6 weeks post op

 I had my 6 week post op appointment with the surgeon.  First thing I asked was could I get rid of the compression stockings - yes!  That was definitely good news.  They are so uncomfortable when wearing them 24 hours a day for 6 weeks.                                                                                 Then every question I asked him-clunking and clicking in the knee, pain in different areas, at different times, swelling etc. I got the same answer, this is all normal and it will take a year to recover!!  He is very pleased with my progress and come back to see him in another 6 weeks!                                                    Then I went to physio today.  I was concerned about all the back pain I am having, lots of time it is worse than the pain from the knee. He said it's because I am not walking like I did before surgery because the new knee is still learning how to operate so it's not taking half the load like before.  He gave me some additional excercises to do that should help my back and he also got me to walk up and down the stairs properly.  That wasn't too bad although harder coming down than going up. After that he said he was discharging me, I graduated, and only come back if I'm having a problem.  Of course I was in so much pain the rest of the day I didn't know what to do with my self as nothing was giving me any relief.  This seems to be typical after every physio appointment.  He really pushes me, I push myself, I work on the bike and there were new excercises as well.  Hopefully things will ease off by tomorrow and also I get a decent nights sleep. Oh and I also walked to the end of our street and back when I got home.  It's not really that far.  There and back was probably only 75 metres.

28 days later

 

Every night since the surgery I have had to wear this brace in bed. 4 weeks, what a nightmare. This brace goes from high up on the thigh down to just above my ankle. The brace doesn't bend so you have to keep your leg straight all night. It took almost 2 weeks  before I could lie on my right side and I still can't lie on my left side without a lot of pain.  Needless to say there is very little continuous sleep. BUT, the 4 weeks are up and I don't have to wear this @#$%$#@ thing any more🎈🎉🎈. I was talking to my surgeons nurse this morning and she said I should bring it in and throw it at him, I suggested I should bring it in and tell him to find a nice place for him to put it.  She thought that was a much better idea!!😂🤣😂

Next thing to go is the compression stocking that I have to wear 24 hours a day for 6 weeks, 2 more weeks to go!!

3 weeks later

 

January 31st I had a full knee replacement.  In and out of the hospital within 24 hours. Not the best hospital experience I've ever had!  The hospital unit that I was supposed to go to after surgery was full to over flowing.  So I was sent back to the day surgery unit where I started out, only that unit was full so I was sent to the overflow unit from the overflow day unit.  This was a unit that is used for overflow DAY surgery, except myself and 19 others were staying overnight but it was definitely not set up for overnighters.  There was one toilet and sink for 20 people. 

 Instead of a bedside cupboard/cabinet I had a chair to put my glass of water etc. on.  

On the other side of the bed right up against my bed was a large linen cart on wheels.  Because it was a day unit the overhead light did not turn off at all, all night, and the ice machine is in use (right across from my bed) from 6a.m. on. Needless to say I was quite happy to go home when physio gave me the all clear. 

DIL Rhonda was at the house when I got home and stayed until yesterday. I don't know what we would have done without her.  For the first several nights she was even setting her alarm for in the middle of the night so I got my pain meds on time. She was cleaning, doing laundry, cooking, putting my splint on and coming to all physio appointments so she knew exactly what I needed to be doing and we even got to have there dog Sadie here all the time.

This is how it looked when I came home.

By about the third day there was quite a bit of bleeding.

Not to mention all the bruising which is even worse today. Even the side of my foot and the back of my knee and below the staples to my ankle are bruised and very very swollen.

There were 36 staples that were removed after 2 weeks.

Steristrips were then applied, there were several areas that were still oozing. The oozing continued on for many days but appear to have finally stopped today.

During this entire time I have had to wear compression stocking 24 hours a day and that will be for 6 weeks. I also have to wear a big splint every night in bed for four weeks.  It's like having a log wrapped around my leg and is not exactly conducive to sleeping.

Over the years I have had several surgeries but this one takes top place for the most painful by far.  I doubt I would want to go through this with my other knee if I had to.

Things can only get better!!

Finally

After waiting 2 years I'll finally be here in the morning!!!!! 

