Writing the first pages of 2021

Perception is an interesting thing. The days seem to fly by and it seems like Christmas and New Year’s have been over for MONTHS already, but it’s only the first week of February.

Dave and I have been reminded of Mom and Ken a lot lately. They always used to joke about medical appointments being their social outings and we’ve been feeling the same way in recent months. The good news to come out of one of these appointments is that Dave does not need surgery, at least not right now. Dave hasn’t had much pain from the area where he had the torn tendon, so the doctor agreed that it didn’t make sense to do surgery right now. He will reassess in a few months though.

The bursitis in my hip has eased enough to allow me to get back to walking/running on the treadmill in the fitness center here several mornings a week. It’s reservation only, so I get the place to myself for an hour and can exercise without a mask on. So thankful for that because I can’t imagine trying to do so if I had to wear a mask! Dave and I also have a 1 mile walking route along the river that we enjoy when the temps are a little bit warmer. . . you know, like above freezing. I think the last time we walked it was 18 degrees and a bit windy, so wearing a face mask actually felt good!

Another reason I stopped walking/running this past summer was because I was having trouble catching my breath if I ran too fast or too long. I had some tests this week and today I learned I have the start of COPD. My doctor doesn’t expect that it will progress much/very quickly because I quit smoking over 5 years ago. It is not surprising after having smoked for as many years as I did, but I am hopeful it won’t get much worse any time soon. I will continue to exercise, but will make sure to use my inhaler beforehand – it seems to help quite a bit.

Aside from medical stuff, we’ve been keeping ourselves occupied doing crossword puzzles, playing games, reading, and watching “Outlanders” on Netflix. Dave has become a killer Mexican Train Dominoes player and we seem to take turns winning (very close) games of Phase 10. We look forward to warmer weather when we can sit outside and enjoy playing games with our family and friends at camp. I miss playing Rummikub!!

We’ve also enjoyed experimenting with our Ninja Air Fryer/Grill and are quite impressed with the results. The only time we use the big oven these days is if we are baking something that doesn’t fit in the air fryer – like homemade pizza. Don’t miss having to go outside to grill either.

There is so much I could say about the current pandemic situation in our community/state/country, but I have decided not to. I really don’t want to give it space. Let’s just say we continue to be careful and we look forward to warmer weather to enable us to more easily visit with our family and friends outdoors.

And there is Winter. It is what it is – cold and snow and wind. I honestly cannot say I am hating any of it and that makes me laugh. We left here 16 years ago because I couldn’t stand the cold weather. NOW we have come back and I’m more comfortable in the cold than in the heat and humidity. Life sure is interesting, eh?

We wish you all peace and good health.