I'm so glad you got your package, Lizalily, and so glad you're pleased with your bulbs!

As to why Royal Colors bulbs can travel so far packed the way they are without damage, and local companies can't manage the same is beyond me! All I know is that RC will be getting more orders from me next year!

Nice choices, by the way... keep us updated on flowers! :-)

Are you kidding? WOuld I miss a chance to show off my children?

Today is the day I had to go off my arthritis meds pre-surgery so I am on goofy making pain meds instead. However, I can still pick up my camera and shoot away with it.

I have to get some help carrying buckets of warm water out to my workroom this evening though. THis will certainly help with the tendency to overwater! It is time to feed everyone though.

Just spent an hour in my pal's hot tub...she offered it every day until my surgery while I am off my meds....then we talk amaryllis culture and other flowers while we soak. Gee, do you suppose she could claim it as a business expense? LOL. She is my business partner too.

congrats lizalily, i am so glad to hear that they arrived to you in decent condition. i'm still looking out my door constantly to see if mine show :)

My RC order took a long time to arrive, but it got here... so keep a lookout for your package, Zubababy!

Lizalily, I keep hoping and praying for your surgery to go smoothly, and for you to be able to garden and do the things you love without pain... I know exactly how you feel, and living with pain every day of your life is so very difficult... it takes so much energy to just get through every day... I think about you and Cindee often, and I'm so glad you both have options that can help... when exactly do you go in for the surgery? I want to make sure I take plenty of pictures to post for your recovery, so you have something beautiful to look at!

Lizalily,

I've been meaning to write.... My mother had that surgery a couple of years ago. It had gotten to a point where she could barely walk around to the back of my house to see my flowers. I would carry potted flower plants to her car for her to see or pick some blooms for her.

It did not seem to take her that long to recover, and although it took awhile to fully regain strength, she is getting around a lot better now. The only problem is that now she can't drive because she fell and broke her shoulder and had to have surgery on it. The latter doesn't seem to be healing very well.

We are all thinking about you, even if we do not write to say that we are.

You will be so happy when it is finally all OVER and you can walk around without pain again.

Hugs!

THANKS, Jodi and Elizabeth! I have the surgery scheduled for Feb 4. They try to get their patients out within 48 hours so they do not pick up infection in the hospital. To get out, I will need to be able to walk across the room with a walker or crutches and go up 2 steps. Having been through cartilege removal surgeries a couple of times, I have heard that the total replacement is not much worse.

They will call me on Friday to tell me what time to show up in the morning.

My girlfriend and I are going to a big Garden show In Tacoma the day before, then out to lunch for a blow out, LOL. After that they may as well put me to sleep and get it over with!

I will be confined to home for the next month of so, as long as I need any help with housekeeping, or my own care. If I leave home for other then Dr my help will be cut off, so I will count on you guys to keep me entertained.

The surgeon is extremely good, and I have talked to a number of people who have done really well under him and see it as a very positive experience. We are starting with the left knee, and will leave the more complicated right knee until fall so I can get my gardening in. Dr says I should be back in the garden by early MArch, so that is a goal I can work toward.

This is a new improved form of the surgery where they do not cut through the quad muscle but go in from the side under it, so it heals much faster and without as much pain. I am really looking forward to being able to work without pain in my garden and business...it has been 28
years since this started with tearing the cartilege in my right knee. Tore the left one 7 years ago just walking across flat ground!

So I hope to be home to my laptop computer and recliner and have some time between pain med sleepiness, and therapy, by Wed or Thurdays after the surgery.

And yes, I am excited about the possibilites of being able to work without pain before long! A goal worth working toward!

Lizalily, From what I've seen, and experienced, much of the recovery process is based upon your determination and your goals. Think you will surprise yourself. We gardeners don't let much stand in the way of our pretties. My art instructor had that done on 8/22. By the time classes started up in Sept. she was off and running -- literally (she was hiking already!). All my best to you. We have lots of pictures to help pass the time. I'm waiting for my RC order to arrive. Do I hear it takes a month?

Yes, Kitty... just under a month... at least, that's how long mine took. I'm in Illinois, if that helps you gauge it better... just keep checking your mailbox!

Lizalily - I'll definitely be thinking about you February 4th... I couldn't forget... my daughter-in-law goes in the 6th for her c-section! I'm gonna be a Grandma again! This is their second child, a boy!

We will be sure to keep you entertained with plenty of photos and lots of posted good wishes for a fast recovery... I'm jealous... you guys are all gonna pass me up! There's no surgery to fix Lupus! You know it's bad when pain meds don't even make you sleepy anymore... they just help you get through your day... but I can't really complain... I've got lots to keep me busy and take my mind off everything! Gardening keeps me moving, and that's why I can't wait until spring gets here! The pain seems worse when you're cooped up indoors and can't get outside to dig and move around, and there's no sun to help warm your bones... someday I'm going to have a jacuzzi tub!

Hey liza...a birthday surprise for you, eh? Hope it was Happy!

Ohhhhhh, ya getting yer knees replaced?

My mom had both of hers done in the last coupla years. Her knees had gotten so bad that she couldn't even straighten her legs out any more. She loves the new ones!

Hang in there. Rehab can be a b*tch, but the results will be worth it!