Books 1-6

 The Next Girl by Carla Kovach

She thought he’d come to save her. She was wrong.
Deborah Jenkins pulls her coat around her as she sets out on her short walk home in the pouring rain. But she never makes it home that night. And she is never seen again …
Four years later, an abandoned baby girl is found wrapped in dirty rags on a doorstep. An anonymous phone call urges the police to run a DNA test on the baby. But nobody is prepared for the results.
The newborn belongs to Deborah. She’s still alive.

I did enjoy this book.  I kept picking it up to see what was going to happen next. Wasn't crazy about the ending (the epilogue) it was a little too cut and dried given the horrors that happened to Deborah.  

Losing Your Head by Clare Kauter

She’ll clear his name of murder – if she doesn’t kill him first.
Checkout-girl turned amateur sleuth Charlie Davies at your service.
My nemesis has been accused of offing his billionaire uncle for an inheritance, and as much as I’d love to see James McKenzie rot in prison, there are two problems.
One: He definitely didn’t do it. (Probably.)
Two: In exchange for proving his innocence, he’ll pay up big.
And I simply can’t resist his… cash.
I have to find the killer somehow, because the reward money isn’t the only thing on the line. If I don’t catch the murderer before they catch me –
I might just lose my head.

This book was so over the top, unrealistic and beyond belief that it was quite funny.  I don't think I'll be reading any more in the series but it did make me laugh.

Jinnie by Josephine Cox

Ten years ago, Louise Hunter's life was torn apart by tragedy. Her husband, Ben, killed himself; her brother-in-law, Jacob, was murdered; and her sister, Susan, abandoned her new-born daughter, revealing the baby is Ben's child. Louise remains haunted by guilt over the one night she spent with Ben's friend Eric, and refuses to return Eric's love. But after adopting Jinnie, she finds new happiness - until Susan decides she wants Jinnie back.
Meanwhile, Adam and Hannah, whose mother was killed with Jacob, are on the run. What Adam witnessed on that dreadful night has put them all in danger, but their beloved grandmother knows that one day they must return to the place where it all began . . .

I did enjoy this book and it was very heart wrenching and touching in parts, but I was a little disappointed in the ending.  Can't say much without giving away the ending but it all fell into place a little too easily.

Last Seen by Joy Kluver

I can see her, shouting with laughter as she swings as high as she can, her beautiful blonde curls flying out behind her. I can feel her tiny hot hand in mine, and my heart aches. My little girl. If only I’d listened to my gut. Then maybe she’d be safe here with me…
When five-year-old Molly Reynolds is snatched from the park in the small village of Otterfield, Detective Bernadette ‘Bernie’ Noel throws herself into the search, sick with worry for the quiet, sensitive little girl and her distraught mother.
Wasting no time, Bernie finds a small green cardigan under a bush in the park. It still has the smiley face sticker Molly won that week at school. It’s the first in a chain of clues – and Bernie can’t shake the feeling that it was left deliberately, as a message.
But Bernie encounters a wall of silence. Otterfield is a close-knit community, yet no one in the village seems to care that Molly is missing at all. Why?
And then Bernie makes a chilling discovery: twenty-five years ago, another little girl went missing from the area. Her name was Sophie, and all they ever found of her was her teddy bear, hidden under a bush. Now Bernie knows she’s in a race against time to save Molly’s life.
Bernie’s team work round the clock to find a connection between the two girls, and just when they think they’re making progress a devastating tragedy strikes at the heart of the case. Molly’s family have been hiding a secret, and now their little girl is in greater danger than ever.
Can Bernie outwit the most warped criminal she has ever faced and bring Molly home safe, or will another innocent life be lost?

This was an interesting crime thriller. I found it went from tame to crazy quiet quickly. I loved the dynamics between Bernie and her team, especially her newest member who is one moment obnoxious and the next nice, thoughtful and kind-there seems to be more to his story.
I liked how this case is uncovered and how deeply things go. It is done so well and believable as well. I was hooked from the beginning and couldn't put the book down.

Murder at the Manor by Catherine Coles

Evelyn Christie has resigned herself to another long, boring weekend at Hessleham Hall, the home of her husband, Tommy's, family. However, it turns out to be anything but dull when his uncle, the Earl of Northmoor, is shockingly murdered!
Evelyn must use all of her sleuthing knowledge, gained whilst she was a member of the Police force during the war, to find out who the murderer is before the bungling local police force decide the Earl was bumped off so Tommy could inherit his title.

This is a very light read. A lot of interesting, if not all of them likeable, characters. The story wasn’t over complicated, so I finished it very quickly.

