not cool dude

You know what pisses me off?

Today was the first day since -last- hunting season that I had the house to myself. But could I do any of the things I wanted?

Nope.

This constant pain in my arm is really making it hard to do any of my hobbies.

4 months of pain & activity modification, 6 weeks of physical therapy, and there was literally no change in the pain. 

I believe it's not just tennis elbow but a combination of that and radial tunnel syndrome. As soon as I started treating it like it was that, I started to see some improvement. But it's nowhere near healed and I can't do the crafty things I like to do because it irritates the muscle/nerve/tendon combo.

I'm going to go back to the specialist but in the meantime I started daily gua sha massage of my forearm, specific exercises, and I'm wearing a wrist brace 90% of the day & night. If something hurts, I immediately stop doing it. At this rate I'll be ambidextrous and I'm getting better at brushing my teeth with my left hand. I AM seeing consistent improvement in the pain for the first time so I must be doing something right.

So today I tried to to stuff but in the end I did a lot of relaxing. Which is fine but I have a bunch of projects just waiting for my arm to heal and I'm so damn impatient.

3 years = Santa Fe, NM

This year for our anniversary we took the whole week off again (I'm liking this trend), and we planned our first real trip since the hip surgery. As people who routinely travel every month who have been forced at home for the summer, we were ready to get out of town.

We took the camper to the beach for the weekend, which was new and easy and awesome, and some friends joined us, and then we took off to New Mexico.

We decided on Santa Fe, since it's a quick (<2hr flight nonstop) flight + 1 hr drive to our destination and when we booked it we weren't sure what my hip situation would be and wanted to keep the travel part minimal. At this point I start to get stiff after a couple hours but when I get up and walk around it loosens up pretty quick. So the flight was not bad but after we arrived at our hotel I was ready for a hot bath and stretching. 

The hotel was really cute. We booked a Gallery King for the kitchen, and it was big and quirky and perfect. Good thing, too, because it rained the first two days and we spent more time there than anticipated and totally threw off our whole itinerary. One important thing to note: they did NOT have coffee makers in the rooms and the coffee in the lobby tasted weird to us. Fortunately, there was a coffee shop within walking distance (just past the dispensary) and we went there every morning for our daily vacation americanos. 

The first day it was rainy so we slept in and lounged, then tried to check out Canyon Road but ultimately decided that it was NOT a rainy day activity. We hit up a few local thrift stores to see if they held any treasures for us (they did not) and then we spent the evening enjoying the hot tub in the cold rain. A rainy day on vacation is usually a forced relaxation day.

The second day it was still rainy, but we had reservations for a private hot spring tub at Ten Thousand Waves and that was fantastic. They have a resident cat there named Ashley and I'm always a fan of resident cats and things named Ashley so I was immediately smitten. It was pricey but it was our anniversary and it was a nice way to spend a rainy morning. The hot tub came with a private changing room and bathroom, private sauna, and a private little nook with a bed. Which was weird but handy. We were both impressed at how nice our skin felt after we got out of the tub, because some hot springs leave you feeling like you have hard minerals on your skin but we were both baby soft. Afterwards the rain let up a little bit and we spent the afternoon at the Plaza shopping and the evening in the hot tub.

The third day, the sun came out! We drove about an hour to the Bandelier National Monument to see the cliff dwellings which is the whole reason I wanted to go to Santa Fe. The inclines eventually wore the hip down, but I got to see what I wanted to see and a whole section of the park is in the forest and you know I love wandering around a forest. On the way back to the hotel we spotted Camino Real and you could easily spend an hour there. It's HUGE and I am disappointed it's not local because they have a LOT of cute stuff there. They had a 6-foot tall cactus wearing a cowboy boot and a cowboy hat that would look adorable in the front yard. But he would not fit in a suitcase, you know? Again, we capped off the day with a soak in the hot tub. The weather was really perfect for that.

The last day, we checked out of the hotel and took the scenic route back to Albuquerque, and stopped a few places on the way:
Origami in the Garden- worth the stop. Pretty impressive. Great gift shop.
Madrid- Wandered around the shops, FH bought some chocolate at a quirky little shop with great vibes and the most incredible smells.
Tinker Town- cooler than I expected.

Other things to note:

Santa Fe is at 7,000+ feet. We live at sea level. My advice to anyone is to drink more water than you want to & alcohol hits faster than usual. Our original itinerary had us hiking the first day but the rain changed that and I'm glad because we had a couple of days to acclimate first. Even so, FH missed the coolest part of the hike because he was tired, probably due to the elevation.

