Exercise – Page 2 – Sharon Lee, Writer

In which adulting is hard

So, yesterday was a dead loss, which I mostly spent huddled on the couch, regretting my birth. Man, these are some fun meds. The Crack Coon Cat Nursing Team sprang into action and, around about suppertime, I was feeling closer enough to the thing to actually finish my WorldCon survey, and edit the interview.

Lest you think they’re slackers, the CCCNT also took the night shift; at one point, I woke up to find Sprite draped across my stomach, Belle curled on my shoulder, and Trooper stretched out along the length of me. It must have been cozy, because I went right back to sleep.

This morning, we appear to have reached an accord, whole-body-wise, and! the swelling and redness have definitely diminished. We’re not out of the woods yet (and still six days to go with the meds), but apparently we’ve found the path.

Obviously, there will be no pickleball for me, today. I had held out some idea that I would go to the gym and putz about (gently) with the strength machines, but…I will err on the side of conservatism, stay home, catch up the work I should have done yesterday, and get on with today’s business, most of which can be done from the Comfy Chair.

I do need to call my boss at the hospital, explain the situation, and figure out how we want to handle my Wednesday shift.

. . .and I think that’s all the news from the Cat Farm for the near past. Hope y’all have a good start to your week.

Pharaoh’s army got drowned, O Mary, don’t you weep

Let’s see…

Yesterday, we caucused. It was, IMHO, a disorganized mess run by people who didn’t think that Any Explanation of the process was necessary. It got the job done, eventually, and thank ghod. Our caucus gave the nod to Bernie Sanders, as, I learn this morning, did the majority of Maine caucuses.

One of the pieces of information that was shared during yesterday’s meeting was that reports from the South indicate that three times as many Republicans are voting (via primary and caucus) as are Democrats. One wonders if this is a result of the gerrymandering Republicans have done over the last few years, along with the restrictions on voting times for populations which are known to vote Democrat, or, if, yanno, Democrats really are that complacent.

In Maine, we have reports of people standing in lines for three hours outside the caucus site in Portland, and of high turnouts in many towns. Which is good, but New England can’t balance the entire South.

If your primary or caucus is still in the future, please vote. Thanks.

This morning, I played pickleball and took my first injury: a floor burn on my right knee, result of diving for a ball — and continuing in a floorward direction, after I had missed.

Stoopid gravity.

I was also, for one game, fourth in a team three women who “play the net,” a philosophy of pickleball of which I had been entirely unaware until this morning.

“Why are you standing all the way back there?” my partner wanted to know. “Don’t you want to play the net?”

“No,” I said. “I’m so long, I’ll get fouled in the net if I get right up on it like that.”

“The *experts* all play the net. When you watch pickleball, you see that, don’t you?”

“Ah, no. I don’t. I don’t watch pickleball, except when I’m here. Many of my partners have had Strong Opinions about where I should stand, no one has suggested I should ‘play the net.’ And, honestly, I don’t aspire to be an Expert Pickleball Player. I want to have fun and give good game. Those are my goals.”

My next game, with a different partner and different opponents, we all played mid-court and long, which is what I’ve more or less become used to doing.

So! I’m home now, having played five games of pickleball. I need to ice my knee, I suppose, in the interests of Proactiveness, and then I need to sort some laundry before it overflows the hamper and consumes the bathroom.

Hope y’all are having a pleasant Monday.

Today’s blog title brought to you by Pete Seeger by way of Bruce Springsteen: Oh, Mary, Don’t you Weep. Here’s your link.

In which there is weather

Well. . .nuts.

It snowed on the overnight — wet, gloppy snow, which then changed to driving sleet-and-rain, the so-beloved Wintery Mix. We woke up, early, because Tai Chi class on Wednesday, to a driving rain. The surface of the driveway was a kind of mud slurry, iced with brittle snow, and when the town plow went by, the blade was pushing a wave that would have been credible off of The Big Island.

