Of Moose And Men
The Best Laid Plans Of Both Often Go Astray

Been feeling somewhat run down for about a week and a half, with an intermittent cough, and some light chest congestion. No fever, no discolored anything, but finally went to see the doctor this afternoon. The practice I go to is one I’ve been going to since 1998 or 1999, and seeing the same doctor, who’s about ten years older than I am. He’s been making moves to keep the practice going, but clearly looking toward retirement as well, and so is adding more doctors and nurse practitioners to the group (he’s had other doctor partners over the years, but I think they’ve all retired at this point, so he needed more). Saw one of the new guys, welcomed him to the practice. Didn’t find anything specific, because it’s not really presenting as anything, so he gave me a script for an inhaler to calm my lungs down and told me to monitor for any discoloration or change in the no-fever situation. First time using an inhaler, which is an odd thing to get used to. Still glad to have gone in and had it checked.

Work is still playing catch up to get operations back and running. We’ve gotten partial back pay while the payroll processor figures out all of the missing deductions and what not. In theory we should get the rest this week, then I can figure out what goes where and try and clean things up, financially.

Slowing down in terms of work, speeding up in terms of other life things.

Work has been getting a tad slower. Most of the folks know what they should/shouldn’t be doing at this point, so there’s little need to consult the lawyers after you’ve been going at it for 35 days. We do get inquiries, but not as many. That may pick up as we start planning restart activities, for whenever Congress decides to do their damned jobs. There’s rumors of movement, but nothing as yet. It’s not like they can take the House’s bill at this point, since that only takes us through the week before Thanksgiving, and no one wants to deal with this mess all over again in three weeks anyway.

In happier news, I finished the latest scarf tonight. No pictures yet, as it’s still damp on a towel for blocking at the moment. Looking at the next things in the queue I may go nuts and cast on two projects – a chunky hat with an interesting bit of color work detail (in grey and dark blue), and this very 90s looking scarf that the husband asked me to make him when I was flipping through patterns (in the exact colors pictured, because my local yarn shop had that exact wool in stock). It apparently looks just like a sweater he had back in the 90s that he loved. The scarf will be a ton of mindless 2×2 ribbing, which makes it perfect for the few meetings I have, as well as new TV viewing, where the hat will need a bit more attention, so older movies I’ve seen will be the call there.

Caught up on comics last week, and again this afternoon. Not thrilled with the current book on my kindle, The Portable Door. Having just finished re-reading the Wheel of Time series, I’m finding the smart assedness of this one jarring. Not that I don’t love a book with a smart assed voice, but it’s not hitting for me right now.

Had what is likely my last physical therapy session for the knee today. I have a ton of notes I took on exercises, so I think I’m set. It’s surprisingly not sore this evening, even after some shuttle runs and turning drills. I won’t be running a race any time soon, but in theory I could start more walking with some running interspersed.

Finished the niece’s scarf this evening. Added some length to it in the middle, and had to use a tiny bit of the second skein to complete it. Will wash & block it tomorrow and get some more pictures. Already have the yarn wound for the next project.

My legs have been killing me. Between the increase in hopping and braking work, the three (!!!) childhood fillings I’ve had to replace the last two weeks, and just the general state of the country, I’ve been completely worn out and sore. Hence the day of knitting today to polish off the scarf. Heck, I even reactivated Netflix so I had something more to play in the background (started Supernatural, which I’d never watched; it made good background for me for knitting). I did make sure to get up every few rows and move around, so I wasn’t a complete lump, and my shoulders are happier for the movement.

Today’s PT was all about bouncing, hopping, breaking, etc. Those movements that are necessary if one is going to be out walking/running. So we’re pretty much done with strength training now, and on to working my hip flexors and glutes in new and interesting ways. Progress!

Work had me read something to see if we should cancel it. I said it was borderline, but leaned to keeping, but management was spooked, so they were planning on canceling it. It was at that point that I repeated my work zen mantra to myself – “they pay me the same no matter what; they pay me the same no matter what.” It’s not as bad as paying me to make photo copies (which is a waste of salary at my level), but whatever, if that’s what you need me to do, that’s what I’ll do. Ohm.

Knee was sore this morning, probably from the seats at the movie theater. We normally get ones that have some leg room, but there was a snafu with our tickets so we ended up elsewhere. Still did PT, and actually felt better for having worked the knee, but it definitely threw me off today.

