Getting Ready For Surgery

 I am getting ready for fusion surgery on my right sacroiliac joint on September 16th. I will return home on the same day as the operation. 

I will have to use a walker for at least 2 weeks. I bought from Amazon a tray that goes on the walker so I can carry things around. I will be doing toe-touch walking.

The tray I ordered has pockets hanging down both sides where I can put my phone or Samsung tablet or silverware. This walker has a cup holder and a small band across the front. I hope to be able to fix some cereal or a breakfast sandwich/burrito to put on top of the tray. That way I can take care of myself instead of bothering my husband. He likes to get up early and go to the Y or to do woodworking. We will try to keep a typical schedule after the first few days.

I put blue tennis balls on the back legs. I ordered them along with the tray from Amazon.

I already have a grabber and a bath bench from previous surgeries. We have a walk-in shower and a raised toilet in our condo. 

I have had to stop vitamins and supplements already. Most of my other meds I will take until the 14th and 15th. Starting on the 11th I have to put Bactroban (Mupirocin) into my nose twice a day to kill off bacteria. The night before and the morning of the surgery I will shower with Hibiclens which the surgeon's office supplied. 

I have dug out of storage a backpack I got at a grocery store promotion many years ago. When I do not have the tray which will mostly be when I leave home, I will use the backpack. The walker cannot be folded up with the tray attached. We will need to fold the walker to put it in the car. I will not be able to drive for several weeks. It is a blessing that I can do my physical therapy at Grace Village where I live. My husband can drop me off and be home in 5 minutes. 

Since I am to avoid bending and standing and holding heavy items, my husband will have to take over the meal prep/provision. My small garage freezer and the refrigerator freezer are full as I have stocked up. We can also do takeout from Grace Village dining room. I thought I could use Home Chef oven-ready meals, but it doesn't seem to offer much in the weekly choices. You have to order two at a time to use its services. I have canceled my subscription with them and have signed up with Hello Fresh. It has Ready Meals which can be microwaved as well as some meals that will require some simple prep. We will have our first delivery this Thursday to see the quality of the food. If it is OK, we will use Hello Fresh for a few meals per week for 2-3 weeks probably. With the shipping charges, it certainly is not an economical choice (neither was Home Chef). 

My housecleaner will continue to come every two weeks. I have been doing online ordering of groceries with store pickup for some time. My husband can drive to Kroger to get our groceries and toiletries after I place an order. 

Time to rest in the arms of Jesus and soon under the tender care of my husband. God will give us grace to cope with the hiccups. 

Winona Lake Farmers' Market August 30 2025

 

There were not as many vendors at the Winona Lake Farmers' Market today but lots of shoppers. After a chilly start, the sunny day warmed up under a clear blue sky. The lady who sells flowers had bouquets of zinnias and the arrangement I bought had sunflowers, some unusual like the big round one and the pinkish yellow ones.

The vendor who usually has pies was not there today. I had hoped to buy a small one. Instead, I bought some blueberry cream cheese muffins at another table. We will eat them with our chicken corn chowder at lunch.

I sat on the rocker on the front porch after starting a load of laundry. I am reading a book by Nancy Mehl on Hoopla. The setting seems sort of familiar, but I think this is another series in that town. So far, I do not remember this character. I have read some of Mehl's books set in the town of Kingdom, however.

It feels a little like fall the past few days. They say it will warm up for Labor Day. I plan to grill some brats and eat potato salad on Monday. Things will get busy on September 8th when my ladies Bible study group meets for a new year, and the Grace Village choir begins rehearsals again. Enjoy your holiday.

Sweet Breeze Boat in Fort Wayne

 

Yesterday we rode the Sweet Breeze canal-style boat on Saint Mary's River in downtown Fort Wayne. These tours are operated by the Parks and Recreation Department.

A narrator wearing a headset mic told about the bridges we went under and some history of the Miami Indians who had an important settlement called Kekionga along the banks of the river. 

