The Body Said To Walk

I thought it was going to be a day to "take off" after my big day yesterday. I had multiple short walks of around a 1/4 mile each, went over 6,000 steps for the day and had a restful night of sleep. There wasn't what I would call soreness but something on the side of my hip this morning while I laid in bed. Not painful, not numb nor discomfort ... just a feeling of some sort. As I walked around using the walker in the kitchen making coffee, letting the hounds outside and a few trips down the hallway, the leg and hip started to feel better ... I decided to watch and listen to see what the day would bring.

The hip felt strong again as I turned from the kitchen counter to the fridge, multiple times. I felt strong if I just stood without any support of a walker or cane. I was still willing to give things time today to see if I would continue to walk or take a day off. That would mean no walks to the mailbox, down the street or laps around the backyard ... just steps inside the house with normal activity.

It didn't take Stella long to get back to wanting breakfast at 5am. She unexpectedly let out a loud bloodhound howl as I was about to turn the corner toward the kitchen. It was so loud I was sure she was waking up the neighbors. Once Heidi heard that she woke from a deep sleep then sprinted and slid down the tiled hallway.

I stuck to my guns and told them breakfast would be served at 7am, no sooner ... go back to sleep. Believe it or not they did. Heidi turned back to her bed and Stella snuck into the computer room in the right corner. Both were sound to sleep as sat down with a cup of coffee.

I took it as a good sign that I had walked out on the patio to take some photos and completely forgot to bring my cane with me. I went back inside and moved around the kitchen on my own two feet, putting some things away and fixing some breakfast. Fry's Market would be delivering my online grocery order at 9am so I needed clear counter space.

A friend had told me that Al Roker on NBC Today, had a hip replacement about a week or a few days after me and I should tune in to see how he was doing. He was also walking with a cane but when he was giving the weather forecast he was moving fast, going back and forth, a few steps forward then back. I was beginning to wonder after seeing that if I had been too cautious, too timid at times to stretch my stride out to a normal stride.

I remembered that everyone is different, each recovery is different and to just listen to my body and just walk. By mid-morning Stella has passed out in one of her favorite spots. It didn't take long for them to get use to the new rule of not getting on the furniture. They don't even look and beg to do it anymore.

Heidi loves her new bed from a few weeks ago and spends the majority of her time right there. It doesn't matter what time of day or night it is ... if she feels like sleeping, off she goes to the back of the house.

I could tell as time went on I was feeling pretty good and even better than I expected. I thought I'd feel some soreness after yesterday but didn't. When I took a small trash bag out to the bin, I felt strong walking across the driveway and once again I had forgot to take my cane. In fact I couldn't remember where I had left my cane ... couldn't find it anywhere !!!!

Then the light inside my head clicked on and I remembered leaving it on the arm of the patio chair.

Since Heidi and Stella no longer get their lunch at noon, they like to hang out near the kitchen or in the kitchen close to the door where the dog treats are hidden. I think MJ spoiled them with dog treats where she would pass them out each time she left, which was twice per day. Today Stella wasn't moving until I gave her at least one treat to hold her over until their mid-afternoon meal.

Heidi does not like getting her picture taken. She moved every time that I had her almost lined up for a great shot.

My USPS email notice let me know I had a lot of mail today. A LOT of junk mail but only one envelope of any importance. My body was wanting to walk so off I went with my mailbox key in hand and Stella in the backyard with the door closed. So far this past week she has shown no signs of trying to dig her way out under the gate while she stays in the backyard. I don't think she leaves the patio as she stares inside through the door window until I return.

Not intending to change anything on my walk, I could feel my pace was a little faster and my stride might be a tad bit longer. Going earlier in the afternoon meant less traffic, not that I have a lot, and I could make it back home before two school buses dropped off the kids from school.

By the time I got home I had the usual .26 of a mile and felt like walking even more ... so I did lap after lap around the fence line inside the yard. It didn't take long before I was over .65 of a mile and just clicked 20 minutes total time. Definitely not a speed record but that's not the point. I walked the whole way without any kind of support, holding my hand in my hand just in case I might need it. I could have walked longer if I wanted. The goal is to eventually walk 1 mile without support.

