12/5/14. The post where I share a few random thoughts.

12/5/14: almost through festival week.  Other than, of course, the performances.  Tonight we are spectators, tomorrow night my patient, long-suffering husband performs, and Sunday afternoon he conducts our choir (which includes me) and the orchestra.  He is still fighting some kind of cold or allergies, but he's muscling through it.  I have managed to exercise and eat healthy every day, and I've worked almost a full week. (In retrospect, taking a day or two off would have been a good idea.  Live and learn.)  My alarm did not go off this morning and, in the interest of full disclosure, it is quite possible that I failed to set it.  This week, nothing would surprise me.  In any event, I got an additional two hours of sleep, giving me a grand total of six, which felt pretty luxurious.  And I did not have any meetings or emergencies this morning at work, so the world did not stop turning just because I got in a little late.

My posting has been spotty this week and probably will continue to be for the next few days, so I thought I'd share a few quick random thoughts:

I think my stimulator works better for cold weather-induced symptoms than for humidity-induced ones.  It has been humid the last few days and my foot has been swollen and splotchy on and off, with a pain level back up to a 4.  Bearable, but I haven't been able to decrease it by changing the amplitude or the program on the stimulator like I can when it is really cold.  It's probably too early to make a sweeping statement, but if this is going to continue, I may have to move to the desert.

I am not accustomed to the stimulator yet.  It is so close to my skin that I can easy feel it when I run my hand over my hip.  In fact, a few days ago, I hit my hip against a doorknob and it made a loud "clunk."  And if I have any swelling at all, which I have had the last few days with the humid weather, it feels downright uncomfortable.  It's only been three months since the surgery, so I'm hoping it will continue to improve.  

Festival week is always tough, but this year it has been even more difficult while I try to figure out my new limits.  In addition to rehearsals and administrative work and entertaining musicians and doing my "real" job, one of my friends has a wonderful holiday brunch and gift exchange that always falls on the date of the Saturday concert.  It's an event that shouldn't be missed, but I'm trying to figure out how I am possibly going to make it happen and make it through the rest of the day.  And we have three immediate family members with birthdays this week.  Which means they never get gifts from us on time.  Fortunately, they are very forgiving.