Sunday, January 27, 2019

Foot Surgery Recovery



Thanks to all who wished me a speedy and full recovery on my foot surgery two weeks ago!   As I stated in this post, I finally decided to have reconstructive surgery to repair a large bunion and a hammertoe on my left foot. It seems this condition runs in my family as siblings and cousins informed me that they have the same condition(s).  For many years I tolerated the progression of these deformities, but they were getting worse, and I was finding it hard to find comfortable shoes for both feet as the left foot was very wide from the rather large and heavy bunion while the right foot was fine.  I love to walk and hike, so when my podiatrist told me he could perform the surgery under local anesthesia, and that I would be able to have some mobility immediately afterward if I wore a large compression boot, I decided to have the procedure.


As you can see from all the grandchildren toys in my family room, I am pretty active in helping to watch my grandchildren, so being incapacitated for four to six weeks was not something I looked forward to, but I also wanted to be able to walk again in comfort and I decided winter would be a good season to take a break and do this. Surgery went well. My doctor told me I almost delayed too long, as I had an internal cyst on my bone and very tight tendons. I'll spare you photos of my foot post op ...think lots of stitches and a pin in one toe. Ouchie!  Actually, I've had minimal pain during this process so far. What I did not expect was difficulty walking in the boot. It really isn't that comfortable, and it makes my leg elevated in height over any shoe I wear on my right foot so that my hips and knees begin to hurt when I walk too much. So for the last couple of weeks, I have done a lot of sitting without wearing the boot.  I admit to binge-watching all the "Tidying Up with Marie Kondo" show on Netflix during this downtime.  I was impressed with her way of folding and stacking clothes on the vertical in drawers, and want to do that to my drawers when I have the opportunity.  


My husband has been so wonderfully attentive during my recovery. Not only does he help put on and take off the boot for me when I use it, as the velcro straps can be difficult to maneuver, he has also been cooking delicious meals and treated me to a sushi dinner and some delicious Greek Moussaka at local restaurants!   It's nice to get out now and then when I get cabin fever.



I've also been reading quite a bit, and coincidently the day I spent time re-reading some of Mary Oliver's poetry was the day she sadly passed away.  I've always had some quotes from her poems on my blog sidebar, as her deep love for nature and descriptive prose always inspired me. She said in a poem that after death she would like to come back as a hummingbird.  I hope she will be granted her wish!  You can learn more about her webpage -- click here.
A bit of local excitement in our community has been recent views of this big beautiful bobcat! Bobcats rarely attack humans but I would worry about a small domestic animal that is alone outside.  They usually eat voles, mice, insects, birds, and rabbits.  They can become prey for coyotes and mountain lions. 



As you can see my community is located at the base of a section of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains...


...which is wild open space full of wild animals, so we have to expect to see some of them from time to time.


It is an incredible place to live!

Not only does our community have 45 miles of private trails that wind up and around the foothills, but we are close to many state and open space parks to enjoy.   So you can see why I want to have good feet with which to walk and enjoy all those trails.  It is just a matter of being patient now until I heal.  My stitches come out this week and the pin in another two weeks after that. Then I'll be able to walk with a shoe again! It is getting easier all the time. 

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Monday, January 14, 2019

The 113th National Western Stock Show Parade in Denver



On Thursday, January 10th, the 113th National Western Stock Show, held its kick-off parade in Denver, Colorado. This annual event takes place on 17th Street from Union Station to 17th Ave and Tremont Place in Denver.  My husband and I have enjoyed attending this parade almost every year since we moved to Colorado, six years ago.  It is a quintessential western experience and so much fun to see!


We usually drive to Denver a couple hours before parade time to get a parking space and to have lunch. Having some extra time this year we dropped into the exquisite and historic Brown Palace Hotel and Spa.   It is a Denver icon, established in 1892.


Click on the collage above to view it larger, and read about the history of the Brown Palace that was on two framed photos I saw near the reservations desk.



The Brown Palace's Christmas decorations were still on display in the lobby.   Formal tea was being served, complete with a piano player playing soft music.  I stayed in the Brown Place to celebrate my 60th birthday the year we moved to Colorado, and we also had tea there, which you can see in this postIt was an enchanting experience!



The Brown Palace is truly a beautiful place to visit to admire its unique architecture and design and old-world elegance.


Although there are wonderful restaurants inside the Brown Palace, we have a tradition of attending the National Western Stock Show Barbecue lunch, held in the Wells Fargo building lobby, that benefits the 4H Club. It is a buffet serving delicious and filling selections of pulled pork on a bun, potato salad, coleslaw, and baked beans, with the choice of either ice tea or lemonade and chocolate chip cookies for dessert.


We then line up curbside on 17th Street to wait for the beginning of the parade.


The parade always begins with a procession of long-horned cattle accompanied by cowboys and cowgirls, keeping them in line.  The sight never ceases to amaze me!



One of the long-horns was a bit ornery!




