Writing From the Bed and Breakfast

Grateful Grammy with a comforting cup of tea

Based on positive comments I've received for a long time, I've decided to write a blog exclusively from the viewpoint of Grateful Grammy at the fictitious bed and breakfast in the small imaginary town of Whistlestop.  My readers have been generous in their affirmations of interest in and affection for my stories and the staff, who are all depicted as teddy bears and other dolls and toys I own.  

I am finding that just about anything else I have to say outside of the Bed and Breakfast has been said before, by many people, and phrased more effectively by them.  What I don't see much of these days is good clean mirth on the Internet.  That's a niche I'd like to encourage because there is a lot of unhappy news out there to bring us down in spirit.  While these are indeed serious and troubling times we all need a break in the stress with good clean fun.

Regarding Beloved's knee replacement, there will probably not be any further blog posts about that  because he is about half way through his out-patient physical therapy and is doing very well.  There is still a fair amount of pain from the surgery and the strenuous physical therapy workouts, but that is all within the realm of normal.  According to his surgeon, it could be up to a year before all the discomfort is entirely gone.  

This blog will remain available for you to read, but most (if not all) of my blogging time will be spent at Grammys Place.  If you have enjoyed the B&B stories in the past, then you will want to come visit.  Mandy Sue, Lily, Spud, Mrs Mertz, Rowdy, and of course Beloved will all be there.  As I write this post now, there is already a story for you to read at the new blog.

Blessings,

Grateful Grammy (and staff)

The Show-off at Physical Therapy

Me - the author of this blog, Grateful Grammy

Oh, hi there!  Come on in and have a seat. I'm working on my menu plans for next week -- we usually do the grocery shopping on Fridays and I'm a little behind in getting this done.  But oh well.  I always have the time to visit with my friends!

How is Beloved?  Take a look for yourself.  These days he is either doing his physical therapy, both here and at the PT office, or corresponding with one of our 3 cubs via email, or he's gently snoring in his recliner.  That's pretty much what his days look like right now.

Beloved is very devoted to his physical therapy.
He will be wearing his bandaid until this Sunday.

As you can see, he's lifting a weight with his foot, trying to build up strength in the leg that had the total knee replacement.  It's been 4 weeks now and he's thinking he's ready to be all done with this stuff.  However, when we saw his physician's assistant today for a recheck on the infection in his incision, he was told he may not feel completely back to normal for as long as a year after the surgery.  

The good news, however, is that the infection is clearing up nicely.  Apparently part of the problem is that one of the sutures (stitches) that was sewn into a layer of tissue under the outer skin has been trying to work itself up to the surface and out (whaaaat?!).  But all is well and it's going to be okay.  

Tomorrow we will be going in for more physical therapy. I say "we" but of course all I do is sit in the waiting area and hold Beloved's wallet and iPod while he follows quite a lengthy routine that takes him a little over an hour.  

I have to tell you, there is one guy who is always there when we are, and he's quite the character. Earlier this week I sneakily took some snapshots of him with Beloved's iPod camera.

I apologize that these snapshots are so small -- you're gonna have to squint to see what I'm talking about.  Do you see that yellow band thing around his ankles?  He walks with that thing!  First from left to right, then from right to left, and then forward, sort of like a duck!  I think he's trying to show off for me!

He rides this exercyle, too, right there in plain sight of where I am sitting.  One day I needed to run an errand at the grocery store next door, so I walked outside past those big windows in front of him.  He actually waved and gave me a big grin when I happened to glance his way.  

I guess he got tired of trying to get my attention after a while.  He didn't even look my way when I took this shot of his legs propped up.

Beloved told me I should feel sorry for the guy. The last thing they do to the patients is to treat them with "fire and ice", as Beloved likes to call it.  First they stick electrodes to the leg for some hot stimulation....

... and then they pile ice packs on top of the electrodes.  I guess that's so the patients won't go up in smoke?!!

I'm very proud of Beloved for all the hard work he is putting into his recovery.  It was so good of you to stop by to visit.  Please come again!

