Jasper

This cutie showed up at Mom and Dad's house last week and adopted them. The only bad thing was that Mom and Dad were getting ready to leave on a week-long camping trip. I volunteered to come take care of the little guy while they were gone.

So, Daddy made him a bed in his storage building, gave him a bowl for food and a plastic bucket for water, and I went down each evening after work to let him out to play for awhile and made sure he had everything he needed.

So, the pup needed a name. Mom suggested "Trouble" because that's what he causes. *LOL* Daddy said that was too hard to yell if you need to get his attention. He suggested something short, like "Bob" or "Rex". When Mom told me this, I remarked, "He looks like a 'Jasper' to me." And so, he's been Jasper ever since.

Everything went well until Monday afternoon; when I arrived, a teenager who lives next door came through her yard with Jasper hopping along beside her! HE'D TUNNELED OUT OF THE STORAGE BUILDING!! It was hard to be stern with him, because he was so very proud of the beautiful tunnel he'd dug. I called Daddy, and he said to just move Jasper into the garage, which has a concrete floor. Even Jasper can't dig out of there. *LOL*

Everything's gone well since then. He's a really bright dog; yesterday for the first time I held up a small treat and said "Sit". And he SAT. No hesitation whatsover. He also knows "Down". If you say that and point to the ground, he lays on his tummy and stretches his front legs out in front of him. Really sharp.

It seems that someone just set him out....I've never been able to understand how anyone can do that. People never cease to amaze me.

But at least Jasper happened to find himself a good home.

Ever Have an EMG?

I had a new experience this morning....an EMG. Ever have one? It's an electromyography; here's a link to the Wikipedia entry that explains it: Click Here It wasn't painful, really, just...odd. It was like getting a shock while plugging in a lamp with your finger touching the prong, but not quite that extreme. I told the technician that it was more startling than painful.

End result was that I have lost the reflex in my right ankle, but otherwise the nerves in my legs and feet seem to be healthy. Now I'm waiting for my appointment with the doctor to find out exactly what we're going to be doing about that cyst in my back.

Doctors, Doctors, Doctors

The good news is that I really, really like my new primary care physician. He's attentive, intelligent, and has wonderful communication skills. We discussed my health issues at great length, and he put my mind at rest about several issues. I'll have lots of diagnostic tests to catch up on, of course, but I expected that.

He was able to tell me exactly the size of the cyst in my back. When I remarked that it's hard to believe something that small can cause this much grief, he said that it's just like real estate: "Location, location, location". *LOL*

Monday I saw the PA at the surgeon's office about the cyst and what we're going to do about it. She, also, was very intelligent and communicated very well. I was presented with several options for treatment and opted to try the simplest route first. I was put on a new medication which should help relieve the nerve pain. That will be a lovely change!

I started the medication Monday night; the initial reaction was that it allowed me to have a very restful night, which was just wonderful. I slept well again last night as well. I found that the medication doesn't make me groggy in the morning as I feared it might. In fact, both yesterday and today I woke before my alarm went off at 5:20.

That was especially amazing this morning, since I was awake until after midnight trying to finish up a knitted baby blanket. I'm not used to keeping those kinds of hours anymore! *L*

I didn't quite finish the blanket, but it's close enough that I can finish it quickly after work this evening and get it washed and dried and wrapped up and ready to go. It's turning out quite nicely, thank goodness.

Well, time to get ready for work. This is the last week of "flex time"; I've been working four 10-hour days Monday - Thursday since back in May. I'll really miss having my Fridays free. *sigh* Oh, well, it'll be back next May.

A New Doctor

I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow. This isn't usually a big deal, but this is a little different. Tomorrow I'll be going to a new primary care physician (PCP) for the first time. That always makes me a little edgy. Someone new will have to be told all about my health issues through the years. Someone new will have to hear the details of my family medical history. Someone new will have to be told which drugs I'm allergic to, which ones work better for me, and which ones I choose not to take because of the huge, depressing, and frightening list of possible side effects involved. Someone new will have to be told that even though I'm currently overweight, I'm not as overweight as I was a year ago. Yuck, yuck, YUCK.

I don't like talking about my health. It's not as good as it was 10 years ago, so I find it boring as a topic of conversation. I especially hate to deal with it at the moment, as I'm still battling leg pain. (I'm seeing another doctor, an orthopedic surgeon, about that on Monday.)

