New brace, slow walk, good dog

Tomorrow I go for my new Marlin neck brace. I'm psyched! Since the fusion is off for awhile, I have to accept that the brace is going to be the norm for me and be happy with that. Today, I wore my old one a lot here at home ( I've been wearing it always in the truck and only occasionally at home). I've been feeling really puny for several days and today was no exception. But the collar did seem to help.

I feel in a catch-22...when I sit down, my legs and back hurt and buzz and are more than uncomfortable. The right occipital area on the back of my head starts into stabbing pain. If I'm up, walking or doing stuff, it's all hurting some, but is also contributing to more pain when I do sit down again. And I feel so painfully weak. Thankfully, though, the meds help with some things.

I just got back from a SLOOOOWWWW walk, my normal pace. I mean, I walk SLOW! But I also notice that walking deliberately (boy, did I have a hard, hard time spelling that word! Finally had to use spell checker and me an editor once! diberately, dilbatrly, deberately....geesh!), it is a work out to some extent. You don't have any forward momentum to push you along, so every step is like starting anew, every step up is like starting from a standstill.

I learned the results of my thyroid ultrasound were very normal today. YAY!

Today I really noticed the smell of the pines and the wet earth while I was out with the Good Dog Quincy. The snow is mostly gone. I realized that snow doesn't really have a smell. Pinecones and sap and needles and little green grass and wet earth do. That's when I know Spring is definitely coming. The weatherman yesterday said we have seen our last snow of the year. I hope he's right. My little deer path is becoming more and more user-friendly, for I roll little rocks and branches from the path with my feet every once in awhile. It's the perfect length of walk for me and a place I know I'll be using a lot. What a gift! I know, I know, I've said that before!

Hundreds of crocuses are coming up! We bought this place end of March last year and every few weeks showed evidence of all the bulbs that the previous owner had planted. Irises, lilies, hyacinth, daffodils, tulips, gladiolas, on and on...blossoming blessings all spring, summer, fall. The owner had told us when we moved in on April 1st (we were greeted by profuse daffodils!) that we had just missed the crocuses. I figured she meant a few...I had no idea there would be so many, but the little green, spikey leaves poking their way up through the wet, cold ground tells me that this is going to be quite a show!

Today was about 60 degrees. My mother sent me a box of things that she'd put together for Christmas and never got around to sending it, then thought she'd send it for my birthday and that passed, so I got it today. What a delight! And one thing was a shirt that belonged to my late stepfather, it's a large, comfy cotton shirt, long sleeves, button up, with lots of hunting dogs on it. I love it! Perfect weight for this time of year. For hiking slowly through the woods with a little black-mutt-dog by my side.