Easin' Along | Easin' Along

Easin’ Along Through the Winter Blahs

Posted on March 7, 2020March 6, 2020 by Easin' Along

Typing at random…

I wasn’t sure I would post this week. Our weather in East Tennessee has been dreadful. We have had cold rain and foul weather conditions for days on end. Situations like that don’t lend themselves well to an active lifestyle, and I found myself dealing with a case of the blahs. I don’t write blog posts when I have the blahs. Thankfully it doesn’t happen often but, since it did, I wanted to shake it off. My exercise classes at the YMCA provided some motivation to get moving. Next, I picked up my camera and decided to focus it and my attitude on the bright spots around me.

The grounds crew that takes care of our neighborhood showed up to begin mulching the flower beds and trimming the shrubs. These tasks usually are a signal that spring is not far away. The sound of the lawnmowers reinforced that signal. I’m ready. The smell of freshly mown grass is a powerful antidote for the foul weather blahs.

Laughter is strong medicine as well. Helen is away on a gal-pal trip with friends from our old neighborhood. I’ve introduced them to readers in previous posts about our annual meatloaf dinner and Helen’s surprise birthday party. They have taken this trip every year for forty years. At some point during their adventure, the husbands try to get together for dinner and some fun. We have a good time in a very relaxed setting, usually at someone’s home, and share a lot of laughs. Laughter goes a long way in easing symptoms of the blahs.

Lucy came home from the shop. After our trip to Florida, I had to take Lucy to the dealership for a few minor repairs. Unfortunately, the shop manager suddenly retired, and Lucy got caught in a backload of work orders. She has been in the shop for over a month, but finally broke out this week and followed me home. I get a big smile thinking about the trips we have planned for later this year.

Feeling better by later in the week, I decided to check out the daffodils that always bloom in high numbers in the run-up to spring in East Tennessee. I heard that there was a massive field of them a little to the north of our home and close to the storage facility where we keep Lucy. After I dropped Lucy off and tucked her in, I went daffodil searching. It was impossible to miss them. In one spot near the highway, hundreds, if not thousands, of white and yellow daffodils filled a hillside with color. This sight would cure most anything, including the blahs.

The Camelias are blooming as well. I found this lovely specimen in my back yard. I love Camelias and especially so because they usually arrive as winter is breathing its last gasp. The hot pink variety is the only one we have now, but others will follow. Hot pink doesn’t erase cold weather, but it helps.

On the one sunny (though cold) day we had this week, I brought home Smoky, the trailer that we won last October. We have not used Smoky for camping yet, but we’re about to take him on a trip across the country and give him to our grandchildren living in California. Helen worked hard to clean the inside and I spent the whole day removing the promotional decals and glue from Smoky’s exterior. Smoky is ready to go. We leave in two weeks. Helen’s ready, I’m ready, and really excited. I can think of nothing better than a road trip to cure the blahs! I hope you’ll join us.

Feeling better already…

Fundamentals

Easin’ Along the Path to Better Bones

Posted on February 28, 2020February 27, 2020 by Easin' Along

In late October, I had a successful joint replacement surgery performed on my right knee. Although the surgery was successful, the healing was not easy. It takes work and I was committed to making the eventual outcome as successful as the input. To do that, I had to follow a path that would not only strengthen the joint, but also lead to better health. Let me take you down that path a few steps.

Readers may recall that I also had successful hip replacement surgery in July of 2018. The recovery process for a hip replacement was not all that difficult in my case and, within about five weeks, Helen and I resumed hiking, biking and other forms of exercise with no problem. I expected the same result for my knee. I was way off the mark on that assumption.

The aftermath of knee replacement is pain, swelling, and discomfort whether sitting, standing, or sleeping. I was never far from an ice pack for about ten weeks. Fortunately, my insurance covered extended physical therapy and therapeutic massage and I took full advantage. The therapists were wonderful and worked their magic well enough that I felt good about leaving on our Florida trip shortly after Christmas and two months after the surgery. Our trip was delightful but, I still had some pain and soreness. Extended walking was not easy. The ice pack remained my friend.

After we returned to Knoxville, I decided that enough was enough. Although my surgery was in October, the pain and soreness began toward the end of our southwestern trip in late April and I had not taken part in any form of exercise once the symptoms developed. I was not careful about my diet either, and I was setting daily records on the scales. In addition, the lab tests came back from my annual physical and my cholesterol was up (never a problem in the past), blood pressure was up (also never an issue), and my blood sugar elevated. My clothes no longer fit. On top of all of that, we have two extended RV trips planned for this year. I knew it was time to head in another direction whether it hurt or not.

The first thing I did was return to my exercise class at the YMCA. I enjoyed seeing all of the friends I had made there since I joined the “Kick-Starter” class over three years ago. That first class—45 minutes of continuous movement—was a challenge, but I survived and, when we finally completed the last set of stretching exercises, I felt very energized. I am now attending the Y three times a week and feel better after every session.

Despite the return to an exercise routine, I still could not get my weight down so, I went to the extreme. I placed an order for two months of Nutrisystem For Men in early February. I participated in the program in 2017 and lost 26 pounds in two months. Hopefully, this would work again. To give my program a little more oomph, I took another drastic measure and gave up my beloved mugs of cold beer. That, my friends, is a serious commitment!

Now, two weeks into the program, I have lost 16 pounds. I can now go most of a day without thinking about my knee, and it is feeling much better overall. I can tell that I am regaining some of the strength in it, but still have a long way to go. I also notice less stress on my feet after a weight reduction. Carrying that extra 16 pounds had taken a toll that I did not realize.