There is more information about our adventure with my husband's total knee replacement if you will look to the "cloud" in the right-hand column and click on the words KNEE REPLACEMENT.  That will give you all the posts I've written on this subject in descending order (most recent at the top and keep scrolling down for the older ones. 

A Visit from Jewels

An excellent get-well gift!

Reverend Jewel and his wife, Ruby,  came by for a visit this afternoon.  Although he is not the pastor of the church we now attend, Reverend Jewel still has his own "flock" of sorts, friends and family he visits and for whom he prays.

The occasion, of course, was to check on Beloved and me in the aftermath of the knee surgery.  They, like everybody else, were pleasantly surprised to see how well the patient is doing as he demonstrated his gait across the living room floor.  A gift of beautiful fruit in a lovely (useful!) sturdy basket was brought along. 

We sat at the dining room table for nearly two hours, nibbling on grapes and sharp Cheddar cheese.  Our conversation went from medical subjects to their recent vacation to the Pacific Northwest, to memories of their pastorates in both Oregon and Alaska, a story on TV this week about a bear cub climbing on the fresh produce inside a grocery store in Ketchikan, Alaska, and then on to jewel and stone shows (one of this man's hobbies), and finally to the subject of snow expected here in Blogville in just a few days.  

We have known Reverend Jewel and his wife for close to ten years.  As they drove away late in the afternoon, I was reminded of the words in Psalm 133:1, Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

A Post-surgical Problem

(Today's post is real truth shared with a liberal amount of tongue-in-cheek fiction.)

Grammy Bear - the author of this blog
(pseudonym photo)

Here it is, Thursday, and I've done very little of the house work I had planned to accomplish this week.  In addition to that, I needed to steal some time by myself to add another chapter to my novel, but with Beloved home on disability from his total knee replacement surgery, well, it's not been easy.  He has the most endearing ways of drawing me into whatever happens to be on his mind.  This morning was one of those times.

Beloved with his personal nursing staff,
Mandy Sue (left) and Rent-a-Nurse (right).

It was on Tuesday that he began to complain about itchiness, redness, and growing discomfort underneath the steri-strips on his surgical incision.  We thought at first that perhaps the fabric of his jeans was irritating the area.  We have had 2 nights this week where the temperature dropped down around 32 degrees, so Beloved had changed from wearing shorts around the house to blue jeans.

This morning, however, we decided that it might be more than fabric incohabitability (I made that word up), and he should seek professional medical advice.  We called in his nursing staff. They looked at his knee, rolled their eyes heavenward, and shrugged their shoulders.  Beloved grew more anxious as he watched their expressions.  We all decided he should make an appointment to see his doctor.

This proved to be the right decision -- when in doubt, consult a professional.  He does have a small infection going on the surface of the skin.  The knee joint appears to be in no danger.  The steri-strips were removed (that's a nice relief!), the area was scrubbed with that cleanser that makes your skin turn orange, then an antibiotic  ointment was applied, and a bandage was put over the tender area.  He was instructed to fill a prescription for an antibiotic to be taken every 6 hours, clean the area twice daily with hydrogen peroxide and add the antibiotic ointment, then cover it with a fresh bandage.  We were greatly relieved that the solution was as simple as that.

Beloved's bandaid

The nurses helped Beloved out to the car
while I got the engine started.

Before going home, we stopped at the pharmacy to drop off the script for his pills and then since the wait was forecasted to be 25 minutes, and Beloved was already starting to feel better, he suggested that we walk to the end of the shopping center to get lunch at one of our favorite places.  Never being one to turn down lunch, I readily agreed.

Firehouse Subs
(click on the name for more information)

 We like to eat at Firehouse Subs because we feel safe there.  If trouble breaks out, they've already got coats and gear available to all!

Smokehouse Beef & Cheddar Brisket on a whole wheat bun

We always order the same thing. We have no idea if any of the other menu items are good; we've never tried them.  Oh, and we usually leave the pickle. That's just pretty much for decoration.

After lunch we paid for the prescription, Beloved checked his blood pressure at the free machine at the pharmacy, and we headed for home.  With all of us here at the house fussing over him and giving him undivided attention, he's going to be just fine.

