A Whole New Knee

There was a time when I was obsessed with writing blog posts. It was one of my favorite things. I've dropped off the blogging tour for a while now. But it was unintentional. It wasn't that I didn't want to blog...it was that I was busy. Crazy busy. The kind of "busy" that makes you want to take naps and go to bed early. But today, I'm determined to get at least one post out there! Most likely it's a message in a bottle in the "interwebs". 

It won't be much fun to read a litany of what I've done. But, one of the things that regular blogging does for me is establish a history to look back on. My prior blog, "Kimberly Is Thinking", has a much longer history to show life changes over time. I looked back at that blog for a few minutes today. I was looking to remind myself of my history of knee pain. I was a little surprised by how well I'd documented it. I'm proud to be able to tell you that I had a total knee replacement (right knee) two weeks ago. 

I had knee surgery in 2021, but it was really not sufficient for what I needed. It was an arthroscopy, which was an effort to "buy more time" before an actual knee replacement. 

I'm really happy with the results of this surgery and the rehabilitation I'm getting. I'm a huge believer in rehab. Without strong rehab, any knee surgery can have diminished results. With my past knee surgery, I never saw the results I hoped for. I remember having to wait to get my first appointment with PT. I had surgery at a "mega-hospital / practice". It is one of the most well-known hospitals in the country and is well known for being one of the "best". But, in my case, I was surprised that the various departments operated like silos with little coordination between the groups. Rehab. was a completely different department from surgery. The surgeon gave the "order" for rehab., but actually making the appointment was up to me. That meant facing ridiculous time between an appointment request and receiving an actual appointment. I lost at least two weeks for rehabilitation from the date of surgery. 

This surgery is with a specialty group that operates like a well-oiled machine. (Excuse the cliche.) My first rehab visit was just two days after surgery. Of course, I have rehab exercises to continue on my own at home as well. I'm very motivated to regain a full range of motion so I'm diligent. 

The pic I have above is of my earning a Training Certificate to teach Sculpt Yoga. This is a nice addition to my Yoga Certification and one that I'm extremely proud of. 

I'll sign off for now...but I hope to return with more updates soon.

We Are Married

A little over a year after he asked, we are married. It was the perfect day. We got married in a sweet B&B on the patio at noon. The weather was perfect. It was sunny and coolish, making it perfect for being outside without a sweater. Summer had been so hot and sticky, it was a blessing that this day was so quintessentially autumn.

View from Patio at Grove Park Inn

After we said "I Do" we went to the Grove Park Inn and had lunch on their patio. We had a burger, fries, and champagne. It was perfect.

I enjoyed everything about the day. I felt so completely present for every word! We worked on the words of our vows together and the words captured us!

I'm in the process of changing my last name to Landis. It will take a moment to get that all updated.

Living and Loving in Asheville

Oh, Asheville! How I love living here!! Especially in West Asheville. Right now I have the front door open and can hear the band playing outside at the corner taco restaurant (less than a block away). The guitar playing is quite good. Their singing is enjoyable and they are playing songs from my era and before. 

My adorable husband has just driven up from his visit to the local pub. He absolutely loves the craft beers he can get here. I don't think I've mentioned that Asheville is known for its craft breweries. In addition to loving me, Bill loves craft beer and he loves coffee. 

When we were newly a couple and still living in Raleigh we talked about creating a book on craft beer. It was definitely his idea. We were going to visit local breweries and write a book about what we thought, etc. I remember saying that the idea had so much potential and that we may need to go to Germany as part of our research. His answer was "If we gotta, we gotta". It is classic Bill. Now we say that often. You know, if we gotta, we gotta. We will just do what it takes. I think that's the gist.  

So far we haven't started any writing on this book, but we did move to Asheville where the craft beer scene is. That's sort of a start.

We discussed moving to the mountains from the start of our dating life. Actually, on our second date, he told me that his plan was to retire and move to the mountains at the end of the academic year. Truthfully, I didn't know where that left me. I was already enamored with him, and he was telling me he would be leaving in less than 12 months. In that instant, I decided not to allow myself to be disappointed. It was just our second date, for goodness sake. How could I be disappointed that this guy, who I really liked, was telling me he wasn't going to be around? I decided to ignore (for the moment) the fact that he hoped not to be here come next summer. A year is a long time after all. 

Bill was clear that he wanted to retire, and that he also wanted to move to the mountains. I've often thought about living in the Asheville area. It's eclectic as well as beautiful. It has a good artist community and vibe. Lots of live music, though less so since COVID. But, I had more years to work before retirement. 

Fast-forward and Bill decided to stay and teach one semester longer. Also, I decided I could retire way early. We both had retirement dates scheduled for the end of 2021! --Just over a year after Bill originally told me of his plan. We also confirmed we wanted to move TOGETHER to Asheville and we bought our adorable bungalow in October. We were fully moved in in January of 2022.  What a difference a year makes!

We live on the same block as one of the most visited taco restaurants. --They love tacos here in Asheville. We are a couple of blocks away from a coffee shop that Bill goes to each morning. We are a block away from a pizza restaurant and a craft brewery. We get to watch people as they walk back from their taco experience to their cars. We see people on the way back home with coffee in hand from the coffee shop. 

I promised pictures so long ago. Here are a few.

Closing Day