It was my longest walk yet ... 20 minutes, no support.

I'll plan to watch both MLB Playoff games tonight but I will not make it through even the first one based on recent times. I am usually tired before 8pm and definitely before 9pm and I don't hesitate turning the lights off and officially calling it a day. The body is dictating when to walk and when to rest.

I read somewhere today that at 6 weeks I should feel 80% normal and will resume normal activities. That is the exact time for my next follow up appointment with my surgeon. After a year I will most likely forget that my hip was ever replaced. It will take about 3 months for the bone to grow into the implants.

I felt so close of taking the car for a short drive and not too far from the house but once again, I have nowhere I need to be and it cannot hurt to add more days of healing before I try to get behind the wheel.

That's about all for today. Sorry I don't have more photos but the hounds didn't do much and I did a lot of reading.

My progress continues in the Wild West.

A Quiet Restful Day - Somewhat LOL

The day officially started at 5am after another great night of sleep. As I rolled the walker down the lit hallway, neither hound woke up to follow me. I open all the blinds even though it's dark. I open the front window and the back door to get a good early cool breeze in the house. Coffee is then put on but I have noticed a strange thing since I started grinding my beans at the time I make the coffee. I am using more coffee for the same amount of water ... or 1 cup of coffee.

The sunrise was beautiful and the air near 60°. We are going to be back to normal temps now and the rains are gone. Which means cooler temps this time of year. By the time I grabbed my cup of coffee, the cane and headed for the computer room, neither hound had made a move from their overnight sleeping position.

I took these photos a little after 6am when the sun came up. I didn't have a lot of plans today. I mainly wanted to see how my leg and hip responded to the 6,000+ steps I took yesterday. I was willing to back off a little today if they told me to. As of 2:27pm today I had 3,192 steps in so far. My hip feels good as well as my right leg and foot.

As you see I took this photo standing at my fence facing the Mule mountains towards Bisbee. Standing by the fence is the best position for those mountain photos as I have another below facing the west and standing at the fence.

I knew the first day it was going to happen but I thought I'd give it a chance and see how it played out ... My neighbor.

Most of you probably know what I am about to say because you have been in the same situation. Little things were adding up ... to the point I was going to put a plug on it and kindly suggest it stop. If I need a ride I'll call Uber or a taxi. Yes ... it was getting that bad.

About 50' from the fence is a natural wash. You can barely see it going left to right. A whole different view from the back fence compared to the patio.

He is the type that likes to help everyone in the neighborhood and does from what I hear. He has also made a few of us mad but they put up with him. I was also warned before moving in that his friendliness moves into control freak mode and overbearing. I was aware and ready and from what I had seen he was moving along the path as scheduled. I really don't mind suggestions but basically I am going to follow that surgeon's orders from Tuesday and nobody else. He is a doctor !!!

It started the other day when he questioned the supplements I had bought and have been taking. I personally feel they have been a factor in my quick healing. Not all but some of the factor. He questioned the amount of walking I was doing while I was following doctors orders. Then this morning he told me I didn't know what I was talking about nor knew what muscle fatigue was.

LOL ... really???

I knew this wasn't going to end well.

This morning while Stella slept outside enjoying the sunshine I was accused of not following doctors orders. Really? What business is that of his? Voices were raised and the argument was on. It was short - fast - to the point and I did all of the talking. For basketball fans you might remember an IU coach named Bobby Knight so you have a pretty good idea what took place.

I instructed this overbearing control freak to go back home, bring back my keys to the car, mailbox and front door and then I'd give him his cane. That took place in a short time. There is more to this than just this morning or his comments to me for the past week.

It involved the hounds.

Once Stella found out I was not going to feed her at noon like the old days, she decided the best thing to do was to sleep until 3pm or 4pm.

I did not call him from the ER on Sept 7th to help me out with my hounds for a reason. I had seen him enough around Stella and Heidi the times he was over at my house before my injury and he didn't like them. He hated either one of them getting close to him. That didn't stop him on the 7th trying to take control of the hound situation after I had called MJ the pet setter who happened to get to my house and inside within 15 minutes after I called her. She didn't know who he was nor did she know I had not called him. He said later to me, he saw a strange car, a person key in to open the garage and he came over ... like my security guard ... that I never asked for.

