Beautiful Day

Big Bear is known for being beautiful year 'round. We have so many sunny days at our high altitude that we have a solar observatory (not public) out off the North Shore of the Lake. If you enlarge the pic (click on it) you'll see the observatory near the center of the pic on the far shore.

Today is no exception. Of course, it was 27 F last night, & 18 F the night before, but the day is so beautiful. I appreciate so much that we are able to live here. I hate being away from home the 2 nights we are gone, but that it allows us to live here makes it worth it.

This was the first day since Saturday that i woke up & was not in a great deal of pain. My neck is still a little stiff but it is not painful every minute & is not stopping me from doing things. And it did not wake me up last night. I AM SO THANKFUL. I'm still a bit sore from the massage, but not horrible. And i totally agree with you Rosemary, i'd much rather have a pleasant massage than a painful one, even if the painful ones have good benefits.

In general, i think being in pain so that it is hard to move or think or breathe is a good thing for me once in a while. I wouldn't want it often. But it is a reminder. I know a couple of people who are in constant pain, & it is good to know what that is like. I do have fairly frequent pain, but it is something i've lived with for a long time & have adapted to. So i have become rather complacent. Being in extreme pain occasionally (please Lord, not too long!) helps me remember to be more empathetic & compassionate with the folks i work with. My massage practice is largely pain management, so it important to remember how difficult life is when in extreme pain.

My wonderful husband encouraged me to join him with a stretching DVD this AM. He did the full hour. I was only able to manage about 8 minutes before i knew i'd be going over my limit. I pressed on a little more, doing some stretches here & there. I told him if we daily did 10 minutes or so morning & night, that in time i'd probably be able to do more. It doesn't feel like i'm doing so much at the time, but if i push myself too hard i hit the "chronic fatigue" wall & for my baby step forward i take about 10 giant steps back. It is very discouraging, & at times i feel like giving up. I'm so glad he encouraged me to do this today. :)

I've bananas that need to be made into bread. And i'd like to experiment with a gluten-free squaw bread. And i've wonderful poppy seed muffins that we'd like more of. They don't last very long! Probably have cheese enchiladas tonight. I think it is fortunate in some ways that i haven't much energy for cooking/baking. I would focus on all the wonderful things like short bread & pies & cookies & muffins, etc. Even tho i'm baking them "healthy" with whole gluten-free grains & such, eating those kinds of things regularly is not good. Best saved for a rare occasional treat.

Hope y'all are having a beautiful day as well.


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