OnFriday, Pam made a visit to the doctor and the ankle is healing right on schedule. She had the cast 
removed, new X-rays made and is now in a walking boot. She is slowly adding weight and walking more with directions to just pay attention and not ovedo, but otherwise she can use it now! Return to the doctor next month.
It may not be the latest thing in fashion, but she is thrilled! She still isn't ready to go dancing, but this is encouraging.
Today the cast tomorrow the world!
Today we are getting more rain and this one is predicted to be the biggest
in more than a year! It began raining last night just before we went to bed and now at 11am we have received two inches! And more is said to be coming. To a parched Texas this is the best of all news. Before this began we were at 0.7" above normal for the year, but we ended last year behind by about 18" so we have a long way to go, but this should help! I am usually not a fan of rainy days, but they sure do beat out watching trees die!
On days such as this I also really enjoy my home with inside parking! No wet feet at all! Of course, Muffie is not thrilled with this weather as she prefers to spend her day laying out in the warm sunshine. Rain just is now her thing.
Weathermen say that we may get two or three more inches before it stops and if we do that should go a long way to help our lakes. Can it be that the drought has been broken?
Today we took Pam into the doctor for a follow-up visit. He took out the stitches and checked her over and pronounced things as going very well. She is still admonished that there is to be no weight at all on the leg for the next four weeks, but it is looking good. She was also put into a hard cast so the leg is now better protected and should take a little less care.
We had a good day, going out to lunch after the doctor finished, for the first time since the surgery. Weather here was beautiful with a high temperature of 66. Thus far this has been a much nicer winter than last year.
Today was a big day in Pam's recovery from her ankle surgery. She now has wheels once more! We had heard of this device before but when we checked on it at the hospital we were told that they are very difficult to locate in this part of the country and also expensive. But yesterday's Tyler newspaper had an advertisement in it for a pharmacy that listed them as one of the things that they have available. It is called a "knee walker" and is complete with brakes and adjustable height.
We had a really good Christmas with her first and second outings since the hospital stay. We attended the candlelight service at chruch on Christmas Eve and then spent the day at our son's house in Sachse, TX. Pam did quite well for the rather long day for her, but did sleep most of Monday. She has little pain now and is using only one or two pain pills per day, while she was allowed up to two pills every four hours, so that is major progress. Thursday we take her in for next doctor visit and to get stitches out. It has now been two seeks since she had the new ankle put in and we still have another month before her first weight is allowed on it. We think that this should make her much more mobile.
Here it is December 20 and the weather is wonderful! We did receive just 
over 1 inch of much needed rain last night but tody it is sunny and clear. Pam is progressing more each day and is able to move about with less help less pain as she progresses. She is not yet free of the wheelchair but is getting better with a walker and that will be her transportation for the next few months.
Our neighbors drop by to check on her daily and we have had more help than anyone could expect. I think that there is no doubt that we have the world's best neighbors!
Even Muffie is happy here and what more could a person ask for? I guess that if I have a wish for Christmas this year, it would be that we gt a lot more rain in the next month or two, enough to start filling the lakes once more. So far we have had more rain than is usual for winter months here, but we still need a lot more to make up at all for what we lacked this past summer. Christmas is coming near and we still have roses blooming, so how can it not be a very special holiday season?
All I want for Christmas is a new ankle! That was Pam's wish this year and now she has one. On Dec. 13 she got a new one, surgically installed by Dr.'s Priddy and Beck. She spent two nights in the hospital and now has a home nurse and a physical therapist who visit here twice a week for the next few weeks. I am now married to a bionic woman with a total ankle replacement.
It looks like I'll have a new hobby, taking care of her since she is completely no weight bearing for the next six weeks and then six more weeks of limited weight to complete the healing process. So I guess I now am chief cook and bottle washer, as well as housekeeper and nurse for the next month or so.
One thing that really helps a great deal is the many friends who have come to our aid in this big event. Pam cooked and put in the freezer about a week of meals, then our friends from church have supplied several more and our neighbors here in Bass Lake have pitched in to help in every way possible and they have even been bringing in meals each day! Thus far I have not cooked even one meal! And we have eaten very well! There is no greater treasure than the friendship of good people.
The past week or so has been pretty chilly, but I suppose that in December one has to accept some cold, even in Texas! Last night it got down to 26° but the sun is out now and temperatures are rising! At 10am it is now 38° and they predict near 50 by late afternoon. It is supposed to be warm at least through the weekend. I am not one that sings the song "White Christmas!"
We did cover our roses last night and the reward today is a yellow rose of Texas!
There is a story about where that song came from that I should probably share with everyone. It seems that the song came about in the civil war and the subject was a prostitute! In those days a person of mixed race was often referred to as "high yellow" and the song as it was originally was about a lady of the evening who was of mixed race.
So now you know just a little bit of Texas history that is not often told or even that well known! So ends our lesson for today.