Mar. 22nd, 2011
Status report
Mar. 22nd, 2011 06:18 pmStatus report: My ankle.
The cast came off five weeks ago yesterday. I was supposed to wear the Aircast for a month. I am not so patient as that, and it was borking my knees. So after about a week I started to move about the house with nothing but crutches. That's also about the time I sent the rented kneelchair back.
As of three weeks ago I was pretty much getting about the house with crutches, or not. Somewhere in there I stopped using the aircast, except on occaision. Two weeks ago I moved to a single crutch. Last week I moved the crutch to the off side.
Saturday I went out without the crutch at all.
This is not to say the ankle is "fixed". It's better. I had to don the aircast last week, and I did something in the past few days which has upped the level of ache, but the crutches are now with the cast, a fallback, not a mainstay.
But I did do the big thing today. I just got back from about 3/4s of a mile on the Seca (the smaller, more to the point, lighter bike). I have new boots (specific to motorcycling) which zip up the side. They wouldn't have prevented the break I had, but they are easier to get on and off. Had I been wearing my usual boots on Jan. 17th, I'd have needed to cut them off.
Downsides. I don't walk the same as I did nine weeks ago. I have a hitch, and my movement is less symmetrically aligned. That will go away as the atrophy/wasting are corrected. I suspect a fading in the pain will also affect that. My knees are a bit stiff. I have much less wind. I don't even want to think about running.
I am not truly self-mobile. I don't think I have, at present, more than about 10 miles of radius before the possible side effects (vibration, fatigue, tenderness from the operation of the rear brake) combine to make it too far to travel.
But it does mean I am not dependent on a single bus, which run all of once an house, and stops at 7 p.m. on the weekends, if I need to do something.
The cast came off five weeks ago yesterday. I was supposed to wear the Aircast for a month. I am not so patient as that, and it was borking my knees. So after about a week I started to move about the house with nothing but crutches. That's also about the time I sent the rented kneelchair back.
As of three weeks ago I was pretty much getting about the house with crutches, or not. Somewhere in there I stopped using the aircast, except on occaision. Two weeks ago I moved to a single crutch. Last week I moved the crutch to the off side.
Saturday I went out without the crutch at all.
This is not to say the ankle is "fixed". It's better. I had to don the aircast last week, and I did something in the past few days which has upped the level of ache, but the crutches are now with the cast, a fallback, not a mainstay.
But I did do the big thing today. I just got back from about 3/4s of a mile on the Seca (the smaller, more to the point, lighter bike). I have new boots (specific to motorcycling) which zip up the side. They wouldn't have prevented the break I had, but they are easier to get on and off. Had I been wearing my usual boots on Jan. 17th, I'd have needed to cut them off.
Downsides. I don't walk the same as I did nine weeks ago. I have a hitch, and my movement is less symmetrically aligned. That will go away as the atrophy/wasting are corrected. I suspect a fading in the pain will also affect that. My knees are a bit stiff. I have much less wind. I don't even want to think about running.
I am not truly self-mobile. I don't think I have, at present, more than about 10 miles of radius before the possible side effects (vibration, fatigue, tenderness from the operation of the rear brake) combine to make it too far to travel.
But it does mean I am not dependent on a single bus, which run all of once an house, and stops at 7 p.m. on the weekends, if I need to do something.
Forget the idea that Aves is descended from Theropoda, through Saurischia, just look at them.
Banked
Formed Up
Both of those are the product of informed luck. I know places where they hang out, and then I watch, and sometimes track them in the lens. That's how I got the first one.
The second was pure happenstance.
Banked
Formed Up
Both of those are the product of informed luck. I know places where they hang out, and then I watch, and sometimes track them in the lens. That's how I got the first one.
The second was pure happenstance.
I've been making pumpkin bread.
I started with some modifications to a "Downeastern Maine" pumpkin bread. Mostly what I did was look at it, swap some of the sugar for maple syrup, and cut about half the oil out and replace it with butter.
I also added some baking powder, because all it had was soda, and there wasn't anything acid in the mix.
The comments (it was an online recipe) all said it was great.
The people who made the comments like boring pumpkin bread. It smelled good in the oven, but was a bit dry, and underspiced. I admit it, I'm a fan of strongly spiced quickbreads. Ginger and cinnamon, and nutmeg and clove. Pfeffernussen and I are BFF.
So, added about a 1/4 cup more butter, and doubled up the spices. I am making another batch tonight, this time I'll be cutting the baking powder some, and upping the soda, because I've added yogurt to bunch.
So... generally:
4-6 oz butter. Mixed with not more than 1/2 cup oil (I like safflower for this), or yogurt, and 1/4 to 1/2 cup maple syrup. I use an immersion blender to do this. With a 1:1 butter oil ratio you will get a smooth paste (chill it and you can use it as shortening. Not as well as real Crisco was, but decent). The syrup will thicken it. A bit of cornstarch and you have a glaze for donuts.
1 pt pumpkin purée If using fresh drain it. If using canned... I don't know. I'd look at it. It ought to be the density/consistency of greek yogurt. If it's not, drain it.
3- 3 1/2 cups raw sugar (2 1/2-3 of white sugar)
Vanilla to taste
Dry Ingredients
About one nutmeg, call it 3/4 tsp. (I grate them on a microplane. It's fun* the nutmeg smells great and you get to see "brains").
