That's the Way It Crumbles, Cookie-Wise

[Nancy Hart]

@Joe Riley: This one is definitely "problematic"

 

[Don Alaska]

Thanks Yvonne. It's great to hear from someone who actually experienced these things. I began to worry if I was completely on the wrong track. I don't think so. Watch the pickup truck man move out of that house now. Then I'll never know for sure.

If it is a Ham, just mentioning it to them will probably remedy the problem, but if it is an outlaw CBer, who knows?

 

[Nancy Hart]

(10/19/25 Sunday

It's all done except the ground wire. They say,

"The ungrounded shield on coaxial cable can act as an antenna for electrical noise, and a lack of proper grounding can create issues like "hum bars" in the picture."

What the heck is a hum bar?

 

[Joe Riley]

 

[Nancy Hart]

And their karaoke only features instrumentals? Got it.

 

[Nancy Hart]

(10/20/25) Monday

Since the attic hatch is already open, I might as well install the upstairs thermostat permanently.

Could never decide which room to put it in---one on the East (bedroom) or one on the West (TV room). It should be in the bedroom, but the sun wakes you up too early in the morning. Starts the day out warmer in that room, and stays that way. Too difficult to switch rooms. I decided yesterday on plantation shutters for the bedroom. Even if people think they look tacky, I like them. Neat. Shaker style lines. Easier to open and close than curtains.

The hard part was fishing the thermostat wire down through the wall from the attic and finding the tools. The rest was easy. This time I remembered to turn the breaker off first.

(proof)


Closed up the hatch to the attic, hopefully for a long time.

 

[Joe Riley]

(10/20/25) Monday

Since the attic hatch is already open, I might as well install the upstairs thermostat permanently.

Could never decide which room to put it in---one on the East (bedroom) or one on the West (TV room). It should be in the bedroom, but the sun wakes you up too early in the morning. Starts the day out warmer in that room, and stays that way. Too difficult to switch rooms. I decided yesterday on plantation shutters for the bedroom. Even if people think they look tacky, I like them. Neat. Shaker style lines. Easier to open and close than curtains.

The hard part was fishing the thermostat wire down through the wall from the attic and finding the tools. The rest was easy. This time I remembered to turn the breaker off first.

(proof)
View attachment 1264

Closed up the hatch to the attic, hopefully for a long time.

 

[Nancy Hart]

(10/21/25) Tuesday
GP referral for 2nd opinion on shoulder problem. Met with a physical therapist. His diagnosis is leaning toward the long arm of the bicep tendonitis and impingement. These can trigger bursitis. Ruled out rotator cuff. He suggested two simple exercises to do before next time. Said we're "working against time," meaning the injury being old is a negative toward ever healing 100%. They scheduled 7 more visits twice a week for 4 weeks. This therapist is going on vacation for a week, so the next 2 appointments are with 2 different therapists. I'm going to do those, because they might have a different take on things.

---

(10/22/25) Wednesday
While the 8' step ladder was still in the hallway upstairs, I finally painted the cover for the entrance to the attic.

---

(10/23/25) Thursday
Second appointment. New therapist. Did the same exercises as last time. He poked around on the shoulder enough to make 2 spots sore, and said it's a rotator cuff problem, and that it can be fixed. He said taking NSAIDS would not hurt anything. You would still be able to feel enough pain to know when to stop. I asked for more exercises because the next appointment is 6 days later. It was obvious he hadn't even read what the 1st therapist wrote.

---

Plan B:
I'm going to start Ibuprofen/Acetaminophen and see if I can't just work it out, like I worked out a similar problem before. I forget what the problem was now. After seeing the 3rd person I'm going to ask for a referral for a real-time ultrasound. Tell this group to wait and we'll start again (maybe) after the results come back. I want to know if this is serious or not. What would you do?

(2 minutes starting at 4:00)

 

[Don Alaska]

Good luck with it @Nancy Hart. I have heard some surgeons recommend against the NSAIDs, claiming that although they mitigate the pain better, they can slow the healing process. I have no idea if it is true, but here is a link to one site that claims so. The choice is yours, of course.

Do anti-inflammatories (like ibuprofen) help healing?

No, in most cases anti-inflammatory drugs (like ibuprofen or naproxen) don’t help healing. In fact, in some cases it may even delay healing.

www.exakthealth.com

 

[Nancy Hart]

I think MOST of the time, but not always, the best thing to do also makes common sense. It makes sense that NSAIDS don't help heal anything. But what they do is reduce the pain enough so that you push yourself just a little bit harder than you would otherwise. That's what helps.

I always go back to animals. What would they do? First, most of them are not sissies like humans. (Although my parents had a dog once that was a complete sissy wrt pain). The story about John Elway did more harm than good, because I am not fond of the idea of pushing things so far as to cause a tendon to completely break from the bone simply because then the pain will go away.

