USMB Coffee Shop IV

[peach174]

Morning!

Tuesdays smile

 

[JakeStarkey]

Good morning, all. Off to the wind in 0 degree wind chill. Oh, joy.

 

[Foxfyre]

You can probably take my nana off the list now, Foxy. She still suffers the normal aches and pains of aging, but since moving into a hostel, she is more happy and is being well cared for.

Auntie Marj can stay on indefinately - I saw her a couple of months ago, the dementia is so bad she doesn't know where she is or even who I am. She says only a few sentences over and over, but her heart is good and she keeps on truckin', despite nearly dying several times over the past couple of years.

Happy to hear Nana is doing better, Noomie. There does come a point in all our lives when we just shouldn't live alone anymore, and sometimes our needs are too much for a limited family to handle. Years ago when the whole family just sort of spread out a bit but almost all lived close and were available to pitch in and help each other, taking care of the difficult aging relatives was just part and parcel of it all. But it can be too much for the small family, so it is wonderful that there are competent and caring facilities that can take over in cases like Auntie Marj. Certainly she stays on the list as do you and yours who have the tougher duty of dealing with it.

 

[Foxfyre]

We are under a winter weather advisory today with some blowing snow possible--not seing it yet as I see bright blue skies outside my window, but it is cold and not expected to get above freezing for the first time this winter. And there are some snow clouds in the distance. Beginning tonight we will be under a winter storm warning with significant snow possible. I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[WelfareQueen]

Mrs. BBD has left to go quilting at the church with the rest of the hens that group up there on Tuesdays to quilt. They all gather there at 0900 and stay until 1700 working on a quilt, chatting, and whatever else it is that they do there. No big plans here for today. It's cold outside so most likely Taco and I will drink us some coffee, mess around on the computer for a bit, and take a nap in the recliner a little bit later on. It's a good day for staying inside near the fire - also maybe have a nip of Jack Daniels a little later this afternoon.

Sounds like a perfect day.

 

[alan1]

Everyone stays on the list until there has been no report for so long there doesn't seem any point, GW, and of course your daughter's beloved friend will stay there as long as it is helpful. Received a call yesterday from a lady who is two months post her husband of 54 years death and she seemed desperate to talk to somebody. She picked my name off the internet associated with a Senior Saints activity and I spent maybe an hour with her on the phone. She has never attended our church but I am hoping she will where she will find the support she needs. And if that takes she would find a lot of empathy and support in Senior Saints too. She doesn't live far from me. Sounds like a very lovely person but having a tough time right now.

The updates we are getting on Ernie's friend Max are very encouraging indeed. I don't know if the 'list' has helped in that situation or not, but I sure wouldn't risk taking him off of it for awhile.

Dajjal, what about Pix? Any news on that situation?

I'm headed to bed earlier than usual tonight and probably can't sleep right away, but I'm trying to watch the marathon movie "Texas" and I might get through a good bit of it. So....

Good night darlinks. I love you guys.

And we're still keeping vigil for

Harper (Save's granddaughter),
Sunshine,
Pogo’s friend Pat and special comfort for Pogo,
TK, and TK's grandma,
Spoonie, Ringel, 007, Sheila and Hombre's sore backs,
Sherry’s Mom,
Pix,
Becki and Becki’s hubby,
Noomi’s Auntie Marj and Nana,
Complete healing for Mrs. Ringel and the Ringels in difficult transition,
Ollie and Mrs. O for a complete recovery,
Mr. H and his friend,
GW's daughter's friend Sachenda,
Ernie's friend and colleague, Max,
Boedicca's mom for healing and relief from pain,
All of us and those we care about who are looking for work,
Safe travels for those traveling,
All who are dealing with colds and flu,
And all others we love and hold in concern.

And the light is on awaiting the return of Oddball, Sunshine, Jughead, Sheila, and Becki and all the others who have been MIA lately. We hope everyone is okay.

P.S. Sometimes in the editing of the vigil list or when I have switched computers, somebody gets dropped that is supposed to be on it. This will always be inadvertent and if ya'll would call it to my attention, it would be much appreciated.

I see that my name is off the list.
For those of you that don't know, I sent Foxy a PM letting her know I had become much better and that she could remove me.

