Things that need to be done

I've been keeping some things from you...

I had some weird symptoms at the end of October, which led to many tests in November. I have a partial obstruction of my abdominal aorta and of the right femoral artery. Too many years of eating the wrong things, plus smoking heavily, was bound to cause some problems.

So... I go into hospital tomorrow and will have surgery on Thursday to fit a couple of stents. There will be posts as usual: I scheduled one week's worth of posts to keep things going.

The down side is that there's no wi-fi at the hospital, so you'll have to be patient regarding any news. The surgeon said I would be in for three days, because he thought I would have an epidural or a spinal block, but the anesthetist decided to go for a general anesthetic when he saw my medical history. I had transverse myelitis in 2000 and after consulting with a neurologist, the anesthetist thought it could be risky to mess with my spine. Having general anesthetic will possibly extend my stay in hospital to between five and seven days.

The other downside is the hospital food. A few weeks ago I had to spend a day having various pre-surgery tests and they gave me a very nice room. Lunch was included, but I wouldn't offer it to a pig! I asked the nurse if the food was always so "delicious." She laughed and said yes, it's always incredibly delicious.

We're going to take a lot of our own stuff!

Time to say a big thank you

Amy suggested a post where people can express their gratitude to the guys who are very committed to their work.

Here's to you, Mr Sleuth!

Our very handsome new friend

Pallottine sent us some photos of Cody. What a cute little guy!

Adorable dogs

Mrsgunka sent us these pictures of "two" doggies helping each other...

Thank you, MrsG.

Exercise for over 60s

GrannyJ sent us this very useful exercise program. Thank you, GJ!

Begin by standing on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of room at each side.

With a 5-lb potato bag in each hand, extend your arms straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you can. Try to reach a full minute, and then relax.

Each day you'll find that you can hold this position for just a bit longer. After a couple of weeks, move up to 10-lb potato bags. Move up to 20-lb bags for another couple of weeks or so.

Then try 50-lb potato bags and eventually try to get to where you can lift a 100-lb potato bag in each hand and hold your arms straight for more than a full minute.

After you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each bag.