Looking up...

As in: things are looking up?  Quite a bit has gone on over the last 4 days, and "looking up" hasn't been a part of it.  So, I'll try to explain what I can and I know the readers here will understand.

In a nutshell: the first 4 days of this total hip replacement have been a bitch.  Some of the stuff I remember, some I don't.  You get a lot of propaganda about hip and knee replacements... from doctors, from friends, from the internet, from people you know, and people who don't know what you are going through.

There will be "the comparisons": Oh, the hip is way easier than a knee.  You think that's bad, wait 'till you have rotator cuff surgery... really, I don't want to have any of this shit done.  I finally consented to see the surgeon because the pain of walking across my living room has become unbearable.  Family and friends don't want you to get worked up over this, so they tell you all the "I know this guy..." stories.  Stories that have happy endings.  Stories that are horriffic, but "your surgery won't be as bad as that..."

What they don't tell you: it's all miserable.  There isn't any part of the process that doesn't suck.  In fact, it is hard to be "looking up," when looking down at your phone, iPad or computer screen makes you queezy... a surgeon just cut a chunk of bone off of one of your major joints, then drilled into the bones to try to get other parts to work as close to normal as the parts he just cut off... or that they hope will work as close to normal once you get past the pain... but it is going to take months no matter what, and those first 4 days are part of the process where even tilting your head down makes you want to vomit.

No, this isn't a "woe is me" tale, although I am about to puke because the furry boy who brings us lots of joy is trying to figure out what's wrong and where to sit so he can have his life back like it used to be.

I haven't updated much here.  It's another part of that "looking up" stuff.  Any, my little girl is worried about me, so the best I can do is paint the image in a funny, miserable way so she doesn't worry needlessly.

The down and dirty of the first couple days: someone gets to be the first surgery of the day, someone is going to have to be the last one of the day.  This doctor has a good reputation and gets to do it the way he wants; my surgery was his last one, after waiting 9 1/2 hours in a hospital room for the opportunity to get taken down to surgery.  I don't know how miserable it was, because they knock you out for the surgery.  I just know I was "combative" while coming out of it in the recovery room.  Because... miserable.

Wanting to put on a brave face, because who has ever put on a brave knee, means working with a physical therapist for 20 minutes, hoping that they will send you home before all that surgical anesthesiologisty stuff wears off.  Don't wish for it - you may get it.  I don't remember the ride home on Saturday.  What I do remember: telling Joan that I am calling 911 to get my ass hauled back to the hospital, because there is no way she will ever get me in the car. 

My hope, beyond getting something seriously stronger for the pain, is that I will learn better how to manage that pain.  And it hurts.  Like no other pain I have ever felt... and the "benefit" of getting a second chance at that pain, means I get to have queeziness like nothing else I have ever experienced.

I thought the pain of the "bone on bone" rubbing in my hip joint was as bad as it was ever going to be.  I was wrong.  It is one giant shit sandwich and unfortunately, you will be forced to eat you way through it.  The physical therapy, the pain meds, the constipation, the indignities of being a patient in a hospital, where others are going through the same thing means you can't even say, "You think that's bad?  Why last night, they  (insert the indignity of your choice here)..."  It all sucks.

And when it hurts beyond compare, and the pain meds make you wish you could just puke your guts out, but instead those same pain meds stop you up so much that the nurse delivers the good news that she will be shoving a suppository up your ass (because: it is for your own good), and you will be "holding it in" for a half hour, because it takes that long for it to even think about working, and you still are sure what that "thing" is.

So, an expensive ride back to the hospital, more indignities, well-meaning friends asking "Did you try this?" (Whatever the fuck "this" is??), and besides getting stuff shoved up your ass, you are paying through the ass for all of this treatment.... well, this is my "light-hearted" way of saying it has been a few days since I posted something, and will probably be a couple more before I do it again, and I can't sleep on my back, but the doctor says I "CAN'T" sleep on my side, and taking a breath hurts, but blow into this contraption, etc, etc, etc.

And now, just over 4 days into it, nothing seems better, but I think I made my kid feel better because I could make her laugh over the whole suppository story, rather than cause her any more worry... and I essentially get to start the process over again, but now I can't say that I've never had a suppository, because I have, and actually looked forward to maybe getting some gut pain relief.

But, other than that, it's all fine.  I'm guessing in a couple days, I may look back at this post and think, "You big pussy - the 80 year old woman who walked past you in the hall with her new knee and look of anguish on her face didn't seem to have anything shoved up her ass - toughen up."

Or, not.

Playing...

Less than 48 hours after the surgery, a bit of guitar time...

I didn't do much singing - the throat is still a bit raspy, probably due to the tube they put down there during the surgery.

The home health care worker came by today to set me up with a physical therapist.  That starts tomorrow.

First night home...

I tried the bed.  Twice.  Any way I laid hurt.  I tried the couch.  Yep, that hurt.  Running out of night here, and I know I am keeping everyone in the house awake.  I finally settled on a recliner in the living room as a place that hurt the least.  Joan didn't want to leave me alone, concerned that I might try to get up and fall... she slept on the couch.  Everytime I moved, there was a grunt or an "Aaahhhch!  Nobody got much sleep.  Well, Rufus had our bed to himself, so I'm guessing he slept good.

I am getting around the house with the walker, but it hurts and is exhausting.  Rufus jumped up on my lap this morning... yep, that hurt.  A lot.

Joan picked him up and carefully put him on my lap so I could have an arm under him to protect my hip...