But, I must go see this new doctor tomorrow. You see, I haven't had a PCP in several years; I came to a parting of the ways with my old PCP and just quit going to see him. I'd been seeing an endocrinologist for my diabetes and actually hadn't needed a PCP until this problem with my leg (actually a problem with my back that makes my leg hurt) came up. So over the past few days I've been compiling a list of information and questions for my new doctor. I'll be relieved to get this initial visit out of the way.

I'm so relieved that I've felt well enough lately to get some knitting done. I wore my newly-finished sweater to work Monday and received many compliments. Now I'm working on a couple of gifts, then I want to work on the cushion cover I promised Mom. Then I need to start my holiday knitting. Can you believe it? HOLIDAY KNITTING? But if I don't get started soon, I won't get it finished in time.

I'm working on a baby blanket right now, and I expect to get a lot of work done on it while sitting in waiting rooms tomorrow and Monday. I used to resent the time I spent in waiting rooms; now I look on it as a chance to knit a few rows. *LOL*

I Finished My Sweater!

I finished my sweater yesterday and couldn't be more pleased. I was even happier when it still fit after I washed it! *LOL* I'm going to wear it to work today. I'll try to post a photo of it in the next few days.

I have a few other projects I MUST finish first (not the least of which is a cushion cover for Mom), but hope to cast on a winter-weight sweater soon. I just love this stuff.

A Presidential Visit and Sweater Progress

There was a real flurry of excitement in my neck of the woods yesterday....President Obama held a town meeting in a Kroger supermarket in Bristol. Above is an image of Air Force One that I captured from the webcam at our local airport. Only Kroger employees were invited to the town meeting, but lots of folks gathered along the route to welcome the President. Some, of course, took the opportunity to voice their opinions about the proposed health care reform. All in all, things seemed to go well. I expected delays getting home since my usual route was closed for security purposes, but the alternate route I used was fine. I got home at my usual time.

Mom and Dad saw Air Force One fly over their house on the way to the airport. Pretty neat, huh?

My leg is still hurting, but the pain is now manageable. I am looking forward to getting it FIXED though.

Last night I was able to knit for awhile before bedtime and got my sweater up to the point of the neck ribbing! Real progress! Now all I have to do is knit the neck ribbing, do the underarm grafting, and hide the ends. If all goes well, I should be able to finish it this weekend! *keeping fingers crossed*

A Referral....Finally

I finally got a referral to an orthopedic surgeon yesterday afternoon....my appointment is on August 10. AUGUST 10. A month. Sheesh.

Oh well, at least I know when I'm going to see someone, at least. Sunday and yesterday were bad days. Today's not great, but so far not quite as bad as yesterday. I bought myself a microwaveable hot pack to bring to work so I can put it under my thigh while I'm at my desk. It seems to be helping a bit.

Off now to eat a bit of lunch, then back to work!

It's All Relative

If I've learned anything in the past few weeks, it's that it's all relative. On a scale of 0 to 10, my pain level right now is at about 4. But Wednesday and Thursday were both 9's; yesterday was about a 7. So, relatively speaking, today is a good day. :-)

I've learned something else, though. If my day starts out as a 4, I'd better do anything that involves sitting at my home computer early in case my pain level goes up later in the day. I really MUST get myself a good computer chair for home. I'm thinking very seriously about getting one of those balance ball chairs. I think it would be good for my back; it would certainly be better than my dining room chair I'm current using!

Now for the latest health update: I finally got my MRI results Wednesday. I have a cyst in my back that's apparently pressing on my sciatic nerve. No WONDER I'm getting worse instead of better! So I'm now waiting for a referral to a neurologist. I called the doctor's office Thursday ("They're still working on your referral, but you should hear something soon.") and yesterday ("They're still working on your referral, but you should hear something today or Monday."). Yuck. Nothing quite like waiting.

So, today will be spent in the recliner with my phone, remote, knitting, and MeggieDog. I've already done what few household chores I have to do today other than feeding myself. Mom has taken care of that, as well, supplying me with yummy fresh green beans, cooked potatoes, squash casserole, fried squash, tomatoes, corn, and corn muffins. All I have to do today is heat and eat! Well, except for breakfast. I've not had that yet, but that will involve putting water in my wonderful electric kettle (a Christmas gift from Kris and Louise....how DID I ever live without it??) and making tea and instant oatmeal. Not a lot of effort involved in cooking breakfast at my place. :-)

And so, I'm off to "cook" breakfast and slide carefully into the recliner. Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Gray Monday

Back to work this morning after the holiday weekend. I woke with quite a bit of pain, but took a pain pill after I drove to work, so now I feel much better. I'd like to think that I might hear from the doctor today about my MRI results, but really don't expect to hear anything until tomorrow.

