Reply to #14

Might be a purple leaf red bud, but it's hard to tell. My crepe myrtle is day-glow pink. It's the spanish broom that has the intensely rich perfume, though.

Up here the creek and river bottom ground has been swamped about all spring and summer. A. Lot of it never got planted and a good bit that did is ruined.

We've spent our entire lives up and down the East coast - stationed in NC, SC, Maine, and VA. We enjoyed all of them and actually wanted to travel more but it just didn't work out that way. 22 years in the service and never went overseas! He even volunteered but his job was specialized and the openings just weren't there when we needed them to be. Oh well... It was still fun. Our last duty assignment was here in VA, and when he retired we just decided to stay since our families are in Maryland and Delaware and only a few hours away. We would like to travel more but we both work fulltime and have a teenager so any serious travel plans will have to wait a few years because of job and school schedules. My husband travels frequently for work so he gets out a lot more than I do - and all I ever get is the t-shirt, lol. My brother-in-law and his wife are empty-nesters, bought an RV and are traveling all over the place! I think that would be neat :-)

We used to travel some. The wife is disabled now so travel is limited. The car only. I always wanted to retire and tour the country on a bike. That's not going to happen. We did take one trip to Colorado back in 1980 on a bike. That's before she got back trouble. It was fantastic! You experience so much more. When you pass things you not only see them but smell and feel. This is fine unless you're feeling rain or smelling stockyards! Lol!

Reply to #17 and #19

I suppose too much rain can be even more devastating than too little, and a heck of a lot faster.

I'm sorry you can't travel much any more. It's one of the carrots keeping me going. I have always dreamed about biking. I think the rush of air would be very exciting. The only thing that would stop me is that you would seem to have very few options as far as to how you can sit. I do suffer from arthritis in my shoulders, hips, knees and ankles, so I have to adjust my position a fair bit.

I think I would end up closer to the RV crowd. I think we might rent one and take a tour just to see how we like it. We will have to wait for the snake to pass on, though. I have had too many refusals from pet sitters to imagine we can find anyone to stay with her (and the breeding rat farm we keep to feed her)! She's old, now, for a captive bred boa, over 16 years. We've done better than most home keepers, and we may still have a long way to go.

Reply to #18

So you are in your "native land" as much as I am in mine. I can't image more different worlds, though. I have a definite itch to see the rest of the country.

My daughter and her husband (DINKs) like to travel, and go to all sorts of places. I went with them to Tobago a few years back, and right now we are planning (tentatively) a trip to Hawaii next spring or summer.

The idea of an RV sounds enticing. My husband hates to travel farther than the local Costco, so I have to find a destination that will appeal to him - like "Great Battlegrounds of the South." He's a Civil War nut. Which is weird, because he's British. Ask me someday how we met!

I suppose you can rent RVs? We would not want one of the huge ones - need to be able to get down small winding roads. I suppose they can be rented and tried out for size?

My folks traveled quite a bit after retiring, but rather than hauling the RV everywhere, they got a diesel truck and a 5th wheel RV. They drove to wherever, parked the trailer, and ran around on day trips from their new, temporary "home." They got the roominess for comfort and even entertaining, but didn't have to haul it to every park, restaurant, museum, etc.

I've seen it both ways - Self propelling RVs towing small cars, and trailer types on 5th wheels. Perhaps the decision should be made based on how long you plan to park. For security purposes, I think "entirely self contained" would be safer - what happens if you leave the trailer parked and someone hitches up to it while you are gone... I think renting would be a good "try before you buy" plan.

Post-op Day 11

Starting soft foods, but I am still having bouts of nausea. I want to eat, I know I should eat, but it's hard to FORCE myself to eat. I just went to the grocery store and bought some of the things we're allowed at this stage. I'm afraid that if I eat something I know I like and it makes me sick, I won't want to eat it again. Perhaps ever.

My mother used to give be cold, black, gritty percolator dregs to make me throw up when I got into something bad. Even well into my early 30s I could not drink coffee. Then one day, we were invited to a neighbor's house for an afternoon "tea" at which no tea was offered - only coffee. Our host was a little old Polish gentleman, and I well understood the expected behavior in a European household. I had been taught that it was terribly rude to refuse whatever hospitality was offered, so I had a cup - a very small cup (by which I mean the cups were very small, as they are in Europe) with lots of cream. To my utter surprise, I liked it. I had 2 more cups But it basically took me 25 years to get over the conditioning of "if you drink coffee, you will throw up." I learned later that the coffee that we were served was of exceptional quality, expertly prepared. So some of the "conditioning" might have been the nature of the coffee I was given.

Just a quirky little story about human nature.

So I fear to eat what I like because I don;t want to stop liking it, and then things I don't like, I don't want to eat. Catch-22.

My uncle's mom for some unexplained reason gave him raw egg white to make him vomit when he was little. The rest of his life he was convinced he was allergic to eggs. He wouldn't eat cake or anything else he suspected had eggs in it.

Hi everyone!, I need more time, only read page 1 of responses, but I have to limit my time at computer as it contributed to needing GBS. I had mine in 2011, have lost over 200 lbs. but recently gained some back. So I'm in Restart Mode again. My weight loss was very slow, exercise was very limited at the start. Had several more surgeries afterwards that limited my exercising. But it is so worth it, and you can do it! Hopefully this past March was my final surgery for my left knee which helped me finally get under 160!
My husband is retired Navy and we lived in Norfolk also! (as well as several other states) we have 2 fur babies (goldens) Looking forward to reading more and making more friends with everyone!

Hi Somedaye! Welcome to the forum! Congratulations on your amazing success. From 12th day Post-Op, where I am, it looks like forever to get where you are. One thing getting older has taught me is that the time goes faster and faster. And this is not a race - it's a Journey. I feel like Bilbo, setting off with the dwarves to have An Adventure. Here's wishing you every success in your "reboot."

Hi, rdjw!! First, let me say - I'm so glad you are here - you are a refreshing addition!

I'm in my 40s, female, live in AZ, married for 28 years, and also have 2 grown kids. I, too, love to read but I'm working on my doctorate, so I don't get to read for pleasure right now. Being a student also means 'm not here as often as I'd like to be (only 2 weeks before classes start again). Does your enjoyment of British TV shows include Dr. Who?

JJ

Re #25 Hi Ed. Raw eggs... eeeew. He's lucky he did not get salmonella. Coffee was bad enough...

Re #28 - Hi JJ, great to meet you. What field is your doctorate going to be in? That's a huge undertaking, of which I am in awe. I never finished a degree, but managed to get into IT early enough that they were more interested in what you could do than in degrees. It has been a good career for me. And I have just under 2 years to retirement. My son turns 40 in February (how could that be true?). I have a cousin in AZ, she lives in Cottonwood. It's a lovely little community. I am really working hard on getting my strength back. The surgery affected me more than I thought it would, but I have 2.5 more weeks of recup time. I'm really glad I opted for a longer period out!

I'm working on my EdD (Doctorate of Education). It is something I never would have considered before my surgery.

Yes, it takes awhile to recover - totally worth it, though!! Hang in there!

JJ