The problem before was something to do with a leg. Looming in the future was a job I had to get done before a front door could be installed and the installer was coming in 4 days. This required getting up and down off the floor. I took NSAIDS for 4 days. After finishing the job, I stopped the NSAIDS, and magically everything was much better. In the video, the doc in the middle said there will be some pain involved in recovering.

If an ultrasound comes back with only minor tears, I can charge ahead full throttle. If it shows a muscle is hanging on by a thread, then I'll take it easier, or worse, have them cut the thing and get it over with. Simple procedure.

 

[Joe Riley]

Is a Finnish carpenter still considered a Finish carpenter?
So I guess ANY kind of carpenter in Finland is still a Finnish (finish) carpenter, right?

 

[Don Alaska]

Is a Finnish carpenter still considered a Finish carpenter?
So I guess ANY kind of carpenter in Finland is still a Finnish (finish) carpenter, right?

Some guys up here use horses to log because they don't need to make roads and they can select individual trees more easily. These guys probably are logging in the winter because the deciduous trees don't have leaves. The snow also allows the use of a sled which doesn't disturb the ground either if it is frozen solid.

 

[Joe Riley]

Some guys up here use horses to log because they don't need to make roads and they can select individual trees more easily. These guys probably are logging in the winter because the deciduous trees don't have leaves. The snow also allows the use of a sled which doesn't disturb the ground either if it is frozen solid.

He also said, that when cut in the Winter the sap has dropped down making the cut logs lighter to haul, but the bark is thinner and harder to remove.

 

[Don Alaska]

He also said, that when cut in the Winter the sap has dropped down making the cut logs lighter to haul, but the bark is thinner and harder to remove.

I don't know if that applies as much to the softwoods as it does to the hardwoods such as oaks and maples.

 

[Joe Riley]

I don't know if that applies as much to the softwoods as it does to the hardwoods such as oaks and maples.

He was speaking of Pines only, as far as I know.

 

[Don Alaska]

He was speaking of Pines only, as far as I know.

I don't know if Finland has pines either. We do not have natural pine trees here in this part of Alaska, only spruces, black and white.

 

[Joe Riley]

I don't know if Finland has pines either. We do not have natural pine trees here in this part of Alaska, only spruces, black and white.

I thought they were cutting pines...maybe spruces? I may be barking up the wrong tree? I liked the term "hand control" along with the amazing specialized hand tools. It reminded me of a video on building sailing ships using ancient methods and tools. They did not sacrifice accuracy!

 

[Nancy Hart]

The 8' step ladder finally made it back to the basement. The 6' ladder is still upstairs. The bedroom ceiling has a "stomp brush" texture, which hides imperfections. Paint was peeling a foot or so around the ceiling heat/cool vent likely due to temperature fluctuations. Assumed some painting would be necessary. Scraped off all the loose paint. The paint underneath was the same shade of white---at least close enough for me. Problem solved.

My wired doorbell was put up haphazardly over a door upstairs in the easiest way I could think of 30 years ago. The wire ran around the door casing under a carpet across the floor into the crawlspace to the transformer. It had to be taken down when I added a threshold to this doorway (long story).



It is the older kind of doorbell with metal resonators, not plastic. Gives a nice clear "ding-dong." Loud enough to hear downstairs. The wireless ones are rarely loud enough with a low-quality digital recording of a ding-dong, or worse. Moved above the door, wire now going through the wall into the crawlspace. Wood filler in the old holes. It still works. I only had to replace the button outside because the light went out.



I suspect the light is tempting for some to ring the bell late at night. It has happened. Might should have waited until after Hallowe'en.

 

[Joe Riley]

Doorbells​

You never know with a doorbell
Who may be ringing it-
It may be Great-aunt Cynthia
To spend the day and knit;
It may be a peddler with things to sell
(I'll buy some when I'm older),
Or the grocer's boy with his apron on
And a basket on his shoulder;
It may be the old umbrella-man
Giving his queer, cracked call,
Or a lady dressed in rustly silk,
With card-case and parasol.
Doorbells are like a magic game,
Or the grab-bag at a fair-
You never know when you hear one ring
Who may be waiting there!

Optional © by owner. provided at no charge for educational purposes

 

[Nancy Hart]

(10/29/25) Day 3 of PT
I'd guess this 3rd physical therapist is at least 10 years older than the previous two.

She is back to focusing on the bicep muscle---scar tissue causing friction and irritation, popping and snapping and making it feel like your shoulder is going to fall apart if you move it too much. Makes sense. She seems to think the scar tissue can be "worked out." Maybe she just means you can get it to become more flexible. I now think it's been a combination of all the things all 3 have suggested, some caused at different times since the injury due to chain reactions.

It's been interesting. I've learned more than I wanted to know about shoulders, and probably some things that aren't even true. There is already some improvement in range of motion, but it could be just that I'm paying more attention now. I think 2 meetings per week is overkill. Will talk to the original guy next time about the schedule.

Btw, as far as she can tell by feeling around, the bicep is staying in its groove. Assuming that's true, I can now go about doing exercises without images of John Elway looming in the back of my mind.