Hounds Pretty Quiet Today

 So much for the warm weather we were experiencing. Woke up to 28° and I didn't last too long on the patio this afternoon in 41° weather. It was bright and sunny though and that was a good thing. We didn't do much today. Watson and Henry got their walks in, they met the painter down the street at the house I showed yesterday. The house will be a "flip" once another crew finish the inside with updates. He said it was in great shape to begin with.

Distracted Into A Different Direction

I guess I should apologize right from the start today. When I left you last a few days ago it sure sounded as if I'd be posting again that night with new photos of the next adventure as I said it was time to start exploring the local area again. I intended to and was almost to the point of loading a vehicle and hitting the road ... but first I needed to do something. What that something was I can't remember but all I know is after that took place, the direction I was heading changed ... adventure wasn't on the priority list.

In fact ... traveling wasn't on the priority list, just like that. I found out sitting outside with that direct sunlight on my face was the best thing I had felt in weeks, if not months. I couldn't move and in fact one time felt asleep in the chair on the patio only to be awaken by my iPhone falling from my hand to the patio floor.

Another change, at least for today ... my descriptions are going to be BEFORE the photographs I may or may not talk about. How's that for some examples of indecision?

Like me, the hounds have also been enjoying the warm sunshine. The temps haven't climbed out of the 50's yet but that sun is hotter than hot for most of the day starting around 11:30am. I was cleaning out hound ears the other day and it's always good to see a little more shaking to dislodge some of the stuff I cleaned ...

I'd like to cut some hound toenails but my attempts of getting on the floor to the level I need to cut them is still in the "take it easy and watch it" mode. Those muscles in the hip need a little more healing or stretching ... probably both. In that case I might be calling the mobile groomer again for her to cut them.

You may remember me mentioning I was testing out a camera with 65x zoom a few weeks ago. Like I have posted, every camera I have and I DO have TOO MANY of them ... but each does one thing the best. Now I am finding out that TWO of these cameras can do it all for me ...

- the iPhone 11 Pro Max camera
- the new Canon SX70 HD camera

It's a shock to me that I am not listing either Nikon DSLR that I own on that list.

For example ... those mountains you see on that first photo, this is the tops of one of them. My Nikon 70-300mm lens cannot even get this close and this clear to one of the tops of those mountains and both photos were taken from the same spot where I stood in the backyard.

The hounds had a "dog visitor" today, someone they had met before ... Heidi double check some scent from that visitor. The visitor's nose is in the upper right corner if you did not notice. All three got along great.

Here are some photos from today ... taken with the two cameras mentioned above.

As you just saw, the recent pace of life has been pretty fast lately. The hounds have no idea it's December and I had to pinch myself last night when I realized I was rode my bicycle yesterday afternoon on December 19th ... DECEMBER ???? I guess I was already taking this change in location for granted.

My latest addiction .... PGA Golf on PlayStation 4. It took me a while to get back in shape but I am back to my professional level performance from years ago and I can actually win a tournament now. Hey ... it keeps me "off the streets" and out of trouble ... LOL

Just remember I am very impulsive. I live in 5-minute windows but always walk and feed the hounds on schedule every day. After that all the hours in the day/night are up for grabs where my brain cells decide to take me. That might be to the top of Carr Canyon, Tucson or Tombstone ... I don't even know. When it happens I'll take photos of it and blog about it. Believe it or not I am kind of the same way right now with my bike riding. What I plan to do may not happen based on how I feel.

Winter is great in the 'Wild West'.

A Sunday Drive To Bisbee

While Stella spent most of "College Football Saturday" sleeping I also had a lot of time to think and read again about the new iPhone 11 Pro. I stood or took walks during commercials, halftimes and between games. I tried to listen to my body as the surgeon told me to do while hoping I wasn't doing too much. Out of all the activity and thinking on Saturday, one thing would not leave my thought process ... that stupid new phone. I follow MacRumors on Twitter and about the time I would shove the thought of buying that phone aside ... they would post another great photo taken by the 11 Pro.

Discussing the options and reasons with a friend, by 6:30pm I was on my way to Best Buy with only one thing I was going to do. I was buying the iPhone 11 Pro and trading in my 8+. It took longer for me to do the transaction but things had changed in the past two years since I bought the 8+ ... I had to stand there in the store and move all the data of the old phone to the new phone ... instead of coming home, plugging the new phone into my computer and restoring the data from my backup.

