Making the Packets for the Prairie Center Event

Mary is still very sick. I spent the evening making the packets for the Prairie Center Event Saturday. There sure is a lot of details to think about for a meet.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
959 Steps Today – 0.45 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
8 Calories Burned.

Mary Sick with Upper Respiratory Infection

Mary came down sick Monday evening. I took her to the doctor yesterday and the doctor gave her $60 worth of medicine. Today I think I could be coming down with the same thing. This evening the doctor gave me a $60 prescription. I hope I caught it before I get down like Mary. She's really sick and has slept most of the day today.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
1242 Steps Today – 0.58 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
32 Calories Burned.

Prizes for the Prairie Center Event

Mary's really feeling bad today. I took her to the doctor this afternoon. The doctor gave her a five day supply of Ketex. I sure hope it helps. She's really gone through a lot these past couple weeks.

This evening I put together some prizes for the Prairie Center Event.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
4392 Steps Today – 2.07 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
175 Calories Burned.

The Calm After the Storm

Mary and I just kind of crashed today after a fun filled weekend with the kids and grandkids. Mary's not feeling well this after noon. I think we'll have to call the doctor in the morning.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
2435 Steps Today – 1.15 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
43 Calories Burned.

Happy Birthday To Me

The kids chipped in and treated me to brunch at the Machine Shed today. They told the waiter and of course they all came out singing and brought me a fantastic apple dumplin with a candle on top. They all helped me eat it. When you get old you need all the help you can get.

After the kids left and headed back to Arkansas, I left Mary with Rob and Alison while I went out to Prairie Center to check on all the control locations we had chosen for the event next Saturday.

Stopped on way home and picked up a Wendy Burger. Boy was the house ever so still without the rest of the family. We miss them already.

Today's Stats from GPS tracks at Prairie Center:
0 Geocaches.
??? Steps Today – 6.12 miles. Lost my pedometer. Mary found it later.
? Aerobic Steps.
??? Calories Burned.

Rainforest Cafe for Lunch

All the grandkids wanted to go to Rainforest Cafe today. The kids rented Mary a wheelchair at the mall. After a 2 hour luch we were off to "Build a Bear". Allison bought all the kids a gift certificate for a bear. By the time they all bought cloths for their bear I would hate to know how much they spent for 4 bears. I didn't ask.

The girls all took Mary driving around while Scott, Robby and I took the grandkids to Prairie Center. We walked about 5.5 miles placing Geocaches for the Prairie Center Event scheduled for next Saturday. We didn't get out of woods before dark. It turned out none of us had a flashlight. We ended up placing the last two caches with the help of Robby's cell phone light and my GPS light.

Mary did not feel like going out tonight so the kids went to grocery store and got the makings for Frito Chili Pie, Cheese Dip and other finger foods. Was really good and all enjoyed.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
11967 Steps Today – 5.66 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
547 Calories Burned.

Take Out Food - What A Treat!

Mary did not feel like going out tonight so the kids went to several nearby restraunts and picked up the evening meal. We had pizza, salad, and chinese because everybody wanted something a little different. What a treat to have the family here to take care of us.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
572 Steps Today – 0.27 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
14 Calories Burned.

Surprise From Arkansas

We were sitting around doing our thing, watching tv about 9:30 p.m. when all of a sudden 4 kids came rushing in the door. After we got over our heart attack, we realized out kids and grandkids had shown up from Arkansas. We stayed up until midnight visiting with them.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
2438 Steps Today – 1.15 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
73 Calories Burned.

Mary's First Therapy With Weights

I went to Wal-Mart yesterday and bought Mary 5lbs of leg weights. The therapist had her do the exercises with 2.5 pound weights on her legs. It hurt a lot.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
650 Steps Today – .30 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
11 Calories Burned.

Mary Finally Slept All Night

Mary slept all night for the first time since surgery. Those new sleeping pills really work. She is feeling much better, perky today and acts like she feels good.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
1555 Steps Today – .73 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
51 Calories Burned.

Mary's Staples Out Today

Today I took Mary to Dr. Luallin to have her staples removed. The doctor showed us the exrays and said everything looked fine. He wants to see her again in 3 weeks. Mary is still feeling pretty rough and can't sleep at night. The doctor gave her a prescription for sleeping pills to help her sleep.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
2559 Steps Today – 1.21miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
90 Calories Burned.