I must confess I found the wooden chairs uncomfortable. There was a head (potty). Passengers were allowed to go out on the front of the boat in the fresh air. One father took his kids out there. The narration though interesting to me became a bit boring after 30 minutes. Kids' attention spans are short.

The first bridge we passed under was the Harrison Street Bridge on the east edge of Promenade Park. 

The dark "mud" you see on the overhang are actually swallow nests. 

Lots of people out on the river in kayaks and privately-owned boats. The kayaks, canoes, and paddle boards can be rented at the park. 

Headwaters Park adjoins Promenade. Once under Harrison Bridge, most of the landscape and bridges we saw are on the banks of Headwaters. I wish the narrator had talked about the Columbia Street Bridge as I would have liked to know who made the globe lights.

The Saint Mary's River joins the Saint Joseph River and then those waterways become part of the Maumee River. 

Significant buildings we passed were the water filtration plant and the replica wooden Old Fort.

Though it was not the largest settlement of the Miami tribe, Kekionga on the shore of the Saint Joseph was a central ruling village. Here important decisions were made. The Indians were involved in many wars against the white settlers (French, British, and American). Little Turtle was the admired war chief. 

William Wells who had been abducted by Indians from Kentucky as a teen ended up living among the Miami for several years. He married one of Little Turtle's daughters.  Her name was Sweet Breeze. 

Fort Wayne has done quite a bit of beautification of its bridges. The Martin Luther King bridge is pictured below.

Spy Run Bridge has been renamed or will be renamed Veterans Memorial Bridge. Current status not clear to me.

We parked on Harrison Street just south of Superior. On the weekends the metered parking is free. Across from our car was a mural on a building at the start of The Landing (a pedestrian shops/restaurants area). 

Since Kilwin's Ice Cream was about 2 blocks from our car, we indulged.

As we headed back to the car, we stopped to chat with a lady painting a picture on the cement above the storm drain. This is a project that Fort Wayne does from time to time to bring awareness to storm drain safety (not dumping stuff). The artist told us that special waterproof paint is used, then some kind of a varnish is applied so that the drawings will last at least two years. This was her first time to participate.

Out of Our Rut

 As the summer moves along, we decided we needed to change our routine a bit, a vacation of sorts.

Friday we went to the Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend. The weather was beautiful. Everybody and his cousin decided to enjoy the nice day at the zoo. The main parking lot was full. My husband found a spot about two blocks away next to the adjacent park but not near the zoo entrance. He said there were only two other parking places and that people that came after him were parking in front of houses on the streets in the neighborhood next to the zoo. He had dropped me off at the entrance. I have a handicap parking placard now, but all of the designated places were full already. 

The zoo is relatively small. It has been upgraded in recent years.

It is laid out by continent, with South and North America combined. There is no Europe. 

One of the reasons I picked this zoo is because they have electric carts that you can rent.

You can feed the giraffes lettuce for a $3 fee, but they have other feeding options so that they sometimes ignore the people wanting to feed them.

Helen accommodated them. I overheard her name spoken by the zookeeper. I did not feed her, but they allowed folks like me to come closer to take photos. 

The lines were long for the train, feeding the giraffes, and especially for people buying lunch at the Lodge. 

The leopard was awake and alert unlike the lions. We only got a glimpse of the tiger as he chose to enter his "den" shortly after we arrived. 

We spent about 3 hours there (waited about 20 minutes to get food). 

Saturday we drove to nearby Columbia City and had breakfast at Pickles Cafe. The decor is garage sale hodgepodge.

Since Pickles sits right on the courthouse square, we walked around the Farmers' Market a bit. I was not feeling up to much shopping.

I bought a bouquet of flowers put together by 2-year-old twin boys re their father who owned the booth. He showed me video on his phone. They were not giggling nor bickering. They were quite serious about their job with colorful results.

