Showing posts with label optimism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label optimism. Show all posts

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Thumper

Well. I took a week off to go out to Montana and see my daughter and the rest of the family. I hired a gentleman to come in twice a day to check on the cats, and walk Thumper. This would be the first time that I would be away for a relatively long period of time (ten days), and Thump would have to adjust to a new alpha human.

Steve, the guy I hired, is retired, and (I believe) does pet sitting to get out of his wife's way. He was a godsend. He did a bunch of extra stuff, like some cleaning up of poo in the house that I hadn't gotten to before I left, and got Thump some new toys to play with. In his written summary, he said:
"Thunper would let me sit on the sofa with him. (He) would let me scratch his back and rub his head with the walking harness on. ... He is learning to trust."
Funny thing was, when I got home and Steve came over to collect his check, Thump pretty much ignored him. I think he was letting us know who he thought the boss was!

A couple of days ago, Thumper and I went for one of our usual walks. As we were coming back in the alley behind the three townhomes, we ran in to our neighbor who lives on the other end unit. He and I started talking about some maintenance issues, while Thumper just stood there. At one point, my neighbor idly bent over and scratched Tumper on his back.

Thumper. Did. Not. React.

We have crossed the Rubicon. I don't know if this extends to the little kids who want to pet him or not, but it signals a major breakthru!   He has become much more comfortable with people than he has ever been since I met him.

He's becoming a real dog.

Friday, August 16, 2013

Adventures in Physical Therapy

It's been about 2 1/2 weeks since I was discharged from the rehab hospital.  I made an appointment at the local outpatient clinic of the same company.  Got there Tuesday AM for my intake evaluation, only to find that they don't participate in the county medical program, thus ending the interview rather quickly.

I went back to the same company as the hospital where I had the surgery, knowing they did take the county's program.  They got me in this morning (at 7:15 - ugh), and I did the paperwork, was evaluated, and given some exercises to do there, and at home over the weekend.  I also have appointments for several weeks out.

The therapist said that my hip flexibility was better than most people my age ( quite a bit, based on what he showed me).  I can only attribute that to Sue at Mindful Movements out in H. B., who taught me stretch and Pilates for many years.  The thing I learned from her that will serve me the most is how to isolate and use any given muscle group.  It makes the exercises I have to do a lot more effective, since the idea is, for example, to work on my lower back, and not my glutes at the same time.  With this particular exercise, it's common for people to use the glutes, and it takes practice and attention to keep them relaxed while working the lower back muscles.

The thing I miss most is the voltaren - the anti-inflammatory that I take for the arthritis in my hands.  The tramadol and valium just don't put a dent in the ache.  Dr is afraid of infection (?), which is why he is holding me off them.  See him again in a couple more weeks, so maybe that will change.

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Walking The Dogs

I have an appointment with a neurologist this coming Friday, to see if we can figure out what the next step in the drama that has been my partial paralysis.  I have been pushing myself a bit every day, and lately I have been able to walk short distances.

Today, I took the dogs for a walk.  I doubt we went a quarter mile, round-trip.  Up the alley to Main, and down Main past the gym, the big antique store,  the kid clothing consignment shop, the seamstress, to the insurance agency.  We went down the walk there to the alley, and back to the house.

I started to run out of gas before we got home, so I slowed up, and let the dogs pull me a bit.  Sat out on the patio for about a half hour, then came in for treats and Cokes.

Woo-hoo!


Thursday, May 16, 2013

Update

My cousin asked me how I was doing.  Here's my response...

Thanks for asking!!

Short answer - "better".  The "it hurts when I do that" pain has diminished considerably, so I have much more range of motion.  Still have foot drop and weakness in the left leg, tho.  One of my students from the library got me a walker (!), so I can motor about much more easily and comfortably.  Getting a bit better at stairs, trying to use my left leg so it doesn't atrophy.

I have an appointment in a month with a neurologist, and we'll see what happens after that.  I consulted w/ Dr. Internet (Web MD).  Says surgery is The Last Resort (duh), and that this kind of thing tends to clear up over time.  But, the foot drop is still a major concern.

Make too much money (ha!) for Medicaid, but the county has it's own help program called "Healthy York Network".  The intake lady at the local hospital seemed confident that I would qualify, and maybe even not have to pay.

I really miss walking the dogs...

Sigh...

Saturday, January 19, 2013

This Old House, Again...

Remember the leak?  That well-hidden, inaccessable leak??

Yeah.

The leak is not anywhere where I can see the pipes.  The two-story add-on is behind the basement, so the pipes for the kitchen heater go through the basement wall.  The only way to access them is through the kitchen floor.  Two days ago, the linoleum bubbled up in front of the sink.  And, it's slowly growing.  Sigh.  It's starting to look like I will have to take up the linoleum, then the sub floor, to find the source(s) of any leaks.  Experience (hard mistress that she is) tells me that I will probably have to do some work on the floor joists too, at a minimum.  Just for drill.

