Took half a day off today, because I had an afternoon appointment with my surgeon. Almost one year from the date of my hip replacement, time to zap my groin area with carcinogenic radiation.

But first, stopped at Fat Nat’s Eggs, a small local chain that serves only breakfast and lunch, to try their hot beef sandwich. I’ve become kind of obsessed with hot beef sandwiches since the great one I had in Minot, ND a couple years ago. My review: It was good, especially the mashed potatoes. But I still give the edge to Keys Restaurant, another local chain but a longer drive from my home. Neither is quite up to that Minot place (whose name escapes me for a moment, but it starts with a “K”), though.

Then off to see the sawbones. We both agreed that my new hip and I are getting along fine. She asked me when I want the other one done, and I told her certainly not before my graduate work is done. I don’t care to repeat last year’s catch-up effort, which in memory is worse than the operation. She’s OK with that, knowing that she’ll probably get me sooner or later. Though she admitted that the X-rays showed some changes in the “manufacturer’s original parts” hip, and not negative ones.

I also congratulated her, having perceived, through my extraordinary writer’s powers of observation, that she was about 8 1/2 months pregnant.