Back To Normal

As I saw a similar view from my bed Sunday morning I knew with a sunrise like that, would lead to a great day. At the time I just didn't know how nice of a day it would be. Within a minute I knew I'd not be able to enjoy much of the day outside. My hip and waistline felt almost like the first week after surgery. Only this time I knew the cause and once again I was the culprit. It all started Saturday morning, more stiff and sore than normal. I had done something Friday afternoon that I guess I shouldn't have.

There are some mountains somewhere in there.

The wheels I ordered for the FJ came in on Friday, or let me say three of the five ordered arrived on Friday. Due to a UPS screwup the other two wheels were delayed. I was feeling great on Friday so I didn't think anything of it when I decided to drag a box weighing 63 pounds from my front porch, across and down the driveway to the back of the FJ. I would then break the banding and load each box that contained the wheel into the cargo area of the FJ. These will be mounted downtown.

Taken within minutes of the first picture.

I bent my knees and lifted the ~20# boxes (3ea) into the back of the FJ. Hours later that night sitting on the couch watching the Pac12 Championship game I knew I may have screwed up. It was getting harder each time I stood from the couch and I started taking some Advil not for the pain but to reduce the swelling that had to going on inside my hip and lower back. This was the exact muscle I had stretched a few months ago by making a mistake on a day I was feeling great. I knew what the plan of attack would be to fix it. I also knew it was going to take a couple or three days to heal.

With more sunshine you can see the reflection on the mountains. This picture was also taken within minutes of the second picture, all in a sequence of four.

Saturday didn't help because I spent a lot of time sitting on a comfortable soft couch watching the SEC Championship game, a basketball game and then the B1G Championship game Saturday night. I made a point of standing every 15-20 minutes but all that did was tell me how sore I was.

While the hounds were sleeping the day away on Sunday, I applied one of those temporary therapeutic heat pads to my lower back not he right side. I was going to keep that on all day, at least for eight hours and I was also going to spend a lot of time in bed, just like I did a couple of months ago. It must of worked because the sleep app on my phone also records detailed times for any siesta taken. I was catching up on a lot of missed sleep from the past two night.

By Sunday night I took off the heat pad and moved to the ice packs I had used the first month of rehab. I placed one under my lower back and the other to the side of the hip. Within minutes I could feel more relief. Movement of my leg was returning to normal without stiffness or pain. I could feel the improvement throughout the night each time I got up. Not only do I get up different times in the middle of the night but Heidi will at least once. We are both getting older I guess.

I could tell Sunday night that Monday was going to be a day of rain. WeatherBug app forecast confirmed my suspicions.

To see if my new iPhone camera would work like the advertisements I saw on tv last month, I held the phone up in the air in a pitch black bedroom and aimed it where I thought Stella would be sleeping ... right next to my bed. This was the result although I had to hold the phone camera still a few seconds for the auto flash and shutter to work properly. Not bad for a room that was dark.

I woke up at 4am when Heidi woke me up with her dangling tags as she shook her head. She was headed to the patio door to go outside and I always plan to get their first. I quickly got out bed and felt all the pain and stiffness was gone from my hip and lower back. I felt normal again as I walked fast down the hallway to catch up with her.

What happens if I don't hear her? Two options, Stella either wakes me up by whining to tell me Heidi is gone or Heidi will lay down by the patio door until I get there. Most of the time I do here her and get up.

Sunday I pulled one of her favorite blankets out of the closet and put it in the corner of the room. It's winter and she likes to have blankets in different parts of the house for a nap. You can see she preferred the blanket to be out in the middle of the floor instead of the corner. I have just enough room to step around it to sit in my desk chair. As long as she is happy I am happy.

Monday morning's sunrise didn't have a lot of sunshine. That's fine as I needed another day of rest before getting back on the bicycle. I will have to watch it though as the last two wheels are arriving this afternoon. Since they came from the same warehouse in Colorado there were be two boxes banded together. If I can catch the UPS driver in time, I'll have him load them into the cargo area of the FJ.

