Rusty's Ramblings

[Geo]

Thanks, E_T.

As for my second cousin, part of the tragedy is that her parents heard about it on the news, instead of being notified by a professional or family member that she wasn't alive any more. She was married to the Melon family's game keeper, and lived on the preserve. My understanding is that she delivered some of the Melon kids to bible school every day. I just now got up the nerve to look up the news story.

https://www.pennlive.com/daily-buzz/2019/07/fedex-truck-hits-kills-pa-woman-moments-after-she-drops-off-kids.html

I suspect she was in the cross walk at the time, judging by the photo. I don't know what her parents and husband are going to do, but I'm sure the ambulance chasers have contacted them by now. Or maybe the Melons have a law firm on retainer and want to help. That wouldn't surprise me.

She was kind, she was good, she was responsible. I wish we had a country full of Pams. Uh... Another time.

And I'm supposed to have a FedEx delivery tomorrow...

[Rusty Edge]

Thanks, E_T.

As for my second cousin, part of the tragedy is that her parents heard about it on the news, instead of being notified by a professional or family member that she wasn't alive any more. She was married to the Melon family's game keeper, and lived on the preserve. My understanding is that she delivered some of the Melon kids to bible school every day. I just now got up the nerve to look up the news story.

https://www.pennlive.com/daily-buzz/2019/07/fedex-truck-hits-kills-pa-woman-moments-after-she-drops-off-kids.html

I suspect she was in the cross walk at the time, judging by the photo. I don't know what her parents and husband are going to do, but I'm sure the ambulance chasers have contacted them by now. Or maybe the Melons have a law firm on retainer and want to help. That wouldn't surprise me.

She was kind, she was good, she was responsible. I wish we had a country full of Pams. Uh... Another time.

And I'm supposed to have a FedEx delivery tomorrow...

I assume you were attempting to lighten the mood. I quit writing about it because my outlook was getting pretty dark, and I had a birthday party to go to when I typed that.

So, thanks for trying, Geo.

[Rusty Edge]

Now that I'm home in WI again, it's time to get stuff done before fishing season. Getting work done on my car, pruning and weeding my nephew's red raspberry patch, planting a dwarf tree, re-arranging my basement to make room for the sauna. Pickling some carrots, planting some greens and flowers, taking longer walks.

All of that ended well. The car runs better than it has for a couple of years because of a replaced fuel/air sensor. Finished the raspberries ( everbearing reds), the tree is doing well, I'm enjoying the sauna, and the carrots turned out well, although I want to add horseradish next time. I'm  consistently walking 1.75 miles. Got the worms picked for the fishing trip.

As for the sauna, put it together by myself. I'd studied enough that I didn't have to refer to the manual during assembly.  I've been gradually increasing the temperature and duration. Meanwhile, I'm sweating more easily in there. I can't say that I'm losing weight, but the fat is getting thinner over the pelvic part of my lower back. That's been pretty stubborn. The real objective was relief of back pain and stiffness, and it's helping with that, not only while I'm in it. I sleep better, too. I hope it will help me fight colds, but I only had one last year anyway, so maybe that's a moot point.

To follow up on this post- My car is still running well. Revisited the red raspberries and weeded again. There were a few ripe berries, but I didn't bother picking them. My nephew can have at them. I think the bulk of the crop will ripen in August-September.

SAUNA- Still sleeping better. Actually, my back is better in general, and I don't notice any pain while in the sauna any more. It's not because the wood seating is comfortable. I did get sick once since I posted this, and seemed to get over it quickly with the aid of an afternoon sauna session in addition to the usual one before bed.

In think I started out with 10 minute/115 degree sessions, and worked up to 30 minutes/130 degrees. My body is sweating more easily, so I have recently switched to 40minutes/120 degrees. That's a little misleading, because I set the time and temperature for an hour, and it may be closer to 115 when I enter than the target temp, because it takes a while to warm up, about a degree/min. So 30/130 was less accurate than the other settings, with only about half of the session at target temp.

I do think my skin is looking better. Flushing my pores out seems to get rid of blackheads. I think the heat is inhospitable for warts and skin fungi. I think my wrinkles are fewer and shallower after I use it, too, if only temporarily. When I did my sauna research, I figured the benefits derived from improved circulation and stress reduction. My hands and feet were always cold/ cool to the touch, but they don't seem to be any more, even when I'm in bed. To me, that is proof of long term improvement in circulation. We went to visit my MiL in the rehab wing of the nursing home. It's a very warm place year  round. More so compared to home, which my wife likes near 66 year round. I noticed I was sweating almost immediately, rather than suffering. I figure that's sauna conditioning also.

The various carrot pickling went well, I've got plans for kombucha, sour dough, kimchi, more on that later.

I'm thinking about installing the salon sink in the basement myself. But rather than trying to replace the laundry utility tub as originally planned, put it beside it on the same wall. Why? Because essentially the nieces need a utility sink for mad scientist hair dye experiments. Probably better to have a clean one for washing heads and another for mixing/dumping handwashing towel rinsing, wringing, and whatever. Otherwise the hair perm/ dye stuff will get stacked around the area waiting to be spilled. I figure working in a cool basement is a good August project. To do that I'll need to shift some stuff, get out the laser level, start measuring and marking to get the sink level, the drain sloped, and room for a towel hamper or something. There's a column to work around. It will be involved, and plumbing's not my favorite, but should be doable if I take my time.

