Not too long ago, I reported exclusively in this blog that I was suffering from back pain - almost certainly caused by over-enthusiasm when starting the business of lifting old decking boards in our back garden (American: yard).
I listened to the warning my body was screaming at me and ceased the work immediately. Gradually, the pain drifted away as I rested and took care of myself - including gentle back exercises and short country walks. Yesterday, I felt healed enough to get back to the decking project. I lifted a further ten boards and a dozen today - mostly using a crow bar, a big slice of ingenuity and a pair of work gloves. I did not overdo the muscle power I needed to apply.
In total, thirty two boards have been removed. They had been down for twenty years. As half expected, all is not well with the structural undercarriage. Though some of the joists and noggins are in good shape six or seven of them may as well be totally replaced. One or two of these pieces of wood look as if they have just been lifted from the bottom of the ocean - from the wreckage of The Spanish Armada.
Figuring out how to make the renovated structure solid and level without all the desirable tools will prove a challenge to a bookish man like me but to tell you the truth, I have always gained satisfaction from completing practical tasks like this one. I know it needs to be done and that I will get there in the end. Good dry days would help and of course I will be looking after my back.
Moving to a very different, unconnected subject... Our lovely daughter Frances is seven months pregnant and already fit to burst. It is of course a joyous time but something has cropped up that makes me feel a degree of anxiety.
Her platelet count has plunged very low. Nearly all pregnant women experience a reduced platelet count but Frances's reduction is severe. The count plunged very low when Phoebe was about to be born but this count is already so low that Frances is being called into hospital tomorrow. There may need to be some sort of intervention. If you didn't know, a healthy platelet count is vital for blood clotting.
Normally, a mother's platelet count will zoom back up soon after a birth but there can be complications if the count is really low at the time of the birth. The good thing is that both the maternity hospital and the haematology department at the main hospital know about her issue and will be there to support her. I have read quite a bit about the condition and possible interventions - courtesy of our good friend Dr Google.
Frances herself seems quite relaxed about the matter so I guess that I am doing her fretting for her - silly old fool that I am.
from Yorkshire Pudding https://ift.tt/9TIlgw2
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