Ow.

All the activity over the weekend, and cooking yesterday, has caused my back to flare up. I'm limping around and wishing I had a cane to lean on. The arthritis has flared up to. I don't take any of this to mean that I shouldn't garden or cook. The opposite, in fact. I think the more I do - the more consistent I am about it, the less these things will hurt. It's this weekend warrior stuff that's a killer.

I'm an old hand at back pain. Extra pain meds, gentle stretching, slow walking. A couple of days doing that and I'm fine, again. Mind you, I have to work again, tomorrow. In a two-story house with the kitchen upstairs, so I have to schlep all my stuff up and down. The only way to do it is to Take My Time. There's no point rushing up and down the stairs carrying my heavy containers and all the groceries. I'm injured and I need to act like it.

Exacerbating the injuries is not helpful.

I had a phone meeting this morning and I have an in-person meeting at lunch. After that, I have to do the paperwork for tomorrow. Then I can write.

And I will. Promise.

The shoes I ordered online came today. They fit! Thank goodness. I'd hate to have to ship them back and wait for a different size.

Not only do they fit, but I like them, too. Nubuck, black, soft, lots of support, half-boot kind of thing. Shoes to live in.

Also, a pair of what is these days, called "athletic shoes," or in my vernacular, "tennis shoes." I know. Tennis shoes are the little canvas things they used to make. But I don't care. I call them all tennis shoes and I have new ones and they are sooooo comfortable! No worn down heels. It's amazing what a difference that makes.

On a completely different subject, must Offer Thanks to Linnea Sinclair ( http://www.linneasinclair.com ) and her feisty character in Finders Keepers.

Gin and Lime. My new favorite.

I discovered why my back has been hurting. I have these shoes that I LOVE and I wear them all winter. They're black suede with super comfortable soles and they're great for walking around all day, and they look cool with pants. I dug them out when the weather cooled off and I've been wearing them nearly everyday.

This morning, it finally penetrated my foggy brain that the right shoe felt weird. I was in a lot of pain anyway so the weirdness was quite pronounced. Off came the shoe and an investigation ensued. To find a CHUNK of the sole had been ripped out! Don't know how, don't know when. But I immediately changed into other shoes and the pain, folks, is gone.

I went shoe shopping. Naturally, they don't make shoes like this anymore. I mean, why keep doing something that's really good? Okay, so the shoes are about 10 years old. They can't keep making the same style for more than ten years?

Six shoe stores, plus Macy's and I couldn't find anything that looked like it would be as good. The one store that had something similar had nothing in my size! What's with that? They used to carry my size (5 1/2)!

So I ordered something online. We Will See.

Ow. My back hurts.

This is not completely unusual, but it has been quite a respectable stretch between offenses. And it’s getting bad enough that it’s gotten My Attention.

Back to stretching in the morning, gentle movements during the day and I really need to start walking again. I’m just sick of the treadmill right now and not sleeping well, so I’m Too Tired. Also, must get out of this chair. Too much time at the computer is the worst.

For Christmas, I have a choice of a laptop or a new office chair. The old office chair is c. 1970, with a broken back and nothing adjustable that still works. I used to have a lumbar pillow on it, but that's gaia knows where, now. A Search might produce it. So, yes. I need the chair for Christmas.

But I really want a laptop.

I should start taking some Motrin, too and maybe hitting the ice. See? I know all about backs, having been the recipient of a ruptured disk and lumbar-something surgery in 1999. You know how it's easy to get complacent and take things for granted? Well, so far, I've never lost my appreciation for free, painless movement. For being able to tie my shoes or bend over and pick something up (although I usually remember to use the 'golfer's stance' to do that). For having a right leg that WORKS. So, when my back starts acting up, I'm all over it. I know how bad it can get.