[Rusty Edge]

Lotsa stuff going on. Good News and Bad.

Bad- My Dad slid out of his wheel chair. Good- but no harm done. They are ordering him a different one.

Bad- On the last night of our fishing trip my Mother in Law fell getting into my wife's car and broke both bones in her lower right leg and crushed an ankle bone or two. Good- The hospital there was able to put her leg back together with nuts, bolts, and cadaver bone.

Good- The medical people were great human beings. Bad- The hospital still runs on paper.

Bad - I had two cars and a boat to pack (a lot of light bulky stuff is carried in the boat beneath the tarp.) without the help of my wife, because she was busy dealing with her Mom and medical records. Worse, we had extra stuff to haul because 4 people who left early forgot stuff.
Good- My in-laws are aware that it's terribly challenging for me to do tasks like packing/moving/unpacking due to my inner ear disorder and the endless series of balance corrections involved with searching high and low, bending and lifting things of various weights, etc. which that entails. Some years I get motion sickness packing, even when my wife and mother-in-law are gathering and boxing the stuff in the cabin up for me. So one of my sister-in-laws offered to help.
Bad- she asked me for instructions, yet she completely disregarded them, and tended to come and go.
Good- My health has improved since I started the diet and supplementation. I was able to get most everything packed by myself, including the extra gear. I just took breaks as needed. Same with unpacking.

Good- my wife was able to arrange transport to bring her mom home to the nursing home complex. Bad- shortly after we got her moved into the room in the physical rehab section and returned home, they called to tell us they were sending her to the hospital. Worse- she had a heart attack. Worse Yet- her grandson was in the ER at the same time because of a concussion. Good- Things are stable now.

That's the way things have been going since Friday around here. There are more complications, but you get the idea. Fortunately the vacation had me cleared of stress when this started, and I was able to hold my tongue around my SiL.  I may have to do a SiL rant when there is time.  But it seems like the crises are over and it's more a matter of long haul to get back to normal.

I thought I'd share an x-ray, because it illustrates the tale and because Uno likes to see bones. She can take the boot off and put weight on it for therapy and showers now. Supposedly one of the screws is loose. If it breaks the skin they will turn it out, rather than risk an infection.

[Unorthodox]

Are they trying to fuse the ankle?  That looks like they might be, likely reduced mobility once healed.  Specifically side to side rotation, which will make uneven surfaces difficult. 


Also looks like considerable swelling on the foot, but might be goofy angle.   

[Rusty Edge]

Are they trying to fuse the ankle?  That looks like they might be, likely reduced mobility once healed.  Specifically side to side rotation, which will make uneven surfaces difficult. 


Also looks like considerable swelling on the foot, but might be goofy angle.   

I don't know.

What I do know- 1) She has congenital bone deformities which cause her bones to twist as she ages. 2) Probably part of the problem with the fall was that foot was 30-40 degrees out of alignment before the accident. 3) We wanted to take her to a Mayo Clinic affiliated hospital. What we settled for was the one bone Dr. on duty in the county when the accident happened about 5PM on a Friday when the golfing was good, and ambulance drivers who weren't allowed to go outside the county. 4) they said some of the bone was crushed, and added cadaver bone as well as the hardware. I don't which it is. 5) We don't know if she'll be setting foot on uneven ground again. She fell getting into our car in a gravel parking lot . She may be limited to the nursing home and places they transport her from now on, depending how well she recovers. 6) There is still a lot of swelling, but it's way better than it was. She's a slow healer.

[Unorthodox]

So, I did the crushing bit to my ankle back in the day stepping out of a yard jockey (semi spotter) onto gravel.  One of the 2 injuries that still give me nightmares, and possibly the worst pain I've ever been in.  Wearing good boots probably prevented the breaking of the bones, and your MIL probably has a bit of osteoporosis involved.  Pagets disease maybe on the 'twisting'?   

This is a long, slow recovery even for a 20 year old kid.  Ankles just are that critical of an area.  Incidentally this healing wrong is most likely why my knee has issues now.   

[E_T]

Ouch and ouch!!

[Rusty Edge]

So, I did the crushing bit to my ankle back in the day stepping out of a yard jockey (semi spotter) onto gravel.  One of the 2 injuries that still give me nightmares, and possibly the worst pain I've ever been in.  Wearing good boots probably prevented the breaking of the bones, and your MIL probably has a bit of osteoporosis involved.  Pagets disease maybe on the 'twisting'?   

This is a long, slow recovery even for a 20 year old kid.  Ankles just are that critical of an area.  Incidentally this healing wrong is most likely why my knee has issues now.   

Osteoporosis & stenosis, as far as I know.

[E_T]

Ostiopeania(sp) for me...

[Rusty Edge]

It's been a weird, outta control kinda week.

