I saw something that made me laugh out loud as I was driving to work today. You know those "deer crossing" signs? Somebody had made a really excellent modification. They added wings to the deer. I laughed like a loon.
I needed the laugh, as the doc (not a radiologist, so this is not a final sort of diagnosis) who reviewed my x rays this morning didn't have really positive things to say. I hope to learn more soon, but it is starting to look like I may have to restrict some of my favorite activities if I can't get fixed up. I guess there are only so many times the doctors can wave their magic wands before they go "Nope, wand wave-age quota exceeded."
It's not like I'll be bed ridden, but as things stand I pretty much can't ride a horse for more than a few minutes. Possibly a horse with less motion could fix that problem. But that would, of course, mean I wouldn't be riding Pluto. I don't see him becoming a smooth ride any time soon, if ever. I have had friends who bought gaited horses (Tennessee Walkers, Paso Finos, and Saddlebreds, for instance) for just such reasons. Their backs couldn't hand much motion any more. So I guess it's an option. Alternatively, I might be able to modify my riding style to accommodate the needs of my back. But I can't keep riding the way I have been, all these years. I am in constant pain anyway, but riding makes it worse.
It's depressing. I'm going to stop thinking about it for now.
Let's see, cheerful things.. I'm going backpacking! I know you just gasped in shock. I have a short trip planned for this weekend. I'm not sure who my hiking partner will be, but I'm going. Backpacking actually doesn't bother my back, which is pretty happy when I'm walking. So I have a pretty route picked out, and I'm starting to pack up the food. Unfortunately it's going to get hot again this weekend, but I plan to tromp through a stream many times, so it shouldn't be too bad. :)
JD and I tested a couple of old Thermarests to see if we could find the leaks in them. If so, we could fix one up for him. The smaller one had a couple of leaks we identified using the "spray it with soapy water and look for bubbles" method. The larger one, we gave up looking after finding the sixth hole. I bought it from REI lo these many years ago, I think. After it dries, I'll take it back and try to get some store credit for it. It was one of those huge lux-o-mats, which was used ONCE and I am pretty sure I spent over a hundred bucks on it so I am aggrieved. (It was pretty nice that one time though.)
The one with only a couple of leaks we have marked with a permanent marker. When it finally dries back out we'll have a go at patching it. It should work well. Ten years ago I patched one that a cat clawed up, and it's still holding air.
Okay, even though watching five hours of True Blood yesterday made me kind of blah, I'm going to go watch more. It's an addiction.
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