9 30 16 recovery and giveaway

Elbow: Yesterday afternoon I realized that there was a bubble, like a blister forming on my elbow. Looked just like a blister from a burn or sunburn, which is just like a burn, only different. But. My elbow is very careful to not get burned....so it was puzzling. 

I took the needle that I used to sew the buttons on my ugly brown shirt, you constant readers must remember that!

Poor old shirt has had a rough life....but it is so comfortable and warm....my favorite shirt....great 3 bucks. That top pic shows how it saved a good polo or work shirt from a stain spill.

So I popped the blister, and squeezed out the liquid, which was clear and reddish brownish, I guess. It didn't fill up again, because it had a hole in it? But it didn't continue leaking either, so like I commented, no big deal.

And then I remembered that my ankle briefly felt like it was getting stung, and then a laser beam of pain shot into my toes, and thankfully it went away. I noticed this morning that my toes are less swollen and have more motion.

Chest pain went away, and didn't come back when I trimmed the shelf and put it in. Only took me 22 years, but I got that done.  Well, maybe the chest pain didn't go away totally. Advil was 5 hours ago.....

Views of this are way down from a week ago, so I'll probably lessen the interval, eventually switching it over to all wood or at least general stuff.

How about a giveaway? I made those chicks errrr started the chicks maybe 15 years ago for Grandma, but never got them finished. I'm pretty sure she doesn't want them now. OR you can have the hummingbird/oriole feeders.  Really. I don't want them. 

recovery 9 29 16

Overdone it episode. Been home 3 weeks now...and celebrated by going to the grocery store....Pineapple looked really good, and pork N beans were on sale for .49  That is a bargain for me. LOL 3.8 cents per ounce.

So yeah, overdone it, I think. I've been reshelving my laundry area and built a basket shelf/table between the washer and dryer. I don't know why they put the drain and supply for the washer on one end of the room but the dryer hookups on the other. Lucky there's only about 2 feet between, right? Anyway....the understairs area is open and accessible and makes decent storage....except there's not decent shelving.  Earlier today I was able to remedy part of that, and was working on the rest of it tonight.  

Simple enough, just measure the height of an existing board on one side and put one on the stairs at about the same height. Measure how big the shelf needs to be, and make it so. HAHA. Measure twice and cut 3 times. Or something like that. 

For the shelf, I found I had a half sheet of 1/2" plywood that was rescued from a dumpster, and I was pretty sure that 34 x 36 would work. Nope. I turned it a couple ways, measured it a couple more times and gave up, errrrrr. Quit for the night since it's past 9.....besides, my chest is hurting. The right side, starting about rib 3 and going to about rib 7.

Apparently a half sheet of plywood is heavy. The table I put it on was kinda high and not exactly sturdy, which is why it's on the dissassemble list. Took a gabapentina and a pair of advil, might be only my 2nd pair of advil today.

I'll try again on the shelf tomorrow, unless my chest still hurts, and then I'll leave it for Sunday, since still no one has volunteered for a massage. Oh well.....be that way.

Uncle Google says a half sheet weighs about 33 pounds. Hmmmmmm. Time for more recovery. 

recovery 9 28 16

I guess it's final, I mailed the title of my crashed GoldWing to the junkyard in Madison today. I plan to not buy another bike until spring, so all of that money can sit in the bank and earn another 65 cents. Then, when I pick up about 45 aluminum cans, and sell them, I'll have enough money to buy a spare key.  But I will have some space in the garage.

Anyone want to buy a Yamaha?

Let's see. Recovery news. Uh. hmmmmm. Well, I took one gabapentin, one set of tylenol and 2 sets of advil, and I feel pretty good. But then, I spent 90 minutes sorting thru paper looking for that title, then took about a 2 hour nap. (on my mid day break) 

Every now and then I think to use the sucky thing, that' supposed to prevent pneumonia. For a long time I couldn't get it past "2000". Today my first suck was 2500. I have no idea what the numbers mean.  Oh, ml. Whatever that means.

2750 ml isn't quite 3 liters. 3 quarts. Hard to imagine my lungs having much more capacity than that, isn't it?? They say to do it 10 times every hour. Hmmmmmm. maybe 10 times a day. some days. Maybe

I wish I could have my regular bus back...it has a more comfortable seat....I know that would help me be comfortable all shift. 

I have a confession to make. I turned on my space heater today. If the sunshine doesn't cooperate, I might have to turn on the furnace WAY early this year. Yes, I was wearing an extra layer, a flannel shirt.  Of course.....I did have a cold supper too. Correlation? 

I don't have much to tell you today. No one volunteered to come for a massage on Sunday....but there's still time. :D  no charge..... 

recovery 9 27 16

Some of you know and some of you are about to know something about me. I know that recovery is occurring because I am starting to dream about giving massages. It might be fun to give one on Sunday afternoon....who is willing to be a "guinea pig"? (crash test dummy?) 

bit O background....This time of year in 2002, I was in massage school, 500 hour course, to become certified. It was very interesting...anatomy and physiology, palpation, hands on learning, internship, etc. All of my classmates were fresh from high school, and skinny. I wasn't. LOL At least one other guy was hairy....

So anyway. I tried fairly hard to succeed at the business, stayed with it until 2009, when I gave up and went back to driving bus so we could quit accumulating debt that my wife was hiding from me, and so that we could start going on cruises.  I see just enough clients now to not forget how to do massage.....I'd like to have a few more.....

Sleeping thru the night is better and better....I'm sure the cooler weather helps...I love piling on the blankets. I still wake up a few times, but for shorter times, and not as often. 

My toes are still swollen, the nails have the purple spots on them like when you hit your thumb with a hammer, so they'll likely fall off. BTW, my shoe has some damage on it, the sole is slightly pulled off...so my toes must have grabbed the ground to act as a brake or pole vault.  I don't limp, so that's good.