Duluth Trading Co finally shipped my order without telling me. They also sent it 2nd Day Air but that does not mean it was delivered on a weekend. Still nice to get another flannel shirt and a pair of Keen shoes I wanted. Plus Heidi will have a strap that connects her collar to the seatbelt the next time she is riding in the passenger seat. She and Stella have not been on a road trip lately.

For not doing much on Monday things got busy enough that I didn't have time to blog last night. The hounds slept more than normal and I sat outside watching the clouds developing into some afternoon thunderstorms. I never heard thunder but saw rain, not heavy. My friend in Phoenix sent me a text mid-afternoon telling me it was HAILING ???? where she was. I glanced at my iPhone weather for Phoenix and it was showing me it was 61° ... how could it be? Well last night on Twitter I saw what looked like a blizzard north of Phoenix.

The hounds were a lot like I was yesterday. I felt like doing something but didn't know what. Heidi would go outside expecting hot sunshine to sleep under but it was cool and overcast. When she looked at me wondering what was up, I had no answers for her. She would turn and head back to her favorite bed back in the corner of the bedroom.

I anxiously awaited to see that brown truck show up in front of my house with UPS on the side. I really wanted to get my last two wheels early enough so I could get them mounted at one of three tire stores here in town. I played a lot of Mahjong and some PS4 ... I'm not a big gamer but like I said, Grand Turismo is a favorite of mine. Honestly with those two games I have felt it helps with hand and eye coordination and that can't be a bad thing as I get older.  (Or that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it)

Stella was like Heidi. She was begging to get outside and take that daily nap in the hot sunshine up near the back of the house on the warm stone yard but not today. The later the day got the grayer the sky got, plus it was a cool 50's in the temperature department. She too turned immediately and headed back into the house to one of her many sleeping spots.

Those last two pictures were taken within 30 seconds of each other.

It was past 3:00 pm and UPS had not arrived. Between 2-3pm is their normal time but with Christmas two weeks away they are a little busy right now. I was going to be surprised if my wheels showed up before 5:00 pm. So I went back outside and watched the storm clouds get a little more intense to the west and north of me. I was back in my weather pocket where I live, where it's normal for all the intense storms to be around me and rarely on me.

It rained solid but not hard. No lightning or thunder as my young neighbors stood out in the rain trimming back one of their overgrown shrubs. I couldn't tell from my vantage point but it looked like what they were cutting and loading in their truck could be used for making Christmas wreathes. Why else would they be in the rain trimming only one of many overgrown shrubs?

A little after 4:00pm the brown truck showed up and by the time they had the 63 pound box with two wheels out of their truck, I had the back door of the FJ open where he could put it without me even touching it. After my bad back episode over the weekend from dragging and lifting those wheels into the FJ, I wanted the least amount of interaction with them.

After making three calls I found that Big O Tires was open until 6:00 pm and was looking for some action. One part of their problem is having only one entry that does not go directly into their parking lot while the business sits on one of the busiest intersections in town. Now I know it doesn't mean much to 99.9% of you but I've always wanted my first FJ back ... it was a 2007 Voodoo Blue with black wheels and rock rails. It came that way back in May 2014.

So with rock rails installed last week and the wheels last night, I now have what I've wanted every since I traded it. Those are the exact model of wheel the other one had. I haven't made up my mind whether to sell the brand new OEM wheels I took off or keep them. I have no plans of selling or trading this FJ so there won't be a need to give a new owner the option of different wheels.

Here is my first FJ I speak of ... I'll have a better picture of the new setup later today since last night did not have the best lighting for that picture with it dark and raining lightly. Current picture added Tuesday at 3:35pm MT.

My plans are to ride my bike today outside for a short one hour ride just to loosen those muscles up in my lower back and hip. They both feel like they can handle a short ride on fairly flat roads. I will make it a point to keep my ride to that one hour and not ride longer just because I am feeling good those first 15-20 minutes.