Friday was a rough day; I was in a lot of pain when I got up that day, too. Mom came and did the sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, and changing my bed, bless her heart. I'm still just not able to do that for myself. Even though she's very glad to do it for me and I really appreciate it, it just makes me nuts that I'm still not well enough to do it for myself. Hopefully that will change soon.

I'd improved enough Saturday that I went to Mom and Dad's to visit. Mom fixed a wonderful lunch with peanut butter pie for dessert. She hadn't made one of those in a long time, so it was a lovely treat. Our friends Joey and Beth dropped by late that afternoon for a visit on their way to their camper down on Cherokee Lake for the evening. It's always fun to see them. I've not been able to see them much lately because we usually get together for camping, and camping hasn't been an option yet this season. Phooey.

Yesterday I spent the bulk of the day in the recliner with my knitting. My knitting has fallen behind because some days I hurt too badly to sit upright, and I haven't figured out a way to knit while laying on my side. I did make some progress yesterday on a sweater I started a couple of months ago. I finished knitting the sleeves and joined them to the body. I knit about 1/2" more around the body. Another inch and I begin the decreases for the yoke. Hey, I might finish this sweater YET!!

Lunch break's nearly over, so I'd better get back to it. Hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth!

Sciatica Update

Well, after my last post things got progressively worse. My nine-day course of Prednisone was 3 tablets for 3 days, 2 tablets for 3 days, and 1 tablet for 3 days. I could tell when I went from 3 tablets to 2 that my pain level increased; when I went to 1 tablet, it got much worse. By Friday I was in so much pain that I called the Urgent Care center to have them go ahead and schedule the MRI. They called in a prescription for me for Celebrex to help with the pain in the meantime. The Celebrex has helped, but I'm still having a lot of pain. Now I'm also dealing with occasional numbness all the way down my leg.

Yesterday I went for my MRI. Now THAT was an experience. First of all, I'll tell you that I am VERY claustrophobic. So much so that if I'm in the car for longer than a half hour or so I have to open a window. So the thoughts of being confined in a tubular machine was not comforting. I knew the day was not going to be great when I woke at 4:00 am in pain and on the verge of a panic attack. I actually had to take a pain pill to be able to get dressed. Not a good start.

I went to the office and worked until 1:30 pm, then drove to the diagnostic center. I arrived at just past 2:00; my appointment was for 2:30, but I wanted to get there early enough to allow a little extra time to walk into the building in case it was crowded (and it was). I soon learned that because of some emergency procedures, the technician was running behind on his appointments. It was after 3:00 when they called me back. Sitting in the waiting room chair had really made my leg hurt much worse, and I could barely walk back to the dressing room. I changed into the provided gown and scrub pants and waited another 15 minutes.

By the time I got into the procedure room, I was really hurting. Then I saw the tube. I asked how long I had to be in it. 30 minutes. 30 MINUTES. *full body shudder* They gave me a signaling device to let them know if I had to come out of the tube and put a set of headphones on me that played elevator music in my ears. When he started moving me into the tube I closed my eyes and didn't open them the entire time I was in it. I knew that if I saw how close the tube was to me that I wouldn't be able to stand it.

So what's the procedure to test for the cause of excruciating pain probably caused by a back problem? We make you lay on your back, stick you in a confining noisy tube full of horrible noises, and won't let you move for 30 minutes. Sheesh.

Daddy had been in for an MRI they day before (rheumatoid arthritis), so I knew it would be uncomfortable. On top of the shoulder pain he had from having to be in a painful position for such a long time (his was 25 minutes), he said that he couldn't keep track of the time so he didn't know how much longer he had to tough it out. So, I knew to start counting songs they played in my ear. I figured that your average elevator music pop number probably runs around 3 minutes. So, I knew if I could make it through 10 songs, I'd be okay. One of the songs was "House of the Rising Sun", so I only had to make it through 8 songs. :-)

About 5 songs into the procedure the pain became nearly unbearable. The only thing that kept me in the tube was the knowledge that if I gave up, I'd just have to go through the whole thing again at another time. The pain in my leg was so bad when the technician brought me out of the tube that he had to help me sit up. I've never been so happy to have a test finished in my life.

And so, now I wait for results. Because of the holiday weekend, it will be at least Monday before the doctor gets the reports. I just hope they can DO something. I'm so tired of this.

