A Man and His Pain

 The temperature is rising! Tomorrow I will be putting up a plastic barrier on the inside of the porch. I am hoping this will keep the cold at bay until Spring. I am not a fan of plastic in windows, but the wind that whips through is breath taking! It will prevent that wind from coming inside when we open the door.

HeWho has been complaining that his recliner is next to the door and too cold for him to sit there. At 6:48 last night he went to bed! I don't want to go to bed that early, so I rearranged the furniture and got his recliner moved to a warmer(?) location. That was my old location and when that door opens for the dogs, the chill hits me, too. I do not plan to share that with him, though.

Moving around stuff is not easy in this small space and I got tired before I finished. Being the selfless being that I am, I made sure all of his stuff was ready for his keester to sit in his new location. This morning I removed the obstacle course that was in the way before I even had coffee. I figure that anyone who went to bed (and to sleep!) that early might be up and about early. I may have under-estimated HeWho's ability to sleep deep and long! He is napping right now in his chair.

He limped out with his cane this morning around 10 and announced that his left ankle was hurting. He had told me last night that his leg was numb near his ankle and that I should call Susan (Nurse Practitioner) and make an appointment. There are several things wrong with that request (command). 1. I was otherwise occupied moving his beloved recliner to its new location.

2. One  cannot make appointments when the office is not open.

3. There is nothing wrong with his arms or hands and he can speak. He is capable of doing that for himself.

After he settled himself in his recliner, I brought his morning pills to him, then made his breakfast. After he ate I removed his sock and looked at his leg. No swelling, not hot to the touch and no redness. I don't doubt that he might be experiencing pain. We are old and some days just moving hurts. But I didn't note anything life threatening. Still, I made him call Susan and leave a message. We have her cell number, so it is not difficult to reach her. She may live to regret giving it to us! She will call back, she always does, but it won't be until she is done with office visits for today. She has called as late at 9:30 in the evening.

That done I set about watering plants. I recently bought a dozen gadgets that will hold a one litre bottle of water securely. After the bottle is attached, there is a tiny nozzle that turns to regulate the flow of water from the bottle. When I installed them I set them all to a slow drip. They emptied too fast, though. Some of the plants got too much water and others, not enough. I was sorely disappointed in my purchase. Four dollars is four dollars wasted when the product doesn't deliver! I know, I am cheap!

So, I played with all my new gadgets. If that doesn't work, I will go back to putting ice in the pots that will slowly melt. I tried putting some plants on the ledge of the window that goes to the ceiling. But, the sun beats down on that window almost all day and they dry out and get sunburned. So, I brought all but one down and then launched a search for things that could go up there and not be affected by the sun.

I have several statues of Dachshunds (go figure). Some resin, some porcelain, and various other materials. I have one in cast iron, but it is somewhere in the unopened boxes (with my cutlery!). Since that seemed to be my new theme, the decorative boxes of ashes and cast paw prints went up there as well. This spans the width of the room, so some other keepsakes joined the memorial of past pets. Sarge, Louise, Oscar and Emmy, Wall-E, Cujo, and Martha, the boy cat. I plan to frame the poem with the flowers that are their pawprints and add those. 

So, now we wait to hear what Susan has to say about the man and his pain ......