Rainy Day

It was a wee bit rainy today. It actually brightened up for the drive home, then the next line of storms rolled through. This was the worst of it, looking out the back door. It was raining sideways at the time. It brightened up again afterward, but I took the photo through the door, thus the distortion from the water on the glass.


Shoulder Update
The old shoulder seems to be getting a bit better. I've been working out most days and paying particular attention to working my back so as to strengthen the muscles around the shoulder joint. This seems to be helping. While I'm at it, I've been hopping on the trainer a couple days a week too. I'm about to the point where my seatbones are ok with spending a half hour in the saddle at a time, so that's good. I certainly feel better with the regular exercise.

There has been one casualty, however. My "lumpy" died. Somewhere between five and ten years ago I sewed a small pillow out of cotton canvas and filled it with raw white rice. Throwing this lumpy into the microwave for a few minutes yields a hot pack that stayed hot for at least an hour. It was the perfect tool for soothing muscle spasms in my neck, treating an aggravated shoulder or warming up cold feet. Earlier this week, I had put the lumpy in my bed to make a warm spot for my feet. While fidgeting and reading, it felt like there was grit under the sheets. I whipped the blankets back and looked, but didn't see anything. The next morning, there was a small pile of rather orange-colored rice. There was indeed a worn spot in the pillow that allowed what used to be white rice out. Apparently years of cooking dry rice in the microwave causes it to discolor. So the lumpy has been retired after many years of very appreciated service. I'll have to dig out some fabric and the sewing machine in the next couple of weeks and make a new one.