FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Jul 22 - 09:01 PM

This is part of the weaning-off of the cocktail of medications I was sent home with following the knee replacement. Drugs for pain, for swelling, for blood thinning (just baby aspirin) and for cramps. I will admit without offering details is that all of this plays havoc with the gut and I'm really looking forward to leaving a couple more of these behind after Saturday when they will be finished and not refilled.

I've gone through periods of time when I had leg cramps, usually during a summer when I'm probably not as hydrated as I need to be or not getting enough salt. So far this isn't one of those summers with the exception of the other night.

The AC repair guy is coming to service the working unit tomorrow and I'll spend some time sweeping up the forest floor and picking up. I have had only 2 people here during the last month, my daughter and my ex, who don't care what it looks like (though I usually do pick up if they're coming over). Even if I explain that I'm recovering from surgery (the knee will probably be in full view) I still need to pick up around here. I made it out to the curb with the trash this morning, so that is a good sign that some stuff is discarded.

I was away at physical therapy when a heavy rain storm passed through here this afternoon, and my next door neighbor says it rained hard for about 15 minutes. That is a wonderful thing for this parched neighborhood! It felt better out there also heat-wise.

Charmion, today as I got dressed to head out (I also visited the museum where I volunteer) I put on a shirt I haven't worn in weeks and I could see that I'd lost some weight. There is more to lose; I have a couple of swim suits and right now there is no way I'm going out in public in a suit, but I'll try them on one of these days. I also stopped at the shoe store (the pair of flats that I have worn constantly since this surgery are either going into the trash or the gardening bin to be worn into the yard and not in public any more) and got a look at my legs in Bermuda shorts in the store mirror. OMG. With this lumpy knee and 20 pounds still to lose, it isn't a pretty sight. 50-mission legs, indeed.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 14 Jul 22 - 07:12 PM

I too suffer from horrid leg cramps in bed, Maggie. I can have totally wrecked nights and get up with sore muscles. The only connection I can make with what I did the previous day is that I often get the cramp after a fairly active day, in the garden or elsewhere, but that isn't always the case. I often have to get out of bed and move around for fifteen or twenty minutes. Of course, you then have to try to get back to sleep...

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 14 Jul 22 - 07:01 PM

Chère sœur, "une habituée," j'espère. ;p

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 14 Jul 22 - 05:14 PM

Still bright and sunny in Stratford, and the streets are again choked with out-of-town cars that leave us townies with nowhere to park. That’s a Good Thing; it means the theatre season is going well and the restaurants are doing land-office business.

My face is back to its normal colour and almost back to its normal shape — I’m still a bit jowly, but not offensively so. The last antibiotic dose went down the hatch at lunchtime.

At the Y yesterday, an habitué of the locker room pointed out that my bathing suit is now obviously too big. Unfortunately, this is a terrible time of the year to shop for swimwear!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Jul 22 - 09:22 AM

Note to self - taper off of the muscle-cramp tablets just like I did with oxy. Horrible leg cramps in the wee hours may be the result of just stopping. I have the pill-cutter out and will reduce the use in the next couple of days. I'm almost to the 30-days mark after the knee surgery and this will allow me to use a more effective pain killer (ibuprofen) when I'm off of the blood thinner aspirin. Tylenol is ok, but for me Motrin works better.

There is a chance of thunderstorms today, meaning it will be humid and very hot. Ugg. This is the summer that just keeps on giving.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 14 Jul 22 - 06:04 AM

I'm guessing that there's no time for any nasties to accumulate in my hosepipe. On hot summer days it's in use a lot. Anyway, in 35 years of doing it, I've yet to catch Legionnaire's (Where should that apostrophe go...).

Now if someone could fix a negative covid test for me... :-(

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 14 Jul 22 - 04:57 AM

I don't know how great the risk is and would have to leave others to asses but I have read of Legionnaires in hosepipe water a couple of times. See this article for example.

Legionnaires likes temperatures > 20C and < <50C. People with hot water cylinders in the UK these days are advised to heat water to 60C for this reason. Of course that means you then should have thermostatic controls for your hot water outlets as 60C can easily scald you but that's another story...

