A Crow, a Surgery, the Ocean, and a Little Plaid Basket (but not in that order)

To those of you who left comments on my last post, thank you!  I responded on the post and not to your email boxes.  There seem to be some glitches in either my computer, with my software, with my mouse, or maybe with gmail.  I lost all of your comment emails (and about two months' worth of other emails).  I hope you can forgive me for not responding directly to you.  

Knee replacement surgery was on October 22.  I think I'm doing better earlier this time than last, though walking with a walker is still slow and there's still pain.  It's hard to keep one leg elevated and do things like write blog posts at a computer, use a sewing machine, sometimes even stitch by hand.  Swelling is inevitable after a knee replacement, even with TED hose, hence the elevation requirement.

But, early in October, my daughter and I went to Dewey Beach, Delaware, for a few days.  One day each to drive down and back, but three glorious days at the ocean.  We had an ocean view from our hotel which sits just behind the dunes making it a short walk to the beach.  My daughter kept commenting on what a wonderful vacation it was, and it really was wonderful, but still challenging for me with a barely healed knee and being short on both strength and stamina.  I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

In my opinion you can never had too many photos of the ocean but one post can have too many of my ocean photos.  Here are a few.  We had days of both clouds and sun.  I never tire of watching the ocean.

A trip to Dewey Beach wouldn't be complete without a walk through a nearby nature preserve (whose name I can't remember).  No part of it borders the ocean but a section borders the bay. 

And then there were the seagulls at Rehoboth Beach.  We saw them practically dive-bombing people who had purchased french fries. No fries for us!

Back to knee surgery, but not about knee surgery.  If you think you might need ice packs (for scrapes or migraines or a sore back) this is a great, simple recipe.  In a gallon-size plastic zipper bag (best to use the brand-name ones) pour 3 cups water and 1 cup rubbing alcohol.  Zip and put into another zip bag, zip, then into the freezer.

It's hard to photograph the contents of these ice packs but when frozen they are like crunchy ice.  Put a towel or other cloth around them before putting on skin. I highly recommend them.

The other thing I wanted to post is a pain scale my doctor included in a booklet they gave me before the first surgery. That pain scale always confused me--a scale compared to what?--and this chart clarified it for me.   Now the doctor or nurse or physical therapist and I are all on the same page when I say my pain is at a level 6 or 2 or 9, etc.

My only stitching has been on this little plaid basket.  I wasn't sure about the fabric but have decided I like it.  I'm looking forward to choosing flowers to go inside.

Regular readers may remember that I'm not a fan of Halloween but I couldn't resist taking a photo of the dapper Edgar Allan Crow in front of the public library at Rehoboth Beach.  The librarians outdid themselves.

My daughter and I stood outside the library trying to get a good look at all aspects of Edgar and take photographs.  At one point I stumbled backward over the edge of the sidewalk and, arms flailing, could feel myself on the way to the ground.  My daughter reached out her hand to steady me just in time.  It must have been a sight to behold.  When we walked into the library, the librarian behind the counter asked what we thought of their crow and told us what fun they'd had creating him.  It was then I realized that he'd probably been watching through the large picture window and had a full view of my near-fall.  What must he have thought, I've wondered.  Drunk?  Old woman?  Dizzy with admiration for Edgar?  I chuckle about it every time I think of it.

I hope you good readers are doing well.  Thanks for visiting.

--Nancy.