16 February 2024
Shannon at physical therapy warned me I might be dragging a little today. What she didn’t tell me was I would be dragging that very afternoon. I left physical therapy around 2 pm and drove over to Walgreens to pick up my new, higher dosage of Gabapentin. From there, I stopped at Winn-Dixie to pick up some fresh fruit and veggies and to have the checkout lady cough all over everything. At least she wore a mask. When I got home I really started to feel tired.
Today I also feel tired but felt up to a walk. The shortest morning walk I do is around 1.2 miles down one of the streets that sandwiches a canal to the New River. I got about half way down and realize I needed to turn back. Way to go me! I’m wising up! My walk ended up around 0.6 miles and I felt it when I got home.
Today is pool filter day. I decided to not rake the leaves, instead I washed them off the deck. I can manage washing the filter sitting down and the only drama comes when I try to replace the filter in the cartridge. So far, with that little piece I didn’t know I was missing, it’s been a breeze. I then did a little watering of plants and a freshwater wash down of the patio.
Freshwater wash down is a sea going term. When I was aboard ship in the Coast Guard, after a cruise, we’d pull into port and have a freshwater wash down of the entire ship. You’d be surprised at how much sea salt accumulates on every structure on a ship. I never had to participate in the wash down but it took a while – it was a pretty big cutter at 210 feet.
Occasionally, OK, more often than not, our fresh water system went down while at sea. It was a reverse osmosis type of device and generally didn’t cooperate. That meant to save what little freshwater we had stored on board in our tanks, we had to take salt water showers. Pretty soon everyone was walking around with a thin crust of salt on them. It’s uncomfortable to say the least. The first thing crew did upon reaching port was to do a freshwater wash down of themselves. Folks with ocean front property understand when their windows salt over and spoil their view.
After completing the wash down of the patio, I wanted to stay ahead of the weeds so I did another spraying in the front and back yards. It had gotten out of control there for a while.
For lunch, I made a mix of avocado, cucumber, red onion, zucchini, and chick peas drizzled with EVOO, salt, pepper, and lime juice. I figured I needed to start eating a little healthier and with a little more protein, hence the avocado and chick peas. After the clean up, I hit the bed to read a little and then took an hour nap.
Last night, I did something I’ve never done before. I watched the entirety of Citizen Kane. I’ve never seen the complete movie until last night – only bits and pieces over the years. It’s considered the best movie ever made for years. It was Orson Welles’ first movie (1941) and he produced, directed, and starred in it. No ego there.
I know it’s supposed to be great but I suspect there’s a reason I never sat down to see it from start to finish because what snippets I saw did not attract me. I’m sure there were cinematographic firsts and other firsts for this film but I only found it mildly engaging. Maybe it’s something about powerful egos. Let’s just say that in academia, I’ve run into my share of them. The only person I recognized in the cast (for many it was their first movie) was Joseph Cotten. Well, now I can say I saw Citizen Cane. It is sufficient. Let’s just leave it at Rose bud.
My friend show above is a hand exerciser. You grab the base and put your fingers through the loop and squeeze. I’m tired of having no strength in my hands and hope this will stimulate muscle growth.
Stay tuned!