Some clarification...

 

Tomorrow, it will be four weeks since "the big poke."  I am mending well and feeling good.  I can walk as far as I want (within reason), and it doesn't hurt to cough, sneeze, or get up from a chair.

Getting a short ride on the Vespa earlier this week was a real boost.  I mentioned that I was sore afterwards, and from e-mails and private messages I received, I can tell that some folks are confused about this procedure... based on comments about "needing a donut to sit on."  It wasn't my ass that was sore, it was my innards; specifically, from the naval to the nads feels like everything inside has been "all shook up."

The surgeon went in through my lower abdomen with 4 "poke holes" and one exit hole above my navel, where the prostate came out.  Those holes were stitched and glued.  They don't in through your ass, so no donut needed.  But (notice only one '"t" in that), the abdominal muscles get poked through and stretched around, so that is part of the pain.  When riding a motorcycle or scoot, you do a good portion of your steering by leaning, and that requires using some of those core muscles.

Another two weeks, and I am off the restrictions for what to ride and lifting no more than 10 pounds.  I plan to slowly work up.  Seventeen days since having the catheter pulled, and I am seeing some improvement in the peeing department.  Well, holding the pee department.  Getting better?  Yeah, Depends. (another joke)  I'm saying about a 70% improvement, if I put a number on it.  The bladder and the urethra are learning to play together without the structure of Mr. Prostate.  It's a process, and the range you get from Dr. Google says "months" rather than days.

Merry Christmas!

 

If you are reading this - we made it.  This year has been unusual, to say the least.  Joan and I have become pretty good at being hermits, even when we're out and about with the motorhome.  At home, we do fine keeping to ourselves.  Rufus is the "wild card," and likes to be a social boy... I have to keep him reigned in at times when we're out for a walk.

This is a different Christmas Day for us.  Instead of face-to-face, we will be FaceTiming with Steph and Dan in an hour or so.  Rather than lament about not being together, I will delight in seeing their faces on my screen.

The house already smells good this morning: Joan is making cinnamon rolls to start our day.

Joan and I were talking about this year last night... she said it well: "Together, we can get through anything."

Another week and we can say good-bye to 2020.  In the near term, I don't expect 2021 to be much different.  But, there is hope on the horizon... and that is something to consider this Christmas Day.

Virtual hugs,

Jim, Joan and Rufus

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Looking out our living room windows this morning, it is chilly (42º when we got up), but glorious: the sun is shining, blue sky, the wind isn't howling.  It's a pretty start to the day.

------

FaceTiming...

Not the same as being there, but it was nice to visit with Steph and Dan this morning, and get close to our traditional gift opening...

Joan opening one of her presents...

This gift was for the both of us, but it is all about Rufus (there was a bit of a cat theme this year)...

Because... Rufus is such a good boy!  Steph got one of those pillows for herself, with her 3 cats on it.  We got to see the grandkitties when they panned the computer around.  It was a nice visit.

It's that time...

 

Steph and Dan usually come to visit us, often arriving on Christmas Eve.  Mother Nature knows this and greets them with the arrival of a norther that generally coincided with their arrival.  The family joke: Steph brings on the crappy weather.

In this year of the virus, Steph and Dan wisely canceled their plans to visit us this year.  Apparently, Mother Nature didn't get the memo... about 1:00 in the morning, this norther blew in with temperatures dropping and winds 30 to 35mph, gusting to 45.  We planned for it, by putting everything away on the deck and rolling up the sun shades yesterday.  That didn't stop the noise from the wind howling and palm branches from the neighbor's tree blowing off and banging into everything.  I think we're going to need a nap this afternoon.

Happy Christmas Eve.  This year will be different: the first time since Steph and Dan got married that the four of us aren't together for Christmas.  It is usually games and prizes and family tradition food.  Joan has a Christmas Day meal planned (turkey and all the fixin's).  This evening it will be our traditional Christmas Eve lasagna.  The joy and the love will still be there, even though we'll share it long distance.

My favorite Rufus photo to celebrate this day...

 And, of course, sharing how Santa gets around here...

It probably won't get out of the 50s here today, with the gusty wind continuing.  Into the upper 60s tomorrow, and back into the 70s after that.  Mother Nature said, "Oh, she's not coming?  Well, I can't just turn it off like a light switch."