Kitty hugs help.

The deed is done.

Well, the hip has been turned bionic.  Yesterday was a "marathon wait" - we were in a hospital room for 9 1/2 hours before they took me down for surgery.  Joan came with me to the "holding room," where we waited a bit longer, then said our good-byes.

I thought it said, "Flight Risk"  Nope, "Fall Risk."

Waiting in the hospital room...

The surgeon came in and marked my hip with a B  (the initial for his last name, too)

I had one IV line in when I headed for my turn at surgery;  I had 3 of them in when I got back.  They put something else in the IV, and I don't remember anything after that.  Well, I do vaguely recall being combative in the recovery room  Apparently, they were trying to move me around, and I wasn't having anything to do with that.

 After the surgery, and back in the private room...

I was a bit queezy when I got back to the room.  I got to have breakfast and lunch (after a long day yesterday with no food.

A hospital physical therapist came by to get me standing.  I stood for a few seconds, then felt like I was going to puke.  She sat me up in a chair in my room and said she'd be back after lunch to see if any of that upset stomach went away.

Sorta.  I walked about 100 feet with a walker.  Practiced on some stairs.  Every move hurt like a bitch.  I asked about when they might spring me, and the therapist said, "I'll talk with the surgeon - I think you're safe to go home.

The nurse who I dealt with pulled out my IVs and gave me a long list of dos and don'ts.

She got back to us and hour or so later, and I have been released.  Every move still hurts, but I think I will get more rest at home than another night in the hospital.  Joan pulled the car up to the south side entrance, and an orderly delivered me to the car.

Once home, I had to go up the 5 stairs to the landing at our front door.  Joan has been helping me every step of the way.  And each step  has been tough.  Yes, this is only day one after the surgery.  Hopefully, the improvement will come fast and the pain will diminish.

Pre-op...

That's what we folks in the medical know call it.  I had the "discussion" with the surgeon's PA (that's: Physician's Assistant, again for those in the know) this morning; his explanation of recovery time was not as optimistic as the surgeon's.  Plus, I got to sign paperwork saying that I understand the risks involved in surgery... wasn't any discussion of the bad shit beforehand, either.  This far into it, there are no "backsies."  ;-)  That's a joke - I am only looking forward.  Everything at the surgeon's office went well: we were early, they took us in early, and we are good to go with them.

Onto the hospital pre-op session.  We were an hour and 15 minutes early for that - didn't know if we should go have lunch (1:00 appointment) or just go check in... we decided to just go for it.  They took us in early.  Everything went well there.  They took more blood, asked a lot of questions, and had me do a lung capacity test... I scored 99% on the first try, 105% (of normal) on the second shot.  Back to the nurse, and she wanted me to do the lung "exercise" device - she said, "Your surgeon would like you to try for 2500 on this; have you ever used one of these?"

"Yes, ma'am, but it has been years ago."  I showed her that I knew how to use it (the opposite of the other test: you suck in on this one)... hit 3500 on the first try.  Yeah, my lungs are OK.

The "getting ready stuff" was discussed: the main thing to do at home is scrubbing tonight and tomorrow with some antibiotic body wash they give you.  Not sure how stupid some of their patients are, but she reinforced to us: "You scrub with this, you don't drink it."  (No, I am not kidding.)

I have my "bracelet" on, was told what to bring for clothes and toiletries, and to expect to do some waiting tomorrow... we have to be there at 5:30 A-freakin'-M, they will get me in my private room, and the surgeon does "knees first, then hips"; i.e. expect to be last in line.  Hey, I am two weeks ahead of schedule - what's a few hours.  The "overnight" hospital stay may be "two or three nights," depending.  Apparently, depending on all the bad shit I had to initial.

The hospital folks we dealt with were all great, too; friendly and efficient.  Yes, I am anxious about this whole thing, but I am "hip deep" in it now (get it?)... time to get 'er done.

Movin' on up...

If you said, "To the east side; the theme song from the Jeffersons TV show," you get 150 bonus points.

That, however, is not the "movin' on up" I'm talking about.  Ducks lined up today: I was waiting at the cardiologist's office when they opened this morning.  First in line for an echo-cardiogram.  The cardiologist read it right away, and gave his OK for surgery; for those who think I am heartless, there is one there and it is working fine.

The office manager there said, "We will give you a written release - I would suggest you take this directly to your surgeon's office."  She didn't have to suggest it.

At the surgeon's office, the lady who does the scheduling said, "Well, I didn't want to say anything when you were in yesterday since you didn't know the results from the cardiologist, but we have had a cancellation for this Friday.  It's yours if you want it."

"Friday?  As in two days from now?  Absolutely!"  She nodded her head.  Truly, I couldn't say "yes" fast enough.  I feel like I have done nothing but getting ready for surgery stuff since we got home, and I am ready to get on with this!  I was so happy I could feel tears welling up in my eyes.

So, another day of "pre-op" stuff tomorrow, at the surgeon's office and the hospital.  Friday is Bionic Hip Day.  Yes, I know the hospital folks could toss more hoops to jump through tomorrow, but I feel like the goal is in sight.  AND, two full weeks ahead of my originally scheduled surgery date!

It took a lot of corralling, but the ducks are lining up.

Out for a late breakfast when we were done at medical offices, then off to the storage unit - a few things to get out of the motorhome and I wanted to check and lube the steering tube on the boat... like a visit to the cardiologist, all was good with the boat.  We pushed it back in place, put the motorhome back in, and had a leisurely drive back home.

