Thanks, Ursula. I'm on the mend, but it happens very slowly to regain lost fitness when you're in your 70's. I had a mild case of pericarditis for the last 14 months now, and it is something that my doc told me will "clear up on it's own" but only since last fall have I had enough energy to get back to our regular walking routine, and felt improvements - not getting dizzy and feeling faint when I exert myself. A really annoying feeling for someone who has always been relatively strong and athletic.
Good things always seem to follow the bad ones, though - I was lucky enough to find my wonderful garden helper, Judith, who is a fellow Master Gardener and really enjoys working in my garden. I also hired new cleaning people for the house, so I am living the life, so to speak. When I have days I feel too tired, I really can just sit back and don't have to do much of anything. The garden is, as usual a great tool for keeping me active at whatever level - so some days I can just go out and spray the hose around, and use the leaf blowers. Leaving the heavy, tiring work for Judith.
The garden has never looked better, although of course she prunes too much and is too "tidy" for my taste. We compromise, and let it get more lush and messy in the summer. My anticipation for this is to finish weaning off the heart medications, and get back to being able to do whatever I want.