Vamos a Ver...

More of the Best of 2008

 

January 2008

Jim, Anna, Ray, and I went to Keene, New Hampshire and saw Barack Obama on the campaign trail. This photo was taken just after Anna and I shook hands with him. It was worth the hour plus of standing out in the cold. Jim is in the background- grey hat and blue vest behind Anna.

  
June 2008

I flew on an airplane for the first time in 32 years and actually kind of enjoyed it.


Valley of Fire, Nevada

Got to see some interesting things as a result.


September 2008

Did two sprint triathlons.
 I'm the one in the dark swim cap.


Summer 2008
Picked a lot of vegetable, herbs, and flowers with Anna.


September 2008

Opened my own practice.


It's made me happy to stop and reflect on all this.

Looking Back Fondly on 2008

Anna on the phone with Ray





Me grooming MacGregor




Jan with his new kilt

Knee, etc.

By the end of the day yesterday I was feeling pretty good and walking around, for the most part, like a normal person, It hasn't been a good day with the knee today. It seems that even the little bit of walking around the house and going to and from the car between office and house has been too much- now I'm back to hobbling again. I have an orthopedics appointment on Friday morning. This was the earliest they could get me in when I called last week. I can hardly wait. Cortisone injections have worked like magic for me in the past. I am seriously ready for some magic right about now. It's really annoying to hardly be able to walk. 

On the plus side of the equation, Rebecca and Michele from across the beaver pond came over with our groceries last evening and visited for a while. At first I thought Rebecca's psychic powers had kicked in. How did she know I was having trouble getting around? Then it dawned on me that I'd posted it right here, and that she'd no doubt read it. Duh! The psychic powers theory was more fun.

This evening Crystal, our immediate next-door neighbor/my training partner stopped by for a quick magazine trade- her "Runners World" for my "Bon Appetit," and was kind enough to get me some whole wheat capellini from down in the basement (our main food storage is down there for lack of space in the kitchen).

I'm guessing that me wanting to read "Runners World" right now might seem a little weird to anyone reading this. This was actually the main reason she came over; I wanted to read it right away after she said there was an article in it on topical anti-inflammatory painkillers.

The Flexor patch, available by prescription, sounds promising. It delivers diclofenac epolamine, a NSAID, to the affected area through the skin. I can't tolerate any kind of oral NSAID, regardless of buffering, enteric versions, etc., so the idea of a patch is pretty appealing. We'll see what the knee doctor thinks.

Tomorrow is a busy day but the rest of the week looks pretty easy and conducive to lying around reading and writing.

I got my hair cut today which was satisfying. I'm growing it out but just getting some of the bulk taken out now and then. I also got my eyebrows shaped. As I was paying I noticed all the hair that she'd cut lying on the floor; a big pile of it. This pleased me. Last year at this time I had just stopped wearing a wig and I had no eyebrows and three eyelashes. The three eyelashes is not made up. That's really how many I had. Why those three held on I don't know. I feel so wealthy now, having so much hair that I can pay someone to cut it off and throw it away.

Bad Knees, Banana Bread, and Estelle

Oh the joy of the after Christmas lull! I am having a guilt-free morning in bed, giving my badly in need of a cortisone injection left knee a much needed rest. As long as I don't try to walk or stand up I feel fine, so this is really a treat. I'm not even being sarcastic. I have a pile of books, my laptop, a good cup of coffee delivered by room service (Jim), and a view of the woods out the window. The only thing lacking is an upstairs bathroom- we're a few years away from that kind of luxury. Too bad, because stairs are not my friend right now.

Good knees are under appreciated but bad knees are maybe under appreciated too- they can buy you time to write and think. It's nice to be free from my usual responsibilities without actually being sick- a little like during chemotherapy but without the fatigue, malaise, and fear that ruined what otherwise might have been a pretty good vacation.

This knee thing started a couple of years ago- a legacy from my grandmother Estelle, I think. For most of her life after middle age she was plagued by arthritis in her knees. She was a good sport about it too- a really good sport I realize now- as she progressed over the years from limping around to trouble getting up from a chair, then trouble going upstairs, then to using a cane, then to a walker, and finally to a wheelchair when she was in her 80s. Her right knee ended up buckled in toward the other leg, like a broken branch.  

I've been thinking about her all week as I've found tasks and activities that I would normally not think twice about, to be painful and consequently burdensome. I've also been having "Estelle moments" when I've felt on the brink of wanting to break something out of frustration after realizing, say, that I'd left my glasses upstairs or forgotten to bring something in from the car, and referring to my knee, not fondly, as "you son of a bitch." 

I thought of her as I hobbled around the kitchen on Christmas Eve day, making a banana bread for Jim's daughter Colleen. Estelle made a lot of banana breads in that kitchen, many of them for me. There was no martyrdom in it. She wanted to give and she gave- and continued this right up until her body and mind wouldn't cooperate anymore.

It's not the same without her. Our family thrived in warmth of her love and generosity.

I miss her. 

49th Birthday

Today was my 49th birthday. Despite a some difficult spells here and there, it's been good being alive here on this planet, in this body, for this now nearly half a century. I like it here and I hope to stick around for a while.

This morning we woke up to grey skies. By the time I got out for a run it was sleeting and by the end of the run the sleet had turned mostly to snow. It was lovely. Back at home we had a couple of winter visitors- a Carolina Wren at the feeder and a Pileated Woodpecker in the forest part of the backyard- both birds we've seen here before but not often. The wren came right up close to the window, peering in, and stayed for a long time, eating bits of seed that had fallen from the feeder onto the ledge.

Later we met the rest of the family: mom, Kuni, Jan, Patty, Anna, and Ray, for Japanese food at Osaka in Northampton. After our late lunch we all went to see Anna and Ray's new house- sort of a Victorian cottage-  which I am now in love with. I was so taken with it and so happy that they would be living there that it brought tears to my eyes. I am so looking forward to spending time with them there- helping Anna with the gardens, cooking, reading on the deck or in the garden, walking to town...The house reminds both Anna and I of the house on Chestnut Street- our favorite among the many places we lived when she and Jonathan were growing up. Everyone was taken with the house today- so much so that Ray worried that maybe it was "too good for them." It's not.

Jim surprised me with a new digital camera after having already given me new riding pants and half chaps. The camera is fabulous- I just have to learn how to use it to it's full potential. 

Here we are on Anna and Ray's porch. Anna is in front of me, Jan (brother), is to my left and Jim and Ray to the right. Patty is holding the camera. Next time we'll figure out the self timer feature.

Happy birthday to me, happy new house to Anna and Ray.

Thank you Jim, Mom, Kuni, Jan, Patty, Anna, and Ray for today and for everything.