Lincoln River in Winter

 Unless things take a turn for the worse, today was my last doctor's appointment of this adventure.

I stopped at the Lincoln River (point 4 on the map in the link below) to snap a couple of winter pictures. I like this one best.

After the doctor, I got groceries, and also bought a new mailbox.

This is the view eastward, upstream. Legally, this part, above this bridge, is not considered navigable. That means that the public is not supposed to poke around there in a kayak for example.

I went to bell choir practice later in the afternoon. That's really the limit for my eyes today. They are still very light sensitive. But I'm convinced things are getting better.

My goals for tomorrow are to jerry-rig the new mailbox so they will deliver the mail, and to make yogurt. Those sound moderately reasonable to me.

See Lincoln River Continued

Twenty Years Ago

 Well I still have nothing current to share, but I KNOW I'm really feeling better. Food is starting to taste normal again. I did a little bit of screen time today.

Meanwhile, this is what I was doing 20 years ago today. Moving snow in the driveway. Not a big surprise there, eh?

Current driveway status. The plow hit the mailbox over a week ago. I can't even find the box. Haven't had enough energy to dig for it in more than a cursory manner. The PO won't give me the mail unless I rent a box in town. Good thing not much important comes in the mail any more. Maybe I'll have the energy to deal with that later this week.

See About Done with All This?

About Done with All This?

 These are all the different medications I've been on over the past 4 weeks. I know for a fact that I've never had to take this many meds in my entire life. All but two are precription. I'm done with all but one eyedrop and the general pain management.

Today I cut down the OTC painkillers a litte bit more. Hopefully, I can cut out even a little bit more tomorrow or the next day.

I did manage to shower and wash and change my bedding. That's about all I accomplished. But I think the neuralgia is really on the run. It is pretty weird to have the bones in a quarter of your face itching, though. There is nothing you can to do scratch that!

See Nothing is Something?

Nothing is Something?

 Well, today I did nothing again. Really pretty much nothing. I was hoping I'd feel well enough to go out to the NCT hike and chili feed at Big M. I knew I couldn't hike, but thought I might be able to be there for the meal and to visit. They had a great turnout. My buddy Bill was there and he sent me this picture.

But I woke up with no energy at all again. Disappointing, but I knew I couldn't do it. Also, very little tastes good yet anyway.

However, I think my body is focusing all of its resources on the nerve healing. I'm down to nearly minimal non-prescription painkillers, and all of the places that have been hurting so badly now itch- not like a rash, but like when a wound is getting better. That's annoying, but I'm pretty sure it's a sign of healing. I'm calling that my big success of the day.

My goal tomorrow is going to be to clean up myself and change the bed. I'm trying not to feel guilty for doing nothing again, but it's really too much effort to try.

I'll take a faster ending to pain... I suspect that will be good motivation. Meanwhile, I have a good audiobook.

Coyotes are yipping out in the snow!

See Big M 2024

Adventurous Women 6 - Justine Kerfoot

 This post is partly a repeat of a previous one, but I said it all very well back then. I just didn't tell you about the book. The book is Woman of the Boundary Waters, and her name is Justine Kerfoot. She had died before I learned about her, but I did know her son and daughter-in-law.

Justine was born in 1906. She completed college with a degree in zoology with minors in philosophy and chemistry. She played sports. She had planned to become a doctor. In the late 1920s, her mother bought the Gundlint Lodge resort on the Gunflint Trail in the Minnesota Arrowhead from the family who had begun it, and Mae (her mother) and Justine began running the lodge. Justine was captivated with the backwoods life. I think this picture might be the lodge even before 1930.


Justine learned how to do everything- carpentry, canoeing, being an electrician, guiding, plumbing, trapping, fishing, you name it. She wrote a newspaper column and several books. She was friends with the Chippewa and anyone else who needed a friend. Although she was a small woman, people soon learned to respect her knowledge and strength.

Her son Bruce, and his wife Sue, ran Gunflint Lodge until just a few years ago when it was sold out of the family.