I found out this morning, since I was up so early (4:10am) and thinking clearly, that while coffee is being made I have time to do some basic exercises for my hip. Two of them were given to me by the doctor back in October. I haven't done enough of them on a daily basis and that may be some of the problems I am having right now. From now on it will be a daily routine to start my day.

I see 10 days of sunshine in my forecast and that is always a good thing for my mental outlook. Expect some posts this week about some local hiking or road trips ... I am in the mood to get back out on the road again, with my camera(s) in hand.

An early morning blog post from the 'Wild West' this morning.

A Little Different Post Tonight

This post tonight is for a couple of online friends that I hope to meet in person some day along with their dog. Some of you will figure out who I am talking about but I'll keep their names off this post for their own privacy. I have followed their blog since October 2011 and for too many times that I could count ... their photos on their blog of this area pulled me through some dark times, some days where it was below zero degrees for a high temperature and led me to this area.

When I was looking at houses last winter/spring in this town she was very helpful answering my questions because in their travels they had driven literally two blocks away from where I live today. When I was searching through 150+ houses to buy, she suggested using the keywords "mountain view" to narrow my search for what I wanted.

So these photos are for them tonight because they love and miss this area this winter. They are also for all of you, that continue to come back to this blog even when I don't have a lot to say or nothing exciting to report on. Thanks for stopping by.

After my last post on December 6th good weather was on the way and this was just 24 hours after the photo at the top of the post. I am not bragging about where I live but I am very thankful to see what I can from my patio and backyard everyday. I am also thankful for the good health that I have to enjoy it. It's just amazing to me that I don't have to drive anywhere to see what I see in these photos tonight.

I'm very lucky.

Like I have said many times since moving here, the wide open skies of the 'wild west' really put on a show. For a camera habit like I have it's hard not to take hundreds of photos at a time. Now, I know that no matter where you and I live, every day is different, sunrises and sunsets ... but after looking through years of photos I took back in the 'tropics' of Southern Indiana, skies like these were few and far between. Yet every area we all live in is beautiful in it's own way.

Some might be asking with all of this great weather, where are the blog posts about the local trips I was talking about. After all, bike riding only takes 1-2 hours per day, another hour to clean up and I should have plenty of time to do some local exploring. You are right ... the time is there. But I was warned by the doctor just this week "there will be days like this" no matter how many miles I ride my bike and no matter how good I feel ... "there will be good days and there will be bad day when it comes to your healing hip" ... "you did break your femur in addition to a hip replacement and that has to heal"

I forget that all the time until I have days like I have had four days this week.

With scenery like this in the month of December, the pain seems to go away and I can get lost in my thoughts while I sit outside. Sometimes I am not even close to a camera when I spend this quiet time with a couple of napping hounds nearby.

When you step outside and see a day like this, temperatures getting warm and maybe a little wind it sure hurts not to be able to ride one of my bikes. I realize that is just the way it is right now and things will continue to improve each day as the healing takes place. I am in much better shape than what I read from others who have had the same surgery. I'm very fortunate in my good luck and my healing.

Consequently with the pain I have been feeling, driving a car or a truck just a few miles to take some photos would not do my hip any good. Wasn't it just a couple of weeks ago I posted here that my hip was no longer going to be written about, that I had forgot about the problem? Well I guess it decided to remind me and tell me when to take a break. I'm taking that break now.

It's hard to sit around though in an area like this. These mountains can draw you out toward them like a powerful magnet and all the hiking trails that are available are large in numbers where I might not have time to hike them all. There are just that many of them. Those don't count the other areas 30 miles or more away.

Friday morning's sunset ... Stella was snoring in the corner of the computer room so I figured an early morning walk was not a huge priority with her. We ended up walking later in the day just after lunch. BTW, those are the Mule Mountains to the left and Mexico dead ahead. I can't remember the name of that mountain that sits on the other side of the border. My memory isn't the best when it comes to names.

