Another Day Of Leaves!!

 Another day of leaves and pine 

needles cleanup when I'm about

done the wind kicks up and there

is no way I could finish the cleanup.  

Finally the wind dies down enough

to get the front cleaned up. 

So Sunday I get to work on the 

back again.

Sunday,  3 1/2 hours later I 

finished the cleanup.  Just in

time for the wind to kick up

again.  I took 5 bags of stuff

off the north and 1 bag off

the deck alone.  Allen is 

working on the gutters since

I can't get on the roof.  So 

far he has taken off 3 pickle

buckets!  He took 2 more off.

More Health Issues!!

10/21/2021

 It seems Life is taking another tole!  I

did great getting the plants put away for

the winter months and other than a slight

pull in the back all went well.  Then the 

storms hit!!  

I deal with leg cramps when I over do it 

when it comes to cleanup of the yard!

Three weeks ago I had cramps so bad

when I got out of bed to take Sable out

I dropped to the floor.   This is the second

time this has happened, the last time it

took my back out and we found out other

issues with the hands.  Hence the first hand

surgery and a second one was to be done

this fall after the plants were put away.

Well my appt. was canceled this past week

and I won't get to see the specialist until

the end of Dec.  Again it was canceled and 

now it's set for the 11th of Jan.

Back to the leg cramps, which if you 

don't get them you are really missing 

out on the painful moments.  They 

will wake you out of a deep sleep 

to the point you have to stand and 

walk to see if you can get it to stop 

hurting. Being an x runner I can tell 

you the night cramps are worse than 

a running cramp.   All the muscle 

relaxers and bio freeze will help 

slowly but it's really painful.   Hence 

the limp and moving slow for a 

few days afterwards.  

But this time it was totally different!!   

The swelling and pain just wouldn't

stop.  Then there was this lump in 

the back of the knee!!  I made an appt.

with my doctor as I couldn't wait until 

Dec. for my yearly checkup.   She knows 

me well and for me to come in, it must

really hurt.   So off to xray, then to 

ultrasound at the other clinic.  Xray 

showed water on the knee, so I know 

the doc said this is one issue that will

have to be drained.

But she was concerned that I might 

have a blood clot or what she stated 

was a 'Baker's Cyst.'    Now I know 

those show up in folks under 50 but 

we all know I haven't seen 50 in

sometime!   But again I'm extremely 

active and just don't sit down much.

I get home from the ultra sound and 

find a message to make an appointment 

with the specialist as soon as I can.  

Which one??    The tech stated that no 

blood clot was found and she kept 

apologizing when she knew it was painful.  

I get home to another message, no blood

clot but yes, a 'Baker's cyst' was found.    

Now I know why the knee wasn't bending 

right and causing me to fall down on the

 back side and no balance.  One good issue 

out of this it was forcing my upper body 

strength to kick in when I have to pull 

myself upward!!

So life is going to be a little slower as 

I don't want to put the brace back on 

or use the crutches,  they will totally 

take the back out again.   

Time to see an orthopedic specialist!! 

Life is just so much fun!!!  

Thank goodness the gardens are

'closed!!'  Yes, again with this

last storm the yard is a total mess

and I have never seen so much 

pine needles ever and more 

leaves than ever!!   We have 

taken 20 bags of pine and leaves

mixed off the yard with 7 bags of

just pine needles from just the north

and east side.  The south and west 

sides will have to wait.

Saw the orthopedic specialist

and now awaiting for the MRI 

appointment.  Just taking it slow 

and resting.  Will only do the 

cleanup if  I can and weather 

permits.  Thank you Toro!! 

11/24/2021

MRI was done today, now we

wait for the doctor's comments.

Got the MRI report, now we wait 

for the doctor to get ahold of me

not good news at all!!

12/6/2021

Appt. with the doctor.  Went in on

crutches and still in pain.   I was 

fitted with a brace and now we 

await for the referral to see a 

specialist as to have surgery.

I was told in the future I will end

up needing a knee replacement.

The MRI report states a complex 

medial meniscal tear with a radial 

component noted adjacent to the

posterior meniscal root.  There is

medial meniscal extrusion.  Moderate

Chondromalacia within the medial and

patellofemoral compartments is seen.

This is consistent with osteoarthritis.

Moderate volume suprapatellar joint

effusion and a small popliteal cyst is

noted.

(There is more to the story but it will

come out later.)