Road rash on hands, elbow and ankles is healing. I have not picked the scabs off my ankles, pain has diminished, all are doing fine. 

The bruise on my belly from the table saw kickback is better. I can't believe none of you took the opportunity to ridicule me. Cause I'm home alone doing dangerous things. LOL Not being careful or safety first.

My ex motherinlaw brought over some food.....some of my favorites.....and I appreciate it a LOT. It's never too late to bring over something...and I'll think good thoughts about you forever, or at least until I forget. ;)

Recovery 9 26 16

Working in my basement, I've had the "opportunity" to get down on the floor to do some stuff. Shelves, mostly, in between the studs of my little room which is rather multi purpose.....wood storage, finishing, tornado hiding. My brother and father used to come visit occasionally and they'd get to sleep down there, they'd call it the "dungeon". There's no bed in there any more, such as it was. 

Getting down onto the floor isn't too hard. Getting back up is slightly more of a challenge, due to gravity.

I started the day with a gabapentin, and I don't think I will repeat the experiment of going without for another week or maybe even a third of a month. Just one pill a day does make a difference. 

Stamina is improving, I'm able to work longer with less discomfort. Hard to tell day by day, but.....that's my story.

Jeez, sorting thru some electrical supplies....you'd think I was afraid of needing or wanting lamp cords and not being able to find some. I save too much stuff, so I'm tossing a bunch of wire and those cords; if they are less than 4' or there was one that was all wound up...it'd never relax and be smooth. I'm thinking about consolidating those supplies between the house and garage...because I've got a bunch of stuff both places. What a great idea, just haul it all out to the garage and forget about it until the day before the first ice storm.  

Tossing a bunch of other stuff too. Like BUBBLEWRAP! LOL 
I had pulled out a jump box thing from a dumpster, but it never would work right, surprise, huh? I wonder why it was thrown in the dumpster? duh. Hopefully the battery will still be good, and some of the other components are....the light, the clamps, a switch.

My intention is to put the electronic/electric stuff at a bench so that it's easy to use. My basement has a low hanging cold air return that runs the length of half the basement, and I'm tired of hitting my head on it. I hope to be able to set it up so the sit down bench will be under it.  I'll be able to solder, sew, do some leatherwork, calculate soap, etc. I'll wrap christmas gifts, ebay and amazon sales, lamp repair, maybe knife sharpening, carving, and much much more. 

Recovery? Yes, it's happening. I'm able to concentrate on stuff that is much more interesting than how miserable I feel. And today I realized that I really made a mistake 3 weeks ago.....I should have asked for a vasectomy. LMAO

9 25 16 recovery 3 weeks

Recovery plus revelation. Perhaps 2 of them.

My Subaru is a little sick. I noticed it when I went to Menard's a week ago...turning short into a parking place or in general....there's a problem with the axle or ??? Dunno what the problem could be. I don't feel up to tearing it apart yet, either.

My main revelation? I did something in this blog that I have secretly made fun of people about. I started off telling you about how I was doing all of this exercise and how I intended to continue to exercise, maybe build some muscle tone and lose some weight. HAHA. I was just like everyone else, and as soon as it was convenient, like 2 days, I quit the walking. 

I could rationalize it, say that I'm more active at work and in the shop. And that is true....I do walk a couple blocks at work. 6 or 8, depending on how often I have to visit a restroom. I stand in the basement, I walk forth and back, I take the stairs to get there and out again. Big deal, right? Right. 

Since the Subaru is sick and I'm working every day again, I'll have to drive the old sick pickup to work....and I can't remember the last time I drove it...perhaps whenever it was that Kelly borrowed the trailer....May??? It started right up...amazing. (2nd revelation, and not much of one, at that)

I didn't take the gabapentin this morning, and have only taken 2 dose of advil, no tylenol yet. (as of noonish)(plans are to spend some time in the basement, and actually do some work.) I took the last aspirin today, too.

I really get dizzy when I lay down in bed....the room spins. Kind of fun at first...but I think it'll get old soon.  I recall a few other times in my life when the bedroom would spin when I got in. Usually beer related, but 2x tequila caused the problem. 

2:15. Some time in the basement tells me that I need some more pain killer, so gabapentin on board, along with some tylenol. And that's all I took today...I got a lot of work done downstairs, lots of stuff moved, lots of stuff thrown away. 

3 weeks since my crash. Everything happens for a reason, right? Not sure what that reason is yet...I've asked a few people....they suggest it's to teach me patience, tolerance, how to enjoy pain, who my friends are, etc. Feel free to make a suggestion. 

And now for a couple pics of workshop work. 

9 24 16 recovery

I know what you are going to say. But I'm going to tell you anyway. I guess that's part of being an adult, a guy with a little integrity. And besides, I know you are not going to spank me. 

LOL

So I mentioned that I've been working in the woodshop a little, and I was making a spice rack looking thing to put the essential oils on, right?

So far so good. Then I decide I should put doors on it, since the oils are supposed to be stored in the dark....So my luck holds and I find a piece of plywood that is just the right size, only needs a little cut off....

Table saw kickback. Just an inch or so above my navel, a little to the right. It happened after 9pm, which is past the time I normally quit for the night. I think I'll institute that plan again....work down there, quitting at 9 so I can be in bed at 10ish on a school night.

Saw a recipe for a bourbon cocktail. Called the Godfather, I tried it. 2 oz bourbon and 1/2 ounce of Amaretto. I added an ice cube, and I don't feel drunk. Next time I'll use a better bourbon, I used a bottom shelf, which is better mixed with lots of stuff.

There it is. I used 2 pair of hinges that I got from Big Lots, 59 cents per pkg. Some of the screws (slotted) didn't fit my drivers, so I used other screws that didn't match at all. Big deal. LOL.  I have not yet decided if I'll fasten the top shelf on to it or not. Kinda looking like not, where it is going.

