Movin' On

Yesterday I was given a good grade by Doctor Parr at the ten day post surgery check-up.

I am sure we all have these days.  A day when everything feels right in your world.  Today is one of those days for me. I jumped out of bed and noticed ... no pain.  I went downstairs to feed Tuppence (Penny does not have wet food) and again, no pain.  Yet I was not due for medications for another hour.   Soon all will be great with my knees and it will be back to those days .... the days before arthritis pain.

Thanks to modern medicine, medical inventors and engineers, hospital staff, and the skilled work of my surgeon and his team I have two new knees that should give many years of pain free walking.  However, the biggie for me is rehab after the surgery.  If you have a great physiotherapist (and I do) who will help you to work on the the mended parts you are on your way to success.  I am grateful to all who have played a role in bringing this smooth walking capability back to me.

The world awaits ...
Now I can contemplate my planned 2011 vacations and Camino walk knowing that I will be able to enjoy them and not be hindered by a crippling disability.  I can walk and explore, not hobble and look.  It is still amazing to me.  I am so grateful.

April 1 - April 16

Photo: LGK Rome, Italy

Andrée and I have enjoyed a few French vacations together over the years, now we are setting our sights on Italy.  We have both visited Italy and we are working on our itinerary.  From Rome we will travel to Firenze (Florence), and Pisa.  We complete our tour in Genoa where Andrée attends a photography seminar.  We do not speak Italian but like Italians, we can talk with our hands.  My last Italian vacation was with Felicia in Rome when I was able visit all museums and places of interest.  I visited Firenze for four days prior to meeting Felicia.

April 24 - May 19

Photo: LGK Utah, USA

Bev and I will visit  the Four Corners area and then Dawn in Louisiana.  My best vacation over the last thirty-five years was with Bev in Chile, Bolivia, and Peru.  It was magical.  Will it be just as magical in Navajo Land?

 
Photo: LGK Machu Picchu, Peru
I used the South American pack as my 2002-2007 pilgrim pack.  I did not know this trip was a Camino backpack learning experience.  It took me three pilgrimages learning to pack light and get it right.

June 29 - July 17

Garry and I view cruises as an opportunity to relax while sleeping in a moving hotel.  Each day we have the luxury of a new city or country waiting to be explored.  Our ports of call from London are Copenhagen, Denmark; Helsinki, Finland; St. Petersburg, Russia; Tallinn, Estonia; and Warnemunde, Germany (Berlin tours).  We travel through the Kiel Canal on our return journey to London, UK.

August 26 - September 30

So far a busy year is planned. The test of my new knees comes now when once again I walk Camino Francés, although this time with a difference.  I plan to walk 780 kms east from Santiago de Compostela, Spain (SdC) to Saint Jean Pied de Port, France (SJPP). 

This has been my dream walk since I first learned about El Camino de Santiago in 1999.  I will be walking the way that last year Sue Kenney (pilgrim, author, speaker, leader) called al Contrario on her Blog. http://mycaminojourney.blogspot.com/ 

Walking this way will offer different challenges and bring me back to where I started on the Camino in 2002.  Completing the journey by taking me full circle.

With these plans to date, I have a wonderful year ahead.