Both in terms of PT and the knitting.

At PT they’re upping the weights in hand, and changing up the exercises, as they should be doing. I’m mostly fine on steps now, still some numbness when I kneel on the knee, and I can walk and bike pretty much normally. Zero cardio capacity at the moment, though, so I need to get on the bike more to help build that back.

Four more rows on the shawl. I’m 70% there, but with a lot more to go. I’m determined to get through this, though I may break and do a dishcloth or two when I need a small piece.

My nieces are all crocheting these days, and it’s fun to watch them finish things.

This morning was the latest check-in with the orthopedist. He’s quite pleased with the progress. The numbness I still have around the bottom of the kneecap, though it’s been receding, is normal. Twelve weeks is this guy’s mantra for recovery, so we power on through PT. Physical therapy is more like a workout now than earlier on, progressively heavier weights as we strengthen the quads. Whee!

But it’s nice to have some external validation that the recovery work is humming right along on schedule.

Past that I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that my small gubm’nt agency keeps humming along. The latest draft budget out of the House wasn’t nearly as much of a cut as 47 proposed, just $2B less than the current budget, as opposed to $5.1B less. We expect the Senate to be even less enthused with his request, but none of this is final until it’s final, so I’m just keeping going as long as they’ll let me.

We did some random out of the house shopping this past weekend. Tried a new (to us) used bookstore, where I found some fun stuff. Tried to go to a thrift store, but the parking lot was full, with more cars in the aisle. Luckily we were able to turn around and get out without getting trapped. Ikea for some shelves for Legos, lunch at some point in there, and home to nap. Did walk a bit too much without the one crutch that I’m using out of the house, but that’s another thing I’m trying to stretch.

My physical therapist definitely upped the weights in our session today, and my quads are complaining about it. Which is all good, because it means the knee is getting stronger. Also the swelling is going down and I can see the normal dimples coming back, so yay.

I did some minimal shopping for prime days, mostly needed upgrades for stuff that was on its last legs, like the toaster oven that has crossed wires somewhere behind the buttons so sometimes the start button turns it on, sometimes it changes the convection settings. Always an adventure with the current one, so out it goes when the new one arrives.

Teleworking after the last few months of return-to-office mandates has been odd, since I’m typically the only person not there in person, and it always has to start with a recitation of having had knee surgery that I’m recovering from. Not that I regret either the surgery or the telework, it’s just an odd situation.

Pro-tip: Clip your toenails before you have knee surgery, and not a week afterwards. It’ll be a lot easier. 😉

Sutures are out, balance is good. I drove to PT. Hardest part of driving right now is getting in and out of the car. Strength and coordination while driving were fine, it’s just awkward getting out of the car. So now it’s working on range-of-motion (so much flexing of the knee) and strength (so many variations of squats).

In other news, it’s hot as all get out here in the DC area. Currently around 96F/35C. Which was a perfectly fine temperature when I lived in Taiwan and had acclimated to sub-tropical heat, but not so much now that I’m stuck in AC all the time and fat.

My small gubm’nt agency is getting kicked out of our new (2017) office building in favor of a big gubm’nt agency that wants to move out of their mid-century brutalist monstrosity downtown. We found out definitively yesterday evening, with the press stuff happening this morning. So far the rumor is that we’ll be moved to the federal center in Suitland MD, which would be fine by me because it’s a straight shot down the green line for me – no more switching trains. But I bet it would lead to a lot more attrition, as both the current and former HQ buildings are in Northern Virginia, and people aren’t going to want to go to Maryland.

In better news, since I can drive we can go get haircuts. And comics. And groceries. Yay!

First PT appointment. Third time seeing this particular therapist and he was glad I finally had surgery to fix the knee. Ran me through my paces, took measurements for posterity, and gave me homework for the next two days until I see him again. Whee! Took my bullet journal with me and took good notes on the exercises. Surprisingly still not feeling the need for pain medication, even after the session. The most irritating part was getting in and out of the ubers with the brace on, honestly.

The husband is off to dinner with a friend, and they’re going to pick up the weekly haul of comics. I’m probably over a month behind on those at this point, but I’m not stressed about it yet.

In the meantime I’m currently stuck on the couch under a cat, so I’ll figure out the rest of the evening later.