Trendy alert: big shout out to my little sister, she dropped off a lot of food almost 2 weeks ago. I cooked and enjoyed a chicken zucchini stuffing casserole hot dish....took forever to bake, but maybe I have unrealistic expectations for my oven. She brought so much stuff, I'm just now getting to the frozen items, 2 of them. Forecast says bake one on Monday. LOL. It's awesome, Susie, thanks again.

BTW, I mentioned that Val brought one?? It was great too.

Other recovery stuff? I took the one pill when I got up and a set of advil later. Around noon another set of advils, and so far that's it for the day. A coworker said he crashed his minivan last winter....broke a bunch of his wife's ribs...and she's still having problems, probably because they had to fix them with steel plates. Did I mention I was lucky? 

I gashed open my healing hand when fueling the bus today...damn propane screw on caps. People think they need to screw them on tight....but they don't. I'll spare you the bloody pic.

One reason I plan to rework the shop is so I can make the table saw table bigger so I don't have such problems when I try to cut larger pieces. 

9 23 16 recovery

Sometimes I put the date first and sometimes I put recovery first. Wonder why?

Sneezing doesn't hurt as much, anymore. Still hurts, of course.....coughing doesn't hurt as much, either. YAY

CPAP humidifier was set on high, it's irritating how that gets changed. I may just let it shut itself off....since the on/off/humidifier/change everything else is on the same knob.

Worked morning and afternoon today, took a 2 hour nap before the free lunch friday. Probably about the same otc pain killers as yesterday. 

Ask questions if you've got some....make up some....I'll make up answers....Thanks for reading along on this recovery journey, makes it seem less lonely, somehow. 

It's funny how some passengers know that I was out due to injury, some realized I was gone and assumed vacation, some didn't know I was gone at all. I guess it's all in if they asked and who they asked....

A coworker or 2 said there was some rather wild gossip going around the place. Conservative estimates indicate that a solid 10% of coworkers are glad I'm back. LMAO

recovery 9 22 16

I've been home 2 weeks now, and what a difference 2 weeks makes. Today I took one gabapentin, 3 dose of advil and 2 dose of tylenol.  I worked in the woodshop a couple hours, cleaned the toilet, did some laundry, and worked about 5 hours.

I did notice this morning that I felt like there was some stuff in my lungs, that went away....and I hope it stays away. I will check my cpap humidifier thingy before bed and will turn it down if possible. 

Dr Jim left a mssg saying to stop taking the aspirin on Sunday, 3 weeks after the crash. Thanks, Jim. ;) 

As I gradually work more in the basement and in my bus, I'll put in less time on the puter...and will prob make more bloggy posts that are wood related instead of whining about broken ribs. I'll post the links on my King'swoodshop FB page. https://www.facebook.com/KingsWoodshop/

I'm going to reorganize the whole shop, build some things to make it better. Kinda doubt that I'll remember to take pics very often....making a spice rack like thing for my essential oils, to move them into a different room. Then a laundry area improvement. and then and then and then. It'll all prob be boring as hell to you. 

OH, yes. Still occasionally dizzy. Usually when I tilt my head to one side, left side. Initially I blamed it on the pain pills, but.....

And I still have some hearing issue. 

There, got my whining done.....hope you enjoyed.

recovery 9 21 16

I could make up some recovery. But like I told the crippled old nurse that occasionally rides my bus.....he asked: do you feel any better today?  UHHHHHH. How fast do broken bones heal? Can you tell the difference?? NO. Today I feel the same as yesterday. 

Yes, it's a reminder to be patient. I got better so fast those first 2 weeks that I could get frustrated that I don't see improvement every day.

But then I think about how I'd feel about being dead and I ponder it....no pain, no tiredness, no hunger, no thirst, no medical bills. No beer, no bourbon, no boobs. No bbq, no cats, no dogs, no music, no sunrises.  Well, I'm not getting any boobs so I can't decide right now. 

But that nurse. His wife rides, too, both near 70. Strange people. Nice people. but strange.....I cannot imagine him being an active full time nurse....he can barely walk.  Nice of him to ask, I guess....

Speaking of BBQ, Owen sent a trendy texty this afternoon, so we went to dinner. Nice to see him. Working 3 pt jobs to pay for health insurance. Hmmmmmm. Thanks oBama!

Let's see. Recovery. This morning I took one pain pill (gabapenten) and a set of tylenol, then later a set of advil. Or did I??  Hour before work I took a set of advil, for sure and another 3 hours later. I know for sure I took those. Maybe I will have to write it all down....It's confusing. It's hard to remember. Point is that I'm not taking much for pain medication. I stopped taking the oxycodone, I only noticed that it put my intestines to sleep....Which is not helpful. Not helpful at all. 

The doctors said I should take a 375 mg aspirin to prevent clots. I think I mentioned that I still had the jar of 500 from Val's surgeries, and that I'd take one of them. I suppose that helps with the morning pain and discomfort....and I wonder how long I should take it for the blood thinning anti clotting? I was going to ask the doctor yesterday, but it didn't show up at the appointment.

OH god damn, it hurts to sneeze.

KingsWoodshop

Been looking around my shop for a long time, and I'm not happy with how it's laid out, not happy with several things.

I changed a few things last winter and got started on dust collection, too. Changes....minor, swapped the drill press and lathe positions, moved a bench a little. I built another bench for the wood storage room, built some racks on top of my waterbed frame/drawers. 

Hung my dust collector up, started running pipe, built some blast gates.

The problems as I see them are many: table saw is too close to the walls, limits my length of cut. Miter saw is too close to the wall, limits my cut. 

Bench is too large and too short. I wind up covering half of the surface with stuff I should put away. The vise is too low for most work, yet it works for when I sit down. The bench is an unusual shape, if I recall, it's 7' long, yet 4'wide on one end and 2' wide on the other.

basement has another challenge to it: there's a low hanging cold air return duct running lengthwise down the east end, about 4-5' out from the wall. I hit my head on it a lot...which is why I almost always wear a hat in there....