Here is a quick timeline refresher and followed by my latest update...............
Mid-October I threw out my lower back and was experiencing heavy pain in the lower back. My primary care physician prescribed 2 weeks hydrocodone and muscle relaxers, and told me to come back in two weeks if I was still experiencing trouble.
After a week, everything was cleared up and I stopped taking the meds. I never went for a follow-up because I felt fine.
Early November I started experiencing mild to moderate pain in my left hip, mostly when moving from a sitting position to a standing one. Some days worse than others, but usually after standing or walking for 5 to 10 minutes the pain was mostly gone. Occasional Ibuprofen helped.
The Friday evening the day after after Thanksgiving, the hip pain became constant. I could not get comfortable that night in any position and no matter what I did.
The next Saturday morning, the hip pain was extreme, I couldn't walk or put any weight onto my left leg. I struggled to my medicine cabinet for a leftover hydrocodone and muscle relaxer, hoping to knock back the pain, planning to wait until Monday to see my primary care physician. Prior to taking the meds, the pain was a good solid 9 on a scale from 1 to 10. Thirty minutes later when the drugs kicked in the pain was reduced to a 7.5. I also noticed that I had skin numbness in my upper left leg. I realized that I couldn't go the entire weekend hurting that much.
I hadn't been to an ER since I was 19, but I went that day. The ER doctor said the symptoms indicated a back problem, not a hip problem. X-rays showed lower back disk degeneration. They gave stronger pain meds (10 tablets of Oxycontin), oral steroids and referred me to an orthopedic. It was a week and half until I saw the orthopedic.
The orthopedic said all symptoms indicated a herniated disk pressing on my spinal cord. Constant pain was down to about about a 4, with jumps up to about a 6 or 7 when I moved from laying/sitting up to standing, then back to a 4 after standing or walking for a few minutes. The numbness in my left leg was now down the entire left side of my left leg and into my foot and toes. It took another half week to schedule the MRI, then 2 days later for the orthopedic to review it with me.
The doctor was right, the MRI showed a herniated disk pushing into my spinal cord. The pain in my hip was still almost constant, but not as severe. Oddly enough, I was also beginning to experience random pains in other areas of my left lower extremities. One day my foot would hurt, the next day the foot would be fine but my knee or calf muscle would hurt. I couldn't quite wrap my mind around my foot being numb and in pain at the same time. We opted for a steroid shot in the lower back right next to the herniated disk and spinal cord. That was about another week and a half away.

The latest update.
Yesterday was my scheduled shot appointment. As of yesterday, the pain in my hip was no longer constant and when it flared up it was merely a 1 or 2 on a scale of 1 to 10. I think the oral steroids were helping with that. The numbness was still there in my leg and foot and that bothered me. I was losing some motor control in in my left foot. I was noticing that while walking, occasionally, my left foot was "landing wrong".
The shot was scheduled as out-patient. Because steroid shots are pretty painful and the shot was taking place right next to my spinal cord, the doctor recommended anesthesia ( a nerve block) just to prevent me from making any sudden moves while a needle was right next to my spinal cord. Interestingly enough, the nerve block is a general anesthesia, not local. They said I would be conscious the entire time, but likely wouldn't remember the procedure. Highly likely side effect of the shot could be numbness in both lower legs for 4 to 8 hours (heck, I already have numbness in the left one). No driving for 12 hours. Spend the night with a family member who can observe me for possible complications from the anesthesia or shot. I had arranged for my daughter to drive me, then I would spend the night at her house.

I got the shot about 3:30 yesterday afternoon. I remember the entire procedure and it was pain free. By 4:00 my daughter and I were leaving the surgery center. I hadn't seen my friend Nancy, her husband Blair, and their kids for a few weeks. They are also friends of my daughter and son-in-law. Nancy and her family also haven't seen my daughter for a few weeks, nor her new puppy, so my daughter had arranged for them to come by the house after my procedure. Nancy said, yeah, we'll come by if he's feeling ok. I felt fine. I was having no adverse side affects and sent her a text to come by.

Nancy and her family had just spent the weekend visiting family at the coast. They arrived with fresh oysters. Blair shucked about 2 dozen oysters for us to eat raw on the half shell and about another 2 dozen were steamed. My daughter had Brie, 2 kinds of caviar and a fantastic artichoke dip left over from Christmas dinner. The kids and my son-in-law don't like any of that stuff, so the rest of us enjoyed the heck out of it. Oh, and my daughter's half sister from my ex-wife, was also visiting from out of town. I don't get to see her to often. She is kind of my quasi emotionally self adopted 3rd daughter because her real father is a total piece of shit. Her and I have sort of developed a quasi father/daughter relationship over the years. It was good to see her again even though I just saw her at Christmas.

10:00pm rolled around and I noticed something. The numbness in my left leg from my hip to slightly above my knee was almost gone. By 10:30 the numbness in the rest of my leg was reduced. This morning, the numbness was even more reduced in my lower leg but not gone. It is gone from my hip down to about 3 inches above my knee I'm well on the path to recovery already.

