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Ray Whiting —

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Home→Published 2020 → April

Monthly Archives: April 2020

Well, that was a nothing-burger

Ray Whiting -- Posted on 29 April 2020 by Ray29 April 2020

I got a couple hours sleep last night, but was awake from about 2:00, waiting in anticipation for the “severe thunderstorms” that were to pass over in the early morning hours. Hardly any rain and not much noise. Pfft! I could have had a good night’s sleep.

I did manage to get a couple naps this morning, but mostly it’s a drag-ass sort of day.

Things aren’t hurting quite so bad today, at least not as bad as recently.

Later…

Had a tuna, cheese, and tomato sandwich for lunch, then tried to take my walk. Holy fuck! Got half way to Manor and had to come back, the hip muscles (both sides) and right knee hurt too much. Why? I do my exercises and I am trying to be up-and-about around the house as much as I can, so why is my body not consistently getting better, day by day, little by little? Why do I have good days and then bad days? I hate this shit. πŸ™

Oh well, I’ll rest a bit, and later this afternoon will get the other yarns pulled that I will need for the weekend.

Posted in At Home, Health shit

Stormy Weather

Ray Whiting -- Posted on 28 April 2020 by Ray29 April 2020

It’s already clouding up, but we’re in for spectacularly stormy weather this afternoon, overnight, and into tomorrow morning. I don’t dye in stormy weather, so that takes care of today’s plans, and maybe tomorrow’s.

No matter, though, because I pulled some yarns yesterday that could have been dyed. I had a really rough night of pain, barely 4 hours of sleep. BUT… when I dragged my sorry ass out of bed I had a new insight how to reconfigure the steps for the dye project so I can accomplish more in less time. I was making it all too complex in my head for some reason, but it just flashed into my head this morning. So I do feel better about it, and this portion of the work can be done before next Monday.

Meanwhile, I am seriously hurting in my joints this morning, and I strongly suspect it is because of this weather pattern moving in. Fluctuating air pressure and increased humidity. I hate this shit, and I seriously do NOT look forward to a future of weather prediction based on what my body is doing.

Speaking of which…. when it was discovered I had an issue with the aorta, I was put on 3 different blood pressure medications to deliberately lower my blood pressure and avoid a blow-out. Terrific. Then with my doctor visit a few weeks after the surgery, my blood pressure was terrific, well within where it should be, so he said I don’t really need to be on blood pressure meds. And during the whole 2 months when I was getting weekly home nurse and PT visits, they’d check the b.p. and it remained very good and I got a little lax in taking my own b.p. on the wrist-cuff unit I had purchased after surgery.

Yesterday I took my b.p. and the systolic was up in the 180s. EEK! I messaged my doctor to ask, and I told him about my unusual reading. He is out of the office this week, but one of his nurses (or another doctor covering for him?) and said I should use an arm-cuff monitor, take readings 3-4 times a day, and call back later in the week. So I went and ordered an arm-cuff b.p. monitor (it’ll be here tomorrow).

And someone there called in a new Rx for me to go back on amlodipine, sending the Rx to the local CVS. It’s fine, I suppose, except nobody told me they were renewing that Rx, so I was surprised when CVS texted me to say my Rx was ready for pick up. A couple phone calls and text messages back and forth, and now that Rx is being mailed to me. No big deal since I had a small supply leftover from when my dr told me I don’t need to take any b.p. meds.

What fun. Maybe. Whatever.

Texas is going to be opening up in phases, starting this Friday. I think it’s a crock of shit, because we still don’t have adequate state-wide testing, nor are there an vaccines or really confirmed treatments. Vaccines will be another 18 months, I imagine. Besides the obvious health risk of opening the state too soon, there is the fact that if businesses are “allowed” to re-open, any emergency funding and/or unemployment is cut off and people must either go back to work or deal with no income. That’s bullshit. This crap about opening up is for business OWNERS and their bottom dollar, not anything about protecting the people who are put at risk.

