Fashion Shoot

 Or should I say fashion shot. I will be the best dressed shooter in the ring now that the uniform is coming together.  I have to get there in one piece first, seeing I am having complications with this pinched nerve business. My left ankle is not responding and the leg is weak but at least the pain has receded to an ache. I have been having a contest in my head about which is worse, this nerve thing or the shingles I had previously or maybe knee tendonitis which I have had three times. yadayada.  I have vowed to stand and deliver a few shots today and I have the shirt to prove it.

Orchid Hunt Not

 Some weeks back we arranged for an orchid hunt today. A new area was identified, lunch was set but instead I am visiting doctors and chasing an MRI appointment for later this week.  It seems this pinched nerve business can affect strength and movement as well as feeling. The feeling is coming back and the strength but there is reduced movement in the ankle. So a scan is being arranged to get a closer look. In the meantime I have done a home orchid hunt. The cover below is what we were after, the endangered candy spider orchid.  Now that is a hard thing to find and when they do pop up kangaroos will happily munch them. At least the home orchids are blooming and booming.

candied spider

We Solve Murders

 Even reading is a problem lately as concentration is short but I did finish off this new Richard Osman book. He has retired the retirees at the murder club and moved onto a new set of characters, much younger, more agile and able to shoot back. It took me a while to switch from the retirement village scene to a romp around the world scene for this whodunit. There is still one retiree in the new bunch, the elder statesman of the group who seems to be able to unravel the clues better.  A new dective agency is born and a second book is already here, so fast work by Osman between TV quiz shows.

Analysis of Pain

 There is a hole at the back of the spine area where a nerve pops thru. Somehow it is possible to irritate that exact spot so that the nerve is inflammed and touches the sides of the hole giving rise to a constant ache. It is when you bend in any way that a fire surge is sent thru the bum cheek down the back of your thigh then the calf and out thru your toes. Standing is my best defence. Nights are the worst. There is not much sleep happening. I have discovered that if you get as straight as possible with your feet over the end of the mattress you might get an hours worth. This stuff is getting on my nerves.

beach walk to brighten a day

Walking is Relieving

 This nerve business is a pain in the leg. It is so similar to the shingles pain I had some yar ago, it is unnerving. Walking is the only thing that feels normal and so far I have only walked for a few kms. We went back down yesterday to check out the final touches on the beach cleanup. It is looking good and there has been no wind to bring any grass up to spoil the scene. I am itching to put a few craters in the smooth sand but it simply is not an option. I can't sit any longer balanced on one bum cheek like this without standing up so I better finish this. Debbie has a very versatile stand up or sit down desk, maybe I should get one of those. 

the sandipity

another lemon drop

Pinching a Nerve

 We are not sure exactly when but at some stage during the last mega Sunday I pinched a nerve in my back.  This time it seems to be worse than any other time I have done it. The good news is that I am on the Rhoids to get the inflammation down.  I have had trouble trying to put the shot and also doing up my shoe laces.  It is not so much the putting but the bending down to fetch it.  Sitting down is not good so I am mostly standing or balancing on the edge of a seat. The culprit might have been the Duck Duck Goose activity that was going on last week, too much goosing and not enough ducking. 

Tractor Clean No1

 The mini dozer arrived yesterday for a beach scrape and shape. Now it seems a bit early this time around with Spring only halfway thru however I went down afterward to check on progress and see if it got a tick of approval.  The job is only half done. I went to the far end where they started from and "AHH the pristinety". No flotsam, no jetsam, no wrack and no ruin. I had my shot with me and I could not resist the smooth surface that had been prepared. Soon I had pock marks all over it, cratered, holed and shot shocked. At the other end, the wrack has been pushed and funnelled into a heaving weed scape. There are tons of the stuff and I dare say it will be lifted to the other side of the groyne, as per previous practice. 

East End Mess

West End Best