Did She or Didn't She ...?

 Yes, indeed, Sandy has finished that puzzle! It took her about three weeks, with a couple of lengthy days when the weather was really too miserable to ride, but she finally got that puzzle done, and we have our dining table back. Well, we had it back. She traded that puzzle to our friend, Dee, and now has a new one under way.

While Sandy has been cycling and assembling puzzles, I have undergone, and am recovering from,  knee surgery.  After suffering with knee pain and inability to fully straighten my left knee most of the winter, I was booked to see an orthopedic surgeon in April. The images, below, are from my MRI. The one on the left is looking into my knee from the side; the arrow points to a cyst that isn't supposed to be there.  The image on the right is looking into my knee from the front. The green circle shows a nice black triangle representing a happy medial meniscus; the red circle shows a ragged triangle that is my unhappy, torn lateral meniscus. With these findings, I underwent arthroscopic surgery on June 5th which also trimmed up some arthritis under my knee cap.

One problem with being a doctor undergoing medical procedures, it sometimes makes other, young docs, a little nervous. The poor anesthetist had considerable difficulty starting my pre-op IV, despite the fact that I have what is know in medical circles as "good veins" (easy to find, easy to poke).  In fact, I was a popular choice for my med school classmates to practice on!  Needless to say, he was more than a little embarrassed that he had such difficulty, especially when he acknowledged he had such good targets to aim at.  Poor guy!

Preventing surgical, or any other medical error, is a huge priority. There is nothing more disastrous than a preventable error. And nothing worse than a wrong side procedure (especially if it is an amputation!). In addition to having me tell everyone in the operating room my name, birthdate, surgeon, the intended procedure, and which leg was to be operated on, before I was called to the OR I was asked all the same questions, and marked up accordingly.

While I have been laid up and doing my rehab, Sandy has been having to cycle by herself most of the time.  Considering the seemingly endless windy days we have been having, I appreciate that she has been going out for  rides for the two of us. I was able to get on the stationary bike for the first time at physio, yesterday, and so for the next few weeks, I will be able to be on the trainer in the basement ... out of the elements.  While out on a recent ride, Sandy took this photo of a farmer plowing his field. Although she says the photo doesn't really do it justice, she said all the gulls flying about reminded her of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds.  

Speaking of birds, it seems all the season's babies are growing up fast. In the span of just over a week, our neigbourhood goslings out grew their fluffy yellow feathers and all of a sudden had fluffy grey and black feathers with their adult markings showing through. And they are about three quarters full size. Wow, must have been some kind of growing pains!

Getting difficult to tell the kids from the parents.

We were at my brother's place in the country over the weekend and spent a lot of time watching mountain bluebirds bring back lots of big juicy bugs to feed their brood. Also, I saw a yellow bellied sap sucker bringing home similar treats for his offspring. I think we owe these bird parents a big thank you for keeping the bug population in check!  

The beautiful Alberta view my brother and his wife get to enjoy every day!

Yesterday, at the dog park, Rockie was enthralled by a family of tree swallows whose fledglings were practicing their flying skills. It was very windy and I must admit it was a little amusing when the kids would try to get back in the house but instead would get pushed away by the wind. I could hear them complain about it then give up and sit on the roof of the house until their next try. They would eventually manage to get in, however, so all was good. 

Rockie watching the tree swallows

Those of you in the know, know that my birthday is in June and is celebrated by Sandy having to barbecue hotdogs. Despite all the lousy weather we have been having, it was gorgeous on Hot Dog Day.  We were fortunate to have a number of friends and family join us and I think we all had a good time. Of course, the hot dogs were delicious!!

As you can tell, we haven't been on any major adventures since returning home. We did, however, have a nice outing in early June when we went to an equestrian event just south of Edmonton. Sandy has a dear friend, Pat McN who just like the Queen, has a granddaughter (actually two) who, like the Queen's granddaughter, Zara, compete in eventing. Eventing is comprised of three disciplines:  dressage, stadium jumping, and cross country, which the rider completes all on the same horse. This day, only one granddaughter, Brooklyn, was competing and we went to see her in the jumping. She was riding her sister's horse, Blew By You, aka "Bud." What a beautiful animal. Brooklyn and Bud performed very well over the weekend's events and we were happy to be able to see some of the action. The girls have Olympic ambitions, and Sandy has promised that if they make the Olympics, we will be there!

Since I have been mostly housebound, you would be right if you figured I was spending a little more time in the kitchen.  I have been trying some new recipes for dinners, but haven't been smart enough to take photos to share. Guess that will spare you the drooling. So far, everything I have made has been Sandy approved (now, there's an accomplishment!).  I was in charge of taking watermelon to my brother's place over the weekend. When we were kids, watermelon was a big treat so I took three. The little kids weren't as crazy about it as we were at their age, so we brought one whole one back. How fortunate that in my email Sunday was a newsletter I subscribe to with a recipe for watermelon gazpacho. Well, that got made right away! It was actually pretty good, and received another Sandy approval.  If you like cold soups and are interested in a twist on gazpacho, let me know and I will send you the recipe.  Just remember to include your name if you post a comment so I know who it is from, or send me an email.

My sister, Patti, picked out this mat for our deck door.
It seems to be rather appropriate for our yard.