Good Morning!
Mail-boxes-December-29-18
Nell and I went out yesterday. The Jeep has a block heater whereas the Jetta does not. I've looked into block heaters for the VW diesel, but at this point they are a little too pricey for our budget at this moment. That's okay the Jeep has nice snow tires and a block heater. Nell and I had the most wonderful afternoon in town.:-D
The Jeep has the block heater built into the engine block.
The vw-block-heater has a little different block heater setup.
On the bright side this looks much easier to install than the freeze plug installation the Jeep has.
We did order a new starter for the VW Jetta as one of the issues in the cold mornings is the starter turns for a few seconds then spins free.
That is a classic problem with old cars and starters and often happens because oil gets down in the starter and on the shaft where the pinion gear fails to stay engaged with the engine flywheel because oil and grease get sticky in cold weather. Sometimes I am able to clean the starter and it works again. However as I get older I need to limit the time I'm working under cars, so I won't take the chance it is repairable.
Let's see, what else is happening here on the rancho? Oh right the weather for one more bit this morning:
Weather-Sapello-NM-87745-12-29-18 Yeah baby it's brisk outside!
Nell decided she wanted to get up early this morning and be with me, bless her heart. I love this woman. The surgery to her right foot is a complete success! Her toes touch the ground when she walks for the first time since 2007, she says. This is cool, now I can ask her questions while I'm writing. That is wonderful. Anyways, we both have exercises we need to do, some are the same. She has shoulder pain and I have hip pain from the impingement from spinal stenosis. We both need to work our lats. Here is a quick search result for exercise with bands top-5-resistance-bands-lat-exercises-for-a-wide-back
I've let all the exercise routines I used while I thought I only had scoliosis go, in favor of getting outside and performing much needed chores. Now it looks like those chores are aggravating my spine. That's okay I can change, I want to be healthy, especially after coming off this yeast fungal overgrowth disease which I believe in part is called SIBO.
One of the issues I am coping with now is how all the medical professionals missed the severity of the spinal stenosis. Personally, I missed it myself because I thought the pain was coming from whatever caused all the other pain that had me down for the count. Thank the universe for Doctor Lilly Bletcher who with her brilliant analysis of the blood and genetic tests, has confirmed the cause of one disease which ruled out the cause of the structural back issue. Now I can move forward with knowledge and treatment of both. I'm still upset the western medicine providers didn't pay enough attention to the results of the MRI.
MRI-results page one
MRI-results page two
Again, tremendous thanks go out to Dr. Lilly for requesting a copy of this MRI and posting it back to me.
I have an appointment with my primary care doctor on my birthday, the 11th of January. At that time I will emphasize the critical nature of this report and request physical therapy specifically related to this new information. On January 1st, 2019, I'll switch over from the blessed Medicaid to Medicare. I'm a bit apprehensive about this change, hopefully it'll be a smooth transition and Medicaid will be my secondary insurance.
I have spent a good deal of time in research and physical work to begin the transition of as much of this property as possible to sustainable ecosystems through permacultural. With the effects of time and climate, I believe this is the best chance to keep alive and preserve this beautiful land we are so lucky to live on. The process is long reaching but the results are in perpituity. I like that word.
It is going to take much more physical work than I can safely do. I am looking into large and small equipment that will be able to replace the stress on the back because there is no perpituity in that skeletal structure. Nell and I are looking into ways to find assistance in this like grants or programs such as go fund me. If anyone has experience with these, please share your knowledge and opinions with us.
Feeling hopeful for the new year and hoping you are as well.
Brian and Nell.
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