Sending you warm wishes for joy, peace, and hope this Christmas.

Jim, Joan, and Rufus

Didja suffer?

 

Regarding the ride yesterday... no.  My nether regions were a bit achy from the different movements, but my heart was very happy.  No more ibuprofen than usual.  I slept good last night.  Well, except for the dream.

Since the surgery, I have been having weird dreams.  Not scary nightmares (like someone harvesting my prostate); just weird.  When I remember my dreams, they are often about working.  Some from the photography days, shooting sessions.  Some from the boat driving days.  Last night's dream was from the boat driving days, but not about driving a boat...

I was walking down the dock; it wasn't the actual dock where the boats were slipped, but a much longer one.  My phone fell out of my pocket, and of course, went into the water.  There was a slightly submerged dock, a couple feet under the water, alongside the main dock.  Looking down, my phone was glowing in the water, sitting on that submerged dock.  I figured I'd only get wet to the knees, but I could get my phone back.  Climbing off the side of the main dock, I lowered myself into the water.  When I bent down to get my phone, I saw 4 more phones on that same submerged dock.  I gathered them up and put them on the dry dock.  Then, spent the rest of the afternoon finding out who the other phones belonged to.  It was actually my first day off after finishing a season, so I didn't have to drive a boat - I was just going to go out for the fun of it, as a passenger.

Weird, huh?  I have no idea what it meant.  I did once drop a phone in the water while launching one of our sailboats.  Yes, I could see it glowing.  I thought, "Some dumbass dropped their phone in the water"... then reached for my pocket to determine I was the dumbass.  That was a long time ago.  Back when phones were less than $100.  And a flip phone was for making calls; if you wanted to send a text on it, you had to scroll through the alphabet and press the button 1 to 4 times, depending on what letter you wanted.  The phone wasn't connected to the internet and it was 25¢ to send or receive a text. Yeah, the "olden days."

Must be a "slow news day."  ;-)

 ----------

We are all saying that 2021 has to be better.  This illustrates my thoughts...

Anyone up for a ride?

 

Me!  Pick me!

I knew today would be the day.  I've given it plenty of thought.  When Joan said, "I have a break in what I'm doing, so if you want to get the scoot out, this would be a good time."

That sounds like completely onboard to me.  Twelve days from the time the surgeon said, "Give it a month from now"... I like being ahead of schedule.  No, I am certainly not 100%, but my psyche could use a boost, and a short ride on the Vespa may not be what the doctor ordered, but I know what I need.

The lots are compact on our island, and a garage is rare.  The scoots stay in our "portable garage," also known as the cargo trailer.  The door to that trailer is heavy, so Joan insisted that she lower the door.  She also suggested that she be the one to pull the Vespa out... I think that's what she said, I was pretty focused...

Yes, I am wearing shorts.  I have to be selective about what kind of clothing goes across my middle, so soft waistbands are my current fashion trend.  I pulled the scoot out and put on a helmet and gloves...

Joan was recording this momentous occasion...

 

 

I assured Joan that I would stay in our neighborhood.  For full disclosure, after I left our street, I left our island and rode a few blocks into Port Isabel to get a photo of the scoot at a coffee shop there, to be able to post something in a thread about scooters and coffee shops.  I am still not a coffee drinker, but I am once again a scooter rider.  ;-)  And, I consider this part of "our neighborhood."

 

 Back at the house, I did as instructed and let Joan know of my triumphant return.  She watched while I put the Vespa away, then she closed the ramp door.  In the grand scheme of things, it was a short ride; for my sense of well-being, it was an important step.

A lovely day; temp was in the mid-70s, a light breeze, and partly sunny.  We're supposed to have a cool and windy day on Christmas Eve and only in the 60s on Christmas Day.  This was a good time for a first outing.

 

An outing...

 

It wasn't an absolute necessity, but it was time for the monthly running-of-the-generator and a few other things out at our storage unit (40 miles inland).  Combined with a stop to pick up the desk calendar I ordered.

The calendar looks great, Chick-fil-A was tasty, and we got everything done we wanted to do with the motorhome and the storage unit.

 

On the way back home, I said, "I'm tired, but I think I handled all this stuff OK.  Maybe in the next day or two, I'll take the scooter for a short ride around the neighborhood."