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Donuel
Date: 13 Jul 22 - 09:49 PM

The Ebay miniature toys are stacked neatly in the corner and need better photographs.
I can adjust the temp in the hot tub from 80 to 107 but haven't used it much. Cold sinks. The TV music room downstairs (half underground) is the coldest in the house if I keep the basement door and air registers closed. I went to the car yesterday and the car thermometer said 108. The sun and black roof of the car port must be respondsible. I had a dead tree removed but have 3 more to be attended to around the pool to help solar heating of the water. For a cooling tip check moab.

I have to change the head of a powerful weed whacker to tackle ivy.
At least I am caught up with the mowing and hedging but its 'summertime and I am procrastinating' even without the pool or garden.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Jul 22 - 08:08 PM

The water running in my hose is warm from being in the sun, and then there are a minute or two of colder water that is in the house pipes to reach that faucet. Once that water is out I get the warmer water from the city water system piped in under the street.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 13 Jul 22 - 05:01 PM

I do the same, after a hard day in the heat in my garden. I have a hose about 120 feet long. If I lay it in the sun for half an hour I get over a minute's warm showering if I run the water at half-speed. On hot days I don't even mind the cold finish. That freshens me up for the evening, enough to wash the sun lotion off my head and most of the DEET off everywhere else. I believe in air-drying. We have no neighbours...

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Jul 22 - 02:20 PM

A/C tech appointment delayed until Friday morning so he can finish a job he started today that is taking longer than expected. A coroner's report issued this week says that a 38-year-old former Dallas Cowboys football player died recently of heat stroke. He was in top condition but evidently still managed to get too much heat and not get medical attention. He was found during a "welfare check." There will be a lot of those discoveries this summer. Alas. There is a Wunderground (Weather app) calendar for July with forecasts going as far out as July 27, and every day is in the 102-104 range; after that it simply shows the "average" temperature of 97^o. We'd feel much better if it was just at the average.

I have the shower set up on my patio in the back yard and am going to start using it after sunset. The back area is totally private from views from neighbor houses and with the lights off in my house. It's liberating to shower outdoors, and one way to reclaim some pleasure in being outside in this otherwise awful time of year. it's just a shower head and hose that connects to the backyard hose, and the temperature in the lines has warmed enough that it's comfortable. What activities do you save for just doing in the summer? Lurkers?

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Jul 22 - 10:50 AM

A bad night's sleep behind me and I can report a little more on PT - it always wears you out because they make you move and they do massages and touches to the scar that hurt. I learned a lot, like the scar tissue will loosen up as I massage the knee and flexibility will increase as the swelling continues to go down. The eye-popping pain and surprise of a ligament "popping" last week is normal, he said the scar tissue was just breaking up and it's supposed to do that. Whew!

Air conditioner tech comes today to service the old but still-working AC unit. Fingers crossed it keeps running for now. There's no living in this house without it. This week I'm negotiating the installation of a replacement for the dead one.

The house is in a messy state right now but the AC tech will be here after lunch so I'll give myself 30 minutes before the appointment to just walk through and pick up and put away stuff and then take a broom to the dog hair. I'm brushing the Lab several times a day and he's still blowing his coat like I haven't made any attempts to control it.

I have more eBay to list. Don, are you getting started?

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Jul 22 - 10:28 PM

Charmion, I want to end up back in my native Pacific Northwest again one of these years. These summers in Texas are something I'll never get used to. In 2011 we had 72 days over 100^o. That's more than two months of this wretched heat, and this summer looks to be on course to meet or beat that record.

PT started today, and for a celebration of this point in the recovery progress I stopped for a quick dinner at Panda Express (halfway decent fast food place with healthy ingredients) then I broke the streak of weeks of just good for me food by picking up some ice cream on my way home. A nice but rare treat on a hot summer day.

Now I'll be going out a couple of days a week to PT and next week see about doing some of my museum volunteering again. Life is beginning to shift back into familiar activities. I'm not walking very far or very quickly, but I am getting out.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 12 Jul 22 - 03:15 PM

Many Canadians envy people who live in warmer areas, but I'm not one of them. Over the several years of these threads, Stilly's accounts of summer in Texas have convinced me (as if I had ever needed convincing!) that I should stay right here in Ontario, with all its pettifogging politics and winter woes.

Years ago, Edmund and I visited the battlefield park at Chancellorsville on a summer day that the park staff described as "not bad" for July. Half an hour of strolling the trench lines was enough to send me scuttling back to the air-conditioned visitors' centre with the splitting headache of imminent heatstroke, while Edmund happily larked about the baking landscape and cross-examined the ranger about the death of Stonewall Jackson. I'm even less heat-tolerant now than I was then.