The Force by Don Winslow

All Denny Malone wants is to be a good cop.
He is "the King of Manhattan North," a highly decorated NYPD detective sergeant and the real leader of "Da Force." Malone and his crew are the smartest, the toughest, the quickest, the bravest, and the baddest, an elite special unit given carte blanche to fight gangs, drugs, and guns. Every day and every night for the eighteen years he’s spent on the Job, Malone has served on the front lines, witnessing the hurt, the dead, the victims, the perps. He’s done whatever it takes to serve and protect in a city built by ambition and corruption, where no one is clean—including Malone himself.
What only a few know is that Denny Malone is dirty: he and his partners have stolen millions of dollars in drugs and cash in the wake of the biggest heroin bust in the city’s history. Now Malone is caught in a trap and being squeezed by the Feds, and he must walk the thin line between betraying his brothers and partners, the Job, his family, and the woman he loves, trying to survive, body and soul, while the city teeters on the brink of a racial conflagration that could destroy them all.

 As you might expect, there is a lot of violence and strong language in this book. The language, authentic, though it may be, is rough, very rough.

This book is mind boggling. It is packed with layers of drama, tension and suspense, and is utterly engrossing and riveting.
However, it is not an easy read in many ways. It is intensely somber and bleak. 

Denny reminded me of a member of the mob, in reality, he is, he's the "the King of Manhattan North",the leader of "Da Force" with his fingers in every pie, wheeling and dealing, working the system, compromising, living large and on the edge, instead of a member of law enforcement. The lines were very very blurred.

This is a book that leaves you at the end pondering the story and asking questions. For me what the author did with Denny Malone at the ending, was unbelievable and as such, it was very much a let down. But over all I liked the book. It was a great read.  

I'm not sure I want to read another book like this though as I did found it just too much in the violence department.

That's it for January. 6 books, more than I expected!

6 months old today!!

 How time flies, 6 months old already!

Books 57-68

 Hale's Point by Patricia Ryan

While house-sitting at a waterfront estate, sweet, straight-laced Harley is stunned by the arrival of her employer's supposedly dead son, an Alaskan bush pilot with a bad boy rep who's been wounded in an airplane crash. Coming home after years of estrangement--and a stint in prison--to make amends with the old man is difficult for Tucker, but not half as difficult as keeping his distance from the super-sexy but virginal Harley while they share the house, awaiting his father's return.
Having given up on the idea that he'll ever fully heal from his ravaged leg, Tucker balks when Harley urges him to swim as physical therapy--until she adds a unique incentive: "Catch me and you can have me." Her certainty that he'll never be able to swim that fast evaporates when he embarks on a rigorous training regimen, determined to claim her as his prize. But when she unearths the dark secret in his past, will she still be willing to pay up when the time comes?

This book was so predictable but still an interesting, light read.

Keep Her Close by M.J. Ford

It’s six months since DS Josie Masters saved her nephew from the clutches of the killer clown, but she’s still haunted by that terrible night. The Thames Valley police force, however, regard Jo as a hero – much to the jealousy of some of her colleagues.
When a young girl goes missing from Jesus College, Jo is assigned to the case, along with new recruit, the handsome DS Pryce. The city of Oxford goes into turmoil when two more girls disappear from Oriel and Somerville, and Josie soon realises that the killer is spelling out her own initials in a deadly game of cat and mouse. This time, the case is personal – but who is the perpetrator?
In a race against time, Jo hunts for the killer – but soon realises he could be a lot closer to home than she’d realised…

This book is the second in a series.  It was billed as a 'stand alone' but I think it would have helped if I had read the first book first. This story did keep me guessing for about three quarters of the book. 

His Hand in the Storm by Ritu Sethi

A man copes any way he can after killing his only son.
His team believes he’s calm and Zen. His boss finds him obsessive. Suspects think him gorgeous but dangerous. They’re all right.
Chief Inspector Gray James is sculpting the remembered likeness of his small son when he receives the call – a faceless corpse is found hanging by the choppy river, swirls of snow and sand rolling like tumbleweeds.
Montreal glitters: the cobbled streets slippery with ice, and the mighty St. Lawrence jetting eastward past the city. One by one, someone is killing the founders of a booming medical tech startup – propelling Gray into a downward spiral that shatters his hard-earned peace, that risks his very life, that threatens to force him to care and face what he has shunned all along: his hand in the storm.