As I walked out of the store in the dark ... I took my first photo with the new phone, the FJ under the bright parking lot lights.

I quickly read through the changes with the new phone and how to do things, synchronized my two watches to the phone and by 11:00pm I was calling it a day. I did not dream about the phone, I didn't wake up at 1:00am like I had been doing nor did I hear Heidi's body shake telling me she wanted to go outside. By the time the sun rose I was still feeling good about the purchase the night before.

The house filled with cool 48° air and since we overslept past our normal wakeup time, Stella was ready to eat her breakfast as soon as we walked into the kitchen. The problem was, Heidi was still sound asleep and it was almost 6:30am.

This is the view as I step out on the patio.

Once Stella figured out she had to wait for breakfast, she joined me in the computer room and slept for almost an hour before I woke her and Heidi up to have their breakfast. I had spent most of my hour re-synchronizing one of my watches to the phone so the Activity would be tracked when I wore it.

After I returned home last night I caught the last 2 innings of the Yankees - Astro game. What a finish!!! The Yankees hit a HR in their last at bat to tie the game and Houston hit a HR to win the game. The Yankees and Dodgers won the most games this year and spent the most money on their rosters ... neither team made it to the World Series.

I tried the new feature in the camera by shooting 'outside the lines'. That is where the hounds eat twice per day and there has never been a fight over food since they day they started living together. Shooting "outside the lines" stretched them left to right.

I woke up this morning without any kind of pain or soreness. The feeling I call "the rock" was not in my hip this morning. I didn't know how to take all of this news so early in the day, so I did a few laps around the backyard.

After three laps of feeling pretty good, I walked through the house and headed out to the sidewalk with plans to walk to the end of the street and turn around. By the time I walked to the end of the street I felt so good that I decided I would see if I could walk the path that Stella and I use to take every morning up until April 25th.  By the time I would return to the house I had covered .67 mile.

Stella was standing by the front window when I returned. It was good that she did not know that I took the walk without her, but I found out that I was strong enough to make the complete walk but not really strong enough to walk with a 90 pound bloodhound. I have no idea when I will be able to take her but I think it will be sooner than later.

Like Heidi she likes to explore the yard. A little different than exploring that green grass back in the tropics.

While the hounds soaked up some early morning sunshine I was devising a plan. I wanted to drive the Mini Cooper today and hopefully take the Cinelli handlebar stem that I had swapped out on the LeMond bike down to the bike shop in Bisbee and donate it to his inventory of handlebar stems that he sells.

By the time I moved into the driver's seat of the Mini, I still had not felt one bit of soreness from Saturdays "most activity since the surgery."

Not even 11:00am on a Sunday and downtown Bisbee is packed with people. I slowly drove past the bike shop that you see on the right side, two buildings past the yellow building. I had a feeling I would be parking up the hill and around a curve near the same place I parked 43 days ago. I was close ... only three parking spaces away from where I parked before.

During the time I walked downhill I did not feel any discomfort in the hip. That was a good thing as once again I forgot to bring the cane with me. When I pay for things in this store with a credit card (so I can get a small percentage back in the future), it recognizes Bisbee Bicycle Brothel as "entertainment" not "shopping" like it does when I buy from the local bikeshops. Any ideas why?  HaHa

Like I have said before, it's more than just a bike shop but a collection of music for sale and a ton of great photos that have been framed from the small 4x6 to poster size. All of these old bicycles were made in Europe or Britain by famous builders and some have been raced in the Tour de France.

The owner and I had our normal long conversation on all kinds of topics. We only took breaks talking when he had customers come in to take a look. Not one of them was a bike fan or rider and even one lady thought she had walked into an antique shop. I guess in a way it is. Some of the bikes are older than I am.

It was a nice day to take a drive with the windows down, through the Mule Mountains and then brake off and on as we slid downhill into "old town" of Bisbee. I can usually tell right after I turn off Hwy 80 just how busy the town will be.

I stood most of the time or walked around while we talked. I explained to him that I felt better walking or standing rather than trying to sit in a chair that was too low for me nor did it have arms that I could use in helping me get back to my feet.

