FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux

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: 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: 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: Charmion
Date: 08 Jul 22 - 10:23 PM

PS: I know where Madoc is, too!

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: 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: 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 - 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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 - 11:13 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: 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: 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: 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 - 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: 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: 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: 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 - 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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 - 09:11 PM

Are there drugs for leg cramps? The trouble for me is that the cramps are pretty unpredictable. I'm as likely to get them in winter as in summer, and I can go for weeks without trouble.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Jul 22 - 07:00 PM

There are home remedies that people talk about for restless leg problems, and for cramps I've heard about people taking a teaspoonful of vinegar or keeping a mustard packet by the bed and taking some of that.

The combination of muscle and bone pain after the surgery is what the Flexeril is prescribed for. I don't know if it would work for occasional leg cramps (if once they start they continue all night, maybe?)

The problem of taking several medications, even staggering them through the day, is that if they all have a particular side effect it can make life uncomfortable. The narcotic painkiller and the muscle relaxant all can cause constipation, so keeping everything moving is a challenge. I'm almost at the end of those prescribed for the month after the surgery and will be so glad to be through with these.

We had a brief respite yesterday afternoon with a cooldown after rain, but it's back to baking us today. I leave a cooler on my porch with ice and a couple of bottles of water in it, and notice that the postal carrier grabbed both of them today. I'm keeping the bird baths filled and a few of the terracotta saucers that go under pots (normally) on the ground with water for toads, lizards, and birds.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 15 Jul 22 - 09:54 PM

Beaver:

I have had great success with magnesium for cramping; I keep a bottle of "Calm" on the bedside table with a spoon in it (powder); if I get a cramp in the night, I take a swig of water(also next to the bed) and throw a half spoonful of powder in after it, more water, swish it around and the cramp ceasing in less than a minute. If it were a frequent problem, I would try to remember it before going to bed!

Charmion: sure you have been on 7 and passed the route to Madoc. If you happen by at lunchtime, Tues- Sat, they have interesting sandwiches and salads, good soups, lovely scones and other interesting goods at the Goldmine - about 3 minutes from the intersection, on the main st, across from a nice used book store. It is a treat,

Hot weather is not a treat! I have been fortunate here this few weeks. I carefully close drapes on the sunny sides and open them as the sun moves around the house. Then open the doors if as it cools in the evening - which it still does! I see a hot spell coming in a few days and shall have to plan. Love SRS' outdoor shower! I will think on that. No outdoor hose connection... I have two rain barrels collecting from eavestroughs - we have rain!!! The one on the south side of house is warmish. It is convenient for washing residual clay off hands before a final wash in the house. Keeping the clay out of the septic is important.

I, too, rather miss the Great North West!

This morning I got a sneaky urge to clean out the K cabinet that contains all those plastic containers and bottles and baking pans. Three healthy mice jumped ship in the process! I even got down on my knees to wash the cabinet floor, observing carefully that I would be able to climb back up off the floor. I did not actually throw much out but it is organized and there is room left over! Space for the buckets of flour, popcorn and beans!

I have lots of pottery ready to fire but the floor is not repaired yet. There is no room for more! I will see BJ at Market tomorrow. Steve has still not cut the back yard... I have lovely wildflowers in the small section I asked him not to cut - daisies, red clover, something blue, brown eyed Susan and a lot of buckwheat in bloom.

The sorrel is happy with its grooming; I throw some in each cooked meal; today I put a bunch in the freezer on a tray; I will bag it and do another batch tomorrow. The resident woodchuck can sometimes be observed grazing, moving about and picking each tidbit like a fussy eater! Not in the raised beds!

I harvested 3 small strawberries - total! Tasty but... Planning to feed them well in the near future so they can do better next year!

R actually went for groceries last night at the time of least customers and just called, full of what he is cooking! He is feeling better and sounds better but still has a faint line of the test so staying away from people. Tomatoes in the garden are producing slowly so he has had some. AND was excited to tell me the tiny pear tree we have been nurturing for two years, and planted in front garden in May, has a new leaf! It has lost all of its leaves and we feared lack of water.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 16 Jul 22 - 03:21 AM

I think opioids are more likely to give you constipation that not. I had over a year of that while on morphine (I've taken it in the liquid oramorph and 12hr release zomorph capsule forms). More recently, mum tried some opioid weekly release patches for pain relief. Her GP prescribed Cosmocol(macrogol) at the same time. Mum needed it.