Posted in At Home, Health shit, Stuff

Well, obviously I’m not dead

Ray Whiting -- Posted on 26 April 2020 by Ray28 April 2020

But, golly gee, it feels like I’m on my way.

No, not really. But I am not well today. I had a rough night last night, and at one point felt a very strange and sudden and painful ‘something’ in my abdomen, sort of like a twinge or ping but larger. I won’t make up fantasies of what it might have been, because I really don’t know, but it was almost certainly with the intestines and not the abdominal muscles. And today all my innards feel ‘bruised’ when I try to do anything. This is not a good thing.

It is gloriously sunshiny today, and temperatures should get up to the low-80s, so fairly tolerable as long as it isn’t humid.

Washing the bedding this morning to hang outside and freshen up a bit. That’ll be nice when it is bedtime.

Friday my daughter and grandson came by briefly to pick up some veggies I had ordered from a local restaurant supplier, now selling boxes of goods to the general public so they can stay in business at all. I ordered two crates of goodies, since each selection had some things I wanted. There were several layers of stuff in each crate. I kept what I wanted and let Donna have the rest. She lo-o-o-ves cilantro, and there were 3 bunches of it. I can’t stand the stuff.

It was good to see Donna and Dagon, but they didn’t stay long and stayed outside. Donna is about my height, Dagon towers over us both. He’s only 15.

In a little while I will try to pull some yarns for dyeing this week. I won’t try to dye today but I can get ready to dye tomorrow. I still seem to only manage a half-day at best before my body peters out and I’m down for the rest of the day.

Posted in At Home, Health shit

Wiped Out

Ray Whiting -- Posted on 18 April 2020 by Ray18 April 2020

Okay, so I worked on Tuesday and Wednesday, just pulling hanks to dye so it wasn’t a lot of work. And I worked on Thursday and Friday to get a full batch of Blog Reader Specials done. That took a lot out of me. When I slept last night, I slept well and hard, but there was a 3-hour period when I was awake; got back to sleep around 4:00 or 4:30 and slept until almost 7:30.

I fed the boys and took the trash out, and now, as I sit here sucking my first morning coffee I feel sooooo wiped out. Not sore or particularly hurting in any new ways, just feeling super drained. I’m going to sit on my ass today, I suspect, and just veg out and try to replenish myself.

A Facebook friend made me a few face masks to wear in the even I need to actually go anywhere. They aren’t quite as wide across my face, but they will do for my purposes. There are three different fabric designs, and they are different insides as well.

I’ll come back later and see how I feel.

OOOPS!!! I waddled off to bed and realized I didn’t finish or post this.

Anyway, so there was a 4-hour sleep, then a 3-hour sleep in the night. And during today I had another several hours of assorted naps throughout the day. Yeah, I was pretty wiped out from the work of the previous few days. I’m still feeling exhausted and not walking at all well. Grateful for the walkers and cane, all available and close at hand as I need them.

I keep reminding myself I’m not all done getting better, but it doesn’t help me all the time. My body reminds me I’m not there yet and it pisses me off. Probably more than I should let it, but it does.

And even though I’m taking the celecoxib and the gabapentin as prescribed, I continue to have assorted pains in my right leg. Sometimes I can tell if it is the actual hip and knee joints, but sometimes it feels like muscles or nerve pains. But it just hurts most of the time, although less after the meds for a while. It also doesn’t help that I have a wonky sort of couch and I was hoping to replace my 13-year old mattress this spring. But with everything shut down, it doesn’t look like that will happen. It is nearly impossible to find a position that doesn’t hurt when I lie down. Or sit. Or stand. Or walk. Half the time when I do actually find a pain-free position, within minutes my bladder is screaming as if I’d not peed all week. Go figure.

Yeah, I know — I’m whining and bitching and moaning about shit. I went to bed at 10:00 and it’s now 10:45 and I’m awake and hurting. Oh well…..

Today was a mostly down day (although I did send out notices for the Blog Reader Specials), and tomorrow is Sunday and I’m taking an extra down day to get ready for the week ahead. I have work projects to pursue, and they won’t get done if I don’t do them.