Another fast read that kept me guessing. The plot is interesting and has enough twists and turns and lots of suspects to keep you guessing till the very end. 

Bad to the Bones by James Harper

Ten years ago, Linda Clayton's son Daniel disappeared. The love and support of her husband Robbie was all that kept her sane—until the day he ran away. Makes you thankful you're not Linda Clayton.
Wise-cracking, street-smart PI Evan Buckley thought his problems were bad enough. When his latest case ends in disaster, he’s at the end of his tether—until fate throws him headlong into Linda Clayton's desperate world and a long-dead investigation that everybody wants to stay that way.
But Evan never does what everybody wants, and he vows to uncover the truth—and in the process kick into touch the demons that come to torment him every night.
As the suspense ratchets up, he’s caught in a desperate fight for his life with a stone cold killer who will go to any lengths to protect his secrets ...

This book is the first in a series.  It was a fast, easy read which I did enjoy.  There is a major fight scene that is particularly gruesome but fits. Of course, the book ends with only some of the story resolved which means you have to keep reading the series to see if there are answers further down the road.

The German Midwife by Mandy Robotham

A prisoner in the camps, Anke Hoff is doing what she can to keep her pregnant campmates and their newborns alive.
But when Anke's work is noticed, she is chosen for a task more dangerous than she could ever have imagined. Eva Braun is pregnant with the Führer's child, and Anke is assigned as her midwife.
Before long, Anke is faced with an impossible choice. Does she serve the Reich she loathes and keep the baby alive? Or does she sacrifice an innocent child for the good of a broken world?

I did enjoy this book for the most part.  It basically dwelled on the pregnancy of Eva Braun and the love interest. There were a few 'hold your breath' moments and wondering what the outcome would be.  I felt the ending was far too condensed and lacking.

Crossed by Death by ACF Bookens

When salvage expert and historian Paisley Sutton crawls into an abandoned store with a house attached, she certainly isn’t expecting to find a body on site. But soon, her discovery sends Paisley on an expedition through history that links this murder to the one that led the previous owners to abandon the building in the first place. And someone doesn’t want her to salvage this story from the wreckage.
Can Paisley preserve herself and her young son while also uncovering the stories that matter most?

Not enough time spent on the mystery and too much time spent on a toddlers behaviour!!

Dangerous Deeds by Beth Prentice

If only she knew buying a house could be so dangerous...
Meet Lizzie. She’s 31 and having a premature mid-life crisis. So, she bought a lonely, run down old house that pulled on her heartstrings.
But with the purchase Lizzie gets more than she bargained for. She didn’t expect the engagement ring and letters of forbidden love hidden under the attic floorboards. She didn’t expect the lazy cat, or the drop dead gorgeous handyman. And she definitely didn’t expect the stalker.
As the renovation begins and the house starts to slowly return to its former glory, the letters dog her dreams. Why was the writer forced to turn away from his love? Why was their love forbidden? And why was this all hidden under the floorboards?
Filled with a drive to reunite the ring with its rightful owner, Lizzie engages the help of her new handyman, her crazy family and her sex crazed Grandma, and sets on a journey of lost love, heartache, and public damnation.
But can Lizzie restore the house to its former glory, and find who it all once belonged to before her stalker catches up with her? Or will she lose everything...including her life?

The Scott, Lizzie, Riley relationships was very easy to predict.  Loved Lizzies crazy family, especially grandma.  The outcome was surprising.  Would read another book in this series.

Angels in the Architecture by Annie M. Ballard

Emelie and Liam have a happy life with their five-year-old son Ben, until a car accident changes everything, sending Emelie into a spiral of declining mental health. Struggling with a deep desire for another baby, pretending she is fine, Emelie desperately tries to hold things together until her search for a baby makes her do the unthinkable.
Liam is determined to keep things “normal.” He barely notices his own struggle, until he makes a decision that shatters Emelie’s newly reordered world and separates their family.
Out of sync, each must grapple with the meaning of family and their deepest desires.
Can Emelie and Liam find their way back together?

I understand the mental health issues that this story revolves around but some of the characters, to my mind, were not very helpful when she needed help the most.