Beloved and Grateful Grammy sitting beside the television

Now for those of you who want to see the real deal, here it is:

If you are new to my blog, WELCOME!  There is more information about our adventure with my husband's total knee replacement if you will look to the "cloud" in the right-hand column and click on the words KNEE REPLACEMENT.  That will give you all the posts I've written on this subject in descending order (most recent at the top and keep scrolling down for the older ones.  If necessary, look to the bottom right and click on "older posts."

Farewell Teds

A day or two ago I was busy with my keeper of the home responsibilities, which took me to our basement store room in search of meat in the freezer for our supper.  My eye caught an alarming sight in the rec room. Abandoning my original intent, I hurried in for a closer look.

Yes, it was as I thought.  My eyes had not deceived me.  Beloved was laying prostrate on the treadmill, out cold, his glasses having been knocked off his precious face upon impact.  

(smile)  No, that's not what really happened at all.  However, Beloved has been hitting this physical therapy thing really hard.  I've been married to him for nearly 41 years and he still manages to surprise me with his determination about things.  The man missed out on an entire season of fly fishing this year due to the  instability of his knee, so he's working really hard to be in shape come next spring.  

He saw the surgeon on Thursday of this week, was cleared to DRIVE HIS CAR (!!!) and given a prescription for weeks and weeks of out-patient physical therapy.  His first appointment for that was yesterday.  

Among the several treatments he received was something with electrodes. As he was laying on a table getting electrified, a fellow patient (an older woman) in the next bed over from  him turned and looked at him, and asked, "Are you done cooking yet?"  Ah yes, the fellowship of suffering.

As for the driving, it is good for a man to resume this privilege.  This morning he drove himself across town to our church (17 miles) for the monthly men's breakfast -- although upon his return home he announced a drive longer than that would be quite a strain at this stage of his recovery.  

I have more good news to report:  tomorrow (Sunday) will be his last association with his closest companion since leaving the hospital on September 30th: the very tight white "TED Hose" will become a thing of the past.

Those who have been closely following these posts of mine about his total knee replacement will recall that on the day he was discharged from the hospital he was given these support stockings to wear on both legs as a precaution against blood clots.  He was given 2 pair, one of which lasted a week, and now these are losing their elasticity, too.  

You can see in the picture above that there is still swelling in the surgical knee. We are told that will be the case for a while and to not worry about it.  The physical therapist measured the circumference of both of his knees yesterday.  The surgical one is 1  1/2 inches bigger than the left knee.

Sunday will also be the last day Beloved has to take his prescription blood thinner (Coumadin), which means that on Monday, he can use his razor with a blade to shave his face instead of being restricted to his electric razor.  

We press on to better things.

Regained Freedom

WARNING:  This post contains pictures of the knee replacement incision 

that may be difficult viewing for some.

Colorful wall art in the medical building

Yesterday the staples were removed from Beloved's incision and already it feels better.  These pictures aren't nearly as hard to take as the one I posted the day we got to see his surgical site for the first time, but I wanted to warn you all the same in case you tend to be faint of heart about these things.

Still some swelling, leftover bruising, and the shiny staples

After removal of staples, which
was carried out uneventfully and quickly

Steri-strips were added after the staples
were removed. These will stay on for
about 2 weeks and come off on their own.
Still no immersion of the wound
until the strips come off.

When the surgeon asked Beloved to bend his knee and straighten it out, even he shook his head with amazement.  Beloved drove us home and later took me out to a movie and dinner.  He's doing great!

Outpatient physical therapy begins this afternoon.

By the way, the movie we saw was Courageous.  You must go see it, whoever you are.  It is that good. Click on the title to see the movie trailer.

THANK YOU!

handmade cards from Grammy's studio

Well, the day has finally  come... this morning Beloved is to get the 25 staples removed from his total knee replacement incision.  He has spent no small amount of time talking about what method the surgeon will use for this procedure?  Where does he purchase his equipment? Staples? Office Max? Office Depot? Walmart? the Dollar Store?

Will it hurt?  How long will it take?  Will there be blood involved?  Will he be given a lollipop if he doesn't scream and cry like a girl? These are important questions and inquiring minds want to know!