Lemme see if some classical music will help me relax enough to get to bed.

Posted in At Home, Diabetes, Health shit

Mostly muscle; little bit joints

Ray Whiting -- Posted on 13 April 2020 by Ray18 April 2020

So I just took my walk to Manor and back. I was about halfway there when I realized how much pain I was having. All morning I’ve had twinges of joint pain where the hip joint and knee joint are deteriorating; these are greatly reduced with the celecoxib, thankfully. But walking any sort of distance at all causes the supporting muscles to hurt. It’s a different kind of pain and I’m learning better how to distinguish it. I know that if I take this walk at least twice a day the muscles will strengthen, however much it hurts along the way. It will get better over time.

This is critical for me because when I am dyeing, I am on my feet an hour and a half or more for each dozen skeins per session. If I hope to be able to get back to work like I once did, I have little choice but to do these walks regularly. UGH

Another aspect of the process is pulling hanks from cones. This is also a mostly stand-up task. Clearly I can’t be pulling cones and dyeing in the same day. Not yet anyway. So today and tomorrow I will focus on pulling all the hanks I’ll need for the dyeing I plan to do later in the week.

This morning I was up early (a little less than five hours of sleep) and got my Kroger order in for the week. This time I printed out my order so I can more accurately check the order when it arrives instead of guessing or trying to remember what I’d request. I also put in specific substitutions for specific items (like canned peas if they can’t find frozen). I’m hoping that will mean I get more of what I want.

Tomorrow will be 12 weeks from surgery, and I am FINALLY getting to a place where my lower tract is getting close to normal. That is, I am beginning to once again get the ‘normal’ (for me) signals that it’s time to use the toilet. I’ve been getting unfamiliar signals from other parts of my lower tract, so I didn’t know what they meant. But yesterday and today, however, I got the old familiar signals. Yayyy. I hope this means I will begin to be normal in my toilet routines as I have been for most of my life. I certainly hope so, anyway. The last several months have been, quite literally, a pain in the ass.

Anyway, onward into the day.

Posted in Diabetes, Health shit

Today is better

Ray Whiting -- Posted on 10 April 2020 by Ray10 April 2020

Only got about 4 hours, barely. I’ve been awake since about 2:00 this morning, so I am sort of dragging.

I took the short walk and then did my leg exercises outside. This time I did a full set with 10 reps in each direction for each leg, holding each position 3-4 seconds before releasing. Not a lot of pain from it today (so far), and I’ve been a bit more mobile today with various chores around the house. Not a lot, just some.

I will definitely expect a nap at some point, probably after an early lunch.

Not a lot else to whine about.

People working from home are discovering all sorts of things about their co-workers…

Posted in At Home, Stuff

What am I learning?

Ray Whiting -- Posted on 9 April 2020 by Ray9 April 2020

This seems to be an ongoing, never-ending, tedious process of having to pay attention every moment.

Today, after a fairly health lunch (salad with lots of greens, plus salami, chicken, tomatoes, olives, and some other stuff, plus a scrambled egg chopped up for added protein), I took the short walk and then did some of the leg exercises. Instead of doing them as originally shown to me, I did what the PT recommend — extend and hold for 5 seconds, instead of allowing momentum to move my leg. And I did allow my lunch to settle for 20-30 minutes before starting.

I was moving sort of okay before lunch, but now having done the walk and exercises, I am sore and feeling tired and exhausted. I DO try to get some sort of activity or exercise every day, but when I do I end up wiped out for the rest of the day and sometimes the next day. I can’t even always tell if I’m even a little better afterward for having done the exercises.

I get discouraged and somewhat defeated sometimes and want to just veg out on the couch. I know that isn’t helpful in the long run, and I keep trying to do more.

Yesterday, as part of my Kroger order, I got some cream corn and some Jiffy cornbread mix. Tonight I’m going to brown up a pound of ground beef (with some added mirepoix), then I’ll drain it and pack it back down into the skillet, layer a can of cream corn on top of it, and then make a box of cornbread mix and layer that on top, then bake according to the box directions. I used to fix this for the girls when they lived with me, and I’ve been sort of craving it lately. It can be wedged out or scooped out when hot, and when the leftovers are chilled it makes a nice crumbly topping for salads.

There was a post circulating on Facebook for a pattern to make back-straps for surgical facemasks, the kind with loops to go over the ears. Because all medical personnel have to wear these practically 24/7 these days, the elastic loops are breaking down the skin behind the ears. The back-straps have buttons on the ends to hold the loops, keeping them off the ears. Since both Devyn and Leanne work in a nursing home facility, Devyn asked me to make some of these backstraps.

Since I have been getting bored with the Old Shale scarf, and because my granddaughter asked me (how could I say no?), that’s what I’m doing today. I have eight straps crocheted, with buttons added to one of them so far. And, the starting and ending tails are at opposite ends, I’m leaving them hang out so I can weave them in AND sew on the buttons with the tails. πŸ™‚

Well, enough whining for today.

Posted in Health shit, Stuff

Slept, feeling better

Ray Whiting -- Posted on 6 April 2020 by Ray6 April 2020

So yesterday I felt like shit. I was in bed before 10:30, only got up to pee just once, and slept through until about 5:15 or so. That’s pretty good, considering my recent weeks of hyphenated sleeps with long wakings in the middle of the night.

I do feel better than I did yesterday, so I suspect I simply did too much in the day or two before, and needed a time-out.

I’ve been reading the posts of others, many of whom are both scared of the virus and fearful for the future and what our fiber arts industry will look like when so many people are being laid off. Much of what we do is targeted to those with discretionary income. I know that the yarns I sell are more expensive than even the nicer commercial wools and fancy fibers, and much more more expensive than the acrylic hobbyist yarns. Many people will not be able to afford what I can produce. And, at some point, there’s a possibility that my supply chain will break so I can’t even get yarns for dyeing.

It’s perhaps even worse for those who derive an income from teaching in the fiber arts, or writing patterns and books. Currently, all the fiber festivals have shut down for the virus, but will they be able to start back up if people don’t have money to attend? Will people be buying books or patterns when they can barely afford to eat, much less cover their other expenses? Who knows?

In my years, I have done things to earn money — in Seattle I spray-painted house-numbers on curbs. I’d drive through posting offers on people’s doors and go back the next day to see who wanted a number painted. When I first landed in New Orleans I had no clue and even less money, so I managed to earn rent money (barely) by reading Tarot on Jackson Square. It wasn’t much, but it lasted until I could get a temporary job through one of the temp services, and that led to someone liking my work and getting me hired in a Louisiana civil service position.

Most of the time I just sort of lucked out by doing what was in front of me to do at the time. I’ve known lean times and good times, and what I know is that it never lasts, nothing is permanent, everything changes.

What bothers me most, I think, is that I hear rumblings of sadness to the point of giving up. I won’t name names, of course, but there are some brilliant fiber artists who see their current income as their identity, and when the money stops they will see no way forward. That’s a shame. Certainly everyone needs an income, but not everyone needs a salary or hourly wage. And what you do for money is not the sum total of who you are. If the darkest forecasts are true, there will be loads of people who have lost their incomes and don’t know how to recalibrate their path to find a new income. It might even get as bad as the Great Depression.

But during the Great Depression there were still people working and finding an income. There will always be people needing essentials for survival, and there will be opportunities for finding or even creating new income streams. The Great Depression eventually gave way for the growth of the middle class. So, perhaps I am being naive, but whatever dark days may lie ahead, I do believe that what comes after will be better. I’m not smart or clever with economic forecasts, and I can’t put my finger on why or how I think most of us will survive, except to look at the past and realize we have always survived before. Individually that might not be so, but as a society we have.

So, my task, is not necessarily about figuring out how to make people buy my yarns at a time when they really cannot afford it. My task is to identify what I am good (all my years of experience, talents, and skills) to see whatever else I might be able to offer to those who want or need it.