My MiL is better. Either because of that or because of my wife pointing out the rehab wing staff's lies and the failure to follow the
treatment plan- my MiL is being returned to her assisted living apartment, maybe next week. Only she's still in a wheelchair rather than a walker. So we need to remove the loveseat from her apartment unit to make room. Maybe rent a lift chair. The problem is that because of the dementia, she calls about it all of the time, and is giving us wrong dates. I have to make space for her loveseat, and my wife wants it in the basement. Doable, but...

One of the nieces called begging us to have her sister move in with us. Without divulging details, one feared for the other's life. So of course we agreed, and I started shifting stuff to make it work, moving stuff from bathroom to bathroom, learning more about what she likes and eats on her diet, etc. Started shifting furniture in the guest room, etc. So that was in full swing when she reached an agreement on a condo. Now I don't know if she'll be here temporarily or not at all because neither does she.

We were on standby to support a in-law who had surgery and can't drive or lift more than 10 lbs. , although they haven't needed us very much.

Oh, my dog blew out her ACL playing tag with one of the cats, and I spent my birthday hanging out at the doggie ER. Surgery to follow. Meanwhile extra care and meds here at home.

ANYWAY, the last week or so has been out of control. I'm not stressing much. I'm better at surprise problems than I am at idle anticipation. While plans had a way of getting canceled, we did manage to go to a Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Buddy Guy concert. We had a great time. But, if I'm not paying attention or following up here at AC2 and elsewhere, that's what's going on.

[Geo]

You make me fear the day I'm allowed to go in retirement, Rusty. It sounds so busy.

[Rusty Edge]

You make me fear the day I'm allowed to go in retirement, Rusty. It sounds so busy.

Part of that is I refuse to be a slave to a daily schedule any more. It's my great freedom. But that means that if I sleep in, I get less done in a day, and the rest of it is busier. Same if I drop everything and go for an afternoon walk, as another example.

HOWEVER, the spare time is filled with e-readers and books! Also, I can re-read stuff I enjoyed 40 or 50 years ago. Time spent helping family is more meaningful than making money. If it gets too busy, it's time to travel.

[E_T]

It's been a weird, outta control kinda week.

My MiL is better. Either because of that or because of my wife pointing out the rehab wing staff's lies and the failure to follow the
treatment plan- my MiL is being returned to her assisted living apartment, maybe next week. Only she's still in a wheelchair rather than a walker. So we need to remove the loveseat from her apartment unit to make room. Maybe rent a lift chair. The problem is that because of the dementia, she calls about it all of the time, and is giving us wrong dates. I have to make space for her loveseat, and my wife wants it in the basement. Doable, but...

One of the nieces called begging us to have her sister move in with us. Without divulging details, one feared for the other's life. So of course we agreed, and I started shifting stuff to make it work, moving stuff from bathroom to bathroom, learning more about what she likes and eats on her diet, etc. Started shifting furniture in the guest room, etc. So that was in full swing when she reached an agreement on a condo. Now I don't know if she'll be here temporarily or not at all because neither does she.

We were on standby to support a in-law who had surgery and can't drive or lift more than 10 lbs. , although they haven't needed us very much.

Oh, my dog blew out her ACL playing tag with one of the cats, and I spent my birthday hanging out at the doggie ER. Surgery to follow. Meanwhile extra care and meds here at home.

How big is the dog, compared to the Savanna's (or one of those lager cat types, that you had gotten, IIRC)? They might be out of his league, as they get bigger.  I hope the cats learn to step down the roughness of the play for the smaller folk...
Umm, ACL is what again, a hip thing??

ANYWAY, the last week or so has been out of control. I'm not stressing much. I'm better at surprise problems than I am at idle anticipation. While plans had a way of getting canceled, we did manage to go to a Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Buddy Guy concert. We had a great time. But, if I'm not paying attention or following up here at AC2 and elsewhere, that's what's going on.

Yeah, being able to get out to do a few things to help with the distribution of the overall load of RL really does help.  I got to work the Gators v Hurricanes game, was posted on the 42 yardline near the field on the Gator side (Go Gators!).  Not only did I have a great time, but I got paid for it, too

[Rusty Edge]

The dog is a Schipperke. Bred for catching rats and being an alarm system on barges and in shops. Overweight at 27lbs. Still pretty athletic, as most of that is chest and haunches, and the feet are daintier than the cats. Normally she corners and jumps like a rabbit. The cats are Pixie Bobs and still growing.  Normally they are well matched and keep things playful without biting each other. The Pixies have better things to do, like use their thumbs to open the treat jar.

The drugs are keeping her napping more. The ACL are ligaments that give the knee lateral support. It's called something different in dogs, but it's the same idea. It's a career threatening injury for athletes. Losing one knee puts more stress and risk on the other. We saw the surgeon today. We opted for nylon sutures inside the knee to stabilize the joint. Not the bone and plate surgery they wanted to do ( pricier, greater risk of complications including eventual bone cancer ), but smaller dogs have better recovery on the less invasive approaches than the retriever sized dogs that often get the injury. So we take her in tomorrow morning and we're rigging for post op recovery ( rugs, step modifications, restricting access to parts of the house, etc.)