 

12/20/2021

Got in to see the knee specialist 

on Monday early!  We now have

a game plan on what needs to be 

done.   I will be going to sports

med to have a popliteal cyst 

aspiration/intraaticular steriod 

injection but that appointment 

isn't until the 19th of Jan.  I had

them put me on the wait list if there

is an early cancelation.

If the pain still is a problem than 

arthroscopic intervention will be 

the next step.

Thank goodness I have good knee

range!!

1/10/2022

Here are the knee braces I have used for the past

3 months and still a lot of pain.

The above was recommended to me

and when they arrived I was able to

get some relief!   I was able to get

the yard cleaned up with these on!

Still limping!!   

More Wind!!

 This is what we got up to this morning!

Clear over the house and shed.   More

cleanup!!

Six hours later I have the street cleaned 

and the back yard again looks nice.  

Hope my neighbors enjoy my blower/vac all

day, this is what I'll be using to pick up their

leaves. 

The Storm Has Hit!!

 Bomb Cyclone has hit and let me tell

you what a mess!!   At one point you 

could not see across the circle it was

raining that hard.

I just walked in from vacing up the 

walkway and took a full huge 

bags off the walkway in stead of 

having it tracked inside.  Earlier 

this week the needles clogged

the vac for the house.

As you can see the whole yard again 

is covered in needles and leaves!  

The last week  was nothing but clean

up our yard.

Just had a weather advisory warning

on the TV!!

50 MPH winds and an earth quake

off the coast of OR.  Taking the day

off from outside cleanup.  

New To Our Blog?

For those of you new to our Blog and have

come here due to the Open House on the 

house that is being sold next door.  Welcome!!

Thank you to those of you that took photos

of our yard while you were in the hood.  But

you were here to look at the 'house for sale.'

Ours isn't for sale and we are glad you enjoyed

the 30+ years of work we have done to keep

our home lovely.  Sorry you missed all the 

lovely flowers we grow as this time of year 

is time to cut back.

karma 'Happy Toes' Gardens is a test garden

for hybridizers whom share their seeds with

us to grow out.  Yes, we have a business 

license and we are open for tours by 

appointment as we are classified as a 

working garden.

Thank you again for stopping by our blog.  

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/11106-NW-33rd-Ave_Vancouver_WA_98685_M25397-09767

We are floored that this site used our 

property to compare the house for 

sale.   Excuse me here, our value 

is lower than theirs?

Click on the link for our property

and it will take you to older photos

of our home......while you are there

just click the arrow to the right and

see what that property looked like

when the photo was taken and you

can see the toilet that was on their

property for many years!

The land value is low on ours but

we have more land than the house

for sale.  According to the county

our value was more than theirs.

Plus you don't compare two story 

homes to ranch style that most folk

find desirable these days.

Don't ya just love these site that 

try to make their properties look 

good??

You can even go to the July post

with the bus and see what this 

property looked like then.

 

Thank You!! 27,000

 Sometime over night we hit over 27,000!

Then less than 24 hours we have hit 27,054!!

The count for the 24 house hit 27,0097!!

What a wild week, hopefully things

will slow down soon!!  27,177 is today's

count.

Awesome Surprise!!

 I was given a double white by a friend 

and enjoyed the lovely bloom!!

Beings that they collection is put away already

I was surprised this am when I went in the 

greenhouse to find that it's not white!

What a lovely two tone salmon!!  Her tendrils

dance upward and love the curl.  

Thanks Randy!   

Sky Rocketing Counts On The Blog

 Many thanks for stopping in the last 24 hours

our counts here have sky rocketed to close

to 100!   Just makes me laugh.  

Yep you can check out what we have to deal

with besides all the beautiful flowers that we

grow.   Sorry the gardens are closed for the

season as we get it ready for winter.  Our 

gardens are private so, appt. are needed.

OUR HOME is NOT FOR SALE!!

Please check out the damages that the 

neighboring trees do and how much time

it takes to pick up.  The constant dropping

of pine needles and the mess we have to

deal with.   Last Febr. damage was well

over $15,000 dollars and not, a "I'm sorry."

All the neighbors have been given letters

of our concerns and we are still seeing 

dangling limbs!    Evergreens were fried

this past summer due to the heat and lack

of care.  Some of them are even dead.

Like I have said in the past, what my neighbor

does effects the property values of the whole

neighborhood.  At least the toilet is gone!

Crowning moment was when a Clark County

Commissioner arrived for a meeting here

and I was asked about the toilet next door.

It just shows the caliber of the people that

live there.

Do Your Research Before Buying!!

