New Deck!

Just in time for summer to end, we finally have our new deck!

The new deck is twice as long (it extends across the entire back of the house). The floor is composite (for easy care), the railings are metal, and the railing is cedar (which we'll need to seal and stain). The steps will be completed tomorrow.

Bill can stand!

I had my second day of physical therapy today, and I was able to stand today!

Some folks have been asking me what I do at physical therapy.... the first two sessions included:

• ankle exercises (rotation, lateral, radial, up/down, calf stretches)
• weight bearing exercises (stand up, slowly shift weight onto ankle, take weight off, repeat)
• exercise bike
  
• 15-20 minutes of massage (to help get the swelling down)
• 10 minutes in a cold water boot
  

First day at Physical Therapy.

I had my first appointment with my Physical Therapist today.

Overall, it was very good. I had about a half hour of exercise and a bunch of history, measurements, massage, and some liquid cooling boot for my ankle.

I'll be in physical therapy for 3 days a week for the next month. The goal is to get my walking in three weeks. Woo-Hoo!

Interesting fact of the day: My right foot is 6cm bigger than my left foot (due to the swelling). That's a lot of centimeters!

One small step for Bill

... one giant leap to normalcy.

After two months of splints, casts, and a surgery, I finally had my cast removed today. Tomorrow, I start about a month of physical therapy. In the mean time, I can start putting a little bit of weight on my foot!

Hooray!!!

The picture on the right shows my ankle from three different views. You can see the screws and plate which were put in to provide more support. After physical therapy, I will get the screws and plate removed (one more trip to the hospital).

Look at that Horse!

Five Weeks and Counting

While I love summer, I must admit that I really love fall more.

Why? Football.

Penn State kicks their schedule off on August 30th against the formidable Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. Every year I get really excited about a powerhouse football squad, and this year is no exception. With seniors like Derrick Williams, A.Q. Shipley, Josh Gains, Deon Butler, Jordan Norwood, Tony Davis, Kevin Kelly, Rich Ohrnberger, etc. -- we have a good shot at being a real power house football team.

Of course there are questions. Star Linebacker Sean Lee will be out this season -- but I'm sure that PSU can pick up the slack here. We always seem to be loaded at the Linebacker position. The more curious question will be Quarterback. We have the Michael-Robinson-like Darryl Clark who seems really good at giving us an option as a mobile quarterback (but I've never seen him throw). We also have the highly decorated Pat Devlin (who set many Pennsylvania State high school quarter back records), who has yet to see any playing time. Will we see a two quarterback system? Will we move to a spread offense this year? With running threats Stephon Green and Evan Royster, will Joe Pa just use the receivers to set up the run?

Ah... someone like myself can just get giddy thinking of all of the possibilities.

We have a tough schedule this year: back-to-back-to-back games with Wisconsin, Michigan, and then Ohio State.

I can't wait to see how this season plays out. In the mean time, here's the obligatory PSU rah-rah video:

Worst Wheel of Fortune Move... EVER

I love Wheel of Fortune.

I don't watch it anymore, but I used to watch it all of the time when I was little. In fact, my parents used to tape the episodes on the VCR so that we could watch it together as a family at night (and try to figure out the puzzles before everyone else).

This has to be two of the biggest wheel of fortunes mistakes ever....