Betsy— What you said about how "just trying to get ourselves healthy is enough hard work without all these other roadblocks" really strikes a chord for me. So true. Well, I happen to be a hard-core Democrat, and you know what Democrats do when there's a problem: they throw money at it. =laugh= So I've spent the day with my iPad, researching two subjects related to my knees. The first, and most important one, was whether to buy a pair of trekking poles—for getting about these little short distances that are most of my walking, with flexibility to use them on the trail around the lake. I felt confident in my choice, after all my reading, to go ahead and order a pair. I don't like buying such a one-size-does-NOT-fit-all item without actually holding them and checking on the fit, but our nearby REI just does not have the brand I want. And now I've transitioned to reading about hiking shoes and boots that have wide toe boxes. The New Balance walking shoes I bought a few years ago still have lots of wear left in them, since I rarely wear them, because even though they're ostensibly a wide width, they pinch my toes. I'm not sure any conventional wide-width hiking shoe is what I want anyway: after many years of wearing almost nothing else, even all winter long with socks, I have Birkenstock feet. So I may go for something more... unusual. I'll report back on this problem. And thanks for suggesting an X-ray: that's something non-invasive and easy to get. But I'm going to stick to my guns about no orthopods: most of them are quite evil.
Today I stayed in my seat on the green futon, only getting up for desperate needs. I can't climb the stairs to my studio, so my collage activity is in a bit of a hiatus. Meanwhile, Bob had to get the house ready, all by himself, for what looks to be a week of having our great nephew Gavin, 8 years old, stay with us, and of course taking him to and from school. Why are we doing this? Because his maternal grandmother, Bob's favorite sister and our beloved niece Margaret's mom, is definitely dying—of the COPD & lung cancer from being a lifelong chain smoker. She now has metastases to her brain.
Margaret is flying to Oakland (California, right next to SF) tomorrow, to be there while they're making decisions about radiation and hospice care, and to be
with her mom during her final lucid moments. Mostly when Gavin will be at loose ends in our house, he'll be glued to Bob's computer, playing his favorite computer games. He's a taciturn little fellow with very good manners, so my usual rule about "no kids, never, not in my house" is having to bend a bit. At least my knee problems will keep me from being asked to clean a bathroom or whatever.
Gratitude check-in: I'm having a 0/0/0 day, with lots of reading in the pile of interesting nonfiction (e.g., Edmund White on the
flâneur—a very cool book) right next to me. I'm not in any kind of pain, just rather less mobile than I usually am. And you guys are great!!