I feel like the pressure is off.

Plus, Rufus (who had been very clingy yesterday when we got home) was happy to see us.  Settling in for the afternoon...

He's gonna miss me while I'm in the hospital... yeah, I'm going to miss him, too.  Nothing like rubbing some great kitty belly to keep the blood pressure down.  ;-)

Stress...

"You're retired, Jim, what stress do you have?"

Thanks for asking.  Like most folks, most of my stress is self-induced.  Another doctor visit this morning.  I would have been cleared for the hip surgery... but we happened to have a 20-year old EKG that looked different from the one I just had.  So, they got me in at a cardiologist's office... for another 4 hours of tests... since I can't run, thanks to my gimpy hip... I think that will be my rap name: Gimpy Hip... I was going to go with Dip Shiddy, but I think Gimpy Hip has a cool (dare I say: hip) ring to it... damn, digressing again.  Anyway, they did a "nuclear chemical stress test" instead of the treadmill.  I told the doctor I could handle 15 minutes on the treadmill, he and Joan agreed that would be too pain inducing.  So, instead, they "chemically induce stress on my heart" - and that isn't a concern?

So, I went to the doctor this morning, thinking we were having a "discussion" about my clearance for surgery, and the next thing I know, I am in a cardiologist's office?  Stress test?  No shit, Shakespeare, that is stress-inducing.

They took more blood at the internist's office; then had to run an IV into my other arm to inject whatever it is they inject.  Nice to have matching holes in both arms.  The guy who was sticking me for the IV at the cardiologist's office asked, "Do you have good veins?"

"It has never come up in conversation," I said;l "I've been told I have nice legs, and one of those has a vein that sticks out like a relief map of the Mississippi River - does that count?"

Apparently not.

Lucky for me, it was an early doctor's appointment, so I was unintentionally fasting.  And early enough that they somehow managed to get me in at the cardiologist's office.  But not early enough to get an "echo test, ultrasound" done today, along with doing something chemically to my heart (seriously, does that sound too close to "lethal injection" to anyone but me??).  So, another early day tomorrow.  Damn, I'm going to miss my water exercise class again.  I'm just starting to get good at those exercises.

We stopped at the surgeon's office today, after leaving the cardiologist's office, just to let them know that we are doing all we can to get this release to them as soon as possible.  The nice lady who does the surgery scheduling thinks we have probably missed the deadline for an earlier "cancellation date"... but, the surgeon stuck his head in and said, "We'll see what we can do to make this happen for you."  He knows what to say.

We'll see what happens at the cardiologist's tomorrow morning.  If there is an issue there. I guess the hip gets moved down a notch.

My brother-in-law, John, has described this situation: these medical people "get you in their clutches."

It has not been my intent to turn this into a "malady blog"... I would like to be posting about our plans for some fun scooter riding, visiting with our dolphin friends, and how cool Rufus is... and I hope to be doing just that as soon as possible.

I like to make her laugh...

Chicks dig a guy who can make them laugh.  Well, I'm going with that.  That and the singer/guitar player thing.  Joan likes it when I make music for her.   I played a few songs for her before heading off to my water exercise class.

And, before that, there was this exchange:

Her: "Any schedule for today?"

Me: "Only thing I have going is my water exercise class."

Her: "Nice to not have an agenda."

Me: "Ya know, I really miss having a job.  Hahahahahahahaha!"

We both laughed.  'Cause chicks like that humor stuff.

;-)

With Easter over, it is quiet on our island.  Only 5 of us in the exercise class this morning; didn't see anyone in the outdoor pool.  A beautiful day; the breeze is building, but it is mostly sunny and the temp is in the mid-70s.  We had breakfast out on the deck.  The beautiful weather, the quiet, and the swaying palm trees... this may be my favorite time of year in the Tropical Tip.  :-)

The back way...

Proof that I am trainable: when Joan asked what I wanted for lupper late this afternoon (lupper is the meal between lunch and supper), I said, "Porky's BBQ."  There was some discussion about the holiday traffic in town, but we can get to Porky's without getting on the main road through town.  We didn't want a repeat of yesterday's traffic scenario when riding the scoots back into town.

Easy to get to Porky's.  We watched as an orange Mustang tried to get out of their parking lot onto the main road.  It was still there, trying to get out, when our food was served.  Traffic was moving a few feet at a time on the main road, but no one was going to let the Mustang in.

On the bright side, the food was good - Porky's is our favorite BBQ, and it is a treat that we have it right here in town.  On the further bright side: it was all back streets to get back to our island.

A look at the current traffic report:

In the image immediately above, it may be hard to see, but the traffic coming onto the island is backed up all the way across the 2 1/2 mile long causeway... and through town and beyond on the other side of the causeway.

Glad we're not in that.

Scootin'...

Yeah, I remember that scootin' stuff - seems like there hasn't been time for it lately.  Or, the wind has been blowing like stink.  (springtime in the coastal Tropical Tip).

In our island village...

Heading across the bridge to get off the island (yes, we did see a dolphin playing)...

Today is Good Friday... and it is a good Friday; lovely weather.  It is also Holy Week, (Semana Santa as it is known in Mexico)... or sometimes called "Hell Week" by some of the local merchants.  It is a holiday week in Mexico, and South Padre Island is a beach destination for a lot of Mexican nationals.  Due to long wait times at the border, local news folks have been forecasting a smaller crowd this year.  You wouldn't know it by the traffic coming into town (or the family crowds in Wally World)...

