Hooray -- my camera batteries arrived from Amazon.com. I'm glad I was able to get hold of batteries for my six-year-old digital camera, as the original and spare that I've been using all this time are getting increasingly bad at holding a charge for any length of time.

I just bought myself a LOT more time with this camera, which I genuinely like and which I won't upgrade from until I can find something that has all the features of a prosumer camera. That's a class that's partway between a pro camera and a consumer camera, and it's a class I really don't think exists anymore. Camera manufacturers don't appear to offer equipment that's in that middle ground these days, and consumer-level offerings don't offer some features that I've come to rely on, so I'll stick with the camera I've got for now. And to my great relief, I don't have to worry about my either of my camera batteries suddenly quitting on me anymore. So this was a productive day.

I've been getting a lot of pain and discomfort emanating from behind the kneecap lately. The orthopedist called it "chondromalacia patella" -- deterioration of the cartilage that's behind the kneecap. I have a few other things that I would like to call it, but this is a family-friendly blog so I'll keep those opinions to myself. ;) To quote the doctor, it's basically arthritis in the knee. Phooey.

Now that they've added some new exercises to the physical therapy regimen, I'm using some of the same equipment that I used to use when I belonged to a neighborhood gym (which has long since moved away from the neighborhood -- I'm not even sure where they are now). The difference is, the weights I used to be able to use make the weights I have to use now look like nothing. Sheesh, there was a time when I could have exercised in my sleep with the weights I'm using now. :( But at that time, I wasn't in the immediate aftermath of surgery and I didn't have several years' worth of wear-and-tear from arthritis going on in the knee. It'd be nice to find that I can get back to the level of strength I once had, without dying of pain from the freakin' knee acting up.

But as a more immediately achievable goal, I'll settle for "I'd like to have the appropriate amount of strength and muscle mass in my leg", neither of which is quite the case yet. As of last week, there was still some remaining swelling in the knee and muscle-tissue loss, so I have some work left to do before I'm back in one (relatively) intact piece. I'm doing my best. But doggone, I'm sick of being sore all the darn time. I might end up asking the doc to switch my prescription to naprocen (from ibuprofen) after all. I'll give it a few more weeks, until I see the orthopedist again.

I repeat for the umpteenth time, "DON'T FALL." The aftermath is a great big serving of PHOOEY.

[inside joke]

Dear Josey,

"Oh, yes, I'm the Great Returner",
Now I've got that song on the brain!
You should only see
What you've done to me
I sing it again and again!

Sincerely,

Gabey
[/inside joke]