PurpleHays

On 4/30/2024 at 11:11 PM, dockman said:

I am so happy that many cruisers gravitate to the bigger more glitzy newer ships.

 

Hopefully means less demand and better deals on the smaller and older ships for me.

Me too! I've seen a lot of news about the new Sun, and I'm just not interested. It's too big and too busy. Just give me a balcony cabin and a good itinerary, and I'm good. We're on the Emerald next year for Norway. Caribe deck with the larger balcony. We can't wait.

@zackiedawg Welcome back! I've missed your birds.

2 hours ago, awhfy said:

Had my shoulder postop today. Doc was impressed with my progress & dropped me from giant padded sling to just a close to body sling for another month. I have 6 more weeks of therapy & I’ll have to wear new sling on flights (not while in Hawaii). He said my shoulder has zero swelling & looks like I’m at 4-5 weeks postop instead of 2 weeks. I told him I’m motivated. Melody

That's awesome!

3 hours ago, LoisRJax said:

I finally got my results of my kidney stones........they were made from URIC ACID.....I spoke with the nurse on the phone and I have a follow up appt with the Dr later this month.  They have a "suggestion" on a print out for foods that are on a low Purine Diet........what is purine you may ask? It is a substance that is found in foods AND is produced naturally in the body. They are broken down by the body and and changed to uric acid. Normally the kidneys  filter it and then it leaves the body through the urine.  Seems I am in the category where the uric acid had a build up and that is what caused the stones. Modern medicine.....they don't know why I all of a sudden got stones😮

 

Anyway, there are certain foods that are low in purine and other foods that are high so they need to be limited.....at least there are plenty of foods on the good list that I already eat. So, lets see what happens..........

I learned (decades ago in nursing school) that kidney stones are fairly common in the southern US due to all the tea we tend to drink. I don't know if that applies to you or if tea contains purines. Either way, at least you have a plan now and will hopefully have fewer stones in the future.

On 4/30/2024 at 2:37 PM, Cruisemeister2002 said:

Don't know if this wine get's to the US. But I really like a red called 19 crimes imported from Australia.

19 Crimes is my husband's wine of choice. He like the one aged in rum barrels best. I prefer whites.

Hubby found a new (to him) favorite last month on the Sky. It's Errazuris Estate Carmenere Aconcagua Valley, Chile, GIs. We don't even know how to pronounce it, but he consumed quite a few.

49 minutes ago, awhfy said:

Chainsaw is an apt analogy this has been significantly less painful, just the irritating brace 24/7

Plus, you said it was your dominant side too? Are you able to use your fingers/hand for minor tasks yet?

25 minutes ago, awhfy said:

I had the lovely nerve block & pain ball because I’m allergic to so many pain meds. I’ve had 4 Tylenol & and Phenergen (nausea) since surgery last Weds. so far this is much less pain than a rotator cuff. Pt & ice are my friends

I have heard that rotator cuff surgery feels like a chainsaw to the shoulder, it's good to hear that replacement isn't as bad.

Keep healing well!

On 4/20/2024 at 7:48 PM, awhfy said:

It’s been too cold for tshirt. I’ve got a couple of waffle weave shirts that are working great. Much easier now that the painball catheter is gone. Now I can slide into a shirt. It’s my dominant right arm. Destroyed my biceps tendon too. Pt at home yesterday was interesting. She was surprised at my range of motion. 

You could do the same with a long sleeve shirt. I just rarely wear them.

We don't use pain balls at our out surgery center-we use nerve blocks, and lots with Exparel. It's a long acting medication. It can last up to 96 hours.

Keep up the PT-it's your best bet right now.

On 4/21/2024 at 5:13 PM, geocruiser said:

WOW the blouse looks wonderful.  Great fit.    Very nice picture of both of you.

Thank you! The best part about sewing is that no one else had anything even a bit similar.

On 4/17/2024 at 12:59 PM, slidergirl said:

Welcome home!  What did you do in Bordeaux?  I found it was a nice city to just wander around.  

We must cruise the same way - I lose weight, too!!

We only had about three hours, but we walked around (I managed to get us lost, then unlost) and ate a meal. We walked in and I told the host "we're American tourists that don't speak a word of French, but we'd like a meal. Can you help us?" He laughed at me and we ate a danged good meal. The menu was an initial challenge-it was in French, duh-but there was a QR code to scan for several foreign languages. We stopped at the store recommended by our guide to get some wine on the way back to the bus.

On 4/18/2024 at 11:19 AM, awhfy said:

Home from shoulder replacement yesterday. Long day, 7am checkin. 9-1230 surgery & got home at 6pm. Long time in recovery. Worst part is finding clothes to fit!!  Pt starts tomorrow at home as neither of us can drive

When I broke my shoulder, I wore t-shirts. I'd put the injured arm on first, then use the good arm to stretch it over my neck and other shoulder. I took the injured arm off first. I wore bra and shirt for two days too, showering ever second day. Hair washing was the worst, especially since mine is long.

