Snow. Yep that is what they keep hollering about.  2-4" in the higher elevations.  Don't really think it will amount to much.  But it is that time of the year. This morning it was 26F w/heavy frost.

Don_P let the ole pain meter dictate what I can and cannot do.  Seems there is more that I cannot do than there is that I can do.   I will have it done at Low Moor which is a Lewis Gale hospital in Covington,Va.   

Wednesday was the last day for Dogtrot this year.  Partially by choice and partially out of necessity.  Normally I would try to keep it open to the middle of December.   I had a surgery scheduled for the 13th to repair a torn Rotator Cuff in my right shoulder.  I knew there was no way that I could winterize it after having this procedure.

For those who have never had this procedure I will just forewarn you that it is pretty painful.  The extent of my damage was that the tendon had pulled loose from the arm bone and then in addition had split.  The surgeon had to first repair the split and then insert anchors to secure the tendon to the bone.  Come to find out that the medication prescribed was not enough to handle the pain.  So in essence I have gotten about 3 hours sleep in the last couple nights.  I am presently in a sling and will continue to be so for another 4-6 weeks.  I have often heard of this type of injury but I never had an occasion to really find out what caused it or the procedure to repair it.  The following is a little video showing exactly what the rotator cuff is, the damage and treatment for those who like me had no idea.

http://youtu.be/T8SWKH18FIQ

Well in addition to not being able to preform simple task it is safe to say that the Apartment project http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=12788.0 is also on hold.  Well it is time to get my fix    now and you are probably tired of looking for all the mistakes in my typing as my dominant hand (R) is the same as my injured side

 

Good luck in your recovery, I tore mine in May and still don't know if I want to go through the surgery.

Quote from: pmichelsen on November 15, 2014, 08:00:45 PM
Good luck in your recovery, I tore mine in May and still don't know if I want to go through the surgery.

It really wasn't a choice.  Either have it repaired or cease to use it.  I just wish I hadn't waited this long.  Chances are they probably wouldn't have went to the extent they did to repair and chances are that the recovery tine would have been less.

Take care and all the very best John, from Karen and I both.

We went up to the cabin this morning to finish the winterizing. I found that I should have gone ahead and bought the new tires I was thinking of a couple weeks ago. There was a little snow on our hill and I had way too much wheel slip.    I was hoping the tires would go another season or two, but my cheap side got me. Came home early as there is more snow in the forecast tonight and tomorrow. Not going to have much change from $1K. 

Take care of yourself, I hope your recovery is as speedy as possible. That is a heaping helping of hurt, I hope it begins to let up soon. Michelle is in stomp and howl mode after a procedure Mon, makes for a useless feeling when there is nothing I can do. We could sure use better pain meds in this world. One thing I thought of last night, be sure to check how many pain and torture sessions your insurance covers. I didn't think to check and was about 3k beyond their payment limit when the bills started bouncing back to me.

I read content not spelling or punctuation, its a long way from shift to some keys one handed, no need on our account 

Don it has been nonstop since  Thursday.  I started out with 325 grams of  a narcotic and it wasn't even touching the surface.  I adjusted my own to double the dosage and called the Dr to get it increased.  He said they no longer can call  in a script for a narcotic and advised me to double it for 24-48 hours.  I tried cutting it back to regular dosage but I could tell it wasn't time yet.  My daughter is a PT and instructed me it is better to manage your pain rather than chase it.

Sleeping was a real problem as it seems pressure was applied to that area either directly or indirectly.  So now I
have found that the couch works best.

She did give me a recipe for ice packs being 20% rubbing alcohol and 80% water in freezer  1 gal bags.  She also said that the pain usually last about two weeks and should subside gradually after that.  Well at least until therapy starts.  That gravity swing 3 times a day is hard.  But they say if you don't do it the joint will seize up from no activity

Take care of Michelle and yourself.  I think my wife is looking forward to going back to work tomorrow.

Six weeks post surgery has just passed so I guess it is time to get serious with my therapy.  Tomorrow is my Dr. appointment to determine if the repair has healed enough to start my next phase of my physical therapy.  The torture phase more or less which I understand involves a good bit of pain.  The last three weeks have been more/less just to ensure that the muscles do not contract.  It has not been painfree with the stretching of those muscles that make up the arm and shoulder movement so nothing is lost.

On a positive note my son is home from college on his break.  He generally always loads my wood boxes weekly but since it was a decent day I asked him to clean the flue.

Nice perch 
Six weeks is when I started PT. I think I was down to percocet by then. The PT's could make me groan but most of it was pretty short lived. Sleep still eluded me during that period. Mine felt pretty swolen inside much of the time, I kept thinking he had lost his dew rag inside. A friend of ours had hers done about a year ago, also pretty badly torn. As she had trouble the PT's told her to back off on their regimen for a week and let it calm down.  That helped quite a bit.
Have a Merry Christmas!

Well they did it again.  Both of the children captured "Grand Champion" position for the annual 4-H/FAA Ham, Bacon & Egg sale.  Bittersweet for Steven as this will be his last year of participation because of his age limitation but I guess he went out with a bang.  27 # ham @$43 per pound.   Emily bacon was a little more than 7# and sold for $100 per pound. 