Traffic was backed up for several miles outside of town, with people heading to the island.  Notice in the photo above, there is no traffic for those of us heading out.  Of course, there is the realization that we will have to deal with that traffic when we come back home (maybe it will have thinned out by then?).

Turning north on the road just outside of Laguna Vista, we are treated to brand new road...

This road has been crappy, so this is good thing.  I've said it before, but the riding here leaves a lot to be desired (flat, not much for curves)...

We had the road mostly to ourselves, then turned off on the road that leads to the Laguna Atascos National Wildlife Refuge...

Looks like there is about 3 miles of road that still needs to be replaced to get to the Refuge - we chose to turn off rather than ride on unpaved and/or freshly oiled road surface.  This road has been horrible for over a decade, and now well over a year in the rebuilding process.  Granted, there is not a lot of traffic to the National Wildlife Refuge these days, but I'm not sure that it isn't due to the near-off-roading you had to do to get there.  Maybe soon?  We have been saying that for years.

We rode inland into a building crosswind.  After a while, we decided to turn around and head back the same way.  Truly, not much to look at out there.  Still, it was good to be riding again.  Coming back into town, the traffic was backed up even further...

Bumper to bumper, stop and go.  We had to stick it out until we got into town far enough to get to a side street that goes through (part of Port Isabel is also an island).  On the way, we passed this sign,,,

It is indicating a speed bump, but the 13 year old inside of me still snickers when we ride this way.

Crossing the bridge back onto our island, another dolphin sighting; it's pretty much all we get since the boat is still in storage.

Joan and Rufus are now out on the deck - with the temp in the 79 to 80º range, it is quite pleasant outside.  As soon as I click "Publish" on this post, I will join them.  :-)

A day off...

... sorta.

No medical stuff - yeah, I know: one in a row.

The morning started when a gust front blew through; I heard Rufus's gate blow over... it almost went in the canal!  I got drenched by rain when I ducked out there for a few seconds to retrieve the gate.  And that was on "the protected side" of the house.  By the time Joan got up, it was quickly turning nice outside... well, still windy, but no more rain.

In keeping with my day off, I went to my "new routine" water exercise class.  It's still a workout, but I'm catching on to the exercises.

Joan made us a nice breakfast, I cleaned up, and got to spend a few hours with the Spire Studio; 2 songs; 4 tracks on one, 6 tracks on another.  I'll post something when Mark and I have a finished project.

Speaking of projects, we met with the contractor who built our house about a couple "small projects"... only about twice what I thought the cost will be.  It's stuff we have talked about, cosmetic not urgent.  He'll get started on it "next week"... I do speak contractor-talk.  We'll see how it plays out.  I find myself saying that a lot these days.  ;-)

Remix...

When I got home from the pool exercise class this morning, there was a message from my friend Mark - he had uploaded two tracks to the Shallow recording, a piano and synthesizer (strings).  We are getting ready to head to the doctor for my appointment for "getting cleared" for the hip surgery, but I was excited about these new tracks and took a quick listen... I had to do a quick remix and upload this track to Sound Cloud...

https://soundcloud.com/captainjimb/shallow-1-v2-new-mix

This is our first "from scratch" file exchange - I see a lot of potential for this; perhaps the best use yet for the Spire Studio.

------------

Back from the doctor (all went well today), and hope to hear from them in a couple days on being cleared.  I was able to take the time to trim that re-mix.  So, it will sound essentially the same, but without the "1, 2, 3, 4" at the beginning, and a trim to sustain on the last note.  Posting here to have the finished file saved...

https://soundcloud.com/captainjimb/shallow-1-v2-new-mix-trim

You can take the boy out of the boat...

But, I still think about those spectacular Orcas.  This afternoon, Joan saw some dolphins while crossing the bridge off our island on her way to the store.  Yeah, I was home with Rufus, so I missed that.  He is really cute, though...

Back to the Orcas: there has been an on-going discussion on the C-Dory owners group site regarding proposed new regulations in Washington State that will affect how people are able to view the Orcas.  Here is the most recent link regarding those regulations...

http://mynorthwest.com/1348879/washington-state-orca-bills-2019/

Essentially, the rule change will be extending the distance away from Orcas at 300 yards, where it was 200 previously; 400 yards if the Orcas are on the move (and they are almost always on the move). I didn't see any mention of a minimum distance in front of or behind the Orcas, which has been 400 yards. The 7 knot speed limit within a half mile of Orcas is the same as what the members of the Pacific Whale Watch Association had agreed to years ago.

Since I am not working for a whale watch company these days, I have no dog in this fight, but I have been watching these proposed changes with interest. Guests on the boats have had to be educated regarding the previous distances... sometimes there were complaints or questions about "Why can't you get closer since that small boat is WAY closer?" (Where private boats violating the distance rules was a near daily occurrence.) We worked with range finders to determine distance; use radios with other commercial boats to notify regarding whale movement. What looks like the occasional (rare) chaos (when whales are close to Friday Harbor or Roche Harbor) is actually quite organized until someone violates the operating guidelines and cuts between boats or stops between another boat and the whales... and is generally not a commercial operator. I have seen some "cowboy" operators, but that may be a factor of the laws in our neighbor to the north not requiring an actual captain's license for boats with 12 passengers or less.

The commercial operators who belong to the PWWA (almost all of them) want safe, sustainable, and respectful wildlife viewing. Their businesses depend on it.