"Just the neighborhood, right?" Joan asked.  "You need to let me help you get it out."  No fuss, no "It's WAY too soon."  She understands.  We'll see how that works out.

It has been 3 weeks today since my prostate went missing.  I'm beginning to think it isn't coming back.

Oh, and Happy Winter Solstice... the daylight gets longer each day now.

When the moon is in the 7th house...

 

... and Jupiter aligns with Saturn.

If you said, "Jim, you messed up the words to Age of Aquarius from the the Broadway production of Hair," you get 20 bonus points.  The real words are "Jupiter aligns with Mars."

But, last night and tonight, if you have a clear sky, you can see Jupiter and Saturn very close together (the "great conjunction").  The last time this occurred at night (when you could see it) was in 1226... I was just a kid at the time, so I don't really remember it.

We call it a "great" conjunction because to ancient skywatchers, these were the two slowest moving planets in the sky.  Jupiter takes nearly 12 years to describe a full circle in the heavens, spending a year visiting each zodiacal sign in the sky, while Saturn takes 29.5 years to make one full trip around the sun. Because of their respective slow movement, a conjunction or — to the ancients — a "celestial summit meeting," was rather unusual. Such get-togethers happen, in most cases, about every 20 years on average.  But on Dec. 21, we see Jupiter and Saturn separated by just 6 arc minutes. That's equal to 0.1 degrees or about one-fifth the apparent width of the moon.

For those keeping track, this is also the Winter Solstice.  Some say this may have been that "Christmas star" (star of Bethlehem) that three wise guys were following a couple thousand years ago.

Last night, we went out on our deck to check it out.  Yep - with a pair of stabilized binoculars, we could see both; but, no camera equipment I have has enough focal length to capture that.  We do, however, have an app that tells us what we are seeing in the night sky...

Pa rum pum pum pum...

 

If you said, "The Little Drummer Boy," you get 10 bonus points.  If you said, "It was written by American classical music composer and teacher Katherine Kennicott Davis in 1941," you get 10,000 bonus points.

You have have seen this on the internet...

 It made me laugh out loud.

I took yesterday off; well, not from everything, but from making a post here.  I got my walking exercise in - three times, for a mile and a half total.  But, I didn't do much else.

A good night's sleep last night, and I was ready to take on the day today.  After getting my first walk in this morning, I wanted to try playing drums.  I figured just "a sit test," to see if my nether regions could handle it.  I eased onto the seat tenderly.  Turned on the controller, put on some headphones, and picked up some drumsticks.  It didn't hurt.  Twenty minutes of playing, my lower belly felt like I had just done 100 sit ups.  Not in a bad way.  I didn't realize what a good core-workout playing drums would be.

I can tell I am feeling better: this morning, I had visions of riding that beautiful blue Vespa dancing in my head.  Until today, the idea of putting my ass on that scooter seat made everything in my nether regions say, "Oh, hell no!"  Today, they said, "Maybe.  Soon."  It has been 10 days since the surgeon said, "Give it at least a month," when I asked about riding again.

Getting better each day.

Reminiscing...

 

If you said, "Little River Band, 1978," you get 50 bonus points.  Yes, we really like Little River Band.  This reminiscing isn't about the song... I wanted to make a desk calendar for 2021 with photos.  I surprised Joan with one last year, but I chose to involve her in the photo selection process this time around.  We sat on the couch and looked through a year's worth of images.  Last year's calendar was all about Rufus; this time, it is mostly about Rufus, but Joan wanted a couple "event" images: an image with one of her completed quilt projects, and another with my new scoot.  And, lots of Rufus images that make us smile.

Because, he is a good boy.  ;-)

A glimpse...

 

Yes, the images are mostly from 2020... and, like everyone else, we are ready to be done with 2020... but there were bright moments that have meaning for us, as well.  Plenty of "warm fuzzy" feelings as we looked through the blog and the images.

---------

The house smells good... a loaf of fresh baked bread, meatballs, and spaghetti sauce.  We will be eating good tonight.  :-)

One week...

 

Since the doctor "pulled the tube."  Not having a bag strapped to your leg sure makes it easier to move around.

