Bilateral TKR Mickey & Minnie are looking on the bright side!

[karmigirl]

Jacky, Welcome Home. Sorry the trip had to end so soon, sounded like you could have gone on forever with such a good time. Sure have missed you.

 

[Jacky48]

Mimi Thanks Mimi, it was a very, very nice trip, and a very busy one, not like staying home like a couch potato for sure! We flew out of Fairbanks, heading for home, yesterday at 5:25pm and we were on a plane until we landed in Ct. at 12 noon today. I must say sleeping on a plane with your legs all crunched up is not the most enjoyable thing in the world, however Mickey and Minnie did not complain one bit, but my ankles swelled up a bit. I was able to stretch my legs and do my ankle pumps to keep the blood flowing though.

I must add, Home Sweet Home, the house looks soooo big compared to the one room deals we've been living in the last 2 weeks. Going away from time to time sure makes a person appreciate what they have! I can't wait to dig into some of my pictures to share with everyone.

There certainly is a better life after hip and knee replacements, as well as back surgeries.

 

[Nanners]

Ooh Jacky your trip sounded wonderful. My youngest lives in Juneau, Alaska loves it there. In fact, my oldest granddaughter moved with her Aunt just this week. My daughter is always posting beautiful photos of the glaciers and other sites there.

A little funny, my daughter is always getting bears in her trash cans. Her dog will chase a big bear off no problem, but shake one of those large black garbages bags at him and he runs for the hills! LOL

 

[Jacky48]

karmigirl Rose this trip was packed full and home is a welcomed site! I do realize that the older we get the more we want our comfort zones. Life is good when we can venture out and return to our comfort zones!

 

[Jacky48]

Nanners Gail, Juneau is beautiful, however in Alaska it can get 40-60 degrees below zero, which is mighty cold! In the dark months you only get 4 hours of daylight, which can be challenging to say the least. They do have hefty fines for anyone who leaves a trash can unsecured. Hopefully they will not meet a bear that will challenge them.

 

[Jacky48]

I met so many people from all over the world on this cruise that I felt like I was meeting people on BoneSmart. It's amazing how many people have knee and hip replacements and how many people need hip and knee replacements. I must have given someone the "BoneSmart.org" website every day of our trip. I met a lady from New Zealand, sat with a young couple from London, at dinner one night, and people from all over the United States and it seems that at least 50% of them needed either hip or knee replacements. I recognized the duck walk, the frankenstein walk and the painful look on peoples faces when they had enough of being on their feet! They were amazed when I told them that I had both knees done on the same day and I told them that it wasn't uncommon for having both done at once and that they should check out this forum. I hope they do check us out, it will be well worth their time!

 

[Jacky48]

Here are a few pictures of Butchart Gardens in Victoria BC Canada, the start of our trip to Alaska. The first 2 pictures are of the Sunken Garden, and the last 3 are in the Italian Garden. I am rubbing the boar's snout for good luck, just as I did when we went to Florence Italy 13 years ago for our 35th wedding anniversary.

 

[Titianlady]

jacky, I love your new avatar pic!!!! You both look wonderful, and enjoying yourselves to the max!!

 

[Jacky48]

Thanks Toni! I must say we did enjoy ourselves, and there wasn't anything we had to sit out of, which we were both happy about!

 

[Janet2012]

The gardens are gorgeous! How great you were able to do all these things! How did Norm do with his back?

 

[Jacky48]

Janet2012 Janet, Norm needed to stop and stretch his back often, but his legs recovered quickly. All in all we made it work for us and we do have a lot of happy memories!

 

[rlwintin]

I'm so glad you had such a successful trip and were able to do everything. That is quite a feat! Bonesmart was pretty quiet without you, in fact I think they might have had to shut the site down if you had been gone much longer. I always have to rest up after a trip. Traveling is hard work! Just think, what a miracle it is to have the gift of new knees. I met a gal, from Victoria actually, who had very bad rheumatoid arthritis. She said,"It must be nice to have a new joint." Kind of wistful but also appreciating the wonder of it.

 

[Jacky48]

rlwintin Thanks Randi! The gift of new knee is definitely a blessing that's for sure! And you are so right, traveling is very hard work and tons of fun all rolled up in one! Having new knees sure make a person appreciate being able to travel again.

 

[Mimi]

Toni took the words right out of my mouth....you two look great! You can see how happy you are. Love all the pictures. So very happy that you could take this wonderful trip. After going through a BTKR you earned every minute of such a grand vacation! You go girl!

PS I got my posting fixed! I can now rate posts like everyone else...I can see the right hand box now!

 

[Jacky48]

I found myself a couple of moose while in Juneau!

 

[Mimi]

I think that is the very best kind of moose!

 

[Janet2012]

Unless it's mousse, that is! Very cute picture, and the moose is cute, too! .

 

[Titianlady]

Jacky girl, did you have lots of good food that you can duplicate recipes for? My mouth is watering!! Do tell!! Do Tell!!!

 

[Jacky48]

Titianlady Toni, the appetizers are really what piqued my interest! One night they had this half of a lobster (only the tail part and with the body cleaned out) served cold with a yogurt, dill dressing with baby peas, that was really yummy! Another night they had a crab meat and shrimp (baby shrimp) mold with what seemed to be very little mayo, you can tell the crab and shrimp were compressed into a small like tuna can (the really small ones) then transferred onto the dish with a sprig of rosemary on top and a little chipotle sauce squeezed haphazardly over the plate and appetizer, also very yummy!
They like to serve a lot of reindeer sausage, which to me tasted a lot like kielbasa, Norm thought so too. Oh, I had quail one night, never had that before, to me it tasted a lot like Cornish Game Hen.

Someone we had dinner with on the train told me how to steam oysters in the oven, they steam in their own juices and open right up so you don't have to shuck them, which really is a pain, so I'm going to try my hand at that today and see if we like them that way. He said they don't cook fully and you still eat them with lemon and cocktail sauce. I also got a couple of lobster and a couple ears of corn for today's dinner.

Oh yeah, and in Ketchikan, the salmon capital of the world, I tasted the best smoked salmon spread on a cracker, that I've ever had in my life, so of course I had to buy their smoked salmon to make some! Yummy!

Well kiddo, you have succeeded in making me totally famished!

 

[Janet2012]

It all sounds SO good! I'm thawing steaks.