2019 Comes to an End

Medically speaking, 2019 was a booger of a year for me, starting with cataract surgery on my only good eye in January, followed by carotid artery surgery in April, followed by quintuple open heart surgery in May.  As you can imagine, there were some very trying moments during this period.  If it had not been for Judy I’m not sure I would have survived it.

I eventually completed my twelve weeks of cardio rehab and made considerable progress on returning my life to ‘normal.’

Then in September my only good eye developed a sharp pain and blurred vision.  Multiple trips to my ophthalmologist determined that some of the debris from the pulverized cataract dislodged from somewhere in my eye and migrated to another spot.  That caused inflammation that resulted in temporary vision problems.  We opted for the less risky, non-surgerical, remedy of waiting for my body to absorb the debris with the help of various drops.  It’s almost back to normal.

Meanwhile, I had two squamous cell carcinomas removed from my cheek/nose area and one from my vein donor leg.

I also gained back much of the weight I lost during my open heart surgery adventure.  Along with the weight, I also regained my strength and ability to return to my hobbies of cooking, woodworking and landscaping.

I also got good news about my teeth.  After two years of no dentist visits, all I needed was a good cleaning. 

And as of tonight I’m on a weight loss diet.  We’ll see how that goes in a few weeks.

Moose Milk and Cookies Party

It has been a good year for us.  That's in spite of my having a quintuple heart bypass, replacement aorta valve and carotid artery cleaned out. 

Add to that my cataract surgery in January.  It ran into some complications in October.  I'm almost fixed from that little scare.

Add to that two squamous cell carcinomas (face and leg) that required surgery. 

Add to that a number of 'blood-lettings' due to accidental cuts and bumps.  The way I do things usually ends up causing some blood loss.  BandAids usually take care of it though.

As bad as it sounds, I still have all my teeth and I even got an 'attaboy' during my last dental visit.

Meanwhile, Judy and I decided to throw a Moose Milk and Cookies Party for our friends and neighbors here in Terra Mariae.  It was two days ago and turned out great.  Here's the link to the YouTube video I made of it:  Moose Milk and Cookies Party

Everything else is just staying busy doing retired stuff.

We'll be closing out this year and starting the new year healthy and with most projects finished.  We may be able to plant roses next year so we can stop and smell them every now and then.

Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year.

My Sweetie's New Hammock

Back in Texas (seems like a hundred years ago) my Sweetie loved to relax in her hammock. Most of the time she read some favorite book, or maybe took a nap there in the shade of the hot Texas afternoon sun.

That was the one thing she missed most since we moved here. But there was no place that offered shade in the afternoon when she likes 'hammocking' the most.

So what did I get her for our 46th anniversary? A hammock, of course. And with no 'for sure' idea where to put it, we decided to try it right off our porch. It's an easy place to get to and is large enough to accommodate the 15' long hammock.

We'll likely build some sort of arbor or pergola later on but for now, she's got a hammock to read or nap in. Here's what it looks like this morning.