A new friend

I have recently bought a new walking stick......well a trekking pole really. Following my test drive of a friend's Leki stick I took the online plunge and my purchase arrived this week. It came from headtothehills.com, is fully adjustable and with the option for using different tip attachments, including a snow 'basket'. Some Leki enthusiasts walk with two sticks as if training for the Winter Olympics. I have decided to stick to one! Holding the pole requires a new technique as the handle grip is totally different to my conventional walking stick. The pole has to be angled to optimise its effect; as a trekking pole then it will be useful when I take to the byways or head for the hills and a great addition as a walking friend.

Oxford has few hills so its maiden walk was on the level to the University Parks. I set off looking for signs of Spring. The bulbs outside our front door are up but flowering is still some weeks away. The snowdrops in Kew Gardens have been flowering for some time now, apparently the earliest sign of Spring ever and used by some as evidence of environmental change.

Last week's thaw meant the river Cherwell, which borders the Parks had begun to flood nearby fields.

A lonely coot, standing on a muddy patch of grass, looked bereft as it preened its feathers.

Whilst two noisy geese rushed towards us expecting titbits of food.

We walked further and finally, just as we thought Winter was keeping them hidden, we saw what we had come to find, a wonderful clump of snowdrops, protected by leaves. Spring can't be far away....

The new hip travels to Cambridge

The past week saw me in Cambridge spending time with A, (daughter no 2). I travelled there alone with my new hip and the continued icy conditions meant most of my stay was spent indoors. I was under strict instructions from all members of the family to BE CAREFUL! Honestly sometimes I think they don't trust me....but, like everyone, sooner or later self preservation kicks in. My hip would have a restful week and wait for better walking conditions.

It was a good time to be around as there was our son in law's **birthday to celebrate on Wednesday. A special meal was planned. The February edition of the BBC Good Food magazine provided inspiration for the main course; Mango chicken with spiced pilau. We decided that a birthday cake, which would double up as the dessert, would be made on Tuesday. A and I chose a Delia Smith recipe for a moist chocolate and almond cake. It appeared quite straight forward, on first reading...

but of course I am now a little rusty with my cake making and unfamiliar with A and N's kitchen so what should have taken about an hour took me a whole afternoon. It was the grating of the chocolate which really held me up...a job for the Magimix I thought. 15 minutes later, after a close encounter with a cheese grating blade and with the book of instructions covered in traces of blood, I concluded that there was no chocolate grating attachment. Luckily A's first aid kit contained plasters.

Hand grating the required amount of chocolate, beating the rock hard butter and sugar, whisking the egg whites, adding the remaining ingredients and finally assembling the cake ready for baking took quite some time.

But it was all worth it in the end.


and N celebrated his birthday in style!

Welcome to 2010?

So far 2010 has been demanding and challenging for everyone I know....but life goes on. It has certainly curtailed my walking schedule. My new pedometer, given to me as a Christmas present, has only had a few outings but, as you can see, I have achieved the necessary 10,000 daily steps on at least one occasion. The hip continues to improve and I am happy to report further progress; I can go up the stairs two at a time (but holding on to the banister), I can walk upstairs carrying something in each hand (and not holding on to the banister!), I can jump off the bottom step of the stairs with a spring in my step (it must be the high impact polyethylene!) and I can run (gently) downstairs. As you can tell most of my exercise recently has been centred on stair workouts, thanks to the snow and ice.


Enough of that I thought to myself this afternoon. After a little persuasion WPH decided I could take a calculated risk and walk in the soft snow along the canal towpath, so that I could test drive a Leki walking stick, on loan from a friend. Not to be outdone WPH took his walking stick too.

The canal community must have been working harder than most of us to keep warm recently . No one was about but the narrow boat chimneys were emitting smoke and fuel was evident on the tow path. There was a gentle hum coming from the generators. Wonderful cooking smells wafted out as we passed by one narrow boat. I wondered about the inevitable washing up and the syphoning of water on board from the frozen stand pipes. A warm cup of tea at teatime with a slice of swiss roll or a bun seemed to be on another owner's mind.

No wonder my friends, the swans, lingered nearby hopeful for a tasty titbit.

This poor snowman sat alone, frozen in time, waiting for the final drip.

and what was the spider hoping to ensnare here?

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan.

Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone.

Snow had fallen, snow on snow. Snow on snow.

In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

6 weeks on.... 'Tis the season to be jolly!

Well....the great news is I passed my six week check up this morning with flying colours. I didn't see Gandalf (my wizard of a surgeon) but his trusted registrar (who I have called Legolas - a messenger elf, from The Lord of the Rings) who was responsible for stitching me up so neatly! And yes, I am taller than him!