We tried twice to hit up a 100% gluten free bakery and restaurant but again, our original itinerary has us there when they would be open but our modified itinerary made us miss it. The original location of the bakery was, coincidentally, right across the street from our hotel and the sign was still there so it was a fun reminder that I was missing it every day, lol. Oh, well. 

Overall, it was a very good week and it felt really good to travel and get out and not think about work after the last couple of busy months.

Cheers to 3 years!

things

For a while there, I found myself regularly waking up at 3 or 4am and not being able to go back to sleep. I blamed it on the perimenopause that my doctor said I was not yet "in." Then, I had surgery and my body took every opportunity for sleep that it could get and I forgot what 4am looked like. Lately, I'm again routinely waking up at an unreasonable hour, laying awake listening to FH snore for a few hours until the alarm goes off. I'm thinking the next time it happens, I'm going to get up and see what happens. Maybe that's why old people are always up so early.

It's August. Every August I bitch about how hot and crispy and sweaty everything is. This year is no exception. I'm tried of summer. As a matter of fact, I was tired of summer before summer even began this year. Because I'm always hot, and again I blame that on the perimenopause that my doctor says that I'm not yet "in." As soon as I can comfortably travel there, I'm hitting the mountains or somewhere snowy. I don't remember the last time I was cold.

Speaking of travel, we're planning our anniversary trip and we had to pick something with the least amount of sitting so in case I'm still not able to sit for a while I won't be miserable. After considering several different options and eventually deciding they were too much, we narrowed it down. The ones we vetoed for now are still really great options, so we have several trips already planned waiting in the wings.
We decided to take the whole week off, since our anniversary is on a Wednesday this year, and also because we both have a lot of PTO since we haven't really taken any. (Most of my recovery was short term disability)
We're taking the RV to the beach for the first weekend, then we're flying to Santa Fe, NM for the rest of the week. Going to explore the cave dwellings, soak in some hot springs, check out the art scene, and relax at the pool in our cute historic hotel. Very much looking forward to that and hoping that I'm not too sore at that point. I've been very humbled by how slow the sitting/driving progress has gone. Right now I'm basically always sore. Ice packs are saving me right now so I'm thinking of getting some of those instant ice packs since they can go through tsa. Waiting for that day when the surgeon said I wouldn't notice the pain anymore...

This weekend I got into the river for the first time this year. Just to cool off, because treading water used muscles that I didn't think I should be using, and I hosed off when I got out to be on the safe side. It was nice.

3 months!

Today I saw my surgeon for the three month follow up.

Takeaways:

Driving and sitting for too long will hurt. It takes time. He said one day I'll notice that it doesn't bother me anymore and to be patient. Which means I'm also not cleared to travel yet and my boss does not care because I'm the only person in Houston right now and she wants me local anyway.

I have great strength and shitty range of motion. He said he wasn't surprised because the joint will be tight for a while. Apparently women have loose hips naturally and that can lead to issues long term so he purposely tightened it up. News to me! Also thanks? He said to wait another month before trying to stretch.

I can start trying to do some of the things I like, like yoga and hiking, but take it slow and listen to my body. Considering I was told not to stretch for another month, I'm thinking yoga needs to wait.

Then I asked him about my tendonitis and he referred me to a hand/arm specialist. Tennis elbow is such a cute name for something that hurts like hell. I told him that and he chuckled and agreed, he said he's had it before as well. The exercises have been helping so I'll see how that goes.

Currently icing both the hip and the elbow because both are sore. Honestly ice packs are underrated. They really help with inflammation and then I don't have to take pain meds that fuck up my stomach.

Other progress:

In the morning, I don't have a limp and walk normally without even thinking about it! As the day progresses and I get tired & sore, it comes back. Also walking on uneven surfaces, like in the yard, still requires concentration.

lessons in hosting

We host more overnight guests than the average person, here are a few lessons I've learned over the years:

1. People eat more than you think. In the past we've ran out of food because when I counted portions, I counted the way I eat. For example, chicken thighs. I'd assume that I'd need 1 chicken thigh per person. Wrong. Some people eat more than that. Sometimes they're on a keto diet. Sometimes they're really hungry. Sometimes that's their normal portion. So what I do now is I count portions according to the way I eat (or according to the package/recommendation), then I double it. That way we have no issues feeding everyone, including surprise extras, and leftovers is always a good thing when you've got folks day drinking and staying the weekend. Hungry? Go scrounge. Still got food left when people leave? Freeze it or send it home with someone.

2. Towels and water bottles WILL be abandoned. It's okay. We just buy double the cases of water and plan for extra laundry. The plants will get fancy water for a while.

