. 7 weeks ago today my knees were cut open, sawed, drilled, new parts put in and what followed was about 36 hours of intense pain and nausea and vomiting and me vowing NEVER to have surgery again. But today I feel great and I seem to have forgotten the nasty details. To walk without pain, without a (comforting) cane, walking heel to toe, taking normal strides....is so wonderful, I'm in love with my new knees and the doc who put them there. Ok, there is still some pain and the stiffness is more pronounced than before (surgery)...but I know that will disappear too...6 weeks....6 months...1 year. Those are the healing markers.

Work will be challenging in the next year due to big and fast changes to our industry of pest control. Government has painted us all with the same brush. However, unlike the lawn care companies, we do not spray our chemicals willy-nilly all over the lawns and parks and golf courses.

How can the government make such laws and decisions when they are ignorant of the industry? It's the squeaky wheel that gets greased and there is no squeak louder than a bunch of environmentalists who, themselves, do not understand. Do these same people realize that when the carpenter ants try to take down their houses and their children are stung by wasps living in a huge nest attached to their houses...that there will be nothing that can be done for them? I have talked to enough customers over my 20+ years on the phones here, to know this will not go well.

But it gets even better..............

One town that has passed a "complete outside chemical ban", has "solved" the problem by requiring pest control companies to buy an annual permit (cash grab) to apply pesticide to the exterior of buildings at ground level (because this is still 'sort of' allowed). In addition a permit for each job address must be purchased and displayed, similar to a building permit. The by-law dept. of this same town said "if you don't get the permit within 48 hours...just go ahead with the job...delays with paper work are expected".

Oh and while I'm bitching here..................the "complete outside chemical ban" is not extended to golf courses!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What the f**k??????????????????? I see a kangaroo court in our future.

Thursday April 10th, 4 weeks, one day post-op and I felt fabulous. It was the first day in a month that I began to feel normal. I loved it. Today is Saturday April 12th and the day is cold and rainy and damp and I feel stiff and sore this afternoon. Normal. Saw the surgeon on Friday and he was very impressed and pleased with my progress and his surgical success of course. I like this guy, Dr. Christopher S. Lindsay, but he is quite full of himself - and rightly so. He is good. And he's cute. And he's young. And he had no idea what my "ankle thing" was about and not afraid to say so. The "ankle thing" is lessening and I hope it disappears one day soon.

Knee news...some days are good...some days are not...but I do see progress each day. I am following instructions and doing my physio and resting and walking. I would say I'm back to work 50%.

And so I bought myself a little treat...the newest...the latest...the greatest..."Superhero Necklace". You might remember I have *ahem* 2 beaded Superhero Necklaces, but no one is counting are they? http://www.superherodesigns.com/
Weather news....spring is coming...oh yes it is...here are my snowdrops today...last week they were tight little white buds emerging from the snow...I love spring.Hardy Sedum poking it's little nubby head up through the old wood

A step backwards today.

This "ankle thing" that has been sneaking up on me, roared today. I showed the lump, and the swollen very tender area to the PT today. "Hmmmm things are stuck there", Christine said, after some painful manipulation and palpation. So on her advice I have an appointment to see the surgeon next Friday.

In the meantime, Fridays always being a small physio class, Christine had extra time to work on me...oh lucky me - not! Over 5 hours later and I'm still limping but I think there just might be the slightest bit of improvement - both from her inflicted pain and the overall functioning of my ankle.

My bowed legs were straightened and this could be a problem resulting from my bones settling in. We'll know next Friday when I see "the boss".

In the meantime, I have to accept these set backs and use it as a time to try and focus on some knitting and staying off my feet except for oodles of exercise breaks throughout the day.

I am knitting "Twisted T" again, in a size that will be better for me this time around. The fibre is bamboo and it is knitting up with such silky luxury with a fabulous shimmer. I'll get a picture soon...the colour is periwinkle blue.

Here's the pattern.... "Twisted T". I like the shaping but I didn't leave enough ease across the bust and arms with my first attempted. #1 is still wearable...but I want it to be better.

Here is the yarn colour "Oriental Blue", Sirdar Just Bamboo

New knees and scars reaching for the (healing) sun. Notice the great degree of bend in my left knee...yay...to the top of the class for moi. Not so with the right just yet anyway.
The scar 3 weeks later...looks good...the incisions were 4" long...still a lot of swelling to lose...I am just beginning to see the first signs of peaks and valleys in my knee.

There are the tiniest skinny shoots of "Snowdrops" coming up through the snow and a little patch at the top of that triangle stone. See them?
The day was sunny and mild enough to enjoy the warm microclimate in my backyard
A spot to sit a bit and enjoy the sun, journal and puzzles ready.

I'm healing. And healing is painful. It seems that with my new and balanced knees comes a lot of adjustment for the rest of my body. May back aches, my thighs hurt, my shoulders and neck hurt. Physio is going well, difficult, and so I'm glad it is in a group format. We do circuit training with 1 physiotherapist, 1 physiotherapist-assistant, and 1 student guiding as along. As a group we all help each other with answers to questions like "did you feel numb here", "for how long", "why does my whole body hurt", "bend your knees", "wow good work" etc. etc.

