Sunday, November 11, 2012

TONIGHT MARKS OUR FIRST OFFICIAL NIGHT IN THE HOUSE:))

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YEP, GONNA HAVE ME A BIG BED TO SLEEP ON TONIGHT

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I think it was a combination of both mental & physical fatigue that came together knocking both Kelly & I down for the count late Saturday afternoon.  We were tired, we were discouraged & we were happy.  We had been busy all day.  Kelly was out wheeling, dealing, & garage sailing over at North Ranch & I kept my wheelbarrow on the go putting an ever larger dent in our big pile of crushed stone.

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I’M GETTING THERE, ONE WHEELBARROW AT A TIME:))

When you buy an older house like the one we have, problem solving becomes job 1.  Between the two of us we have been doing reasonably well at handling the daily challenges & unfamiliarity's confronting us.  This is not something new for us.  We did the same thing when we moved into the old farmhouse back in 95.  Did it again with our Bayfield move in 2002 & we’re doing it again now here in Congress.  With our matching ‘let’s get er done’ personalities we have a tendency to fly right into things & I think it was just that flying right into things that temporarily caught up with us Saturday.

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JACKIE, JOHN, KELLY, & THE PHABULOUS PHEEBS

I totally fell asleep in my recliner after supper & stayed there the entire night.  Never once looked at my computer.  Never even got out of my clothes into my jammies.  I will blog more about some of the things that have taken place in the last couple days, a bit later.

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GIT ALONG LITTLE DOGGY 

Health wise, I have run into a problem.  Readers may remember me complaining a bit about my legs off & on.  Especially last Spring when I had some X-rays etc.  The problem seemed to clear up for the summer, but in late August while working at rearranging our back yard I began having difficulty with my upper right leg & thigh area.  To make a long story short, this problem has steadily been getting worse & I am at a point now where it is difficult for me to walk without the aid of a cane because of the pain in my hip area.  Today in particular, was the worst day I have had. Not wanting to sound like a complainer I have only slightly alluded to this problem a couple times in my posts.  I had been optimistic the problem would clear up ‘any day now’.  Been missing most of our morning walks since we arrived in Congress & am discouraged at the thought of not being able to get out on any of our usual southwest rock scrambles.  Doubly discouraging is the fact I have a lot of enjoyable things I have been looking forward to getting done here on the property.  If I don’t move my leg, I have no pain, but I’ll be dammed if I am just going to sit here like a bump on a log every day. I think I may have a hip going sour on me. 

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So, that’s what’s been happening here & I figured I might as well get that out & up front.  It’s one of the reasons I have been stuck taking so many photos around the house & property.  And, one of the reasons my posts lately haven’t included any of our usual day trips, hikes or travels.

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Monday, I hope to get myself back into blogging mode & posting mood again.  Want to tell you about how friends John & Jackie really helped Kelly & I today, how a washing machine took care of our laundry woes but nearly flooded us out when a plugged drain pipe backed everything up.  A hamburger at the Arrowhead Saloon that made me give silent thanks for my Doctor putting me on Crestor last summer & the wind blows our back door open while we are away….but Pheebs was home, & slips outside looking for Mom & Dad.  Loading heavy mattresses into a pick up truck today & yay, tonight will be our first official night of sleeping in the house.  Monday or Tuesday I hope to answer a few more questions from readers emails, comments, & Shout Box queries.  And Scott, about towing the Jeep, crankcase, transmission, etc, I’ll have an email headed your way shortly:))

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OMG!!

And, would you believe it has been warmer back home in Bayfield Ontario than it has been here in Congress Arizona.  We ended up down around the freezing mark Saturday night.  However, we have a pleasant warm up on the way:))

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IS THAT REALLY YOU UNDER THAT HAT JOHN??

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A young man asked an old rich man how he made his money.  The old guy fingered his worsted wool vest and said, "Well, son, it was 1932. The depth of the Great Depression. I was down to my last nickel. I invested that nickel in an apple. I spent the entire day polishing the apple and, at the end of the day, I sold the apple for ten cents.  The next morning, I invested those ten cents in two apples. I spent the entire day polishing them and sold them at 5:00 pm for 20 cents. I continued this system for a month, by the end of which I'd accumulated a fortune of $1.37.
Then my wife's father died and left us two million dollars."

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- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.
- OUR PHOTO ALBUMS - .
https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295/
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22 comments:

  1. sorry to hear about your leg problem Al..sure hope it feels better soon and can get back to all the hiking and jeeping adventures!

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  2. Judy Bell, Of Travels with Emma has been having hip problems and is going to have a replacement done real soon. Will you ave to wait long in Canada if you eed a new hip? will you see a doc here, or will you wait because of isurance concers. Would tey raise your premiums next year like tey did ths?

    Hope it just es better!

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  3. I have to stop making comments when reading blogs on the iPad. The print is so small I can't see it well enough when i'm writing. A lot of letters don't seem to take ... sorry

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  4. Al..Could Crestor be exacerbating your leg problem? Muscle pain & weakness is known to be a side effect of statin drugs for SOME people. i.e. about 2 years ago hubby experienced increasing muscle pain & weakness in right leg/hip to the point of needing a cane..had started Crestor 2 months earlier..he discontinued it & 7 days later his leg/hip was back to normal.Just thought I would mention it!

