This is how Mount Saint Helens looked today about noon. Sure doesn't look like it's ready to BLOW! The Portland area is on a Volcano warning. This warning is the same as if we had a Tornado warning. It means there is a 70% chance the Volcano will blow in the next few days. They don't think it's going to be as big as on May 18th, 1980, though. They think it may blow a plume as high as 10,00 feet and throw rocks and boulders as far as 3 miles. They have no idea what the new Glacier on the Mountain will do. They still have the Mount Saint Helens Center open and people are flocking to see the Mountain. The center is just 5 miles from the crater. I don't think I want to be that close! They are getting as many as 450 earthquakes an hour! That's 1875 a day! I'm glad we live in an area we can see it if it does in fact go off again.

Here's Hailie running into home. This score didn't count, but she did score twice. She was 2 for 4 this weekend with one walk and one bad call at first. The Wildcats came out of the day with one win, 7-6, and one loss, 5-1. All in all the team is playing well with each other and there going to be great this spring when they all get back together again. The fall season will soon be coming to a close, but, they have all winter to practice on the skills!

Here is an early fall day in Canby. Cold and crisp early, but warm and mild in the afternoon. Stan took this picture from the front yard looking south to the Dahlia fields. We have been very foggy in the mornings with a light dew, then the sun comes out and heats everything up!

Here is a sunset view of our drive home from Hailie's games on Sunday. The Highs have been 75-80 Deg and we have been getting down to the upper 40's to lower 50's. The most perfect weather you could want! Makes the early fall the most wonderful time of the year. The views this time of year are picture perfect!

Life is getting better!

I think the time has come to where I can say the surgery was a success. I have been walking without a cane for the last 4 days and hope to be walking without it for ever! I still have a little pain, but, there is no pain in the joint itself. I have also noticed a little more muscle tone in the operated leg. I have been using the leg allot more and limping less and less. The Doctor did say I would have more trouble with my other leg and back and was right. I am hoping, with a trip to the chiropractor, things will even out and the back and neck pain will go away. All in all, I am pleased with the way I am healing. It was a very long journey, but, a journey worth taking. Vera, if I were you, I would be pushing the Doctor a little harder for a surgery on your leg. The sooner you get it done, the sooner the recovery and pain will be behind you. I am still on some pain meds, but even those are decreasing as the days pass. Thank you all for your encouraging words and well wishes and for all your support. I couldn't have made it through these tough times without it.

End of Summer

Well, today is the end to my favorite season. Summer. The warm sunny mornings will soon be replaced by cold, foggy, crisp mornings. The hot sunny days will be replaced by cool, wet, Oregon Rain. The Hot, muggy nights filled with the smell of jasmine in the air will be replaced by cold, wet weather. Long days will be replaced by long nights and shorts and t-shirts are being replaced by long pants and sweaters. I don't know if I'm ready for the pumpkins on the front porch yet, but even that will be here soon. Seems like it was just a few weeks ago that the corn and other crops were just starting to raise out of the ground and grow to the sky. Now, there turning brown and bowing towards the ground as if to say goodbye. It's even harder this year to say goodbye to summer. I had to enjoy most of it from the living room in my recliner eating popsicles and popping pain pills. We couldn't do our annual trips or even some new things we wanted to do. Goodbye summer. Hello fall. Hello to the the wind that whips through the trees grabbing the leaves that are trying to hold on to the last bit of life they have left. Hello to the rotting smell of the fruit that didn't get picked up before the first frost. School's started and people are moving on to brighter and bigger futures. The busy summer days will soon be filled with weekend projects, school functions and fall and winter sports. The cycle of life continues and soon, spring will arrive with the bright newness of life.

Hope you all have someone to cuddle up with and keep you warm over the next few months. With someone to love, fall can be wonderfully beautiful. Long walks with sun blazing gold color on the trees and just a little nip in the air. Coming home to have a nice cup of fresh cider and sitting under a blanket with a warm fire going in the fire place. Waking up in the morning to a fog that creeps over the horizon making it look as if a ghost is hovering over the land. Soon the witches and goblins will be trekking out for there first Halloween.

I guess all I'm saying is as much as I love summer and all the beauty that it brings, there's still allot of life left with the onset of fall. Keep it in perspective and look at the positive things fall brings to our lives. Hope you all have a wonderful last day of summer and, better yet, hope every one has a wonderful fall.

Hailie Rickert goes 4 for 4!!!

Here's Halie getting ready to hit one out of the park!! She hit 4 for four on Sunday with 2 RBI"S!! Good job........ Bunt Cake!!!!

GO WILDCAT'S

YEAAAAA!!!!!

Just had to let you know that yesterday I walked all day, at the store, home and therapy, without my cane!!!!!!!! That's a first for me in 2 months!!!!! I really walked allot yesterday and when I went to bed the muscles were so tiered.............. BUT NOT IN PAIN!!!!!! I really think I made a break through yesterday!!!!! I am going to start going to Aqua aerobics here in town so I can continue to build the muscles in the leg. I am starting to think this new knee is going to be worth it! I had to share this only because I have bitched about it for so long and I'm sure everyone is getting sick of it, so, for a change, here is GOOD NEWS! NO WHINING!!!!! Hope you all have a great weekend. Hailie has a couple of Softball games this weekend, good luck sweet pea, and hopefully she does as well as she did last week. With Stan as the score keeper and Hailie hitting the way she has been, I'm sure it's going to be a great season!!!
GO WILDCATS!