One part of that linked article states that there are "only 75 Orcas left in the Puget Sound area"... that is only partially true: there are 75 Southern Resident Killer Whales left. Most of the sitings of Orcas in the past couple of months have been Biggs Killer Whales (aka transient Orcas). The transient Orcas are not in dire straits like the SRKW population. Sadly, I think we are on the verge of an extinction of the SRKW (the "salmon eaters) due to diminished food source, and toxicity (of the waters and the whales themselves). The transient Orcas are mammal eaters, and there is no shortage of their food supply (seals, harbor porpoise, sea lions, etc). That article makes no distinction between the Orca types, nor any mention of the Biggs KW.

Whale watching brings thousands of visitors to the PNW; I think these restrictions (personal opinion, based on experience) will have no effect on the SRKW population (they need FOOD!), but will ultimately affect the commercial whale watch operators, when visitors cannot be close enough to see and hear the interaction between these magnificent marine mammals. For many people, this exposure to Orcas is the beginning of their appreciation for the plight of the SRKW and the opportunity to see these animals in their natural environment. (Another opinion coming up) For these animals that travel 70 to 100 miles per day in search of food, there is NO tank that can be built large enough to give them the freedom and stimulation they truly deserve.

These are intelligent, social, familial mammals. They have a language. They are insightful. They experience joy and grief.

It was a pleasure to take people to see the Orcas, and to work for a company that practiced respectful wildlife viewing; a company with biologist/naturalists onboard each of our boats to explain behavior, point out local interest/history features, and answer questions. There is some amazing wildlife viewing in the Salish Sea, but it is the hope to see Orcas that brings most people. I get that. I hope these new regulations don't change how visitors feel about this opportunity.

Respectfully submitted,
Jim

So, my buddy MJ wanted to know about the internist's office...

My appointment is for tomorrow at 3:30, to have a physical, chest X-ray, EKG, and blood tests.  I called them on Monday to see if I could come in Tuesday morning to have blood drawn, so they could have the results from that in time for my appointment.  The nice young lady who answered the phone said, "Yes, that will be fine - no appointment is necessary just for drawing blood."  Then, she reminded me that I will need to be fasting for the blood test.

On the way to the doctor's office this morning, someone from their office called to confirm my appointment for tomorrow.  I said, Yes, at 3:30 - I will be there.  And, I am on my way to your office right now to have blood drawn."

Her big concern was paperwork: "Do you have your paperwork for the blood test?  Have you filled out patient paperwork?  Do you even know what blood tests you need?"

Yes, yes, and yes.  She asked me a couple more times about the paperwork, and I finally got out of her that I could get blood drawn this morning.

Of course, when we got there, just in time for the annual meeting of the "Hacking and Coughing Convention," the cranky woman at the front window told me I couldn't get blood drawn until the doctor sees me.  I nicely explained that I had confirmed it with two other people from her office and was told, "They didn't know you were a new patient.  We can't draw blood on a new patient until the doctor sees you.  It's procedure."

I love that "it's procedure" line.  As though by saying that there is no recourse.  Euphemistically, I was a bit firm and insistant.  She said, "Debbie said we can't do that."

"I don't know who Debbie is, but let me talk to her.  It's an hour drive to get here, I have been fasting, and I confirmed this TWICE.  I don't plan on leaving this window until we get this straightened out.  She closed the window.  Yes, really.  And after a few minutes, she opened the window and said, "Have a seat.  Someone will call your name to take you back and draw blood."

I guess I can be persistent.  Some might say stubborn.  I hate dealing with the bullshit and inefficiency that is pervasive in the medical biz.

Fortunately, the surgeon and the people in his office are nothing like this internist's office: friendly and professional.  I just need to get through being cleared so we can get this achy ol' hip taken care of.

Oh, and I let MJ know my opinion of this internist's office (and I haven't even seen him, yet): "the office staff sucks swamp ass."  And, it's a good thing they didn't check my blood pressure when they took blood.

Kickin' my butt...

No, Joan isn't woopin' on me, and Rufus knows better.

After a few days of getting some exercise in the pool on our own, today was the first time we took the pool exercise class.  I described it last week as "a dozen or so lady senior citizens and one old guy"... well, including myself today, there were two old guys, many of the same ladies, and one much younger babe that rode with me to the pool.

Everyone was welcoming, and after the usual, "You've been here how long?" questions (we don't participate in the activities here, so most folks are surprised to discover how long we've owned here), we all went to work.  There is no dawdling: they go right from one exercise into another... and if you participate actively, it is a good work-out.  More than I expected.  My ass was dragging just a bit as we walked to our car.

So, a new morning routine.  If the exercise doesn't kill me.  ;-)

Brunch...

Not exactly "big news," but we went to Marcello's today for their Sunday Brunch.  In our early days here, Marcello's was our local choice for Italian food.  They used to have an inexpensive all-you-can-eat pizza and pasta lunch.  Over the years, that has changed to daily lunch specials (different each day).  Chef Bettina has brought the restaurant more upscale, with a recent refurbishing of the interior and exterior (including a new outdoor dining area that overlooks the lighthouse) and more menu options that aren't Italian... it used to be Marcello's Italian Restaurant, but is now Marcello's Ocean Grille and Spirits.  In fact, there are just a few Italian menu items.

We've done their Sunday Brunch before - great interesting menu options.  We like to start with a fresh pastries basket before our main meals.  I particularly enjoyed the Cowboy Brisket Benedict with Hatch Green Chile Hollandaise.