Addiction seems to be another problem with this group of drugs. I may have been lucky on that. I was able to get myself off the remaing zomorph without withdrawal problems.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 16 Jul 22 - 05:17 AM

It's hot and humid today and the heatwave that threatens us hasn't even started yet. I have to get into my greenhouse to control my rampant tomatoes and the attendant weeds and I think I'll need a cold shower after that. Then I really must start picking the broad beans before they go "black in th' eye." The horseflies are having their best summer ever so it'll be out with the DEET spray (and the sun lotion on my balding pate).

I won't go over my opioid tale of woe again, but suffice to say the way they made me dependent (and shattered my confidence in just getting around) made for the worst few weeks of my life. They didn't even work after the first week or ten days.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Jul 22 - 10:40 AM

Two years ago when the first knee surgery happened I tried "stepping down" from oxy to tramadol, and found that the tramadol was difficult to just stop, I felt it in an uncomfortable way. The pharmacy had changed their phone system and I couldn't get through so I finally got a ride over there to stand in line to ask the pharmacist if I could safely cut the tablets to taper off of them. Thankfully, he said yes. This time I skipped the "stepping down" part and just worked my way off of the oxy. The best tool to have in a house where you're taking multiple complex medications is a pill-splitter. That's what I'm doing with the flexeril these days, 1/2 a pill a day and then every 36 hours, till I'm off of them and hopefully no more leg cramps. I was off of the oxy last weekend and as Steve says, they weren't helping the knee pain anyway. The knee now hurts mostly because of positional issues - trying to get comfortable and how it rests on a pillow. And trying to not get another case of bursitis in the hip.

Last night I decided I wanted to cook a real meal so I made an eggplant and pork dish (with onions and tomatoes, served over fried or mashed potatoes). It came out great. I ate a little and the rest is in the fridge and my ex will be over for lunch or dinner today. I gave everyone in the family a copy of the cookbook it comes from (I've discussed it here before - Tess Mallos' The Complete Middle East Cookbook). So when I was telling him about this dish (I thought he'd eaten it here before?) I told him what page and he looked it up while we were talking. Most of the family has the hummus recipe memorized, and there are others that everyone enjoys. Which reminds me, I wonder if I sent this to my sister? She might have our mother's copy. The funny thing about this book is that new editions are paperback and are about $60, but you can find good hardback editions for under $10. I always have a couple extra copies of this book in the kitchen and on impulse have given them to friends and neighbors (and coworkers before I retired. We often times had international students working in our department and talking about food was one of those conversations that really brought people together. This book was handy at those times. I gave my office copy to a coworker when I retired.)

Today I took a good look at the house and it's like the inside of a goat's stomach. A month of recuperating and not having people in (at which time I tend to pick up) has left stuff sitting everywhere. I have an audiobook I want to finish by tomorrow so I'll put the headphones on and just quietly work my way through the house as I listen to the murder mystery in Three Pines.

I dread seeing my electric bill this month. It's going to be a whopper. This week hovered around 102^o, next week it's up around 106^o. Over the course of the last month I lost another 4 pounds without even intending to; it's the heat that makes the prospect of eating very unappealing. Yesterday's cooking was simply because I had thawed a pork tenderloin and didn't want to waste it. I've gone through a lot of fruit this summer.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Jul 22 - 10:01 PM

I made a quick trip to Walmart (I rarely shop there, but they have everything) to pick up a wading pool for the dogs. The old lab might get in, it's low enough he can manage. I also picked up more COVID tests and will send the paperwork to my insurance company for reimbursement. The new COVID variant is really spreading here and is getting too close to family for comfort.

I'm filling the bird baths and basins on the ground every day and seeing lots of signs of critters visiting them. I also handed a bottle of water to the mail carrier as he came by very late today. Good thing the bottles are inexpensive at Costco, I can keep the delivery people who come to my house hydrated without breaking the bank. There is no end in sight and next week is supposed to be several degrees hotter.

When I buy a phone I always put a protective case on it and buy the strong glass protective sheet that covers the face of it. They always come in twos or three and I never use the rest, but today I decided to clean up the phone because that glass cover has slowly gotten dust pushed in under the corners so put on a fresh one. It's all spiffy and looks as good as new now. Heck, for my "no spend" month I'm hemorrhaging cash so I might as well find as many things I can do at no expense as possible. (We seem to take turns at this; Charmion has had a few months that seemed to keep on attacking the pocketbook; the summer seems to be my turn.)

