Alrighty then Trendsetters & Tax-dodgers,

Hopefully this letter finds you and yours all fit and healthy.

After a week of having my knee in an "immobilizer", my orthopedic surgeon and I came to an agreement as to it's removal. We agreed that if he let me take it off, I wouldn't wrap it around his neck. It was fair dinkum giving me the shits big time, so I hobbled around for another week before I had the MRI on Friday and then went back to the orthopedic surgeon on Monday for the verdict.

Basically I have a couple of slight tears in the ACL which were a reoccurrence of an old injury. The basic cure is to do a bit of leg work in the gym to strengthen the knee so that the joint is not held together solely by the hamstrings. There is a little bit of pain but that pales into insignificance compared to the pain in my wallet, when they start sending the bills out.

I've already started ripping out some walls and ceilings on my house I just bought two weeks ago. This is a "necessity" remodel to the TV room in the basement, as I can't get my big screen TV into the room. So out came the hammers and saws to enlarge the 3 foot wide door another 6 feet.

I also pulled out the ceiling to run some surround sound home theatre, satellite TV, telephone and network cables. I found that there is no insulation between the floors so I had buy some 9 inch thick insulation as well. When I opened up the door way, I found a load bearing wall, so I've had to install a header to stop any possible sagging of the floor above. The TV room doesn't have enough lighting, which means I've had to install 6 more lights on dimmers while I'm at it. Hopefully I'll get all that done in the next week or so.

Yes I am a bit of a glutton for punishment and am doing all the work myself, other than the electrical. Call me stupid (OK, once is enough, now knock it off) but I enjoy doing my own remodel work. Not only is it kind of calming and therapeutic to me, but it's a great way to increase the value of your property without having to shell out a heap of oxford scholars.

I got a call from a mate of mine on Monday night to come over and pick up some cabinets he was replacing. He doing a remodel on his house and is swapping out his pristine cherry cabinets for new maple units. Luckily I went out and picked them up from his driveway as it pissed down rain most of yesterday, the downpour included several big snow flurries thrown in for good measure. The cherry cabinets are only a couple of years "new" and will do wonders to the look of my house when installed. Want to take a wild guess as to the next project I'm going to undertake after the TV room???
They keep telling me that we are in the middle of Spring here in the United States of a Miracle. With that news I get all fired up to take my KTM 620 dirt bike for a roost, but keep getting stuck in the snow. I think I may have been spoilt living in Alice Springs by being able to ride anytime of the year. I'm going to have to wait another month or so before I can go out for a squirt without freezing my teradactyls off. Some of my mates are already out riding, but it's so bloody bone chillingly cold.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Stay Happy ;-)

Fitzy