Lemonade out of Lemons

I went to my first physical therapy appointment on Friday.  I have a nice, young, female therapist (Nicole) who went over my MRI report with me.  After hearing about all the issues I have going on with my back it's a wonder I can walk!  Up until the beginning of January when the sciatica pain began, I didn't have a clue I had any back problems whatsoever!  I have scoliosis (curvature of the spine) in my lower back, a herniated disc in the lower lumbar area and also signs of (Annie!?) spinal stenosis (narrowing of the open spaces within the spine which can put pressure on the spinal cord and the nerves that travel through one's spine.)  OY!  It's so surprising to me because I've always been able to work hard, lift heavy things, do strenuous exercises and activities,,, so maybe that's the problem... me doing all those things like I think I'm still a teenager.  Well, despite all that, I still feel like a teenager.

Here's what my first physical therapy was like:  after we went through the report and she had me do a few things to show her my strength and flexibility, I spent 15 minutes on "the rack!"  That's what I call it anyway... it's actually called "traction."  You put two corset like things on:  one below your bustline and one on your lower hips.  You lay on your back on a table with a warm pad underneath your hip area and the machine alternates with 15 seconds of stretching you (like the Medieval rack) and 15 seconds where it releases the tension.  This is to help your spine decompress, I guess.  The I spent about 10 minutes on my stomach while a PT aide gooped my back with a warm gel and used a ultrasound wand-like device.  That was rather pleasant.  Then Nicole took me to their exercise room and showed me a few exercises on some of the equipment.  She was way "babying" me and it almost made me laugh... if she only knew the exercises I'm used to doing with weights, etc... Oh well, I guess it's good to go slow.

So I have to go to Physical Therapy (I will use PT from now on) 3 times a week:  every M, W, & F at 9 AM.  Caligurl (if she still reads my blog) will appreciate this... I'm looking at this as if I now have my own personal trainer so what do I need?  Outfits!  So I went shopping on Saturday and bought some cute exercise clothes and some new shoes.  Since I won't be running I thought these would be perfect.  They are Skecher's Go Walk.  My outfits have hot pink trim so I thought the black shoes with pink trim would be best.  They are very comfy and you can wash them in the washing machine.

Frolicking

We had a nice visit with Justin and Sarah and the dogs loved their visit to the Huntington Beach Dog Beach.  It was such a warm, summery day and I forgot it is Spring Break for many as the whole Huntington Beach area was packed with dogs, surfers and sun-worshippers.  Here's a photo of Cooper and Kanan frolicking in the surf.

On Facebook, Joan was reminiscing about Elliot the Mouse and his Excellent Adventures and many of his hostesses and fans chimed in and Julie suggested he should have his own Facebook page.  So now Elliot has a Facebook page where many are posting their photos of his visit.  He went all around the world visitng our blog friends and visited six continents only missing Antarctica!  Jackie feels that you may be able to view his page even if you don't have a Facebook account.  Just click on his url and then ignore the message asking you to log in and you should be able to view it.  Let me know if that works for you.  Here's the URL.  

Or you can copy and paste the link below:

https://www.facebook.com/ElliotsExcellentAdventure

Elliot with all his souvenirs and outfits after he returned

Souvenirs

We are all getting a lot of souvenirs from Justin and Sarah's travels.  Today, we are going down to visit Justin and pick up souvenirs that they have for Jessica and Pat and for the boys.  We will also see their trip photos and hear about their adventures.  We're taking the dogs and will go to the Huntington Beach Dog Beach, have dinner with Justin and Sarah, watch Survivor and then come back home.  When we picked them up at the airport, they gave us our souvenir that they bought in Venice.  They are Comedy and Tragedy Masks.  I put them on my console table in the living room.  Here's a photo.

The little silver compact in the photo is a gift from their trip last year to Istanbul.  I have placemats and coasters from Sarah's Vietnam/Thailand trip and a wine bottle holder from their Costa Rica trip last August.  We also have refrigerator magnets from exotic places they've visited.  Since they only travel with carry-on luggage, they have to keep their souvenirs small.

I saw my Orthopedic doctor on Monday and told him that, unfortunately, the cortisone shot didn't really help much.  He'd like me to have microsurgery because he's concerned about nerve damage if this herniated disk keeps pressing on my nerve.  The last three toes on my right foot tingle all the time like they're asleep which is a sign that it's affecting the nerve.  I'd like to give it more time to see if it gets better on it's own because it often does after 6 months or so and it's only been 3 months.  I'll try and wait until after summer before I consider surgery.  In the meantime, I'm going for physical therapy and I begin that on Friday.  Besides what they want to do for the disk, I want them to tell me what exercises I can safely do because I'm used to exercising 3 times a week and have been afraid to do that for fear of further injuring my back.  I'm not happy losing the muscle tone I've worked hard to maintain. 

Rattled!