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 17 Jul 22 - 05:21 AM

Dad was taken to hospital last evening. I didn’t know but apparently the morning carer was a touch concerned about a weaker than usual (although dad can be a bit variable anyway) right leg. He was fine the times I saw him during the day which included taking him to the toilet after lunch but he dropped a few things at tea time and when the bed time carers came (quite early yesterday), his right arm stopped working for a while. We called an ambulance and a series of mini strokes is suspected.

The hospital kept him in overnight and we are waiting for the results of tests they are doing on him.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 17 Jul 22 - 05:24 AM

All the best, Jon.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 17 Jul 22 - 05:32 AM

Thanks Steve.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 17 Jul 22 - 08:51 AM

Middle-class life is a hole into which we shovel money, Stilly. We could give up car travel, functional knees, television, air-conditioning and smartphones, but we’d gain nothing but misery and isolation to no good purpose.

Fingers crossed for your Dad, Jon. It’s great you have the carers who can assess what’s going on with him and recognize a potentially dangerous change; you’re so close that I’m sure it’s hard for you to see that.

Speaking of big spending, the first installment of my great-niece’s university tuition will be due soon. Gotta contact my broker!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 17 Jul 22 - 10:18 AM

Thanks charmion. I think a factor this time was that the carers were around and I was in my room when the leg problem and loss of use of arm showed up but it’s also true that I can find dad difficult to try to assess.

It would probably be a lot easier with a normally able person. In my own experience, dad can stand up (with aids) first time, need a few attempts or even need a break before trying again. His handling is never the best and he uses a bib for meals but I’d have to decide that several bits from his plate plus a yoghurt pot all going on the floor is well beyond the “normal”. Working out whether someone who sometimes can get confused under stress/anxiety and tiredness makes it hard to decide out whether a bout of confusion is something to worry about, etc,

I suppose the carers do have the advantage of only seeing him at certain times of day and for specific tasks. Plus, of course they will have had (or should have had) training and experience I don’ have.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 17 Jul 22 - 10:52 AM

And I've just had a call from the hospital. Nothing has shown on scans. They think it may have been mini stroke events that apparently don't always show up but he has been given the all clear to come home and he should be back this evening.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Jul 22 - 11:33 AM

Small strokes are sometimes nothing and sometimes something, as I've seen in family members. Good he can come home this evening.

Today is the last day of various pills enumerated on my après-surgery instructions. I'm so tired of keeping the checklist to be sure things were taken on time. Everything will be put away or tossed and the bread pan that corralled the bottles will be washed and put away. The only remnant of the surgery experience will be the ice packs and the case they fit in that still get used around bedtime.

Other than filling bird baths and watering plants I'm staying inside, so there will be more eBay listings today. We're under an Excessive Heat Warning:

...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO
9 PM CDT MONDAY...

* WHAT...Dangerously hot conditions with temperatures between 105
and 110 degrees and heat index values up to 112 degrees.

That damned warning is going to be issued every day this week. Tomorrow and Tuesday are predicted up to 109^o.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 17 Jul 22 - 07:09 PM

Beaver:

Pottery outside under roof, drying. Rain predicted almost daily but not enough to help much. Larry stopped by today and suggested, firmly, using the rain barrel to water the veggies. Even the rhubarb, not in raised bed, needs help. I thought we had gotten lots, but not enough... I did remember to ask for his help to get the umbrella clothes line out of the way so I could access the extension cord designed for the kiln. I will bisque fire it under the roof of the walkway. If that works OK and there is still a need, I will do glaze firing there... until the floor is replaced!


Beating the heat by staying indoors reading. Not so hot here as some places, only up to 30C today.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Jul 22 - 11:32 AM

I reclaimed the corner of my kitchen peninsula when I packed up the two folders of paperwork from the surgery and have them ready to file in the office. The last of the required medications is finished, now my main focus is two-fold: work on the PT for the knee and get the gut back to normal operations. Too many of those medications bound up the insides and using other medications (Magnesium stuff like Milk of Magnesia) have their own problems when they "fix" the situation. Continuing a healthy diet and getting lots of liquid is the main remedy.

It's a quiet and hot July here as I continue to recuperate. There isn't lawn to be mowed because it is toast, except where I water and mow for the dogs. I sat down and wrote up some of my tips for dealing with the heat and will start a thread - it seems there will be others who want to contribute or learn or ask questions. The whole world is ablaze right now as our nations continue to subsidize fossil fuels.