I need to build a base/table or figure out where to put my sanders. Need to figure out where to put my band saws and get the one working. (free is great, but comes as a cost. LOL) Need to figure out how to connect the planer to the dust collection. 

Thinking about building a dedicated electronics/woodburning/leatherwork/ sit down bench. and could add sewing to that too. 

It's overwhelming, so I've got to break it down somehow....

recovery 9 20 16

Of course, there's mental recovery and physical recovery. That may have been what I was getting at the other day, but I can't really remember what I was just thinking.

Sleeping through the night in my bed would be a huge leap for recovery...and while I slept in the bed instead of the chair last night, I didn't sleep well, and George kept trying to comfort me. Or kill me, I'm not sure which. That one time he climbed on my chest and laid there a while....in one sense it was awesome....he is so soft and warm and the purrs are amazing. But the pain from my damn ribs.....I had to move him off me. 

I took both of the pain meds before bed, didn't think of it the hour we sat in the chair watching youtube videos....must have briefly woke up about every hour. Maybe not. Don't know. Doesn't matter. 

Mental recovery took a hit today, while I was working in my woodshop, thinking about how my back hurt today even though it didn't so much yesterday, the phone rang. Luckily I had it with me, unlike last night, when I missed a call from my mom. 

Insurance adjuster. Bike total loss. Based on some pictures, I think. I'd been remaining positive, thinking: it's a goldwing, solid and durable. Is the adjuster lazy? Does he know someone that wants a goldwing cheap? 

See where my thoughts go? Must be a sign of a weak mind...

I didn't think I had much for sentiment for that bike, had some good times with it, but also had some bad memories associated with it. Maybe it's just that I have absolutely no control over it.  How much damage? How much to repair? How much will they pay me? Don't know.

Just don't know.

BTW, sneezing hurts. I dropped something behind the seat of my bus today. OH yeah, I'm back to work half time, did I mention that? Anyway, I was able to get down on the floor and retrieve the dumb thing I dropped.  

Basement therapy awaits....

recovery (whining) 9 19 16

Whining. Or call it complaining. I do too much of it, that's for sure.  Today's whine? Here I am, thinking of how irritating it is to not sleep through the night....when I should remember what it was like 2 weeks ago....

Some doctor thought the best thing for me was to install an insulin drip, and then send in the nurses every hour to poke my finger every hour to test my glucose level. Remember the pics of my hands? Sure, it was superficial injuries. So superficial it was never bandaged. But that didn't mean I thought it felt good for the nurses to grab that damaged area every time they needed to reposition my hand to aid in the stabbing. 

Got so towards the "mid morning" (4-6am) I wasn't very nice to them. And towards Wednesday not nice at all, all night. That one was shouting at me....

Anyway.....after sleeping thru several nights, now I worry....why am I not sleeping? I was pretty active yesterday...I mowed about half of my lawn. I worked in the basement for a while. I put away some laundry, washed some dishes. I prob spent a couple more hours sitting on my swing and in my old lawn chair, too....thinking more time out of my recliner would help. I know....that's not a lot of activity, not really. I felt tired, at 9pm, so I did what I do to get ready, turned off the light, and slept till about 12. :(

I'm trying to figure out if I'm rested enough, and need to do more? It's hard to do a lot when the mid back aches as if there's broken ribs in there. :D Am I not sleeping (this is the 3rd night) (I think) due to guilty conscience? Am I worried about the bills? is it the irritation of the healing in my ankles that keeps me awake? 

It's probably nothing. 
Tonight I'll try the bed again.  

In my workshop I've been working on a jenga like game set...bigger than jenga sized, but smaller than the giant sized, this is portable. I have been working on a wooden carrying case, where half of the case can be used to square up the stack, like the plastic piece that comes with the regular game. Anyway, I cut the 2nd piece too short, it's to be the other half of the case, so I have to remake that whole thing. No big deal, just takes some time with glue and screws or nails...that whole measure 6 times to make sure the 1 cut is the right length.....I should not have made that cut yesterday.

Live and learn, huh? 

recovery 9 18 16

2 weeks. September has always been one my favorite months, the weather is better than other months, the farm harvest is more fun than some of the others, got married, etc. 

Oh, sure, there's that whole school thing too. Well, just part of life, I reckon.

Of course when I say "farm harvest" I mean chopping silage. And I did see a fair amount of that when riding around WI. Amazing, the one operation....self propelled chopper, not sure how many rows wide it was, but they used box trucks pulled up right behind the chopper. I still love the smell of the corn. Love the smell of diesel exhaust.....it made for a very enjoyable time. 

I'll tell you what else is enjoyable....yep. Being "regular" on a regular basis. I dunno if I'm back to normal yet, but it's gotta be getting close. 

I think I've always tried to enjoy the little things in life, and I'll list some things that I enjoy: nap, sunrise, sunset, kitty snuggles, shower, hot coffee, hug, sunshine on my back, blue sky, tiny flowers, and a lot more.

I know you're beyond caring, but I was able to wash some dishes and put away some laundry. I.e. fold queen sized sheets.

recovery 9 17 16

I was feeling bold and brave last night, so I went upstairs to bed. About 1030, or just before. Had not stayed up so late for a long time....so I got in and laid there for a long long time. I had a very hard time getting comfortable, Seems like there was an uncomfortable feeling in my chest, almost as if some ribs were broken. 

Imagine that. 

I did eventually drop off to sleep. But woke even more uncomfortable around 2. :( Moved to the chair but only slept til about 715.....and now when I write that, common sense says that's plenty of sleep and to not bitch about it. 

I really do hope to get out to do something today, I fear the day will be awfully boring if I don't. 

FB events shows I am interested in a HyVee cooking class, or something. Fairgrounds has a dog event that I've meant to go to for about 10 years. Agility and obedience, etc. There's the farmer's market. And there's 100 different places a guy could go to look around....Oxbow, Eagle Bluff, Eagle center, other overlooks, etc.