I used to be able to offer these as my redeeming qualities: "I'm loyal, don't eat much, and I'm housebroke."  Well, two out of three for right now.  I have been forthright in my descriptions of this post surgery stuff, since dignity is one of those things that went by the wayside.  The men's Depends are a part of my wardrobe.  The first couple days, I piddled like an excited Cocker Spaniel puppy.  I have been doing the Kegel exercises and there is improvement.  Nighttime is the right time... I have to get up a couple times during the night to visit the potty, but I stay mostly dry.  I don't know if I am just tired by the time evening rolls around, but it's a good thing to have that pad in my pants.

Joan has said, "Now you know how we women feel, needing a pad for one week out of four.  I'm glad that's in the past."  Even without the testosterone inhibitor, I'm thinking this isn't quite the same... and for the record: blue balls.  Yeah, digressing.  Incontinence is normal for a period of time after prostate removal.  There doesn't seem to be a consensus on how long that "period of time" might be... months... a year... 18 months.  I'm encouraged by the improvement in this week.

Got to go (pun intended)... time for my Kegel reps.  No photos; you're welcome. 

Twas The Night Before Christmas, 2020

 

This is not mine, but it sure sums up what most of us are feeling.  This was posted on the NuWa Owners Forum, and I am sharing here...

 
Twas the year 2020, and all through the house
every creature was stirring, from Human to Mouse.
The stockings  were tossed on the chimney, who cares,
it's been months since we entertained, would Saint Nick even dare?
The children were nestled all snug in their beds
as visions of rubber gloves danced in their heads.
and Mama in her gaiter and me and my mask,
had just settled our brains for a long cleaning task.
When out on the roof there arose such a clatter.
I sprang from my mop to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash.
I peeked through the shutter, barely touching the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
gave me faith that someday we'd have somewhere to go.
When what do my wondering eyes should appear,
but a miniature sleigh, and eight spotless reindeer.
With a little old driver decked out in full gear,
I knew in a moment we'd have Christmas this year!
More safely than Hazmat the reindeer they came,
and he whistled and shouted and called them by name.
Now Clorox! Now Pine-Sol! Now Lysol and Purex!
On Comet! On Purell! On Top Job and Germ-X!
Wipe the top of the porch! Then the top of the wall!
Now wipe away! Wipe away!  Wipe away all!
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
when they finished and then took a jump to the sky.
So up to the housetop the reindeer they flew.
With a sleigh full of masks, and Saint Nicholas too!
And then in a twinkling I heard on the roof,
the pawing of each little rubber gloved hoof.
As I pulled up my mask and was turning around,
Down the chimney a big bucket came with a bound!
It was covered in plastic from bottom to top,
and the contents were sterile, despite the long drop.
I missed seeing his eyes and his dimples so merry.
But this virus prevents that, these times are so scary.
I imagined his face and his little round belly,
That shook when he laughed like hand sanitizer jelly.
but I saw him outside though, as he stood near his sleigh,
and I laughed when I saw him, from six feet away..
With a wink of his eye and a wave of his hand,
I felt warm inside, Santa too understands.
And without a word I went right to my work.
I filled all our stockings, then turned with a jerk
And laying a finger aside of his mask,
The reindeer rose up, they had finished their task.
He waved to me then, to his team gave a shout,
and socially distancing, quickly flew out.
But I heard him proclaim as he drove out of sight,
Merry Christmas to all,  we will all be all right.

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

And, a different take...

-----------

A big event today: I drove Joan around.  First stop: Burger Fi.  We ate in the car.  A cool, blustery day; didn't get out of the 50s, but the sunshine was lovely.  It was comfortable in the car.  Next stop - the Thrift Shop that supports the Port Isabel Animal Shelter.  Joan cleaned out her closet and had a nice load of clothing and purses for them.  Then, the Post Office; they had a package for us that could have fit in our box... seems they didn't even try.  Yes, I understand: they are inundated.  I would think it would be less work to put just put it in our box, rather than fill out a tag to put in our box, take the small box back to the Post Office, and make a worker there have to hunt for it after Joan stands in line.  But, what do I know?

On the bright side: the burger was outstanding.  I think I have the meat sweats.  ;-)

deterrent

deterrent

Out on the scoots...

 

Me?  Oh, hell no!  At the surgeon's office last Thursday, I did ask about when it would be OK to ride again.  I saw the furrows in her forehead and the eyes roll... there was some hesitation, then she said, "At least a month."  I could tell she was thinking more.