With our lovely weather continuing today, we attended the boat-in worship at Oakwood Resort on Lake Wawasee. Attendance was down compared to past summers. We had to take a round-about route through the farm fields and country because Highway 13 has construction between North Webster and Syracuse. I wonder if that affected the turnout. 

We also did a jigsaw puzzle this weekend. My husband's sister has loads of puzzles and gave us some. 

Now we are heading out to Texas Roadhouse. I especially like their pork chops and tossed salad and rolls. Makes me hungry just thinking about them. It has been a while since we ate there.

Back to our routines next week except also a few medical appointments in Fort Wayne. It is going to warm up more next week, too. Glad we enjoyed the beautiful weather while we could. The freedom of retirement.

Successful Upgrade to Windows 11

 It was with some trepidation that I clicked on the Windows Upgrade button this morning. I had some time ago run the check to see if my computer was compatible. The nagging from Microsoft had definitely increased. 

I am pleased to tell you that the upgrade went well and was successful. It took a little less than 2 hours for the download and installation and updating to complete. Since I have Windows 11 on my laptop, I was not totally lost; but I use my laptop very little so I will need to familiarize myself with Windows 11 again. It is mostly figuring out how to navigate between things.

 All of my files and programs transferred fine. I was most worried about my old Office Home and Student for Windows 10. However, it did carry it over and put it in a "folder" called Your Windows 10 Apps. It is a little confusing because when you click on the Windows start button, you have Office products icons staring you in the face. I bought the office suite for my laptop, but I really do not want to invest in that for a 5-years-old pc. I haven't even learned how to use the more modern Office products on my laptop. I do know they are different from what I am used to. If I forget and click on the icon on my pc for Word, for example, it opens but wants me to purchase Office 365. So I have to remember to go to the Windows 10 app folder and click on the Word or Excel or Power Point icons there instead.

  I remember on my laptop desperately searching for the start/restart button on the display. It is at the bottom near your name. At least I know where that is on the pc from my laptop experience.

I can't complain. Things went well. Just remember to give yourself a block of time to let things happen. 

Eyeglasses from Costco

 This morning we went to Fort Wayne to pick up my new eyeglasses I bought at Costco.

Using my Medicare Advantage plan, I paid $40. Even without the insurance, the cost was $198. For no-line progressive bifocals. Hundreds of dollars less than what I paid 4 1/2 years ago at the eyeglass shop associated with the doctor that did the exam and wrote the prescription. The frames were less expensive, but I think the main savings were that Costco does anti-glare coating and scratch-resistant coating at no extra charge. For my last pair I think I paid about $100 each for those coatings and the insurance may have partially covered the scratch-resistant coating.

You do have to take in a written/printed prescription (nothing on your phone). You can get the exam at Costco; the optometrists are considered independent contractors. I had my exam from a local doctor. 

From date of order to finished eyeglasses was 10 days. Since we have Costco membership for my husband's hearing aids, getting eyeglasses there was a no-brainer. The optician who helped me select from my 3 possible frames and then did the measurements, told me that if I was unsatisfied with the prescription, I could go back to my optometrist and have him tweak the prescription. Costco would redo my lenses within 90 days with the new prescription at no added charge. 

I am still adjusting to the glasses, but I don't think I will need any changes.

Yesterday as I entered Martin's and headed to the produce section, I had to pass the floral department. Next to the aisle was a bouquet of 12 roses for $8.99. I couldn't resist. They called it a rainbow bouquet. They smell so nice.

My week is off to a good start. Hope yours is too.

Handcrafted Wooden Clock With Stained Glass

 

My husband partnered with one of his workshop buddies to add stained glass to a wooden clock that he made. The partner does stain glass pieces as his hobby while my husband does woodworking. The top photo does not do the oak wood grain justice because of being back-lighted.  The round puck is battery powered. The control allows different lights to be emitted from the puck. A very nice piece with practical use.