The state of my face has improved still more, and I'm almost back to normal with two more days of antibiotic to go.

I am now in possession of a ridiculously expensive new iPhone that works just as well as the old one did until it didn't any more. The set-up process is supposed to be slickly automatic, but I spent all afternoon trying to do it as recommended, from the old phone to the new one by Bluetooth, only to have the file transfer crap fail at the very last moment THREE TIMES IN A ROW! Finally, I did it the not-recommended manual way and finished in time for supper.

The household strategic reserve of cat litter is dangerously low, and I need more drugs. Hey-ho, off for some more un-fun spending.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Jul 22 - 11:21 AM

I said I wanted this to be a no-spend month, but that isn't what's happening as I safeguard the ability to keep the house at a comfortable temperature for the rest of the long summer in Texas. The tech who pronounced the other unit dead is coming back tomorrow to do maintenance on the 3-ton unit that cools most of the house. The home warranty is in place since last week and I'm not going to see if this charge would qualify for coverage; I'd like to think I didn't put it in place to immediately start drawing down the coverage. Knowing the main unit is working for a while longer feels like a good-faith effort to use the warranty properly. They said if I did a home inspection then I could add a free rider for unseen structural flaws or something along those lines, but I'm not going to do that. The foundation problem is completely visible, that's the main other thing. Houses on slab foundations kind of ride around on top of the hard clay and foundation work is inevitable.

I read Mrrzy's page and am glad there is some relief there finally; here, the knee always has some new surprises. I'm off of the oxy now and pretending the extra-strength Tylenol makes a dent in it. After I finish the month of required medications (that conflict with Ibuprofen) they sent home with me I can switch to Motrin and that will help. It will be a month on Saturday - counting the days!

I'm putting an ice-filled cooler with a couple of bottles of water on the porch every day and have found on occasion the postal carrier or Amazon driver took advantage of it. I need to put some bottles in the car because this time of year I usually hand bottles to the panhandlers at intersections if there is enough time before the light changes. 105^o today. Anyone desperate enough to stand at a street corner in this heat needs help, if only water to keep them alive.

My shady back patio is giving me a break in the afternoon and evening, blocking most of the sun. I have water out in the back and the front for the ultra-local wildlife (toads, lizards, birds, and alas, a few mice.) The yard looks like crap as most of it dries to a crisp, with just a couple of watered areas for the dog's comfort and because there is one patch of grass out front that I'd like to keep alive.

That's it, signed,
Miserable in Texas. :-(

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Senoufou
Date: 12 Jul 22 - 02:04 AM

Thank you Stilly, yes he seems to want to visit me every Saturday and Sunday, with e mails during the week. I'm taking it slowly - no decisions yet.
My neighbour-across-the-road has been working like a Trojan in my back garden, hacking and slashing all the 'over' perennials, trimming the ornamental shrubs and pulling up the numerous weeds. She's a real 'Norfolk' worker, despite being 73 years old! Also it was very hot yesterday (about 30 degrees C) but she never flagged for a moment. I always pay her for the work. She's filled up my garden waste wheelie-bin already, and is coming back today to do some more. This is the kind of 'declutter' I like - 'bucket and chuck it'.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Jul 22 - 11:13 PM

I drove this evening to pick up dog food at Tractor Supply (curbside pickup) and then used an electric cart at Costco to travel the perimeter of the store to get fruit, frozen foods, and eggs. The cart ran out of juice at the register so I swapped for a cart and was able to walk out (slowly). My ex was along to help and do some of his own shopping, a good thing because I wouldn't have tried that trip alone. I commiserated with another shopper who had one of those knee wheelie things and his foot in a black surgical boot. "It's a big store!" he said, as his partner steered the cart and picked up heavy things.

I'm waiting for a quote for the price of a new AC heat pump and wondering how on earth they could get up in my attic to do the duct work this time of year in this super hot year in particular. People will be dying in this heat wave, but hopefully not in my attic.

PT starts tomorrow. I expect to be in pain tomorrow night.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 11 Jul 22 - 11:29 AM

I’m better still, today, Stilly; the redness is gone, the desiccated top layer of skin has begun to slough off, and the Hoover-look jowls are shrinking. I take a digestive probiotic supplement every day, so I don’t expect gut problems, but who knows what else a wide-spectrum antibiotic will upset.

