Here are some early pictures of Joe for Ashley. Can you see Esmae in Joe anywhere?

I don't know how old Joe is in these shots,s but I think he was around two or three.

My surgery

Ashley's account of her labor and delivery inspired me to give an account of my recent knee surgery for all to read. Basically, it happened like this: (By the way, I'm not responsible for any negative reactions to blood and gore.)

I went into the hospital at about 0600 and got put in a pre-op room. The nurse told me to take off all my clothes and get on the bed. Luckily, I had one of the fashionable hospital gowns that they give you. I got some meds and after a while the anesthesiologist came in and asked if I had any allergies. I said no and he said that now we were just waiting for the doctor. A little after 0700 the doc came in and took out a magic marker and put a big X on the knee to go under the knife. Right after that they wheeled me into the operating room and slid me over onto a cold table and draped me with cloths and stuff.

Then I woke up in the recovery room and my left leg was wrapped and padded from my groin to my ankle. A little while later I went home.

I hope you weren't too grossed out by the graphic portrayal of my surgery. It was nothing compared to Ashley's delivery. My knee continues to improve and we are such proud grandparents.

My knee has been fixed.

The doctor tells me that my knee has been fixed. So why does it hurt so much?

I went in at 0600, which means I had to get up at 0430 so I could shower with antimicrobial soap, for my knee scope yesterday. I was on my way home at around 1100 with a dressing the size of a basketball around my knee, and extending from my ankle to my groin. I can't take it off until I go back to see the doctor on Dec 2. I'm not sure how the bathing thing will work, since I'm not supposed to get the dressing wet. There is a theory floating around about wrapping it in plastic, but I have my doubts that that would work. I may have to let Cathy give me sponge baths for a while. I'll bet she would be excited to do that. She pretty much waited on me hand and knee, or I mean foot, yesterday after I got home. It was a unique experience trying to sleep, too. I couldn't roll over on either side. I pretty much had to lay flat on my back, with one pillow under my head and another one under my knee. I did not sleep very well.

Hooray for Vicodin!

2012 at 1210 in 14

No, it's not some secret code. We went to the theater on Saturday and watched 2012, the 1210 showing in theater 14. I wanted to see it because I thought that the special effects would be spectacular, and they were. Cathy and I thought it was a fun movie to watch. Gene and Ann were a little more critical and could point out all the implausible things that they thought made it a dumb movie, and the truth is I thought it was a little over done and corny in places, but the special effects were, in my humble opinion (or IMHO as they say when texting or commenting on blogs), a lot of fun to watch. One effect that really stood out for me was the eruption of the super volcano in Yellowstone. Starts out big, and gets suddenly BIGGER! HUGE! No, I'm not shouting. The good guys are always cheating death by seconds or inches, which is overly lucky for them, but if they got killed right off, then what? Or if they got away clean with 30 minutes to spare, they would be long gone before everything went to hell, and again, then what?

If you are looking for a lot of plot and great acting, this is not your movie. If you like non-stop chaos where the forces of nature take no prisoners, go see it. I thought it was fun. So did Cathy. We went to be entertained, and we were.

It has been many days

Yes, many days since my last post. Much has happened. We have a new car, a 2010 Toyota Camry. The Jeep had a sensor light going out on the transmission, and instead of replacing the sensor light, we were told that it wasn't sold separately and we would have to buy a whole new transmission for $4000. We thought that was crazy, and didn't think the Jeep was going to be reliable any more, so we traded it in. The Camry is sweet.

Soon (next Thursday), I will have my left knee scoped. I have a complex tear to the meniscus that they are going to fix. Hopefully I will be back to working out soon, because I have goals for sprint triathlons next year. I haven't been able to run or swim, and I walk like Walter Brennan.

Soon also, we will have a new granddaughter, but that is out of our hands. All we can do is wait.

Love to everyone!

Final triathlon post

Rebecca is back!
And she finishes!
Everyone seems to have enjoyed themselves, or are at least glad it's over. Let's do it again next year!

more tri...

Rebecca goes out on the run.
Here's Jennifer approaching the finish line.
Jennifer finishes, ahead of Travis and Rebecca.
Travis is not far behind, though.
Travis finishes.

Only one more triathlon post to go!