PROGRESSThere is a saying

PROGRESS

There is a saying that Steve always used to quote: "If all else fails, read the directions." That applies, I believe, to my flyer from my physical therapist, which I have gradually been reading more and more thoroughly and finding out that I haven't been doing my exercises as often or as many reps as I should have. That's probably okay, though, because I have built up gradually to the number indicated.

Yesterday, folding laundry wasn't nearly as painful as it had been the week before. (I was glad to have my little helper, Socks, too, as shown below.)



The day was so beautiful when the sun came out in the afternoon yesterday that I went outside and picked up all sorts of small branches that had blown off the trees during the strong winds a few days ago, in anticipation of Jeff mowing, which he has just let me know he will do tomorrow. I also cut down a few thistles that are growing by the garage, which is separate from the house. I am doing that a very few at a time. I was given strict orders by my PT not to aggravate my arm.

One thing I was told, as well, and have noticed, is that raising my right arm up is very painful and is a no-no. I do it entirely with my left arm, and that has brought me a great deal of relief from pain.

I didn't work Wednesday night but will work over the weekend, as is necessary. Slow and steady is the answer, with frequent breaks.

It is such a relief to not be in pain all the time! I can't believe I waited so many weeks to tell my doctor what was going on and get the referral to physical therapy. I am glad now for my progress.

*****

With ID thieves out there, I get a bit on the panicky side when I don't get any mail, as was the case yesterday. I contacted my neighbor via e-mail to see if she had gotten any, but they have a post office box in town. Today there was mail, though, so I feel better.

I HAVE BEEN REMISS!I was contemplating what

I HAVE BEEN REMISS!


I was contemplating what to write about today, and I didn't really have much of a clue as to what that would be, so I decided to surf my favorite blogs to see what their writers were saying. I went to my friend, Carly's, and it hit me like a ton of bricks that I had been remiss in thanking her for a lovely entry she posted on May 9th, wherein she said some extremely nice things about me.

Entitled "I've Got Mail," it was about how she and her husband Alan remembered that they hadn't checked their post office box for a while, and when they did do that, they found some unexpected surprises. ;-) One of those was a pad of ocean-themed post-its that I had found out at the coast, in the Tillamook Cheese Factory, I believe, that had her name on it. (A note: I am a sucker for personalized items at the coast.) In all of my years of perusing such personalized goodies, I had never seen one that said "Carly" on it, to the best of my recollection. So, of course, I had to get it for my online friend!

If you follow the link in the first paragraph, you will see a close-up picture of the post-its. Carly was very sweet in the nice things she said about me in writing her entry. You're very welcome, Carly, and I count you as one of my dearest online friends! Maybe someday we'll get a chance to meet in person, but in the meantime, it is a pleasure to know you and enjoy your friendship online. I can always count on you to be upbeat and encouraging, and those are traits that we don't seem to find enough in the world. Thank you for being the loving person that you are!

In my hurry to acknowledge and thank Carly for what she said in this earlier post, I didn't stop yet to read her most recent one, which the title said was an update on the health of her adorable kitty, Elvis, who has been diagnosed with cancer. I will definitely be going back shortly to read that, as I am very concerned about him. Like Carly, he has a very endearing personality and I wish him the best.

*****

Speaking of blogs, my LDS friend in Utah heard about an ex-Mormon blogger on TV, and she told me about her, about how funny she was supposed to be, but it took her several days before she was able to find out this blogger's URL. When I went to the blog, I learned it was Dooce, which rhymes with moose, according to the blog author, Heather B. Armstrong. I went back and read a few entries, and I saw a couple of rather droll references to her Mormon background. Mostly, the most recent posts were about her public appearance on the Today show, which I do happen to watch but not during the time slot she was on in (10-11 a.m.). I have bookmarked her site and maybe when she comes back down to earth, she will write more funny stuff about Mormonism. (My LDS friend heard that Heather had lost her job, but I didn't find any reference to that in her blog; however, stranger things have happened in the working world, especially if she lives in the land of Mormondom: i.e. Utah.)

*****

I feel I have to say how sad I am for the people in the world who are suffering right now due to the horrendous recent national disasters -- first, the cyclone that hit Myanmar, with so many casualties and a government that hesitates to allow foreign aid to come in and get it to the individuals who really need it; and second, the earthquake in China. These are the kinds of events that tend to make me ask, "Why, God?" I try to have faith that there are reasons for everything that happens in life, but I have never been put in such a horrible situation. I don't know what else I can do at the moment -- not being a rich person -- but pray for them.