We left there stuffed.

Since this is a "day of rest," we did our part with an afternoon nap.  And then some exercise time at the pool.  I am determined to be as fit as possible before "the cut."

The first of the "long distance" recording...

I sent the tracks on this song, You May Be Right, to Mark so he could add a piano track.  He did his part and sent it back to me.  I mixed it and...

https://soundcloud.com/captainjimb/you-may-be-right-v2

I'm looking forward to our first "start from scratch" recording, with each of us adding tracks.

The pool revisited with 3 Xes and a Y...

Yeah, Joan joined me in going to the pool today, making for an XX and an XY in the chromosome pool.  And the actual pool, since we were the only ones in there.  We took our newly acquired noodles (not the kind in your soup) and got a good hour's exercise in there.  First time using a pool noodle for anything other than padding for putting a kayak on a roof rack or a "head protector" on an RV slideout.  Yes, apparently they can be used as a bit of a flotation device.  (not Coast Guard approved)

With the noodle, I was able to stay more buoyant, taking pressure off my hip.  Not sure how far I walked, swam, and bobbed, but it was the first time in quite a while that I covered a bunch of ground (well, water) not hurting.  A nice change of pace.

There were a few people in the outdoor pool.  I get that - it's sunny, not much breeze, in the 80s.  Nice day.

A Y chromosome...

I decided to head to our pool area this morning, to try for some low impact exercise - I want to be in decent shape before the hip replacement, and I have 4 weeks.

We have and indoor and an outdoor pool here in our resort, both very nice.  I don't think we've used either of the pools in over 5 years.  I first went to the outdoor pool, dipped my toe in, and said, "Nope."

A guy who was in the hot tub by that pool said, "It's a bit chilly right now, but the pool feels pretty good when it's hot out."

I said, "I guess I'll give the indoor pool a try."

He said, "There's an exercise class going on in there right now... they're not very welcoming to anyone with a Y-chromosome."

I chuckled and went to the indoor pool - about a dozen female senior citizens and one old guy.  They were already into their program, so I went to the deep end of the pool and swam about 10 laps.  Yep, I'm outta shape.  As the exercise group started a routine that moved them towards my end of the pool, I got out, to in infringe on their space.  Well, that and I wanted to catch my breath.

When the class moved back to the shallow end of the pool, I slipped back into the deep end.  When the class was done, I went to the lady who was in charge of it and asked about the class... the guy in the hot tub was wrong, she was very welcoming.  Nothing formal - just show up, starting Monday (the class is an hour, Monday through Friday).  Bring a pool noodle.

I cleaned up in the shower room there and came home.  Joan said she'd do the class with me.  Since it was time for lunch, we swung by Wally World to pick up a couple pool noodles before heading to Burger Fi, on the island.  That is the last of the "must eat at" places since we've been home... well, except for a Sunday Brunch Joan would like to do.  Hey, a guy has to eat to keep up his strength.

It was reasonably clear when I went to the pool, a fog moving in when I came home.  And even more fog when we headed out for lunch...

You could barely see across the Intracoastal as we drove across our bridge (above).  And in the image below, you can usually see the 2 1/2 long causeway and South Padre Island in the distance - not today...

On the bright and sunny side: lunch at Burger Fi was great!  Of course, you're always hungry after swimming.  ;-)

-------

A couple Y-chromosome critters...

Yep, that's my big boy.  Look at that face...

Track hog...

Nothing to do with taking a Harley to the race track.

My buddy and music partner Mark got a new keyboard/synthesizer; needless to say, he is excited.  I'm excited for him and anxious to hear what it can do.  We started that process today: I sent him Spire Studio tracks for a song I had already recorded... looking forward to hearing how it sounds with a keyboard added.

Track hog?  Yeah, you can put 8 separate tracks on a Spire file... the file I sent him has 7 tracks that I used.  So, I didn't leave him a lot of space.  We will (hopefully soon) start working on some songs from scratch, where we can each add what we want.  This was a test, mostly to go through the process of uploading Spire tracks and seeing how they download on his Spire Studio.

I am fired up about being able to collaborate with Mark while 1,300 miles apart.

-----

After a late, leisurely lunch, I was fired up about swapping some Spire Studio files, so I sat down and did 5 tracks of a song Joan requested: Shallow (by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper)...

https://soundcloud.com/captainjimb/shallow

I left more tracks for Mark; when he gets a chance to add keyboard and synth, I'll post that.  Trying not to be a "track hog" with this one.  :-)

Everyone knows...

... it's windy.

If you said, "The Association, 1967," you get 200 bonus points.  For those keeping track, The Association was known as "an American sunshine pop band" for the easy-listening feel and harmonies in their songs.

A wind advisory for all of the Rio Grande Valley, including the Laguna Madre and Gulf of Mexico for this afternoon.  Knowing that my riding days will most certainly be curtailed in the near future, I suggested we get out on the scoots before the wind really kicks (predicted to gust above 40mph).

We took the scoots to Manuel's for one of their famous breakfast tortillas; along the way, we stopped so I could get the latest "scooter tag" (your scoot at a vet or animal hospital)...

And then my new tag: your scoot at a Mexican restaurant...

After breakfast, we rode out of town on Highway 100; the plan was to go check out the nearly completed new road to the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge.  Before we got that far, the wind was really building, so we turned around and went back to Port Isabel, and some shopping before heading back home.