Truth be told, my nether regions are telling me "Not yet."  But, it gives me something to work toward.

Joan and I had talked about her taking the scoots out to get the batteries charged up and the engines thoroughly warmed up.  We have had some chilly weather this past week, but it is gorgeous today: into the 70s, mostly sunny, some breeze... she has other things going, but she agreed to give me a hand.  Oh, there was some discussion: "If you even think about getting on one of those bikes, I will hide the keys."  I'm not saying who said that to whom.  ;-)  If you thought I was going to get on those scoots, read that "nether regions" sentence above.  Really, not yet.

I rolled each scoot out, and she helped me get them on the center stand.  They each fired right up.  Joan was nice enough to run each of them out on the road long enough to get them up to temp...

The Xmax, waiting its turn...

Not sitting on it, but proof I was there...

I put each one away.  I haven't received the license plates yet for the Vespa.  When I spoke with Sean at AF1 last week, he said they had 3 bikes that Piaggio hadn't sent the MSO yet, but he assured me they were on it.  He sent us a file for a new paper plate, since the original is due to expire in 5 days.  Printed and put on... that was my "scooter work" for the day.  Better than nothing.  :-)

Lighted Golf Cart Parade...

 

Tonight was the Annual Lighted Golf Cart Parade on our island.  Good turn out; lots of fun decorations on the carts.

We started off the viewing from our deck on the canal - there is a bridge that connects to the next street there.  A bit further away, but a nice view...

 

A view from our deck down our canal before going to the front of the house...

A chilly night, 53º when the parade went by.  Kinda makes it feel Christmasy.  Happy Holidays!

The latest music project...

 

Joan requested this song.  I worked out the guitar and vocals, then added drum and bass guitar tracks.  This was a couple weeks before the surgery.  Mark started working on keyboard and lead guitar parts.  He suggested a track with some hand drums; I sent that off to him.

While I have been recuperating, Mark sent me files of the progress.  This morning, I got the finished file...

https://soundcloud.com/captainjimb/night-owls

Mark did the engineering on this, as well as piano, lead guitar, and sax (synth) tracks.  I did the vocals, acoustic guitar, drum/percussion, and bass.

 

It has been months since we've done a music only track.  While Joan and I were in the motorhome for the summer, Mark and I did a couple music video projects.  Since getting home, I've done several "Stayin' at Home" music videos, Mark has been making some music with a friend there in Phoenix.  It's good to work together on a project again.

Hope you enjoy the music.

--------

This afternoon, I did another Staying At Home video, a Christmas edition...

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.  Shot with an iPhone 11 Pro and a Shure MV88+ mic.  Ambient room sound, backed with my Emerald X7.

Visiting with friends...

 

Not me; I'm like a hermit these days.  Rufus.  Out for our late afternoon walk, he saw his dog friends Pepper and Luna at the end of the block, and made a beeline for them.  The dogs' owner, Randy, saw that I was moving a bit slower than usual.  We talked.  Seems that this is another guy who "had the same thing done."

Well, apparently, his situation was a bit different: he was up, walking a mile or so the same day.  No pissing issues.  No "suspect areas," no problems.  So, yeah, about the same thing.  ;-)  I learned this with the hip: don't compare your situation with anyone else.

Rufus got to have some nose-to-nose time with Randy's dogs.  Everybody played nice.

Walking back to our house, Rufus saw his first dog friend, Tessa (being walked by dog Dad, David).  More nose-to-nose time.

I think Rufus has more friends than I do.  The dogs he seems to bond with are all females.  Yeah, the boy is a chick magnet.  Even inter-species.

Play that funky music, white boy...

 

If you said, "Wild Cherry, 1976," you get 50 bonus points.  If you understand the premise behind the song, you get 50 more... disco was the big thing back then, and Wild Cherry stayed with playing rock.  Apparently, a black audience member shouted out, "Play some funky music, white boy," and the rest is history.  May be made up history - I wasn't there.

Today, my cousin asked me if I'm still able to play guitar.  Yep.  The numbness in the fingertips is mostly gone.  The tenderness across the lower abdomen means it smarts just a bit to sing from the diaphragm.  But, I play something for Joan and Rufus most days.

That's a distraction from what my days are currently about: trying not to wet myself.  There is a wide range of products made for this situation; we have tried several (and by we, I mean: Joan buys 'em, I try 'em).  One of those products is essentially an adult diaper.  Joan said, "Do you want some help getting it on?"