May have to forget that I took an oxycodone or contin whatever it is and get in the lesbian and go for a drive....being reliant on other people is hard....really hard.


Feel free to make suggestions on how to get comfortable in bed. Or make suggestions on what to do....

recovery 9 16 16

Days sure go fast, huh? 

I've been home more than a week now, and I think my recovery has gone pretty fast. I've got nothing to compare it to so I'll just brag on what I've done, I guess. 

Although, I feel like saying what my last hospitalization was, just in case I forgot that. March 6, I went roller skating with the 4H or some weird group. I really only that it was Jim Meikle and maybe a Haidsaik or 2? Went to Creston, and finally got up the courage to skate when they had the black lights on, all that stuff showed up on the floor. I don't know if I tripped, or stumbled, or what happened exactly. Fell down, I know that, and to make a long story short, we went finally to the emergency room in Clarinda sometime on the 7th, probably after lunch. Mom was in Omaha, Susie tried to cook some eggs for breakfast. 

Broken ankle. Cast went from toes to mid thigh, I didn't go to school the rest of the year. I'd alternately use a wheelchair and a walker, was able to get in the pickup  and car, we'd go to town for dinner occasionally or to Peve's for stuff. Got the cast off May 2, same weekend as a boy scout campout. I took a bath, first since March. Holy hell, the amount of dead skin on my foot and knee. Yuck. HOLY HELL the pain when that knee bent for the first time. 

I think I don't camp because I had terrible times camping. Not sure I had a single experience.....but I got to go on to 7th grade, and the ankle has been pretty good since then. But it was a terrible 2 months....it was really awful. And Mom and Dad split in August, same year. Hmmmmmmmmmm.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today's recuperation. Where did the morning go? I don't know....amazing. Anyway, I enjoyed free lunch Friday, chatted with a good friend. She made the offer to mow my lawn, cause I'm still waiting for Gordon. Probably I'll do it my self.

After lunch, I walked to Kwik Trip, it's .4mile each way. I saw a barky dog. I saw some cucumbers. I saw some aluminum cans, and found a credit card next to the pump. Got that returned to the owner, 3 or 4 of them were busy looking inside instead of looking near the pump, but whatever. One of them actually was able to say the words: "thank you". 

I went to KT to get bananas, is really the only reason...and also to get the walk. Took 15 minutes to walk there, and my chest really hurt/ached. I sat on some sacks of salt for a few minutes, nearly lost my own card, then walked home, picking up 3 aluminum cans, and not the same cans. I will get them, next time I walk down. Total trip was 40 minutes. 

I took some extra pillows up to my bedroom, in case I needed them for propping. I've been sleeping in my LaZBoy recliner....wanted to test my bed. It was good. Very good. I set my alarm for hourtwenty. I turned it off and slept another hour. LOL I'll confess it was hard to sit up, some of it was a pillow under my knees, part of it was I was tangled in my sheet. And part of it is it's very difficult to sit up when ribs don't cooperate.

Been showering in the basement, which is great in case I want to do laundry or tend the litter box. George did kick a lot of litter out, so had to tend that. Shaved today. Then cleaned the toilet. I don't know if the girl I hired to come on Tuesday is coming to take care of that or not. I know she's busy.  Then I trimmed my toenails.....and I'm pretty sure that's the extent of it.

Well, I'm supposed to have a ride to listen to a band this evening, dunno if that's going to happen or not....which is why I took such a long late nap.....

9 15 16 recovery

Well, friends, I knew I'd be more amused by that revelation than you'd be. 

Unless you're being amused at home, privately, secretly. 

That's how I look at it. Those of you with a sexual partner enjoyed some rumpy pumpy after reading my blog. And those of you w/o one put BOB to work, didn't you. I can see you now, saying "this one is for you, thanks for the inspiration" either tipping your imaginary hat,  a shy high 5, maybe a little wink. Whatever works. 

I fear (or celebrate) that there's not going to be much more actual recovery to share with you. It'll be another week or more for my hands to heal. (and elbow) (and ankles, but I don't look at them, and they feel ok) I just kinda need to get the big red bloody scab off my hands, actually where it is is gone, it is pink and looks pretty good. 

I'll go for walks...rebuild whatever stamina I had. I'll join a pool, maybe when the hands are healed up. I don't want any public pool nasty getting into me.....and maybe i'll go back to work half time. I'm tempted to look at it for next week, actually. Maybe I'll call the boss later today. 

It's just broken ribs and a toe....big deal, right? No sense in being a wimp.....

I almost wrote "no sense in being a pussy". Um. It makes more sense to say "no sense in being a pair of balls"....because all women know that a tiny whack to to the balls causes the owner/wearer of balls to collapse and cry for a week. Whereas the pussy.....well. Suffice to say the pussy can take a beating and want more. Amazing.

There is something else that we all say that is totally inaccurate...but I can't remember what it is right now. When I remember, rest assured that I'll blah blah blah about it.

9 14 16 recovery part 2

Today has been an interesting day. Conversations with people. people guessing what I have not disclosed. People thinking that they want to know what I'm going to disclose. LOL

I'll tell you what I need, I need someone to come by and rub her boobs on my head. Not too fussy who it is, either. So long is there's no charge for it. Maybe it'd work better for the boob donor to sit on a stool and (toplesss) and twitch a little every now and then. I could throw a quarter or nickel (depending on her eyesight)......

Ok, sorry. today was pretty good. But I'm going to tell you in kind of reverse order. Dinner was good, left over brats from before my trip, so they were 2 weeks old, no mold. Fresh buns. I had some "Over oniony potato salad" the quotes were from some fussy bicycle dude with some of recovery issues of his own....nice enough guy, and I'm not sure why we're not FB friends, actually. I've known him for 6 or 8 years at least.