Justine portaged her own canoe until she was 90. She was responsible for a lot of the planning and deveopment of the Gunflint Trail area, serving on local boards. And more. Quite a lady, don't you think? I would love to have met her, but I have met Bruce and Sue, and I have read a biography of her life. The closest I could get to her was to have my picture taken with her portrait in 2009. This picture no longer hangs in the lodge. It probably belonged to the family, and was not sold with the building.

Today was mixed bag. I did an hour of screen time for clients. I prepared for and did three errands and got an oil change. When I got home I ate something and was literally shaking on my feet. Fell in bed like a rock and have basically been there since.

I have to take whatever successes I can get.

See Justine's Meatloaf

A Better View?

  Sorry about no blog post last night. My eye hurt so bad I just couldn't function. Got an eye doctor appt. this morning. Two doctors looked at it, and the eye is fine. Really fine. What I have now is post-shingles neuralgia. This could last a while, but hopefully not more than a couple of weeks. The point is... I can use my eyes as much as I'm comfortable with. I'm not doing any damage. I just need to wait for the nerves to heal.

I drove through the beach afterwards and got much nicer pictures than last week.

And some open water looking more to the north.

I actually had a fair amount of energy today (compared to the past 3+ weeks). Maybe tomorrow I'll both have energy and my eye will be less light-sensitive. Of course they had to dilate it today.

But I'm very encouraged.

See The View? at the Beach

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Fishies!

 The eye doctor's office has a very nice aquarium with five fairly large fish. I know nothing about fish except that these are pretty and the aquarium was very clean.

I did quite a lot today. Two doctor appointments, got gas, got groceries. Then I rested and went to bell choir practice. It was tiring, but I did OK.

This picture also has two fish. There is a black one on the bottom that kind of folds up its fins and sits in the rocks.

OF course, you know I like the blue one.

I need to stay awake for another 45 minutes to take pills, but I might fudge on that a bit. I don't think I can sit up much longer. But today was a good day. We'll see what tomorrow brings. I won't be sorry if it's a little better, but I guess I'm getting used to the up-down nature of this recovery.

See Not a Smooth Line

Not a Smooth Line

 This recovery is not progressing as a smooth upward line. Today I was able to do things for about two hours and then it was back to bed with an icepack on my head.

This is the old landfill. I sort of like the bleak look of the hill. At one time the city was talking about making this into a park, but nothing ever happened with that.

Tomorrow I have two doctor appointments.

See True Blue Gumby II

I Walked Outside!

  I managed to get in four rounds of activity today of more than an hour each. One of those included an attempt to take a walk outside. It was beautiful!

Well, I didn't get very far. Maybe a couple of hundred feet before I was whipped and had to turn around. Baby steps.

We got something between 20 and 25 inches of snow here this week. This is the pile that Doug pushed up at the end of the driveway with his plow.

I thought I'd bring in the mail from the last few days but discovered that the road plow has hit the post. I dug around until I was too tired, but I haven't even found where the box got knocked to yet. What fun.

No ice packs at all last night! The rash is almost gone. I did a little computer work today. I puttered around with various other tasks as I said. I walked 15 minutes inside. I ate a salad for dinner instead of something soft. My motivation is now ahead of my energy. But, my eye is very sore. I don't dare strain it too much. Overall, I'm encouraged.

See More Up Than Down

Best Photos of July 2022

 Here are the best of the pictures I think I took from July 2022. This was from the big hike. I know that was forever ago, but I've always wanted to try to share the best from each month. I have a lot of bad ones from this month.

I am saying these pictures are "best," not because they necessarily tell the story best, but because I think they are simply the best actual photographs. I've left them full size, so you can click on them and see them larger. That always makes photos look better. Three are cropped a bit, and one had the color saturation increased a tad.

I got a lot of wildlife and flower pictures, but most are only of the quality you can use to ID things, not really nice pictures.

They are chronological from west to east.

This is the Lonetree Wildlife Management Area seen from the eastern end of the McClusky Canal. If that irrigation project had been finished this would all have been flooded. Now, it's a beautiful recreation area. (Some officials realized the irrigation project was headed for environmental disaster).

Next up is showy milkweed. I like that I got several stages of buds and blossoms

I can't really identify this golden dragonfly. I've seen lots of them in North Dakota over the years. I guessed another golden one as an immature saffron-winged meadowhawk, but the wings are different on this one.