We went to France and Spain this week. 

Sunset out of Southampton

 Bee in wisteria in Bilbao

 Monument aux Girondins in Bordeaux

"The Higgins Boat" at Utah Beach

The American Cemetery at Omaha each/Collesville-sur-mer

We are back from our cruise. We had pretty good weather, but crossing the Channel was pretty rocky.  Dave and I both felt it. We went outside our comfort zones in Bilbao and Bordeaux and went somewhat on our own. Kind of scary since we were guideless and didn't speak either language. Food was excellent in both countries. D-Day sites (especially Utah Beach and the American Cemetery) were emotional. Neither of us had family members die in WWII, but his dad was a WWII vet. I can't imagine how it would feel to someone who lost a family member there.

And, amazingly, both of us lost a couple of pounds. I guess we didn't cruise correctly?  😆

Here's the final project. I made hubby's shirt a year or two ago.

On 4/8/2024 at 5:17 PM, geocruiser said:

Was the gold thread metallic?

No, it was regular thread, just gold colored. I didn't want to mess with metallic since the fabric had been such a pain to work with.

I did understitch the neck facing, but decided I wanted the slight decorative look of top stitching. I did not attempt underscoring the scallops. I definitely would have pulled my hair out trying that.

Feel better Kat and Lois, as well as everyone else that's injured or under the weather.

We head out for our France/Spain cruise in a couple of hours. It's bright and sunny here, but it looks like most of the cruise will be cloudy/windy/rainy. I'll be on vacation, so I will not let it bother me.

On 4/1/2024 at 4:44 AM, jsn55 said:

Wow, florescent lights ... what next?  I've escaped it so far but thanks for the tip.  Who'd think to use sunscreen on your arms to go to the office?  

Nobody, but I preach it to my coworkers because we are under harsh lights our entire shift.

Especially the young ones that still have time to prevent damage. Along with compression socks.

If I'm going out, I use one pump on Neutrogena's serum with sunscreen. At night, or if I'm planning to stay inside (at home) all day, I use Clarins Double serum. Both soak in nicely and don't leave me looking greasy. I wear makeup over both without problems.

(hops on soap box)

I'm a redhead. I've used sunscreen on my face for at least 30 years, but not so much on my arms unless I was going in the sun. However, my dermatologist had to treat my arms for damage. Not so much from the sun, but from the fluorescent lights at work. I wear long sleeves now and absolutely hate it. Ladies, if you work under fluorescent lights, protect your arms as well as your face.

(hops of nursey sun protection soap box)

Feel better soon, @Lois R

We are in the low 80s for a couple of days. Nice breeze, fairly low humidity. Pollen isn't too bad. . .yet. I have all the windows open and am hoping to chase some of the "winter smell" out.

OOTD: Black Athleta Moto leggings and new blouse for Easter service, shorts-that-don't-leave-the-house and "Be nice, drink wine, pet dogs" tank top.  And yeah, we had a nice bottle of cabernet with our steak and potato dinner.

On 3/29/2024 at 12:31 PM, geocruiser said:

Looks beautiful.  What size/type needle did you use on your machine?

I used a universal 70/10 and a narrow (2.0x 0.5mm) zigzag. A straight stitch worked well on pure straight edges, but the tiniest bit of bias went completely wonky.

I somehow managed to cut a small slit near the shoulder seam. I got creative repairing it. It's on the back, so my hair will cover it. It's about a half inch long.

On 3/25/2024 at 6:19 PM, memoak said:

That is a really long month

Thank goodness mine is in early April. 😆

On 3/25/2024 at 11:20 AM, ChristopherTracy said:

It's the wrong trainers, sorry sneakers.😅

Something wrong with my New Balance? 😆👟

On 3/23/2024 at 7:11 PM, devonuk said:

Us Brits can spot you guys from across the pond a mile off 😉

Is it my purple hair? 😆

Y'all, at 60 years of age, I attempted my first scallops! These are the cap sleeves of a blouse I'm planning to wear Easter Sunday and on my next cruise. What do you think? How did I do?

I think I want to topstitch the scallops and front facing. I was thinking a gold thread. Any opinions?

6 hours ago, awhfy said:

This doc is one of the  Olympic team orthos

That's a positive!

18 minutes ago, awhfy said:

Full thickness massive tear including another full thickness tear across original surgery that was in 2011.  I’m over 70. The doc said another rotator cuff (with shredded bicep tendon) repair he’d give maybe a 10-20% success rate he’s giving a 75-80% on reverse shoulder 

I'd go with those odds too. (we did two total shoulders at work today along with umpteen rotator cuffs. Gotta love sports med day)