Today I’m at home waiting for FedEx to deliver my new iPhone; the bastards give themselves a 12-hour time window and to hell with any plans I might have had. I could, of course, improve the shining hour with a little light house-cleaning — or not. There’s a lovely breeze across the porch …

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Jul 22 - 11:04 AM

When I read about the pain Mrrzy is experiencing with no diagnosis I count myself lucky that I know what is making me so uncomfortable, and it will gradually pass. It's 2 or 3 months before a good night's sleep is standard, and there are many accommodations that must be made to keep the knee healing and no set back from some ill-advised move. That said, last night was particularly awful because I toughed it out and didn't go get the 1/2 of the oxycodone. Once it is no longer a habit I may be able to use one at night occasionally, but I will ask about that before I try that experiment. Out-patient PT should start this week - and that is another source of pain to be dealt with.

The heat is going to be prolonged here and I have been doing my gray water garden survival work for a few days. Keep a 3-gallon bucket in the kitchen sink and every time you let the water run till cold for a glass of water or wash your hands, pour out liquid from steaming vegetables, etc., it goes into the bucket. A bucket that size fills pretty quickly but is easy to carry and I work a pattern around my garden to pour it on one or two plants per trip to keep them alive. Better this than wasting it down the drain. And the size bucket isn't too hard on me to carry with my bum knee. I've thought about running a hose out the kitchen window to a tank and saving myself so many trips out, but I haven't invented the way to set it up yet. So one bucket at a time keeps the yard alive.

Charmion, how is your face feeling now? I always dread the Rx for a heavy-duty antibiotic because it is hard on flora around the body. Invariably I find myself treating a yeast infection a few days out from the start of the Rx. (That's one of the things about the knee surgery - they pump you full of the stuff, so it's another part of the recovery process to be prepared for.)

Senoufou, you said your husband visited the other day. That's a good sign - I hope things progress back to what you want them to be soon. (For me, my ex is now my best friend, but it only works this way when we're not married to each other. The kids have remarked on this, that we're a team whether we're married or not.)

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Jul 22 - 05:48 PM

Charmion, great minds think alike! I ordered a pair of Bermuda shorts from Academy Sports this morning and retrieved them via curbside pickup at lunchtime, when I also picked up lunch from a French café along the same route. I've had my bath and am testing the new shorts this evening.

Yesterday afternoon and evening I took a pump sprayer with a mix of water and finely ground kaolin clay (Surround WP) and essentially whitewashed the crop plants in my garden. It took a couple of passes for a good amount to stick and dry. I want to see if this helps them survive in the heat (by reflecting a lot of the sun hitting them). I've used this before when grasshoppers were a problem and the reflective attributes were a by-product. This time I am spraying just for that secondary effect.

There are times now when my knee doesn't hurt, but I have to remind myself that it doesn't follow that I can then roll over and arrange my legs differently to to sleep on my side, or sit longer in a chair at the computer. It's getting better slowly, but there are many things still off limits. Sometimes I can get away with side sleeping with a pillow between my knees, but not often.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Donuel
Date: 10 Jul 22 - 05:12 PM

I'll see your dead hallibut and raise you 2 dead oar fish.

5 exotic varieties of morning glories are only 5 feet tall. I hope they go into high gear this month. I laid tarps over the garden to knock down the massive weeds this 'no garden and no pool year'.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 10 Jul 22 - 04:04 PM

Thanks to the internet, I have new jeans, a size smaller than the old jeans. Also a pair of shorts, despite the fifty-mission look of my poor old legs. Summer is approaching its zenith, and comfort trumps vanity every time.

Hot and sticky today. My face both looks and feels better, but I’m not quite ready for prime time as I have the energy and initiative of a dead halibut. I need some groceries, and that will be the limit of my ambition until this evening, when I will haul buckets of water around the garden to the needier plants.

The poor little rosebush so nearly murdered last year by an jobbing gardener is making a strong recovery, which gives me hope. I have yet to identify the best plant for the back flowerbed, where the rabbits have done away with ambitious plantings of several species, including rudbeckia, echinacea and bee balm — maybe a thicket of Scotch thistle will do the trick!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Jul 22 - 10:14 AM

Jennie, I've read about people who retire to live full time on cruise ships. They are figuring that the cost of the long-term cruises is cheaper than rent or mortgage and all of the expenses with a house or apartment. Maybe you could find a cruise coming this way and back, with a visit here in the middle part of the long expedition.