10/12/2021 

According to the real estate person 

the house next door is for sale!  Please 

do your research before you buy a 

home and to save yourself a headache, 

do have it inspected and I believe 

the rules here is the septic tank

needs to be pumped and inspected, 

before you sign the papers.  One 

needs to see what has been done to 

a house before you buy it.  Look at 

back photos to see what care has been

done, just don't take the real estate 

persons advice.   I have seen so many 

folks get burnt in the past few years

and then they don't get it, it's their 

responsibility to find out what has

gone on.  It is also my understanding

that they need to mention problems?

Ya know a drug house owner can 

slap paint on, change the carpet and 

one will never know until the next

owner gets sick.    Also be wise on

previous pets and it the property 

was cleaned up or not.  

Seriously, get that home inspected!!   

Look at the landscape, see how the

 trees are and check out the grass.   

Know the difference from pasture 

grass and real landscape grass.   If 

the landscape has changed know 

when and be sure there is no problems.

Check out the city and County's GIS 

information on the home.  Who the 

builder was and know what went on 

while it was being built.   I know for 

a fact as a X-Neighborhood Leader that 

some homes were built without the 

proper permits.  I have watch homes 

were built  that have sat in water 365 

days prior to the foundations going in. 

I have also seen foundations full of water

before the wood structure went up.  I have

seen slides and erosion called blow outs.

No you can't go boating in the bio ponds!

  

Once you sign on the line on the contract, 

you take on the responsibility of the mess 

you are buying.  Is the landscape done

to where you can manage it?  Are there

sink holes or land sliding?  The GIS should 

show all the permits that were taken out on

what projects were done.  It the roof had 

a permit and was inspected by local 

government.  Electrical needs a state

permit and it too needs to be inspected

before buying.  If you need photos of 

the property, try the real estate sites

or google to see some of the older photos. 

Are there any leins on the house?

What soil type do you have?  Check on line

with the State.  Will the land liquify if 

there is an earthquake.  Also know what

is under ground.  Do you know where

the major gas or sewer pipelines are?

I'm not talking the ones to hook you

up to gas but the one that feeds an area

for gas.  Do you know the Felida area

has one?  Let me tell you the local fire

dept. didn't know this until it was told

to them.  Ya know the same one that

exploded up north and killed 3 people.

While you are at GIS you can find out 

a lot of information on the said property.

Also what they value that said property

so you don't over pay and kick yourself

for paying more than what it's worth. 

I have seen folks buy and sell the same

property to raise the prices.  Plus the 

catering to the CA folks as they have

money from the sales of their property

down south.  Ya want to know why

housing isn't affordable, here is just a 

couple reasons.   

Get educated before you buy and know

what will go in around you if there is 

vacant land.  You will have to deal with

that as it's developed in the density that

was deem upon this area.   Know if the 

roadways are failing, as you will have to

deal with the traffic.  Also know that 

Highway 501 through Felida is coming

as it's been in the works for years to connect

the Ports at Vancouver and Ridgefield.

But no one is looking at the Salmon Creek

bridge and how low it sits and the flooding

in this area.  Or the dangerous curves out

at Sara.  Felida area residents since FNA 

was formed have been screaming about

the roadways and yes they are failing and 

the county has known about this for years.

We have seen what they have done in East

County and they are doing the same here.

They have no intentions of keeping with 

the agreement on the West Felida Plan

as they have diverted the funds that were

collected to help improve traffic to another

roadway.....which is against the law!

You can check the proposed developments

on both the City and County's websites under

community development, warning I have found

that they are not current and have to ask for 

information.    Heads Up:  3 story Senior

Center is coming down the pipeline just 

off NW 33rd Avenue by the park.

New developments on hillside, water 

runs down hill no mater what some folks

say.

You also can check the Sheriff's dept.

web site for crime in the area.

If you really want to know about the 

community you are about to buy into

read up on the history.   I will tell you 

leadership doesn't care!

Any Interest In A Newsletter?

 I was asked this weekend to consider 

writing a newsletter on what needs 

to be done when and why?   Is there 

any interest in this?   Leave

comments, thanks.   

As a retired educator, it's been my

goal to help my fellow gardeners.  

I am not a master gardener or do 

I have a horticulture degree.  I grow

what I'm passion about and if you

have seen our gardens over the years 

you will know just how many varieties

of plants we grow here.   It is my love

for nature and the environment that 

keeps it green!! 

That Time Of Year!!

 When Mr. Bones can come out into the Garden!!

Plus we have harvested our 

pumpkins!!

Starting to Look Bare!