Within two miles of our home we have a beautiful park with long walking trails alongside the Tennessee River. On Sunday of this week, I decided to push the envelope a bit further and go for a walk of over two miles—something I had not done since we returned from our trip to the southwest. I laced up my hiking boots, grabbed my hiking pole, and drove to Lakeshore Park. Most of the primary trail is flat, but portions of it leading down to the river are very steep. I knew I could handle flat but the steep parts concerned me. I decided not to think about the hills, and focus instead on the fun around me. The many dog-walkers out for a Sunday stroll provided a pleasant distraction. Taking my time, I completed the two miles in about 45 minutes and had a good time in the process. Two miles might not be a big deal to some, but it was a big deal to me.

At 71, and blessed with very good health until this knee episode, I realize that good health and maintaining an active lifestyle requires effort and discipline. In June, I go back to my physician for a follow-up visit and another lab test. We’ll see if my program is working and I’ll share the results. Until then, I’ll continue Easin’ Along the path toward better health and better bones. Wish me luck. Cheers…(V8 Juice)!

Fun

Albany, GA – Pine Trees, Plantations, and Pecans

Posted on February 21, 2020May 5, 2020 by Easin' Along

After an unexpected stopover in Titusville, Florida due to our frustrating and frightening experience with two blown tires on our fifth-wheel, Lucy, we canceled our reservation at Eagle Hammock RV Park at the Naval Submarine Base in King’s Bay, GA. The frightening part is understandable—blow-outs on a busy interstate highway are unsettling at best and downright scary at worst. The frustrating aspect of this experience came with the canceled reservation. Helen and I looked forward to our first trip to Eagle Hammock because we visit that part of the country often and were eager to try out a new campground near the coast.

With one new tire and a spare mounted on Lucy, we decided to shorten our route to Knoxville because we had doubts about the lifespan of the two remaining tires on Lucy’s other side. Although the route we chose would take us through Atlanta’s heavy traffic, we would shave a few hundred miles off of our original plan and allow us to get home and replace the old tires. After checking out the options on the MilitaryLiving.com website, we placed a call to the Marine Logistics Base in Albany, GA and secured a campsite in the RV park for two nights. We arrived late in the afternoon and parked Lucy in a very spacious campsite under a large Live Oak tree. It wasn’t on the coast, but it wasn’t bad either.

*Campground – Marine Logistics Base, Albany, GA*

The next morning, I received a call from a friend, and, in the course of our conversation, I told him we were in Albany. It turns out that my friend had visited the area many times in previous years to hunt quail on some prime hunting ground. Albany, with its beautiful pine trees, numerous plantations, and pecan farms advertises itself as the quail hunting capital of the world. My friend told me of the many visits he made to those plantations and, he also told me about the best place to eat lunch in the entire State of Georgia—Abbott’s Grocery. Helen found it on Trip Advisor, accompanied with a high rating.

My friend described Abbott’s as a small country grocery with a hot food counter inside. The menu usually included such items as fried fish, fried chicken, smothered steak, collards, pinto beans, black-eyed peas and similar items all designed to fill up hungry southern boys during lunch after the morning hunting session. Inside the store, it was usually standing-room-only during hunting season. Outside, the parking lot was just as full with hunters, bird dogs, and big pickup trucks. As a return favor for sharing this gem with us, my friend asked us to pick up a sack of White Acre tiny peas for his wife’s Valentine Day present. Assigned a mission now, we put Abbott’s on our busy schedule for lunch.

We found Abbott’s after a delightful drive through some of those plantations and pecan farms only to discover that Abbott’s was now Crossroads Market. Thinking that we might be in the wrong place, we drove around the building and spotted a sign for Abbott’s Meat Processing. We returned to the front of the market and went inside. The market was no longer a small country store. The shelves were full, the aisles well-lit, and there was a large butcher shop in the rear.

Around the corner from the butcher counter, a small dining area contained two or three tables and a counter for ordering food. Today’s menu, a hand-written list of meals, lay next to a large tip jar. I had to order the vegetable soup and cornbread…so good. The number of customers was certainly not standing-room, but there was a steady crowd on hand to keep the kitchen staff busy. We finished our soup, tipped the cooks, and went in search of White Acre peas. We found them in the freezer on a shelf above the Mountain Oysters (don’t ask, but it’s a delicacy in these parts).

We bought two sacks of peas, including a sack for us, and some ham hocks to cook with them, then walked back outside. As I stood in front of the market taking pictures for my friend, an elderly gentleman walked by. We nodded at each other. After walking ahead for about ten steps, he turned and came back to me and introduced himself as Mr. Abbott.

“I owned this store for 43 years,” he told me in a molasses-thick Georgia accent.

“I finally sold it, but I come in often to make sure they’re treating my customers right. My son owns the meat plant in the rear. I taught him everything he knows and he’s making a killing,” he said with a slight chuckle.

I told him about the rave reviews my friend gave Abbott’s Grocery and all of the great meals he shared there with his hunting pals. Mr. Abbott seemed pleased to hear that.

“We served a lot of meals to those hunting fellas. I got to be friends with a lot of them, and they came back every year. I miss those days, but I decided to let it go—not gettin’ any younger, you know.”

We chatted for a few more minutes before I asked him if he would pose for a picture. He accepted, but I’m not sure if he wanted the attention. We shook hands and he turned toward the store saying it was time to check on “things.” He glanced back once before going inside. Helen and I admired the yard art in front of the market, then took our peas back to the Marine Base and placed them in Lucy’s freezer.

We left Albany the next morning and drove back through Atlanta and beyond without incident. Although our trip to Florida and the Florida Keys had been a rousing success, it passed by too quickly. One month isn’t enough time in warm weather. I understand snowbirds a bit better now. Hopefully, we can stay longer next year. Retirement is such a good gig.