1/16/20 Update to post: Well things are dire for people living between Gold Bar and Skykomish. The road (US2) is closed because of heavy snow and fallen trees. They don't have access to power or water. There is a volunteer effort to bring in wood, propane and gas.
I had an interesting and very painful event last Thursday at 3:48 am. I woke up, rolled over and up onto my left elbow so I could get my flashlight to find my glasses and head for the bathroom. Immediately I was overcome by the worst pain ever in my life. My first thought was that I had torn my rotator cuff, or pulled a tendon off a bone. How can something so insignificant cause so much pain? For several hours I did not have the use of my left arm. It improved a lot during the day, but was still pretty painful. We headed out to the Tucson Orthopedic Institute for their evening walk-in clinic. That service is such a gift, getting an appointment there during the day takes weeks. Exams are generally not all that rigorous, but they can segment things into "this is bad" or "or this is not so bad."
Apparently the structure of the shoulder is happiest when your arms are down. Putting your upper arm 90 degrees to your body and then putting weight on it is not an approved activity. I've been doing it for decades, but apparently the shoulder had reached its limit. The subdeltoid bursa and one, or both, of the tendons attaching the biceps muscles are aggrieved. So there is taking of more Aleve and physical therapy.
I still haven't called the physical therapy office, I'm hoping it will go away if I ignore it.
Anyway, there were some low impact walks in the desert. We saw deer.
Monday we got the mountain bikes out. It was a perfect day. It made it to 70 degrees and there was no wind. We rode them up a trail segment of Yetman a couple of times. There are few things that will tell you had bad your fitness level is as well as riding a grade on a mountain bike. It's way more work than the road bikes on the flat trail. Jim surveys the desert in all of its glory.
Yesterday we hosted the weekly happy hour. Jim's menu was ambitious. These are the shrimp that we peeled and deveined, skewered and grilled. I am never peeling and deveining again. They were good, and all were consumed. Costco was out of the mini quiches, which are good, so we got tiny crab cakes which I did not think were so good. I also made a delicious baked dip with parmesan cheese, mayo, sour cream and hearts of palm. What could be better? And there was the usual cheese, guacamole, chips and the like. We over bought on crackers. It was a good group, many people came and they ate all of the fattening food. It was nice enough that people moved out of the house and into the side yard.
Today we cleaned. The tile needed to be steamed. Steaming beats a sponge mop any day. Jim also painted. That is the in ground trash can we don't use. It's been looking pretty scabrous. That's the lid in the closed position.
And here we are with the lid up. There's a smallish trash can with a handle inside. For the life of me I don't understand why these were installed. Every house in the neighborhood has one. I thought maybe it was to deter the javelinas, but I saw a post on Nextdoor that they have figured out how to open them and drag out the trash. They are relentless little devils.
There have been a couple of nice sunsets. It may rain tomorrow. I can not complain about anything given the weather in the south.
In Virginia today, both houses of the General Assembly passed the Equal Rights Amendment. It's unclear if this will propel it into the constitution. It's mind boggling how many people do not want equal rights for women to be enshrined in the constitution. Bastards.
as long as men are in control they will deny us equal rights. especially the religious men who think it is their god given right to rule over women.
ReplyDeletehave you thought of turning your in ground trash can into a disappearing fountain? https://homestead-and-survival.com/how-to-make-a-disappearing-water-fountain/
Aggrieved, eh! That sounds pain decibels past aggravated. May I never do it.
ReplyDeleteSome more nit picking and the amendment is a go, at last.
Oh dear the shoulder pain. I hope it is better now, and that the PT will be gravy. How lovely that you host a happy hour. Is this a regular group? This is the sort of socializing I would love to be a part of on a regular basis. Social connections are healing. Sometimes, when I have been inside working for too long, I look up and realize how much I miss other people. Beautiful sunset! And yes, it's crazy that the ERA still isn't encoded in the law. What on earth is people's problem!
ReplyDeleteWell rats on the shoulder pain. Aren't we examples of amazing technology? Hope it heals up quickly, or at least enough you are out of pain. In my neighborhood, those buckets are for your puppy dog deposits. Nice appetizers ... I'm writing those down for the next time I need one.
ReplyDeleteUgh! The shoulder problem sounds terrible. Take care and keep an eye on it. In ground trash container - hmmm - does someone actually get off the truck, open the lid, pull out the bucket, empty it, and put it back? Or does the homeowner have to set out the bucket for them early in the day, which seems to me would invite unwanted guests to investigate. Those javelinas are smart creatures.
ReplyDeleteDo you remember the emotional scene in Evita in which Eva sings, "Don't eat my trash, Javelina?"
ReplyDeleteSorry about your shoulder! Peeling and de-veining shrimp is about the worst thing ever, cooking-wise.
ReplyDeleteI was just about to write the exact same comment Steve Reed made above; he beat me to it. We bought some lovely shrimp here last year, and after peeling and deveining them, proclaimed that from now on we'd only have shrimp in restaurants. Our local fishmonger who drives around with a cooler in his trunk and yells for us to come out and buy from him just doesn't understand why we only buy Red Snapper now! Hope the shoulder heals up fast. Getting old sucks.
ReplyDelete