Hello October

At B&B - Sept 2023

Happy October! It finally feels like autumn is upon us. I probably say this every year, but autumn is my favorite season. Especially if the summer has been squelchingly hot. Moving to Asheville was a way to celebrate the fall season for as long as possible. The mountains are simply the best place to experience all that fall offers. Crisp fall afternoons with bright sunny skies, dramatic fall foliage, and mountainous skylines. 

What I'm Watching

And, of course, there is football. There you have a pic of my current view in my living room. There is nothing like a good game. Early on in my dating relationship with Bill, I asked him if he liked football. Before he answered I followed up with "Please say yes". I love to watch football. Mostly I love NFL ball, but lately, I've been enjoying college ball as well. You can guess that Bill said "yes", with a somewhat quizzical expression, as if to say, "Who doesn't like football?" 

It's nice that it's cool enough outside to have our windows open. I enjoy our little corner lot. We get dog walkers and parents walking their kids in strollers and lots of people that park so they can walk the block to a local favorite taco place, Taco Billy. It is such a fun neighborhood. 

Bill's summer project has been to create a proper driveway for our two cars.

You can see he has done a marvelous job. New gravel comes on Wednesday. I can't find any pics of our driveway from "before". It was basically a one-and-a-half driveway, big enough to park two as long as you toggle them. Before Bill's project, the side yard and make-shift driveway were not level at all. I am shocked that Bill has done all of this on his own. 

I need to get an updated photo of our sweet little cottage. Bill took these bushes down the first summer. 

A Wedding Anniversary

At the Beach (June 2023)

Today is our wedding anniversary. One year ago we said, "I do". We are having a low-key day and plan to go out to a nice dinner this weekend. The anniversary just sort of slipped up on us. 

Speaking of anniversaries, tomorrow will be 5 weeks since I got the new knee. I saw the doctor today and he was pleased with my progress. I'm surprised that I still experience quite a bit of pain. Not all of the time, but when it aches, it really aches. My goal is to get the full range of motion. I'm not satisfied that I'm there yet. I've got a few more PT appointments to get scheduled, and hopefully, we will make more progress these next few weeks. 

My stamina is not what it needs to be yet. It's embarrassing that I get sort of lightheaded after a long hot shower. I think that's just stamina. I know I get tired as I try to head back to my regular yoga classes. I went to a Sculpt Yoga class yesterday and was able to do most of the activity. Granted, some of the moves I have to modify, but I'm able to get a lot of benefit from the class. The class is taught by one of my favorite people, Liz. She is so encouraging! And I just love her energy. 

Right before my knee surgery, I was in 3 weeks of  Yoga Teacher Training which will be part of my updated 500-Hour Certification. I should finish the hours for that by the end of the year. I'm still digesting some of the information that we learned. Not everything we learned will speak to every person. I have to determine what aspects ring true for me. 

These are just a few thoughts to get back into the groove of writing/blogging.

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.