This household is proving to be expensive this summer, what with one new heat pump completely on my tab soon, and if the other one goes out, the warranty covers part of a new one. A big part, but not all of it.

The forest floor is in full swing here and the Labrador is losing hair in huge chunks. I'm trying to catch up and brush him every couple of days. They're spending most of their time sprawled on the tile floors indoors.

Without even trying I seem to have lost a couple of more pounds. It's so damned hot here (107^o or 41.7 C yesterday) that who feels like cooking, let alone eating? I'm intending to stay at 1200 calories each day while the knee is healing, and trying to get more protein.

Several eBay things have been photographed and today I'll sit down and list them. I'm having to pace myself because sitting for too long lets the knee stiffen up. I've already had the setback of the mis-step yesterday, I don't want to make it worse by working on the computer too long. ("Sitting is the new smoking.") I've started watching some of the stuff stored in my Sling TV virtual DVR, seated in the living room with my feet up. I can also do some of the PT exercises while I'm watching TV.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: JennieG
Date: 09 Jul 22 - 02:37 AM

Sadly I fear that our days of travelling to Madoc....or indeed anywhere else outside Oz.....are over. Getting older (and poorer as a result), tedious long flights - which are no fun for the young either - travel insurance cover getting more difficult and expensive with the world the way it is now, are just a few of the reasons. But we have memories of our trips to Canada, and we keep in touch with friends from those parts. Our Canaussian son and his Canadian wife live in Toronto, we don't know when we will be in the same room again. Perhaps one day.

Himself's cellulitis is settled at present. We will see what happens.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Jul 22 - 12:01 AM

I hope everyone is back to their old selves for the weekend. Get a good night's sleep if you can!

I stepped into the back yard briefly to push the mower around a small space for the dogs (it is so terribly hot here this summer that I'm concentrating on what I can water with one of those rotating sprinklers) so they have one area to hang out that isn't dead grass and dust. And of course I pulled wrong and have a sore spot behind my knee again. Too soon for the mower, apparently. I was very careful after that misstep and will not do that again for a while. Ice packs at bedtime. I ran the sprinkler this evening over that mowed area so it will be inviting for them (and it is in the shade of two trees).

This afternoon I called to ask a list of questions about the home warranty plan then went ahead to set it up. My rationale: when I was young I used to do work on my own cars, but as they got to be more sophisticated I gave up even the simple oil and oil filter changes to mechanics. When I divorced I signed up for AAA as my vehicle backup plan for jumping batteries or changing flats. Now that I've retired I think the home warranty is probably a prudent move to keep things running around here. I still do some stuff, but for the big mechanical things, I'll gamble that the warranty will come in useful now that everything is about 20 years old. And I made sure they will let me use the businesses I've always used - they actually prefer it, figuring customers have a feel for how businesses in a given area operate. The biggest company in this field doesn't give you a say in the matter and their contractors have been known to pull a fast one in trying to sell new equipment instead of performing simple repairs.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Donuel
Date: 08 Jul 22 - 10:41 PM

Last week I gave myself an accidental chemical face peel. The Bottle said Moisturizing Aloe and in the smallest print of all...hand soap.
I left it on all night.

Get well soon, Augmentin works well on cellulitis.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 08 Jul 22 - 10:23 PM

PS: I know where Madoc is, too!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 08 Jul 22 - 10:21 PM

I had a bout of cellulitis nearly thirty years ago in my right foot, after surgery to remove orthopaedic hardware from the ankle. My foot swelled to the size and shape of a rugby ball and I spent five days on IV antibiotics in an isolation ward — infected wounds are horribly contagious.

This time it’s less dramatic (no IVs or isolation) but I’m not having any more fun than I did the last time. Plus now there’s no Edmund to bring me chocolate bars and a book about the Duke of Wellington.

Wikipaedia tells me that cellulitis occurs most often in the lower legs and feet, and in the face. Fancy that.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 08 Jul 22 - 09:13 PM

Beaver:

Jennie: But you must have missed the Hidden Gold Mine Bakery! If you ever get there again!...

R is some better; still weak but taking nourishment and happy for a rest!

I seem to have been exhausted by my trip to dentist, emotionally draining to be unable to understand what the Dentist is saying. Phoned the receptionist this am and talked with her about what Monday will be for me and was assured the (Dif) dentist will be understandable, the TV will not be on and I will not wait an hour! She was terrific.