Wrong Alibi by Christina Dodd

WRONG JOB
Eighteen-year-old Evelyn Jones lands a job in small-town Alaska, working for a man in his isolated mountain home. But her bright hopes for the future are shattered when Donald White disappears, leaving her to face charges of theft, embezzlement—and a brutal double murder. Her protestations of innocence count for nothing. Convicted, she faces life in prison…until fate sends her on the run.
WRONG NAME
Evelyn’s escape leaves her scarred and in hiding, isolated from her family, working under an alias at a wilderness camp. Bent on vengeance, intent on recovering her life, she bides her time, patiently searching for the man who took everything from her.
WRONG ALIBI
At last, the day comes. Donald White has returned. Evelyn emerges from hiding; the fugitive becomes the hunter. But in her mind, she hears the whisper of other forces at work. Now Evelyn must untangle the threads of evidence before she’s once again found with blood on her hands: the blood of her own family…

Its a bit difficult to follow this story at first as it jump all over the place, the sequences don't make much sense and Evelyn/Evie/Petie was kind of confusing. But things pick up.

I found parts of it pretty unrealistic but there were parts that really kept you reading to see what would happen.  The romance part was pretty unbelievable.  Tthe ending was a surprise but I thought it was quite rushed.  Maybe this is because this is book 1 in a series and some of the characters will be more fleshed out in following books.

We'll Have a Wonderful Cornish Christmas by C.P.Ward

Unlucky-in-love and long-term loner Lucy Drake can find no excuse not to join her parents on a Christmas trip to the Cornish coastal town of Tintagel, not when her father's company is sponsoring the inaugural Christmas Extravaganza.
Hoping to hide an embarrassing secret and generally keep out of sight, Lucy finds herself attracted to local surfing dentist, Dan. But when his ex-girlfriend and social media starlet Elizabeth Trevellian shows up to expose all of Lucy's insecurities, Lucy will need all of the magic of Christmas to help her untangle the ensuing mess.
Against a backdrop of fudge, Christmas beach parties, Brussels sprouts obsessions, reindeer rides and terrible Christmas karaoke, We'll have a Wonderful Cornish Christmas is certain to delight fans of CP Ward's Christmas debut, I'm glad I found you this Christmas, and even features a cameo from a familiar face.

I really enjoyed this book.  Maybe because I was reading it iver Christmas, I don't know.  It was really corny, silly, unrealistic and unbelievable in partss but it was a good feel good read.

Stationmaster's Cottage by Phillipa Nefri Clark

Christie is happy in her life... or so she tells herself. Despite a tragic childhood, she has built a satisfying career and loves her city apartment. But deep down she yearns for a simpler life. Family. A garden. And a place to heal her heart.
The decision to attend a funeral in a town she's never heard of throws her safe world into disarray, exposing the cracks in her life. As she deals with the fallout, Christie moves into a rundown cottage she's inherited and there, makes a discovery.
Fifty years ago, a heartbroken young artist waited each dawn on a jetty for his true love to return. And each night, he wrote her a love letter.
What Christie uncovers will change her life forever. 

The love angle in this story was very predictable, regarding Christie.  What happens with the grandparents is a little more surprising!!

The Clockmaker's Wife by Daisy Wood

The world is at war. And time is running out…
London, 1940. Britain is gripped by the terror of the Blitz, forcing Nell Spelman to flee the capital withher young daughter – leaving behind her husband, Arthur, the clockmaker who keeps Big Ben chiming. 

When Arthur disappears,Nell is desperate to find him. But her search will lead her into far darker places than she ever imagined… 

New York, Present Day. When Ellie discovers a beautiful watch that had once belonged to a grandmother she never knew, she becomes determined to find out what happened to her. But as she pieces together the fragments of her grandmother’s life, she begins to wonder if the past is better left forgotten… 

Overall it was a good story that kept me reading. The author did a lot of research on Big Ben and the running of the clock. London and the surrounding landmarks were described very well. Past and present. The descriptions really set the mood and tone. Lots of mystery and intrgue. unfortunately there was a lot that was just too unbelievable, especially the last part in the clock tower, although it did make it very exciting.

Finally finished this post and the last post today.  I read a lot more books this year than in previous years.  I must make a new years resolution to do my reviews of books read each time after about every 5 books.  I do add the books to the draft copy I have set up but I leave doing the review for far too long and end up having to go to somewhere like 'Good Reads' to refresh my memory.