I learned yesterday that my public library is retiring one of the two audiobook apps they use; I thought about immediately putting the new one into use, but I'm halfway through a book and it won't know where I stopped when I renew that title. So I'll phase in the new app (use it after this book). The old app goes until the new year. #FirstWorldProblems

Last night I spent an hour or more chatting with a woman in Maine who was trying to reach a local acquaintance of mine who is in the middle of some kind of psychological manic phase of untreated mental illness. It's there for the world to see on Facebook, but I recognized the voice of a professional, who wrote "XXXXX, all of this is very big. I hope you will call a friend. You sound like you are dealing with a lot, and must be tired and scared." She wasn't challenging the delusion, she was sliding in along underneath it, hoping to get our friend to reach out. I contacted her via Messenger and it turns out she's a PhD candidate in psychology. In Maine. I took time to call a local MSW friend and asked about agencies here that weren't the police as far as a welfare check, services, etc. and got a good answer that I conveyed back to the friend in Maine. She has been contacting other friends and some family and I hope they can all help our friend get some help. I will call those services if it will help, but it's a matter of who can convince the service agencies of her need - her old friend who knew her 20 years ago, or me as the person who had lunch with her four years ago when we shared office space. It takes a village.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 18 Jul 22 - 08:36 PM

Beaver:

Today it RAINED! At least an inch. Before it started, I re-weeded the strawberry beds and, in between deluges, The blueberry bed. Larry visited yesterday and talked about feeding the beds, and found them very dry! No way I can do a gray water system (R could but no time)so I will use a basin in the sink and carry water out to the beds. I did not realize the soil was so dry. And, of course, the weeds were taking up some of the available water.

Still no repair of floor in kiln room and it is feeling essential as I would like to get back to visit with R. The pots are dry; time to get firing. Tried plan B (with extension cord R made) and may have blown a fuse and cannot get the box open. Will try again tomorrow. Looking for a solution!

Couple hot days ahead. Will open house in a bit to cool night air; get it as cool as possible then close it up in the morning before it starts to warm. Realize that I can do that - leave the doors open - out here on this dead end road with no traffic. Just hook the screen doors. No worries! Wish I could in QC.

Our very healthy resident wood chuck was just outside nibbling away. Got up on raised bed with no problem, not to nibble but to get a better view of who was watching him(?)!

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Jul 22 - 09:58 AM

I'd like to get photos of wildlife in the bird baths and plant saucers I've put out with water, but it would mean baking my brains outside to do it. I need to change the water this morning in various pools and troughs to prevent mosquitoes, so I'll go out soon before it's 90^o. It was down to 82 last night, but it gets hot again pretty quickly.

I waited a full 24 hours after the last Celebrex before taking any of the Rx Motrin, but last night is the first night in over a month I didn't need to ice my knee to get to sleep.

Has your cellulitis completely cleared up, Charmion?

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Charmion
Date: 19 Jul 22 - 10:07 AM

My face is back to what passes for normal, Stilly. The big, bad antibiotic did its job.

It’s hot and sticky in Stratford. We had a nice rainstorm on Sunday night and Environment Canada promised more through the week, but the sky is clear and stubbornly blue today. Out on the land, I see fields of brown, stunted corn. Not good.

Subject: RE: FITNESS & Declutter 2022 - Pandemic redux
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Jul 22 - 08:06 PM

I'm off of the last of the medications for 30 days after the surgery, but the gut is at a standstill. Drinking lots of water and taking softeners helps, but it's time for drastic action - ice cream. I find that a big bowl has the capacity to shove everything along (good thing I don't have to go anywhere tonight or tomorrow is all I'll say about that, and probably TMI).

PT today stepped up to the massage stage after the exercises. Prodding, digging, pinching, and even old-fashioned "cupping" with a flexible acrylic cup that slides over the oiled surface of the knee and pulls the skin up and helps separate it from scar tissue. There are some painful moments in this, but she ends with a soothing menthol lotion and I stopped to pick some up on my way home.

Later in the week it's supposed to be about 10 degrees cooler. I've stayed in except to go out to water plants and pots and this evening after dark I'll drain the larger pool and stock tank in the back yard and refill them. And shower on my patio. I should keep a couple of kettles filled with water; when it gets this hot pipes sometimes break under ground and we go without until the street repair is finished. Maybe fill the tub in the hall bathroom to use for bathing and flushing, just in case. Or I suppose I could go soak in the kiddie pool in the back yard after dark. :)

The sewing studio has a good air flow from the AC and I'll be doing some sewing in there tomorrow. It is getting easier to sit still for a while to work on things like the computer or the sewing machine.