So, in roughly the order of priority for the lovely old place:
  • New roof, all over
  • Find/fix leaks under the kitchen
  • Un-sag the laundry room (the add-on part is tipping away from the rest of the house)
  • Permanent electricity for the second and third floors
  • Shore up the first floor joists to level the first floor.
  • 'Artfully' shore the second floor (and hope that levels the third floor)
  • Re-model kitchen
  • Re-model bath
  • Make the back yard a thing of beauty.
That all should keep me busy and broke.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

New Year's Resolution

undefined

Somewhere in the blog-o-sphere, I read a bit on resolutions.  Instead of "Lose 50 pounds, give up drinking, and get the outstanding debts paid off", pick one word.  Post it on the fridge.  Put it in the car.  Make it your desktop.

"Humility" was the first word that popped into mind when I read that.

Dunno if I'm ready for that.  Of course, being the person Koda and Suzu might think I am is way tougher...

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Thank God Bush Isn't In Charge... (Updated & Bumped x3)

...or Ray Nagin.

Note: I thought I'd cross this post here.

Update VI:  Jewel, over at Gerard's, tells a great story:  

"Today, my husband witnessed a wondrous act of resourcefulness. A man with a horse trailer hitched to his truck was filling up individual 5 gallon jugs of gas in order to transport them back to New Jersey. He went out into the wide world of American plenty that lies just beyond disaster. He didn't wait like a hopeless fool in a line of idling cars for gasoline that is rationed by the spoonful. His neighbors hired him because he had a big, gas eating truck, and gave him money and jugs and sent him to Lancaster County to go shopping. He brought back not only gasoline, but food, water, clothing, blankets, batteries, and other things they might need. Those people are heroes, because they used their God-given talents and brains and didn't go crying to the cameras, asking for the government to come and help."

It's easy to get "wrapped around the axle" in a mess like Sandy.  Jewel's post is a wonderful reminder that everything you need is available a couple of hours away.

Update VDaily Caller reports that the IBEW sent a letter to the Florida electrical utility demanding that the emergency workers join the (damned) union.  Class act, brothers!

Not to be out done, nanny Bloomberg answers THS's question.  Seems he disapproves of the National Guard's policy of carrying weapons, particularly guns.  He's afraid of "martial law". (Ed Driscoll at Instapundit)

Did I mention that truth is stranger than fiction, because fiction has to make sense?  Yeah, 's true. 

Update IV:  Tree Hugging Sister over at the Coalition asks:

FEMA Is Out of Water Redux ~ Anybody Ask the Army Corps of Engineers for Help?

Seems they are waiting to be activated, but none of the super-geniuses in charge have thought to do that.  So supplies that are pre-contracted (like water and ice) are gathering dust while everyone waits for FEMA to get a contract out.  Tomorrow.

And this, from the New York Post: "Some Rockaways residents who work as firefighters in The Bronx and Manhattan were fuming yesterday — sitting idly in their firehouses while their neighbors and family members miles away struggled to get help."


 


Update III:  The proverbial $64.00 questions that need asking are, "Why weren't Cuomo and Bloomberg setting up relief sites two weeks ago?  Why weren't they pre-positioning bottled water, MREs and blankets?  Who says you have to wait on FEMA to do it??  WHO??"

They have let down the people who have (foolishly) trusted in them.

Update II:  You have to, HAVE TO  be ready to live in isolation for at least a week after something like Sandy or Katrina or the Sylmar quake.  There just aren't enough Official First Responders to come and wipe your nose!!  So far, the only real assistance in Rockaway or Staten Island has been neighbors helping neighbors.  And that is how it happens - you take care of yourself, your family, and your neighborhood.

Update: Mary Katherine Ham at Hot Air has a great piece up about Federal vs. local disaster recovery management, and (of all things) "The Waffle House Index".

Previously:

From Drudge:


I am willing to bet that I am not the only one who was paying attention to the news, particularly the weather, in the last two weeks or so.  I made sure the truck had a full tank.  I made sure that I had propane for the camp stove, batteries for flashlights and camping lamps, a well-stocked freezer and fridge, a clean bathtub full of fresh water,

 Here's the money quote from nanny Bloomberg:

“We are, over the next few days, going to have to work out some procedures to make sure people can get food,” Mayor Bloomberg insisted.

Let that sink in.  Like New Orleans in Katrina, whose disaster preparedness plan amounted to "We should have one".

Yup.  He obviously took lessons from Nagin.