Since I don’t believe in winter road surfing, I decided to give Tai Chi a miss and practice my small dance here at home.

However, today is also Hospital Day, so, after breakfast, when the rain stopped, I again surveyed the situation.

Long story short, the car is presently stuck in the mud. This situation will rectify itself overnight, when it’s supposed to get cold again, but for right now…the writer is in.

The cats have declared a Snow Day and are lobbying hard for everybody to go back to bed. Steve is currently under assault from Belle and Scrabble, who are practicing the deadly Synchronized Snoring.

Speaking of Belle, last night’s dream (she was sleeping on my stomach for a while), concerned a Big Jumble of people and furniture; if I had to guess, I’d say that we were living in shared housing of some kind, and our apartment/rooms were going to be painted, so we had to move all our stuff to a holding area. In the process of doing that, and relocating our four cats, I discovered in our space, a plush white cat with grey cloud markings, black tips on her ears, and a little grey mustache perfectly placed under her pink nose. She was very friendly, and obviously “knew” me. I was confused, and texted Steve, “Do we have FIVE cats?” Very vivid, especially the feeling that the cat knew me.

Well.

Here’s the quality of help I currently have to call on in my office:

Well, now, where was I?

Kineo the Wonder Subaru, Saga of, The.

Right.

Monday afternoon, the wrecker (aka “tow truck”) dispatched from Charlie’s Collision Center picked up Kineo and transported him to Augusta. Yesterday morning, Doug called to assure me that the frame was not bent, that the truck, being so much taller than the car actually worked in our favor. Yes, the hood is bent in half, and a new radiator and A/C and headlights, and other this ‘n that’s are needed, but all is eminently fixable. I expect new paint is in Kineo’s future, or possibly the all of the front end panels will be removed and replaced. I don’t know how modular cars are nowadays.

Doug was going to order in various parts yesterday afternoon, and figured to have the repairs done in about two weeks. Am still waiting for the insurance companies to come to some sort of accommodation in re a rental car. If I don’t hear from one or t’other of them this afternoon, I will call first thing tomorrow morning.

So, the Kineo situation seems to be in hand, insofar as it can be in hand.

This morning I got up early and motored on out to Tai Chi, by myself, Steve still laboring under a really unruly cold. Class has grown from four to ten, which is great. Today, we did warm-ups and then learned Cloud Hands. I say “learned”. Let me be clear — I can do the hands part and I can do the feet part. Putting them together — ain’t happening.

Well, that’s why it’s called “practice,” I guess. Will try to work on the problem here at home. At least I didn’t fall on my nose. Not Falling on Nose being my benchmark for most things.

After Tai Chi, I went down the hall and picked up a game of pickleball. It was a great game, despite I’m still learning. At one point, one of the other team kicked the ball ‘waaaaaaaay high into the air — apparently this is her Sekrit Move. And I dropped back and unfolded, as one does, raising the paddle over my head, and knocked it back at her.

“I didn’t think you were that tall!” she said.

Yeah, my partner and I lost, but only by one point! Go, us!

Looking ahead, and assuming that our weather remains sunny and bright, while the mid-coast is being buried by the upcoming snowstorm, I’ll do pickleball Friday and Monday, then Tai Chi on Wednesday, then the volunteer gig starts at the hospital (there will not be any stories about the volunteer gig, because Privacy, but I know y’all were wondering if I was going through with it). I’ll be able to play pickleball on Friday next week (again, weather permitting).

But wait, there’s more!

Since I now am a scheduled volunteer at the hospital, I qualify for “free” membership at the local gym, but! I have to go (to gym) six times a month. So, I’m looking at pickleball: M/F; Tai Chi/volunteer gig: W; gym (mostly using the treadmill, I’m thinking): T/H.

And that? Is a full week.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to stick to this schedule.

And, now, having laid out the pattern of my life for the Next While, it’s time to do the laundry.

Here’s a picture of Belle, on the sofa: