Saturday, August 08, 2009

(OT) Hot and Sore --

I'm sorry that I've been so inactive of late. Once again "real life" has interfered. We are just over a very nasty heat wave here on Vancouver Island. I'm not sure just when it started, but the past few weeks were brutal.

The temperature here seldom dropped below 30` C. (86` F.) even at night; and most days we were between 35 and the low 40s (say 95 to 110 F.).

Note: our home thermometer is in the shade and in a relatively windy spot so it doesn't "bake up" . . . the official temperature here is at the airport, right near the ocean, not in the "heights" where we live. Still July was the second hottest in 128 years of record-keeping.

Now I am of a much more than stout build. I am not built for warm weather, let alone hot weather; and my dear lady wife suffered even more than I did. Anyway we spent most of our time in the basement . . . and since our computer room is the warmest in the house, we kept it closed off and seldom ventured in.

Additionally I have been rehearsing a play which closes tonight here in the Comox Valley . . . and that eats up a great deal of time and energy. Add to that a fall I suffered a couple of weeks back (nothing broken, but bruises and sore muscles aplenty).

Finally, a very sore right foot. I thought that I'd pulled my Achilles tendon . . . because that is what was sore . . . but as the pain increased and the foot began to swell we discovered differently.

It was a gout attack in my right ankle. I've had a number of attacks of gout before (remember the one in my left big toe back in April?) . . . but they've always been in my big toes. I didn't realize that gout can attack other joints as well.

Anyhow once we knew what it was, I had medication to knock it down . . . but it has been a very hot and sore stretch of time . . . with no gaming (except for some reading).


-- Jeff

7 comments:

Fitz-Badger said...

Sorry to hear about all that, Jeff! We get plenty of hot summer days/weeks down here (Inland Empire, southern Calif.), but at least I have AC. Still, it does tend to put a damper on my enthusiasm for painting or even gaming. I end up spending more evenings on the computer or reading and watching dvds this time of year.
Anyway, take care and get well soon!

DestoFante said...

Welcome back, Jeff. No pun intended, but break a leg for the show tonight! And hopefully, you'll be back at the gaming table soon!

marinergrim said...

Good luck Jeff.

Hot weather here is playing me up to - more to do with trying to maintain cold chain temperatures and keep my temper when the evaporators pack up.

Frankfurter said...

We've been enjoying a relatively cool summer here ... only been over a hundred a few times.
But two of our three air conditioners conked out ... and my poor wife and I are not only obese, but her condition causes her to run a constant fever ...
I've been stuck in the bedroom for days. So I really sympathize with Jeff!!
:)
A

Bluebear Jeff said...

Arthur,

My sweet lady wife had brain surgery some years ago . . . and since then all sensory input is magnified many times for her.

Thus the hot weather was excruciating for her. No fun for me; but hellish for her.

So I have some understanding of your lady's stress.


-- Jeff

A J said...

My commiserations for both you and your lady wife, Jeff. With luck the hot spell won't last much longer and then we have the cooler days of fall to look forward to.

johnpreece said...

I hope that the weather has changed and you can enjoy a delightful autumn.

An enforced break is a pain but often one returns with increased enthusiasm. Itrust this will be the case for yourself.

John