Say What?

I've been distracted with some outdoor stuff lately so my stained glass hobby has climbed into the backseat—for how long I don't know. I was hoping to craft at least a few more sun-catchers before I close up shop until next winter but the lure of being outdoors is quite strong now. Yes, I've been getting out for some rides and some walks. It's been nice to feel the sun on my face again. I had my first ride on my gravel bike on Saturday. I did a 54 mile (87 km) loop out beyond Jordan . The ride was mostly just to get a feel for my bike and to dial in my position on it. I was able to find some gravel along the way so that was a bonus. It's a fun bike and will easily rival my fat-bike in that department. Why a gravel bike? Well, it opens up more choices for riding. It's difficult to ride my road bike on gravel so now I can venture down roads I might otherwise avoid for fear of the pavement turning to gravel. I could use my fat-bike for gravel but it's not g...

I'm done with my burst of prednisone and the pain in my leg that I was taking it for. Honestly, I think I could've done without the drug. I'm quite sure the pain would've gone away on its own. I was only on it for one week but it was enough to shut down my adrenal gland, where cortisol is produced. I finished an indoor training ride on Tuesday and commented in my notes about the ride that my heart rate was much higher than it usually is for the level of watts I was putting out. Happily, Thursday night's ride assured me that my adrenal gland was getting back up to speed as I compared my heart rate and watts. They were much more in the range of where I'm used to seeing them. I figure it took 5 days for my adrenal gland to begin producing cortisol again. I spent some time yesterday  transferring the seat and handlebar settings on my road bike over to my gravel bike. They're not exact (nor should they be) but I think I've got the settings pretty close to ...

My workouts have been put on hold while my back recovers from some sort of injury, most likely related to snow removal. I'm not exactly sure what I did but I've never had a back injury quite like this one. It began one week ago and while it felt a little sore at first it became much worse over the next few days. I call it a back injury but it mostly presents itself as a searing pain in my left buttock and down toward my left calf. I went into an orthopedic urgent-care Sunday morning where they took x-rays. The images showed nothing out of the ordinary, suggesting it was some sort of soft tissue injury. I'm on a burst of prednisone and a muscle relaxer. I'm feeling better today but I'm not quite ready to resume my workouts—maybe tomorrow. I need to strengthen my core—it's that simple. My Subaru Forrester turned 5 years old this week just as its odometer racked up 50,000 miles (80,000 km). It's been a good car and I'm happy with it but if I had to choos...

I'm being a bum today. I'd planned to ride my indoor trainer but I'm sorta just fine doing nothing except for catching up on my blog. Between stained glass projects and keeping our driveway cleared of snow , I've been quite busy. It doesn't appear that there's much of a break in this snowy period we find ourselves, but at least we're breaking snowfall records. It would be a shame to get this much snow and walk away with nothing to show for it. Just for fun, here's a look back at  two years ago and here's from two days ago . Yes, I'm very proud of my snowbanks—thanks for asking. I finished the stained glass window to the left yesterday (the one in the middle). There's something calming to me when looking at the lines of these windows. I suppose it speaks to the Virgo in me and my desire for things to be orderly. I won't try and explain it any more than that—you either get it or you don't. Here's a link to it in more detail on m...

Tammy has made significant progress in her hip replacement surgery recovery. The first 5 days post-op were more difficult than either of us anticipated they would be but she's been making steady improvement. She's graduated from a walker to crutches and now to simply one crutch. We expect that she'll be abandoning the crutch soon for a cane we purchased for her. She's mostly off her meds and is okay to drive but I've still been taking her places because of the abundance of ice and snow between handicap parking and the entrance to wherever she's going. I like being able to drop her off right at the door to minimize the risk of a fall which could be catastrophic to her recovery. She's busy making plans for a small vacation to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary this summer—a vacation where we plan to do plenty of hiking with her new hip! I'm one month out from walking away from Facebook and while I do miss many of my connections there, I'm happy t...

It's been 5 days since Tammy's hip replacement surgery. Her doctor told me the surgery went very well. He also commented that she had very little loss of blood during the procedure. He'll often see a loss of 1000cc in patients but Tammy only lost a tenth of that. I'm not sure what that speaks to if anything. He also noted a bone spur in her hip that was causing her a lot of pain. She stayed overnight in the care facility there at Twin City Orthopedics and I picked her up at 6:00 the next morning, which was a solid 2 days too soon (but apparently, that's how it's done). The narcotics prescribed for pain have left her confused, tired, and confined to a bed we have set up in our den. Rachel came by over the weekend and spent the better part of 2 days with us, giving me some pointers on my duties as a CNA (certified nursing assistant). She was so helpful. A nurse has stopped by our home a couple of times as well as a physical therapist. The nurse became concerne...

A friend mentioned that she hadn't seen Reid on Facebook and wondered if he'd deleted his account. I hadn't noticed so I took a look and sure enough, he was gone. I'd sent him a text the day before to show him my new wheels, so when he responded I asked him what's up. He said he was on a 21 day Facebook fast and that he was thinking of making it permanent because he didn't miss it. I had just deleted the app from my phone the previous day and had been toying with the idea of taking an extended break from it as well. In the 10 years I've been on the site, I've never broken from it for more than a few days. There was a time when I loved the site and the connections I made there but whatever benefits remained were being overshadowed by my frustration with many of my friends/connections who disappoint me with their pro-Trump* nonsense and conservative media talking-points that crumble under the slightest scrutiny. I always believed we were collectively sma...