I am telling him that it's nothing worse than a skinned knee.  Buck up and just don't watch when it's done.  It'll be over before he knows it.  

My long-time blog readers remember when nearly 3 years ago I had a collection of staples on the tender skin of the front of my left shoulder.  I, too, had similar questions; but time dims the memory of such things and I've lived to talk about it, so Beloved will be just fine.

This day also marks what will probably be a decrease of blog posts about the knee replacement.  I have devoted a lot of time writing about it over the past few weeks, and even as far back as last July when we first learned the surgery was necessary.  If you want to review all of the posts that I've specifically labeled "Knee Replacement", simply look to the "cloud" of words in the right-hand column here (under  Topics Addressed on This Blog) and click on the words "Knee Replacement." That action will whisk you immediately to all of those posts, with the most recent one at the top and then on down.  Feel free to refer  your family and friends to read them.  I wrote them to be both informational and to relieve with humor some of the stress we were feeling at the time.  

Before any more time goes by, I want to say a huge THANK YOU to all of our family and friends who have been so supportive of us during this uncertain time with their prayers, visits, cards, and food.  

Family and Friends who have been so helpful

You know who you are.  I have tried to thank you individually, in person when possible, but in case I have left anyone out, here is our showing of gratitude now.  It is truly a blessing from God Himself to put encouragers and intercessors into our lives when we are beckoned into unfamiliar forests, especially when those places involve needles, scalpels, and nights in a hospital.

Lunch at IKEA

IKEA's cafeteria

With each day Beloved gets a little stronger, so we come up with small outings to get us both out of the house.  He can't drive yet, since it's his gas-pedal knee that got replaced and he is under the influence of pain meds (although that has decreased A LOT). His pain changes from surgery-related to exercise-related.  But his physical therapist assures him he is on track; all of this is normal.

Yesterday we drove over to IKEA for lunch.  We have been through the store, new to our metro area just this past summer, but we didn't know at the time that we were supposed to indulge ourselves in their cafeteria for their famous Swedish Meatballs.  With Beloved's Handicap Parking Permit we were able to park very near the elevator in the parking garage and make our way to the cafeteria without excessive walking all through the store.  

Cafeteria food cart

Although the streamlined designs of IKEA don't fit in well with my country-style of home decor, I've got to give them credit for clever and practical ingenuity in many areas.  This food cart blew me away.  I've never seen one before.  One cart will hold 3 large food trays, which makes the entire process so much easier when some in my party can't handle a tray and walking with a cane.  The people in front of us had a wheel chair, so this cart was good for them, too.  Way to go, IKEA!

Some of the cafeteria seating

We bypassed the high stools and tables in favor of regular chairs and normal-height table.  It's like they had something for everyone's needs.  That's hospitality and we all can learn from that!

The Swedish Meatballs Combo

The Swedish Meatballs Combo entree includes the meatballs with gravy, mashed potatoes, Ligonberry Sauce, a green salad, and a fountain drink.  The meatballs were good, although I think my mother's recipe is just as good.  It must be a Swedish thing to have a berry sauce to go with gravy and meatballs -- I find that a little odd.  

Pink Marzipan Dessert

Dessert is an extra charge, but they cleverly have you go past them first and of course we fell prey to their marketing strategy!  I chose the pink thing: cake on the bottom, a raspberry (with seeds) filling,  a creamy filling, more cake, and encased in pink Marzipan embellished with chocolate.  It was small, just the right size for somebody who's supposed to be minimizing her calories.

Chocolate Dessert

Beloved, who is also watching his food intake, rarely turns down chocolate- anything (making allowance by cutting back on something else, you understand).  This probably wasn't as heavy in the calories as it looks.  Cake on the bottom and middle, with 2 chocolate cream layers, and frosting on top.  Both desserts were delicious.

This was a pleasant outing, and the crowd was minimal compared to the number who show up on weekends.  