Here we have a Western Grebe. Look closely. She has a baby on her back!

This is a worked field with something just coming up. I like the pattern.

There are two amazing railroad bridges across Lake Ashtabula which is a dammed area of the Sheyenne River. This is the Karnak Bridge.

I am forever trying to get good pictures of the White Pelicans. They are amazing birds, but very shy. I think this is my best success to date.

A hazy morning in the Sheyenne Valley.

And a brighter afternoon in the Sheyenne River Valley.

Finally, the Sheyenne flows through Fort Ransom State Park and gathers itself into a setting that looks almost eastern. But this was a very appealing scene to me.

And how did today go? Pretty well. I did some computer work, laundry, changed my bed and showered. I'm going to have to be careful to not do too much computer time. Hurts the eyes. I also walked around the house (just inside) for 15 minutes, but that's the most I've done for 10 days. Very encouraging.

See Best Photos from June 2022

More Up than Down?

 First of all, last night was only a two-ice-pack night instead of the six-plus of recent nights to keep the fiery rash from driving me completely insane. No weird dreams.

And I think I may have spent more time up than lying down today. Went to the library and came home via Johnson Rd. Also a paved, plowed road. I think the schools were open today. One day this week.

I love the heavy snow on these old maple trees.

I'm starting to be a tiny bit hungry again. Sugar and salt are still really not appealing though. I made a tuna-noodle casserole and didn't use any salt beyond what was in the ingredients. Cheese on top. It hit the spot! Usually not a favorite of mine, but it was perfect. I have enough for a couple more meals.

Did some little bits of work. My head hurts less and less all the time. The eye is intermittently blurry, but it's OK. The rash is running from devil prednisone! Maybe I'm really on the mend?

See Winter Scenes

Winter Scenes

 I did more today, but am still impossibly tired in between. Started with a virtual appt with a doctor. I guess I'm going to finally be forced to get a primary care physician. Anyway, he wasn't very happy about it, but I talked him into some Prednisone. So then I had to go out to get that.

I came home on Conrad road. The winter sure is beautiful. I have no energy to enjoy it yet, but maybe there is hope for February. This is a paved road, and yes, it is plowed. Still very difficult to see with no shadows on the white.

Drove through the tunnel of trees. It doesn't look as "tunnel-y" in winter, but still interesting.

I have to admit that all I really wanted to do while I was out was get back to bed. I'm impossibly weak yet. Hopefully that will begin to change soon. My taste buds are starting to return to normal.

I napped and read in the afternoon.

I have a Zoom meeting this evening, so this is a big activity day for me given the past three weeks. Hoping I sleep better tonight. Really weird dreams.

See Tunnel of Trees

The View? at the Beach

 The visibility was still bad this morning, but I made it out and to the doctor safely. Afterwards I drove through the beach to get a nice picture to share with you. Ha! The lighthouse is out there somewhere.

The doctor says my eye is looking good and that I'm actually recovering quite normally. She said I have to expect the weakness and headache for at least another week. Hoo boy.

The rash was horrible last night. One more doctor appt tomorrow, and hopefully if the rash is still bad I can get some prednisone for that. Prednisone kicks rashes for me really well, but it's a prescription med.

I am highly encouraged that even though this isn't over that I'm progressing normally. Today took quite a bit of stamina with getting out and doctor and store afterwards. I also did the dishes because the fruit flies were taking over the kitchen.

Here's to a night with less itching.

See Same Old

Same Old

 The weather is still doing the same things it's been good at for the last couple of days. Got one kind of interesting shot of goldenrod out the bathroom window.

Ditto for me. I had no energy at all again today. Dragged myself to the store to get some more pills to try to deal with the hives. I didn't sleep well at all from the itching.

Doctor in morning, assuming I can get out, but probably OK. I need some better answers.

Here is the soup I made yesterday. It's chock full of vegetables, but it's not very good. It's not awful, but I've made lots better. Things still don't taste right, so there is that too.

Sorry, I don't have much of anything interesting to share. Whatever this is has to let go soon, right?

See Chilly Wonderland