Hanging In

I'm back at work today....still uncomfortable, but not suffering terribly. I'm just so tired. Probably because of the medication. I'm behind closed doors having my lunch and BOY could I use a nap! After I finish my sandwich I'll knit a few moments on a sock I keep here to work on during lunch breaks. That should occupy my head enough to keep me awake. :-)

"Temporary" is a Relative Term

Well, last Tuesday I was not only still suffering terrible pain from the tendonitis, but it was getting WORSE. So, after being in misery all day at work, I went straight to the Urgent Care center from the office. A doctor "examined" me there (asked a few questions, pressed painfully on the back of my leg), said it was a pulled hamstring and I just needed to wait awhile longer. To get me through the worst of the pain he prescribed pain pills and pain patches.

Wednesday morning I was worse....I thought it was probably because he'd pressed so painfully on the tendon. I went to the office, worked an hour to get out the most pressing issues, went back home, and went to bed. By Thursday I couldn't get out of bed. The pain was so bad that I couldn't move without bringing myself to tears.

Mom and Dad cut their Pigeon Forge visit a day short, came home, and took me back to Urgent Care. This time I saw a different doctor who actually gave me an examination. He checked my range of motion, listened thoughtfully while I described my pain, checked my reflexes, and asked if I'd mind if he ran x-rays. I told him I'd be THRILLED for him to run x-rays. When he did, he found some arthritic spurring on my spine and said that he feels sure that I have sciatica. He told me that he planned to put me on a pain medication, a muscle relaxer, and Prednisone for nine days. He further told me that if I didn't see a BIG improvement by Monday that I should call and tell him so he could schedule me for an MRI to check for disc damage in my back.

Because I'd actually had to use a walker to get into his office, he checked to see if someone had driven me in so he could give me a pain shot. Since Mom and Dad had brought me in, he had the nurse give me a shot of Torodol. This numbed the pain immediately and helped greatly. Unfortunately, when it began to wear off I found that it made me terribly ill and I spent the night with a blinding headache and nausea.

Friday was spent dealing with the remains of the Torodol reaction and sleeping from the pain meds and muscle relaxers.

The good news, though, is that when I woke up Saturday morning, I was MUCH better. I still had some pain in my leg, but nothing like what I've been going through.

And so the improvement, thankfully, continues. If only I'd known in April that it wasn't tendonitis, but sciatica. I could have been pain-free WEEKS ago. Oh well. At least I seem to be on the right track now.

Pain Hurts...But Is Temporary, At Least

I've just been running through my head, trying to figure out just how long my stupid tendonitis in my stupid leg has been hurting. (Bitter? ME? Naaaaaaah.)

As nearly as I can tell, it must have been along about the middle of April, which means it's coming up on 2 months now. The good news is that I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and learned that it really IS tendonitis, and nothing more serious. More good news is that I was doing everything right as far as treating it....except I just haven't been patient enough. *rolling eyes* The doctor said that it takes as long for tendonitis to heal as it takes for a broken bone. So, I still have a little waiting to do. At least now I know for sure what's going on. It still hurts, but it's a little easier to stand knowing that there's some light at the end of the tunnel.

I knitted a little while last night on my sweater. I hadn't picked it up in awhile, so it was nice to get back to some "zen knitting". Knit, knit, knit, knit, around and around and around. No counting, no thinking....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. I was able to start the second of the "Women's Murder Club" audiobooks. I just love that!

OH....I haven't told you about my new toy! My Zune finally arrived from Amazon last week, and I just adore it. The software they provide for the PC is very user-friendly and my favorite part is that I can sync the Zune to the computer WIRELESSLY. The Zune hasn't been connected by wire to the computer since the initial setup! (I recharge it with a wall charger.) Such fun!

I needed a way to carry it around the apartment while doing housework (or to keep it handy while knitting) so I knitted a little pouch for it with an i-cord long enough to go around my neck. I'll have to take a picture of it and post it so you can see. I think it turned out pretty well for an amateur knitter. *L*

Well, I have a friend coming in a moment so I can help her with a knitting problem during lunch, so I'll hush for the moment.

Monday, Monday

And so, after a good weekend, I return to the land of the office with no windows and fluorescent lighting. *sigh* Oh well. At least it's been relatively quiet this morning. I was very happy to see lunch time roll around though so I could lock my door and hide from humanity for 30 minutes. Anti-social? Me? Naaaaaah.