She did not tell me what happened but I found out from him ... because he told me of all the rearranging he had done with the crate I keep Stella in to keep her safe and my vertical blinds in tact while I am out of the house. What else he told me he had done was not what I wanted done with the hounds. He was doing stuff that did not need to be touched but just like I was warned ... he is like an old construction foreman ... his way or the highway.

So that "helpful neighbor" is outta here. Oh ... he fed me crap yesterday for feeding the hounds myself and then picking up the dog crap in the yard even though I was within all the requirements the doctor gave me. I don't remember the doctor telling me I had to be bedridden.  :)

You get the picture?

While the three of us were outside this afternoon enjoying 72° and cool winds ... Stella made sure that my walker and I were going nowhere.  I had to wake her so I could move back inside.

Heidi had a lot of energy today but not a lot of photos. More active than I have seen her in a while and that might be due to the shorter pawnails. She has done a few sprints around the house, rolled on her back and barked and begged for food when it was appropriate. Feeding times are now 7am and 3 pm every day ... no more noon stuff.

I was finally able to focus and sit still long enough to read some books I had on the coffee table. I still cannot sit in that soft couch because it is too hard to get up and out of it based on what the doctor told me.

Nothing major planned for tonight. I am going to walk some laps around my backyard ... bake some chicken and broccoli then call it a day I thing with book reading. I'm feeling really good again today. No soreness whatsoever from the hip area.

The hounds have survived the past 19 days in fine style ... no hiccups ... no injuries ... and seem to be back to their routines of begging me for food now since they have seen me feed them.

A beautiful day in the Wild West.

Day 3 - Huge Improvements

I slept solid until 10pm last night when I needed to make a bathroom run. That forces me to work on my technique getting out of bed and back into bed. I was back to sleep and it wasn't until 4am when Stella woke me up "like the old days" ... she went straight outside so she really had to go and it wasn't food induced. Although when she walked back inside she gave me the bloodhound smile where she thought she was going to get fed breakfast but I told her not today. I cannot bend over far enough to dish out the dog food nor sit their dishes on the floor.

By 5:55am I been watching the sun come up from the bed instead of the patio ... it was time to get up.  Oh, that large wedge of foam is better than putting two pillows between you legs to sleep. That keeps the hip area stable during the night.

I could feel by the way I got out of bed that I was feeling stronger today, a lot stronger. Mentally I felt normal and had to remind myself about my hip and that I had to use the walker. Even after scooting and sliding to the edge of the bed I always sit for a couple of minutes to make sure things are ok and remind myself of the procedure to standing up with the walker.

The hounds are helping with my rehab because I might be walking a little faster down the hallway, around the corner and to the backdoor to let them outside. I want to open that door soon enough so Heidi doesn't pee in the house. Stella checked me out standing at the counter with the Nikon D3200 and knew once again the chances for a walk were slim today.

Too hard to walk with a walker and holding a Nikon D3200 so I zoomed outside while standing at my counter at the end of the kitchen to take his photo.  A cool 62° breeze was blowing through the house. I am now rolling the walker across the floor as I walk with a normal continuous steps instead of one foot at a time. Yet I am very causious and take my time to turn around or to make a turn just like the PT showed me.

Stella's eating pattern has been disrupted and she no longer eats as soon as she wakes up. The dog sitter has to feed horses first and can get her around 7:30am and then again around 3:30pm. She thinks it's best to feed dogs 8 hours between meals and so do I ... so Stella no longer eats at noon because she is not being fed at 4am.

With the reaching tool they gave me I can pick up anything on the floor. With outlets up high in some places I could plug in the vacuum and it's light enough and smaller than my Dyson that I can pick it up to unwound the electrical wire. .... So with a Swifter I dusted all the tables and bookshelves in these, I vacuumed the whole house and felt motivated enough to do a large load of laundry.

All of this was going to be finished on Saturday when I got back.