Had a walk prior to that, saw those awesome panties again, and also a sock. Probably half a mile....slight reminisce of neighbors. Makes me wonder if Jason reads this. I doubt that John does, or Steve and Amy....they moved away years ago. 

I showered in my basement, I built the shower unit with some water valves and an old 5 gallon per minute shower head. This means, of course, that I can have it as hot or cold as I want it. I can have as much pressure as I want, and it's awesome. My luxury bath shower system thingy is ok.....but such a pia to clean. And the handle seems loose. Someone remind me once I'm back to semi normal.

I was able to recognize the stomach rumblings for what they meant, a dump with no milk o magnesia or torpedo help.....was wonderful. And my right arm reached wonderfully well. I challenge you to wipe with your non dominant arm. 

Do it.

Report back....no pics, tho.

But the main thing I'm excited about. And some of you I don't want to read this. Like Frank. But anyway....for the last however many years, like 35, since the summer of 81....holy hell that's a long time....probably 5 out of 7 nights/mornings, I've awakened with an erection. Except for the last week and a half, where there was absolutely nothing at all going on. NOTHING. 

NOTHING AT ALL. 

Ok, so I was on a lot of pain killers and other crappy drugs. There's no pain down there, no visible bruises. Well, I'm assuming that, because it's kind of hard to see down there. Being exposed to various nurses and nurse assistants didn't do anything, either. Watching the nurses bend over, seeing the panty lines seeing the shirts pull up exposing a slice of skin....nothing. 

Not sure of the dream or the cause of today's rise to attention, but I'm grateful for it. 

Aren't you glad you waited all day for this?? :)

9 14 16 recovery

Well of course this isn't true. Not for this one, anyway. I'd save it for one where it would be true, but I'd probably forget it. Shared on FB by one of Steve's girls which makes her my favorite niece, I guess. I'm FB friends with 3 or 4 of them, but I confess I like Rosalee's posts best. Maybe it's because she doesn't have a bunch of little kids. *insert shrug symbol here*

What's new with me? Very little. Why am I wasting your time? Because I can.  Actually something happened this morning that I have not experienced since  maybe Saturday. Even tho there was no apparent damage, I was concerned  that there was some.....but it seems to be ok. Curious as to what it is? 


Leave a mssg or send a mssg, either via fb, google+ texty phone email kik. If I get several, I'll write it out.

9 13 16 more recovery

I think I'm lucky to have gone thru massage school, so that I know a little about the body. I woke up early this morning, well......hell. I was in bed. ERRRR asleep about 8pm, so I woke up or gave up trying to sleep around 6. I noticed that I had a spot mid back that was really f'ing painful. I took my pills and had coffee and breakfast (which is about enough to make me want to rest), so I rested for 2 hours, or until I had to pee again. 

So then I ponder: what's going on with my back. Yes, I make lots of jokes about being dumb or lack the process of thought. But really....I'm not serious about that. I have found that with nearly everything (insurance is an exception) that if I take some time and think about things....I can figure it out. Relationships are another exception.....women are magnificent creatures, but tremendously puzzling. I think I'm missing about 2 keys there.

Ok, my back. Oh, sure. I've got broken or fractured ribs.  The must be just fractured, certainly not compound fractures, since they don't stick out of my hide or into my lungs. Ok, that's good.Why do I have this pain that I didn't  have yesterday? Dunno, been 2 hours for the pills to kick in, that's not it. 

What to do. Hurts like a MFer. Spasms, like maybe a kidney is on fire. Truthfully, even though I was just bragging about my body knowledge, I don't really know where the kidneys are....but I think they are lower than there this was, plus this was quite near the spine. I also don't know where the fractures are in back. In front, they are pretty close to my nipple. Want to see  a pic of my nipple? I didn't think so.  

In case you are really curious and I have not mentioned it: 3-9 in back and 3-7 in front, on the right side.

I got lost in all of that....to help my pain? I went for a walk. I have an old wood cane, I made sure I had my pants, and George wanted to go out. I walked down my street, which is mostly 2 blocks long....I walked down to about 215, stopping to rest about halfway. On the way back, I felt a major improvement....was able to stand up and breathe better.....and it's been better ever since. Not perfect. But I have to save some energy.....Susie is coming to take me to the grocery store. And I had to start some laundry.

Yesterday and in days past I've been able to bend clear over to pick up stuff. Pill, soap, etc. Today I can't. I really can't bend over to pick up the laundry basket....so maybe it's good that you have not brought over a hot dish. But I still got my laundry basket downstairs and the clothes washed. Curious??

Simple. I tugged the basket down the stairs with the cane. When it was several steps up, I picked it up while I was standing on the basement floor. Easy to carry it to the washer, where I don't have to put it down to load the washer.....the soap is on a shelf about neck high. I plan to ask Susie to switch them over for me so they can dry....and hopefully by the time I need the clothes, I'll either have some help or will have recovered sufficiently that I can get them. 

Yeah, I know you don't care about me doing laundry. But tomorrow! I'll be washing dishes! 

Something funny? Sorry, I don't have have any. My ears are roaring, hopefully it's a result of the knock on the head. I have a headache. I keep bumping my hands into the door frames. But I manage to get to the bathroom before I pee. I've only smashed my broken toe into the tub once. Getting there, one day at a time.

recovery confession 9 12 16

I have a confession to make. OH, nothing magical or scary or wonderous.

Strangest thing, I'll get up from my recliner, and stumble to the bathroom. The pills that make me clumsy don't really affect me in that direction. Or maybe I'm only clumsy w/o the pills. I don't know....I can't keep track.

I've never before sat back/leaned back on the the seat of the toilet. It's remarkably comfortable.  It really is. I find myself getting in there, sitting to pee, and then when I think I'm done, leaning back for a few minutes to rest up.