Then I collapsed for the rest of the day. Went back to bed, shivering at 73 degrees, with electric blanket on and slept off and on. Emotionally drained or wondering if there might have been something in the air at the clinic... Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) is nasty, somewhat akin to fibromyalgia, with similar causes and symptoms - or not! Worst is that it is so totally misunderstood by general public: "Are you allergic to anything?" Yes! but what???? Anything to do with petroleum - plastics, hardware stores, cleaning products...

A beautiful evening in the swamp!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 08 Jul 22 - 07:55 PM

My childhood was one of pulling-the-chain flushes. When it didn't work, the advice was that you had to "take it by surprise". :-)

I've had cellulitis three times in the last two years, every time in the lower legs. It seems that you are more prone to it once you've had it for the first time. I didn't know what it was first time round, and because of the delay in getting it treated, I ended up with high infection markers in my blood, the threat of sepsis and severe blistering that took weeks to resolve. Beware!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: JennieG
Date: 08 Jul 22 - 07:19 PM

Charmion, you have my sympathy. Himself was diagnosed with cellulitis in the left ankle/foot last year; it has settled down for now (we think because it's winter, our exremities swell more in summer) but it may flare again when the weather heats up.

Dorothy - this Aussie knows where Madoc is! We've been through there, we stopped for fuel and for a coffee at Tim Horton's.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Jul 22 - 10:51 AM

It sounds like you're putting a "good face" on it, Charmion. I expect we've all Googled it by now - take care of yourself!

I pulled on an old pair of Capri pants and used a large trash bag "apron" I made ages ago over those (I cut the bottom seam out so I can pull the tube of the bag up over my legs and fasten at the waist) and took the weed whacker to the tall grass around the garden. That was about 30 minutes of moving slowly but realizing I haven't been moving that much at all in the last 3 weeks. Everything is put away again and that's it for now. Our high today will be about 104^o so I went out when it was early and in the 80s. This is going to be a record-breaking summer.

I've talked to a friend about the home warranty company she used for 14 years at her last house, and it sounds like it will be a reasonable one to work with. They let you work with your preferred contractors, where as big companies like American Home Shield are the 800 pound gorilla, they choose the contractors and what is used to replace whatever has malfunctioned. I've spoken to a friend who uses that now, and she's ok with them making the decisions, but I'm not. Twenty years ago everything was new, now it isn't. When I bought this house there was an American Home Shield warranty and I used when the hot water tank burst. Still a rather expensive experience because while they replaced the tank, I had to pay the cost of bringing things up to code and that was the only way they would install the new tank.

I have more eBay things to photograph today, and select shipping packages, then get them listed. Have you started any, Don?

Dorothy, how is R? Feeling better?

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 08 Jul 22 - 09:40 AM

The most noticeable effect of the swelling from my point of view -- that is, behind it -- is a general tightness and surface discomfort rather like that caused by sunburn. But it's in a bad place; the doctor was particularly concerned that it not spread into my eye-sockets, and the swelling has already half-circled both eyes.

After three 500-mg doses of Cephalexin, the matching bilateral toothaches have subsided, but the sunburn feeling and the red mask are still firmly in place.

Today I shall take a little stroll downtown for a lecture and lunch with a buddy.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Jul 22 - 10:18 PM

I second Keb's observation. Get over that soon, that must be a misery.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: keberoxu
Date: 07 Jul 22 - 08:26 PM

Facial cellulitis?? what a NIGHTMARE.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 07 Jul 22 - 07:23 PM

Beaver:

Chuckles re comments about my rocking floor! A rocking bridge, I would not like! Not at all! The kiln is in the wood shed for now. BJ assures me he will come when he has time. This leads to my chuckles re plumbing problems; lived almost 15 years without running water, got so used to it that 20 years later I still conserve water in every possible ways. However, if a storm is coming or if the water needs to be turned off- FILL the bathtub!

R has Covid but better today than yesterday. Yes, all four shots! Glad he is there and I am here!

Trekked down to Madoc (an hour) today for dentist. The clinic was odour free but had to ask the receptionist to please turn off the dreadful noise of TV - no one there but me. I waited over an hour and the noise put my brain into bad state. It took the receptionist "translating" for me to understand the dentist who was nice but had no comprehension of my difficulty. Two more appointments on Monday.

