Happy Friday! I’m back from my one-day unannounced off day. As regular readers know, I’ve been somewhat the worse for the wear over the past several days. What the condition actually was turned out to be a bit of a poser for me & even for some medical folks. Glad to say it was nothing truly dire, & also glad that I ran into a doctor who had the smarts & persistance to figure out the actual condition: costochondritis. For those who don’t know (which would have included me until Wednesday afternoon), this is an inflammation of the cartilege around the sternum, which then often spreads throughout the left side of the body, inflicting various spasms & tinglings & other delights. The good news? It goes away & responds to relatively simple treatments. The bad news? To quote Samuel Beckett: It hurts like hell.
Other interesting facts: as in my case, most cases of costochondritis arise from no clear cause, tho repetitive motion is often a factor; I read that it can arise from a spate of “hearty laughter,” a condition I’m happy to say I do try to indulge in regularly & shall not allow this particular setback to curtail. The treatment regimen involve a lot of anti-flammatory over-the-counter drugs (the “non-steroidal anti-flammatories” or NSAID for those in the know), physical therapy &, in my case because of some chronic neck/shoulder/back issues, accupuncture, tho the latter won’t start till the end of the month. I’ve had one treatment, & it did help—tho what really got me back on my feet was a shot of some souped up “NSAID” on Wednesday—I forget the name of the drug, but wasn’t at my best at the time; anyway, since then the really acute pain is gone.
So here we are in spring, which is springing rather fitfully here in Indian Valley—because I was in just about every state besides Idaho last month, I don’t know much about firsthand March 2010 in these parts, but I must say April so far has been doing a pretty good imitation of March, if not February—cold, some snow (not “sticking”) & generally a bit on the gloomy & blustery side. Ah well. We do get to enjoy the intriguing towhees, which only come around in the "in between times," especially in the late winter & early spring. & high spring in Indian Valley, when it finally comes for real, is truly glorious—we have that to look forward to. I’m also looking forward to playing some music at the local farmer’s markets & elsewhere—performing “season” will be beginning later this month.
& meantime, I’m pondering Robert Frost’s Banjo as it moves into the latter half of its second year. I feel the need for some new direction(s), but I haven’t figured out the specifics yet. Still, now that I seem to be on the road to becoming human again, I’m sure things will be a bit less hazy. I’ll also be moving back into a more regular blog visiting schedule!
Hope you all have a great day!
Pic: Redwinged Blackbird, Rufous-Sided Towhee & House Sparrow at one of our feeders