It wasn't a long ride, but it was good just to be out on the scoots.

Hip, Hip, Hooray!

So, I went to the orthopedic surgeon this morning - he said, "Here, take this one pill and it should eliminate all your hip pain."

Yeah, I'm kidding.  I'm a kidder.  He looked at my X-rays and started a conversation to ease me into how my life will be better after hip surgery.  It has been a long time since I practiced medicine, but it didn't take a medical license to see that the cartilage is gone and the ball on that hip ball and socket hasn't been round in quite a while.  "That must be giving you a lot of pain."

Hey, this guy is good!

He was very thorough and went over the 4 things that would indicate a hip replacement is necessary... being the over-achiever I am, I got 4 out of 4.  My main question: "How soon can you do this?"  Followed by: "What is the recovery time?"

He is booked just over a month out, and I have to have a thorough physical by an Internist to "clear" me for surgery.  The small town that we live in is a bit on the thin side for medical care.  He recommended a doctor (his doctor), "If he is taking new patients."  One of the office folks in his office called this other doctor and made arrangements for us to go to their office to start a whole new batch of paperwork.

Regarding the recovery time: the surgeon gave a major wince when I mentioned that I will be anxious to get some summer riding in on our scoots.  Seems that he worked in an emergency room and saw the aftermath of plenty of motorcycle accidents.  I know when to keep my mouth shut.

The recovery time to "walking without the assistance of a walker, crutches, or a cane is about 6 weeks for most people.  Depending on how your physical therapy goes, it could be more or less."  Non-committal, but again: over-achiever.  He said they would have me up and walking on it the same day as the surgery... the new hip can support my weight right away, it will just take time to get a range of motion and balance.  (and no twisting... like we did last summer)  Expect some pain... I've been living with that for way too long.  I'll try some "new pain," if there's a chance it will diminish.

So, the wheels are in motion.  I have an appointment next week with the Internist and a tentative surgery date next month.  I just want to get that X-ray image out of my head.

The booklet (with drawings that look like something out of "Dick & Joan)...

The device that goes in when they chop the bone off...

I'll never get through airport security again, without a pat down.

On the ride home, while discussing that X-ray, Joan said, "If you were a horse, we'd put you down."

This is more like it...

Moving back in takes time.  Fortunately, we have time, so it doesn't have to all get done at once.  Last night, Joan said, "How about you take me out for breakfast tomorrow?  We can take the scoots and go to Pier 19."

"I'm in!"

It was an absolutely glorious morning!  65º and no wind when I got up at 7:00... yeah, this is going to be a perfect day to play on the scoots.  By 9:30, when we were ready to head out, it was 75º, sunny, and almost no breeze.  I got the scoots out, we geared up (cool enough that we could stand to wear our mesh armored jackets), and we headed off our island, a few blocks in PI, then across the causeway to South Padre Island.  As beautiful as the water was, I regretted not putting a camera on the scoot: lovely blue sky and water, blissfully calm.

Pier 19 was busier than I expected, but no wait for a table.  Joan remembered that Monday is my favorite breakfast special there; she ordered one, too: a meat omlette with cheese and gravy, breakfast potatoes, and a fresh baked biscuit.  Tasty!

On the way out, we took a few photos...

And, something for the current scooter tag...

We rode up the bay-side of the island and down the Gulf-side.  Nice to just look around... seems that the island made it through spring break just fine.  Back across the causeway and into the next town to get the Vespa inspected; it has been almost a year with it, so time to renew the registration.  With the fresh inspection in hand, we stopped at the local county office to get the new tag - the Vespa is good to go for another year.

The weather weasels are calling this a "low humidity day"... it is only 53% humidity this afternoon.  That would be really high compared to the single and low double digit humidity was had while in Arizona.  Perspective.

I have a doctor's appointment early tomorrow morning.  They said they'd call to confirm and I hadn't heard from them, yet... so I called them.  The receptionist was a teensy bit curt - I think she thought I was calling to cancel.  Nope, I've waited a long time for this; I'm ready.  Then she said, "We are not able to confirm your Medicare..."  A teensy bit curt again, until she realized they had my last name spelled wrong.  I nicely said to her, "Pretty sure I know how to spell my own name - sorry if your people couldn't write it properly."  She got nicer.

We'll be turning in early tonight.

Scooters and guitars...

No, it wasn't a play day today.  The original plan was to get the cargo trailer unloaded this morning - Mother Nature had other plans, sending us pounding rain and thunderstorms.  From the sounds of it, we got off easy; in the upper Valley, they had winds near storm cells of 50 to 70mph (some damage), and even more rain.

When the storms moved on, we went out in the driveway, re-positioned the cargo trailer, unloaded the stuff that was just being carried in there, and unstrapped the scoots.  The trailer is once again set up as "the garage" for the scoots.  No, I didn't get a ride in, but maybe tomorrow!

Some of what was being carried in the trailer was music gear - it came into the house and I went to work getting the guitar room set up again.  One of the things that took the most time was the Play Acoustic vocal harmonizer and guitar pedal... I had sent it in for repair before we went to Phoenix, and (of course) it took them longer than they estimated to get it back to me; I had it sent to Steph's address.  The bad part about that: they "couldn't duplicate the problem" (it was cutting out the guitar signal), so they cleaned it and sent it back.  Obviously, they did a factory re-set on it, because all my settings were gone.  It took over an hour just to get it re-programmed again.  In the meantime, I played most of my guitars... my fingers are sore, but my heart is happy.