WOW way to go kids!!!!

And I can see Dad's big smile all the way out in in NM!

In preparation to the annual spring "cabin fever" I was greeted with the unexpected.  Although not uncommon for the road it was a surprise as normally very few fall at this elevation.  Mostly further up the mountain near the top where it is more open and susceptible to the wind.  Well no problem thank goodness the cabin is not that far from the house and a short drive back to get the saw. It couldn't have been another 75 yards as you can see my gate in the background.  I can only imagine those who travel great distances to their hideaway only to find a similar situation and don't have a saw.  Maybe a word to the wise would be purchasing a small inexpensive one to carry on your trips especially if it is off the beaten path. 



Waste not want not.  That much I will not have to cut for next year.



Enjoying the weather before the music.  They say that pictures don't lie.  Well actually Chuck N Virginia was happy.

It is looking more like spring in WV than it is here, John. We are up in our Jemez Mtns right now. The third inch of new snow has just finished accumulating this AM.

That tree, or one of its NM cousins is why I have the second saw in a carry box in the truck most of the time. It has been a trip saver more than once.

The older I get the more like my grandmother I get. We used to laugh that whenever a camera came out she started frowning. I was actually very happy to be there and ready to enjoy the music and fellowship !

I guess it was a matter of time.  My newest neighbor has been plagued by a rouge Bear this past 2 weeks.  He is staying in a small camper and gets visited every 2-3 days.  So far they have shreaded 2 tarps, tore the vent for the gas refrigerator off the roof, pealed the aluminum cover off his door.  Most of which has been done in the middle of the night while he was inside.

Well if his place wasn't enough he has meandered up to my cabin in the last night or so.  Tearing the screen on two windows and leaving his muddy paw prints on the glass.

Last night the Fish & Game department set a culvert trap at his place.  Hopefully eliminating his problem will eliminate mine as well.

That must be one curious bear.

Hard to capture but at least it is some documentation.  You can just see a trace of the print on the glass above.  Maybe one thing that saved me was I had a oil lantern just below the window that he knocked over.  Maybe the scent of that caused him to leave.

Generator # 2.  Developed a low oil pressure problem 18 months after activation.  Authorized dealer has replaced send unit and three oil pumps to finally keep it from "low oil pressure alarm".  From the looks of it seemed to be a little late.  My thoughts is that with it running trying to isolate the problem it has probably gotten the cylinder walls scored allowing oil to enter the combustion chamber.  It is out of the 3 year warranty but should be covered since it started and was documented long before.  Waiting on Generac to determine the course of action. 

Seems as if " Murphys Law" is here to stay for a while

Maybe the smoke will help keep the bear away?   

Sorry to hear about those problems. I finally resolved the packrat issue we had so I hope you are fortunate with both the bear and the generator. (I trapped three and now they are not a nuisance.)

Quote from: MountainDon on June 12, 2015, 04:54:53 PM
Maybe the smoke will help keep the bear away?   

Sorry to hear about those problems. I finally resolved the packrat issue we had so I hope you are fortunate with both the bear and the generator. (I trapped three and now they are not a nuisance.)

To add to the turmoil Stevens dog passed away this afternoon.   .  Diagnosed as Diabetic about a month ago.  Been giving her insulin shots to counteract that.  Then labored breathing the last couple days. Been keeping a watchful eye on her to make sure she was not in pain.  I guess she decided it was time to go. 

Then two weeks ago one of Emily's show pigs up and died as well. Not sure about it but maybe lung worms.

Been one of those months that I would rather forget.

Quote from: Redoverfarm on June 12, 2015, 05:53:20 PM
To add to the turmoil Stevens dog passed away this afternoon.   .  Diagnosed as Diabetic about a month ago.  Been giving her insulin shots to counteract that.  Then labored breathing the last couple days. Been keeping a watchful eye on her to make sure she was not in pain.  I guess she decided it was time to go. 

Then two weeks ago one of Emily's show pigs up and died as well. Not sure about it but maybe lung worms.

Been one of those months that I would rather forget.

As someone that has been around blue and red healers all my life.  We called them dingos when they were introduced around here.  When they finely leave you - wow do they ever leave a hole.      John I have never seen a breed of dogs that could bond like they can with a family.  Ours are actually really house dogs.  Ellen and my heart go out to you all.

Sorry as well the lost of the show pig.....  Dang rough month on the livestock heard......

Sorry about the genny.  I haven't had an issue with mine (knock on wood) except when I overfilled it (the dip sticks all over the thing can be confusing and on that day I didn't have my readers) and it smoked like crazy until I suctioned all the excess oil out.

I thought I would introduce you to some of my neighbors.  Word has it that they are real "party animals".  Actually these were taken behind my house just a short distance from Dogtrot.

Way cool!

Quite an array of creatures you have lurking around.

Yes Don & pmichelsen always new everything pictured is around most of the time.  Was a little surprised to see 4 coyotes together though.  Long story short against my advice my son set the camera too low.  I told him to elevate it some 7-8 feet above the ground to keep it away from the bears.    Yep you guessed.  Wonder what flash bulbs taste like to black bears.    So will just have to see them in person until he gets the camera replaced.