Orienteering at Bluffwoods Conservation Area

Yesterday after we left Weston Bend we headed to Bluffwoods Conservation Area. Dick Neuburger, our Possum Trot Orienteering Club President, was very gracious and brought our dinner at Applebee’s in St. Joseph, MO. We made it to Bluffwoods about 5:00 p.m. and started setting up. Registration started at 7:00 p.m. the mass start at 9:00 p.m. The participants had 9 hours to find as many control flags as possible. I tried to sleep in the van. That didn’t work very well. Miserable night. I was up at 5:30 a.m. this morning helping fix breakfast and help with the scoring at the finish line. It was a successful event, but very tiring. I made it home by about 9:00 a.m.

This evening I had dinner at CiCi’s Pizza in Liberty, MO with a bunch of Geocachers. I had a great time and met a lot of new folks. Mary just was not up to going out yet. She’s been pretty miserable today.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
2172 Steps Today – 1.02miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
79 Calories Burned.

Orienteering at Weston Bend State Park

Robby was nice enough to come take care of Mary today so I could go to the orienteering event at Weston Bend State Park. I served a registrar today for the 3-hour Score O event. There were 30 plus control flags hidden all over the park. After a mass start the participants had 3 hours to find a many control flags as possible. The harder to find flags were worth more points. We had about 65 people show up for the event. It was a perfect day for orienteering. Clear skies and the temperature was about 50 degrees.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
5238 Steps Today – 2.48 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
196 Calories Burned.

Mary is still hurting and not sleeping well

Mary seems to make it though her therapy everyday okay, but then she hurts and can not find a comfortable place to sit or lay. She sits, changes chairs, goes to bed, changes beds and she is miserable everywhere she goes. It’s the same thing at night. She has not had a good nights rest in a couple weeks.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
2236 Steps Today - 1.05 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
55 Calories Burned.

Brian & Carlin Brought Dinner

Brian & Carlin Yonke brought a wonderful dinner to us this evening. They stayed, ate with us and visited for a few hours. We really enjoyed the evening. The main course was lasagna made with zucchini instead of the traditional lasagna noodles. It was delicious. Along with the fantastic salad and sugar free berry cobbler with sugar free ice cream on top, it was a meal we won’t soon forget. Thank you Brian and Carlin for a wonderful evening.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
3126 Steps Today - 1.48 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
103 Calories Burned.

Prairie Center Event

I spent a lot of time this evening preparing the Prairie Center Maps and clue sheets for the event on April 2nd. This has turned out to be a bigger job than I thought. We have marked the spot for 52 control flags, and cache containers all over the park. I hope to provide a lot of fun for the Geocaching Score O course as well as 4 normal orienteering courses.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
2221 Steps Today - 1.05 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
69 Calories Burned.

One Whole Week Since Surgery

Today it's been one week since since Mary's knee surgery. I think she is progressing very well. She still gets around the house with a walker. She can't sleep at night and cat knaps a lot during the day.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
1934 Steps Today - 0.91 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
28 Calories Burned.

Mary's Therapy Was Ruff

The nurse and therapist came today to help Mary. After an hour of therapy Mary hurt a lot. She's still in good spirits and she gets around the house very well.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
2751 Steps Today - 1.30 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
77 Calories Burned.

Applebee's Carside To Go

This evening we tried out the new Applebee's Carside To go. It was pretty neat. I gave the girl a credit card. She pulled out a small portable terminal and slid my credit card through it. and ask me to sign it. In just a couple minutes she brought out our food. It was great.

Mary sure has hurt a lot this evening. She took a pain pill and I got her the ice pack. It finally seemed to settle down.

I spent a lot of time cleaning house this afternoon. I did some serious cleaning on the fish aquarium this evening.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
2682 Steps Today - 1.26 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
63 Calories Burned.

Therapist Came To Visit Mary

The Therapist came this afternoon to visit Mary. Mary walked a couple hundred feet around the house and did a lot of knee excerises. Tonight Mary hurt a lot. She took a pain pill and still hurt a lot. We had the Chinese Place down the street deliver some chinese food tonight. The cashew chichen was great.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
1792 Steps Today - .84 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
33 Calories Burned.