What did I need to do to pass the test ?

• The wound, which looks like a zip line now, was scrutinised and declared to have healed very well.



• I had to hold hands with Legolas (very nice!) and stand on one leg and balance..each leg in turn.



• I said I could walk for 50 minutes. There were pleasing gasps of surprise and much praise from Legolas at this information.



• I demonstrated walking without sticks. Legolas said 'That looks extremely normal'.



• Legolas, WPH and I reviewed the 'before and after' X rays and concluded the whole operation had been a huge success.

So what can I do now?

• I can wean myself off the sticks.



• I can move back to 'my' side of the bed. Many thanks to WPH for the temporary lone of his side!



• I can have a bath instead of a shower......Oh the joy and rapture of tomorrow morning's bath!



• I can drive again when I have shown WPH I can do an emergency stop!



• I can sit on a normal height chair

Altogether I feel like a normal person again. I thanked Legolas profusely and offered to give him a hug (I was feeling very excited...even euphoric at this stage!). In the end we smiled and shook hands. And that, as they say, is it. I don't have to go back for any check ups...amazing. My cobalt chromium stainless steel and high impact polyethylene hip joint should see me through for the next twenty years or so....and may be beyond with luck.

I am one very happy Lady Hip and I am going to celebrate my good fortune. CHEERS!

Physical and mental workouts

I hope readers will forgive the constant reference to achievements but having undergone major surgery I suspect it's only natural to want to return to 'how I used to be' as soon as possible. Perhaps too, it is the thought of my follow up appointment with the surgeon next week which makes me concentrate on physical milestones. This week I have increased to twenty five repeats for each of my 7 daily exercises, as well as walking round the University Parks (2.2 kms) on two successive days in glorious sunshine. Gandalf (my wizard of a surgeon) has the power to allow me to drive again next week, so not surprisingly that is quite an incentive to do the daily leg therapy. WPH thinks it is like watching a ballet bar workout, although fluffy slippers don't look quite as good as ballet shoes! (NB -no picture here- just use your imagination!)

One impressive student jogger managed to lap me five times during my fairly brisk walk around the parks.....however I couldn't help wondering how his hips would be at my age!?

There have been some mental improvements this week too as the weird after effects of the operation anaesthetic have finally disappeared. I concentrated long enough to finish a diabolical sudoku. YES! Strangely I completed the previous diabolical sudoku during the morning of my operation day...I must have been more focused than I remember!

These knitted Christmas tree decorations are destined for the grandchildren and each took about an hour to finish. Searching on the internet for the patterns took far longer....but I now know there are the most amazing knitting patterns out there!

Finally, having been inspired by a recent post on the Listwriter's blog, and needing sustenance after the mental and physical exertions of the week, I set to work in the kitchen and baked a cake. This was the last slice....mmmmm

Four weeks later....

I can hardly believe that four weeks have now passed since I received my amazing 'spare part'. I thought a quick progress check would be appropriate as we enter December and I continue to celebrate the loss of the grinding arthritic pain. I can now

• walk around the house with only one stick.

• stand confidently with NO STICKS (but only when it is safe to do so)!

• stand and iron again with pleasure.

• mop the kitchen floor.

• walk to the local shops and back again (approximately 1 mile).

No wonder I feel so excited!

Out and About

Escaping outside for a daily walk has been more tricky with the recent weather but I was quick to see a break in the clouds this morning and took my opportunity. Having conquered all the nearby bridges (slopes are much more demanding for the new hip) I now have a greater choice of routes. My first stop was down by the canal to see the narrow boats at their moorings. I was able to admire the hardiness and ingenuity of the owners... solar panels, bicycles, plant pots full of herbs and winter fuel, amongst other things, are stored on the tops of the boats. WPH, detecting a glint in my eye assures me life would be difficult for someone with a dodgy hip on one of those!

Moving on I couldn't resist pausing by the bullrushes, which provide hiding places for so many birds, in the wildlife corridor which runs behind our house. There were birds around ....but all too quick for my camera!

I was also glad to see there is more than enough natural food around to keep the tits, finches, robins and occasional sparrows happy this winter. The seeds and berries together with nuts and fat balls in garden feeders suggest the birds of ox2 could soon be fighting the flab!

Before returning home I walked up onto one of the main bridges over the canal. From there I could look down on some ducks who were admiring a new piece of canal bank reinforcement. In the Spring water plants will emerge from these sausages of sacking and soil. Meanwhile they provide a handy perch for the ducks!