About the same of clove, a bit more than that of cinnimon, and about half, to twice again, ginger.
1/2 tsp of baking soda†
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 - 4 cups flour.
Combine the pumpkin, the butter/oil(yogurt)/syrup mixture, and the sugar, this will get the sugar evenly distributed
Combine the dry ingredients.
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Grease, and flour your loaf pan(s) [this makes two 1.5 qt/1.4 l loaves).
When the oven is hot, mix the flour/spice/leaven mixture to the pumpkin, etc. It should make a thick batter. A spoon willl lift it, but it won't pour, and you can't pick it up. Don't worry about over mixing it, there's not enough structure for gluten to really make it tough.
Put into the oven for about an hour. I set a timer for 45-50 minutes. When a toothpick (I used a bamboo skewer, about a foot long) comes out clean, they are done.
*and safe, if you slip and jam your finger into the "blade" it feels as if you broke the skin, but I never have
† If using yogurt, use about 1 tsp. baking soda, and about that much less baking powder
I started with some modifications to a "Downeastern Maine" pumpkin bread. Mostly what I did was look at it, swap some of the sugar for maple syrup, and cut about half the oil out and replace it with butter.
I also added some baking powder, because all it had was soda, and there wasn't anything acid in the mix.
The comments (it was an online recipe) all said it was great.
The people who made the comments like boring pumpkin bread. It smelled good in the oven, but was a bit dry, and underspiced. I admit it, I'm a fan of strongly spiced quickbreads. Ginger and cinnamon, and nutmeg and clove. Pfeffernussen and I are BFF.
So, added about a 1/4 cup more butter, and doubled up the spices. I am making another batch tonight, this time I'll be cutting the baking powder some, and upping the soda, because I've added yogurt to bunch.
So... generally:
4-6 oz butter. Mixed with not more than 1/2 cup oil (I like safflower for this), or yogurt, and 1/4 to 1/2 cup maple syrup. I use an immersion blender to do this. With a 1:1 butter oil ratio you will get a smooth paste (chill it and you can use it as shortening. Not as well as real Crisco was, but decent). The syrup will thicken it. A bit of cornstarch and you have a glaze for donuts.
1 pt pumpkin purée If using fresh drain it. If using canned... I don't know. I'd look at it. It ought to be the density/consistency of greek yogurt. If it's not, drain it.
3- 3 1/2 cups raw sugar (2 1/2-3 of white sugar)
Vanilla to taste
Dry Ingredients
About one nutmeg, call it 3/4 tsp. (I grate them on a microplane. It's fun* the nutmeg smells great and you get to see "brains").
About the same of clove, a bit more than that of cinnimon, and about half, to twice again, ginger.
1/2 tsp of baking soda†
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 - 4 cups flour.
Combine the pumpkin, the butter/oil(yogurt)/syrup mixture, and the sugar, this will get the sugar evenly distributed
Combine the dry ingredients.
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Grease, and flour your loaf pan(s) [this makes two 1.5 qt/1.4 l loaves).
When the oven is hot, mix the flour/spice/leaven mixture to the pumpkin, etc. It should make a thick batter. A spoon willl lift it, but it won't pour, and you can't pick it up. Don't worry about over mixing it, there's not enough structure for gluten to really make it tough.
Put into the oven for about an hour. I set a timer for 45-50 minutes. When a toothpick (I used a bamboo skewer, about a foot long) comes out clean, they are done.
*and safe, if you slip and jam your finger into the "blade" it feels as if you broke the skin, but I never have
† If using yogurt, use about 1 tsp. baking soda, and about that much less baking powder
Not so much because I wanted to know "what it says about me", but because I wondered what the phase of the moon was on that Weds.
You were born during a First Quarter moon
This phase occurs in the middle of the moon's waxing phases, after the new moon and before the full moon.
- what it says about you -
You test everything. You're sometimes unhappy with what others think is "good enough". You point out things you see wrong with the world, even if others are afraid it may cause some unrest. When something isn't right, you're the one who's not afraid to make dramatic changes. You're good at keeping your head in a crisis and reminding people that it takes a shakeup to fix things.
What phase was the moon at on your birthday? Find out at Spacefem.com
More amusingly, I share my birthday with Mariner 5, Bourbon Whiskey, the Legalisation of Trade Unions in Canada, Superman, the first non-stop trans-Atlantic flight, The Difference Engine of Charles Babcock, the first prisoners to arrive at Auswitz (it can't all be good news) The US Army, and the US flag.
(blame![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
klrmn, I'd not have seen it elstwise)
You were born during a First Quarter moon
This phase occurs in the middle of the moon's waxing phases, after the new moon and before the full moon.
- what it says about you -
You test everything. You're sometimes unhappy with what others think is "good enough". You point out things you see wrong with the world, even if others are afraid it may cause some unrest. When something isn't right, you're the one who's not afraid to make dramatic changes. You're good at keeping your head in a crisis and reminding people that it takes a shakeup to fix things.
What phase was the moon at on your birthday? Find out at Spacefem.com
More amusingly, I share my birthday with Mariner 5, Bourbon Whiskey, the Legalisation of Trade Unions in Canada, Superman, the first non-stop trans-Atlantic flight, The Difference Engine of Charles Babcock, the first prisoners to arrive at Auswitz (it can't all be good news) The US Army, and the US flag.
(blame
klrmn, I'd not have seen it elstwise)