The Cramp Crows at 4 AM

OMG, that was bad. That was around the worst calf cramp I've ever had. Just when I thought it was fading it roared back again. So glad I ordered the heat packs, I don't want to go through that again. And it was happening in different spots, both the back and front of the calf. Glad my doctor recommended PT to strengthen my lower body, I really feel like I need it. The toe is improving, a large bruise has started to come out at the base which I hope means it's healing; I'm optimistic that it's just a bruise and not a break, but I'll find out for sure tomorrow. I conked right after I logged off at 5:30 today, and so I'm up a bit later than I want to be, but maybe I'll sleep through the night thanks to a shower and my gigantic leg warmers.

Hibernation Mode

So, so hard going into The City these days when I just want to curl up at home, but it's unfortunately mandated. And at least the trees are in full foliage at last in NYC! But it's exhausting anyway, particularly with the foot pain. The right calf is taking much more strain than it should as a result of the left toe pain, so I expect a cramp or two is in my near future. Glad I ordered the heat packs my new doc recommended, they'll be here Saturday so that's when the healing can start (as I'll have been to the foot doc early enough to do something about the toe as well). This is the rest of my life now, dealing with one pain after another...

Shredded and Wobbly

While I did job stuff from home, and a few personal things like sorting out my OMNY card wallet (I'm now fine with the commuter card, but I wanted to add a new payment method for my half-price senior card that I use when I'm not commuting and that's finally done; alas, they're unable to delete my old cards from my wallet which I think is ridiculous), Robin got busy shredding the last of our old finances. He's also done his two boxes from England, so all that's left of what used to be stored in the rafters is four boxes for me to go through, and the pain from my injured toe is preventing me from doing much else. My new (now local) primary care doctor was of no help there (although otherwise I thought my annual physical went well, and she did recommend I start exercising my lower body more at home which I do need to do), so I'll be returning to my podiatrist this Saturday to confirm the toe isn't broken, just bruised. I think I'd be in a lot more pain if there was a break, but with neuropathy you never know. In other news, I'm off to watch what I hope is the final game of the World Series so Milwaukee can go ahead and celebrate.

Stepping Lightly

The purple discoloration on the middle toe continues, and after being encased in a sneaker and being walked on in Manhattan during the day it does hurt a bit more than it did yesterday. The other frustrating thing about being a diabetic is how slowly we heal, so I'm putting arnica on it and waiting for the medical verdict. And since I work from home tomorrow I could afford to stay up a bit late this evening and watch the Brewers and Rays battle to a tie (at least as of this typing) so who knows if we'll go to a Game 5...

No Jacket Required

Today's big project was jackets. Robin accumulates them, and I think they're mostly wonderful, but we can't or don't want to take them all to England with us, and we needed the room in our coat closet and the "closet of boxes" where we were keeping the overflow jackets. Nobody really needs overflow jackets. I have so many KPMG ones, I suspect most of them will go after I retire, but for now at least I've put my Rothstein Kass ones into the recycle pile. Of greater concern is whatever the heck I did to my left middle toe yesterday, it's all bruised and battered. I don't think it's broken, even with my neuropathy I'd probably feel that, but the same numbness is actually a blessing in disguise as it's not really hurting me that much if I don't walk around on it. I hope my new doctor can shed some light on the subject when I go for my annual physical on Wednesday. Meanwhile I'm continuing to root for the Brewers to take it all in four games, but it probably won't happen, Tampa Bay isn't, well, the Yankees or anything...

Another Boxing Day

Not the football kind, although Liverpool (my favorite team) beat Brighton (my second favorite team that I'll learn to root for once we're settled in England) by my favorite footie score, 2-0. But no, this is actual boxes. And today's side quest turned out to be stuffed animals. When we fostered Mango for those few weeks we found he was quite fond of stuffed animals, small pillows and the like, so I've now gotten rid of the majority of stuffies both large and small and they're waiting for Jonny or someone like him to pick them up and make a cat very happy. One box is done and in the closet, where my INSIDE JOKE run sits atop it, one of the card boxes is put away and one is still out, and I have to review four other boxes as and when so they can follow on and we can slide the doors closed until I retire and our winnowing kicks into high gear. The remaining four boxes to be shredded, as well as three bags full of stuffies and five shopping bags of comics to be given to whichever neighbor wants them, now sit in the living room, along with two of Robin's long coats which will go into our coat closet as he culls his jacket collection. A very successful and tiring weekend!

