So good to hear from you, Ken L-- I admit, I was concerned by what felt like a long absence.  I pray for continued healing for you.  

Great news, Ken!  So glad your heart is healing and you're able to return home.

Welcome home, old friend!

HOORAY!  Our Ken L. is back!

Thanks for the welcome back. I had thought of taking my MacBookPro with me, but decided not to do so. I tried to use my iPhone, but frankly the text was too small even after enlarging a little and I had a difficult time concentrating anyway.

Gradually I will be back in to the swing of things. There is still a lot of healing to do.

Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Ken, it's good to see you back here! Thankful things are going well for you. You've been in my thoughts and prayers.

So glad to hear from you, Ken.  You just need to tell the docs that it's not "an irregular beat."  You're a musician; it's called "syncopation."

Ken, so happy to see your post and know you are 'fixed' and back home again for recovery. We missed you and we worried!   Yaaaaay Ken is back. 

Ken, glad all is better.  A bit of daily dulcimer is the best medicine.

After 10 days in Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA, I am finally home. The mitral valve repair went well and my pain was well managed. I could have come home three days after the surgery, but my heart began an irregular beat. The cardiologists worked to nudge the heart into normal rhythm and three times was within a couple hours of discharge when the irregular rhythm began anew. The problem was that often the beats dropped to less than 40 bpm and the doctors felt that was too dangerous condition under which to send me home. Today after about 22 hours of a racing heart (115-125 bpm) they gave me the option of returning home. Since this was my tenth day in the hospital I was ready to go. As I waited for discharge, I sat and watch TV. One of the nurses rushed in to my room and announced that I was back in normal rhythm. I looked up at the monitor and I was! There still may be irregularities as my heart heals, but everything is looking positive.

Thank you to all who offered prayers, kind thoughts, sent cards, and telephone well wishes. I am deeply grateful for the dulcimer community; especially all of you.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

We got a nice gift card to our local pizza place today, from a friend that Brian helped with computer issues.  And they deliver!   

I found a 25.00 gift card from back in 2007 while cleaning and decluttering today--and it hadn't expired!

@adrianne It is nice to get to make connections such as yours with friends any time yet it feels especially important during pandemic.  And welcome to FOTMD!  

How Jimmy Stewart's WWII experiences shaped It's a Wonderful Life... and how this affects us today.

Zu Zu's petals...

https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/19/entertainment/its-a-wonderful-jimmy-stewart-world-war-ii-service/index.html

Ken, wishing you the very best and a quick recovery. Take care.

Good luck.

Thanks, Jan. I will watch it if given that chance. I watched my initial echo cardiogram and the technician was very good at pointing out different parts of the heart and what was going on.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Ken, I hope all goes well and that you have no trouble with the catheterization.  Mine was painless, and once I understood that I could watch it on the screen if I wanted to, I opened my eyes.  It was very interesting, so I thought you might want the heads up so you could watch yours, too.

Sending positive karma your way, Ken Longfield!

That's a lot to be going through, @ken-longfield. I hope everything goes swimmingly.

@ken-longfield I pray all can proceed with great success!  

@dusty-turtle Thank goodness for the rain in NoCalifornia! 

I finally had a successful transesophageal echocardiogram yesterday. Next step is cathertrization and then on to open heart surgery. Moving along.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

It rained today in Northern California. First time since the spring.  The trees and grass and shrubs are relaxed and smiling.  So are the firefighters.

I so  enjoyed this article and video of an elderly Italian man serenading his hospitalized wife outside her window, with her favorite songs played on accordion...

https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/11/europe/italian-hospital-serenade-scli-intl/index.html

Tonight salmon and wild rice.  Tomorrow::  CHILI!

For the past six months of being covid era homebodies, we've not eaten out at all, and in fact only even gotten takeout food once, early on. One because we are super cautious, and Two because the restaurants around here are not all that inspiring to us to spend the money. We've been used to cooking at home.

However, today i drove to buy some hardware supplies and as i drove home past Main St I noticed a local Italian place had moved from its dreary old mall location to a new place right on MainSt.  It looked pretty and inviting as I drove by ...and i smelled pizza. (!) So when i got home i looked up online and saw a whole new website had been put up for it, featuring lots of online ordering options and local delivery too.

I decided to splurge and order us some custom pizzas. Brian was really surprised but i was hungry and had a serious hankering for pizza!  I ordered us each a whole pizza with our own favorite toppings, so that we could have it for dinner two nights in a row.  I paid online with a credit card, even the tip. The pizzas arrived quickly and I had her leave them on the porch table.
It was acceptably good pizza and we very much enjoyed the rare luxury of fresh delivery from only a few blocks away. My pizza craving will now be satisfied for a good long while. 

Lisa -- your salmon & egg tacos with salsa verde sound.  I make my own salsa verde too.  My trick is to include a whole lime -- skin, pith, seeds, everything; and juice of a lemon.  It all gets pureed anyway...  Then following my Mexican chef friends, I "fry' the sauce is a large blisteringly hot skillet, stirring madly for about 10 minutes to marry flavors and tighten up the consistency.  

I make soup weekly -- often based on one of the winter squashes -- Acorn, Butternut, Spaghetti; but also eggplant, or red bell peppers.  Posole of course. And the famous Florida speciality Chez Suzanne's Creamy Romaine soup.  In the hot season I make chilled soups like white and red gaspachos, Ajo Blanco (almonds and garlic), chilled lettuce soups and several ceviches.

My positive things today:

My husband was finally able to get his pneumonia vaccine...yay!

We had a yummy tortilla dinner by candlelight in the kitchen.

Vacuumed the whole house! ...and now (for a little while at least) it'll feel so nice to walk around the house barefoot. 

Ah, the little things in life can be so nice.

You mean it's not hot links and whiskey?

Soups are like the most nutritious and comforting meal we can have during these stressful times.

I didn't make soup today, but we're just about to make some smoked salmon w/egg in soft tortillas, with our own home-canned tomatillo green sauce!    Followed by maybe watching a movie in bed.  A little slice of humble Heaven.

I'll be over tomorrow for leftover chicken soup, Robert, and some porch picking!  :)

I've got a pot of chicken soup on the stove. Trying to do farm chores with a pot cooking on the stove is a bit of a challenge. You know, being two places at once. Not a bad day for some porch picking too.... Robert

Hey, come on over, Dusty!  We've eaten already but there's plenty more in the soup pot.  :) 

Is that an invitation, Robin?

There's a pot of tomato-based bean soup cooking on the stove now for lunch.  It is a sunny and warm-ish day here in our neck of the woods.  So, maybe lunch out on the front porch.  :)

I know we have lots of members from the  greater Nashville, TN area where the tornadoes went thru...it would be good if we could  get a word on whether folks are OK, injured, rec'd damage, etc.

Tell us one positive thing in your day today!