The mornings have been pretty cool, low 40's. That is cold now but nothing compared to what the hounds and I walked in the past twenty one years in 'the tropics'. Honestly, I don't miss the snow one bit but I do enjoy the beauty of it when I see it on someone else's blog or in an email I might receive.

I am putting my iPhone camera to max zoom here ... I wonder what it would look like taken with a camera that has better sharpness at distance ... the Canon Powershot SX70 will do that from what I read and see. There is someone posting photos using that camera on a Facebook Group "Chochise County and Its Wonders" of birds at a long distance away. They are so sharp you'd think she is standing within 3' of it.

My view when I stand from my chair on the patio.

This has turned into Stella's favorite winter spot for afternoon or late morning naps. Heidi also likes this area and slept most of the afternoon away there yesterday while I was enjoying my own siesta inside.

With the cooler temps and the back patio door open at all times so they can come and go as they please ... I find her outside as much if not more than she spent on the green grass back in Indiana. She likes the warm stones when she lays down. Plus I swear the small stones have cleared up her allergies as has the high desert environment.

Anytime you see the frame of the house in these pictures I am taking them while sitting in a chair on the patio.

Stella cannot see the puppy but she has formed a friendship with the black lab puppy next door.

After a restless night of sleep Friday night I was up early Saturday morning with the help of Stella nudging my hand hanging over the edge of the bed around 4:10 am. Of course she wanted to eat breakfast kibble at that time but breakfast wasn't served until 6 am ... I took this with the iPhone camera, kitchen light turned off and only the street light reflecting off my fence just as the sun was rising. That's looking towards Bisbee AZ.

By the time Stella and I returned from our 7:30 am walk ... the day was starting to shape up. I knew at that time I was going to have to take another day off. I reached for the bottle of Advil. At least I had a few football games to watch and one basketball game. Otherwise I'd fit in a siesta due to my early arrival this morning and enjoy the day. Of course the day that I am not riding a bicycle there is zero wind and the temps were going to climb to 71° by late afternoon.

It was late afternoon I really got interested in the sunset going on while I sat outside. I could tell this was going to be a better one so I went back inside and grabbed my phone. I find the iPhone 11 Pro with that new three lens camera takes better photos of the mountains than my Nikon D3500 in the late afternoon lighting.

Enjoy the photos that I follow the setting sun for little over an hour this afternoon.

Stella never barks to get anything she wants. Whether it's food or to go back inside, she will just stand like a statue with her head lowered and eyes barely visible. She did not have to stand there long before I opened the door for her.

I kept going back and forth between the Mule mountains you see here and the Huachuca mountains you see the sunshine falling behind in the western sky.

Each time I was about to leave ... the sky would give me something else to add to my photo library.

The hounds finally came outside toward the end of this photo shoot but only because they heard the puppy next door. Notice Stella's weird shaped ear.

After this final shot I walked back inside to enjoy a large glass of ice water along with a few more Advil tablets. It's hard for me to believe it's December 7th and having weather like this. It is also a day I will never forget, Pearl Harbor. I always remember on this day the overwhelming emotion I felt each time I walked around that area and visited the Arizona Memorial. I could almost feel what had happened each time I was in the area.

It was also a surprise the last time I was there 25 years ago with my nephew ... we saw two Japanese destroyers pier side flying their Japanese flag on the fantail. They didn't understand English and we didn't understand Japanese but they knew we wanted to take a tour of their ship. After a few minutes of hand gestures they led us on a very detailed tour of their ship.

I was told just this past week by the surgeon there will be days like I am having and to expect them at least for the next five months, based on what past patients have told him. 8 months after hip replacement seems to be the magic amount of time to feel normal again. Some say it will take longer than that. In the meantime I will ride with the waves it brings and enjoy this beautiful SE Arizona area.

Thank you to a couple of online friends for helping decide that this is where I really wanted to live. I had always driven through the area on I-10 but was always in a hurry to get to my destination whether I was driving east or west. It is just as nice as they said it was on their blog and in their emails.

A beautiful day today in the 'Wild West'.

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