I've probably never done this due to the tank on a toilet where I lived a couple years in Creston, IA, a cute little house that was a terrible POS. Floor was terribly uneven. Had a gas space heater in the living room, which meant the bathroom was cold. Claw foot tub, btw. Had a 40 year old fridge and counters and cupboards. I didn't bother to clean it much.  It was better than renting a bedroom only, though. Nice to have a kitchen and bathroom of my own....

Anyway. Seems like that tank went to leaking, and I found another, but something about the holes didn't line up, something. Or maybe it was meant to be mounted on the wall? Anyway, I propped it up on 2x4, and was very careful with it. LOL Maybe Steve remembers....he rented it for a year or 2 after I moved to MN.  The place had a flat yard and wide driveway, so it wasn't w/o merit. LOL

BTW, the toilet in my house? I replaced it a number of years ago, it's a tall toilet with a oblong seat. I don't know why the tall crappers are not standard, except in places that have little kids. I know that it was very beneficial for Val when she had her numerous surgeries, esp the hip replacement, which of course, was the impetus for this blog. Some of you were on an email list where I'd write mssg to keep you informed as to her status. I thought they were hilarious. I don't think these are too funny. I wish they were.....I really don't remember the things I said to the nurses....they either pretended it was funny or maybe it actually was. 

I do remember quite vividly standing and leaning in preparation for the torpedo...hearing the nurse keep applying gloves and gloves, and gloves, and asking her how many gloves she was going to wear.  Can't say I blame her for wearing 2....or at least 2 was all she admitted to wearing. She did chuckle about that. But relating it doesn't seem too funny. 

I'm not willing to consume any bourbon (esp at 730 am) to help it to be funny....you get what you get.

Hey, just in case you're wondering....I'm willing to entertain visitors, and you don't have to bring anything. I don't sit around here naked, and I've been showering every day. Bonus points if you want to rub my neck. :)

recovery 9 12 16

It's not really the 12th. It's 2am. But I was tired at 8 and didn't take any pain pills. My cpap mask came apart, I woke up, all sorts of fun. I've seen 2am a few times these last couple years, occasionally for fun stuff, occasionally just up late leaving a bar or party. 

One thing is for sure today? George is confused.

Main issue with recovery? hands. The road rash....See....when my hands drug across the street, the skin didn't come off, but it came loose in several areas and it bled a little around it. They didn't do anything about it initially. One nurse did put some goop on the right hand and bandaged it....that meant that the next time I showered the skin came off of that area which left it really bright red. Picture a really red steak. She got to rebandage it. But now the blood is all crusty and catches on the blanket and is rather painful. The other is worse, since the skin has come half off and is standing up straight.

Yes, i should try to bandage it. But...would it be successful? Smear some goop on it, then the goop on my fingers will keep any tape from sticking. Probably just making excuses. 

Enjoyed a hot dish last night, impossible hamburger something or other....dropped off by my exwife. She turned on the oven for me too, and brought some crispy bars. Thanks, Val....It was quite good.

Been thinking of what I can do during this off time, before I go back to work....and of course the answer is: Hobbies!

But which hobby? Can't be giving massage....with scuffed up hands and flexible ribs.  Can't be doing woodwork for a few reasons. Get too tired, stuff is heavy, hands, ribs, etc. Cooking? Gardening? Canning? Cleaning? Painting? Welding? Fishing? hmmmmm. LOL  Might be able to do some leatherwork, I don't know yet. I do have a project that needs done...But once I'm done with that project....then what will I make? Hmmmmmmm 
Make suggestions, please!


My issue with recovery? my neck is stiff and my head hurts. I can handle the hands and ribs. But the constant headache......

Recovery sept 11 16

Can't dive into my own thing right away today. I do remember where I was...and I also cringe how unaware I was then. That hasn't much changed, although I'm more respectful and patriotic now. I was driving my bus. and someone said "someone crashed a plane into the world trade center" I said "does that affect us?" "Not really, not directly" "Ok".  

But of course it did and still does. I'm disappointed with our gov't. Then and esp now.

Enough about politics....recovery. Fun times. I'll keep flashing back to the hospital stay, too. I'll probably repeat a lot of it and for that I'm mildly apologetic. I'll blame the cat that's sitting on my left wrist. A cop was yelling at me in the ER. Bitching at me? I'm irritated by that.

I'm more irritated by the doc that felt it so important to torture me with the diabetes treatment. Glucose was high, right? Turns out that stress and injury and not eating and all sorts of things contribute to that. So what's the treatment? Wake me every hour so they can sample my glucose level because they put in a insulin drip.  "Gotta get the glucose level down so you heal quickly" Guess what, medical people??? My pharmacy doesn't have the Rx you gave me until at least Monday, so what the fuck is the big deal?  Pretty sure sleeping thru the night is important. 

So anyway. I guess I've been home 3 nights now. And I've slept though the night. Around 11 hours each night, and usually a nap in the middle.  Last night, actually mid day, I was cold. Finally closed some windows and mid sleep, woke up warm. So the blankets got moved around. I use 2 fleecy blankets, a smaller green one on my legs and a larger blue/gray with some pattern on it on the upper half. Just the green for a nap, usually. 

Aren't you glad to know that? I was also wearing wearing my ugly brown shirt....it's not flannel, but it's really warm....I can see thru it, it's so old....prob 10 years now....bought at fleet farm for $3, clearance. I've stained it so many time, with black die, with walnuts, etc. and it saved my good polo once when some wood stain jumped out of the can and tried to kill it. Old brown caught all that stain and saved the day. I had a pic on FB last year or 2 years ago regarding buttons.....

So anyway, when I got up I was a little cool, until I drank a cup of coffee, been hot every since. Frustrating. Confusing. Don't understand how it all works. I guess I'll start with my thermostat, see what the temp is. Prob the same yesterday, since windows in the east side of the house are still open.