"Oh, yes, let's add some insult to injury."  I'm kidding; I didn't say that.  I did, however, explain that I am not bed-ridden, nor shitting myself, so perhaps that was a solution to the wrong problem.  So, we compromised and I put on the stupid diaper.  Give me any crap about that and I will send photos to your e-mail.  I'm kidding again; mercifully, there are no photos.

There's another kind of pad that is roughly triangle shaped; well, rounded edges.  So, does the narrow part go up... or down.  I tried it both ways over the course of the day.  The way that seems the most effective is the least comfortable.  Although for full disclosure, none of these things are comfortable.  And, sure as hell, aren't stylish.  ;-)

One of my walks today was just under a half mile.  The walk with Rufus was much shorter.  Doing my kegel exercises.  I don't know if I still have a kegel, but if I do, it's tired.  Yeah, that's a joke.  I read about kegel exercises a couple decades ago in one of Joan's Cosmopolitan magazines.  As I recall, it is supposed to "drive your man wild"... although, also as I recall, there is something every month in that magazine that is supposed to do that.  That is a lot of wildness.  I'm not looking to drive a man wild... I don't have a man.  Don't want one.  I do have a big furry boy, though, and if I want to drive him wild all I have to do is go to the pantry where he knows his food supply is.  No kegels necessary.

Slept like a baby...

 

Woke up crying every two hours and wet myself.  (rimshot)

Just kidding.  Well, about the crying part.  With the catheter removal yesterday, there was a lot of dribbling, and I'm not talking about playing basketball.  My beaten and bruised bladder has been able to let the urine flow as it produced it, for the last 10 days.

A small victory last night was to get some urine out while on the toilet.  Oh, if you're squeamish about urine and related stuff, this is about as graphic as I'm going to get.  There is a learning process with Depends and related male pads.  Seems like it would be intuitive, but placement and fit matter.  The first few hours in bed were fitful, as I concerned myself with... um... checking for leaks.  I think I fell asleep finally after 2:00.  Around 4:00am, I got up to check - not a lot of urine in there.  Between 4:00 and 6:00, it was dry.  I'd like to say because I am relearning control, but more likely because I hadn't had anything to drink in hours.  The small victory at this point: making it through the night without leaking on the bed.

Joan graciously put down a puppy pad where my hips are on the bed.  No idea if it would be necessary, but I didn't want to make more laundry.

Up and taking on the day.  I did my morning routine and made coffee for Joan.  Another small victory, but important to me.  Walking around is easier without the catheter.  I am standing straight and walking tall... well, as tall as my height will allow.  I've done a couple "laps" of the house.

My intent here isn't to overshare.  Someone else will go through this and may find this "daily life" information helpful.  I'm looking ahead to get back as much "normal" as possible... and goodness knows normal hasn't always come easy for me.  A friend said to me, "You still have your sense of humor."  You have to laugh at some of this to keep from feeling sorry for yourself.  On the bright side: compared to my infancy, this is a step up... I can change my own diaper... well, more like big-boy pull-up pants.  ;-)

-------

Another small victory this afternoon: Joan suggested Domino's for a pizza and sandwich.  And, a crispy lava cake dessert.  I am SO in.  I have been eating a lot of soup (home-made and tasty) and chicken.  She knows what I like!  I wanted to drive, so I was her chauffeur; she went in to pick it up.  Truth be told, I'm still a bit tender, and I can brace myself on the steering wheel for the bumps.  ;-)

Joan took this photo of Rufus and his Pops getting in a nap...

The big furry boy is on a pillow to spread out his weight on my lap.  I must have been really tired, having fallen asleep sitting up.  Ruf can sleep in any position... I'm trying to learn from him.

 

Up and at 'em...

 

Today is the first follow-up after the big poke.  We will get the pathology report, and supposedly they will remove the catheter.  What I have read about the catheter varies from "that was the worst part" to "relatively painless."  You know why the difference?  If it is happening to you, it is "the worst part," if it is happening to someone else, it is "relatively painless."  ;-)

I'm not sure what to expect after the catheter removal, but it sounds like incontinence is to be expected.  Hopefully, temporarily.  I am prepared... Depends and some "peni-pads" (reminds me of an old Saturday Night Live fake commercial).

