The Saga of the Hips

Four and a half years ago while we were in the process of packing up 27 years of life in one house, I was having a lot of pain in my left hip.  I could hardly walk across the parking lot of the Air BnB where we were living temporarily.  I asked my South Bend doctor if he could give me a cortisone shot to get me through the next month of moving to Princeton. He said that only a specialist could do the shot. However it was easy to get an x-ray in his clinic so I had one done immediately.  He showed me that I had arthritis in my hip and warned me that in one to four years I would need a hip replacement.  Meanwhile, I could take Tylenol and Aleve every six hours for relief.  He told me not to stop when it felt better but to keep on for a while for more permanent relief.

For four years my hip gave me no trouble even though I was no longer taking pain medications. And then it started up again this fall with a dull ache down both of my legs and sometimes a feeling like my left leg was caving in on me. My primary care provider in Princeton warned me against taking more than two Aleve a day. I dreaded the thought of surgery.  A good friend had complications with her hip replacement surgery and had to have it done a second time.  So did my South Bend doctor who had to have his redone as well.  I knew rehab would be a problem with our living in a second floor apartment.

I did very little walking during our time in Florida not only because of my hip issues but also some balance issues.  I felt sturdier hanging on to Jim's arm.  He was kind enough to say that he actually liked it when I did so.  When we got home,  I began a routine of taking one Aleve in the morning and one at night.   I also found some exercises for issues with limping on Youtube and began doing them daily.  

And to my great relief, the dull ache down my leg is gone.  There is no pain at night when I am trying to sleep.  I feel some sensitivity when I walk but no feeling of my leg caving in.  Something is working!  My body is coping and maybe even healing.  I can live with this small amount of discomfort and am relieved not to feel like a hip replacement surgery is my only option.  

My Reading Life

 

I just spent an hour or more going over the books I read and recorded on Goodreads this year and last year.  I wanted to find all the books I rated five stars and then to look for more books by those authors.  In the last month I have rejected at least ten books that I brought home from the library or downloaded for my Kindle app. Sometimes I just take those rejected books off my "to read" list on Goodreads or the "For Later" list at the Princeton Library.  Sometimes I shelve them as "abandoned" on Goodreads and then write a "private note" as to why I abandoned them.  I never rate a book one or two stars.  If that is all it was worth to me, I probably abandoned it.  I know authors look at these reviews so I don't want to disparage any books publicly. 

Goodreads statistics show that I read over 1400 books in the last ten years.  I abandoned 140.  10%!  I know however that I give up on more than 10%.  Recently I came home with six books from the Princeton Library and I read two of them.  

I found 59 books in 2023 and 2024 that I rated five stars.  I jotted down the names of the books and the authors.  My next project will be to find other books by those authors.  Sadly, I have read everything Nicholas Rhea wrote before he died.  I will have to wait for more mysteries by Martin Walker or memoirs by Niall Williams and his wife Christine Breen. Hal Borland wrote many years ago.  

I wondered if I had recorded reading Jim's biography of R. H. Charles when it was published a year ago.   I had neglected to do so!  So I rated it five stars and wrote a review--the first reader to do so.  I think probably the target audience for such an academic book does not use Goodreads.  So the average rating as it stands today is "five stars."  

Goodreads saves me from rebuying books.  I get lists from EarlyBird books in my email and when I check to see what Goodreads readers think of a book before I make a purchase, I see that I have already read it--or rejected it.  I put books on a request list at our wonderful Princeton Public Library or if it is not there, I can often find out of print books at Better World Books or the used book list on Amazon.  I purchase a few books from Amazon every month for my Kindle app--for 99 cents or $1.99 or $2.99. 

In my retirement, I have plenty of time to read and am grateful to have ways to find books that I enjoy and appreciate.  

One more thing about my reading.  In the last year or so I have found email addresses for several authors and let them know how much I appreciated their work.  I have had lovely responses from each one making me realize it was worth the effort to find a way to contact them.