Patience

Yeah, sure. Ain't exactly in the cards this week.

The day degenerated badly yesterday after post, as the prescribed amount of muscle relaxants hit my system and turned me into a chair of molasses. I ached all afternoon to go home and nap, and once home, I passed out for 3 hours. Was a nice catchup, but I slept like crap last night afterward, so there was no question what was supplementing my regimen this morning. And I called the doc and left a drug-seeking message on the nurses' voicemail. Not expecting miracles, as the lady isn't a big proponent of the good stuff, but I had to try...I don't want to be borrowing from Husby's stash when I truly run out.

It doesn't hurt when I walk, mainly when I'm sitting or bending, so I'm going to get back to walking ever-so-carefully. Even up and down our driveway (about 1/2 mile one way) would be better than nothing, and it's inclined, which is certainly hard to find otherwise here in Florida. Scenery might get boring, but it's better than breathing in exhaust - we live on an access road surrounded by main drags, so if I want a quiet, stress-free hike, I'd have to drive somewhere, and we just don't have the gas. The other option that I look forward to investigating is a nature preserve right near my work.

So other than my current miserable existence, what else is going on.....I'm so into Kingsolver's book, I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to eat the hamburger we currently have in the freezer with a clear conscience (never mind that it was purchased from an Army commissary, which brings up a host of other issues beyond fuel consumption and factory farming). Granted, she's got it easy with a net worth that allows for the purchase of only organic, fair trade, and local food and household items, but there's certainly things we could be doing, small things, to do our part as well. You've gotta start small with something like this; I mean, I get that I can basically buy twice as much food at Winn-Dixie for $100 vs. $100 spent at Native Sun. But the alterations need to start occurring in our lives, from the simple things like turning off the blasted TV when it's not really being watched, to recycling, to hitting the farmers' market for our vegetables and knowing what's in season. And research, research, research...I mean, we both love bananas, and if my potassium supplement is any indication, they're only doing my body good, but where the frick do you find fair-trade bananas in Jacksonville? Is it even possible to buy them in Florida without contributing to global warming and abysmal working conditions in some third-world country? Which leads to nutrition study, so that if they do need to be eliminated as a food source in the short term, we have something to back it up. I don't even need to hit the library for that; I have the ADA's big fat Nutrition manual right in my overpacked bookshelves. I've been having trouble finding meals this week, not just because I have no appetite because of my back, but because I'm craving vegetables, and we're cleaned out for the foreseeable future. This is a good thing, me wanting to find different recipes and ways to incorporate veggies back into our lives...well, into mine period, and back into his. Les grew up on things like butterbeans and rice as a side dish ::shudders::; it's time to get us both on a healthier course.

Of course, I'm always full of bright ideas when the good meds kick in, which is why it's so important to blog this stuff, so I can go back to it later. No gas or $ for KB this week, so I'll work on the hat at home tonight, maybe start the kimono too. Didn't get a blessed thing accomplished last night, thanks to my blasted back. Patience.