It was the first time I had taken a long drive in the car since my surgery. Also all of these photos were taken with the new iPhone 11 Pro. With all the pasta I ate after returning home, the carbs always makes me sleepy. It was a perfect time of day to get some rest for the hip and take a siesta.

It was another great day here in the Wild West.

The Improvements Continue

Although Heidi loves her new bed that arrived last week, sometimes there isn't anything better than an old rolled up blanket. With a cool breeze coming though the southern bedroom window she found the perfect spot to nap until breakfast was served this morning. For the first time in a long time, both hounds slept through the night, never getting up one time. Stella found a new place to sleep ... the walk-in closet. It's dark, quiet and no windows, the perfect place for solid sleep.

I on the other hand was getting up every hour. Did they do something to my bladder during their hip replacement surgery? Finally I was wide awake at 5am, did my exercises for the foot, legs and hip and started the day. There were some amazing cloud formations right after the sunshine came up.

Remember that I am writing these updates for any of those readers that may have hip replacement surgery in the future and possibly have one scheduled. Maybe I can give them some idea what they will go through. I KNOW we are all different so anyone's surgery and rehab WILL BE different.

With the release of the Apple iPhone 11's the other day, commercials are being swamped with advertising about the new phone and cameras the different models have. From all the reviews I have read that is about the only difference, is the cameras. So this morning I decided it was going to be iPhone photo day just to remind myself how good the quality is for the iPhone 8+.

I am undecided as of this afternoon if I am going to upgrade my phone but I definitely will my watch. Like I said, unless you have the cellular function on your watch it is almost worthless in an emergency situation if your phone is not nearby. With not many differences between the Series 4 and 5, I may stick to the Series 4 and just trade it for one that has cellular function. Luckily my dog sitter brought my phone to the hospital that Saturday and I was THEN able to provide them with all the names and phone numbers they needed.
 

With my followup appointment scheduled for Tuesday morning I wanted to take one more close look at the incision. Since the swelling is going down daily I can see more than I did previous times. What a shock it was to see one of the finest healing jobs I have seen. There are definitely no staples to take out and unless he used sutures that dissolve, I don't see any stitches at all. Just surgical tape over the incision which is already close to being healed.
 

With the lack of pain in the hip and the clean surgical incision I can tell he was very precise in his work and had great attention to detail.

With a forecast of highest temps in the 70's and lows in the 50's, it's perfect weather here in the Southwest. It would be perfect weather for bicycling riding too.

Stella stood there a little after 7am, scoping out the yard for any snakes, scorpions or other critters that might be in her yard. We have yet to see any of those in the yard or anywhere else, after living here 3 months and 10 days.

First thing in the morning I could tell during the stretching exercises I was going further than yesterday. I kept the walker on the floor and in front of me but I was walking a normal stride down the hallway at normal speed. Again I did do a little walking along the kitchen counters without the walker and I am not quite there yet for fulltime walking without it. I expect another week or two using the walker based on information I have read.

Stella enjoys a short nap before breakfast is served. Normally this would be the time I would be drinking coffee before our daily walk. She will be happy to get back those I am sure and I have an idea that those walks well be very good for me as well.

The photos were not edited today.

I wanted to see what that green tree looked like if I used 2x zoom.

She was snoring in that photo.

These photos show what amount of exercise the hounds get on any normal afternoon, 7 days per week ... they don't deviate much from their routine.

By mid day my right leg was almost back to normal size but the ankle and foot were still swollen a little bit. With the grabber I could only pull my tight compression sock half way up my foot so I called for assistance. Otherwise with help of the grabber I can dress myself.

I am a little excited to hear what the surgeon has to say tomorrow. I feel like I am ahead of schedule in healing but I am not sure I am good enough yet to slide into my cars. Just a little too high and any twisting or tweaking of that new hip ball joint is NOT a good thing. I don't expect to have any chance to drive until September 28.

I am going to post this early today. Not much more will be going on between now and tonight. I might try to read a little for the first time and I'll watch a little football tonight but nothing more. For the third day in a row I only walked when I needed to do something here in the house without any walking up and down the hallway or from the front to the back of the house for a workout.

I will find out tomorrow what the next plan of action will be.

Another beautiful day here in the Wild West.