Life is good, and getting better.
When I got home today, I found my latest artifact had arrived (my Christmas gift to myself).
It is a fist carved out of bone from the Moche culture out of Peru. The Moche civilization existed from 100 to 800 AD. A fist carved in this manner represents royal rule/power and human sacrifice. It does have some slight damage and whatever was inlaid as the fingernails has long been removed but hey, it is at least 1200 years old, so I wouldn't expect perfection.

 

[Foxfyre]

Great report Alan. It is always reassuring to know that things can and do get better.

 

[Foxfyre]

Well Hombre and I are off to the AWANA luncheon at the church. Each year between Christmas and New Year's Day the AWANA kids treat us Senior Saints to a great meal that they cook, serve at our table, and clean up afterward plus they entertain us with music and games and a really good time. See ya'll later on this afternoon.

 

[JakeStarkey]

Have fun, Foxfyre you and your groom for life!

We have had wind chill here as low as -6. I don't if the lower storm is as powerful headed towards you. Hope not.

 

[gallantwarrior]

Wow, Alan, that was epic. Good that the treatment seems to be working. Better that the family came together to support and help out. Hopefully, your recuperation continues apace and the New Year finds you fit as a fiddle and raring to go. Good luck.
Foxy, my daughter used to go to AWANAs when she was younger. She loved the activities. I was glad she had found a nice group of peers to interact with. This was during our home-schooling phase, so having some youngsters her own age to socialize with was great. Better than Boys and Girls Club, where I busted my niece making out with some young man in the "teen room".
Weather-wise, I read this morning that if the current prognostication holds to the end of this year, 2014 will be a year without sub-zero temps in Anchorage. We got down to zero one day in Feb, but nothing less than that.

 

[Foxfyre]

Back from the luncheon that was lovely and a lot of fun. The AWANA kids are almost all homeschooled kids and they are amazing. They prepared and served us a wonderful salad with homemade dressings, a choice of four great hearty soups, and loaded baked potatoes and homemade pie that was excellent plus the pleasure of their lively company during dinner. Then there was after dinner entertainment of instrumental and vocal renditions, word games, plus some creative videos they had made themselves. It was great!

 

[Foxfyre]

Wow, Alan, that was epic. Good that the treatment seems to be working. Better that the family came together to support and help out. Hopefully, your recuperation continues apace and the New Year finds you fit as a fiddle and raring to go. Good luck.
Foxy, my daughter used to go to AWANAs when she was younger. She loved the activities. I was glad she had found a nice group of peers to interact with. This was during our home-schooling phase, so having some youngsters her own age to socialize with was great. Better than Boys and Girls Club, where I busted my niece making out with some young man in the "teen room".
Weather-wise, I read this morning that if the current prognostication holds to the end of this year, 2014 will be a year without sub-zero temps in Anchorage. We got down to zero one day in Feb, but nothing less than that.

Will that be a first for Anchorage, GW? At least since they've been keeping records?

 

[Foxfyre]

The weather is wierd here right now. It appears to be absolutely cloudless from horizon to horizon in all directions except for a little fog on the upper mountain. But you cannot see distant mountains such as Jemez--50 miles north of us--or Mt. Taylor, 70 miles west of us, both usually prominent on clear days. So there is something out there. We are still under a winter weather advisory with possibility of light snow through tomorrow morning and then a winter storm watch kicks in tomorrow through Thursday morning. If the storm track comes across us that could be upgraded to a warning. Again I'll believe it when I see it, but I am just sensing in my bones that a change is coming.

 

[gallantwarrior]

Wow, Alan, that was epic. Good that the treatment seems to be working. Better that the family came together to support and help out. Hopefully, your recuperation continues apace and the New Year finds you fit as a fiddle and raring to go. Good luck.
Foxy, my daughter used to go to AWANAs when she was younger. She loved the activities. I was glad she had found a nice group of peers to interact with. This was during our home-schooling phase, so having some youngsters her own age to socialize with was great. Better than Boys and Girls Club, where I busted my niece making out with some young man in the "teen room".
Weather-wise, I read this morning that if the current prognostication holds to the end of this year, 2014 will be a year without sub-zero temps in Anchorage. We got down to zero one day in Feb, but nothing less than that.

Will that be a first for Anchorage, GW? At least since they've been keeping records?

