Some of what's ailing me

Finally got around to my annual physical in August - now-a-days all you get to talk to the doctor about is general health issues, anything beyond that needs additional appointments. Now with age and other factors of course there's more to talk about. I was advised to get some additional shots besides the annual flu shot flavor of the season which I'll get in the next week or so. The other two were for Shingles and because of my COPD a pneumonia shot. Also suggested getting a chest X-ray to see if anything else besides the emphysema has developed or any changes from what we know from the x-ray that lead to the diagnosis. The result of latest x-ray was nothing unusual and nothing of note showing advancement of the present condition. I made a double appointment, one for talking about and getting a prescription for a daily inhaler (Spiriva). I had been using a rescue inhaler occasionally just to open the air passages in my lungs a little better. The other appointment was for an ever increasing pain in my right shoulder. That one resulted in a referral for physical therapy at facility adjoining the doctor's space. Two sessions per week for four weeks and a couple more a week apart has made some progress. I have a routine of exercises I do every other day for the time being structured to buildup the muscles around the shoulder to help relieve the inflammation. Also included in the treatment was dry needle therapy and I ice it 2 or 3 times a day. Need to get it back to normal relatively soon so I can screw it up again shoveling snow this winter.

The boys of summer

Sounds innocent enough, men playing a game for a living. A game meant for summer weather. So here we are watching the the first game of Major League Baseball's World Series, the NY Mets vs the Kansas City Royals at KC, 56 degrees on October 27th. Tomorrow night for the second game it's forecast is colder. Friday/Saturday/Sunday in New York City could be down to 38/47/49. If the series goes all seven games the MBL season will have gone to Wednesday, November 4th. There are reasons for this to have creep into November as opposed to earlier in October. Longer regular season, additional playoff games, money (oh my?!?) and here we are half way through football season, hockey teams are playing their 6th or 7th games and basketball is about to start and baseball is being played in November. Summer my arse.

October's goodnight

The waning days of another October are upon us, the autumn leaves are making their last stand of flamboyant colors. The camper is safely in storage, the yard is a bit of a mess hopefully to be some what rectified on the approaching weekend. With Carol and her sister Lois visiting the northern family homestead this weekend I'm free to meander about the yard and house doing a little here and a little there in spite of a bum shoulder. There is the matter of a buggered up garage door to be attended to which we need to determine if it's DIY or a professional job. Oh, and don't forget to set your clocks back, you'll hate yourself if you missed that "extra" hour of sleep.