Surgery All Done

Tuesday and Wednesday I kept busy getting laundry caught up and the house in order so John wouldn't have so much to do while I'm out of commission after foot surgery.

The hospital called on Tuesday and told me to be at the Outpatient Surgery facility by 6:45 a.m. Thursday morning.  YEAH!!  Was so glad it was first thing in the morning so I didn't have long to worry about the whole thing.  John and I reached the hospital right on time and we were back home before noon with me hobbling along on the crutches.  The procedure went well and from what I can see of my toes, they are all nice and straight again.   I have to keep my foot elevated and iced for the first 72 hours and keep ahead of the pain with the prescription we picked up last week.  I have been following the doctor's directions religiously as he said if I don't, and the foot doesn't heal right, it would mean another procedure, so I have been a good girl.  The crutches are coming along better and better as the numbness in the foot wears off--they gave some sort of nerve block and I still have numbness in the big toe and along the incision.  My foot is bandaged, wrapped in an ace bandage, and encased in a big sandal-like boot.  I will be on crutches until I see him next Friday for a dressing change and then the stiches will come out the following week.  The boot will be a permanet fixture for a while.  Asked about heading to Texas, and seems that will be on hold until the second week of November at the earliest.  Matt and John have been working on an addition, but I was able to get around okay on my own when I needed to today.  John just left to head north with Matt and Rachel to watch Sam's game--that was out of the question for me tonight.  Maybe I'll be able to go to a home game a week from now.

Days Busy with Canning and Car

After our long day of driving last Tuesday, it took us a couple of days to recover and then we dove right into canning, car repairs, and doctor appointments.

While we were out east, a heavy frost hit our area and that brought our garden to an end.  John harvested several large buckets of cucumbers and we made two batches of dill pickles and one of relish.  The tomato plants bit the dust, but there are plenty of green ones we hope will ripen.

I have spent some time dealing with the insurance company settling the question of where and when our car can be repaired.  Everything finally got decided and today we went to the airport in Bemidji to pick up a rental car and then dropped ours off at the repair shop.  They said it should only take about three days to get it done.  Matt went with us so he could pick up a new deer stand for Hanna and then we met up with Sara for lunch at BK.

Last Friday I had a pre-opt appointment with my foot doctor to discuss the surgery, recovery time, and the limitations I'll be facing while recovering.  He also gave me a prescription for pain meds and crutches, so I think I'm all set for Thursday.  The hospital will call sometime tomorrow or Wednesday to tell me what time I need to be there.  

 

Back Home Again With A Bang, Literally

John and I just arrived home after a super long day of driving.  We started out this morning in Lake Village, IN which is near the Illinois state line.  We reached the Twin Cities a little after 3 p.m. and decided to push on home arriving here a little before 9 p.m.  

Now I need to backup and fill everyone in on what happened over the last few days.  On Saturday morning we all left Ocean City and made our way to Oaklyn, NJ where we were spending the night.  John's cousin Joan and her husband Jack arrived mid-afternoon and were soon followed by his nephews and their families.  We had a wonderful time visiting, talking about family history, and just enjoying each others company.

Sunday morning John and I hit the road bright and early and stopped just over the Indiana state line.  Monday morning we drove to Lake Village, IN where we spent the remainder of the day visiting with Gene and Jeanne Bevins and Everett and Darlene Endris, good Winter Texan friends.  Now this is where the bang comes into the story.  After the Endris left, Gene's grandson, Zack, stopped in for a quick visit while waiting for his dad to get home from work.  We all talked for a while and then it was decided to go out for some supper.  Since our car was full with the backseats down, John moved our car to the side of the driveway and Gene drove.  We were only about two minutes from the house when Gene's cell phone rang.  It was Zach.  (Can you guess what is coming?)  Zack backed into our car and smashed both grills and front bumper.  Soooo, the good news is the car was drivable, the bad news is Zach's insurance rates are probably going to go up.  His insurance agent contacted us while we were on the road this morning, and they will be contacting us again, I'm hoping tomorrow, so we can get the car into the shop for repairs.  They will be providing us with a rental while we don't have ours.  Zack really felt bad, but at least no one was hurt and the car can be fixed.  What a way to end what was a wonderful trip.

