Monday 28 July 2014

Frozen

Dead fox in garden, 5DII, 19-Nov-12

I know, I do almost nothing on this blog, except apologise for doing nothing…

But now I’m really frozen. Not as frozen as this fox, which we found one morning 18 months ago, in the green patch behind the Cave. To begin with, I thought it was dozing, as they sometimes do there. We love watching them, when they think no one can see them, completely relaxed and behaving just like pets, yawning, stretching, scratching, wondering what to play with next… and effortlessly beautiful. But after a bit, La G & I realised it wasn’t kippin’ due to it being tired and shagged out following a long squawk. In the end, we had to shovel the poor stiff into a black bin liner and leave it to be collected with the rest of the week’s ‘rubbish’, on the Cave’s designated Friday morning.

The ‘tidying’ was advancing at a glacial pace anyway – but now it really has ground to a halt, as I have a frozen shoulder (or adhesive capsulitis). Possibly two – my right shoulder is beginning to hurt imperceptibly more, just as as my left one did a few months ago. Innocuous-sounding, this condition is really quite nasty: apart from almost constant discomfort, if I suddenly move the affected arm outside its very restricted zone, I suffer short but intense agony; and halfway through the night I wake up with pain which feels much worse at that deathly hour. It gets better during the day, strangely.

Mustn’t complain – I could have something far more serious. This I can live with, though my already pitiful productivity will plummet asymptotically. Still, odd that nature has found exactly the disease to mirror my general state! The transfers too have ground to a halt. I’m not happy with my initial dubs or my treatments (mainly the EQ); I really must get my (tone-)arm recalibrated – and at least one of those blasted 78rpm turntables up and running. Luckily, my buying has calmed down, so there’s not so much coming into the Cave.

But my selling has also slowed down. Doesn’t help that I found my lovely, mostly mint LPs have been attacked by mildew. Not the Cave’s fault – they’ve been fine here for years, until this last, hideously wet winter. The discs are still pristine but some sleeves now have unsightly brown splodges. Won’t look good to buyers. Not that I’ve tried selling anything yet – I have this idiotic phobia about it, imagining I’m going to be messed about by some analogue nutter or scammed by someone from a country with no respect for the rule of law.

But I’ll continue writing here – I hope. I’ve bought some wonderful CDs recently and really must tell someone about them. I’ve read some very interesting books (PhD theses, mostly), too. And of course I have various grumps I really must get off my chest – the shocking quality of commercial and institutional (and private) sound-file metadata, for starters. And you never know – one day I might get my act together and start dubbing some of these fabulous 78s I’ve bought. So please bear with me. And – sorry. Again!

Aunt Marion's side table, M9, 1-Dec-12

14 comments:

  1. Hi Nick - I've had adhesive capsulitis in my right shoulder. It will get better eventually!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for reassuring me, Buster! Did you get all your movement back? Nick

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    2. Hi again,

      A couple of links - hope you enjoy:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kleEifBNHLo

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoHxdaK1J-s

      Cheers,

      Douglas (UK)

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    3. Nick - Most of it. I had physical therapy, etc., but I think the passage of time is what cured it. It still gives me trouble now and then, but I can raise my arm all the way up, where before I couldn't get it to a 90 degree angle.

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    4. Thank you both! John Peel was a great broadcaster, even though I don't share his taste in music. That Saturday morning programme died with him. G

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  2. Hi Nick,

    I really enjoy your occasional blog.

    We had a great series on BBC TV in the UK "Grumpy Old Men" - just some middle-aged/OAPs getting a lot of gripes off their chests - brilliant - highly amusing. "Grumpy Old Women" - a follow-up series - not so perceptive, insightful or amusing. Nevertheless they validated my condition. John Peel, a rather droll DJ (now deceased) was my hero in this series - I'm sure there are some clips on YouTube - check it out.

    Just recently retired and have had too much time to dwell - aren't old people, who are mostly who I meet nowadays, so de-motivating, especially around here in the "boon docks" - so parochial and conservative!

    Do hope your condition(s) soon change to the better.

    Keep the blog coming along.

    Cheers,

    Douglas (UK)

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    Replies
    1. Dear Douglas, Thank you so much! I must admit GOM & GOW are sort of my credo. And my hero is Geoffrey Palmer, whose narration is the icing on the grumpy cake... I must respectfully disagree about old people, though - many young people are just as parochial and conservative, if not more! You see, I really am your servant, Grumpy

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  3. Hi Nick,
    Much thinking of you.
    I do enjoy and learn from your blog, always !
    Jean (Paris and HKong: www.ccohk.com)

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    Replies
    1. Dear Jean, Thank you so much for your kind words! My apologies for not responding sooner, I was away. I am fascinated to learn about your ensemble! Best wishes, Nick

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  4. Hi Nick! I know that adhesive capsulitis is really hard to deal with, but just like what Buster said in his comment, constant physical therapy helps a lot. The therapy will tend to be aggressive at first, but it will be tolerable as the pain and inflammation diminishes. I'm sure you'll get through it. Wishing you all the best! :)

    Agnes Lawson @ MedWell, LLC

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    1. Dear Agnes, Thank you too for your friendly and helpful message. Now that I've got back from a short holiday (where the arm pains did rather stop me sleeping), I'll start exploring the physio and other options. It's a bit worse at the moment - and it doesn't help that I'm hopeless at doing exercises, as they bore me, errr... stiff! Best wishes, Nick

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  5. Nick,

    I hope you're making progress with physical therapy for your arm condition. May some wonderful music in your collection also bring you additional relief!

    With best wishes,
    Boom

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    Replies
    1. Oh my goodness, I've only just noticed the date of your comment - sorry for not responding sooner! I'm changing feed readers but I failed to move the feed for these comments to the new reader. Also, I was away - in Wales! Land of (some of) my ancestors. Very interesting and enjoyable! Apologies again, Nick

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  6. Dear Boom, Thank you, it's so very kind of you to ask. I must confess that I'm a bad patient, too lazy and too easily bored to do the exercises they give me. As for the shoulder, it *is* getting slowly better, by itself, as people say it will. It doesn't help that I spend far too much time on the internet, poring over library catalogues, auction listings and retailers' websites, searching for yet *more* music to weigh down my groaning shelves (and floorboards). At the moment, I'm rather obsessed with Bach's Overture in b minor BWV 1067. And French LPs. Very best wishes, Nick

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