Physical Therapy

Don't let this vision of loveliness in her green scrubs and blue Crocs fool you.  Yes, this is Beloved's Physical Therapist who comes to our home during these first 2 weeks following his total knee replacement surgery.  She is pretty and vivacious and has a powerful influence over my man.  She can make him do things far beyond what I've accomplished with him in nearly 41 years of obnoxious nagging.  just kidding!!!

During her 3-times weekly visits lasting nearly an hour, I try to keep a low profile lest I get pulled into the exercise sessions.  But I do manage to sneak in a few snapshots.  You would never believe what she gets him to do if I didn't send you these.  First of all, she pulls out her high school geometry class protractor and measures the number of degrees that he can lift his leg.

Then she makes the leg go the other way, commanding that he kick his own butt!

I tell you, he becomes putty in her hands -- he is totally surrendered to all she asks of him.

After she leaves, he is wiped out.  He retreats to his favorite chair, and according to doctor's orders, he elevates his knee higher than his heart to help with the swelling.  There's an ice bag somewhere in there, too.

We've learned to be resourceful in following post-surgical instructions.

Monday night football helps to get his mind off his troubles.  Looks like the Bears need to pick up their game against those Lions!

To be completely truthful, Beloved's physical therapist has been a delight with a wonderful talent for easing him into the exercises as she talks about how he is doing exceptionally well.  She tells us that all of our surgeon's patients get along much better than the patients of other doctors.  We have enjoyed her visits. There is only one more and then Beloved will be sent to a physical therapy office/gym/place where we expect he will use machines to help strengthen his knee.  

Sew While You Wait

Nobody likes to wait.  But it's a necessary evil of life.  Perhaps the time spent in a surgical waiting room is the worst.  

It actually wasn't that bad for me while Beloved was having his knee replacement surgery.  Yes, I will admit that I was a little nervous, and I had shed a few tears before that day when worrisome possibilities about what could happen tried to plague my mind.  But it wasn't heart or brain surgery, and knee replacements are becoming almost a fad, it seems.  It could have been a lot worse.  

Since we decided two months prior to the surgery to go through with it, I had a lot of time to think about what I wanted to do with myself during the nearly 3 hours that would transpire between the before-surgery-good-bye-kiss and watching him get rolled into his hospital room.  

I like to do things with my hands, something simple so I can keep the fingers busy while keeping my mind alert and listening to [whatever].  Elizabeth Elliot has taught Christian homemakers to keep their hands busy so they can meditate on Scripture, pray, or listen to a teaching tape, things like that.

I Thessalonians 4:11-12 ... study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; that ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may lack nothing.

My long-time friends know that I have been sewing since I was a little girl (age 9) and the past nearly 30 years have kept me busy with quilting when I wasn't occupied with cooking, cleaning house, and wiping runny noses.  Earlier this year I put away my quilting, supposedly for good, because a serious shoulder injury in 2008 had left a permanent disability that affects my enjoyment of quilting.  However, quilting has been my passion for too long and I decided to change my personal expectations of the hobby and get back into it.  Beloved's surgery was the catalyst for that.

Before the surgery, I worked very hard on assembling a "snuggle quilt" (45 inches square) for the daughter of one of my nieces.  My goal was to get the quilt to the place where I could hand-sew the binding onto the back of the quilt while sitting in the hospital.

When I told Surfer Girl of my plans to sew in the waiting room, she confirmed my thinking with the following:  I never schedule an oil-change or road trip unless I have a quilt binding to attach!  It's such an efficient use of time!  :)  I just pack up a large tote bag (like the beach bags you have sent me).  I fold up the quilt & place it in the bag first, then I have a little sewing "to go baggie" with my needle, thread and a small pair of scissors.  

Quilt blocks have been sewn together;
bent safety pins are very helpful
for holding the 'quilt sandwich' together
in preparation for machine quilting.

The step of pinning the quilt densely is time-consuming and
worth every single minute!
You don't want the top,  middle, and bottom layers crawling apart!!!
 I spread this out on the breakfast bar in my kitchen and
watched an entire afternoon of Food Network
 while doing this tedious chore.
As a result I was delightfully entertained and
we ate well with the new recipes I saw demonstrated!!

