When The Fixer and I moved to this property over 10 years ago, I needed gardens fast. Moving households for me has always meant moving plants. The number had grown over the years, and I had plastic bins and trashcans full of roses, irises, peonies, and other cherished passalong plants. I even had a trash …
I wasn’t planning on a second TKR (Total Knee Replacement) when we embarked on our bathroom remodel adventure. After having my right knee replaced, I was painfully aware how important it is to have an accessible bathroom. Luckily, our main bath, although it had an awkward angled wall, had just enough width to navigate a …
Now that my TKR (Total Knee Replacement) surgery and rehab are complete, I can get on with planning my upcoming trip to Italy. I have just a few months of summer left to do some important tasks before the trip. My summer checklist: Why are shoes right up there with surgery, rehab and fitness? Because …
This is Part 2 of a 3-part blog post series regarding events leading to a second Total Knee Replacement (TKR) surgery, taming surgery anxiety, and post-surgery recovery. Read Part 1 here. So you’ve made the decision to have joint replacement surgery. What next? For me, I needed to get my anxiety about the surgery under …
This is Part 1 of a 3-part blog post series regarding events leading to a second Total Knee Replacement (TKR) surgery, taming surgery anxiety, and post-surgery recovery. Read about my first TKR here. In the days leading up to the surgery, all I can think is – Am I a masochist? Why am I doing …
This is Part 3 of a 3-part blog post series regarding events leading to a second Total Knee Replacement (TKR) surgery, taming surgery anxiety, and post-surgery recovery. Part 1 is about the decision to have surgery and you can read it here. Part 2 is all about taming surgery anxiety once you make that decision. …
For Gardeners with Arthritis Pamper your favorite gardener this holiday season with thoughtful gifts that will help build the Pillars of Strength to keep them gardening for many seasons to come! I’ve compiled a special list of 18 gift ideas for your special gardener. 1. Vego Garden Raised Bed From $160 These sustainable, zinc-coated raised …
Gardeners are on their feet – a lot! Is it a cliché that women love shoes? Expensive shoes? Lots of them? But what happens when we go to the garden? We give our feet the Cinderella treatment. I don’t mean the fairy tale ending, prince charming sweeping treatment. I’m talking about the relegation-of-the-lowliest chores kind …
There’s a big gap between being disabled and being abled. When I first started this adventure, I balked at calling myself The Disabled Gardener. But I’m not disabled, I protested. My daughter asked, “Mom, are you able to do the gardening the way you used to? Then you’re disabled.” She was right. Luckily, I still …
Today (Monday, Dec 20) I go in for a total knee replacement surgery and I’m questioning that decision. What questions should I have asked that I didn’t? Maybe I don’t really need this? Maybe my life would’ve been fine without it? I’ll never know because it’s 5 AM and I’m at the hospital, reporting for …