I am ALWAYS AWARE to keep my knee facing forward, making turns easy and not reaching for things. I would hate to have that new hip pop out of joint, which I was warned about before coming home. FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS.

You can see Stella is happy to be back at the blogging desk.

Chewy will start delivering our dog food and dog treats. They will also send Heidi a brand new dog bed, arriving September  16th.

Things are good in the Wild West.

Yes I Calmed Down Today

I'll be brief tonight and no ranting or raving. It was a nice day. I did get out in public, driving on public streets, walking into stores without any hassles or arguments with idiots. After waking up at 1am and then every hour on the hour until 5:10am ... to let Heidi outside to pee ... the sunrise was a bonus as I sat outside waiting for my coffee to finish. I needed coffee in the worst way this morning. Those are the Mule Mountains over there towards the Bisbee area.

A few hours later I looked around the computer room, the living room and the bedroom ... Stella had disappeared. It was good to see actually, that she had decide it was safe and did not have to follow me everywhere I go ... she was taking some early sunshine in this morning.

Clear skies for the Aerostat.

That pink thing might come off for good sometime Friday afternoon at 3:40pm. She and I are hoping it will and hear the words that we can resume our daily morning walks again by sunrise Saturday morning.

I had to spend all morning at home. I had a FedEx delivery that required a signature receipt so I wanted to stay until they showed up. They showed up a little before noon. The hounds had been fed and were sleeping when he arrived, they didn't hear a thing.

I needed to make a trip to town to buy more fresh caught Pacific Salmon and a little more of that Halibut, as I try not to look at the price per pound for that stuff. It tastes great. Riding 4-5 days per week now I need another pair of riding shorts so I stopped by the M&M Cycling Shop. They had a new shipment of Pearl iZumi shorts in stock and in my size. I also picked up a shop t-shirt since I never have enough t-shirts and a pair of cycling gloves since the ones I have been wearing are about wore out.

That was all I was looking for so I headed to the cashier counter. Leaned up against the counter was a red LeMond bike that I thought was just a display. I always wanted a LeMond bicycle but didn't want to spend the money they wanted to have one. As I was looking the bike over and admiring the craftsmanship built into the frame ... I see a tag "For Sale". Really ???

I asked Mike what size the bike was. My custom made Romic is a 56cm and yes the builder actually took measurements of the length of my leg, the distance between my thumb and finger to the middle of my shoulder and the distance from the outside of my knee to the the outside of my ankle. He asked if I rode hills or mountains sitting down or standing up and pedaling. That was in 1984 when those measurements took place.

The LeMond is 57cm ... you may be thinking how much difference can 1cm make? Well in bicycling it can mean a lot depending on the angles of those frame tubes. For example in 1982 I was having severe lower back and sciatica nerve problems thinking I was on the way to back surgery ... when I found out the top tube of the bike I was riding at the time was too long. Years later when one of my cleats on my shoes that lock into the pedals, was only a couple of degrees off ... it caused me to have so much pain in my knee that I could not ride.

So ... 1cm more ... I needed to test ride it ... they let me take it around the parking lot and that was enough area to figure out if this bike and me could find some enjoyment riding. The test ride was great, the bike was very responsive based on how the frame was made. It had new wheels, new freewheel, tuned up, and it was a consignment sale.

Now years ago when I was looking at LeMond bikes they were $2,500 and up ... now days this kids are racing on bikes that are $4,000 and up. I was in luck today though .. $500. They had just sat the bike out a few hours before I got there. I knew just by the condition of the 'used' bike it would be sold fast.

Just like t-shirts ... as long as I am riding on a regular basis ... you can never have enough bikes. Although for most of my life I have gotten by with having only ONE.  :)

I came home, changed into bike gear and took off to see what it would do. After 17 miles we decided both of us had had enough fun and finished the ride. Our top speed was 27 mph and that was NOT because I was going downhill. This bike could fly as long as I could pedal. LOL

Better mood today from the start even with the lack of sleep. I believe Heidi has decided I need to train her like a puppy since we didn't get that experience when she was a puppy. When I got her from GABR, they thought she was a year and half years old, maybe two years at the most. So yes, while she is outside in the middle of the night squatting in the rock yard ... I am standing on the patio looking at all the stars ... there must be a million of them at that time of night with clear skies.