Seeing cowboys riding down a usually busy car trafficked Denver street harkens back to the city's olden days.



There were many cowboys and cowgirls in the parade...


...in fact, I think cowgirls may have outnumbered cowboys this year!


One of the cutest riders was this little guy!


Denver urban developer and preservationist, Dana Crawford, who was behind the designation of LoDo, the creation of Larimer Square, and revamping Union Station, was the grand marshal of the 2019 parade.



I love seeing all the draft horse teams in the parade.


They are such magnificent horses!  A few years ago we attended an exciting Draft Horse Show at the National Western Stock Show Arena. You can see that post here.

There were other animals in the parade including service dogs in training, alpacas, donkeys and the Colorado State University mascot Ram.

This pretty Senorita was dancing in her traditional Mexican dress for the Mexican Rodeo float.




The video above, on my Mille Fiori Favoriti facebook page,  show her twirling her dress so beautifully.

The National Western Stock Show Parade had a marching band, rodeo stars. stagecoaches, covered wagons, a wild west show, vintage firetruck, and miniature horses.  What was missing this year were the John Deere and other tractors that paraded in the past...


...but a pink stretch limousine was a new addition!




Of course, the parade ends with the much-needed sanitation street sweepers cleaning up after all the animals that proceeded them in the parade. They usually get a big cheer from the crowd!   
The National Western Stock Show and Rodeo began on Saturday and runs with many different events until Jan. 27 at the National Western Center near Interstate 70 and Brighton Boulevard.  The exciting news is that this center is in the process of being renovated and expanded in stages--you can read more about that on this link. It will ensure the stock show tradition will remain in Denver for another hundred years!

PS:
Thank you, everyone, for your good wishes on my last post regarding my foot surgery that will take place this week. I know I'll be sidelined for a few weeks of recovery but will continue to blog. My husband is also feeling well and appreciates your kind thoughts. I think we both have many adventures ahead, God willing, and we will continue to enjoy each and every day.


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Saturday, January 5, 2019

Happy New Year 2019!



Happy 2019! 

This is who greeted us, as we turned from our driveway onto the main road on New Year's Day!  I hope he will be a good luck token for us for the year. We live in symbiosis with the deer in our community and see many of them daily going about their lives as we do ours, but as a former city girl, I never tire of seeing them.

The month of December was busy for us and so far January has taken twists and turns we did not anticipate...



I made our traditional lentil soup--click here for the recipe--for New Year's Eve, except this time I left out the sausage meat. My husband had a cardiac test in the hospital on New Year's Eve Day, which, thankfully, turned out well considering his stress test a week before didn't. Having a health scare made us realize all the more how important it is to eat less fat and carbs and more vegetables.


Our traditional Christmas Eve fish feast is now a memory...


...as well as most of the Christmas cookies I baked for dessert. 
 I think next year I will not be making quite as many of them, to keep our diets in check. Some of my favorite cookie recipes on this link.


Our Christmas decorations are down and put away, but I could not resist sharing this photo a neighbor took of the deer sitting among her outdoor decorations. They looked like the backup team for Santa's reindeers!


We finally had snow again this past week, which brought much-needed moisture to our foothills...


,,, although Colorado's Front Range's bright sunny days make it all melt quickly.  

This month I will be having some elective foot surgery to shave down a bunion and straighten out a hammer toe.  I have been finding it hard to find comfortable shoes because of both, and it will be nice to be able to wear sandals again in summer. I'll be in a boot cast for a week and then a boot shoe until I heal.  Once I am healed I hope to be able to begin hiking again. There are so many beautiful trails to hike, and places to visit in Colorado and the west. that are on my list this year.  Until that happens, I'll be sharing some places I visited in 2018 that I never had an opportunity to blog about, and I hope you'll join me again to see those posts.

I hope 2019 will bring good health, prosperity, and happiness to all!

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I'm linking this post to the following blog events:

Amaze Me MondayMosaic Monday, All SeasonsBlue Monday,  Through My Lens MondayInspiration Monday, Blogging GrandmothersHearth, and Soul Link PartyYou Are the Star Blog HopGood Random FunNature NotesGrand SocialTravel Photos, Photo Tunes, Happiness Is HomemadeTuesday TreasuresPictorial TuesdayOur World TuesdayRuby TuesdayTuesdays With A TwistParty in Your PJ'sWordless WednesdayNanahood WWOh My Heartsie Girl's Wonderful WednesdayOutdoor Wednesday, Words On WednesdayWhimsical WednesdayYour Whims WednesdayWednesday Around the WorldWonderful Wednesday Little Things Thursday,Thankful ThursdayThursday Favorite ThingsThursday Traffic Jam Weekend LinkyPretty Pintastic PartyFriendship FridaysFriday Photo JournalSkywatch FridaySweet Inspiration, Pink SaturdaySaturday CrittersOver the MoonHappiness Is HomemadeWandering Camera (monthly-last Thursday of the month)


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