Break was generally good, except for the weather - it became EXTREMELY cold right after Christmas, and so my plan of walking 40 to 50 minutes a day to keep up with exercise had to come to a stop because I don't think frostbite is a good trade-off for avoiding weight gain....previous to that, I had been going out every day and walking around my parents' neighborhood. There are lots of places to walk - nearly every street has sidewalks, and there are lots of little side streets. I also figured out which was the oldest developed area in the entire neighborhood (narrower sidewalks, houses set farther back on bigger lots, different house style). It was interesting and I am contemplating trying to add 20 minutes of walking to the end of the day here (weather permitting) (On top of my regular exercise in the mornings). Of course in my town people are not so scrupulous about keeping their dogs indoors/behind a fence/on a leash so I might be better off just walking up on campus before I leave for the day - there is a walking trail there.
My parents are doing fine. My dad is doing a lot better - the main concern was he had opened some sores on his legs when he fell, and he can be very slow to heal. (Well, also, he wound up with a staph infection in one of them, and had to go on antibiotics). But he was getting better, and the visiting nurse was pleased how well things began progressing after the antibiotics. He isn't so good at doing the PT exercises he was prescribed, and my mom is not willing to nag him very much about them. (Though I will say, from my experience with exercise: keeping up with it is a good idea for general health. I know I feel better, and I have fewer problems with my bursitis, when I can at least walk for 40 minutes a day....)
I knitted a lot and crocheted a lot. (Photos to come later). It was too cold to go out and do much, and also, a couple of the old favorite restaurants had closed down. I guess even there they are seeing the changes that are happening in how things work - sadly, I suspect what some people say, that "the middle is being hollowed out" is true - the very high-end places that rich people go to are still there, the super-cheap (and not that good) fast food is still there. (And the same with clothing stores. And other things....)
Unfortunately, even with mostly sticking at home, I wound up catching a nasty cold. I think it developed either Friday or Saturday (meaning I already had it when my mom and I went out to the farm store for more birdseed and ice-melter, so I didn't catch it there). Not sure how I got it. Maybe at the barber shop when I got the split ends trimmed off my hair, maybe at the grocery store - it kind of stinks that I didn't go anywhere all that "fun" but still wound up sick.
Traveling back was less fun than it might have been with the cold. The worst of it was over (now it's mostly moved into my chest and manifests as a cough and messed-up voice) but still: my sense of taste is wonky (because my sense of smell is messed up), breathing isn't as fun as it might be, my nose and upper lip are terribly chapped from the endless nose-blowing. I have Mucinex (well, generic equivalent: $10 at the Kroger's rather than $32 for the echt stuff. (I guess that mucus spokescritter makes a nice paycheck?). I took a hot shower with a lot of steam and I have Tylenol, which I guess does a LITTLE bit towards making me feel better (I do not like to take NSAIDs any more: stomach worries, and also, I've read more about them being a concern for heart issues, even in people without heart disease). And again, with Tylenol, you have to be VERY careful about dosage - the "effective" dose and the LD-50 are not that far apart, or at least that was how it was explained to me. (I am taking about half what they recommend, and only taking it in the morning and at bedtime).
I did beg off of Board Meeting tonight. Someone had already cancelled Elder's meeting, I guess under the assumption I wouldn't be back yet, so I don't feel quite so bad (not making people come out for no reason a half-hour early) and it's probably better for me to just go to bed early tonight.
I do have to take down my tree (sigh). I think that's a task for tomorrow afternoon; if I'm feeling better I will go in in the morning and do a bit of prep towards classes starting on Tuesday but we might get some wintry weather in the afternoon, so I figure I plan on coming home at lunch and staying home.
I picked up my mail. Surprising lot of Christmas cards that arrived after I left, so I think what I might do is open them and then after I take down the tree, line them all up on the piano so I can have a little bit of cheer for a little longer....January can be kind of hard because all of the prettiness and sparkliness and fun is put away and instead the tv is full of ads for weight-loss plans and online dating and stuff like that that is supposed to be resolution-related. (I think January is a bad time to do resolutions, anyway - the only month worse than January is August, which is hot, dry, no holidays, and usually school starts back up...)
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