I need to go ... I hear the first NFL game is on tv for the past 2 hours 25 minutes while I have been guzzling ice water, writing blogs plus answering a few texts. Only a few of us still email anymore.

Don't worry about Heidi ... she is back to her old self of running sprints in the house, rolling on the living room rug while she growls at herself and knows every day at 4pm or soon after that it is time for her and Stella's afternoon dog treat. She never misses and always comes to get me if I forget.

She is due for annual shots this month so while we are at the vet, I'll have them check out that bladder problem she seems to have ... unless she is getting some sort of sick enjoyment waking me up every hour on the hour, every night this past week ... she might.

It was a 'calm' day here in the Wild West.

Beautiful Day Today

After a few days of bad weather only starting in the early afternoon, the rain finally showed up at the house last night with strong winds. I watched a little of it, it wasn't anything major compared to what I saw this past spring in Indiana. With that rain, the temps dropped from 94° to 62° just like that. It wasn't even 7pm yet and the cool breeze felt fantastic. Stella is getting use to the loud thunder and only looks at it to analyze instead of whine.

The mornings were the typical sky show and great weather but if I did not get home from my morning bike ride by 10am, it was already up to 90°. A couple of mornings I didn't get back before then. After the snake by the garage door last week I aways look at the base of the garage door now when I pull in with the car or the bicycle. These storms would show up around between 1pm-2pm, after bright sunny skies just a few hours earlier.

No hiking this week. There were to days this week where I was set to go but a final check on the weather radar and looking outside cancelled them. These storms were moving in fast and covered all of the mountains in any direction. I've seen photos on Facebook of flooded streets in Bisbee, Douglas and Benson.

For those that are into bike riding, I added my bike blog on the side bar. I had been keeping a training journal on my computer but once again decided a blog format was better at retrieving past information instead of looking through Apple Pages for information I may want a year from now. Plus there might be something I write about that will help someone over 65 years old wanting to get back into cycling or just starting.

I have never felt better and rode 5 days this week with plans of getting my 6th day of riding in tomorrow on a week ending easy ride. Plus my Strava app uploads my rides automatically on the new blog on the left side. You can click the map for a more detailed view, along with a scale below the map, showing how much I rode 'up and down.

This morning's sunrise was fantastic. Stella and I were on the walk barely after sunrise and it was a little dark. Cold at 64° but great weather.

The moon was still there when we got back ... it was time for coffee and 32 miles of bike riding.

With the cooler temps Heidi spent more time than she ever had since moving, exploring the backyard. With the cooler temps those stones are not too hot to walk on like they were before this morning.

For the first time that I can remember she sat on the patio while we were all outside enjoying mid-day sunshine.

Besides her walk, this is all Stella did today. All these photos were taken within 10 minutes ... that's all it took for her to decide it was too hot to sunbath any longer. Time to head inside and enjoy the AC. The temp had just crawled above 80°.

Her tongue hanging out of her mouth means she needs or wants air conditioning.

College Football 2019 has started today with only two games that I am interested in watching. With all the things to do outside my days of watching 13 straight hours of college football on Saturdays like in past years are over ... you've heard it here first. I'll watch only a few different teams and will put a lot of them on DVD to watch later when I am not outside enjoying the day. IF the fall weather is like today ... I'll never be home.  LOL

My neighbor brought over a baby rat snake he found in his garage ... so that vent in the lower garage wall for ventilation will be their entry way.  One thing strange I have noticed, on two separate occasions I have had birds banging their beaks on my windows as if they are trying to get inside. They are very loud and almost as active as a woodpecker. Once I tapped the window or pulled the blinds back, they flew away.

I continue to lose weight daily and feeling stronger riding the bike. Yet, the best new thing may be the massage bar and massage roller I bought a week or so ago. That takes away a lot of after riding pain, moves the bad stuff out of the muscles. All good stuff. Is it a coincidence that I have slept every night since using the bar and roller, through the night and do not get up?

A great Saturday here in the Wild West.