Beach Vacation Coming to an End

Our beach time is coming to an end and John and I have really enjoyed spending this week with family catching up and retelling many old family stories.  The weather co-operated with only one cloudy day with strong winds, but that didn't deter us diehard beach goers.  John and I did take one afternoon to visit friends who live on Long Beach Island.  Hurricane Sandy extensively damaged the first floor of their home and they were out of their house for over seven months.  It was quite a hassel with FEMA, but now the house is completely restored and they are once again enjoying life on the island.  

We have to be out of our rental by 10 a.m. tomorrow morning and will head up to the Philadelphia area where we'll all spend Saturday night with John's sister.  Some additional family will also be coming so we'll get to see our nephew's family and one of John's cousins.  From there we will head out for home early Sunday morning and will stop in Indiana to visit with our Winter Texan friends, the Bevins.  After one night with them, we'll make the final run to home.  We are hoping to arrive back in Bagley sometime Wednesday so I probably won't be posting again till that time.

Nice Day At The Beach

After a good night's sleep, we were all up and out the door on time for church this morning.  Our first choice was the local Methodist church several blocks down from where we're staying.  The wrong service times were listed in the paper, so we were too late for worship there.  We headed further down the street to the Ocean City Tabernacle where we enjoyed a wonderful service and message.

Following lunch, we headed to the beach.  It was a little breezy, but we enjoyed ourselves just relaxing and trying not to get too much sun our first time out.  Tonight for supper we had our first Philly cheese steaks.

 

 

The Ocean At Last

After almost three days on the road we have finally arrived in Ocean City, NJ.  The others had already arrived at the house, so with their help we soon had the car unloaded.  After visiting for a bit, the decision was made to head for the boardwalk and scope out the beach and places to eat.  John and I settled for a couple of slices of New York Pizza and then some DQ as we headed back to the house.  Tomorrow will be beach time!!

First Day Down

Not much to write about tonight--just a long day on the road.  We arrived in Beloit, WI after driving for ten hours.  John and I took a five minute break from the car, stopped at a local familly restaurant for some supper, and then took a stroll through the local Wal Mart to stretch our legs.  The weather here is very warm and humid which takes some getting use to after our cool temps at home.  Tomorrow we hope to reach the eastern side of Ohio once we navagate the perils of Chicago at rush hour.

Packed and Ready To Go

John got up early and headed into town for a last round of golf before we leave on our trip.  While he was gone, I took care of a final load of laundry and got most of the packing finished.  

The other day John picked a five gallon bucket of green peppers so this afternoon we chopped all of them in our new food processor,  measured them out in four cup incriments, put that amount in baggies, and then stuck them in the freezer to be made into relish when we return from our trip.  We also blanched and froze several more bags of green beans.  We'll have to wait and see how the garden holds up while we gone and if the cucumbers will be okay to use.

We'll be heading out bright and early tomorrow morning and will be spending the first night in Beloit, WI.  I'm not sure if we'll have internet while we're gone, so this might be the last posting for a week or two.

Getting Ready to Travel

Our weather continues to be just about perfect for this time of year--daytime temps in the low 70's and cool enough at night for good sleeping.  John and I have been busy getting ready to leave for the east coast on Thursday morning.  He has continued to play golf in the mornings, but I still haven't played as I am uncertain as to how my foot will react to walking the hills and uneven terrain of the course.

Our trip preparations were put on hold for a bit with a phone call from our daughter Susie.  Mike's dad passed away after battling lukemia for the past year.  She and Mike flew into Grand Forks on Saturday and will be there until flying out on Sunday to return to Sacramento.  John and I went to the visitation and prayer service last night and then back to the house for a late supper and to spend some time visiting.  Mike's dad left a hunting rifle to his grandson and since Mike couldn't take it with him on the flight home, asked if we would hold it at our place until someone is heading to CA again.  Mike and Susie are planning to come to Sam's football game here in Clearbrook on Friday evening which will give them some time to visit with Matt and JD.  John and I, unfortunately, won't be here as we'll be on the road east.

This morning we left the house bright and early as I had an eye doctor's appointment for 8:30 a.m.  The eyes checked out just fine, so I'm good to go for another year.  This afternoon John finished mowing the lawn and just has a little weeding left to do in the garden.  The laundry is all done and just needs to be packed.  After supper we headed up to the school to watch Rachel play volleyball.  The Bears lost 2 games to 1, but the games were close and the girls played good.