Then ---Brainstorm! Stopped to see potter friend and asked if he could spare a box of the clay we both use. YAY! He could. I am out of the fresh clay and pre-used is a nuisance, time consuming and hard on shoulders. This box will get me through the larger stuff that Needs to be made. Then I can use the "re-cycled" for lots of small pieces which sell very well at the Carriage House (CH).

Then I got gas and a Subway to eat on the way north, to the CH where I exchanged two boxes of new product for about the same amount of stuff that has not been so popular. A bit of social and then back down the hill and a stop to see a friend briefly - busy making a cage for the strawberries - so they will get some!

Home and a cup of tea and some food. Chick peas cooking. A few minutes in studio. Another beautiful day in the swamp!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 07 Jul 22 - 07:12 PM

Well. It seems that my swollen, painful face is suffering from cellulitis, probably arising from the minor, but painful, fissure in the tip of my nose, itself the result of the constant itch caused by my many allergies and my constant rubbing thereof.

So I’m stuffing myself with a heavy-duty antibiotic for the next seven days.

I sure hope the swelling goes down quickly. At present, I have jowls to rival J. Edgar Hoover.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 07 Jul 22 - 12:44 PM

My latest bout of sinusitis comes with a whole new effect: a swollen, red rash on my face that looks like the revenge of fifty years of whisky shots. The lymph nodes under the edge of my jaw are so sore that at first I thought I had matching bilateral toothaches. So now I’m parked in the number two comfy chair (the cats secured the best comfy chair while I was at the Y) to await a call back from the doc’s office.

Just to add to the general joy, my phone is showing signs that it is approaching the end of its service life. I intend to buy my next one outright to avoid the financing costs — a classic rich people’s economy. But even my rudimentary arithmetic skills can cope with calculating the true cost of the “no money down” deal offered by Bell Canada, so I have to make a 40-km pilgrimage to the nearest Apple store. I think that can wait until I feel rather less sick.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Jul 22 - 11:04 AM

During the weekend my daughter spent with me after the knee surgery we at one point got to talking about commodes (toilets) and the use of under the seat bidets. I think that is what I'll be getting for xmas this year from her. :) A lot of the toilets in use around here now have the dual flow (for liquid versus solids flushing). I got a new toilet that is just all low flow, it's designed so it flushes anything with the smaller amount of water.

I tend to save up projects for when I have to call out someone from one of the professions like electrician or plumber. If it's an emergency call, all the better if you can get something extra fixed at the same time and avoid an extra service call charge later.

The 10-day forecast is dreadful - up to 107^o predicted on Saturday, all days over 100 through Thursday when it's a balmy 99 predicted. Carlos Santana collapsed on stage last night in Michigan (way north of Texas and with the outdoor temperature at 86^o, but the stage lights making it much hotter where he was.) Stay cool, everyone!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 07 Jul 22 - 05:00 AM

I'm not sure whether I've seen chain flushes in houses, Sen.

I don't know when her Shropshire village got mains water but mum (b. 1935) remembers a time when they got water from the village pump.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Senoufou
Date: 07 Jul 22 - 03:34 AM

That's exactly what my loo flusher is Jon, a 'push' one. And the photo shows the part my plumber changed for me. It was weird having no water whatsoever all evening and all night. Made me appreciate all the more having clean water on tap.
When I was a little girl, everyone had a cistern up on the wall and a chain to pull. (remember those?) I got a smack for yanking it far too hard and nearly pulling the whole thing down.
Makes my husband's 'toilet arrangements' in Africa look a bit more sensible (Hole in the ground and a pot of water to wash one's bum - no toilet flushing and no toilet paper!)

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 07 Jul 22 - 02:44 AM

I think the best thing I did with our toilet was to change the lever operated flush to a push one the last time we had a breakdown. I could never persuade people here not to turn the handle as forcefully as they could and not to keep turning the handle impatiently as the water refilled with the lever ones.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Senoufou
Date: 07 Jul 22 - 02:13 AM

Oh John, don't mention 'plumbing' to me! For several weeks I've had a 'haunted loo' - it kept flushing all by itself, even in the middle of the night, and there's only me in the house - scary!. As I'm on a water meter, this was costing me money. But my favourite plumbers (Dempsey) would need to be paid of course.
Then, a few days ago, the Haunted Loo flushed continually without stopping, late one evening! I tried and tried to turn off the stop-cock under the kitchen sink, but it was too stiff for me. So I ran next door to my kind neighbours, and the husband brought a spanner and got my water turned off. I rang Dempsey's emergency number and a lovely chap arrived immediately. He told me I'd have to wait until the morning as he didn't have the requisite part on his van. So I spent the night with all water turned off, unable to flush my loo at all. He came back early next day, fixed the loo and now I'm singing in my head that song 'The Honey Cart' by the Singing Postman ("Whenever he's bin, yew kin goo agin, as regular as can be!" hee hee!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 07 Jul 22 - 01:23 AM

It’s always ordering on line for me and DIY things, SRS.

