Time flies but bodies crunch - both human and auto

May 29

Times flies. Ron and I have managed to stay busy with lots of yard work; weeding, planting, shoveling, and sifting soil from a 20 ft. yucca bed we dug up to plant with something more attractive. Sifting soil on 3ft X 4ft screen is hard work and we are halfway from completing it.

Without Yucca plants

With Yucca plants

With all the work of setting up our new place; building shelves in the garage, working in the garden, moving boxes, and cataloging where each box is located.  Ron developed an arm pain that turns out to be an issue with the ulnar nerve going around the elbow (the funny bone). Ron had surgery on his arm about 10 days ago. He had a nerve near his elbow that was being stretched, causing numbness, tingling in his hand and arm pain. The surgeon moved the nerve away from the elbow to relieve the symptoms. Ron is now restricted from any heavy physical work. So, he is on injury duty for several more weeks and I have only done the sifting once or twice since his surgery, partly due to the weather. You cannot sift wet soil. A friend told me I could sift it by myself by laying the screen on top of the wheelbarrow, shoveling dirt on top, and rubbing the soil through the screen. It works well but goes slower. It is easier though because you are not lifting a screen loaded with heavy soil then shaking it back and forth.

Ron is also experiencing pain in his knee from the digging and is wearing a brace night and day. He hopes to get an appointment this coming week to explore surgery or cortisone injections and hopefully schedule it since he is in constant night pain which often interrupts his sleep. That gets old very quickly. His goal is to have the surgery and be fully healed in order to travel when we can travel again. If surgery is not an option in the near future, he will opt for a cortisone shot and hope to get some relief. After dropping Ron off at the hospital, I went back to the parking structure. I was going to exit where I had entered but saw only one arrow pointing into the garage so I thought I was not supposed to exit there. I followed some exit signs to a T at the end of the aisle. There was an opening on the right but again only one arrow pointing in. I looked to my left and saw no exit signs and no other openings so I turned right to exit before someone tried to enter and BLAM! I heard a terrifying noise and saw that I had sideswiped a concrete column. If I wasn’t already rattled from worry about Ron being in a hospital with the virus and worrying about his surgery, I was truly shaken up now. I stopped immediately and slowly backed up. I swung widely and continued to exit. I was a wreck literally and figuratively driving home. I managed to dent and scape both doors on the passenger side. Thank god for good insurance; the cost for repairs is a little over $3,000. I take the car in on Monday, June 1 and we hope to get it back on June 5. Our coverage allows for a rental.

We have had good weather this week and I wore myself out two days in a row between lots of yard work and cooking. Yesterday I came to my senses and slowed down and stayed out of the yard. I am doing that again today and I told Ron we would eat what was in the refrigerator for lunch and dinner so there will be no cooking today.  Fortunately, there are yummy leftovers waiting to be eaten.

Cottonwood beach where Lewis & Clark Camped

Mt. Hood

Yesterday we drove to Washougal about 15 miles due east of us and took a two-mile walk on a dike that parallels the Columbia River. It was a gorgeous day and birds were singing the entire time. The trail was plenty wide to maintain distance from other walkers. There was excellent signage about the Lewis and Clark Expedition and information about where they camped in the area, giving us a little local history while enjoying our ‘out of the house’ adventure.

The trail to Cottonwood Beach

Since I wanted to stay out of the yard today, I chose to clean the house, one of my least favorite activities. Since the late 1980’s I have paid for that service but it isn’t an option now so back to cleaning for me. Fortunately, I have a husband who knows how to sweep and vacuum and today volunteered to sweep the entire house. YAY! I cleaned bathrooms, the kitchen sink, and vacuumed the rugs. Since Ron has some restrictions with his arm, I moved chairs, etc. to make his job easier and faster. We are indeed a great team!

I survive this time in the pandemic by staying busy. In addition to physical work have been emailing friends far and wide. One day I wrote people in Sri Lanka, India, Mexico, and Rep of Georgia. The trick is to be balanced. I caught myself this week working myself into a stupor with yard work so I am glad I realized what I was doing and chose to slow down. I have enjoyed these two days a lot and will endeavor to stay more balanced. At some level, I must think If I get the yard all in order then I can leave and go traveling. HA! In my dreams.