Saturday, June 6, 2015

Day 8 of the Facebook Fast: Chores & Pains

I was up by 8 this morning and had some coffee and started the fountain on the patio just to hear the water. It is too bright and hot on the patio in the mornings, but I could stand and watch it for a bit.

Believe me when I say it was a pain. I hurt everywhere, particularly my gluteus maximus. I think kneeling over in the flower bed yesterday and climbing ladders and weed trimming did a number on me. My arms hurt. My neck hurt. My back hurt. My legs hurt. My butt hurt.

And they still hurt tonight.

By 9 a.m. I was in the yard using the weed trimmer to cut the rest of the weeds. I still have the railroad area and back of the house to do. My arms were hurting so I stopped. And my behind is not happy with me.

You'd think my glutes get a good workout, sitting all day but apparently that is not the case. Let me tell you, weeding your flower bed is the best workout your butt will ever get. It will give a huge pain in your neck, too.

At 1 p.m. today I attended the River City Writers' meeting. That is always fun because I get to see the other writers. Once that was done I came home and started on the mower.

Dave and Mike replaced the blades on the mower and I hope will be able to do the oil and filters tomorrow. I also need to do some more planting. There are other things I wanted to get done before Dave left, but I will have to just do them after he's gone. It was a good thing he was here to change those blades. Mike's leg is still a  problem and removing the deck, cleaning it, replacing the blades, and putting it back took both of them. I could not have helped Mike.

It is after 10 p.m. now and I'm still sore all over after a hot shower. I can hardly get up and down. It is amazing how much work you butt does when you try to get out of a chair, climb steps or get in and out of cars. It is awful.

Still, I feel better knowing those blades are fixed. I just wish we'd got more done. I know eventually I may be able to do the weed trimming without help but at the moment, it is really difficult. I've lost so much muscle mass and just have no strength. The work also causes severe joint pain after I do it. So, even if I get the strength, my joint problem persist. I'm not sure that the butt pain is also attributable to my walk on Thursday with Sarah. We walked 1.7 miles. Then, I worked on Friday morning pulling weeds. So, the combination is probably to blame.

I'm at Day 8 of the Facebook Fast. I hardly miss it these days. I miss talking to family and some of my friends. However, today, I got my report card from Rescue Time. My productive time so far this month is 62% higher than it was last month. Can you believe that? Sixty-two percent more productive in one week than I was in the whole month.

So, I'm letting myself feel good about this. If I don't hear from folks, well, I've been here before. When Jerry died, people stopped calling after a six weeks. There are people I haven't heard from in nearly 7 years. I'm not hunting them down. I found new friends. A

Thank you for sticking with me. 

4 comments:

  1. Sorry to hear your pain is so bad. Gardening can be jolly hard work. I know your garden is quite large. Would it be possible to divide it up into sections to make things easier? I'm thinking of a small section near the house where you like to sit that you keep very maincured with lots of lovely bright flowers maybe in pots. Then a section beyond that for Sarah to play in, laid to lawn, not too big so it doesn't take long to mow. In fact if it wasn't too big you could do it with a lightweight electric model. Then all the rest you leave to become a wild life garden. You could throw a load of clover seed over it to attract bees so then you would be doing a good thing. I think that is what I would do rather than spend my days worrying about how I was going to cope and the giving myself severe pain in the process.

    Hope Sunday is a better day for you.

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  2. Actually, a few times I've thought about a "wild garden" but in the city, you can't let your lawn got to pot, no matter what you have planted. They require you to keep the grass below 9 inches unless it is flowers or a food garden. Then you just have to keep it tidy.

    Really, it wasn't a large section. There area I weeded is in the front right at the porch and only about 5 feet long and two feet wide. That's where I plant flowers and my moonflower vines.

    So, it wasn't a lot but that's how this kind of thing does me. I didn't do any gardening this year. I told my sister it just wasn't worth the money it cost and physically, I simply couldn't do it this time. The lawn can be done on the riding mower, which I really enjoy. The areas the mower can't reach have to be cut with a trimmer and that is very hard on my back, arms, and hands. They fine you if it gets out of hand. I could let the track side go. I have in the past. But it becomes a nest for mice and other creatures that like a house close by to enter. ;) And heavy growth makes that area very dark at night. When we moved here is was a local drug hangout. We cleared it up. The railroad won't. They spray and chop everything down and leave it on my property. So, in the end, it is easier if I just trim it.

    I am opting for prennial flowers as well. This year, some returned so I don't have to replant, just thin out.

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  3. I think Jilly has some good ideas there - are lawns required or could you use some ground cover instead? Could take a year to complete the project, but lower maintenance after that. Ajuga makes great ground cover with lovely flowers in the spring. I'm thinking of putting some mint along our walk in front - between the railroad ties and the front steps - if the over grow it wouldn't be tall, and would smell great!

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  4. It’s good that you’re able to do things around the house despite your pains. I hope it was only limited to some sore muscles afterwards. I hope the pain doesn’t flare up often, and that it doesn’t deter you from your usual routines. Anyway, I hope you’re feeling well nowadays. Take care!

    Shanell Custer @ Sage Health and Wellness Clinic

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