4 ways to get a sore back fuctional

Gentle Reader, Sore back?  Been traveling, sitting in an airplane for hours?  Did you enjoy a vigorous hiking holiday slogging miles over boulders, roots and bogs for days in a row?  Maybe you had back surgery, successful but still stiff and cranky.  Or perhaps, you joined a new salsa dance class (that would be my …

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Vitamin D may prevent Diabetes II

Gentle Reader, Vitamin D, seems to be the miracle supplement as research turns up more benefits. In my recent travels, along the Inside Passage in Alaska, I worried about the many “round” people from the cruise ships.  They may not have gotten a diagnosis of diabetes from their doctor.  But they may, like many of …

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5 Surprising Signs of Dementia

Gentle Reader, Are we showing signs of demenita?  Traveling with my sister-in-law for a month on ferries, in rental cars and my car; staying in new rooms night after night has resulted in a few missing things, left here and there. “Our life style is not compatible with our memory issues,” Joan said and we …

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No Magic Pill to end Arthritis Pain

Gentle Reader, In the end, and in the beginning, there is only one thing we –you and I– can do to bring lasting health to our aching bodies.  Life style change.  As I travel the Alaska Marine Highway, eat in the cafeteria on board, snack along the wharf in the various Inside Passage towns, I …

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Alaska, here we come

Gentle Reader, My sister-in-law, Joan Bell, arrived last Wed. just as I was cleaning the paint residue from the back garden and deck. We were Alaska-bound and she had the excited energy that quivered, “Alaska, here we come.”  Of course, I had a few more things to do to be ready for our Friday morning …

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Confessions of an arthritic painting contractor

  Gentle Reader, Confessions of an arthritic painting contractor: Taking down paintings, emptying book shelves, moving furniture, rolling up rugs, pulling up old wall-to-wall carpet, removing electric face-plates and then spackling, sanding, taping, and painting every wall that faces the outside is a sure-fire recipe for arthritic flare-ups of major proportion.  No matter how many …

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Joint pain reaction to bee sting

Gentle Reader, The energy retrofit continues this week.  The work took me and one roofer through a yellow jacket nest on the side of my hill.  The result was painful stings.  Mine were on the belly and chest.  The roofer had to be taken to the emergency room for treatment. He became short of breath …

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I’m reducing my carbon foot print

Gentle Reader, I am reducing my carbon foot print. My house is organized chaos. All the furnishings are stacked in the middle of each room, covered with sheets. Two young men are drilling holes in the outside walls of every room, caulking the heat registers, the joint where wall meets floor, and every nook where …

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New approach to hip surgery

Gentle Reader, A dear friend and hiking companion was talking with me yesterday as we climbed to the saddle above Pratt Lake in the Snoqualmie Pass section of the Cascade Mountains.  Her husband, an athletic 71 year old has worn out his hip and finally, after months of thinking it was only a sore knee, …

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Managing pain after eye surgery

Gentle Reader, While this blog is primarily about arthritis management, I wanted to use this platform to let you know about managing pain after my recent eye surgery.  I have suffered from impaired vision for several years due to a droopy eye lid condition which is corrected by Blepharoplasty.  Here’s a little video so you can …

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