I'm still suffering a little leg pain (tendonitis is the pits), but it's much better than it's been at least. It really gave me a fit Friday night; I'd gone to Wal-Mart that morning, so I guess I just walked too much. Bummer. I spent some time at Mom & Dad's Saturday, then just stayed home with The Infamous MeggieDog yesterday. We spent a lovely afternoon napping, knitting, napping a little more, and watching the second DVD of Season Two of "Dexter". I really like that show. Not enough to subscribe to Showtime, but I really like it. I always liked Michael C. Hall in "Six Feet Under", so that's the reason I started watching "Dexter" on DVD. Fun stuff....quirky, which I love.

I'm only a couple of inches away from starting knitting sleeves for the sweater I'm knitting for myself. If I could stay awake, I'd be much farther along, but the knitting relaxes me so much that I doze off from time to time. Luckily I'm not under a deadline.

Well, time to unlock the office door and face the public once more....lunch break's over.

The Joy of Audiobooks

My newest stress-reliever has turned out to be knitting. I can be wound up like a clock spring when I get home from work, but within minutes of picking up my knitting I can feel the stress drifting away.

The only downside of knitting is that I found it difficult to watch television while knitting unless I happened to be watching something I'd already seen which didn't require much attention. I commented to a friend at work that I really needed to look into a way to purchase or rent audiobooks without investing a fortune. She said, "Have you checked the library?"

Lo and behold, when I went on the website of my local library, they not only have audiobooks, but they have a program by which I can check them out on the internet and download them directly to my computer at home. I don't even have to go to the library!

I've been listening to them on a little Sansa Express that I've had for a good while. But I've been using it so much lately that the navigation button has stopped working properly. I can't complain though....I only paid $20 for it when I bought it, and I've certainly got my money's worth out of it!

Because I'm enjoying the audiobooks so much I finally had justification to invest in a decent player. So, I've ordered a Zune; it's supposed to ship from Amazon tomorrow and I'm really anxious to get it. I just love new toys. :-)

These are the audiobooks I've listened to recently:

1. Patricia Cornwell's "Cause of Death" - one of the Kay Scarpetta series that I'd managed to miss somehow.
2. James Patterson's "1st to Die" - the first of the Women's Murder Club Series.
3. James Patterson's "You've Been Warned" - I listened to this one while waiting for "1st to Die" to become available.
4. Olive Ann Burns' "Cold Sassy Tree" - I love books based in the South; it's like listening to family. :-)
5. Shelby Foote's "The Civil War - Part 1" - I'll have to check this one out several times to get through it because it's so long, but I know it will be worth it.

There are lots of wonderful audiobooks available, so I'm sure I'll work my way through plenty of them while knitting away.

Back to Work....*drudge, drudge*

How was your Memorial Weekend? Mine was good, all in all. I'd bought a family pass to Bays Mountain Park with some of my Charter points, so Mom, Dad and I spent Friday afternoon there. The weather was good, not too hot, not too cool, and the newly refurbished Planetarium was really great. The only thing we missed doing was the barge ride. Even though we arrived an hour and a half before the ride, it had already been sold out for a hour by the time we got there. Drat. Oh, well, another day.

Saturday was spent doing a few things at home; unfortunately, Sunday was spent in bed with a migraine. *ick* Luckily, it was all gone by Monday morning, and I visited with Mom and Dad for a bit and ran some errands.

Off and on through the weekend I got in a little more knitting on my sweater. I think I'm getting pretty close to the second "try on" stage, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'm still on track.

I had to go back to work this morning, and I have to admit I grumbled a little when it came time to get out of bed. I've enjoyed those mornings off when even though I still awaken early I knew I didn't have to hit the floor running. Oh well....the weekend will be back before long. :-)

Delinquent Blogger....That's Me

I haven't INTENDED to neglect my blog, honest....but I'm still having occasional issues with the tendonitis in my leg which makes it difficult to sit at the home computer for more than just a few minutes at a time.

I had a project that was going to require several hours at the computer, and I was really beginning to wonder what I was going to do. Then it dawned on me that I have a wireless mouse and keyboard, so I was able to prop up in bed with pillows and make myself all comfy while working away on the project. What a relief!

Daddy's still battling tendonitis, too, and Mom is still recovering from her dental surgery. She's healing, but still too sore to chew "real food". We've all just kind of fallen apart all at once....*L* Hopefully things will improve soon.

I, myself, am happy that I have a four-day weekend....if my leg didn't hurt, I'd dance with joy! *LOL* I'm working four 10-hour days (every Friday off) for the summer, and Monday is Memorial Day. Ah, the unofficial start of SUMMER!