Rufus came in and sat by me for a while; Joan was at the kitchen island doing paperwork.  I apologized for all the "testing" (it takes time to get that Play Acoustic pedal set up), but she said it was no issue for her... a lot of "partial songs" getting played.

It is beginning to feel like we are getting moved back in.

Away...

No, we didn't leave home.  Well, we did, but we were back in a couple hours.  We finished up the last of the stuff on/in the motorhome and put it in storage; drove separate to the storage unit - it can be a bit snug between the road and the locked gate, so it is best to go in separate.  On the way there, the coach felt like a sports car: mostly empty and not towing anything.  A view from the rear camera that I don't usually see...

The Honda is back there... way back there.

Yes, we left the boat in the storage unit.  Seems that one of us has a doctor's appointment to get his hip looked at on Tuesday... which may have a bearing on near-future boating time.

Back at the home front, Rufus has settled in; he has his toys and his "man cave"...

After a nap, he made it almost all the way out of his man cave...

Apparently, it is exhausting playing with all those toys and finding all the good places to nap in the house.  But, he is determined.

;-)

Five driving days and...

... we're home!

Holding tanks flushed and dumped one more time this morning.  We were ready to roll at 9:30; a bit of fog south of San Antonio...

It wasn't bad.  In fact, another decent driving day since we were heading south and not having to look into the sun.  This last stretch is something we've covered many, many times.  Whether you are heading north, east or west, you pretty much have to get to San Antonio first (yes, not to get to Houston... but, who wants to go to Houston??).  So, in other words: there isn't much new to see along this stretch.

We aren't the only ones triple towing across Texas...

We passed about a dozen of those in the past two days - I think they are heading to Mexico - the ones in the photo above are some of the better looking we've seen.

Rufus spent time on his short tower, and time on Joan's lap once again...

A short 5 1/2 hours after leaving last night's RV park, we rolled into Port Isabel; we pulled into the Wally World parking lot to unhook the CR-V and cargo trailer from the motorhome... easier to get things parked by the house.  Rolling across the bridge onto our island...

And, we are home...

Joan pulled in ahead of me and got the line off the driveway; we parked the coach beside the house and put the car and cargo trailer in the driveway...

Let the unloading begin!  We say we won't be crazy about this process, but we always go after it... 3 hours later, the coach was unloaded and most of the stuff was put away in the house.  We are tired.

Rufus made me laugh: we brought him into the house, and he was absolutely giddy!  "We're home!  We're home!  I love our big house - look, I have a tall tower, and all kinds of places to lay... "  He was pretty darn vocal, too; meowing as he went from room to room.

I took a short 3-song break to rest my aching back and pulled the X7 off the wall to play a couple (well, 3) songs.  Rufus hopped up on the back of my chair, by my shoulder.  He is a happy boy!

Now, for full disclosure, it will take a few days to get settled back in.  But for now, we can take the rest of the night off.

Home, sweet home.

It's a beautiful thing...

It's what Joan said when she first got up this morning.  No, she probably wasn't referring to my bed-head hair.  She was looking a dew on the skylight in our motorhome.  We haven't seen that in a couple months.  Or had nasal passages that didn't feel dried out.  Oh, sure, in a couple days (when we're unloading the motorhome) I will probably be cursing the humidty.  But, this morning, it feels good.

When she opened the shade by our dinette...

No, it is not foggy this morning - that is the haze of humidity on the outside of our windows.  In a few moments, it looked like this...

We are not in a hurry this morning - only planning to do 150 miles or so today, so we have no concern about getting out early.  Leisurely showers and a hot breakfast cooked in.  Another 100 miles or so of "west Texas" and we'll be into "south-central Texas."  :-)

-----------

An easy driving day today: the wind was light, an overcast sky (so we weren't staring into the sun), and pleasant temperature...

Less than an hour into the drive, the sky became more broken than overcast...

Not too much longer, and we were into Hill Country and seeing wildflowers along the road (Texas is well known for the wildflowers in spring - a beautification project started by Ladybird Johnson when LBJ was Governor...

And, before long, into the traffic of San Antonio.  No, there are no photos of the traffic.  Even picking our timing to go through the city late morning, the traffic was still plenty thick.  No slow-downs, and we were through the city before noon.  Our planned stop for the day is an RV park just south of SA; we stopped to fuel up before going into the park.  We will get all our tanks flushed and emptied - tomorrow morning, it will be: unhook utilities, connect the CR-V and cargo trailer to the motorhome, and head for home.  About 6 hours to go to get home.  We could have made it a long day today and made it home... we are good with being a bit leisurely, having the tanks ready for storage, and getting home with time to start the unloading process in the daylight.

-----------

Lunch was great - Italian, with some left-overs for lunch tomorrow.  Rufus and I took a 15 minute nap.  This is my idea of RVing.

When I got up, we started the tank flushing and dumping; mostly, this just takes a bit of time.  Joan asked if I had any gallon water containers in my storage compartment... yes, an opened jug of distilled water.  It gave me a reason to check and top off the batteries.  The Group 31 batteries in the coach are in good condition, and Joan got the water jug she wanted.

Rufus was on his tower as I was coming and going from inside the coach - I couldn't resist taking a photo of this handsome boy...

It was warm in the sun, but very comfortable in the shade... and I tried to stay in the shade while getting things done outside; 87º out there this afternoon.  I took a moment to get a photo of our (disconnected) rig in this RV site...