Well, the rooter guys did nothing but disconnect the upper floor bathroom – the one I use 95% of the time and charge us a small fortune for 3 useless visits.  No toilet, no sink, nothing.  Finally on Monday Woody worked with our plumber and the septic guy and everything finally got fixed. The old broken clogged pipe had to be dug out and a new one dug in.  Fortunately Monday gave us a thaw after bitter arctic cold all the previous week and the ground was digable.  Woody was up to his chest in what you can imagine.Unfortunately I had to go up and down the steps 21 times and that was a bit too much for my new knee.  It swelled up like to pumpkin and the pain was terrific. However, within 24 hours most of the swelling had gone down and I was able to resume my torturous exercises.  The setback was temporary.I got the ms of my new poetry collection MADE IN DETROIT off to Knopf yesterday, to my editor there.  I also managed to finish proofing my first ever book of short stories, THE COST OF LUNCH, ETC. and send the corrected pages to my editor Ramsey Kaan at PM Press.  Its supposed to be out in April…let’s hope!I read all the mss I had not rejected straightaway and then reread & ranked them.  I’ve now filled the workshop and as soon as the last two deposits arrive, I’ll get started sending out Wellfleet brochures, local maps and information on lodging so they can make reservations for that week in June.  Woody will set up a communication center, either Ning or probably a closed facebook group so that everyone can ask questions, introduce themselves, get to know each other, make arrangements for sharing lodging if desired and share work if they choose.  This workshop is much more intimate in many ways than any I have experienced or know about. People often stay in touch years afterward.My first gig this year will be opening the conference at BU, A REVOLUTIONARY MOMENT: WOMEN’S LIBERATION IN THE LATE 1960S AND EARLY 1970S.  I hope to see old friends there and put faces on women I’ve been communicating with on the internet for years if not decades.  March 28^th I’ll be giving what they call the convocation.    Also will be on a panel or two.  I’m excited about the conference. I should be pretty mobile by then, using a cane if I have to.  Don’t mind a cane.  that’s what I use on the stairs now and during the night when I don’t trust my balance. The rest of the time in the house I use nothing for assistance.  Outside the house I will rely on my cane.I’ve begun doing more around the house – cooked eggs for our breakfast yesterday and chicken for supper.  Did a little cleaning.  Took over the evening feeding of the cats.The visiting nurse has dismissed me. I met all her criteria.  The PT ran me through a bunch of tests on Thursday until I was exhausted, but I did pretty well on her tests too.  Still, I’ll tell you this knee replacement isn’t for the gutless.  It still hurts and it hurts and it hurts.  And I get discouraged now and then about how long it is taking to have full use of my fancy new joint. My foot and ankle is still swollen, although not the balloon they were.Today I have to finish up the ordering of the seeds.  I order most of my seeds from Fedco in Maine, but I get some from Johnny’s, Pinetree, Burpees, Harris, Stokes, Totally Tomatoes and Territorial.  We grow 90% of our vegetables and I start some flowers, although that’s minor.  Monday Melenie and I will put the lists on the computer and then send them off.  Today it is mild again but grey and damp.  Woody has to do an inventory in the sheds of seed starting supplies and all the other items we use in gardening [bushel baskets, seed starting medium, etc etc].  Then I can finish up the orders I mentioned above.So I guess I am resuming my life.  I still haven’t left the house since we returned from the hospital, but that too is coming. If I feel well enough, Wednesday I’ll go to the Down Cape Downwinders, a group in which I;ve been active since the beginning, formed to shut down Pilgrim nuclear power plant, our local aging leaky dangerous Fukushima clone.  There is no way to evacuate the Cape so they say, Shelter in place. I haven’t done anything political since this whole process started. It’s time to get cracking again.