The next step was the machine-quilting,
which I chose to do on our breakfast table -- again
while listening to the Food Network!
The smooth surface of the table helped the weight
of the quilt to slide along easily as the machine stitched.  

Grammy Bear stitches straight lines, about 1/4 inch from the seams,
in both directions, all over the quilt's surface.
Upon close inspection you can see a pink rubber finger
on my left hand.  It is helpful to wear these "fingers"
on any or all of the fingers, or a quilting glove
 to give the seamstress helpful traction while
moving the quilt through the machine. 

This is a fabulous tip straight from Surfer Girl (my quilting daughter).
Use the largest size metal hair barrettes (12 in a package at Walgreens)
to hold the binding in place instead of straight pins.
Place the clips about 3 inches apart.
You can buy these at quilting stores, too.
I suspect they cost less at Walgreens.
This makes the project much more comfortable to transport.
This is how it looked when I took the quilt to the hospital.

Beloved models the completed baby quilt the day after his surgery.
He was using oxygen when the picture was taken.

Ta-da!

Always label your quilts!!!  (this is my soap box issue)
I have altered this picture for the sake of my great-niece's privacy.
I use the charming illustrations from the quilt label books by Kim Churbuck.
With the aid of a light box and a waterproof  pen,
trace out the design and add any information you want.*
ALWAYS put the name of the recipient, your name, and the date.
A quilt historian will someday thank you for this - even if you're dead by then!
Heat-set the ink and then hand-sew the label onto the back of the quilt.

*Some years ago I made a quilt for a newborn boy in our church.  I think he's about 7 years old now and both he and I go to different churches now.  However, his mother and I remain in contact via Face Book.  She wrote recently to say that he still enjoys his quilt and that the previous night he had read aloud to her the Bible verse I had written on the label.  Don't you know how that warmed my heart!!!

Men in Tights

During our first visit to Beloved's surgeon's office, we could not help but notice several men (all the men) who sat with us in the waiting room were wearing shorts and white tights.  None of them looked especially good in this garb, but they seemed to not care about this odd fashion statement they were forcing on the rest of us.  

Now, a couple of months and a total knee replacement surgery later -- my own Beloved is a member of that group!  And I am a participant in this "look" because the dear man could not put these things on himself every morning without my help -- for which he is grateful.  He thinks that since I have decades of experience in wearing pantyhose, I am exactly the kind of dressing aid he needs.  

First let me clarify that these hose just cover the leg and foot, nothing more, so they are 2 separate pieces, one per leg.  As for pulling them on like pantyhose, let me assure you, these TEDS (as they are properly called) are like the strongest support stockings a person would ever wear.  They are close to impossible to pull on and still maintain a sweet composure!

If you will squint your eyes and closely examine Beloved's left foot in the picture above, you will see that we have placed a plastic bag over his foot first, then slipped on the TED. There is a hole in the bottom of the stocking (ventilation?  we don't know.) which enables us to slip out the plastic bag.  The bag is just to help get the stocking on, and then the pulling and tugging up the leg goes on from there.  The hospital nurse taught us this trick -- thank you!!!

The patient gets to wear these very tight stockings for 3 weeks after surgery to help cut down on the possibility of blood clots being a problem.  Coumadin (pharmaceutical blood thinner) and TEDS -- both are very important in the rehabilitation process.  Beloved wears the TEDS all day, removing them at bedtime.  whew! Before climbing into bed he slips on a much looser tube-thing for the purpose of holding his knee bandage in place.

Now I would like to show you just how bold my husband is -- wearing these tights in public.

We have been having summer-like autumn temperatures here in Blogville, so, like those guys in the surgeon's waiting room, Beloved has been wearing shorts with his tights, and slippers.  This picture was taken earlier this week when he opted to accompany my walk to the mail boxes in our neighborhood.  But wait -- what is that on the left leg?

Good grief!  His sock is falling down!  The elastic at the top of that stocking has lost its strength and is threatening to fall down around Beloved's ankle!  How embarrassing!  

If you read my post from yesterday about rehab equipment, maybe you should add to the list "garters" -- something to hold the socks up if they get droopy!