Mary Home with A New Knee

Mary got to come home today. Her knee has been really bugging her this afternoon. The pain pills just don't seem to be doing the job. She does seem to be relieved that she is home again. It is good to be home and not have to go to the hospital. We enjoyed the evening at home together. We're getting anxious. There's 9 caches in our 100 mile circle that's popped up. I guess they will have to wait for a couple weeks or so.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
2876 Steps Today - 1.36 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
117 Calories Burned.

Afternoon Therapy Went Better

Mary said she still hurt, but the afternoon therapy went better than this morning. The nurses sure have been good to us this week. This evening they brought Mary a very special meal since it's her last supper before going home. It seemed to really please her. Then Robby and Alison came by and brought Mary and I cheese cake from the Cheese Cake Factory. It was delicious. Strawberries, whipped cream. The whole shebang. WOW! I expect to take Mary home tomorrow around mid-day.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
4361 Steps Today - 2.06 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
193 Calories Burned.

"Ohoooooooo!" - Mary's Noon Report

When I ask how the therapy went, Mary said, "Ohooooooooo!" I took that to mean therapy hurt a lot. She did very good inspite of the pain. The therapist still thinks she can go home tomorrow. I set her up with a laptop so this afternoon she can surf the web, play games, and send email. She has therapy again this afternoon.

Pretty Sore After Walking Today

Mary was wishing she had her pain pump back this evening. She is pretty sore from the walking today. She is very perky and has a good attitude about everything. She gets along with all the nurses very well. The nurses have really taken good care of her.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
5023 Steps Today - 2.37 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
231 Calories Burned.

Mary's First Therapy With New Knee

I joined Mary for lunch. She said the therapist came this morning and helped her walk 70 feet with a walker. She said it did not hurt anything like she expected. She was pleasantly surprised at the lack of pain. She was able to bend the knee more than expected and she lifted her leg higher than expected. The therapist said if she continues like this she will be able to go home on Friday.

Most of Mary's Tubes Came Out

The nurses came in a while ago and disconnected every thing that was connected to the IV in both arms. That means no more button to push for pain. She finally got some real food with breakfast. Scrambled eggs, sausage, juice, and rice crispies with 2% milk. She should get her first therapy later this morning.

Miserable Night, But A Good Night

From where I slept (a foot away from Mary on the hospital recliner) it appeared that Mary rested well last night with the exception of the nurses coming in to do their thing reguarly through out the night. The miserable part was me on the recliner. Recliner's don't sleep very well. I am going to try to work today with less than a half nights sleep. I heard Mary push the demerral button a time or two last night, so she must have had some discomfort.

Mary's Knee Replacement - A Long Day

Mary seems to be resting well at the end of a long day. She's had a couple shots of demurral in the past hour. I don't know how she's going to get a lot of sleep tonight. The nurses are in here every few minutes. The nurse is getting ready to give her a shot of something else to help her rest. Mary also received another thing of blood during the past hour. So far it seems to be a very successful knee replacement.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
4565 Steps Today - 2.16 miles walking the halls of the hospital.
0 Aerobic Steps.
219 Calories Burned.

Steady Improvement

For the past 3-4 hours Mary has not had any nausea. She feels like the morphine was part of the cause of the nausea. She has asked the doctor to give her something instead of morphine. The nurse is working on that now. Mary asked for some Lime sherbet. She seemed to really enjoy that. She is able to move the knee more now. She can bend it some. She is much perkier now. I feel that she is doing very well. The nurse just showed up to change the pain medicine from morphine to demurral. She can now have demurral every 6 minutes if she needs it.

Finally Some Lunch

Mary has not had anything to eat since last night. They just brought her her lunch. It's all liquids. Since her mouth is so dry she is welcoming it.

After three nurses that finally got the blood IV to work. She feels like a pin cusion. I lost track of how many times they stuck her before it worked. At least now she's getting her own blood back into her.

