A New Milestone for Me

[Jamie]

Today my husband and I ran errands for about 5 hours. It was my FIRST trip to the grocery store in 7 weeks since I had my surgery. It was great except like everyone else who stretches out, I was very tired by the time I got home. But it was great to be out. The weather was sunny and warm and I almost felt normal! Tonight will be a put-the-knee-up-and-ice night for sure. But I know how you guys have felt now...it is heaven!

 

[beachcomber]

Don't you just wish you could bottle up that feeling? I'd pass it out to all the pre- and recent KR people on this forum just so they can see how wonderful it will feel. I had some absolutely euphoric days when I was first getting out again.
You've earned it Jamie! I wish you many more wonderful days! A whole lifetime of them!

 

[Doug]

And it only gets better!!!!

 

[JenniferG]

Glad you had a good day! It was beautiful out.

 

[Pattipoo]

I'm happy for you Jamie!....Your journey to normalcy has begun!
I put out 20 bales of pine needles and power washed our patio - I'm dead tired.....I'm gonna rest tomorrow.

 

[JenniferG]

Stupid person question. 20 Bales of pine needles? Put out? is that like decorartive mulch ?

 

[Pattipoo]

I "distributed" 20 bales of pine straw (baled up pine needles).....used like mulch without the termites. I ache from head to toe.

 

[JenniferG]

I "distributed" 20 bales of pine straw (baled up pine needles).....used like mulch without the termites. I ache from head to toe.

Interesting. Never heard of pine needle mulch. Southern thing? Distributed to people or around your property? Ice, hot shower and sleep!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! fell better

 

[beachcomber]

I have "put out" 20 bales of pine needles here too--- I put them out for the yard debris recycling truck to pick up in the fall! Along with bushels of pine cones!

I hear that bark mulch (the preferred ground cover here) is very expensive now. The lumber companies and loggers are burning the bark instead of hauling it in to the mulcher due to the high cost of fuel.

Maybe I will start using my pine needles.....

Rest up Patti--- you were tired yesterday... and another glorious work week is coming up!

 

[Doug]

I guess it must be a southern thing. We rake pine needles off of the grass and use it as a mulch around the plants..
My mother likes to use ground up cypress mulch..I hate it..If you dare to walk across it barefooted you look like you're practicing an "urban dance".

 

[JenniferG]

They use the bark mulch alot here. Usually reddish tint. Landscapers used to call it liquid gold cause everyone wanted it and they sold a ton of it. Like Granite & stainless steel in the kitchens. The bark mulch is very flamable though. I've seen fires start when someone threw a cigarette to the ground, landing on the mulch, as they walked in a restaurant.

 

[Nursepair]

Jamie, I am soed you felt more normal today. It is so great to get your life back, gradually though it is.

Kevin and I were out in the back and front yards as well today. The weather was glorious again, in the 70's. Wore shorts again, remembered to put the sunscreen on my scar. Our daughter called in for a tea too so that was lovely. The outside work seems a lot harder this year, getting all the garden furniture back out and washed. Still have lots to rake and prune tomorrow. I ached and was exhausted to tears again, but had a shower and a cup of tea then our son, his wife and our grandaughter came over for a visit and that really made me feel tons better.

We should sleep well tonight eh Patti?

 

[Pattipoo]

I'm laying in the bed now with a warm laptop on my tummy!....I've got restless legs SO bad!!! There's a full moon tonight....don't know about that good sleep!!

 

[dw6928]

perhaps you can ship some of those wonderful needles up north. they do not exist here for landscaping and I have seen them all over NC and they are far superior to the mulch chips we use

 

[JenniferG]

How are they superior besides anti-termite? And quick someone talk about a new milestone so Jo doesn't holla at us for being off topic!

 

[Pattipoo]

I'll send you a trailer load of NC pine needle bales......a case of Cheerwine AND a case of Cherry Lemon Sundrop and you'll want to follow ME back to NC...that's a promise!

 

[Pattipoo]

The natural resin in the pine needles makes them a superior mulching product.....and they're just so darn pretty.

 

[JenniferG]

We've got State line potato chips.

 

[Jamie]

Don't you just wish you could bottle up that feeling?

You are SO right, Beach.....nothing beats it!!!

When I was buying some pansies to plant tomorrow, the young guy helping me noticed my knee scar and said, "Hey, I have one of those!" Sure 'nuff he pulled up his jeans and he had the same scar, just much more healed. We talked for a while and it wss VERY interesting. He was only 29 and had had several surguries in his knee to repair a lot of damage. Since he was so young, the surgeon was trying a rather new approach. No TKR! They went in at different times and repaired the meniscus and the ACL. Then another time they went in and harvested a bunch of his cartilage and left just enough to keep from having bone on bone. Then they took his cartilage and grew enough new stuff to go in and replace all of it in the joint and his kneecap. Amazing, huh! Somewhere in this process he also had a surgery that grafted bone to two of the bone ends in his knee joint also. So basically, he had a brand new knee with almost all his original parts....no devices inserted at all. But.....just a few days ago, he turned funny and injured the other ligament in his knee. Now he was limping again and facing yet another surgery in a couple of weeks to have that repaired. But he still thought (and so did the doctors) that he would end up with his own good knee afterwards. I thought all of that was very, very interesting. His doctor and the surgeries were done at the same place where I went....it was just a different guy than I saw. He said they really only did this type of thing on younger patients to prevent them from having a TKR so young. I think it sounded amazing.

 

[Pattipoo]

We ARE on topic.....I think 20 bales of pinestraw is a HUGE milestone!!!