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  5. I was wondering if you were having leg problems. Seems like moving that wheelbarrow would be kinda difficult? I'm wondering, too, about the possibility of your getting medical help. Hope you enjoy that big bed. More room for Pheebs, too!

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  6. Russ also had muscle pain with one of the statin drugs (can't remember which one) but the pain improved with a change in prescription. If it's a hip joint, sure hope you can get it fixed soon.

    Scary thought about Pheebs getting out while you were gone. Since you had a picture of her tonight I assume she is just fine. She is such a good dog.

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  7. hmm the hip problem is no fun hope it gets better for ya soon.

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  8. Ah Al--hope that hip pain gets better soon--dang it all!!

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  9. Might seeing a chiropractor for a few treatments help your hip problem?

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  10. Sorry you are having leg pains, scary
    about Pheebs getting out. There is a lot of issues with an old house, maybe you should try and relax a bit, they don't all have to be resolved at once.

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  11. I hope you can get back to rock scrambling and all the things you love to do soon. Pain in my hip comes and goes too and doc put me on a rigorous stretching regimen that has helped immensely. It seems muscle tightening misaligns things and can cause pain. I hate stretching exercises, but I hate hip pain even worse, and hate getting older even worser :((

    Regarding your semi apology for not getting "out there" as much... I think your readers follow along for reasons other than that. Even tho we've never met, I think of you guys as friends... so no matter what you're doing, I'm interested.

    Regardless, I really hope the pain abates enough so you can do what you love doing.
    reader Box Canyon Mark

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  12. Pain in the hip is a pain in the a$$ for sure. Suzy has gotten over her pain from the knee surgery recently, and I'm working through the pain from my foot surgery two weeks ago. We know what caused our pain, and we knew it wouldn't last. Hope yours can be addressed by stopping Crestor -- but then you'll have to eat banana sandwiches instead of those marvelous burgers!

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  13. I also had leg and hip problems a few years back. I believe that there is not much that feels worse than having to sit and watch other people walk around normally when you can't even get across the room without a pair of crutches. Things like walking are not something people think about much until you lose the ability to do it.

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  14. Don't worry about us Bayfield "roadies", we will wait till you feel like blogging..no problem. You have gotten lots of advice, and maybe you and Kelly can do some trouble shooting on the ol' hip...Hey, if a can works, use it..My Mom walked with 2 from age 50 until she passed at age 64..W.I.T. (whatever it takes!)

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  15. "I began having difficulty with my upper right leg & thigh area."

    This sounds like muscle problems rather than hip from what little you say. When I had my problems at the begging of the year one of the first questions that my PA asked me was: Do you have muscle pains? When I answered in the affirmative she promptly said: You need to get off your cholesterol medication. I had been on a statin drug for quite a few years and within a week or two after getting off it the muscle pains were gone.
    Good luck with finding the cause a cure!

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  16. Hey, that hip thing sucks.

    My mom was put on Crestor, and before too long was having hip pain that nearly immobilized her. Once stopped, the hip pain stopped.

    Ducktor Roxi, BDB (boondocking blogger)
    The Good Luck Duck

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  17. Add me to the list of those no longer taking statins due to muscle aches/pains. Improved within two weeks of stopping the meds.

    If that's not it, then yup, sounds like you are on your way to a hip replacement. Good news is everyone we've talked to about it, raves at how quickly they recovered and how much better they felt.

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  18. I decided to never see a cardiologist again because that's the first thing they want you to do - go on Crestor. Just google "Crestor-negative side effects" and you may get some good info from the internet. I try to find a website that isn't connected with the drug company though. I would certainly check into it - some people take Lipitor but I would think the reactions would be much the same.

    Please look into it and maybe try not taking Crestor for a week to see if you have any improvement. Several years ago I was told to take Boniva for bone health. I stayed on it for 10 months and can't tell you how much trouble I had from it, including much bone loss, the very thing it's supposed to prevent. Good luck, and I hope you can get to the cause of whatever is ailing you,

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  19. Al, I think it's about time for you to get a nice little tractor to work on your place there. You've got enough to do there, and a tractor would make it a lot easier all the way around. Bet you could get that gravel all in place in no time flat!

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  20. Sorry to hear about your leg/hip problem. Maybe there will be a hip replacement in your future, but you also mentioned taking Crestor. Statins can cause pain as a side effect. Did your Dr. by any chance tell you to take at least 100mg of CoQ10 ea. day along with your Crestor? You should. Statins deplete the body's CoQ10 and CoQ10 is very important for the muscles to function properly. Try it and see if it helps any. My brother tried all the statins and they all made him sick/gave him pain. He finally quit them completely and started taking Red Yeast Rice supplement and dropped his cholesterol 40 points, something the statins never did for him. I'm trying it now too and will see what happens at next year's blood draw. I'm taking the CoQ10 as well though the Red Yeast Rice supplement doesn't usually cause the painful side effects though it can cause some intestinal distress if you start out taking too big a dose.

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  21. Coq10 yes that is what Harry is taking with his crestor and stopped the pain as others have said Think i will find some.of that red yeast rice supplement maybe as Harry takes taking just crestor Maybe just slow down a wee bit though but who the hell am I to talk We are the same as you and Kelly

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  22. Kathy had all kinds of side effects when she was on Lipitor such as pain to the extremeties. Her aunt Lydia almost went blind while on Crestor but that one doesn't bother Kathy. They all have basically the same side effects it is just that what is good for one person might not work for another. Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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