I had a plumbing job last month. The bath thermostatic mixer tap (this sort of thing) had started leaking. Because of a previous mix up, I was quite lucky with this one. I had a suitable spare tap in my shed. The plumbing bit was a very easy task too.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: keberoxu
Date: 06 Jul 22 - 03:58 PM

Talking of things moving under your feet (Dorothy):

I just drove to the next town over, where I am data-entering this from a public computer (rental).
To get to this spot, I had to drive over a bridge crossing a river.
There is a crossroads, of which the bridge itself is one-quarter,
and the crossroads has got a traffic signal with lights and all.

THis means that when the light is red in that one direction,
traffic is stopped right ON the bridge over the Housatonic River.
I was driving one of the vehicles that was halted on the bridge,
waiting for the light to change.

At that crossroads, drivers from another direction made a right turn,
and following the green-arrow-light signal,
they turned ONTO the bridge itself where my lane was stopped.
So these other cars drove past us going the other way over the bridge,
and yes,
that bridge rocked, rocked, rocked.

And I thought of Dorothy's kiln and the floor with the broken joist.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 06 Jul 22 - 03:36 PM

Beaver: hit the wrong button and lost post. I will try again at home where it is more comfie.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Donuel
Date: 06 Jul 22 - 02:06 PM

My Cadillac started showering the passenger's feet with water which is a wierd unwelcome option. I took it to the dealership and got it fixed/turned off.

The last declutter downstairs room project is started before I tackle the the unfathomable basement. I'm going to enjoy the wrap around desk demolition with a sledge hammer.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Jul 22 - 11:19 AM

They say no good deed goes unpunished. My ex came over to turn off the water at the curb and after a good soaking we figured out which direction to turn the gate valve (and I need to prune back the shrub that is growing over the top of the vault). And then the outer screw on the faucet is rusted in place and the whole faucet needs replacing so he headed over to Home Depot to get another faucet handle.

It turns out this is just part of the unit, screwed off of the part soldered onto the copper pipe, and the whole thing needs replacing, so a plumber will have to sweat a new fitting onto the pipe. The guy at Home Depot recommended a silicon filler that will replace the leaking washer on the existing faucet for now. Ok. Only one phone call and one trip so far. Next time I call a plumber about the tree-root-sewer problem I'll also have them (probably "him") replace the faucet as well. Note to self - pick up the faucet I want to use so I have it here ready to install. I like the way the gate valves work but they usually use the screw valves.

Any day you have a home project and can do it with only one trip to the hardware store is a win. My average on some projects is three trips in a day or weekend. I also take photos to show them what I'm working on. We got the washer unit reassembled (less is more when it comes to this silicone stuff) and back together on the pipe.

Standing in the yard for a little while wasn't bad, but I need to pace myself. I'm weaning off of the pain meds today. Wish me luck!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Jul 22 - 02:21 PM

Charmion, good thing I'd swallowed that mouthful of tea when I read your last remark, or I would be mopping up on my desktop! Dorothy, I second her remark!

I started looking at the dripping faucet and realized part of the problem is the faucet itself, so have asked my ex to stop by to help with a "few things I can't do by myself yet." I can change that washer, but what I can't do right now is get down on my hands and knees in the front yard to turn off the water to the house in the small vault next to the water meter. I have a couple of heavy pots that need moving also (with the help of a wagon, but I don't want to lift them into the wagon).

I picked out three very easy to ship items to list on eBay; a leather handbag and two good brands of shoes that I have never gotten around to wearing. Since I decided I need to just stick with size 9 shoes, the 8.5s have been pulled out of the closet. Some were donated to Goodwill, but the big name ones that are barely worn can go on eBay.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 05 Jul 22 - 01:22 PM

Dorothy, I think it’s safe to say that a floor should not rock at all, ever. Even a little bit.