Life On The Central Coast

So what happens when you leave the hospital 3 days after surgery? What do you need to know about continuing the healing process at home? For me, a few things were arranged BEFORE I left the hospital. First off, my Dr. ordered a blood thinner and pain medication prescription that was filled and waiting for me at home. I was also told to have a laxative / stool softener ready.  Because I had so much pain walking before my surgery, I had a cane to use already but I also opted to order and use a walker. It was much more stable and balanced out the weight of my body over two sides rather than just one side as the cane does. As I said in the previous post, I also went ahead and got an adjustable potty that was placed over my existing one so I didn't have to squat so far down to the ground right away. And I had that lovely pack of tools to help me dress myself.  Home Health Care was also ordered by my Dr. so that twice a week for the first 2 weeks home, I would have someone come to c...

A week before my surgery I received three phone calls that almost, ALMOST made me change my mind! The first was from my Drs. office exactly a week and a day before my scheduled surgery. "We've had a cancellation for tomorrow, (May 21) would you like to come in a week earlier and have your surgery done?" As I pulled my freaking heart out of my throat I remembered the main reason for having my surgery done when it was scheduled, my husband's vacation, and I told her I'd have to stick to my plan because there was no way he could change his vacation. Phew.... one down. The second call was from my local blood bank on the Thursday before my surgery. "Has your Dr. spoken to you about donating your own blood for the surgery?" Well, he hadn't, but I had read the literature and so I did know about it. "It looks like you would need to donate either today or tomorrow so we can have that on hand for your surgery. My surgery was the Tuesday after Memorial Wee...

This is the picture of of the fabulous Dr. that gave me back my life! Dr. William Sima. And this is the story of my Hip Replacement Journey...... Some of you know that I have had a problem for the last 2 years. In February of 2011, I began having quite a bit of pain in my right hip. My first Dr. said it was bursitis and treated it with antibiotics. No change. Then I went to an orthopedic Dr. and he ordered MRI's. That's when we found it.... a really bad Labral Tear to my hip socket. In addition, I had bone spurs and arthritis in the area and he told me the best way to fix this problem was a total hip replacement.  WHAT??!! I was only 54 years old and I knew how limiting hip replacements could be. So I set out on a mission to "fix" my problem. This involved vitamins, chiropractic visits, eventually Physical Therapy and acupuncture.... all to no avail. Not only was none of this helping, but my pain was ramping up. There wasn't a day of my life that I wasn't in s...

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children."    ~Native American Proverb As I was working in my garden this morning I was thinking that exact thought. What kind of world AM I leaving to my kids and grandkids? A world full of debt? (nearly 17,000,000,000,000!) A too strong Government that is only getting stronger as it feeds off removing freedom after freedom? "Super Farms" that use GMO seeds, super fertilizers,pesticides and yet whose end product isn't as nutritional as something grown without all that? Pesticides that actually KILL the biggest pollinators, bees! A medical Dr./ insurance/ pharmacy trio that works to make sure you never REALLY get well? (Remember the days when you actually got OVER something? When Drs. FIXED what was wrong with you?) There's poverty, racism, injustice, overcrowding, polluted lakes, oceans, streams and groundwater from agricultural run off and trash being dumped into it .... well, the li...

My Word of The Year For 2013 Is JOURNEY Webster's defines Journey as "an act of traveling from one place to another." I've also seen it described as traveling from one stage in your life to another. I'm hoping to do a bit of both! Hope you stick around for the ride! “It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” ― Ernest Hemingway Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Lovely Lavender, Lavandula Angustafolia, one of my favorite flowers! It attracts and feeds tons of bees, smells heavenly in bouquets and has historically been a useful herb due to its antiseptic qualities. After visiting two local Lavender farms in my area, I started growing Grosso and Provance and each year I get a bumper crop of flowers. Last year I dried bouquets for decoration, made wreaths and a bunch of drawer sachets. This year I'm trying a little something new, lavender "wands". They can be swished in the air to add a sweet smell to the room or use them as I do, as a means of relaxing right before bed. I keep one on my night table and will take deep breaths of the wand right before I drift off to sleep. If you would like to try your hand at making Lavender wands, check out this YOUTUBE VIDEO .   After watching I got my scissors, clipped some lavender, made my wand and then added on some ribbon for a feminine touch. I can't begin to tell you just how wond...

  With Memorial weekend and the 4th of July quickly approaching, I'm feeling a bit Patriotic! (Not to mention the upcoming Primary election!) So here is the little project I'm currently working on.... a pretty basic quilt with squares and hourglasses. It was seeing those little hourglasses that reminded me just how long it had been since I updated my blog! Found the idea for this over at That Girl That Quilt  where Jennifer put together the sweetest little quilt all in pinks. It's been MANY years since I sat down to make a quilt and most of mine never progress beyond the top because I'm terrified of "messing up" the 3 B's.... batting, backing and binding!! That being said, following along with someone and watching A LOT of YouTube videos has given me the courage to give it a try.  The top was finished about two weeks ago and I spent this last week trying to pick the perfect backing and binding material (ie: see I'm still terrified!! Ha Ha Ha) Aft...