C.J. Cherryh's Blog, page 133

Back on ice…me, and Jane

I've been in such awful pain from that old shoulder injury—I mean, if I stub my toe on the sidewalk, the inertial jolt of that shoulder has been so bad it makes your mouth water and the sky change colors—and the thought of falling on the rink has kept me cautiously close to the wall.

But Dr. Shane did some work with it; and told me what's going on—an old injury to a combo of the levator scapulae and another broad sheet muscle that runs down over the ribs. Nasty pain there and lower back. Like the biceps and triceps are on fire, and the same with the leg. So…

Use of the traction machine—check. Use of the thumper-unit, handheld, directly on sites of extreme pain. Check: owie! Faithful consumption of magnesium, vitamin D, potassium, and hyaluronic acid with glucosamine and chondroitin. Check. Walking. A lot. Check.

Helps. Then back to the ice. Jane and I come down with the crud. We're on antibiotics and Theraflu. And the pain—pretty well stopped. We took advantage of this to get back on the ice, and I'm here to tell you—I got away from the wall, I did my inside edges pattern today for the first time since last November, literally a year—and I did it. It wasn't pretty, but I did it. I'm starting to skate by reflex, not by thinking about it; and this spring when I tried—I thought, well, girl, maybe you've reached the age you're going to have to give this up, and it's just going to hurt like this, and you can't risk a fall.

Ha! I'm back. I did it. I'm going off the antibiotics today, and if the pain comes back I'm going to be really upset, but I'm really hopeful it won't. Two months ago, I couldn't even lift that arm to get a cup out of the cabinet. Now I reach up to the top of the Subaru back gate and slam it down with only the slightest consciousness of that limitation. I know I've got some calcium deposits to work out, but I'm real hopeful.

OSG, we've got to get Joan and the gang together on a Friday and go have some fun.

 

A Thing of Beauty—ship video

The link follows: the Star of India, launched originally as  the Euterpe, (Muse of Song and Dance), under full sail. This is the oldest working ship afloat. These old ships, made generally of oak, have gotten quite fragile and are rarely risked except on a calm day. They are an absolute marvel of a machine made of wood, rope, and fabric, that literally flexes to the wind and the sea and yet circumnavigated the globe in all weather and linked the Old World to the East and the New World. As a child of 7 or 8 I was so fascinated by them (in landlocked Oklahoma, where I had never even seen a sailboat) I memorized all the rigging of a clipper ship and lamented that I would never see one in action. And getting to visit the Ship Museum in Oslo was a real treat.

Of course I've read the Hornblower novels; and the Aubrey-Maturin novels. Absolutely.

 

 

 

An idea…maps…

I wonder if some kind people who have time and can lay hands on certain books would scan in some maps from the various series: these are a reasonable thing to have as a feature on Wave, so people have access to the maps, since Kindle doesn't render graphics. If you'd scan at 300 dpi, and size it for full page display, so the words are legible? I think I'm right. But whatever would look good…

Two new vices…

Jane and I live on a diet…and we do miss chips. Now and again we just have to splurge. We've found two that aren't as bad for you as some: first, Pirate's Booty corn-rice puffs, white cheddar. Like Cheetos but without as much fat; and secondly, sweet potato chips with sea salt. You know that Jane and I react to potatoes and tomato and paprika with joint pain and misery. BUT—sweet potatoes have none of the offending chemical (which is probably strychnine…atevi would love Irish potatoes) and do very nice chips. Sweet potatoes fries with tempura salmon—to die for: one pub we loved had that as a regular on the menu. It died of mismanagement. But at least chips-in-a-bag are available: they're filling—you're NOT tempted to eat forever; and they're low-salt, and high fiber. What's not to love?

Jane and I both under the weather…which was pretty violent (the weather) last night…

That arctic front hit us with strong winds that toppled a 100 year old tree onto a big house on the North Hill (we live on the South Hill) and really trashed several rooms. Evergreens grow up about 90 feet and are limber at the top and long-fibered with big, heavily fronded limbs—and when the wind blows, and they get to whipping about, down the whole tree can go.

This morning we had a dusting of snow—Shu was wilder than a march hare, and ran about doing every semi-naughty thing that occurred to him, mostly involving countertops…Sei was calmer, but definitely noted the world had changed.

I thought the hawthorne by the pond would unload leaves in that wind, but no—it was the towering big hemlocks: they covered the pond in a layer of dead needles, which I could have pulled in thirty minutes if we still had the pump in, but no—we'd pulled it.

