I haven't been feeling up to par for the last 2 weeks since I had a couple x-rays taken of my neck to see if the graft is "taking".  The technition asked me to hold 2 sandbags so she could get the picture the doctor requested.  I said I should not hold anything heavy, but she insisted.  In hindsight, I now know I should have refused to hold the sandbags and probably would not have gotten the pictures taken.  Immediately after the x-rays, my neck & shoulders started to hurt and became very sore.  My neck felt like I was 2 weeks out of surgery again!  My eyes felt like they were going to pop right out of the sockets and the pain was intense.  I even felt dizzy and nauseous.  By the time Tuesday rolled around, the pain was worse so I called Dr Gerszten's office and left a message.  Art, the doctor's nurse, call me and said the doctor was away and would not see the x-rays until Friday.  He suggested I start on Ibuproben to help with the inmfamation and pain and to take Soma to relax the shoulder muscles.  I started an all out effort to take the Soma every 4 hours without missing and the same with the Ibuproben  (Which I am not supposed to be taking because the last scope I had showed 3 small holes in my stomach from drugs).   Whatchagoinado???
The combination every 4 hours has been helping and I am ready to gradually reduce the Ibuproben to get off of it. 
Dr Gerszten called this past week to say that he sees no damage from the sandbag incident and the graft looks like it is healing nicely.  Yea!!!  If I don't feel better in 4 weeks I am to call him and he will take another look without the sandbags.

GUTTERS & DOWN SPOUTS

Why do we put gutters & downspouts on our houses?  They just cause ice to build up and water then runs backwards into the eaves and under the roof shingles.  If gutters weren't there, the melted snow would run off the roof to the ground instead of into the house.  French drains around the perimiters of the houses would direct the water away from the foundations, thus eliminating any water damage.  Sounds simple enough to me with my simple mind. 

HA, HA, HA

It was not such a good idea to go to Costco in Robinson, nor Trader Joe's in East Liberty today.   And it was definitely not a great idea to go to the Market District back in Robinson tonight!  I totally forgot about all the people that had been trapped inside and without any way to get around for the past week.  Not to mention that they were starving!   Today just happened to be the first time they could get shopping anywhere.  I am not a patient person when it comes to having to wait in line to do anything....

I don't remember in my lifetime seeing trees broken by heavy snow except in pictures or movies and hearing about them in stories.  Well, I saw them today.  Lots of them.  Hundreds of them along the roads and streets and in yards.  And they are still covered by snow.  Lots of snow.  Snow in the streets, snow in the yards, snow on buildings, snow totally covering cars.  What looks like huge piles of snow along the streets turned out to be cars buried where they were parked nine days ago!  There are also huge piles of snow that are really snow and some piles are at least 10 feet tall.  And they are on the streets, not in parking lots like we see snow piled around the Valley. 
I am amazed that there is such a problem with snow removal in Pittsburgh.  I know that there are budget problems, etc.  but what is the matter with getting off your duff and shoveling some snow people?  The sidewalks aren't even cleaned yet!  This is when you help others. 
There is a 10% unemployment rate around here.  Put some of those able bodied people to work plowing and hauling and shoveling.  The Strip was closed for three days.  Why didn't they ban parking on Penn Ave and haul the snow the heck out of there?
It is not like there is NO snow in PA in the winter.  It is not like this is the first time it ever snowed in Pittsburgh.  It is a city like a lot of cities in this country with nowhere to push the snow, but other cities deal with snow removal in a more efficient and timely manner.

Up an at 'em early today!  I usually don't participate in winter, especially snow events, but I want to go somewhere, anywhere, today so I have to clean off my car.  Normally, I just let nature take it's course and the white stuff will melt, but today I am going to blow the darned crap off of my car with the leaf blower I use in the summer to clean the patio!  Just stepped out on the porch to try it and it works!  Well, not really great but it does blow it from the walk.  Soon I will be mobile again...

OUR BACKYARD
We got a little snow last evening, but nothing near our friends to the south in the Cranberry-Pittsburgh area. Considering I don't do winter very well, I just stayed in today and watched tv and played on the computer.

 Joe had to work at 3, so he made pizza to take to work and made us a great pepperoni pizza. Great diet of pizza and chocolate and cola today! Oh well, Monday is another day (since
the super bowl is tomorrow) and I will get back to eating clean then.

A FRIEND'S DECK IN THE CRANBERRY AREA

Joe & I went to see The Prairie Home Companion show that was broadcast live in HD from the Fitzgerald Theater in St Paul MN to movie theaters all over the country tonight. It was amazing. All my favorite cast of characters, bigger than life on the "big" screen. I think it was even better than seeing them in person at the Minnesoooota State Fair. The quality of the HD made them look so real standing there before us and I wanted to reach out and touch them. (Maybe next time it could be in 3D and they would touch me!) It was not at all like watching a movie even though we were in a movie theater.

Prior to the actual live theater performance, Garrison Keillor took us on a walk around St Paul. A lot of the places, we have visited with the grandsons who live in MN. There was a great candy store that we will have to go to on our next visit and another favorite, Mickey's Diner... a grungy, greasy, everyday diner where we have eaten many times and that has been in several movies. (There is even free parking for about 8 cars!)

At Tinseltown in Boardman, posters shouted the upcoming HD broadcasts that one could pay a hefty 20 bucks to see. Joe was especially taken with the fact that the Metropolitan Opera was coming next. Considering it costs $9.50, $6.25 for seniors, to go the the regular movies, I guess $20 is not bad for live HD.