The weather has been horrible and very discouraging for mental healing. The clocks changed a while ago and it seems very strange to have the light late into the evening when the ground is STILL covered in snow. The Farmer's Almanac, I've heard, calls for a colder than usual April. Just great! Not!!!

Post-op I've noticed I have difficulty with concentration. This is normal, I'm told. I went into the hospsital with 2 books, knitting and 2 magazines. I read nothing, I knit nothing. Since home I have finished "The Friday Night Knitting Club" and started another light read, a gift from my pal, "The Friends We Keep" and it is just the perfect speed for my brain.

I bet my snow drops have already flowered, come and gone under the roof of snow over their heads. That has happened before. Here is a positive picture....from last April.

Now it is time to move around or I will seize up. My day consists of getting up and "ready for the day", exercises at home, walk around, sit down, walk around, lay down, physio at the hospital or more exercises at home...rinse and repeat.

Complete and total healing, the surgeon says, takes one year but the majority of healing will be done by 6 months....TIFF-time yayayayayaya. I'll race you to the subway Leslie! :>).

Day by day I feel an improvement...in my strength and flexibility...very tiny improvements...mixed in with sharp stabbing pains...achy knees and sore skin. That's a strange feeling; that of sore skin. The flesh around the incision is numb. My new friends at physio say that is normal. Still lots of swelling to reduce yet. And I still bruise easily and with 1 1/2 more weeks of Heprin shots to go that will continue.

Physio has started in full swing, 1 hour 3 x week for approximately 4 weeks. I am thankful to be Canadian and received this surgery, hospital care and physiotherapy for nothing. Ok, I did have to wait a year to see the best surgeon and then 13 months for the surgery; but it was worth it.

Nasty looking left leg..right didn't look much better
Some beautiful flowers I received

Check out the crutch setting...5'1"..I am sure I was only 5'0"...yay!!

Oh boy, the new knees are in, they are 10 days old and settling in to their new home. Sometimes that is a painful process but I can tell already that there is such an improvement. The pain I experience now is different; it's all pulled-muscles and ligaments and stretching post-operative skin and staples waiting to come out and swelling to reduce and bruises to disappear kind of pain....this is healing pain. Each day I can feel the difference, strength returning, flexibility improving and pain lessening.

Two diagrams of the new knees I'm getting. "Arthritis-be-gone"

Tomorrow 8:00 a.m., surgery day, I have been waiting 13 months for the surgery. But really, I gave up walking for fitness in the fall of 2003 due to pain, then my knee actually "died" April 2004. It didn't take long for my right knee to give way under the strain of the left knee. I've waited and now my turn has come to get some (hopefully) relief. I'm a little scared...mainly scared of the unknown pain which is funny considering I've been in constant pain of varying degrees for 4 1/2 years. But I'm set to go now.

Snow day....Sab playing in the snow
Bryan after shovelling the driveway

The sun is shining, the temps have plummeted once again, grrr. We just bought a new dining set to cheer us up!

It's been a pleasant day today...sunny and ?mild? I went out with B to his doc appointment and then to "The Brick" to buy a new table and new chairs for the dining room. A big sale. These will be delivered on Tuesday and because they are from "The Brick", all pieces need a coat or two of varnish before we use them.

I've been uploading (well trying to) photos to my Flickr account so I could post them on "Ravelry" - a site for knitters. I do like the feature on Ravelry that allows me to document my knitting projects and all the details I forget over time.

I completed a beret, a 4-day knit; I love fast projects. I knit this beret last year in a colour called "Fire", this colour is called "Shade" I believe, same yarn - "Freedom Spirit", a soft wool from the U.K. - and it's a nice mix of gray and mauve. I made the beret a bit bigger and slouchier, which I liked, but then it was a bit too big around the opening...so I tried felting it for 5 minutes in the washer...perfect!! The fabric is now nicely windproof and fits perfectly. But I think I've found a new passion - felting!! Boots or bags anyone?

Yesterday I craved a hamburg and fries! So I made some extra-lean little burgers that we have now named "little bugers". I had one with a few shoestring oven "fries", and my boy had 3 bacon - cheese bugers and a big plate of fries. It's all about compromise isn't it?

Aren't they too cute?

It's done....the slouchy cardigan...well almost, the hood or a neck finish is optional and I haven't decided on that yet. I'm happy with this sweater, it is cozy, soft and will be a good-all'round comfy sweater to pull on over anything.

I just love this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwMj3PJDxuo

check it out

Enough snow already!!!! This is NOT the snowbelt.

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=289950

Yay...it's February and we're way past the half-way mark of winter. Before the next big snowfall, we're in the middle of a melt down. Looking at this wet garden, I'm thankful I don't have wee kids or dogs playing out there anymore!

I'm been knitting and knitting and knitting to get this "Slouchy Cardigan" done. I'm so slow but there are only so many nights I can sit, pop in a DVD and knit.