Jane's nasty-sick, and I'm semi-sick: upper respiratory crud; and we're getting meds for it…but nothing for it—if 20 lbs of hemlock needles sink, they'll rot, they'll affect ph, and they're not that wholesome for the fish in a closed pond for the winter. SOoooooooooo…I'm elected. I'm not letting Jane go out there and get sicker. So I put on the rain-suit to keep warm, netted out 20 or so pounds of needles, dumped them onto the walkways, then got the pushbroom, cleaned the bridge, which had about 5 lbs, then swept the patio, walkway and driveway, which netted another 20 plus, and then I swept them all out the garden gate and piled them on the weaker plants out there. The net pole is aluminum and quite cold, even with gloves, and I had to hold one hand under cold water to get the pain stopped and circulation going in my middle fingers. Owie. But that's done.

Now I just have to get over to Freddie Myers and get the meds.

We're pilling Shu, we're pilling us, now, and we're all just ducky. Bleh!

But our trees are still standing!

Finity's End, lyrics and music, by request

THE BALLAD OF FINITY'S END

Lyrics and music (c) 1984 by C.J. Cherryh

1. (Em) Finity's End is a (Am) far-trav'lin' ship

and wide (Em) space is the (D) deep that she (Em) knows.

Infinity's black is the (Am) emblem she bears,

and (D) never a mark does it (Em) show.

CHO:

And (Em) no sun can hold us and (Am) keep us for long,

for in-(D)-finity's ours, and infinity's (Em) free.

No star can own her and (Am) no world's her own,

for (Em) Finity's (D) End is (Em) she.

2. The stuff of dead suns is her iron and her steel;

in the light of a new, she was made.

She set out to travel the day she was born

in the free-runnin', longhaulin' trade.

3. The Company thought then they'd make them a law,

and have all the ships for their own.

"You're all Company ships and Company crews,

and you'll pay us and serve us alone."

4. James Robert the First was her captain that day,

and he sent out to crews like our own:

"Farewell to their ports and good luck to them all,

for what they can't catch they can't own."

5. And wonder to tell, Mother Earth changed her mind,

and she called back her magistrate too,

for no ship would haul beyond Alpha or Pell,

and no mail and no cargo got through.

6. Then Unionside came with their ships and their guns

and they closed up the ports one and all.

"You'll haul for us," then the Union man said,

"And you'll come and you'll go where we call."

7. Now Captain James Robert was vexed and annoyed,

and he sent out the word like before:

"We're free ships and crews and we go where we please,

and we'll haul you to hell and no more."

8. Then Unionside haulers like Candice and Fay,

Merry Gold, Carina, and Fame,

From Unionside ports reached the wide deep of space,

and to Finity's End they all came.

9. "Ah, well, now," said Earth, "you must come to our side,

for there is no place now left you can be.

But Captain James Robert he sent out the word,

that all ships from now on must be free.

10. And no ship would come and no true ship would go,

but the traitor Shalleen and her kind.

Shalleen drifts in pieces around Shalleen Point,

and never a rest will she find.

11. The treaty was signed then and sealed and made sure,

for ports to be open to trade;

and borders there be none to check us or bind,

and no law on our decks but the law we have made.

CHO.

Jane has pix of OSG's kittehs…

A little slideshow: OSG's camera's missing, last we heard, but she's doing ok with the phone.

Given what's barreling down on Alaska…

…we just pulled the pond pump (thanks to Jane!), coiled the hose, pulled the UV sterilizers, and fastened the heaters. Now we're filling the pond back up to level before totally shutting down exterior water. That storm is looking extraordinarily nasty—polar low pressure with the force of a hurricane bearing down on Alaskan coast: heads up for Canada and the northern tier of US, clear across. BC and Alberta could catch it. WA is looking to be a lot chillier than the forecast, and the likelihood of getting over to see Jane's brother next weekend does not look good.

It's election day today: we got together our ballots, which has a batch of annoyingly complicated issues, which, imho, is why we're a republic that is s'posed to have legislators capable of studying these things, adding the numbers, and reaching a sane conclusion. I fear for the outcome when voters have to parse 8 pages of explanation of toll roads and bridges and whether a bicycle is a transportation system, or a pedestrian counts, or whether you can use gas tax to fund a city bus… and which, what, and where would be affected…

Stellar extremophiles…

Lone Stars of a whole different breed…

Ice on the pond and waterfall…

…there was none when I waked up; but the morning has gotten colder and colder and our hose/spigot has frozen. We're thawing it…but we don't think we'll pull the pump yet. The weather is supposed to get back to the 50′s this week. And we love the waterfall so.