Thought I would give everyone an update on how things are going. I have been going to therapy twice a week in hopes of making the muscle in my right leg stronger. It hurts like hell, but, I think it's getting better. I have asked the doctor to take me off the oxycodone and put me on vicodin, but, it's not working as well and I haven't been doing as well ever since. I asked to be put back on the oxycodone in hopes I can exercise more and keep the pain down. I hope to find out if the Doctor will give it to me tomorrow. I have been ok'ed to ride my bike as long as I am careful, but, I haven't felt up to it since the change in meds. I keep telling myself things are getting better and I am trying with all my might to keep a positive attitude and I know there will be an end to all this. Just keep tuned in and I will keep you updated on my progress.

I miss summer already!!!!!!! Fall is coming in to fast and I am just not ready for it! I started the count down already, though. Just 9 more months and it will be Summer again!!!!!!

Hailie had a Softball tourny this last weekend and boy..... she is getting so good. She was 4 for 4 at the plate with one double and 2 RBI'S. She is the only person I know that can lay down a bunt and get to first base before the catcher can even get the ball! She won 1 of the 2 games, but, the team is so good they should win allot of her games! Stan was conned into keeping score....Again. He says he doesn't like to do it, but, deep down, I think he loves it and likes to help out anyway he can with the team!!! I will keep you updated on her stats as the Fall season continues.

I took Grandma on a field trip on Wednesday so she could get out of the house and Grandpa could do some things he has been wanting to do around the yard. She really doesn't get out much anymore and I thought a ride to the dahlias would do her some good. We went through the display garden and she liked every single flower I think. She wanted to take home some purple flowers, but, they didn't have any so she settled for the red ones I picked out. Then we headed off to the house and she walked through the yard letting me know what we had that she wanted! (And when she want's something, she wants it now!!) I had her for most of the day and she was pretty tired when we got home. I hope she had as much fun as I did and we will be sure to do it again next year!
 

I went to the Doctor on Wednesday afternoon and had xrays and my 6 week post op checkup. The xrays show that the surgery was a complete success and that there should be no problems with the joint that was put in. I do, however, have to work on, what he called, a grossly under developed muscle in my leg. I will be hitting the gym at the hospital for the next 6 -8 weeks to get the muscle tone back into my leg. So far, that's what is hurting the most. I am going for a walk through the Dahlias almost every day and am starting, but very carefully, trying to use the cane less and less in the house. My pain pills are working and I am taking less and less of those also. Seems that the evenings are the hardest now while mornings seem to be less painful.

This weekend will be the final days of the annual Dahlia festival here in Canby. Stan keeps telling everyone that in my mind it's the Allen festival and everyone is coming out to see the yard with a side stop to the Dahlias! NO, NO, NO!!!!! I just want the yard to be in tip top shape when all the cars drive by. I just love to sit and watch them drive by and point at something in the yard and see them go OOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH. I like that! So, it's three days long this week............... I wonder if I can get Stan out to mow and weed for a second weekend in a row???????? (I'm guessing................... NOT!) :)

Good news I forgot to tell you about. I received the ok from my Doctor to start driving again!!!!! It was 6 weeks, 2 days 3 hours and 35 minutes of no driving. (But who was counting.) Ashleigh drove me everywhere for that time frame. She got up early for my doctor appointments and she sat through all but one of my physical therapy classes. ( She was kicked out of one for privacy issues with the other swimmers.) She also knew what I needed to do if I started hurting or couldn't walk. She would get the ice for me and make sure I had the pain pills in hand that I needed. She also became a very good driver over the course of six weeks. The first couple of weeks I was so drugged up I didn't really notice, or care, how she drove, but, as time went on, she became a very safe and well mannered driver. Even her parking in tight spots improved! I would just like to say that she was a VERY IMPORTANT part of my recovery and there is no way in the world I could have done it without her. Thank you, Ashleigh. I love you.

And then there's Hailie. She made sure, every day, that I didn't take the wrong pain meds or take to much. We wrote down the time I took the first one and before I could ask, Hailie was there with the pills and a glass of Milk. She has got to be the worlds best care giver. I sure hope she will go into nursing or even try to be a doctor. She has a heart of gold and I know she will use it to better the world around her. Thank you, Hailie. I don't think I told your sister and you how very much I appreciated your help over the last few weeks. You may not have had much of a choice, but, you guys sacrificed allot for me too. We couldn't take our annual trip to wild waves and we couldn't take Grandma Betty to L.A. for her final rest With your Grandpa Stan. I sure hope the two of you realize what it meant to me that you helped me and gave up most of your summer in doing so. I know there were times I was cranky, but, there wasn't a day that passed that you didn't follow through with what you started. One day, I hope, your Dad and me and you Girls can take off somewhere and celebrate a new lease on life. I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else!

And Stan. He took such good care of the lawn for me. He hated every single second of the lawn mower, but, he finished every time! ( Ashleigh had to help him a couple of times though.) He also went to the very important Doctor appointments with me as well as taking the day off for my surgery. (We had to be there at 6:00 am.)He was there every night and took me home when I was done. He made sure I never over did it and bitched me out when I did. ( Even though it was HIS idea to go shopping.) He made sure my ice packs were ready for the next day. He's a tough Man and he has been through allot this year, but he still managed to help me through the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I have a feeling when I get the next one done, he may be on vacation in some remote island in the south pacific for 6 weeks, 2 days, 3 hours and 35 minutes! I Love you, Stan, and thank you for all you have done for me. You are the greatest!

Also, Stan's sister, Debi, lost her "adopted" Mom, Faye, early this morning. She was battling with medical problems for a while now and I know she is in a better place. It was an honor to have met her and our hearts go out to Debi and Chris.