Back to ... the new normal

I'm not even quite sure what a new normal is. Maybe it is just silence, no schedule, and farm life. The difference is I have no schedule like I had before. 5 days a week I planned things around going to the gym and the store and Rich's VA appointments which included PT. 

Now I plan less trips into the public and it feels like I have no place to be...and that I belong no...where.

We do have an appointment at the VA next week which will be a long drive. Labs, ENT, and Oncology. 

I am also going to pop up to Mental Health and ask why Rich hasn't had a new doctor assigned to him since Dr. Schiffman had retired. I hate getting a 'new' doctor but I think 6 months is an awful long time without having a mental health checkup for Rich. Maybe I am poking the bear, but we are getting into that time of the year when things get tough for Rich.

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That said, I am still doing CrossFit at home. It is the one regular challenge per day that I can look forward to on my own. Yesterday's work out was actually pretty fun for me. It was Box Jumps and modified Handstand Pushups. Since I cannot do a Handstand Push up, I do a much lower one. 

When I started CrossFit I could barely do a push-up at all because my shoulders and arms were so weak. Box Jumps were a bit beyond me. I went with a small box and did mostly step ups. 
It will be two years in October. All this movement has helped my arthritis significantly as well as blood pressure and mental well being. 
Staying mobile is a big deal for me. I'll be 65 next year and I want to continue to stay mobile as long as nothing strikes me down. 
Anyway, that is my goal.

Every once in a while my coach asks for a photo of what I am doing or using for a specific movement. So I usually set a camera on a timer and put together a small collage.

Box Jumps and Elevated Push ups

Burpees with Charlie

Sumo Lift

and Wall Balls

Modified Pull ups with a rope

Front Squat 

Back Squat

with car axle

My daily routine this month has circled all around canning tomatoes, freezing sauces and finishing up the garden goodies.

September has rushed right on in along with very cold weather! It is 42 degrees out there this morning. We may have to turn the heat on today. I'm hoping arrange things so I can take a few longer hikes this month as the colors begin to change in the leaves.

The hay is ordered and will be delivered, the garden is just about done, and I am figuring out how to winter the pony and goat together as they are now best friends, except when Little Richard has enough of Sven's shenanigans.

Fall prep for the long winter.

It seems we are always preparing for something doesn't it?

In that sense, the new Normal is the Old Normal.

Regarding Covid-19, the numbers in our county are jumping quickly more people are hospitalized. Schools are open with in person classes, but as more positives come from the schools, I imagine it won't stay that way?

Carry on. 

Be well.

Wild and Wicked Sunday

Really. 

It was not Wild nor was it really Wicked.

First order of the day was to go get a truckload of hay. Rich said he wasn't going with because his knee is swelled up again and it hurts.

It has been drained twice now and both times the aspiration has revealed blood.

The VA orthopedic department did make an appointment for him on December 4th. 

The lady who made the appointment said that we should visit the ED if it was too painful or bothersome before that date.

When a joint fills up with blood it will severely damage that joint. Rich says leave it until his appointment, but I'll drag him over to the ED [ER] tomorrow after seeing Oncology for a follow up. He is in a LOT of pain. I'd like to also find out why the joint keeps filling up with blood.

So, off I went with the pickup and got our monthly supply of small bales of hay. I paid Eddie for the pig we purchased from him. His wife made coffee and I sat down in their kitchen and visited for a bit.

As you can tell from this photo, I'm not really great at just backing into a crowded shed to get close to the spot where we stack our small bales.
I got the truck into the doorway and left it there.
This way I get to move it at least twice by hand!
Once to toss it off the truck and once to stack it.

I will consider it a CrossFit workout...WOD: Move bales and toss them!

I did get it all taken care of and it went slightly better than I expected. Maybe it is that CrossFit training I've been doing. Maybe it was the cold temperatures that made it more comfortable.

Rich and I have been playing Backgammon for Speech Therapy work. He has to use strategy and counting.
I saw how much he enjoyed playing cribbage with our friends from Kenosha.
So I asked him if he'd teach me.

Cribbage is as clear as mud.

But since Rich loves the game so much, I decided I need to try and learn it. There is a method to my madness. As he tries to teach it to me, he works on his communication skills, words, thought process, and counting. IF I play, he promises to do a bit of writing therapy also.

Even when Rich's words don't come out correctly, they are generally close enough that I understand what he is trying to say. Sometimes it is an exact opposite and sometimes it is just a strange new word combination.

So he started by trying to teach me to count.

"15 two, ..." he said holding cards out, "15 four, see?"
I did NOT see I saw a Jack a Queen and a 5 of spades.
He moved his hands again putting them down and repeating them.
"Then there is the crib, but since I am just showing it to you..."

It made absolutely NO sense to me so I suggested we bring out the board and he help me play the game until it clicked.

Patience has never been a strong suit of my husband's. So we played and I could see he was getting frustrated that I 'wasn't' catching on right away. However we played until it was nearly dark outside...moving the pegs in a manner that almost made sense and counting in strange and odd ways.

I suggested we take a break while I did chores and made supper.

After supper Rich went back to watching Netflix and I pulled out some paints and chunks of leftover wood. I wanted to see if I could make crackled paint with Elmer's Glue. I wanted to experiment with glue on glass.

I always like to experiment on small things before trying something else. I saw a video on Modge Podge and paint crackling that may be fun to try...with napkins? I don't know.
I also did a dirty acrylic paint pour, which is drying in the basement.

I'm trying to figure out how I will decorate this year for the Christmas-Winter season. Time to gather new sticks and grasses to make bouquets.

I see light fluffy flakes coming down outside. This monday morning is very grey. The Juncos -- Grandma called them Snow Buntings, are busy in my flower bed.

Time to get my new week going.

Maybe I'll have a wild Monday?