Cooper and Kanan attended the Rattlesnake Aversion Clinic on Friday afternoon and I took a short video to show you what it was like. There were 4 stations. The first was encountering a baby rattlesnake on a dirt path. You probably know that baby rattlesnakes are just as venomous as adults so it's important for dogs to know that something this small can be deadly.  When our dogs finally noticed the baby rattlesnake, they were given a pretty good electrical shock from a collar they were wearing.  Cooper's reaction was much more dramatic than Kanan's which you will see in the video.  The second station was the scent of a rattlesnake and the third was the sound of the rattle.  These are good for them to know so they don't accidentally encounter one in tall grass or areas where they might be hidden.  Finally, they encounter a good-sized rattlesnake about 3 feet long.  By the time, they got to the last station, they had already learned to steer clear and wouldn't go anywhere near that big snake.  When they walked Kanan back to where we were standing, he was so cautious it looked like he was walking through a mine field!  Here's Cooper's encounter with the baby rattlesnake on the path.

Cooper Rattled from Darylynn Mills on Vimeo.

I know it might be upsetting to see Cooper yelp like that (it was for us) but it's far better than having him die from a rattlesnake bite.  They suggest coming back yearly for a couple of years to reinforce the training but I think we may see if their fear seems to still be in effect on our own since we do encounter snakes on trails every now and then.

Last night was The Game of Thrones Season 3 premier.  As you may remember, Justin and Sarah visited Dubrovnik where the King's Landing scenes are filmed.  We had to buy a special limited edition beer that was made for Game of Thrones.  Here's a photo.

There will be three more limited editions of Game of Thrones beers released throughout the year.  I want to collect all four and save the bottles for our bar.  We found ours at Whole Foods (it's 750 ml and has a nice cork and wire top like champagne bottles) but Justin could only find one bottle in all of Orange County.  He said we should buy it up and sell on ebay as they will be collector items.

Happy April Fool'sDay!  Be on your toes today and don't get fooled!

Rattlesnake Aversion Clinic

Cooper and Kanan are going to a Rattlesnake Aversion Clinic at The Barkley this afternoon.  We have lots of rattlesnakes in the local hills and the trails where we take them hiking.  The training involves wearing "bark collars" and introducing them to live muzzled rattlesnakes.  You can read about it HERE.  We asked if it would be okay to bring Ryan and Jacob along to watch as they are always so worried about rattlesnakes at the parks since they have "Beware of Rattlesnake" signs.  I wasn't sure if The Barkley would think this appropriate but they said it would be fine for them to come and watch.  I think it will be good for them to see what a real rattlesnake looks like and be aware they are to be avoided.

Justin and Sarah are back from their whirlwind European Adventure.  I thought I'd end my version of their travelogue with a wonderful photo of them in Paris!  Have a great weekend, Happy Easter and see you in April!

  

King's Landing

 On Saturday, Justin and Sarah (after taking trains and planes) arrived in Dubrovnik, Croatia.  They splurged here and stayed in a luxury hotel:  The Hilton Imperial Dubrovnik.  They were so fortunate to have a sunny, warm, clear day as you'll see in the photos where Justin is in short sleeves.  This was the part of the trip Justin was most looking forward to as I mentioned before as it is the location site of King's Landing in one of his favorite shows, Game of Thrones.  Dubrovnik did not disappoint!  All he could say was, "Wow...just wow!"  The walls and fortresses date back to the early Middle Ages!

My favorite photo.  Those doors are so intriguing!

The unluckiest boat in Dubrovnik!

Another beautiful photo!

Later this week, I should have photos from the final legs of this epic journey:  Dublin and Paris. 

Ryan has mastered riding his two-wheeler. At first he could only turn one direction but now he can do figure 8's! Way to go Ryan! The video should straighten out when viewed. For some reason, I can't directly upload iPhone videos to blogger so have to go through Vimeo.

Castles in Germany and Slovenia

Justin and Sarah are visiting a lot of castles and they will end their European vacation with a stay at a castle in Dublin.  They've been taking trains through the countryside and visited Neuschwanstein Castle in Southwest Bavaria, Germany.  Didn't the dark clouds give it an eerie Dracula's Castle-like look?

Justin & Sarah at Neuschwanstein Castle

After visiting the castle, they took an overnight train to Lake Bled in Slovenia, arriving at 6 AM.  They were able to check right into their hotel overlooking the lake and they had a beautiful, sunny day for exploring this glacial lake in the Julian Alps in northwestern Slovenia.  The lake surrounds Bled Island which has several buildings, the main one being the Pilgrimage Church of the Assumption of Mary, built in the 15th century, where weddings are held regularly. The church has a 52 m (171 ft) tower and there is a stairway with 99 steps leading up to the building. Traditionally it is considered good luck for the groom to carry his bride up the 99 steps on the day of their wedding before ringing the bell and making a wish inside the church.

Lake Bled and the island

Medieval Bled Castle in the background, swans in the foreground

Snow on the ground

Boat ride to Bled Island

Lake Bled Island and Pilgrimage Church

Justin checking out those ancient 99 steps!

Next stop, Dubrovnik, on the Adraitic Sea coast of Croatia.  As a huge fan of the HBO series Game of Thrones, Justin is most excited to visit this city which is the location of King's Landing in the series.  For any GoT fans, HERE's a site "Winter is Coming" that shows the location sites and a preview of what Justin and Sarah will be seeing in Dubrovnik.