3. Laundry. When it comes to sheets, I've seen it all. And only once have I had to throw them away and buy a new one. Body fluids, blood, food smears, sweat, barf... I don't actually handle the barf but that time the sheets were hosed off and tossed right into the machine. Most things get Spray N Wash and peroxide as a pretreat, and bleach goes into every whites load because that's the way it should be. If it sits in the laundry room for a week, who cares? It will get washed eventually. When it comes to big crowds when every bed is slept in and every towel is used, I truck it all to the laundromat and in 2 hours and a chat with a random old person, it's all washed and dried for about 20 bucks. 

4. If someone wants to bring something, a bag of ice or a case of water is always a good choice. We have a friend who always brings dessert. We have a friend who always brings a case of beer and enough food to feed an army, even though we don't request it. We have a friend who knows he's expected to bring bloody mary ingredients. We have a friend who never spends the night but we can always count on him to come help us with a project and he will drink the random beers left in the fridge and will 100% be staying late and fishing. There's are some definite established patterns with the regulars and I love that.

5. Some folks will invite themselves when they want to come over and some will wait for an invitation. Both are acceptable. 

6. We block off weekends for no visitors. At the beginning of the summer, we designate weekends that are open for guests and those that are not. That helps prevent burnout, mostly on my end. I can't handle people every single weekend.

7. Speaking of, if my social battery runs out, I simply go upstairs and take a breather. Everyone hangs out downstairs anyway so upstairs is kind of a refuge for those who need a break, and I've noticed several times someone taking advantage of that as I trot past them.

8. Schedule the maid for AFTER guests leave. The house will get dirty approximately 0.5 seconds after guests arrive anyway, so scheduling the clean afterwards is so much more refreshing.

9. Keep a bag of chicken nuggets in the freezer and some apples in the fridge. Kids are picky and I'm not trying to convince a 4 year old to eat chili or have a parent trying to raid my kitchen for an acceptable meal. Also kids go nuts over glow sticks and popsicles. And while you're at it, get a big variety pack of chips. They don't need to be name brand. They will get eaten.

10. Squeeze condiments for everything. Streamlines the whole process and virtually eliminates gluten cross contact. 

11. Delegate. If I don't ask someone to load the dishwasher, I will be the one doing it. If I ask, guess what? I will get several volunteers. Then the next time, they feel more comfortable pitching in without being asked. Psychology.

12. Buy extra toilet paper. And paper towels. And paper plates. I don't know how but the supply dwindles in the blink of an eye. It's like the water bottles. During the summer it feels like we buy them with every grocery delivery.

13. There will be messes. Embrace the chaos. There's no rules at the river. I've gotten really good at this one but FH's eyes still twitch and I have to remind him that it's fine. 

That's it for now. We have a couple of months left of summer and we're all booked up through October but our regulars will still come out for hot tub & fire weather. Some visits I'm looking forward to more than others, but overall let's bring on the fun!

sweetums

I'm drinking my dinner tonight.

Because. The latest stray cat turned out to be really cool. He was super sweet & cuddly. He also had a serious injury and a selection of other medically expensive ailments. I convinced FH to let him stay through the weekend, so I could try to find him a home. 

I did my best, but I was not able to find him a home.

He got a few days of food & loves, and I cleaned his wounds the best I could. He followed me around, hung out with the chickens, and sat on my lap for pets and scratches. He was so cool that he started to win over FH, and we had a brief discussion about keeping him.

Unfortunately, as cool as he was, the timing is just not right and we do not want any cats right now. My last cat was a 20 year commitment and that's not what we want right now.

So we sent him on his way, and it broke my heart, I'm sure it broke his too. (The cat, not FH. He probably thought he had found a home and I can't imagine what he was thinking as we proved him wrong.)

It would have been different if he was an asshole cat, but he was the sweetest. I really wanted a happier ending for him. In the end, we gave him a few good days and I did my best to set him up for a better future.

I'll never know what happens to him. But I'm sending the best vibes out into the universe.

kitties

I have a struggle.

Regarding cats.

There have been several stray cats that have wandered across our yard, and some are obviously feral but some are obviously not. I think people are dumping their animals out here because a feral cat will run from you but a dumped cat (or dog) will run toward you.

Now, if this were truly the Cat Distribution System choosing me, I would embrace it, but I can't care for every sweet little snookums that comes running up hungry and injured. It breaks my heart because I want to save them all but I just can't turn into the cat house, nor can I involve myself with trapping and taking these animals to the vet, etc.

I don't feed them, even though I want to, because then they'll for sure stick around, but I do show them kindness. FH chases them away because I can't be mean to them.

Now, if one of these kitties figures out that there are mice living under the deck, then that's not my problem. In fact, that's my solution. :)