Pizza from Scratch!

Yesterday a friend from church came home with me so I could teach her how to make pizza  and also how to make bread. It's not like she doesn't know how to bake. She is a Wedding Cake baker and decorator. She just had never made pizza nor bread. Henriette and I had a good time and ended our time together with prayer. While at my house her brother called and he was in town. She left with a pizza so she had dinner all ready to go when she arrived home to find her brother.



Today's Positives:
1. I am sitting here with a sweater on, very unusual on an equatorial African afternoon. This is the coolest summer I can ever remember here and I've been here for 36 years.
2. Only three more computer classes for the summer and then I get a teaching break before School restarts with a weekend retreat that begins August 29th.
3. I also have a pizza from our baking spree yesterday. Most of it is frozen for another time.

Tiring Days!

This week and next I am teaching an afternoon computer class to six Nursing Students and one nurse Midwifery student. Most have never touched a computer before and I have never taught a computer class this large before this. A donation of money towards the Nursing School allowed for the purchase of ten laptop computers. Here is a photo of my class.



After working at the hospital in the morning and then teaching class every afternoon I come home EXHAUSTED.

Tuesday evening I had a few people over for dinner and a movie. One of my visitors took this photo so he was not in the photo.



Today's Positives:

1. Computer class is going well.
2. Although I've had busy evenings the past few days, I am home with no plans but to rest this evening. I think I will even go to bed early.
3. Our weather has been about 70 degrees, humid and cool. NICE for the Equator.

On STAYCATION!

The Nursing School academic year is done. I'll be teaching Computers this summer but not for the next two weeks. I'm taking these two weeks off as a STAYCATION, staying at home. Except that a friend and I will take a three day, two night trip to another town to check out the market and restaurants. During these two weeks I have many projects that I want to work on in my house and home office. Today's project is cleaning my bedroom!

Celebrating One Year!

Yesterday I celebrated one year since my Left Total Knee Replacement (TKR). That surgery was my fifth surgery on that knee/leg within a 3 1/2 month period last year but the TKR was my last surgery. After almost four months of not being able to put any weight on my left leg I was up and walking the next day after having my new fake knee! Praise the Lord!

I have some swelling in that leg and the doctor says that I always will have. When I broke my knee I also tore my main artery going to my leg and that artery had to be replaced by a vein. My circulation is not as good as it was before the trauma. Other than the swelling I have very little discomfort in my knee/leg, not enough to take any pain medicine.

Today's Positives:
1. Yesterday I gave my last final exam of this academic year. Everyone passed my course. I don't yet know the results of the other classes.
2. The Nursing School year is done and the students and profs (me included) are very glad!!!!!!
3. I'm looking forward to two weeks of vacation, starting MONDAY! :-)

Here I am the day after my TKR (one year ago today), my first day to be able to WALK after my knee break:

Right Knee is OK!

My last update was letting you know that I had found a knee brace that fit my right knee (not the one that I broke last year). Well, I used it for two days but the brace irritated my skin so badly that I stopped using it. On Thursday of last week I noticed that I was having very little right knee pain. Since then I have taken NO PAIN MEDICINE for my right knee. That is over a week that I have been pain free!  I am careful not to twist it outward or I feel a twinge but otherwise I am not having the very painful knee that I had had for about three weeks. Thanks so much for praying. I know that it was because of being anointed with oil and prayed over and because of the prayers of hundreds of my prayer partners that I got over this "bout" of right knee pain which was due to a stretched knee ligament. Praise the Lord!

New Right Knee Brace!

Update from yesterday's blog. Many told me that they were praying that I would find a knee brace that fit.

Today Meladee Davis and I went looking for a brace that fit and we found one in the warehouse down by the tennis court. It is black, slips on like a sleeve but has metal braces on each side of my RIGHT knee. It is a good fit, not too tight but it does not slip down. This knee problem is on my RIGHT knee, not my LEFT knee which I broke last year. That knee is "fine", as fine as it is going to get. Now I have two knees to "nurse". It makes getting up and down from certain chairs more difficult but I'll figure it out. It is also harder to bend to pick up something from the floor. Looking at me getting in and out of the car is probably not a pretty picture. I can still drive. I imagine that I will need to wear this knee brace until my knee pain is gone. Thanks to those who have been praying for this new knee problem and also thanks to those who read my blog yesterday and have prayed that I find a brace that fit. Prayer answered.