Card Stock

After a disappointing morning wherein we had a slight tiff about something that turned out to be an Elayne Brain Fart, followed by our favorite sushi place being unexpectedly closed (at least the drive there was pretty as we wound through local streets in near-full fall foliage), the EnWinnowing proceeded apace once we arrived home. It's really just getting the boxes that used to be in the loft/rafters out of the library so Robin can once again repurpose it to finish his latest painting, but along the way we're finding lots of what he calls "side quests." Two of the boxes supposedly contain greeting cards, and they're now joined by one and a half more boxes of cards. The ultimate goal here is to put seven boxes in our home office closet, but when we cleaned out the closet floor we found more totes and plastic bags full of goodness only knows what, so those now need to be sorted through before I can proceed. I know I'm keeping the greeting cards mainly because of the way reviewing them made me feel. As I age I think I'll become more and more susceptible to those sort of sentimental nostalgia,, which I consider valuable. I need something to jog my memories, and all the comic convention stuff isn't really doing it so that's now jettisoned. Oh, and it appears the Brewers are set to win the second game of the World Series against the Rays, so I'm pleased about that as well.

Memor-Elayne

Today's self-appointed task, which roped in Robin of course, was going through the boxes marked "Comic Convention Stuff" that had stood in our loft from when we moved in to a couple months ago. I was surprised to find it wasn't "stuff what we used to take to conventions" at all, but rather "collections of convention programs, comics, cards, and other mementos." Since I honestly don't recall doing most of the stuff I did then, and the programs themselves didn't aid my memory, into the trash they went. The two now-empty boxes will house all the greeting cards I've received (two other recovered boxes are also full of cards, I've saved them since I was a kid), and after I retire I'll go through them again to see if they spark memories better than convention programs. One thing I seem to have picked up in the post-COVID era, besides my desire to avoid crowds which means no more major comic cons for me, is that I just don't feel like hanging on to things from past lives if they don't enrich my present. I'm not quite at Kondo level, but at the same time I can't help but remember my college buddy Bill-Dale Marcinko, who died way too young due to a fire in his abode which the firefighters couldn't vanquish because they were unable to get past all his papers and zines and comics and other collections with which he couldn't part. His memory is not just a blessing but an object lesson. We'll see how well I've learnt it.

Manhattan Respite

I was hoping to take in the High Line park at lunchtime, but I'd been up since 4 AM and just found myself too weary to do much more than fetch my lunch. Probably all the moving around of stuff yesterday. I'm glad job stuff kept me busy enough, and the commute was fine (well, the subway's always crowded and at least I always get a seat when it empties appreciably at Times Square, but if it's a "middle" seat things get difficult), but I'm glad to be home to empty my overstuffed backpack. And I'm making good headway with my newest partner, resigning myself to not being able to schedule everything in fewer and fewer hours. After all, I cannae change the laws of physics! And now to bed.

The Cleanout Continues

Honest, we weren't going to do any downsizing work today. Robin needed to rest after yesterday's shredathon, and I had a fairly time-consuming job project. But I woke up and decided to get through all the weekly local newspapers I've not read since July, after which the clear recycle bag needed something else so I threw out a bunch of mini-zines from a shelf that I decided would be a good place to transfer the cleaning products from elsewhere in the library... only some of them didn't fit so Robin moved books up to that shelf to free a better one on the same case, then decided he was restless and wanted to shred some more old financials, but part of that involved blocking another shelf where I've been keeping my read comics so those went into shopping bags to give away to a neighbor... well, you get the picture. So stuff's been rearranged or shredded or stored or whatever, I got my project done and then some, and I'm glad to be going into Manhattan tomorrow so as not to be tempted to Do More...

I'm Walkin' Here

OMG that cold this morning! We got up at 4 AM and I was out of the house in the dark at 6:15 to catch the bus. It's autumn but there was a definite spring in my step which continued throughout my Manhattan workday. My feet didn't seem to hurt! I have no idea how long this period without pain will continue, or to what I can attribute it (my podiatrist visit on Saturday? the socks I wore today?), but I'm enjoying it while it lasts. Meanwhile, Robin had indeed continued the Great Shredding Project of Aught-Twenty-Six, including some really old tax records from before we were married, and had filled a further 5 or 6 bags with the detritus. Only seven more years of old financial records to go, then maybe we can give our shredder a bit of a breather. Meanwhile, I'm starting to think about what other paper I want to toss out in our now-paperless society... zines? college records? old poetry books? I'm halfway in Kondo mode (what exactly is sparking joy anyway?) and halfway in "will I want to keep this to supplement my memory lapses in the future?" mode. We'll see which one wins out. Probably the one that's the most organized...

Shredtaastic

Well, we could have done without the 1:30 AM wake-up as our neighbor's car (which was parked right next to mine) was repossessed. I had no idea repo folks do their job in the dead of night, but it's just one more adventure for us being situated in a 2-familiy house (converted to 3) at the conjunction of a dozen backyards. Anyway, I was punchy all day, fell asleep in the recliner again this afternoon, and only the whirring of our shredder kept me awake, as Robin decided to tackle the old financial records now that the variety of overnight bags and carriers are tossed and our usable suitcases stored in a closet. He made great headway, three bags of shredded paper, and I think he'll be working on it tomorrow as well. I'll be happy just to work on my job stuff for awhile.