We'll see how this plays out.

--------

A bit over an hour wait at the doctor's office.  Cut to the chase, the pathology report was mostly good.  The surgeon took some extra tissue that she "didn't like the look of" and there was cancer in that tissue.  The good news would be: that is the end of it.  The reality is: I'll go back in 8 weeks and have another PSA blood test done and we'll re-evaluate.  I'm calling that: 8 weeks of good news.

Having the catheter out is a welcome relief.  Mostly.  The process of taking it out wasn't bad.  Not having it there means that Mr Penis, in conjunction with Mr Bladder, have some relearning to do.  No idea how long that will take, but here's the bright side for you readers: I won't be posting any photos of me in my adult male urinary hygiene products.  I've seen the commercials on TV with women touting "how pretty" their Depends are.  I will spare us all... suffice it to say that I haven't seen any similar commercials for men.

I have homework.  Kegel exercises.  You can look it up if you want, but it is to strengthen the pelvic floor, and help retrain the sphincter that controls the flow of urine.  Yep, it's a pisser. 

No scooter riding for a month.  The surgeon looked moderately horrified when I asked; she explained that I would be "sitting on" where the big cut was.  Not a problem, it wasn't something I feel the need to rush... just like to have a goal to shoot for.  I am cleared to drive a car again starting tomorrow.  I will continue walking, though, to build up strength and stamina.  

It's a process, and I'm going after it.

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After leaving the doctor's office, I got Chick-fil-A.  We made two other stops on the way home, both short.  Still, about an hour and a half to get home.  Hey, I've seen how much urine my bladder produced over the last 10 days.  Some things should not be put off.

 

That was awesome!

 

I don't use that word often... I don't have a better word to describe the launch of the SpaceX SN8 today.

We watched on LabPadre and Space.com as the countdown stopped just short of 2 minutes, but a hold, not an abort.  Then, at 4:45pm, with 3 screens playing on our deck... "Liftoff!"

The rumble of the rocket engines vibrated the railings on the deck; within seconds, we could see it rising over the house across the canal from us...

 This is a big deal for south Texas.  The SpaceX facility here is in its infancy, and it seems like a poor cousin compared to the Cape Canaveral facility, with decades of NASA money poured into it.  And right there in front of us: the Raptor rocket blasting its way towards the 40,000' goal...

As one, then two of the three engines shut down, there was the anticipated plume...

About 4 minutes into this test flight, it began to freefall back towards the SpaceX facility.  We didn't go over to the gathering at the gazebo, but could hear the cheers from the crowd.  Before touchdown, the engines fired again and put the rocket in the landing position.  Right at touchdown...

A feiry explosion.  If you listened to the media, it was a disappointing ending.  The SpaceX officials got all the information they needed on the important parameters of this test flight.  While it may have looked better to the public without the explosion at the end, SpaceX considers this a successful test flight.

Rufus was out on the deck with us - I was surprised that all the noise didn't seem to bother him.  He kept looking up to see what we were looking at.  You could hear the cheer of the folks at the gazebo at liftoff... and then 5 seconds later, the sound of the rocket engines reached us and that's all you could hear.  When the engines shut down, more crowd noise, a cheer and a group "Awwwwww!" before the sound of the explosion reached us.

SpaceX Boca Chica is a real thing.  ;-)

Resting comfortably...

 

Me?  I'm doing fine.  Joan got me some ibuprofen about 2:00am, and that takes the edge off.  But, this is about Rufus...

 

The boy knows how to relax.  That was this morning, after he has had breakfast, gotten some snuggle time with Joan, and comes back into the living room to keep an eye on things.

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A change in Christmas tradition...

Not due to the virus.  Oh, travel concerns have wreaked havoc with having Steph and Dan here for Christmas and our plans to head their way in February and March.  It is going to be a FaceTime kinda Christmas.

My situation has prompted another change in Christmas tradition.  Joan got down wrapping paper so we (and by "we," I mean: "she") can get some things mailed out.  I'm sure this doesn't happen in your dignified households, but every appearance of wrapping paper rolls turns into a cardboard tube sword fight.  Joan held out the tube in my direction and said, "En garde!"

Flinching hurts.  Almost as much as a sneeze.  Just kill me now.  ;-)