I've not been camping yet....sure hope that changes soon. I need a few days in the woods.

I've been knitting, and have a couple of pairs of socks on needles in various stages of completion. I've started working on a sweater and have knit about 7 inches on that as well. I just love relaxing and listening to the quiet "click, click" of the knitting needles as I work. Meggie likes for me to knit, too, because she knows that if I sit down with yarn and needles I'll be sitting STILL for awhile and she can catch some uninterruped nap time in my lap. *LOL*

Speaking of knitting, I think I'll close for now and work some more on my sweater while I watch the final two hours of "24". (I TiVo'd it Monday and haven't watched it yet.) Whether or not I bother to tune in next season will depend on how these last 2 hours play out. This season's Grandpa Jack (who's been dealing all season with the effects of being sick due to exposure to a bioweapon) has been a bit boring. I miss the old Jack Bauer who shot people in the thigh to make them talk and who muttered that immortal line, "I'm gonna need a hacksaw." *ROTFL*

Catch-Up Time

I've fallen way behind on my blog posting, so I'll try to catch up now. The much-anticipated camping trip has had to be postponed. Mom is going to have dental surgery, and wouldn't you know it? They scheduled it for Monday, May 11....the first day we were supposed to be camping. Oh well. There's a lot of good camping time left this summer.

Mom was scheduled to have her remaining teeth pulled and get a lower plate last week, but the dentist who was scheduled to do the work found that she has some deterioration of her jawbone (apparently due to Boniva....*grrrrrrrrrrr*) and said the extractions would have to be done by a dental surgeon for safety's sake. I swear, you just don't know what damage you can be doing to yourself by taking medication anymore.

Daddy and I have both been suffering some with apparent tendonitis. His is in his neck, mine is in the back of my right thigh. It was so bad yesterday that I had to cancel plans with friends because I couldn't stay on my feet long enough to get my clothes changed. I don't mind getting older, but I do mind FEELING older. I felt so bad yesterday that I couldn't even knit. And as much as I've knitted lately, that's BAD.

It's been raining a lot over the past few days, and that certainly hasn't helped any.

Kris and Louise have bought a house (hooray!) and are in the process of moving. While I don't envy them all the work and tension involved in moving, I'm very, VERY happy for their new homeowner status. So exciting! I can hardly wait to see pictures.

Well, lunch break's nearly over, so I'll close. I'm going to switch from ibuprofen to naproxen (Motrin to Aleve) to see if that helps my leg any more. If I don't get some relief soon, I'll have to break down and go to the doctor. Yuck.

Yorkie Sweaters

I finally felt well enough today (after a migraine yesterday) to unpin the Yorkie sweaters from the ironing board (I'd pinned them there to dry after I washed them) and photograph them. I was pleased with the way they turned out....sure hope they fit! The sweetie pie Yorkies I knit them for are Haley (top left), Heidi (top right), Holly (bottom left) and O'Reilly (bottom right).

I'm almost afraid to say it, but my leg feels better than it's felt in over 2 weeks. I've only taken 2 ibuprofen so far today. I want to try to wait until bedtime for another dose if I can. I think the migraine yesterday was aftereffects of having so much leg pain for so long. That was a real drag!

I'm getting excited about the upcoming camping trip now. The weather here today was HOT (high 80s); I hope it's warm when we're in the mountain. Last year the May trip was cold and rainy. We'll have to wait and see what happens this year. I'll take along both shorts and sweats...have to be ready for anything!

Feeling Better...Finally!

This morning I got out of bed and was actually on my feet before I realized that I'd stood up without squealing in pain for the first time in almost 3 weeks! Hurray!

I've had a few twinges during the morning, but nothing like it's been for these past few weeks. I really believe it's been a bout of tendonitis in the back of my right thigh. The reason I think that's what it's been is that it has been the same kind of pain that I get when plantar fasciitis flares up occasionally in my right foot. Owie. Hurts just to think of it.

While I'm glad to be feeling better, I want to be careful not to get it cranked up again, so I'll be going about my weekend chores with great care.

I do have a lot of things to do this weekend, though, mainly because every night this week I've come home from work, soaked in a hot bath to relieve the leg pain, eaten a little supper, rubbed on Absorbine Jr., piled into bed with a heating pad, MeggieDog, my knitting, and a remote control. Needless to say, the household drudgery is sitting there waiting for me. *L*