Thankful Thursday: April 24, 2025

 

I Am Thankful For:

Planting vegetables

Running errands with my husband

New planting boxes

Spending time with my son

Making a good attempt at something

Prepping dishes for Easter dinner

Easter

The grandkids

Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting

Getting the dogs outside to play

Planning a new project

A good start to the week

Clouds resting on the mountain tops

Library day

Making earrings

Growing herbs

Watering my plants

My daughter dropping by

Sunday Inspiration: Happy Easter

 

Thankful Thursday: April 17, 2025

 

I Am Thankful For:

Houseplants

Ok books that turn into good books

The azalea in bloom

Speaking my mind

A new haircut

Ginger ale

Spending time with my husband and son

A warm robe for chilly mornings

Lilacs blooming

Puzzles

Being able to meal prep for the week

Fresh baked scones

Book club

Dogs at the library

Sunday Inspiration: Someone Else's Eyes

Thankful Thursday: April 10, 2025

 

I Am Thankful For:

Wild violets blooming in the yard

When the dogs come and cuddle with me while I'm reading

Farm fresh eggs

Thunderstorms

My son bringing me ice cream

Leaves coming out on the trees

Setting up the greenhouse

Deciding what to plant

Dogwood starting to bloom

French toast for brunch

A trip for brunch

Rainy days

Lunches made ahead

The smell of lavender filling raw kitchen

Libraries

My marriage

The smell of rosemary

Sunday Inspiration: Our Voices

Thankful Thursday: April 3, 2025

I Am Thankful For:

A beautiful day for travel

A yummy brisket sandwich

The motion sickness glasses seemed to help

Visiting my grandfather's grave

Discovering more about my family history

Genealogy libraries

The new moon

Being home again

Early to bed

Sunday breakfast

Finally getting some rain

Chocolate

Tulips blooming

Watermelon

A quiet day

The pear tree in bloom

April

A new book

A project completed

A misty day

The Best of March

In like a lion - out like a lamb.  That's what they say about March. March is carried in on the cold winds of Winter. And flies out on the warm breezes of Spring.

March celebrated Mardi Gras. It had us changing our clocks for the start of Daylight Savings. She brought us a lunar eclipse during the full Worm Moon. And saw the balance and rebirth that hails the Spring Equinox. 

March is a busy month for birthday celebrations in my family.  I wished my mother, my son in law, my cousin's husband, and my uncle a happy birthday this month.

On the blog we talked about keeping your knees healthy in midlife and beyond. This was inspired by an unexpected trip back to my Orthopedist when I once again experience pain in the knee I had surgery on last fall.  

I put my love of books to work in March and started volunteering at my local library.  It is a dream come true to spend a few hours each week shelving books and reading the shelves.  It's not doing my endless TBR list any favors though as I discover interesting looking books in the process.

In March I read "One Dark Window " by Rachel Gillig, "Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson, and "The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek" by Kim Michelle Richardson. I also started listening to  "Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old" by Brooke Shields. 

At the end of the month I went to west Tennessee with my father to visit the town where his biological father grew up. We visited his grave and those of his parents.  We spent time at the local historical and genealogical library and learned some things about the family.  It was a worthwhile trip.

All in all, March was a good month.  The world may be burning down, but I am still able to find joy in my little part of it.

How was your March?

Sunday Inspiration: Opportunities

 

Thankful Thursday: March 27, 2025

I Am Thankful For:

My husband and son going on a weekend fishing trip

Having nothing to do

Having time to clean out kitchen cabinets and reorganizing 

Self care day

"Girl Dinner"

Reading late into the night

The guys are back home

Morning at the library

Healthy lunch

All the clean laundry is folded

Beautiful blue skies

Doggy smiles

Healthy Knees in Midlife and Beyond

This post is in no way intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new healthcare regimen.  Never disregard medical advice or delay seeking help because of something you read on this website.

Last summer I had an "injury" to my knee.  I put quotes around "injury" because, well... let me just explain. I was sitting on the ottoman throwing a toy for the dogs to fetch.  As the game finished I stood up and turned to walk into to the next room.  That’s when I felt a POP and a sudden pain in my knee. I couldn't put any weight on my knee without excruciating pain for about 30 minutes.  Then I felt a smaller POP and the worst of the pain eased up.  A trip to Urgent Care, Xrays, a visit to the Sports Medicine doctor, a MRI, and a consultation with an Orthopedist later - I was having surgery to remove "loose bodies" (loose bits of cartilage and bone) from the knee. 

All was well until a couple of weeks ago.  I say down to have a cup of tea and read.  I put my feet up on the ottoman, and as I straightened my legs there was suddenly an intense pain in that same knee.  I couldn't straightened it all the way due to the pain, and walking was also painful.   It was almost exactly the same as last summer but without the POP sensation. I was back to the Orthopedist for more Xrays. I have some osteoarthritis in the knee, and there l ossifications located at the fibular head. No surgery recommended right now, but at some in my future I'll be needing a knee replacement. 

I was feeling very alone in my experiences with knee problems, until I read an article from AARP that said joint pain can be a common symptom in menopause. Other common causes of knee pain iinclude typical wear-and-tear, osteoarthritis, and injuries. 

My Orthopedist explained it to me that some people have bones and cartilage like oak, and some like pine.  If you have oak floors in a home, they can take a lot of walking on and will hold up for the lifetime of the house. If the floors are pine, after many years they will start to show signs of wear.  Apparently, mine are like pine. 

Fortunately, there are things we can do to protect our knees and keep them healthy for as long as possible.

• Stick with low-impact exercise to minimize stress on your knees. Examples include: walking, swimming, biking, and elliptical training. Avoid or limit high impact exercise or those with a lot of contact or sudden pivots.
• Do exercises that strengthen your hamstrings and quadriceps.  These muscles support the knee joints.
• Stretching regularly to improve flexibility, and as a warm-up before exercise to prevent injury.
• Maintain a healthy weight to reduce pressure on the knees.
• Wear shoes with good support and cushioning. 

Taking care of our knees can keep us active through midlife and well into the senior years.  And isn't that something we all hope for?

Sunday Inspiration: Spring

 

Thankful Thursday: March 20, 2025

 

I Am Thankful For:

Opening windows to air out the house

Family resemblance

8 hours of sleep

The Lunar Eclipse

The full moon

Errands and lunch with my husband

Irish whiskey

Finishing a crochet project

And starting a new one

My husband cooking breakfast for me

Sunshine after the storms 

Feeling cute

A delicious Irish stew

Guinness

Adding to my TBR list while volunteer at the library

A Spring breeze