Winona Lake Farmers Market July 12th

 

This morning my husband and I went to the Winona Lake Farmers' Market. There was a pleasant breeze blowing through the pavilion. 

Not quite as many vendors as sometimes, but I found what I wanted: pie, flowers, honey. (Bought small tomatoes too though not on my list).

Take Back Your Home

 I recently searched Hoopla for a book about decluttering that I had seen mentioned. Hoopla did not have it but suggested Take Back Your Home by Morgan Tyree. 

This book differs in several ways from others that I have read. Its emphasis is on sorting and organizing more than getting rid of things. She does suggest that as you are putting "like with like" that you cull duplicates or unused items. She spends a lot of time taking you through "systems" so that you can identify which pertain to you and how to overcome obstacles. Some of her material deals with time management, but she has previously written a whole book about that.

She addresses in part of her book a population mostly ignored by other authors: those with physical disabilities and neurodivergent people (autism, attention deficits) and helps them to work around their challenges. People with short attention spans cannot use tips to go through a whole room or a whole category of things in a short time. She simplifies and breaks things down to make them manageable.  

She includes stories about her personal efforts and those of her clients. Many practical suggestions and successes are described.

For me, the book's perspective does not go far enough in decluttering but does get people to calm their home environments which creates  less stress. Knowing what you have and where it is located pays off.

 

Liquid Living

 Originally, I was told I would be on a liquid diet for 2 weeks after my abdominal surgery. The morning after the surgery, the surgeon said I could try some soft foods like scrambled eggs or mashed potatoes after 10 days of the liquid diet. Looking forward to that.

I want to distinguish the meals some by what I eat. For example, I am sticking to Greek yogurt and fruit juices in the morning. Chicken broth or beef broth or creamed soups for lunch or supper. 

I had the red pepper and tomato soup this afternoon. I really liked it. The butternut squash we have eaten before. At least these have a bit of texture unlike the clear broths.

Stocked up on Ensure and Muscle Milk to make sure I am getting some of the nutrients not available in soup. I bought those at Costco. The Muscle Milk is really chocolatey. The Ensure is palatable but not great. 

Jello and pudding and ice cream and sherbet also allowable on my diet. But I have a yearning for something crunchy or chewy which won't happen until around the 4th of July.

Meanwhile, my husband is in charge of his own meals. He is not handy nor experienced in the kitchen, but I have stocked a few microwaveable items in the freezer. He will go to restaurants or Grace Village dining room some of the time as well. Maybe in another week I will have reduced pain and more stamina to fix some things for him. 

It is over 90 degrees today so the popsicles I stocked up on look good, too. Keep cool if you are part of this heat pattern.

48th Wedding Anniversary

 

Today is our 48th wedding anniversary. We had talked about going to a seafood restaurant in Fort Wayne, but we have been to that city so many times in the past month (and still more to come) for medical appointments and procedures that we decided to eat closer to home at Noa Noa Wood Grill in Warsaw. Though the food is a bit on the expensive side, the dress code allows casual items like jeans and shorts. However, I decided to dress up a bit.

We had a reservation for 6 p.m. We could not believe how full the parking lot was. The restaurant was mobbed for a Wednesday night. Turns out that because it is close to the Wagon Wheel Theater, people dine there before going to the show. Things emptied out some and got much quieter around 7 p.m.

I wanted the halibut, but they did not have halibut available tonight. So, I ended up with snapper. It had a mango sauce, but it did not taste like nor look like mango. It looked like brown gravy. It came with rice, summer vegetables, and a piece of grilled pineapple. I thought we would share a piece of Key lime pie, but my husband said he wanted us to each have our own.

It was delicious. It must have had coconut added into the graham cracker crust as well as toasted coconut on top. I was pretty full after the entree even though I did not eat all of the rice. I finished the pie. 

Just a smear of whipped cream, a few crumbs, and the lime garnish were all that remained. And happy memories of celebrating our 1977 wedding.