It's in the Bag

I'm still fairly exhausted, especially since yesterday's drive, so it was all I could do to wake up enough to drop off some sundries at the local farmer's market then shop at our usual supermarket. It didn't take long to achieve unconsciousness upon our return, and thank goodness I slept most of the afternoon away. No regrets! Once dinner was done we tackled the mound of overnight and carrier bags and such that we've accumulated over the years (so many from Rothstein Kass! you wouldn't think six years of service could produce that much swag). Aside from the tote bags which can be squished anywhere and may still come in handy when it's time to pack for the move, they're all now in the throwaway pile, and Robin was able to fit our actual suitcases and backpacks (some of which were newly-bought a few months back, and three of which were his suitcase set brought over from England 30 years ago) into the tiny closet in the library. So we're now almost back to where we were prior to the Great Rafter Clean-Out of Aught-Twenty-Six. Just a bit more shredding to go, then we start looking through non-financial boxes. But all that is for another day...

Warm and Cozy with Family and Friends

This morning I went for my "medi-pedi" as my feet have been hurting, but the doc looked them over and found nothing major amiss so I carry on. The feet do feel nice now, though. I then drove 90 minutes to my brother's house in NJ for a visit and a pre-birthday lunch, then 15 minutes west to the annual reunion of my college frat buddies (co-ed service fraternity). Lots of fun as we recounted our plans for retirement in England's south coast to various friends, but as the lunch and subsequent pot luck weren't exactly agreeing with me I opted to leave after a couple hours and head back home. We got slammed at the GWB entrance, my main reason for not wanting to travel back from NJ on a Saturday afternoon/evening, but otherwise not a bad drive, and we came home to find that the landlord has finally turned on the heat, so it was lovely coming back to a cozy house after the outdoor chill. Tomorrow we shop and watch baseball (alas, looks like the Tampa Bay Rays are surging again) and football and other such TV while we declutter some more.

Truncated Work Day

I rewarded myself with a couple PTO hours, since I never seem to use them all, which made working from home a bit easier. The AL playoffs were cancelled this evening due to storms in the Cleveland area, and we got a fair few as well. I'm about as ready as I can be for tomorrow's activities, and I've finished every ready-to-eat meal in the fridge and freezer, so I'm looking forward to our Sunday grocery shopping, which may or may not be accompanied by a sushi lunch. Depends on how I weather tomorrow! 

The Ides of October

And all my folks' expense reports are submitted! I wish I could do as well with scheduling client meetings, so many people seem to be out this week and nobody's answering my emails. Very frustrating. Plus, the commute home is really starting to get to me. Maybe it just the change in the weather, or anticipating the coming weekend when we will once again be on the road visiting family and friends (meaning we have to shop on Sunday), but I just can't relax yet. Maybe by Sunday afternoon...

Early Adopters

Robin and I have many sensibilities in common. One of them is preparation. We're already looking (virtually) at retirement bungalows on the south coast of England, trying to narrow down exactly what we want. As I mentioned yesterday, next week we resume our clean-out, but before then there's Saturday. And that's now taken care of. The bean salad took much less time to make this afternoon than I'd anticipated, we're a well-oiled machine now, so I'm set with my potluck contribution to the annual college reunion. And we're meeting my brother Jay before that for a pre-birthday brunch, which has also been scheduled. We don't like to wait on things! This way we can travel without worry, relax and enjoy the day. The weather today only lightened my mood, it got up around 80 degrees F (about 26 degrees C)! so Robin threw open the windows and I took a couple relaxation hours because I'm really, really trying to learn how to just Do Nothing and Be in the Moment and all that...

The Calm Between

I didn't miss Mango that much during the day as I was in the Manhattan office, but it was so lovely and quiet when I hobbled home this evening (yes, that IT band and/or the neck is acting up again) that I'm starting to find it kind of eerie. We have nothing on our immediate calendar except Saturday in NJ, so next week we restart our downsizing, probably getting rid of most of the overnight bags I've accumulated over the years and, of course, continuing to shred our older financial stuff. I'm waiting for a phone call with my family's financial advisor to discuss cash flow as I look towards purchasing a retirement home on the south coast of England (so many lovely possibilities!) but I'm not eagerly seeking it out, we still have plenty of time before I retire, For now I have to learn how to relax a bit better.

Mangone

Mango is back home with Jonny now. Robin just observed that it feels like a weight has been lifted. A good reminder that a pet is a responsibility, even a temporary one. But it’s been one thing after another with us for the past month-plus, and we really need the down time. Aside from a trip into NJ on Saturday to take my brother out for a birthday brunch then see my college friends for our annual reunion, we have no plans nor are likely to make any for the foreseeable. The quiet is already blissful. 

Sunday Will Never Be the Same

Our last day with Mango until Jonny picks him up, and I made the most of it. He was a sweet lap cat, curled up next to me as I napped, and has generally made himself at home. It’s actually going to be weird not having him here. In other more positive news, I felt something in my neck loosen chiropractic-style earlier this evening, and that seemed to take care of the majority of the back pain I’d been having. Would have been nice if that had happened a few days ago, but oh well. After tomorrow we can both get a good night’s sleep again, nothing better for healing.