Mary Is Back In Her Room

We're now back to Mary's room. She's very groggy, but talking to us. She had a bout with nausea a few minutes ago. The nurse came in and gave her a shot for nausea and she drifted off to sleep. She said her knee hurts when she moves it. There is some kind of machine over here that is dripping blood 2-3 times per second. The machine separates the good blood and they are going to put it back into her in a little while. To Robby and I it seems that she's losing quite a bit of blood. The nurses don't seem to be concerned about the blood loss. She has a morphine machine hooked up so she can push a button and get a dose real quick. The nurse is here now to put in another IV for the blood replacement.

Mary Out of Surgery - Doing Fine

The doctor just came out and talked to Robby and I. He said Mary's knee was a lot worst than he thought it was from the x-ray. The replacement procedure went just fine and all is well. She should be out of recover in about an hour.

Mary Wheeled Into Surgery

Rob and I just left Mary as she was wheeled into surgery. We went to the cafeteria for a bite of breakfast and now we're in the surgery waiting room for the long wait. Everything seems to be on schedule at this time. Mary seems to be in good spirits and accepting the whole ordeal.

Checked Mary Into the Hospital

We arrived at the St. Joesph Hospital this evening about 7:00 p.m. to check Mary in for her right knee replacement. We watched a couple movies about the procedure and received a few more instructions. Then the nurse said we were free for the evening. They are suppose to come get her in the morning about 6:30 a.m. to start perparations for the surgery scheduled for 7:30 a.m. The surgery is suppose to last about 2 hours.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
4247 Steps Today - 2.01 miles.
1958 Aerobic Steps.
187 Calories Burned.

Course Setting in Prairie Center

This morning we gave it our best effort to be first to find for the newest cache in Kansas City, but we failed again. Guitar Nutz beat us again.

I spent the afternoon at Prairie Center Nature Center field checking and locating new places for controls and geocaches. I covered the whole park and I hope I have gathered the data that I need to finish preparing the courses for the event scheduled for April 2nd.

Today's Stats:
2 Geocaches.
13887 Steps Today - 6.57 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
638 Calories Burned.

Geocaching Techie Event

Today it was my privilege to present a couple subjects at the Techie Event held at the Friends University in Lenexa. I taught the Street Atlas and GPXSonar sessions. I was pretty stressed out about teaching, but it turned out to be a lot of fun. We had geocachers attend the event from Salina, Kansas and St. Louis, Missouri. There was somewhere between 50 and 60 folks that attended the event.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
1695 Steps Today - .80 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
24 Calories Burned.

Caching in Downtown Kansas City

When I got off work Friday morning we headed downtown to grab Kansas City's newest cache. As Mary and I were searching for the cache we were joined by Tony North(GuitarLizard). After finding the cache the cache owner, John Tackett(Tack & Hammer), came out of the office building across the street to let us know he had been wathing us as we searched for the cache. We enjoyed visiting with our fellow geocachers.

Today's Stats:
1 Geocaches.
2207 Steps Today - 1.04 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
68 Calories Burned.

Caching with Lisa

We finally got Lisa to remember to bring her GPS to work. We went out to Town Square at the Sprint Campus and gave her a few minutes instruction on how to navigate with her new Garmin Forerunner 101 and she was off. It did not take her long to find both caches that Andy, Chris and I put out on the Campus grounds. Now Joe and Chuck are after us to put out a couple more.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
10189 Steps Today - 4.82 miles.
5654 Aerobic Steps.
460 Calories Burned.

Still Setting Up the New ThinkPad

Three days now. Most of my spare time has been trying to get this thing set up where I am comfortable with it. Having much trouble connecting to my AD domain on my local lan. I can not consistently connect to my old laptop so I can grab files off of it. I think I'm making progress. About 8:00 p.m. I connected and it stayed connected the rest of the evening.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
6459 Steps Today - 3.05 miles.
3340 Aerobic Steps.
275 Calories Burned.

Loading Software into New ThinkPad

I spent most of the evening loading files and software from my old laptop into the new ThinkPad. I've now spent two evening trying to get my email working in Outlook. The new laptop refused to send email. The problem turned out to be the ThinkPad would not use the same outgoing mail server as I had in my old laptop. When I changed the outgoing mail server to what Mary was using in her machine it worked fine. Don't understand it, just glad it works.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
5866 Steps Today - 2.77 miles.
2095 Aerobic Steps.
262 Calories Burned.