They're saying it will be the first year ever with no sub-zero temps. Usually a lack of snow means a deep freeze, but not so this year (so far). One low-snow year, the ground froze underneath my basement and it was cold there, tough to warm up. Around here, when you buy property, you always ask how deep the frost line is. At my Willow place, it's typically about 48". There are even patches of permafrost still around the Anchorage bowl, too.
They built our first WalMart on one of those areas of permafrost. Of course, whoever they hired to design the place came from the Lower 48 and the design was pretty much cookie-cutter WalMart. As soon as they heated the place, it started subsiding into the melting permafrost. They had to tear up the entire slab and start over! Thawing, digging out the substrate, and back filling with gravel and shale was required to stabilize the foundation. Most Alaskans were amused. The infiltration of big box stores began with that WalMart and we really didn't want that here. Now, Anchorage looks a lot like any other mid-sized town in Murka.

 

[Ringel05]

The weather is wierd here right now. It appears to be absolutely cloudless from horizon to horizon in all directions except for a little fog on the upper mountain. But you cannot see distant mountains such as Jemez--50 miles north of us--or Mt. Taylor, 70 miles west of us, both usually prominent on clear days. So there is something out there. We are still under a winter weather advisory with possibility of light snow through tomorrow morning and then a winter storm watch kicks in tomorrow through Thursday morning. If the storm track comes across us that could be upgraded to a warning. Again I'll believe it when I see it, but I am just sensing in my bones that a change is coming.

Right now it's the cold with wind chills, the temp is 0 degrees and we picked up another 3 inches of snow yesterday and last night, might get more tonight. It's supposed to be -10 degrees tonight, Fishers Peak is completely obscured and visibility is roughly 1/2 mile.

 

[JakeStarkey]

Back from gym and shopping. That wind has made it miserable for sure.

GW, that is amazing about those temps, just amazing. If that stays true, then when the melt comes you are going to be in a sea of mud.

 

[gallantwarrior]

Back from gym and shopping. That wind has made it miserable for sure.

GW, that is amazing about those temps, just amazing. If that stays true, then when the melt comes you are going to be in a sea of mud.

True that! Alaska is the first place I ever experienced swamps on steep hillsides. And then there's muskeg, where the vegetation has overgrown a pond or other body of still water. It's like walking on a waterbed and you have to be wary of open leads.

 

[Sherry]

Mrs. BBD has left to go quilting at the church with the rest of the hens that group up there on Tuesdays to quilt. They all gather there at 0900 and stay until 1700 working on a quilt, chatting, and whatever else it is that they do there. No big plans here for today. It's cold outside so most likely Taco and I will drink us some coffee, mess around on the computer for a bit, and take a nap in the recliner a little bit later on. It's a good day for staying inside near the fire - also maybe have a nip of Jack Daniels a little later this afternoon.

Meet me at the bar.

 

[Spare_change]

We are under a winter weather advisory today with some blowing snow possible--not seing it yet as I see bright blue skies outside my window, but it is cold and not expected to get above freezing for the first time this winter. And there are some snow clouds in the distance. Beginning tonight we will be under a winter storm warning with significant snow possible. I'll believe it when I see it.

We had a winter advisory here .....

STAY INSIDE! IT'S TOO FREAKIN' COLD!!

Is that an advisory, or a winter warning?

 

[alan1]

Wow, Alan, that was epic. Good that the treatment seems to be working. Better that the family came together to support and help out. Hopefully, your recuperation continues apace and the New Year finds you fit as a fiddle and raring to go. Good luck.

Thanks GW, I'm already feeling pretty darned fit, appreciate the well-wishes.

I don't watch TV, but while staying with my daughter she had a program on the TV called (I think) Buying Alaska. We watched 3 episodes. It made me think of you.
The gist of the show was that it was about people that had gotten tired of the rat-race in the lower 48 and had visited Alaska or moved to Alaska and were looking to buy houses in the-middle-of-nowhere Alaska. As if Alaska wasn't already remote, these people are looking for remote Alaska.
Many of the homes the real estate agents are showing them don't have running water or indoor plumbing, they are on or near a lake and that's where you get your water. Electricity is provided by generator or solar panels. No cell phone coverage or even hard-wired phone for some, only radio for contact. Truly off the grid. Not even a road to get to some of the houses, ATV trail only, not even wide enough for a 4WD truck. I'd be hard pressed to even consider spending a summer in place like that and I like getting out and camping for a few days or a week, there is no way I'd spend an Alaskan winter living like that. OK, there is no way I'd spend a winter in Alaska period, but in remote nowheresville Alaska without running water, electricity and internet, capital F*** NO. Those people are insane, I don't care how good the fishing is.