More Stretching And Some New Finds

Friday started out with another of the spinal decompression treatments that I described in my blog entry It’s Not What It Looks Like a couple of days ago. The treatments take about 15 minutes, and after the two I’ve had so far I can feel a certain amount of improved flexibility and a bit less pain. Unfortunately, just like the cold laser therapy I tried a while back, so far the results have only been temporary. I think I’ve got about six more sessions to go and we’ll see what things look like from there.

One option the doctors have discussed is stem cell therapy. I don’t know much about it and I’m reading and researching before I reach any kind of decision on whether to try it or not. Some people I have talked to have had a lot of success with it, while others say it isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. And since the cost is nearly $5,000 and neither Medicare nor the VA will cover it, that’s something to think about, too. Hey, it’s cheaper than that classic Mustang I looked at a while back, right?

When we were done at the doctors, Terry and I drove down to Cocoa, about 40 miles south of us. We had a couple of things to take care of down there and wanted to check out some of the antique shops in that area. In one of them, an interesting little shop called Stone Street Apothecary and Antique Marketplace, I spotted this interesting three-legged yarn bowl that was just perfect to sit next to Terry’s recliner. She likes to knit when we are sitting together watching TV in the evening it’s going to be very handy for her.

Terry also has somehow become a collector of yarn spindles and pirns. Neither one of us is sure how that actually started. One day we were in an antique shop someplace and I bought her a couple of spindles and a pirn, just because they looked good. Then, we found another one someplace and it came home with us, too. The next thing we know, it was a collection. She found a few more at the same shop in Cocoa, so they joined some others sitting on top of the hutch in our living room.

We stopped at another shop on the way home and I found something for me. Everybody knows I’m a history nut, and I love books, so when I saw these 19 volumes of the Time Life series The Old West for just $35, I snatched them up. Usually they sell from anywhere from $8 to $12 each at most used book stores. They are full of great stories and photographs, and I’m sure I’ll refer to them often when I’m writing. I think there were actually 26 books in the series, so I’ll have to make a list of what I have and don’t have and be on the lookout for the rest.

After a stop at the Irish Pub in Titusville for dinner, where I went with their signature fish and chips and Miss Terry had the shepherd’s pie, we got home just before dark. Except for being put on a table that simulated a medieval rack torture device and being stretched from end to end, it was a great day.

Yesterday was a lot slower paced. I spent some time dealing with emails, then got a little more than 2,000 words done in my new book. Meanwhile, Terry was making a delicious Mexican dinner from scratch. We invited our friend Jim Lewis to join us, because when you have something that delicious, it just wouldn’t be fair to keep it to yourself. At least that’s what Terry said in response to my protests about having to share.

After dinner we played darts for a while, and I managed to win two games and Terry won one. Jim, who usually beats the pants off both of us, only won one game. That’s very rare, and yes, I may have done a little gloating. What can I say? Sometimes I’m not nearly the little saint my mother always thought I was.

Today is your last chance to enter our Free Drawing for an audiobook of Ken Rossignol’s The Chesapeake: Country Cornpone Cornucopia. It is the fifth audiobook in Ken’s series of short stories of and about people in and around the Tidewater Chesapeake region. There is lots of history and humor, making it a perfect way to pass time in front of a roaring fire or on a beach or promenade deck. To enter, all you have to do is click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name (first and last) in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn this evening.

Thought For The Day – What doesn’t kill you gives you unhealthy coping mechanisms and a dark sense of humor.