Whew. morning nap. Karen is highly offended....she must be ultra liberal, I always suspected she was...but she maybe should be aware that my filter, which is sketchy at best, is pretty much non-existent now. 

These drugs are interesting....I remember a side effect saying it'll make me clumsy. Of course I remembered that after crashing into a couple door frames. with the backs of my hands. 

recovery 9 10 16

Yeah, so anyway. I forgot what I put in today's episode, but know I holler curse words frequently when I keep misspelling words. 

I've got neck pain, a headache. some hand pain, shoulder pain rib pain, ankle pain. Hand and ankle is just due to road rash.  On enough pain killers that the neck should be happy. Ungrateful bastard.

So yeah, a little car crashed my bike. It's great when people call or text, asking if I need help. Trouble is.....I don't know know what I need. I can't remember what I need for groceries. I'm no expert yet, but what I know is this: 

new line to make sure it is special and stands out. watch this:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
mssg or call, say: I'm going to the grocery store or Kwik Trip, do you need anything. I'll wait while you look
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On the other hand. If someone (I) mssg you and says will you go to sam's club for something.....just do that and get that. Because I really don't know what to do with a rotisserie chicken. I know I don't want to fool with chicken skin. I don't want to fool with ligaments and tendons. I don't want overcooked meat. Yes, I'm ungrateful. But I paid for it.....and seriously, gala apples? Didn't I specify either braeburn or honeycrisp? 

Sorry, rant over. I know she did what she thought best.  Went to WalMart, even though she knows I go to aldi....bought a few freezer things....thanks, I do appreciate it.  I know it doesn't sound like it.....but.....a rotisserie chicken? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Try this: I've got an hour or 2, can I pick you up and take you to the grocery store or out to eat? Or come visit?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


FUCK a new rant. Harvest Jam. Super duper loud country music that I can hear in my house with the windows shut. 


I can hear my pulse in my left ear. I have a constant headache. It's not warm in my house, and I hope that's why I'm cold. but I'm sometimes too warm too. 

Recovery Sept 10 16

Damn blogger thing. I hate serif font.Why is the default a serif??

Sept 10. Tammy's bday. Jeff and Sheila's anniversary. Was my anniversary for 20 years, too. 22 years ago was a hot Saturday, I was spared a lot of the annoying BS that goes along with the wedding. I'm not in contact with any of the guys that stood up with me, except I could contact Steve. Kinda miss Jeff and Troy.....Danny a little....he didn't treat Kris as well as he should have.....

Oh sure. I know most of you reading this have not a single clue about any of that. Want to know? ask. What else do I have but time and irritation for the next several weeks???

OK, so I went on a bike ride last weekend. Left Friday afternoon, spent the night in Dubuque. Had a great time, saw the Julien Dubuque memorial and park. Saw the lead shot tower, went to the farmer's market, left town in such a way to see Illinios. Went to the Dickeyville Grotto, had a picnic lunch. Went to Plattville, saw the largest M in the world. Disney used it a few times, I believe. Saw a lead mine. Went to Potosi and on to Lancaster for the night. 

McDonald's for breakfast, went straight to Mineral Point, to ride the Cheese Country Trail, which is an ATV trail open to motorcycles too. Kind of rough for that, to be honest. But fun....Got to a rest area and took off, instead of going on to Monroe.  Went to the toy train barn near Argyle, which is awesome. Went to Yellowstone park for lunch. Was heading to the mustard museum which is on the west side of Madison when a tan car turned right into the bike. 

I came to with a beautiful dark haired women on me...I think she mashed her boobs all over my helmet, which spoiled all of that fun. I have lots of memories from that time, but it's very very weird. Like time stood still. Like I was dreaming. I could feel them cutting my clothes off, but could still feel my shorty shorts. I could sense the people dreading trying to pick me up. I could feel them take off my helmet, and put on a collar. They put ear muffs on me for the helicopter ride, but didn't let me look out the window. It was a fairly smooth landing, one lumpety bump.

Glucose all over, but mostly high. Some dickhead says test every hour. Which means they woke me up every hour. I didn't appreciate that. I let them know that I didn't appreciate that. I made certain that the doctor knew that I did not appreciate that. 

I'd insert some pics, but I didn't take many. and they are on the phone. etc. 

recovery 9/9/16

I've been home about 24 hours now.  It's been quite a struggle....had to get up and find the bathroom w/o any pain killers....I'd taken some tylenol at 7pmish. 4pmish was last of hospital pills, so when I woke about 9am, I'm sure they were all worn off.

I could feel the front fractures. 

Not the best feeling in the world. Not peeing in my only chair was rewarding, though.

Oh, what happened? On FB, I joke and say it was a improper parking of my motorcycle. In reality, a little car shoved me down. Maybe they ran over me and that's why I have 7 broken ribs, 5 broken twice. I don't know why my toe is broken. Sympathy?

So anyway, today? yeah, my driver helped set up my cpap, I got some water and pillows, blankets, sat down here and slept for about 10 hours. Nice. Was able to get up to pee. Had some PB&J, coffee, water, advil, tylenol and normal diabetic/hypertension drugs. 

BTW, the cat was very glad to see me last night, but now he just wants to go outside. Dumbass doesn't realize it's been raining and likely to rain some more.

A friend was coming over today for moral support, i had planned to put her to work rearranging the kitchen a little, but didn't much. I thought ahead and switched pharmacies. Why does anyone use Wallymart pharmacy when it's so easy to use weber and judd? We walked down there, and then back in the rain. Brrr. Oh well. gotta do crazy stuff before you die, right?

Not sure it was the drugs, or stage fright, but there was no poop for 4 days, finally yesterday with the aid of some fun stuff, i.e. milk of magnesia and then a torpedo, got some results. Timing was good, moved from the crapper to the shower, etc. 

Today timing was not as good, but it's ok, since even though my right shoulder isn't 100%, my right arm still reaches and can perform the required task. NO Pics. 

See? I do care about you people.