And, I need to remember that a fast nickel is better than a slow dime.

Posted in At Home, Health shit, Stuff

Achy, but why?

Ray Whiting -- Posted on 5 April 2020 by Ray5 April 2020

It is nearly 5:00 a.m., and I’ve been up since just past 2:00. UGH It is 61ΒΊF and 98% humidity, and alllll my lower joints are aching. A lot. No, really — A LOT! Anyway, it is nearly time for morning finger-stick, then insulin, then breakfast, and then I can take my morning meds to deal with the pains.

Yesterday I mentioned that I wanted to start getting my normal daily life routines back into place. Today, being Sunday, that means I need to get my hair cut, among other things. It used to be my Sunday routine, but over the last few months I’ve let it slip.

wow….7:00 now. Shit. So I went ahead and got my hair cut and a shave. Holy cow, that took a lot out of me. Not sure if it is because I didn’t get enough sleep, or because the act of standing there, bent over cutting was so exhausting, but golly gee my back hurts and I feel utterly drained.

The good news is that my finger-stick is only 114 just now. πŸ™‚

And now, another hour later, my body is still feeling like shit. I took my insulin, ate a bowl of cereal, and took my morning meds. I’m just going to check out for the day and rest. I am so fucking sick and tired of goddamn “resting”. I’m tired of various and sundry aches and pains cropping up (surprise!) here and there and everywhere. πŸ™

Here’s hoping I will feel better later in the day. I do have things I want to write about, particularly concerning the growing fears I keep hearing from various people about the virus, the necessary isolation, the economic impact (personal, national, and global) that will inevitably result from the worldwide shut-down. Everyone is feeling it, and I have things to say about it. But for now, I need to just lie down and ‘be’.

Posted in Diabetes, Health shit, Stuff

A weekend, whatever that is

Ray Whiting -- Posted on 4 April 2020 by Ray5 April 2020

So, today is Saturday. The weekend. But, of course, for many years my life hasn’t been scheduled around clearly marked work days and then weekends.

I have heard (several times) that during this time of “stay home, work safe” or quarantine or whatever you call it, that it is good to actually have a schedule in order to maintain at least a little semblance of normalcy. So I’ll try it. Whatever, I suppose.

I know I’ve been eating more lately, but just now my naked weight is still just 139 pounds. I’m not sure why. And I am trying to consume more muscle-building proteins. I just had a bowl of cereal and a banana for breakfast, and I also have 4 strips of bacon cooking in the oven. And I have some Kroger fried chicken to nibble on, and lots of other meat in the freezer.

Last weekend I dyed a small bit of yarn, and yesterday I reskeined it. There are specific muscles used in reskeining and twisting yarns into a presentation twist. Those muscles are reminding me they’ve not been used in a while. UGH. No, it’s a good thing really, but still just the reminder is a bit annoying. I think, “What the hell? I’ve been doing this for thirteen years …. oh yeah, I’ve not done this particular thing for several months.”

And the entire process — soaking, dyeing, washing, hanging, reskeining, and all the rest — involve specific body actions and muscle movements. And some dye techniques are definitely more labor intensive than others.

Virtually everything about my life and my work has become a bit of a challenge, as far as actually doing the things I need to do. It is becoming better, ever-so-slowly, but nearly everything I want or need to do requires a bit of thought: “Do I actually have the energy to do this? Will I need a rest afterward? How will today’s activities affect my ability to function tomorrow?”

For me, thankfully, it is simply a process of recovery and getting back to normal. For so many others it is a chronic daily life-long battle, so I suppose I’m fortunate. It does give me an appreciation for what I do have, as well as some understanding for those living with chronic conditions.

Speaking of chronic conditions — I’ve been on the celecoxib for a couple weeks. Hardly any pain in the hip or knee. This stuff is amazing, and so much better than the OTC NSAIDs I’ve been using. There may come a time when it isn’t as effective, but for now I am happy with the results, and my ability to walk and function without a lot of pain.

Posted in At Home, Health shit
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